The effect of formate brines on the emulsification of ionic, non-ionic, and enzymatic surfactants

Environmental concerns on contamination of subsurface porous media by toxic chemicals have motivated the petroleum industry to replace them with environmentally sustainable (green) and biodegradable alternatives. Green surfactants emerged such as sugar, enzymatic, microbial based surfactants. However, their emulsification different oils salinity conditions is unknown. In this study, oil brine systems are tested measure interfacial properties, rheology Coco Glucoside (CG), a sugar-derived surfactant; Greenzyme (GZ), an enzymatic-environmentally friendly surfactant. Emulsification light medium crude in presence sodium chloride formate brines gave similar results 10–20 μm average droplet size. medium-heavy potassium produced 98 vol% emulsion 3–6 Most emulsions demonstrated shear thinning behaviour apart from resulting which clear Newtonian was observed.