Monitoring the behaviour of anionic polymer‐anionic surfactant stabilized foam in the absence and presence of oil: Bulk and bubble‐scale experimental analyses

Abstract

The present study aims at monitoring the bulk and bubble-scale behaviour of anionic polyacrylamide-sodium dodecyl sulphate stabilized foam in the absence and presence of oil. Dynamic stability tests provided results indicating that polymer increases the foam dynamic stability and decreases the drainage. Oil slows down the drainage rate of polymer-surfactant foam. In the absence of oil, foam is drained gradually/smoothly whereas remarkable fluctuations are evident in drainage graphs when oil is present. The Hele-Shaw cell was employed to conduct bubble-scale as well as statistical analyses on how foam texture is influenced by a polymer-surfactant system and hydrocarbon. Bubble-scale analyses, taken right after foam generation in the absence of oil, revealed that foam bubble sizes and their standard deviation increase by polymer concentration. The coefficient of variation of foam bubble sizes drops with polymer concentration in the absence/presence of oil, meaning the growth of foam texture uniformity. Oil increases the bubble size diversity in the foam texture. Disproportionation/Ostwald ripening is hindered by increasing the foam bubble distribution uniformity by adding polymer to the foaming solution. At polymer concentrations higher than 13 Â 10 À4 g/g, a polymersurfactant mixture generates foam in the presence of oil as stable as foam in the absence of oil, while at the polymer concentrations lower than 7 Â 10 À4 g/g, bubbles are highly unstable when oil is present. Results of this study help to gain a better understanding about the extent to which polymer could enhance the foam stability in bulk/bubble-scale, which might be applicable for enhanced oil recovery operations.

Stabilization of natural gas foams using different surfactants at high pressure and high temperature conditions

“…The addition of polymers can increase the viscosity of the surfactant solution, and has a certain influence on the stability of foams, which is in line with the experimental results presented in other studies (Bureiko et al, 2015; Derikvand & Riazi, 2016; Emrani & Nasr‐El‐Din, 2017; Gochev, 2015; Veyskarami et al, 2019). The polymer molecules can form a spatial network structure on the film (Petkova et al, 2012, 2013), which can increase the viscosity of solution.…”

When Bulk Matters: Disentanglement of the Role of Polyelectrolyte/Surfactant Complexes at Surfaces and in the Bulk of Foam Films

“…Polyelectrolyte/surfactant (P/S) mixtures are interesting systems with versatile applications ranging from cosmetics , to oil recovery. , Mixing oppositely charged Ps and Ss leads to the entropy-driven formation of complexes, which is reinforced by the hydrophobic effect. , These complexes are surface active, , and their interfacial properties matter for industrial applications. , In particular, P/S complexes can stabilize foam films. − The stability and the type of foam film depend on many parameters: charge and ratio of P to S, − pH and S headgroup, hydrophobicity, and stiffness of P . The general observation is that the stabilization via oppositely charged P/S mixtures leads to CBFs.…”

“…Polyelectrolyte/surfactant (P/S) mixtures are interesting systems with versatile applications ranging from cosmetics 16,17 to oil recovery. 18,19 Mixing oppositely charged Ps and Ss leads to the entropy-driven formation of complexes, which is reinforced by the hydrophobic effect. 20,21 These complexes are surface active, 22,23 and their interfacial properties matter for industrial applications.…”

Utilization of Whey Protein Isolate as CO2 Foam Stabilizer for Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…Furthermore, foam stability can diminish over time due to the foam oil interactions. The oil can act as an antifoaming agent by penetrating thin aqueous films, destabilizing, and destroying them (Schramm et al 1990, AlYousif et al 2018, Veyskarami et al 2019.…”