AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
LERC TAR SANDS--2C BURN CONTROL ANALYSIS

"On Sept. 28, 1977, a meeting was held at the  Department of Energy's, Vernal, Utah tar sands site to review the progress of the in-situ burn which is currently taking place. It was pointed out at that meeting that the reverse burn was not moving in the proper direction to encompass the entire target zone as required for maximum resource recovery. As a result of that meeting, Science Applications, Inc. was requested to analyze the current data and to make recommendations as to the best methods to move the reverse burn flame front in  the desired direction and to spread it out over the southern and eastern sections of the formation. These recommendations were to be made in conjunction with D.O.E. personnel and coordinated through them.  Numerous phone conversations between SAl and D.O.E. people resulted in a preliminary set of recommendations which were transmitted to L. Marchant by memo from J. Winter dated Oct. 21, 1977. This then is a more complete analysis and set of recommendations  offered by SAl to apply to future experiments as well as to the current burn. the data which was analyzed included initial tracer tests, daily temperature and pressure profiles, daily product gas G.C. analysis, and day to day changes in the operation of the site. The following methods were used to evaluate the accrued data:  1. The CO2 - CO ratio was plotted vs. time and compared to the equilibrium constants vs. temperature. This information reveals the approximate temperature through which the product gas has passed.  2. Temperature profiles of the observation wells were plotted.  3. Equations were developed and computer contour plots created from the observation well temperatures.  4. Results of tracer tests were compared with temperature  profiles to determine directions of the reverse burn."

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BURN CONTROL ANALYSIS OF LERC TAR SANDS 2C FINAL REPORT

"An interim review of the Utah tar sands field experiment  revealed that the advancement of the reverse combustion front did not appear to be encompassing the expected recovery area; therefore, the Laramie Energy Research Center requested that Science Applications, Inc. further analyze the available data and make recommendations that would redirect and spread the combustion front over the desired region. Following this September 28, 1977 meeting and interim review held at the Vernal, Utah site, Science Applications, Inc. prepared a preliminary list of recommendations which was transmitted to the project supervisor , L. Marchant , on October 21, 1977. The report presented here is a further and more comprehensive analysis of the experimental data taken from September 20, 1977 to November 19, 1977 and includes an expanded list of recommendations suggested by Science Applications , Inc. to extend and spread the sweep area of the combustion front over the previously unaffected zones."

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LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF THE STEAM DISPLACEMENT PROCESS IN A UTAH TAR SAND

"Laboratory experiments are being conducted to study the potential of high pressure [(350-1000 psig) (2400-6900 kPa)] steam displacement as an oil recovery process for Utah tar sand. These one-dimensional displacement experiments are designed to identify the relationships  between the recovery efficiency and the processing conditions for two grades of tar sand representing different reservoir properties. The processing variables are the steam flowrate and initial tar sand preheat  temperature; the controlled reservoir properties are the saturated permeability, porosity, bulk density, and the initial oil saturation. Crushed samples of tar sand are uniformly and consistently packed to physical properties closely resembling reservoir conditions. This is accomplished using an automated pneumatic-hydraulic tube packing apparatus . Tar sand containing 7.7 or 11.4 wt.% bitumen is packed to permeability ranging from 70-1100 millidarcies (0.07-1.] um2) with oil saturations of 45-70% of pore volume (PV). The corresponding porosity ranges from 32-36% . Preheat temperatures from 215 -475°F (102 -246°c) are initially established before saturated steam is injected at flow rates of 4.5- 14.5 cc/min (0.6-1.92 Ibs/hr) with a controlled backpressure of 360- 390 psig (2500-2700 kPa). Results are presented from fifteen experiments, including the determination of various chemical and physical properties of the bitumen and the thermally produced oils. In addition, results and operating conditions related to the automated tube  packing apparatus are discussed."

