Assessment of the potential of a polymer flood for mobility control requires an accurate model on the viscosities of displacement fluids involved in the process. Because most polymers used in EOR exhibit shear-thinning behavior, the effective viscosity of a polymer solution is a highly nonlinear function of shear rate. A reservoir simulator including the model for the shear-rate dependence of v...

The interest in techniques for enhanced oil recovery has grown due to the need to improve oil productivity reducing water injection and production. Although waterflooding is the most widely used method to recover oil, this process becomes less effective when the mobility ratio is unfavorable and the displacement efficiency is low. Furthermore, great volumes of injected and produced water lead t...

A mathematical model is presented, in which the yield loss (YL) and the decline in polymerization of carbohydrates is comprehended. The model is applicable to the treatment of cellulose and hemicelluloses in alkaline media, and it features the actions of peeling, stopping, and alkaline hydrolysis of the polymer chains. The peeling reaction is further subdivided into primary and secondary peelin...