Studies on foam flow in the porous media in the last decade: A review

Foam has been used for several decades to decrease the mobility of drive gas or steam, thereby increasing the reservoir sweep efficiency and enhancing the oil recovery. The optimization of the operations requires a thorough understanding of the physical aspects involved in foam flow through porous media. The present paper aims mainly at reviewing experimental and modeling studies on foam flow in porous media particularly during the last decade, to stress the new achievements and highlight the areas that are less understood. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a useful tool to study in-situ foam behaviors in porous media and new findings were obtained through this technology. The population-balance model was improved in different forms by researchers.