Three-phase relative permeabilities in brine/oil/microemulsion systems

Abstract

Two- and three-phase relative permeabilities have been measured on Berea cores, using a brine-oil-microemulsion system with interfacial tensions of 2 {times} 10{sup {minus}2} mN/m. The experiments include both unsteady-state and steady-state measurements, and also single-phase and multiphase dispersion. The three phases were made from a four-component mixture of synthetic seawater, heptane, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfate, and n-butanol. The relative permeability from steady-state experiments are linear with respect to saturation, while the unsteady-state results display more complex relations. Relative permeability data are used as input to simulation of the displacements, where the differential pressure and effluent fractional flow are compared to the experimental observations.