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SOCIETYOF PETROLEUMENGINEERSOF AIME

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PAPER
NUMBER

SPE 2383

THIS IS A PREPRINT --- SUBJECTTO CORRECTION

PREDICTIONOF SPONTANEOUSIGNITIONIN IN-SITUCOMBUSTION

By
Roger J. Schoeppel,Member AIME, Oklahoma State University,Stillwater,Oklahoma
Demir Ersoy, Jr, Member ADIE, StanfordUniversity,Stanford,California
Amerimm

Institute

0 Copyright 1968
of !Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum

Engineers,

Inc.

This paper was presentedat the OklahomaRegionalMeeting of the Societyof PetroleumEnginee


of AIM, to be held at Oklahoma State University,Stillwater,Oklahoma,October 25, 1968, Permission to copy is restrictedto an abatractof not more than 300 words. Illustrationsmay not be
copied. The abstractshould containconspicuousacknowledgmentof where and by whom the paper is
presented. Publicationelsewhereafter publicationin the JOURNALOF PETROLEUMTECHNOLOGYor the
SOCIETYOF PETROLEUMENGINEERSJOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journalprovidedagreementto give proper credit is made.
Discussionof this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussionshouldbe sent to the
Society of PetroleumEngineersoffice. Such discussionmay be presentedat the above meeting and,
with the paper,may be consideredfor publicationin one of the two SPE magazines.

ABSTRACT
.

INTRODUCTION

This paper presentsa theoreticalstudy


of spontaneousignitionas it could intentionallyor unintentionallyoccur during the
ignitionstage of an in-situcombustionproject. The study is based on a combinedheat
and mass transferanalysisof this low temperatureoxidationsituationwherein chemical
reaction is also present. The mathematical
approachapproximatesfield conditionsby
using a radialmodel and determinestemperature and oxygen concentrationsas a function
of radius and time.

In-situcombustionconsistsof injecting
ambient temperature air into the reservoir
and burning a portionof the oil to improve
recoveryefficiency. To start this processit
is first necessaryto ignite the oil in the
formationand then to sustaincombustionby
continuousair injection, Severalmethods
have been used to initiatethe combustionprocess. These have used electricalandlor chem
ical means to raise the immediatewell bore
surroundingsto a temperaturelevel sufficien
to sustaincombustion.

From the study, it can be predicted


whether the well will ignite spontaneously
without use of an outside heat source,the
distancefrom the well bore where ignition
occurs, the time requiredto obtain ignition,
and the effect of controllingvariablessuch
as the chemicalactivityof the crude, interfacial area, initialtemperature,oxygen enrichmentof injectedair, pressure,and the
influenceof chemicalagents used to promote
low temperatureoxidation.
tcReferenc@s
are given at end of paper.

Spontaneousignitionis a phenomenon
wherein ignitionoccurs spontaneouslyas a
result of air injectioninto the reservair.
In the initialstagesheat releaseddue to
low temperatureoxidationaccumulatesfaster
than can be dissipatedresultingin an increase in temperature. If heat continuesto
be generatedat a rate greater than can be dis
sipated,a temperatureconditionis soon
reachedwhich is generallyacceptedas the
ignitiontemperature!
Utilizationof this

TUTC

TC

DRFDRTNT

. . .

CIIRTRVP

TA

CflR12UPTTOhl

Cnu

92Q2

natural phenomenonwhere applicableoffers cer- that the order of reactionwith respectto


tain advantagesover artificialmeans of obtain- fuel concentrationis generallyzero which implies that fuel content is in excess and the
ing ignitionof in-situcombustionprojects.
rate of reactionis independentof fuel concentration. If these conditionsare assumed,
The purposeof this paper is to describe
then the rate of low temperatureoxidation
a radial-flowmodel that has been used in pretakes the form
dieting spontaneousignition. The influence
of six differentvariableswhich affect radial
. y=k,c
temperaturedistributions- resultingfrom con(3)
at
tinued air injectionwill be evaluated
where C is oxygen concentrationand k is a
constant,

REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT


Gates and Rameyl have reportedthat combustion spontaneouslyoccurredafter three
months of continuousinjectionto establish
air permeabilityin the South BelridgeField
thermalrecoveryexperiment. The phenomenon
was first noticed by an increasedin formation
temperaturein an observationwell located20
feet from the injectionwell. Within a week
or so the injectionwellbore reached temperatures in excess of 1000F. Combustionhad
apparentlybegun spontaneouslyat some distance from the injectionwell and proceededin
both forwardand reversedirectionsin proportion to the temperature,and fuel and oxygen
available. After reverseburning to the injectionwell, and consumingall availablefuel,
the rear combustionzone ceases to exi.st
and
its heat becomes dissipated. The net result
is the auto-ignitionof an in-situcombustion
projectwith a slightly largerthan usual
initialheat bank.

Accordingto Arrheniuaprediction,the
reactionrate is given by
. ac
=A
3t
where A
E
R
T

=
=
=
=

exp(-E/RT)

(4)

constant
activationenergy
universalgas constant
absolutetemperature

The amount of heat releasedduring low


temperatureoxidationdependson a number of
factors includingthe chemicalactivityof
the oil and its rate of reaction. Since
changes in oxygen concentrationprovidea convenientmeans for followingthe rate of reaction, an estimateof the heat releaseper
cubic foot of air utilizedcan be used with
reasonableaccuracyto determinethe heat
generatedby the chemicalreaction. Thus,

ChemicalKinetics
The chemicalkineticswhich govern spontaneous ignitiondepend on the low temperature
oxidationcharacteristic of the crude oil.
If it is assumed that oxidationof crude oil
is a simple reaction,such aa

(1)

where a, b, and p are the stoichiometriccoefficientsof A, B and P, then the rate of oxygen consumptionis
aCA
~=kcA

- ~
o CB

= skC exp(-E/RT)

(5)

where s = surfaceto voiume ratio


k = reactionrate constant
C = oxygen concentration.
PhysicalModel

OXYGEN+ HYDROCARBONS+ PRODUCTS


aA -1bB*pP
{

dC
-Z=Q

(2)

$f reacwhere GA and CB are COnCeTttratiOIM


tants A and B, respectively,6 and 13are their
reactionorders,and k is the reactionrate
constant.
Warren, Reed and Price(3 considerthat the
order of reactionwith respectto oxygen concentrationmay vary betweenzero and one but
is closer to one in this case. They also noted

The physicalmodel, consideredin this


analysis$consistsof a typical injectionwell
in an invertedfive-spotin-situcombustion
project,in which the injectedair flows radially into a horizontaland homogeneoussection
of the reservoir, The model assumesa constant pressuresystamwithnegligibletemperature and oxygen concentrationvariationsalong
the verticalaxis. Heat transferis assumed
to be by conductionand convection. It is
furtherassumed that an infiniteheat transfer coefficientexists between the gas and
rock matrix. The chemicalreactionis considered to followArrheniusrelationship.
Oxygen loss,by chemical.
reaction,ia offset
by the processesof diffusionand continued
injection. The diffusioncoefficient,as well
as other physicalparameters,are considered
to be independentof temperature.

,-

..-

w .

..a-*

-..

-ww*

-,.

..***

-.-,
*

Heat Balance Eauation

method, the distanceand time derivativescan


be approximatedby:

By applyinga heat balanceto a differential radial elementof unit thickness,the


followingequa~ion

~=~
ar

aaT + (1 - !l&!)+g
2nK
F

i-l-1,1+1
- i-1,1+1
2(
2 Ar

* i+l,j - i-1
2Ar
i)

tct aT
+ # skC exp(- E/RT) =
K at

(6)

a
~=+

(8)

Ti+l,j+l- 2Ti,j+l+1.1,1+1
(~

can be derivedas shown in App&dix 1,


- 2Ti + Ti-l
+ il-l,j
s
Ara
)

Oxygen BalanceEauation
For the same differentialradial element,
oxygen concentrationis governedby an oxygen
balance,where concentration within the system are functionsof both time and radial
location, Applyingthis Ilanceover the
elementgives,
=+(S
~r
-WC

.. 1 ac
2;) r &

Q
exp(- E/RT) =~~

(7)

as similarly derived inAppendix.1.


