Static Adsorption of an Ethoxylated Nonionic Surfactant on Carbonate Minerals

Abstract

The static adsorption of CE, which is a highly ethoxylated nonionic surfactant, was studied on different minerals using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). Of particular interest is the surfactant adsorption in the presence of CO because it can be used for foam flooding in enhanced oil recovery applications. The effects of the mineral type, impurities, salinity, and temperature were investigated. The adsorption of CE on pure calcite was as low as 0.01 mg/m but higher on dolomite depending on the silica and clay content in the mineral. The adsorption remained unchanged when the experiments were performed using a brine solution or 0.101 MPa (1 atm) CO, which indicates that electrostatic force is not the governing factor that drives the adsorption. The adsorption of CE on silica may be due to hydrogen bonding between the oxygen in the ethoxy groups of the surfactant and the hydroxyl groups on the mineral surface. Additionally, thermal decomposition of the surfactant was severe at 80 °C but can be inhibited by operating in a reducing environment. Under reducing conditions, adsorption of CE increased at higher temperatures.

Development of Polyoxyethylene Zwitterionic Surfactants for High‐Salinity High‐Temperature Reservoirs

“…The difference is associated with the different degrees of ethoxylation. The adsorption of ethoxylated surfactants on rock decreases with an increase in the degree of ethoxylation (Curbelo et al, ; Fjelde et al, ; Jian et al, ). This has been explained by the fact that the ethoxy group increases the affinity of the surfactant molecule to the aqueous phase by forming hydrogen bonds with water molecules (Fjelde et al, ).…”

Nanomaterials for subsurface application: study of particles retention in porous media

“…4). The rougher surface of limestone and calcite rocks caused more retention of NPs (Bayat et al 2015a, b, c;Jian et al 2016). SEM and EDEX analyses also were carried out from the surface and bulk of different rock's particles to prove the deposition of NPs.…”

“…Basically, the surfactant molecules could adsorb by forming electrostatic or hydrogen bonds between hydrophobic tail or hydrophilic head with the available surface of porous media (Zhang and Somasundaran 2006). High fraction of EA (75 wt%) and the possibility of formation of hydrogen bond between ethylene oxide group the hydroxyl groups at the rock surface is the most probable mechanism for surfactant adoption (Jian et al 2016). On the other hand, AAS as an ionic surfactant intent to form an electrostatic bond with the opposite charge mineral in the rock structure (Cui et al 2012;Somasundaran and Krishnakumar 1997).…”

Core-scale sensitivity study of CO2 foam injection strategies for mobility control, enhanced oil recovery, and CO2 storage

“…A non-ionic surfactant (i.e. Huntsman L24-22) was previously selected for the CO2 foam field pilot from a surfactant screening study that quantified adsorption on reservoir rock with and without CO2 present [26]. The non-ionic surfactant was also screened for its ability to alter wettability of oil-wet carbonate rocks to weakly oilwet conditions in favor of foam generation [14].…”