Experimental Study on the Effect of Surfactant Type in the Presence of Different Oils on Foam Stability

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Petroleum Engineering, Kish International Campus, University of Tehran, Kish Island, Iran

2 Institute of Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22078/pr.2025.5673.3517

Abstract

In recent years, the increasing demand for oil has highlighted an urgent need to enhance Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technologies. One common method for EOR is gas injection. However, during gas injection into reservoirs, issues such as gravity drainage occur because the lower density of gas compared to oil reduces the efficiency of this process. Furthermore, foam can improve gas mobility control and enhance oil recovery by reducing the mobility of gas. In addition, foam consists of a gas phase dispersed within an aqueous surfactant solution; however, the stability of surfactant-stabilized foam is influenced by various factors, including temperature, pressure, reservoir rock type, salinity, and oil composition. Moreover, the objective of this study was to investigate the stability of two surfactants—the anionic SDS and the cationic CTAB—in the presence of polar oil components. Also, the results indicate that the anionic surfactant SDS is more stable than the cationic surfactant CTAB in the absence of oil compounds. Furthermore, as the concentration of six different types of crude oil was increased from 1 vol% to 4 vol%, the foam stability generated by the anionic surfactant decreased by approximately 21.5%, whereas the foam stability generated by the cationic surfactant decreased by about 38.8%. This demonstrates the greater resistance of the anionic surfactant in the presence of various oil components.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Petroleum Research
Volume 35, 1404-6 - Serial Number 145
March and April 2026
Pages 135-148

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