Applications of Surfactants and Nanoparticles in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes

Abstract

The surfactant injection is considered as the EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) with the highest potential to recover oil from reservoirs due to its ability to reduce interfacial forces into the porous medium. However, the adsorption of this type of chemical on the surface of rocks is the main problem when a surfactant injection project is applied since the surfactant molecules would rather be placed on rock minerals instead of being the oil–water interface. Based on this fact, this chapter would be discussed the significance of surfactant injection as an EOR method, the types of surfactants used, the main mechanism and parameters involved in the surfactant adsorption on the rock, and its consequences in oil recovery. Likewise, the addition of nanoparticles to inhibit the adsorption of surfactants is another topic that will be covered as a novel technology to improve the efficiency of the EOR process.

An Overview of Oil Recovery Techniques: From Primary to Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods

“…Surfactant shift the wettability of the reservoirs rock from oil-wet to water-wet. Alteration of the wettability of the reservoir to water-wet leads to decreasing capillary number, increasing oil permeability and emulsification process and, as a result; oil recovery enhancement (see figure 7) [41]. Surfactants are recently categorized into six groups based on their hydrophilic groups and hydrophobic tails; 1-anionic surfactants that own negatively charged hydrophilic group containing of a sulfate, a sulfonate or … these surfactants are used in EOR process widely used, specially; in sandstone reservoirs.…”

“…3-injection of polymer solution for increasing the viscosity of water phase to enhance sweep efficiency. And 4-again water is injected to displace the already injected fluids (see figure 8) [41].…”