INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Science

INL Fossil Energy Technologies

Continued on back

Capable Science and

Engineering

The Department consists of

about 20 scientists and

engineers trained in petroleum

engineering, mechanical

engineering, geophysics, and

chemical engineering. We

have a solid reputation in the

scientific and industrial peer

community due, in part, to a

staff with national and

international recognition.

They include two INL

Fellows, R&D 100 award

winners, adjunct faculty at

numerous universities and

committee persons, and chairs

for a number of national and

international journals and

scientific organizations. Many

of the staff have extensive

industrial experience.

These capabilities are combined with numerous other

scientific and engineering

skills at the laboratory to

support over 50 fossil energy

research and subsurface

science crosscutting projects.

The main thrusts of the

Department are: Exploration

and Production, Reservoir and

Environmental Technologies,

Oil & Gas Sensors and

Controls, Natural Gas, Oil &

Gas & Coal Processing, and

Hydrogen for National

Energy missions.

Group Managed

Programs

The Oil and Gas Sensors and

Control group conducts

research to provide solutions

to a number of industryidentified problems related to

downhole instrumentation.

Projects include research on a

downhole seismic source for

look-ahead prediction, a high

void fraction multiphase

meter, a large downhole

seismic sensor array, oil and

gas production sensors and

controls, and single well

seismic imaging. Research

projects also seek to transfer

oil and gas technology to the

characterization and treatment

of subsurface science environmental contamination problems.

The Idaho National Laboratory’s Fossil Energy Department is a group that applies scientific and engineering principles to produce and convert hydrocarbon materials to

refined energy products while minimizing economic, safety and environmental impacts of the conversion processes.

The Exploration and Production group conducts research

to provide solutions to a

number of industry-identified

problems that relate to oil and

gas exploration, production

and transportation. Projects

include research on locating

and characterizing methane

hydrates (characterization,

reservoir modeling, geophysical logging tools, and thermogenic/biogenic sources of

methane hydrates), advanced

coiled tubing flaw defect

identification and transportation of hydrocarbon indicators

in the Four Corners region.

The Reservoir and Environmental Technologies group

conducts research that

characterizes oil, gas, and coal

reservoirs, how they can be

The ultimate aim of the Department is to secure sources of energy to

power America’s energy future.
INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

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05-GA50193-02

most efficiently produced, and

how the depleted reservoirs

can be used for sequestration

purposes. We have multiple

projects related to enhanced

oil recovery (microbial

produced surfactants and

improved water flooding). We

are developing technologies

to treat such environmental

problems as vadose zone

accumulations of benzene,

toluene, ethylene and xylene

(BTEX). Simple, low-cost

bioreactors are being developed for treating produced

water and gas in oil field and

offshore platform environments for removal of sulfides.

Several projects to physically

or biologically capture CO2

from flue gas and sequester

the CO2

 in geological repositories are underway. Projects

to evaluate the environmental

impact of water produced

from coal bed methane have

started. The group is starting

to focus on horizontal drilling

and flow control technologies.

The Oil & Gas, and Coal

Processing group conducts

studies and experimental

evaluations of new technologies to improve the efficiency,

economics, and environmental acceptability for the

conversion of oil, gas, and

coal to refined hydrocarbon

products and electrical power.

Because of the decreasing

quality of crude oil being

produced worldwide, we

explore novel approaches for

treating petroleum to make

refineries more able to

process these lower-grade

materials—with reduced

energy costs and environmental liabilities. We also research

gas to liquids processes to

produce environmentally

clean liquid fuels. A major

thrust in this area is to transfer

a coal plant to industry where

it will simultaneously produce

electricity and serve as a

large-scale test-bed for clean

coal technologies.

The Hydrogen group conducts

research to develop and

commercialize technologies

related to production, infrastructure, and utilization of

hydrogen fuel. Current

projects include reforming of

diesel to make hydrogen,

reforming of natural gas to

make hydrogen, using nuclear

power to thermochemically

split water into hydrogen,

studies to develop new

carriers for hydrogen use, and

augmentation of engines

(including fuel cells) to use

hydrogen.

The Department is actively

evaluating potential areas

including supporting the

development of technologies

to drill for oil and gas in the

ultra-deep waters of the Gulf

of Mexico and development

of technologies to support

clean coal programs (Vision

21 and the Clean Coal Power

Initiative). It also supports

expanded access to federal

lands in the western U.S. for

the exploration and production of oil and gas, and for

technologies to develop

integral data transmission and

sensing technologies for

pipelines.

Hydrogen is emerging as an energy dynamo.

The Department collaborates

with many industrial partners to

achieve government and private

sector energy goals and

priorities.

Management and

Technical Contact

Bruce Reynolds

208-526-1992

Bruce.Reynolds@inl.gov

For more information

INL is a U.S. Department of

Energy national laboratory

operated by Battelle Energy

Alliance