Modeling of Non-Equilibrium Interphase Mass Transfer during Solvent-Aided Thermal Recovery Processes

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dc.contributor.advisorHassanzadeh, Hassan
dc.contributor.advisorAbedi, Jalal
dc.contributor.authorAl-Gawfi, Abdullah
dc.contributor.committeememberSarma, Helmanta Kumar
dc.contributor.committeememberHusein, Maen M.
dc.date2018-11
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-05T20:41:49Z
dc.date.available2018-10-05T20:41:49Z
dc.date.issued2018-09-14
dc.description.abstractAs most of the heavy oil reserves in the world are too viscous to be exploited conventionally, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are applied mainly through utilizing heat or dilution. Two thermal recovery methods stand out to be the most viable and commercially practical for exploiting extra-heavy and highly-viscous oil reservoirs are Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), and Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS) processes. Both processes apply heat to the reservoir using steam to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen rendering it mobile. Despite the commercial success of these thermal recovery processes, solvent-aided thermal recovery processes recently gained increased industrial interest for their potential to achieve higher energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact, and increased economic viability. In solvent-aided thermal processes, solvent is co-injected with steam to further aid in reducing bitumen viscosity through mass and heat transfer and diffusion of solvent into bitumen. Several field trials of solvent-based recovery processes have been carried out and field results were mixed or inconclusive, and that can be attributed to the lack of knowledge of the physics and inter-related mechanisms involved with interphase-mass transfer and solvent dissolution into bitumen. The first part of this thesis aims to address the mechanisms of solvent dissolution into bitumen due to solvent diffusion and defines the key parameter of diffusive dominant interphase-mass transfer coefficient for several solvent/bitumen binary mixtures. The results show that the diffusion of lighter solvents into bitumen is lower than heavier solvents particularly at low temperatures. Also, it was found that the diffusion dominant interphase-mass transfer coefficient is relatively higher for lighter solvents such as methane, ethane, and propane. Therefore, modelling of the non-equilibrium interphase-mass transfer phenomena is relatively more important for lighter solvents for designing and implementing a successful solvent-aided thermal recovery process. One of the most important mechanisms involved in solvent-aided thermal recovery processes is interphase-mass transfer phenomena which involves a variation of a system property due to a non-equilibrium state. However, in current reservoir simulation models a local equilibrium is assumed such that a simulation grid block is at instantaneous equilibrium. In reality, local equilibrium assumption often fails at larger scales or in situations where flow velocities are large compared to that of mass or heat transfer. In the second part of this thesis, solvent-aided gravity drainage of bitumen was simulated with propane as a solvent using CMG-STARS. The effect of non-equilibrium mass transfer was included in the model to simulate the process using a kinetic approach. The results show that the assumption of the local instantaneous equilibrium result in 3% to 6% lower oil recovery for the typical field scale simulation models. This difference in oil recovery can be mitigated fairly through the inclusion of the non-equilibrium interphase-mass transfer. Correlations for the non-equilibrium interphase-mass transfer coefficients for propane/bitumen mixture were developed which can be used as guidelines for modelling the non-equilibrium interphase-mass transfer for field scale simulations of solvent-based EOR processes.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAl-Gawfi, A. (2018). Modeling of Non-Equilibrium Interphase Mass Transfer during Solvent-Aided Thermal Recovery Processes (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/33126en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33126
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/108774
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.facultySchulich School of Engineering
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectThermal Recovery
dc.subjectbitumen
dc.subjectsolvent-aided recovery
dc.subjectnon-equilibrium
dc.subjectinterphase mass transfer
dc.subjectpropane bitumen mixture
dc.subject.classificationEnergyen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Petroleumen_US
dc.titleModeling of Non-Equilibrium Interphase Mass Transfer during Solvent-Aided Thermal Recovery Processes
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineChemical and Petroleum Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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