Solubility and Liquid Density of Ammonia/Athabasca Bitumen Mixtures at Temperatures up to 463 K: Measurements and Modeling

Abstract

We report the experimental data of ammonia solubility in Athabasca bitumen measured at different temperatures and pressures ranging from 348 to 463 K and 1 to 4 MPa, respectively. The liquid-phase density of ammonia-saturated bitumen was measured for the samples that were taken during solubility measurements. The experimental data for ammonia solubility in bitumen were modeled using the Peng–Robinson equation of state. The volume-shift parameters of ammonia were tuned to represent the experimental density data of ammonia-saturated bitumen with an average absolute relative deviation percent (AARD%) of 0.218%. Also, tuning the binary interaction coefficient between ammonia and bitumen allowed the prediction of solubility data with an AARD of 8.537%. The data and the tuned model find applications in the reservoir modeling of solvent-aided thermal recovery of bitumen and heavy oil.

Subsurface Containment of Injected Chemicals during In-Situ Bitumen Recovery from Oil Sands

“…The solvents (chemicals) used to extract bitumen from oil sands are C3, NH 3 , dimethyl ether (DME), butane (C4), hexane (C6), ethyl acetate (EA), and field natural gas condensates. The thermophysical properties of the solvents/bitumen mixtures used in numerical simulations of the SA recovery processes have been obtained from the literature. − ,− A base case SAGD is also simulated for comparison. The injection time of solvents (chemicals) is selected to allow the production of more than 75% of the original oil in place.…”

“…The solvents (chemicals) included in the fluid model are propane, butane, hexane, field condensates, dimethyl ether, ammonia, and ethyl acetate. All thermophysical properties of the solvents (chemicals) used in numerical simulations have been previously reported. − ,− …”

“…Solvent-aided (SA) thermal recovery of bitumen from oil sands involves injecting solvents/chemicals to reduce the environmental impacts of excessive energy consumption, greenhouse emissions, and water usage and treatment. These CoPCs include light hydrocarbons such as propane, butane, hexane, and field condensates. − In addition, other chemicals such as ammonia, dimethyl ether, and ethyl acetate have been recently suggested to reduce the environmental impacts of thermal recovery operations. − Reservoir containment of injected steam and heated reservoir fluids in connection to SAGD has been well documented in the literature . Applications of new solvents/chemicals for bitumen recovery will most likely follow the same reservoir containment regulations.…”

Measurements and Correlations of Thermophysical Properties for Multicomponent Solvent/Live Bitumen Mixtures

“…In another study, Sadeghi Yamchi et al performed the liquid–liquid study of the DME/bitumen system and reported the density, viscosity, and DME composition of the light phase of the mixture. Bin Dahbag et al also reported measurements of ammonia solubility in Athabasca bitumen and ammonia-saturated oil density at different temperatures and pressures, with application to solvent-aided bitumen recovery from oil sands.…”

Efficiency of Urea Solutions in Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…Moreover, flooding the reservoir with alkaline solutions change the rock wettability toward more water-wet due to the presence of polar compounds in alkaline solutions, which are adsorbed to the rock surface containing different charges . In addition to the generation of in situ surfactants, ammonia effectively reduces the viscosity and the total acid number (TAN) of acidic crude oil making it more valuable and desired for refining. ,, According to ASTM D664, the total acid number is the milligram of potassium hydroxide (KOH) that should be added into the solution to neutralize the acidic compounds found in 1 gram of the crude oil . Carbon dioxide is another important product resulting from the decomposition of the urea solution at the SAGD steam chamber conditions.…”