Crude oil recovery

Surfactants have been widely used to reduce the interfacial tension between oil and soil, thus enhancing the efficiency of rinsing oil from soil. Numerous environmentally safe and relatively inexpensive surfactants are commercially available. Table 18.6 lists some surfactants and their chemical properties.74 The data in Table 18.6 are based on laboratory experimentation therefore, before selection, further field testing on their performance is recommended. The Texas Research Institute75 demonstrated that a mixture of anionic and nonionic surfactants resulted in contaminant recovery of up to 40%. A laboratory study showed that crude oil recovery was increased from less than 1% to 86%, and PCB recovery was increased from less than 1% to 68% when soil columns were flushed with an aqueous surfactant solution.74-76... 

Foams are currently used by the oil industry to improve crude oil recovery, resulting in 20 to 50% higher recovery rates for oil in some applications. A field demonstration to investigate the use of foam for site remediation was planned for 1996by the U.S. Department of Energy. 

The method was tested by tracer experiments on several matrices, including coal and crude oil. Recoveries were quantitative or nearly so (97.8%). The method gave good results for zinc, cadmium, mercury, selenium, and arsenic in NBS orchard leaves and bovine liver and is currently being used to determine these elements in new SRMs. 

Enhancement of Crude Oil Recovery in Carbon Dioxide Flooding... 

In some cases it may be desirable to perform the demulsification process in two stages. In the first stage the bulk of the water may be removed at a minimum process severity, as already described. A second process stage at a higher temperature and possibly at elevated pressure may then be used for final dry crude-oil recovery. 

Type of reservoir Permeability, in Darcies Crude oil recovery, %... 

In the petroleum industry, not all W/O emulsions are the same. The nature of emulsions formed in crude oil often depends on many factors the geologic source and the engineering processes utilized in the crude oil recovery, the chemical and physical characteristics of the crudes and their thermal history, the type of mixing and energy introduced,... 

This class of association colloids can be further divided into several subgroups, which include micelles, vesicles, microemulsions, and bilayer membranes. Each subgroup of association colloids plays an important role in many aspects of colloid and surface science, both as theoretical probes that help us to understand the basic principles of molecular interactions, and in many practical applications of those principles, including biological systems, medicine, detergency, crude-oil recovery, foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Before undertaking a discussion of the various types of association colloids, it is important to understand the energetic and structural factors that lead to their formation. 

Lignin, which is produced wordwide in quantities of around 50 Mtpa, has only limited application at the present time as an aromatic polymer, in the form of lignin sulfonates, which are used as surfactants, e.g. in tertiary crude-oil recovery and as a concrete plasticizer. Lignin can be broken down into its monomeric components by pyrolysis or hydrocracking. 

Surfactants are widely used to control wetting, capillary penetration, and evaporation. Adsorption of surfactants accelerates mass transfer processes, such as impregnation of hydrophobic porous bodies by aqueous solutions, cleaning of greasy oiled surfaces, and crude oil recovery. Surface modification of adsorbents, membranes, and catalysts by surfactants is often used to control their properties. 

Xanthan has widespread applications in diverse fields like crude-oil recovery, paints industry, pesticide and detergent formulations, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, printing inks, and food... 

High-Pressure Application in Enhanced Crude Oil Recovery... 

The use of surfactants in the mining industry have already been mentioned. It is in the area of crude oil recovery, however, that surfactants possibly stand to make their greatest impact in terms of natural resource exploitation. As the primary extraction of crude oil continues at its hectic pace, the boom days of easy access and... 

Integrated ammonia-urea plants use the recovered CO2 in the subsequent synthesis of urea other CO2 uses include carbonating soft beverages and pumping the gas into oil wells to enhance crude oil recovery. 

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