Biodiesel production process from microalgae oil by waste heat recovery and process integration.

PubMed

Song, Chunfeng; Chen, Guanyi; Ji, Na; Liu, Qingling; Kansha, Yasuki; Tsutsumi, Atsushi

2015-10-01

In this work, the optimization of microalgae oil (MO) based biodiesel production process is carried out by waste heat recovery and process integration. The exergy analysis of each heat exchanger presented an efficient heat coupling between hot and cold streams, thus minimizing the total exergy destruction. Simulation results showed that the unit production cost of optimized process is 0.592$/L biodiesel, and approximately 0.172$/L biodiesel can be avoided by heat integration. Although the capital cost of the optimized biodiesel production process increased 32.5% and 23.5% compared to the reference cases, the operational cost can be reduced by approximately 22.5% and 41.6%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Double-wall tubing for oil recovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Back, L. H.; Carroll, W. F.; Jaffee, L. D.; Stimpson, L. D.

1980-01-01

Insulated double-wall tubing designed for steam injection oil recovery makes process more economical and allows deeper extension of wells. Higher quality wet steam is delivered through tubing to oil deposits with significant reductions in heat loss to surrounding rock allowing greater exploitation of previously unworkable reservoirs.

Oil recovery by alkaline waterflooding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cooke, C.E. Jr.; Williams, R.E.; Kolodzie, P.A.

1974-01-01

Flooding of oil containing organic acids with alkaline water under favorable conditions can result in recovery of around 50% of the residual oil left in a watered-out model. A high recovery efficiency results from the formation of a bank of viscous water-in-oil emulsion as surface active agents (soaps) are created by reactions of base in the water with the organic acids in the oil. The type and amount of organic acids in the oil, the pH and salt content of the water, and the amount of fines in the porous medium are the primary factors which determine the amount ofmore » additional oil recovered by this method. Interaction of alkaline water with reservoir rock largely determines the amount of chemical needed to flood a reservoir. Laboratory investigations using synthetic oils and crude oils show the importance of oil-water and liquid-solid interfacial properties to the results of an alkaline waterflood. A small field test demonstrated that emulsion banks can be formed in the reservoir and that chemical costs can be reasonable in selected reservoirs. Although studies have provided many qualitative guide lines for evaluating the feasibility of alkaline waterflooding, the economic attractiveness of the process must be considered on an individual reservoir.« less

Comparison of oil removal in surfactant alternating gas with water alternating gas, water flooding and gas flooding in secondary oil recovery process.

PubMed

Salehi, Mehdi Mohammad; Safarzadeh, Mohammad Amin; Sahraei, Eghbal; Nejad, Seyyed Alireza Tabatabaei

2014-08-01

Growing oil prices coupled with large amounts of residual oil after operating common enhanced oil recovery methods has made using methods with higher operational cost economically feasible. Nitrogen is one of the gases used in both miscible and immiscible gas injection process in oil reservoir. In heterogeneous formations gas tends to breakthrough early in production wells due to overriding, fingering and channeling. Surfactant alternating gas (SAG) injection is one of the methods commonly used to decrease this problem. Foam which is formed on the contact of nitrogen and surfactant increases viscosity of injected gas. This increases the oil-gas contact and sweep efficiency, although adsorption of surfactant on rock surface can causes difficulties and increases costs of process. Many parameters must be considered in design of SAG process. One of the most important parameters is SAG ratio that should be in optimum value to improve the flooding efficiency. In this study, initially the concentration of surfactant was optimized due to minimization of adsorption on rock surface which results in lower cost of surfactant. So, different sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentrations of 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 ppm were used to obtain the optimum concentration at 70 °C and 144.74×10 5  Pa. A simple, clean and relatively fast spectrophotometric method was used for determination of surfactant which is based on the formation of an ion-pair. Then the effect of surfactant to gas volume ratio on oil recovery in secondary oil recovery process during execution of immiscible surfactant alternating gas injection was examined experimentally. The experiments were performed with sand pack under certain temperature, pressure and constant rate. Experiments were performed with surfactant to gas ratio of 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1 and 3:1 and 1.2 pore volume injected. Then, comparisons were made between obtained results (SAG) with water flooding, gas flooding and water alternating gas

Development of More Effective Biosurfactants for Enhanced Oil Recovery/Advanced Recovery Concepts Awards

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McInerney, M.J.; Marsh, T.L.; Zhang, X.

2002-05-28

The objectives of this were two fold. First, core displacement studies were done to determine whether microbial processes could recover residual oil at elevated pressures. Second, the importance of biosurfactant production for the recovery of residual oil was studies. In these studies, a biosurfactant-producing, microorganisms called Bacillus licheniformis strain JF-2 was used. This bacterium produces a cyclic peptide biosurfactant that significantly reduces the interfacial tension between oil and brine (7). The use of a mutant deficient in surfactant production and a mathematical MEOR simulator were used to determine the major mechanisms of oil recovery by these two strains.

Surfactant Based Enhanced Oil Recovery and Foam Mobility Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George J. Hirasaki; Clarence A. Miller; Gary A. Pope

2005-07-01

Surfactant flooding has the potential to significantly increase recovery over that of conventional waterflooding. The availability of a large number of surfactant structures makes it possible to conduct a systematic study of the relation between surfactant structure and its efficacy for oil recovery. A combination of two surfactants was found to be particularly effective for application in carbonate formations at low temperature. A formulation has been designed for a particular field application. The addition of an alkali such as sodium carbonate makes possible in situ generation of surfactant and significant reduction of surfactant adsorption. In addition to reduction of interfacialmore » tension to ultra-low values, surfactants and alkali can be designed to alter wettability to enhance oil recovery. The design of the process to maximize the region of ultra-low IFT is more challenging since the ratio of soap to synthetic surfactant is a parameter in the conditions for optimal salinity. Compositional simulation of the displacement process demonstrates the interdependence of the various components for oil recovery. An alkaline surfactant process is designed to enhance spontaneous imbibition in fractured, oil-wet, carbonate formations. It is able to recover oil from dolomite core samples from which there was no oil recovery when placed in formation brine. Mobility control is essential for surfactant EOR. Foam is evaluated to improve the sweep efficiency of surfactant injected into fractured reservoirs. UTCHEM is a reservoir simulator specially designed for surfactant EOR. It has been modified to represent the effects of a change in wettability. Simulated case studies demonstrate the effects of wettability.« less

Using Polymer Alternating Gas to Enhance Oil Recovery in Heavy Oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yongzhi; Li, Weirong; Zhou, Tiyao; Dong, Zhenzhen

2018-02-01

CO2 has been used to recover oil for more than 40 years. Currently, about 43% of EOR production in U.S. is from CO2 flooding. CO2 flooding is a well-established EOR technique, but its density and viscosity nature are challenges for CO2 projects. Low density (0.5 to 0.8 g/cm3) causes gas to rise upward in reservoirs and bypass many lower portions of the reservoir. Low viscosity (0.02 to 0.08 cp) leads to poor volumetric sweep efficiency. So water-alternating-gas (WAG) method was used to control the mobility of CO2 and improve sweep efficiency. However, WAG process has some other problems in heavy oil reservoir, such as poor mobility ratio and gravity overriding. To examine the applicability of carbon dioxide to recover viscous oil from highly heterogeneous reservoirs, this study suggests a new EOR method--polymer-alternating gas (PAG) process. The process involves a combination of polymer flooding and CO2 injection. To confirm the effectiveness of PAG process in heavy oils, a reservoir model from Liaohe Oilfield is used to compare the technical and economic performance among PAG, WAG and polymer flooding. Simulation results show that PAG method would increase oil recovery over 10% compared with other EOR methods and PAG would be economically success based on assumption in this study. This study is the first to apply PAG to enhance oil recovery in heavy oil reservoir with highly heterogeneous. Besides, this paper provides detailed discussions and comparison about PAG with other EOR methods in this heavy oil reservoir.

Oil recovery from refinery oily sludge via ultrasound and freeze/thaw.

PubMed

Zhang, Ju; Li, Jianbing; Thring, Ronald W; Hu, Xuan; Song, Xinyuan

2012-02-15

The effective disposal of oily sludge generated from the petroleum industry has received increasing concerns, and oil recovery from such waste was considered as one feasible option. In this study, three different approaches for oil recovery were investigated, including ultrasonic treatment alone, freeze/thaw alone and combined ultrasonic and freeze/thaw treatment. The results revealed that the combined process could achieve satisfactory performance by considering the oil recovery rate and the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations in the recovered oil and wastewater. The individual impacts of five different factors on the combined process were further examined, including ultrasonic power, ultrasonic treatment duration, sludge/water ratio in the slurry, as well as bio-surfactant (rhamnolipids) and salt (NaCl) concentrations. An oil recovery rate of up to 80.0% was observed with an ultrasonic power of 66 W and an ultrasonic treatment duration of 10 min when the sludge/water ratio was 1:2 without the addition of bio-surfactant and salt. The examination of individual factors revealed that the addition of low concentration of rhamnolipids (<100mg/L) and salt (<1%) to the sludge could help improve the oil recovery from the combined treatment process. The experimental results also indicated that ultrasound and freeze/thaw could promote the efficiency of each other, and the main mechanism of oil recovery enhancement using ultrasound was through enhanced desorption of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) from solid particles. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oil recovery from petroleum sludge through ultrasonic assisted solvent extraction.

PubMed

Hu, Guangji; Li, Jianbing; Huang, Shuhui; Li, Yubao

2016-09-18

The effect of ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) process on oil recovery from refinery oily sludge was examined in this study. Two types of UAE treatment including UAE probe (UAEP) system and UAE bath (UAEB) system were investigated. Their oil recovery efficiencies were compared to that of mechanical shaking extraction (MSE). Three solvents including cyclohexane (CHX), ethyl acetate (EA), and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) were examined as the extraction solvents. The influence of experimental factors on oil and solvent recovery was investigated using an orthogonal experimental design. Results indicated that solvent type, solvent-to-sludge (S/S) ratio, and treatment duration could have significant effects on oil recovery in UAE treatment. Under the optimum conditions, UAEP treatment can obtain an oil recovery of 68.8% within 20 s, which was higher than that (i.e., 62.0%) by MSE treatment after 60 min' extraction. UAEB treatment can also obtain a promising oil recovery within shorter extraction duration (i.e., 15 min) than MSE. UAE was thus illustrated as an effective and improved approach for oily sludge recycling.

Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yang; Shi, Fang; Qin, Wuying; Yan, Jing

2018-01-01

With the rapid development of economy, the demand for oil is increasing day by day. MEOR has the advantages of low cost and no pollution to the environment, attracted widespread attention. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of microbial enhanced oil recovery were studied by laboratory experiments. The result showed that all the microbial flooding recovery rate could reach more than 5%, and the total recovery could reach more than 35% and if the injection period of microbial composite system was advanced, the whole oil displacement process could be shortened and the workload would be reduced.

Microfluidics: an enabling screening technology for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

PubMed

Lifton, Victor A

2016-05-21

Oil production is a critical industrial process that affects the entire world population and any improvements in its efficiency while reducing its environmental impact are of utmost societal importance. The paper reviews recent applications of microfluidics and microtechnology to study processes of oil extraction and recovery. It shows that microfluidic devices can be useful tools in investigation and visualization of such processes used in the oil & gas industry as fluid propagation, flooding, fracturing, emulsification and many others. Critical macro-scale processes that define oil extraction and recovery are controlled by the micro-scale processes based on wetting, adhesion, surface tension, colloids and other concepts of microfluidics. A growing number of research efforts demonstrates that microfluidics is becoming, albeit slowly, an accepted methodology in this area. We propose several areas of development where implementation of microfluidics may bring about deeper understanding and hence better control over the processes of oil recovery based on fluid propagation, droplet generation, wettability control. Studies of processes such as hydraulic fracturing, sand particle propagation in porous networks, high throughput screening of chemicals (for example, emulsifiers and surfactants) in microfluidic devices that simulate oil reservoirs are proposed to improve our understanding of these complicated physico-chemical systems. We also discuss why methods of additive manufacturing (3D printing) should be evaluated for quick prototyping and modification of the three-dimensional structures replicating natural oil-bearing rock formations for studies accessible to a wider audience of researchers.

