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HPAM‐ g ‐PEOPPO: Rheological modifiers in aqueous media of high temperature and high ionic strength
Author(s) -
de Lima Bruna Luiza Batista,
Marques Nívia do Nascimento,
Villetti Marcos Antônio,
Balaban Rosangela de Carvalho
Publication year - 2019
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.47453
Subject(s) - polyacrylamide , copolymer , ethylene oxide , rheology , ionic strength , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , propylene oxide , chemical engineering , viscosity , materials science , polymer , aqueous solution , polymer chemistry , hydrolysis , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , engineering
Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) is widely used as thickener in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), but the high temperature and salinity of oil reservoirs can reduce the viscosity and lead to polymer precipitation. To improve the performance of HPAM in high‐salinity and high‐temperature environments, the responsive amino‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide‐ co ‐propylene oxide) (PEOPPO) (EO/PO = 19/03) was grafted onto a HPAM backbone. The copolymers were prepared in water using 1‐ethyl‐3‐[3‐(dimethylamino)‐propyl]carbodiimide hydrochloride/ N ‐hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) as activators. Structural characterization was performed by 1 H NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and the responsive behavior was investigated by UV–Vis and rheology. Spectroscopic analyses confirmed that copolymers were successfully synthesized. UV–Vis showed that copolymers have combined salt and thermoresponsive character. Rheology in saline medium (ionic strength = 3.75 mol.L −1 ) revealed that, contrary to unmodified HPAM, HPAM‐ g ‐PEOPPO have thermothickening behavior and also higher viscosity than HPAM at 70 °C, suggesting the utilization of these copolymers as rheological modifiers under harsh conditions of temperature and salinity, such as the ones found in EOR applications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136 , 47453.