Self-Lubricating Supramolecular Hydrogel for In-Depth Profile Control in Fractured Reservoirs

In-depth profile control is a great challenge for high-efficiency oil displacement by water flooding. In this work, a shear-responsive self-lubricating hydrogel FPP-0.5, by combining the thixotropic FT (N-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-l-tryptophan) supramolecular network with high-strength PAM-PAANa (PAM: polyacrylamide, PAANa: sodium polyacrylate) polymer network, was synthesized and applied for in-depth profile control in water flooding. The disassembly of the FT supramolecular network induced by shear force, accompanied by the formation of a lubricating layer on the gel surface, gives FPP-0.5 gel self-lubricating function. Meanwhile, the PAM-PAANa polymer network, as a protective scaffold for the FT network, endows FPP-0.5 with high strength, making it difficult to be broken by water flow. Moreover, the shear responsiveness enables FPP-0.5 to adjust its own strength and self-lubricating performance according to the different stages of the profile control process, so as to realize dynamic profile control. From oil displacement results, in comparison to the PAM-PAANa gel, the plugging rate, water flooding volume sweep efficiency, and oil recovery of FPP-0.5 were improved by 83.1, 155.4, and 34.0%, respectively, up to 86.6, 83.5, and 71.3%, indicating its better in-depth profile control ability.