Shale oil recovery process

DOEpatents

Zerga, Daniel P.

1980-01-01

A process of producing within a subterranean oil shale deposit a retort chamber containing permeable fragmented material wherein a series of explosive charges are emplaced in the deposit in a particular configuration comprising an initiating round which functions to produce an upward flexure of the overburden and to initiate fragmentation of the oil shale within the area of the retort chamber to be formed, the initiating round being followed in a predetermined time sequence by retreating lines of emplaced charges developing further fragmentation within the retort zone and continued lateral upward flexure of the overburden. The initiating round is characterized by a plurality of 5-spot patterns and the retreating lines of charges are positioned and fired along zigzag lines generally forming retreating rows of W's. Particular time delays in the firing of successive charges are disclosed.

Development of More Effective Biosurfactants for Enhanced Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McInerney, J.J.; Han, S.O.; Maudgalya, S.

2003-01-16

The objectives of this were two fold. First, core displacement studies were done to determine whether microbial processes could recover residual oil at elevated pressures. Second, the importance of biosurfactant production for the recovery of residual oil was studies. In these studies, a biosurfactant-producing, microorganisms called Bacillus licheniformis strain JF-2 was used. This bacterium produces a cyclic peptide biosurfactant that significantly reduces the interfacial tension between oil and brine (7). The use of a mutant deficient in surfactant production and a mathematical MEOR simulator were used to determine the major mechanisms of oil recovery by these two strains.

Biosurfactant and enhanced oil recovery

DOEpatents

McInerney, Michael J.; Jenneman, Gary E.; Knapp, Roy M.; Menzie, Donald E.

1985-06-11

A pure culture of Bacillus licheniformis strain JF-2 (ATCC No. 39307) and a process for using said culture and the surfactant lichenysin produced thereby for the enhancement of oil recovery from subterranean formations. Lichenysin is an effective surfactant over a wide range of temperatures, pH's, salt and calcium concentrations.

SURFACTANT BASED ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY AND FOAM MOBILITY CONTROL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George J. Hirasaki; Clarence A. Miller; Gary A. Pope

2004-07-01

Surfactant flooding has the potential to significantly increase recovery over that of conventional waterflooding. The availability of a large number of surfactants makes it possible to conduct a systematic study of the relation between surfactant structure and its efficacy for oil recovery. Also, the addition of an alkali such as sodium carbonate makes possible in situ generation of surfactant and significant reduction of surfactant adsorption. In addition to reduction of interfacial tension to ultra-low values, surfactants and alkali can be designed to alter wettability to enhance oil recovery. An alkaline surfactant process is designed to enhance spontaneous imbibition in fractured,more » oil-wet, carbonate formations. It is able to recover oil from dolomite core samples from which there was no oil recovery when placed in formation brine. Mobility control is essential for surfactant EOR. Foam is evaluted to improve the sweep efficiency of surfactant injected into fractured reservoirs. UTCHEM is a reservoir simulator specially designed for surfactant EOR. A dual-porosity version is demonstrated as a potential scale-up tool for fractured reservoirs.« less

Harlequin duck population recovery following the 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill: Progress, process and constraints

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esler, Daniel N.; Bowman, Timothy D.; Trust, Kimberly A.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Dean, Thomas A.; Jewett, Stephen C.; O'Clair, Charles E.

2002-01-01

Following the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, we studied the status of recovery of harlequin duck Histrionicus histrionicus populations during 1995 to 1998. We evaluated potential constraints on full recovery, including (1) exposure to residual oil; (2) food limitation; and (3) intrinsic demographic limitations on population growth rates. In this paper, we synthesize the findings from our work and incorporate information from other harlequin duck research and monitoring programs to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the response of this species to the 'Exxon Valdez' spill. We conclude that harlequin duck populations had not fully recovered by 1998. Furthermore, adverse effects continued as many as 9 yr after the oil spill, in contrast to the conventional paradigm that oil spill effects on bird populations are short-lived. These conclusions are based on the findings that (1) elevated cytochrome P450 (CYP1A) induction on oiled areas indicated continued exposure to oil in 1998; (2) adult female winter survival was lower on oiled than unoiled areas during 1995 to 1998; (3) fall population surveys by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicated numerical declines in oiled areas during 1995 to 1997; and (4) densities on oiled areas in 1996 and 1997 were lower than expected using models that accounted for effects of habitat attributes. Based on hypothesized links between oil contamination and demography, we suggest that harlequin duck population recovery was constrained primarily by continued oil exposure. Full population recovery will also be delayed by the time necessary for intrinsic population growth to allow return to pre-spill numbers following cessation of residual oil spill effects. Although not all wildlife species were affected by the 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill, and some others may have recovered quickly from any effects, harlequin duck life history characteristics and benthic, nearshore feeding habits make them susceptible to

Chemical systems for improved oil recovery: Phase behavior, oil recovery, and mobility control studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Llave, F.; Gall, B.; Gao, H., Scott, L., Cook, I.

Selected surfactant systems containing a series of ethoxylated nonionic surfactants in combination with an anionic surfactant system have been studied to evaluate phase behavior as well as oil recovery potential. These experiments were conducted to evaluate possible improved phase behavior and overall oil recovery potential of mixed surfactant systems over a broad range of conditions. Both polyacrylamide polymers and Xanthan biopolymers were evaluated. Studies were initiated to use a chemical flooding simulation program, UTCHEM, to simulate oil recovery for laboratory and field applications and evaluate its use to simulate oil saturation distributions obtained in CT-monitoring of oil recovery experiments. Themore » phase behavior studies focused on evaluating the effect of anionic-nonionic surfactant proportion on overall phase behavior. Two distinct transition behaviors were observed, depending on the dominant surfactant in the overall system. The first type of transition corresponded to more conventional behavior attributed to nonionic-dominant surfactant systems. This behavior is manifested by an oil-water-surfactant system that inverts from a water-external (highly conducting) microemulsion to an oil-external (nonconducting) one, as a function of temperature. The latter type which inverts in an opposite manner can be attributed to the separation of the anionic-nonionic mixtures into water- and oil-soluble surfactants. Both types of transition behavior can still be used to identify relative proximity to optimal areas. Determining these transition ranges provided more insight on how the behavior of these surfactant mixtures was affected by altering component proportions. Efforts to optimize the chemical system for oil displacement experiments were also undertaken. Phase behavior studies with systems formulated with biopolymer in solution were conducted.« less

An Exogenous Surfactant-Producing Bacillus subtilis Facilitates Indigenous Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

PubMed Central

Gao, Peike; Li, Guoqiang; Li, Yanshu; Li, Yan; Tian, Huimei; Wang, Yansen; Zhou, Jiefang; Ma, Ting

2016-01-01

This study used an exogenous lipopeptide-producing Bacillus subtilis to strengthen the indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) process in a water-flooded reservoir in the laboratory. The microbial processes and driving mechanisms were investigated in terms of the changes in oil properties and the interplay between the exogenous B. subtilis and indigenous microbial populations. The exogenous B. subtilis is a lipopeptide producer, with a short growth cycle and no oil-degrading ability. The B. subtilis facilitates the IMEOR process through improving oil emulsification and accelerating microbial growth with oil as the carbon source. Microbial community studies using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing revealed that the exogenous B. subtilis could live together with reservoir microbial populations, and did not exert an observable inhibitory effect on the indigenous microbial populations during nutrient stimulation. Core-flooding tests showed that the combined exogenous and indigenous microbial flooding increased oil displacement efficiency by 16.71%, compared with 7.59% in the control where only nutrients were added, demonstrating the application potential in enhanced oil recovery in water-flooded reservoirs, in particular, for reservoirs where IMEOR treatment cannot effectively improve oil recovery. PMID:26925051

An Exogenous Surfactant-Producing Bacillus subtilis Facilitates Indigenous Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Gao, Peike; Li, Guoqiang; Li, Yanshu; Li, Yan; Tian, Huimei; Wang, Yansen; Zhou, Jiefang; Ma, Ting

2016-01-01

This study used an exogenous lipopeptide-producing Bacillus subtilis to strengthen the indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) process in a water-flooded reservoir in the laboratory. The microbial processes and driving mechanisms were investigated in terms of the changes in oil properties and the interplay between the exogenous B. subtilis and indigenous microbial populations. The exogenous B. subtilis is a lipopeptide producer, with a short growth cycle and no oil-degrading ability. The B. subtilis facilitates the IMEOR process through improving oil emulsification and accelerating microbial growth with oil as the carbon source. Microbial community studies using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing revealed that the exogenous B. subtilis could live together with reservoir microbial populations, and did not exert an observable inhibitory effect on the indigenous microbial populations during nutrient stimulation. Core-flooding tests showed that the combined exogenous and indigenous microbial flooding increased oil displacement efficiency by 16.71%, compared with 7.59% in the control where only nutrients were added, demonstrating the application potential in enhanced oil recovery in water-flooded reservoirs, in particular, for reservoirs where IMEOR treatment cannot effectively improve oil recovery.

MORICE--new technology for mechanical oil recovery in ice infested waters.

PubMed

Jensen, Hans V; Mullin, Joseph V

2003-01-01

Mechanical oil recovery in ice infested waters (MORICE) was initiated in 1995 to develop technology for the recovery of oil spills in ice. It has been a multinational effort involving Norwegian, Canadian, American and German organizations and researchers. Through a stepwise approach with the development organized in six separate phases, laboratory tests and field experiments have been conducted to study various ideas and concepts, and to refine the ideas that were considered to have the best potential for removing oil in ice. Put together in one unit, these concepts included ice processing equipment and two alternative oil recovery units installed on a work platform. In January 2002, the final oil and ice testing with MORICE concepts was conducted at the Ohmsett test facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. The unit has been referred to as a harbor version to indicate the size and operating conditions, but the concepts could be scaled up to increase the capacity of oil and ice processing. For heavier ice conditions it would also be necessary to increase the overall strength.

Performance experimental investigation of novel multifunctional nanohybrids on enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharibshahi, Reza; Jafari, Arezou; Omidkhah, Mohammadreza; Nezhad, Javad Razavi

2018-01-01

The unique characteristics of materials at the nanoscale make them a good candidate to use in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Therefore, in this study, the effect of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/silica nanohybrids on the oil recovery factor is investigated experimentally and nanofluids were injected into a glass micromodel for the first time. The nanohybrids synthesized by using sol-gel method. Micromodels as microscale apparatuses considered as 2D porous medium. Because they enable visual observation of phase displacement behavior at the pore scale. Distillated water used as the dispersion medium of nanoparticles for nanofluids preparation. A series of runs designed for flooding operations included water injection, carbon nanotube/water injection and two nanohybrids with different weight of MWCNT to the overall weight of the nanohybrid structure (10% and 70%) into the distilled water. Also, the oil recovery factor was considered as the goal parameter to compare the results. It has been found that functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/silica nanohybrids have a great potential in enhanced oil recovery processes. Results showed that addition of nanohybrids into distillate water causes enhancement of sweep efficiency. In other words, the fingering effect decreases and higher surface of porous medium is in contact with the injected fluid. So the higher amount of oil can produce from the porous medium consequently. By injecting nanofluid with 0.1 wt. % of carbon nanotube, the oil recovery factor increases about 11 % in comparison with water injection alone. Also by increasing the weight of MWCNT to the overall weight of the nanohybrid structure from 10% to 70%, the oil recovery factor increases from 35% to 39%.

