With World oil demand increasing in the face of limited supplies, increasing attention is turning towards non-conventional oil sources as a means to relieve the pressure exerted on conventional stocks. However, non-conventional oils are hard to extract, process and transport. Several technologies are already at work with differing levels of success, recovery ranging from as low as 5% through to more than 70%. This paper reviews the range of Enhanced Oil Recovery techniques, broadly classified into either thermal or non-thermal methods, and their applicability to the extraction of heavy oils and bitumens. Advantages and disadvantages are presented in terms of their recovery factors, requirements, limitations and economics. The potential benefits of additional downhole catalytic upgrading of heavy oils are also explored.

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Hydrolysis of the DMF or DEF solvent influences the nature of the product observed in the reaction between zinc(II) nitrate and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, with dialkylammonium cations able to template the formation of anionic networks.Coordination networks, or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are currently attracting a tremendous amount of interest. 1,2 This is largely a result of their potential for porosity, and the implications of this in applications such as gas storage. 3,4 Some of the most spectacular results in this area have arisen from the Yaghi group. 5-8 They have reported a number of interesting structures, and impressive adsorption properties for compounds such as [Zn 4 (m 4 -O)(m-bdc) 3 ] (bdc 22 5 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate, terephthalate), which they refer to as MOF-5. Although the effectiveness of this material in hydrogen absorption has recently been queried, 9 MOF-5 and related compounds are currently receiving considerable attention within the porous material field. [10][11][12] From a chemical perspective, the zinc-bdc 22 system is far from straightforward. [Zn 4 (m 4 -O)(m-bdc) 3 ] can be prepared from Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ?6H 2 O and H 2 bdc under solvothermal conditions 13 or at room temperature. 14 In addition to [Zn 4 (m 4 -O)(m-bdc) 3 ], a number of other compounds have been prepared from Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ?6H 2 O and H 2 bdc. [15][16][17] In this paper we report how the presence of water in the solvent is crucial in influencing the product from the reaction between Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ?6H 2 O and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid in either DMF or DEF.When Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ?6H 2 O and H 2 bdc were heated in fresh DEF at 95 uC for 3 h, small colourless crystals precipitated from the solution. These were shown to be [Zn 4 (m 4 -O)(m-bdc) 3 ]?3DEF 1 (i.e. solvated MOF-5) by a combination of X-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction experiments, the latter of which produce identical results to those simulated from the previously reported crystal structure. 5 When Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ?6H 2 O and H 2 bdc were heated under the same conditions, in DEF that had been in the laboratory for several weeks, small colourless crystals were again isolated. However, in this case, the product was shown by a combination of X-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction experiments to be exclusively the previously unreported compound [NH 2 Et 2 ] 2 [Zn 3 (mbdc) 4 ]?2.5DEF 2.The structure of 2 is based on bdc 22 anions bridging between linear Zn 3 (m-O 2 CR) 6 secondary building units (SBUs). The central Zn(1) atom has a distorted octahedral geometry, and is k 1 -coordinated to six carboxylates. The two symmetry-related peripheral Zn(2) atoms exhibit distorted tetrahedral geometry, and are each k 1 -coordinated to four carboxylates. Three of these groups bridge to Zn(1), though one adopts the m-k 1 O,k 1 Ocoordination mode rather than the more common m-k 1 O,k 1 O9-mode employed by the other two. The six bridging carboxylates radiate from the Zn 3 (m-O 2 CR) 6 SBU at approximately 60u angles, leading to the construction of a layer structure with tri...

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This document deals with the characterization of porous materials having pore widths in the macropore range of 50 nm to 500 μm. In recent years, the development of advanced adsorbents and catalysts (e.g., monoliths having hierarchical pore networks) has brought about a renewed interest in macropore structures. Mercury intrusion-extrusion porosimetry is a well-established method, which is at present the most widely used for determining the macropore size distribution. However, because of the reservations raised by the use of mercury, it is now evident that the principles involved in the application of mercury porosimetry require reappraisal and that alternative methods are worth being listed and evaluated. The reliability of mercury porosimetry is discussed in the first part of the report along with the conditions required for its safe use. Other procedures for macropore size analysis, which are critically examined, include the intrusion of other non-wetting liquids and certain wetting liquids, capillary condensation, liquid permeation, imaging, and image analysis. The statistical reconstruction of porous materials and the use of macroporous reference materials (RMs) are also examined. Finally, the future of macropore analysis is discussed.

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Conventional in situ combustion (ISC) has largely failed to establish itself as a major heavy oil recovery process. However, the recent successful field piloting of the toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) process by Petrobank, in the Athabasca oil sands, Conklin, Alberta, Canada, seems set to develop a major new era of ISC technology. A new numerical model of the THAI− ISC process has been developed, using three-dimensional combustion cell data in conjunction with Phillips thermal cracking kinetics. Excellent agreement was obtained between the simulation predictions and a number of measured dynamic parameters, including the oil production rate. The fine-scale predictions have enabled new insights into the operation of the process, especially concerning the important mobile oil zone (MOZ) from which partially upgraded oil is produced. The properties of the MOZ not only affect oil production but also determine to what extent further in situ upgrading of the bitumen is possible using the catalytic THAI−CAPRI process.