Chromatographic effects in flow of a surfactant mixture in a porous sandstone

Mannhardt, K. and Novosad, J.J., 1991. Chromatographic effects in flow of a surfactant mixture in a porous sandstone. J. Pet. Sci. Eng., 5: 89-103. An adsorption model for flow of binary surfactant mixtures in porous media is developed. The model utilizes. ideal mixed micelle theory to describe monomer-micelle equilibrium, and the surface excess concept to describe the equilibria at the solid/liquid interface. The model is applied to experimental core flood data obtained with a commercial foam-forming surfactant in a sandstone core. It is shown that adsorption of surfactants depends not only on their affinity for the surface, but also on their tendency to form micelles, and that the latter factor may dominate the adsorption process.