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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.

SUBMITTER: Klemm B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6052938 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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

Klemm Benjamin B Picchioni Francesco F Raffa Patrizio P van Mastrigt Frank F

Industrial & engineering chemistry research 20180608 27

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, ...[more]

PMID: 30034090

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Project description:Injecting water with chemicals to generate emulsions in the reservoir is a promising method for enhancing heavy oil recovery because oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions significantly reduce oil viscosity. To enhance heavy oil recovery efficiency, we developed new star-like branched AM-SSS copolymers (SB-PAMs) with reduction in the viscosity of the heavy oil emulsion, which was synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) controlled radical polymerization. The core structure of the branched polymer was RAFT polymerization of acrylamide (AM) and N,N'-methylene bis-acrylamide (BisAM), in the presence of 3-(((benzylthio)carbonothioyl)thio)propanoic acid as a chain transfer agent, followed by chain extension with AM and SSS. The core structures were achieved by incorporation of total monomer ratios [BisAM]/[AM] of 1:11. The expansion of the core structures by copolymerization of AM and SSS resulted in star-like branched polymer SB-PAM-co-SSS with apparent molecular weights ranging from 240 to 2381 kDa. 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the synthesized polymer structure. The molecular weight was determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The polydispersity coefficient was between 1 and 7, which has a broad molecular weight distribution. The polymer dissolves only 0.75 h in deionized water, faster than conventional polyacrylamide. At 50 °C, the viscosity of the 1000 mg/L SB-polymer solution can reach up to 45 mPa·s. First, heavy oil viscosity reduction by 800 mg/L SB polymer can reach 91.7%, at a water dehydration rate of 90.4%; second, with 0.6 PV injection, 800 mg/L SB polymer improved oil recovery up to 23.66% after water flooding; and third, SB-polymer-assisted hot water flooding shows that heavy oil recovery improved by 19.46% at 110 °C with 0.6 pore volume (PV) SB-polymer injection. This novel branched chain polymer with heavy oil emulsion capability will shed light on high-temperature polymer flooding and the development of a new candidate structure for heavy oil viscosity reduction.

Project description:Low salinity waterflooding (low salinity-EOR) has attracted great interest from many giant oil producers and is currently under trial in some of the oil fields of the United States, Middle Eastern countries, and North Sea reservoirs. Most of the reported studies on this process were carried out for medium to relatively heavy oil with significant polar contents. In this work, we have investigated low salinity waterflooding performance for light paraffinic crude oil with a low acid number. This study has been performed using crude oil from an Indian offshore oilfield and Indian offshore seawater. Oil recovery efficiencies of seawater and its diluted versions (low salinity seawater) were evaluated through core-flooding experiments performed on a silica sand pack containing small amounts (2 wt %) of bentonite clay saturated with crude oil. Interfacial tension and wettability studies were performed to understand the associated low salinity effects on the crude oil/brine/rock properties. Effluent brine produced during the flooding experiments was also analyzed to obtain a clearer insight into the low salinity-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) mechanism. The results showed that injection of low salinity seawater can significantly increase the waterflood recovery in comparison with high salinity seawater injection. Interfacial tension and contact angle studies revealed that there is an optimum dilution level at which the interfacial tension and wettability are the most favorable for enhanced oil recovery even in the case of light paraffinic crude. These results are in line with the results obtained from the core-flooding experiments. The possible reason behind recovery improvement based on the interfacial tension and wettability studies in conjugation with the effluent brine analysis has been discussed in detail. In this study, we have observed that the enhanced oil recovery efficiency could be achieved by applying low salinity seawater flooding even in the case of light paraffinic oil with a low acid number.

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

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

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