AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Technology Transfer Program:  FY 84

"The Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) Technology Transfer Program is envisioned as the last step in the fossil energy research and development (R&D) process. The intent of this Technology Transfer Program is to make the information on METC fossil energy technologies available to appropriate users for their consideration, adoption, and use. The concept on which this Technology Transfer Program is based centers around the lead laboratory R&D mission areas. The 13 fossil energy technology areas for which METC is responsible supply the technical information base for which the various technology transfer mechanisms function as information dissemination channels to users. Technology transfer is therefore the way of doing business for this Energy Technology Center.  The 13 METC fossil energy R&D lead mission technologies are: coal gasification, fluidized-bed combustion, gas stream cleanup, heat engines, fuel cells, components, instrumentation and control, low-rank coals, unconventional gas recovery, oil shale, tar sands, underground coal gasification, and Arctic and offshore technologies."

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Multielement analysis of unweighed oil samples by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry with two excitation sources

A method has been developed to compute matrix connections for unweighted oil samples from the combined results of two separate energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectra from different excitation sources. The method utilizes the incoherent and coherent scatter intensities from the Zr-excited spectrum as a basis for multi-element backscatter/fundamental parameter matrix corrections for both spectra. The TE-excited spectrum is collected in a helium atmosphere and provides more sensitive determination of elements in the Al-Ca range. The method utilizes thin film multi-element calibrations of the spectrometer and permits the direct analysis of samples of varying unknown mass and composition with high accuracy and precision.

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Directional drilling workshop summary report

The main objective of the Workshop was to obtain answers to the following questions: what is the state-of-the-technology in directional drilling and attendant surveying of hole position, measuring lithologic parameters, steering, and data transmission while drilling?; what are the directional drilling needs projected for Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), Eastern Gas Shales (EGS), Coalbed Methane (CBM), and Tar Sands recovery?; is there a Federal role in any research defined relative to meeting the projected needs?; what might be done in an upcoming DOE/industry cost-shared UCG field test to enhance the probability of successfully completing the planned directionally drilled wellbores and to further any research identified in the workshop?

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Thermodynamic study by infrared spectroscopy of the association of 2-quinolone, some carboxylic acids, and the corresponding 2-quinolone--acid mixed dimers

Self-association of 2-quinolone in carbon tetrachloride was studied by infrared spectroscopy, using the absorption bands in the amide NH and carbonyl stretching regions. 2-Quinolone forms a cyclic dimer from which the enthalpy (..delta..H/sup 0/, kcal/mol), free energy (..delta..G/sup 0//sub 22/, kcal/mol), and entropy (..delta..S/sup 0/, eu) of association are -8.69, -6.11, and -8.76, respectively. Dimer formation is via a carbonyl-hydrogen bond, although evidence exists for the formation of a small amount of dimer via a ..pi..-hydrogen bond. 2-Quinolone was also found to form cyclic mixed dimers with carboxylic acids. Mixed dimers of 2-quinolone with benzoic, cyclohexanecarboxylic, and 4-cyclohexylbutanoic acids gave ..delta..H/sup 0/ values of -12.2, -10.3, and -10.4; ..delta..G/sup 0//sub 22/ values of -6.36, -5.94, and -5.78; and ..delta..S/sup 0/ values of -19.9, -14.8, and -15.6, respectively. Thermodynamic data on the acid dimers and spectral data on the different systems studied are also reported. The 2-quinolone-carboxylic acid interaction is of importance because of the simultaneous occurrence of quinolones and carboxylic acids in many biologically derived materials.

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High temperature laser-induced reactions between sulfur and hydrocarbons. [Ethane, ethylene, allene, propylene, and n-butane]

High-temperature, laser-induced chemical reactions between solid sulfur and hydrocarbon gases (ethane, ethylene, allene, propylene, and n-butane) are reported. The results suggest that a carbon atom insertion reaction is involved in the formation of the major product, CS/sub 2/. A possible mechanism for the reaction is proposed.

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Significance of natural aquifers in underground coal gasification. [23 refs]

Research in the field of UCG poses unique problems because of the impossibility of completely simulating the process in the laboratory. Field tests are by necessity large-scale undertakings and instrumentation is expensive because of the remoteness of the reaction zone. Under conditions such as these a theoretical understanding of the physical and chemical nature of the process plays an especially important role. Such a theory has been developed, and in the form of a mathematical model has been widely validated with field test results. The purpose of such a model is to interpret field test data in order to acquire the information needed for reliable engineering design with a minimum of field tests and costly instrumentation. As an example of the useful application of the mathematical model, data from the Phase III, Hanna II field test have been analyzed with respect to the effects of the intrusion of groundwater on the UCG process. A theoretical understanding of the problem in turn has led to a number of potential remedies.

