Innovations and applications of the thermal recovery techniques for heavy oil

Heavy oil represents a vital petroleum resource worldwide.As one of the major producers,China is facing great challenges in effective and economic production of heavy oil due to reservoir complexity.Plenty of efforts have been made to promote innovative advances in thermal recovery modes,methods,and processes for heavy oil in the country.The thermal recovery mode has been shifted from simple steam injection to a more comprehensive“thermal+"strategy,such as a novel N2-steam hybrid process and CO_(2)-enhanced thermal recovery techniques.These advanced techniques break through the challenges of heavy oil extraction from less accessible reservoirs with thinner oil layers and greater burial depths.Regarding thermal recovery methods,China has developed the steam-assisted gravity drainage method integrating flooding and drainage(also referred to as the hybrid flooding-drainage SAGD technology)for highly heterogeneous ultra-heavy oil reservoirs and the fire flooding method for nearly depleted heavy oil reservoirs,substantially improving oil recovery.Furthermore,a range of processes have been developed for heavy oil production,including the open hole completion process using sand control screens for horizontal wells,the process of integrated injection-recovery with horizontal pump for horizontal wells,the steam dryness maintenance,measurement,and control process,efficient and environment-friendly circulating fluidized bed(CFB)boilers with high steam dryness,the recycling process of produced water,and the thermal recovery process for offshore heavy oil.Based on the advances in methodology,technology,and philosophy,a series of supporting technologies for heavy oil production have been developed,leading to the breakthrough of existing technical limit of heavy oil recovery and the expansion into new exploitation targets.For the future heavy oil production in China,it is necessary to embrace a green,low-carbon,and energy-efficient development strategy,and to expand heavy oil extraction in reservoirs with larger burial depth,more viscous oil,thinner oil layers,and lower permeability.Moreover,it is highly recommended to collaboratively maximize oil recovery and oil-to-steam ratio through technological innovations,and boost intelligentization of heavy oil production.

Effect of operating parameters on the performance of thermally regenerative ammonia-based battery for low-temperature waste heat recovery

This study investigated the important factors that affect the operating parameters of thermally regenerative ammoniabased batteries(TRABs),including the metal electrode type,membrane type,electrode surface area,electrode distance,electrolyte concentration,and ammonia concentration.The experimental results showed that the maximum power density of TRABs with a Cu electrode was 40.0 W·m^(2),which was considerably higher than that with Ni(0.34 W·m^(2))and Co(0.14 W·m^(2))electrodes.TRABs with an anion exchange membrane had a 28.6%higher maximum power density than those with a cation exchange membrane.An increased electrode surface resulted in an increased maximum power but a decreased maximum power density.Within a certain range,TRAB performance was enhanced with decreased electrode distance and increased electrolyte concentration.An increased ammonia concentration resulted in enhanced ammonia transfer and improved the TRAB performance.

Thermal recovery process of a backfilled open-pit in permafrost area at the Gulian strip coal mine in Northeast China

Timely and proper backfilling of open-pits in strip coal-mines has been an effective measurement for the recovery of the hydrothermal regimes and ecological environment in permafrost regions. In this study, numerical simulations and statistical regressions were applied for analyzing the recovery processes of the backfill and its major influencing factors for the thermal equilibrium in recently backfilled open pits at the Gulian strip coalmine in Mo'he, Northeast China. Results show that the thermal recovery time of backfilled areas is positively correlated to the backfill depth(BD) of the soils, the backfilled soil temperature(BST), and the mean annual ground surface temperature(MAGST); meanwhile, climate warming can impact on thermal regimes of the backfill area. The impact of climate warming on ground temperature of the backfill will show up significantly in about 50 years afterbackfilling(BD at 10.0 and 20.0 m, BST at 20.0°C) under the climate warming scenario(CWS) of 0.025°C·year ^(-1). Grey-relation analyses show that the sensitivity of the backfill recovery time declines in the order of the BD, BST and MAGST. On the basis of the abovementioned studies, the layer-by-layer backfilling in cold seasons is advised for more effective and more rapid recovery of thermal regimes of the backfilled open-pits in cold regions.