Heavily Oiled Salt Marsh following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Ecological Comparisons of Shoreline Cleanup Treatments and Recovery

PubMed Central

Zengel, Scott; Bernik, Brittany M.; Rutherford, Nicolle; Nixon, Zachary; Michel, Jacqueline

2015-01-01

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected hundreds of kilometers of coastal wetland shorelines, including salt marshes with persistent heavy oiling that required intensive shoreline “cleanup” treatment. Oiled marsh treatment involves a delicate balance among: removing oil, speeding the degradation of remaining oil, protecting wildlife, fostering habitat recovery, and not causing further ecological damage with treatment. To examine the effectiveness and ecological effects of treatment during the emergency response, oiling characteristics and ecological parameters were compared over two years among heavily oiled test plots subject to: manual treatment, mechanical treatment, natural recovery (no treatment, oiled control), as well as adjacent reference conditions. An additional experiment compared areas with and without vegetation planting following treatment. Negative effects of persistent heavy oiling on marsh vegetation, intertidal invertebrates, and shoreline erosion were observed. In areas without treatment, oiling conditions and negative effects for most marsh parameters did not considerably improve over two years. Both manual and mechanical treatment were effective at improving oiling conditions and vegetation characteristics, beginning the recovery process, though recovery was not complete by two years. Mechanical treatment had additional negative effects of mixing oil into the marsh soils and further accelerating erosion. Manual treatment appeared to strike the right balance between improving oiling and habitat conditions while not causing additional detrimental effects. However, even with these improvements, marsh periwinkle snails showed minimal signs of recovery through two years, suggesting that some ecosystem components may lag vegetation recovery. Planting following treatment quickened vegetation recovery and reduced shoreline erosion. Faced with comparable marsh oiling in the future, we would recommend manual treatment followed by planting. We

Polymer-Coated Nanoparticles for Reversible Emulsification and Recovery of Heavy Oil.

PubMed

Qi, Luqing; Song, Chen; Wang, Tianxiao; Li, Qilin; Hirasaki, George J; Verduzco, Rafael

2018-06-05

Heavy crude oil has poor solubility and a high density, making recovery and transport much more difficult and expensive than for light crude oil. Emulsifiers can be used to produce low viscosity oil-in-water emulsions for recovery and transport, but subsequent demulsification can be challenging. Here, we develop and implement interfacially active, pH-responsive polymer-coated nanoparticles (PNPs) to reversibly stabilize, recover, and break oil/water emulsions through variation of solution pH. Silica particles with poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (DMAEMA) chains covalently grafted to the surface are prepared although a reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer grafting-through technique. The resulting DMAEMA PNPs can stabilize emulsions of high viscosity Canadian heavy oil at PNP concentrations as low as 0.1 wt % and at neutral pH. The performance of the DMAEMA PNPs exceeds that of DMAEMA homopolymer additives, which we attribute to the larger size and irreversible adsorption of DMAEMA PNPs to the oil/water interface. After recovery, the emulsion can be destabilized by the addition of acid to reduce pH, resulting in separation and settling of the heavy oil from the aqueous phase. Recovery of more than 10 wt % of the crude heavy oil-in-place is achieved by flooding with aqueous solution of 0.1 wt % DMAEMA PNPs without any additional surfactant or chemical. This work demonstrates the applicability of PNPs as surface active materials for enhanced oil recovery processes and for heavy oil transport.

Mechanisms of microbial oil recovery by Clostridium acetobutylicum and Bacillus strain JF-2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marsh, T.L.; Zhang, X.; Knapp, R.M.

1995-12-31

Core displacement experiments at elevated pressures were conducted to determine whether microbial processes are effective under conditions that simulate those found in an actual oil reservoir. The in-situ growth of Clostridium acetobutylicum and Bacillus strain JF-2 resulted in the recovery of residual oil. About 21 and 23% of the residual oil was recovered by C. acetobutylicum and Bacillus strain JF-2, respectively. Flooding cores with cell-free culture fluids of C. acetobutylicum with and without the addition of 50 mM acetone and 100 mM butanol did not result in the recovery of residual oil. Mathematical simulations showed that the amount of gasmore » produced by the clostridial fermentation was not showed that the amount of gas produced by the clostridial fermentation was not sufficient to recover residual oil. Oil recovery by Bacillus strain JF-2 was highly correlated to surfactant production. A biosurfactant-deficient mutant of strain JF-2 was not capable of recovering residual oil. These data show that surfactant production is an important mechanism for microbially enhanced oil recovery. The mechanism for oil recovery by C. acetobutylicum is not understood at this time, but the production of acids, solvents, or gases alone cannot explain the observed increases in oil recovery by this organism.« less

[Study on effect of oil-bearing solution environment of Caryophylli Flos and other traditional Chinese medicines on system flux and oil recovery rate].

PubMed

Fan, Wen-Ling; Guo, Li-Wei; Lin, Ying; Shen, Jie; Cao, Gui-Ping; Zhu, Yun; Xu, Min; Yang, Lei

2013-10-01

The membrane enrichment process of traditional Chinese medicine volatile oil is environmental friendly and practical, with a good application prospect. In this article, oil-bearing solutions of eight traditional Chinese medicines, namely Caryophylli Flos, Schizonepetae Herba, Eupatorii Herb, Acori Talarinowii Rhizoma, Magnoliae Flos, Chrysanthemum indicum, Cyperi Rhizoma and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride, were taken as the experimental system. Under unified conditions (membrane: PVDF-14W, temperature: 40 degreeC, pressure: 0. 1 MPa, membrane surface speed: 150 r min- 1), trans-membrane was conducted for above eight oil-bearing solutions to explore the effect of their oil-bearing solution environment on system flux and oil recovery rate. The results showed that systems with smaller pH had a lower flux, without significant effect on oil recovery rate. Greater differences between the surface tension of solutions and that of pure water contributed to a lower oil recovery rate. The conductivity had no notable effect on membrane enrichment process. Systems with high turbidity had a lower flux, without remarkable effect on oil recovery rat. Heavy oils showed lower flux than light ones, but with a slightly higher oil recovery rat. Systems with higher viscosity had a lower flux than those with lower viscosity. Except for Magnoliae Flos volatile oil, all of the remaining volatile oils showed a much higher oil recovery rat than systems with high viscosity. The above results could provide data support and theoretical basis for the industrialization of membrane enrichment volatile oil technology.

Sea otter population status and the process of recovery from the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bodkin, James L.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Dean, T.A.; Fukuyama, Allan K.; Jewett, S.C.; McDonald, L.; Monson, Daniel H.; O'Clair, Charles E.; VanBlaricom, G.R.

2002-01-01

Sea otter Enhydra lutris populations were severely affected by the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill in western Prince William Sound, AK, and had not fully recovered by 2000. Here we present results of population surveys and incorporate findings from related studies to identify current population status and factors affecting recovery. Between 1993 and 2000, the number of sea otters in the spill-area of Prince William Sound increased by about 600 to nearly 2700. However, at Knight Island, where oil exposure and sea otter mortality in 1989 was most severe, no increase has been observed. Sea otter reproduction was not impaired, and the age and sex composition of captured otters are consistent with both intrinsic reproduction and immigration contributing to recovery. However, low resighting rates of marked otters at Knight Island compared to an unoiled reference area, and high proportions of young otters in beach cast carcasses through 1998, suggest that the lack of recovery was caused by relatively poor survival or emigration of potential recruits. Significantly higher levels of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A), a biomarker of hydrocarbons, were found in sea otters at Knight Island from 1996 to 1998 compared to unoiled Montague Island, implicating oil effects in the lack of recovery at Knight Island. Delayed recovery does not appear to be directly related to food limitation. Although food availability was relatively low at both oiled and unoiled areas, we detected significant increases in sea otter abundance only at Montague Island, a finding inconsistent with food as a principal limiting factor. Persistent oil in habitats and prey provides a source of continued oil exposure and, combined with relatively low prey densities, suggests a potential interaction between oil and food. However, sea otters foraged more successfully at Knight Island and young females were in better condition than those at Montague Island. We conclude that progress toward recovery of sea otters in Prince

Improving Understanding of the Chemical Mechanism of Oil Recovery from Oil-Wet Carbonate Reservoirs: AN Experimental Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purswani, P.; Karpyn, Z.

2017-12-01

Chemical tuning of injecting brine has found great success in improving oil recovery from oil-wet rocks. In particular, the importance of Mg2+, Ca2+, and SO42- ions has been identified as critical for incremental oil recovery via multi-ion exchange mechanism of wettability alteration. To improve understanding of this underlying mechanism and, to evaluate the individual contribution of these ions towards improving oil recovery, a series of waterflood experiments with varying ion composition were performed at 90 oC. Characterization techniques like zeta potential (ZP), contact angle measurements and trace element analysis were performed to evaluate the surface interactions taking place among the rock samples, brine solution, and the crude oil. ZP measurements highlight the affinity of Mg2+, Ca2+, and SO42- ions towards the rock surface in chemically tuned brines (CTBs), where, an increase in the magnitude of ZP was seen with an increase in the concentration of each of these ions. Oil recovery measurements showed an increase in oil recovery for all the CTBs compared to seawater. Relative permeability estimations and contact angle measurements showed corresponding trends of increasing water-wetness. Maximum recovery of 75.47% original oil in place (OOIP) was observed for the brine with increased Mg2+ ion concentration due to higher activity of Mg2+ ions. Lower recovery of 63.58% OOIP was seen for the brine with increased Ca2+ ion concentration due to lower activity of Ca2+ ions, and further lower recovery of 58.59% OOIP was seen for the brine with increased SO42- ion concentration due to the possible precipitation of these ions on the rock surface. These surface reactions were confirmed through the ionic analysis of the effluent brine during each waterflooding experiment. These results help understand the importance of chemical tuning of brines towards improving oil recovery and provides experimental insight into the chemical reactions that occur during this process.

DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAS-ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE (GAGD) PROCESS FOR IMPROVED LIGHT OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni

This report describes the progress of the project ''Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' for the duration of the second project year (October 1, 2003--September 30, 2004). There are three main tasks in this research project. Task 1 is scaled physical model study of GAGD process. Task 2 is further development of vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for miscibility determination. Task 3 is determination of multiphase displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks. In Section I, preliminary design of the scaled physical model using the dimensional similarity approach has been presented. Scaled experiments onmore » the current physical model have been designed to investigate the effect of Bond and capillary numbers on GAGD oil recovery. Experimental plan to study the effect of spreading coefficient and reservoir heterogeneity has been presented. Results from the GAGD experiments to study the effect of operating mode, Bond number and capillary number on GAGD oil recovery have been reported. These experiments suggest that the type of the gas does not affect the performance of GAGD in immiscible mode. The cumulative oil recovery has been observed to vary exponentially with Bond and capillary numbers, for the experiments presented in this report. A predictive model using the bundle of capillary tube approach has been developed to predict the performance of free gravity drainage process. In Section II, a mechanistic Parachor model has been proposed for improved prediction of IFT as well as to characterize the mass transfer effects for miscibility development in reservoir crude oil-solvent systems. Sensitivity studies on model results indicate that provision of a single IFT measurement in the proposed model is sufficient for reasonable IFT predictions. An attempt has been made to correlate the exponent (n) in the mechanistic model with normalized solute compositions present in both fluid

Solar Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery, (STEOR) Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elzinga, E.; Arnold, C.; Allen, D.; Garman, R.; Joy, P.; Mitchell, P.; Shaw, H.

1980-11-01

Thermal enhanced oil recovery is widely used in California to aid in the production of heavy oils. Steam injection either to stimulate individual wells or to drive oil to the producing wells, is by far the major thermal process today and has been in use for over 20 years. Since steam generation at the necessary pressures (generally below 4000 kPa (580 psia)) is within the capabilities of present day solar technology, it is logical to consider the possibilities of solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (STEOR). The present project consisted of an evaluation of STEOR. Program objectives, system selection, trade-off studies, preliminary design, cost estimate, development plan, and market and economic analysis are summarized.

Microbial enhancement of oil recovery: Recent advances

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Premuzic, E.T.; Woodhead, A.D.; Vivirito, K.J.

