Research Progress on New Highly Efficient Foam Drainage Agents for Gas Wells (A Review)

This paper reviews the research background and significance of foam drainage agents, foaming and foam stability mechanisms, and analyzes the advantages and drawbacks of conventional foam drainage agents. With the development of natural gas applications, the exploitation of gas fields becomes more stringent. A new type of foam drainage agent characterized by a wide applicability should be developed based on the particular needs of gas wells. A new foam drainage agent not only resolves the deficiency of conventional foam drainage agents, but also deals with the problem of high costs. It has a higher foam stability and provides a standard for the further design of special conventional and unconventional foam drainage agents for gas fields. Moreover, the polymer addition dramatically improves the performance of foam drainage agents. A Gemini surfactant opens up a new possibility for foam drainage agents. The use of nanoparticles provides the further enhancement of the foam stability for different types of gas reservoirs. The future application trends for foam drainage agents are also discussed. A low-cost and environmentally friendly natural gas promoting a low-carbon green energy, should be developed and used. Highly efficient, environmentally-friendly and recyclable low-cost foam drainage agents would become a hotly debated research point.