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Measurement of the spatial variation of hydraulic characterisitics of an explosion-fractured coal seam. [10 refs]

A series of preliminary incremental slug-withdrawal tests were conducted in the Felix No. 2 coal seam to determine how the hydraulic properties of the coal were affected by the detonation of two, 340-kg explosive charges near its base. For the tests, three wells completed in the seam at various distances from the explosive emplacements were used. The wells were constructed and tested in a manner that allowed estimation of the hydraulic conductivity of the upper, middle, and lower parts of the seam. Test results showed some increased permeability 12.6 m from the nearest explosion and greatly increased permeability in the lower third of the seam between 5.8 and 7.6 m from the nearest explosion site. The results also indicated that hydraulic conductivity is proportionate to the degree of coal fracturing. The incremental slugwithdrawal tests provided a simple, relatively rapid, and economical measure of the vertical and areal variation of local hydraulic conductivity in the explosion-fractured coal seam.

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Characterization of Pricetown I underground gasification knockout pot condensates

The light oil collected in the knockout pot during the underground coal gasification (UCG) experiment at Pricetown, West Virginia, was characterized. Boiling range, elution chromatography, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and physical tests were used to characterize the oil. The oil can be characterized as a light, highly aromatic mixture with significant amounts of phenols (10 to 25%). Results of various analyses are internally consistent and correlate with process changes. Oil characteristics, then, may be used to monitor UCG experiments. The oil differs from that produced from Western UCG subbituminous coal experiments in that it does not contain significant amounts of aliphatic molecules like paraffins and naphthenes. Its potential value is dependent on the amount of oil produced. It can be either a pollutant or a valuable source of chemicals depending on the quantities produced. The water from the knockout pot contains many polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons at the milligram per liter level and phenols at the gram per liter level. The work was done for the following reasons: (1) The coal tar (from hereon called oil because of its volatile nature) may contain environmentally hazardous chemical compounds; (2) It may be useful as a synthetic fuel; (3) It may be useful as a petrochemical feedstock; and (4) It may be useful in monitoring the UCG process.

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Underground coal gasification in the bituminous coal resource

The goal of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Underground Coal Conversion Program is to develop technology to produce clean fuels from coal deposits that are unsuitable for commercial mining. DOE's strategy is to remove the high-risk elements of UCG by resolving technical, environmental, and economic uncertainties. This will enable industry to assume responsibility for commercialization of the technology. Thus, the elements of the program have been designed to: provide detailed design and operational data that industry can use to scale-up with confidence; provide accurate and complete cost estimates that will allow comparison between alternative processes; provide detailed environmental impact and control data to allow industry to implement projects that will meet applicable standards; verify the reliability of continuous operation of UCG processes; and show that UCG processes have the flexibility to meet a variety of commercial needs. The Underground Coal Conversion Program has successfully demonstrated the technical feasibility of UCG for subbituminous coals through a series of 13 federally sponsored UCG field tests. These tests have demonstrated both air and steam-oxygen injection, reverse combustion and directional borehole drilling to link process wells, and continuous operation for sufficiently long time periods (30 to 60 days) at high enough gasification rates (30 to 100 tons per day) to provide a good technical data base. A number of mathematical models have been developed and compared with field results to provide predictive capability. The need for extensive pre-operational site characterization has been demonstrated. 72 references, 5 figures.

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Chemistry of shale oil cracking

Results for thermal cracking of shale oil vapor over shale are presented. Cracking temperatures of 504 to 610/sup 0/C and residence times of 2 to 11 seconds were studied. A first-order Arrhenius rate expression and associated stoichiometry were given. Changes in oil properties caused by thermal cracking are also discussed. Cracking increases nitrogen content and decreased the H/C ratio and pour point of the recovered oil. Spectroscopic evidence related the decrease in H/C ratio to an increase in aromatic and alkene content of the oil. Gas-phase oil cracking was contrasted to liquid-phase oil coking as a loss mechanism in oil shale retorting. Results for oils prepared in the laboratory were also compared with oil prepared in the TOSCO-II semi-works and in modified and true in-situ combustion retorts. It was demonstrated that the naphthalene/2-methylnaphthalene ratio is a good indictor of cracking temperature in an oil shale retort.