1992-01-01

During recent years, systematic, scientific, and engineering effort by researchers in the United States and abroad, has established the scientific basis for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) technology. The successful application of MEOR technology as an oil recovery process is a goal of the Department of Energy (DOE). Research efforts involving aspects of MEOR in the microbiological, biochemical, and engineering fields led DOE to sponsor an International Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1992, to facilitate the exchange of information and a discussion of ideas for the future research emphasis. At this, the Fourth International MEOR Conference, where international attendeesmore » from 12 countries presented a total of 35 papers, participants saw an equal distribution between research'' and field applications.'' In addition, several modeling and state-of-the-art'' presentations summed up the present status of MEOR science and engineering. Individual papers in this proceedings have been process separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.« less

Process for oil shale retorting

DOEpatents

Jones, John B.; Kunchal, S. Kumar

1981-10-27

Particulate oil shale is subjected to a pyrolysis with a hot, non-oxygenous gas in a pyrolysis vessel, with the products of the pyrolysis of the shale contained kerogen being withdrawn as an entrained mist of shale oil droplets in a gas for a separation of the liquid from the gas. Hot retorted shale withdrawn from the pyrolysis vessel is treated in a separate container with an oxygenous gas so as to provide combustion of residual carbon retained on the shale, producing a high temperature gas for the production of some steam and for heating the non-oxygenous gas used in the oil shale retorting process in the first vessel. The net energy recovery includes essentially complete recovery of the organic hydrocarbon material in the oil shale as a liquid shale oil, a high BTU gas, and high temperature steam.

Optimization of parameters for enhanced oil recovery from enzyme treated wild apricot kernels.

PubMed

Rajaram, Mahatre R; Kumbhar, Baburao K; Singh, Anupama; Lohani, Umesh Chandra; Shahi, Navin C

2012-08-01

Present investigation was undertaken with the overall objective of optimizing the enzymatic parameters i.e. moisture content during hydrolysis, enzyme concentration, enzyme ratio and incubation period on wild apricot kernel processing for better oil extractability and increased oil recovery. Response surface methodology was adopted in the experimental design. A central composite rotatable design of four variables at five levels was chosen. The parameters and their range for the experiments were moisture content during hydrolysis (20-32%, w.b.), enzyme concentration (12-16% v/w of sample), combination of pectolytic and cellulolytic enzyme i.e. enzyme ratio (30:70-70:30) and incubation period (12-16 h). Aspergillus foetidus and Trichoderma viride was used for production of crude enzyme i.e. pectolytic and cellulolytic enzyme respectively. A complete second order model for increased oil recovery as the function of enzymatic parameters fitted the data well. The best fit model for oil recovery was also developed. The effect of various parameters on increased oil recovery was determined at linear, quadric and interaction level. The increased oil recovery ranged from 0.14 to 2.53%. The corresponding conditions for maximum oil recovery were 23% (w.b.), 15 v/w of the sample, 60:40 (pectolytic:cellulolytic), 13 h. Results of the study indicated that incubation period during enzymatic hydrolysis is the most important factor affecting oil yield followed by enzyme ratio, moisture content and enzyme concentration in the decreasing order. Enzyme ratio, incubation period and moisture content had insignificant effect on oil recovery. Second order model for increased oil recovery as a function of enzymatic hydrolysis parameters predicted the data adequately.

Novel approaches to microbial enhancement of oil recovery.

PubMed

Kryachko, Yuriy

2018-01-20

Microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) was shown to be feasible in a number of laboratory experiments and field trials. However, it has not been widely used in the oil industry because necessary conditions cannot always be easily established in an oil reservoir. Novel approaches to MEOR, which are based on newly discovered biosurfactant-mediated MEOR-mechanisms, are discussed in this review. Particularly, the possibility of combining MEOR with chemical enhancement of oil recovery in heterogeneous oil reservoirs, which involves rock surface wettability shifts and emulsion inversions, is discussed. In wider (centimeter/millimeter-scale) rock pores, the activity of (bio)surfactants and microbial cells attached to oil may allow releasing trapped oil blobs through oil-in-water emulsification. After no more oil can be emulsified, the addition of alkali or surfactants, which turn rock surface oil-wet, may help release oil droplets trapped in narrow (micrometer-scale) pores through coalescence of the droplets and water-in-oil emulsification. Experiments demonstrating the possibility of (bio)surfactant-mediated enhancement of immiscible gas-driven oil recovery are also reviewed. Interestingly, very low (bio)surfactant concentrations were shown to be needed for enhancement of immiscible gas-driven oil recovery. Some possible side effects of MEOR, such as unintended bioplugging and microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), are discussed as well. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a microbial process for the recovery of petroleum oil from depleted reservoirs at 91-96°C.

PubMed

Arora, Preeti; Ranade, Dilip R; Dhakephalkar, Prashant K

2014-08-01

A consortium of bacteria growing at 91°C and above (optimally at 96°C) was developed for the recovery of crude oil from declining/depleted oil reservoirs having temperature of more than 91°C. PCR-DGGE-Sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments of NJS-4 consortium revealed the presence of four strains identified as members of the genus Clostridium. The metabolites produced by NJS-4 consortium included volatile fatty acids, organic acids, surfactants, exopolysaccarides and CO2, which reduced viscosity, emulsified crude oil and increased the pressure that facilitated displacement of emulsified oil towards the surface. NJS-4 enhanced oil recovery by 26.7% and 10.1% in sand pack trials and core flood studies respectively in optimized nutrient medium comprised of sucrose and sodium acetate as carbon/energy source and urea as nitrogen source (pH 7-9, 96°C, and 4% salinity). Nutrient medium for MEOR was constituted using commercial grade cheap nutrients to improve the economic viability of MEOR process. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vanadium Recovery from Oil Fly Ash by Carbon Removal and Roast-Leach Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Myungwon; Mishra, Brajendra

2018-02-01

This research mainly focuses on the recovery of vanadium from oil fly ash by carbon removal and the roast-leach process. The oil fly ash contained about 85% unburned carbon and 2.2% vanadium by weight. A vanadium-enriched product was obtained after carbon removal, and the vanadium content of this product was 19% by weight. Next, the vanadium-enriched product was roasted with sodium carbonate to convert vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium metavanadate. The roasted sample was leached with water at 60°C, and the extraction percentage of vanadium was about 92% by weight. Several analytical techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), were utilized for sample analyses. Thermodynamic modeling was also conducted with HSC chemistry software to explain the experimental results.

Coreflood assay using extremophile microorganisms for recovery of heavy oil in Mexican oil fields.

PubMed

Castorena-Cortés, Gladys; Roldán-Carrillo, Teresa; Reyes-Avila, Jesús; Zapata-Peñasco, Icoquih; Mayol-Castillo, Martha; Olguín-Lora, Patricia

2012-10-01

A considerable portion of oil reserves in Mexico corresponds to heavy oils. This feature makes it more difficult to recover the remaining oil in the reservoir after extraction with conventional techniques. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) has been considered as a promising technique to further increase oil recovery, but its application has been developed mainly with light oils; therefore, more research is required for heavy oil. In this study, the recovery of Mexican heavy oil (11.1°API and viscosity 32,906 mPa s) in a coreflood experiment was evaluated using the extremophile mixed culture A7, which was isolated from a Mexican oil field. Culture A7 includes fermentative, thermophilic, and anaerobic microorganisms. The experiments included waterflooding and MEOR stages, and were carried out under reservoir conditions (70°C and 9.65 MPa). MEOR consisted of injections of nutrients and microorganisms followed by confinement periods. In the MEOR stages, the mixed culture A7 produced surface-active agents (surface tension reduction 27 mN m⁻¹), solvents (ethanol, 1738 mg L⁻¹), acids (693 mg L⁻¹), and gases, and also degraded heavy hydrocarbon fractions in an extreme environment. The interactions of these metabolites with the oil, as well as the bioconversion of heavy oil fractions to lighter fractions (increased alkanes in the C₈-C₃₀ range), were the mechanisms responsible for the mobility and recovery of heavy oil from the porous media. Oil recovery by MEOR was 19.48% of the residual oil in the core after waterflooding. These results show that MEOR is a potential alternative to heavy oil recovery in Mexican oil fields. Copyright © 2012 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trona-enhanced steam foam oil recovery process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lau, H.C.

1988-03-01

In a process in which steam and steam-foaming surfactant are injected into a subterranean reservoir for displacing a relatively acidic oil toward a production location, which process includes injecting into the reservoir, at least as soon as at least some portion of the steam is injected, (a) a kind and amount of water soluble, alkaline material effective for ion-exchanging multivalent ions from the reservoir rocks and precipitating compounds containing those ions and for causing the aqueous liquid phase of the injected fluid to form soaps of substantially all of the petroleum acids in the reservoir oil, and (b) at leastmore » one surfactant arranged for foaming the steam and providing a preformed cosurfactant material capable of increasing the salinity requirement of an aqueous surfactant system in which soaps derived from the reservoir oil comprise a primary surfactant, an improvement is described comprising: using as the water soluble alkaline material, a material consisting essentially of a substantially equal molar mixture of alkali metal carbonates and bicarbonates which is, or is substantially equivalent to, trona.« less

DEVELOPMENT OF BIOSURFACTANT-MEDIATED OIL RECOVERY IN MODEL POROUS SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER SIMULATIONS OF BIOSURFACTANT-MEDIATED OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

M.J. McInerney; S.K. Maudgalya; R. Knapp

2004-05-31

Current technology recovers only one-third to one-half of the oil that is originally present in an oil reservoir. Entrapment of petroleum hydrocarbons by capillary forces is a major factor that limits oil recovery (1, 3, 4). Hydrocarbon displacement can occur if interfacial tension (IFT) between the hydrocarbon and aqueous phases is reduced by several orders of magnitude. Microbially-produced biosurfactants may be an economical method to recover residual hydrocarbons since they are effective at low concentrations. Previously, we showed that substantial mobilization of residual hydrocarbon from a model porous system occurs at biosurfactant concentrations made naturally by B. mojavensis strain JF-1more » if a polymer and 2,3-butanediol were present (2). In this report, we include data on oil recovery from Berea sandstone experiments along with our previous data from sand pack columns in order to relate biosurfactant concentration to the fraction of oil recovered. We also investigate the effect that the JF-2 biosurfactant has on interfacial tension (IFT). The presence of a co-surfactant, 2,3-butanediol, was shown to improve oil recoveries possibly by changing the optimal salinity concentration of the formulation. The JF-2 biosurfactant lowered IFT by nearly 2 orders of magnitude compared to typical values of 28-29 mN/m. Increasing the salinity increased the IFT with or without 2,3-butanediol present. The lowest interfacial tension observed was 0.1 mN/m. Tertiary oil recovery experiments showed that biosurfactant solutions with concentrations ranging from 10 to 60 mg/l in the presence of 0.1 mM 2,3-butanediol and 1 g/l of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA) recovered 10-40% of the residual oil present in Berea sandstone cores. When PHPA was used alone, about 10% of the residual oil was recovered. Thus, about 10% of the residual oil recovered in these experiments was due to the increase in viscosity of the displacing fluid. Little or no oil was recovered at

Using CO2 Prophet to estimate recovery factors for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, Emil D.

2017-07-17

IntroductionThe Oil and Gas Journal’s enhanced oil recovery (EOR) survey for 2014 (Koottungal, 2014) showed that gas injection is the most frequently applied method of EOR in the United States and that carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is the most commonly used injection fluid for miscible operations. The CO2-EOR process typically follows primary and secondary (waterflood) phases of oil reservoir development. The common objective of implementing a CO2-EOR program is to produce oil that remains after the economic limit of waterflood recovery is reached. Under conditions of miscibility or multicontact miscibility, the injected CO2 partitions between the gas and liquid CO2 phases, swells the oil, and reduces the viscosity of the residual oil so that the lighter fractions of the oil vaporize and mix with the CO2 gas phase (Teletzke and others, 2005). Miscibility occurs when the reservoir pressure is at least at the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). The MMP depends, in turn, on oil composition, impurities of the CO2 injection stream, and reservoir temperature. At pressures below the MMP, component partitioning, oil swelling, and viscosity reduction occur, but the efficiency is increasingly reduced as the pressure falls farther below the MMP. CO2-EOR processes are applied at the reservoir level, where a reservoir is defined as an underground formation containing an individual and separate pool of producible hydrocarbons that is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is characterized by a single natural pressure system. A field may consist of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs that are not in communication but which may be associated with or related to a single structural or stratigraphic feature (U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA], 2000). The purpose of modeling the CO2-EOR process is discussed along with the potential CO2-EOR predictive models. The data demands of models and the scope of the assessments require tradeoffs between reservoir

Microbial enhanced oil recovery and compositions therefor

DOEpatents

Bryant, Rebecca S.

