Effect of mechanical stirring on CO2 foaming in petroleum

Abstract

CO2 flooding is an effective technology to improve oil recovery. However, because the foam layer produced in the actual production may affect the gas-liquid separation effect and cause damage to downstream devices. Therefore, it is necessary to study the defoaming technology in the separator. This paper mainly studies the influence of different stirring speeds on the death of the foam layer during the depressurization process and after the depressurization is stopped. The stirring blade can accelerate the formation and disappearance of foam, and the final result is to reduce the time required for defoaming. During the whole process, the survival time of large bubbles is short, but stirring has less influence on small bubbles. Stirring will increase the height of the foam layer, which will affect the gas-liquid separation efficiency in severe cases. Therefore, if the fluid entering the separator has good foam-ability, it is not recommended to directly use mechanical stirring to eliminate foam in the gas-liquid separation process.