Rheological Properties and Salt Resistance of a Hydrophobically Associating Polyacrylamide

Abstract

The rheological properties of electrolyte solution of a hydrophobically associating acrylamide-based copolymer (HA-PAM) containing hydrophobically modified monomer and sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic sulfonate were investigated in this paper. The study mainly focussed on effects of electrolyte concentration, temperature, and shear rate on the solution rheological properties. HA-PAM exhibited much stronger salt tolerance and shearing resistance than the commonly used partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, and has great potential for application in tertiary oil recovery of oilfields with high salinity. The salt resistance mechanism of HA-PAM in solution was investigated by combining molecular simulation and experimental methods. The structure–performance relationship of the salt-resisting polymer may provide useful guidance for design and synthesis of novel water-soluble polymers with high salt resistance.