Hydrocarbon Fluid Structures in Nanoconfinement

Shale or tight oil is trapped in nano-porous rocks and is expected to play a key role in the energy supply in the future. Due to confinement, trapped fluids exhibit changes in their properties (i.e., bubble point & transport/flow). Presently, there are no accurate and well-accepted models for the properties of nano-confined fluids. Our target is to explore the structure of hydrocarbon fluids in confinement with wide-angle neutron scattering. Comparing the deviation in bulk vs. confined structure will unveil novel molecular-scale mechanisms for these property changes, and will benchmark molecular simulations. Accurate thermodynamic and transport models for confined fluids will help to estimate oil reserves, improve oil recovery, and aid in understanding the fundamental chemical physical influences that dictate confined fluid properties.