Effect of using Zyziphus Spina Christi or Cedr Extract (CE) as a natural surfactant on oil mobility control by foam flooding

Injection of foam into oil reservoirs is an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method, focusing on increasing viscosity and deviation of injection phase in the porous media. Surfactants are widely used in the EOR as a reducing IFT and generating foam additive. Chemical and industrial surfactants are highly efficient materials for this purpose, but their use can lead to some challenges, such as environmental degradation and high costs. Research and study on natural surfactants have begun to address these challenges in recent years. This study investigates the effect of generated foam by Cedr (Zizyphus Spina Christi) Extract (CE) on mobility control. CE is a cheap natural surfactant, which makes CE an advisable chemical agent. Pendant drop experiments were done to calculate the ability of CE in IFT reduction. For investigating the influence of CE on mobility control, the fractional water flow curves were studied. Two coreflooding tests were done to plot the fractional water flow curves. For coreflooding at first, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of surfactant solutions must be known. By using conductivity and turbidity tests, the CMC points of surfactant solutions were obtained. Using conductivity and turbidity methods for investigating the CMC point of different concentrations of CE solutions indicates that 5 wt% of CE in brine with 100,000 ppm of NaCl is the CMC point. Adding natural surfactant to the water phase has a significant effect on oil recovery and it increases from 38% in waterflooding to 53% in surfactant flooding. [Display omitted] •The effect of Cedr (Zizyphus Spina Christi) Extraction on mobility control has been studied.•For investigating the influence of CE on mobility control, the fractional water flow curves have been studied.•Two coreflooding tests have been done to plot the fractional water flow curves.•By using conductivity and turbidity tests, the CMC points of surfactant solutions have been obtained.•The oil recovery significantly increases from 38% to 53% as the surfactant is added.