Abstract
Primary and secondary recovery of oil from oil reservoirs contributes approximately 30% of the total oil in place in most oil reservoirs. Since the current economic development is heavily dependent on fossil fuel, increasing the amount of oil recovery is given considerable attention. One of the most widely used methods for enhanced oil recovery is the application of various types of surfactants in order to reduce the oil-water interfacial tension. However, the surfactants being used today are usually synthetic chemicals and polymers, which are expensive, linked to fossil fuels, and detrimental to the environment. In thisarticle, a natural surfactant prepared from the pericarp shell of fruit (Sapindus mukurossi) collected from a naturally available tree was used to reduce oil-water interfacial tension. The effect of surfactant concentration with 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, and 12% was investigated. The effect of heat on interfacial tension was also studied. The experimental results showed that extract has a great potential to be used as a surfactant for enhanced oil recovery schemes.