Surfactant Criteria for Successful Carbon Dioxide Foam in Sandstone Reservoirs

Abstract

Summary Laboratory results demonstrate that surfactant adsorption on sandstones is minimized and foam performance improved by reducing the ethoxylate chain length in alcohol ethoxy sulfonates and blending unethoxylated and ethoxylated sulfonates to optimize desirable properties. The results also show that laboratory adsorption measurements can only be extrapolated to reservoirs by (1) replicating the anaerobic conditions of reservoirs, and (2) differentiating authogenic minerals from drilling mud found in reservoir cores.