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China Surfactant Detergent & Cosmetics ›› 2026, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (9): 1188-1197.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.2097-2806.2026.09.007

• Basic research • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation and performance evaluation of synergistic organic boron crosslinker for low-concentration guar gum

Shuai Wang1,2,Zhongguo Ma1,Junjie Li1,Zhengfan Wang3,4,Liaoliao Gao5,Fangling Qin2,3,*()   

  1. 1 No.4 Gas Production Plant of Yanchang Gas Field, Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd., Fuxian, Shaanxi 727500, China
    2 Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710065, China
    3 College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Petroleum University, Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Reservoir Protection Technology of Oilfields, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710065, China
    4 Shaanxi Jiuzhou Petroleum Engineering Technology Services Co., Ltd., Xi’an, Shaanxi 710077, China
    5 Yan’an Kunxu Oil Engineering Technology Service Co., Ltd., Yan’an, Shaanxi 716000, China
  • Received:2026-05-27 Revised:2026-08-19 Online:2026-09-22 Published:2026-09-30
  • Contact: *E-mail: flqin@xsyu.edu.cn. E-mail:flqin@xsyu.edu.cn

Abstract:

At present, the usage amount of guar gum in guar gum fracturing fluids is relatively high, and the existing organic boron crosslinkers are poor in controllability of crosslinking time and inadequate in temperature and shear resistance. To solve these problems, in this work, an organic boron crosslinker (BBS) suitable for low-concentration guar gum was synthesized by one-pot method under alkaline conditions by using borax, ethylene glycol, triethanolamine and glucose as raw materials. The synthesis conditions were optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiments, and the product structure was characterized by FT-IR. The comprehensive performance of the crosslinked gel formed by BBS with 0.2% guar gum solution was evaluated and compared with that of a commercial crosslinker JL-9. The results showed that the optimized formulation (in mass fractions) of BBS was determined as 25.3% borax, 25.3% triethanolamine, 14.2% glucose, 19.7% ethylene glycol, 1.1% NaOH and 14.4% distilled water. Under the conditions of a reaction time of 4 h at 50 ℃, the apparent viscosity of the crosslinked gel reached 72 mPa·s. FT-IR analysis confirmed the formation of nitrogen-boron heterocyclic cage-like structure in the product. The BBS-crosslinked gel exhibited superior performance compared to JL-9 in delayed crosslinking, temperature and shear resistance, filtration loss control, and rapid gel breaking with low residue. At pH of 10 and the guar gum-to-crosslinker mass ratio of 100∶0.4, the crosslinking time was 264 s, and the gel viscosity reached 66 mPa·s. The synergistic effect of several borate esters in BBS enabled the stepwise release of active B (OH) 4-, endowing the system with delayed crosslinking, viscosity maintenance, and high-temperature shear resistance, which demonstrated promising application prospects in deep and high-temperature fracturing operations.

Key words: low-concentration guar gum, organic boron crosslinker, fracturing fluid, synergistic crosslinking, structural characterization

CLC Number: 

  • TE37