Network modeling of asphaltene deposition during two-phase flow in carbonate

2-D Pore-Scale Experimental Investigations of Asphaltene Deposition and Heavy Oil Recovery by CO2 Flooding

“…To reveal how many precipitated particles from light crude oils (<20 mPa·s) could reside in pores, flooding experiments were conducted, which found that a significant amount of solids were deposited in pores based on the compositional variations between injected and produced oil. , However, only a limited number of studies have assessed the effects of deposition on the fluid flow in porous media, such as permeability and oil recovery. Most previous studies that discussed the permeability damage caused by asphaltene deposition focused on the effect of decreasing pressure in the near-wellbore region, instead of the CO 2 flooding process. , Only in recent years have core flooding experiments found that CO 2 -induced asphaltene deposition can reduce permeability (7–13%) while showing little negative effect on oil recovery during CO 2 huff-and-puff or flooding experiments. ,− Because field and laboratory data suggest that asphaltenes tend to precipitate more easily in light oils than in heavy oils, − the previous studies have mostly focused on light oil samples (with a viscosity of less than 20 mPa·s), including synthetic oil, recombined oil (mixture of dead oil and associated gas), and even live oil. Heavy oil samples have not yet been included.…”

“…To understand the pore-scale distribution, Srivastava et al attempted to use X-ray CAT (Computer Aided Tomography) scans to locate precipitation in cores; however, their resolution was not high enough to identify the pore-scale distribution . To date, the pore-scale distribution of asphaltene precipitation has only been assessed using a schematic plot by inference and has mostly been simulated using numerical methods . Therefore, direct microscale investigations are required to better understand the deposition mechanism and its effects on multiphase fluid flow in porous media.…”

A dynamic pore-scale network model for two-phase imbibition

“…In these models, the final static position of fluidefluid interfaces is deterministic and one meniscus advances during each time step (Al-Gharbi and Blunt, 2005;Idowu and Blunt, 2010;Mogensen and Stenby, 1998). Using a representative topology structure, transport properties of porous media, such as relative permeabilities and capillary force, can be predicted through the quasi-static assumption (Al-Futaisi and Patzek, 2003;Bryant and Blunt, 1992;Dixit et al, 1999;Dury et al, 1998;Øren et al, 1998;Øren and Bakke, 2003;Nasri and Dabir, 2014;Zhao et al, 2010).…”

Conjugate heat transfer in stratified two-fluid flows with a growing deposit layer

“…Heat is now required to be conducted from the wall across the growing and increasingly thicker deposit layer before transferring to the flowing fluids. Engineering examples include wax deposition in oil-gas [2,3] and oil-water [4,5] flows, asphaltene deposition in oil-water [6] and oil-gas (CO2) [7] flows, hydrate deposition in water-gas flow [8,9], fouling in two-phase heat exchanger [10] and fouling in flow boiling [11,12].…”

“…Nasria and Dabir[6] developed a network model for prediction of asphaltene deposition in porous media for two-phase flow. Deposition in porous media changes among others the permeability and porosity.…”