Process and installation for the flooding of petroleum deposits and oil shale

US4286660A · kind A · utility

Assignees

• Gesellschaft fur Biotechnologische Forschung mbH (GBF) · DE
• Wintershall Holding GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Fritz Wagner · Kronach, DE
• Peter Rapp · Braunschweig, DE
• Hans-Peter Bock · Braunschweig, DE
• Walter Lindorfer · Kassel, DE
• Walther Schulz · Vechta, DE
• Wilhelm Gebetsberger · Barnstorf, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 23, 1979
• Grant date: Sep 1, 1981
• Expiry date: Mar 23, 1999

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S507/936
• WIPO field: Biotechnology
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A process and installation for the flooding of petroleum deposits and oil shale and, more particularly, through the use of dispersions of non-ionogenic, boundary surface-active materials in water as the flooding medium. For the flooding of petroleum-hydrocarbon materials from petroleum deposits and oil shale there can be utilized dispersions of non-ionogenic, boundary surface-active glycolipids, and such preferred structures can be employed which are produced from hydrocarbon mixtures as the C-source. This is effected in two stages with predetermined technological measures. In the first stage, there are initially produced glycolipids through microorganisms with alkane mixtures under predetermined parameters in semi- or continual process cycles and, in the second stage, separated from the cellular material through temperature, pH, osmotic shock. The formed glycolipids can also be separated from the cellular material with unpolarized, organic solvent media.