Physicochemical Properties of Microemulsions and their uses in Enhanced Oil Recovery
Use of microemulsion in enhanced oil recovery has become more attractive in recent years because of its high level of extraction efficiency. Experimental investigations have been made on characterization of microemulsions of oil-brinesurfactant/ cosurfactant system for its use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Sodium dodecyl sulfate, propan-1-ol and heptane were selected as surfactant, cosurfactant and oil respectively for preparation of microemulsion. The effects of salinity on the relative phase volumes and solubilization parameters have also been studied. As salinity changes from low to high value, phase transition takes place from Winsor I to Winsor II via Winsor III. Suitable microemulsion composition has been selected based on its stability and ability to reduce interfacial tension. A series of flooding experiments have been performed using the selected microemulsion. The flooding experiments were performed in a core flooding apparatus using uniform sand pack. The core holder was tightly packed with uniform sands (60-100 mesh) and saturated with brines of different salinities. It was flooded with the brine at 25 psig and the absolute permeability was calculated from the flow rate of the through sand pack. The sand pack was then flooded with the crude oil at 800 psig to irreducible water saturation. The initial water saturation was determined on the basis of mass balance. Waterflooding was conducted by placing the coreholder horizontally at a constant injection pressure at 200 pisg. After water flooding, when water-cut reached above 95%, around 0.5 pore volume (PV) of the above microemulsion slug was injected followed by chasing water. The experiments were repeated using different composition of microemulsion slug. The additional recoveries were calculated by material balance. Encouraging results with additional recovery more than 20% of original oil in place above the conventional water flooding have been observed.
[1] K. Shinoda, B. Lindman, "Organized surfactant systems: microemulsions," Langmuir, vol. 3, pp. 135-149, 1987.
[2] S.E. Friberg, P. Bothorel, "Microemulsion: Structures and Dynamics," CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1987.
[3] K. Holmberg, "Organic and bioorganic reactions in microemulsions,"
Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 51, pp. 137-174, 1994.
[4] S. R. Dungan, C. Solans, H. Kuneida, "Industrial Application of
Microemulsions," Surfactant Science Series, vol. 66, Marcel Dekker,
New York, 1997.
[5] V. C. Santanna, , D. S. F. Curbelo, T. N. Castro Dantas, A. A. Dantas
Neto, H. S. Albuquerque, A. I. C. Garnica, "Microemulsion flooding for
enhanced oil recovery," J. Pet. Sci. Eng., vol. 66, pp. 117-120, 2009.
[6] Y. C. Chiu, P. R. Kuo, "An empirical correlation between low interfacial
tension and micellar size and solubilization for petroleum sulfonates in
enhanced oil recovery," Colloids Surf. A, vol. 152, pp. 235-244, 1999.
[7] D. J. Miller, S. P. von Halasz, M. Schmidt, A. Holst, G. Pusch, “Dual
surfactant systems for enhanced oil recovery at high salinities,” J. Pet.
Sci. Eng., vol. 6, pp. 63-72, 1991.
[8] S. Iglauer, Y. Wu, P. Shuler, Y. Tang, W. A. Goddard III, “New
surfactant classes for enhanced oil recovery and their tertiary oil
recovery potential,” J. Pet. Sci. Eng., vol. 71, pp. 23–29, 2010.
[9] D. O. Shah, R. S. Schechter, “Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactant and
Polymer Flooding,” Academic Press, New York, 1977.
[10] M. Abe, D. Schechter, R. S. Schechter, W. H. Wade, U, Weerasmriya, S.
Yiv, “Microemulsion formation with branched tail polyoxyethylene
sulfonate surfactants,” J. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 1l4, pp. 342-356,
1986.
[11] M. Abe, R. S. Schechter, R. D. Selliah, B. Sheikh, W. H. Wade, “Phase
behavior of branched tail ethoxylated carboxylate
surfactant/electrolyte/alkane systems,” J. Dispersion Sci. Technol., vol.
8, pp. 157-172, 1987.
[12] S. Engelskirchen, N. Elsner, T. Sottmann, R. Strey, “Triacylglycerol
microemulsions stabilized by alkyl ethoxylate surfactants--a basic study.
Phase behavior, interfacial tension and microstructure,” J. Colloid
Interface Sci., vol. 312, pp. 114-121, 2007.
[13] I. H. Kayalia, S. Liub, C. A. Miller, “Microemulsions containing
mixtures of propoxylated sulfates with slightly branched hydrocarbon
chains and cationic surfactants with short hydrophobes or PO chains,”
Colloids. Surf. A, vol. 354, pp. 246-251, 2010.
