Development of a Sub-Surface Burner Technology for In-Situ Heating

Paper from the AFRC 2015 conference titled Development of a Sub-Surface Burner Technology for In-Situ Heating

There are large deposits of oil shale and inaccessible coal in the US and around the world. If; these deposits can be heated in situ then it is possible that liquids and gases can be produced; without mining. The purpose of this work is to develop a system for in situ heating of oil shale; and other energy rich deposits. Two fuel-lean, natural-gas-fired burner concepts have been; examined. One involves flameless catalytic oxidation and the other homogeneous oxidation.; Pressures of 10-30 bars and temperatures of 700-1000 K are being considered. A preliminary; study included calculations of overall energy balance, heat transfer and pressure drop, and; detailed bench-scale experiments examined the catalytic activity of several metals for dilute; methane oxidation. A new flameless burner configuration has been proposed and is being; evaluated by looking at mixing of fuel and oxidant over extended distances. A set of cold-flow; mixing experiments will be used to validate design calculations. Technical, economical and; operational concerns for the proposed burner are being considered.