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COST ANALYSIS OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL DURING IN SITU PRODUCTION OF BITUMEN FROM TAR SAND

"Wastewater recovered by in situ production of tar sand bitumen using steam drive or combustion processes must be treated prior to recycling in the process, reuse within the production facility, or discharge. Recent laboratory studies have shown biological treatment with activated sludge and reverse osmosis treatment to be potentially effective on combustion wastewater. The hot lime softening process has been used and strong acid ion exchange treatment has been proposed to treat  wastewaters from commercial oil sand in situ steam drive facilities in Canada. The estimated costs associated with the construction and operation of wastewater treatment systems for projected 20,000 barrel-per-day in situ combustion and steam drive production facilities are presented. The treatment of the steam drive wastewater focuses on recycling the production wastewater to once-through steam generators. The treatment of the combustion wastewater focuses on discharging the effluent. The costs for wastewater treatment range from $0.08 to $2.33 per barrel of bitumen produced in mid-1984 dollars."

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HYDROPYROLYSIS OF TAR SAND BITUMENS AND HEAVY PETROLEUM OILS

A hydropyrolysis process for upgrading heavy, high molecular weight  feedstocks such as coal-derived liquids, petroleum crudes, tar sand bitumens, shale oils, bottom residues from process streams and the like to lighter, lower molecular weight liquid products.  The process includes subjecting the feedstocks to pyrolysis in the presence of hydrogen under carefully controlled conditions of temperature and pressure.   The process can be defined as hydrogen-modified, thermal cracking in the specific temperature range of 450 C to 650 C and in the hydrogen pressure range of about 120 psi to 2250 psi.  The amount of hydrogen present can be varied according to the type of feedstock and the liquid product desired.  Although the hydrogen is not consumed in large amounts, it does participate in and modifies the process, and thereby provides a means of controlling the process as to the molecular weight range and structural type distribution of the liquid products.  The presence of hydrogen also inhibits coke formation.  The process also eliminates the requirement for a catalyst so that the reactions will proceed in the presence of heavy metal contaminants in the feedstock which contaminants would otherwise poison the catalyst.

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FUTURE OF UTAH TAR SANDS

"DR . OBLAD: My talk today will be devoted to talking about Utah's tar sands. The talk will be concerned with what we're doing at the University of Utah and also we have Dr. Sam Dorrence who will follow me , roughly equal time, to tell you about what's going on at the Laramie Energy Research Center on in-situ recovery of the bitumen from tar sands, so I will introduce him at the appropriate time. We heard from Dr. Govier a very short mention of what's going on in Canada with tar sands. personally have visited these operations. A number of you have also been there, I'm sure, and I found it mind boggling to observe. It's an enormous  operation. I'm talking about GCOS and Syncrude, Inc.  The total operation involves removing the tundra, which is fifteen to thirty feet deep. This material is preserved for future use. Removal of overburden is next carried out and is about twenty-five to fifty feet in depth and this exposed a layer of tar sands, which is mined. The tar sand is several hundred feet thick but it varies depending on where you are in the stratum. The tar sands are moved to the procession area where it is treated with the  hot water process which recovers the bitumen. The bitumen is then taken to coking operation where a distillable material is made and finally the fractions are hydrotreated to remove sulfur,. This product is shipped to refineries by pipe-line. Tar sand bitumens are similar to what we call the bottom of the barrel in petroleum. It's very heavy oil fraction. There's a great deal of similarity. I  think I have a slide or two, if we can get to that later."

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SEPARATION OF BITUMEN FROM DRY TAR SANDS

A process for the separation and recovery of bitumen from dry tar sands or sands with negligible quantities of connate water.  The process includes comminuting the tar sand s to an average particle size of approximately one centimeter in diameter and digesting the comminuted tar sand in a hot, aqueous solution having a pH within the range of pH 10 to pH 14.  Optimal digestions obtained by assuring that the tar sand in the digester is within the range of 50 to 80% solids so as to provide the necessary high shear environment.  The digested tar sand is thereafter subjected to a flotation process wherein additional water is introduced to lower the temperature and the solids  concentration.  Preferably, the pH of the separation cells is maintained above about pH10.  Air is bubbled into the mixture to carry the separated bitumen particles to the top of the separation cell for subsequent recovery.

