Synthesis Techniques for Polymers Applied to Enhanced Oil Recovery

JUAREZ DATA, MARTÍN; MILANESIO, JUAN; MARTINI, RAQUEL E.; STRUMIA, MIRIAM C.

MOJ Polymer Sci

MedCrave Group

Año: 2018 vol. 2 p. 1 - 4

2574-9773

A considerable portion of the total oil in place (OIP) present in mature reservoirs cannot be extracted by conventional methods. Therefore, there is an enormous motivation in the development of different techniques to increase the oil recovery. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is the implementation of several techniques to increase the amount of oil extracted from reservoirs. Its purpose is to mobilize and recover the capillary trapped oil in the reservoirs, and to improve oil sweep efficiency. Dilute aqueous polymer solutions are used, as flooding agents, to improve the mobility index of regular water flooding. Polymers increase water-phase viscosity and reduce the difference between the permeability of the oil and the water phases. Polymers can significantly increase the viscosity of the injected brine by factors up to 20 at very low concentrations. The most used polymer in EOR applications is partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), a linear copolymer of acrylamide and acrylic acid. Numerous chemical modifications were proposed to HPAM. In this short review, different chemical modifications to the conventional HPAM are summarized and discussed. Furthermore, different synthesis strategies for these water-soluble polymers are analyzed and reviewed.