AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of mixed surfactants for improved chemical flooding

Phase behavior studies were conducted using combinations of a primary surfactant component and several ethoxylated surfactants. The objective of the study is to evaluate combinations of surfactants, anionic-nonionic and anionic-anionic mixtures, that would yield favorable phase behavior and solubilization capacity. The dependence of the solution behavior on the additive surfactant structure, surfactant type, oil, surfactant proportion, salinity, HLB, and temperature was observed. The results showed that the ethoxylated surfactants can improve the solution behavior of the overall system. The increase in optimum salinity range of these solutions corresponded to an increase in the degree of ethoxylation of additive surfactant, up to a certain limit. The nonionic surfactant additives yielded much higher salinities compared to the results from the ethoxylated anionics tested. The proportion of surfactant component in solution was critical in achieving a balance between the solubilization capacity and the enhancement in the system's salinity tolerance. Some combinations of these types of surfactants showed improved solution behavior with favorable solubilization capacity. The phase inversion temperature (PIT) method has been shown to be a relatively fast method for screening candidate surfactant systems. Comparisons were made using both the conventional salinity scan and the PIT method on selected chemical systems. The results showed good agreement between the salinity regions determined using both methods. A difference in the dependence of optimal salinity on HLB was observed for the different nonionics tested. The linear alkyl alcohol ethoxylates exhibited a behavior distinct from the dialkyl phenols at similar HLB levels with and without the primary sulfonate component in the solution. Other experiments performed at NIPER have shown that surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding has good potential for the recovery of oil from Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 3 (NPR No. 3).

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Industrial application of fluidized-bed combustion. Quarterly technical progress report, October-December, 1979

In line with a determination by the Federal Government that a fluidized bed combustion process can efficiently convert the energy of coal to usable power in an environmentally acceptable manner, Georgetown University was awarded contract E(49-18)-2461 to construct and operate a demonstration plant. Construction of an atmospheric fluidized bed boiler for burning high-sulfur coals was completed in November 1979. Progress made during the second quarter of plant startup is reported. In the October through December 1979 quarter, the FBC boiler was operated for 694 hours during 9 separate runs. Of these additional hours of operation, 78 1/2 hours were on two beds, and the balance on one bed. Steam generation rates ranged from 18,000 to 80,000 lb/h. A peak generation rate of 56,000 lb/h was achieved on one bed alone. Boiler operations at levels in excess of 80,000 lb/h were precluded by the relatively mild Fall weather encountered, which limited the peak campus steam load to 80,000 lb/h. The boiler was operated through the first week in December at which time the plant was shut down for the balance of the Quarter for inspection and to complete various modifications, the most important of which were the installation of grid plate seals within the boiler, and modifications of the flyash reinjection blowers. With these modifications, the boiler is ready for extensive performance testing in January 1980. (LCL)

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Pressurized fluidized-bed hydroretorting of Eastern oil shales

The Devonian oil shales of the Eastern United States are a significant domestic energy resource. The overall objective of the multi-year program, initiated in October 1987 by the US Department of Energy is to perform the research necessary to develop the pressurized fluidized-bed hydroretorting (PFH) process for producing oil from Eastern oil shales. The program also incorporates research on technologies in areas such as raw shale preparation, beneficiation, product separation and upgrading, and waste disposal that have the potential of improving the economics and/or environmental acceptability of recovering oil from oil shales using the PFH process. The program is divided into the following active tasks: Task 3. testing of process improvement concepts; Task 4. beneficiation research; Task 6. environmental data and mitigation analyses; Task 8. project management and reporting; and Task 9. information required for the National Environmental Policy Act. In order to accomplish all of the program objectives, the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT), the prime contractor, is working with four other institutions: The University of Alabama/Mineral Resources Institute (MRI), the University of Alabama College of Engineering (UA), University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK-CAER), and Tennessee Technological University (TTU). This report presents the work performed during the program quarter from June 1, 1992 through August 31, 1992.

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Thermo-mechanical responses for porous-permeable media with application to underground coal gasification

The most serious structural mechanics related problems of UCG deal with in-situ coal permeability changes, thermo-mechanical responses, roof collapse and surface subsidence. The objective of this work is to evaluate the coal and shale thermo-mechanical fracture responses during in-situ gasification and to investigate the permeability of porous permeable media under in-situ gasification conditions. A successful UCG operation requires the coal to have sufficient permeability for allowing the oxidizing gas to flow through the coalbed. Studies on coal permeability have been limited primarily to experimental testing under room temperature conditions. Since tests on various coals under different thermo-mechanical loads are obviously impractical, a fundamental theory which provides results that can be compare favorably with selected experiments and affords a prediction of the permeability of coal under a complex state of thermo-mechanical loads is desirable. The thermo-mechanical response of the Griffith crack/cavity plays an important role in the variation of coal permeability. The crack/cavity response and the corresponding permeability changes were investigated in this Ph. D. Thesis.

