AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE LOWER WASATCH DEPOSITS AT THE HOE CREEK (UCG) SITE, POWDERRIVER BASIN WYOMING

"Overburden sediments at the Hoe Creek UCG site are part of the lower Wasatch Formation. These sediments were characterized in terms of lithology, geometry, mineralogy, and environments of deposition. Sandstones in the overburden were further characterized in terms of texture, diagenesis, and source area(s). These  characterizations are based on information obtained from post burn cores, gamma ray logs, measured sections , SEM analyses, x-ray diffraction analyses, thin section studies, coal analyses, and from isopach and sandstone isolith maps. This information was also used to determine  parameters responsible for surface subsidence at the Hoe Creek III UCG site."

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OXYGEN/STEAM PROCESS EQUIPMENT FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR MEDIUM BTU GAS FROM UNDERGROUND COAL CONVERSION

"This feasibility study falls in the category of underground coal gasification (UCG). The major cost components of UCG to produce medium Btu gas are the oxygen and steam used to feed the underground gasification process.  The study will validate the commercial viability of a low cost oxygen/steam system of 600 tons/day that can be operated \with a variety of fuels and integrated into a number of underground coal gasification processes. This  system will lower the cost of oxygen and steam by 40 to 50 percent in comparison to other technologies. This cost reduction of from $10.71 to $23.60/ton will reduce the cost of medium Btu gas by $.36 MBtu to $.79 MBtu  from these processes. This system is a larger version of current units now being fielded by Alpha's team. The feasibility study will last for one year. At completion of the required study activities, at least one commercial partner will be obtained for using our system in conjunction with  his underground coal gasification plant.  The objectives of this study are to determine:  (a) System economics at selected sites  (b) Best financial arrangement for equipment deployment , i.e. sell, joint venture, or own and operate  (c) Schedules for commercial deployment  (d) Environmental impact per site  (e) Process control signal interface  (f) Best fuel mix for equipment  (g) Current limits of shop fabrication and vender lead times  (h) Maintenance and operator training requirements  The methodology for the feasibility study will be as follows:  (a) Develop operational scenarios and define all of the system interface requirements in a systems specification  (b) Obtain from commercial process operators inputs that will be used for the oxygen and steam delivery pressures,  oxygen/ steam ratios, and process control signals  (c) Define system configuration"

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WATER QUALITY CHANGES AT UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION SITES-- A LITERATURE REVIEW

"The current price of petroleum and the possibility of foreign embargoes have prompted the United States to search for alternative sources of energy. Coal offers one possibility since the U.S. has some of the world 's largest deposits. Unfortunately, the majority of the known reserves in the U.S. are not economically recoverable at  the present time. Therefore, the conversion of coal in place underground into combustible gases or feedstocks, termed underground coal gasification (UCG), promises to become an important method of coal utilization in the future. The U.S. coal resource that is suitable for UCG, and not currently suitable tor conventional mining methods, has been estimated at nearly 2 trillion tons (Draffin, 1979). UCG can be simply characterized as the partial oxidation of coal in place (in-situ) in the presence of gasifying agents such as air or oxygen and steam, and the withdrawal of the gaseous products through production wells. The linked vertical well process, one technique employed in UCG, is illustrated schematically in Figure 1. This process involves drilling two vertical wells into the desired coal seam a short distance apart (up to 30 meters) , enhancing the permeability of the coal seam between the two wells by reverse combustion or directional  drilling, igniting the coal at the bottom of one well, injecting  a large volume of air or oxygen and steam, and  recovering the gaseous products through the other well."

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STRESS MEDIATED RESP0NSES ASSOCIATED WITH UCG CAVITY AND SUBSIDENCE PREDITION MODELING

Recent progress on a DOE sponsored program on thermo-mechanical and poromechanical investigations associated with UCC is reported. Various model formulations including moving boundary, thermoelasto-plastic consolidation, and thermovisco-elastic representations are discussed.  Numerical results, employing these specialized finite element codes, are presented for selected field simulations. In addition, a predictive strategy based on experimentally determined overburden material property data is outlined for the design of UCC experiments from a structural vantage point.

