Interfacial Tension of Unsymmetrical Bolaamphiphile Surfactant in Surfactant/Alkali/Crude Oil Systems

Abstract

The dynamic interfacial tensions between crude oil from Liaoning Daqing Oil Field of China and solution of unsymmetrical bolaamphiphile surfactants were measured. It was found that the added surfactants are greatly effective in reducing the interfacial tensions and can reduce the tensions of oil/water interface to ultra-low (under 10⁻² mN/m) at the low surfactant concentration. Otherwise, different aromatic rings attached in the surfactant molecule play an important role on the surfactant capability in reducing crude oil/water interface. The results show that the surfactants with the larger aromatic ring can obtain the lower interfacial tension for their strong adsorption at crude oil/water interface, which provides further examination of this kind of surfactant in reducing crude oil/water interface.

Keywords:

• crude oil
• enhanced oil recovery
• interfacial tension
• unsymmetrical bolaamphiphile surfactant

Acknowledgment

The financial support granted by the National Basic Research Program of China, “Fundamental Study on Enhanced Oil Recovery by Chemical Flooding and Microbial Flooding (2005CB221300)” is gratefully appreciated.