Adsorption of aliphatic ionic liquids at low waxy crude oil–water interfaces and the effect of brine

• Aliphatic ionic liquids reduce the interfacial tension of crude oil–water system.
• Ionic liquid + NaCl for crude oil–water system shows synergism in surface phenomena.
• Ionic liquid with [HSO4]− or [H2PO4]− anion shows better efficiency.
• Greater the chain length of ionic liquid, higher is the tendency to lower surface/interfacial tension.
• Applicable for the recovery of residual oil from matured reservoirs.

The need for development of better surface active agents for upstream oil and gas industry which can survive harsh condition of salinity are in great demand, particularly for the applications related to improved/enhanced oil recovery, flow assurance and oil and gas production operations keeping in mind the environmental constraints. The technical difficulties which need to be considered are those involving the surface forces such as surface tension (SFT) and interfacial tension (IFT) acting between the formation water and the low waxy crude oil. In this study, we have employed the use of eight aliphatic ionic liquids (ILs), based on di- and tri-alkyl ammonium as cations and with various anions such as [CH3COO]−, [BF4]−, [H2PO4]− and [HSO4]− for the investigation of the surface phenomenon of crude oil–water system. The synergistic effect of NaCl along with the ILs is investigated in detail. It is observed that there is a significant reduction in the surface tension of water and the interfacial tension of crude oil–water system in the presence of salt, particularly at higher concentration of NaCl (200,000 ppm). Effect of temperature, time, alkyl chain length of the cationic part of the ILs, nature of anions of ILs and the concentration of ILs is also discussed. The trend in the electrical conductivity of aqueous IL solutions with various concentrations at three different temperatures 298.15–318.15 K is also presented along with critical aggregation concentration. The study on the effect of ILs on the SFT/IFT of water and low waxy crude oil–water system reveal that the ILs are successful in minimizing the effect of the surface forces in the presence of salt and thereby, could pave the way for efficient enhanced oil recovery operations.

Proposed mechanism showing the effect of aliphatic ILs in decreasing the IFT of crude oil–water system.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide