Abstract:

Amphiphilic polymers have been applied to the exploitation of complex oil reservoirs due to their unique spatial architecture and hydrophobic association effects, and have achieved good application results. Based on the literature survey and the research results of our team in recent years, the current status of theories and methods for the synthesis of amphiphilic polymer has been reviewed, which mainly includes the development of amphiphilic polymers and their synthetic methods. The development process of amphiphilic polymers has been introduced; the current synthetic methods of amphiphilic polymers have been described, including heterogeneous/homogeneous synthesis, microemulsion polymerization, soap-free free-radical copolymerization, and free-radical micelle copolymerization. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the four synthetic methods are summarized, and the future development trend of synthetic methods is prospected. As the theories of synthesis of amphiphilic polymers gradually mature, the synthetic methods will become more diverse and efficient. The polymer performance will also be better, and their use in complex oil reservoirs will be further expanded.

Key words: amphiphilic polymer, synthetic method, heterogeneous/homogeneous polymerization, microemulsion polymerization, free-radical micelle polymerization