Utilization of Geothermal Waste to Synthesize Janus Nanosilica as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Material

The Janus nanosilica (JNS) has excellent interfacial properties and shows great promise in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). In this research, geothermal waste from silica scaling was utilized to synthesis JNS using the Pickering emulsion method. SEM, XRD and FTIR characterization were carried out to determine the characteristics of the material. The effectiveness of JNS as EOR material was confirmed by stability and contact angle characterization. The characterization results indicate that JNS was successfully carried out, which was indicated by changes in the functional group from O-H to C-H, C=O and S=O. The JNS shows a yellowish white color and possesses a granular shape. The XRD characterization indicated that the crystal structure remained unchanged throughout the synthesis procedure. Moreover, JNS has various levels of stability. Materials with lower concentrations are more stable. JNS is efficiently employed to alter the surface properties to shift from oil-wet to water-wet, as seen by a reduction in the contact angle. The greatest reduction observed when the highest concentration is utilized with the result was from 131.74° to 39.77°.