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Degradation profiles of poly(methylene oxide) and poly(glycolic acid) for inflow control devices in oil wells
Author(s) -
Pereira Alexandre Zacarias Ignácio,
Delpech Marcia Cerqueira,
Costa Francileide Gomes,
Cruz Flávio Bittencourt
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.43786
Subject(s) - glycolic acid , hydrochloric acid , differential scanning calorimetry , hydrolysis , polymer , chloride , nuclear chemistry , scanning electron microscope , oxide , chemistry , materials science , chromatography , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , geology , lactic acid , paleontology , bacteria , physics , composite material , thermodynamics
The viability of the application of hydrolysable polymers, such as poly(methylene oxide) (PMO) and poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), in formation treatments in oil wells, was studied; we examined their addition to inflow control devices (ICDs), which are instruments used to control the oil‐flow profile along production intervals. Thereby, the structural and morphological changes of PMO and PGA samples exposed to common chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions and xylene, used in the procedure were evaluated under conditions similar to those observed in southeastern Brazilian offshore oil fields (temperature range = 50–130 °C, 41.4 MPa). The aim of this study was to verify whether the polymers hydrolyzed and could be further removed from the ICDs. Techniques including high‐pressure liquid chromatography, ion chromatography, 13 C‐NMR, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy were applied in this study. Xylene did not produce expressive effects in the samples. PMO was significantly affected by 15% HCl at 75 °C but was not completely dissolved after 24 h of exposure; this counter indicates its use. The PGA hydrolysis profile in NaCl brine was suitable for application around 75 °C. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43786.