Polymer gel systems as water management materials have been widely used in recent years for enhanced oil
recovery applications. However, most polymer gel systems are limited in their ability to withstand the harsh environments of high
temperature and high salinity. Those polymer gel systems that can handle high-temperature excessive water treatments are
reviewed in this paper and categorized into three major types: in situ cross-linked polymer gels, preformed gels, and foamed gels.
Future directions for the development of polymer gel systems for high-temperature conditions are recommended. For excessive
water management with temperatures from 80 to 120 °C, current polymer systems are substantially adequate. Polymer gel
systems composed of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM)/chromium can be combined with nanoparticle technology to
elongate their gelation time and reduce the adsorption of chromium ions in the formation. Phenolic resin cross-linker systems
have reasonable gelation times and gel strengths; however, more environmentally friendly cross-linkers should be developed to
meet the increasingly stringent environmental requirements. For particle gels, the addition of functional monomer(s) can
improve the antitemperature performance. When the applied temperatures reach 120 °C, inorganic cross-linker systems are no
longer applicable, and the gelation time of organic cross-linking polymer gel systems and gel thermal stability will decrease
significantly due to fast cross-linking reactions. During this period, retarders can be used to elongate the gelation time, and gel
strength enhancers (e.g., cement, silica) can also be applied to improve the gel strength at such extremely high temperatures.
Most importantly, novel polymers (e.g., ter- or tetrapolymers), functional monomers, and environmentally friendly cross-linkers
need to be discovered and developed for polymer gel applications. Second cross-linking systems can be applied to further
enhance the strength of the particle gels in harsh conditions. On the basis of these developments, foamed gels can be wellimplemented
in fractures and wormholes to save the amount of injected gels.

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