Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100234252 | CROSSLINKED SWELLABLE POLYMER - The invention is directed to stable crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers, methods for making same, and their various uses in the hygiene and medical arts, gel electrophoresis, packaging, agriculture, the cable industry, information technology, in the food industry, papermaking, use as flocculation aids, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric microparticles having labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said microparticle mixed with a fluid and an unreacted tertiary crosslinker that is capable of further crosslinking the microparticle on degradation of the labile crosslinker so as to form a stable gel. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into a well and when the heat and/or pH of the well cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and when the particle expands, the tertiary crosslinker crosslinks the polymer to form a stable gel, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. | 09-16-2010 |
20100292109 | SWELLABLE POLYMERS WITH HYDROPHOBIC GROUPS - The invention is directed to crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers, methods for making same and their various uses. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric particles being made with 0.1-5% hydrophobic monomers and labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said particles mixed with a fluid. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into a well and when the heat and/or pH of the target zones in the formation cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and when the particle expands, the hydrophobic groups associate to form a hydrophobically associative polymer, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. | 11-18-2010 |
20100314114 | SWELLABLE POLYMER WITH ANIONIC SITES - The invention is directed to stable crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers and methods for making same. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric particles having anionic sites and labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said particle mixed with a fluid and a cationic crosslinker that is capable of further crosslinking the particle on degradation of the labile crosslinker and exposure of the anionic sites so as to form a gel. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into target zone and when the heat and/or suitable pH of the target zone cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and the particle expands, the cationic crosslinker crosslinks the polymer to form a gel, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. | 12-16-2010 |
20100314115 | SWELLABLE POLYMER WITH CATIONIC SITES - The invention is directed to long lasting crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers, methods for making same, and their uses. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric particles having cationic sites as well as labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said particle mixed with a fluid. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into a target zones in the reservoirs and when the heat and/or a suitable pH in the reservoir cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and when the particle expands, the cationic sites in the polymer adsorb to negative sites of the rock in the formation, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. However, many other uses are possible. | 12-16-2010 |
20120037364 | DELAYED GELLING AGENTS - The invention is directed to delayed gelation agents comprising a degradable polymeric cage containing therein one or more gelation agents. The cage degrades in situ, e.g, in an oil reservoir, thus releasing the gelation agent(s), which can then crosslink second polymers in situ to form a gel. | 02-16-2012 |
20120325559 | CORE CAPTURE AND RECOVERY FROM UNCONSOLIDATED OR FRIABLE FORMATIONS AND METHODS OF USE - Methods and systems for enhanced capture and recovery of core samples from unconsolidated or friable formations are provided using drilling fluids that permit increased overpressures to preserve the ability to cut core samples and to strengthen the core samples obtained. Drilling fluids used during capture and recovery of core samples may comprise a solid particulate loss prevention material having a size range from about 150 microns to about 1,000 microns. The solid particulate loss prevention material prevents fracture initiation and propagation in the subterranean formation to allow the use of higher overpressures than would otherwise be possible. Thus, by circulating drilling fluid in the borehole while drilling a core sample, higher overpressures may be achieved, which have been found to be beneficial during core capture and recovery by maintaining core integrity and avoiding core loss. In this way, core sample integrity is improved, yielding more accurate representations of the subsurface. | 12-27-2012 |
20140102707 | CROSSLINKED SWELLABLE POLYMER - The invention is directed to stable crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers, methods for making same, and their various uses in the hygiene and medical arts, gel electrophoresis, packaging, agriculture, the cable industry, information technology, in the food industry, papermaking, use as flocculation aids, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric microparticles having labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said microparticle mixed with a fluid and an unreacted tertiary crosslinker that is capable of further crosslinking the microparticle on degradation of the labile crosslinker so as to form a stable gel. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into a well and when the heat and/or pH of the well cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and when the particle expands, the tertiary crosslinker crosslinks the polymer to form a stable gel, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. | 04-17-2014 |