1990-01-01

A method is provided for microbial enhanced oil recovery, wherein a combination of microorganisms is empirically formulated based on survivability under reservoir conditions and oil recovery efficiency, such that injection of the microbial combination may be made, in the presence of essentially only nutrient solution, directly into an injection well of an oil bearing reservoir having oil present at waterflood residual oil saturation concentration. The microbial combination is capable of displacing residual oil from reservoir rock, which oil may be recovered by waterflooding without causing plugging of the reservoir rock. Further, the microorganisms are capable of being transported through the pores of the reservoir rock between said injection well and associated production wells, during waterflooding, which results in a larger area of the reservoir being covered by the oil-mobilizing microorganisms.

Foam-oil interaction in porous media: implications for foam assisted enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Farajzadeh, R; Andrianov, A; Krastev, R; Hirasaki, G J; Rossen, W R

2012-11-15

The efficiency of a foam displacement process in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) depends largely on the stability of foam films in the presence of oil. Experimental studies have demonstrated the detrimental impact of oil on foam stability. This paper reviews the mechanisms and theories (disjoining pressure, coalescence and drainage, entering and spreading of oil, oil emulsification, pinch-off, etc.) suggested in the literature to explain the impact of oil on foam stability in the bulk and porous media. Moreover, we describe the existing approaches to foam modeling in porous media and the ways these models describe the oil effect on foam propagation in porous media. Further, we present various ideas on an improvement of foam stability and longevity in the presence of oil. The outstanding questions regarding foam-oil interactions and modeling of these interactions are pointed out. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of measures to improve technologies of energy recovery from gaseous wastes of oil shale processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tugov, A. N.; Ots, A.; Siirde, A.; Sidorkin, V. T.; Ryabov, G. A.

2016-06-01

Prospects of the use of oil shale are associated with its thermal processing for the production of liquid fuel, shale oil. Gaseous by-products, such as low-calorie generator gas with a calorific value up to 4.3MJ/m3 or semicoke gas with a calorific value up to 56.57 MJ/m3, are generated depending on the oil shale processing method. The main methods of energy recovery from these gases are either their cofiring with oil shale in power boilers or firing only under gaseous conditions in reconstructed or specially designed for this fuel boilers. The possible use of gaseous products of oil shale processing in gas-turbine or gas-piston units is also considered. Experiments on the cofiring of oil shale gas and its gaseous processing products have been carried out on boilers BKZ-75-39FSl in Kohtla-Järve and on the boiler TP-101 of the Estonian power plant. The test results have shown that, in the case of cofiring, the concentration of sulfur oxides in exhaust gases does not exceed the level of existing values in the case of oil shale firing. The low-temperature corrosion rate does not change as compared to the firing of only oil shale, and, therefore, operation conditions of boiler back-end surfaces do not worsen. When implementing measures to reduce the generation of NO x , especially of flue gas recirculation, it has been possible to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides in the whole boiler. The operation experience of the reconstructed boilers BKZ-75-39FSl after their transfer to the firing of only gaseous products of oil shale processing is summarized. Concentrations of nitrogen and sulfur oxides in the combustion products of semicoke and generator gases are measured. Technical solutions that made it possible to minimize the damage to air heater pipes associated with the low-temperature sulfur corrosion are proposed and implemented. The technological measures for burners of new boilers that made it possible to burn gaseous products of oil shale processing with low

Microbial enhanced heavy crude oil recovery through biodegradation using bacterial isolates from an Omani oil field.

PubMed

Al-Sayegh, Abdullah; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya; Al-Bahry, Saif; Elshafie, Abdulkadir; Al-Bemani, Ali; Joshi, Sanket

2015-09-16

Biodegradation is a cheap and environmentally friendly process that could breakdown and utilizes heavy crude oil (HCO) resources. Numerous bacteria are able to grow using hydrocarbons as a carbon source; however, bacteria that are able to grow using HCO hydrocarbons are limited. In this study, HCO degrading bacteria were isolated from an Omani heavy crude oil field. They were then identified and assessed for their biodegradation and biotransformation abilities under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Bacteria were grown in five different minimum salts media. The isolates were identified by MALDI biotyper and 16S rRNA sequencing. The nucleotide sequences were submitted to GenBank (NCBI) database. The bacteria were identified as Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis. To assess microbial growth and biodegradation of HCO by well-assay on agar plates, samples were collected at different intervals. The HCO biodegradation and biotransformation were determined using GC-FID, which showed direct correlation of microbial growth with an increased biotransformation of light hydrocarbons (C12 and C14). Among the isolates, B. licheniformis AS5 was the most efficient isolate in biodegradation and biotransformation of the HCO. Therefore, isolate AS5 was used for heavy crude oil recovery experiments, in core flooding experiments using Berea core plugs, where an additional 16 % of oil initially in place was recovered. This is the first report from Oman for bacteria isolated from an oil field that were able to degrade and transform HCO to lighter components, illustrating the potential use in HCO recovery. The data suggested that biodegradation and biotransformation processes may lead to additional oil recovery from heavy oil fields, if bacteria are grown in suitable medium under optimum growth conditions.

Uncertainty Quantification for CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Z.; Middleton, R.; Bauman, J.; Viswanathan, H.; Fessenden-Rahn, J.; Pawar, R.; Lee, S.

2013-12-01

CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is currently an option for permanently sequestering CO2 in oil reservoirs while increasing oil/gas productions economically. In this study we have developed a framework for understanding CO2 storage potential within an EOR-sequestration environment at the Farnsworth Unit of the Anadarko Basin in northern Texas. By coupling a EOR tool--SENSOR (CEI, 2011) with a uncertainty quantification tool PSUADE (Tong, 2011), we conduct an integrated Monte Carlo simulation of water, oil/gas components and CO2 flow and reactive transport in the heterogeneous Morrow formation to identify the key controlling processes and optimal parameters for CO2 sequestration and EOR. A global sensitivity and response surface analysis are conducted with PSUADE to build numerically the relationship among CO2 injectivity, oil/gas production, reservoir parameters and distance between injection and production wells. The results indicate that the reservoir permeability and porosity are the key parameters to control the CO2 injection, oil and gas (CH4) recovery rates. The distance between the injection and production wells has large impact on oil and gas recovery and net CO2 injection rates. The CO2 injectivity increases with the increasing reservoir permeability and porosity. The distance between injection and production wells is the key parameter for designing an EOR pattern (such as a five (or nine)-spot pattern). The optimal distance for a five-spot-pattern EOR in this site is estimated from the response surface analysis to be around 400 meters. Next, we are building the machinery into our risk assessment framework CO2-PENS to utilize these response surfaces and evaluate the operation risk for CO2 sequestration and EOR at this site.

Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, July--September 1990

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tiedemann, H.A.

1991-05-01

The report contains a general introduction and background to DOE's revised National Energy Strategy Advanced Oil Recovery Program and activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force; a detailed synopsis of the symposium, including technical presentations, comments and suggestions; a section of technical information on deltaic reservoirs; and appendices containing a comprehensive listing of references keyed to general deltaic and geological aspects of reservoirs and those relevant to six selected deltaic plays. Enhanced recovery processes include chemical floodings, gas displacement, thermal recovery, geoscience, and microbial recovery.

Microbial enhancement of oil recovery: Recent advances. Proceedings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Premuzic, E.T.; Woodhead, A.D.; Vivirito, K.J.

1992-12-31

During recent years, systematic, scientific, and engineering effort by researchers in the United States and abroad, has established the scientific basis for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) technology. The successful application of MEOR technology as an oil recovery process is a goal of the Department of Energy (DOE). Research efforts involving aspects of MEOR in the microbiological, biochemical, and engineering fields led DOE to sponsor an International Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1992, to facilitate the exchange of information and a discussion of ideas for the future research emphasis. At this, the Fourth International MEOR Conference, where international attendeesmore » from 12 countries presented a total of 35 papers, participants saw an equal distribution between ``research`` and ``field applications.`` In addition, several modeling and ``state-of-the-art`` presentations summed up the present status of MEOR science and engineering. Individual papers in this proceedings have been process separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.« less

Microbial enhanced oil recovery and wettability research program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas, C.P.; Bala, G.A.; Duvall, M.L.

1991-07-01

This report covers research results for the microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) and wettability research program conducted by EG G Idaho, Inc. at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The isolation and characterization of microbial species collected from various locations including target oil field environments is underway to develop more effective oil recovery systems for specific applications. The wettability research is a multi-year collaborative effort with the New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center (NMPRRC), to evaluate reservoir wettability and its effects on oil recovery. Results from the wettability research will be applied to determine if alteration of wettability is amore » significant contributing mechanism for MEOR systems. Eight facultatively anaerobic surfactant producing isolates able to function in the reservoir conditions of the Minnelusa A Sands of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming were isolated from naturally occurring oil-laden environments. Isolates were characterized according to morphology, thermostability, halotolerance, growth substrates, affinity to crude oil/brine interfaces, degradative effects on crude oils, and biochemical profiles. Research at the INEL has focused on the elucidation of microbial mechanisms by which crude oil may be recovered from a reservoir and the chemical and physical properties of the reservoir that may impact the effectiveness of MEOR. Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 (ATCC 39307) has been used as a benchmark organism to quantify MEOR of medium weight crude oils (17.5 to 38.1{degrees}API) the capacity for oil recovery of Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 utilizing a sucrose-based nutrient has been elucidated using Berea sandstone cores. Spacial distribution of cells after microbial flooding has been analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. Also the effect of microbial surfactants on the interfacial tensions (IFT) of aqueous/crude oil systems has been measured. 87 refs., 60 figs., 15 tabs.« less

Effect of ultrasound on oil recovery from crude oil containing sludge.

PubMed

He, Shilong; Tan, Xicheng; Hu, Xin; Gao, Yingxin

2018-01-16

To recover oil from crude oil containing sludge is still a research hot topic from the view of sustainability, in which ultrasonic has been proven to be an efficient and environment friendly technique. However, the effect of sludge characteristic on ultrasonic-assisted oil recovery efficiency is little known. In this study, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted based on six types of crude oily sludge with hydrophilicity and lipophilicity separately and five different ultrasonic operation factors (ultrasonic power (A), frequency (B), time (C), initial temperature (D) and pH (E)). The results showed that the oil recovery efficiency was mainly affected by the ultrasonic power and hydrophilicity of sludge (the highest 92% of oil recovery rate was achieved with the ultrasonic power of 240 W and hydrophilic sludge). Moreover, the wettability, decreased average particle size and increased specific surface area of sludge were found after ultrasonic treatment. Besides, changes in the oil component, such as the decrease of asphaltenes along with an increase of saturates, were also further observed. Therefore, the findings in this study can provide technical support for the practical application of ultrasonic technology in different kinds of oily sludge treatment.

Aqueous flooding methods for tertiary oil recovery

DOEpatents

Peru, Deborah A.

1989-01-01

A method of aqueous flooding of subterranean oil bearing formation for tertiary oil recovery involves injecting through a well into the formation a low alkaline pH aqueous sodium bicarbonate flooding solution. The flooding solution's pH ranges from about 8.25 to 9.25 and comprises from 0.25 to 5 weight percent and preferably about 0.75 to 3.0 weight percent of sodium bicarbonate and includes a petroleum recovery surfactant of 0.05 to 1.0 weight percent and between 1 and 20 weight percent of sodium chloride. After flooding, an oil and water mixture is withdrawn from the well and the oil is separated from the oil and water mixture.

A review on applications of nanotechnology in the enhanced oil recovery part A: effects of nanoparticles on interfacial tension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheraghian, Goshtasp; Hendraningrat, Luky

2016-01-01

Chemical enhanced oil recovery is another strong growing technology with the potential of a step change innovation, which will help to secure future oil supply by turning resources into reserves. While Substantial amount of crude oil remains in the reservoir after primary and secondary production, conventional production methods give access to on average only one-third of original oil in place, the use of surfactants and polymers allows for recovery of up to another third of this oil. Chemical flooding is of increasing interest and importance due to high oil prices and the need to increase oil production. Research in nanotechnology in the petroleum industry is advancing rapidly and an enormous progress in the application of nanotechnology in this area is to be expected. Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly change enhanced oil recovery and to improve mechanism of recovery. This paper, therefore, focuses on the reviews of the application of nano technology in chemical flooding process in oil recovery and reviews the application nano in the polymer and surfactant flooding on the interfacial tension process.

