Colloidal Gas Aphrons： A Novel Approach to Preventing Formation Impairment
摘要
Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) were first reported by Sebba (1971) as micro bubbles (25-125 μm), composed of a gas nucleus surrounded by a thin surfactant film and created by intense stirring of a surfactant solution. Since then, these colloidal dispersions have been used for diverse applications, with a particular focus on separation processes. However, exploitation of CGAs in petroleum industry is only at the outset. CGAs were first used in west Texas in 1998, under the name Aphron drilling fluids. This kind of fluid is characterized as having a continuous phase, a high viscosity at a low shear rate and containing, as an internal phase, micro air or gas bubbles, non-coalescing and recirculating. In this paper, we illuminate the physical and chemical properties of aphron drilling fluid and its processing mechanism.