Abstract CO2 flooding effectively enhances the recovery of crude oil. However, a large amount of foam is generated in the separator when the produced oil releases gas due to depressurization, which reduces the separator capacity. To address the foaming problem, this paper provides some qualitative and quantitative insights by studying the effects of depressurization, resin, asphaltene, wax crystal and other factors on the foaming and defoaming characteristics of four crude oils. A set of experimental devices is developed to assess foaming during depressurization. The experimental results indicate that a larger pressure drop increases the amount of foam generated and the defoaming rate. The ratio of resin to asphaltene is closely related to the foaming and defoaming characteristics of crude oil, and the effect of asphaltene on foam stabilization is greater than that of resin. There is a threshold wax crystal content for affecting the foaming and defoaming characteristics of crude oil. A small amount of wax crystals accelerates foam bursting, but further increasing the wax crystal content stabilizes the foam. These results provide guidance and a reference for CO2 flooding technology, the improvement of separators and research on the foaming and defoaming mechanisms of crude oil.

中文翻译：

---

CO2驱油过程中原油特性对分离器起泡消泡行为的影响

摘要 CO2驱有效提高原油采收率。但采出油减压放气时，分离器内会产生大量泡沫，降低分离器容量。针对起泡问题，本文通过研究减压、树脂、沥青质、蜡晶等因素对四种原油起泡和消泡特性的影响，提供了定性和定量的见解。开发了一组实验装置来评估减压过程中的泡沫。实验结果表明，较大的压降会增加泡沫的产生量和消泡率。树脂与沥青质的比例与原油的发泡、消泡特性密切相关，沥青质的稳泡作用大于树脂。影响原油起泡和消泡特性的蜡晶含量存在阈值。少量蜡晶体会加速泡沫破裂，但进一步增加蜡晶体含量可使泡沫稳定。这些结果为CO2驱油技术、分离器的改进以及原油起泡消泡机理的研究提供了指导和参考。