p‐Sulfocalix[4]arene functionalized hydrophobically associative polyacrylamide: Flow characteristics and potential application to enhanced oil recovery

Hydrophobically associative polymers have been verified having enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potential. In this paper, a hydrophobically associative polyacrylamide functionalized with p‐sulfocalix[4]arene (denoted as SHPAM) was firstly prepared through redox free‐radical polymerization technique. Then, the water solubility, comprehensive properties, flowing behaviors, and displacement characteristics of SHAPM were investigated. Experimental results illustrated that SHPAM had benign water solubility, thickening ability, salt tolerance, temperature resistance, anti‐shearing performance, thixotropy, and long‐term stability. Also, SHPAM could reduce heterogeneity and extend sweep efficiency. Moreover, the adsorbed and retained SHPAM in porous media owned favorable viscoelasticity, which enhanced microscopic displacement efficiency. All the experiments results revealed that SHPAM has great applicable in enhancing oil recovery.