Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide （HPAM） has been widely used for water shut-off and profile control to enhance oil recovery. Herein, we reported a novel technique by which the crosslinking between HPAM and Cr3＋ in aqueous solutions at 60 ℃ can be delayed effectively. Citric acid was selected as an organic complexing agent of Cr3＋ so that the crosslinking between HPAM and Cr3＋ can be prevented completely. Due to the decomposi- tion of the bicarbonate （HCO3-） embedded in solution, CO2 released from solution and the pH value of solution increased gradually. The degree of ionization of HPAM and its ability to complex with Cr3＋ increased accordingly. When the complexation of Cr3＋ with HPAM is stronger than that with citric acid, the viscosity of the HPAM solution increased signif- icantly. Under the closed condition, together with the existence of potassium dihydrogen phosphate （KH2PO4）, the release of CO2 was very slow and the condition was highly con- trolled so that the ionization of HPAM was prevented initially. Furthermore, the hydrogen bonding interactions between HPAM and melamine embedded in solution previously also postponed the ionization of HPAM. As a result, the crosslinking between HPAM and Cr3＋ can be delayed for almost one month, completely meeting the requirements for deep water shut-off and profile control to enhance oil recovery.
