Development and Assessment of the Synergistic Inhibition Efficiency of IA/AMPS Copolymers for Inhibiting CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ Co-production in Oilfield Scale

  • Rozana Azrina Sazali Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Nur Shafiqah Mohamad Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Khosro Jarrahian low Assurance and Scale Team (FAST), Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering (IGE), Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
  • Nur Batrisyia Razman Shah Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Harumy Veny Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Effah Yahya Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Nurul Aimi Ghazali Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Mohd Zaki Zainal Abidin Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Azlinda Azizi Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Hasan Firdaus Mohd Zaki Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, P.O. Box 10, 50728 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Zulkafli Hassan Fakulti Teknologi Kejuruteraan Kimia dan Proses, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, 26600, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ajche.16652
Keywords: Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Sulphate, Oilfield Scale, Itaconic Acid/ 2-Acryl Amido-2-Methylpropane Sulfuric Acid (IA/AMPS), Non-phosphorus Multifunctional

Abstract

Polycarboxylate-scale inhibitors (PSI) are widely utilised in managing oilfield mineral scales, not only due to their high complexation, increased dispersion, and high thermal stability, but also due to their environmental compatibility, as they are phosphorus-free. However, they are effective in inhibiting only one specific scale. Thus, new non-phosphorus multifunctional SI is in demand immediately, where the scale can be made up of a combination of two or more minerals. Itaconic acid/ 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfuric acid (IA/AMPS) novel copolymer is synthesised via a free radical polymerisation to inhibit the CaCO3 and CaSO4 scales. The functional groups believed to be effective in inhibiting the scales were characterised using FTIR. The IA/AMPS performance was investigated to determine the optimal synthesis parameters/ conditions for the dispersion property. Results show that the best conditions for IA/AMPS copolymer preparation included a 1:2 molar ratio of IA to AMPS, 7% of initiator dosage and monomer total mass, a 4:1 molar ratio of ammonium persulfate (APS) to sodium bisulfite, 90 °C of reaction temperature, and 7 hours of the reaction period. Based on the qualitative observations, the IA/AMPS scale inhibitor effectively reduces the formation and surface adherence of both CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ scales. It significantly lowers the scale density and promotes the formation of less adherent, finer particles, especially under elevated temperatures. The combined effect of IA/AMPS and heat demonstrates a synergistic inhibition, particularly evident in the complete prevention of CaSO₄ scale at 80 °C.

References

Abbasi, R., Nodehi, A., and Atai, M., 2020. “Synthesis of poly(acrylic-co-itaconic acid) through precipitation photopolymerization for glass-ionomer cements: Characterization and properties of the cements.” Dent. Mater. 36, e169–e183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2020.03.006

Al Rawahi, Y.M., Shaik, F., and Rao, L.N., 2017. “Studies on scale deposition in oil industries & their control.” Int. J. Innov. Res. Sci. Eng. Technol. 3, 152–167.

Cui, C., and Zhang, S., 2019a. “Synthesis, characterization and performance evaluation of an environmentally benign scale inhibitor IA/AMPS co-polymer.” New J. Chem. 43, 9472–9482. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NJ01355E

Greesh, N., Hartmann, P.C., Cloete, V., and Sanderson, R.D., 2008. “Adsorption of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and related compounds onto montmorillonite clay.” J. Colloid Interface Sci. 319, 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2007.10.019

Hosny, R., Amine, M., Fathy, M., and Ramzi, M., 2019. “Investigation of the impact of scale inhibitors: Nonionic surfactants for scale deposition control in oilfield.” Petroleum & Petrochemical Engineering Journal 3. 000189. https://doi.org/10.23880/PPEJ-16000189

Hu, Y. C. Chen, and S. Liu, 2022. “State of art bio-materials as scale inhibitors in recirculating cooling water system: a review article.” Water Sci. Technol. 835, 1500–1521. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2022.027

Kapse, N., Dagar, S.S., and Dhakephalkar, P.K., 2024. “Appropriate characterization of reservoir properties and investigation of their effect on microbial enhanced oil recovery through simulated laboratory studies.” Sci. Rep. 14. 15401. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65728-4

Karunadasa, K.S.P., Manoratne, C.H., Pitawala, H.M.T.G.A., and Rajapakse, R.M.G., 2019. “Thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate (calcite polymorph) as examined by in-situ high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction.” J. Phys. Chem. Solids 134, 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpcs.2019.05.023

Kealey, D., and Haines, P.J., 2002. Analytical Chemistry, Analytical chemistry. BIOS Scientific Publishers Limited.

