Slow‐gelling Cr+3/polyacrylamide solutions for reservoir profile modification: Dependence of the gelation time on pH

摘要

AbstractSystematic studies of the gelation of both buffered and unbuffered aqueous Cr+3/polyacrylamide solutions show that the gelation time is a strong function of pH, increasing by about one order of magnitude per unit decrease in pH for polyacrylamides less than about 7.5 hydrolyzed. The gelation rate also depends strongly on the Cr+3concentration, the degree of polymer hydrolysis, and temperature. At 25°C, gelation delays of more than 10 months have been obtained; the maximum delay observed at 60°C is about 1 month and at 90°C 1 d. The resistance of buffered gel solutions to change in pH results in significantly longer gelation times at 90°C and low pH than for identical unbuffered solutions; at lower temperatures, however, the differences are insignificant. Most importantly, the use of low pH to control the gelation time of Cr+3/polymer solutions provides an attractive, inexpensive substitute for the environmentally unacceptable Cr+6/reductant method currently employed for profile modification treatme