The Role of Polymers in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Evaluation of Polymeric Materials for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…However, in many cases, much larger quantities of the polymer are required to achieve the desired viscosity modification compared to polyelectrolytes. For example, (as per Figure 2), partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) provides much stronger viscosity modification than nonionic polyacrylamide, as the polymer coils of HPAM expand (increasing the hydrodynamic volume and, subsequently, the intrinsic viscosity) due to charge effects [53]. The viscosity modification ability of polyelectrolytes is one of the main motivators for using anionic or cationic polymers in EOR, but other advantages include good water solubility and a desirable impact on effective permeability (recall Equation (2)).…”

“…The optimal charge density is reservoir-dependent but can be controlled using two different techniques: hydrolysis of polyacrylamide (through co-hydrolysis or post-hydrolysis, see [54,60]) or copolymerization of acrylamide and acrylic acid (sodium acrylate) [26,61,62]. Extensions to other polyacrylamide-based polyelectrolytes would typically involve multicomponent polymerization (see, for example, [26][27][28]53,63]). Although hydrolysis and copolymerization both achieve the desired effect (synthesis of HPAM), copolymerization ensures a more even charge distribution along the The viscosity modification ability of polyelectrolytes is one of the main motivators for using anionic or cationic polymers in EOR, but other advantages include good water solubility and a desirable impact on effective permeability (recall Equation (2)).…”

“…Overall, both materials performed better than standard polyacrylamide, and the cationic polymer (poly(acrylamide/allyl-β-cyclodextrin/dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride)) had some advantages over the anionic polymer (poly(acrylamide/allyl-β-cyclodextrin/sodium acrylate)). However, one of the main concerns in an oil reservoir would be the potential for pore plugging, as most minerals contain negative charges [53].…”

Study of Conditions for Polyacrylamide Use in Petroleum Reservoirs: Physical Flow Simulation in Porous Media

“…The polymer rheological performance comparison between the pure soft water and soft water with additives in the range of hydrolysis degrees (20 %, 25 % and 30 %) showed that the best performance in fact occurs when the hydrolysis degree is 30 %, as indicated in the literature [2,22].…”

Characterization and selection of polymer for use in future research on improved oil recovery

“…Since the permeability of the selected rock is in the recommended lower limit (see Table 1), the Floopam samples presenting molar masses equal or greater than 10⋅10 6 g/mol were discarded, in spite of the higher viscosity reached. Among the four remaining samples, the one that presents larger viscosity value is Flopaam 3230 S, with hydrolysis degree of 30 % [13]. Then the Flopaam 3230 S was submitted to more specific tests that are ascribed here.…”