Oil recovery method using alkali and alkylaryl sulfonate surfactants derived from broad distribution alpha-olefins

摘要

An oil recovery process is disclosed which uses an alkali(s) and a particular class of alkylaryl sulfonate surfactants. The surfactants are derived from an alpha-olefin stream having a broad distribution of even carbon numbers ranging from 12 to 28 or more. The olefin stream is reacted with aromatic feedstock, such as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, or a mixture thereof to form alkylates, and then reacted with SO3 to form sulfonic acids. Alternatively, the surfactant can be formed by first reacting an alpha-olefin stream having a broad distribution of carbon numbers ranging from 12 to 28 or more with SO3 to form the olefin sulfonic acid that is subsequently used to alkylate an aromatic feedstock. The use of alkali(s) and broad distribution alpha-olefins sulfonate based surfactant has the improvements of requiring ultra-low surfactant concentrations and providing ultra-low interfacial tensions over a wide range of alkali concentrations with crude oils, especially waxy crude oil, having a broad distribution of carbon numbers.