Open Access

ARTICLE

Synthesis of a Novel Hydrophobic Associating Polymer Stabilizer and Its Mechanism in Enhancing Viscosity Retention and Oil Recovery

Yong Qi¹, Jie Cao^2,*, Wanfa Liu³, Shiyuan Liu⁴
1 College of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong, China
2 School of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Chengdu Technological University, Chengdu, China
3 The Second Oil Extraction Plant, Changqing Oilfield Branch, Qingyang, China
4 The 12th Oil Extraction Plant, Changqing Oilfield Branch, Heshui, China
* Corresponding Author: Jie Cao. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advanced Applications of Polymers in Enhanced Oil Recovery)

Journal of Polymer Materials https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2026.086582

Received 02 June 2026; Accepted 17 July 2026; Published online 31 July 2026

Abstract

The viscosity of polymer solutions often decreases significantly due to shear degradation in near-wellbore zones and chemical/aging degradation during long-term transport, which seriously compromises the efficiency of polymer flooding. In this study, a hydrophobic monomer, hexadecyl dimethyl-5-enhexyl ammonium bromide (HAB), was synthesized. Subsequently, a novel viscosity stabilizer (LC12) was prepared via micellar polymerization of acrylamide and HAB using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a solubilizer. The effect of this stabilizer on a hydrophobic associating polymer (AP-P4) was evaluated. Experimental results revealed that the addition of LC12 accelerated the dissolution rate of the polymer concentrate and significantly improved the viscoelasticity of the solution before and after degradation. Mechanistically, LC12 facilitates the formation of robust hydrophobic aggregates, shifting the retention mechanism from adsorption to mechanical trapping. Consequently, the shear viscosity retention of the AP-P4 solution increased by 28.4%, and the incremental oil recovery margin was improved by 4.49 percentage points after aging.

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Keywords

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR); polymer flooding; viscosity reduction; viscosity stabilizer

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