Gelation Time Optimization for an HPAM/Chromium Acetate System: The Successful Key of Conformance Control Technology

Gelation of gelant solutions occurs under specific conditions. The gelation time can vary from several minutes to several days, even a few months, depending on parameters, such as temperature, polymer type, polymer concentration, cross-linker concentration, initial pH, salt type, and salt concentration. Therefore, many laboratory experiments were studied to understand the gelation time before the core flooding experiments were carried out. The polyacrylamide polymers and the chromium acetates were mixed to form the gelant solutions. The results suggested the good proportion of polymer to cross-linker for the next core flooding experiments and the effects of gelation time.