Tereza Neuma de Castro Dantas
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Title: Comparative study of oil recovery efficiency enhanced by surfactants, microemulsions, and nanoemulsions
Biography
Biography: Tereza Neuma de Castro Dantas
Abstract
Despite the high levels of technological development reached by the oil industry, oil recovery efficiencies in primary and conventional steps present a challenge. During the recovery process, a great amount of oil remains trapped in the reservoir rock. With the aim of solving this problem, scientists have developed advanced oil recovery methods using chemical, thermal, or miscible processes to move the oil retained after the conventional step. This study investigates the application of surfactants, microemulsionsand nanoemulsions in the recovery process of mature oil fields. These systems have the power to reduce interfacial tension, display a high capacity of solubilization, and change the wettability of the rock. Such features favor the interaction between injected fluid and oil, providing a greater volume of displaced oil. An experimental study was developed to simulate oil recovery steps to improve efficiency results. The study compared recovery efficiencies using the injection of ionic and non-ionic surfactants solutions, microemulsions, and nanoemulsions systems. The experiments used a smaller amount of fluid and presented reduced costs, when compared to other methods. The results obtained for the tests varied from 35% to 85% for the advanced-step oil recovery, reaching 96% of total oil in place recovered.