Plastic Sealed Thermal Expansion Packer for Thermal Recovery

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Technologies for Thermal Recovery in Liaohe Oilfield

The technology level of heavy oil thermal re-covery in Liaohe Oilfield is greatly improved after more than ten years of practice,and the technology in Shuguang is symbolic.The annual heavy oil pro-duction in Shuguang has reached 196X 10*t now.

Novel Technology and Products: Fluidized Bed Incineration and Energy Recovery for Waste Disposal——Developed by the Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University

The waste referred to includes solid waste and sludge. Solid waste is mainly from urban garbage and industrial waste. Sludge is from water treatment factories, paper mills, chemical factories, pharmaceutical factories, rivers and lakes. The waste and sludge are very harmful to water organisms, human health and drinking water, and directly affect the environment. Sludge and waste also occupy large areas of land. There are several methods to treat waste and sludge, such as burial, chemical treatment and incineration. Incineration is more effective than the

Research progress and potential of new enhanced oil recovery methods in oilfield development

This paper reviews the basic research means for oilfield development and also the researches and tests of enhanced oil recovery(EOR)methods for mature oilfields and continental shale oil development,analyzes the problems of EOR methods,and proposes the relevant research prospects.The basic research means for oilfield development include in-situ acquisition of formation rock/fluid samples and non-destructive testing.The EOR methods for conventional and shale oil development are classified as improved water flooding(e.g.nano-water flooding),chemical flooding(e.g.low-concentration middle-phase micro-emulsion flooding),gas flooding(e.g.micro/nano bubble flooding),thermal recovery(e.g.air injection thermal-aided miscible flooding),and multi-cluster uniform fracturing/water-free fracturing,which are discussed in this paper for their mechanisms,approaches,and key technique researches and field tests.These methods have been studied with remarkable progress,and some achieved ideal results in field tests.Nonetheless,some problems still exist,such as inadequate research on mechanisms,imperfect matching technologies,and incomplete industrial chains.It is proposed to further strengthen the basic researches and expand the field tests,thereby driving the formation,promotion and application of new technologies.

Application of CFD technique to simulate enhanced oil recovery processes:current status and future opportunities

Nowadays,because of the reduction in oil resources and the passage of the first and second life period of current reservoirs,using enhanced oil recovery(EOR)methods is of great importance.In recent years,due to the developments in technology and the advent of powerful computers,using simulation methods in enhanced oil recovery processes is on the rise.The computational fluid dynamics(CFD)method,as a branch of fluid mechanics,is a suitable method for studying and simulating EOR methods.In this study,a review was done on the application of CFD studies for simulating EOR methods.Also,potentials for future studies and the challenges researchers may face in this method were mentioned.Although using this method in enhanced oil recovery processes has recently started,different areas for more studies still exist.To optimize the usage of this method in future studies,the necessity of multiphase models and solution methods development,as well as considering all microscopic parameters such as interfacial tension and viscosity in investigating oil recovery factor is of great importance.

Boudouard reaction driven by thermal plasma for efficient CO2 conversion and energy storage

Conversion of CO2 into CO using plasma processing powered by renewable energy is a promising method to convert intermittent sustainable electricity into storable chemical energy.Despite extensive research efforts worldwide,there is currently no process that achieves economically viable values for both CO2 conversion fraction and energy recovery efficiency simultaneously.Here we demonstrate that a process that utilizes the Boudouard reaction,CO^2++C→2 CO,driven by a thermal plasma allows both 95%CO2 conversion to CO and energy recovery efficiency of 70%,values far higher than seen so far.By comparing the conversion process with and without CO2 excitation by a plasma and by using optical emission spectroscopy we show that the improved performance is due to a novel mode of operation where CO2 is pyrolyzed into an active mixture of CO,O and O2 by an arc discharge which is then introduced into a fixed bed to interact with carbon material.In this way,the free oxygen in the mixture combusts with carbon to form CO,and residual plasma excited CO2 is reduced by carbon.In the overall process,the endothermic Boudouard reaction is partially replaced by an exothermic reaction,and the excess electric energy to produce CO2 plasma is reused in the carbon bed.

