The use of surfactants in processes at elevated pressure is critical to many fields ranging from oil recovery and extraction to manufacturing and textiles. For the majority of these processes, only an empirical understanding of the role of pressure on surfactant performance exists. While thermodynamics describe surfactant adsorption as a function of pressure, experimental measurements are required to relate surfactant chemistry to performance in extreme conditions. In this work, we describe a novel high-pressure microstensiometer capable of measuring surfactant dynamics as a function of pressure. We use our apparatus to measure the effect of pressure on surfactant isotherms and dynamics for non-ionic surfactants. We show that the effect of pressure is surfactant dependent and, in fact, lowers the effectiveness of surfactants at higher pressures. With these results, we will guide the design of more effective surfactants for high pressure applications.

Surfactant performance at the pressurized CO<sub>2</sub>-water interface

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.

Surfactant performance at the pressurized CO2-water interface

Surfactant performance at the pressurized CO₂-water interface