Experimental and theoretical study of the combustion of n-triacontane in porous media

The propagation of a combustion front in a porous medium has been extensively studied due to its applicability to the in situ combustion oil recovery process. However, the complexity of crude oil reactivity and phase behaviour make those studies difficult to interpret and validate. This work therefore examines the use of a simpler fuel, n-triacontane (a well characterized high boiling hydrocarbon compound of molecular formula C30H62) instead of a crude oil. The oxidation behaviour of n-triacontane is first studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), followed by an experimental study of the combustion propagation inside a slim tube reactor filled with a mixture of sand and n-triacontane, the so-called combustion tube experiment. A model of this multiphase, multicomponent reacting process is then described and a simulation of the combustion tube experiment is presented. Finally, a comparison between the measured and theoretical values of temperature profiles and effluent gases composition demonstrates that in principle it is possible to predict such process without prior history matching of the model to experimental data.