Preparation and rheological properties of a stable aqueous foam system

Abstract

A new stable aqueous foam system was screened out by an orthogonal method and the effects of different factors on the rheological property of the foam were systematically investigated. The prepared aqueous foam has high stability. The foaming volume and half-life of 100 ml foam solution can reach 312 ml and 2274 min, respectively. The foam belongs to fine-celled foam, and the bubbles are wrapped by multilayered liquid films. The foam can maintain good stability even at high concentrations of salts and crude oil. For the foam rheology, with an increase in shear rate and salt concentration, the rheological model of the foam will change from power law model to Bingham model. Moreover, there exists optimum crude oil concentration and temperature to maximize the apparent viscosity of the foam. The apparent viscosity does not change significantly within several hours before and after foam drainage. In addition, a new wall slip correction method in foam rheology measurement is proposed.