Polymers for enhanced oil recovery: fundamentals and selection criteria

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Sandeep RellegadlaAkhil Agrawal

Abstract

With a rising population, the demand for energy has increased over the years. As per the projections, both fossil fuel and renewables will remain as major energy source (678 quadrillion BTU) till 2030 with fossil fuel contributing 78% of total energy consumption. Hence, attempts are continuously made to make fossil fuel production more sustainable and cheaper. From the past 40 years, polymer flooding has been carried out in marginal oil fields and have proved to be successful in many cases. The common expectation from polymer flooding is to obtain 50% ultimate recovery with 15 to 20% incremental recovery over secondary water flooding. Both naturally derived polymers like xanthan gum and synthetic polymers like partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) have been used for this purpose. Earlier laboratory and field trials revealed that salinity and temperature are the major issues with the synthetic polymers that lead to polymer degradation and adsorption on the rock surface. Microbial degradation and concentration are major issues with naturally derived polymers leading to loss of viscosity and pore throat plugging. Earlier studies also revealed that polymer flooding is successful in the fields where oil viscosity is quite highe...Continue Reading

References

Dec 14, 2011·Environmental Science & Technology·Akhil AgrawalGerrit Voordouw
Jul 16, 2014·Environmental Science & Technology·Karine DrønenTurid Liengen
Dec 31, 2014·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Takao IinoShigeaki Harayama

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Citations

Aug 16, 2018·Royal Society Open Science·Jing Cun FanHeng An Wu
Dec 22, 2019·Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology·Sandeep RellegadlaAkhil Agrawal
Mar 14, 2020·Critical Reviews in Biotechnology·Junhui ZhangQuanhong Xue
May 20, 2020·Physical Review. E·Eseosa M EkanemPaul F Luckham
Aug 23, 2020·Polymers·Shunxiang XiaSiyuan Tan
Oct 25, 2020·Polymers·Nasiru Salahu MuhammedS M Zakir Hossain
Oct 6, 2021·Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology·Sugandha MahajanAkhil Agrawal

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