A self-gating membrane for reservoir protection based on irreversible thermoresponsive bentonite layer structures

Abstract

Inspired by the well-known gating behavior of artificial 2D structures, this paper attempts to modify natural bentonite with natural layered structures. Specifically, an irreversible thermoresponsive composite within the tolerance of the layer limitation was produced with atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Results showed the displacement of grown bentonite (GB), which is a montmorillonite (Mt) rich clay, finitely increased from 10.85 to 21.35 Å with growing benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) monomers. The grown bent exhibited a notable over-temperature gating in the membrane performance, which provided a new reference for natural and engineered systems. Especially, in simulating GB protection on shale with geological temperature, GB membrane exhibited a significant inhibition on experimental core expansion and outstanding improvement on shale mechanics, which was potential for drilling natural gas from hazardous shale reservoir against horrible water invasion.