Particle Technology and Surface Phenomena in Minerals and Petroleum PDF
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Particle Technology and Surface Phenomena in Minerals and Petroleum Particle Technology and Surface Phenomena in Minerals and Petroleum Edited by Mahendra K. Sharma Eastman Chemical Company Kingsport, Tennessee and G. D. Sharma Rogaland University Centre Stavanger, Norway and University of Alaska, Fairbanks Fairbanks, Alaska Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Particle technology and surface phenomena in minerals and petroleum / edited by Mahendra K. Sharma and G. D. Sharma. p. cm. "Proceedings of The Fine Particle Society Symposium . . . held August 21-25, 1991, in San Diego, California"—T. p. verso. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4899-0619-9 1. Flotation —Congresses. 2. Oil fields — Production methods —Congresses. 3. Sur face chemistry —Congresses. 4. Particles —Congresses. I. Sharma, Mahendra K. II. Sharma, G. D. (Ghanshyam Datt), 1931 - . Ill. Fine Particle Society. TN523.P27 1992 91-39706 622/.752-dc20 CIP Proceedings of The Fine Particle Society Symposium on Particle Technology and Surface Phenomena in Minerals and Petroleum, held August 21-25, 1991, in San Diego, California ISBN 978-1-4899-0619-9 ISBN 978-1-4899-0617-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-0617-5 ©1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1991 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1991 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher PREFACE The current state of the art of several aspects of minerals and petroleum is presented in this volume. It documents the proceedings of the Internationl symposium on Particle Technology and Surface Phenomena in Minerals and Petroleum sponsored by the Fine Particle Society (FPS). This meeting was held in San Diego, California, August 21-25, 1990. The symposium upon which this volume is based was organized in five sessions emphasizing various basic and applied aspects of research on minerals and petroleum technology. Major topics discussed involve surface phenomena in minerals, mineral flotation, characterization of aspaltenes, theoretical aspects of reservoir simulation, porosity, permeability, residual water saturation, hydrocarbon and gas potential in north slope Alaska, polymer/alkaline flooding, surfactant flooding and foam flooding for enhanced oil recovery. This edition includes eighteen selected papers presented in the symposium. These papers are divided in four broad categories: (1) Asphaltene Aggregation and Characterization, (2) Theoretical Aspects and Reservoir Characterization, (3) Colloidal Dispersions in Minerals/Petroleum, and (4) Surface Phenomena and Petroleum Recovery. Several mineral and oil recovery processes using various chemicals with special reference to surface phenomena and particle technology are described in these sections. This proceedings volume includes discussions of various processes, occuring, at molecular, microscopic, and macroscop1C levels 1n mineral flotation and petroleum recovery processes. The editors hope that this volume will serve its intended objective of reflecting the current understanding of formulation and process problems related to minerals and petroleum recovery processes. In addition, it will be a valuable reference source for both novices as well as experts in the field of minerals and petroleum technology. It will also help the readers to understand underlying surface phenomena and will enhance the reader's potential for solving critical formulation and process problems. The editors would like to convey their sincere thanks and appreciation to the Fine Particle Society for the generous support that allowed them to invite many researchers from several countries to participate in the symposium. We would also like to express our thanks and v appreciation to Ms. Patricia M. Vann and to the Editorial staff of the Plenum Publishing corporation for their continued interest in this project. The editor are grateful to reviewers for their time and efforts in providing valuable comments and suggestions to improve the material presented in