Modeling of Bitumen Oxidation and Cracking Kinetics Using Data from Alberta Oil Sands

2 MODELING OF BITUMEN OXIDATION AND CRACKING KINETICS USING DATA FROM ALBERTA OIL SANDS 

In the laboratory of Professor R.G. Moore at the University of Calgary, kinetic data were obtained using bitumen samples of the North Bodo and Athabasca oil sands of northern Alberta. Low temperature oxidation data were taken at 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 C whereas the high temperature thermal cracking data at 360, 397 and 420 C. 

Preliminary work showed that first order reaction models are adequate for the description of these phenomena even though the actual reaction mechanisms are extremely complex and hence difficult to determine. This simplification is a desired feature of the models since such simple models are to be used in numerical simulators of in situ combustion processes. The bitumen is divided into five major pseudo-components coke (COK), asphaltene (ASP), heavy oil (HO), light oil (LO) and gas (GAS). These pseudo-components were lumped together as needed to produce two, three and four component models. Two, three and four-component models were considered to describe these complicated reactions (Hanson and Ka-logerakis, 1984). 

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Modeling of Bitumen Oxidation and Cracking Kinetics Using Data from Alberta Oil Sands... 

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