A Review of Drag-Reducing Agents (DRAs) in Petroleum Industry

AL-Dogail, Ala; Gajbhiye, Rahul; Patil, Shirish

doi:10.1007/s13369-022-07184-8

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…The pipeline transportation of different fluids with DRA was reviewed in detail. [58][59][60][61] However, its applications for similar transportation of viscous crudes like heavy and extra-heavy oil were not focused on earlier. The up-to-date development on the topic is compiled here by critically reviewing the relevant studies.…”

Section: Dilutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of drag reducers for the pipeline transportation of heavy crude oils: A critical review and future research directions

et al. 2023

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The long‐distance pipeline transportation of heavy crudes demands optimal pumping procedures to abate overhead expenditures in the midstream phase. This can be facilitated by reducing both the oil viscosity and the frictional losses induced by the turbulent flow zone. The dualistic approach of reducing both viscosity and drag requires the optimization of several parameters such as concentrations and types of diluents and additives. This manuscript critically reviews various technologies being undertaken to facilitate the pipeline transportation of heavy crude oils by highlighting the technique of dilution coupled with the addition of drag reducing agents (DRA). DRA such as surfactants, nanoparticles, bio‐additives, polymers, and fibres are blended with the diluted crudes to suppress the proliferation of turbulent eddies which in turn assist in pumping the oil at a higher flow rate under constant pressure conditions. Several investigations have reported that drag reduction is significantly enhanced by varying the molecular structure of the DRA. In addition, an optimum flow rate coupled with a specific surfactant concentration at an ideal temperature can significantly reduce head losses and pumping expenditures. Further research is imperative to study the effect of the polymer structure with respect to the induced shear degradation and dissolution behavior of the crude.

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Section: Dilutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of drag reducers for the pipeline transportation of heavy crude oils: A critical review and future research directions

et al. 2023

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“…[33][34][35][36][37] The dragreducing polymers present in slickwater fluids typically consist of polyacrylamides (PAMs), have demonstrate drag reduction characteristics resulting from the elongation of polymers that attenuate turbulent vortices, 24 which are ought to be classified based on the ionic charge substitutions as non-ionic, anionic, and cationic. 38,39 The performance of PAMs in aqueous systems has been found to be influenced by certain factors. First, the structure of the polymer chain plays a role, with linear chains exhibiting different performance compared to branched structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation on the influence of sulfonic substitution in polyacrylamides for minimizing drag in turbulent flow of slickwater fluids

Korlepara,

Patel,

Dilley

et al. 2023

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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The use of slickwater fluids for fracking is key for accessing unconventional shale/tight‐sand reservoirs. To mitigate the frictional losses observed during the injection, drag reducers like sulfonated polyacrylamides (SPAMs) are added to the slickwater fluids. The current study presents a unique controlled investigation that examines the impact of sulfonic group substitution, ranging from 5 to 25 wt%, in SPAMs. The molecular weight of the polymers is kept constant at ~7.5–7.8 million Daltons. The investigation is two‐pronged: first part is comprised of drag reduction (%DR) performance of the polymers in fluids of varying salinities on a laboratory flow‐loop. The results obtained indicated the inter‐dependence of fluid salinity and sulfonic substitution on the polymer performance; for example, %DR deterioration of SPAM with 5 wt% substitution was 24.7%; to the contrary, the deterioration was only 15.6% for SPAM with 25 wt% substitution with rise in fluid salinity from 150 ppm to 110 k ppm. The second part of study included in development of a physics‐based model where the polymer relaxation response (Weissenberg number) was improvised to accommodate the impact of governing parameters and then, successfully correlated with the %DR performance using phenomenological equations for the studied range of parameters.

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“…Recovered oil has to be transported to consumers. During the transportation of oil in pipeline networks, drag or frictional losses appreciably affect flowing capacity and pumping rates [30]. Compensation of the losses requires supplementary energy costs, resulting in a subsequent drop in marginality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Polymer–Surfactant Wormlike Micelles for Concurrent Use for Oil Recovery and Drag Reduction

Kwiatkowski,

Molchanov,

Chesnokov

et al. 2023

Polymers

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We report on the effect of a hydrocarbon (n-dodecane) on the rheological properties and shapes of the hybrid wormlike micelles (WLMs) of a surfactant potassium oleate with an embedded polymer poly(4-vinylpyridine). With and without hydrocarbon solutions, the hybrid micelles exhibit the same values of viscosity at shear rates typical for hydraulic fracturing (HF) tests, as solutions of polymer-free WLMs. Therefore, similar to WLMs of surfactants, they could be applied as thickeners in HF fluids without breakers. At the same time, in the presence of n-dodecane, the hybrid micelles have much higher drag-reducing efficiency compared to microemulsions formed in polymer-free systems since they form “beads-on-string” structures according to results obtained using cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), dynamic-light scattering (DLS), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Consequently, they could also act as drag-reducing agents in the pipeline transport of recovered oil. Such a unique multi-functional additive to a fracturing fluid, which permits its concurrent use in oil production and oil transportation, has not been proposed before.

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A Review of Drag-Reducing Agents (DRAs) in Petroleum Industry

Cited by 4 publications

References 107 publications

Applications of drag reducers for the pipeline transportation of heavy crude oils: A critical review and future research directions

Applications of drag reducers for the pipeline transportation of heavy crude oils: A critical review and future research directions

Investigation on the influence of sulfonic substitution in polyacrylamides for minimizing drag in turbulent flow of slickwater fluids

Hybrid Polymer–Surfactant Wormlike Micelles for Concurrent Use for Oil Recovery and Drag Reduction

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