Measurement of interfacial tension

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:5458370

Manning, C D; Pesheck, C V; Puig, J E; Seeto, Y

This report draws together a sequence of researches that today stand as a cornerstone of the University of Minnesota program on the fundamentals of enhancing petroleum recovery. At the core of these researches are ultralow interfacial tensions: tensions of millidynes per centimeter or less (micronewtons per meter or less). The sequence of systematic researches into the measurement of ultralow interfacial tensions opened two doors. The first is the door to understanding the mechanisms by which surfactant-based chemical flooding processes can enhance petroleum recovery. Paramount among these mechanisms is the reduction of interfacial tension between crude oil and oilfield brine to ultralow values so that capillarity is not able to conspire with irrepressible porespace geometry to hold captive large amounts of oil, residual oil as it is known. The second door that opened was to understanding the mechanisms by which surfactant-based formulations achieve ultralow tensions between hydrocarbon and water, or between crude oil and oilfield brine. The report consists of the following four chapters: (1) comparison of sessile, pendant, and spinning-drop method of measuring ultralow interfacial tensions; (2) on the approach of a spinning drop to gyrostatic equilibrium; (3) improved spinning-drop instrument and technique for low interfacial tension; and (4) interfacial tension measurements in three-phase systems - ultra low tensions. 115 references, 57 figures.

• Research Organization: Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• DOE Contract Number: AS19-78BC20002
• OSTI ID: 5458370
• Report Number(s): DOE/BC/10116-12; ON: DE84003522
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400201 -- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
400301 -- Organic Chemistry-- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties-- (-1987)
ALCOHOLS
ALKANES
BRINES
COLLOIDS
DATA
DECANE
DISPERSIONS
EMULSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HEXADECANE
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INTERFACES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEASURING METHODS
MICROEMULSIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
RECOVERY
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACE TENSION
SURFACTANTS
WATERFLOODING
WELLS