Impact of Polar Components on Crude Oil-Water interfacial Film Formation: A Mechanisms for Low-Salinity Waterflooding

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Alvarado ◽  
Griselda Garcia-Olvera ◽  
Paulo Hoyer ◽  
Teresa E Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Film Formation ◽  
Interfacial Film ◽  
Polar Components ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Oil Water

scholarly journals Effect of Polar Molecule Aggregation on the Stability of Crude Oil/Water Interface: A Molecular Simulation Study

Lithosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (Special 4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinming Zhao ◽  
Minmin Xia ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Jianwei Wang ◽  
Yunfei Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Aggregation Process ◽  
Interfacial Film ◽  
Polar Components ◽  
Π Stacking ◽  
Forming Characteristics ◽  
Oil Water

Abstract To ensure the efficient operation of crude oil dehydration and sewage treatment technology in oilfield surface production system, the effect mechanism of polar components represented by asphaltene and resin on the formation and stability of oil-water emulsion needs to be revealed at nanoscale. In this paper, the molecular dynamics simulation method was used to construct the crude oil/polar component/water system models with different molar ratios of asphaltene to resin by adjusting the number of asphaltene and resin molecules, so as to reveal the molecular arrangement and aggregation process and film forming characteristics of asphaltene, resin, and their mixture at the oil-water interface. The simulated results showed that the aggregation process of asphaltene molecules under the influence of hydrogen bonds can be divided into three stages. The addition of resin molecules enhanced the connection between molecules of all polar components at the interface. The π−π stacking and T-shaped stacking structures were found in all aggregations, and the higher the molar ratio of asphaltene molecules, the higher the proportion of π−π stacking structure. With the increase of the molar ratio of asphaltene to resin increases from 0 : 1 to 1 : 0, the interfacial film thickness and interface formation energy increase from 2.366 nm and -143.89 kJ/mol to 3.796 nm and -304.09 kJ/mol, respectively, which indicated that asphaltene molecules play a more significant role in promoting the formation of interfacial film and maintaining its structural stability than resin molecules. The investigations in this study provide theoretical support for demulsification of the crude oil emulsion.

scholarly journals Bulk and Surface Aqueous Speciation of Calcite: Implications for Low-Salinity Waterflooding of Carbonate Reservoirs

SPE Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (01) ◽  
pp. 84-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxim P. Yutkin ◽  
Himanshu Mishra ◽  
Tadeusz W. Patzek ◽  
John Lee ◽  
Clayton J. Radke
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Surface Charge ◽  
Double Layer ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Carbonate Reservoirs ◽  
Diffuse Double Layer ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding

Summary Low-salinity waterflooding (LSW) is ineffective when reservoir rock is strongly water-wet or when crude oil is not asphaltenic. Success of LSW relies heavily on the ability of injected brine to alter surface chemistry of reservoir crude-oil brine/rock (COBR) interfaces. Implementation of LSW in carbonate reservoirs is especially challenging because of high reservoir-brine salinity and, more importantly, because of high reactivity of the rock minerals. Both features complicate understanding of the COBR surface chemistries pertinent to successful LSW. Here, we tackle the complex physicochemical processes in chemically active carbonates flooded with diluted brine that is saturated with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and possibly supplemented with additional ionic species, such as sulfates or phosphates. When waterflooding carbonate reservoirs, rock equilibrates with the injected brine over short distances. Injected-brine ion speciation is shifted substantially in the presence of reactive carbonate rock. Our new calculations demonstrate that rock-equilibrated aqueous pH is slightly alkaline quite independent of injected-brine pH. We establish, for the first time, that CO2 content of a carbonate reservoir, originating from CO2-rich crude oil and gas, plays a dominant role in setting aqueous pH and rock-surface speciation. A simple ion-complexing model predicts the calcite-surface charge as a function of composition of reservoir brine. The surface charge of calcite may be positive or negative, depending on speciation of reservoir brine in contact with the calcite. There is no single point of zero charge; all dissolved aqueous species are charge determining. Rock-equilibrated aqueous composition controls the calcite-surface ion-exchange behavior, not the injected-brine composition. At high ionic strength, the electrical double layer collapses and is no longer diffuse. All surface charges are located directly in the inner and outer Helmholtz planes. Our evaluation of calcite bulk and surface equilibria draws several important inferences about the proposed LSW oil-recovery mechanisms. Diffuse double-layer expansion (DLE) is impossible for brine ionic strength greater than 0.1 molar. Because of rapid rock/brine equilibration, the dissolution mechanism for releasing adhered oil is eliminated. Also, fines mobilization and concomitant oil release cannot occur because there are few loose fines and clays in a majority of carbonates. LSW cannot be a low-interfacial-tension alkaline flood because carbonate dissolution exhausts all injected base near the wellbore and lowers pH to that set by the rock and by formation CO2. In spite of diffuse double-layer collapse in carbonate reservoirs, surface ion-exchange oil release remains feasible, but unproved.

