Performance of surfactant-polymer flooding under the influence of intermittent ultrasonic waves

Abstract

The main focus of this research is to initiate the use of intermittent vibration in order to save the cost. Mechanical vibrations generated by ultrasonic radiation influence interfacial forces and increase the relative permeability of the phases. In this project, ultrasonic vibration was designed to assist surfactant-polymer (SP) flooding process for more significant effects, as SP flooding is one of EOR methods that is able to maximize both sweep and displacement efficiency. Besides, this work has been designed to understand the mechanics of intermittent ultrasonic vibration in influencing additional recovery of SP flooding, reduction of residual oil saturation, and displacement pattern at pore scale during the flooding process under exposure of ultrasonic waves. To achieve this, experiments consisting of visualization (at pore scale) and displacement experiments were conducted. Ultrasonic power was changed to see the influence on the process. Residual oil saturation at end of the flooding was recorded and snapshots of oil displacement were taken. The outcomes justified that intermittent vibrations can produce and enhance more additional oil recovery of SP flooding compared to the continuous vibration, and the reduction of residual oil saturation, and oil displacement rate highly dependent on the ultrasonic power.