Role of Gas Type on Foam Transport in Porous Media

Zeng, Yongchao; Farajzadeh, R.; Eftekhari, Ali Akbar; Vincent-Bonnieu, S.; Muthuswamy, Aarthi; Rossen, W.R.; Hirasaki, George J.; Biswal, Sibani Lisa

doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b00949

Cited by 85 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Several parameters are believed to affect foam flow in porous media [10]. The type of gas [11][12][13][14], surfactant formulation [15], pressure gradient [16], entrance effects [17] and porous medium geometry [18,19] and permeability [20][21][22][23] are some of the parameters studied to describe foam rheological behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A CT-scanner study of foam dynamics in porous media

Ouali¹,

Rosenberg²,

Barré³

et al. 2019

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We report an experimental study of N2-foam injection in a Bentheimer sandstone coupled with X-ray Computed Tomography (CT-scanner). The measurements of pressure drop and gas saturation at different flow rates and foam qualities allowed us to describe the foam dynamics under transient and steady-state flow conditions. The brine displacement by foam shows a transient piston-like displacement pattern taking place in two successive phases. Saturation profiles reveal permanent entrance effects related to the injection procedure, and transient downstream end effects related to the gradual foam build-up. Entrance effects are attenuated with a high foam quality and at low total flow rate. The rheological behavior of foam was studied in terms of apparent foam viscosity and foamed-gas mobility as a function of foam quality and gas interstitial velocity. In the low-quality regime, foam exhibits a shear-thinning behavior that can be modelled by a power function. Furthermore, for a fixed total velocity, the quasi-invariance of strong foam apparent viscosity values is shown to result from the slight increase of trapped gas saturation, within the commonly-admitted assumption of invariant foam texture in the low-quality regime. An increase in gas mobility was observed above a certain value of the foam quality. That transition between low-quality and high-quality regimes was related to a limiting capillary pressure of foam in the porous medium under consideration.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A CT-scanner study of foam dynamics in porous media

Ouali¹,

Rosenberg²,

Barré³

et al. 2019

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During oil production, asphaltenes can precipitate from crude oil and aggregate due to temperature, pressure, and compositional changes that occur when mixing various oil streams during processing, resulting in pipeline plugging, formation damage, and fouling [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. In particular, asphaltene fouling has been more readily observed during processes involving CO 2 injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) [8][9][10][11][12]. Additionally, asphaltenes are known to be surface-active and assemble at oil-water and air-water interfaces, often forming an interfacial film.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined interfacial shear rheology and microstructure visualization of asphaltenes at air-water and oil-water interfaces

Lin

Barman

et al. 2018

Journal of Rheology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Asphaltenes are surface-active polyaromatic molecules in crude oil that are known to deposit in pipelines or stabilize water droplets by flocculating at interfaces resulting highly viscous emulsions, leading to significant flow assurance problems. Commercial dispersants have been developed to disturb asphaltene aggregation to mitigate deposition, but their role on the interfacial properties of asphaltene films is unclear. In this study, we elucidate asphaltene interfacial rheology at air-water and oil-water interfaces at high and low asphaltene surface coverage and in the presence of dispersants. A modified Langmuir trough with double-wall ring rheometer is used to simultaneously visualize the microstructure of asphaltene interface and measure the rheological responses. Two surface coverages, 0.5 and 4 lg cm À2 , show widely different rheological responses at air-water interfaces. Strong yielding behavior was observed for higher coverage while a less yielding behavior and wider linear viscoelastic regime were observed for the lower coverage. Additionally, asphaltenes at decane-water interfaces were less shear-thinning than at air-water interfaces. Surface pressure-area compression-expansion curves show that the interface is more compressible in the presence of commercial chemical dispersants. This combined imaging and interfacial rheology platform provide an effective method to correlate asphaltene microstructure to interfacial rheological properties. V

show abstract

“…Several laboratory studies have compared the CO 2 -foams with the N 2 -foams in outcrop sandstone core material, without oil, using commercial anionic surfactants, under different experimental conditions. Typically the generated CO 2 -foams have been significantly weaker (i.e., lower pressure gradients along the porous media) than the N 2 -foams generated under similar experimental conditions (Chou 1991;Seright 1996;Kibodeaux 1997;Gauglitz et al 2002;Du et al 2008;Farajzadeh et al 2009;Aarra et al 2014;Zeng et al 2016). Certain N 2 -foams in the literature have been extraordinarily strong, reflected by very large pressure gradients along the porous media, which are often 50 bar/m (Chou 1991;de Vries and Wit 1990;Friedmann et al 1991;Kovscek and Radke 1994;Vikingstad and Aarra 2009;Solbakken et al 2014;Siddiqui et al 1997;Zeilinger et al 1995).…”

Section: Foam Propagationmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A summary of many studies on CO 2 -foam in sandstone and in carbonate rock material in the absence of oil reveals that few surfactants can generate a CO 2 -foam of similar strength and stability under elevated experimental conditions as those reported with the N 2 -and CH 4foams. However, all of the studies on CO 2 -foam referenced below show that the CO 2 mobility can be lowered with a variety of surfactants, although significant differences in the degree of mobility control have been reported (Alkan et al 1991;Bian et al 2012;Chabert et al 2012Chabert et al , 2014Chen et al 2012;Elhag et al 2014;Heller 1984Heller , 1994Khalil and Asghari 2006;Kuehne et al 1992;McLendon et al 2012;Prieditis and Paulett 1992;Sanders et al 2010;Tsau and Heller 1992;Tsau and Grigg 1997;Yang and Reed 1989;Xing et al 2010;Zeng et al 2016).…”

Section: Co 2 -Foamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foam Generation, Propagation and Stability in Porous Medium

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There have been several foam field applications in recent years. Foam treatments targeting gas mobility control in injectors as well as gas blocking in production wells have been performed without causing operational problems. The most widely used injection strategy of foam has been injecting alternating slugs of surfactant in brine with gas injection. This procedure seems to be beneficial as injection is easy to perform and control below fracturing pressure. Simultaneous injection of surfactant solution and gas may give difficulties, especially with interpretation of the tests, if fracturing pressure are exceeded during the injection period. This paper reviews critical aspects of foam for reservoir applications and intends to motivate for further field trials. Key parameters for qualification of foam are: foam generation, propagation in porous medium, foam strength and stability of foam. Stability is discussed, especially in the presence of oil at reservoir conditions. Data on each of these topics are included, as well as extracted summary of relevant literature. Experimental studies have shown that foam is generated at low surfactant concentration even below the CMC (critical micelle concentration). Results indicate that in situ foam generation in porous medium may depend on available nucleation sites. In situ generation of foam is complex and has been found to be especially difficult in oil wet carbonate rocks. Foam propagation in porous medium has been summarized, and propagation rate for a given experiment seems to be constant with time and distance. Laboratory studies confirm a propagation rate of 1-3 m/day. Field tests performed have not given reliable information of foam propagation rate, and future field pilots are encouraged to include observation wells in order to gain information of field-scale foam propagation. Foam strength is generally high with all gases. The exception is CO 2 at high pressure where CO 2 becomes supercritical. Stability of foam has been studied in laboratory and field tests, and has confirmed long-term stability of foam.

show abstract

Role of Gas Type on Foam Transport in Porous Media

Cited by 85 publications

References 56 publications

A CT-scanner study of foam dynamics in porous media

A CT-scanner study of foam dynamics in porous media

Combined interfacial shear rheology and microstructure visualization of asphaltenes at air-water and oil-water interfaces

Foam Generation, Propagation and Stability in Porous Medium

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About