Synergistic Behavior of Anionic Surfactants and Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide under an Extensional Field: Effect of Hydrophobicity

Abstract

Surfactant–polymer interaction has been studied by many academic and industrial researchers. Associative polymers have attracted attention, especially in enhanced oil recovery due to their ability to generate higher resistance than parental polyacrylamide (HPAM) at a lower concentration. The effect of hydrophobicity on the associative polymer–surfactant interaction has been studied through many means including rheology. Previous rheological studies were restricted to shear-based behavior, and no efforts were undertaken to study the effect of hydrophobicity on the extensional rheological behavior of the surfactant–HPAM system. In this work, the extensional behavior of anionic surfactant–polyacrylamide systems was studied for varying levels of hydrophobicity. The concentration of the surfactant used in the surfactant–polymer formulation ranged from 0 to 0.3%, and the polymer concentration was fixed at 1000 ppm. Extensional rheology was performed using a capillary breakup extensional rheometer. Surface tension studies were also conducted. The results revealed that the parental HPAM–surfactant system shows the maximum extensional viscosity for the concentration range studied here. This is contrary to shear behavior reported in the literature, and it appears that electrostatic repulsive interaction associated with HPAM–surfactant systems becomes dominant in the extensional field. Associative polymer–surfactant systems characterized by higher hydrophobicity showed the least maximum extensional viscosity, as opposed to the literature-reported behavior in the shear field. Hydrophobic interaction associated with associative polymer–surfactant systems appears to become weaker in the extensional field.

Evaluating Factors Impacting Polymer Flooding in Hydrocarbon Reservoirs: Laboratory and Field-Scale Applications

“…Polymer degradation involves the weakening or destruction of the polymer chains, resulting in the polymer losing its high viscosity, which is attributed to the long chains and the high molecular weight of the polymer prior to degradation. Degradation is a strong function of the polymer limitations and can occur due to excessive temperature, pressure differentials, pH, salinity (including both monovalent and divalent cations), gasses such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide, pore size distribution in the formation, or shearing of the polymer during injection [ 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ].…”

“…There are several methods by which microfluidic channels can be created to model polymer flooding behavior in micropores. For all the methods summarized below, precision is key to producing a representative microfluidic rock sample for analysis [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63].…”

Pinching Dynamics of Telechelic Associating and Coupling Polymers

“…23,50−52 A commercially available CaBER analyzes the shrinking diameter of the sample after step extension. 41,53,54 It is useful to measure the weakly viscoelastic fluids because the elasticity would remarkably extend the lifespan of the capillary-driven filament. 55,56 However, for low-viscosity or low-elasticity fluids, the shrinking may take less than 10 ms (Rayleigh time), which is still too quick for the CaBER.…”

“…Extensional rheology offers unique insights into polymer topologies and may help to provide additional information to understand the flow behavior of TAP aqueous solutions. However, compared to extensive investigations of TAP solutions under shear, the extensional rheological properties were rarely reported due to instrumental difficulties. ,− For example, a filament stretching rheometer (FSR) is suitable for polymer melts and dense solutions but not suitable for dilute solutions. ,− A capillary breakup extensional rheometer (CaBER), a dripping-onto-substrate (DoS) rheometer, and a Rayleigh–Ohnesorge jetting extensional rheometer (ROJER) are the few instruments available to study the extension of dilution polymer solutions. ,− A commercially available CaBER analyzes the shrinking diameter of the sample after step extension. ,, It is useful to measure the weakly viscoelastic fluids because the elasticity would remarkably extend the lifespan of the capillary-driven filament. , However, for low-viscosity or low-elasticity fluids, the shrinking may take less than 10 ms (Rayleigh time), which is still too quick for the CaBER. ,, …”

Molecular Dynamics-Assisted Design of High Temperature-Resistant Polyacrylamide/Poloxamer Interpenetrating Network Hydrogels

“…The so-called poloxamer is a new type of polymer nonionic polyol with low toxicity, low irritation, and good biocompatibility, which can be used in biological fields such as pharmaceutical excipients, gene therapy, and the inhibition of postoperative intestinal adhesions [22][23][24]. First, multiple models were established to simulate the interaction between poloxamers and three common polyacrylamides, which were anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) [25], cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) [26], and nonionic polyacrylamide (NPAM) [27]. The results predicted strong hydrogen bonds between the amide groups on the polymer chain and the poloxamers.…”