Molecular insight into the oil extraction and transport in CO2 flooding with reservoir depressurization

TM Fang and YN Zhang and YG Yan and ZY Wang and J Zhang, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER, 148, 119051 (2020).

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2019.119051

In this study, the mechanism of CO2 extracting hydrocarbon with reservoir depressurization was investigated through molecular dynamic simulations. First, the effects of different depressurization rates (Delta P/0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0ns) on the extraction results were explored to ascertain the most efficient rate. Subsequently, the depressurizing rate with Delta AP/1.0 ns was taken to characterize the extraction process, and then the association between the energy release of the system and the phase separation was verified to be vital to improve tight oil recovery. Next, an Arrhenius relationship between the number of extracted C-10 and temperature before and after depressurization was found, and the activation energies were exploited to predict the production, suggesting that the effect of temperature on the extraction results is more significant when the system is in a non- equilibrium state. This simulation study provides microscopic insights into the implication of depressurization. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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