Flow Behavior Comparison of Xanthan and Alcoflood Polymers Aqueous Solutions

The flow characteristics of some commonly used polymers in the enhanced oil recovery were investigated. Two different types of polymer were selected, Alcoflood and Xanthan gum. Rheostress RS100 was used for measuring and analyzing the experimental measurements. A cone and plate of RS100 rheometer under control shear rate was utilized for this investigation. During the shear rate sweep over the range of 0.1-1000 s-1, the measurements of shear stress and viscosity of different solutions versus shear rate were investigated. The polymer concentration range of 0.05-1.0 wt % was examined. A detailed comparison of the flow behavior of Alcoflood polymers solutions and Xanthan gums solutions was completed. Two distinct profiles can be found from the flow behavior comparison. For shear rate higher than 10 s-1, all polymer solutions showed similar flow behavior independent on the polymer type. For shear rate of less than 10 s-1, the viscosity behavior of Xanthan solutions is significantly higher than the Alcoflood solutions for all the examined concentrations.