Effect of dissolved silica on stability of Hydrolyzed polyacrylamide in the Polymer injection

Polymer is one of the chemical used as mobility control agents in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR). There are several problems related to the polymer injection process such as loss of detectable polymer concentration and chemical reactions between the rock and the injection fluid. Loss of polymer concentration which leads the decreased viscosities makes the sweeping efficiency reduction. Selection of suitable polymers is undertaken as a preliminary screening step for the success of advanced oil recovery. Polymer synthesis is performed to obtain polymers that is appropriate to the objectives and research plan. Hence, the aim of the study is to acquire the appropriate upgraded polymer. The material used to gain upgraded polymer was polyacrylamide (PAM). It was then, hydrolysed to generate Hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM) which had more resistance to temperature and salinity. Therefore, the variables of the study were temperature and salinity. Furthermore, Teos, the source of silica, was added to the HPAM, which was called HPAM-Si and showed that it could increase the durability to temperature and salinity. From the study, HPAM-Si still showed viscosity stability at temperature of 70 °C and salinity of 10.000 ppm.