Sulfonation modification of guar gum and its performance as a fracturing fluids thickener

To solve the contradiction between reducing water-insoluble content and maintaining high viscosity in the preparation of modified guar gum for oilfi eld fracturing fluid, in this work, sodium 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropylsulfonate was used as a modifier to prepare sulfonated guar gum. Orthogonal and single-factor extrapolation experiments were conducted to explore the effects of reaction conditions and the optimal process was determined as follows: reaction temperature of 26° C, reaction time of 2.0 h, sodium hydroxide as a mass fraction of guar gum of 1.0%, and sodium 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl sulfonate dosage as a mass fraction of guar gum of 0.5%. Furtherly, the temperature stability, filtration property, and inhibition of formation clay of the sulfonated products were investigated. The results showed that the apparent viscosity of 0.6% solution of guar gum was increased by 33%, the water-insoluble content was decreased by 0.42%, and the temperature stability, filtration resistance, and clay inhibition were all improved. Especially, the viscosity of cross-linked sulfonated guar gum is 100% higher than that of unmodified guar gum. The structure of sulfonated guar gum was characterized and confi rmed by infrared spectrum, DSC, thermogravimetric, and elemental analysis.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).