Research On The Structure And Properties Of Fast-solving Hydrophobic Associating Polymers

Petroleum is an important non-renewable energy source with significance of strategic reserve. The solution of the oil shortage has become a top priority. As an oil displacement agent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), water-soluble hydrophobic associating polymers have been researched by widespread concern because of its good temperature tolerance, salt-resistant properties and the stability of viscosity.In this paper, the structure and properties of fast-solving hydrophobic associating polymers provided by Shengli Petroleum Administration is mainly researched.The sample was characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR, to obtain the general structure of the hydrophobic associating polymer.The viscosity influenced by polymer concentration, temperature, salinity, time and shear stress, the thermal stability determined by thermogravimetry, the dissolution rate determined by conductometry was studied. The results were compared with that of HPAM. It was found that the hydrophobic associating polymer had better performances than HPAM in thermal stability, temperature tolerance and salt-resistant properties. This phenomenon was discussed according to the structure of the sample.The molecular weight and surface tension was respectively determined by intrinsic viscosity and maximum-bubble-pressure method. The conductivities of the polymer solutions for different concentration and temperature were also determined, which also gave the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The same result was obtained by fluorescence spectra (FS). However, FS was mainly used to investigate hydrophobic microenvironment of the polymer solution in different conditions, and to understand the performance of hydrophobic association.The aggregation behavior of polymers was further investigated in aqueous solutions by atomic force microscopy (AFM), freeze-etching and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the polymers form a multi-polymer micelle-like aggregate. As the concentration increasing, the aggregates were connected furthermore to form a network structure, which can well explain the behavior of viscosity increasing.