Characterization of Colloidal Gas Aphron-Fluids Produced from a New Plant-Based Surfactant

Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) are gas bubbles with diameters ranging from 10 to 100 microns, generated by intense stirring of a surfactant solution at high speed. The surface activity and aggregation behavior of the surfactant affects the size/size distribution, stability, and other physicochemical properties of generated aphrons. Therefore, selection of a suitable surfactant is important for the generation of microbubbles with the desired properties. The goal of this articleis to investigate the potential use of a new plant-derived surfactant as an aphronizer surfactant in preparation of CGA-based drilling fluids for accomplishing desirable rheological and filtration properties. For this purpose, natural surfactant obtained from leaves of special tree, namely, Zizyphusspina Christi and used for preparation of aphron-based fluids. To achieve the research objectives, laboratory tests of suspension generation, microscopic visualization, initial yield, filtration loss, and rheological characterization with varying concentrations of surfactant and polymer were performed. Experimental results demonstrate that newly proposed biosurfactant has a great potential for application in preparation of CGA-based drilling fluids for implementation in petroleum drilling industry.