Thin films, asphaltenes, and reservoir wettability

Technical Report · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10194918· OSTI ID:10194918

Kaminsky, R; Bergeron, V; Radke, C J ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)

Reservoir wettability impacts the success of oil recovery by waterflooding and other methods. To understand wettability and its alteration, thin-film forces in solid-aqueous-oil systems must be elucidated. Upon rupture of thick aqueous films separating the oil and rock phases, asphaltene components in the crude oil adsorb irreversibly on the solid surface, changing it from water-wet to oil-wet. Conditions of wettability alteration can be found by performing adhesion tests, in which an oil droplet is brought into contact with a solid surface. Exceeding a critical capillary pressure destabilizes the film, causing spontaneous film rupture to a molecularly adsorbed layer and oil adhesion accompanied by pinning at the three-phase contact line. The authors conduct adhesion experiments similar to those of Buckley and Morrow and simultaneously examine the state of the underlying thin film using optical microscopy and microinterferometry. Aqueous thin films between an asphaltic Orcutt crude oil and glass surfaces are studied as a function of aqueous pH and salinity. For the first time, they prove experimentally that strongly water-wet to strongly oil-wet wettability alteration and contact-angle pinning occur when thick aqueous films thin to molecularly adsorbed films and when the oil phase contains asphaltene molecules.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 10194918
• Report Number(s): LBL--34467; CONF-9310229--1; ON: DE94003261
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400201
ADHESION
ASPHALTENES
CHEMICAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES
DRILLING AND PRODUCTION
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GLASS
PETROLEUM
PH VALUE
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCK-FLUID INTERACTIONS
SALINITY
SURFACES
THIN FILMS
WATERFLOODING
WETTABILITY