Evaluating Diffusivity of Toluene in Heavy Oil Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Solvent-based processes have shown technical advantages over thermal techniques for recovery of heavy oil and bitumen. The success of these processes relies on accurate computation of molecular diffusion coefficient which determines how fast a solvent penetrates into oil. Concentration profile measurements of solvent in oil are used for the determination of the molecular diffusion coefficient. Although numerous experimental techniques have been proposed, the accurate estimation of this parameter is still a topic of debate in the literature. In this work, 1-D nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is employed to obtain diffusivity data for a toluene–heavy oil system. Diffusion of toluene in heavy oil was monitored for 20 days at a controlled temperature of 35 °C and ambient pressure. Over time, toluene diffusion into oil leads to changes in spatial distribution of T1 and T2 that affect the received signal. This serves as the basis of the solvent and heavy oil concentration estimation. Consequently, conce...