Relative Permeability and Dispersion Measurements for a Three-phase Micellar/polymer Mixture
Description:... Experiments at both high and low interfacial tensions were carried out using Berea core to measure relative permeabilities and dispersivities under steady-state conditions at constant temperature of 30°C. Partitioning and non-partitioning tracers were used. Both finite slug and continuous slug tracer displacements were performed. Saturations were estimated both by means of material balance and tracer breakthrough curves using a capacitance-dispersion model. Two- and three-phase flow experiments were performed for a three-phase polymer free micellar/polymer solution. Two-phase flow displacements were then carried out for a three-phase micellar/polymer solution of the same formulation. All low interfacial tension experiments were performed at constant capillary number. The micellar formulation consists of sulfonate TRS 10-410, Iso-butanol, n-Decane, and brine. Breakthrough curves of tritiated surfactant (non-partitioning tracer) in the microemulsion phase are symmetric and show no capacitance (flowing fraction = 1.0). Capacitance-dispersion model estimates that only 80% of the in-situ excess brine saturation and 70% of the in-situ excess oil saturation are flowing. Saturations of the non-wetting phases estimated from tracer dispersion without capacitance are in error by typically 30%, since they only estimate the flowing fraction of the in-situ saturation. Presence of polymer has little if any effect on the relative permeability of either the brine or the microemulsion
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