On the Evaluation of Interfacial Tension (IFT) of CO2–Paraffin System for Enhanced Oil Recovery Process: Comparison of Empirical Correlations, Soft Computing Approaches, and Parachor Model

Abstract

Carbon dioxide-based enhanced oil-recovery (CO2-EOR) processes have gained considerable interest among other EOR methods. In this paper, based on the molecular weight of paraffins (n-alkanes), pressure, and temperature, the magnitude of CO2–n-alkanes interfacial tension (IFT) was determined by utilizing soft computing and mathematical modeling approaches, namely: (i) radial basis function (RBF) neural network (optimized by genetic algorithm (GA), gravitational search algorithm (GSA), imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and ant colony optimization (ACO)), (ii) multilayer perception (MLP) neural network (optimized by Levenberg-Marquardt (LM)), and (iii) group method of data handling (GMDH). To do so, a broad range of laboratory data consisting of 879 data points collected from the literature was employed to develop the models. The proposed RBF-ICA model, with an average absolute percent relative error (AAPRE) of 4.42%, led to the most reliable predictions. Furthermore, the Parachor approach with different scaling exponents (n) in combination with seven equations of state (EOSs) was applied for IFT predictions of the CO2–n-heptane and CO2–n-decane systems. It was found that n = 4 was the optimum value to obtain precise IFT estimations; and combinations of the Parachor model with three-parameter Peng–Robinson and Soave–Redlich–Kwong EOSs could better estimate the IFT of the CO2–n-alkane systems, compared to other used EOSs.

Experimental Investigation of Foam Flooding Using Anionic and Nonionic Surfactants: A Screening Scenario to Assess the Effects of Salinity and pH on Foam Stability and Foam Height

“…Surfactant addition not only improves foam stability, but it also alters wettability, which speeds up oil flow by reducing capillary forces. 22 During foam flooding in porous media, the production of thin liquid coatings known as lamellas blocks the gas phase flow in some areas. Foam stability is provided by the ability of hydrophilic surfactant molecules to adsorb on the gas–water interface, while foam movement is regulated by surfactant-generated lamellae in reservoir micropores.…”

Dual Benefits of Enhanced Oil Recovery and CO2 Sequestration: The Impact of CO2 Injection Approach on Oil Recovery

“…Injection of CO 2 presents an effective enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approach for several reasons such as low CO 2miscibility pressure, CO 2 sequestration, oil swelling, and viscosity reduction (Wei et al, 2017;Hafez et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2022). CO 2 injection can improve the oil production from depleted reservoirs through different mechanisms such as mobilizing the residual oil, pressurizing the reservoir, and reducing the interfacial forces between oil and CO 2 (Bennion and Bachu, 2006;Perera et al, 2016;Rezaei et al, 2021).…”

“…The performance of CO 2 flooding can be reduced by several phenomena such as gravity override and viscous fingering, due to the considerable differences between the density/viscosity of the crude oil and CO 2 (Lake, 1989;Rezaei et al, 2021). Therefore, poor sweep efficiency can be induced during CO 2 flooding, leading to fast CO 2 breakthrough and low oil recovery (Chang and Grigg, 1999;Le et al, 2008).…”

An Accurate Reservoir’s Bubble Point Pressure Correlation

“…They used 879 datasets gathered from the literature and showed that their model has an AAPRE of 4.42%. 45 …”

“…They used 879 datasets gathered from the literature and showed that their model has an AAPRE of 4.42%. 45 In the literature, some methods were used to determine the P b . However, the previous models and correlations have some limitations, such as lack of accuracy and a need for computer software such as machine learning and deep learning (LSTM) approaches.…”