Roles of Alcohol as a Cosurfactant at Brine-Oil Interface Under a Typical Reservoir Condition.

Cosurfactant is a chemical used in combination with surfactant to enrich the properties of the primary surfactant formulation. Understanding the roles of cosurfactant is of great importance in designing a chemical solution with desired features. Herein, we report a molecular dynamics simulation study to explore the roles of alcohol (propanol) as a cosurfactant at brine-oil interface in chemical flooding under a typical reservoir condition (353 K and 200 bar). We demonstrate that propanol, as a cosurfactant, can transport through oil and brine phases; such a dislocation of propanol in the system is a dynamic process. The interfacial tension between brine and oil decreases as propanol concentration in the system increases. This is because, propanol can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules, while it decreases the density of hydrogen bonds formed between surfactant and water. The introduction of propanol does not always increase the local fluidity of surfactants at the interfaces. A local maximum fluidity was observed when surfactants are more perpendicular to the interfaces. Our work should provide important insights into the design of the surfactant formulas for chemical flooding during enhanced oil recovery.