Evaluation of the use of capillary numbers for quantifying the removal of DNAPL trapped in a porous medium by surfactant and surfactant foam floods

The capillary number is used to quantify the mobilization potential of organic phases trapped within porous media. The capillary number has been defined in three different forms, according to types of flow velocity and viscosity used in its definition. This study evaluated the suitability of the capillary number definitions representing surfactant and surfactant foam floods by constructing capillary number-TCE saturation relationships. The results implied that the capillary number should be correctly employed, according to scale and fluid flow behavior. This study suggests that the pore-scale capillary number should be used only for investigating the organic-phase mobilization at the pore scale because it is defined by the pore velocity and the dynamic viscosity. The Newtonian-fluid capillary number using the Darcy velocity and the dynamic viscosity may be suitable for quantifying flood systems representing Newtonian fluid behavior. For viscous-force modified flood systems such as surfactant-foam floods, the apparent capillary number definition employing macroscopic properties (permeability and potential gradient) may be used to appropriately represent the desaturation of organic phases from porous media. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.