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Western Gas Sands Subprogram

The Western Gas Sands Subprogram (WGSS) is a multidisciplinary research effort within the US Department of Energy program on Unconventional Gas Recovery. The subprogram, managed by DOE's Morgantown Energy Technology Center, is directed towards the development of tight (very low permeability) lenticular gas sands in the western United States. The purpose of the subprogram is to demonstrate the feasibility of economically producing natural gas from low-permeability reservoirs. The subprogram has two broad goals: (1) to reduce the uncertainty of the reservoir production potential and (2) to improve the extraction technology. With input from the gas industry, universities, and geologic and engineering consulting firms, the WGSS was broadened to include more fundamental research and development. Consequently, for the last five years it has focused on improving diagnostic instrumentation, geophysical and engineering interpretation, and stimulation techniques. Integrated geologic studies of the three priority basins containing tight sands and selected by DOE as research targets have also been pursued as part of this new effort. To date, the following tentative conclusions have evolved: Permeability of the tight gas sands can be as much as three to four orders of magnitude lower than conventional gas deposits. Nineteen western geologic basins and trends containing significant amounts of tight gas have been identified. Gas resources in the priority geologic basins are Piceance Basin, 49 tcf., Uinta Basin, 20 tcf., and Greater Green River Basin, 136 tcf. The presence of natural micro-fractures within the production zone of a reservoir and the effective propped length of hydraulically-induced fractures are the critical parameters for successful development of tight sand resources. 8 figures.

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Formation, deposition, and drainage of mist in porous media with application to oil shale retorting

The research is aimed at developing the technological base for understanding and ultimately modeling the physical processes which control droplet size and droplet deposition within oil shale retorts. Two types of experiments were performed for this study: (1) size distributions of oil mists formed by condensation of oil vapor in an inert carrier gas were measured for a wide range of cooling rates and vapor concentrations thought to be typical of retorting conditions. Most experiments were conducted using a steady state tubular condenser which simulates a typical channel through a packed bed. Some unsteady-state experiments were conducted using an initially cold bed of shale rock and following the size distribution of the mist with time as the thermal front propagated through the bed; (2) capture efficiencies of oil mists in packed beds were measured for a wide range of droplet sizes, and gas velocities thought to be typical of retorting conditions. Both clean beds and beds with simulated liquid loading were used. 50 figures.

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Site visit report:  Kansas City Power and Light Company Montrose Plant, Clinton, Missouri. Final report

This report details the activities, facilities, and equipment used to sample raw feedstock and waste solids at the Kansas City Power and Light's Montrose Plant in Clinton, Missouri. Explanation of sampling locations, deviations from the test plan, sampling techniques (in accordance with the Fossil Energy Waste General Sampling Guideline), and plant design are reviewed.

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Site visit report:  Kansas City Power and Light Company La Cygne Generating Station, La Cygne, Kansas. Final report

This report details the activities, facilities, and equipment used to sample raw coal feedstock and waste solids at Kansas City Power and Light Company's La Cygne Generating Station. Explanation of sampling locations, deviations from the test plan, sampling techniques (in accordance with the Fossil Energy Waste General Sampling Guideline), and plant design are reviewed.

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Explosively produced fracture of oil shale. Progress report, October--December 1977

Previous analytic studies of stress waves in oil shale indicate anomalous regions of tension resulting from the anisotropic nature of the material. This effect presents interesting possibilities for breakage enhancement if charges are properly placed. A simple physical model is presented. Equations of plastic flow are derived by means of the associated flow rule for anisotropic materials. A new and simple analytic theory of fragmentation is discussed. Suggestions are made for improved, static triaxial experiments to be used for tracing the strain paths of material elements near buried explosives. Computer studies on the effect of detonator placement in a columnar explosive have given information useful in the optimization of explosive loading. An error analysis is given of the effects of small inconsistencies in experimental ultrasonic velocities on the elastic constants of a transversely isotropic material, pointing out the need to use care in data analysis. An analytic study using finite element calculations of the stress distributions formed by overstressed regions underground is discussed.

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Oil shale retorting kinetics

The objective of this study is to investigate the retorting kinetics applicable to processes characterized both by rapid heating of relatively small particles and by rapid sweeping of the produced hydrocarbon vapors out of the retort. The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory kinetic model predicts that the maximum achievable oil yield is that of Fischer Assay and that the coke associated with Fischer Assay is stoichiometrically related to the kerogen. This assumption may be appropriate for in-situ retorting, but it is not applicable to the present conditions where oil yields higher than Fischer Assay are measured. Consequently, another objective of this work is to extend the kinetics of oil production beyond the Fischer Assay limit. To obtain kinetic data, a bench-scale fluidized bed reactor was used to retort small samples of oil shale particles, and from the derived data, a kinetic model was formulated. A practical implication of the results of this work is that Fischer Assay yield is probably a practical upper limit for any retorting process. This work has shown that a very small particle size increases oil yield and decreases coke yield, but long reaction times are necessary. The simple retorting model will be useful in modeling product yields from retorting processes handling small size particles at high retorting rates.

