In this paper, the interfacial properties of a rock/heavy-oil/steam system were measured to observe the degree of wettability alteration when adding new generation chemicals to steam to improve the displacement efficiency and reduce the amount of CO₂ by minimizing the need for steam. A heavy-crude-oil obtained from a field in Alberta (27 780 cP at 25 °C) was used in all experiments, and the measurements were repeated on different types of substrates (quartz and calcite). Interfacial tension tests between heavy-oil and steam were also conducted to study the change in interfacial properties. All measurements in this research were performed at a range of temperatures up to 200 °C in a high-temperature–high-pressure cell. In gaining a comprehensive evaluation of this mechanism, several impacting factors such as pressure, phase change, and type of rock were taken into consideration and evaluated separately. Different types of new generation chemical additives—biodiesel, switchable-hydrophilicity tertiary amines (SHTA), nanofluids (dispersed SiO₂ and ZrO₂), ethers, alcohols, and chelating agents—were applied to the steam with a range of concentrations throughout interfacial tension and contact angle measurements to evaluate the wettability alteration performance at steam temperature and pressure. The irreversible mechanism of wettability state was the result when phase change occurred with the presence of brine. Wettability alteration and interfacial tension reduction in steam conditions were achieved after involving these new generation chemicals. Also, optimum chemical concentration was determined through interfacial tension and contact angle measurements. The study and analysis of chemical additive applications provide a more robust understanding of steam-induced wettability alteration mechanisms in a rock/heavy-oil/steam system. In summary, conventional steam additives can be altered by these cost-effective and thermally stable new generation chemicals showing potential for wettability improvement and interfacial tension reduction in practical applications.

中文翻译：

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重新考虑蒸汽添加剂以提高重油回收效率：新一代化学品能否成为蒸汽引起的不利于润湿性改变的解决方案？

本文测量了岩石/重油/蒸汽系统的界面特性，以观察向蒸汽中添加新一代化学品时的润湿性变化程度，以提高驱替效率并减少CO ₂的量。通过减少对蒸汽的需求。在所有实验中均使用从艾伯塔省的一块田地获得的重质原油（在25°C下为27 780 cP），并在不同类型的基质（石英和方解石）上重复进行测量。还进行了重油和蒸汽之间的界面张力测试，以研究界面性质的变化。这项研究中的所有测量均在高温高压电池中于最高200°C的温度范围内进行。在对该机制进行全面评估时，考虑并分别评估了几个影响因素，例如压力，相变和岩石类型。不同类型的新一代化学添加剂-生物柴油，可转换亲水性叔胺（SHTA），纳米流体（分散的SiO ₂和ZrO₂），醚，醇和螯合剂-在整个界面张力和接触角测量过程中以一定浓度范围应用于蒸汽，以评估在蒸汽温度和压力下的润湿性变化性能。润湿状态的不可逆机理是在盐水存在下发生相变的结果。在使用这些新一代化学品后，蒸汽条件下的润湿性改变和界面张力降低得​​以实现。另外，通过界面张力和接触角测量确定了最佳化学浓度。对化学添加剂应用的研究和分析为岩石/重油/蒸汽系统中的蒸汽诱导的润湿性变化机理提供了更牢固的理解。综上所述，