Compositional-dependent viscosities in microemulsion systems

D. Magzymov, P. Khodaparast, R. T. Johns

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Accurate estimates of compositional-dependent microemulsion viscosities are critical to model flow in surfactant-polymer floods. Microemulsions are mixtures of oil, water and surfactant with complex internal structures and interaction forces between components. This paper develops a physics-based microemulsion viscosity model at low shear rate for compositional variations within a fixed ternary surfactant-brine-oil system. Our proposed model generates continuous viscosities for the entire compositional space with honored physical limits. First, binary water-surfactant and oil-surfactant viscosities variations along the axes of the ternary diagram are captured. Second, viscosity peaks at the "percolation locus" are reproduced, where the percolation locus is defined by hypothetical single-phase compositions within the ternary diagram. Last, end-point viscosities of pure water and oil on the apex of the ternary diagram are honored. The results show that the new model fits and predicts single phase microemulsion viscosities in ternary compositional space with acceptable accuracy (R2> 0.75) for a challenging three pseudocomponent system of isooctane, decane, and cyclohexane mixed with water and surfactant. The first-of-its-kind viscosity model can be coupled with any microemulsion phase behavior equations of state, such as that based on HLD-NAC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication16th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, ECMOR 2018
PublisherEuropean Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, EAGE
ISBN (Print)9789462822603
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Event16th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, ECMOR 2018 - Barcelona, Spain
Duration: Sep 3 2018Sep 6 2018

Publication series

Name16th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, ECMOR 2018

Other

Other16th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, ECMOR 2018
Country/TerritorySpain
CityBarcelona
Period9/3/189/6/18

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Geochemistry and Petrology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Compositional-dependent viscosities in microemulsion systems'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this