Impact of polyacrylamide adsorption on flow through porous siliceous materials: State of the art, discussion and industrial concern

H Bessaies-Bey; J Fusier; S Harrisson; M Destarac; S Jouenne; N Passade-Boupat; F Lequeux; J-B d'Espinose de Lacaillerie; N Sanson

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2018.07.103

Impact of polyacrylamide adsorption on flow through porous siliceous materials: State of the art, discussion and industrial concern

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2018 Dec 1:531:693-704. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.07.103. Epub 2018 Jul 24.

Authors

H Bessaies-Bey¹, J Fusier¹, S Harrisson², M Destarac², S Jouenne³, N Passade-Boupat³, F Lequeux¹, J-B d'Espinose de Lacaillerie¹, N Sanson⁴

Affiliations

¹ Soft Matter Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, UMR CNRS 7615, ESPCI Paris, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, F-75005 Paris, France; Laboratoire Physico-chimie des Interfaces Complexes, ESPCI Paris, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris, Route Départementale 817, 64170 Lacq, France.
² Université Paul Sabatier, Laboratoire des Interactions Moléculaires et de la Réactivité Chimique et Photochimique, UMR-CNRS 5623, Bât 2R1, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.
³ Laboratoire Physico-chimie des Interfaces Complexes, ESPCI Paris, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris, Route Départementale 817, 64170 Lacq, France; TOTAL CSTJF, Avenue Larribau, Pau, France.
⁴ Soft Matter Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, UMR CNRS 7615, ESPCI Paris, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, F-75005 Paris, France; Laboratoire Physico-chimie des Interfaces Complexes, ESPCI Paris, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris, Route Départementale 817, 64170 Lacq, France. Electronic address: nicolas.sanson@espci.fr.

PMID: 30077129
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.07.103

Abstract

Hypothesis: Adsorption of high molar mass polymers impacts flow in porous media. In the industrially crucial case of acrylamide-based polymers in porous silicates, the very occurrence of adsorption is still debated. Thus, the present work aimed at establishing a clear correlation between adsorption of acrylamide-based polymers and injectivity loss in porous silica.

Experiments: A review of the literature revealed apparent discrepancies regarding the affinity of acrylamide-based polymers for siliceous materials having ostensibly the same chemical composition. Through a deeper analysis of the reported literature and new experimental measurements on well-defined polymers and surfaces, we investigated the relation between the silica surface properties and the acrylamide-based polymer adsorption. Our observations were confronted with water injection experiments in porous media of different surface compositions previously put in contact with polymers.

Findings: The polymer affinity towards the silica surface depended on the density of hydroxyl groups at the surface of the oxide, its thermal treatment, storage condition and purity. This demonstrated that the impact of adsorption on acrylamide-based polymer flow within porous silicates heavily depends on the silicate surface composition and must be carefully evaluated. In view of the continually expanding use of acrylamide-based polymers, notably in enhanced oil recovery, such considerations provide interesting insights into the effect of adsorption on their flow into porous materials.

Keywords: Adsorption; Flow; Injectivity; Polyacrylamide (PAM/HPAM); Silica.