A Static and Dynamic Analysis of Nonionic-based Binary Surfactant Systems for Adsorption Mitigation in a Carbonate Reservoir with High Salinity

Surfactants are crucial in chemical enhanced oil recovery, but high adsorption onto rocks reduces their efficiency and economic viability. Sacrificial agents, such as alkalis, nanoparticles, and polymers have been investigated to mitigate this issue but they in turn present drawbacks such as poor oil interaction, compatibility issues, pore plugging, and increased costs. Binary surfactant systems, due to their favorable potential synergistic interactions, are proposed as solutions for reducing surfactant adsorption. Static adsorption experiments were conducted to assess the effect of the binary surfactants on adsorption efficiency, and the impact of salinity on the adsorption process equilibrium was also studied. Five core flooding experiments under reservoir temperature (41 ∘C), reservoir pressure (21 MPa), and high salinity (23.4 wt.%) were conducted to evaluate dynamic adsorption. The surfactant concentrations in supernatant and effluent, after the adsorption process were determined via interfacial tension tests using a spinning drop method. The results showed a significant reduction in surfactant adsorption on carbonate rocks, from 9.99 mg/g-rock to 0.68 mg/g-rock for anionic surfactants and from 5.38 mg/g-rock to 0.19 mg/g-rock for zwitterionic surfactants, with corresponding dynamic reductions of 61% and 89%. Our results were further evidenced by the little to no changes in the differential pH curves in the adsorption process of the binary surfactant systems. This study presents a cost-effective approach for significantly reducing surfactant adsorption on carbonate rocks and aids in designing surfactant formulations for adsorption reduction in high-temperature, high-salinity carbonate reservoirs.