Investigation of the synergistic effect of alumina nanofluids and surfactant on oil recovery – Interfacial tension, emulsion stability and viscosity reduction of heavy oil

In order to understand the synergistic effect of surfactants and nanofluids on enhancing recovery, hydrophilic and hydrophobic alumina nanomaterials were prepared for alumina nanofluids with surfactants. Oil-water interfacial tension and emulsion stability were investigated. The experimental results showed that nanofluids cooperated with surfactants could reduce oil-water interfacial tension in the proper concentration range, Nanoparticles decreased the average size of droplets, and restrained creaming and coalescence, therefore stabilizing the emulsion. The effect of nanofluids on the viscosity of heavy oil was also tested. The results indicated that the viscosity of heavy oil with surfactants was reduced by 42.8% when nanofluids were added at the shear rate of 10 s(-1).