Experimental Investigation on Microscopic Force Measurement of Foam and Heavy Oil

Abstract

This paper combined experiments with a theoretical model to simulate the behavior between a foam and heavy oil during contact pressing, separation, and adsorption. We discuss the changes in the elasticity and adsorption forces during the pressing and adsorption of the two fluids. The influence of the changes in temperature and pressure, the concentration of the sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant, the heavy oil viscosity, and the addition of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide and hydrophobic SiO 2 nanoparticles was studied. The results showed that the overall increase in the elasticity and adsorption forces between the foam at 1 wt % surfactant and heavy oil was more than 2 times greater than those of the foam with 0.2 wt % surfactant. The increase in viscosity of heavy oil also increased various forces. The overall improvement in the adsorption force between fluids caused by nanoparticles during separation and adsorption stages reached 1.8 times, which was better than that obtained using the polymer (1.65 times). However, the polymer showed a 1.4 times higher elastic force during the fluid pressing stage than the nanoparticles and about 4 times higher than the control foam, and the increase in temperature greatly weakened the effect of the force, while the change in pressure did not cause much impact. An analytical model was built based on fluid mechanics, and the calculation results were consistent with the experimental data with an error of about 5−12%, suggesting that this model provides a good reference value.

Nanoparticle and Surfactant Stabilized Carbonated Water Induced In-Situ CO2 Foam: An Improved Oil Recovery Approach

“…In the Plateau border, heavy oil formed large droplets, and light oil formed tiny droplets, which were easier to distribute across the lamellas. Gu has investigated that the higher the amount of heavier components in the oil phase, the stronger the micromechanical force between the foam and oil. It also strengthens the wrapping and carries the foam film to the oil droplets.…”