Optical measurements of oil release from calcite packed beds in microfluidic channels

To enable the study of improved oil recovery (IOR) from carbonate rock via laboratory experiments at the pore scale, we have developed a novel microfluidic chip containing a 3D packed bed of calcite particles. The utilization of fluorescently labeled water phase enabled visualization up to 1–2 particle layers with confocal laser scanning microscopy. Porosity and residual oil saturation (ROS) in this space are quantified from image stacks in the...