In this work, a hydrophobically associative polymer (HAP) was mixed with β-cyclodextrin and epichlorohydrin polycondensate (β-CDP) in an aqueous solution to enhance the intermolecular interaction through host-guest inclusion between hydrophobes and cyclodextrins. Results showed that the host-guest interaction improved the thickening ability and viscoelasticity of the HAP solution and maintained its shear thinning behavior. The host-guest inclusion system demonstrated special viscosity-temperature curves and variable activation energy. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) performance tests showed that the oil increment produced by the host-guest inclusion system was 5.5% and 9.3% higher than that produced by the HAP and the partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide solution, respectively. Compared with pure HAP, β-CDP/HAP has a better comprehensive performance and is more attractive for EOR in high-temperature reservoirs.
Keywords: enhanced oil recovery; host–guest inclusion; hydrophobically associative polymer; polymer flooding; β-cyclodextrin polymer.