Experimental investigation of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide–hexamine–pyrocatechol polymer gel for permeability modification

The crosslinked polymer gel systems are most widely used as injection fluids for the maintenance of adequate mobility control and favorable permeability profiles within the reservoir. The application of these systems requires careful monitoring of the gelation behavior to avoid premature gelation or prolongs shut-in times under reservoir conditions. The paper deals with the investigation of disproportionate permeability reduction (DPR) of reservoir rock using partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide–hexamine–pyrocatechol gels. Mutual correlation was observed between gelation time of the developed organic polymer gel in bulk gelation studies and other parameters such as the concentration of polymer and crosslinkers as well as temperature. An increase in gelation time was observed with the increase in the concentration of polymer and crosslinkers as well as temperature. The stability of the developed polymer gel was observed at the polymer and crosslinker concentration from 0.9 to 1.1 and from 0.3 to 0.5 wt.%, respectively. The thermal stability of the developed polymer gel was exhibited at a higher temperature of about 120 °C. The stabilized polymer gel was used for in situ gelation study to evaluate the plugging ability of the polymer gel in sand pack. In situ gelation studies showed a good injectivity and plugging ability with potentiality for the DPR in the oil fields.