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Universality of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in the Process of Tertiary Oil Production

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Abstract

The results of comparative analysis for the key factors of the mechanism of oil-recovery enhancement with the use of gases in a supercritical fluid state as applied to carbon dioxide and propane (propane/butane mixtures) are presented. The above-mentioned factors as a subject of consideration incorporate the dissolving ability of compressed gases with respect to oil and its components, the phase behavior of binary systems containing the mentioned displacing agents and oil hydrocarbons, the critical parameters for the binary systems of fluid-phase behavior types I–II, the compressibility of carbon dioxide and propane under oil-displacement process conditions in tertiary oil production, the viscosity of the media participating in the discussed process and, finally, the swelling of oil as a result of its saturation with a gas. The results of experimental implementation under supercritical fluid conditions are given for an extraction oil-recovery process with carbon dioxide as an extragent in one case and propane in the other case. It is established that propane and propane/butane mixtures are three or more times superior to CO2 in dissolving ability with respect to oil components under displacement-process conditions; that they more often form systems of fluid-phase behavior types I–II with the oil components, which is preferable for the process of its recovery; that the compressor power spent on the compression of carbon dioxide and methane is threefold or more higher than for propane; and, finally, that propane has a much lower viscosity under oil-displacement conditions. In sum, propane and propane/butane mixtures are preferable for use in the oil-displacement process within the framework of tertiary oil production.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was performed on the equipment of the Shared Facilities Center “Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies” of the Kazan National Research Technological University.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the Russian Scientific Foundation (project no. 22-19-00117) and the project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant no. 075-15-2021-699).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kazan National Research Technological University, 420015, Kazan, Russia

    F. M. Gumerov, Z. I. Zaripov, V. F. Khairutdinov & D. I. Sagdeev

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  1. F. M. Gumerov
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  2. Z. I. Zaripov
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  3. V. F. Khairutdinov
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  4. D. I. Sagdeev
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Correspondence to F. M. Gumerov.

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Translated by E. Glushachenkova

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Gumerov, F.M., Zaripov, Z.I., Khairutdinov, V.F. et al. Universality of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in the Process of Tertiary Oil Production. Theor Found Chem Eng 57, 45–55 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0040579523010050

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