Experimental studies on drag reduction and rheology of mixed cationic surfactants with different alkyl chain lengths

Experimental studies of the effects of mixtures of cationic surfactants on their drag reduction and rheological behaviors are reported. Cationic alkyl trimethyl quaternary ammonium surfactants with alkyl chain lengths of C-12 and C-22 were mixed at different molar ratios (total surfactant concentrat ions were kept at 5 mM with 12.5 mM sodium salicylate (NaSal) as counterion ). Drag reduction tests showed that by adding 10% (mol) of C-12, the effect ive drag reduction range expanded to 4-120 degrees C, compared with 89-130 degrees C with only the C-22 surfactant. Thus mixing cationic surfactants w ith different alkyl chain lengths is an effective way of tuning the drag re duction temperature range. Cryo-TEM micrographs revealed thread-like micell ar networks for surfactant solutions in the drag reducing temperature range while vesicles were the dominant microstructures at non-drag reducing temp eratures. High extensional viscosity was the main rheological feature for a ll solutions except 50% C-12 (mol) solution, which also does not show stron g viscoelasticity. It is not clear why this low extensional viscosity solut ion with relatively weak viscoelasticity is a good drag reducer.