Effect of Brine Dilution and Surfactant Concentration on Spreading and Wettability

Abstract

Abstract The interfacial phenomena of spreading and adhesion of fluids on rock surfaces have serious implications because of their impact on production strategy and oil recovery. The present study reports new experimental data on the effect of brine dilution and surfactant addition on spreading and adhesion behavior of Yates crude oil on dolomite surfaces. Spreading and adhesion have been characterized through measurements of oil-water interfacial tension (IFT) and dynamic (water-advancing and receding) contact angles. The interfacial tension was measured using Computerized Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis (CADSA) Technique, which was calibrated against the well-known du Nuoy Ring Technique. The Dual-Drop-Dual-Crystal (DDDC) Technique has been used to measure dynamic contact angles. In order to study the effect of brine dilution, Yates reservoir brine was mixed with deionized water (DIW) in various proportions. For each diluted brine, crude oil-water IFT, water-advancing and receding contact angles were measured. The oil-water IFT initially decreased as the volume percent of brine in the mixture decreased. However, the IFT increased with further dilution of reservoir brine with DIW. A decreasing trend was observed in the behavior of water-advancing contact angle with brine dilution. This indicated that the initial oil-wet nature of the system was changed to intermediate-wettability simply by diluting the reservoir brine. However, a strange behavior of spreading of crude oil drop against brine on the dolomite surface (with large water-receding contact angles) was observed at certain brine dilutions. This spreading of crude oil appears to be related to interfacial tension in a manner similar to Zisman's observations in solid-liquid-vapor systems. The use of surfactants to enhance oil recovery through reduction in IFT is well known in the industry. However, this study examines the capability of certain surfactants to alter wettability in addition to reducing IFT. For the Yates reservoir rock-fluids system, an Ethoxy Alcohol surfactant altered the strongly oil-wet nature (advancing angle of 158°) to water-wet (advancing angle of 39°) at a concentration of 3500 ppm. While the DDDC technique yielded significant changes in wettability due to surfactant addition, the Wilhelmy Plate Technique remained insensitive throughout the range of surfactant concentrations. The practical significance of this study is that it identifies two simple modes through surfactant addition and brine dilution to alter wettability to minimize capillary trapping of oil.