Recent Advances in Extraction of Oil from Heavy Oil, Medium-Low Maturity Shale, and Oil Shale
A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 912
Editors
Interests: oil and gas seepage theory; unconventional oil reservoirs development; in-situ extraction of underground resources; enhanced oil recovery technology; intelligent oil and gas field development; theory and method of underground carbon storage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Unconventional oil and gas resources such as heavy oil, medium–low maturity shale oil, and oil shale occupy an increasingly important position in the global energy landscape. These resources possess vast reserves and represent one of the key sources for securing future energy supply. However, due to the characteristics of high viscosity, low permeability, low thermal maturity, and poor fluid mobility, the conversion and exploitation of these resources are confronted with significant challenges, such as high technical complexity, substantial energy consumption, and considerable environmental impact. In recent years, advances in recovery technologies (including thermal recovery, in situ combustion, solvent extraction, electrical heating, injection fluid heating, catalytic in situ upgrading, and integrated hybrid approaches) have opened promising pathways to enhance oil recovery, reduce carbon footprints, and achieve economically viable development.
This Special Issue titled, “Recent Advances in Extraction of Oil from Heavy Oil, Medium-Low Maturity Shale, and Oil Shale”, seeks high-quality works focusing on the use of experiments, modeling, and simulation approaches to promote efficient, clean, and economical extraction of these unconventional hydrocarbon resources. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Fundamental mechanistic studies, such as pyrolysis, cracking, solvent extraction, catalytic reactions, and multiphase flow;
- Kinetic and thermodynamic modeling;
- Technical research on the efficient development of heavy oil/medium–low maturity shale oil/oil shale;
- Process simulation and numerical modeling;
- Optimization and regulation of extraction processes;
- Energy, economic, and environmental assessment.
Prof. Dr. Chuanjin Yao
Guest Editor
Dr. Baishuo Liu
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- heavy oil
- medium-low maturity shale oil
- oil shale
- in-situ conversion
- extraction
- reaction
- modeling
- simulation
- optimization
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
