Dilute iota- and kappa-Carrageenan solutions with high viscosities in high salinity brines
Abstract
We evaluated the rheological characteristics of ι- and κ-Carrageenan in aqueous solutions. Viscosities strongly increased with increasing polymer concentration or salinity. Monovalent Na^+ cations were more effective in increasing viscosity than divalent Ca^(2+) cations. A more complex brine containing Na^+, Mg^(2+) and Ca^(2+) cations also showed high viscosities at a high salinity. We observed shear thinning behavior for these polysaccharide solutions. We explain these rheological phenomena with molecular processes, specifically the conformation change of the ι-Carrageenan from random coil to double helix. In the context of enhanced oil recovery, ι-Carrageenan solutions can reach much higher viscosities at high salinities than standard polyacrylamide solutions. Moreover, Carrageenans are renewable, nontoxic, green substances.
Additional Information
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. Received 3 June 2009; accepted 29 November 2010. Available online 9 December 2010.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 22799
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.petrol.2010.11.025
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20110310-100110022
- Created
-
2011-03-10Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Other Numbering System Name
- WAG
- Other Numbering System Identifier
- 0902