Stability and texture of CO 2 /N 2 foam in sandstone

Siddiqui, Mohammed Abdul Qadeer; Gajbhiye, Rahul

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2017.04.049

Cited by 37 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Therefore, the large bubbles formed at such high-quality foams continued to expand due to the difference in Laplace pressure, and hence, foam stability was dramatically reduced. This observation is consistent with the fact that foams with wide bubble size distribution are weaker, while strong foams always exhibit a narrow bubble size distribution …”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Experimental Evaluation of Zwitterionic and Cationic Surfactants to Optimize Bulk Foam Properties for Gas Mobility Control in High-Salinity Carbonates

2022

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Foam injection has been acknowledged as a promising technology to control gas mobility by establishing the flow resistance during gas enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. For applications in challenging carbonate formations, the development of well-matched foaming agents is required. In this paper, the foam performance established by different switchable and zwitterionic surfactants along with their combinations in controlling gas mobility and displacing the residual oil is investigated. The stable solutions of commercial amine-based and/or zwitterionic surfactants were prepared in 20 wt % salinity. A series of foamability and foam stability tests were conducted as initial screening at high temperatures in the presence and absence of crude oil. Foam texture and foam stability were also investigated at different gas/liquid fractions under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. The best-performing formulation at optimum foam quality was evaluated in coreflooding experiments in terms of mobility reduction factor (MRF) and residual oil recovery. Bulk foam results demonstrated the superior foamability and foam stability of a betaine (B1235) surfactant. Foam endurance of B1235 was found comparable to the diamine (DTTM) produced foam; however, the DTTM surfactant showed insignificant foamability. Among all tested surfactants and their mixtures, B1235 was found most effective in maintaining foam properties in a crude oil environment, and no synergistic effect was observed in the use of surfactant mixtures. The optimum concentrations for B1235 with and without crude oil were 0.25 and 0.5 wt %, respectively. The results obtained from the experiments in a pressurized view cell indicated a prolonged decay profile at 90% gas fraction in bulk. During dynamic flow in carbonate rocks, the optimum quality of foam stabilized by the selected surfactant was found at 70%. At this quality, the pregenerated foam injection pronouncedly increased the MRF to 48. The cumulative oil recovery after foam injection was 67%, providing 25% incremental recovery. The overall performance of the betaine-based surfactant-stabilized foam in high-salinity carbonates was found effective in controlling the gas mobility during the foam EOR process.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Experimental Evaluation of Zwitterionic and Cationic Surfactants to Optimize Bulk Foam Properties for Gas Mobility Control in High-Salinity Carbonates

2022

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“…A study of foam texture and stability of mixed foam using both CO 2 and N 2 was performed in porous media, but it was oil-free. Siddiqui et al, 62 in that study, conducted oil-free steady-state foam flooding experiments to study the CO 2 /N 2 foam performance at supercritical conditions of CO 2 in sandstone cores. Eventually, a formula for foam injection (N 2 fraction added, injection rate, and foam quality) was obtained that leads to the generation of a stable foam at these conditions in the absence of crude oil.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed CO₂/N₂ Foam for EOR as a Novel Solution for Supercritical CO₂ Foam Challenges in Sandstone Reservoirs

2020

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Among the various enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes, CO 2 injection has been widely utilized for oil displacement in EOR. Unfortunately, gas injection suffers from gravity override and high mobility, which reduces the sweep efficiency and oil recovery. Foams can counter these problems by reducing gas mobility, which significantly increases the macroscopic sweep efficiency and results in higher recovery. Nevertheless, CO 2 is unable to generate foam or strong foam above its supercritical conditions (for CO 2 , 1100 psi at 31.1 °C), and most of the reservoirs exist at higher temperatures and pressure than CO 2 supercritical conditions. The formation of strong CO 2 foam becomes more difficult with an increase in pressure and temperature above its supercritical conditions and exacerbated CO 2 -foam properties. These difficulties can be overcome by replacing a portion of CO 2 with N 2 because a mixture of N 2 and CO 2 gases can generate foam or strong foam above CO 2 supercritical conditions. Although many researchers have investigated EOR by using CO 2 or N 2 foam separately, the performance of mixed CO 2 /N 2 foam on EOR has not been investigated. This study provides a solution to generate CO 2 foam above its supercritical conditions by replacing part of CO 2 with N 2 (mixed CO 2 /N 2 foam). The mixed foam not only generates strong foam above CO 2 supercritical conditions but also remarkably increases the oil recovery. This solution overcomes the difficulties associated with the formation of CO 2 foam at HPHT conditions enabling the use of the CO 2 -foam system for effective EOR and other applications of CO 2 foam such as conformance control.

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“…A few studies on surfactant-stabilized N 2 /CO 2 -foams, which replacing part of the CO 2 content with N 2 to overcome the CO 2 -foam instabilities, have also shown potential [49,79,85].…”

Section: Choice Of Foam Stabilizing Agentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Foam as a Liquid Blocking Agent in Porous Media: A Review

Solbakken

2023

Energies

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This article summarizes the state-of-the-art knowledge gained from field observations and laboratory studies regarding foam as a liquid controlling agent in porous media. Being the least explored property of foam, its effect and potential have often been overlooked or simply ignored. The aim with this review is therefore to demonstrate the abilities that foam could have to block, reduce, delay, suppress, or divert water flow in porous media. As a liquid controlling agent in porous media, foam has potential for industrial processes that involve fluid injections or fluid withdrawals in porous geological formations, such as improved/enhanced oil recovery (IOR/EOR), matrix-stimulation treatments, underground storage of CO2, hydrogen, compressed-air or natural gas withdrawal, geothermal energy, and contaminated soil-groundwater remediation processes with unwanted aquifer impacts. Improving the water utilization factor and water management in these applications might result in tremendous energic, economic, and environmental incentives that are worth pursuing. Specific focus in this review is given to the post-foam water injection, which determines the ultimate stability and water-blocking capabilities of the foam treatment. Main parameters and mechanisms that can influence foam stability against water injection/intrusion after generation and placement are assessed and discussed. Unresolved issues are highlighted, which give recommendations for further research and field-scale operations.

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Stability and texture of CO 2 /N 2 foam in sandstone

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Experimental Evaluation of Zwitterionic and Cationic Surfactants to Optimize Bulk Foam Properties for Gas Mobility Control in High-Salinity Carbonates

Experimental Evaluation of Zwitterionic and Cationic Surfactants to Optimize Bulk Foam Properties for Gas Mobility Control in High-Salinity Carbonates

Mixed CO₂/N₂ Foam for EOR as a Novel Solution for Supercritical CO₂ Foam Challenges in Sandstone Reservoirs

Status of Foam as a Liquid Blocking Agent in Porous Media: A Review

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Stability and texture of CO 2 /N 2 foam in sandstone

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Experimental Evaluation of Zwitterionic and Cationic Surfactants to Optimize Bulk Foam Properties for Gas Mobility Control in High-Salinity Carbonates

Experimental Evaluation of Zwitterionic and Cationic Surfactants to Optimize Bulk Foam Properties for Gas Mobility Control in High-Salinity Carbonates

Mixed CO2/N2 Foam for EOR as a Novel Solution for Supercritical CO2 Foam Challenges in Sandstone Reservoirs

Status of Foam as a Liquid Blocking Agent in Porous Media: A Review

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Mixed CO₂/N₂ Foam for EOR as a Novel Solution for Supercritical CO₂ Foam Challenges in Sandstone Reservoirs