Effect of carbon-based and metal-based nanoparticles on enhanced oil recovery: A review

• Mechanisms of carbon and metal based nanomaterials in EOR are covered. • Effect of various influential characteristics on EOR are analyzed. • Metal based nanomaterials have a lot of applications in EOR. Nanotechnology is deemed to have excellent prospects in various sectors of the oil industries because of its eco-friendliness and affordability. More specifically, it may be employed in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to increase the production efficiency of mature oil reservoirs. It has been proven that nanomaterials, particularly carbon-based and metal-based nanomaterials, have a considerable potential for promoting oil production efficiency. Microscopic and macroscopic sweep efficiencies are mainly affected by EOR techniques, and nanomaterials are known to be strongly related to these two phenomena. In this study, the effect of carbon-based and metal-based nanomaterials on five nano-EOR mechanisms are reviewed and analyzed. These mechanisms include wettability alteration, oil–water interfacial tension reduction, control of oil, water, and gas viscosities, pore channel plugging, and full asphaltene precipitation postponement and prevention. Finally, the oil recovery factors between water and nanofluid injection to various porous media are derived and compared. In addition, the effects of influencing parameters on each classification are analyzed.