May 21, 2024
An approach has been developed to simplify the extraction of heavy and viscous oil. Russian researchers have found that the viscosity of heavy crude oil can be reduced by 58% if it is treated with a combination of water vapor and salts of acetic acid and transition metals. This makes it possible to increase the efficiency of production of such grades of hydrocarbons by 19%, the press service of the Russian Science Foundation reported on Monday.
"We have demonstrated for the first time that metal acetates can be used for steam-thermal technologies for heavy oil production. These inexpensive and safe connections will help to increase the energy efficiency of the existing technology," explained Firdavs Aliyev, senior researcher at the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas Technologies of Kazan Federal University, whose words are quoted by the university's press service.
As Aliyev and other chemists note, oilmen usually pump hot water vapor into wells to extract heavy grades of oil with high viscosity. It warms up layers of oil-bearing rocks, as a result of which hydrocarbons become more fluid, which simplifies their extraction from the well. The procedure requires significant energy consumption, which increases the cost of oil production.
According to the researchers, the efficiency of this process can be significantly improved if not only steam is introduced into the well, but also catalysts that will split the heaviest and most difficult-to-recover components of oil. Russian scientists have discovered that molecules of such catalysts can be formed directly inside deposits if copper and nickel acetates are injected into them.
The introduction of these salts into oil-bearing formations leads to the formation of copper and nickel sulfide particles, sulfur compounds and atoms of these transition metals, which interact with molecules of resins and asphaltenes, two of the heaviest components of oil. This leads to a decrease in the mass fraction of high-molecular hydrocarbons from 38% to 23.5%, as well as to a decrease in the boiling point of oil by 30%.
As a result, the viscosity of heavy oil decreased by 58%, which increased the efficiency of its production by 19% compared to using only steam treatment of oil-bearing formations. This, as Russian chemists hope, will additionally reduce the cost of extracting such forms of hydrocarbons and make their extraction more profitable.
The results of the study are published in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
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