What are cationic polyelectrolytes?

Cationic polyelectrolytes are water-soluble polymers bearing positive ionic groups along the backbone or in side chains. These cationic polymers are synthesized by free radical polymerization of acrylamide and their derivatives by the copolymerization method, which includes solution, precipitation, and emulsion techniques.

What is polyacrylamide?

Polyacrylamide is a term that has various definitions. For our purposes here, we will simply term polyacrylamide as a polymer that contains an acrylamide monomer at some level. Polyacrylamides make up the largest group of polymers in comparison to other synthetic polymeric polyelectrolytes.

What type of polyacrylamide is used in oil industry?

The polyacrylamide use can be anionic, cationic, or nonionic with various ratios of the comonomers used in the case of the anionic and cationic polymers. The anionic polyacrylamides in the oil field industry are designated by the generic name of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA), although they are in actuality copolymers .

What are polymeric polyelectrolytes?

There are many definitions for polymeric polyelectrolytes in the literature , , . In the simplest sense, water-soluble polyelectrolytes are polymers that contain charged disassociating monomer subunits. The charges can be pendant to the polymer chain or be part of the polymer chain itself.

What are water soluble polyelectrolytes?

In the simplest sense, water-soluble polyelectrolytes are polymers that contain charged disassociating monomer subunits. The charges can be pendant to the polymer chain or be part of the polymer chain itself. The overall charge of the polymer chain can be neutral (nonionic), positive (cationic), or negative (anionic).

What is an anionic polyacrylamide?

Anionic polyacrylamides make up the largest portion of the polyacrylamide market. The polymers can be prepared over a wide range of anionic charges and molecular weights (1000 to > 20,000,000 molecular weight). The workhorse comonomer for the production of anionic polyacrylamides is acrylate salts of acrylic acid.