Microwave Extraction of Oil from Tar Sands

该项目旨在为使微波处理成为从沥青砂和油页岩中提取石油的可行技术提供基本基础。如果成功，与传统工艺相比，这项技术将带来能源效率的阶段性变化，从而提高石油开采的技术和经济可行性。据估计，全世界有超过4500亿吨的沥青砂，其中只有10%是可以利用现有技术经济开采的。与已探明的1,400亿吨原油储量相比，沥青砂可开采吨位的小幅增加将对全球能源储备的未来安全和可持续性产生重大影响。目前的沥青砂提取技术受到该过程的能源强度的限制。在传统的热水开采工艺中，仅天然气使用量就超过每吨提取石油1200千瓦时。以前的研究已经确定微波技术是一种能源效率高的替代技术，并表明可以从页岩和沥青砂中提取石油。这项研究的局限性是缺乏对微波与感兴趣材料的相互作用的了解，导致微波腔未经过优化，该技术的潜在好处没有得到充分实现。这项研究将利用诺丁汉大学现有的设施、专业知识和网络来采用多学科方法。将进行实验室研究，以加强对油页岩和沥青砂与微波相互作用的了解，以及基本的石油开采机制。这些知识将被用来输入到连续微波腔的设计中，以产生精确定义的电场强度和分布。使用优化的连续系统的研究将评估技术能力和局限性，并将用于了解设计需要如何改变，以适应不同的原料和更大规模的运营。该项目将提供基本的科学理解，为工业界和学术界未来的开发提供一个平台。这项第一批赠款项目涉及最近EPSRC国际工程评论中强调的几个关键领域，即高风险、涉及年轻研究人员的高影响研究和跨学科研究。

This project aims to provide the fundamental basis to enable microwave processing as a viable technology for the extraction of oils from tar-sands and oil-shales. If successful the technology will offer a step-change in energy efficiency compared with conventional processes, thereby improving both the technical and economic feasibility of oil extraction. It is estimated that there are in excess of 450 billion tonnes of tar sands located throughout the world, with only 10% of these being economically extractable using existing technology. Compared with the 140 billion tonnes of proven crude oil reserves, a small increase in the extractable tonnage of tar sands will have a dramatic impact on the future security and sustainability of worldwide energy reserves. Current extraction technology for tar sands is limited by the energy intensity of the process. Natural gas usage alone amounts to over 1200 kWh per tonne of extracted oil in the conventional hot-water extraction process. Previous studies have identified microwave technology as an energy efficient alternative, and shown that oil can be extracted from both shales and tar sands. The limitation of this research was the lack of understanding of the interaction of microwaves with the materials of interest, resulting in a non-optimised microwave cavity where the potential benefits of the technology were not realised to their full extent. This study will utilise the facilities, expertise and networks available at the University of Nottingham to adopt a multidisciplinary approach. Laboratory studies will be undertaken to enhance the understanding of the interaction of oil shales and tar sands with microwaves, and the fundamental oil extraction mechanisms. This knowledge will be used to input into the design of a continuous microwave cavity to yield a precisely defined electric field strength and distribution. Studies using the optimised, continuous system will assess the technical abilities and limitations, and will be used to understand how the design needs to change for different feedstocks and larger scale operation. The project will deliver the fundamental scientific understanding which will form a platform for future exploitation by industry and academia.This First Grant project addresses several key areas highlighted in the recent EPSRC International Review of Engineering, namely high risk, high impact research involving younger researchers and interdisciplinary research.