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Gas stream cleanup papers from DOE/METC sponsored contractors review meetings in 1988

This document contains gas stream cleanup papers that were presented at two contractors review meetings sponsored by the Morgantown Energy Technology Center of the US Department of Energy in 1988. The two meetings were (1) the Eighth Annual Gasification and Gas Stream Cleanup Systems Contractors Review Meeting held May 10-12, 1988, and (2) the Annual Coal Fuel Heat Engines and Gas Stream Cleanup Systems Contractors Review Meeting held June 14-16, 1988. The purpose of the meetings was to present recent technical information on selected projects in the gasification, heat engines, and gas stream cleanup programs. The meetings provided a forum for the exchange and dissemination of gasification, heat engine, and gas stream cleanup research results generated under the sponsorship of the Department of Energy. The gas stream cleanup program was discussed in combination with the gasification and heat engines programs to emphasize the importance of approaching research on gas stream cleanup concepts from a system perspective. Gas stream cleanup is an integral part of all coal conversion technologies. Individual papers are processed separately for the data bases.

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Measurement and modeling of advanced coal conversion processes: Quarterly report, April--June 1988

The overall objective of this program is the development of predictive capability for the design, scale up, simulation, control and feedstock evaluation in advanced coal conversion devices. The foundation to describe coal-specific conversion behavior will be AFR's Functional Group (FG) and Devolatilization, Vaporization, and Crosslinking (DVC) models, developed under previous and on-going METC sponsored programs. These models have demonstrated the capability to describe the time dependent evolution of individual gas species, and the amount and characteristics of tar and char. The FG/DVC models will be integrated with BYU's comprehensive two-dimensional reactor model, PCGC-2, which is currently the most widely used reactor simulation for combustion or gasification. The program includes: (1) validation of the submodels by comparison with laboratory data obtained in this program, (2) extensive validation of the modified comprehensive code by comparison of predicted results with data from bench-scale and process scale investigations of gasification, mild gasification and combustion of coal or coal-derived products in heat engines, and (3) development of well documented user-friendly software applicable to a ''workstation''environment. Progress is described. 85 refs., 33 figs., 3 tabs.

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Ground movements associated with large-scale underground coal gasification

The primary objective of this work was to predict the surface and underground movement associated with large-scale multiwell burn sites in the Illinois Basin and Appalachian Basin by using the subsidence/thermomechanical model UCG/HEAT. This code is based on the finite element method. In particular, it can be used to compute (1) the temperature field around an underground cavity when the temperature variation of the cavity boundary is known, and (2) displacements and stresses associated with body forces (gravitational forces) and a temperature field. It is hypothesized that large Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) cavities generated during the line-drive process will be similar to those generated by longwall mining. If that is the case, then as a UCG process continues, the roof of the cavity becomes unstable and collapses. In the UCG/HEAT computer code, roof collapse is modeled using a simplified failure criterion (Lee 1985). It is anticipated that roof collapse would occur behind the burn front; therefore, forward combustion can be continued. As the gasification front propagates, the length of the cavity would become much larger than its width. Because of this large length-to-width ratio in the cavity, ground response behavior could be analyzed by considering a plane-strain idealization. In a plane-strain idealization of the UCG cavity, a cross-section perpendicular to the axis of propagation could be considered, and a thermomechanical analysis performed using a modified version of the two-dimensional finite element code UCG/HEAT. 15 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs.

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The effect of polymer-surfactant interaction on the rheological properties of surfactant enhanced alkaline flooding formulations. [Phase separation, precipitation and viscosity loss]

Surfactant-enhanced, lower pH (weak) alkaline chemicals are effective for mobilizing residual oil. Polymer is used for mobility control because if mobility control is lost, then oil recovery is reduced. The ability to maintain mobility control during surfactant-alkaline flooding can be adversely affected by chemical interaction. In this work, interaction between polymers and surfactants was shown to be affected by pH, ionic strength, crude oil, and the properties of the polymers and surfactants. Polymer-surfactant interaction (phase separation, precipitation, and viscosity loss) occurred between most of the polymers and surfactants that were tested. Polymer-surfactant interaction is difficult to eliminate, and no method was found for completely eliminating interaction. Polymer-surfactant interaction occurred at optimal salinity and below optimal salinity. Polymer-surfactant interaction had an adverse effect on polymer rheology; however, the adverse effect of interaction on polymer rheology was lessened when oil was present. Increasing the pH of chemical systems further reduced the adverse effects of interaction on polymer rheology.