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STATUS REPORT ON THE HANNA III AND IV UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION EXPERIMENTS

The third and fourth in a series of underground coal gasification experiments conducted by the Laramie Energy Technology Center at a site near Hanna, Wyoming, are currently underway. This paper describes the process conditions and includes some pertinent information for these two experiments. Approximately 2800 tons of coal were gasified on Hanna III during a 38 day gasification period with production rates of up to 10 MM scf/day of 138 Btu/scf product gas. Groundwater sampling and analyses to determine the potential impacts of underground coal gasification on groundwater quality are ongoing. The Hanna IV experiment is significantly larger than previous experiments. It consists of a 3 well pattern, in line with 100 foot and 150 foot spacings.

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EVALUATION OF PROCESS STREAMS FROM GASIFICATION OF LIGNITE AN INSIGHT

The three by product streams, crude naphtha, tar oil and cresilic acid streams, from the Great Plains Lignite Gasification Plant have been evaluated using chemical and instrumental methods. The crude naphtha stream has been found to be composed of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur containing aromatic species. The cresilic acid stream is composed primarily of phenol, cresols, xylenols, and naphthols. The tar oil stream is a complex solution of compounds containing saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons and phenolic aromatic species.

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THE EFFECT OF INJECTED FLUID VOLUME ON HEAVY OIL DISPLACEMENT IN A POROUS MEDIUM

"In situ recovery of heavy oil generally involves the use of steam or hot water to displace the oil. The recovery is controlled by the extent to which the displacing fluid can mobilize the oil and saturate the pores of the reservoir. Modeling of any such recovery process requires a knowledge of the permeabilities of the oil water rock system.  In this paper, the method of characteristics solution of the one dimensional flow equations is used to investigate the effects of various parameters, such as mobility ratio, on the number of pore volumes of injected fluid that are required to reach the residual oil saturation. For some heavy oils, it is shown that of the order of one hundred or more pore volumes of injected water may be required before reaching the residual oil saturation. The apparent steady saturation profile observed by some researchers may have resulted in premature termination of some experiments. Also, the apparent end effect observed by many researchers can be attributed in part to the extreme variations in the permeability saturation profile."

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THE 1987 COALBED METHANE SYMPOSIUM TSCHALOOSA, ALA

"The 1987 Coalbed Methane Symposium is the first US symposium in this decade to be devoted primarily to topics relating to the extraction of methane gas from coal seams. The methane resource contained in US coal seams has been estimated conservatively at 400 Tcf or more. Because targets typically occur at depths less than 4,000 feet and generally are accessible with modified conventional technology, coalbed methane is arguably the most underexploited new energy resource available in the US today.  This report contains the schedule for the symposium and general information regarding the symposium."

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SEPARATION AND UTILIZATION STUDIES OF BITUMENS FROM BITUMINOUS SANDS

This report contains two parts: Part I: Laboratory hot water separation tests, and part II: Analytical data on asphalt properties and cracked products of the separated bitumens. Part I summarizes the general characteristics of the Vernal and Sunnyside deposits and discusses the hot water separation process as applied to those bituminous sandstones and the results obtained. Part II presents the analytical data, which indicate possible uses for the products.

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A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF INSITU COMBUSTION BY THE METHOD OF COLL

This paper reviews the current status of a project dealing with the simulation of in situ combustion. At this stage, the model is being developed to simulate laboratory combustion tube experiments with a total of nine components. The solution technique being used is the method of collocation and only limited success has been achieved so far. Oscillations observed in the solutions are discussed and some possible approaches to resolve these problems are also presented.

