Enhanced oil recovery using lignosulfonates

Abstract

Abstract The effects of lignosulfonates on the recovery of oil from porous media were investigated using unconsolidated Ottawa sand saturated with Fuel Oil No. 4. Displacement tests were conducted for both secondary and tertiary strategies. At 1 Pore Volume injection the additional secondary recovery, relative to that obtained with water‐flooding, varied between 1.3% and 8.5% for 1% and 10% lignosulfonate solutions respectively. The additional tertiary recovery for previously waterflooded sand was found to be 4.5% for 2 Pore Volumes injection of 1% lignosulfonate solution, and showed no increase with increasing concentration. Based on this preliminary work, lignosulfonate solutions would appear to be worthy of further attention in enhanced oil recovery studies.