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Pseudo-Gemini Biosurfactants with CO2 Switchability for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

  • Yi Lu , Yeling Zhu , Zhenghe Xu and Qingxia Liu
Published/Copyright: October 1, 2019
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Tenside Surfactants Detergents
From the journal Tenside Surfactants Detergents Volume 56 Issue 5

Abstract

Novel biosurfactants with high performance are always needed in the petroleum industry for environmental sustainability. Herein, we developed a series of biosurfactants to enhance the heavy oil recovery from Canadian oil sands. Pseudo-Gemini biosurfactants were designed to be interfacially active and CO2 switchable. The strong interfacial activity of biosurfactants promotes the liberation of heavy oil from solid substrates, which was demonstrated by the liberation visualization cell. On the other hand, the separation of heavy oil from extraction fluid was also facilitated by activating the CO2 switchability of biosurfactants. Since the efficiencies in both the heavy oil liberation and the oil-water separation were improved, the total heavy oil recovery could be significantly enhanced. Therefore, these biosurfactants are believed to be promising in the application of enhanced oil recovery from oil sands ore.

Kurzfassung

In der Erdölindustrie werden immer neue Biotenside benötigt, die sich durch hohe Leistung und ökologische Nachhaltigkeit auszeichnen. Wir haben hier eine Reihe von Biotensiden entwickelt, um die Schwerölgewinnung aus kanadischen Ölsanden zu verbessern. Pseudo-Gemini-Biotenside wurden als grenzflächenaktive und CO2-umschaltbare Verbindungen konzipiert. Die starke Grenzflächenaktivität von Biotensiden fördert die Freisetzung von Schweröl aus festen Substraten, was mit der Freisetzungsvisualisierungszelle gezeigt wurde. Zum anderen wurde auch die Abtrennung von Schweröl aus Extraktionsflüssigkeit durch die Aktivierung der CO2-Schaltbarkeit von Biotensiden erleichtert. Da die Effizienz sowohl bei der Schwerölfreisetzung als auch bei der Öl-Wasser-Trennung verbessert wurde, konnte die gesamte Schwerölgewinnung signifikant verbessert werden. Daher wird angenommen, dass diese Biotenside für die tertiäre Erdölgewinnung aus Ölsanderz vielversprechend sind.

Key words: Biosurfactants; pseudo-gemini surfactants; CO2 switchable compounds; enhanced oil recovery (EOR); oil-water separation
Stichwörter: Biotenside; Pseudo-Gemini-Tenside; CO2-umschaltbare Verbindungen; Tertiäre Erdölgewinnung (EOR); Öl-Wasser-Trennung
∗Correspondence address, Professor Dr. Qingxia Liu, 12-281 Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 1H9, Tel.: +1(780)492-1119, Fax: +1(780)492-2881, E-Mail:

Yi Lu is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta and his research focuses on the development of stimuli-responsive surfactants for the petroleum industry as well as the fundamental understanding of related colloidal phenomena.

Yeling Zhu is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta and his research focuses on the development of rapid phase separation techniques using bio-derived solvent as well as their application in hydrocarbon production from oil-bearing minerals.

Dr. Zhenghe Xu is a Teck Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta and a Chair Professor in the School of Sciences at the Southern University of Science and Technology. His area of research includes oil sands engineering, interfacial phenomena in mineral and materials processing, advanced coal cleaning and combustion technology, emission control, nanotechnology, and molecular interactions at interfaces.

Dr. Qingxia Liu is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials at the University of Alberta and the scientific director for the Canadian Centre for Clean Coal/Carbon and Mineral Processing Technologies (C5MPT). His area of research includes dispersion of high solid slurries, mineral processing, coal preparation technology, interfacial phenomena, oil sands extraction, tailing treatment, construction and building materials.

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Received: 2019-06-10
Accepted: 2019-07-13
Published Online: 2019-10-01
Published in Print: 2019-09-16

© 2019, Carl Hanser Publisher, Munich

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents/Inhalt
  2. Contents
  3. Microbial Synthesis
  4. Production of Non-Toxic Biosurfactant – Surfactin – Through Microbial Fermentation of Biomass Hydrolysates for Industrial and Environmental Applications
  5. Characterisation Novel Biosurfactants
  6. Structures and Properties of Sophorolipids in Dependence of Microbial Strain, Lipid Substrate and Post-Modification
  7. Personal Care/Cleansing
  8. Amino-Acid Surfactants in Personal Cleansing (Review)
  9. Toward Milder Personal Care Cleansing Products: Fast ex vivo Screening of Irritating Effects of Surfactants on Skin Using Raman Microscopy
  10. Textile Surface Modification
  11. Surface Characterization of Textiles for Optimization of Functional Polymeric Nano-Capsule Attachment
  12. Enhanced Oil Recovery and Oil-Spill Dispersants
  13. Pseudo-Gemini Biosurfactants with CO2 Switchability for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
  14. Hydrophilic-Lipophilic-Difference (HLD) Guided Formulation of Oil Spill Dispersants with Biobased Surfactants
  15. Mineral Processing
  16. Floatability of Chalcopyrite by Glycolipid Biosurfactants as Compared to Traditional Thiol Surfactants
  17. Antimicrobial Properties
  18. Stability of Emulsions and Nanoemulsions Stabilized with Biosurfactants, and their Antimicrobial Performance against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes
https://doi.org/10.3139/113.110638
Keywords for this article
Biosurfactants; pseudo-gemini surfactants; CO2 switchable compounds; enhanced oil recovery (EOR); oil-water separation

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents/Inhalt
  2. Contents
  3. Microbial Synthesis
  4. Production of Non-Toxic Biosurfactant – Surfactin – Through Microbial Fermentation of Biomass Hydrolysates for Industrial and Environmental Applications
  5. Characterisation Novel Biosurfactants
  6. Structures and Properties of Sophorolipids in Dependence of Microbial Strain, Lipid Substrate and Post-Modification
  7. Personal Care/Cleansing
  8. Amino-Acid Surfactants in Personal Cleansing (Review)
  9. Toward Milder Personal Care Cleansing Products: Fast ex vivo Screening of Irritating Effects of Surfactants on Skin Using Raman Microscopy
  10. Textile Surface Modification
  11. Surface Characterization of Textiles for Optimization of Functional Polymeric Nano-Capsule Attachment
  12. Enhanced Oil Recovery and Oil-Spill Dispersants
  13. Pseudo-Gemini Biosurfactants with CO2 Switchability for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
  14. Hydrophilic-Lipophilic-Difference (HLD) Guided Formulation of Oil Spill Dispersants with Biobased Surfactants
  15. Mineral Processing
  16. Floatability of Chalcopyrite by Glycolipid Biosurfactants as Compared to Traditional Thiol Surfactants
  17. Antimicrobial Properties
  18. Stability of Emulsions and Nanoemulsions Stabilized with Biosurfactants, and their Antimicrobial Performance against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes
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