CORRELATION BETWEEN MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS AND MACROSCOPIC FLOW BEHAVIOR OF SOME POLYMER-SURFACTANT SYSTEMS SUITABLE FOR TERTIARY OIL-RECOVERY

Some materials, suitable for application in polymer-surfactant flooding used in tertiary oil recovery (EOR), have been characterized by static and dynamic light scattering and studied in respect to their suitability in various model brines by measuring their rheological and dynamic-rheological behaviour. Xanthan and polyacrylamides of different degree of hydrolysis have been used as polymers, an ethylene glycol sulfonate as surfactant. Correlations have been established between microscopic structural parameters (hydrodynamic radius, radius of gyration, molar mass, shape of the polymers) and the macroscopic behaviour, such as viscosity and elasticity, being important rheological parameters for EOR application. Additional investigations on surface tension and long term viscosity study lead then to a judgement for the efficiency and long term stability of polymer-surfactant slugs in various reservoirs of different salinity.