ALCOMER® 24 UK

• Friction reducers are common for horizontal well drilling and stimulation processes over conventional biopolymers, such as guar gum, in both shale and coal bed reservoirs. Functionally, this class of polymers help reduce turbulence, minimize frictional losses and improves surface pumping efficiency during hydraulic fracturing operations for oil well completions. As a potential component in slick water fluids, BASF supplies Alcomer® 24 UK as an anionic microbead polyacrylamide-based friction reducer with rapid dissolution times over conventional powder-frac polymers.
• Alcomer® 24 UK is a moderately high molecular weight anionic polyacrylamide flocculant and friction reducer. Alcomer® 24 UK also has a low anionic charge and is supplied as a free-flowing micro bead. Its physical form provides for improved dissolution, solubility, and handling over conventional polyacrylamide powder products. Under the recommended storage conditions, as specified by the product safety data sheet (SDS), the material has a shelf life of approximately four years from the date of manufacture.

Alcomer® 24 UK is effective across a wide pH range (5-11) and in systems with a varying range of total dissolved solids (TDS); this can be particularly of benefit if using produced water for drilling fluids dewatering or wellbore stimulation applications. Because the product is in microbead form, Alcomer® 24 UK offers a technical advantage through its superior hydration profile versus conventional powder chemistries; having a 10 to 15-minute hydration time by comparison to powder products which can take over 2 hours to fully hydrate. Alcomer® 24 UK is resistant to shear stresses, however, the product has been observed to be affected by thermal stresses, therefore a thermal stabilizer is recommended for application where fluid temperatures are in excess of 50°C for periods of time lasting more than 2 days.

Dosage ranges will vary based on the water salinity and hardness in both applications (drilling/simulation). In either application, dose rates of 0.25 gpt to 2.00 gpt are enough to achieve satisfactory performance as a flocculant or achieve an acceptable value for friction reduction. Some physical properties for Alcomer® 24 UK are captured in the proceeding table and graphs; not to be construed as product specifications.

If stored properly in its original sealed packaging and in a cool and dry place, Alcomer® 24 UK has a shelf life of at least four years from the date of manufacture.