Abstract:

Hydroobically associating polymers demonstrate significant potential in enhancing oil recovery, yet their hydrophobic group structure has brought dissolution characteristics to the forefront of research. This review encapsulates recent advancements in the efficient dissolution of hydrophobically associating polymers, and analyzes the challenges encountered and future directions. It highlights strategies such as employing chemical agents to mask the associative effects of hydrophobic groups, using methods like screen cutting and colloidal milling to increase contact area between water and polymer particles, and accelerating polymer dissolution through altering intrinsic solubility, increasing solution mass concentration or temperature, and optimizing mixer types and agitation methods to enhance system entropy change. While chemical approaches enable rapid dissolution without compromising polymer performance, considerations regarding cost and environmental impact remain. Physical methods, though economically efficient, may lead to risk mechanical and thermal degradation of the solution, potentially diminishing viscosity enhancement performance and oil displacement efficiency. These methods also face challenges in equipment transportation, energy consumption, and spatial constraints. Therefore, developing new eco-friendly solvents and optimizing process equipment are critical for achieving efficient dissolution of hydrophobically associating polymers. Moreover, considering the synergistic effect of various efficient dissolution methods, adjustments will be made according to practical application scenarios, in order to expand the large-scale application of hydrophobically associating polymers in diverse fields.

Key words: hydrophobically associating polymers, enhanced oil recovery, efficient dissolution, shielding hydrophobic groups, increasing the contact area