Deformation of microdroplets in crude oil for rapid screening of enhanced oil recovery additives

Abstract We present a microfluidic method to rapidly screen enhanced oil recovery additives based on the deformation of aqueous microdroplets in oil. Conventional methods, such as the pendant drop method, are hindered by large fluid volumes that require several hours to thermally equilibrate between measurements. Here we demonstrate a complementary technology to conventional methods, by which additives can be rapidly screened to select the best candidates for further study. Our glass chip establishes thermal equilibrium (demonstrated at 80 °C) of undiluted, highly viscous, crude oil within seconds, and enables the rapid quantification of water-in-crude oil droplet deformation within minutes, at a reservoir-relevant scale. The influence of two alkaline additives, a surfactant and a salt in the injected water phase were quantified, demonstrating the applicability of our method to a variety of recovery strategies.