Progress in application of rhamnolipids in oil and gas development

Rhamnolipids are biodegradable and environmentally friendly surfactants with low toxicity， high stability， and other advantages. In the oil and gas development field， they have broad application value and prospects. This paper reviewed the progress in the application of rhamnolipids in oil and gas development， discussed its production methods， characteristics， and current status， and provided new ideas for the green and sustainable development of oil and gas development. The paper first introduced the two production methods of rhamnolipids： enzymatic and fermentation. Then， the authors elaborated in detail on the characteristics of rhamnolipids in reducing surface tension， emulsification and demulsification， solubilization， and coiling， as well as the suitable conditions. In addition， the new anti-aggregation characteristics discovered by recent scholars were clarified. The paper focused on summarizing the five main application directions of rhamnolipids in oil and gas development： in terms of reducing viscosity of heavy oil， rhamnolipids can effectively reduce the viscosity of heavy oil and enhance oil recovery； in terms of treating oil-contaminated soil and water， rhamnolipids show excellent emulsification performance and can separate oil from soil and form easy-to-treat emulsion； in terms of promoting hydrate generation， rhamnolipids can reduce the induction time of hydrates and improve the generation rate and stability of hydrates； in terms of oil and gas pipeline transportation， the anti-aggregation characteristics of rhamnolipids can help solve the problem of pipeline blockage； the authors finally proposed the following research suggestions for the future： in terms of production method， it is necessary to increase the research and application of local extraction strains； in terms of characteristic research， it is necessary to explore the other functional characteristics of rhamnolipids besides the existing ones and expand its application scopes in oil and gas development； in terms of application， it is important to study the recyclable use of rhamnolipids and the synergistic application of multiple technologies to solve problems such as high development costs in super-heavy oil production. At present， the application research of rhamnolipids in the frontier oil and gas fields such as hydrates is not complete， and further in-depth exploration is needed.