The design of surfactants and nanoparticles with interfacial activity at CO2-water and oil-water interfaces is of great practical interest in subsurface applications including enhanced oil recovery, imaging of reservoirs and CO2 sequestration.   To improve the efficiency of oil recovery, smart surfactants or smart nanoparticles may be designed to reduce CO2 mobility selectively by generating foam only in regions where CO2 bypasses oil.  Low molecular weight hydrocarbon surfactants have been designed to stabilize carbon dioxide-water (C/W) macroemulsions and foams, which are switchable from the nonionic (unprotonated amine) state in dry CO2 to cationic (protonated amine) in the presence of an aqueous phase with a pH below 6.  These surfactants are soluble in dry CO2 in the nonionic state which enables injection from the CO2 phase. They also have high cloud points of ionic surfactants (cationic in acidic carbonic acid), which is a requirement to stabilize CO2 foam at high temperature and salinity.Nanoparticles are currently of great interest for forming emulsions and foams because of their robust chemical stability and extremely strong and selective adsorption at targeted fluid/fluid interfaces. Their surface coating can be tailored to favor CO2/water foam without forming oil/water emulsions.  In addition, the surface coatings of superparamagnetic nanoparticles may be designed to control their adsorption at desired interfaces. These particles may be utilized as contrast agents for electromagnetic imaging of subsurface reservoirs and oil spills.

Design of surfactants and nanoparticles for CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and electromagnetic imaging

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Design of surfactants and nanoparticles for CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and electromagnetic imaging

Design of surfactants and nanoparticles for CO₂ sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and electromagnetic imaging