The results of experiments aimed at studying the influence of various nanomaterials on the key properties of drilling emulsions based on diesel fuel are presented. The nanomaterials used included spherical SiO2 nanoparticles with sizes of 5 and 80 nm, single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, as well as Al2O3 nanofibers. The nanomaterials were incorporated into standard formulations of drilling fluids containing a hydrocarbon phase of 65 %, with a mass concentration of nanomaterials in the emulsions reaching up to 2 %. The study examined the rheological, filtration, and antifriction properties, as well as the colloidal stability and inhibiting capacity of the modified drilling emulsions. It was demonstrated that even at low concentrations, the nanomaterials significantly affect the properties of drilling emulsions, indicating their potential for practical applications. Furthermore, the use of nanotubes exhibits effectiveness at lower concentrations (0.1 wt.%) compared to spherical nanoparticles.

Microfluidic chips with porous structures are used to study the flow of oil-containing emulsion in the rock. Such chips can be made from polydimethylsiloxane by casting into a master mold. At the initial stages of research, fast and cheap prototyping of a large number of different master molds is often required. It is proposed to use milling to make a channeled surface on a polymethyl methacrylate plate, from which a negative image should be taken, which is the master mold for casting positive polydimethylsiloxane chips in it. Several epoxy compositions have been tested to make this master mold. The main requirement in the search for the material was the exact replication of the geometry and sufficiently low adhesion to polymethyl methacrylate and polydimethylsiloxane for removing the product with minimal damage to the mold. It was possible to make master molds from all the materials used, but with defects and various degrees of damage. One of the epoxy compositions was found suitable for making a master mold with many elements simulating the grains of a porous medium (height to width ratio 2:3). The developed method makes it possible to use polydimethylsiloxane for prototyping chips simulating the porous structure of an oil rock.