Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, Vol.13, No.10, 1119-1135, 1999
Contact angles on quartz induced by adsorption of heteropolar hydrocarbons
The wetting behavior induced by the adsorption of crude oil components onto mineral substrates initially covered with brine is of special importance to petroleum engineering. The wettability of reservoir rock is a controlling factor in the efficiency of oil recovery from the swept zone of a waterflood. The effect of the adsorption of polar components from crude oil on the wetting properties of quartz plates was investigated by the dynamic Wilhelmy plate technique. Force-distance relationships were measured for treated quartz plates passing through oleic-aqueous interfaces. Water receding and advancing contact angles under dynamic conditions were obtained. Changes in the wetting of the quartz plate from a completely water-wet state were induced by adsorption from crude oil or solutions of its components. Different wetting states were developed by varying the oil composition, aqueous phase pH, temperature, time of adsorption, the solvents used to remove excess crude oil, and the probe oil used in contact angle measurements. Some important features of wetting, contact angle hysteresis and slippage of the three-phase contact line, are presented. Organic films adsorbed from the crude oil were examined by atomic force microscopy.
Keywords:DYNAMIC WILHELMY PLATE;SYSTEMS