Ultrasonics in enhanced recovery of oil from porous rock

It is estimated that after currently utilized primary and secondary reservoir recovery mechanisms, up to 70% of the original oil remains unrecovered. Tertiary recovery mechanisms such as chemical pumping can increase this yield however these methods are often dismissed due to their high expense and the damage they cause to the reservoir. For this reason a non-invasive, inexpensive means for enhanced recovery is a very attractive prospect. Exposure of saturated porous media to ultrasound has been claimed to cause a change in the interaction relationship between the fluid and rock matrix. The exposure to an ultrasonic field of sandstone samples saturated with water, kerosene and rapeseed oil is investigated in order to gain a better understanding of the reasons for this modification and the influence of the saturation fluid properties.