Green surfactant for enhanced oil recovery

Abstract

Chemical enhanced oil recovery methods are field proven techniques that improve efficiency and effectiveness of oil recovery. High oil prices and dropping reserves alternative has inspired interest in chemical flooding technologies, particularly for application in mature water flooding. The more concern about this technique is surfactant development. A new sulfonate surfactant from non-edible vegetable oils is developed as an alternative source of petrochemical feedstock which is not desirable due to the environmental problems and high cost. The sulfonate surfactant was synthesized from C16–18 feedstock and evaluated in phase behavior, IFT for its capability to enhance oil recovery. The feedstock is composed mostly of unsaturated fatty acid derived from jatropha curcas oil which can be converted to fatty acid methyl ester. The methyl ester is epoxidized and hydrolyzed to hydroxyl groups, which subsequently were sulfonated to form a product named Methyl Ester Sulfonates (MES) or α-sulfonated methyl esters. The phase behavior between crude oil (37.7 deg API) and surfactant solution show the ability of the surfactant to create clear microemulsion free of gel, liquid crystals, and macroemulsiuon and also rapid equilibration to low-viscosity emulsion. Based on IFT experiments optimum surfactant concentration determine as 2500 ppm which result in a lowest possible IFT around 0.078 mN/m in presence of Na2CO3 as alkali. The results illustrate the possibility of developing new surfactants from vegetable oils which can obviate the need for using petrochemicals substances.