[14] R. N. Healy, R. L. Reed, “Physicochemical aspects of microemulsion
flooding,” Soc. Pet. Eng. J., vol. 14, pp. 491-501, 1974.
[15] J. L. Chai, J. R. Zhao, Y. H. Gao, X. D. Yang, C. J. Wu, “Studies on the
phase behavior of the microemulsions formed by sodium dodecyl
sulfonate, sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate
with a novel fishlike phase diagram,” Colloids Surf. A, vol. 302, pp. 31–
35, 2007.
[16] L. Chen, Y. Shang, H. Liu, Y. Hu, “Middle-phase microemulsion
induced by brine in region of low cationic gemini surfactant content,”
Colloids Surf. A, vol. 305, pp. 29–35, 2007.
[17] P. A. Winsor, “Solvent Properties of Amphiphilic Compounds,”
Butterworths Scientific Publ. Ltd., London, 1954.
[18] M. G. Aarra, H. Hoiland, A. Skauge, “Phase behavior and salt
partitioning in two-and three-phase anionic surfactant microemulsion
systems: part I, phase behavior as a function of temperature,” J. Colloid
Interface Sci., vol. 215, pp. 201-215, 1999.
[19] M. Nakamae, M. Abe, K. Ogino, “The effects of alkyl chain lengths of
sodium alkyl sulfates and n-alkanes on microemulsion formation,” J.
Colloid. Interface Sci., vol. 31, pp. 466-472, 1988.
[20] R. Sripriya, K. Muthu Raja, G. Santhosh, M. Chandrasekaran, M. Noel,
“The effect of structure of oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant on the
physicochemical and electrochemical properties of bicontinuous
microemulsion, J. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 314, pp. 712–717, 2007.
[21] L. Zhang, L. Luo, S. Zhao, Z. Xu, J. An, J. Yu, “Effect of different
acidic fractions in crude oil on dynamic interfacial tensions in
surfactant/alkali/model oil systems,” J. Pet. Sci. Eng., vol. 41, pp. 189-
198, 2004.
[22] Z. Zhao, C. Bi, Z. Li, W. Qiao, L. Cheng, “Interfacial tension between
crude oil and decylmethylnaphthalene sulfonate surfactant alkali-free
flooding systems,” Colloids Surf. A, vol. 276, pp. 186-191, 2006.
[23] F. H. Pottmann, “Secondary and tertiary oil recovery process,”
Oklahoma City, OK: Interstate Oil Compact Commission, 1974.
[24] L. W. Lake, “Enhanced Oil Recovery,” Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 1989.
[25] L. Daoshan, L. Shouliangc, L. Yic, W. Deminc, “The effect of
biosurfactant on the interfacial tension and adsorption loss of surfactant
in ASP flooding,” Colloids Surf. A, vol. 244, pp. 53–60, 2004.
[26] D. S. Curbelo Fab´ıola, V. C. Santanna, E. L. B. Neto, T. V. Dutra Jr.,
T. N. Castro Dantas, A. A. Dantas Neto, A. I.C. Garnica, “Adsorption of
nonionic surfactants in sandstones,” Colloids Surfaces A. vol. 293, pp.
1-4, 2007.
[27] A. S. Zelenev, L. M. Champagne, M. Hamilton, “Investigation of
interactions of diluted microemulsions with shale rock and sand by
adsorption and wettability measurements,” Colloids Surf A.
doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2011.07.007.
[28] A. M. Shindy, T. D. Darwich, M. H. Sayyouh, A. AzizOsman,
“Development of an expert system for EOR method selection,” SPE
37708, pp. 291-298. 1997.
[29] R. N. Healy, R. L. Reed, C. W Carpenter, “A laboratory study of
microemulsion flooding,” Soc. Pet. Eng. J., vol. 259, pp. 87-100, 1975.
[30] T. Babadagli, “Mature field development-a review,” SPE, 93884, pp. 1-
20. 2005.
[31] A. Bera, A. Mandal, K. Ojha, T. Kumar, “Interfacial tension and phase
behavior of surfactant-brine–oil system,” Colloids. Surf. A, vol. 383, pp.
114-119, 2011.
[32] A. Skauge, O. Palmgren, “Phase behavior and solution properties of
ethoxylated anionic surfactants,” Paper SPE 18499, Presented at the SPE
International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry in Houston, Texas,
USA, February 8–10, 1989.
[33] M. Bourell, R. S. Schechter, “Microemulsions and Related Systems:
Formulations, Solvency and Physical Properties,” Dekker: New York,
1988.
[1] K. Shinoda, B. Lindman, "Organized surfactant systems: microemulsions," Langmuir, vol. 3, pp. 135-149, 1987.
