Energy & Fuels, Vol.35, No.2, 1248-1258, 2021
Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery by Different Scenarios of Slug Injection into Carbonate/Sandstone Composite Oil Reservoirs Using an Anionic Surfactant Derived from Rapeseed Oil
Surfactants are effective additives for interfacial tension (IFT) reduction. They can also improve the reservoir rock wettability and foam and emulsion formation. In this study, a Rapeseed oil-derived surfactant was first synthesized. The surfactant characteristics were determined by thermalgravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1 NMR) spectroscopy. The experiments of IFT, sessile drop contact angle and chemical flooding in various scenarios such as integrated injection of the surfactant solution at critical micelle concentration (CMC) and optimal salinity, injection of 0.50 PV of the surfactant solution at CMC with optimal salinity and NaOH alkalinity (SA), injection of 0.50 PV of the surfactant solution at CMC with optimal salinity and 1000 ppm of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (SP), injection of 0.25 PV of the surfactant solution at CMC with optimal salinity and NaOH alkalinity and 1000 ppm of PHPA polymer (ASP), and injection of 0.50 PV of the surfactant solution at CMC with optimal salinity and NaOH alkalinity and 1000 ppm of PHPA polymer (ASP) into carbonate/sandstone composite (CSC) plugs were performed to show the surfactant usage efficiency in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. Also, emulsion and foaming experiments were conducted to measure the capability of the surfactant under other EOR conditions. Based on the results, IFTs were obtained for the surfactant concentrations of 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500, 5500, and 6500 ppm equal to 3.157, 2.514, 1.089, 0.034, 0.071, and 0.095 mN/m, respectively. Accordingly, a low IFT of 3.4 X 10(-2) mN/m was obtained at CMC, which further decreased through optimization of the solution with optimal salinity and alkalinity. The CSC wettability altered to being hydrophilic, and the mean contact angles of 125.42, 105.53, 70.21, and 40.62 degrees were obtained after 15, 30, 45, and 60 min, respectively. Oil production in various chemical injection scenarios increased by about 14.6-25.7%, depending on the type and amount of injection fluids. The novelty of this study is the introduction and application of a surfactant with a newly available herbal source.