Abstract
The trend of growing interest in alternative source of energy focuses on renewable products worldwide. However, the situation of petroleum industries in many countries needs much concern in improving the oil recovery technique. Chemical method, especially microemulsion flooding, plays an important role in enhanced oil recovery technique due to its ability to reduce interfacial tension between oil and water to a large extent as well as alter wettability of reservoir rocks. Surfactant-based chemical systems have been reported in many academic studies and their technological implementations are potential candidates in enhanced oil recovery activities. This paper reviews the role of different types of surfactants in enhanced oil recovery, structure of microemulsion, phase behavior of oil–brine–surfactant/cosurfactant systems with variation of different parameters such as salinity, temperature, pressure and physicochemical properties of microemulsions including solubilization capacity, interfacial tension, viscosity and density under reservoir conditions. The enhanced oil productivity by microemulsion flooding with different surfactant/cosurfactant systems has also been discussed in this paper. This review introduces a new opening in enhanced oil recovery by microemulsion flooding with some new aspects.
Highlights
The energy demand will be met by a global energy mix that is undergoing a transition from the current dominance of fossil fuels to a more balanced distribution of energy sources
This review introduces a new opening in enhanced oil recovery by microemulsion flooding with some new aspects
In the past several years, it has been shown that the phase behavior of surfactant/cosurfactant–oil–brine/water system is of the intense importance in the interpretation and forecasting the scopes of applications in the field of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques (Shah and Schechter 1977)
Summary
The energy demand will be met by a global energy mix that is undergoing a transition from the current dominance of fossil fuels to a more balanced distribution of energy sources. A number of innovative EOR processes such as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) and ultrasonic vibration methods have been introduced noticeably The phase behavior of surfactant/cosurfactant–brine–oil system is the key factor in interpreting the performance of oil recovery by the microemulsion flooding process. In the past several years, it has been shown that the phase behavior of surfactant/cosurfactant–oil–brine/water system is of the intense importance in the interpretation and forecasting the scopes of applications in the field of EOR techniques (Shah and Schechter 1977). It is common that formulation of surfactant/cosurfactant–brine– oil systems that exhibit desirable phase behavior is an important stage in optimizing the performance of microemulsion systems for EOR methods (Healy and Reed 1974; Healy et al 1975; Bera et al 2012a).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
