The Influence of Palm Oil Methyl Ester Sulfonate Surfactant Concentration on Reducing Interfacial Tension in 41 oAPI Oil
Andika Lesmana1, Rini Setiati2*, Muhammad Taufiq Fathaddin2, Berkah Hani3

Universitas Trisakti

Abstract

In the petroleum industry, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technology has been developed to enhance the recovery of residual oil in reservoirs. One of the methods is Surfactant Flooding. Surfactants are used because can reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) between water and oil in rock pores. Phase behavior and interfacial tension (IFT) tests were conducted in the laboratory. The phase behavior test utilized a reaction tube, where crude oil was mixed with the surfactant at the same ratio and placed in an oven at a temperature of 60 oC. IFT measurement was carried out using the spinning drop method. The surfactant solution used was surfactant MES palm oil, with concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 2% and a salinity of 8000 ppm. The optimal emulsion phase results were obtained at a concentration of 1.25% MES palm oil. The middle phase emulsion formed amounted to 8.75%. The measured IFT value under these conditions was 0.24 dyne/cm, whereas in the brine measurement with crude oil of 41 oAPI without surfactant, it was 12.43 dyne/cm. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that palm oil MES surfactant can form a middle-phase emulsion and reduce interfacial tension for the 41 oAPI crude oil system.

Keywords: Surfactant, Methyl Ester Sulfonate, Palm Oil, Interfacial Tension, Phase Behavior

Topic: Engineering