A Study on Environment-Friendly Polymer Gel for Water Shut-Off Treatments in Low-Temperature Reservoirs

In this study, the zirconium acetate crosslinked gel systems are studied owing to their environment-friendly and gelation performance in low-temperature reservoirs through rheological measurements, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of various parameters on the gelation properties, stability, and microstructure in bottle test and porous media were addressed. With the increase of concentrations and temperature, gelation time is reduced and gel strength is increased. In addition, the gel systems show salt tolerance and shearing resistance. The environment-friendly gel systems have a high stability in both injection water and formation water. A three-dimensional network structure was formed in the gel and confirmed by environmental scanning electron microscopy. The three-dimensional gel network was also formed in porous media, which bridges across the pore throats and reduced the water permeability in the formation. This study suggests that environment-friendly polymer gels can be used for water shut-off treatments in low-temperature reservoirs. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40154.