IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v294y2024ics0360544224005693.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Characterizing microstructural evolutions in low-mature lacustrine shale: A comparative experimental study of conventional heat, microwave, and water-saturated microwave stimulations

Author

Listed:
  • Cui, Ziang
  • Sun, Mengdi
  • Mohammadian, Erfan
  • Hu, Qinhong
  • Liu, Bo
  • Ostadhassan, Mehdi
  • Yang, Wuxing
  • Ke, Yubin
  • Mu, Jingfu
  • Ren, Zijie
  • Pan, Zhejun

Abstract

Most of the shale oil reservoirs in China are of medium to low maturity. The effective exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in such formations is technically challenging. This study explores the impact of various thermal stimulation methods on low-maturity shale oil reservoirs, focusing on conventional heating, microwave heating, and water-saturated microwave heating methods. A suite of techniques, including small angle neutron scattering (SANS), mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) after wood's metal injection were used to investigate the evolution of microstructures under different thermal stimulation. This integrated approach allows for a comprehensive characterization of reservoir connectivity and permeability across multiple scales, from visually observable centimetre and millimetre scales down to the nanoscale. The response of shale to thermal stimulation is significantly influenced by its mineral composition, with shales rich in absorbent minerals like pyrite undergoing selective heating when exposed to microwaves, leading to new pores and fracture formations. The use of CM-SANS has revealed substantial untapped hydrocarbon potential within the reservoir, emphasizing the importance of thermal stimulation in enhancing production. Furthermore, integrating microwave irradiation with hydraulic fracturing effectively increases the number of pores, micro-fractures, and natural fracture openings, mitigates the hydration effects of hydraulic fracturing, and increases permeability by three orders of magnitude. The results indicated that microwave combined with hydraulic fracturing positively impacts the production from low-maturity reservoirs and provides the theoretical basis for in-situ thermal recovery of shale oil.

