Adsorption characteristics and kinetics of synthesized anionic surfactant and polymeric surfactant on sand surface for application in enhanced oil recovery

The adsorption behaviour of aqueous solutions of anionic surfactant and polymeric surfactant derived from Jatropha oil onto sand surface was investigated in connection of their application in enhanced oil recovery. The loss of surfactant by adsorption on reservoir rock must be premeditated for proper design of injected surfactant slugs in a chemical enhanced oil recovery. The sand particles used in the present study as representative of reservoir rock were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. Adsorption properties were studied as a function of time and concentration for both surfactant and polymeric surfactant. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted with the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption of surfactant and polymeric surfactant were spontaneous in sand-aqueous system. The kinetics of adsorption was explained using different equations, namely, the Lagergren first-order equation, the pseudo second-order equation, and the intraparticle diffusion equation. The kinetic parameters in each model were identified and measured in order to explain adsorption dynamics.