Acidificación de aguas de distinta salinidad mediante electrodiálisis bipolar: Evaluación cinético-energética y su aplicación en la recuperación mejorada de Petróleo

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PUBLICATION OF PROJECT. Approximately 30% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions are absorbed by water bodies, storing up to 130 times more CO2 than the atmosphere. In this context, the extraction of CO2 from waters with different salinities was evaluated by combining a bipolar membrane electrodialysis system with a fluid injection system for enhanced oil recovery purposes. The study analyzed how voltage and volume affect kinetics, energy consumption, and ion transport. The produced acidified water was applied as an injection fluid for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), studying rock wettability mechanisms and the influence of the salinity gradient on the injection front distribution. It was found that higher voltage accelerates acidification, while the presence of HCO3- delays it. Furthermore, energy consumption increases with salinity, i.e., 1.02 kWh/kg CO2 (freshwater) vs 1.86 kWh/kg CO2 (seawater). In the acidified water, the concentration of Na+ and Cl- increased, while K+ and HCO3- decreased. These changes in the hydrochemistry of the acidified water improved crude oil recovery by up to 6% in all water types. Finally, it was identified that a high salinity gradient between the injection fluid and the formation water promotes homogeneous sweeping of the porous medium. Overall, these results demonstrate that BPMED is a competitive technology that integrates CO2 capture with EOR, linking climate mitigation with crude oil extraction processes and opening a path toward sustainable and scalable solutions. Keywords: SEC, oil-flotation, EOR, FluidFlower, porous media.