A Laboratory-Scale Experimental Study of In-Situ Combustion Processes

Abstract

A laboratory-scale experimental study of in-situ combustion for enhanced oil recovery is presented. The effects of oil saturation, preheating of the oil-sand bed, porosity of sand, and air-injection rate on both the time history of liquid yield and the total liquid yield have been determined. From the measured temperature profiles and charred length of oil-sand bed, the propagation rate of combustion front has been deduced. The volumetric concentrations of CO2 and O2 in the effluent gas have been measured. The rate of liquid yield is highest in the initial periods of insitu heating or combustion. Air-injection rate, although it has an indirect influence on the temperatures achieved in the bed, exerts only a weak effect on the liquid yield. The increase in porosity of sand increases the liquid yield rate. The relative effects of air injection rate, oil saturation, and the porosity of sand under combustion conditions are simulated well by preheating the bed.