Stability Comparison Between Particles-Stabilized Foams and Polymer-Stabilized Foams

Abstract

The enhanced oil recovery (EOR) results of foam flooding depend largely on the stability of foam flow within porous reservoirs. To stabilize foams, polymers such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide are often introduced into the foaming agent. However, particles-stabilized foams have been paid more attentions in recent years. To investigate the better stabilizer for foam application in EOR, experimental stability comparison between polymer-stabilized foams and clay particles-stabilized foams was investigated. To do this, the static stability of bulk foams was studied by half-life of foams and rheological behavior of foaming agent solution. The dynamic stability of two types of compressed foams in porous media was then compared with blocking ability. Results showed that particles-stabilized bulk foams were more stable than polymer-stabilized bulk foams, and the viscoelasticity of surfactant-particles solution was higher. Moreover, blocking ability of particles-stabilized foams was also better than that of polymer-stabilized ones.