Medical diagnostic tool can analyse bitumen behaviour

According to a statement, the process may reduce the cost and time of analysing bitumen-gas interaction in heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs.

Dr David Sinton, professor with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Toronto University, and postdoctoral researcher Dr Hossein Fadaei are using the chips to examine the way highly pressurised CO₂ behaves when injected into bitumen.

The method, reported in the journal Energy & Fuels, could streamline the way fossil energy companies measure the diffusion of gases in heavier oils such as bitumen.

‘To my knowledge, this is the first application of microfluidics in the study of gas-bitumen diffusion,’ said Sinton.

Bitumen and heavy oil are difficult to extract from reservoirs because they are thick and do not flow easily. There are several methods of extraction, one of which uses CO₂-rich gas injections that help liquefy the bitumen for easier extraction. This process can supplement the steam-injection method, which requires heavy inputs of energy and water, and it presents opportunities for the sequestration of CO₂ in the reservoir.