Formation and characterization of thermal and electrical properties of CuO and ZnO nanofluids in xanthan gum

• Nanofluids to address challenges in oil and gas industry.
• Formation of CuO and ZnO (50 nm) nanofluids in xanthan gum (XG) is established.
• Dispersion and stability of nanofluids in XG is investigated.
• XG is observed to form a jelly structure around the nanoparticles.
• Enhancement in thermal and electrical properties of nanofluids is observed.

Nanotechnology provides promising possibilities for various oilfield applications in the upstream oil and gas industry. Nanofluids play a vital role in the development of newer technologies suitable for industrial applications and can be explored for use in the upstream petroleum industry. One of the commonly used biopolymers, xanthan gum (XG), is used in the upstream oil and gas industry as a rheological modifier, drilling fluid additive, emulsion stabilizer, and fluid loss controlling agent. Consequently, its use can be studied for the preparation of nanofluids, an application not reported in literature. In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper oxide (CuO) nanofluids, with varying concentrations of nanoparticles (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt.%), were prepared using the two-step method in a 0.4 wt.% XG (as a dispersant) aqueous solution as a base. These CuO and ZnO nanofluids were characterized for stability and dispersion using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the dynamic light scattering (DLS) method, respectively. It is observed that the CuO nanofluid in XG aqueous solution is more stable than the ZnO nanofluid. XG was observed to form a jelly-like structure around the nanoparticles, keeping them suspended in the solution. This paper investigates and presents the thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity of these nanofluids. The results show that thermal and electrical conductivity are enhanced as the concentration of nanoparticles was increased. The thermal and electrical conductivity was observed to be enhanced by approximately 25 and 50% for ZnO and CuO nanofluid, respectively. This study is expected to form the basis for the development of nanofluid-based technologies with XG as the primary additive in the upstream oil and gas industry.

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