Article
Water Resources
Weipeng Yang, Guoyu Chu, Yujing Du, Ke Xu, Erdong Yao, Tianbo Liang, Bing Wei, Haiyang Yu, Jian Hou, Jun Lu
Summary: Surfactant flooding is widely used in subsurface applications where high displacement efficiency is needed. The partitioning of surfactants in each phase is controlled by external factors, such as salinity. The spatially non-homogeneous surfactant concentrations can significantly affect the displacement patterns in porous media, but the influence of spatially non-homogeneous contact angle and IFT on displacement has not been sufficiently explored.
ADVANCES IN WATER RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mehdi Ramezanzadeh, Morteza Aminnaji, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Mohammad Hossein Ghazanfari, Masoud Babaei
Summary: In this study, the dissolution and mobilization of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) blobs in the Surfactant-Enhanced Aquifer Remediation (SEAR) process were upscaled using dynamic pore network modeling of three-dimensional and unstructured networks. The results show that surfactants enhance NAPL recovery during two-phase flow, but the surfactant-enhanced remediation of residual NAPL through dissolution is highly dependent on the type of surfactant used.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Weipeng Yang, Joshua W. Brownlow, Dustin L. Walker, Jun Lu
Summary: The use of wettability-altering surfactant solution can achieve stable displacement at low velocities in NAPL-wet microfluidic chips, while water injection results in fingering and lower NAPL recovery. The formation of NAPL ganglia is significantly different between wettability-altering surfactant flooding and waterflooding, with the former related to velocity and saturation due to wettability alteration and interfacial tension reduction, and the latter only saturated dependent.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wenlong Zhang, Jian Hou, Yongge Liu, Weidong Cao, Kang Zhou, Qingjun Du
Summary: A method for estimating relative permeability was developed by matching production data obtained through experiments and numerical simulation, and the necessity of considering surfactant adsorption and diffusion in calculating relative permeability was proven. The results show that surfactant adsorption and diffusion affect the relative permeability, but not the change in the relative permeability curves for varying interfacial tension (IFT).
JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Rasan Sarbast, Namam Salih, Alain Preat
Summary: This paper provides a systematic overview of the role and effect of alkaline surfactant polymer (ASP) and nano-alkaline surfactant polymer (NASP) in enhancing oil recovery. It discusses the screening criteria for these chemicals and presents experimental designs for using NASP in combination with ASP. The study highlights the potential of nanotechnology in improving EOR methods.
Review
Energy & Fuels
Ahmed Bashir, Amin Sharifi Haddad, Roozbeh Rafati
Summary: Surfactant-based oil recovery processes are used to lower interfacial tension and change the wettability of rock in immiscible displacement processes. The key factors affecting this process are temperature, salinity, pH, surfactant concentration, and adsorption. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) processes combine surfactants with other chemicals to exploit their synergy. This review study categorizes the role and displacement mechanisms of surfactants and discusses key factors for analyzing fluid displacement in porous media.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Arman Darvish Sarvestani, Behzad Rostami, Hassan Mahani
Summary: The paper experimentally demonstrates that adding a small amount of polymer to low-salinity brine can significantly suppress salt dispersion and reduce dispersivity. Analytical results indicate that polymer concentration and salinity of high-salinity brine are the main factors affecting dispersivity.
Article
Polymer Science
Rafael E. Hincapie, Ante Borovina, Elisabeth Neubauer, Muhammad Tahir, Samhar Saleh, Vladislav Arekhov, Magdalena Biernat, Torsten Clemens
Summary: This study investigates the wettability alterations through imbibition/flooding and their synergy with interfacial tension (IFT) for alkalis, nanoparticles, and polymers. It demonstrates the influence of the oil total acid number (TAN), chemical agents, and reservoir mineralogy on fluid-fluid and rock-fluid interactions. A laboratory evaluation workflow combining various assessments is used to evaluate wettability alteration, IFT changes, and recovery. The study provides novel data on the synergy of IFT, Amott imbibition, and core floods for the studied chemical processes.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Kwang Hoon Baek, Mingyan Liu, Francisco J. Arguelles-Vivas, Gayan A. Abeykoon, Ryosuke Okuno
Summary: This paper presents an experimental study on low-tension polymer (LTP) flooding using a short-hydrophobe surfactant as the sole additive. The effect of surfactant partition coefficients on LTP flooding is examined, showing that the surfactant partition coefficient can impact the oil recovery through its influence on the surfactant in-situ propagation. Optimization of the surfactant for LTP flooding involves balancing the reduction in water/oil interfacial tension and the efficiency of surfactant propagation.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Betty Cepeda-Salgado, Hazem Fleifel, Gyu S. Lee, Seung Kam
Summary: This study investigates the potential of using surfactant and foam processes for in-situ remediation treatments in a military base in South Korea. The study finds that these processes can effectively recover over 90% of contaminants and computer simulations are useful tools for evaluating and improving the design of similar operations.
JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Zhaleh Ahsaei, Moein Nabipour, Amin Azdarpour, Rafael M. Santos, Erfan Mohammadian, Parham Babakhani, Hossein Hamidi, Mohammad Afkhami Karaei, Ali Esfandiarian
Summary: This study investigated the effects of different surfactants on interfacial tension (IFT) and wettability alteration. The results showed that the tested surfactants are capable of significantly reducing IFT and changing wettability, potentially facilitating oil recovery.
ENERGY SOURCES PART A-RECOVERY UTILIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xiaofang Li, Zechen Yan, Kangxing Wei, Xu Zhu, Lei Zhu, Tianci Huo, Yan Li, Qingzhong Xue
Summary: Surfactant flooding with ultralow interfacial tension improves the mobility ability of the fluid front and has a significant impact on the sweep area in oil-wet porous medium. It also shows better displacement performance compared to brine flooding.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mohammad Barari, Mostafa Lashkarbolooki, Reza Abedini
Summary: The investigation focused on new families of ionic liquid (IL) based surfactants for enhanced oil recovery. Imidazolium based ILs with different alkyl chain lengths were synthesized and their effects on interfacial tension, emulsification, and wettability alteration were examined. Results showed different responses to NaCl and Na2SO4 salts based on the alkyl chain length of the ILs.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
B. Cepeda-Salgado, G. S. Lee, I. Gupta, C. Willson, S. I. Kam
Summary: This simulation study investigates the feasibility of using foams as blocking agents in the remediation of NAPL-contaminated soils and groundwater. The results show that using foams for blocking is as effective, if not more effective, than using foams for mobility control, with oil recovery rates up to near 94.9%. This feasibility study focuses on vertical wells and serves as a stepping stone for further research on the use of horizontal wells in hilly terrain.
TRANSPORT IN POROUS MEDIA
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shengwei Zhang, Bo Peng, Qi Liu, Zhen Liu
Summary: In current chemical flooding technology, the preference for surfactant and polymer (SP) over alkali, surfactant and polymer (ASP) flooding is due to environmental concerns associated with adding alkali in ASP flooding. Understanding the interaction between petroleum sulfonate (PS) and alkali in reducing interfacial tension (IFT) is crucial for finding a more eco-friendly alternative to alkali in SP flooding. The study found that the electrolyte property of Na2CO3, rather than its alkalinity, plays a major role in reducing IFT, and that unsulfonated oil is an indispensable component of PS. The potential of NaCl to replace Na2CO3 in supporting the PS-mediated reduction of IFT in SP flooding was demonstrated in the results.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2021)
