CO2 Mobility and CO2/Brine Interfacial Tension Reduction by Using a New Surfactant for EOR Applications

The synthesis and use in enhanced oil recovery applications of a novel CO2-philic surfactant derived from maleic anhydride and 2-butyl-1-octanol is reported. The synthesis involved the esterification of maleic anhydride to produce diester followed by sulfonation of the esterified product. The esterification reaction parameters were optimized for the maximum yield of 98.4%. By employing a silica sulfuric acid catalyst, the reaction kinetics of esterification were also investigated. The activation energy was found to be 45.58 kJ/mol. The sulfonation reaction of the esterified product was performed by using sodium bisulfite, and a yield of 82% of surfactant was achieved. The synthesized surfactant lowered the interfacial tension between CO2/brine to 3.1 mN/m and effectively reduced the CO2 mobility. This surfactant has a great potential to be used for CO2 mobility control for CO2−EOR applications.

[1]  Lei Zhang,et al.  Dynamic Interfacial Tensions Between Offshore Crude Oil and Enhanced Oil Recovery Surfactants , 2013 .

[2]  R. Heenan,et al.  Hybrid CO2-philic surfactants with low fluorine content. , 2012, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[3]  Ian C. Bourg,et al.  Predicting CO2-water interfacial tension under pressure and temperature conditions of geologic CO2 storage , 2012 .

[4]  E. Boek,et al.  Interfacial Tension of (Brines + CO2): (0.864 NaCl + 0.136 KCl) at Temperatures between (298 and 448) K, Pressures between (2 and 50) MPa, and Total Molalities of (1 to 5) mol·kg–1 , 2012 .

[5]  Maria Kulawska,et al.  Kinetic investigations on the esterification of phthalic anhydride with n-heptyl, n-nonyl or n-undecyl alcohol over sulfuric acid catalyst , 2011 .

[6]  R. Heenan,et al.  Universal surfactant for water, oils, and CO2. , 2010, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[7]  S. Sengupta,et al.  A kinetic approach to the esterification of maleic anhydride with methanol on H-Y zeolite , 2010 .

[8]  Julian Eastoe,et al.  Rod-like micelles thicken CO(2). , 2010, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[9]  Jiping Yang,et al.  Synthesis and Properties of a Sulfonic Acid-Containing Gemini Surfactant , 2009 .

[10]  H. Sakai,et al.  Self-assembly of double-tail anionic surfactant having cyanobiphenyl terminal groups in water. , 2009, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[11]  J. Skrzypek,et al.  Synthesis of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate over methane sulfonic acid catalyst. Kinetic investigations , 2008 .

[12]  Stefan Bachu,et al.  Dependence of CO2-brine interfacial tension on aquifer pressure, temperature and water salinity , 2007 .

[13]  R. Oakes,et al.  Supercritical Carbon Dioxide , 2007 .

[14]  K. Otake,et al.  Surfactant-mixing effects on the interfacial tension and the microemulsion formation in water/supercritical CO2 system. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[15]  J. Eastoe,et al.  Surfactants for CO2. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[16]  J. Skrzypek,et al.  Kinetics of the esterification of maleic anhydride with octyl, decyl or dodecyl alcohol over dowex catalyst , 2005 .

[17]  S. Howdle,et al.  Synthesis and CO2 Solubility Studies of Poly(ether carbonate)s and Poly(ether ester)s Produced by Step Growth Polymerization , 2005 .

[18]  F. Guittard,et al.  Hybrid fluorocarbon-hydrocarbon CO2-philic surfactants. 1. synthesis and properties of aqueous solutions. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[19]  F. Guittard,et al.  Hybrid fluorocarbon-hydrocarbon CO2-philic surfactants. 2. formation and properties of water-in-CO2 microemulsions. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[20]  M. Grzesik,et al.  Kinetics of the esterification of benzoic acid with n-octyl alcohol or isooctyl (2-ethylhexyl) alcohol using sulfuric acid catalyst , 2003 .

[21]  J. Shim,et al.  Aqueous Latexes Formed from Polymer/CO2 Suspensions. 2. Hydrophilic Surfactants in Water , 2002 .

[22]  G. Yadav,et al.  Esterification of maleic acid with ethanol over cation-exchange resin catalysts , 2002 .

[23]  T. Gumuła,et al.  The Effect of the Catalyst Used on the Kinetics of Di-2-Ethylhexyl Maleate Synthesis , 2000 .

[24]  Duane H. Smith,et al.  VISCOSITIES OF DISPERSIONS OF SUPERCRITICAL CO2 IN SURFACTANT/CO2/H2O/NaCl SYSTEMS , 1988 .