Theeffectofwettabilityonpolymerbehaviorinporousmediaisinvestigatedthroughaseriesofsyntheticpolymerfloodsconductedinwater-andoil-wetBentheimandBereasandstonecores.Anewexperimentalsetupisusedinwhichthecoreeffluentpolymerconcentrationsarenotmeasuredduringpolymerflooding,butinsteadarepassedthroughacapillarytubethatisconnectedtothecoreoutlet.Usingthenotionofintrinsicviscosity,anapproximateexpressionispresentedthatcanbeusedtodeterminethebreakthroughtimeoftheinjectedpolymersolution.Inaddition,polymeradsorption,inaccessibleporevolume,andapparentviscositiesareevaluatedforallcoresandwettingconditions.Ingeneral,inthepresenceofresidualoil,theoil-wetcoresdisplaythelowestdegreeofpolymerretention(Berea)andthelowestinaccessibleporevolume-IPV(Bentheim).ThelargestwettabilityimpactonthepolymerbehaviorinporousmediaappearstobefortheBereaformation;polymerretentioninoil-wetcoresdecreases90%andIPV52%comparedtothecorrespondingamountsforthewater-wetones.Ontheotherhand,theestimatedpolymerretentionandIPVvaluesappeartobesimilarfortheoil-andwater-wetBentheimcores,thisisattributedtoquestionablewettabilityalteration.
