Ether Amine Additives for Bitumen Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Steam injection methods for oil recovery from heavy crude oil and bitumen are energy- and water-intensive, requiring significant quantities of water and energy for steam generation, and existing additives can be costly and form emulsions that complicate bitumen recovery.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating ether amine compounds into the steam injection process, which form vapor compositions that condense to create aqueous condensates with lower oil/water interfacial tension and contact angles, enhancing bitumen mobility and recovery efficiency while minimizing additive concentration and energy use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If steam injection methods are used for oil recovery, then bitumen viscosity is reduced and mobility is improved, but energy consumption and water requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces ether amine compounds as intermediary substances that are injected with steam into the oil reservoir. These compounds act as mediators that lower interfacial tension between water and bitumen, enhancing bitumen mobility and recovery efficiency without requiring proportionally increased steam generation energy. The ether amines facilitate more effective bitumen extraction per unit of energy input.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical-chemical parameters of the steam injection system by incorporating ether amine compounds at specific concentrations (e.g., 10-1000 ppm). This parameter change alters the interfacial tension characteristics of the injected fluid, enabling more efficient bitumen mobilization and recovery with optimized energy and water consumption compared to steam alone.
2Productivity
If steam injection methods are used for oil recovery, then bitumen mobility is improved, but water consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Ether amine compounds serve as intermediary agents that enhance the effectiveness of water-steam in bitumen extraction. By reducing interfacial tension, these compounds enable more efficient bitumen mobility and recovery per unit of water consumed, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing water requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the injected fluid by adding ether amines to the steam-water mixture. This parameter modification optimizes the fluid's ability to reduce interfacial tension and enhance bitumen recovery efficiency, achieving higher productivity with reduced water-to-oil ratios.
3Productivity
If existing additives are used in steam injection, then bitumen recovery is enhanced, but additive cost and emulsion formation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise concentration ranges for ether amine compounds (e.g., 10-1000 ppm) to optimize their performance. By carefully controlling these parameters, the patent achieves enhanced bitumen recovery while minimizing unwanted side effects such as emulsion formation, which complicates the separation and processing of recovered bitumen.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs ether amine compounds that can be injected at low concentrations and decompose or dissipate in the reservoir, leaving minimal residual effects. This approach avoids the need for expensive, persistent additives that cause long-term emulsion problems, instead using transient substances that provide immediate benefit and then naturally degrade.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The use of ether amine compounds in steam-assisted oil recovery methods reduces the energy and water required for bitumen extraction, increases bitumen recovery per unit of water used, and lowers interfacial tension to improve bitumen mobility and separation efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the vapor composition condenses to create aqueous condensates with lower oil/water interfacial tension
Implementation Method 2
form aqueous condensates with lower oil/water interfacial tension and contact angles, enhancing bitumen mobility
Implementation Method 3
The injection of the steam raises the temperature of the crude oil in the formation, thereby lowering the viscosity of the oil
Implementation Method 4
lowering the viscosity of the oil and enabling the flow and recovery thereof
Data Source
AI summary
Ether amine additives are used in oil recovery such as steam-assisted gravity drainage and cyclic steam stimulation, as well as surface mining of bitumen. Methods of oil recovery using the ether amine additives are described. The ether amine additives are injected with steam into a subterranean oil reservoir such as oil tar sands to improve recovery of oils such as bitumen and/or heavy oil, or used to wash surface-mined rock to assist in oil extraction therefrom. The ether amine additives may be added to steam in steam-assisted oil recovery methods such as cyclic steam stimulation and steam-assisted gravity drainage. Condensates of the additives in steam exhibit very low advancing and receding contact angles and low interfacial tensions at low concentrations of the additives.