Experimental and numerical studies on production scheme to improve energy efficiency of bitumen production through insitu oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion

Emulsification involving dispersion of bitumen droplets in a continuous aqueous phase (as oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion), is an efficient method of reducing the viscosity. The objective of this research is to harness the potential of insitu emulsification for production of bitumen to improve energy efficiency. Thus, O/W emulsion was prepared using poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) surfactant (with NaOH and ethanol additivities) at different ratios of bitumen: PVA solution viz. 70:30 (RX1), 55:45 (RX2), 40:60 (RX3). The data was incorporated in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to obtain emulsification reaction parameters at different temperatures (30–150 °C). Subsequently, numerical simulation considering insitu formation of O/W emulsion was performed at different injection temperatures (50, 100, and 150 °C). The results were compared with those of conventional steam injection at 215 °C. Significant viscosity reduction of bitumen was obtained from emulsification experiments. From numerical simulation, the proposed method resulted in higher oil: steam ratio (OSR) compared with steam injection method. Ultimately, with reference to steam injection (thermal efficiency, ΔE_eff = 0.02 m³/GJ; net bitumen production = 692 m³), the most promising operation is the production from RX3, at 150 °C, with thermal efficiency, ΔE_eff = 0.04 m³/GJ, and 649 m³ net bitumen production.