Cation exchange, surfactant precipitation, and adsorption in micellar flooding

Conference · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1978 · Prepr., Div. Pet. Chem., Am. Chem. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6725349

Walker, Jr, R D ^[1]; Ray, W E; Tham, M K; Lee, M C

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1. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville

Typical reservoir rocks are quite complex physically as well as mineralogically. The surface of sand grains available for interactions with injection fluids is a significant fraction of the total surface area, but the reactivity of sand with anionic surfactants is much less than that between clays and surfactants, so the interaction with clays tends to dominate behavior. Salting-out of alkylbenzene sulfonates from relatively dilute solutions by NaCl has been found to be substantial if the alkylchain contains more than about 12 carbons. Similarly, the multivalent cation tolerance of alkylbenzene sulfonates in dilute solutions has been found to be small and strongly dependent on equivalent weight. In general, if the equivalent weight exceeds 350 (alkyl chain more than 12 carbons), the calcium tolerance appears to be extremely small. The addition of short-chain alcohols appears to be of limited benefit. Anionic surfactants appear to adsorb on silica surfaces, which are negatively charged above a pH of about 2.0, only when significant amounts of positively charged impurities are present. Micelle adsorption on silica is not observed, probably owing to the strong coulombic repulsion between the negatively charged silica surface and the negatively charged micelles. The addition of NaCl sharply reduces the adsorption saturation level partially as a result of depression of the CMC of the surfactant at higher ionic strengths but possible also due to the influence of electrolyte of the structure of the electrical double layer at the silica/solution interface. Hemimicelle formation is observed regardless of the salt concentration. Adsorption of anionic surfactants on crushed Berea sandstone occurs on the clay only adsorption maxima are observed. The addition of one wt. % NaCl to the surfactant solution results in greatly increased adsorption but in no significant change in the shape of the adsorption isotherm.

• OSTI ID: 6725349
• Report Number(s): CONF-780305-P1
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Prepr., Div. Pet. Chem., Am. Chem. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 23:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ADSORPTION
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
CATIONS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
CLAYS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
IONS
LOSSES
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MICROSCOPY
MINERALS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRECIPITATION
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
SALTING-OUT AGENTS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SILICA
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SORPTION
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
SULFONATES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACTANTS
WELLS