ABSTRACT
Silicones are materials built from organosiloxane subunits. The most common example is polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), also called silicone oil or silicone fluid. PDMS varies from 0.65 cSt silicone fluid to silicone gums. Other examples are copolymers of PDMS with hydrocarbon or fluorocarbon blocks. An important class of copolymers where A and B are two different polymer blocks of polyalkylene oxide with PDMS [1]. Another important category is silicone resins, cage-like molecules such as the polyoligosilsesquioxanes [2]. The final category is silanes (small-molecules that incorporate one or more silicon atoms), which are reactive toward metal-oxide
11.1 Introduction: A Brief Review of Silicone Materials ..................................... 333 11.2 Applications .................................................................................................. 334
11.2.1 Antifoams and Defoamers ................................................................ 334 11.2.1.1 Nonaqueous Foam (Petroleum Foams) .............................. 335 11.2.1.2 Aqueous Foams .................................................................. 337 11.2.1.3 Cementing .......................................................................... 337
11.2.2 Demulsification ................................................................................. 338 11.2.3 Drilling Muds ................................................................................... 343 11.2.4 Packer Fluids .................................................................................... 347 11.2.5 Restriction of Water Production in Gas Wells and Surface
Modification ......................................................................................348 11.2.6 Foam Assisted Lift ........................................................................... 350 11.2.7 Other Applications ............................................................................ 351
11.2.7.1 Marine Oil Spills ............................................................... 351 11.2.7.2 Gas Hydrates ...................................................................... 352
11.2.8 Problems ........................................................................................... 353 11.2.9 Environmental Fate........................................................................... 353
References .............................................................................................................. 353
surfaces [3,4]. The particular molecular structures associated with these and other details regarding their synthesis and properties can be found in many good references including Brook [5] and the other chapters in this book. All of these different types of silicones have found application in the oil and gas industry.