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Hydrocarbon reforming for hydrogen fuel cells. Annual report, 1 October 1979 to 30 September 1980

The mechanism of carbon formation on nickel autothermal steam reforming catalysts has been studied by temperature-programming, thermogravimetric and electron microscopic techniques. Temperature programmed surface reaction (TPSR) studies of carbon deposited on nickel reforming catalysts by the decomposition of ethylene exhibit seven forms of carbon that are distinguished by their characteristic reactivity with H/sub 2/ and 3.0 vol% H/sub 2/O/He. The relative population of the different carbon states depends primarily on the temperature during deposition. The reactivity of the carbon states are not altered by exposure to steam in C/sub 2/H/sub 4/-H/sub 2/O mixtures, but the amount of carbon deposited decreases to zero as the H/sub 2/O/C increases past a critical ratio. Critical steam-to-carbon ratios have been measured in the presence of C/sub 2/H/sub 4/-H/sub 2/O mixtures so as to establish the carbon formation boundary for several alumina-supported nickel, Ni-Rh, and Ni-Ir alloy catalysts. The critical H/sub 2/O/C ratio measured with a gravimetric balance decreased from approx. 30 at 773/sup 0/K to approx. 1 at 1073/sup 0/K for all the catalysts studied. The very rapid rate of C/sub 2/H/sub 4/ reforming over this temperature range caused mass transport gradients, which in turn lowered the apparent critical H/sub 2/O/C ratios. Carbon deposited on a 17 wt% Ni/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ catalyst at 875/sup 0/K and 1073/sup 0/K was examined by transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy. Results are reported and discussed.

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Investigations of enhanced oil recovery through use of carbon dioxide. Final report

A total of 24 displacements were made in sand packs, the majority of which involved use of a synthetic crude formulated to be similar to a West Texas crude. Results suggest that miscibility can be produced at 1100 psig and 109/sup 0/F, from mass transfer through a multiple contact process. Chromatography suggest that the mechanism is one of condensation rather than vaporization. Methane in the injected carbon dioxide increased, while 5% propane decreased the minimum miscibility pressure. The presence of increased methane concentrations (methane banks) is not an indication that miscibility was not attained, but only that first contact miscibility was not attained at run pressure. Studies have been conducted in a Berea sandstone core with a reconstituted crude from the Brookhaven Field in South Mississippi. The core containing crude and a connate water saturation was waterflooded. Results indicate that a significant portion of the residual oil can be mobilized and produced at a reasonable water cut prior to abandonment at a GOR of 30,000 SCF/STB. It is concluded that studies of this process as a tertiary oil recovery technique should be done in consolidated systems longer than six feet.

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Design, construction, operation and evaluation of a prototype culm combustion boiler/heater unit. Technical progress report, April 1-June 30, 1980

This report provides a summary of the work performed on the Prototype Culm Combustion Boiler/Heater Unit, Phase I - Engineering Design and Analysis and Phase II - Prototype Plant Construction. The objectives of the program as well as the technical progress and problem areas encountered are presented. The 90% design review meeting was held at the DOE Morgantown Energy Technology Center on June 4, 1980 resulting in no outstanding action items. Final design activity is continuing and the progress on drawing preparation and procurement activity is discussed. Processing of the construction bid package and awarding of the contrast is discussed. Based on authorization for a limited amount of Phase II activity on November 2, 1980, purchase orders were released authorizing preparation of certified drawings for fabricated equipment required to support the Phase I final design activity and based on full Phase II authorization on March 20, 1980, procurement of fabricated equipment was initiated and is now underway. The prototype plant site has been cleared and leveled, and boiler concrete foundations have been installed. Stone roadways were completed. Construction of the access roadway has been rescheduled to August 1980.

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Fundamental combustion studies of low-rank coal slurries. Quarterly technical progress report. No. 1, March 1-May 31, 1984

This contract for fundamental combustion studies of low-rank coal slurries was initiated March 1, 1984. Slurries to be studied will be primarily those produced from steam-dried lignite processed by the Grand Forks Project Office. Contract work includes virgin coal and slurry characterization, slurry spray and atomization measurements, detailed mapping of combustion products and pollutants for low-rank coal slurries in a laboratory reactor, and comparison of results with computer model predictions and data obtained under similar conditions from combustion of high-rank coal-water mixtures. 14 references, 15 figures, 2 tables.