Initialand boundaryconditionsfor the
system are aa follows:

(9)

and
@T= i,jl-l- Ti,$
at
At

(10)

For one mesh point, the equationcan be


written by finite differencerepresentationa,
where the left 8ide of the equationcontains
three unknownsand the right side contains
known values. If there are (I) internalmesh
points along each time row, and the equation
is written for every point, one may obtain
(1) simultaneousequationsin terms of initial and limitingconditions. These calculation can then be forwardedto successive
time rows.
NumericalHeat BalanceEquation

HeaC Balance

~gen

Initia1
Condition: t=O !C=TL

C=c~

Limiting
Conditions:r=rw T=To

C=co

aT-o
=re Z (no flow
boundary)

Balance
The heat balanceequationshown above can
be simplifiedby definingthe constants
~=l.

ii?&

=--sk
i3:

g=o
ar

Pt =t
Y = K

(no flow
boundary)

lMPLICITSOLUTION
As previouslyshown, the mathematical
analysiaof this system yields two parabolic
partialdifferentialequationswhich are
coupledby rate-of-reactionterms. These
equationsmay be solvednumericallyusing the
Crank-Nicolaon3method which is applicable
for all ranges of time (j) and distance (i)
increments. In this method the derivative
terms are replacedby the mean of its finite
differencerepresentationson the (j 1-1) and
(j) time row, where thevaluee on the (j)
time row are known and the valuea on the
(j + 1) time row are tobe calculated.
Accordingto the Crank-Nicolsonimplicit

to give:
a2T+alaT
~
YS
+9 C exp(- E/RT) = y%

(11)

By applyingthe Crank-Nicolsonimplicit
method to derivativeterms and rearrangingso
that unknownsappear on the left and knowns
appear on the right,we obtain
x(z) Ti-l,j+l+y(I) Ti,j+l

+ 2(1) %l,j+l

= W(I)

12)

t
TUTS

TS

PRl?PRTNT

---

where

X(I) =21 At-~At

GDP

S1lR.TI?CT T(3 C(3RRI?CTTON

Y(I) = - 41 At - 4Ar2 I y

(1) = 21At(-ci+l,j+

i,j-

92Q1

Ci.l,j)

+ tar(-ci+l,j+ Ci-l,j)
- 4Ara I A t Sr Ci 3+1 exp(- E/RT
i,j+l)
9

Z(I) =21 At+ aAt


4Arz

W(I) = 21 A t(- T i+l,j+ 2Ti,j - T i-l,j~


-tAt Q(- T
-4 Ara IAt$C

If initialand limitingconditionsfor
the heat and oxygen balanceequationsare defined$ it is possibleto caLculatetemperature profilesand correspondingoxygen concentrationsafter every time row, Limiting
conditionsassumed for numericalsolutionof
the heat and oxygen equationsare as follows:

i+l,j + i-l,j)
i,j+l Xp(- ERTi,j+l)

4Ar=

1yTiY3

NumericalOxygen BalanceEquation
The numericalsolutionof the oxygen
balanceequationcan be simplifiedin a manner
similarto the heat balance equationto give:
aac

1 rci}j

MC+p

~+arrar

Heat Balance:
Initialcondition: T(i,l) = Ti

Limitingconditions: T(l,j) =TO


( 13)

1 s j SJ

where

J=~

T(I-l,j)= T(I+l,j)
CYr

i= 1

total
lsjsJ,

1-%5

Oxygen Balance:
Initialcondition: C(i,l) = Ci

@r= -y
yr =

~
l=Ar

j =1

r C exp(- E/RT)

lsi<I

1<1<1

Q/l.

Replacingderivativeterms by their finite


differenceapproximationsand regrouping
gives:

Limitingconditions: C(i,j) = Co

(1) Ci-l,j+l+ yy(I) Ci,j+l

l<jsJ

~ = total
At

C(I-l,j)= C(I+l,j)

lsjsJ.

+ ZZ(I)

Ci+l,j+l = W(I)

(14)

The heat and oxygen balanceequationscan


then be written in numericalform for every
radial positionin the second time row resulting in (I-1) equationswith (1-1) unknowns.
Becauseof the nature of these equations,
Gaussianeliminationtechniquesare useful in
their simultaneoussolution.

where
XX(I) =21At-@rAt
iY(I)= -41At-

4AraIyr

ZZ(I)=21At-t-urAt

j.sl

CALCULATIONPROCEDURE
Two second-orderparabolicpartial differentialequations,one for heat balanceand
one for oxygenbalance,were approximatedby
Crank-Nicolsonimplicitmethod co a numerical
form. By applytngan implicitequationto

a.-.

