The Effect of Metallic Salt Additives on In-Situ Combustion Performance
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In-situ combustion takes advantage of the heat released from the exothermic reactions between hydrocarbon and oxygen to improve oil recovery. In this process, a part of oil is burned in-situ, heat is generated, viscosity of the oil decreased significantly and larger oil recovery results. Among the various reaction pathways, metallic salts are known to play an important role as a catalyst. They enhance oxidation and cracking of hydrocarbons and thereby affect the nature and the amount of fuel formed. The mechanism of the catalytic effect is not yet known. This report describes an experimental study that probes cation exchange of metallic salts with clay as a mechanism to create activated sites that enhance in-situ combustion. The oils used are Cymric light crude oil, Cymric heavy crude oil, paraffin oil, and a variety of single component alkanes. Effluent gas analysis is performed. The combustion performance that creates activated sites for heterogeneous catalysis via usage of metallic additive was compared with control runs. Also, the differences between runs with chemically active clay and runs containing surface-inert silica powder were investigated, in the presence or lack of additive. Additive improved the combustion performance in all cases. In experiments with additive, lower activation energy and more oxygen consumption was observed, lower temperature threshold was measured, and more complete oxidation obtained. In tube run experiments, Cymric light crude oil (34 API) did not exhibit a sustainable combustion, but gave sustained combustion with the addition of metallic additive. Such metallic salts could be introduced to reservoirs as a slug of aqueous solution. This gives an opportunity for expanding the range of candidate reservoirs for in-situ combustion.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2004 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | He, Bingjian |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Kovscek, Anthony R. |
| Advisor | Castanier, Louis |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- He, Bingjian. (2004). The Effect of Metallic Salt Additives on In-Situ Combustion Performance. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/hp711dq5781
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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