Synthesis and Performance Evaluation of a Novel High-Temperature-Resistant Thickener

Abstract

Successful exploitation of carbonate reservoirs relies on the acid-fracturing process, while the thickeners used in this process play a key role. It is a common engineering problem that thickeners usually fail to function when used in high-temperature environments. Until now, no research has ventured into the field of synthesizing thickeners which can be effectively used at ultra-high temperatures up to 180 °C. In our current study, a novel high-temperature-resistant polyacrylamide thickener named SYGT has been developed. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) reveals that SYGT is capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 300 °C. Both our scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and rheological analysis demonstrate that the SYGT exhibits excellent resistance to both temperature and shear. At 180 °C, the viscosity of the SYGT aqueous solution is no lower than 61.7 mPa·s at a 20% H+ concentration or high salt concentration, and the fracture conductivity of the thickened acid reaches 6 D·cm. For the first time, the influence of the polymer spatial network’s structural parameters on the viscosity of polymer solutions has been evaluated quantitatively. It was discovered that the length and surrounding area of the SNS skeleton have a synergistic effect on the viscosity of the polymer solution. Our experiments show that SYGT effectively reduces the acid–rock reaction rate and filtration loss under harsh working conditions such as high temperature, strong shear, high salinity, and a high concentration of acid. The synthesized acid-fracturing thickener (SYGT) has wide application potential in the development of carbonate reservoirs under high-temperature conditions.