Patent · US Expired

Micellar slug for oil recovery

US4597879A · kind A · utility

36Cited by
10References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 31, 1983
Grant dateJul 1, 1986
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 31, 2003

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S507/938
  • WIPO fieldBasic materials chemistry
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

A micellar slug for use in the recovery of oil, the slug containing a hydrocarbon, an aqueous medium, a surfactant, and a cosurfactant. The surfactant contains as an essential component an internal olefin sulfonate having 10 to 26 carbon atoms, a hydroxyalkane sulfonate content of not less than about 40% by weight and a disulfonate content of not more than 20% by weight and said internal olefin sulfonate being desired from the sulfonation of an internal olefin having the general formula: EQU R--CH.dbd.CH--R' wherein R is a straight- or branched-chain alkyl group having 4 to 23 carbon atoms, R' is a straight- or branched-chain alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms provided that the total carbon atom numbers of R and R' is 8 to 24 and 50% by weight or more of the internal olefins is that having R' with 1 to 4 carbon atoms. This micellar slug has an excellent capability for decreasing an interfacial tension between oil and water and an excellent salinity tolerance and hard-water resistance. Furthermore, the micro-emulsion can be formed from this micellar slug in a wide composition range.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.