The ultra-low interfacial tension behavior of the combined cationic/anionic-nonionic gemini surfactants system for chemical flooding.

Gemini surfactants have attracted intensive attention owning to their unique physical and chemical properties and have gradually been applied in the field of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In this work, a combined cationic/anionic-nonionic gemini surfactant system consisting of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic-nonionic gemini surfactants (GAES-9) was proposed for EOR. The surface performance of the combined system was superior to that of either surfactant alone. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) data were used to calculate the molecular interaction parameters according to the regular solution theory. The combined CTAB/GAES-9 surfactant system could greatly affect the interfacial tension (IFT) between water and crude oil, and the strength of this effect depended on the mole fraction and concentration of CTAB/GAES-9. The system could reduce the IFT to an ultra-low level at a total concentration of 200 mg/L, and the system could still maintain ultra-low IFT at a salinity of 10 × 10 4 mg/L. The mechanism underlying the synergistic effect of CTAB/GAES-9 to obtain ultra-low IFT was systematically investigated. It is most probably related to a large number of anions and cations being adsorbed onto the oil-water interface due to electrostatic attraction. Meanwhile, the spatial structure of the elongated, flexible EO chains in the gemini surfactant entangled at the oil-water interface shields some CTAB cations, enabling the adsorption of more cations. To summarize, the combined surfactants exhibit remarkable abilities and could serve as a candidate for EOR in harsh reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]