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Overview of Hydrothermomechanical Response Modeling Associated with Underground Coal Conversion

Basic governing equations and numerical applications associated with hygrothermomechanical response modeling of underground coal gasification (UCG) processes ate presented.  The reported research includes finite element evaluation of thermoelastic and thermoplastic consolidation model response evaluation, i.e. the effects of temperature, moisture, and stress.  Numerical results for selected model are presented and discussed.  Model extensions pertinent to the inclusion of the drying zone are also examined.  In addition to the aforementioned UCG code development, results from models with specialized options are discussed.  These include (1) the moving boundary finite element investigations for cavity configuration and subsidence predictions and (2) two dimensional versus three dimensional thermoelastic response comparison.  The applicability of these models in the context of their UCG field application is revealed.

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"FORMULATIONS, SIMULATIONS, AND EVALUATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THERMO-MECHANICAL  AND PORO-ELASTIC MODELS FOR UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION"

"Model formulations and governing equations for the investigation of the thermo-mechanical, consolidation and failure responses associated with UCG are given. Typical results from sample finite element model representations are presented. The examples quoted include the simulation of the transient temperature profiles, thermo-elastic stresses incorporating temperature dependent material properties and fracture responses. The application of the developed models to the evaluation of field experiments is demonstrated by the simulation of the Hoe Creek II experiments. The numerical experiments for different overburden failure thresholds demonstrated the pronounced sensitivity of the predicted cavity shapes with respect to the assumed properties. Various ongoing  refinements of these model simulations are also discussed."

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CHEMICAL EVALUATION OF PRODUCT OILS FROM TWO IN-SITU TAR SAND OIL RECOVERY PROJECTS

Tar sand deposits are widely distributed over the United States of America.  These deposits vary from small to very large, and some of the latter may prove to be of economic significance.  Curiously, virtually all of the largest known deposits occur in Utah, and this state is believed to possess reserves of bitumen totaling 4.2 Gm3 (27 billion barrels) Ritzma 1979. However, only a small portion of the Utah reserves ate of sufficiently shallow depth ;to permit recovery by the techniques currently used in Alberta, Canada.  The majority will therefore have to be recovered by some in-situ technique.  However, such an in-situ process must by some means reduce the very high viscosity, greater than 10 4 mPa.s(10 4 cp) of the bitumen.

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CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TAR SAND BITUMENS AND THERMALLY RECOVERED OILS

"The Laramie e Energy Technology Center has conducted several in situ recovery projects in the Northwest Asphalt Ridge (Utah) tar sand deposit. Briefly, the design, conduct, and engineering results are presented for two of these projects (a reverse/forward combustion project and a steamflood project). In more detail, the chemical and  physical properties of the produced oils are discussed, and the properties of the produced oils are compared with each other and with the original bitumen. It is concluded that the oil produced by the reverse/ forward combustion project is significantly improved in fuel quality with respect to the original bitumen. However. the oil produced by the steamflood project is very similar to the original bitumen."

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CHARACTERIZATION OF OIL SAND RESOURCES: REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES CONCERNING ANNEX 1 OF THE U.S.-CANADIAN COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT ON TAR SAND AND HEAVY OIL

