Polymers for Oil Recovery

The article about polymers for oil recovery tackles about the use of polymer on
one of the most important industries on our planet, the oil industry, and it mentioned the
specific application of polymer on the oil extraction. It first discussed about the process
of oil extraction which given me some knowledge on how it is really done and I found
out that there are some setbacks on the extraction process and that is the inefficiency of
extracting the oil from the oil reserves on porous rocks deep the earth, I am surprised
about the fact about how an oil gusher form and that it happens because of pressure
build up underneath the oil pump and when it is released to the surface, it gushes
upwards and that is what I figured out.

As I’ve read further the article, it is also mentioned that there is so called a
“recovery process” on oil extraction, a primary and secondary recovery, where in the
primary is the first and direct extraction of oil from these porous rocks and let it gush
upwards to be pumped, then there is the secondary recovery, where it noted that there
is still a lot of oil remnants left on the reservoir that cannot be sucked out or collected by
the primary recovery process, the secondary recovery involves the use of water, which
is then injected through the pipes down to these pockets of oil, the goal is for the
pressure from rushing water to push the remaining oil from the pores to collect it
efficiently. But the problem is that the oil is much viscous than water, and it tends to
stick to the pores and not come out, and this is where the use of polymers will come in
handy. In the 60s, they have figured a way on how to extract more oil by adding water
soluble polymer to the water to increase its viscosity, this will result to the thickening of
the water that will eventually push the oil and cling to it instead of just passing through,
the method increased the extraction efficiency by 10 to 20 percent, and which amazed
me that there is a more clever way on using polymer that I might not even think of.

The facts presented by the statement really given me a lot of insights of what a
polymer can contribute to our different industries, first I’ve really thought that polymers
are just used on physical applications like its being just a regular material, used in
packaging and parts for different items, I did not figured that it has also an application
on chemicals let alone on the oil industry, and maybe it’s the key on why we have oil still
left today and prolonged our oil reserves which is key to our economic growth. Truly that
the polymers are one of the most important material ever discovered by us and I am
glad that we have found out the good use out of it and I am hoping we could find more.