A Normalized HLD (HLDN) Tool for Optimal Salt-Concentration Prediction of Microemulsions

Optimal condition-based microemulsion is key to achieving great efficiency in oil removal. One useful empirical equation to predict an optimal condition is a hydrophilic–lipophilic deviation (HLD). However, the K constants of each surfactant should be the same to combine the HLD equations for the mixed surfactant. Recently, a normalized hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLDN) was presented to avoid this limitation. This work sought to determine the phase behaviors and predict the optimal salt concentrations, using HLDN for the mixed surfactant. Sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate (SDHS) as an anionic surfactant, and alcohol alkyl polyglycol ether (AAE(6EO4PO)) as a nonionic surfactant, were both investigated. Alkanes and diesel were used as a model oil. The results showed that AAE(6EO4PO) enforced both the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic characteristics. The Winsor Type I-III transition was influenced by the ethylene oxide, while the propylene oxide presence affected the Winsor Type III-II inversion. For the HLDN equation, the average interaction term was 1.82 ± 0.86, which markedly showed a strong correlation with the fraction of nonionic surfactant in the mixed systems. The predicted optimal salt concentrations using HLDN of SDHS-AAE(6EO4PO) in the diesel systems were close to the experimental results, with an error of <10% that is significantly beneficial due to the shorter time required for optimal determination.

Micro-Emulsion Phase Behavior of a Cationic Surfactant at Intermediate Interfacial Tension in Sandstone and Carbonate Rocks

Based on the conventional approach, the trapped oil in rock pores can be easily displaced when a Winsor type (III) micro-emulsion is formed in the reservoir during surfactant flooding. On the other hand, the Winsor type (III) involves three phase flow of water, oil, and micro-emulsion that causes considerable oil phase trapping and surfactant retention. This work presents an experimental study on the effect of micro-emulsion phase behavior during surfactant flooding in sandstone and carbonate core samples. In this study, after accomplishing salinity scan of a cationic surfactant (C16–N(CH3)3Br), the effects of Winsor (I), Winsor (III) and Winsor (II) on oil recovery factor, differential pressure drop, relative permeability, and relative permeability ratio were investigated extensively. To carry out a comparative study, homogeneous and similar sandstone and carbonate rocks were selected and the effects of wettability alteration and dynamic surfactant adsorption were studied on them. The results of oil recovery factor in both rock types showed that Winsor (I) and Winsor (III) are preferred compared to Winsor (II) phase behavior. In addition, comparison of normalized relative permeability ratio at high water saturations revealed that Winsor (I) has more appropriate oil and water relative permeability than Winsor (II). The results presented in this paper demonstrate that optimum salinity which results in higher recovery factor and better oil displacement may occur at salinities out of Winsor (III) range. Therefore, the best way to specify optimum salinity is to perform core flood experiments at several salinities, which cover all phase behaviors of Winsor (I), Winsor (III), and Winsor (II).