Abstract
The effects of adsorption on the propagation of polymer slugs through oil reservoirs determine the efficiency of polymer flooding for increasing oil recovery. However, up to now the adsorption laws introduced in polymer flood simulation models were oversimplified due to a lack of knowledge. The adsorption properties relevant for polymer propagation, such as instantaneous adsorption, reorganization in adsorbed layer, exchanges of macromolecules between free solution and adsorbed layer, desorption before thermodynamic equilibrium, are analyzed on the basis of both a very careful experimental work and recent polymer adsorption theories taking into account the effects of polymer polydispersity. The influence of surface and adsorbed layer steric exclusion chromatography effects which are in competition with adsorption-desorption chromatography are discussed. The analysis of the respective influence of macromolecular diffusion and hydrodynamic convection shows that this later mechanism governs the overall polymer dispersion. Moreover a determining effect of viscous fingering on the spreading of trailing edge concentration profile is observed. In addition, a theoretical approach of hydrodynamic retention mechanism is proposed. As a practical application, a new methodology to avoid kinetic effect artefacts on the measurement of instantaneous, reversible and irreversible adsorption is described.
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Chauveteau, G., Lecourtier, J. (1988). Propagation of Polymer Slugs Through Adsorbent Porous Media. In: Stahl, G.A., Schulz, D.N. (eds) Water-Soluble Polymers for Petroleum Recovery. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1985-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1985-7_3
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