Determination of water-oil interfacial area during 3-phase gravity drainage in porous media
Water-oil interfacial area in porous media was determined in laboratory experiments using sand columns consisting of either 2 (water and oil) or 3 (water, oil, and air) fluid phases. Surfactant sorption at the water-oil interface was directly measured for a wide range of water, oil, and air saturations undergoing gravity drainage. Differing values of the water-oil interfacial tension were also examined. The Gibbs adsorption equation was then used to obtain values for the water-oil interfacial area. Both 2- and 3-phase water-oil experiments showed a linear increase in interfacial area with decreasing water saturation. Results also showed that interfacial areas were not affected by changes in interfacial tension. The interfacial areas in the 3-phase experiments were less than half the calculated values of the corresponding 2-phase experiments, which contradicts predictions from a conventional pore level analysis of 3-phase flow.
- Research Organization:
- Stanford Univ., CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG22-96BC14851
- OSTI ID:
- 20014855
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 221, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: 15 Jan 2000; ISSN 0021-9797
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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