Stability and interfacial rheology of oil-based foam with polydimethylsiloxane and natural rubber

Abstract

Oil-based foam has become a research hotspot in petroleum industry, whose stability plays a key role in the application. The employment of oil-based foam prevents the damage to water-sensitive reservoir. This paper focuses on the stabilization of oil-based foam by improving the viscoelasticity of foam film and the effect study of polymer-surfactant. The Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and Natural rubber (NR) are employed to stabilize oil-based foam, and the comprehensive properties of foam which created by air flow method are evaluated by FCI. Besides, the behavior of interfacial adsorption foam film is analyzed through rheological study and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. According to the results, the oil-based foam volume increases to 150 mL and the half-life time is extended to 140 s with the combination of NR and PDMS. It is ascribed that the synergistic effect of NR and PDMS molecules. The NR molecules, which are stretched and crimped corresponding to the change of external force, begin to move toward the interface after blending with PDMS to improve the viscoelasticity of the foam film.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• oil-based foams
• foam stability
• interfacial rheology
• molecular dynamics simulation
• PDMS
• Natural Rubber