1887

Abstract

A new class of acrylamide based polymers with associative thickening properties is discussed. The new thickeners are anionic, water-soluble copolymers with pendant hydrophobic groups. The specific interaction of these hydrophobic groups leads to the formation of a reversible network of polymer molecules, thus increasing the viscosity of the injection fluid. A systematic variation of the polymer structure in regard to the molecular weight and the content of the hydrophobically modified co-monomer was carried out and the influence of these parameters, together with temperature and salinity, on the performance of the polymers in porous media was studied with linear core flood experiments. In these evaluations mobility reduction, polymer retention and shear stability was analyzed. This comprehensive study showed that the mobility reduction is not only determined by the polymer structure but also by salinity and temperature. Surprisingly, with the associative copolymers the mobility reduction did not decrease with increasing salinity and temperature, as observed with standard HPAM (hydrolyzed polyacrylamide). Instead a significant rise of mobility reduction was measured. By changing the molecular weight and the content of associative co-monomer the mobility reduction can be adjusted. In general a tendency to lower mobility reduction by lowering the molecular weight and the associative content was observed. The results lead to the conclusion that it is crucial to use an optimized polymer structure when applying associative copolymers for mobility control applications. Strategies how to adjust the copolymer composition for a given salinity and temperature to achieve an optimum performance in the porous medium will be presented.

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/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201412135
2015-04-14
2024-03-28
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http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201412135
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