ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Synthesis and evaluation of a novel hydrophobically associating polymer based on acrylamide for enhanced oil recovery

Jin-Sheng Sun, Wei-Chao Du, Xiao-Lin Pu, Zhuan-Zheng Zou, and Bo-Bo Zhu

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu Avenue 8, Chengdu 610500, China

E-mail: duweichao0303@foxmail.com

Abstract: A novel polymerizable hydrophobic monomer 1-(4-dodecyloxy-phenyl)-propenone (DPP) was synthesized by esterification, Frise rearrangement and Williamson etherification; then, the obtained DPP was copolymerized with 2-(acrylamido)-dodecanesulfonic acid (AMC₁₂S) and acrylamide (AM) initiated by a redox initiation system in an aqueous medium to enhance oil recovery (EOR). AM/AMC₁₂S/DPP (PADP) was characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), DSC-TG, fluorescent probe, core flood test, etc. Results of ESEM and fluorescent probe indicate that hydrophobic microdomains and associating threedimensional networks were formed in the aqueous solution of PADP. Results of DSC-TG demonstrated that long carbon chains, aromatic groups and sulfonic groups were incorporated into the PADP polymer, which can lead to a significant increase of the rigidity of molecular chains. Performance evaluation of experiments showed superior properties in regard to temperature-tolerance, shear-tolerance and salt-tolerance. In the Sandpack Flooding Test, PADP brine solution showed a significant increase in EOR at 65◦C because of its high thickening capability. All these features indicate that PADP has a potential application in EOR at harsh conditions.

Keywords: 1-(4-dodecyloxy-phenyl)-propenone – associating – acrylamide – enhanced oil recovery – hydrophobically associating polymer

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2015-0185

Chemical Papers 69 (12) 1598–1607 (2015)