Systematic Evaluation of a Novel Self-Healing Poly(acrylamide-co-vinyl acetate)/Alginate Polymer Gel for Fluid Flow Control in High Temperature and High Salinity Reservoirs

Author

Jingyang Pu
Baojun Bai, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Thomas P. Schuman, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

Preferential fluid flow often occurs when water and CO₂ is injected into mature oilfields, sig-nificantly reducing their injection efficiency. Particle gels have been evaluated and applied to control the short circulation problems. This study systematically investigated a novel poly(acrylamide-co-vinyl acetate)/alginate-based interpenetrated gel system (Alg-IPNG) which is designed to control the preferential fluid flow problems in high-temperature reservoirs. Chromium acetate was incorporated into the gel system to provide the delayed crosslinking feature of the particle gels. The alginate polymer system can also take advantage of the Ca²⁺ ions in the formation water, which exist in most reservoirs, to reinforce its strength by capturing the Ca²⁺ to form Ca-alginate bonds. In this paper, various characterizations for the Alg-IPNGs before and after the self-healing process were introduced: (1) the elastic modulus is set at up to 1890 Pa, and (2) the water uptake ratio is set at up to 20. In addition, we also discuss their possible self-healing and reinforcement mechanisms. In particular, the self-healing starting time of the Alg-IPNG particles are modified between 38 to 60 h, which is related to the water uptake ratio, Ca²⁺ concentration, and temperature. The reinforced Alg-IPNG gel has an enhanced thermal stability (180 days) at the temperature up to 110 ⁰C.

Recommended Citation

J. Pu et al., "Systematic Evaluation of a Novel Self-Healing Poly(acrylamide-co-vinyl acetate)/Alginate Polymer Gel for Fluid Flow Control in High Temperature and High Salinity Reservoirs," Polymers, vol. 13, no. 21, article no. 3616, MDPI, Oct 2021.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13213616

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Second Department

Chemistry

Comments

Funding for this study was provided by ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, and Daqing Xinwantong Technology Developing Company, Limited.

Keywords and Phrases

Alg-IPNG particle; Ca-alginate bond; Chromium acetate; Reinforcement; Self-healing

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2073-4360

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2021 The Authors, All rights reserved.

Creative Commons Licensing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publication Date

20 Oct 2021