Wettability alteration of quartz sand using Z-type Langmuir–Blodgett hydrophobic films

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of the effect of sand treatment on its filtration and wetting properties by applying Langmuir multimolecular film coatings of fatty acids. It has been established that the coefficient of water filtration through sand treated with a 2% solution of stearic acid in chloroform is reduced by 82%. It is shown that a change in the filtration properties of sand is associated with an alteration in the wettability of sand from water-wet to oil-wet due to the formation of oriented Z-type Langmuir–Blodgett hydrophobic films on the surface of sand grains. The effective permeability of sand for water decreases after the formation of hydrophobic Langmuir–Blodgett Z-type films and waterflooding becomes more effective. Treatment of sand with palmitic and oleic acids, as well as simple mixing of sand with a 2% solution of stearic acid in chloroform, has little effect on the filtration properties of sand. COMSOL multiphysics simulation of filtration process and oil displacement in treated and untreated sand with fatty acid was used.