[2] S.E. Friberg, P. Bothorel, "Microemulsion: Structures and Dynamics," CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1987.
[3] K. Holmberg, "Organic and bioorganic reactions in microemulsions,"
Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 51, pp. 137-174, 1994.
[4] S. R. Dungan, C. Solans, H. Kuneida, "Industrial Application of
Microemulsions," Surfactant Science Series, vol. 66, Marcel Dekker,
New York, 1997.
[5] V. C. Santanna, , D. S. F. Curbelo, T. N. Castro Dantas, A. A. Dantas
Neto, H. S. Albuquerque, A. I. C. Garnica, "Microemulsion flooding for
enhanced oil recovery," J. Pet. Sci. Eng., vol. 66, pp. 117-120, 2009.
[6] Y. C. Chiu, P. R. Kuo, "An empirical correlation between low interfacial
tension and micellar size and solubilization for petroleum sulfonates in
enhanced oil recovery," Colloids Surf. A, vol. 152, pp. 235-244, 1999.
[7] D. J. Miller, S. P. von Halasz, M. Schmidt, A. Holst, G. Pusch, “Dual
surfactant systems for enhanced oil recovery at high salinities,” J. Pet.
Sci. Eng., vol. 6, pp. 63-72, 1991.
[8] S. Iglauer, Y. Wu, P. Shuler, Y. Tang, W. A. Goddard III, “New
surfactant classes for enhanced oil recovery and their tertiary oil
recovery potential,” J. Pet. Sci. Eng., vol. 71, pp. 23–29, 2010.
[9] D. O. Shah, R. S. Schechter, “Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactant and
Polymer Flooding,” Academic Press, New York, 1977.
[10] M. Abe, D. Schechter, R. S. Schechter, W. H. Wade, U, Weerasmriya, S.
Yiv, “Microemulsion formation with branched tail polyoxyethylene
sulfonate surfactants,” J. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 1l4, pp. 342-356,
1986.
[11] M. Abe, R. S. Schechter, R. D. Selliah, B. Sheikh, W. H. Wade, “Phase
behavior of branched tail ethoxylated carboxylate
surfactant/electrolyte/alkane systems,” J. Dispersion Sci. Technol., vol.
8, pp. 157-172, 1987.
[12] S. Engelskirchen, N. Elsner, T. Sottmann, R. Strey, “Triacylglycerol
microemulsions stabilized by alkyl ethoxylate surfactants--a basic study.
Phase behavior, interfacial tension and microstructure,” J. Colloid
Interface Sci., vol. 312, pp. 114-121, 2007.
[13] I. H. Kayalia, S. Liub, C. A. Miller, “Microemulsions containing
mixtures of propoxylated sulfates with slightly branched hydrocarbon
chains and cationic surfactants with short hydrophobes or PO chains,”
Colloids. Surf. A, vol. 354, pp. 246-251, 2010.
[14] R. N. Healy, R. L. Reed, “Physicochemical aspects of microemulsion
flooding,” Soc. Pet. Eng. J., vol. 14, pp. 491-501, 1974.
[15] J. L. Chai, J. R. Zhao, Y. H. Gao, X. D. Yang, C. J. Wu, “Studies on the
phase behavior of the microemulsions formed by sodium dodecyl
sulfonate, sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate
with a novel fishlike phase diagram,” Colloids Surf. A, vol. 302, pp. 31–
35, 2007.
[16] L. Chen, Y. Shang, H. Liu, Y. Hu, “Middle-phase microemulsion
induced by brine in region of low cationic gemini surfactant content,”
Colloids Surf. A, vol. 305, pp. 29–35, 2007.
[17] P. A. Winsor, “Solvent Properties of Amphiphilic Compounds,”
Butterworths Scientific Publ. Ltd., London, 1954.
[18] M. G. Aarra, H. Hoiland, A. Skauge, “Phase behavior and salt
partitioning in two-and three-phase anionic surfactant microemulsion
systems: part I, phase behavior as a function of temperature,” J. Colloid
Interface Sci., vol. 215, pp. 201-215, 1999.
[19] M. Nakamae, M. Abe, K. Ogino, “The effects of alkyl chain lengths of
sodium alkyl sulfates and n-alkanes on microemulsion formation,” J.
Colloid. Interface Sci., vol. 31, pp. 466-472, 1988.
[20] R. Sripriya, K. Muthu Raja, G. Santhosh, M. Chandrasekaran, M. Noel,
“The effect of structure of oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant on the
physicochemical and electrochemical properties of bicontinuous
microemulsion, J. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 314, pp. 712–717, 2007.
