Analysis of all fields of surfactants for oilfields: functional classification and application from drilling to water treatment
According to the classification method of oilfield chemicals, oilfield surfactants can be divided into drilling surfactants, mining surfactants, recovery enhancing surfactants, oil and gas gathering and transportation surfactants, and water treatment surfactants according to their uses.
1. Surfactants for drilling
Among the surfactants used in oil fields, the amount of surfactants for drilling (including drilling fluid treatment agents and oil well cement admixtures) is the largest, accounting for about 60% of the total amount of surfactants used in oil fields; the amount of surfactants used in oil production is relatively small, but its technical content is relatively high, and its amount accounts for about 1/3 of the total amount of surfactants used in oil fields. These two types of chemicals occupy an important position in the surfactants used in oil fields. At present, the research on drilling fluid treatment agents in the world has formed a "three-legged tripod" situation among the United States, Russia and China. The United States takes various new polymer materials as the research object, and Russia is mainly based on the principle of "cheap and easy to obtain raw materials". The research is based on various industrial waste materials as much as possible, followed by some traditional treatment agents (natural). my country's research focuses on making full use of traditional raw materials and developing new synthetic polymers (including monomers). The research focus of foreign drilling fluid treatment agents is more prominent, that is, various products based on synthetic polymers containing sulfonic acid groups, which is also the future development direction. Since the 1990s, the new generation of polymer 2-acrylamide-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) multipolymer products have become the representative of new drilling fluid treatment agents. There have been breakthroughs in varieties such as viscosity reducers, fluid loss reducers and lubricants. Especially in recent years, polyol surfactants with cloud point effect have been promoted and applied in all domestic oil fields, and a series of polyol drilling fluid systems have been formed. In addition, methyl glucoside and glycerol-based drilling fluids have also achieved good results in field applications, showing good application prospects and promoting the development of surfactants for drilling fluids. At present, my country's drilling fluid treatment agents have developed into 18 categories, thousands of varieties, and an annual consumption of nearly 300,000 tons. In the 1980s, foreign countries saw rapid development of oil well cement admixtures, and gradually formed a series of products. In terms of new product development, synthetic polymer materials were generally the first choice for research. In 1993, all of my country's oil well cement was converted into a series of products that met API standards, and admixtures developed rapidly. China has successfully developed a special oil well cement dispersant SAF (sulfonated acetone formaldehyde condensate). Oil well cement filtrate reducers, accelerators, retarders and bonding enhancers that are closely related to cementing quality and pumping layer protection have also shown a good development momentum, and have formed special oil well cement admixtures. Currently, it has developed into 11 categories and more than 200 varieties, with an annual consumption of thousands of tons.
2. Surfactants for oil production
Compared with surfactants for drilling, the variety and quantity of surfactants for oil production are relatively small, especially some products for acidizing and fracturing. Among the surfactants for fracturing, the research on gelling agents is mainly based on the modification of natural plant gums and cellulose, and also includes various synthetic polymers such as polyacrylamide. In recent years, the development of foreign countries in the field of acidizing fluid surfactants has been relatively slow, and the focus of research and development has been on the development of corrosion inhibitors for acidizing, which is characterized by the use of existing raw materials to modify or compound corrosion inhibitors. The common point of their development is that the raw materials and products are non-toxic or low-toxic, and the products are oil/water soluble or water dispersible. There are many compound corrosion inhibitors of amines, quaternary ammoniums and acetylenic alcohols, and the development of aldehyde corrosion inhibitors is relatively reduced due to their toxicity. In terms of corrosion inhibitors, there are also complexes of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid and low molecular weight amines (ethylamine, propylamine, C8-18 primary amines, oleic acid diethanolamide), and emulsifiers are mainly oil-in-acid emulsifiers. In recent years, the research on surfactants for fracturing acidizing fluids in my country has not been strong enough, and there has been little progress. In addition to the corrosion inhibitors used in fracturing acidizing fluids during the development process, there are also many varieties with other uses. The most common of these are amines (organic primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary amides or their combinations). Imidazoline and its derivatives are also a type of organic corrosion inhibitor with a large usage.
3. Surfactants for oil and gas gathering and transportation
The research, development and utilization of surfactants for oil and gas gathering and transportation in my country began in the 1960s. Currently, there are 14 categories and hundreds of products. Among them, crude oil demulsifiers are used in the largest amount, with an annual demand of about 20,000 tons. my country has developed suitable demulsifier products for different oil fields, and many varieties have reached the international level in the 1990s; while there are fewer varieties of pour point depressants, flow improvers, viscosity reducers and wax removers, and most of them are compound products. Due to the different properties of crude oils, the requirements for surfactants used for pour point depressants, flow improvers, viscosity reducers and wax removers are different, which also puts forward higher requirements and difficulties for the development of new products.
4. Surfactants for oilfield water treatment
Oilfield water treatment agents are an important type of oilfield chemicals in oilfield development. The annual consumption of various water treatment agents is more than 60,000 tons, of which surfactants account for about 40%. Although there is a great demand for surfactants in oilfield water treatment, there are few studies on surfactants for water treatment in my country. The varieties of surfactants for oilfield water treatment are not complete, and most products are introduced from the industrial water treatment industry. However, due to the complexity of oilfield water, the products directly introduced from industrial water treatment have poor applicability and sometimes cannot play their role. There is also a lack of targeted surfactants for oilfield water treatment. Foreign research on surfactants for water treatment is most active in the development of flocculants, and many products have been developed, but not many are used for oil and gas field wastewater treatment.
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