eprintid: 10506
rev_number: 2
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1
dir: disk0/00/01/05/06
datestamp: 2023-11-09 16:37:07
lastmod: 2023-11-09 16:37:07
status_changed: 2023-11-09 16:31:34
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Abdulelah, H.
creators_name: Mahmood, S.M.
creators_name: Al-Mutarreb, A.
title: Effect of Anionic Surfactant on Wettability of Shale and Its Implication on Gas Adsorption/Desorption Behavior
ispublished: pub
keywords: Adsorption; Anionic surfactants; Biophysics; Carbon; Contact angle; Desorption; Drops; Gas adsorption; Gases; Hydraulic fracturing; Methane; Organic carbon; Sulfur compounds; Surface active agents; Water treatment; Wetting, Adsorption/desorption; Methane adsorption; Polished surfaces; Sulfate surfactants; Surfactant solution; Surfactant treatment; Total Organic Carbon; Wettability alteration, Shale
note: cited By 39
abstract: 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.
date: 2018
publisher: American Chemical Society
official_url: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042190538&doi=10.1021%2facs.energyfuels.7b03476&partnerID=40&md5=db395f5a71612d89b74db62d61f7916c
id_number: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b03476
full_text_status: none
publication: Energy and Fuels
volume: 32
number: 2
pagerange: 1423-1432
refereed: TRUE
issn: 08870624
citation:   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.  ISSN 08870624