A new chromatographic approach for bitumen characterization and solvent concentration measurement

Karevan, Azadeh; Kheirollahi, Shadi; Zirrahi, Mohsen

doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126907

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is primarily due to the fact that the solvent content of bitumen is typically lost during the dewatering process or the sample becomes contaminated, resulting in inaccurate results. Therefore, we used a chromatographic approach based on a combination of gas chromatography (GC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) recently developed by Karevan et al 63 In this work, the lighter liquid at equilibrium is referred to as the light phase, consisting of lighter fractions of bitumen and a predicted amount of diluent versus the actual amount at a temperature of 295 K, (c) predicted amount of diluent versus the actual amount at a temperature of 352 K, both at a constant pressure of 2.159 MPa. The shaded area shows the concentration range at which the second liquid phase appeared.…”

Section: Prediction Of Multicomponent Solvent Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Studies of Multicomponent Diluent/Bitumen System with Application to Solvent-Aided In Situ Bitumen Recovery

Khan

2023

Energy Fuels

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Although conventional thermal methods have been widely used for bitumen recovery, solvent-based or solvent-assisted techniques have emerged as viable, greener alternatives. Understanding the liquid−liquid equilibrium (LLE) of multicomponent diluent/bitumen systems is crucial in designing and optimizing oil recovery processes. Despite the availability of vapor−liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for multicomponent/bitumen in the literature, there is a lack of LLE data and predictive models for these mixtures. These data are essential for designing and optimizing oil recovery processes. This study presents the LLE measurements of multicomponent/bitumen mixtures in the temperature range of 295−352 K and a constant pressure of 2.159 MPa, applicable to in situ bitumen recovery processes. The measured thermophysical properties include the density and viscosity of the light phase. The measured density and viscosity data are modeled using the Peng− Robinson equation of state (PR-EoS) and the modified Pederson model, respectively, with average absolute relative deviations (AARDs) of 0.4 and 6.1%. Additionally, a combination of gas chromatography (GC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was utilized to obtain detailed molecular weight and compositional analyses of the heavy and light cuts. In summary, the findings of this study improve our understanding of the LLE of multicomponent solvents/ bitumen systems and offer valuable information for developing and improving solvent-assisted oil recovery processes as alternatives to energy-intensive conventional thermal recovery methods.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prediction Of Multicomponent Solvent Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Studies of Multicomponent Diluent/Bitumen System with Application to Solvent-Aided In Situ Bitumen Recovery

Khan

2023

Energy Fuels

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“…Detailed procedures have been provided in our previous work. 18 2.2. Obtaining ES-SAGD-Produced Water-in-Oil Emulsions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…14−16 Moreover, GPC coupled with elemental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were used for the investigation of the molecular structure of asphaltene and maltene fractions. 17 Recently, Karevan et al, 18 introduced the combined GPC and GC technique for solvent detection using synthetic solvents. In this work, we have extended the combined GPC and GC techniques to measure the solvent content of the actual emulsion samples produced from a large-scale 3D physical model experiment of the ES-SAGD process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Solvent Content Measurements of the Produced Stable Water-in-Oil Emulsions During Solvent-Aided Thermal Recovery Processes

et al. 2023

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The in situ solvent-aided thermal recovery processes are promising methods for recovering unconventional oil resources due to their higher efficiency, lower energy and water consumption, and reduced environmental impacts. The produced stream is often a highly stable water-in-oil emulsion, where the oil phase comprises bitumen and solvent. Separating water from such a sample is challenging because conventional approaches result in solvent loss and sample contamination and render the solvent content measurement techniques currently employed by the industry invalid. Developing analytical techniques for solvent detection without sample dehydration, solvent loss, and contamination is essential for production surveillance, monitoring, process optimization, and economic evaluation. Solvent recovery and concentration measurement in produced streams have been considered the most important issues associated with the success and commercialization of solvent-assisted recovery processes. In this work, we implement a comprehensive chromatographic technique to measure the solvent concentration of the actual bitumen/solvent/water emulsions produced during a large 3D physical model experiment of the solvent-aided recovery process. We used combined gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and gas chromatography (GC) to obtain the full characterization of bitumen/solvent/water systems. After characterizing four produced emulsion samples, actual and synthetic multicomponent solvents are used to establish the necessary calibrations for rapid and accurate determination of the organic solvent content in the produced emulsion samples. The results demonstrated that the automated GC/GPC can be applied to actual minute amount emulsion samples for fast detection of solvent content in the pilot and field-scale projects of solvent-aided thermal recovery processes without sample dehydration while solvent loss and sample contamination are entirely avoided.

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Green solutions for heavy oil recovery: Dimethyl ether and dimethyl ether/methanol aqueous solutions

BinDahbag,

Ateeq,

Kheirollahi

et al. 2024

Journal of Molecular Liquids

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A new chromatographic approach for bitumen characterization and solvent concentration measurement

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Studies of Multicomponent Diluent/Bitumen System with Application to Solvent-Aided In Situ Bitumen Recovery

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Studies of Multicomponent Diluent/Bitumen System with Application to Solvent-Aided In Situ Bitumen Recovery

Solvent Content Measurements of the Produced Stable Water-in-Oil Emulsions During Solvent-Aided Thermal Recovery Processes

Green solutions for heavy oil recovery: Dimethyl ether and dimethyl ether/methanol aqueous solutions

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