Pore-Scale Modelling of Solvent-Based Recovery Processes

Bita Bayestehparvin, S.M. Farouq Ali, Mohammad Kariznovi and Jalal Abedi
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Bita Bayestehparvin: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
S.M. Farouq Ali: Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Houston, 5000 Gulf Freeway, Bld. 9, Houston, TX 77204, USA
Mohammad Kariznovi: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Jalal Abedi: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-20

Abstract: A need for a reduction in energy intensity and greenhouse gas emissions of bitumen and heavy oil recovery processes has led to the invention of several methods where mass-transfer-based recovery processes in terms of cold or heated solvent injection are used to reduce bitumen viscosity rather than steam injection. Despite the extensive numerical and experimental investigations, the field results are not always aligned to what is predicted unless several history matches are done. These discrepancies can be explained by investigating the mechanisms involved in mass transfer and corresponding viscosity reduction at the pore level. A two-phase multicomponent pore-scale simulator is developed to be used for realistic porous media simulation. The simulator developed predicts the chamber front velocity and chamber propagation in agreement with 2D experimental data in the literature. The simulator is specifically used for vapor extraction (VAPEX) modelling in a 2D porous medium. It was found that the solvent cannot reach its equilibrium value everywhere in the oleic phase confirming the non-equilibrium phase behavior in VAPEX. The equilibrium assumption is found to be invalid for VAPEX processes even at a small scale. The model developed can be used for further investigation of mass transfer-based processes in porous media.

Keywords: solvent-based recovery processes; non-equilibrium phase behavior; pore-scale simulation; VAPEX (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: 2021
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