Study on an all-in-one foaming agent with corrosion inhibition for air foam flooding

Wangjun Chang; Weishou Hu; Xiaojun Wang; Xuefan Gu; Shijun Chen; Gang Chen

doi:10.1515/tsd-2023-2574

Article

Study on an all-in-one foaming agent with corrosion inhibition for air foam flooding

Wangjun Chang
Wangjun Chang is a graduated student of applied chemistry.
, Weishou Hu
Weishou Hu is an engineer of applied chemistry.
, Xiaojun Wang
Xiaojun Wang is an engineer of applied chemistry.
, Xuefan Gu
Xuefan Gu is a professor of applied chemistry.
, Shijun Chen
Shijun Chen is a professor of applied chemistry.
and Gang Chen

Published/Copyright: March 5, 2024

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From the journal Tenside Surfactants Detergents Volume 61 Issue 2

Abstract

Foam has been widely used in drilling, well washing, and oil driving during the development of oil and gas fields. Although air foams have been successfully employed as an enhanced oil medium, the oxygen they contain can seriously corrode piping systems, which can have a negative influence on output. This work used a combination of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyl aminopropyl betaine (LAB), sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), and cosurfactants to solve the problem above. The corrosion inhibitor hydrazine hydrate (N₂H₄·H₂O) was added as corrosion inhibitor. The foaming (air)-corrosion inhibitor all-in-one (SLN) was obtained with the formulation of SDS: LAB: N₂H₄·H₂O = 8:2:4. The foam volume of 0.7 % SLN was measured to be 515 mL at room temperature with a half-life of 4.1 min using the stirring method. The initial foam height of this all-in-one agent was measured to be 15.6 cm at 30 °C using the Roche foaming method. The foam height was still maintained at 15.5 cm after 20 min with a foam height retention of 99.2 %. The foam height retention rate was 50.0 % at 70 °C. Moreover, the formulation had good salt resistance to common inorganic salts in oilfield water. It should be emphasized that the SLN all-in-one agent has strong corrosion inhibition performance, and the corrosion inhibition rate can reach up to 96.9 %. The surface tension of this SLN all-in-one agent was reduced to 27.8 mN m⁻¹ at a concentration of 0.1 %. It indicated that the all-in-one agent might increase the stability of the foam by decreasing the surface tension, thus improving the persistence of the foam and the effect of the repelling oil.

Keywords: surfactant; foaming; corrosion inhibition; oil field

Corresponding author: Gang Chen, Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Reservoir Protection Technology of Oilfields, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an, 710065, China; and The Sixth Gas Production Plant PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi’an, 7160065, China, E-mail: gangchen@xsyu.edu.cn

Funding source: Scientific Research Program Funded by Shaanxi Povincial Education Department

Award Identifier / Grant number: 22JY052

About the authors

Wangjun Chang

Wangjun Chang is a graduated student of applied chemistry.

Weishou Hu

Weishou Hu is an engineer of applied chemistry.

Xiaojun Wang

Xiaojun Wang is an engineer of applied chemistry.

Xuefan Gu

Xuefan Gu is a professor of applied chemistry.

Shijun Chen

Shijun Chen is a professor of applied chemistry.

Acknowledgments

We thank work of Modern Analysis and Testing Center of Xi’an Shiyou University.

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Author contributions: Wangjun Chang: Data curation, Writing: Original draft preparation. Weishou Hu: Visualization, investigation. Xiaojun Wang: Investigation, methodology. Xuefan Gu: Software, validation. Shijun Chen: Supervision. Gang Chen: Conceptualization, reviewing and editing.
Competing interests: No.
Research funding: This research was funded by Youth Innovation Team of Shaanxi University and Scientific Research Program Funded by Shaanxi Provincial Education Department (Program No. 22JY052).
Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Received: 2023-09-22

Accepted: 2023-12-19

Published Online: 2024-03-05

Published in Print: 2024-03-25

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/tsd-2023-2574

Keywords for this article

surfactant; foaming; corrosion inhibition; oil field