Economic analysis of secondary and enhanced oil recovery techniques in Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kara, Erdal

This dissertation primarily aims to theoretically analyze a firm's optimization of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon dioxide sequestration under different social policies and empirically analyze the firm's optimization of enhanced oil recovery. The final part of the dissertation empirically analyzes how geological factors and water injection management influence oil recovery. The first chapter builds a theoretical model to analyze economic optimization of EOR and geological carbon sequestration under different social policies. Specifically, it analyzes how social policies on sequestration influence the extent of oil operations, optimal oil production and CO2 sequestration. The theoretical results show that the socially optimal policy is a subsidy on the net CO2 sequestration, assuming negative net emissions from EOR. Such a policy is expected to increase a firm's total carbon dioxide sequestration. The second chapter statistically estimates the theoretical oil production model and its different versions. Empirical results are not robust over different estimation techniques and not in line with the theoretical production model. The last part of the second chapter utilizes a simplified version of theoretical model and concludes that EOR via CO2 injection improves oil recovery. The final chapter analyzes how a contemporary oil recovery technology (water flooding of oil reservoirs) and various reservoir-specific geological factors influence oil recovery in Wyoming. The results show that there is a positive concave relationship between cumulative water injection and cumulative oil recovery and also show that certain geological factors affect the oil recovery. Moreover, the curvature of the concave functional relationship between cumulative water injection and oil recovery is reservoir-specific due to heterogeneities among different reservoirs.

Alkali-enhanced steam foam oil recovery process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lau, H.C.

1986-09-02

This patent describes a process in which steam and steam-foaming surfactant are injected into a subterranean reservoir for displacing a relatively acidic oil toward a production location. An improvement is described which consisits of: injecting into the reservoir, at least as soon as at least some portion of the steam is injected, (a) a kind and amount of water soluble, alkaline material effective for ion-exchanging multivalent ions from the reservoir rocks and precipitating compounds containing those ions and for causing the aqueous liquid phase of the injected fluid to form soaps of substantially all of the petroleum acids in themore » reservoir oil, and (b) at least one surfactant arranged for foaming the steam and providing a preformed cosurfactant material capable of increasing the salinity requirement of an aqueous surfactant system in which soaps derived from the reservoir oil comprise a primary surfactant.« less

A review on applications of nanotechnology in the enhanced oil recovery part B: effects of nanoparticles on flooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheraghian, Goshtasp; Hendraningrat, Luky

2016-11-01

Chemical flooding is of increasing interest and importance due to high oil prices and the need to increase oil production. Research in nanotechnology in the petroleum industry is advancing rapidly, and an enormous progress in the application of nanotechnology in this area is to be expected. The nanotechnology has been widely used in several other industries, and the interest in the oil industry is increasing. Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly change enhanced oil recovery and to improve mechanism of recovery, and it is chosen as an alternative method to unlock the remaining oil resources and applied as a new enhanced oil recovery method in last decade. This paper therefore focuses on the reviews of the application of nanotechnology in chemical flooding process in oil recovery and reviews the applications of nanomaterials for improving oil recovery that have been proposed to explain oil displacement by polymer flooding within oil reservoirs, and also this paper highlights the research advances of polymer in oil recovery. Nanochemical flooding is an immature method from an application point of view.

Impacts, recovery rates, and treatment options for spilled oil in marshes.

PubMed

Michel, Jacqueline; Rutherford, Nicolle

2014-05-15

In a review of the literature on impacts of spilled oil on marshes, 32 oil spills and field experiments were identified with sufficient data to generate recovery curves and identify influencing factors controlling the rate of recovery. For many spills, recovery occurred within 1-2 growing seasons, even in the absence of any treatment. Recovery was longest for spills with the following conditions: Cold climate; sheltered settings; thick oil on the marsh surface; light refined products with heavy loading; oils that formed persistent thick residues; and intensive treatment. Recovery was shortest for spills with the following conditions: Warm climate; light to heavy oiling of the vegetation only; medium crude oils; and less-intensive treatment. Recommendations are made for treatment based on the following oiling conditions: Free-floating oil on the water in the marsh; thicker oil (>0.5 cm) on marsh surface; thinner oil (<0.5 cm) on marsh surface; heavy oil loading on vegetation; and light to moderate oil loading on vegetation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force, reporting period March--August 1991; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, reporting period October--December 1990

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

Activities of DOE's Oil Implementation Task Force for the period March--August 1991 are reviewed. Contracts for fields projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery are discussed, with a list of related publications given. Enhanced recovery processes covered include chemical flooding, gas displacement, thermal recovery, and microbial recovery.

Starting up microbial enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Siegert, Michael; Sitte, Jana; Galushko, Alexander; Krüger, Martin

2014-01-01

This chapter gives the reader a practical introduction into microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) including the microbial production of natural gas from oil. Decision makers who consider the use of one of these technologies are provided with the required scientific background as well as with practical advice for upgrading an existing laboratory in order to conduct microbiological experiments. We believe that the conversion of residual oil into natural gas (methane) and the in situ production of biosurfactants are the most promising approaches for MEOR and therefore focus on these topics. Moreover, we give an introduction to the microbiology of oilfields and demonstrate that in situ microorganisms as well as injected cultures can help displace unrecoverable oil in place (OIP). After an initial research phase, the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) manager must decide whether MEOR would be economical. MEOR generally improves oil production but the increment may not justify the investment. Therefore, we provide a brief economical assessment at the end of this chapter. We describe the necessary state-of-the-art scientific equipment to guide EOR managers towards an appropriate MEOR strategy. Because it is inevitable to characterize the microbial community of an oilfield that should be treated using MEOR techniques, we describe three complementary start-up approaches. These are: (i) culturing methods, (ii) the characterization of microbial communities and possible bio-geochemical pathways by using molecular biology methods, and (iii) interfacial tension measurements. In conclusion, we hope that this chapter will facilitate a decision on whether to launch MEOR activities. We also provide an update on relevant literature for experienced MEOR researchers and oilfield operators. Microbiologists will learn about basic principles of interface physics needed to study the impact of microorganisms living on oil droplets. Last but not least, students and technicians trying to understand

26 CFR 1.43-4 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2014-04-01 2013-04-01 true Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. 1.43-4... TAXES Credits Against Tax § 1.43-4 Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. (a) Qualifying costs—(1) In... “qualified enhanced oil recovery costs” if the amounts are paid or incurred with respect to an asset which is...

Method for maximizing shale oil recovery from an underground formation

DOEpatents

Sisemore, Clyde J.

1980-01-01

A method for maximizing shale oil recovery from an underground oil shale formation which has previously been processed by in situ retorting such that there is provided in the formation a column of substantially intact oil shale intervening between adjacent spent retorts, which method includes the steps of back filling the spent retorts with an aqueous slurry of spent shale. The slurry is permitted to harden into a cement-like substance which stabilizes the spent retorts. Shale oil is then recovered from the intervening column of intact oil shale by retorting the column in situ, the stabilized spent retorts providing support for the newly developed retorts.

Nonmonotonic Elasticity of the Crude Oil-Brine Interface in Relation to Improved Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Chávez-Miyauchi, Tomás E; Firoozabadi, Abbas; Fuller, Gerald G

2016-03-08

Injection of optimized chemistry water in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has gained much interest in the past few years. Crude oil-water interfaces can have a viscoelastic character affected by the adsorption of amphiphilic molecules. The brine concentration as well as surfactants may strongly affect the fluid-fluid interfacial viscoelasticity. In this work we investigate interfacial viscoelasticity of two different oils in terms of brine concentration and a nonionic surfactant. We correlate these measurements with oil recovery in a glass-etched flow microchannel. Interfacial viscoelasticity develops relatively fast in both oils, stabilizing at about 48 h. The interfaces are found to be more elastic than viscous. The interfacial elastic (G') and viscous (G″) moduli increase as the salt concentration decreases until a maximum in viscoelasticity is observed around 0.01 wt % of salt. Monovalent (Na(+)) and divalent (Mg(2+)) cations are used to investigate the effect of ion type; no difference is observed at low salinity. The introduction of a small amount of a surfactant (100 ppm) increases the elasticity of the crude oil-water interface at high salt concentration. Aqueous solutions that give the maximum interface viscoelasticity and high salinity brines are used to displace oil in a glass-etched "porous media" micromodel. Pressure fluctuations after breakthrough are observed in systems with high salt concentration while at low salt concentration there are no appreciable pressure fluctuations. Oil recovery increases by 5-10% in low salinity brines. By using a small amount of a nonionic surfactant with high salinity brine, oil recovery is enhanced 10% with no pressure fluctuations. Interface elasticity reduces the snap-off of the oil phase, leading to reduced pressure fluctuations. This study sheds light on significance of interface viscoelasticity in oil recovery by change in salt concentration and by addition of a small amount of a nonionic surfactant.

HEAVY AND THERMAL OIL RECOVERY PRODUCTION MECHANISMS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anthony R. Kovscek

2003-04-01

This technical progress report describes work performed from January 1 through March 31, 2003 for the project ''Heavy and Thermal Oil Recovery Production Mechanisms,'' DE-FC26-00BC15311. In this project, a broad spectrum of research is undertaken related to thermal and heavy-oil recovery. The research tools and techniques span from pore-level imaging of multiphase fluid flow to definition of reservoir-scale features through streamline-based history matching techniques. During this period, previous analysis of experimental data regarding multidimensional imbibition to obtain shape factors appropriate for dual-porosity simulation was verified by comparison among analytic, dual-porosity simulation, and fine-grid simulation. We continued to study the mechanismsmore » by which oil is produced from fractured porous media at high pressure and high temperature. Temperature has a beneficial effect on recovery and reduces residual oil saturation. A new experiment was conducted on diatomite core. Significantly, we show that elevated temperature induces fines release in sandstone cores and this behavior may be linked to wettability. Our work in the area of primary production of heavy oil continues with field cores and crude oil. On the topic of reservoir definition, work continued on developing techniques that integrate production history into reservoir models using streamline-based properties.« less

Zeta potential in oil-water-carbonate systems and its impact on oil recovery during controlled salinity water-flooding

PubMed Central

Jackson, Matthew D.; Al-Mahrouqi, Dawoud; Vinogradov, Jan

2016-01-01

Laboratory experiments and field trials have shown that oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs can be increased by modifying the brine composition injected during recovery in a process termed controlled salinity water-flooding (CSW). However, CSW remains poorly understood and there is no method to predict the optimum CSW composition. This work demonstrates for the first time that improved oil recovery (IOR) during CSW is strongly correlated to changes in zeta potential at both the mineral-water and oil-water interfaces. We report experiments in which IOR during CSW occurs only when the change in brine composition induces a repulsive electrostatic force between the oil-brine and mineral-brine interfaces. The polarity of the zeta potential at both interfaces must be determined when designing the optimum CSW composition. A new experimental method is presented that allows this. Results also show for the first time that the zeta potential at the oil-water interface may be positive at conditions relevant to carbonate reservoirs. A key challenge for any model of CSW is to explain why IOR is not always observed. Here we suggest that failures using the conventional (dilution) approach to CSW may have been caused by a positively charged oil-water interface that had not been identified. PMID:27876833

Harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) perspective: Harlequin duck population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Progress, process, and constraints

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esler, Daniel N.; Bowman, Timothy D.; Trust, Kimberly A.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Dean, Thomas A.; Jewett, Stephen C.; O'Clair, Charles E.; Holland-Bartels, Leslie E.

