Oil banking phenomena in surfactant/polymer and caustic flooding: droplet coalescence and entrapment processes
This paper summarizes results of our basic study of coalescence phenomena, emulsion formation and stability, and dynamic interfacial properties when crude oils are contacted with aqueous solutions of surfactant/polymer and alkaline agents. These measurements are correlated with each other and with observations on oil bank formation and displacement and recovery efficiency by chemical flooding in microwave monitored core flooding experiments using the soluble oil and the aqueous surfactant systems. Cinephotomicrographic observations into the mechanism of tertiary oil displacement were conducted in a model porous medium. These observations suggest that in situ formation of stable emulsions severely detracts from a successful surfactant/polymer recovery process and that the slowly coalescing system leaves more reentrapped oil behind. The beneficial role of alcohols or cosolvents in tertiary oil recovery is discussed. The acidic crude oil from California has been fractionated, and the dynamic interfacial behavior of each fraction has been examined and compared with that of the whole crude. Acidic resins naturally occurring in crudes have been found to be responsible for a variety of interfacial phenomena in acidic oil-aqueous alkaline systems. Microwave monitored core flooding tests have been conducted using the two acidic crude oils versus sodium hydroxide and sodium orthosilicate systems. In addition, microvisual observations of the mechanisms of tertiary oil displacement have been made. It has been concluded that oil swelling in addition to interfacial tension, emulsification phenomena and wettability reversal may be a major contributing factor in the alkaline stimulated oil recovery processes. 9 figures, 2 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Illinois Inst. of Tech., Chicago
- OSTI ID:
- 6920901
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-810417-
- Journal Information:
- AIChE Symp. Ser.; (United States), Vol. 78:212; Conference: 90. AICHE national meeting, Houston, TX, USA, 5 Apr 1981
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
OIL WELLS
CAUSTIC FLOODING
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
PETROLEUM
EMULSIFICATION
WATER
ADDITIVES
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
ASPHALTENES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
COALESCENCE
EFFICIENCY
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FIELD TESTS
HEXANOLS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
MULTIPHASE FLOW
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM SULFONATES
PLUGGING
POROSITY
PRODUCTION
QUANTITY RATIO
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESINS
REVIEWS
SANDSTONES
SODIUM CHLORIDES
ALCOHOLS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ASPHALTS
BITUMENS
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
DISPERSIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINEERING
EQUIPMENT
ESTERS
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID MECHANICS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
MECHANICS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
MIXTURES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POLYMERS
RECOVERY
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOLUTIONS
SULFONATES
SULFONIC ACID ESTERS
TAR
TESTING
WATERFLOODING
WELLS
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