Foam Flow Investigation in 3D-Printed Porous Media: Fingering and Gravitational Effects

Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2018-05-30
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Shojaei, Mohammad Javad  
Osei-Bonsu, Kofi  
Grassia, Paul  
Shokri, Nima  
TORE-URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11420/9447
Journal
Industrial & engineering chemistry research  
Volume
57
Issue
21
Start Page
7275
End Page
7281
Citation
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research 57 (21): 7275-7281 (2018-05-30)
Publisher DOI
10.1021/acs.iecr.8b00136
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85046629323
Flow in porous media investigations have shown foam injection has a higher sweep efficiency compared to gas injection. However, fingering of highly mobile gas within the foam bank and separation of fluids (gas and surfactant) resulting from gravity segregation can influence the performance of the foam injection project. To the best of our knowledge, this phenomenon has not been investigated experimentally in the literature. In this study, foam injection experiments have been performed in a model oriented in horizontal and perpendicular orientations with respect to gravity using different flow rates. High-resolution imaging tools were utilized to record the displacement process of oil by gas/surfactant/foam. The recorded images enabled us to monitor gas fingering and the foam flow dynamics at the pore scale. The obtained results highlighted the adverse effect of fingering of gas phase into the foam bank and fluid separation by gravity segregation on the performance of the foam projects.