PLA Channelant Stability in High-Temperature Fracturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional polylactic acid (PLA) channelants used in hydraulic fracturing degrade too quickly at high temperatures above 150°C, making them unsuitable for deeper subterranean formations where higher temperatures and pressures prevail, necessitating the need for heat-resistant alternatives.
Innovation Solution
The use of polylactic acid (PLA) solids derived from a blend of poly L-lactic acid (PLLA) and poly D-lactic acid (PDLA) as channelants in the fracturing liquid, which maintains stability and solid consistency at elevated temperatures without requiring additional heat treatment, thereby extending their effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional polylactic acid (PLA) channelants are used in hydraulic fracturing, then they provide effective channel formation at lower temperatures, but they degrade too quickly at high temperatures above 150°C
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the channelant from liquid to solid form. Solid channelants maintain their structural integrity at high temperatures above 150°C where liquid channelants would degrade, thereby extending the duration of action and reliability of the channelant in deep subterranean formations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite channelant system combining solid channelant particles with fracturing fluid. This composite approach allows the solid channelant to provide thermal stability and sustained channel formation capability while the fluid provides delivery and distribution, resolving the contradiction between temperature resistance and effectiveness duration
2Temperature
If heat-resistant channelants are used to maintain stability at high temperatures, then temperature resistance is improved, but additional heat-setting processes are required increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The solid channelant is designed to be self-stabilizing at high temperatures without requiring external heat-setting processes. The solid physical state inherently provides thermal resistance, eliminating the need for additional processing steps and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining temperature resistance
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional channelants are used in deeper formations, then injection cost is reduced, but the channelant degrades too quickly to be effective
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the channelant to solid form, the patent achieves both cost-effectiveness for deep formation injection and improved performance reliability. The solid state provides inherent thermal stability at high temperatures without requiring expensive specialized materials, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while significantly improving reliability
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 approach allows PLA solids to remain stable and functional at temperatures above 150°C, reducing the need for costly heat-setting processes and enhancing the economic viability of hydraulic fracturing in deeper formations by providing a longer-lasting channelant that can be hydrolyzed only when necessary.
Implementation Method 1
The channelant can be any material degradable or dissolvable after placement within the fracture. More specifically and in its simples form the channelant contains solid particulates that can be maintained in its solid form during injection and fracture closure. Removal of the channelant may be influenced by such factors as invasion of formation fluids, by exposure to water
Data Source
AI summary
A method of treating a subterranean formation at temperatures of at least 150°C by a pressurized fracturing liquid comprising proppants and solid channelants to create fractures in the subterranean formation is disclosed, wherein the fracturing liquid is prepared using channelants which comprise polylactic acid (PLA) solids derived from a blend of poly L-lactic acid (PLLA) and poly D-lactic acid (PDLA).