Skip to main content
2023 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back
Video

Surfactants and Detergents

Session:: Special Session Honoring Professor Harwell and Professor Sabatini - Part II

Applied surfactants to improve remedial outcomes and enhance oil productions

Tuesday, May 2, 2023
9:30 AM – 9:50 AM MDT
Room: 406
Abstract: Injection of the developed surfactant-only formulations (or so called Surfactant Enhanced Aquifer Remediation, SEAR) exhibited superior performances for remediation of source zone contaminations in subsurface in last two decades. Most of the efforts for these heavily contaminated sites focused on varying the amount of an added simple electrolyte to quickly induce the formation of a Winsor Type III microemulsion from the site-specific oil/water/surfactant system. The concentration of sodium chloride at which equal volumes of oil and water partition into the middle phase is called the optimal salinity, which exhibits ultra-low interfacial tension (IFT) with capacity of mobilization of the entrapped contaminants and hydrocarbons in porous media. We will discuss the critical formulation and hydrogeological parameters, ranging from surfactant structures, phase behaviours and separations (e.g., adsorption), impacts of oil properties (both light and dense non-aqueous phase liquids), water chemistry and specific ions effects, and other additives like co-solvents, and soil characterizations and profiles. The hydrophilic-lipophilic difference (HLD) equation has shown utility in guiding surfactant formulations for Winsor I, II and III microemulsions under various subsurface and hydrodynamic conditions. For enhancing crude oil recovery, in particularly, types of porous media, ranging from consolidated rock matrix (sandstones and carbonates), and shale formations can pose special challenges for chemical formulations and use of various recovery mechanisms and performances. Examples of successful field-scale tests based on a range of single-well pilots to full-scale projects will be described. Lessons learned from these studies also offered helpful guidance to further develop improved surfactant formulations and hybrid technologies potential for more difficult contaminants and sites, and as well as for Chemical EOR for mature oil fields and shale formations.