EFFECTS OF INTERFACIAL REACTION ON THE RADIAL DISPLACEMENT OF OIL BY ALKALINE-SOLUTIONS

This study examines the secondary recovery of an acidic oil by alkaline solutions in a water-wet porous medium using a radial geometry. A model porous medium consisting of sintered glass beads sandwiched between two glass plates was employed to visualize the displacement process. The medium was originally saturated with the oil phase, namely paraffin oil (non-reacting system) or paraffin oil doped with 1 wt % linoleic acid (reacting system). The effects of the injection flow rate and the NaOH concentration in the aqueous phase on the displacement pattern were studied experimentally. The volumetric oil recovery at the break-through condition was also measured. -from Authors