Effects of Packer Locations on Downhole Electric Heater Performance: Experimental Test and Economic Analysis

Wei Guo, Zhendong Wang, Youhong Sun, Xiaoshu Lü, Yuan Wang, Sunhua Deng and Qiang Li
Additional contact information
Wei Guo: College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Zhendong Wang: College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Youhong Sun: National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of In-situ Conversion, Drilling and Exploitation Technology for Oil Shale, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Xiaoshu Lü: College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Yuan Wang: College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Sunhua Deng: College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Qiang Li: College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: A downhole electric heater, which reduces heat loss along a heat insulation pipe, is a key apparatus used to ignite oil shale underground. Downhole heaters working together with packers can improve the heating efficiency of high-temperature gases, while different packer locations will directly affect the external air temperature of the heater shell and, subsequently, the performance and total cost of the downhole heaters. A device was developed to simulate the external conditions of heater shells at different packer locations. Then, the effects of external air temperature on the performance of a downhole heater with pitches of 50, 160, and 210 mm were experimentally studied. In the test, results indicated that the heater with a packer at its outlet had an accelerated heating rate in the initial stage and decreased temperature in the final stage. Additionally, the lowest heating rod surface temperature and highest comprehensive performance were achieved with minimal irreversible loss and lower total cost when using a downhole electric heater with a packer set at its outlet. In addition, the downhole electric heater with a helical pitch of 50 mm and a packer at its outlet was more effective than other schemes in the high Reynolds number region. These findings are beneficial for shortening the oil production time in oil shale in situ pyrolysis and heavy oil thermal recovery.

Keywords: oil shale; in situ pyrolysis; packer; downhole electric heater; economic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/2/377/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/2/377/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:2:p:377-:d:308065

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().