Synergistic effects of polymer and bentonite clay on rheology and thermal stability of foam fluid developed for hydraulic fracturing

Abstract

Demand for foam fracturing fluids is ever‐increasing because of its nondamaging characteristics, less water requirement, combined with efficient proppant carrying capacity. The present study reported the synergistic effects of bentonite clay and polymer (guar) on rheology and stability of the foam prepared with surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate). Bentonite clay, which is never considered so far for improving quality of foam fracturing fluid, was found to provide improved foam rheology at reduced polymer concentration. Static and dynamic rheology with microscopic study showed the improvement of apparent viscosity, viscoelasticity, thermal stability, and morphology of foam on addition of bentonite clay. Addition of bentonite reduced the doses of polymer with similar proppant suspension capacity, which could be preferred over conventional gelled foam to reduce formation damage incurred by insoluble guar in the very low permeability unconventional reservoirs like shale gas, coal bed methane, or water‐sensitive formations. © 2017 Curtin University and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Synthesis, characterization, physical and thermodynamic properties of a novel anionic surfactant derived fromSapindus laurifolius

“…The surfactant molecules cannot stabilize the foam, but with increasing the concentration, the drainage from the foam slows down, which favours the foam stability. 37 Amphiphilic particles promote foaming by attachment to the bubble surface as individual particles but at higher concentration, say above the CMC, the particles concentration foamability is inhibited due to flocculation of the bubbles. 38 In addition, it can be observed from Fig.…”

The role of supercritical carbon dioxide for recovery of shale gas and sequestration in gas shale reservoirs

“…74 To maintain the stability of fracturing fluids at high temperatures and pressures in shale reservoirs, surfactants and other chemicals are added during the process of foam generation at the surface. 75 As with water-based fracturing fluids, the potential environmental impacts of these additives raise concerns about foam-based fracture stimulation fluid applications on a large scale.…”

Alkyl Glycine Surfactant: An Efficient High-Temperature Resistant and Biodegradable Foaming Agent for Colloidal Gas Aphron (CGA) Drilling Fluid

“…At low surfactant concentration, the free concentration of the surfactant is depleted because of its adsorption onto the particles and the surfactant molecules cannot stabilize the foam. With the increase of the dosage of AGS-12, more surfactant molecules aggregated on the solution surface and the adsorption capacity increased, which was conducive to form a denser, viscoelastic surface film, and the stability of foams increased [9,36]. The half-life of the AGS-12 foam solution reached the peak value of 98.3 min at 3% dosage, which is much higher than that of CAB (6.27 min), SDS (186 s), LAS (180 s), AOS (245 s), and other oilfield surfactants available on market [37].…”