Quantification of a Single Gas Bubble Growth in Solvent(s)–CO2–Heavy Oil Systems With Consideration of Multicomponent Diffusion Under Nonequilibrium Conditions

Abstract

A mechanistic model has been developed and validated to quantify a single gas bubble growth with considering multicomponent gas diffusion in solvent(s)–CO2–heavy oil systems under nonequilibrium conditions. Experimentally, constant-composition expansion (CCE) experiments are conducted for C3H8–CO2–heavy oil systems under equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions, respectively. Theoretically, the classic continuity equation, motion equation, diffusion–convection equation, real gas equation, and Peng–Robinson equation of state (PR EOS) are integrated into an equation matrix to dynamically predict gas bubble growth. Also, the viscous term of motion equation on the gas phase pressure is included due mainly to the viscous nature of heavy oil. The newly proposed model has been validated by using the experimentally measured gas bubble radius as a function of time with good accuracy. Combining with the experimental measurements, the critical nucleus radius and gas bubble growth are quantitatively predicted with the newly proposed model. Effects of mass transfer, supersaturation pressure, mole concentration of each component, liquid cell radius, and pressure decline rate on the gas bubble growth are examined and analyzed. In general, gas bubble growth rate is found to increase with an increase of each of the aforementioned five parameters though the contribution of individual component in a gas mixture to the bubble growth rate is different. A one-step pressure drop and the unlimited liquid volume surrounding a gas bubble are considered to be the necessary conditions to generate the linear relationship between gas bubble radius and the square root of time.