2002-01-01

Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, we studied the status of recovery of harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) populations during 1995-1998. We evaluated potential constraints to full recovery, including (1) exposure to residual oil, (2) food limitation, and (3) intrinsic demographic limitations on population growth rates. In this paper, we synthesize the findings from our work and incorporate information from other harlequin duck research and monitoring programs to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the response of this species to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We conclude that harlequin duck populations had not fully recovered by 1998. Furthermore, adverse effects continued as many as 9 years after the oil spill, in contrast to the conventional paradigm that oil spill effects on bird populations are short-lived. These conclusions are based on the findings that (1) elevated cytochrome P450 induction on oiled areas indicated continued exposure to oil in 1998, (2) adult female winter survival was lower on oiled than unoiled areas during 1995-1998, (3) fall population surveys by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicated numerical declines in oiled areas during 1995-1997, and (4) densities on oiled areas in 1996 and 1997 were lower than expected using models that accounted for effects of habitat attributes. Based on hypothesized links between oil contamination and demography, we suggest that harlequin duck population recovery was constrained primarily by continued oil exposure. Full population recovery also will be delayed by the time necessary for intrinsic population growth to allow return to pre-spill numbers following cessation of residual oil spill effects. Although not all wildlife species were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and some others may have recovered quickly from any effects, harlequin duck life history characteristics and benthic, nearshore feeding habits make them susceptible to both initial

Modeling for the allocation of oil spill recovery capacity considering environmental and economic factors.

PubMed

Ha, Min-Jae

2018-01-01

This study presents a regional oil spill risk assessment and capacities for marine oil spill response in Korea. The risk assessment of oil spill is carried out using both causal factors and environmental/economic factors. The weight of each parameter is calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Final regional risk degrees of oil spill are estimated by combining the degree and weight of each existing parameter. From these estimated risk levels, oil recovery capacities were determined with reference to the recovery target of 7500kl specified in existing standards. The estimates were deemed feasible, and provided a more balanced distribution of resources than existing capacities set according to current standards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular design of high performance zwitterionic liquids for enhanced heavy-oil recovery processes.

PubMed

Martínez-Magadán, J M; Cartas-Rosado, A R; Oviedo-Roa, R; Cisneros-Dévora, R; Pons-Jiménez, M; Hernández-Altamirano, R; Zamudio-Rivera, L S

2018-03-01

Branched gemini zwitterionic liquids, which contain two zwitterionic moieties of linked quaternary-ammonium and carboxylate groups, are proposed as chemicals to be applied in the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) from fractured carbonate reservoirs. The zwitterionic moieties are bridged between them through an alkyl chain containing 12 ether groups, and each zwitterionic moiety has attached a long alkyl tail including a CC double bond. A theoretical molecular mechanism over which EOR could rest, consisting on both the disaggregation of heavy oil and the reservoir-rock wettability alteration, was suggested. Results show that chemicals can both reduce the viscosity and remove heavy-oil molecules from the rock surface. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The effects of fractional wettability on microbial enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wildenschild, D.; Armstrong, R. T.

2011-12-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a tertiary oil recovery technology that has had inconsistent success at the field-scale, while lab-scale experiments are mostly successful. One potential reason for these inconsistencies is that the efficacy of MEOR in fractional-wet systems is unknown. Our MEOR strategy consists of the injection of ex situ produced metabolic byproducts produced by Bacillus mojavensis JF-2 (that lower interfacial tension via biosurfactant production) into fractional-wet cores containing residual oil. Fractional-wet cores tested were 50%, 25%, and 0% oil-wet and two different MEOR flooding solutions were tested; one solution contained both microbes and metabolic byproducts while the other contained only the metabolic byproducts. The columns were imaged with x-ray computed microtomography (CMT) after water flooding, and after MEOR, which allowed for the evaluation of the pore-scale processes taking place during MEOR and wettability effects. Results indicate that during MEOR the larger residual oil blobs in mostly fractional-wet pores and residual oil held under relatively low capillary pressures were the main fractions recovered, while residual oil blobs in purely oil-wet pores remained in place. Residual oil saturation, interfacial curvatures, and oil blob sizes were measured from the CMT images and used to develop a conceptual model for MEOR in fractional-wet systems. Overall, results indicate that MEOR was effective at recovering oil from fractional-wet systems with reported additional oil recovered (AOR) values between 44% and 80%; the highest AOR values were observed in the most oil-wet system.

Distribution and Recovery of Crude Oil in Various Types of Porous Media and Heterogeneity Configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tick, G. R.; Ghosh, J.; Greenberg, R. R.; Akyol, N. H.

2015-12-01

A series of pore-scale experiments were conducted to understand the interfacial processes contributing to the removal of crude oil from various porous media during surfactant-induced remediation. Effects of physical heterogeneity (i.e. media uniformity) and carbonate soil content on oil recovery and distribution were evaluated through pore scale quantification techniques. Additionally, experiments were conducted to evaluate impacts of tetrachloroethene (PCE) content on crude oil distribution and recovery under these same conditions. Synchrotron X-ray microtomography (SXM) was used to obtain high-resolution images of the two-fluid-phase oil/water system, and quantify temporal changes in oil blob distribution, blob morphology, and blob surface area before and after sequential surfactant flooding events. The reduction of interfacial tension in conjunction with the sufficient increase in viscous forces as a result of surfactant flushing was likely responsible for mobilization and recovery of lighter fractions of crude oil. Corresponding increases in viscous forces were insufficient to initiate and maintain the displacement of the heavy crude oil in more homogeneous porous media systems during surfactant flushing. Interestingly, higher relative recoveries of heavy oil fractions were observed within more heterogeneous porous media indicating that wettability may be responsible for controlling mobilization in these systems. Compared to the "pure" crude oil experiments, preliminary results show that crude oil with PCE produced variability in oil distribution and recovery before and after each surfactant-flooding event. Such effects were likely influenced by viscosity and interfacial tension modifications associated with the crude-oil/solvent mixed systems.

Shale-oil-recovery systems incorporating ore beneficiation. Final report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weiss, M.A.; Klumpar, I.V.; Peterson, C.R.

This study analyzed the recovery of oil from oil shale by use of proposed systems which incorporate beneficiation of the shale ore (that is concentration of the kerogen before the oil-recovery step). The objective was to identify systems which could be more attractive than conventional surface retorting of ore. No experimental work was carried out. The systems analyzed consisted of beneficiation methods which could increase kerogen concentrations by at least four-fold. Potentially attractive low-enrichment methods such as density separation were not examined. The technical alternatives considered were bounded by the secondary crusher as input and raw shale oil as output.more » A sequence of ball milling, froth flotation, and retorting concentrate is not attractive for Western shales compared to conventional ore retorting; transporting the concentrate to another location for retorting reduces air emissions in the ore region but cost reduction is questionable. The high capital and energy cost s results largely from the ball milling step which is very inefficient. Major improvements in comminution seem achievable through research and such improvements, plus confirmation of other assumptions, could make high-enrichment beneficiation competitive with conventional processing. 27 figures, 23 tables.« less

Shoreline oiling effects and recovery of salt marsh macroinvertebrates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

PubMed Central

Fleeger, John W.; Bourgoin, Stefan M.; Mendelssohn, Irving A.; Lin, Qianxin; Hou, Aixin

2017-01-01

Salt marshes in northern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA were oiled, sometimes heavily, in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Previous studies indicate that fiddler crabs (in the genus Uca) and the salt marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) were negatively impacted in the short term by the spill. Here, we detail longer-term effects and recovery from moderate and heavy oiling over a 3-year span, beginning 30 months after the spill. Although neither fiddler crab burrow density nor diameter differed between oiled and reference sites when combined across all sampling events, these traits differed among some individual sampling periods consistent with a pattern of lingering oiling impacts. Periwinkle density, however, increased in all oiling categories and shell-length groups during our sampling period, and periwinkle densities were consistently highest at moderately oiled sites where Spartina alterniflora aboveground biomass was highest. Periwinkle shell length linearly increased from a mean of 16.5 to 19.2 mm over the study period at reference sites. In contrast, shell lengths at moderately oiled and heavily oiled sites increased through month 48 after the spill, but then decreased. This decrease was associated with a decline in the relative abundance of large adults (shell length 21–26 mm) at oiled sites which was likely caused by chronic hydrocarbon toxicity or oil-induced effects on habitat quality or food resources. Overall, the recovery of S. alterniflora facilitated the recovery of fiddler crabs and periwinkles. However, our long-term record not only indicates that variation in periwinkle mean shell length and length-frequency distributions are sensitive indicators of the health and recovery of the marsh, but agrees with synoptic studies of vegetation and infaunal communities that full recovery of heavily oiled sites will take longer than 66 months. PMID:28828273

Shoreline oiling effects and recovery of salt marsh macroinvertebrates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

PubMed

Deis, Donald R; Fleeger, John W; Bourgoin, Stefan M; Mendelssohn, Irving A; Lin, Qianxin; Hou, Aixin

2017-01-01

Salt marshes in northern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA were oiled, sometimes heavily, in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Previous studies indicate that fiddler crabs (in the genus Uca ) and the salt marsh periwinkle ( Littoraria irrorata) were negatively impacted in the short term by the spill. Here, we detail longer-term effects and recovery from moderate and heavy oiling over a 3-year span, beginning 30 months after the spill. Although neither fiddler crab burrow density nor diameter differed between oiled and reference sites when combined across all sampling events, these traits differed among some individual sampling periods consistent with a pattern of lingering oiling impacts. Periwinkle density, however, increased in all oiling categories and shell-length groups during our sampling period, and periwinkle densities were consistently highest at moderately oiled sites where Spartina alterniflora aboveground biomass was highest. Periwinkle shell length linearly increased from a mean of 16.5 to 19.2 mm over the study period at reference sites. In contrast, shell lengths at moderately oiled and heavily oiled sites increased through month 48 after the spill, but then decreased. This decrease was associated with a decline in the relative abundance of large adults (shell length 21-26 mm) at oiled sites which was likely caused by chronic hydrocarbon toxicity or oil-induced effects on habitat quality or food resources. Overall, the recovery of S. alterniflora facilitated the recovery of fiddler crabs and periwinkles. However, our long-term record not only indicates that variation in periwinkle mean shell length and length-frequency distributions are sensitive indicators of the health and recovery of the marsh, but agrees with synoptic studies of vegetation and infaunal communities that full recovery of heavily oiled sites will take longer than 66 months.

Simulation study to determine the feasibility of injecting hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas injection to improve gas and oil recovery oil-rim reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eid, Mohamed El Gohary

This study is combining two important and complicated processes; Enhanced Oil Recovery, EOR, from the oil rim and Enhanced Gas Recovery, EGR from the gas cap using nonhydrocarbon injection gases. EOR is proven technology that is continuously evolving to meet increased demand and oil production and desire to augment oil reserves. On the other hand, the rapid growth of the industrial and urban development has generated an unprecedented power demand, particularly during summer months. The required gas supplies to meet this demand are being stretched. To free up gas supply, alternative injectants to hydrocarbon gas are being reviewed to support reservoir pressure and maximize oil and gas recovery in oil rim reservoirs. In this study, a multi layered heterogeneous gas reservoir with an oil rim was selected to identify the most optimized development plan for maximum oil and gas recovery. The integrated reservoir characterization model and the pertinent transformed reservoir simulation history matched model were quality assured and quality checked. The development scheme is identified, in which the pattern and completion of the wells are optimized to best adapt to the heterogeneity of the reservoir. Lateral and maximum block contact holes will be investigated. The non-hydrocarbon gases considered for this study are hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, utilized to investigate miscible and immiscible EOR processes. In November 2010, re-vaporization study, was completed successfully, the first in the UAE, with an ultimate objective is to examine the gas and condensate production in gas reservoir using non hydrocarbon gases. Field development options and proces schemes as well as reservoir management and long term business plans including phases of implementation will be identified and assured. The development option that maximizes the ultimate recovery factor will be evaluated and selected. The study achieved satisfactory results in integrating gas and oil

Experimental study on electromagnetic-assisted ZnO nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

