Partition Coefficients for Acetic, Propionic, and Butyric Acids in a Crude Oil/Water System

The effects of pH, temperature, and organic acid concentration on the partition coefficients for short-chain organic acids were measured in a crude oil/water system. Acetic, propionic, and butyric acids, as probable substrates for microbial souring of oil reservoirs, were used in conjunction with tw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of chemical and engineering data Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 513 - 516
Main Authors:	Reinsel, Mark A, Borkowski, John J, Sears, John T
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01-07-1994
Subjects:	02 PETROLEUM 020300 - Petroleum- Drilling & Production ACETIC ACID BACTERIA BIODEGRADATION BRINES BUTYRIC ACID CARBOXYLIC ACIDS CHEMICAL REACTIONS Chemistry DECOMPOSITION ENERGY SOURCES ENHANCED RECOVERY Exact sciences and technology FLUID INJECTION FOSSIL FUELS FUELS General and physical chemistry MICROORGANISMS MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS OIL WELLS ORGANIC ACIDS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS PARTITION PETROLEUM PROPIONIC ACID Solutions Solvation. Solvent properties SOLVENT PROPERTIES SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA WATERFLOODING WELLS Crude oil Chain length Concentration effect Temperature effect pH Partition coefficient Aqueous solution Experimental study Organic acids
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Summary:	The effects of pH, temperature, and organic acid concentration on the partition coefficients for short-chain organic acids were measured in a crude oil/water system. Acetic, propionic, and butyric acids, as probable substrates for microbial souring of oil reservoirs, were used in conjunction with two types of crude oil. Temperatures of 35-75 degree C, pH values of 4.0-7.0, and acid concentrations of 10-1000 mg/L were studied. Initial naturally occurring levels of organic acids in the crude oils were also determined. pH had by far the largest effect on the partition coefficient for all three organic acids for both types of oil. At conditions normally seen in an oil reservoir (pH 5-7), the great percentage (85+%) of these acids were dissolved in the aqueous phase. The log of the partition coefficient K increased approximately linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the acid. It was seen that organic acids are readily available carbon sources for sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) at normal reservoir conditions, and that crude oil may provide a source of organic acids in a low-pH, water-flooded reservoir.
Bibliography:	ark:/67375/TPS-C1BVQ39P-C istex:9990E4CEEE9E298DF6721103318CFE7A4FD43EE0 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23
ISSN:	0021-9568 1520-5134
DOI:	10.1021/je00015a026