Carbon dioxide-in-oil emulsions stabilized with silicone-alkyl surfactants for waterless hydraulic fracturing

The design of surfactants for CO2/oil emulsions has been elusive given the low CO2-oil interfacial tension, and consequently, low driving force for surfactant adsorption. Our hypothesis is that waterless, high pressure CO2/oil emulsions can be stabilized by hydrophobic comb polymer surfactants that adsorb at the interface and sterically stabilize the CO2 droplets. The emulsions were formed by mixing with an impeller or by co-injecting CO2 and oil through a beadpack (CO2 volume fractions (ϕ) of 0.50-0.90). Emulsions were generated with comb polymer surfactants with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) backbone and pendant linear alkyl chains. The C30 alkyl chains are CO2-insoluble but oil soluble (oleophilic), whereas PDMS with more than 50 repeat units is CO2-philic but only partially oleophilic. The adsorbed surfactants sterically stabilized CO2 droplets against Ostwald ripening and coalescence. The optimum surfactant adsorption was obtained with a PDMS degree of polymerization of ∼88 and seven C30 side chains. The emulsion apparent viscosity reached 18 cP at a ϕ of 0.70, several orders of magnitude higher than the viscosity of pure CO2, with CO2 droplets in the 10-150 µm range. These environmentally benign waterless emulsions are of interest for hydraulic fracturing, especially in water-sensitive formations.