Performance of Electric Fields for Enhanced Oil Recovery

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Document Type : Original Article

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Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Petroleum Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

With the increase of crude oil consumption and the decrease in extractable resources, the development of new methods to enhanced oil recovery has become of particular concern. One advanced and exploited method in recent years is employing external fields, especially electric fields, to reduce the attraction forces between crude oil and water, which improves the production of oil trapped in reservoirs. In this study, the effects of different electric fields with voltage range of (3-9) V and frequency within (100-900) Hz on the interfacial tension of the crude oil–water system were investigated. The results showed that this property has a significant dependency on the electric field parameters, and that the highest voltage and the frequency adjusted at the optimum value, decreased it from the initial value of 32.0 to 8.8 mN/m, equivalent to a 72.5% reduction and also enhanced oil recovery. This phenomenon is mainly due to the increased adsorption of natural crude oil surfactants at the interface and the creation of electrohydrodynamic flows. In addition, investigations on the performance of electric fields demonstrated that electric field with optimum frequency exhibits higher efficiency attributed to the continuous displacement of the poles.

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Applied Chemistry Today

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 07 June 2025

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