Khodabakhshi, M.J., and Bijani, M., 2024. “Predicting scale deposition in oil reservoirs using machine learning optimization algorithms.” Results Eng. 22, 102263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.102263

Liu, Zhan, Yan, M., Liu, Zhenfa, and Li, N., 2019. “Synthesis and properties of the IA/AMPS copolymer.” IOP Conf. Ser. Earth. Environ. Sci. 330, 042049. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/330/4/042049

Merdhah, A.B. Bin, and Yassin, A.A.M., 2008. “Laboratory study and prediction of calcium sulphate at high-salinity formation water.” TOPEJ 1, 62–73. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874834100801010062

Mohammadinezhad, A., Marandi, G.B., Farsadrooh, M., and Javadian, H., 2018. “Synthesis of poly(acrylamide-co-itaconic acid)/MWCNTs superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposite by ultrasound-assisted technique: Swelling behavior and Pb (II) adsorption capacity.” Ultrason. Sonochem. 49, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.12.028

Mohammed Ali Alsalami, F., Fraih AL-Shihani, A., and Khamis, W.M., 2017. “Conversion of polyacrylonitrile to poly amidoxime and substitution with maleic anhydride, itaconic acid, methyl nadic anhydride and acetylchlorid.” Der. Pharma. Chemica 9, 89–95.

Mohammed Merdhah, A.B., 2008. The Study of Scale Formation in Oil Reservoir during Water Injection at High-Barium and High-Salinity Formation Water. Thesis Report. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Nandiyanto, A.B.D., Oktiani, R., and Ragadhita, R., 2019. “How to read and interpret ftir spectroscope of organic material.” Indonesi. J. Sci. Technol. 4, 97. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijost.v4i1.15806

Niu, Y.-Q., Liu, J.-H., Aymonier, C., Fermani, S., Kralj, D., Falini, G., and Zhou, C.-H., 2022. “Calcium carbonate: controlled synthesis, surface functionalization, and nanostructured materials.” Chem. Soc. Rev. 51, 7883–7943. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CS00519G

Olajire, A.A., 2015. “A review of oilfield scale management technology for oil and gas production.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 135, 723–737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2015.09.011

Raharjo, S., Muryanto, S., Jamari, J., and Bayuseno, A.P., 2019. “Controlling of calcium carbonate scale deposition on the piping system with laminar flow and in the presence of citric acids.” J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 1150, 012058. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1150/1/012058

Sazali, R., 2015. The Development of a Test Methodology and New Findings in Silicate Scale Formation and Inhibition. Thesis. Heriot Watt University.

Sazali, R.A., Ramli, N.S., Sorbie, K.S., and Boak, L.S., 2021. “Impacts of temperature on the silicate scale morphologies studies and severity.” ITJEMAST 12, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.14456/ITJEMAST.2021.186

Sazali, R.A., Sorbie, K.S., and Boak, L.S., 2015. “The Effect of pH on Silicate Scaling,” in: SPE - European Formation Damage Conference, Proceedings. SPE. https://doi.org/10.2118/174193-MS

Vallapragada, V.V., Inti, G., and Ramulu, J.S., 2011. “A validated inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) method to estimate free calcium and phosphorus in in vitro phosphate binding study of eliphos tablets.” Am. J. Analyt. Chem. 02, 718–725. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajac.2011.26082

Vazquez, O., Fursov, I., and Mackay, E., 2016. “Automatic optimization of oilfield scale inhibitor squeeze treatment designs.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 147, 302–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.06.025

Wang, Q., Liang, F., Al-Nasser, W., Al-Dawood, F., Al-Shafai, T., Al-Badairy, H., Shen, S., and Al-Ajwad, H., 2018. “Laboratory study on efficiency of three calcium carbonate scale inhibitors in the presence of EOR chemicals.” Petroleum 4, 375–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petlm.2018.03.003

Willke, T., and Vorlop, K.D., 2001. “Biotechnological production of itaconic acid.” Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 56, 289–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530100685

Yang, L., Yang, W., Xu, B., Yin, X., Chen, Y., Liu, Y., Ji, Y., and Huan, Y., 2017. “Synthesis and scale inhibition performance of a novel environmental friendly and hydrophilic terpolymer inhibitor.” Desalination 416, 166–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.05.010

Published
2025-12-31
How to Cite
Sazali, R. A., Mohamad, N. S., Jarrahian, K., Razman Shah, N. B., Veny, H., Yahya, E., Ghazali, N. A., Zainal Abidin, M. Z., Azizi, A., Mohd Zaki, H. F., & Hassan , Z. (2025). Development and Assessment of the Synergistic Inhibition Efficiency of IA/AMPS Copolymers for Inhibiting CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ Co-production in Oilfield Scale. ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering, 25(3), 419-439. https://doi.org/10.22146/ajche.16652
Issue
Vol 25 No 3 (2025)
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2025 ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Copyright holder for articles is ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering. Articles published in ASEAN J. Chem. Eng. are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. 

Authors agree to transfer all copyright rights in and to the above work to the ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering Editorial Board so that the Editorial Board shall have the right to publish the work for non-profit use in any media or form. In return, authors retain: (1) all proprietary rights other than copyright; (2) re-use of all or part of the above paper in their other work; (3) right to reproduce or authorize others to reproduce the above paper for authors’ personal use or for company use if the source and the journal copyright notice is indicated, and if the reproduction is not made for the purpose of sale.