Swelling and Rheological Characterization of Preformed Particle Gels for Improved Water Shutoff Performance in Core Flooding Tests
Corresponding author: Mohammed Khairy M. Salih
Abstract
There are numerous challenges in producing water effluents in established reservoirs, which could eventually result in their abandonment. Preformed Particle Gel (PPG) is employed in gel to water the cutoff treatment of such reservoirs, a procedure that blocks the channels of fracture and insulates the highly permeable areas. The specific method results in successful conformity control in addition to lowering the water output. In this study, a novel form of PPG with a very high swelling ratio of 250 grams of water absorbed per gram of dry gel (g/g) was introduced. The formulation consisted of acrylamide as polymer, N, N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker, Potassium Persulfate (KPS) as initiator, along with the synthesis of SiO2/Xanthan Nanocomposites (NCs) and the synthesis of corn oil surfactant (sodium ethyl ester sulfonate anionic surfactant), which together formed the PPG. The PPG functions as a superabsorbent, absorbing water up to 100–250 times the dry weight of the gel. The study examined the effects of the temperature, salinity, concentrations of polymers, cross-linker, and initiator on PPG swelling. According to the results, the PPG swelling ratio decreased as the concentrations of polymers, crosslinkers, and initiator increased along with the salinity. The PPG swelling ratio significantly reduced to within 1000 ppm of SiO2/Xanthan NCs, with values dropping by nearly 50%. However, the reduction was not significant outside this concentration range, which was referred to as PPG10. For the rheology test, samples of PPG 10 with a 2.5 cP viscosity were selected. The viscosity value of the samples remained consistent for different rotational speeds (60%, 100% and 120%). The blocking effectiveness and performance of the three samples were evaluated through core flooding tests conducted on sandstone cores. According to the test results, PPG11, PPG12, and PPG13 reduced the water effluents by 22%-39%. To enhance the Water Cut Reduction (WCR), the sample with the highest WCR (PPG11) was selected, which lowered the sandstone core water effluents by 36%-39%.
Keywords:
Preformed Particle Gel (PPG), SiO2/Xanthan nanocomposites, swelling ratio, rheological study, corn oil surfactant, core flooding, Water Cut Reduction (WCR)Downloads
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