Does polyacrylamide/chromium triacetate hydrogel control sand production?

In this study, the performance of polyacrylamide/chromium triacetate hydrogel was investigated to control sand production.

Can hydrogel control sand production?

The results of this study revealed the potential application of the hydrogel to control sand production. Sand production is one of the common problems in oil and gas production wells drilled in unconsolidated formations (Fattahpour et al. 2012 ).

Does hydrogel increase compressive strength of sandpack?

To this end, a series of bulk experiments including the bottle test and rheological analysis along with compression tests were conducted. Experimental results indicated that the compressive strength of the sandpack was increased as much as 30 times by injecting 0.5 pore volume of hydrogel.

Can hydrogels strengthen sand grains?

Afterward, a hydrogel containing 9500 ppm polymer and a cross-linker/polymer weight ratio of 0.5 was injected into the sandpack to consolidate and strengthen the sand grains. Moreover, a control sample for the following experiments was a sandpack without hydrogel injection.

How to reduce sand production?

There are several mechanical methods to reduce sand production such as screens, slotted liners, expandable sand screens (Cholet 2000 ), and improvement of the perforating operation during the well completion. However, mechanical methods are often time-consuming and costly in the production process (Kotlar et al. 2008 ).

How a hydrogel sandpack is injected?

During the hydrogel injection, a 290 psi overburden pressure was applied, while the temperature was kept at 90 °C. After placing the sandpack in the core holder at the desired temperature and pressure, the hydrogel was injected at a defined rate to prevent the destruction of the sandpack or fingering problems.