Effect of copper stearate as catalysts on the performance of in-situ combustion process for heavy oil recovery and upgrading

Using copper stearate as catalysts, catalytic in-situ combustion (ISC) of heavy oil was studied by porous medium thermo-effect cell (PMTEC) and combustion tube experiments. Significant acceleration of combustion was observed in porous media in PMTEC when copper stearate was added. Copper stearate promoted fuel deposition and its combustion and made them occur easier in low temperature, thus shifting both low-temperature oxidation (LTO) and high-temperature oxidation (HTO) into lower temperatures, and even totally merge HTO into LTO in some conditions. We found that the promotion on fuel deposition by catalysts might be related to the change of H/C ratio in fuel. The improvement in the performance of ISC by copper stearate in combustion tube experiments mainly manifests in lower ignition temperature, lower H/C ratio, increased air/fuel ratio, higher oil recovery, and higher level of in-situ oil upgrading, which makes copper stearate a good candidate for catalyzing ISC in field application. [Display omitted] •Copper stearate as catalyst improves performance of ISC process of heavy oil.•It shifts LTO and HTO into lower temperatures, and even merges HTO and LTO together.•It promotes fuel formation and combustion by changing H/C ratio.•It reduces ignition temperature and H/C ratio, and increases oil recovery.•In-situ upgrading of oil occurs in ISC and copper stearate improves it.