Oxygen fireflooding: Combustion tube tests with light, medium, and heavy crude oils

Journal Article · Sun Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reserv. Eng.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2118/12726-PA· OSTI ID:5727608

Shahani, G H; Hansel, J G

Five light, medium, and heavy crude oils were evaluated in a combustion tube, primarily at 750 and 2,000 psig (5.2 and 13.8 MPa) and with O/sub 2/ concentrations between 21 (air) and 95%. The overall characteristics of combustion with O/sub 2/ appear to be superior to those with air. For light and medium crude oils, when the combustion are marginal (e.g., at low temperatures at which the kinetics appears to control coke combustion), the apparent kinetics and the quality of the combustion were substantially improved when O/sub 2/ enrichment was used. Three of the crude oils in this study did not burn in air; however, with the same flux of contained O/sub 2/, high levels of O/sub 2/ enrichment could sustain combustion. For two of the crude oils, as the O/sub 2/ concentration was increased, the peak front temperatures actually decreased slightly while the O/sub 2/ use efficiency increased significantly with no change in the coke loading. Further, for a heavy oil at 2,000 psig (13.8 MPa), it was found that O/sub 2/ enrichment, which provided a higher partial pressure of combustion-derived CO/sub 2/ and (perhaps) steam because of N/sub 2/ removal, may have served to reduce the coke loading in comparison with air. An attempt was made to correlate the relative combustion performance of four of the crude oils. It was found that a high coke loading alone was not adequate to ensure satisfactory in-situ combustion. The relative reactivity of the coke with O/sub 2/ also appeared to be critical.

• Research Organization: Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
• OSTI ID: 5727608
• Journal Information: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reserv. Eng.; (United States), Journal Name: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reserv. Eng.; (United States) Vol. 2:4; ISSN SREEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
025000* -- Petroleum-- Combustion
AIR
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COKE
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION CONTROL
COMBUSTION KINETICS
CONTROL
ENERGY SOURCES
ENRICHMENT
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASES
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
KINETICS
MEDIUM PRESSURE
OXIDATION
OXYGEN ENRICHMENT
PETROLEUM
PROCESSING
REACTION KINETICS
TESTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
VISCOSITY