Investigation on modified polyether as efficient CO2 thickener

The development of new generation of carbon dioxide (CO2) thickener is significant to improve carbon dioxide flooding technology. Here, copolymers based on epoxide heptamethyltrisiloxane and glycidyl phenyl ether are prepared, and their solubility and thickening ability in CO2 are evaluated. The solubility of modified polyethers in CO2 remarkably increases with the modification of heptamethyltrisiloxane and decreases with introducing phenyl glycidyl ether content. With incorporation of 18.4 mol% phenyl group in the copolymer, the copolymer exhibits greatly increased thickening effect while maitaining highl solubility in CO2. Implication of the present study for preparation of highly efficient CO2 thickner is disscussed.