Study of a high efficient composite foam drainage surfactant for gas production

Abstract The foam drainage technique for gas production has the disadvantage of requiring a large amount of surfactant and having low resistance to salt and oil. In this study, a new surfactant mixture (composite surfactant) of lauramidopropyl betaine (LAB-35), α-olefin sulfonate (AOST), sodium alkyl sulfonate (SASE) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was tested and its foaming properties were investigated in detail. The foaming properties were determined using high-speed measurements and the Ross-Miles method. The results show that the foaming volume of the composite surfactant can reach 563 mL, indicating that the foaming behaviour of the composite surfactant is more effective than that of the individual surfactants used for the mixture. In addition, the results show that the composite surfactant has a resistance to salt, methanol and condensate oil that most foam drainage agents do not have. However, the stability of the composite surfactant gradually decreases with increasing temperature and concentration. The surface tension was measured and the critical micelle concentration of the composite surfactant is 0.023 g/L.