Study of Alcohol Mixtures for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract

Several techniques have been deployed to enhance oil recovery. Some have given good results while there is still the possibility that some materials that have not been tried might also have the capacity to enhance recovery. The underlying motivation for this study therefore is to find out the capacity of local materials to enhance oil recovery. Alcohol (palm wine) and water mixture and alcohol (palm wine) and starch mixture were used in various ratios to find out the ideal ratios that recovers oil most from sands. Experimental results show that a mixture of alcohol and water and alcohol and starch can enhance oil recovery. For alcohol and water, oil recovery increased with an increase in alcohol content of the mixture. This could be attributed to reduction of interfacial tension between oil and water. For alcohol and starch, the ideal ratio of 1:1 gave the highest recovery. Beyond this ratio, oil recovery was observed to be reduced. The good result may have resulted partly from reduction of interfacial tension and partly as a result of increase in the viscosity of the displacing fluid.

Natural polymer flow behaviour in porous media for enhanced oil recovery applications: a review

“…The work of Ojo et al (2013) confirmed earlier report that okra has a high recovery rate when used in flooding experiment. Ikeagwu and Adetila (2015) also reported that oil recovery was higher with starch than Irvingia gabonensis. Gbonhinbor and Onyekonwu (2015) experimented with aqueous beans protein to recovery oil and reported a 44% recovery rate; they also recommended it to be used for recovery of heavy oil.…”

“…Some like most cereal products generate visible dust that pollutes the air, with view of the factors highlighted above, environmental issues associated with manufacture of natural polymers can be grouped into; (a) waste water, (b) solid waste, (c) chemical use, and (d) atmospheric pollution (Niu et al 2006). Ojukwu et al (2013) Irvingia gabonensis 22.7 Similar characteristics to Xanthan that is already in use Ikeagwu and Adetila (2015) 1. Cassava starch NS Cassava starch recorded higher recovery than Irvingia gabonensis 2.…”

“…However, because of the difficulty in differentiating between these mechanisms in flood test, most authors prefer to use a single term of retention or adsorption to describe the loss of polymer in porous media. Ikeagwu and Adetila (2015) in their work on Cassava Starch and Irvingia gabonensis reported that steady viscosity increase resulted in oil recovery up to 2.5 cp where the core stopped responding to flooding and no more oil or water was recovered; this could be as a result of the polymer retention in the media, which resulted to plugging. This can also be noticed in the work of Ajabuego and Onyekonwu (2012) who also notice that, during the flooding with Irvingia gabonensis, that there was pressure build-up and low flow rate, this could be because of polymer retention in the porous media.…”

“…Research has shown that natural polymers can enhance oil recovery. The natural polymers that have been tested at laboratory scale to enhance recovery include; okra (Ade and Onyekonwu 2012;Ihebuzor and Onyenkonwu 2012;Ojo et al 2013); cassava starch (Samuel and Onyekonwu 2012;Ikeagwu and Adetila 2015); Datarium microcarpum (Osuji and Onyenkonwu 2012); gum Arabic (Ihebuzor and Onyekonwu; Ade and Onyekonwu; Irvingia gabonensis (Ihebuzor and Onyenkonwu 2012;Ade and Onyekonwu 2012;Samuel and Onyekonwu 2012;Ajabuego and Onyekonwu 2012;Ojukwu et al 2013;Ogolo et al 2015;Ikeagwu and Adetila 2015;Brachystegia eurycoma (Ajabuego and Onyekonwu 2012;Ogolo et al 2015); exudate gum (Ajabuego and Onyekonwu 2012); aqueous beans (Gbonhinbor and Onyekonwu 2015) and schizophyllan (Goa 2016). The basic properties of these natural polymers are shown in Table 1.…”

Properties of Biodegradable Polymer from Terrestrial Mushroom for Potential Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…Their rigid structure and long polysaccharides chains make them suitable to withstand the harsh reservoir conditions. The natural polymers that have been investigated for EOR application at laboratory scale are mushroom and cabbage [18]; Saccharomyces cerevisiae [19]; okra [20]; cassava starch [21]; Detarium microcarpum [22]; gum Arabic [23]; Irvingia gabonensis [21,24]; Brachystegia eurycoma [24]; exudate gum [25]; aqueous beans [26] and schizophyllan [27].…”