Which polymers are used in oil fields?

Polymers, such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), are widely used in oil fields to enhance or improve the recovery of crude oil from the reservoirs. It works by increasing the viscosity of the injected water, thus improving its mobility and oil recovery.

Is polyacrylamide soluble in water?

Polyacrylamide (PAM) is a synthetic polymer of long-chain acrylamide subunits, high molecular weight (1000 to 20 × 10 6 g/mol), and a wide range degree of hydrolysis (Abidin et al., 2012; Joshi & Abed, 2017). It is extremely soluble in water, but not soluble in organic solvents, such as methanol and hydrocarbons (Lu & Wu, 2002; Braun et al., 2022).

Are polyacrylamide-degrading bacterial strains isolated from soil?

Two polyacrylamide-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from soil, Bacillus sphaericus and Acinetobacter sp., utilizing 16–19% polyacrylamide after 14 days of cultivation (Matsuoka et al., 2002).

Which polymer is used to produce partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM)?

PAM is used to produce partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), which is linear, anionic, water-soluble, stable, polymeric, and high molecular weight chain of acrylamide (C 3 H 5 NO) monomers (Bao et al., 2010; Braun et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2016; Xiong et al., 2018).

How is partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide treated?

Dong L, Su F, Wang YZ. Treatment of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide by mixed bacteria isolated from wastewater. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy. 2020;39 (6):e13445. doi: 10.1002/ep.13445. [DOI] [Google Scholar]

Where does acrylamide come from?

According to the Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) number 49 of acrylamide, published in 1985 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the source of acrylamide in the environment is mainly released from polyacrylamide usage (Filippini, 1986).