Suggested Citation

  • Cui, Ziang & Sun, Mengdi & Mohammadian, Erfan & Hu, Qinhong & Liu, Bo & Ostadhassan, Mehdi & Yang, Wuxing & Ke, Yubin & Mu, Jingfu & Ren, Zijie & Pan, Zhejun, 2024. "Characterizing microstructural evolutions in low-mature lacustrine shale: A comparative experimental study of conventional heat, microwave, and water-saturated microwave stimulations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:294:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224005693
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.130797
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544224005693
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2024.130797?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bera, Achinta & Babadagli, Tayfun, 2015. "Status of electromagnetic heating for enhanced heavy oil/bitumen recovery and future prospects: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 206-226.
    2. Yang, Qingchun & Qian, Yu & Kraslawski, Andrzej & Zhou, Huairong & Yang, Siyu, 2016. "Advanced exergy analysis of an oil shale retorting process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 405-415.
    3. Wei, Zijian & Sheng, J.J., 2022. "Changes of pore structures and permeability of the Chang 73 medium-to-low maturity shale during in-situ heating treatment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    4. Wang, Lei & Yang, Dong & Zhang, Yuxing & Li, Wenqing & Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Yangsheng, 2022. "Research on the reaction mechanism and modification distance of oil shale during high-temperature water vapor pyrolysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    5. Jiang, Xingwen & Chen, Mian & Li, Qinghui & Liang, Lihao & Zhong, Zhen & Yu, Bo & Wen, Hang, 2022. "Study on the feasibility of the heat treatment after shale gas reservoir hydration fracturing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    6. Lei, Jian & Pan, Baozhi & Guo, Yuhang & Fan, YuFei & Xue, Linfu & Deng, Sunhua & Zhang, Lihua & Ruhan, A., 2021. "A comprehensive analysis of the pyrolysis effects on oil shale pore structures at multiscale using different measurement methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    7. Zhan, Honglei & Qin, Fankai & Chen, Sitong & Chen, Ru & Meng, Zhaohui & Miao, Xinyang & Zhao, Kun, 2022. "Two-step pyrolysis degradation mechanism of oil shale through comprehensive analysis of pyrolysis semi-cokes and pyrolytic gases," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    8. Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Yangsheng & Yang, Dong, 2020. "Review of oil shale in-situ conversion technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    9. Li, Xiao-Yan & Wang, Yi & Li, Xiao-Sen & Zhou, Shi-Dong & Liu, Yang & Lv, Xiao-Fang, 2024. "Study on the production of gas hydrates and underlying free gas by horizontal well under different directions of hydraulic fracturing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    10. Dong, Xiaohu & Liu, Huiqing & Chen, Zhangxin & Wu, Keliu & Lu, Ning & Zhang, Qichen, 2019. "Enhanced oil recovery techniques for heavy oil and oilsands reservoirs after steam injection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 1190-1211.
    11. Liang, Fachun & He, Zhennan & Meng, Jia & Zhao, Jingwen & Yu, Chao, 2023. "Effects of microfracture parameters on adaptive pumping in fractured porous media: Pore-scale simulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    12. Shi, Yu & Zhang, Yulong & Song, Xianzhi & Cui, Qiliang & Lei, Zhihong & Song, Guofeng, 2023. "Injection energy utilization efficiency and production performance of oil shale in-situ exploitation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PB).
    13. Saif, Tarik & Lin, Qingyang & Gao, Ying & Al-Khulaifi, Yousef & Marone, Federica & Hollis, David & Blunt, Martin J. & Bijeljic, Branko, 2019. "4D in situ synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy and laser-based heating study of oil shale pyrolysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1468-1475.
    14. Huang, Xudong & Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Jing & Wang, Guoying & Zhang, Hongge & Yang, Dong, 2023. "Experimental investigation on micro-fracture evolution and fracture permeability of oil shale heated by water vapor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    15. Saif, Tarik & Lin, Qingyang & Butcher, Alan R. & Bijeljic, Branko & Blunt, Martin J., 2017. "Multi-scale multi-dimensional microstructure imaging of oil shale pyrolysis using X-ray micro-tomography, automated ultra-high resolution SEM, MAPS Mineralogy and FIB-SEM," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 628-647.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pan, Bin & Yin, Xia & Yang, Zhengru & Ghanizadeh, Amin & Debuhr, Chris & Clarkson, Christopher R. & Gou, Feifei & Zhu, Weiyao & Ju, Yang & Iglauer, Stefan, 2024. "Real-time imaging of oil shale pyrolysis dynamics at nanoscale via environmental scanning electron microscopy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 363(C).
