Temperature-Responsive Fracturing Fluid Viscosity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fracturing fluids used in oil and gas production require high volumes and costly breakers to manage viscosity, with existing breakers being hazardous and less effective at lower temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A treatment fluid comprising water, a water-soluble polymer, a complexed metal cation capable of cross-linking, and an aromatic compound that forms a chelating agent with vicinal substituents, allowing the fluid to increase and then decrease viscosity in response to temperature, without the need for encapsulation or hazardous oxidizers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high volumes of fracturing fluid are used to transport proppant, then proppant transport capability is improved, but fluid removal difficulty and treatment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fracturing fluid employs dynamic viscosity control through temperature-responsive polymers that automatically adjust their flow characteristics. At downhole temperatures, the polymer maintains high viscosity for effective proppant suspension and transport. Upon returning to surface temperatures, the viscosity naturally decreases, enabling easy fluid removal and proppant completion installation without requiring additional breakers or chemicals.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes temperature as a control parameter to modulate fluid viscosity. The polymer's viscosity is highly dependent on temperature, allowing the fluid to exhibit thick, proppant-holding properties at elevated downhole temperatures while becoming thin and flowable at surface temperatures. This parameter change eliminates the need for chemical additives to manage viscosity transitions.
2Ease of operation
If chemical breakers are used to reduce fluid viscosity, then fluid removal is improved, but hazardous materials and environmental concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fracturing fluid contains temperature-responsive polymers that automatically adjust their own viscosity based on temperature changes. The fluid self-regulates its flow properties without requiring external chemical breakers. When the fluid returns to surface temperature, the polymer naturally transitions to a low-viscosity state, enabling self-cleaning and easy removal from the formation, eliminating hazardous materials from the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs biodegradable, environmentally benign polymers that naturally decompose after serving their fracturing function. These polymers are designed to be temporary, providing necessary viscosity during the treatment but then breaking down or becoming easily removable, replacing hazardous, persistent chemical breakers with safe, short-lived natural materials.
3Ease of operation
If existing breakers are used to manage viscosity, then viscosity control is achieved, but effectiveness at lower temperatures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes temperature as the controlling parameter for viscosity adjustment. The polymer's molecular structure is designed to respond to temperature changes, maintaining high viscosity at downhole temperatures for proppant transport and automatically transitioning to low viscosity at surface temperatures for fluid removal. This temperature-responsive behavior provides reliable viscosity control across the entire temperature range without requiring different chemicals for different conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables efficient suspension and transport of proppant, effective viscosity management, and easy removal of the fluid from the well, reducing costs and environmental hazards while maintaining performance across varying temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
a complexed metal cation that: (a) has a valence state of at least three; and (b) is capable of cross-linking the water-soluble polymer
Implementation Method 2
an aromatic compound that is capable of dissolving, melting, or chemically decomposing, dissociating, or reacting, to form a chelating agent, wherein the chelating agent comprising vicinal substituents containing donor heteroatoms, and wherein the chelating agent is capable of chelating the metal cation
Implementation Method 3
when tested by heating the test fluid at a constant rate from an initial temperature of 25° C. to at least one elevated temperature in the range of 50° C.-100° C. over the course of 10 minutes
Data Source
AI summary
Methods are provided for treating a portion of a well. The method according to this aspect comprises the steps of: (A) forming a treatment fluid, the treatment fluid comprising: (i) water; (ii) a water-soluble polymer; (iii) a complexed metal cation that: (a) has a valence state of at least three; and (b) is capable of cross-linking the water-soluble polymer; and (iv) an aromatic compound that is capable of dissolving, melting, or chemically decomposing, dissociating, or reacting, to form a chelating agent, wherein the chelating agent comprising vicinal substituents containing donor heteroatoms, and wherein the chelating agent is capable of chelating the metal cation; and (B) introducing the treatment fluid into the well.