Method for Cleaning Back-Produced Water from Polymer Flooding Operations to Determine Polymer Molar Mass Using Size-Exclusion Chromatography

One of the methods used by the oil industry to increase production is to inject water, containing polymer, into the reservoir. The viscosity of the aqueous solution is primarily responsible for the efficiency of this method, and is achieved using polymers with high molar mass. However, polymer degradation can occur during pumping and fluid displacement in the porous medium, reducing the efficiency of the polymer flooding method. Therefore, it is important to monitor the molar mass of the polymer in the produced water. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is a powerful method for determining ave...