Low interfacial tension and miscibility studies for surfactant tertiary enhanced oil recovery processes. Final report, December 1980-September 1981
The main purpose of this project is to develop an improved basic understanding of how ultralow interfacial tensions arise in oil-brine-surfactant systems. Such tensions must be achieved and maintained during tertiary oil recovery processes if they are to be successful. The effects of temperature and of divalent ion concentration on the structure of aqueous surfactant solutions have been determined. As temperature increases, the salinity range where liquid crystalline phases exist is narrowed. At sufficiently high temperatures the liquid crystal melts and only isotropic phases are observed. These are an aqueous phase and, when partial immiscibility of alcohol and brine occurs, an alcohol-rich phase as well. The effect of divalent ions on aqueous solution structure is basically the same as that of monovalent ions, but smaller quantities of divalent ions are needed to bring about the same phase changes. In the particular system studied addition of one mole of Ca/sup +2/ was equivalent to addition of about 11.5 moles of Na/sup +/. The model of drop size in microemulsions has been extended to include the effects of drop dispersion. A hard sphere model was used to describe dispersion effects. With dispersion, drop size is slightly smaller for both oil-continuous and water-continuous microemulsions than predicted by the previous analysis which considered film properties alone. Further work on the proposed scheme for reducing microemulsion sensitivity to salinity changes is included in an Appendix.
- Research Organization:
- Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
- DOE Contract Number:
- AS19-79BC10007
- OSTI ID:
- 5374241
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/BC/10007-14; ON: DE82019822
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Low interfacial tension and miscibility studies for surfactant tertiary oil recovery processes. Technical progress report, December 1, 1977--November 30, 1978
Low interfacial tension and miscibility studies for surfactant tertiary oil recovery processes. Annual report, December 1, 1978-November 30, 1979
Related Subjects
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
PETROLEUM SULFONATES
CRYSTAL-PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACTANTS
BRINES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CATIONS
ENHANCED RECOVERY
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MICROEMULSIONS
PETROLEUM
PHASE STUDIES
RESERVOIR FLUIDS
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOLUBILITY
SURFACE TENSION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CHARGED PARTICLES
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
EMULSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ESTERS
FLUID INJECTION
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
IONS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
RECOVERY
SULFONATES
SULFONIC ACID ESTERS
023000* - Petroleum- Properties & Composition
400301 - Organic Chemistry- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties- (-1987)
020300 - Petroleum- Drilling & Production