Laboratory Studies of the Phase Microemulsions between Oil, Gaberoun Lake Water, and Surfactant Systems by using Phase Behavior Test

Abstract

Microemulsion phase behavior is the most
important phenomenon related to any type of chemical
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using surfactant. An EOR
process in which a small amount of surfactant is added to an
aqueous fluid injected to sweep the reservoir. The presence
of surfactant reduces the interfacial tension between the oil
and water phases to improve oil recovery. This research was
conducted through interaction with the micelles of a
surfactant in a Gaberoun Lake Water (GLW), a substance
spontaneously dissolves to form a stable and clear solution.
The laboratory experiment was designed to solubilize the oil
by GLW with oil and surfactant to form an emulsion (ME)
consisting of oil and water. The GLW and surfactant water
were prepared by different concentrations and salinity as
aqueous. The aqueous was injected into special glass tubes
and placed inside the oven at different temperatures from
30 oC to 70 oC at ambient pressure. The glass tubes were left
until equilibrium condition for 72 hours. In this study, new
results using dead oil and surfactant with Libyan leak water
were presented. The range of the thickness of the ME from
0.1ml to 1.4 ml. The result showed that the ME was
decreased with a decrease in surfactant concentration values
and increased with a decrease salinity. The findings in this
research that GLW can be used for oil recovery processes.