Distribution and Presence of Polymers in Porous Media

Abstract

Abstract:In order to better utilize the residual polymers formed after polymer flooding, the distribution and the presence of the polymers after polymer flooding were studied. This paper studied the vertical and plane distribution of the hydrophobically-associating polymer in addition to measuring the parameters after polymer flooding, which is important for numerical reservoir simulation. The results showed that the polymers mainly enter into the high permeability zone and distribute in the mainstream line area with only a small portion in the wing area. Based on the comparison of various experimental methods, double-slug experiments were chosen to measure the inaccessible pore volume and retention, which is considered to be the most accurate, most time-consuming and most complex method. Following this, we improved the processing method of experimental data by reducing it to one experiment with two parameters. At the same time, we further enhanced the accuracy of the experimental results. The results show that at 1750 mg/L, the inaccessible pore volume of the polymer is 25.8%. When the detention is 68.2 µg/g, the inaccessible pore volume constituted 22% of the total polymer, with the other 77.7% being the dissolved polymer. Moreover, the static adsorption and dynamic detention were measured, with the results showing that the static adsorption is larger than dynamic detention. Therefore, in the numerical reservoir simulation, using the static adsorption capacity instead of the dynamic detention is unreasonable. The double-slug method was chosen since it is more accurate for the determination of various parameters. Meanwhile, in order to enhance the accuracy of results, we improved the treatment of data.

Adsorption Characteristics of Polymer Solutions on Media Surfaces and Their Main Influencing Factors

“…Rising adsorption capacity is accompanied by increasing adsorption retention capacity, the ability to reduce permeability, and the sweep ability of the subsequent fluid [ 8 , 9 ]. There are two main methods for the study of polymer solution adsorption: static and dynamic adsorption [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. The determination of dynamic adsorption is based on the total amount of adsorption and retention, not on a single adsorption variable [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

The seepage flow characteristics of hydrophobically associated polymers with different aggregation behaviours in porous media

“…Static adsorption [29][30][31]: The immersion method of polymer was mainly studied using the immersion method. A ratio of polymer to sand of 10 : 1 was immersed for 24 h. The supernatant was separated by centrifugation, and the absorbance of polymer in solution was determined.…”

Visualization of Polymer Retention Mechanisms in Porous Media Using Microfluidics

“…By blocking certain channels, the pore-volume available for polymer solution to flow, also called effective pore-volume, decreases. The relation between polymer retention and effective pore-volume has been addressed in various studies (Zhao et al 2017;Chauveteau and Kohler 1974). This clogged pore-volume should not be confused with the inaccessible pore-volume (IPV).…”