Summary A key challenge in polymer-flood forecasting is the prediction of polymer stability far from the injector. Degradation may result from various mechanical-degradation events in surface facilities and at the wellbore interface, as well as possible oxidative degradation caused by the presence of oxygen and reduced transition metals. All these steps must be closely examined to minimize degradation and ensure propagation of a viscous polymer solution. In this paper, polymer solutions are pushed toward degradation rates that would be unacceptable for enhanced-oil-recovery applications to better understand the underlying physics. Multistep degradation events are induced in various geometries, such as capillaries, blenders, and porous media. For the geometries and range of polymer and salt concentrations investigated, degradation (as defined here) approaches an asymptotic value as the number of degrading events increases. An empirical normalization method is proposed, allowing superimposition of curves of viscosity loss vs. time across multiple possible geometries. The normalization procedure is applied to predict the extent of degradation during a field injection in which near-wellbore degradation occurs after degradation in surface facilities. We predict that degradation in the porous medium reaches a stable value after passing through approximately 6 mm of rock. Finally, degradation is proposed as a tool to probe the molecular-weight distribution and to narrow the polydispersity of polymers, which can be used for maximizing both viscosifying power and injectivity simultaneously.
Gas flotation is an efficient technique used in the petroleum industry to remove oil contamination from produced water. This method is based on attaching air bubbles to oil droplets to make oil droplets rise faster. We investigated the role of water salinity in the efficiency of the process, using a model flotation column. We show that flotation efficiency increases with water salinity, highlighting the importance of the electrostatic repulsion between oil drops and air bubbles. We also studied the attachment between drops and bubbles, monitoring the temporal evolution of the thin films between them. Stable attachment requires that the water films formed between oil drops and air bubbles break and the oil spreads at the bubble surface. Increasing the salinity of the solution decreases the repulsion between the oil drops and the air bubbles, which in turn decreases the water film stability. The films rupture more readily, improving the drop–bubble attachment and thus the flotation efficiency. The differences in water salinity can therefore lead to important changes in the flotation efficiency.
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