Star-Like Branched Polyacrylamides by RAFT polymerization, Part II: Performance Evaluation in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

Abstract

In the present study the performance of a series of star-like branched polyacrylamides (SB-PAMs) has been investigated in oil recovery experiments to ultimately determine their suitability as novel thickening agent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. Hereby, SB-PAMs were compared with conventional linear PAM. The effect of a branched molecular architecture on rheology, and consequently on oil recovery was discussed. Rheological measurements identified unique properties for the SB-PAMs, as those showed higher robustness under shear and higher salt tolerance than their linear analogues. EOR performance was evaluated by simulating oil recovery in two-dimensional flow-cell measurements, showing that SB-PAMs perform approximately 3–5 times better than their linear analogues with similar molecular weight. The salinity did not influence the solution viscosity of the SB-PAM, contrarily to what happens for partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). Therefore, SB-PAMs are more resilient under harsh reservoir conditions, which can make them attractive for EOR applications.

Amphiphilic Copolymers Derived from Butanosolv Lignin and Acrylamide: Synthesis, Properties in Water Solution, and Potential Applications

“…Dead end flow cells experiments were performed using a 2D cell, consisting of an aluminum bottom and a transparent plastic top cover with size-varied chambers to consecutively simulate dead end pores in oil reservoirs. The experimental procedure and the setup are described in a previous work . The image analysis was performed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 as reported by Raffa et al The cytotoxicity of the two lignin-based polymers was evaluated as follows.…”

“…The experimental procedure and the setup are described in a previous work. 60 The image analysis was performed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 as reported by Raffa et al 60 The cytotoxicity of the two lignin-based polymers was evaluated as follows. The polymer solutions were tested with macrophages (J774) and fibroblasts (L929).…”

Hyper-branched structure—an active carrier for copolymer with surface activity, anti-polyelectrolyte effect and hydrophobic association in enhanced oil recovery

“…The study showed that rigid nuclei with the three-dimensional microstructures of SLPs had ideal performances in thickening and long-term stability together, which were instructive for the use of hyper-branched polymers for oil recovery. 32 Klemm B. J. et al 33 probed the suitability of a series of star-branched polyacrylamides (SB-PAMs) in EOR. The comparison demonstrated that the SB-PAMs presented a higher robustness under shear and a higher salt tolerance; contrary to HPAM, the salinity did not inuence the solution viscosity of the SB-PAMs.…”

Starlike Branched Polyacrylamides by RAFT Polymerization—Part I: Synthesis and Characterization

“…Detailed experimental work on the effect of the synthesized branched molecular architectures and the degree of branching in relation to rheology is shown in a follow-up paper. 34 In that paper, macromolecular properties of the polymers are related to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) performance and are evaluated in EOR simulations.…”

“…In this article, we report our results on the investigation on the RAFT copolymerization of AM with N , N ′-methylenebis­(acrylamide) (BisAM) as the BA, followed by chain extension with different levels of AM addition to obtain water-soluble starlike branched polyacrylamides (SB-PAMs). Detailed experimental work on the effect of the synthesized branched molecular architectures and the degree of branching in relation to rheology is shown in a follow-up paper . In that paper, macromolecular properties of the polymers are related to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) performance and are evaluated in EOR simulations.…”