Screening High-Temperature Foams with Microfluidics for Thermal Recovery Processes

Abstract

Thermal recovery processes, and in particular, Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), are the most common and practical in situ technology for bitumen extraction. While SAGD is effective, steam injection results in poor steam chamber growth and distribution with poor conformance specifically in areas with poor formation geology and bedding properties. These factors result in economic and environmental costs. Co-injecting foaming surfactants with noncondensable gases along with steam is an alternative solution to control the steam chamber behavior and its advancement throughout the formation. Selecting appropriate foaming surfactants is essential for successful implementation of a foam-steam processes. Conventional laboratory methods provide some indication of foaming surfactant performance but fail to reflect reservoir conditions and time scales. Microfluidics is well suited to assess the relevant pore-scale performance of foaming surfactants, at relevant conditions, with tight control over experimental parameters. Here, we develop a microfluidic approach to generate nitrogen-foam and assess stability and mobility control performance at relevant temperature (>150 °C) with results compared to those of traditional bulk foam analysis. The microconfinement associated with porous media creates more stable foam at reservoir-relevant temperatures and pressures. Direct visualization of the foaming dynamics, subsequent stability, and mobility testing in porous media provide a rapid assessment of foam performance as well as a diagnostic of surfactant product failures such as precipitation and phase decomposition, findings that directly informed pilot operations here. This screening also enables down-selection of the most promising agents for subsequent testing with candidate reservoir oil, in conventional cores or micromodels.

Lab on a chip for a low-carbon future

“…Importantly, LoCs are well-suited both to understand physico-chemical processes and their coupling, such as reactivity and mixing, 12,26 and to help develop and screen new reagent chemistries and reaction conditions to optimize the extraction process. 134,160 For example, Yang et al 2020 developed a microfluidic screening method to predict and remediate acid mine drainage, an environmental waste product of the mining industry. 161 Even more recently, Le et al (2022) 162 applied microfluidics to investigate the performance of various solvent extraction methods for the recovery of critical minerals-minimizing the use of reactants and the time required for experiments.…”

Application of microfluidics to optimize oil and gas field development technologies

“…Таким образом, наиболее эффективным тепловым МУН оказалась закачка пара с нафтой, показав более высокую азеотропную температуру парорастворителя, эффек тив ное разбавление и незначительное осаждение асфальтена. Другим тепловым МУН, успешно протестированным на микро флюидном чипе, была сов мест ная закачка пенистых ПАВ, некон ден сирующихся газов и пара [56]. Для быстрой оценки характеристик пены, а также наблюдения за возможным осаждением и распадом на фазы, в микрофлюидных экспериментах исполь зовалось прямое наблюдение за динамикой вспенивания с последующим тестированием стабильности и подвижности в пористых средах.…”

Recent advances and challenges in temperature monitoring and control in microfluidic devices

“…Common rectangle heaters have also been used to work with biological samples as human DNA, animal cells, and protein cells because of their appreciable accuracy of 0.1°C in the range of 25–65°C [ 142 , 157 ]. Finally, another variation involves the use of a heater chuck with three heating cartridges, as established by de Haas et al., that permits the characterization of microfluidic properties of materials in high temperatures, ranging from 130 to 190°C [ 158 ]. A summary of some major contributions in each of these sections is shown in Table 4 .…”