Effect of Different Clay Minerals on Heavy Oil Oxidation during Ignition Process

Abstract

During the procedure of in situ combustion (ISC) for heavy oil, the rate of heat release at the low temperature oxidation (LTO) stage directly affects the delay time and the effect of ignition. This paper aimed at various clay minerals effects on heavy oil oxidation before ignition, at different reservoir temperatures and air/oil ratios, using a small batch reactor (SBR). Characterizations of the pressure, the reaction temperature, the post-test gases, the viscosity, and the asphalt content of heavy oil before and after oxidation were carried out. The results indicated that the catalysis of clay minerals was enhanced with the increase of temperature and air/oil ratio. At a rather lower temperature (90 °C), all three types of clay minerals did not obviously affect the temperature increment or rising rate at LTO while they had a little effect on viscosity, but had great influence on asphalt content, which increased greatly after the reaction. At a rather higher temperature (150 °C), clay minerals had great influence on the heat release. Montmorillonite had the best catalytic effect, which was 4.28 times higher than the blank sample in temperature rising rate under a higher air/oil condition, while the viscosity of crude oil reduced, and the concentration of asphalt slightly increased after reaction. The results of this study provide new insight that the clay minerals in the reservoir or injecting a certain amount of clay minerals into the reservoir before ignition can accelerate the reaction rate and heat release rate, thus improving the ignition effect.

Role of Water and Kaolinite on the Conversion Rate and Reaction Pathways during Thermal Conversion of α-Methylstyrene at 400 °C

“…Works regarding the in situ combustion of heavy oils have also reported the impact of kaolinite in enhancing reaction rates and influencing product composition. 16,90 However, the rapid deactivation of kaolinite due to the deposition of carbonaceous material during conversion and the low surface area of kaolinite meant that the potential catalytic contribution of kaolinite was limited. Therefore, although kaolinite performed acid-catalyzed reactions, its impact on the overall conversion during petroleum processing is likely to be minor due to the fast deactivation of the mineral.…”

A Critical Review of Reservoir Simulation Applications in Key Thermal Recovery Processes: Lessons, Opportunities, and Challenges

“…A series of experiments were conducted to understand coke formation under different reaction conditions , and the presence of montmorillonites and nanoparticles . Yu et al in 2017 concluded that clay could accelerate reaction rates and improve an ignition process . Metal nanoparticles and metal tallates were tested to improve the performance of in situ combustion.…”

Effect of Different Water Content and Catalyst on the Performance of Heavy Oil Oxidation in Porous Media for In Situ Upgrading

“…Because of its low cost and less energy consumption, the ISC technology is labeled as a promising technique for heavy and extra-heavy oil recovery from reservoirs. , With all these advantages, ISC still suffers from some drawbacks such as the difficult initiation point of ignition and unstable combustion point in porous media in order to achieve oil displacement for enhanced oil recovery. , There are several methods to overcome these disadvantages including in situ combustion process in the presence of catalysts − and in situ combustion in the presence of water or steam. − ,, …”