Title: Effect of oil on the stability of polymer enhanced foams

Authors: Shuyan Chen; Guoqing Jian; Qingfeng Hou; Shuling Gao; Yousong Luo; Youyi Zhu; Wenjun Li

Addresses: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China ' State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, CNPC, Beijing 100083, China ' State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, CNPC, Beijing 100083, China ' Exploration and Development Research Institute of Daqing Oil Field Company, Daqing 163000, China ' State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, CNPC, Beijing 100083, China ' State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, CNPC, Beijing 100083, China ' Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

Abstract: The enhanced oil recovery (EOR) results of foam flooding depend largely on the stability of foam flow within reservoirs in the presence of crude oil. Experimental studies indicated that oil would impact the foam stability greatly. This paper discussed the effect of oil on the stability of polymer enhanced foams. Two commercial polymers including hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and modified polyacrylamide (MPAM) were employed. Mechanism on interaction between foam and oil for experimental foam systems was also studied quantitatively based on several physical-chemical parameters including spreading coefficient, entering coefficient, bridging coefficient and lamella number. The foam stability could be remarkably improved with both HPAM and MPAM. The effect of oil on the stability of polymer enhanced foams could not be fully understood by related coefficient theories. The increase in viscoelasticity of foam films would play a key role in the stability improvement for polymer enhanced foams. [Received: September 6, 2012; Accepted: January 24, 2013]

Keywords: polymer enhanced foams; foam stability; surfactants; foam flooding; enhanced oil recovery; EOR; foam flow; reservoirs; crude oil; hydrolysed polyacrylamide; modified polyacrylamide; oilfields; oil industry; viscoelasticity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2013.056809

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2013 Vol.6 No.6, pp.675 - 688

Received: 11 Sep 2012
Accepted: 24 Jan 2013
Published online: 29 Jan 2014 *

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