Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior

During the fracking process in shale, an interaction occurs between shale and fracking fluid that contains a cocktail of chemicals. One of the chemicals used in fracking fluid is often surfactant, which is generally used as a viscofier. However, surfactants also have the potential of significantly i...

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Main Authors: Abdulelah, H., Mahmood, S.M., Al-Mutarreb, A.
Format: Article
Institution: Universiti Teknologi Petronas
Record Id / ISBN-0: utp-eprints.21762 /
Published: American Chemical Society 2018
Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042190538&doi=10.1021%2facs.energyfuels.7b03476&partnerID=40&md5=db395f5a71612d89b74db62d61f7916c
http://eprints.utp.edu.my/21762/
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spelling utp-eprints.217622018-08-01T02:04:58Z Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior Abdulelah, H. Mahmood, S.M. Al-Mutarreb, A. During the fracking process in shale, an interaction occurs between shale and fracking fluid that contains a cocktail of chemicals. One of the chemicals used in fracking fluid is often surfactant, which is generally used as a viscofier. However, surfactants also have the potential of significantly influencing the wettability and thus gas desorption-key factors affecting ultimate gas recovery from shale reservoirs. Even though a few studies discussed the ability of surfactants to alter wettability in shale, the implication of that change in adsorption/desorption behavior has never been experimentally investigated beyond hypothetical inferences. In this study, the influence of the wettability change by anionic surfactant on gas adsorption/desorption behavior in shale was investigated through a series of experiments. Baseline wettability readings of two shale samples were established by measuring the contact angles (BG-1 = 22.7°, KH-1 = 35°) between a drop of pure water placed on their polished surfaces, indicating that the affinity of pure water for the BG-1 surface was greater than that for KH-1. This difference can be attributed to the higher clay content and lower total organic carbon found in BG-1 as compared to KH-1. To investigate the impact of the interaction between shale and surfactants on wettability during the fracking process, we measured the contact angles again, this time with 1 wt solution of internal olefin sulfate surfactant. The surfactant-induced wettability changes of the two shale samples were investigated by measuring the contact angles again (BG-1 = 3.5°, KH-1 = 19.2°) between a drop of surfactant solution and their polished surfaces. The effect of wettability changes on gas adsorption/desorption was then evaluated utilizing the United States bureau of mines' modified method. Experiments were conducted on the two shale samples in two ways: after pure water treatment, and after surfactant treatment. The results suggest that due to the wettability alteration of the two shale samples by IOS surfactant toward more water-wet during the treatment, the methane adsorption/desorption characteristics were influenced. In BG-1 sample, IOS solution dramatically changed its wettability to become completely water-wet. Therefore, the volume of desorbed methane dropped by nearly 54. A similar but less pronounced influence was found in the KH-1 sample, where its desorbed methane dropped by 10 because of wettability alteration toward more water-wet. These reductions in the amount of desorbed gas suggest that prior to selecting a surfactant for addition to fracking fluid, its effect on wettability and gas desorption should be investigated to optimize shale gas recovery potential. © 2018 American Chemical Society. American Chemical Society 2018 Article NonPeerReviewed https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042190538&doi=10.1021%2facs.energyfuels.7b03476&partnerID=40&md5=db395f5a71612d89b74db62d61f7916c Abdulelah, H. and Mahmood, S.M. and Al-Mutarreb, A. (2018) Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior. Energy and Fuels, 32 (2). pp. 1423-1432. http://eprints.utp.edu.my/21762/
institution Universiti Teknologi Petronas
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description During the fracking process in shale, an interaction occurs between shale and fracking fluid that contains a cocktail of chemicals. One of the chemicals used in fracking fluid is often surfactant, which is generally used as a viscofier. However, surfactants also have the potential of significantly influencing the wettability and thus gas desorption-key factors affecting ultimate gas recovery from shale reservoirs. Even though a few studies discussed the ability of surfactants to alter wettability in shale, the implication of that change in adsorption/desorption behavior has never been experimentally investigated beyond hypothetical inferences. In this study, the influence of the wettability change by anionic surfactant on gas adsorption/desorption behavior in shale was investigated through a series of experiments. Baseline wettability readings of two shale samples were established by measuring the contact angles (BG-1 = 22.7°, KH-1 = 35°) between a drop of pure water placed on their polished surfaces, indicating that the affinity of pure water for the BG-1 surface was greater than that for KH-1. This difference can be attributed to the higher clay content and lower total organic carbon found in BG-1 as compared to KH-1. To investigate the impact of the interaction between shale and surfactants on wettability during the fracking process, we measured the contact angles again, this time with 1 wt solution of internal olefin sulfate surfactant. The surfactant-induced wettability changes of the two shale samples were investigated by measuring the contact angles again (BG-1 = 3.5°, KH-1 = 19.2°) between a drop of surfactant solution and their polished surfaces. The effect of wettability changes on gas adsorption/desorption was then evaluated utilizing the United States bureau of mines' modified method. Experiments were conducted on the two shale samples in two ways: after pure water treatment, and after surfactant treatment. The results suggest that due to the wettability alteration of the two shale samples by IOS surfactant toward more water-wet during the treatment, the methane adsorption/desorption characteristics were influenced. In BG-1 sample, IOS solution dramatically changed its wettability to become completely water-wet. Therefore, the volume of desorbed methane dropped by nearly 54. A similar but less pronounced influence was found in the KH-1 sample, where its desorbed methane dropped by 10 because of wettability alteration toward more water-wet. These reductions in the amount of desorbed gas suggest that prior to selecting a surfactant for addition to fracking fluid, its effect on wettability and gas desorption should be investigated to optimize shale gas recovery potential. © 2018 American Chemical Society.
format Article
author Abdulelah, H.
Mahmood, S.M.
Al-Mutarreb, A.
spellingShingle Abdulelah, H.
Mahmood, S.M.
Al-Mutarreb, A.
Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
author_sort Abdulelah, H.
title Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
title_short Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
title_full Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
title_fullStr Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
title_sort effect of anionic surfactant on wettability of shale and its implication on gas adsorption/desorption behavior
publisher American Chemical Society
publishDate 2018
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042190538&doi=10.1021%2facs.energyfuels.7b03476&partnerID=40&md5=db395f5a71612d89b74db62d61f7916c
http://eprints.utp.edu.my/21762/
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score 11.62408

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