Energy & Fuels, Vol.26, No.11, 6815-6823, 2012
Sensitivity Studies on the Oxidation Behavior of Crude Oil in Porous Media
For the application of high-pressure air injection (HPAI) in light oil reservoirs, low-temperature oxidation (LTO) behavior is the main concerned factor affecting the recovery performance. In a previous study, we have investigated the thermal behavior of Keke Ya light crude oil (Tarim Basin, China) by thermogravimetry (TG)/differential thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) tests. In this paper, sensitivity studies on the LTO behavior of crude oil in porous media have been addressed and the influences of factors such as pressure, oxidation time, water saturation (S-w), and clays on the oxidation behavior of crude oil in porous media are investigated by oxidation tube experiments. All experiments are carried out at 85 degrees C. Gas chromatography is employed to investigate the effluent gas composition and hydrocarbon distribution of the oxidized oil. In addition, the apparent hydrogen/carbon (H/C) ratio calculated from the effluent gas composition is used to analyze the exothermic degree of crude oil during the oxidation process in porous media In the last part of paper, we introduce a two-step process LTO model (oxygen addition reaction and carbon-carbon bond stripping reaction). to further investigate the mechanism of oxidation behavior. Some key factors affecting the HPAI performance are discussed.