the manuscripts. We wish to convey our sincere thanks and appreciation to all authors and coauthors for their contributions, enthusiasm and patience. The views and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors. One of us (MKS) would like to express his thanks to the appropriate management of the Eastman Chemical Company (ECC) for allowing him to participate in the organization of the sympc-sium and to edit this proceedings volume. His special thanks are due to Mr. J. C. Martin (ECC) for his cooperation and understanding during the tenure of editing this proceedings volume. Finally, MKS wishes to express his sincere thanks to his colleagues and friends for their assistance and encouragement throughout this project. Also he would like to acknowledge the assistance and cooperation of his wife, Rama, and extends his appreciation to his children (Amol and Anuj) for allowing him to spend many evenings and weekends working on this volume. M. K. Sharma Research Laboratories Eastman Chemical Company Kingsport, TN 37660 G. D. Sharma Petroleum Development Lab. University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK 99775 or Rogaland University Center stavanger, Norway VI CONTENTS ASPHALTENE AGGREGATION AND CHARACTERIZATION The Role of Asphaltene Aggregation in viscosity Variation of Reservoir Hydrocarbons and in Miscible Processes •............•.••..•••.•..••.••.• 1 V.A. Kamath, M.R. Islam, S.L. Patil, J.C. Jiang and M.G. Kakade Morphological Size of Asphaltene Micelles in Asphalt and Heavy Residue ..•..•.•..•..•..••.•••.••.•• 23 J.-R. Lin, H. Lian, J. Chen and T. F. Yen Asphaltene Particle Size Distribution Studies by Fractals ..•.........•.......•....•...•.•....•..•.. 31 J.-R. Lin, H. Lian, K.M. Sadeghi and T.F. Yen Peptization Studies of Asphaltene in Asphalt Systems and Correlation by Solubility Parameter Spectra ..•....•.•..•..•.•.•••.•••.••..•.••• 39 H.J. Lian, J.-R. Lin and T.F. Yen THEORETICAL ASPECTS AND RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION Empirical Expression of Permeability in Terms of Other Petrophysical Properties ..•..•...••..•.••••• 49 G.V. Chilingarian On Reliability of Description and Performance Data Estimates From Reservoir Simulators ..•......•... 57 R.O. Elemo Abrasion Empirical Equations for the Itabirite Mud System ...........•.•..•.•.....•.•..••.•.•.••••••. 69 A. Moonesan and M.S. Bizanti Correcting Oil-Water Relative Permeability Data for Capillary End Effect in Displacement Exper iments •.•............•.•.....•.••.•••.•••.•••... 81 S. Qadeer, K. Dehghani, D.O. Ogbe and R.D. Ostermann VIi Shallow Sands of North Slope, Alaska and Their Hydrocarbon Potentials •••.•.•....•.•...•...•...•.•.• 105 G.D. Sharma, D.O. Ogbe, V.A. Kamath and M. Zhang The Potential of Natural Gas in Alaskan Arctic •••.•••.•.••• 135 G.D. Sharma, V.A. Kamath and S.L. Patil COLLOIDAL DISPERSIONS IN MINERALS/PETROLEUM Coalescence Behavior of water-in-Oil Emulsions •.••..•.••••• 157 E.E. Isaacs, H. Huang, R.S. Chow and A.J. Babchin Effect of Flocculation on Gypsum Filtration Efficiency •..•....•.......•..•.•.....•...•..••.••••• 173 B.M. Moudgil and S.-L. Zhu Transition Velocity for the Annular Flow of Viscoplastic Suspensions •••...•.••.•.••••••••••.•..• 179 A.E. Paixao and C.C. Santana Flotation separation of Apatite From Dolomite Using Dodecylamine and Sodium Chloride .••.•.•..••••• 191 B.M. Moudgil and D.E. Ince SURFACE PHENOMENA AND PETROLEUM RECOVERY Surfactants in Enhanced Petroleum Recovery Processes: An overview ....••••••.••••••••.•.•...•••• 199 M.K. Sharma Cosurfactant-Enhanced Alkaline/Polymer Floods for Improving Recovery in a Fractured Sandstone Reservoir •.•.•....••..••••••..••••••••.••• 223 M.R. Islam Foam Flow Behaviour in Porous Media in Relation to Enhanced oil Recovery (EOR) .•......•...•...•••.•• 235 D. Kumar Detection of a New Effect as a Result of Polymer Behavior in Alkaline Media •••••••••••••••••• 263 I.M. Mihcakan and C.W. Van Kirk Author Index ................•....................•.•••...•. 293 Subj ect Index .............•..................•...•...•..... 