Numerical Modeling of the Behaviors of Sacrificial Polymers on Reducing Surfactant Loss

Abstract

The use of surfactants to alter the reservoir hydrocarbons affinity toward the injection fluids is an effective method to improve oil recovery for depleted reservoirs. However, the actual field applications of this technique are limited by economical complications such as the loss of surfactants in the reservoir rock pores. Reducing the adsorption of surfactants to the reservoir rock can be achieved through adding sacrificial agents to the injection slug. These sacrificial agents such as polymers can engage in a competitive behavior with surfactants for the adsorption on the reservoir rock surface. In this paper, a mathematical model that accounts for the interactive behaviors (adsorption and desorption) among multispecies nanoparticles in porous media was developed and validated by comparing with laboratory data to demonstrate its capability in solving adsorptive behaviors between surfactant and sacrificial polymers. An iterative solution associated with the presented model was verified by the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method to prove its correctness in simulations. Three groups of computational experiments were designed, and four operational scenarios were analyzed for each group to compare various injection plans and investigate the effect of desorption rates of sacrificial polymers on relieving the loss of surfactant. Finally, the 1D solution was integrated into an in-house streamline simulator that indicates its compatibility to be integrated into streamline-based simulation procedures and its potential in solving for more complex 3D heterogeneous problems.