Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Identification of Crude Oil Components Responsible for Foaming

1985; Society of Petroleum Engineers; Volume: 25; Issue: 02 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2118/12342-pa

2469-8490

I. C. Callaghan, A. L. McKechnie, John E. Ray, J. C. Wainwrigh,

Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis

Abstract The foaming characteristics of a number of crude oils from a variety of sources were determined by Bikerman's pneumatic method. Extraction of these crudes with both alkali and acid indicated that the crude oil components responsible for the foam stability were removed by the alkali extraction. Further examination of the alkali extract revealed that after neutralization it was the chloroform-soluble part of this extract (0.02% wt% of the whole crude) that was responsible for the foaming properties of the crudes investigated. This latter point was confirmed by demonstrating that the surface rheological properties of one of the extracted crudes could be restored by adding back the chloroform-soluble portion of the neutralized alkali extract. Analysis of this extract indicated that the foam-stabilizing materials were short-chain carboxylic acids and phenols of molecular weight ≤400. In principle, such analytical information could be used to identify crude oils likely to present severe foaming problems in the field. Such information could enable the process engineer to take appropriate corrective measures early in the life of a new field, thus avoiding the need for high capital expenditure at a later stage.