Oil recovery improved

Addition of surfactant to the injection water (14,15) can displace the oil remaining near the well. The lower oil saturation results in an increase in the water relative permeabihty (5). Therefore, a greater water injection rate may be maintained at a given injection pressure. Whereas ultimate oil recovery may not be increased, the higher water injection rate can increase oil production rates improving oil recovery economics. Alternatively, a lower injection pressure can be used. Thus smaller and cheaper injection pumps may be used to maintain a given injection rate. The concentration of surfactant in the injection... 

Water-in-oil macroemulsions have been proposed as a method for producing viscous drive fluids that can maintain effective mobility control while displacing moderately viscous oils. For example, the use of water-in-oil and oil-in-water macroemulsions have been evaluated as drive fluids to improve oil recovery of viscous oils. Such emulsions have been created by addition of sodium hydroxide to acidic crude oils from Canada and Venezuela. In this study, the emulsions were stabilized by soap films created by saponification of acidic hydrocarbon components in the crude oil by sodium hydroxide. These soap films reduced the oil/water interfacial tension, acting as surfactants to stabilize the water-in-oil emulsion. It is well known, therefore, that the stability of such emulsions substantially depends on the use of sodium hydroxide (i.e., caustic) for producing a soap film to reduce the oil/water interfacial tension. 

The interfacial rheologic properties are extremely sensitive parameters toward the chemical composition of immiscible formation liquids [1053]. Therefore comparison and interpretation of the interfacial rheologic properties may contribute significantly to extension of the spectrum of the reservoir characterization, better understanding of the displacement mechanism, development of more profitable enhanced and improved oil-recovery methods, intensification of the surface technologies, optimization of the pipe line transportation, and improvement of the refinery operations [1056]. 

During improved oil-recovery processes, waterflooding of the oil is applied. The entrained water forms a water-in-oil emulsion with the oil. In addition, salts such as sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and magnesium chloride may be dissolved in the emulsified water. 

Optionally, the pH of the aqueous phase of the broken emulsion, after doing the job, can be adjusted to become alkaline. The salts of the polymers are converted into inactive species and the aqueous phase of the broken emulsion can be reinjected into ahydrocarbon-containing formation to recover additional hydrocarbons or bitumen [1187] as an improved oil-recovery process. 

R. S. Bryant and T. E. Burchfield. Review of microbial technology for improving oil recovery. In Proceedings Volume. Nat Inst Petrol Energy Res Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery Short Course (Bartlesville, OK, 5/23), 1989. 

I. Lakatos and J. Lakatos-Szabo. Effect of lOR/EOR (improved oil recovery/enhanced oil recovery) chemicals on interfacial rheological properties of crude oil/water systems. In Proceedings Volume. SPE Oilfield Chem Int Symp (Houston, TX, 2/13-2/16), 2001 SPE Number 65391. 

K. S. Sorbie. Polymer-improved oil recovery. CRC Press, Inc, Boca Raton, FL, 1991. 

L. M. Surguchev, A. Koundin, and D. Yannimaras. Air injection— cost effective lOR method to improve oil recovery from depleted and waterflooded fields. In Proceedings Volume. SPE Asia Pacific Impr Oil Recovery Conf (APIORC 99) (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 10/25-10/26), 1999, SPE Number 57296. 

Willhite, G. P. Dominguez, J. G. Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactant and Polymer Flooding Acad. Press Inc. New York, 1977. 

Kumar A., Noh M., et al. Reservoir simulation of C02 storage in deep saline aquifers. 2004 SPE/DOE Fourteenth Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, USA(89343). 

Improved Oil Recovery (ior), where a range of more exotic fluids such as steam (hot water), caustic solutions, carbon dioxide, foams, polymers, surfactants, and so on are injected to improve recovery beyond what might be obtained by waterflooding alone. 

Sydansk, R. D., 1982, Elevated-temperature caustic/sandstone interaction, implications for improving oil recovery. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal 22, 453 462. 

This area of recombinant DNA technology also has application in the degradation of solid waste materials In waste water recovery, in leaching minerals from ore-containing rock, in improved oil recovery, and in the decontamination of chemical waste dumps through the engineering of microorganisms that can destroy specific toxic contaminants. 

Robbins, M. L., "Theory for the Phase Behaviour of Microemulsions", Paper No 5839, presented at the Improved Oil Recovery Symposium of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 22-24 (1976). 

H.S. Hanna and P. Somasundaran, "Physico-Chemical Aspects of Adsorption at Solid/Liquid Interfaces, Part II. Berea Sandstond/Mahogony Sulfonate System", in Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactants and Polymer Flooding, D.O. Shah and R.S. Schecter, eds.. Academic Press, 1977, p. 253-274. 

Wang, W.D. Li, X.M. Chen, Y. Zhang, S.T. Jiang, Y. The technology of microbial treating drained water of oil field. Proceedings, SPE Asia Pacific Improved Oil Recovery Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 8-9 October, 2001. 

Shah, D.O., Schecter, R.S. (1977). Improved oil recovery by surfactant and polymer flooding. Academic Presss, New York. 

What approximate composition of DDAB surfactant in water would you recommend to pump down an oil well to improve oil recovery if the main cost of the process was the cost of the surfactant ... 

Chemical flotation aids. Dispersed gas experiments demonstrated that 10 ppm of frother chemical significantly improved oil recovery in both fresh and saline waters. 

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