Retention of Hydraulic Fracturing Water in Shale: The Influence of Anionic Surfactant

Abstract

A tremendous amount of water-based fracturing fluid with ancillary chemicals is injected into the shale reservoirs for hydraulic fracturing, nearly half of which is retained within the shale matrix. The fate of the retained fracturing fluid is raising some environmental and technical concerns. Mitigating these issues requires a knowledge of all the factors possibly contributing to the retention process. Many previous studies have discussed the role of shale properties such as mineralogy and capillarity on fracturing fluid retention. However, the role of some surface active agents like surfactants that are added in the hydraulic fracturing mixture in this issue needs to be understood. In this study, the influence of Internal Olefin Sulfate (IOS), which is an anionic surfactant often added in the fracturing fluid cocktail on this problem was investigated. The effect on water retention of treating two shales “BG-2 and KH-2” with IOS was experimentally examined. These shales were characterized for their mineralogy, total organic carbon (TOC) and surface functional groups. The volume of retained water due to IOS treatment increases by 131% in KH-2 and 87% in BG-2 shale. The difference in the volume of retained uptakes in both shales correlates with the difference in their TOC and mineralogy. It was also inferred that the IOS treatment of these shales reduces methane (CH4) adsorption by 50% in KH-2 and 30% in BG-2. These findings show that the presence of IOS in the composition of fracturing fluid could intensify water retention in shale.