A green alternative to replace anionic viscoelastic surfactant based fracturing fluid with enhanced properties

Ionic liquid surfactant (ILS) presents a promising alternative for balancing the conflicting relationship of hydrophobicity and water solubility in anionic surfactants. Despite this potential, the utilization of ultra-long chain anionic ILS in viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluids has been infrequently reported. In our previous research, we successfully prepared a viscoelastic wormlike micelles (WLMs) by employing an ultra-long chain ILS known as Adamantyl trimethyl ammonium erucate (AdEr) with potassium chloride (KCl). This novel system opens up promising avenues for its application in fracturing fluids. This study aims to comprehensively investigate the impact of temperature on the behavior of AdEr/KCl wormlike micelles, thereby evaluating the fracturing fluid performance. In rheological experiments, we observed that the zero-shear viscosity (eta(0)) of AdEr/KCl WLMs remains at similar to 10(3)mPa center dot s at 90 degrees C, demonstrating excellent thermal resistance. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations demonstrated that, as the temperature increased, it initially resulted in the disintegration of the aggregate structure, followed by a remarkable reformation of the same structure. This observed behavior can be attributed to the gradual decrease in polarity of the adamantyl groups as the temperature increases. Finally, the AdEr/KCl-based fracturing fluids, AE-1 and AE-2, not only exhibit outstanding temperature resistance (90 degrees C and 130 degrees C, respectively) but also demonstrate exceptional proppant-carrying and oil-induced gel-breaking capabilities. This study promotes the utilization of anionic ILSs in the formulation of environmentally-friendly fracturing fluids, emphasizing the crucial role of understanding temperature-induced changes through MD simulations.