In situ hydrogen production from hydrocarbon reservoirs – modelling study

Abstract

The use of hydrogen is gaining reputation because of its many beneficial properties to the environment in comparison to hydrocarbon not minding its net energy requirement for production challenges. With most countries adopting a strategy to achieve their net-zero emissions targets, it becomes much more important to find affordable, low-carbon ways of producing hydrogen. An innovative method of producing hydrogen from hydrocarbon reservoirs while keeping the associated by-products in the reservoir has been demonstrated researchers from the University of Calgary. However, in this study, a framework for designing an in situ combustion model that considers four key hydrogen forming reactions – steam reforming, partial oxidation, autothermal reforming and pyrolysis, was developed. A set of non-linear equations obtained from chemical equilibrium analysis of the hydrogen forming reactions were solved using a Newton-Jacobi interation. Analysis of the change in Gibbs free energy of each reaction were then used as a screening tool for implementing a numerical model. Results obtained from the combustion model were then validated against results obtained from thermal reservoir simulator CMG STARS. Results from the model reveal an upward trending sinusoidal relationship between steam-carbon ratio and the amount of hydrogen yield from an in situ hydrogen production study. The combustion model could be used as a framework to design experimental analysis.