Induced effect of adding nano silica on adsorption of a natural surfactant onto sandstone rock: Experimental and theoretical study

Throughout this research work, massive efforts have been made to observe the adsorption behavior of surfactant in presence of nano-particles. The depletion solution experiment, as a robust approach, was conducted to indicate the adsorption density of the referred surfactant To measure the adsorption density, the electrical conductivity approach was implemented to conduct the adsorption behavior of the addressed surfactant and the nanosilica in aqueous phase. To evaluate the adsorption behavior of the surfactant onto rock surface, various adsorption isotherms such as Langmuir and Freundlich were implemented to facilitate further studies on the adsorption trend of the discussed surfactant. According to the calculated statistical indices, it can be inferred that Freundlich isotherm is capable of making conclusions about the adsorption behavior of systems containing mixtures of nano particles and extracted natural surfactant from leaves of Zyziphus spina-christi onto shale sandstone rock surface. Outcomes of this research is a first break prospective in application of nanotechnology to improve the performance of chemical stimulations in conventional oil reservoirs and also provides better views of adsorption processes in surfactant and/or nano-surfactant systems within sandstone petroleum reservoirs. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.