Controlling the stability of water in water emulsions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9475974-B2
Application number	US-86948010-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2010
Priority date	Jul 17, 2007
Publication date	Oct 25, 2016
Grant date	Oct 25, 2016

Abstract

This invention relates to compositions and methods of treating a surface in contact with a wellbore and/or a subterranean formation penetrated by a well bore, comprising forming a treatment composition comprising a rheological polymer, a partitioning agent, and a liquid medium; and injecting the treatment fluid into the well bore, wherein the treatment composition forms a heterogeneous mixture comprising a dispersed rheological polymer-rich phase and a partitioning agent-rich phase, and wherein the stability of the heterogeneous mixture is controlled by introducing a stability control agent. This invention relates to compositions and methods for forming a water in water emulsion, comprising a rheological polymer, a partitioning agent, a liquid medium; and a stability control agent, wherein the emulsion is a heterogeneous mixture comprising a dispersed rheological polymer-rich phase and a partitioning agent-rich phase.

First claim

I claim:

1. A method of treating a surface in contact with a wellbore and/or a subterranean formation penetrated by a well bore, comprising:
mixing a rheological polymer, a partitioning agent and a first aqueous medium to form a heterogeneous mixture comprising:
an aqueous partitioning agent-rich phase, wherein the partitioning agent-rich phase is continuous, and
an aqueous rheological polymer-rich phase finely dispersed in the partitioning agent-rich phase; and,

diluting the heterogeneous mixture with a second aqueous medium miscible with the first aqueous medium to mutually dissolve the polymer-rich phase and the partitioning-agent rich phase and form a well treatment fluid comprising a continuous mixed polymer-agent phase; and
injecting the well treatment fluid into the well bore;
wherein the stability of the heterogeneous mixture is controlled by introducing a stability control agent,
wherein the partitioning agent is a polyoxyalkylene, and wherein the stability control agent is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl pyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymers, hydroxyalkylated cellulose, carboxyalkylated cellulose, and non-ionic surfactants.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heterogeneous mixture is more stable than if no stability control agent were present.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rheological polymer is selected from the group consisting of guar, guar derivative, cellulose, cellulose derivative, heteropolysaccharide, heteropolysaccharide derivative, or polyacrylamide.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the partitioning agent further comprises polyvinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl pyrrolidone vinyl acetate copolymers, hydroxyalkylated cellulose, carboxyalkylated cellulose, or non-ionic surfactants.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stability control agent is a second partitioning agent.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rheological polymer is guar, the partitioning agent is polyethelyne glycol, and the stability control agent is poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid medium is water or brine.

Assignees

• Sullivan Philip F
• Schlumberger Technology Corp

Inventors

• Sullivan Philip F

Classifications

• C09K8/508

  macromolecular compounds {(C09K8/512 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• C09K8/08 Primary

  containing natural organic compounds, e.g. polysaccharides, or derivatives thereof · CPC title

• C09K8/5758 Primary

  of natural origin, e.g. polysaccharides, cellulose (C09K8/5756 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C09K8/12

  containing synthetic organic macromolecular compounds or their precursors · CPC title

• C09K8/88

  macromolecular compounds · CPC title