ABSTRACT
This report entails the study of the effect of the foaming agents in the physio-chemical
properties of the oil system, this report investigate if the addition of such foaming agents can
improve production and also determines the properties of the crude oil and the foaming
agents used. The properties investigated are Density, Specific Gravity, API gravity, viscosity,
Surface Tension and Pour point before and after the addition of the foaming agents. The
effects of foaming agents in crude oil: it increases density, viscosity and specific gravity of
crude oil and decreases API gravity, surface tension, pour and cloud point of crude oil.
Statistical and graphical analysis were used to interpret the results of the experiments
carried out. The results show that foaming agents increases oil density, oil viscosity, oil
specific gravity and decreases oil API gravity, oil surface tension, oil cloud point and pour
point.
The study would help petroleum engineers to understand the positive impact of foams
in oil; especially during enhanced oil recovery (EOR).With such understanding and putting it
into practical, production will be maximized.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICTION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. i DEDICATION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT……………………………………………………………………………………………. iii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. vii LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………………………………………………… viii CHAPTER ONE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 1.1 Crude Oil System ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 1.2 Properties of crude oil system …………………………………………………………………………. 2 1.3 Characterization of Crude Oil …………………………………………………………………………. 5 1.4 Foaming Agents ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 7 1.5 Factors Contributing to Crude Oil Foam Formation …………………………………………… 8 1.6 Properties of foam ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 1.7 Statement of Problem …………………………………………………………………………………… 14 1.8 Objective of the work …………………………………………………………………………………… 14 1.9 Scope/Justification of the work ……………………………………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER TWO…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………………………………………… 15 2.1 Work on Effect of Wettability of the Rock on Oil-Foam Interactions…………………. 17 CHAPTER THREE ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19 3.0: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………………………………………. 19 3.1 Materials and Equipment Used …………………………………………………………………….. 19 3.2: Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Density of Crude Oil. …………………………………….. 20 3.3 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Specific Gravity of Crude Oil. ………………………… 22 3.4 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Viscosity of Crude Oil. ………………………………….. 24 3.5 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Surface Tension of Crude Oil …………………………. 26 3.6 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on Cloud Point and Pour Point of Crude Oil. ……………… 29 CHAPTER FOUR …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32 4.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION …………………………………………………………………………. 32
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4.1 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Density of Crude Oil. …………………………………….. 32 4.2 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Specific Gravity of Crude Oil. ………………………… 35 4.3 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the API Gravity Of Crude Oil. ……………………………… 38 4.4 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Apparent and Plastic Viscosity of Crude Oil. ……. 41 4.5 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Surface Tension Of Crude Oil. ……………………….. 47 4.6 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Surface Tension Of Crude Oil. ……………………….. 50 CHAPTER 5 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 58 5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION …………………………………………………… 58 5.1 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………………………………… 58 RECOMMENDATION …………………………………………………………………………………………. 58 NOMENCLATURE …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 63
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Determination of the effect of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Omo) and Ammonium Dodecysulate (Vinoz Shampoo) on the Density of Crude Oil
32
Table 2 Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding Density
34
Table 3 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) and the corresponding Specific Gravity
35
Table 4 Mass of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding Specific Gravity
37
Table 5 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water and the corresponding 38 Table 6 Mass of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding API gravity 40 Table 7 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water and the corresponding plastic viscosity 41 Table 8 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water and the corresponding Plastic Viscosity 43 Table 9 Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding Apparent Viscosity 44 Table10 Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding Apparent viscosity 46 Table 11 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water and the corresponding surface tension 47 Table 12 Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding surface tension 49 Table 13 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water and the corresponding cloud point 50 Table 14 Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding cloud point 52 Table 15 Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water and the Corresponding pour point 53 Table 16 Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) and the corresponding pour point 55 Table 17 Summary of foaming agents and crude oil properties used 57
