Low interfacial tension and miscibility studies for surfactant tertiary oil recovery processes. Annual report, December 1, 1979-November 30, 1980

Technical Report · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:6324167

Miller, C A; Fort, T Jr

Polymer addition to an aqueous surfactant solution causes phase separation when the solution is initially a single liquid crystalline phase or a dispersion of liquid crystal in brine but not when the solution is an isotropic phase containing no liquid crystal. The resistance of randomly coiled polymer molecules to configurational change is the underlying cause of the phase separation. These results provide a basis for understanding and subsequently eliminating phase separation due to polymer-surfactant interactions in micellar-polymer recovery processes. A theory of drop size in microemulsions has been developed which includes an improved model of the surfactant films at the drop surfaces. Its most significant novel feature is a lattice model of the hydrocarbon chain region of the film which allows the amount of oil penetrating the film to be determined. The first portion of the theory discussed herein deals with nonionic surfactants. It predicts, among other things, the effect of oil chain length on drop size and inversion conditions. The theory thus offers good prospects of explaining for the first time the observed alkane carbon number effect on microemulsion behavior. A novel concept for reducing sensitivity of ultralow interfacial tensions to salinity is being investigated. It is discussed fully in an appendix to the report.

• Research Organization: Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
• DOE Contract Number: AS19-79BC10007
• OSTI ID: 6324167
• Report Number(s): DOE/BC/10007-12; ON: DE81027212
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ALCOHOLS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKANES
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
DISPERSIONS
DODECANE
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GUMS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INTERFACES
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
MIXTURES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PHASE STUDIES
POLYMERS
PROPANOLS
RECOVERY
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOLUTIONS
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACE TENSION
SURFACTANTS