"Under the terms of Annex I of the U. S. -Canada Cooperative Agreement on Tar Sand and Heavy Oil the organizational and laboratory work leading to the  development of a physical properties data base has been completed. The data base will be a vehicle for the transfer of information about tar sand and heavy oil between participants of the agreement and to the public.  Information required for complete geological and engineering descriptions of tar sand and heavy oil deposits has been identified. Geological descriptions of the Athabasca and Asphalt Ridge deposits have been prepared. However, little information about many of the engineering properties, such as magnitude and direction of minimum and maximum permeability's, is available in  the literature. The data base will, in its early stages, contain little. A computerized data base, developed at the Alberta Research Council, includes information on the visual examination of whole oil sand and determination of physical and chemical properties of whole oil sand and  bitumen. Data from collaborative studies sponsored by the Alberta Committee on Oil Sands Analysis and the Phillips Petroleum Company were used to estimate  the precision of data in the open literature that would be entered into the data base. These studies showed that systematic errors during analysis (i.e. lack of agreement between laboratories for properties of a single sample) will  seriously diminish the significance of a single data point in the data base. This type of data can best be used to estimate the typical properties of a in an attempt to identify some of the reasons for variations in analytical data and to resolve discrepancies, the Western Research Institute and the Alberta Research Council exchanged samples of oil sand from the Asphalt Ridge and Athabasca deposits. They were able to provide equivalent  data for most properties, the exceptions being elemental carbon, carbon residue, relative density (15°C115°C), and C5-asphaltenes. A difference in methods for extracting test samples of bitumen was identified as being a potential contributor to differences in the bitumen properties. In subsequent studies at the Alberta Research Council, failure to correct for entrained solids and residual solvent, which was related to sample preparation, was confirmed to be a major Source of discrepancy between the two laboratories data. In addition, the level of asphaltenes was significantly affected by prolonged exposure to heat and selective adsorption on cellulose  thimbles in the extraction apparatus. A final exchange of bitumen samples prepared at the Alberta Research  Council indicated that discrepancies changed with the capabilities of the laboratories. It appears that the systematic errors that contribute to these discrepancies can only be controlled or at least minimized through use of secondary standards."

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ANALYSIS OF HIGH-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT HYDROCARBONS IN A UTAH TAR SAND AND PRODUCED OILS

"In November and December of 1975 the Laramie  Energy Research Center (LERC), U.S.E.R.D.A., conducted  an in situ, reverse-combustion experiment in the Northwest Asphalt Ridge tar sand deposit near Vernal, Utah. The bum zone was in the Rim Rock sandstone of the Mesaverde formation. The experiment lasted 23 days, with products recovered at the surface consisting of gas, water, light oil, and heavy oil. Ideally, the product stream from the production wells was to enter a separator operating at 500· F to remove the higher boiling oil (heavy oil), and then pass to a second separator operating at 40°F to remove the remaining oil (light oil) and water. The remaining gas stream was then vented. However, due to the prevailing weather conditions the first separator operated at only 140 to 160°F for the majority  of the experiment. Unfortunately, this was 20 to 40°F  below the pour point of the heavy oil'''. It was impossible  to pump this material at the temperatures that prevailed during the experiment, 0 to 20°F. Because ring and straight chain saturated hydrocarbons cause high pour points in petroleum products, it was suspected that these same components might contribute to the high pour points of the heavy oil. Thus, a program was undertaken to determine if a relationship existed between pour point and saturated hydrocarbon content and to identify several of the major components in the saturated hydrocarbon fraction."

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STEAM FLOOD IN TAR SAND OIL RECOVERY: AN ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL EVALUATION

"This report presents an analysis of the application of the  steam flood process to bitumen recovery at Asphalt Ridge, a major tar sands deposit in Utah. The analysis is based on the results of an in situ pilot test conducted by the Laramie Energy Technology Center, supplemented by an in-depth literature review. The analysis assumes a possible recovery of 20% of original oil saturation, which is much better than that actually achieved, in the field test, but approximates that predicted by the simulation and laboratory results. Production costs at this recovery rate are S45.69/bbl for a 1-acre well pattern, of which 63% is energy costs. Thus, improved steam-to-oil ratios would sharply reduce production costs. Modified steam flood processes have reportedly performed successfully in other tar sands locations. These processes warrant  investigation for applicability to the Utah tar sands. Comparison of the steam flood and the dry combustion  processes shows the latter to have a significantly lower production cost because of better oil recovery."

