Study on temperature-resistance and salt-tolerance aluminum gel and its rheological analysis

Abstract

In this paper, the aluminum gel with polymeric aluminum chloride (PAC) as the gelling agent and carbamide as a catalyst were investigated. The gelling regularities were studied, and its gelling performance was evaluated under high temperature and high salinity. The results showed that the basicity, mass fraction of PAC and carbamide, temperature, and salinity significantly influenced the formation of the gel. The gel exhibited exceptional thermal stability and gel strength under high temperature and salinity conditions. The results indicated that when the aluminum gel was prepared with 8 wt% PAC and 1 wt% carbamide and dissolved in brine with a salinity of 110,000 mg/L, the dehydration rate was less than 1 wt% after being aged for 180 days at 130 °C. Furthermore, the gel strength, elasticity, and yield stress increased with the rise in salinity. The experimental results showed that the aluminum gel is highly significant in plugging reservoirs with high temperature, high salinity, and low permeability.