Novel Trends in the Development of Surfactant-Based Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids: A Review

Viscoelastic surfactants (VES) are amphiphilic molecules which self-assemble into long polymer-like aggregates-wormlike micelles. Such micellar chains form an entangled network, imparting high viscosity and viscoelasticity to aqueous solutions. VES are currently attracting great attention as the mai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gels 2021-12, Vol.7 (4), p.258
Main Authors: Shibaev, Andrey V, Osiptsov, Andrei A, Philippova, Olga E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aqueous solutions
Cellulose
Enhanced oil recovery
Enzymes
gels
Hydraulic fracturing
Hydrocarbons
Micelles
Nanoparticles
oil recovery
Polymer gels
Polymers
Review
Surfactants
viscoelastic surfactants
Viscoelasticity
Viscosity
wormlike micelles
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Summary:Viscoelastic surfactants (VES) are amphiphilic molecules which self-assemble into long polymer-like aggregates-wormlike micelles. Such micellar chains form an entangled network, imparting high viscosity and viscoelasticity to aqueous solutions. VES are currently attracting great attention as the main components of clean hydraulic fracturing fluids used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Fracturing fluids consist of proppant particles suspended in a viscoelastic medium. They are pumped into a wellbore under high pressure to create fractures, through which the oil can flow into the well. Polymer gels have been used most often for fracturing operations; however, VES solutions are advantageous as they usually require no breakers other than reservoir hydrocarbons to be cleaned from the well. Many attempts have recently been made to improve the viscoelastic properties, temperature, and salt resistance of VES fluids to make them a cost-effective alternative to polymer gels. This review aims at describing the novel concepts and advancements in the fundamental science of VES-based fracturing fluids reported in the last few years, which have not yet been widely industrially implemented, but are significant for prospective future applications. Recent achievements, reviewed in this paper, include the use of oligomeric surfactants, surfactant mixtures, hybrid nanoparticle/VES, or polymer/VES fluids. The advantages and limitations of the different VES fluids are discussed. The fundamental reasons for the different ways of improvement of VES performance for fracturing are described.
ISSN:2310-2861
2310-2861
DOI:10.3390/gels7040258