Alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding is a combination process in which alkali, surfactant, and polymer are injected in the same slug. Because of the synergy of these three components, ASP is the current worldwide focus of research and field trial in chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR).This paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the ASP process. The reviewed topics include the following:
ASP MECHANISMSBefore presenting the synergy of ASP process, the mechanisms of each individual component are discussed first.
Mechanisms of polymer floodingThe process of polymer flooding is same as waterflooding except that polymer is added in the water so that the solution viscosity is increased. Sometimes, it is called thickened waterflooding. It is well known that when the Screening criteria for broader EOR processes were discussed by several researchers, e.g. Lake et al., [21] Taber et al., [22,23] Al-Bahar et al., [24] Dickson et al., [20] and Al-Adasani and Bai (2010). [25] Some of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ASP FLOODING 473 S o ÀS or 1ÀS or ÀS wc : Here S o , S or, and S wc are oil saturation, residual oil saturation, and connate water saturation, respectively. The proposed mobility control requirement provides a criterion for mobility control design for an ASP project.
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ASP FLOODINGCommon operational problems in an ASP project are low injectivity, polymer degradation, difficulty to separate J. J. SHENG Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering 482 produced water from oil, pump failures, bacterial growth, corrosion, problems related logistics, and handling, especially in an offshore environment. [84] This section discusses issues resulting from ASP applications, including produced emulsion, chromatographic separation, precipitation and scaling, and others.
