Experimental study on low temperature high pressure oxidation in air injection in light oil reservoir

The air driving is a promising clean and efficient new technology to improve oil recovery. In this paper, considering the properties of some light oil reservoir fluids, experimental studies on oxidation between light crude oil and air were carried out under the condition of low temperature and high pressure. The results indicated that oxidation reaction can greatly reduce the oxygen content in the air to a safe range. The reaction generated some kinds of new production such as CO2 and aldehydes, meanwhile cracking phenomenon occurred on intermediate hydrocarbon. The cracking light hydrocarbon, N2 of air and self-producing CO2 showed strong extraction capacity to the crude oil under the experimental condition.