The induction heating of fossil fuels in-situ by electric and magnetic fields

The authors have conducted a study of induction heating of fossil fuels for the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA) as part of a comprehensive evaluation of electromagnetic heating techniques for in-situ recovery of bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands. The results of this study provide a proper description of the mechanisms whereby currents are induced, and the heating that will occur when an induction coil is embedded in a fossil fuel formation. The authors describe how some of these findings relate to the coil configurations proposed by Fisher and presents several relevant results of physical scale model experiments of buried induction coil systems. The information provided permits an engineering assessment of Fisher´s induction heating proposal to be made.