Research on polyether-based hydrocarbon thickener for CO2

Abstract Developing an inexpensive and efficient hydrocarbon thickener for carbon dioxide (CO2) is of great significant to optimize the carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery technology. A new hydrocarbon thickener propylene oxide-glycidyl phenyl ether copolymer was prepared based on the CO2-philic propylene oxide oligomer and mildly CO2-phobic phenyl group. The phase behavior of the polyether thickeners in CO2 and their thickening performance on CO2 were investigated in terms of the copolymer composition and molecular weight. The results were shown that the polyether thickeners cause an excellent enhancement in CO2 viscosity, and there exists an optimal composition with the greatest thickening effect.