295 viii THE ROLE OF ASPHALTENE AGGREGATION IN VISCOSITY VARIATION OF RESERVOIR HYDROCARBONS AND IN MISCIBLE PROCESSES V. A. Kamath, M. R. Islam, S. L. Patil, J. C. Jiang and M. G. Kakade Petroleum Development Laboratory University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, Alaska The variation of oil viscosity with depth and/or location has been reported in many reservoirs around the world. This paper examines the role of asphaltene aggregation in the variation of viscosity of reservoir fluids. We conclude that the viscosity of heavy oils is dependent upon the extent of asphaltene aggregation rather than asphaltene concentration alone. A modified Einstein equation has been used to predict the oil viscosity as a function of asphaltene concentration and molecular weight which govern the extent of asphaltene aggregation. The role of asphaltene deposition in miscible flooding processes is also examined. Experimental data together with coupled equation of state models and Flory-Huggins polymer solution theory have been used to illustrate the effect of various parameters such as solvent type, solvent/oil ratio and pressure on the amount of asphaltene precipitation during addition of solvents to heavy oil. COMPOSITIONAL DEPENDENCE OF VISCOSITY OF BITUMENS AND HEAVY OILS In many petroleum reservoirs around the world, reservoir fluid composition has been found to very with location and depth.1-3 Patel4 found the viscosity of Athabasca, Peace River, Wabasca and Cold Lake bitumens to vary with depth of the formation. Schulte3 explained the compositional variations within a hydrocarbon column by gravity segregation phenomenon. However, he found that the extent of variation to be higher with larger aromatic fractions in the hydrocarbon fluid. Hirschberg5 concluded that the heavy polar components playa key role in compositional and oil viscosity variation and in particular, identified asphaltene segregation to have a dominant effect. Hirschberg found that the viscosity of the North African reservoir oil sample increased by factor of 4 when the asphaltene content increased form 10% to 16%. The viscosity data for Mexican crude6, Peace River bitumen7•8, Athabasca bitumen9, California crude10 all show that the viscosity of oil and asphalt blends increase with the concentration of asphaltenes. A!tgelt and Harle 11 also studied the effect of asphaltene on asphalt viscosity. They found asphaltenes to form aggregates in solution. The degree of which was found to depend upon structure, molecular weight and concentration of the asphaltenes and the solvent power. They concluded that the viscosity of asphaltene is primarily due to this aggregation. Numerous studies on the effect of temperature on bitumen viscosity have been conducted by various researchers in recent years and a number of viscosity correlations have been proposed. However, due to the complexities involved in determining the extent of asphaltene aggregation, not much attention has been paid to the compositional dependence of viscosity of bitumens and heavy oils. The classical Einstein's equation 12 relates the viscosity of an infinitely dilute suspension of solid spherical particles to the viscosity of the dispersion medium as follows: E..=l+K<I> jl E o (1 ) where p is the viscosity of the suspension, Po is the viscosity of dispersion medium, cp is the volume factor of the solids and KE is Einstein coefficient. This equation however does not consider the molecular weight as a separate variable. Staudinger13 modified the Einstein equation to incorporate the effect of molecular weight of solute particles on the viscosity ratio. To incorporate the solute particle interactions, Gillespie14 suggested the replacement of cp by CPeft defined as follows: <l>eft = a<l> + Ka 2 <I> 2 (2) where a is a function of.number of particles in aggregate, aggregate shape and the packing factor of the particles in the aggregates and K is the parameter which is equal to 0.9 for a suspension of unidisperse and unisize solid particles. It increases with an increase in the axial ratio of aggregates and decreases if the particles are of different size. In this study the Einstein equation was modified as follows: (3) 2
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