HE^® Polymer 300 dry powder is an efficient thickener for a wide variety of fluid types, including fresh water, seawater, brines and acids.  It is designed to provide higher thermal stability than other water-soluble polymers.

Advantages of HE^® Polymer 300

• Hydrates rapidly in most aqueous systems

• Resists thermally induced hydrolysis

• Maintains solubility at high temperatures

• Thickens brines of various compositions

• Improves carrying capacity of fluids

• Gel able with various organic closslinkers

• High tolerance to changes in pH  

Powder: White, free-flowing polymer, packaged in 50-pound, multiwalled bags

40 sacks to the pallet

Useful as a thickener or friction reducer in the following brines, or mixtures:

· Fresh Water
· Seawater
· Potassium Chloride
· Potassium Bromide
· Sodium Chloride
· Sodium Chloride – Sodium Carbonate
· Sodium Bromide
· Alkali Metal Formates
· Calcium Chloride
· Calcium Bromide (up to 330º F)
· Zinc Bromide (up to 330º F)

Applications

In conformance control applications, the HE^® Polymer 300 provides superior high temperature stability.  It is generally reserved for application where reservoir temperatures exceed 240°F.  It can be readily crosslinked with various organic systems, including phenol-formaldehyde, resorcinol-formaldehyde, phenyl acetate-HMTA or hydroquinone-HMTA.  Polymer loadings as high as 14 lb/BBL can be used in order to maximize gel rigidity in water shotoff treatments.

The HE^® Polymer 300 has been utilized as a thickener for various brines in drilling and completions applications.  The HE^® Polymer 300 powder is readily dissolved in most brines, yielding rheological properties similar to that shown in (Figure 1), which describes the polymer's performance in a 10.7 lb/gal calcium chloride brine at 70° F.

In the very heavy brines, such as calcium bromide and zinc bromides, there may be insufficient free water to allow hydration of the dry polymer. In those brines, the invert emulsion form of the polymer may be easier to use because the polymer is already partially hydrated.

Stability

The composition of the HE^® Polymer 300 provides protection against thermal hydrolysis, which allows the polymer to maintain its solubility in high temperature use and to resist precipitation in the presence of multivalent cations. In this Fann 50 test (Figure 2), the thickened calcium chloride brine was heated incrementally to 300º F. The fluid was kept at each temperature for one hour before proceeding to the next stage. There was very little change in viscosity during that one-hour period, which demonstrates the polymer stability at high temperatures. Almost all of the original viscosity was regained upon cool-down, again indicating no polymer degradation, hydrolysis or loss due to precipitation. In most high temperature applications, the polymer may benefit from the use of oxygen scavengers (e.g., sodium thiosulfate) and pH buffers (e.g., sodium bicarbonate).

Polymer Cleanup

The HE^® Polymer 300 is an inherently clean thickener, posing very little risk of formation damage under normal usage conditions. The HE^® Polymer 300 is readily soluble in normal wellbore cleanup type acids. The polymer is degradable using oxidizing agents, such as sodium hypochlorite (bleach) or ammonium persulfate. The activity of the oxidizer is generally enhanced by using fluid with a basic pH. Degradation by oxidizers is also enhanced at temperatures above 125º F.