Impact of surfactant type on adsorption process and oil recovery: Implementation of new surfactant produced from Zizyphus Spina-d Christi extract

Abstract

Three different types of surfactants containing an anionic, a cationic and a new nonionic biosurfactant, Zizyphus Spina-Christi extract were used for the purpose of oil recovery in a core flood system. Core flooding tests were conducted on sandstone to test the effectiveness of surfactants in tertiary oil recovery. Extensive research including adsorption behavior of surfactants on the rock surface and interfacial tension (IFT) measurements were used to analyze the surfactant flooding performance. An additional recovery varying between 6.15% and 12.17% of original oil in place (OOIP) was obtained by surfactant solution injection. The results indicated that the new biosurfactant can be used as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agent either for IFT reduction or wettability alteration purpose. Furthermore, availability and the low cost of the Zizyphus Spina-Christi extract in comparison to common chemical surfactants in petroleum industry make it economically viable for surfactant flooding.