Application of Polymer Based Nanocomposites for Water Shutoff—A Review

One highly undesirable characteristic of mature assets that inhibits oil recovery is high water production. Polymer gel treatment is a popular conformance improvement technique applied in this regard due to its cost effectiveness and proved efficiency. Despite this popularity, optimum performance of polymer hydrogels in water shut off is inhibited by excessive aggregation, difficulty in controlling gelation, and their instability at high temperature and high salinity reservoir conditions. To address these shortcomings, research on the application of nanoparticles (NPs) in polymer hydrogels to manage thermal stability and salinity sensitivity has significantly increased in the recent past. By incorporating metal-based NPs, silica or graphene at nanoscale; the gel strength, storage modulus, salinity tolerance and thermal stability of commonly used polymers have been greatly enhanced. In this paper, the advances in experimental studies on polymer-based nanocomposites are discussed and field experiences from adoption of polymer composites reviewed.

Download Full-text

Role of Ionic Headgroups on the Thermal, Rheological, and Foaming Properties of Novel Betaine-Based Polyoxyethylene Zwitterionic Surfactants for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr7120908 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 908 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Muhammad Shahzad Kamal ◽

Syed Muhammad Shakil Hussain ◽

Lionel Talley Fogang

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stability ◽

High Temperature ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Foam Stability ◽

Foaming Properties ◽

Zwitterionic Surfactants ◽

Reservoir Conditions ◽

Thermal Stability Of

Long-term thermal stability of surfactants under harsh reservoir conditions is one of the main challenges for surfactant injection. Most of the commercially available surfactants thermally degrade or precipitate when exposed to high-temperature and high-salinity conditions. In this work, we designed and synthesized three novel betaine-based polyoxyethylene zwitterionic surfactants containing different head groups (carboxybetaine, sulfobetaine, and hydroxysulfobetaine) and bearing an unsaturated tail. The impact of the surfactant head group on the long-term thermal stability, foam stability, and surfactant–polymer interactions were examined. The thermal stability of the surfactants was assessed by monitoring the structural changes when exposed at high temperature (90 °C) for three months using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and FTIR analysis. All surfactants were found thermally stable regardless of the headgroup and no structural changes were evidenced. The surfactant–polymer interactions were dominant in deionized water. However, in seawater, the surfactant addition had no effect on the rheological properties. Similarly, changing the headgroup of polyoxyethylene zwitterionic surfactants had no major effect on the foamability and foam stability. The findings of the present study reveal that the betaine-based polyoxyethylene zwitterionic surfactant can be a good choice for enhanced oil recovery application and the nature of the headgroup has no major impact on the thermal, rheological, and foaming properties of the surfactant in typical harsh reservoir conditions (high salinity, high temperature).

Download Full-text

Application of Hybrid Biosystems for Stimulation of Oil Production

10.2118/207061-ms ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Baghir Alakbar Suleimanov ◽

Sabina Jahangir Rzayeva ◽

Ulviyya Tahir Akhmedova

Keyword(s):

Oil Recovery ◽

Single Phase ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Oil Production ◽

Pore Channel ◽

Subcritical Region ◽

Slippage Effect ◽

Liquid Systems ◽

Reservoir Conditions

Abstract Microbial enhanced oil recovery is considered to be one of the most promising methods of stimulating formation, contributing to a higher level of oil production from long-term fields. The injection of bioreagents into a reservoir results in the creation of oil-dicing agents along with significant amount of gases, mainly carbon dioxide. In early, the authors failed to study the preparation of self-gasified biosystems and the implementation of the subcritical region (SR) under reservoir conditions. Gasified systems in the subcritical phase have better oil-displacing properties than non-gasified systems. The slippage effect determines the behavior of gas–liquid systems in the SR under reservoir conditions. Slippage occurs more easily when the pore channel has a smaller average radius. Therefore, in a heterogeneous porous medium, the filtration profile of gasified liquids in the SR should be more uniform than for a degassed liquid. The theoretical and practical foundations for the preparation of single-phase self-gasified biosystems and the implementation of the SR under reservoir conditions have been developedSR under reservoir conditions. Based on experimental studies, the superior efficiency of oil displacement by gasified biosystems compared with degassed ones has been demonstrated. The possibility of efficient use of gasified hybrid biopolymer systems has been shown.

Download Full-text

Self-gasified biosystems for enhanced oil recovery

International Journal of Modern Physics B ◽

10.1142/s021797922150274x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 2150274

Author(s):

B. A. Suleimanov ◽

S. J. Rzayeva ◽

U. T. Akhmedova

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Heterogeneous Porous Medium ◽

Oil Displacement ◽

Subcritical Region ◽

Reservoir Conditions

Microbial enhanced oil recovery is considered to be one of the most promising methods of stimulating formation, contributing to a higher level of oil production from long-term fields. The injection of bioreagents into a reservoir results in the creation of oil-displacing agents along with a significant amount of gases, mainly carbon dioxide. Earlier, the authors failed to study the preparation of self-gasified biosystems and the implementation of the subcritical region (SR) under reservoir conditions. Gasified systems in the subcritical phase have better oil-displacing properties than nongasified systems. In a heterogeneous porous medium, the filtration profile of gasified liquids in the SR should be more uniform than for a degassed liquid. Based on experimental studies, the superior efficiency of oil displacement by gasified biosystems compared with degassed ones has been demonstrated. The possibility of efficient use of gasified hybrid biopolymer systems has been shown.

