Preparation, solution characteristics and displacement performances of a novel acrylamide copolymer for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

The radical polymerization of acrylamide, acryloylmorpholine, acrylate or 2-acrylamide-2-methyl propane-sulfonate in water initiated with ammonium persulfate or 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionamide)dihydrochloride was carried out to produce copolymer for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The structure of the acrylamide copolymer was determined by infrared (IR) and ¹H-NMR. Influence of synthesis condition on viscosities of products was studied. As a kind of potential displacement agent the salt tolerance temperature resistance and displacement performance of copolymer were also investigated in this paper. The introduction of ACMO and AMPS improves the thermostability of copolymer. The ability of the AM/AANa/ACMO/AMPS copolymer to reduce permeability is higher than HPAM. The tertiary recovery of the former is also higher than that of the latter whether in homogeneous or heterogeneous condition.