SBIR Phase II: Combinatorial Development of Chitosan-Based Drilling Fluid Additives

This SBIR Phase II project proposes to use simple chemistries to develop biopolymer derivatives based on chitosan with controlled macromolecular architectures for oil and gas drilling applications. This Phase II project will focus on the following objectives : (1) Show how chemistries common in food processing can be extended for the simple and safe modification of polymers ; (2) Use data on rheological characterization to better understand the structure-property relations of polymers; (3) Use the proposed high throughput screening to demonstrate how combinatorial screening can be adapted to materials development ; and (4) develop an entirely new class of high performance and environmentally-friendly products for oil and gas drilling. The commercial application of this project is in the area of industrial bioproducts.