Analysis on variation characteristics of geothermal response in Liaoning Province

Due to energy shortage and increasing environmental awareness, resources in shallow underground space have been rapidly exploited and utilized. So that studying variation characteristics of geothermal response in gneiss is necessary for effective and rational use of underground heat. Based on field test of thermal response in gneiss under hydrogeological survey project carried out in shallow geothermal energy development zone in Liaoning Province, this thesis analyzes mathematical statistics of geothermal response characteristics in main gneiss of Laoning Province. The initial formation temperature ranges from 10.80℃ to 15.80℃ according to field test. The statistical results show that in the condition of natural water content, the average thermal conductivity of Quaternary loose rocks comes as clay< silty< silty fine sand< medium sand< coarse sand< gravelly sand. This order is consistent with thermal conductivity characteristics of gneiss obtained in the laboratory. Formation temperature recovery in different strata follows as granite> medium sand> clay. This order is opposite to the absolute value of temperature recovery curve slope of corresponding lithology, which shows that the stratum with higher temperature recovery rate has lower temperature recovery curve slope.

The Hot Water Oil Expulsion Technique for Geothermal Resources

With the rapid development of Chinese petroleum industry, Oil production way of burning crude oil to produce steam need change. Heavy oil reservoir with thin layer or edgewater is unsuitable thermal recovery, electric heating leads to considerable electrical consumption, low injection water temperature decreases reservoir temperature and increased crude oil viscosity. The prolonged temperature difference break up reservoir pore throat cement and framework minerals. To improve high-capacity channel communication, we proposed geothermal oil recovery. Broad-sense abundant geothermal resources and existing injection water technique equipment are used, deep-seated high temperature liquid (oil-gas-water mixture) draws geothermal warming flowing layer to transit heat upward, decreases viscidity and increases fluidity. Reservoir temperature different offer geothermal fountain. Practicability process is analyzed. statistics and reservoir temperature variation analysis of Gudong Oilfield, Shengli Oilfield Company, SINOPEC, we have designed flow-chart concept for geothermal oil recovery, suggested drilling multi-branch well in heavy oil reservoir as injection-well, at the same position of geothermal fountain well, using free-pressure pump to inject hot liquid directly to aimed oil layer, made oil recovery in surrounding wells. It is proposed that geothermal oil recovery forerunner test should be first conducted in favorable blocks.

Performance Assessment of a Heat Recovery Unit Utilizing Turbine with Variable Inlet Guide Vanes Configuration for Application in Passenger Vehicles

This study explores the potentials of employing an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system with variable inlet guide vanes (VIV) turbine geometry designed on a GT-Suite platform for effective exhaust heat recovery (EHR) application onboard passenger vehicles. The ORC model simulation was based on vehicle speed mode using R245fa as working fluid to assess the thermal performance of the ORC system when utilizing modified turbine geometry. Interestingly, the model achieved a very improved performance in contrast to the model without a modified turbine configuration. The results revealed the average 2.32 kW ORC net output, 4.93% thermal efficiency, 6.1% mechanical efficiency, and 5.0% improved brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) for the developed model. As determined by the performance indicators, these promising results from the model study show the prospect of EHR technology application in the transportation sector for reduction in exhaust emissions and fuel savings.

Performance and Optimization for a Ground-Coupled Liquid Loop Heat Recovery Ventilation System

Ground-coupled heat pumps(GCHP)are commonly used in residential heating system.To mitigate the boreholes temperature dropping with operating time,a new exhaust-air recharging system is developed.The new recharging system can be used in three operational modes.In this paper,a ground-coupled heat recovery ventilation(HRV)model is discussed.A thermal model is set up to find the optimal brine flow rate and heat transfer allocation ratio between exhaust and supply coils for maximum heat recovery efficiency.Contrary to the conventional liquid-loop HRV systems,the brine temperature entering the exhaust coil never goes blow zero(0℃),and hence defrosting is needless in the ground-coupled HRV system.This can make the ground-coupled HRV system over 20% more efficient than a conventional HRV system at low outdoor temperatures.