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Technical and economic assessment of particle control technology for direct coal fueled turbines: Final report

Gilbert/Commomwealth (1984) analyzed ten different concepts for high-temperature, high-pressure control of gas stream particulate matter in coal-fueled pressurized fluidized-bed combustion (PFBC) systems. This paper analyzes the five higher ranking concepts of the Gilbert study at direct coal fueled turbine conditions which are even more severe than PFBC conditions. The five concepts are ceramic crossflow filter, ceramic bag filter, granular bed filter, and advanced cyclones. Five ranking factors were used: economic, design, operations complexity, materials/mechanical, and development status. (DLC)

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Displacement of oil by carbon dioxide. Final report

Results of a comprehensive research effort to identify, investigate and quantify factors which influence CO/sub 2/ flood performance are presented. Results of static equilibrium phase behavior experiments for mixtures of CO/sub 2/ with Wasson crude and Wasson oil containing varying amounts of solution gas are reported for three temperatures, 90, 105 and 120/sup 0/F. Analysis of the resulting phase diagrams suggests a simple correlation for minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) based on the vapor pressure of CO/sub 2/, extrapolated if necessary for temperatures above the critical temperature of CO/sub 2/. Results of phase behavior experiments with the same oil and CO/sub 2/ contaminated with nitrogen are also reported, and a simple procedure for estimating the effects of changes in system temperature or contamination of the CO/sub 2/ on MMP is offered. Results of detailed measurements of phase compositions in CO/sub 2/-hydrocarbon systems are presented. The theory of the effect of CO/sub 2/-crude oil phase behavior on displacements in an ideal porous medium is tested by predicting the performance of slim tube displacements from independently measured phase behavior and fluid property data obtained with the continuous multiple contact experiment. The quantitative agreement between prediction and experiment is good enough to suggest that the essentials of CO/sub 2/-crude oil phase behavior can be modeled with a small number of pseudo-components. Modifications to the simulator to model effects of dendritic and trapped saturations are described. Calculated composition paths for both secondary and tertiary displacements indicate that microscopic limitations to mixing, due to heterogeneity of the rock or to the presence of water, adversely affect local displacement efficiency. 126 references, 170 figures, 28 tables.

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Carbon dioxide for the recovery of (residual) crude oil. Final report

The original plan of the work was altered with the agreement of the various contract officers from that of emphasis on the use of additives in improving the efficiency of carbon dioxide to a plan for developing a thorough understanding of the mechanism and basic efficiency of carbon dioxide as a recovery agent for residual crude oil. As this program proceeded, the results obtained from the physical model studies were not those anticipated from prior theoretical studies and laboratory experiments which had not been physically scaled. This required that the work be continued to no more than define and establish as unequivocally as possible the actual mechanism by which carbon dioxide might recover some of the reputed hundreds of billions barrels of residual oil in reservoirs in the United States. Only in this way could a proper evaluation of the potential of the process be defined and hopefully, subsequently, improved. The work has now been completed and leads to the conclusion that the recovery of residual oil by carbon dioxide depends on solution of the carbon dioxide in the oil and the displacement of the resulting solution by the continuing gas drive, or, alternately, a substitute water drive. The efficiency of the process will depend on the diffusion of carbon dioxide into the residual oil prior to the breakthrough of the latter and the residual oil phase saturation to the concurrent gas drive. 17 references, 16 figures.

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Analysis of stratigraphic barriers (caprock) between sands in the cretaceous Mesa Verde formation, US DOE Multiwell Experiment, Garfield County, Colorado

Pressure differences between the caprock tests performed and the in-situ reservoir pressures at the Multiwell site preclude any conclusions as to whether drawdown of one sandstone could result in production from an adjacent sand by gas breaching the stratigraphic barriers. On the other hand, the caprock tests performed at IGT do provide the following useful conclusions: (1) In-situ water permeability of the stratigraphic barrier material is extremely low. (2) There is a fairly good inverse correlation between permeability to water and threshold pressure. (3) All of the permeability and threshold pressure data was taken on these samples in a vertical direction. Because of the layered and laminated structure of these rocks, one would expect to find far different numbers in a horizontal direction. This has implications with regard to horizontal flow between adjacent sand lenses at the same depth, as opposed to vertical flow between underlying and overlying sand bodies. (4) Although a few of the barrier cores appeared marginally adequate to transmit gas between sand units based on the CTA data, whether they will do so in the ground is doubtful. (5) The material most likely to allow gas migration between sand lenses was that in the Coastal Zone. (6) It is far more likely that if gas migration occurs between sand lenses in the Multiwell, gas will move through the barrier material by way of natural or man-made fractures. Fracture permeability is probably many orders of magnitude higher than the ultra-tight shale and siltstone matrix, and threshold pressure in a fracture is quite low. The tests performed by IGT, however, were done on carefully chosen, unfractured core, and we have no information on the dynamics of gas movement through fractured stratigraphic barriers. The stratigraphic barrier material between sand lenses in the Mesa Verde at the Multiwell site would make an excellent caprock for an underground gas storage field. 11 figures, 2 tables.

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Study of cementing practices applied to the shallow casing in offshore wells

Survey information shows annular gas flow associated with cementing defects to be a major problem in shallow casing strings offshore as well as in other cemented strings in oil and gas wells. The gas flow hazard to safety, environment, and economics could be reduced by an aggressive program keyed to prevent gas migration. The program components are: (1) historical data base; (2) training; (3) research of cement hydration in a long, thin column; and (4) development of logging-surveillance devices.

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