LAUSR

This work evaluates an approach to improve the enhanced heavy oil recovery performance of hydrophobic associating polymer. A polymeric system based on water-soluble hydrophobic associating polymer (WSHAP) and cyclodextrin (CD) polymer was proposed in this work. Addition of CD polymer to WSHAP forms interpolymer bridges by inclusion of CD groups with hydrophobic tails, and thereby the network structure is strengthened. The proposed system offers good viscoelasticity, pronounced shear thinning, and interesting viscosity-temperature relations. Sand pack tests indicated that the proposed system can build high resistance factor during the propagation in porous media, and its moderate adsorption phenomenon was represented by the thickness of the adsorbed layer. The relationship between effective viscosity and oil recovery increment indicated that the proposed system can significantly reduce the residual oil saturation due to the “piston-like” propagation. The overall oil recovery was raised by 5.7 and 24.5% of the original oil in place compared with WSHAP and partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), respectively.