Study of Thermodynamic and Rheological Properties of Sensitive Polymeric Nanoparticles as a Possible Application in the Oil Industry

Abstract

pH and thermo-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles with different morphology were synthesized by means of emulsion polymerization techniques. The materials were characterized by gravimetric techniques, dynamic light scattering (DLS), electrophoresis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). The specific volumetric thermodynamic properties were calculated from density (ρ) and sound velocity (u) measurement and they are influenced by the proportions and location of the functional groups in the polymeric particles and the temperature. Rheological properties were also measured, observing that polymeric materials were a non-Newtonian and pseudo-plastic behavior because of they have a decrease in viscosity \(\left(\eta \right)\) values as the shear rate rises \(\left(\dot{\gamma }\right)\). In addition, to try to elucidate the behavior that the materials could have with calcite rock in the oil reservoirs, the materials were treated with CaCl₂, and changes in the average particle size, colloidal stability and conformation of polymeric chains were observed. The obtained results show that the synthesized polymeric particles could be applied as a possible dosing agent in the interaction with calcium ions (Ca²⁺) in the calcite rock for petrol industry.