Damage to porous media due to the degradation of flocculants

Technical Report · Tue Aug 17 04:00:00 EDT 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6764363· OSTI ID:6764363

Vetter, O J; Kandarpa, V

The results of laboratory experiments involving the flow of two commercial flocculant solutions through Berea sandstone core plugs at 225/sup 0/C are summarized. The two flocculants used are TFL-398 and TFL-362 (commercial flocculants supplied by Tretolite Division of Petrolite Corporation). The flow of brine containing these flocculants through these sandstone cores resulted in considerable permeability reductions during the flow experiments even when used at concentrations of only 5 ppM. The reduction in permeability is attributed to the plugging of pore spaces by the degradation products. The results of these experiments demonstrated that the use of a flocculant can cause severe formation damage. It is, therefore recommended, to always conduct laboratory tests prior to the use of any specific flocculant for geothermal applications to avoid any damage to injection wells.

• Research Organization: Vetter Research, Costa Mesa, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-78ET27146
• OSTI ID: 6764363
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/27146-T15; ON: DE82021793
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150600* -- Geothermal Energy-- Environmental Aspects
150903 -- Geothermal Engineering-- Corrosion
Scaling & Materials Development
BRINES
FLOCCULATION
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
Geothermal Legacy
MATERIALS
PERMEABILITY
PLUGGING
POROSITY
POROUS MATERIALS
PRECIPITATION
REINJECTION
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
WELLS