/*xl

!?noor
..v~-.

.1.

%-hmennel

--..--rF-.

sand Tkmlr
-----

------

Ersov
----

every point Oi. the same time row and defining


RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
rk.elimitingconditions,a set of simultaneous
eyuationshave been obtainedwhich were solved
Use of Arrheniusrelationto couple
by Gaussianeliminationtechniques. By this
heat and oxygen balance equationsdescripprocedure,temperatureand oxyg$nd$~~$$nt,f~,,%~ftive of low temperatureoxidationin a
tion values were calculatedfor &Jery t[me A
field model offers a mean~for
increments,
predictingspontaneousignitionin an insitu combustionor other air injectionproA computerprogramwas written to perject. (An alternateapproachwhich combines
form these calculations.Inthe program, 60
dimensionlessgroupswith experimentalresistanceincrementswere used where each insults has been presentedby Caruthers4for
crementequaled5 feet. Calculations were
predictingthe spontaneous.ignitionof labcarriedout successivelyto 90 time increments
oratoryexperiments.) The method as develwhere each time incrementequaled24 hours.
oped herein predictsthat a substantial
temperatureincressemay occur when air is
Assumed data for a typical field case
injectedinto a reservoiras has been obare preeentedin Table 1, An example of the
served in practice. This temperaturerise
comtempe~ ures and oxygenconcentrati,ons
msy vary from minute amountsto quite sigputeti
At e data of Table 1 and Run 1 of Table
nificanttemperatureincreases,depending
2 are presentedin Figure 1 for 15, 30, 45,
upon the nature of the fuel and the other
60, 65 and 70 day periods, for all radial lofactorswhich controlthe spontaneousignition process,
cations. The peak temperaturemay be observed to move away from the well bore with continued air injection. Ignition in this exit has been shown that activation
ample occurredspontaneouslyat 26-27 feet
energy is an importantfactor in controlling
spontaneousignitionwhere a small decrease
from the injectionwell.
in she activationenergy greatly increases
EFFECT OF PROCESSVARIABLES
the rate of low temperatureoxidationand
thus, spontaneousi~ni,tion.
Initial formaThe effect of heat generationon the rate
tion temperatureis also shown to be an imof spontaneousignitionhas been examinedfor
portant factor in auto-ignition, This varprocessvariables. The resultsare presented
iable has a more effectiveinfluence if
in Figures2-6.
consideredjointlywith lower activation
energies. Oxygen concentrationeffectsdue
The effect of surfaceto volume ratio &a
to either increasedpressureor enrichment
shown in Figure 2, where variationsfrom 10,000
are also importantin governingspontaneous
to 30,000 square feet per cubic foot az? conignition. Other parametershave small effects
sidered. This parameteris shown to have a
in comparisonwith activationenergy.
direct effect on both the peak temperature
rise due to spontaneouscombustionand the
Propagationof the locationof the peak
8hape of the temperatureprofile.
temperatureaway from the well bore depends
upon the rate of temperatureincreaseand
Figure 3 shows the effect of the reaction
the distancetransvezaed. Movement of the
rate constantoverf!ten-fold
change. As shown,
peak temperaturelocationis predictedto
an increasein the reactionrate constanthas
reach a steady state locationat a fixed
a considerableeffect on spontaneousignition.
distancefromth: well bore% The specific
distancedependAagupon proceseparameters.
The activationenergywas found to have
the most pronouncedeffectson the low tempNOMENCLATURE
erature oxidationbehaviorof the system.The
effect of nearly a ten percent decreasein
otl activityis shown in Figure 4 after 70
Proportionalityconstant
A
Oxygen concentration,lb-mole
days of continuousinjection.
c
o~ / ft=
The effect of initialoxygen concentration
Heat capacityof matrix,
Cf
is consideredas a functionof pressureandlor
Btu/lb F
oxygen enrichment.inFigure 5. Three differHeat capacityof ga~, Btu/lb
ent oxygen c n~~ t.ation levelswere studied.
F
;
The offsett&40$an initialtemperatureinDiffusioncoefficient,
crease and a decreaaein theinitialoxygen
ft3/hr-ft
concentrationi8 shown in Figure 6. As is
Activationenergy$Btu/lb-mole
E
indicated,the increaaein initialtemperature
Heat of reaction,Btu/lb 02
H
more than compensatesfor the decrea8ein oxOverall heat transfercoeffih
vgen enrichment.
cient, Btu/F