Download Full-text

Theoretical and experimental studies on thermal stability of nanocrystalline Mg–Mo alloy

Materialia ◽

10.1016/j.mtla.2020.100933 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 100933

Author(s):

Nikhil Rai ◽

Bikash K. Samantaray ◽

Koteswararao V. Rajulapati ◽

Rahul Ravi ◽

Srinivasa R Bakshi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stability ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Thermal Stability Of

Download Full-text

Permeability Modification Simulator Studies of Polymer-Gel-Treatment Initiation Time and Crossflow Effects on Waterflood Oil Recovery

SPE Reservoir Engineering ◽

10.2118/20216-pa ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 8 (03) ◽

pp. 221-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Hong W. Gao ◽

Ming-Ming Chang ◽

Thomas E. Burchfield ◽

Min K. Tham

Keyword(s):

Oil Recovery ◽

Treatment Initiation ◽

Initiation Time ◽

Polymer Gel ◽

Gel Treatment ◽

Permeability Modification

Download Full-text

Gel Dehydration by Spontaneous Imbibition of Brine From Aged Polymer Gel

SPE Journal ◽

10.2118/153118-pa ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (01) ◽

pp. 122-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

B.. Brattekås ◽

Å.. Haugen ◽

A.. Graue ◽

R.S.. S. Seright

Keyword(s):

Fractured Reservoirs ◽

High Water ◽

Spontaneous Imbibition ◽

High Water Content ◽

Polymer Gel ◽

Fracture Conductivity ◽

The Core ◽

Gel Layer ◽

Gel Treatment ◽

Pressure Resistance

Summary This work investigates dehydration of polymer gel by capillary imbibition of water bound in gel into a strongly water-wet matrix. Polymer gel is a crosslinked-polymer solution of high water content, where water can leave the gel and propagate through porous media, whereas the large 3D polymer-gel structures cannot. In fractured reservoirs, polymer gel can be used for conformance control by reducing fracture conductivity. Dehydration of polymer gel by spontaneous imbibition (SI) contributes to shrinkage of the gel, which may open parts of the initially gel-filled fracture to flow and significantly reduce the pressure resistance of the gel treatment. SI of water bound in aged Cr(III)-acetate-hydrolized-polyacrcylamide (HPAM) gel was observed and quantified. Oil-saturated chalk-core plugs were submerged in gel, and the rate of SI was measured. Two boundary conditions were tested: all faces open (AFO) and two-end-open oil-water (TEO-OW), where one end was in contact with the imbibing fluid (gel or brine) and the other was in contact with oil. The rate of SI was significantly slower in gel compared with brine, and was highly sensitive to the ratio of matrix volume to surface open to flow, decreasing with increasing ratios. The presence of a dehydrated gel layer on the core surface lowered the rate of imbibition; continuous loss of water to the core increased the gel layer concentration and thus the barrier to flow between the core and fresh gel. Severe gel dehydration and shrinkage up to 99% were observed in the experiments, suggesting that gel treatments may lose efficiency over time in field applications where a potential for SI exists. The implications of gel dehydration by SI, and its relevance in field applications, are discussed for both gel and gelant field treatments.

Download Full-text

Effect of acetylacetone metal salts on curing mechanism and thermal stability of polybenzoxazine

High Performance Polymers ◽

10.1177/0954008320913105 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (8) ◽

pp. 953-962

Author(s):

Hongqiang Yan ◽

Jianan Hu ◽

Huaqing Wang ◽

Zuomin Zhan ◽

Jie Cheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stability ◽

Catalytic Activity ◽

Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽

High Water ◽

Carbon Layer ◽

Metal Salts ◽

High Catalytic Activity ◽

Scanning Calorimetry ◽

Activity Structure ◽

Thermal Stability Of

To overcome high water absorption of inorganic metal salts and their poor compatibility with resin, acetylacetone metal salts (M(acac) n) were selected as the catalysts of benzoxazine resin. Their effects on the catalytic activity, structure, and thermal stability of polybenzoxazine had been estimated by dynamic differential scanning calorimetry, in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analyzer. The results revealed that M(acac) n of iron (Fe3+), cobalt (Co3+ and Co2+), and copper (Cu2+) exhibited high catalytic activity and reduced evidently activation energy, especially acetylacetone iron salt. The addition of M(acac) n was beneficial to the formation of Ph–N–Ph structure, which was easy to form a denser carbon layer during thermal degradation, prevented heat transfer and further decomposition of the resin, and finally led to the increase of carbon residue at high temperature.

Download Full-text