[CCoE Notice] Thesis Announcement: Extra­Heavy Oil Recovery by Single­Phase Microemulsion Flooding

[Grayson, Audrey A]

Extra–Heavy Oil Recovery by Single–Phase Microemulsion Flooding
Xiaonan Xiong Thesis
Defense Date: Thursday, August 3rd 2017 Time: 10:00 am Location Room: ERP 9 Room 123
Committee Members: Dr. Konstantinos Kostarelos, Dr. Dimitrios G. Hatzignatiou, and Dr. Miguel Saldana
Heavy oil and tar sands deposits are found in abundance in numerous locations around the world. Current thermal methods are controversial due to their potentially adverse effects on the environment. We propose an alternative method of extra heavy oil recovery, which applies a novel method of single phase microemulsion to achieve extremely high oil solubilization. The single phase microemulsion will be less viscous than oil, eliminating the need for solvent addition for transportation.
Phase behavior experiments such as surfactant screening, salinity scans, and aqueous stability were conducted focusing on single phase microemulsions.  Tar sands from Canada were used for phase behavior studies.  Surfactant screening experiments showed that a blend of sulfate and sulfonate has the potential to achieve high solubilization.  To increase solubilization, alkali was added to the formula and these results were promising.  Core flood experiments were conducted using tar sands directly.   Although some extra heavy oil was recovered in the core flood experiments, it was found that using single–phase microemulsion failed to achieve the degree of solubilization that was measured in the phase behavior studies.
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