THIS IS A PREPRINT --- SUBJECTTO CORRECTTON

Thermal conductivity,
Btu/hr-ft-F
Reactionrate constant,lb-mole
(32/hr-ft2
Oxygen flux, lb-mole0Z/hr-ft2

K
k
flc
qr

Heat flux, Btu/hr-ft2

R
R(C,T)

Gas constant,Btu/lb-moleR
Effectiverate of reaction,lbmole 0e/hr-ft3
Surface to volume ratio, ft2/ftz
Absolute temperature,R
Air injectionrate, SCF/hr-ft
Volumetricair flux, SCF/hr-ft2
Reactionorder of oxygen, dimensionless
Reactionorder of fuel, dimensionless
Density of matrix, lb/ft3

Pf

Density of gas, lb/ft3

g
g
2,?,V

Porosity,fractional

(4)

Caruthers,R. M., SpontaneousIgnition


in Porous Media,Ph,D. Dissertation,
Universityof Texas (1965),
APPENDIXI

DERIVATIONOF HEAT BALANCEAND OXYGEN


BALANCEEQUATIONS
Heat BalanceEquation
Consideringa differentialradial
element of unit thickness,a heat balance
of this system can be written as:
Heat in + heat generated
\

= Heat out + Heat accumulated

Heat transferby conductioncan be


written as,

Constants,heat balanceequation

Constants,oxygen balanceequation
X,Y,Z,W
Constants,simultaneousequation
for heat balanceequation
XX,YY,ZZ,WW Constants,simultaneousequation
for oxygen balance equation
i
Radial location
Time increment
j

SPE 23

. 2,.Tr.
t

Q1 = qrlr

2r,13r,vr

qrlr+&

2(r+.r)

(l-

where flux (qr) is governedby Fourierslaw


.
qr=-K~
Q1=-K

*lr

2.r-t

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authorswish to recognizethe
graduateprogramat the Universityof Tulsa
wherein this work was completed. The senior
author also wishes to thank the management
of Gulf Researchand DevelopmentCompany for
permissionto extend and publish the results
of a summerwork assignment. Mr. L. A.
Wilson is due special recognitionfor his
initialguidancein the problem.

5J
+ ~r] tih . 2(*ir) .t

(1-

Convectionwithin the gas phase is,


Q2 = gcgvT~r
- Pgcg~T~~4r

2qr;t

21T(*~r)~t

(l-

Heat generationby Arrheniuspredictionof


the reactionrate can be shown to be:

REFERENCES
Q3 = H s k C exp(-E/RT)o 21rLr~t (1(1) Gates, C. F., and Ramey, H. J., Jr.,
FieldResults of South BelridgeThermal RecoveryExperiment, Trans.AIME
(1958),~,
236.

Heat accumulationwithin the systemcan be ca


culated from
%

(2) Warren, J, E,, Reed, R. L., and Price,


H. S., TheoreticalConsiderationsof
Reverse Combustionin Tsr Sands,Trans.

%cthit

2TrrAr
- PtctTlt , 2nrLr

(l-

where
(3)

Smith,G. D., NumericalSolutionof


PartialDifferentialEquations.Oxford
UniversityPresa (1965).