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CRACKING OF LOW HEAING RATE PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM TEXAS

A study was performed to investigate the effect of temperature in an isothermal bed of devolatilized char on cracking characteristics of pyrolysis products from Texas Lignite. The pyrolysis was performed at slow heating rates, such as occurs in underground coal gasification. One experiment was performed with a Wyoming sub-bituminous coal for comparison purposes.

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DEVELOPMENT OF A COUPLED NEAR AND FAR FIELD SUBSIDENCE MODEL FOR

This report relates specifically to analytic predictions of near-field effects, but includes the overburden stress from the far field. The numerical simulations described herein utilize a discrete element model code, RBM, developed by Peter Cundall at the University of Minnesota, for the block caving analysis, coupled to a small-strain, linear elastic, explicit finite difference code, LESS, developed by Ronald Hofmann of Science Applications, Incorporated, for the continuum beyond the region of block caving.

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UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION FOR STEEPLY DIPPING COAL BEDS RAWLINS

The first US field test of in situ gasification for a steeply dipping coal seam was recently completed. The test was performed by Gulf Research & Development Company under a cost-shared agreement with DOE with TRW as a major subcontractor. This is one of the four field test programs currently funded by DOE; however, this effort is the only one led by an industrial participant. The project was developed utilizing the technology base provided by DOE in its other field tests and translations of the considerable Russian experiences.

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UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION FOR STEEPLY DIPPING COAL BEDS ANNUAL REPORT

The operations under Permit 491 are a research and development project to develop the technology for the production of low and medium Btu gas via a series of two in situ coal gasification tests. Test 1 ran for 35 days and was completed December 5, 1979. The Test 2 period ran for approximately 85 days, starting August 17, 1981, and was completed November 12, 1981. Coal is never brought to the surface during this process and, therefore, coal is neither surface mined nor deep mined per se.

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UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION FOR STEEPLY DIPPING COAL BEDS UCG REACTOR

"This manual is intended primarily for field operators, not theorists. While we believe the principles underlying each technique are correctly presented, a rigorous analysis is absent. Such an approach would have done little to increase the usefulness of the study and, in general, the wrong persons would have written them.   Gulf's Rawlins Field Test No. 2 is used as an example of how to employ the matrix in selecting the instrumentation and techniques within the constraints of actual practice."

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UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION FOR STEEPLY DIPPING COAL BEDS PROGRESS REPORT

The objective of this contract is to develop and demonstrate the technology for in situ gasification of steeply dipping coal beds and to verify the economic feasibility of this technology. During this reporting period, the major activity has been preparation for the February 11 briefing to DOE and Industry. The Rawlins Test 2 Preliminary Report is the basis for presentations at the briefing. Current interpretations will augment the data/technology transfer.

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UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION FOR STEEPLY DIPPING COAL BEDS, RAWLINS, WYO

The DOE UCG-SDB program has been completed. The program, conducted by Gulf Research and Development Company, ran from 1977 to 1982 and included two field tests. The program objectives were as follows: establish the feasibility of the UCG-SDB process in US coals and develop economics for the process.

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UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION FOR STEEPLY DIPPING COAL BEDS, ANNUAL REPORT

"The operations under Permit 491 are a research and development project to develop the technology for the production of low and medium Btu gas via a series of two in situ coal gasification tests. Test 1 ran for 35 days and was completed December 5, 1979. The Test 2 period ran for approximately 85 days, starting August 17, 1981, and was completed November 12, 1981. Coal is never brought to the surface during this process and, therefore, coal is neither surface mined nor deep mined per se.  Surface facilities for UCG processes differ significantly from those of a true mining operation. In situ or underground coal gasification consists of drilling boreholes into the coal seam, linking the boreholes, igniting the coal and injecting an oxidant such as oxygen/steam or air down one of the boreholes. As the coal burns outward from the base of the injection well, the combustion gases, consisting primarily of CO2, Co and H2O react with the nonburning coal to form H2, more CO and pyrolysis products which exit through the product gas well."

