Synergistic Effect of Different Ions and Hexadecyltrimethylammonium Bromide on Wettability Alteration for Carbonate Rock

Naturally carbonate reservoirs have very low oil recovery efficiency owing to their wettability and tightness of matrix. However, adding surfactant to brine solution can enhance oil recovery by changing the wettability of the carbonate rock surface from oil-wet to water-wet. In the present study, the effects of different brines in the presence of surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), on the wettability of carbonate rock were investigated through different characteristics such as surface tension interfacial tension and contact angle. The best concentration of CTAB was investigated at 500 ppm in brine (NaCl) reduced surface tension and interfacial tensions to 42 mN/m and 15 mN/m respectively and prevented reservoir from damage. The effect of different type ions was studied at best CTAB concentration to prevent the negative effect of NaCl on wettability alteration. The results showed ions are only ``proximally adsorbed'' on the calcite surface. The contact angle changed to 39° after 20 min for 500 ppm CTAB in B1, Na+ and Cl- ions reduce oil recovery. In a solution with Mg2+, SO4$^2-$, Na, Cl, and CTAB at approximately 0.1 M ionic strength, the effect of the counter-ions Mg$^2+$, SO4–2 in combination with CTAB adds complexity where it can promote water-wetness by altering the surface interaction with water at a certain concentration and the contact angle reduction was about 63% after 30 min that reached to 33.9°. Furthermore, reduced surface tension and interfacial tension to 30 mN/m and 15 mN/m respectively that lead to significantly enhances oil recovery by decreasing fingering phenomena and increasing sweep efficiency.