Overview on Chemical-Based, Bio-based and Natural-Based Surfactants in EOR Applications

Energy consumption in the world is increasing every year while expanding technology trying to catch up with the demand of oil production. One of the technologies which has been widely used to enhance oil recovery is surfactant flooding. A variety of surfactants promote oil recovery are reviewed in this paper, with particular emphasis on the ability: (i) to lower the interfacial tension (ii) to adjust the pH and (iii) to stand the high salinity conditions of reservoirs. To date, surfactants studied in enhanced oil recovery applications can be categorized as chemical-based, bio-based and natural-based surfactants.