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COST ESTIMATE COVERING EQUIPMENT REQUIRED AND THE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION OF A 500-TON PER DAY UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION PLANT

It is proposed to use a borehole gasification method, as will be described, and to gasify a 36-inch bed of coal flat lying under an average cover of 125 feet with a minimum cover of 100 feet. A working area 1800 feet square will be required so that a project life of not less than 10 years will be obtained. The coal present in this plot of land will be 2,765,000 tons.

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SUPPORT RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL, MECHANICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION

"This quarterly progress report covers research work performed at the University of Texas at Austin on evaluating chemical, mechanical and environmental factors in underground gasification of Texas lignite. The departments involved include the Departments of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Health Engineering, and Petroleum Engineering, and the Bureau of Economic Geology. This work is being performed with support from the DOE, eight private companies, and the Environmental Protection Agency.   The purpose of this study is to find a model, based on physical considerations of a burned-out coal seam, which describes the flow patterns during underground coal gasification."

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SIMULATION STUDIES OF CAVITY GROWTH DURING UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION

The prediction of cavity growth is important for selection of borehole spacing in underground coal gasification. A one-dimensional model based on chemical reaction, mass transfer, and heat transfer has been developed to predict the lateral advance of a reaction front through a coal face. Two of the important zones in a burning coal face, namely the drying and pyrolysis zones, have been analyzed in some detail, and the effects of important variables in these zones have been determined through computer studies. This model can also be expanded to three dimensions to simulate the evolution of the burned out space in a coal seam of uniform thickness.

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MEMORANDUM TO RICHARD HERTZBERG

This mini-review is of concern to me from both technical and policy aspects which do not further the UCG program in my opinion. In general, this document represents a plea to the public to support LASL's efforts strictly in the state of New Mexico which have not been chosen for major funding by DOE management for good reasons. Furthermore, the technical thrust is not in concert with the published DOE objectives.

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LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY -UNDERGROUND COAL CONVERSION UPDATE, AUGUST 1978: COAL GASIFICATION EXPERIMENTS STUDY DRIED BLOCKS

This newsletter is designed to provide rapid coverage of important program elements in the LASL underground coal conversion project. This project focuses upon Southwestern dry subbituminous coals. For additional information, contact N.E. Vanderborgh at 505-667-6651 (FTS 843-6651).

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UCG BIBLIOGRAPHY

"This printout is the product of a search conducted on the energy data base (EDB), the world’s largest and most comprehensive data base on energy. EDB contains approximately one and one-half million references to reports, journal articles, conference papers, books or monographs, dissertations, patents, translations, and engineering drawings from worldwide sources.  The energy data base and many other energy-related data bases available via DOE/Recon are produced by the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI).  To keep abreast of your area of interest, you may want DOE/Recon to produce  regular updates of your search automatically through the personal energy profile (PEP) program."

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STUDY OF THE GASIFICATION OF LAKE DE SMET COAL: COMPARISON OF THE RELATIVE VALUES OF LAKE DE SMET AND SEWICKLEY COALS FOR GASIFICATION

The object of the tests here described was to make a preliminary investigation of the applicability of a relatively cheap, geologically low-rank, high-oxygen coal from the Lake De Smet area near Buffalo, Wyo., for synthesis gas production, and that a more thorough investigation later should definitely establish its utility for this purpose. Sufficient sample of this coal was produced by John E. Rice & Sons, Inc., Sheridan, Wyo., and shipped to the Bureau’s Demonstration Plant in Louisiana, Mo., from where part of it was obtained through the cooperation of Dr L.L. Hirst at that time in charge of the plant.

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STUDY OF UNDERGROUND GASIFICATION IN THE USA

On the invitation from the Bureau of Mines, we have made a visit in the U.S.A. of 4 weeks devoted for the most part to a study of the experiments on underground gasification being carried on at Gorgas (Alabama by the Bureau of Mines, in collaboration with the Alabama Power Company. The trip was organized and financed by the Mutual Security Agency (Underground Coal Gasification Study, T.A. 38-291).

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