Impact of tailored water chemistry aqueous ions on foam stability enhancement

Abstract

Generating strong and stable foam is necessary to achieve in-depth conformance control in the reservoir. Besides other parameters, the chemistry of injection water can significantly impact foam generation and stabilization. The tailored water chemistry was found to have good potential to improve foam stability. The objective of this study is to extensively evaluate the effect of different aqueous ions in the selected tailored water chemistry formulations on foam stabilization. Bulk and dynamic foam experiments were used to evaluate the impact of different tailored water chemistry aqueous ions on foam generation and stabilization. For bulk foam tests, the stability of foams generated using three surfactants and different aqueous ions was analyzed using bottle tests. For dynamic foam experiments, the tests were conducted using a microfluidic device. The results clearly demonstrated that the ionic content of aqueous solutions can significantly affect foam stabilization. The results revealed that the foam stabilization in bulk is different than that in porous media. Depending on the surfactant type, the divalent ions were found to have stronger influence on foam stabilization when compared to monovalent ions. The bulk foam results pointed out that the aqueous solutions containing calcium chloride salt (CaCl2) showed longer foam life with the anionic surfactant and very weak foam with the nonionic surfactant. The solutions with magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and CaCl2 salts displayed higher impact on foam stability in comparison with sodium chloride (NaCl) with the amphoteric alkyl amine surfactant. Less stable foams were generated with aqueous solutions comprising of both magnesium and calcium ions. In the microfluidic model, the solutions containing MgCl2 showed higher resistance to gas flow and subsequently higher mobility reduction factor for the injection gas when compared to those produced using NaCl and CaCl2 salts. This experimental study focusing about the role of different aqueous ions in the injection water on foam could help in better understanding the foam stabilization process. The new knowledge gained can also enable the selection and optimization of the right injection water chemistry and suitable chemicals for foam field applications.

Experimental and Molecular Simulation Research on the Effect of Metal Ions on the Stability of SDS Foam

“…8−10 Alyousef et al studied the influence of chemical components in water on the foamability and foam stability of surfactants under reservoir geological conditions. 11,12 Wang et al studied the effect of nanoparticles on the stability of CO 2 foams and provided insights for subsequent studies on the stability of CO 2 foams. 13,14 films after surfactant foaming.…”

“…Surfactants are the key technology of CO 2 foam fracturing fluid, and their stability in foams is the main factor for evaluating their performance. Cao et al studied the influence of the colloidal particle charge on the stability of surfactant foams. − Alyousef et al studied the influence of chemical components in water on the foamability and foam stability of surfactants under reservoir geological conditions. , Wang et al studied the effect of nanoparticles on the stability of CO 2 foams and provided insights for subsequent studies on the stability of CO 2 foams. , Uhlig et al found that polyelectrolytes affected the formation and stability of foam films after surfactant foaming. − Petkova et al studied the influence of pH and the surfactant headgroup on the stability of polymer–surfactant foams . Based on the multiplicity of foam stability, Karakashav et al developed a foam-generating system based on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and discussed its stability .…”