β-Cyclodextrin modified anionic and cationic acrylamide polymers for enhancing oil recovery

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Petroleum Engineering

Background:

• Acrylamide-based polymers are crucial in enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
• Cyclodextrin inclusion can modify polymer properties for specialized applications.
• There is a need for polymers with improved performance under harsh reservoir conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel anionic and cationic acrylamide copolymers incorporating cyclodextrin.
• To characterize the synthesized copolymers and evaluate their performance in EOR-relevant properties.
• To compare the efficacy of anionic and cationic copolymers for different oil recovery scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Redox free-radical copolymerization of acrylamide with acrylic acid (anionic) and dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (cationic).
• Structural characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Evaluation of polymerization conditions, intrinsic viscosity, interfacial tension, and stability (salt, temperature, shear).

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of anionic and cationic acrylamide-cyclodextrin copolymers.
• Copolymers exhibited enhanced interfacial tension reduction, salt resistance, temperature tolerance, viscosification, and shear resistance compared to polyacrylamide.
• Anionic polymer excelled at interfacial tension reduction for tertiary oil recovery.
• Cationic polymer showed suitability for high-temperature and high-mineralization oilfield enhancement.

Conclusions:

• Anionic and cationic acrylamide-cyclodextrin copolymers offer significant performance advantages over conventional polyacrylamide.
• The choice between anionic and cationic copolymers depends on specific oilfield conditions and recovery objectives.
• These novel polymers represent a promising advancement for optimizing enhanced oil recovery processes.