• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.53-61
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• 2018

Low-salinity water based polymerflooding (LSPF) is one of promising enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method that has the synergetic effect of combining polymer injection method and low-salinity water injection method. In order to maximize EOR efficiency, it is essential to design low-salinity water appropriately considering the properties of polymer. In this aspect, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of pH and $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion which one of PDI (Potential Determining Ion) on oil production when applying LSPF to carbonate oil reservoir. First, the stability and adsorption of polymer molecule were analyzed in different pH of injection water and $SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentration in injection water. As a result, regardless of pH and $SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentration, when $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion was contained in injection water, the stability of polymer solution was obtained. However, from the result of polymer retention analysis, in neutral state of injection water, since $SO_4{^{2-}}$ interfered the adsorption of polymer, the adsorption thickness of polymer was thinner as $SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentration was higher. On the other hand, when injection water was acidic as pH 4, the amount of polymer adsorption increased with the injection of polymer solution, so the mobility of polymer solution was greatly lowered. From the results of wettability alteration due to low-salinity water effect, in the case of neutral injection water injected, as $SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentration was increased, more oil which attached on rock surface was detached, altering wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. On the other hand, in acidic condition, due to complex effect of rock dissolution and polymer adsorption, wettability of the entire core system was less altered relatively to neutral condition. Therefore, it was evaluated that better EOR efficiency was obtained when injecting low-salinity water based polymer solution containing high concentration of $SO_4{^{2-}}$ with neutral condition, enhancing the oil production up to 12.3% compared to low-salinity water injection method.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.51-59
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• 2001

Column and box tests were performed to investigate the removal efficiency of NAPL using the surfactant enhanced flushing In heterogeneous medium. Homogeneous Ottawa sand and heterogeneous soil were used to verify the increase of remediation efficiency for the surfactant enhanced flushing in column test. Box tests with two different heterogeneous sub-structure were performed to quantify the capability of the surfactant enhanced flushing as a remediation method to remove NAPL from the heterogeneous medium. Two different grain size sand layers were repeated in the box to simulate the heterogeneous layer formation and the modified fault structure was built to simulate the fault system in the box. O-xylene as a LNAPL and PCE as a DNAPL were used and oleamide as a non-ionic surfactant. The maximum NAPL effluent concentration with 1% oleamide flushing in the homogeneous column test increased about 460 times compared to that with only water flushing and about 250 times increased in the real soil column test. In heterogeneous medium, the maximum effluent concentration increased about 150 times in 1% oleamide flushing and most of NAPL were removed from the box within 8 pore volume flushing, suggesting that the removal efficiency increased very much compared to in only water flushing. Results investigated the capability of the surfactant enhanced remediation method to remove NAPL even in heterogeneous medium.