A synergistic analysis of drag reduction on binary polymer mixtures containing guar gum

Abstract

Drag reduction by the addition of polymer additives has been widely studied. However, there are only a few studies on binary polymer mixtures, here named blends. In this work, xanthan gum, polyacrylamide and poly(ethylene oxide) were associated with guar gum and drag reduction was used as a parameter to determine the synergistic interaction between polymers. The aim was to verify the relation of the synergy with the rigidity of the polymeric chains, the molecular weights and the magnitude of the molecular interactions between the studied polymers. To that end, several ratios of mixtures were tested at different Reynolds numbers in a rotational rheometer with double-gap concentric cylinders geometry. Finally, experiments were done to verify the behaviour of the blends over time at a fixed Reynolds number. From all these tests, it was documented that blends containing rigid chain polymers show positive synergism in the interaction in at least one of the ratios and that this interaction is more pronounced when the molecular weights are closer and intermolecular forces are stronger. It was also noted that, in general, blends are great substitutes for solutions containing only one type of polymer.