    2. Kang, Zhiqin & Jiang, Xing & Wang, Lei & Yang, Dong & Ma, Yulin & Zhao, Yangsheng, 2023. "Comparative investigation of in situ hydraulic fracturing and high-temperature steam fracturing tests for meter-scale oil shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    3. Huang, Xudong & Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Jing & Wang, Guoying & Zhang, Hongge & Yang, Dong, 2023. "Experimental investigation on micro-fracture evolution and fracture permeability of oil shale heated by water vapor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    4. Zhang, Shuo & Song, Shengyuan & Zhang, Wen & Zhao, Jinmin & Cao, Dongfang & Ma, Wenliang & Chen, Zijian & Hu, Ying, 2023. "Research on the inherent mechanism of rock mass deformation of oil shale in-situ mining under the condition of thermal-fluid-solid coupling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    5. Niu, Daming & Sun, Pingchang & Ma, Lin & Zhao, Kang'an & Ding, Cong, 2023. "Porosity evolution of Minhe oil shale under an open rapid heating system and the carbon storage potentials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 783-799.
    6. Zhan, Honglei & Yang, Qi & Qin, Fankai & Meng, Zhaohui & Chen, Ru & Miao, Xinyang & Zhao, Kun & Yue, Wenzheng, 2022. "Comprehensive preparation and multiscale characterization of kerogen in oil shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    7. Kang, Shijie & Zhang, Shijing & Wang, Zhendong & Li, Shengli & Zhao, Fangci & Yang, Jie & Zhou, Lingbo & Deng, Yang & Sun, Guidong & Yu, Hongdong, 2023. "Highly efficient catalytic pyrolysis of oil shale by CaCl2 in subcritical water," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    8. Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Yangsheng & Yang, Dong, 2020. "Review of oil shale in-situ conversion technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    9. Wei, Jianguang & Yang, Erlong & Li, Jiangtao & Liang, Shuang & Zhou, Xiaofeng, 2023. "Nuclear magnetic resonance study on the evolution of oil water distribution in multistage pore networks of shale oil reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    10. Guo, Wei & Fan, Cunhan & Liu, Zhao & Zhang, Xu & Sun, Youhong & Li, Qiang, 2024. "Fates of pyrolysis oil components in the non-isothermal propped fractures during oil shale in situ pyrolysis exploitation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    11. Huang, HanWei & Yu, Hao & Xu, WenLong & Lyu, ChengSi & Micheal, Marembo & Xu, HengYu & Liu, He & Wu, HengAn, 2023. "A coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical model for production performance of oil shale reservoirs during in-situ conversion process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    12. Lei, Jian & Pan, Baozhi & Guo, Yuhang & Fan, YuFei & Xue, Linfu & Deng, Sunhua & Zhang, Lihua & Ruhan, A., 2021. "A comprehensive analysis of the pyrolysis effects on oil shale pore structures at multiscale using different measurement methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    13. Liu, Bo & Mohammadi, Mohammad-Reza & Ma, Zhongliang & Bai, Longhui & Wang, Liu & Xu, Yaohui & Hemmati-Sarapardeh, Abdolhossein & Ostadhassan, Mehdi, 2023. "Pore structure evolution of Qingshankou shale (kerogen type I) during artificial maturation via hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis: Experimental study and intelligent modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    14. Yiwei Wang & Yuan Wang & Sunhua Deng & Qiang Li & Jingjing Gu & Haoche Shui & Wei Guo, 2022. "Numerical Simulation Analysis of Heating Effect of Downhole Methane Catalytic Combustion Heater under High Pressure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, February.
    15. Zhan, Honglei & Qin, Fankai & Chen, Sitong & Chen, Ru & Meng, Zhaohui & Miao, Xinyang & Zhao, Kun, 2022. "Two-step pyrolysis degradation mechanism of oil shale through comprehensive analysis of pyrolysis semi-cokes and pyrolytic gases," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    16. Jin, Xu & Wang, Xiaoqi & Yan, Weipeng & Meng, Siwei & Liu, Xiaodan & Jiao, Hang & Su, Ling & Zhu, Rukai & Liu, He & Li, Jianming, 2019. "Exploration and casting of large scale microscopic pathways for shale using electrodeposition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 32-39.
    17. Yao, Yue & Sun, Deqiang & Xu, Jin-Hua & Wang, Bin & Peng, Guohong & Sun, Bingmei, 2023. "Evaluation of enhanced oil recovery methods for mature continental heavy oil fields in China based on geology, technology and sustainability criteria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PB).
    18. Wei, Jianguang & Fu, Lanqing & Zhao, Guozhong & Zhao, Xiaoqing & Liu, Xinrong & Wang, Anlun & Wang, Yan & Cao, Sheng & Jin, Yuhan & Yang, Fengrui & Liu, Tianyang & Yang, Ying, 2023. "Nuclear magnetic resonance study on imbibition and stress sensitivity of lamellar shale oil reservoir," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    19. Shangli Liu & Haifeng Gai & Peng Cheng, 2023. "Technical Scheme and Application Prospects of Oil Shale In Situ Conversion: A Review of Current Status," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-22, May.
    20. Yuxing Zhang & Dong Yang, 2024. "Simulation Study on the Heat Transfer Characteristics of Oil Shale under Different In Situ Pyrolysis Methods Based on CT Digital Rock Cores," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-21, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:294:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224005693. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.