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Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies are essential for maximizing hydrocarbon production from mature and depleted reservoirs. Within porous media systems, inefficient displacement during conventional waterflooding leaves a substantial fraction of oil trapped in complex pore networks, requiring advanced flow-control technologies to enhance energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact. Polymer flooding is a widely adopted chemical EOR technique; however, the long-term sustainability and reservoir compatibility of conventional synthetic polymers remain significant challenges. This study reports the development of a novel, chemo-selectively engineered biopolymer blend composed of acetylated guar gum (aGG) and guar gum (GG), designed to enhance multiphase flow behaviour within porous media. Among the investigated compositions, the GG:aGG (4:1) polymer blend exhibited the lowest crystalline nature and highest thermodynamic stability, as supported by electrode potential measurements and Gibbs free energy analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed successful esterification and polymer integration through characteristic ester (1733 cm-1) and hydroxyl (3467-3600 cm-1) absorption bands. Rheological investigations demonstrated synergistic pseudoplastic and viscoelastic behaviour of the polymer blend, which are critical for effective mobility control and sweep efficiency in porous media. The optimized polymer blend showed enhanced sweep efficiency, reduced interfacial tension (27.0 dyne/cm), and acceptable injection pressure (2700 Pa). Wettability alteration studies indicated a significant shift toward water-wet conditions, reducing the contact angle to 61.1°, thereby facilitating improved oil displacement through pore constrictions. Emulsification studies further revealed the formation of small, densely packed oil-water droplets, indicative of enhanced transport through heterogeneous pore networks. Oil Reservoir Simulating Bioreactor (ORSB) experiments confirmed the effectiveness of the polymer blend under reservoir-simulated conditions, resulting in a significant improvement in oil recovery and demonstrating strong potential to achieve the targeted incremental recovery exceeding 10% of the original oil in place.
Keywords: Polymer Flooding, Porous Media Flow, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Wettability Alteration, Interfacial Tension
“Chemo-Selective Biopolymer Blending for Stable and Efficient Oil Displacement”
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Green Housing & Porous Media Focused Abstracts | This abstract is related to Green Housing |
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