Production and Evaluation of Hydroxypropyl Starch as a Viscosifying Agent for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract In this study, starch was obtained from rice wastes and the maximum extraction yield was 90.95 %. Chemical modification reactions were carried out by hydroxypropylation to obtain a modified starch extract, named 005A, soluble in synthetic injection brine. Extract 005A had a modified starch concentration of 1.24 %, with a pseudoplastic rheological profile and viscosities of 325.54 cP and 121.03 cP at temperatures of 25 and 60 °C, respectively. The application of extract 005A was evaluated by injectivity/filterability tests, which indicated a good filtration rate and viscosity loss of 3.81 % when passing the fluid through the filtering membrane. Stability tests indicated that the 005A extract had a viscosity loss of 21.35 %, at the temperature of 60 °C, after 60 days. The application of this extract enabled additional mineral oil recovery of 12.19 % in simulated core flooding tests. Therefore, the extract of hydroxypropyl starch is a promising viscosifying agent for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) fluids.