Acacia auriculiformis-Derived Cellulose Nanoparticles as a Sustainable Nanofluid for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Francis Nyah (Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuhraya Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, Gambang, Pahang)
Abutu David (Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuhraya Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, Gambang, Pahang)
Kufre Mkpadem (School of Computing and Digital Studies, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, England)
Money Barima (Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuhraya Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, Gambang, Pahang)
Okorie Agwu (Petroleum Engineering Department, University Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan||Malaysia Center of Reservoir Dynamics (CORED), Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Teknologi, PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak Da)
Norida Ridzuan (Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuhraya Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, Gambang, Pahang)

Journal of Chemical Engineering Research Progress
2026: JCERP, Volume 3 Issue 2 Year 2026 (December)

Conventional enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods often lose effectiveness under high-temperature, high-salinity (HTHS) conditions because of inadequate fluid stability, limited wettability alteration, and insufficient interfacial tension (IFT) reduction. This study developed and evaluated cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs) derived from Acacia auriculiformis as a sustainable nanofluid for EOR. CNPs were extracted using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) process and surface-modified to improve thermal stability and interfacial functionality. Structural, morphological, compositional, and thermal characteristics were evaluated, while the resulting cellulose nanofluid (CNF) was assessed through rheology, IFT, contact-angle, and sand-pack flooding experiments. The process yielded 78.3% CNP, with an average particle size of 19.65 ± 0.2 nm and crystallinity index (CrI) of 76.6%, confirming successful formation of crystalline nanocellulose. At 0.2 wt%, CNF reduced oil-water IFT to approximately 7.8 mN/m at elevated temperature and decreased the sandstone contact angle to 16.5°, indicating strong water-wet alteration. Sand-pack flooding achieved 13.7% incremental oil recovery and 72.3% total recovery, compared with 9.8% incremental recovery and 63.1% total recovery for xanthan. The superior performance is attributed to the combined effects of IFT reduction, wettability alteration, mobility control, and thermal stability. Overall, Acacia-derived CNF demonstrates greater EOR potential than xanthan and represents a promising, environmentally sustainable nanofluid for challenging reservoir conditions. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by Universitas Diponegoro and BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).