Flow of Polymer Solutions Through Porous Media

1967 ◽  
Vol 19 (08) ◽  
pp. 1065-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Dauben ◽  
D.E. Menzie
1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-262
Author(s):  
P. Gestoso ◽  
A. J. Muller ◽  
A. E. Saez

2019 ◽  
Vol 268 ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soroush Aramideh ◽  
Pavlos P. Vlachos ◽  
Arezoo M. Ardekani

Soft Matter ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 3536-3541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Clarke ◽  
Andrew M. Howe ◽  
Jonathan Mitchell ◽  
John Staniland ◽  
Laurence Hawkes ◽  
...  

Flows of viscoelastic polymer solutions in porous media exhibit elastic turbulence that destabilises and displaces trapped oil.


1972 ◽  
Vol 12 (05) ◽  
pp. 448-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rapier Dawson ◽  
Ronald B. Lantz

Abstract We have found that solutions of typical waterflooding polymers do not occupy all of the connected pore volume in porous media. The remainder of the pore volume is inaccessible to polymer. This inaccessible pore volume is occupied polymer. This inaccessible pore volume is occupied by water that contains no polymer, but is otherwise in equilibrium with the polymer solution. This allows changes in polymer concentration to be propagated through porous media more rapidly than propagated through porous media more rapidly than similar changes in salt concentration. At the front edge of a polymer bank the effect of inaccessible pore volume opposes the effect of adsorption and pore volume opposes the effect of adsorption and may completely remove it in some cases. This paper presents three experimental polymer floods showing the effect of inaccessible pore volume in the presence of varying amounts of adsorption. Results of these floods clearly show that about 30 percent of the connected pore volume in the rock samples used was not accessible to The polymer solutions. The changes required to include polymer solutions. The changes required to include inaccessible pore volume in mathematical models of polymer flow and in held prediction methods are discussed. Introduction One way o improving the mobility ratio during waterflooding operations is by addition of a water-soluble polymer to the flood water. Several different polymers have been proposed and a number of investigators have presented results on the behavior of these polymer solutions in porous media. In addition, mathematical models have been developed for predicting the field behavior of polymer flooding. In all these studies movement polymer flooding. In all these studies movement of the polymer bank through the reservoir rock is of great importance. One phenomenon that has been repeatedly observed in polymer flooding is the removal of polymer from solution by adsorption on the reservoir rock. As a polymer bank propagates through porous media, the polymer bank propagates through porous media, the front edge is gradually denuded of polymer. The amount of polymer lost from a bank may be large or small, depending on the nature of the polymer and rock surface. This loss of polymer must be measured and included in any realistic mathematical model of polymer behavior. It has been widely assumed that polymer behavior. It has been widely assumed that adsorption is the most significant factor causing polymer to propagate through porous media at a polymer to propagate through porous media at a velocity different from that of water. In this paper we present data that demonstrate that all of the pores may not be accessible to polymer molecules and that this "inaccessible polymer molecules and that this "inaccessible pore volume" can affect polymer propagation pore volume" can affect polymer propagation significantly. In addition to the experimental results, we discuss the changes in interpretation and in mathematical models that are required to include this phenomenon. EXPERIMENTAL The experiments described in this paper were single-phase displacement of polymer solutions through consolidated sandstone. All the cores were prepared by evacuating and saturating with brine; prepared by evacuating and saturating with brine; the pore volumes of the cores were measured at this time. The experimental floods reported here were then done in three steps.An "initial solution" was injected until the core was at complete equilibrium with that solution.A bank of a different solution was injected into the core.Injection of the initial solution was resumed and continued until the end of the experiment. During each experiment the effluent from the core was collected in small samples; the analyses of these samples for polymer and salt content gave the basic data which is presented here. In plotting the results we used a "concentration fraction" defined as (Ce -Ci)/(Cb -Ci), where C is concentration and the subscripts e, i and b refer to the effluent, initial inlet and bank inlet values, respectively. All the solutions used were mixed in distilled water; concentrations are given in weight percent or in ppm by weight. Two polymers were used; one was a polyacrylamide (Pusher 700, The Dow Chemical Co.); the other a polysaccharide (XC biopolymer, Xanco, Div. of Kelco Co.). SPEJ P. 448


1994 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1759-1765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziming Zhou ◽  
Iwao Teraoka ◽  
Kenneth H. Langley ◽  
Frank E. Karasz

1985 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 588-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Abdel-Aziz Ghoniem

1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (03) ◽  
pp. 164-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi U. Ikoku ◽  
Henry J. Ramey

Abstract The transient flow behavior of non-Newtonian fluids in petroleum reservoirs is studied. A new partial differential equation is derived. The diffusivity equation is a special case of the new equation. The new equation describes the flow of a slightly compressible, non-Newtonian, power-law fluid in a homogeneous porous medium. This equation should govern the flow of most non-Newtonian oil-displacement agents used in secondary and tertiary oil-recovery projects, such as polymer solutions, micellar projects, such as polymer solutions, micellar solutions, and surfactant solutions. Analytical solutions of the new partial differential equation are obtained that introduce new methods of well-test analysis for non-Newtonian fluids. An example is presented for using the new techniques to analyze injection well-test data in a polymer injection project. project. Graphs of the dimensionless pressure function also are presented. These may be used to investigate the error when using Newtonian fluid-flow equations to model the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media. Introduction Non-Newtonian fluids, especially polymer solutions, microemulsions, and macroemulsions, often are injected into the reservoir in various enhanced oil-recovery processes. In addition, foams sometimes are circulated during drilling. Thermal recovery of oil by steam and air injection may lead to the flow of natural emulsions and foams through porous media. Some enhanced oil-recovery projects involving the injection of non-Newtonian fluids have been successful, but most of these projects either failed or performed below expectation. These results suggest the need for a thorough study of the stability of non-Newtonian fluids at reservoir conditions, and also a new look at the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media. porous media. Many studies of the rheology of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media exist in the chemical engineering, rheology, and petroleum engineering literature. In 1969, Savins presented an important survey on the flow of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media. In some cases, he interpreted porous media. In some cases, he interpreted published data further and compared results of published data further and compared results of different investigators. van Poollen and Jargon presented a numerical study of the flow of presented a numerical study of the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in homogeneous porous media using finite-difference techniques. They considered steady-state and unsteady-state flows and used the Newtonian fluid-flow equation. They considered non-Newtonian behavior by using a viscosity that varied with position. No general method was developed for analyzing flow data. Bondor et al. presented a numerical simulation of polymer presented a numerical simulation of polymer flooding. Much useful information on polymer flow was presented, but transient flow was not considered.At present, there is no standard method in the petroleum engineering literature for analyzing petroleum engineering literature for analyzing welltest data obtained during injection of non-Newtonian fluids into petroleum reservoirs. However, injection of several non-Newtonian oil-displacement agents is an important oilfield operation. Interpretation of well-test data for these operations should also be important. Obviously, procedures developed for Newtonian fluid flow are not appropriate. SPEJ P. 164


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