An Investigation on the Effect of Solvent and Heat to Clay Minerals in Shaly Sandstone

Wan Zairani Wan Bakar (Oil and Gas Department, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Department of Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia)
Ismail Mohd Saaid (Department of Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia)
Mohd Riduan Ahmad (Onyx Engineering Sdn Bhd, Jl. Perusahaan 4, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia)
Husna Hayati Jarni (Oil and Gas Department, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia)
Siti Qurratu’ Aini Mahat (Department of Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia)

Indonesian Journal of Chemistry
Vol 20, No 6 (2020)

Core cleaning could be complicated for samples that contain a high amount of clays. Some clays are delicate and exposure to solvent and heat would damage or alter its properties. In this study, we investigated the effect of direct exposure of solvent and heat to clay mineral properties based on petrographical data from X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX). Experiments were performed on sidewall core samples taken in a shaly sand zone. The FTIR data did not show any changes at the molecular level to the clay mineral after direct contact with the selected solvent. The FESEM images showed some illite floccules collapse in the samples exposed to oven-drying at 60 °C.