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Explosively produced fracture of oil shale. Progress report, January-March 1982

The Los Alamos National Laboratory is conducting rock fragmentation research in oil shale to develop the blasting technologies and designs required to prepare a rubble bed for a modified in situ retort. The first section of this report presents a mid-FY review of our rock fragmentation program. It outlines our experimental work with the Oil Shale Consortium at the Anvil Points Mine in Colorado, detailing experiment schedules, general results, and site geology. It also describes our current and planned computer modeling development for rock fracture, tracer flow, oil shale retorting, and retort stability. The second section presents three papers on computer modeling and theory. The first details our progress in understanding rock breakage through computer simulations of multiple-borehole blasting designs that are compared with field experiment results. The second considers the propagation of a penny-shaped crack in a triaxial state of stress and the effect of fragmentation on the stability of closed cracks in normal compressions. The final paper discusses a revision of the rate formulation of the constitutive law for a flawed material. 16 figures.

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Structural resolution in the carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometric analysis of coal by cross polarization and magic-angle spinning

The origin of the line widths and the prospects for improved structural resolution in 13C CP/MAS spectra of coal are addressed. Hole-burning and two-dimensional FT experiments indicate that inhomogeneous broadening influences are the largest contributors to the 13C line widths in the spectrum of Powhatan No. 5 coal. This conclusion is confirmed by T2 measurements, which indicate homogeneous line widths in the range 2.5-3.5 ppm. The widths of the “aromatic” and “allphatic” bands are therefore attributed mainly to distributions of similar structures and chemical shifts. Double exponential multiplication and convolution difference methods have been found useful in bringing out additional fine structure in the spectra, features that can reasonably be assigned to specific structural moleties. Differential relaxation behavior shows considerable promise in distinguishing structural difference in the time domain that would not be apparent in the normal 13C CP/MAS spectrum. However, higher spectrometer sensitivities will be required before this potential can be realized fully.

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Water jet perforation: a new method of completing and simulating in situ leaching wells. Report of investigations

"The Bureau of Mines has designed, fabricated, and field tested a water jet cutting device capable of perforating nonmetallic well casings for the purpose of completing or stimulating in situ uranium leaching wells. The device is lowered into the wellbore, where it issues a high-velocity water jet that penetrates either a polyvinyl chloride or fiberglass casing, cement, and from 1 to 4 feet into the surrounding uraniferous sandstone. The resulting perforations allow leaching solution to pass between the sandstone and the wellbore.  This report describes the water jet perforator, tells how it is used, presents cost data, and discusses the results of laboratory and field tests. The tests were designed to (1) determine the optimum operating conditions for water jet perforation, (2) assess the effects of changes in these conditions, (3) evaluate the performance of the water jet perforator under actual conditions, and (4) compare this method with other methods of well completion. These tests showed that water jet perforation is superior to conventional well completion methods for selectively achieving communication between the well-bore and adjacent sand while maintaining sand control, for restoring permeability lost through wellbore damage, for stimulating poorly performing wells for completing wells with casings that have inside diameters as small as 2 inches, and for extending the effective well diameter."

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Mechanisms of syncrude/synfuel degradation: Fourth and final report, October 1, 1984-December 31, 1986

Much of the effort during the final period of this project dealt with interactions between co-dopants added to a stable shale derived diesel fuel. Five classes of nitrogen compounds have been examined in detail. A substituted pyridine and a substituted quinoline behave similarly, exhibiting only minor interactions with t-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP), organic bases and weak organic acids, but forming large amounts of insolubles with a sulfonic acid. Dimethylpyrrole (DMP) interacted strongly with TBHP, weak and strong organic acids to produce increased amounts of sediments but interacted only weakly with organic bases. 3-Methylindole exhibited interaction behavior similar to DMP but the positive interaction was significantly enhanced by venting of sample flasks. Dodecahydrocarbazole showed a distinctive pattern of behavior, a strong positive increase in insolubles with TBHP or tributylamine but a substantial decrease with acids, both carboxylic and sulfonic. Widely used fuel stabilizers were ineffective in reducing sediment formation by 2,5-DMP. An intermediate stream from a shale refining process was moderately stable although it was high in nitrogen content, (2290 ppM w/v). Consecutive treatments with dilute HCl and silica gel significantly improved the stability of this liquid. The extracts contained substantial amounts of pyridines and tetrahydroquinolines with smaller amounts of hydrocarbons and other nitrogen compounds. The most polar of the extracts, that stripped from the silicagel by methanol, was a potent sediment producer, on par with DMP on an equivalent nitrogen basis. Light scattering easily detected formation of larger molecules for stressed shale derived diesel fuel containing DMP. However, formation of copious amounts of insolubles prevented the use of this technique as a useful quantitative tool for evaluating fuel instability. 42 refs., 5 figs., 54 tabs.

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