Comparability of in situ crude oil emulsification in phase equilibrium and under porous-media-flow conditions

Borji, Mostafa; Kharrat, Ahmad; Ott, Holger

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.01.182

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The efficient exploitation of oil affects the lifeline of economic social development and is an important guarantee for the prosperity of mankind [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. However, with the end of water flooding-dominated secondary oil recovery, two-thirds of the crude oil is still trapped in rock pores in a neuron-like form, so in order to restart and efficiently recover this huge amount of remaining oil, tertiary oil recovery technology came into being [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Synergistic Effects between Sulfobetaine and Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamide on Properties Related to Enhanced Oil Recovery

Sun

Hu²,

Han

et al. 2023

Molecules

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to explore the mechanism responsible for the interactions in the surfactant–polymer composite flooding and broaden the application range of the binary system in heterogeneous oil reservoirs, in this paper, the influences of different surfactants on the viscosity of two polymers with similar molecular weights, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide (HMPAM), were studied at different reservoir environments. In addition, the relationship between the surfactant–polymer synergistic effects and oil displacement efficiency was also investigated. The experimental results show that for HPAM, surfactants mainly act as an electrolyte to reduce its viscosity. For HMPAM, SDBS and TX-100 will form aggregates with the hydrophobic blocks of polymer molecules, reducing the bulk viscosity. However, zwitterionic surfactant aralkyl substituted alkyl sulfobetaine BSB molecules can build “bridges” between different polymer molecules through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction. After forming aggregates with HMPAM molecules, the viscosity will increase. The presence of two polymers all weakened the surfactant oil–water interfacial membrane strength to a certain extent, but had little effect on the interfacial tension. The synergistic effect of the “bridge” between HMPAM and BSB under macroscopic conditions also occurs in the microscopic pores of the core, which has a beneficial effect on improving oil recovery.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Synergistic Effects between Sulfobetaine and Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamide on Properties Related to Enhanced Oil Recovery

Sun

Hu²,

Han

et al. 2023

Molecules

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From the physicochemical aspect, one of the important exploration directions of surfactants is solution structure, and the other focuses on their own performance, such as wetting, , foaming, emulsification, , oil washing, , etc. Problems such as surface/interface adsorption layer structure, arrangement of adsorption molecules, and the law of adsorption or desorption have become the main goal of today’s study on the “structure–activity relationship” of surfactants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dilational Rheology of Extended Surfactants at the Air/Water and Oil/Water Interfaces: Effect of Propylene Oxide Group Numbers

Sun,

Cao,

Yuan

et al. 2023

Langmuir

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, the interfacial properties of extended surfactants with different oxypropylene (PO) groups were comprehensively investigated by using interfacial dilational rheology. The differences in molecular orientation, spatial configuration, and relaxation process were compared at the gas–water interface and oil–water interface. The influences of the PO groups on the interface viscoelasticity were analyzed, providing important theoretical support for the wide application of extended surfactants. Experimental results show that the lower number of PO groups in extended surfactants does not cause differences in their presence states on the interface; however, once it increases, the longer PO segment will spiral up in the direction perpendicular to the interface, forming a spatial configuration like a thin cylinder. Compared with air, the PO group has better solubility in the oil phase. The chain segment can still maintain a helical extension from the beginning to the end as a result. However, the upper layer of the thin cylinder will collapse to a certain extent at the surface. Moreover, the orientation of the hydrophobic side has a dynamic process of “tilting to upright” with the increase of adsorption amount or in response to interfacial dilation and compression. The increase of PO number or the insertion of oil molecules has little effect on dilational modulus, and the interfacial film strength is generally relatively low. That is to say, the better emulsifying and solubilizing ability of PO-containing extended surfactants may be more attributed to the matching steric effect at interface or better packing action in bulk phase than to higher film strength.

show abstract

“…Similar to gel particles, injection of oil-in-water macroemulsions has been found to inhibit preferential flow and enhance sweeping efficiency. − The preparation of these macroemulsions requires intense energy input and shear actions. In situ emulsification during the injection of surfactant or alkaline solutions has also been visualized by microfluidic experiments. − Microemulsion phases can be spontaneously generated at the interface under such conditions, whereas sufficient phase mixing is hard to achieve during low-speed flow in porous media.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Performance Nanogel-in-Oils as Emulsion Evolution Controller for Displacement Enhancement in Porous Media

Lu,

Wang

2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We designed and synthesized high-performance nanogel-in-oils with intermediate properties between solid particles and liquid droplets for multiphase flow control in porous media. The ultrasmall polymeric nanogels prepared via inverse emulsion polymerization were efficiently encapsulated in micrometer-sized oil droplets with the aid of surfactants during transfer from the oil phase to the aqueous phase. The composite colloidal system exhibited high loading capacity, unimodal size distribution, and long-term kinetic stability in suspension. The colloidal behaviors of nanogel-in-oils and the corresponding interfacial evolution during displacement in porous media were investigated via microfluidic experiments. In situ emulsification was observed with a state contrary to that of static characterizations. The spontaneous and sustainable formation of foam-like water-in-oil macroemulsions originated from aqueous phase breakup and oil film development, both enhanced by nanogel-in-oils. Sweeping efficiency enhancement by invasion events and residual oil transport in macroemulsion phases yielded exceptional displacement performances. Flow field fluctuations and emulsion state variations can be manipulated by adjusting nanogel-in-oil concentrations. The nanogel-in-oil suspension was found to exhibit optimal performance among the tested dispersed systems.

show abstract

Comparability of in situ crude oil emulsification in phase equilibrium and under porous-media-flow conditions

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

The Synergistic Effects between Sulfobetaine and Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamide on Properties Related to Enhanced Oil Recovery

The Synergistic Effects between Sulfobetaine and Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamide on Properties Related to Enhanced Oil Recovery

Dilational Rheology of Extended Surfactants at the Air/Water and Oil/Water Interfaces: Effect of Propylene Oxide Group Numbers

High-Performance Nanogel-in-Oils as Emulsion Evolution Controller for Displacement Enhancement in Porous Media

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About