Shear Resistance Properties of Modified Nano-SiO2/AA/AM Copolymer Oil Displacement Agent

To address the problem regarding poor shear resistance of commonly employed polymers for oil displacement, modified nano-SiO2/AA/AM copolymer (HPMNS) oil displacement agents were synthesized using acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM), and modified nano-SiO2 of different modification degrees as raw materials. HPMNS was characterized by means of infrared spectroscopy (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR), dynamic/static light scattering, and scanning electron microscope. A comparative study of the shear resistance properties for partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and HPMNS was conducted. Compared to HPAM, the introduced hyperbranched structure endowed HPMNS with good shear resistance, which was quantified from the viscosity retention ratio of the polymer solutions. From the perspective of rheological property, HPMNS also showed great shear stability after shearing by a Mixing Speed Governor and porous media shear model. Furthermore, with a higher degree of modification, HPMNS-2 had better shear stability in terms of viscosity and rheological property than HPMNS-1. The phenomena were due to its lower hydrodynamic radius, weight-average molecular weight, and better flexibility of its molecular chains. In addition, upon the indoor displacement test, the resistance factor and residual resistance factor values of HPMNS-2 were higher than those of HPAM. This behavior is beneficial for increasing oil recovery.