Enhancing the Performance of HPAM Polymer Flooding Using Nano CuO/Nanoclay Blend

Abstract

A single polymer flooding is a widely employed enhanced oil recovery method, despite polymer vulnerability to shear and thermal degradation. Nanohybrids, on the other hand, resist degradation and maintain superior rheological properties at different shear rates. In this article, the effect of coupling CuO nanoparticles (NPs) and nanoclay with partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymer solution on the rheological properties and the recovery factor of the nanohybrid fluid was assessed. The results confirmed that the NP agents preserved the polymer chains from degradation under mechanical, chemical (i.e., salinity), and thermal stresses and maintained good extent of entanglement among the polymer chains, leading to a strong viscoelastic attribute, in addition to the pseudoplastic behavior. The NP additives increased the viscosity of the HPAM polymer at shear rates varying from 10–100 s−1. The rheological properties of the nanohybrid systems varied with the NP additive content, which in turn provided a window for engineering a nanohybrid system with a proper mobility ratio and scaling coefficient, while avoiding injectivity issues. Sandpack flooding tests confirmed the superior performance of the optimized nanohybrid system and showed a 39% improvement in the recovery ratio relative to the HPAM polymer injection.

Improving Oil Recovery Efficiency in Niger Delta Reservoirs Using Corn Starch as a Local Polymer

“…Despite the fact that polymer flooding has tremendous benefits in oil recovery, there are still some drawbacks (formation damage and injectivity loss) associated with this process as a result of polymer adsorption to the rock surfaces [4] (Pereira, 2019). By three major mechanisms such as improving the viscosity of the water/brine, reducing water/brine permeability via swept areas, and covering larger volume of the reservoir formation, polymer flooding can enhance the sweep efficiency [7] (Kumar, 2020).…”

“…The most crucial criteria to select the appropriate polymer are its ability to generate a viscous solution at the minimum concentration. Two commercial polymers such as hydrolyzed polyacrylamides (HPAM) and xanthan gums are commonly used in practice in the oil and gas industry for chemical enhanced oil recovery applications [7] (Kumar, 2020). Since the interaction between polymers and salts present in the reservoirs produces changes in the rheological behavior of the solution, proper selection of the additive must be taken into consideration.…”

Experimental Insights to Stability of Graphene Oxide Polymer Hybrid: Effect of Salinity, Temperature and Divalent Ions Coupled with ANOVA Statistical Analysis

“…Therefore, at rst, using sonication, nanoparticles were dispersed in deionized water for 8 hours at a temperature of 60 C. Then, to add the polymer, a brine solution was rst prepared, and the polymer was added separately to the brine solution and stirred for 16 hours using a magnetic stirrer. Finally, the polymer solution prepared in brine solution was added to the nanoparticle aqueous solution (Kumar et al, 2020).…”

Study on the Adsorption of Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide by Zeolitic Imidazole Framework

“…Therefore, it shows great promise for the treatment of HPAM‐contained wastewater. In oilfield, adsorbents that have been developed for removing the HPAM mainly include activated carbon [16,17] and modified walnut shell [18,19] . These materials are economically effective, but have the limitation of low adsorption efficiency.…”