Ptct =(1-

Qg) Pfcf+ Qg Pg Cg

Sl?E2383

Ro~er J. Schoemel
Demir
Ernov
-- ,
. . and
--- ------

I
Combiningthese terms in the form of a heat
balanceaccordingto

Likewisethe oxygen loss by chemicalreactio


can be describedas:

Q2+Qj=c&

C3 = R(C,T) 2nrArAt

and rearrangingwith differentiationyields:

= s k C exp(-E/RT) 2nr4rAt

Q+

82T ~LB.%%!~
r ar
F

The change in the oxygen contentwithin the


differentialelementcsn be describedas:

ftct

R(C,T) =~~
K

aT

oxygen content at time (t-!-At)


(l-6)

- oxygen contentattime (t).

where V is the volu-

In this equation? = &

(1-1

metric injectionrate per foot of bed thickness


Volumetricinjectionrate ia consideredconstant so that the volumetricgas flux will be
a functionof radial location. Thus, R(C,T) =
s k C exp(-E/RT). Rearrangingthe terms gives
the final heat balanceequation:

C4 = gClt+At $ 2mrAr
-

tgC(t 2nr4r

(1-1

Combiningthese terms in the net oxygen


balance equation:
c1 + C2 =C3+C4

~)+~

~+(1.

gives, with differentiationand rearranging


Ptct aT
~
~.

+#skCexp(-E/RT)=

(1-7)

Oxygen BalanceEquation
For the same radial differentialelement
used in derivingthe heat balance equation,
and assumin8an isobaricsystem,an oxygen
balancemust yield an equationwhere ~xygen
concentrationis expressedas a f M-? a.1 of
both time and radial location, Sta- <ng with
the overalloxygen balanceequation

+ oxygen loss by reaction


+ change I.noxygen content.
The oxygen transferby diffusioncan be described as,

qclr
.

. 2nrAt - cIr+Ar

2n(rl-Ar)
At

(1-8)

where
qc=-D~.

ac

The oxygen transferby convectionis,


C* = TClr
.

~Clr+Ar

2nrAt

2n(ri-Ar)
At.

where
~.1

(l-9)

217.r

and
R(C,T)= s

oxygen in = oxygen out

c1 =

(1-12)

k * C exp(- E/RT)

THIS IS A PREPRINT --- SUBJECTTO CORRECTION

SPE

TABLE 1
PROCESS PARAMETERS
Parameter

Selected Values

.08 lb/ft3

.2

1000

SCF)hr-ft

.8

6000

Pf

13tu/lbF

Btu)hr-ftF
Btu/lb 02

2.02 lb/ft3

Cf

20.

Btu/lbF

fig

.2

.68 ftslhr-ft

fractional

TABLE II
PROCESS VARIABLES
Reaction
Run
Surface to
Rate
Activation
Number Volume Ratio Constant
Energy
1

10000

.001

Oxygen
ConcentraInitial
Temperature
tion

10000

540

.2845

10000
10000

540
540

.2845
.2845

S2

20000

S3

30000

K4
K5
K6

10000
10000
10000

.0001
..0005
0050

10000
10000
10000

540
540
540

,2845
,2845
.2845

E7
E8
E9
E1O

10000
10000
10000
10000

:001
..001
..001
.001

8000
9000
11000
12000

540
540
540
540

.2845
.2845
.2845
.2845

Tll
T12
T13

10000
10000
10000

*001
..001
.001

10000
10000
10000

58o
62o
660

.2845
.2845
.2845

C14
C15

10000
10000

..001
001

10000
10000

540
540

,4060
.5420

,.001
.001

2383

TEMPERATURE PROFUES

1208

1100

1000

90

RADIAL 10CATION,
I?ig.

1.

FT.

Temperature P~ofiles and Peak Temperature


Behavior in Example Calculation

TEMPERA TVRE,R

CHANGE W REACTION RATE CONSTANT

MDU1
Fig. 3.
,
/,

LOCATION, -FT.

Effect of Reaction Rate Constant


on Temperature Behavior

CMAMGE IM ACliivATIOM

ENERGY

o
&4RtAL DISTANCE,
)

,/

Pig.

4.

F1.

Effect
of Activation Energy on
Temperature Behavior

-..

20

40

60

8fl

100

120

140

1S8

188

20Q

22Q

24t?

260

280

RALM!41 01S7ARWE,FX
Fig. 5.

Effect o-f(lxYEemConcentration on I%nmerature Beha~?im*

300

.
.
.

CflAM6E 1! IWXJA1 TEMPERATURE

JMMAL DISTANCE. FT.


Fig. 6.
/

Effect of Initial Temperature on Temperature Behavior

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