SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
Volume 14,
Number 3,
June 2011,
pp. 281-286
Summary
Hydrolysis of polyacrylamide (PAM) -based polymers is rapid and extensive
under the alkaline conditions typical of alkaline/surfactant-polymer (ASP)
flooding. Even at room temperature, significant hydrolysis occurs within 1 to 2
months in the presence of sodium carbonate. While this implies that polymers
used in ASP floods will rapidly become susceptible to precipitation with
divalent cations, in most cases the alkali present will be the most sensitive
component to precipitation, so this may be a moot point. Also, autoretarding
kinetics under alkaline conditions limit hydrolysis at 100°C, whereas complete
hydrolysis occurs under neutral conditions. Furthermore, in-situ hydrolysis of
initially unhydrolyzed PAM is proposed as a promising strategy for ASP floods
because the injectivity of the unhyrolyzed PAM will be greater than that of
hydrolyzed PAM (HPAM) be cause of its lower initial viscosity. The lower
initial viscosity is not a disadvantage because once it has been hydrolyzed
in-situ, its viscosity will increase.
© 2011. Society of Petroleum Engineers
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History
- Original manuscript received:
15 June 2010
- Meeting paper published:
25 April 2010
- Revised manuscript received:
14 February 2011
- Manuscript approved:
8 March 2011
- Published online:
16 May 2011
- Version of record:
7 June 2011
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