U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration field experiment

The Laramie Energy Research Center of the U. S. Gov Research and Development Administration is equiping a small-scale field experiment to test the reverse combustion process to recover oil from tar sand. This field experiment, the first of a planned series, will extend the results of laboratory work and will identify the problems will affect the application of the process in the field. The reverse combustion process (Figure 1) will be tested in preference to the alternative forward process, because laboratory experiments have indicated that reduction of permeability downstream from the combusion zone ov condensing vapors is not likely to occur.