Open Access

ARTICLE

Interaction of Foam and Microemulsion Components in Low-Tension-Gas Flooding

Jing Zhao, Jun Yang^*

School of Petroleum Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, China

* Corresponding Author: Jun Yang. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Fluid Flow and Materials Strength related to the Wellbore Safety)

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2023, 19(7), 1951-1961. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.026115

Received 17 August 2022; Accepted 11 October 2022; Issue published 08 March 2023

Abstract

Low-Tension-Foam (LTF) flooding is an emerging enhanced oil recovery technique for low-permeability carbonate reservoirs. Foam capacity is closely related to the salinity environment (or, equivalently, the phase behavior of the oil/water/surfactant system). Therefore, the interactions between microemulsion and foam components are of primary importance in the LTF process. In this study, the phase behavior of an oil/water/surfactant system under equilibrium is analyzed, firstly by assuming perfect mixing. Meanwhile, the formation kinetics of microemulsion are monitored through a novel low-field NMR technique, which is able to provide quantitative assessment on the microemulsion evolution characteristics. Then, foam stability is examined in the absence and in the presence of Winsor-I and Winsor-III type microemulsions. It is revealed that foam stability depends on the oil solubilization (oil swollen micelle size). A decrease in the oil swollen micelle size and micellar structure effectiveness, in conjunction with an increasing salinity, leads to lower foam stability in the presence of a Winsor-III type microemulsion.

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Keywords

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