Selection and Screening of Polymers for Enhanced-Oil Recovery

Abstract A number of commercially available polymers have been tested for enhanced oil recovery based upon viscosity, filterability, and surfactant compatibility, and chemical and thermal stability testing has been carried out with some of these as well. Several high molecular weight polymers exhibited high viscosities at salinities up to 170,000 ppm NaCl and with greater than 17,000 ppm CaCl2 present. Polyacrylamide polymers hydrolyze at high temperatures and beyond a certain point are subject to precipitation by calcium. If calcium concentrations can be kept below about 200 ppm, the use of polyacrylamide polymers is feasible up to reservoir temperatures of at least 100°C. For higher concentrations of calcium, copolymers including AMPS moieties should be considered. Calcium tolerance can be improved with sodium metaborate or by using copolymers of acrylamide and sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate (AMPS). The stability problems at elevated temperatures in the presence of iron can be mitigated by the use of chemicals such as sodium dithionite and sodium carbonate. The polymers tested did not lose viscosity after 220 days of aging at 100°C with dithionite present.