Water-soluble complexes of an acrylamide copolymer and ionic liquids for inhibiting shale hydration

Here, we report water-soluble complexes of an acrylamide copolymer and ionic liquids for inhibiting shale hydration. The copolymer, denoted as PAAT, was synthesised via copolymerisation of acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA) and N,N-diallyl-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (TCDAP), and the ionic liquids used were 3-methyl imidazoliumcation-based tetrafluoroborates. X-ray diffraction showed that compared with commonly used KCl, the water-soluble complex of PAAT with 2 wt% ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-H-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (HmimBF4) could remarkably reduce the d-spacing of sodium montmorillonite in water from 19.24 to 13.16 Å and effectively inhibit clay swelling. It was also found that the PAAT-HmimBF4 complex with 2 wt% HmimBF4 could retain 75% of the shale indentation hardness and increase the anti-swelling ratio to 85%. 13C NMR revealed that there existed interactions between PAAT and HmimBF4. Moreover, the thermal stability of the PAAT-HmimBF4 complex is superior to PAAT, suggesting that this water-soluble complex can be used to inhibit clay and shale hydration in high-temperature oil and gas wells.

Conference report: Proceedings of the 2015 meeting of the Australasian section of the American Oil Chemists' Society (AAOCS)

The Australasian section of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AAOCS) held their 9th biennial meeting in Geelong, Australia from 9 to 11 September 2015. Over 100 scientists, researchers and industry representatives gathered for the conference and two industry focused workshops. The conference theme was “looking back, thinking forward” which reflected on the history of the science and industry while also predicting future trends and issues.

Polymer organogels stabilized HIPE organogels and applications in oil fields

This research focuses on polymer stabilized high internal phase emulsions for oil spill recovery and oil safety.