Co2 Difffusivity

Rapid Microfluidics Based Measurement of CO2 Diffusivity in Extra Heavy Oils

Lakshya jain   2014A8PS486H

B.E.(Hons) Electronics and Instrumentation

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Email: f2014486@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in        Mobile: 9912350618

1. Abstract:

The study of fluid transport at small scale has a long history that precedes the Microfluidics chip based Technology that originated in the late 1990s.But for the oil and the gas industry the study of pore scale transport phenomena is of discerning importance. In this project we will demonstrate the rate of diffusion of CO2 in Extra Heavy crude oils and Bitumen using a Microfluidic based experimental approach. The principle behind this is the swelling of heavy oil under high pressure (one dimensional). Using this swelling data with a mathematical model and simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics modelling software we will determine the diffusion coefficient of CO2 in extra heavy crude oils for various temperature and pressure ranges and compare them to practical values. Microfluidics in comparison with the conventional pressure decay and oil drop techniques offers us a wide array of strategic advantages by fluid operations at small scales such as reduced measurement length that leads to increased resolution, reduction in reagent use, diminished costs and efficient measurement that ultimately offers us the potential for rapid, accurate and complex analytical results.

1. Objectives:

• Understanding how the diffusivity rates vary for CO2 in extra heavy oils owing to changes in pressure and temperature.
• How this CO2 diffusivity in extra heavy oils will help In Enhanced Oil Recovery of untapped crude reserves?
• How Mobility ratio, sweep efficiency and displacement efficiency gets affected?
• Whether this improved fluid analysis method can be commercialised and licensed to energy companies

1. Motivation / Origin of the project:

• The resources of heavy crude oil are more than twice those of the conventional light crude oil with new wells being discovers every now and then in Canada and Venezuela specifically
• But the recovery rates of extra heavy oils are very much limited. The chemical composition is variably different that poses herculean challenges on the Production, Transportation and Refining techniques
• With present technology, the extraction and refining of heavy oils generates as much as three times the total CO2 emissions compared to conventional oil, primarily driven by the extra energy consumption of the extraction process (which include burning natural gas to heat and pressurize the reservoir to stimulate flow)
• All these challenges faced by the heavy crude oil industry and the interesting applications of Microfluidics (which I learnt in the INSTRF312: Transducers and Measurement Systems course last semester) has motivated me to connect the dots between these two arenas and provide a solution for the energy industry which will have extraordinary solutions to Energy, Economic and Environmental challenges mankind is facing.

1. Basic state-of-the-art:

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