Effect of Interface Structure and Behavior on the Fluid Flow Characteristics and Phase Interaction in the Petroleum Industry: State of the Art Review and Outlook

As the global oil market continuesto tighten, there is an increasingfocus on enhancing oil recovery. However, enhanced oil recovery technologiesrequire the addition of chemical components such as surfactants, alkalis,and polymers to the oil reservoir. These chemical components changethe interface structure and affect fluid flow characteristics andphase interactions through adsorption and other behaviors, thus affectingthe production efficiency and energy consumption of oil recovery,gathering, processing, and transportation. Particularly, a stableinterface is formed during oil recovery that can sharply increasethe difficulty of phase separation during oil gathering and processing,thereby considerably decreasing the separation efficiency. Therefore,it is crucial to understand the effect of the interface structureand behavior on fluid flow characteristics and phase interactionsfor the advancement of the petroleum industry. Herein, the applicationand regulation of interfaces in the petroleum industry for fluid flowcharacteristics and phase interactions are reviewed, approaches forcharacterizing interface characteristics are critically analyzed anddiscussed, mechanisms of various factors influencing interface formationand stability through phase interactions are investigated, and methodsof interface inhibition and destruction are summarized. Moreover,the latest techniques for applied interface formation in the petroleumindustry are discussed, and the challenges and research prospectsrelated to interfaces are summarized, providing references for enrichingtheoretical research in the field of interfaces within the petroleumindustry and efficiently optimizing the production and operation ofthe petroleum industry.