rf heating of Utah tar sands. Final report, October 1978-December 1979

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6490175· OSTI ID:6490175

Bridges, J.; Sresty, G.; Taflove, A.; Genge, M.; Snow, R.; Kornfeld, J.

The rf process recovers oil from tar sands in two steps: the deposit is first volumetrically heated with radio frequency (rf) energy to lower the viscosity of the bitumen; the bitumen is then retrieved by one of several petroleum recovery methods. The rf heating is accomplished by inserting tubular electrodes into boreholes and energizing them with an rf power source. The electrical properties of Utah tar sands were found to behave as those of heterogeneous dielectrics, with parameters varying with moisture content. Electrical breakdown thresholds proved to be in excess of 10/sup 5/ V/m - order of magnitude above expected operating levels. Although the electrical parameters varied with temperature during heating, they behaved well enough to make possible efficient matching of power into the deposit. Analytical and experimental studies - including rf heating of 150 to 230 kg blocks of tar sand or loose clay - demonstrated that nearly uniform heating is possible. Laboratory tests on samples as large as 250 kg demonstrated that under ideal conditions up to 85% of the bitumen could be recovered by fluid replacement (tertiary) recovery methods. Based on computer simulation, very high recovery rates could be realized by gravity drive in combination with the electrodes which also serve as production wells. According to analytical studies, the process produces four to ten times more energy than it consumes. The actual value depends on the richness of the deposit, the characteristics of the oil and the rock, and the overall recovery. Costs were assessed for an rf site development plan to produce 10/sup 4/ bbl/day from a medium rich 20m thick, 150m deep Utah tar sand deposit. Total costs were assessed, exclusive of prerefining, to be in the order of 5.50 $/bbl for a 70% recovery.

• Research Organization: IIT Research Inst., Chicago, IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AT02-76CH90035
• OSTI ID: 6490175
• Report Number(s): DOE/CH/90035-4; ON: DE81024988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040401* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
BITUMENS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HEATING
IN-SITU PROCESSING
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SAND DEPOSITS
OIL SANDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RF SYSTEMS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
TAR
USA
UTAH