1. n. [Enhanced Oil Recovery]

A polymer with a high molecular weight. The basic repeating unit or monomer of polyacrylamide is a combination of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Polyacrylamides increase the viscosity of the water slug that precedes the final water injection. Polyacrylamides are frequently used as mobility-control buffers in micellar-polymer flooding operations.

See related terms: acrylamide polymer,  mobility buffer,  polysaccharide