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Complexation of Surfactant/β-Cyclodextrin to Inhibit Surfactant Adsorption onto Sand, Kaolin, and Shale for Applications in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes. Part III: Oil Displacement Evaluation

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Journal of Surfactants and Detergents

Abstract

This proof of concept research evaluates the performance of a surfactant/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complex during chemical flooding for enhanced oil recovery. It was hypothesized that the encapsulated surfactant propagates well through the porous media. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used to study the surfactant/β-CD complexations. Phase behavior analysis was carried out to prepare the most favorable chemical slug formulation. A series of core flooding tests were conducted to determine the efficiency of the SDS/β-CD inclusion complex in displacing residual oil. Surfactant flooding was conducted as tertiary oil recovery mode (after mature water flooding) by injecting 0.3 pore volume (PV) of the optimum surfactant slug that was chased by 0.3 PV of a polymer slug; followed by continuous water flooding until oil production stopped. The experimental results indicate that the encapsulated surfactant propagates well through the sandpack system and consistently produces higher incremental oil recoveries that range from 40 to 82 % over the incremental oil recovery achieved by conventional surfactant flooding.

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Abbreviations

k :

Permeability in md (millidarcy)

S or :

Residual oil saturation in fraction

t :

Time

u :

Flux in cm/h

V sm :

Surfactant volume in the microemulsion phase

V wm :

Water volume in the microemulsion phase

V om :

Oil volume in the microemulsion phase

σ mw :

Interfacial tension (IFT) between the microemulsion/water phases

σ mo :

Interfacial tension (IFT) between the microemulsion/oil phases

ϕ :

Porosity

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Acknowledgments

The technical assistance of Miss Amanda Floriani from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catariana, Brazil, during the execution of the phase behavior analysis and interfacial tension measurements is greatly appreciated. The authors also acknowledge the financial support provided to this research by the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Head Hall, 15 Dineen Drive, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Sirinthip Kittisrisawai & Laura Beatriz Romero-Zerón

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  1. Sirinthip Kittisrisawai
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  2. Laura Beatriz Romero-Zerón
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Correspondence to Laura Beatriz Romero-Zerón.

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Kittisrisawai, S., Romero-Zerón, L.B. Complexation of Surfactant/β-Cyclodextrin to Inhibit Surfactant Adsorption onto Sand, Kaolin, and Shale for Applications in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes. Part III: Oil Displacement Evaluation. J Surfact Deterg 18, 797–809 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11743-015-1692-8

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