Application of a novel biopolymer to enhance oil r

Authors: Changhong Gao

Publish Date: 2015/11/13

Volume: 6, Issue: 4, Pages: 749-753

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Abstract

Schizophyllan is a biopolymer used as a skin care product and immunity enhancement agent This short communication studies the rheology of schizophyllan solution under high salinity and high temperature Experiments show schizophyllan maintains high viscosity under very high salinity The loss of viscosity is insignificant under high temperature up to 100 °C The impressive stability of schizophyllan under high temperature and high salinity renders its potential to enhance oil recovery in oil and gas industry A field pilot was carried out since 2012 Field results indicate the injection of schizophyllan solution into oil strata leads to improved oil productionIn most oil fields water is injected into underground reservoir rocks to maintain reservoir pressure and sweep oil into production wells This operation is referred to as water flooding But operation only recovers less than 50  original oil in place OOIP Researchers have developed various methods to enhance oil recovery EOR including thermal methods chemical methods and gas injection Lake 2010 Gao 2011Certain polymers such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide HPAM and Xanthan gum proved effective in improving oil recovery Sheng 2010 Injection of polymer solution into reservoirs is named polymer flooding Largescale polymer flooding projects have been successfully carried out in China since 1990s Gao et al 2014 This method was also applied in Angola and Brazil Morel et al 2010For commercial EOR projects HPAM is the most commonly injected polymer However HPAM is rather sensitive to salinity and temperature Gao 2013 2014 As a result HPAM severely degrades when injected into high temperature reservoirs containing high salinity water This indeed limits the industrial adoption of polymer EOR methodSchizophyllan has been used for skin care as a skin antiaging and healing agent Kim et al 1999 Schizophyllan is an active ingredient that can increase skin cell proliferation reduce skin irritation and also aid in recovery after sunburn Kim et al 2000Much research has been conducted on schizophyllan as a pharmaceutical compound Kraus 1990 Bohn and BeMiller 1995 Thanks to its immunestimulating functions schizophyllan was claimed as antivirus agent Shigero et al 1989 Hagiwara and Kikuchi 1992 as prevention against fish diseases Yano 1990 and as an immune enhancer for vaccines Honma 1994Schizophyllan has also been used as an immunotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment in Japan since 1986 It is used in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiotherapy Clinical studies have shown that the administration of schizophyllan along with antineoplastic drugs prolongs the lives of patients with lung gastric or uterine cancers Furue 1987 Yoshio et al 1992 Kimura et al 1994

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