Design and Synthesis of Low Molecular Weight and Polymeric Surfactants for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract

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Competitive Adsorption of Aqueous Cd(II) and Pb(II) Solutions onto Silicas Synthesized with Saponin as Template Agent

“…The micelles of saponin white are elongated, filamentous and they form in water at concentrations (CMCs): 1.4 mg/mL as reported by Böttcher [48] or 2.3 mg/mL CMC as determined by Korchowiec et al [45]. Numerous studies stated that at pH = 2, the CMC is even lower than these values [49][50][51], and the H 3 O + ions are adsorbed on the aggregate of saponin micelles, stabilizing them and, according to our objective, making them more prone to interact with silica precursor to form the silica network around them. The size and the micelle structure of saponin white were not clarified in detail, but the meso-SiO 2 obtained in the template synthesis and calcined at 550 • C have a wormlike porous structure, as TEM/HRTEM images revealed.…”

Where is research on fossil fuels going in times of climate change? A perspective on chemical enhanced oil recovery

“…[36] These can simultaneously increase viscosity of the sweeping fluid, as in regular polymer flooding, but also decrease IFT with the oil phase, causing additional oil mobilization via emulsification, capillary reduction, or wettability alteration, mechanisms typical of surfactant flooding. [30,50] Another non-standard approach can be based on playing with polymer architecture (hyperbranched vs linear), to tune the viscoelastic properties. [51,52] Particularly interesting is also the use of thermoviscosifying polymers for high-temperature reservoirs.…”

“…Surfactant flooding is another well-established cEOR method, used alone or in combination with polymers and/or alkali, in SP, AS and ASP flooding, since the 1960s. [50] As for polymer flooding, the use of surfactants in cEOR is well established, and it has been reviewed several times. [32,[66][67][68] Generally speaking, the efficiency of surfactants depends on different mechanisms and many factors (IFT reduction, wettability alteration, adsorption, salinity, temperature, viscoelastic properties), therefore the optimization of a surfactant for EOR applications will greatly depend on the reservoir and crude oil characteristics, probably even more than for polymer flooding.…”

“…From this point of view, gemini and/or zwitterionic surfactants possess superior characteristics, therefore these are the most studied for EOR nowadays, for difficult reservoir conditions. [50] Also very popular are biosurfactants and bio-based surfactants. The former kind is produced by microorganisms, directly in situ, therefore these are more connected with microbial EOR, a different method, not treated here.…”

“…Intensive research resulted in increasingly complex structural modification to the most simple surfactants, such incorporation of ethoxylated and propoxylated units in ionic surfactants to improve solubility in high salinity conditions, till the development of ultralow IFT systems such as zwitterionic and gemini surfactants. [50] Polymeric surfactants, able to combine beneficial effects of surfactants and polymers, analogous to SP flooding, also show some promise for future developments, although often they still present limitations due to high rock adsorption and low salt tolerance. [36] Nanoparticles Nanoparticles (NP) for cEOR are possibly the most popular recent advancement in the field, and one that shows promise to be further developed in the future.…”