Abstract
High mineralization of water complicates the use of foam in reservoir conditions. Anionic–nonionic surfactants are one of the best candidates for these conditions since they have both high surface activity and salt tolerance. One of the ways to obtain anionic–nonionic surfactants is to modify nonionic surfactants by an anionic group. The type of the group and its chemical structure can strongly affect the properties of the surfactant. In this work, widely-produced nonionic surfactant nonylphenol (12) ethoxylate (NP12EO) was modified by new types of carboxylic groups through the implementation of maleic (NP12EO-MA) and succinic (NP12EO-SA) anhydrides with different saturation levels. The main objectives of this work were to compare synthesized surfactants with nonionic precursor and to reveal the influence of unsaturated bonds in the carboxyl group on the properties of the foam. NaCl concentration up to 20 wt% was used to simulate high mineralization conditions, as well as to assess the effect of unsaturated bonds on foam properties. Synthesized anionic–nonionic surfactants retained surfactant solubility and long-term stability in high-salinity water, but have better foaming ability, as well as higher apparent viscosity, in porous media. The presence of an unsaturated bond in NP12EO-MA surfactant lowers foaming ability at high mineralization.
Highlights
For the last decades, the foam was used for improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies, such as acid treatment [1,2], gas mobility control [3], foam-assisted water altering gas injection [4], gas shut-off [5], etc
Synthesized surfactants reached more than 1.5 times higher apparent viscosities than nonionic nonylphenol (12) ethoxylate (NP12EO) (Table 2) at all ranges of foam quality. These results showed improvement in foam properties of anionic–nonionic surfactants
Laboratory bulk tests and filtration experiments of two novel anionic–nonionic carcarboxylate surfactants based on nonylphenol ethoxylate were provided: boxylate surfactants based on nonylphenol ethoxylate were provided: 1
Summary
The foam was used for improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies, such as acid treatment [1,2], gas mobility control [3], foam-assisted water altering gas injection [4], gas shut-off [5], etc. One of the challenges for foam EOR nowadays is the development or selection of effective reagents for carbonate reservoirs, characterized by high water salinity [6,7]. The most widely applied surfactants in carbonate reservoirs are related to the nonionic type with high salt tolerance [8,9,10,11,12], which mainly belongs to ethoxylated and/or propoxylated fatty alcohols, fatty amines, and alkylphenols with different quantities and ratios of alkoxy groups. Comparison made by Li et al [18] of three types of surfactant: nonionic, anionic and anionic–nonionic, showed that anionic–nonionic surfactant created foam with higher stabilized pressure during filtration tests and higher foam elasticity than others
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 callDisclaimer: 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.
