The effect of HMPAM on performance of nonionic polyether water clarifier from the perspective of HLD theory

Nonionic polyether water clarifier is commonly used in the treatment of produced water from offshore oilfield. At the meantime, hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide (HMPAM) is one of the commonly used polymer oil displacement agents. Predicting the influence of HMPAM on the performance of nonionic polyether water clarifier is of great significance for the treatment of produced water. This work explored the influence of different HMPAMs on the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD) equation of a typical nonionic polyether water clarifier AE411 based on the HLD theory, and predicted their influences on the performance of AE411. The results showed that HMPAM had no effect on the parameter K (reflecting the interaction between AE411 hydrophilic groups and oil phase) and c t (reflecting the temperature sensitivity of AE411) in HLD equation of AE411, but reduced the parameter C cn (reflecting the micelle structure of AE411 in water) and led to an increase in temperature corresponding to AE411′s HLD = 0. It was predicted that higher temperature was needed to ensure the performance of AE411. The experimental results of produced water treatment confirmed this prediction. The results of the paper validated the reliability of HLD application in the field of produced water treatment and provided some guidance for the development of nonionic polyether water clarifier.