Iranian Chemical Engineering Journal

Iranian Chemical Engineering Journal

Experimental Study of the Effect of Different Salts on the Improvement of Cationic Surfactant Performance from the Dynamic Interfacial Tension of Water and Oil

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 M. Sc. in Chemical Engineering, Chemical Department, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Shahreza Branch, Shahreza, Iran
2 Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Department, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Shahreza Branch, Shahreza, Iran
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different salts on improving the performance of cationic surfactants in terms of the dynamic interfacial strength between the surface of water and oil. Increasing production from oil reservoirs has been a major concern for oil companies. Capillary forces inside the holes cause oil to be trapped between them and it is considered as an unproductive phase. Surfactant flooding is a technique to increase oil recovery in which the phase behavior inside the reservoir can be manipulated by injecting surfactants. The results showed the effect of divalent salts on the improvement of surfactant performance. Also, based on the experiments and previous studies, it can be concluded that the presence of salt in water reduces the interfacial tension force. In addition, divalent salts have a greater effect in reducing interfacial tension compared to monovalent salts.
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Subjects

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