Doctoral Dissertations

Keywords and Phrases

CO2-Heavy oil; Stability; Thermodynamic properties; Transport properties

Abstract

"Conventional oil recovery leaves behind around 67% of original oil in place for light oils and all of it for heavy oils. The carbon dioxide flooding process is the cheapest among the recovery methods for the next stage. The interest here lies in recovering heavy oil. When CO2 dissolves in oil, it increases the volume of oil, squeezes it out of narrow capillaries and the viscosity of oil drops by up to an order of magnitude. Starting with the available data with and without CO2 in heavy oil, the free volume theory is used to predict these physical properties. Specific volume CO2 in the solution is obtained from the swelling data. The viscosity data show us how to obtain the free volumes of CO2 in oil and hence allow prediction of the diffusivity of CO2. Separately, an analysis of the displacement process has been undertaken in a single cylindrical pore ~ 1 µm in diameter where the disjoining pressure is included and added to the Laplace pressure, besides the correlations obtained earlier. Numerical solutions have been obtained to provide the results: profile shapes, capillary numbers, and the thickness of thin oil film left behind the drive and net mass transfer rates across the interface. Finally, the viscosity of heavy crude is much higher than the viscosity of CO2 because of which the displacement process can be unstable leading to fingering or channeling. Linear stability analysis of the displacement process which is that of immiscible displacement but includes mass transfer has been investigated. We are able to provide results that lead to a stabilizing effect overcomes a large destabilizing effect of the adverse mobility ratio. The results show that in the limit that the solubility of CO2 in oil drops to zero, the above window of instability becomes infinite"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Neogi, P. (Partho), 1951-

Committee Member(s)

Al-Dahhan, Muthanna H.
Bai, Baojun
Isaac, Kakkattukuzhy M.
Park, Joontaek

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Fall 2014

Pagination

x, 88 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 82-87).

Rights

© 2014 Truynh Quoc My Duy Tran, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Enhanced oil recoveryHeavy oilCarbon dioxideOil fields -- Production methods

Thesis Number

T 10626

Electronic OCLC #

902737193

Download

Share

 
COinS