Synthesis of Polycarboxylate Viscosity Reducer and the Effect of Different Chain Lengths of Polyether on Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Oil

Abstract

Since there are not many studies on the application of polymeric surfactants in viscosity reduction emulsification of heavy oil, a series of polyether carboxylic acid–sulfonate polymeric surfactants were synthesized. The viscosity reduction performance and the effect of different chain lengths on the viscosity reduction effect were also investigated. The viscosity reduction, emulsification, wetting, and foaming performance tests showed that the viscosity reduction performance of this series of polymeric surfactants was excellent, with the viscosity reduction rate exceeding 95%, and the viscosity was reduced to 97 mPa·s by the polymeric surfactant with a molecular weight of 600 polyethers. It was also concluded that among the three surfactants with different side chains, the polymeric surfactant with a polyether molecular weight of 600, which is the medium side-chain length, had the best viscosity reduction performance. The study showed that the polyether carboxylic acid–sulfonate polymer surfactant had a promising application in the viscosity reduction of heavy oil.

Synthesis of Polyether Carboxylate and the Effect of Different Electrical Properties on Its Viscosity Reduction and Emulsification of Heavy Oil

“…The dropwise addition time of acrylic acid and sodium p -styrenesulfonate was 2 h, and the dropwise addition time of potassium persulfate was 2.5 h. After the dropwise addition, the reaction was stirred and kept at 80 °C for another 5 h. After that, the product was cooled to room temperature, and the pH was adjusted to around 7-8 with a 20 wt% sodium hydroxide solution. The resulting solution was the polyether carboxylate viscosity reducer, APAS [ 30 ].…”

“…In our previous work [ 30 ], we synthesized polyether carboxylate viscosity reducers with different side chain lengths, performed viscosity reduction and emulsification performance tests, and achieved the optimal structures and reaction conditions. However, up to now, the effect on electrical properties of polyether carboxylate has been scarcely studied systematically, although electrical properties have a potential impact on viscosity reduction in heavy oil [ 31 ].…”

Study on the Effect of Different Viscosity Reducers on Viscosity Reduction and Emulsification with Daqing Crude Oil

“…Some emulsification viscosity reduction can even reduce the viscosity more than 99%. According to their chemical structure, emulsifiers are usually divided into cationic, anionic [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], nonionic, amphoteric, and nonionic—anionic complex. However, cationic viscosity reducers are easily adsorbed or precipitated by the formation, so they are rarely used as an oil displacement agent or emulsified viscosity reducer.…”

“…The viscosity reduction performance and the effect of different chain lengths on the viscosity reduction effect were also investigated. Viscosity reduction, emulsification, wetting, and foaming performance tests showed that the viscosity reduction performance of this series of polymeric surfactants was excellent, with a viscosity reduction rate exceeding 95% [ 13 ]. There are few studies on nonionic and amphoteric viscosity reducers.…”

Recyclable Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Responsive to Temperature for Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction: Synthesis, Characterization, and Performance

“…However, biological methods usually have great limitations, such as temperature, salinity, etc., and the reproductive process of microflora is difficult to control . Emulsification − is an efficient and widely used method for chemical viscosity reduction. Natural surfactants such as asphaltenes and resins in heavy oil facilitate the formation of stable and viscous water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions .…”