Transcriptome Analysis of Crassostrea sikamea (♀) × Crassostrea gigas (♂) Hybrids Under and After Thermal Stress

Crossbreeding is an effective approach to manage the genetic decline in aquaculture.One-way hybrids of Crassostrea sikamea(♀)and Crassostrea gigas(♂)have advantages in growth traits and adaptation to high temperature.Here,we used high-throughput sequencing to analyze the molecular processes in the hybrids under and after thermal stress.The hybrids were cultured in the seawater with an increasing temperature from 25℃to 40℃during 10 hours,which is regarded as the thermal stress stage.Then the temperature decreased from 40℃to 25℃within 2 h,which is regarded as the recovery stage.In this study,1293 significant diffe-rentially expressed genes(DEGs)were obtained under thermal stress,of which 576 were upregulated and 717 were downregulated,and 740 significant differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were obtained in the recovery stage,of which the number of upregulated and downregulated genes was 409 and 331,respectively.The antigen processing and presentation,NOD-like,and NF-kappa B path-ways were significantly enriched during the thermal stress stage.The MAPK and PPAR signaling pathways were significantly enrich-ed during the recovery stage.The HSP70,HSP90,and CANX genes were strongly and rapidly upregulated in the control/thermal stress groups but were slightly less upregulated in the thermal stress/recovery group.These results indicate that the innate immune system or nonspecific immunity was deployed to protect interior tissues from thermal stress.In addition,85%of the mutual DEGs were involved in bidirectional regulation(up/down or down/up)when the oysters were removed from the thermal stress to recover.This study provides preliminary insight into the molecular response of C.sikamea(♀)and C.gigas(♂)hybrids to thermal stress and provides a basis for future studies on temperature-adaptation and the possible expansion of hybrid breeding.

Heat Transfer and Energy Utilization of Waste Heat Recovery Device with Different Internal Component

Steel industry is high energy-consuming industry, and its waste?heat recovery is critically?important for energy utilization. In this study, pipeline bundle is used to enhance heat transfer in?waste?heat recovery device,?and?associated gas-solid heat transfer and energy utilization performance with different pipeline arrangement, pipe diameter and shape of internal component are further analyzed. The temperatures of gas and particle in device with pipeline bundle periodically fluctuate in horizontal direction, and those in staggered system distribute more uniformly than those in paralleled system. Compared with paralleled device, exergy and waste heat utilization efficiency of staggered device have been improved, and they are both higher than?those without pipeline. As pipe diameter increases, exergy and waste heat utilization efficiency first increases and then decreases, and they reach the maxima with optimal pipe diameter.?As the width of internal component keeps constant, influence of its shape on heat transfer is very little.

Powering a Low Power Wireless Sensor in a Harsh Industrial Environment: Energy Recovery with a Thermoelectric Generator and Storage on Supercapacitors

Wireless sensor networks are widely used for monitoring in remote areas. They mainly consist of wireless sensor nodes, which are usually powered by batteries with limited capacity, but are expected to last for long periods of time. To overcome these limitations and achieve perpetual autonomy, an energy harvesting technique using a thermoelectric generator (TEG) coupled with storage on supercapacitors is proposed. The originality of the work lies in the presentation of a maintenance-free, robust, and tested solution, well adapted to a harsh industrial context with a permanent temperature gradient. The harvesting part, which is attached to the hot spot in a few seconds using magnets, can withstand temperatures of 200°C. The storage unit, which contains the electronics and supercapacitors, operates at temperatures of up to 80°C. More specifically, this article describes the final design of a 3.3 V 60 mA battery-free power supply. An analysis of the thermal potential and the electrical power that can be recovered is presented, followed by the design of the main electronic stages: energy recovery using a BQ25504, storage on supercapacitors and finally shaping the output voltage with a boost (TPS610995) followed by an LDO (TPS71533).

Structural Analysis and Optimal Design for Water Tube Panel in an Alkali Recovery Boiler

Alkali recovery aiming at recovering NaOH is the best available technology in China's pulp and paper industry;an alkali recovery boiler is a popular one among all alkali recovery units. For the purpose of designing the most reasonable tube-panel of an evaporator in a 1500 t/d alkali recovery boiler, a total of 8 kinds of cases are put forward for finite element analysis. The modeling, meshing and calculation are carried out for each case. The stress values and their distribution rules are revealed in this paper. The slotting size for the water tubes panel is analyzed by using the optimum design module of ANSYS. After all cases are compared with each other, the optimal one is developed and exemplified in conclusion.