Injectivity of Hydrophobically Modified Water Soluble Polymers for IOR: Controlled Resistance Factors vs. Flow-Induced Gelation

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Dupuis ◽  
David Rousseau ◽  
Rene Tabary ◽  
Bruno Grassl
Keyword(s):  
Water Soluble ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Resistance Factors ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified

Flow of Hydrophobically Modified Water-Soluble-Polymer Solutions in Porous Media: New Experimental Insights in the Diluted Regime

SPE Journal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. 43-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Dupuis ◽  
David Rousseau ◽  
René Tabary ◽  
Bruno Grassl
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Polymer Concentration ◽  
Adsorbed Layer ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Water Soluble Polymer ◽  
Improved Oil Recovery ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Resistance Factors ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified

Summary The specific molecular structure of hydrophobically modified water-soluble polymers (HMWSPs), also called hydrophobically associative polymers, gives them interesting thickening and surface-adsorption abilities compared with classical water-soluble polymers (WSPs), which could be useful in polymer-flooding and well-treatment operations. However, their strong adsorption obviously can impair their injectivity, and, conversely, the shear sensitivity of their gels can be detrimental to well treatments. Determining for which improved-oil-recovery (IOR) application HMWSPs are best suited, therefore, remains difficult. The aim of this work is to bring new insight regarding the interaction mechanisms between HMWSPs and rock matrix and the consequences concerning their propagation in reservoirs. A consistent set of HMWSPs with sulfonated polyacrylamide backbones and alkyl hydrophobic side chains together with an equivalent WSP was synthesized and fully characterized. HMWSP and WSP solutions were then injected in model granular packs. As expected, with HMWSPs, high resistance factors (or mobility reductions, Rm) were observed. Yet, within the limit of the injected volumes, the effluent showed the same viscosity and polymer concentration as the injected solutions. A first significant outcome concerns the specificities of the Rm curves during HMWSP injections. Rm increases took place in two steps. The first corresponded to the propagation of the viscous front, as observed with WSP, whereas the second was markedly delayed, occurring several pore volumes (PV) after the breakthrough. This result is not compatible with the classical picture of multilayer adsorption of HMWSPs but suggests that injectivity is controlled solely by the adsorption of minor polymeric species. This hypothesis was confirmed by reinjecting the collected effluents into fresh cores; no second-step Rm increases were observed. Brine injections in HMWSP-treated cores revealed high residual resistance factors (or irreversible permeability reductions, Rk), which can be attributed to the presence of thick polymer-adsorbed layers on the pore surface. Nevertheless, Rk values strongly decreased when increasing the brine-flow rate. This second significant outcome shows that the adsorbed-layer thickness is shear-controlled. These new results should lead to proposing new adapted filtration and injection procedures for HMWSPs, aimed, in particular, at improving their injectivity.

Flow of Hydrophobically Modified Water-Soluble Polymers in Porous Media: Controlled Resistance Factors vs. Flow-Induced Gelation in the Semidilute Regime

SPE Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 1196-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Dupuis ◽  
David Rousseau ◽  
René Tabary ◽  
Bruno Grassl
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Throat Radius ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Resistance Factors ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified

Summary The associative properties of hydrophobically modified water soluble polymers (HMWSPs) are attractive for improved oil recovery (IOR) because of both their enhanced thickening capability, compared with classical water-soluble polymers (for mobility-control applications), and their permeability-reduction, or plugging, ability (for well-treatment applications). In previous works, we have studied the injectivity of HMWSP made of sulfonated polyacrylamide backbones and alkyl side chains in the dilute regime and have shown, in particular, that it was largely governed by adsorption. In this paper, we report new experimental data on the injectivity of the same class of HMWSP solutions in the semidilute regime. From membrane filtration tests at imposed flow rate, we have first observed the formation of a filter cake made of HMWSP physical gel, which remained largely permeable to polymers. Our observations are compatible with the creation of channels within the gel. This leads to a gel-filtration process, entailing modifications of the solution's viscosimetric properties, which can be explained by a rearrangement of the intra- and interchain hydrophobic bonds in the solution. The second part of our work consisted of injectivity tests in model granular packs. We have performed comparative experiments in porous media with variable permeabilities, but at the same shear rate in the pore throats. Results show that, above a critical permeability kC, or a critical pore-throat radius rpC, HMWSP injection led to stable resistance factors, with values close to the solution's viscosity, and that, at less than kC or rpC the very high resistance factors observed suggest that flow-induced gelation of the HMWSP takes place. Furthermore, resistance factors measured over the core internal sections are compatible with an in-depth formation of the gel. These insights could be of use for designing HMWSP better suited to mobility-control operations and for tuning HMWSP-injection conditions for profile/conformance-control operations.

Luminescence studies of the conformational behaviour of hydrophobically-modified, water-soluble polymers

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Ebdon ◽  
David M. Lucas ◽  
Ian Soutar ◽  
Linda Swanson
Keyword(s):  
Water Soluble ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified

scholarly journals Investigation of Effect of Adding Hydrophobically Modified Water Soluble Polymers on the Structure and Viscosity of Anionic Vesicle Dispersion

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Marco Sandjaja ◽  
Maria Lucia Ardhani Dwi Lestari
Keyword(s):  
Polyethylene Oxide ◽  
Small Angle Neutron Scattering ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
Pronounced Increase ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Polymer Molecules ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified ◽  
Chain Lengths

This present study was conducted to investigate the effect of adding hydrophobically modified end-capped (HM) polymers with various polyethylene oxide (PEO) chain lengths on the structure and viscosity of anionic vesicles dispersion. A pronounced increase in viscosity was observed upon adding small amount of such polymers. Based on the dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) analysis, 10 to 30 polymer molecules per vesicles can reach maximum viscosity and where polymer molecules can interconnect the vesicles without disrupting their structure. In addition, the kinetic stability of the vesicle dispersion also enhanced. From the measurement of the electrical conductivity of the dispersion, it was observed that the presence of the PEO and polypropylene oxide (PPO) group could induce the permeability of the vesicle membrane by altering their internal structure. Controlling viscosity of vesicles dispersion without changing its structure is useful for the further application of vesicles system such as in drug delivery, cosmetics and biomedical.

Effects of Temperature on Bulk Properties of Hydrogels Made from Hydrophobically Modified Hydroxyethyl Cellulose in Surfactant Solutions

1993 ◽  
Vol 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun-Yuan Wu ◽  
Carol A. Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Temperature Response ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Hydroxyethyl Cellulose ◽  
Gel Properties ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified ◽  
Effects Of Temperature ◽  
Opposing Effects

AbstractThe temperature response of hydrogels made from hydrophobically modified water soluble polymers is complicated by the fact that while the hydrophobilic backbone becomes dehydrated and thus less compatible with aqueous solvents as the temperature is increased, the hydrophobic side chains become more compatible. These opposing effects taken together will govern gel properties such as volume, storage modulus, etc. We will discuss the effects of temperature on the composition, volume and reheological properties of hydrogels made from hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HMHEC) in aqueous solutions containing the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).

Dynamic interactions and adsorption in systems of hydrophobically modified water-soluble polymers

1995 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 345-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finn Knut Hansen ◽  
Bo Nyström ◽  
Harald Walderhaug ◽  
Kjetil Larsen Børve
Keyword(s):  
Water Soluble ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Hydrophobically Modified
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document