Chemical flooding processes involve the addition of one or more chemical compounds to an injected fluid either to reduce the interfacial tension between the reservoir oil and injected fluid or to improve the sweep efficiency of the injected fluid by making it more viscous, thereby improving the mobility ratio. Both mechanisms are designed to increase the capillary number.
Three general methods are typically included in chemical flooding technology. The first is polymer flooding, in which a large macromolecule is used to increase the displacing fluid viscosity. This process leads to improved sweep efficiency in the reservoir of the injected fluid. The remaining two methods, micellar-polymer flooding and alkaline flooding, make use of chemicals that reduce the interfacial tension between oil and a displacing fluid. This text will include a fourth method—microbial flooding.
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