The Importance of Microemulsion for the Surfactant Injection Process in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Microemulsion is the main parameter that determines the performance of a surfactant injection system. According to Myers, there are four main mechanisms in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) surfactant injection process, namely interface tension between oil and surfactant, emulsification, decreased interfacial tension and wettability. In the EOR process, the three-phase regions can be classified as type I, upper-phase emulsion, type II, lower-phase emulsion and type III, middle-phase microemulsion. In the middle-phase emulsion, some of the surfactant grains blend with part of the oil phase so that the interfacial tension in the area is reduced. The decrease in interface tension results in the oil being more mobile to produce. Thus, microemulsion is an important parameter in the enhanced oil recovery process.

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Effect of nano silica particles on Interfacial Tension (IFT) and mobility control of natural surfactant (Cedr Extraction) solution in enhanced oil recovery process by nano - surfactant flooding

Journal of Molecular Liquids ◽

10.1016/j.molliq.2017.10.031 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 248 ◽

pp. 163-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Samira Emadi ◽

Seyed Reza Shadizadeh ◽

Abbas Khaksar Manshad ◽

Abdorrahman Moghani Rahimi ◽

Amir H. Mohammadi

Keyword(s):

Interfacial Tension ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Recovery Process ◽

Silica Particles ◽

Mobility Control ◽

Surfactant Flooding ◽

Nano Silica ◽

Natural Surfactant

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The effect of middle phase emulsion and interfacial tension of Sodium Lignosulfonate surfactant synthesized from bagasse to Enhanced Oil Recovery

IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1088/1757-899x/1098/6/062021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1098 (6) ◽

pp. 062021

Author(s):

A Fattahanisa ◽

R Setiati ◽

A Ristawati ◽

S Siregar ◽

T Marhaendrajana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Interfacial Tension ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Middle Phase ◽

Sodium Lignosulfonate

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Utilization of methanol and acetone as mutual solvents to reduce interfacial tension (IFT) in enhanced oil recovery process by carbonated smart water injection

Journal of Molecular Liquids ◽

10.1016/j.molliq.2020.112733 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 304 ◽

pp. 112733 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Iman Nowrouzi ◽

Amir H. Mohammadi ◽

Abbas Khaksar Manshad

Keyword(s):

Interfacial Tension ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Water Injection ◽

Recovery Process ◽

Smart Water

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Experimental investigation of the effect of Vitagnus plant extract on enhanced oil recovery process using interfacial tension (IFT) reduction and wettability alteration mechanisms

Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology ◽

10.1007/s13202-020-00966-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 2895-2905 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Seyed Ramin Mousavi Dashtaki ◽

Jagar A. Ali ◽

Abbas Khaksar Manshad ◽

Iman Nowrouzi ◽

Amir H. Mohammadi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Investigation ◽

Interfacial Tension ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Plant Extract ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Recovery Process ◽

Wettability Alteration

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The Role of Microbial Products in Green Enhanced Oil Recovery: Acetone and Butanone

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13121946 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 1946

Author(s):

Bashirul Haq

Keyword(s):

Interfacial Tension ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Recovery Process ◽

Residual Oil ◽

Core Flooding ◽

Recovery Potential ◽

Wide Range ◽

Green Surfactant ◽

Core Flood

Green enhanced oil recovery is an oil recovery process involving the injection of specific environmentally friendly fluids (liquid chemicals and gases) that effectively displace oil due to their ability to alter the properties of enhanced oil recovery. In the microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) process, microbes produce products such as surfactants, polymers, ketones, alcohols, and gases. These products reduce interfacial tension and capillary force, increase viscosity and mobility, alter wettability, and boost oil production. The influence of ketones in green surfactant-polymer (SP) formulations is not yet well understood and requires further analysis. The work aims to examine acetone and butanone’s effectiveness in green SP formulations used in a sandstone reservoir. The manuscript consists of both laboratory experiments and simulations. The two microbial ketones examined in this work are acetone and butanone. A spinning drop tensiometer was utilized to determine the interfacial tension (IFT) values for the selected formulations. Viscosity and shear rate across a wide range of temperatures were measured via a Discovery hybrid rheometer. Two core flood experiments were then conducted using sandstone cores at reservoir temperature and pressure. The two formulations selected were an acetone and SP blend and a butanone and SP mixture. These were chosen based on their IFT reduction and viscosity enhancement capabilities for core flooding, both important in assessing a sandstone core’s oil recovery potential. In the first formulation, acetone was mixed with alkyl polyglucoside (APG), a non-ionic green surfactant, and the biopolymer Xanthan gum (XG). This formulation produced 32% tertiary oil in the sandstone core. In addition, the acetone and SP formulation was effective at recovering residual oil from the core. In the second formulation, butanone was blended with APG and XG; the formulation recovered about 25% residual oil from the sandstone core. A modified Eclipse simulator was utilized to simulate the acetone and SP core-flood experiment and examine the effects of surfactant adsorption on oil recovery. The simulated oil recovery curve matched well with the laboratory values. In the sensitivity analysis, it was found that oil recovery decreased as the adsorption values increased.

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High-Performance Polymeric Surfactant of Sodium Lignosulfonate-Polyethylene Glycol 4000 (SLS-PEG) for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Process

Periodica Polytechnica Chemical Engineering ◽

10.3311/ppch.17972 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Slamet Priyanto ◽

Ronny Windu Sudrajat ◽

Suherman Suherman ◽

Bambang Pramudono ◽

Teguh Riyanto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polyethylene Glycol ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Appropriate Technology ◽

Polymeric Surfactant ◽

Type I ◽

Sodium Lignosulfonate ◽

Lower Phase ◽

Brine Solution ◽

Ft Ir

Recently, the increase in fuel oil demand was not supported by petroleum production due to the low productivity of old wells. Furthermore, an appropriate technology, such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technology, is needed to maximize the productivity of the old well. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to synthesize a polymeric surfactant for the EOR process from sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) in various SLS to PEG ratios, namely 1:1 (PS1), 1:0.8 (PS2), and 1:0.5 (PS3). The surfactants were characterized using several methods, such as Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), compatibility, stability, viscosity, and phase behavior tests. The performance of the surfactants for the EOR process in different brine solution concentrations (16,000 ppm and 20,000 ppm) was also studied. The result showed that the introduction of the PEG molecule to the surfactant had been successfully conducted as FT-IR analysis confirmed. The surfactant's hydrophilicity increased with the introduction of PEG due to the increase of the ether group. A Winsor Type I or lower phase microemulsion was formed due to the high hydrophilicity. The highest oil yield (79 %) was obtained by PS1 surfactant, which has the highest PEG dosage, in a brine solution of 1,600 ppm. Therefore, it was concluded that the introduction of PEG could increase the hydrophilicity, viscosity, and EOR performance.

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