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VERNAL TAR SANDS--BASED ON LITERATURE 1926-1956 (OCCURANCE, PROPERTIES, MINING, EXTRACTION, PROCESSING, USE)

The occurrence of bituminous sands or tar sands is wide-spread both in the U.S. and in other countries (Abraham 1944). With the exception of reports on Athabaska sands, however, the literature on any one deposit is relatively meager.  The exploitation of the various deposits has been slow and has largely consisted on production for use as paving materials where it is not necessary to remove the sand.  The term, bituminous sands, as used in this report will refer to a mixture of bitumen (soluble in carbon disulfide) and unconsolidated sand.  In this respect, the Vernal material resembles that from Athabaska very closely and consequently much of the literature on the latter material has applicability to a discussion of Vernal bituminous sands.

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IN SITU RECOVERY OF OIL FROM UTAH TAR SAND--A SUMMARY REPORT OF LETC TAR SAND RESEARCH

"Shown dramatically by the recent crisis involving petroleum and natural gas, shortages and rising prices foreshadow an end to unlimited consumption of natural resources at traditionally low prices. Alleviating these growing shortages of fossil fuels will require increased production from traditional sources and development of new sources. These new sources include tar sand, oil shale, and the in situ combustion of coal. The U.S. tar sand resource and related recovery technology has never  been a target of a major research effort by the private sector, perhaps due in part to the fact that most of the known resource is on federal land. Due to this low level of activity by the petroleum industry to develop the domestic tar sand resource, the United States Department of Energy's Laramie Energy Technology Center (LETC) began in 1971 working with the tar sand resource in Utah. The initial work was with the defining, characterizing and analyzing of deposits and the determining of the most promising recovery methods for testing. Specifically the objectives were:  1. To determine the feasibility of in situ oil recovery methods applied to tar sand.  2. To establish a system for classifying tar sand deposits relative to those characteristics that would affect the design and operation of in situ recovery processes. The LETC tar sand activity has created the only multi-disciplined tar sand research staff in the United States. The LETC tar sand program technical staff members and support staff represent approximately 200 man years of tar sand research experience in resource characterization,  resource recovery, product treatment, reservoir access, environmental mitigation, and control technology and compliance. The LETC assembled and managed tar sand data base is the only significant compilation of tar sand resource and technology data in the public sector. A program of informal data and information exchange has been developed and is maintained by the LETC technical program management staff between the LETC and all interested private and governmental concerns. The purpose of this report is to document all of the LETC tar sand activity on tar sand deposits in the Uinta Basin in Utah."

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DESIGN REVIEW OF LETC TS-1S (AND RELATED INFORMATION)

"Tar Sand Program Objectives as developed under the Division of Fossil Fuel Extraction , U. S.DOE:  1. To define the size and nature of the tar sand resource and define the most economically potential deposits.  2 . Assure access to the reservoir by identification, testing and/or development of drilling, well completion/stimulation and mining technology .  3. Identify, evaluate, test and develop technically and economically feasible in situ, modified in situ and surface processing technologies .  4. Assure that methods and equipment are available to separate and upgrade the produced tar sand oil.  5. Assure that all technologies and waste management practices which are developed are environmentally acceptable .  The objectives of LETC 's first steam in situ recovery experiment are :  1 . Determine the technical and economic feasibility of using steam injection as an in situ recovery technique in a Utah tar sand.  2 . Evaluate an injection well completion scheme with a high temperature packer.  3. Evaluate several types of downhole completion  schemes for the production wells .  4. Determine recycle and fuel use possibilities of produced water and oil."

