Molecular modeling, synthesis and characterization of branched geminal zwitterionic liquids for enhanced oil recovery

R. Cisneros-Dévora, D. A. Nieto-Álvarez, R. Cerón-Camacho, M. Pérez-Álvarez, A. R. Cartas-Rosado, R. Oviedo-Roa, J. M. Martínez-Magadán, L. S. Zamudio-Rivera, M. Pons-Jiménez, R. Hernández-Altamirano, V. Y. Mena-Cervantes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

A Sulfobetaine-based Branched Geminal Zwitterionic Liquid (SBGZL) and another one based on hydroxysultaine (HBGZL), were synthesized and their performance was evaluated in the enhancement of the oil recovery (EOR) when they are injected through flooding water into carbonate reservoirs. SBGZL obtained 39.4% and 215.5% more recovery factor for light- and heavy-oil, respectively, than obtained by a synthetic brine used as a reference; conversely, HBGZL obtained 37.5% and 44.7%, respectively. Density-Functional-Theory calculations of interaction energies reveal that both the SBGZL and HBGZL molecules adsorb on the carbonate surfaces stronger than an asphaltene molecule, implying that the good EOR performance of the zwitterionic liquids is due to the induced wettability change of the firstly-oil-wet carbonate surfaces.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4212-4219
Number of pages8
JournalArabian Journal of Chemistry
Volume12
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2019

Keywords

  • Density Functional Theory
  • Enhanced oil recovery
  • Sulfobetaine-based zwitterionic geminal liquid
  • Supramolecular chemistry

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