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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Shear stress – shear rate plot for Newtonian fluids 11
Figure 2 Shear stress vs shear rate curves for non-Newtonian fluid 12
Figure 3 Pycnometer on weighing balance 21
Figure 4 Hydrometer in a measuring Cylinder 24
Figure 5 Rheometer 26
Figure 6 Schematic of Surface tension system 26
Figure 7 Tensiometer 28
Figure 8 Cloud and Pour Equipment 31
Figure 9 Plot of Crude oil density vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) 33
Figure 10 Plot of Crude oil density vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 34
Figure 11 Plot of Specific Gravity vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) 36
Figure 12 Plot of Specific Gravity vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 37
Figure 13 Plot of API gravity vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water 39
Figure 14 Plot of API gravity vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 40
Figure 15 Plot of Apparent Viscosity vs volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water
42
Figure 16 Plot of Plastic Viscosity vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water
43
Figure 17 Plot of Apparent Viscosity vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz) 45
Figure 18 Plot of Plastic Viscosity vs Mass of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 46
Figure 19 Plot of Surface Tension vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water
48
Figure 20 Plot of Surface Tension vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 49
Figure 21 Plot of cloud point vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water 51
Figure 22 Plot of Cloud point vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 52
Figure 23 Plot of Pour point vs Volume of Sodium Laureth Sulphate (omo) with distilled water 54
Figure 24 Plot of Pour point vs Volume of Ammonium Dodecysulate (vinoz shampoo) 55
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Crude Oil System
Crude Oil or Petroleum refers to any naturally-occurring flammable hydrocarbon
mixture found in geologic formations, such as rock strata, formed through the heating and
compression of organic material such as dead zooplankton and algae over a long period of
time. Technically, the term petroleum only refers to crude oil, but sometimes it is applied to
describe any solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons. It is a hydrocarbon mixture having simple
to most complex structures such as resins, asphaltenes etc. Crude oil can be refined to
produce usable products such as gasoline, diesel and various forms of petrochemicals.
Crude oil is also a naturally occurring mixture, consisting of hydrocarbon with other
element such as sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen, etc. appearing in the form of organic compounds
which in some cases form complexes with metals. Elemental analysis of crude oil shows that
it contains mainly carbon and hydrogen in the appropriate ration of six to one by weight. The
mixture of hydrocarbon is highly complex, and the complexity increases with boiling range.
Crude oil is formed by bacterial transformation of Organic matter
(carbohydrates/proteins/ animal origin) by decay in presence and/or absence of air into HC
rich sediments by undergoing biological/physical and chemical alterations In its strictest
sense, crude oil, but in common usage it includes all liquid, gaseous, and solid hydrocarbons.
Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter
hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases, while pentane and heavier
ones are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in an underground oil reservoir the
proportions of gas, liquid, and solid depend on subsurface conditions and on the phase
diagram of the crude mixture.
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1.2 Properties of crude oil system
Density
Density is defined as the mass per unit volume of a substance. It is most often
reported for oils in units of g/mL or g/cm3, and less often in units of kg/m3. Density is
temperature-dependent. Oil will float on water if the density of the oil is less than that of the
water. This will be true of all fresh crude oils, and most fuel oils, for both salt and fresh
water. Bitumen and certain residual fuel oils may have densities greater than 1.0 g/mL and
their buoyancy behaviour will vary depending on the salinity and temperature of the water.
The density of spilled oil will also increase with time, as the more volatile (and less dense)
components are lost. After considerable evaporation, the density of some crude oils may
increase enough for the oils to submerge below the water surface.
Two density-related properties of oils are often used: specific gravity and American
Petroleum Institute (API) gravity. Specific gravity (or relative density) is the ratio, at a
specified temperature, of the oil density to the density of pure water. The API gravity scale
arbitrarily assigns an API gravity of 10° to pure water. API gravity is
Calculated as:
API gravity (o) = (141.5/ (specific gravity (60/60oF) – 131.5 ………………………………… (1)
Oils with low densities, and hence low specific gravities, have high API gravities. The price
of a crude oil is usually based on its API gravity, with high gravity oils commanding higher
prices.
