A novel silica aerogel microspheres loaded with ammonium persulfate gel breaker for mid-deep reservoirs

As one of the important additives in the process of petroleum’s exploitation, the gel breaker is a key factor to determine whether the exploitation can be completed successfully. Here, a novel porous SiO₂ aerogel microsphere loaded with ammonium persulfate (aAPS) with obvious delay-releasing performance under higher temperature and pressure was synthesized by the process of sol–gel and water-in-oil (W/O) inverse emulsion polymerization. The obtained gel breaker was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The releasing rate of ammonium persulfate of gel breakers under different conditions was determined by pH meter method. The results show that the loading of APS is about 53 wt% and the releasing rate is significantly affected by temperature and time.