Mechanism of Alkaline Flooding in Low Acid Number Crude

Alkaline flooding is capable to mobilize and recover a part of residual oil remaining after
waterflood. It is an enhanced oil recovery technique which involved the injection of
alkaline chemical such as sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate during waterflooding
operations. The reaction that takes place between alkaline chemical and certain types of
oil leads to surfactant generation in situ. It will eventually lead to reduction of interfacial
tension (IFT) hence improve the oil recovery. In numerous literatures, alkaline flooding is
mostly done on high acid number crude. However, there are also cases of successful
alkaline flooding in low acid number crude. In addition, there is no exact theory that
relates acid number with oil recovery. In this study, the mechanisms of alkaline water
flooding in low acid number crude are investigated. The improvement of oil recovery in
alkaline flooding does not only depend on the acid number. Emulsification contributes to
improvement of oil recovery. In addition, the formation of Winsor Type III
microemulsion shows the desirable condition during EOR. This project is carried out by
experimental work and simulation using UTHCHEM software.