Low-salinity waterflooding in non-polar oil

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 660
Author(s):  
A. Al-Sarihi ◽  
A. Zeinijahromi ◽  
P. Bedrikovetsky
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Fines Migration ◽  
Polar Components ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Reservoir Permeability ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Volume Production ◽  
Polar Oil ◽  
Positive Results

Enhanced oil recovery by low-salinity waterflooding is considered to have positive results only when polar components exist in oil. This study shows that low-salinity brine can result in incremental recovery for non-polar oil through fines-assisted waterflooding. Despite the traditional view of fines migration that it should be avoided because of its detrimental effect on reservoir permeability, this work shows that permeability decline is a main mechanism in the low-salinity effect on non-polar oil. Laboratory coreflood tests were performed on a clay-rich Berea outcrop core and a clean sand core to investigate the effect of clay migration when the core is saturated with non-polar oil. The results show that fines migration reduces residual saturation by 18%. In addition, a decrease in the water volume production was observed due to the decrease in water relative permeability.

Influence of Aqueous-Phase Ionic Strength and Composition on the Dynamics of Water–Crude Oil Interfacial Film Formation

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 9170-9180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrnoosh Moradi ◽  
Vladimir Alvarado
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Aqueous Phase ◽  
Film Formation ◽  
Interfacial Film

Insights From Ion Adsorption and Contact-Angle Alteration at Mineral Surfaces for Low-Salinity Waterflooding

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 1204-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frieder Mugele ◽  
Igor Siretanu ◽  
Naveen Kumar ◽  
Bijoy Bera ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Contact Angle ◽  
Surface Charge ◽  
Contact Angles ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Angle Distribution ◽  
Mineral Surfaces ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Oil Water

Summary Most solid surfaces acquire a finite surface charge after exposure to aqueous environments caused by desorption and/or adsorption of ionic species. The resulting electrostatic forces play a crucial role in many fields of science and technology, including colloidal stability, self-assembly, wetting, and biophysics. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is an example of a large-scale industrial process that hinges in many respects on these phenomena. In this paper, we present a series of experiments illustrating fundamental aspects of low-salinity waterflooding in well-defined model systems. We show how pH and ion content of the water phase as well as the presence of model polar components (fatty acids) in the oil phase affect the wettability (i.e., contact-angle distribution) of oil/water/rock systems. Specifically, we discuss high-resolution atomic-force microscopy (AFM) experiments demonstrating the preferential adsorption of multivalent cations to mineral surfaces such as mica and gibbsite. Cation adsorption leads to increased and, in some cases, reversed surface charge at the solid/liquid interface. In particular, the adsorption of divalent cations gives rise to charge reversal and thereby induces a transition from complete water-wetting in the absence to finite contact angles in the presence of such ions. Although already dramatic for pure alkanes as base oil, adding fatty acids to the oil phase enhances the effect of divalent ions on the oil/water/rock wettability even more. In this case, contact-angle variations of more than 70 ° can be observed as a function of the salt concentration. This enhancement is caused by the deposition of a thin film of fatty acid on the solid surface. AFM as well as surface plasmon-resonance spectroscopy measurement in a microfluidic continuous flow cell directly demonstrate that adsorbed Ca2+ ions promote secondary adsorption of acidic components from the oil phase. The combination of the effects discussed provides a rational scenario explaining many aspects of the success of low-salinity waterflooding.

Microscale Interactions of Surfactant and Polymer Chemicals at Crude Oil/Water Interface for Enhanced Oil Recovery

SPE Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 1812-1826
Author(s):  
Subhash Ayirala ◽  
Zuoli Li ◽  
Rubia Mariath ◽  
Abdulkareem AlSofi ◽  
Zhenghe Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Interfacial Shear ◽  
Experimental Techniques ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Oil Droplets ◽  
Interfacial Film ◽  
Chemical Eor ◽  
Oil Water

Summary The conventional experimental techniques used for performance evaluation of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) chemicals, such as polymers and surfactants, have been mostly limited to bulk viscosity, phase behavior/interfacial tension (IFT), and thermal stability measurements. Furthermore, fundamental studies exploring the different microscale interactions instigated by the EOR chemicals at the crude oil/water interface are scanty. The objective of this experimental study is to fill this existing knowledge gap and deliver an important understanding on underlying interfacial sciences and their potential implications for oil recovery in chemical EOR. Different microscale interactions of EOR chemicals, at crude oil/water interface, were studied by using a suite of experimental techniques, including an interfacial shear rheometer, Langmuir trough, and coalescence time measurement apparatus at both ambient (23°C) and elevated (70°C) temperatures. The reservoir crude oil and high-salinity injection water (57,000 ppm total dissolved solids) were used. Two chemicals, an amphoteric surfactant (at 1,000 ppm) and a sulfonated polyacrylamide polymer (at 500 and 700 ppm) were chosen because they are tolerant to high-salinity and high-temperature conditions. Interfacial viscous and elastic moduli (viscoelasticity), interface pressures, interface compression energies, and coalescence time between crude oil droplets are the major experimental data measured. Interfacial shear rheology results showed that surfactant favorably reduced the viscoelasticity of crude oil/water interface by decreasing the elastic and viscous modulus and increasing the phase angle to soften the interfacial film. Polymers in brine either alone or together with surfactant increased the viscous and elastic modulus and decreased the phase angle at the oil/water interface, thereby contributing to interfacial film rigidity. Interfacial pressures with polymers remained almost in the same order of magnitude as the high-salinity brine. In contrast, a significant reduction in interfacial pressures with surfactant was observed. The interface compression energies indicated the same trend and were reduced by approximately two orders of magnitude when surfactant was added to the brine. The surfactant was also able to retain similar interface behavior under compression even in the presence of polymers. The coalescence times between crude oil droplets were increased by polymers, while they were substantially decreased by the surfactant. These consistent findings from different experimental techniques demonstrated the adverse interactions of polymers at the crude oil/water interface to result in more rigid films, while confirming the high efficiency of the surfactant to soften the interfacial film, promote the oil droplets coalescence, and mobilize substantial amounts of residual oil in chemical EOR. This experimental study, for the first time, characterized the microscale interactions of surfactant-polymer chemicals at the crude oil/water interface. The applicability of several interfacial experimental techniques has been demonstrated to successfully understand underlying interfacial sciences and oil mobilization mechanisms in chemical EOR. These techniques and methods can provide potential means to efficiently screen and optimize EOR chemical formulations for better oil recovery in both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs.

STUDIES ON BUILD UP OF INTERFACIAL FILM AT THE CRUDE OIL / WATER INTERFACE

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil Bhardwaj ◽  
Stanley Hartland
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Interfacial Film ◽  
Oil Water

Effect of Low Salinity Waterflooding on the Chemistry of the Produced Crude Oil

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. Collins ◽  
J. W. Couves ◽  
M. Hodges ◽  
E. K. McBride ◽  
C. S. Pedersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding

Relation between brine-crude oil-quartz contact angle formed on flat quartz slides and in capillaries with brine composition: Implications for low-salinity waterflooding

2018 ◽  
Vol 555 ◽  
pp. 660-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Wei ◽  
Jian Ning ◽  
Jielin He ◽  
Laiming Lu ◽  
Yuanyuan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Contact Angle ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding
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