Comparison of Xanthan and HPAM Solution Rheology in Berea Sandstone
Rheology in porous media has an important impact on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects where polymer solutions are used. If the effective viscosity of the polymer solution is large at the high velocities experi- enced near an injection well, the rate of polymer injection, and of oil production may be decreased. On the other hand, if the effective viscosity of the polymer solution is too low at the low velocities experienced deep in a reservoir, oil displacement may be inefficient. In this report, we employ Teledyne Isco 1000D Syringe Pumps to examine how the effective viscosity (i.e., the resistance factor) in Berea sandstone varies with flow rate (actually with flux or superficial velocity) for solu- tions of the two polymers that are most commonly used in EOR—xanthan and partially hydrolyzed polyacryla- mide (HPAM).
Figure 1: Schematic of pumps and core configuration
