Injection of hot urea solutions as a novel process for heavy oil recovery ― A proof-of-concept experimental study
| Autor: | Mohsen Zirrahi, Hassan Hassanzadeh, Mabkhot S Bin-Dahbag |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
General Chemical Engineering Injection rate 02 engineering and technology 010402 general chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Pulp and paper industry 01 natural sciences 6. Clean water 0104 chemical sciences chemistry.chemical_compound chemistry Fresh water Asphalt Oil production Scientific method Urea Recovery techniques 0210 nano-technology Retention time |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 95:244-251 |
| ISSN: | 1226-086X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jiec.2020.12.030 |
| Popis: | We report a proof-of-concept experimental study of hot urea solutions injection as a new recovery process to extract highly-viscous oils. Eight flooding experiments were conducted to study the viability of hot urea solutions in displacing bitumen from cold sandpacks. Three injection rates (4, 8, and 12 cm3/min), four injection temperatures (180, 200, 220, and 240 °C), and three urea solution concentrations (5, 10, and 15 wt%) were investigated. Another baseline experiment was conducted with fresh water for comparison with the urea solution scenarios. The results showed that the injection of hot urea solution into cold sandpack saturated with bitumen lead to a significant increase in the oil recovery due to the formation of in-situ water-in-oil emulsions. The results also reveal that the balance of the retention time and the amount of heat delivered to the sandpack leads to an optimum injection rate at which the oil recovery is improved considerably. Additionally, while the increment in injection temperature accelerates oil production, it decreases the ultimate oil recovery. These results pave the way for improving the existing recovery techniques and introducing chemical in-situ oil recovery processes for reservoirs that are not currently exploitable using existing recovery techniques. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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