Abstract
Vapex (vapor extraction of heavy oil and bitumen) is a promising recovery technology because it consumes low energy, and is very environmentally-friendly. The dispersion of solvents into heavy oil and bitumen is a crucial transport property governing Vapex. The accurate determination of solvent dispersion in Vapex is essential to effectively predict the amount and time scale of oil recovery as well to optimize the field operations. In this work, a novel technique is developed to experimentally determine the concentration-dependent dispersion coefficient of a solvent in Vapex process. The principles of variational calculus are utilized in conjunction with a mass transfer model of the experimental Vapex process. A computational algorithm is developed to optimally compute solvent dispersion as a function of its concentration in heavy oil. The developed technique is applied to Vapex utilizing propane as a solvent. The results show that dispersion of propane is a unimodal function of its concentration in bitumen.
Highlights
The enormous heavy oil and bitumen deposits in the World are estimated to be approximately6 trillion barrels [1]
The above computational algorithm was applied to the experimental vapor extraction of heavy oil by propane
The experimental data of live oil production were used in the simulation of the developed model to determine the concentration-dependent dispersion function of propane in heavy oil
Summary
The enormous heavy oil and bitumen deposits in the World are estimated to be approximately6 trillion barrels [1]. Canada and Venezuela have the major parts of these resources. These huge reserves are so attractive that many attempts have been made to invent numerous schemes to recover. Energies 2009, 2 these heavy oil and bitumen resources. In Canada, steam-based methods are often employed to improve heavy oil recovery by reducing the viscosity of in-situ heavy oil. These methods are ineffective and uneconomical for reservoirs with thin pay zones, underlying bottom water, overlying gas caps, low rock conductivities, and high water saturations [2]. Vapex is one of the most promising heavy oil solvent based recovery methods [4]
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