20140131043 | SWELLABLE POLYMER WITH ANIONIC SITES - The invention is directed to stable crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers and methods for making same. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric particles having anionic sites and labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said particle mixed with a fluid and a cationic crosslinker that is capable of further crosslinking the particle on degradation of the labile crosslinker and exposure of the anionic sites so as to form a gel. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into target zone and when the heat and/or suitable pH of the target zone cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and the particle expands, the cationic crosslinker crosslinks the polymer to form a gel, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. | 05-15-2014 |
20140144628 | CROSSLINKING OF SWELLABLE POLYMER WITH PEI - The invention is directed to stable and labile crosslinked water swellable polymeric microparticles that can be further gelled, methods for making same, and their various uses in the hygiene and medical arts, gel electrophoresis, packaging, agriculture, the cable industry, information technology, in the food industry, papermaking, use as flocculation aids, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric microparticles having labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said microparticle mixed with a fluid and an unreacted tertiary crosslinker comprising PEI or other polyamine based tertiary crosslinker that is capable of further crosslinking the microparticle on degradation of the labile crosslinker and swelling of the particle, so as to form a stable gel. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric microparticles are injected into a well and when the heat and/or pH of the well cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and when the microparticle expands, the tertiary crosslinker crosslinks the polymer to form a stable gel, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. | 05-29-2014 |
20140162912 | SWELLABLE POLYMER WITH CATIONIC SITES - The invention is directed to long lasting crosslinked water-soluble swellable polymers, methods for making same, and their uses. More particularly, the invention relates to a composition comprising expandable polymeric particles having cationic sites as well as labile crosslinkers and stable crosslinkers, said particle mixed with a fluid. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into a target zones in the reservoirs and when the heat and/or a suitable pH in the reservoir cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and when the particle expands, the cationic sites in the polymer adsorb to negative sites of the rock in the formation, thus diverting water to lower permeability regions and improving oil recovery. However, many other uses are possible. | 06-12-2014 |
20140196894 | FLUORESCENT TAGS FOR DETECTION OF SWELLABLE POLYMERS - The invention is directed to stable crosslinked swellable fluorescently tagged polymeric microparticles, methods for making same, and their various uses. A particularly important use is as an injection fluid in petroleum production, where the expandable polymeric particles are injected into target zone and when the heat and/or suitable pH of the target zone cause degradation of the labile crosslinker and the microparticles expand. The swelled polymer diverts water to lower permeability regions and improves oil recovery. The tags allow monitoring of the presence and concentration of the tagged microparticles and ultimately allow evaluation of the performance of such treatments. Detection of polymeric microparticles in producing wells can be instructive for teaching about the character and extent of thief zones in the subsurface. Better knowledge of the reservoir flow will enable improved application of the gel treatments, improved oil recovery, and allow improved forecasting using simulation modeling. | 07-17-2014 |
20140202693 | NANOGELS FOR DELAYED GELATION - The instant application relates to nanogels or compositions that hold multivalent metal ions until some level of nanogel degradation has occurred, then slowly release the multivalent metal ions for gelation with carboxylate containing polymers. Compositions comprising such nanogels, together with polymers that can be crosslinked with multivalent metal ions, allow the deployment of such mixtures in various applications, and greatly increased gelation times. | 07-24-2014 |
20140209305 | DELAYED GELLING AGENTS - The disclosure is directed to polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles that can be used to deliver agents deep into hydrocarbon reservoirs. Methods of making and using said polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles are also provided. | 07-31-2014 |
20140238702 | LOW PH CROSSLINKING OF POLYMERS - The invention is directed to polymers that self-crosslink at acidic pH or can be crosslinked by phenolic agents in brine. Such polymers have lower viscosity and can be pumped deep into reservoirs, where they will cross link in situ, thus increasing their viscosity and/or form a gel and blocking thief zones. Methods of making and using such polymers are also provided. | 08-28-2014 |