[21] L. Zhang, L. Luo, S. Zhao, Z. Xu, J. An, J. Yu, “Effect of different
acidic fractions in crude oil on dynamic interfacial tensions in
surfactant/alkali/model oil systems,” J. Pet. Sci. Eng., vol. 41, pp. 189-
198, 2004.
[22] Z. Zhao, C. Bi, Z. Li, W. Qiao, L. Cheng, “Interfacial tension between
crude oil and decylmethylnaphthalene sulfonate surfactant alkali-free
flooding systems,” Colloids Surf. A, vol. 276, pp. 186-191, 2006.
[23] F. H. Pottmann, “Secondary and tertiary oil recovery process,”
Oklahoma City, OK: Interstate Oil Compact Commission, 1974.
[24] L. W. Lake, “Enhanced Oil Recovery,” Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 1989.
[25] L. Daoshan, L. Shouliangc, L. Yic, W. Deminc, “The effect of
biosurfactant on the interfacial tension and adsorption loss of surfactant
in ASP flooding,” Colloids Surf. A, vol. 244, pp. 53–60, 2004.
[26] D. S. Curbelo Fab´ıola, V. C. Santanna, E. L. B. Neto, T. V. Dutra Jr.,
T. N. Castro Dantas, A. A. Dantas Neto, A. I.C. Garnica, “Adsorption of
nonionic surfactants in sandstones,” Colloids Surfaces A. vol. 293, pp.
1-4, 2007.
[27] A. S. Zelenev, L. M. Champagne, M. Hamilton, “Investigation of
interactions of diluted microemulsions with shale rock and sand by
adsorption and wettability measurements,” Colloids Surf A.
doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2011.07.007.
[28] A. M. Shindy, T. D. Darwich, M. H. Sayyouh, A. AzizOsman,
“Development of an expert system for EOR method selection,” SPE
37708, pp. 291-298. 1997.
[29] R. N. Healy, R. L. Reed, C. W Carpenter, “A laboratory study of
microemulsion flooding,” Soc. Pet. Eng. J., vol. 259, pp. 87-100, 1975.
[30] T. Babadagli, “Mature field development-a review,” SPE, 93884, pp. 1-
20. 2005.
[31] A. Bera, A. Mandal, K. Ojha, T. Kumar, “Interfacial tension and phase
behavior of surfactant-brine–oil system,” Colloids. Surf. A, vol. 383, pp.
114-119, 2011.
[32] A. Skauge, O. Palmgren, “Phase behavior and solution properties of
ethoxylated anionic surfactants,” Paper SPE 18499, Presented at the SPE
International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry in Houston, Texas,
USA, February 8–10, 1989.
[33] M. Bourell, R. S. Schechter, “Microemulsions and Related Systems:
Formulations, Solvency and Physical Properties,” Dekker: New York,
1988.
@article{"International Journal of Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Sciences:63527", author = "T. Kumar and Achinta Bera and Ajay Mandal", title = "Physicochemical Properties of Microemulsions and their uses in Enhanced Oil Recovery", abstract = "Use of microemulsion in enhanced oil recovery has become more attractive in recent years because of its high level of extraction efficiency. Experimental investigations have been made on characterization of microemulsions of oil-brinesurfactant/ cosurfactant system for its use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Sodium dodecyl sulfate, propan-1-ol and heptane were selected as surfactant, cosurfactant and oil respectively for preparation of microemulsion. The effects of salinity on the relative phase volumes and solubilization parameters have also been studied. As salinity changes from low to high value, phase transition takes place from Winsor I to Winsor II via Winsor III. Suitable microemulsion composition has been selected based on its stability and ability to reduce interfacial tension. A series of flooding experiments have been performed using the selected microemulsion. The flooding experiments were performed in a core flooding apparatus using uniform sand pack. The core holder was tightly packed with uniform sands (60-100 mesh) and saturated with brines of different salinities. It was flooded with the brine at 25 psig and the absolute permeability was calculated from the flow rate of the through sand pack. The sand pack was then flooded with the crude oil at 800 psig to irreducible water saturation. The initial water saturation was determined on the basis of mass balance. Waterflooding was conducted by placing the coreholder horizontally at a constant injection pressure at 200 pisg. After water flooding, when water-cut reached above 95%, around 0.5 pore volume (PV) of the above microemulsion slug was injected followed by chasing water. The experiments were repeated using different composition of microemulsion slug. The additional recoveries were calculated by material balance. Encouraging results with additional recovery more than 20% of original oil in place above the conventional water flooding have been observed.
", keywords = "Microemulsion Flooding, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Phase Behavior, Optimal salinity", volume = "6", number = "4", pages = "389-6", }
