Rheological property for biopolymer schizophyllan derived from local sources in Malaysia

Abstract

Polymer flooding has shown to be effective in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). In recent years biopolymers have attracted the attention of the petroleum Industry. Recently, it was identified that using biopolymer schizophyllan for polymer flooding operations has advantages primary benefit being environmentally friendly factor as well as stability under high salinity and temperature conditions. This biopolymer is commercially produced from the fungus schizophyllum commune using glucose as a carbon source via a fermentation process. However, the processing of this biopolymer is not economical due to the sources utilized in its production. This study aims to investigate the biopolymer schizophyllan produced utilizing locally and cheaply available sources in Malaysia for its rheological property at various range of salinity and temperature conditions. The experimental results showed that, viscosity of schizophyllan remains independent of salinity because of its non-ionic nature. Further, it was found that the loss in viscosity at high temperature was insignificant. This study will provide an alternative schizophyllan biopolymer from local sources that has potential in terms of properties and economics, making it available at any time of year and contributing to the field of polymer flooding.