Serikov, Galymzhan2024-06-272024-06-272024-04-15Serikov, Galymzhan. (2024). Application Of Natural Polymer In Enhanced Oil Recovery. Nazarbayev University School of Mining and Geoscienceshttp://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/8035With the recent intereset in the chemical EOR application, polymer flooding projects are revieving more attention. However, currently polymer injection may lead to serious environmental problems in the future due to their synthetic nature. The following thesis work evaluates the application of three natural polymers of Xanthan gum, Welan gum, and Beta Vulgaris for EOR application. General workflow consists of polymer screening, FTIR and SEM characterization, rheological analysis under elevated temperature and salinity conditions and core flooding experiments. FTIR and SEM characterization have shown major hydroxyl functional groups related to saccharide rings confirming nature of the polymers. Rheoligcal studies showed that Xnathan gum is more tolerant to temperature and salinity changes. Welan gum is highly tolerant to temperature changes and tend to loose rheological properties at elevated salinity ranges. Beta Vulgaris rheology have shown poor results on both salinity and temperature. Core flooding results showed that recovery factor increase from Xanthan gum injection is around 30% after waterflooding. Welan gum and Beta Vulgaris showed lower results of 15% and 10% addition oil recovered. Overal, natural polymers are considered as a more sustainable and eco-friendly option compared to the standard synthetic polymers. This research supports an EOR strategy aimed at reducing environmental impact of polymer floodingenAttribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesType of access: EmbargoEORPolymer FloodingNatural PolymerRheological studyCore FloodingMaster's thesis