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TAR SAND CHARACTERIZATION Technical Report July 1979-July 1980

"The purpose of this investigation was to determine basic properties of tar sand core samples. Determination of these properties was undertaken to aid in selection of a location for conducting the field experiments to demonstrated the RF heating process; selection of a suitable technique for recovering the bitumen after heating the deposit using RF energy; prediction  of rate of recovery of bitumen; and to understand fluid flow through a heated tar sand deposit. Initially, outcrop samples were collected from various tar sand deposits  in Utah, California, and New Mexico for analysis. Based on these results, the Asphalt Ridge and Sunnyside deposits of Utah, and the Edna deposit of California were selected as candidate sites. After making arrangements with lease holders, core samples were obtained by drilling at these three deposits. In parallel to this effort, a core laboratory was set up at IITRI to measure reservoir properties of tar sand core samples. Raised on core analysis and  logistic factors, Asphalt Ridge was selected as the site for conducting field experiments to demonstrate feasibility of the IITRI RF process to heat he deposit in situ. and to recover bitumen. From the permeability and capillary pressure measurements made in this program, it is also observed that recovery of bitumen is feasible by use of gravity drainage or gas drive . Characterization  experiments conducted on tar sand core samples include  determination of porosity, initial fluid saturations, absolute permeability, relative permeability for gas/oil and gas/water systems, capillary pressure, viscosity-temperature relationship for bitumen, and particle size distribution of spent sand. These data can be used as input to reservoir simulation models to predict rate of recovery under gravity drainage or gas drive after the deposit is heated using RF energy, and to understand fluid flow through the heated tar sand deposit."

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STATUS OF TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH CAVITY AND SUBSIDENCE RESPONSE PREDICITION ASSOCIATED WITH UNDERGROUND COAL CONVERSION

"A brief review of the state-of the art pertaining to roof collapse and subsidence modeling applicable to underground coal conversion (UCC) is given. The role of material properties and their temperature dependent sensitivity is discussed. Results from celebrative and field finite element model simulations of UCC are presented. In particular, numerical evaluations of Hanna II  and Hoe Creek experiments are detailed along with selected comparisons."

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THERMAL RECOVERY OF BITUMEN FROM TAR SANDS

"A two-staged fluidized-bed reactor for the energy-efficient,  thermal recovery of bitumen from Utah tar sands has been constructed. This reactor is a scaled-up version of an earlier system investigated at the University of Utah, and involves the use of three liquid-potassium heat pipes which thermally couple an upper pyrolysis is bed with a lower combustion bed. The reactor has been studied to determine the effect of multiple heat pipes, increased feed rate, and longer duration run times. The process consists essentially of three steps. In the first step, mined and suitably sized tar sand, being fed into the reactor at a  constant rate, is pyrolyzed at temperatures of 440'C to above 500'C in an inert atmosphere to volatilize and partially crack most of the contained bitumen. The vaporized products of the pyrolysis section are condensed and coalesced to give a synthetic crude oil. In the second  step, coked sand, formed as a by-product in the pyrolysis reactor, is combusted with air at temperatures between 550 and 600·C. In the third step, heat is recovered from the hot spent sand leaving the combustion bed by a fluidized-bed heat exchanger using vertical copper cooling  tubes. Three heat pipes are used to transfer 100% of the energy required to maintain the required temperature of pyrolysis in the upper bed. This energy is provided by the lower, combustion bed. Air is used to fluidize the combustion bed and the heat recovery bed. The pyrolysis  bed is fluidized with nitrogen. In a commercial unit,  recycled gas from pyrolysis could be used in place of nitrogen to fluidize the pyrolysis bed. The process is equipped with a digital control and data acquisition system to permit a more efficient method of process study.  The current reactor is capable of processing over 30 lbs of tar sand per hour, and has successfully operated on a continual basis for over 6 hours. Over 30 runs, with tar sand from the Sunnyside, PR Springs, and Whiterocks deposits, have been made to study controllability of the  process , heat requirements , and liquid product yield with respect to process variables such as pyrolysis-bed temperature and average solids residence times. The highest liquid yield obtained was 71 weight percent of the original tar sand bitumen. Typically, coke yield is from  15 to 20 weight percent, with gas yield making up the difference."

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