Pour Point
The pour point of an oil is the lowest temperature at which the oil will just flow, under
standard test conditions. The failure to flow at the pour point is usually attributed to the
3
separation of waxes from the oil, but can also be due to the effect of viscosity in the case of
very viscous oils. Also, particularly in the case of residual fuel oils, Pour points may be
influenced by the thermal history of the sample, that is, the degree and duration of heating
and cooling to which the sample has been exposed. From a spill response point of view, it
must be emphasized that the tendency of the oil to flow will be influenced by the size and
shape of the container, the head of the oil, and the physical structure of the solidified oil. The
pour point of the oils is therefore an indication, and not an exact measure, of the temperature
at which flow ceases.
Viscosity
Dynamic Viscosity: Viscosity is a measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow; the lower the
viscosity of a fluid, the more easily it flows.
Like density, viscosity is affected by temperature. As temperature decreases, viscosity
increases. The SI unit of dynamic viscosity is the millipascal-second (mPa∙s). This is
equivalent to the former unit of centipoise (cp). Viscosity is a very important property of oils
because it affects the rate at which crude oil will spread, the degree to which it will penetrate
shoreline substrates, and the selection of mechanical spill countermeasures equipment.
Viscosity measurements may be absolute or relative (sometimes called ‘apparent’).
Absolute viscosities are those measured by a standard method, with the results traceable to
fundamental units. Absolute viscosities are distinguished from relative measurements made
with instruments that measure viscous drag in a fluid, without known and/or uniform applied
shear rates.
Sulphur
The sulphur content of a crude oil is important for a number of reasons. Downstream
processes such as catalytic cracking and refining will be adversely affected by high sulphur
4
contents. Crude oil containing a high amount of the impurity (sulfur) is referred to as sour
crude oil, when the total sulfur level in the oil is more than 0.5% the oil is called “sour”. The
impurity needs to be removed before this lower-quality crude can be refined into petrol,
thereby increasing the cost of processing.
The majority of the sulfur in crude oil occurs bonded to carbon atoms, with a small
amount occurring as elemental sulfur in solution and as hydrogen sulfide gas. Sour oil can be
toxic and corrosive, especially when the oil contains higher levels of hydrogen sulphide,
which is a breathing hazard. At low concentrations the gas gives the oil the smell of rotting
eggs. For safety reasons, sour crude oil needs to be stabilized by having hydrogen sulfide gas
(H2S) removed from it before being transported by oil tankers. This results in a higher-priced
gasoline than that made from sweet crude oil.
Basic Sediment and Water Content (BS&W)
Basic sediment and water (BS&W) is a technical specification of certain impurities in
crude oil. When extracted from an oil reservoir, the crude oil contains some amount of water
and suspended solids from the reservoir. The particulate matter is known as sediment or mud.
The water content can vary greatly from field to field, and may be present in large quantities
for older fields, or if oil extraction is enhanced using water injection technology.
The bulk of the water and sediment is usually separated at the field to minimize the
quantity that needs to be transported further. The residual content of these unwanted
impurities is measured as BS&W. Oil refineries may either buy crude to a certain BS&W
specification or may alternatively have initial crude oil dehydration and desalting process
units that reduce the BS&W to acceptable limits, or a combination thereof.
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Chemical Composition of Crude oil
Carbon – 83.0 to 87.0%
Hydrogen – 10.0 to 14.0 %
Sulphur – 0.05 to 6.0 %
Nitrogen – 0.1 to 2.0 %
Oxygen – 0.05 to 1.5 %
Metals – 0.00 to 0.14 %
1.3 Characterization of Crude Oil
Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid, mineral oil consisting of a variety of organic
compounds, mainly saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, but also more complex
compounds. The oil industry characterizes the quality of the oil using:
