THE MARANGONI EFFECT AND ENHANCED OIL-RECOVERY PART-1 - POROUS-MEDIA

The use of partitionable solutes, e.g., aliphatic alcohols, to enhance the recovery of trapped oil in reservoir rock, has been simulated usi ng a ballotini-packed column initially flooded with kerosene, and subs equently lowered to an irreducible value by a water drive. Introductio n of a ''slug'' of an alcohol effected an increased recovery, with n-p ropanol and sec-butanol giving the highest yields. Previous workers at tributed such increased recovery to the formation of a ''soluble front '', in which both oil and connate water are completely dissolved. Howe ver, we obtained similar recoveries using slugs with initial compositi ons lying on the miscibility boundary, which could not form soluble fr onts. It was therefore concluded that Marangoni-induced oscillation of the trapped drops is the more likely explanation of the enhanced reco very.