PubMed Central

Ahmad Latiff, Noor Rasyada; Alnarabiji, Mohamad Sahban

2018-01-01

Recently, nano-EOR has emerged as a new frontier for improved and enhanced oil recovery (IOR & EOR). Despite their benefits, the nanoparticles tend to agglomerate at reservoir conditions which cause their detachment from the oil/water interface, and are consequently retained rather than transported through a porous medium. Dielectric nanoparticles including ZnO have been proposed to be a good replacement for EOR due to their high melting point and thermal properties. But more importantly, these particles can be polarized under electromagnetic (EM) irradiation, which provides an innovative smart Nano-EOR process denoted as EM-Assisted Nano-EOR. In this study, parameters involved in the oil recovery mechanism under EM waves, such as reducing mobility ratio, lowering interfacial tensions (IFT) and altering wettability were investigated. Two-phase displacement experiments were performed in sandpacks under the water-wet condition at 95°C, with permeability in the range of 265–300 mD. A crude oil from Tapis oil field was employed; while ZnO nanofluids of two different particle sizes (55.7 and 117.1 nm) were prepared using 0.1 wt. % nanoparticles that dispersed into brine (3 wt. % NaCl) along with SDBS as a dispersant. In each flooding scheme, three injection sequential scenarios have been conducted: (i) brine flooding as a secondary process, (ii) surfactant/nano/EM-assisted nano flooding, and (iii) second brine flooding to flush nanoparticles. Compare with surfactant flooding (2% original oil in place/OOIP) as tertiary recovery, nano flooding almost reaches 8.5–10.2% of OOIP. On the other hand, EM-assisted nano flooding provides an incremental oil recovery of approximately 9–10.4% of OOIP. By evaluating the contact angle and interfacial tension, it was established that the degree of IFT reduction plays a governing role in the oil displacement mechanism via nano-EOR, compare to mobility ratio. These results reveal a promising way to employ water-based ZnO nanofluid

Experimental study on electromagnetic-assisted ZnO nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

PubMed

Adil, Muhammad; Lee, Keanchuan; Mohd Zaid, Hasnah; Ahmad Latiff, Noor Rasyada; Alnarabiji, Mohamad Sahban

2018-01-01

Recently, nano-EOR has emerged as a new frontier for improved and enhanced oil recovery (IOR & EOR). Despite their benefits, the nanoparticles tend to agglomerate at reservoir conditions which cause their detachment from the oil/water interface, and are consequently retained rather than transported through a porous medium. Dielectric nanoparticles including ZnO have been proposed to be a good replacement for EOR due to their high melting point and thermal properties. But more importantly, these particles can be polarized under electromagnetic (EM) irradiation, which provides an innovative smart Nano-EOR process denoted as EM-Assisted Nano-EOR. In this study, parameters involved in the oil recovery mechanism under EM waves, such as reducing mobility ratio, lowering interfacial tensions (IFT) and altering wettability were investigated. Two-phase displacement experiments were performed in sandpacks under the water-wet condition at 95°C, with permeability in the range of 265-300 mD. A crude oil from Tapis oil field was employed; while ZnO nanofluids of two different particle sizes (55.7 and 117.1 nm) were prepared using 0.1 wt. % nanoparticles that dispersed into brine (3 wt. % NaCl) along with SDBS as a dispersant. In each flooding scheme, three injection sequential scenarios have been conducted: (i) brine flooding as a secondary process, (ii) surfactant/nano/EM-assisted nano flooding, and (iii) second brine flooding to flush nanoparticles. Compare with surfactant flooding (2% original oil in place/OOIP) as tertiary recovery, nano flooding almost reaches 8.5-10.2% of OOIP. On the other hand, EM-assisted nano flooding provides an incremental oil recovery of approximately 9-10.4% of OOIP. By evaluating the contact angle and interfacial tension, it was established that the degree of IFT reduction plays a governing role in the oil displacement mechanism via nano-EOR, compare to mobility ratio. These results reveal a promising way to employ water-based ZnO nanofluid for

Oil recovery method using high water content oil-external micellar dispersions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, S.C.; Roszelle, W.O.; Svaldi, M.A.

1971-10-19

A high water content oil-external micellar dispersion (containing 55 percent to about 90 percent water) was developed for enhanced oil recovery. The micellar slug contained petroleum sulfonate (molecular weight averaged at about 350 to about 525), hydrocarbon, water and cosurfactant. The micellar slug was driven by a mobility buffer slug, which consisted of No. 530 Pusher, fusel oil and the residue Palestine water (420 ppm TDS) from the Palestine water reservoir in Palestine, Illinois. Fired Berea sandstone cores (porosity near 20 percent) were saturated with water (18,000 ppm sodium chloride), flooded with sweet black crude oil from Henry lease inmore » Illinois (7 cp at 72/sup 0/F), and waterflooded with water from Henry lease (18,000 ppm TDS). A maximum recovery of 11.5 percent of oil in place was recovered by 2 percent pore volume of a micellar dispersion containing petroleum sulfonate (MW 406), 70 percent by volume distilled water, and p-hexanol.« less

A Sugar-Based Gelator for Marine Oil-Spill Recovery.

PubMed

Vibhute, Amol M; Muvvala, Venkatanarayana; Sureshan, Kana M

2016-06-27

Marine oil spills constitute an environmental disaster with severe adverse effects on the economy and ecosystem. Phase-selective organogelators (PSOGs), molecules that can congeal oil selectively from oil-water mixtures, have been proposed to be useful for oil-spill recovery. However, a major drawback lies in the mode of application of the PSOG to an oil spill spread over a large area. The proposed method of using carrier solvents is impractical for various reasons. Direct application of the PSOG as a solid, although it would be ideal, is unknown, presumably owing to poor dispersion of the solid through the oil. We have designed five cheap and easy-to-make glucose-derived PSOGs that disperse in the oil phase uniformly when applied as a fine powder. These gelators were shown to selectively congeal many oils, including crude oil, from oil-water mixtures to form stable gels, which is an essential property for efficient oil-spill recovery. We have demonstrated that these PSOGs can be applied aerially as a solid powder onto a mixture of crude oil and sea water and the congealed oil can then be scooped out. Our innovative mode of application and low cost of the PSOG offers a practical solution to oil-spill recovery. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Influence of pH on dynamics of microbial enhanced oil recovery processes using biosurfactant producing Pseudomonas putida: Mathematical modelling and numerical simulation.

PubMed

Sivasankar, P; Suresh Kumar, G

2017-01-01

In present work, the influence of reservoir pH conditions on dynamics of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) processes using Pseudomonas putida was analysed numerically from the developed mathematical model for MEOR processes. Further, a new strategy to improve the MEOR performance has also been proposed. It is concluded from present study that by reversing the reservoir pH from highly acidic to low alkaline condition (pH 5-8), flow and mobility of displaced oil, displacement efficiency, and original oil in place (OOIP) recovered gets significantly enhanced, resulting from improved interfacial tension (IFT) reduction by biosurfactants. At pH 8, maximum of 26.1% of OOIP was recovered with higher displacement efficiency. The present study introduces a new strategy to increase the recovery efficiency of MEOR technique by characterizing the biosurfactants for IFT min /IFT max values for different pH conditions and subsequently, reversing the reservoir pH conditions at which the IFT min /IFT max value is minimum. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of oil burning on kraft recovery furnace SO sub 2 emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Someshwar, A.V.; Pinkerton, J.E.; Caron, A.L.

1991-04-01

Auxiliary fossil fuel, either natural gas or fuel oil, is burned in kraft recovery furnaces during furnace startups and shutdowns, furnace upsets, and periods of substantially reduced rates of black liquor firing. The efficiency of sulfur capture and retention during normal operation of a kraft recovery furnace is inherently high. Consequently, not all the SO{sub 2} from occasional burning of sulfur-containing fuel oil in the furnace would be expected to end up in the stack gases. However, the extent to which such SO{sub 2} is captured by the alkali fume generation processes has not been well documented. In this paper,more » the authors examines the impact that burning oil in kraft recovery furnaces has on the SO{sub 2} emissions. The work included analyses of long-term SO{sub 2} data from a continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) obtained for four furnaces that burned medium sulfur fuel oil as auxiliary fuel. It also included tests conducted on four furnaces in which varying amounts of oil were co-fired with black liquor.« less

Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for oil-water interfacial tension reduction in enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soleimani, Hassan; Baig, Mirza Khurram; Yahya, Noorhana; Khodapanah, Leila; Sabet, Maziyar; Demiral, Birol M. R.; Burda, Marek

2018-02-01

Nanoparticles show potential use in applications associated with upstream oil and gas engineering to increase the performance of numerous methods such as wettability alteration, interfacial tension reduction, thermal conductivity and enhanced oil recovery operations. Surface tension optimization is an important parameter in enhanced oil recovery. Current work focuses on the new economical method of surface tension optimization of ZnO nanofluids for oil-water interfacial tension reduction in enhanced oil recovery. In this paper, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystallites were prepared using the chemical route and explored for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Adsorption of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on calcite (111) surface was investigated using the adsorption locator module of Materials Studio software. It was found that ZnO nanoparticles show maximum adsorption energy of - 253 kcal/mol. The adsorption of ZnO on the rock surface changes the wettability which results in capillary force reduction and consequently increasing EOR. The nanofluids have been prepared by varying the concentration of ZnO nanoparticles to find the optimum value for surface tension. The surface tension (ST) was calculated with different concentration of ZnO nanoparticles using the pendant drop method. The results show a maximum value of ST 35.57 mN/m at 0.3 wt% of ZnO NPs. It was found that the nanofluid with highest surface tension (0.3 wt%) resulted in higher recovery efficiency. The highest recovery factor of 11.82% at 0.3 wt% is due to the oil/water interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration.

OPTICAL FIBER SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES FOR EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anbo Wang; Kristie L. Cooper; Gary R. Pickrell

2003-06-01

Efficient recovery of petroleum reserves from existing oil wells has been proven to be difficult due to the lack of robust instrumentation that can accurately and reliably monitor processes in the downhole environment. Commercially available sensors for measurement of pressure, temperature, and fluid flow exhibit shortened lifetimes in the harsh downhole conditions, which are characterized by high pressures (up to 20 kpsi), temperatures up to 250 C, and exposure to chemically reactive fluids. Development of robust sensors that deliver continuous, real-time data on reservoir performance and petroleum flow pathways will facilitate application of advanced recovery technologies, including horizontal and multilateralmore » wells. This is the final report for the four-year program ''Optical Fiber Sensor Technologies for Efficient and Economical Oil Recovery'', funded by the National Petroleum Technology Office of the U.S. Department of Energy, and performed by the Center for Photonics Technology of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech from October 1, 1999 to March 31, 2003. The main objective of this research program was to develop cost-effective, reliable optical fiber sensor instrumentation for real-time monitoring of various key parameters crucial to efficient and economical oil production. During the program, optical fiber sensors were demonstrated for the measurement of temperature, pressure, flow, and acoustic waves, including three successful field tests in the Chevron/Texaco oil fields in Coalinga, California, and at the world-class oil flow simulation facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Research efforts included the design and fabrication of sensor probes, development of signal processing algorithms, construction of test systems, development and testing of strategies for the protection of optical fibers and sensors in the downhole environment, development of remote monitoring capabilities allowing real-time monitoring of

Nanostructured systems for enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altunina, L. K.; Kuvshinov, V. A.; Kuvshinov, I. V.

2015-10-01

The reservoir energy or that of the injected heat carrier was used to generate in situ intelligent chemical systems—nanostructured gels, sols and oil-displacing surfactants systems, preserving for a long time in the reservoir a complex of the properties being optimal for oil displacement. The results of field tests and commercial application of physicochemical technologies using nanostructured systems for enhanced oil recovery in oilfields with difficult-to-recover reserves, including deposits of high-viscosity oils, have been presented. Field tests of new "cold" technologies on the deposit of high-viscosity oil in Usinskoye oilfield proved their high efficiency.

Experimental studies on the enhanced performance of lightweight oil recovery using a combined electrocoagulation and magnetic field processes.

PubMed

Liu, Yang; Yang, Jie; Jiang, Wenming; Chen, Yimei; Yang, Chaojiang; Wang, Tianyu; Li, Yuxing

2018-08-01

On marine oil spill, inflammable lightweight oil has characteristics of explosion risk and contamination of marine enviroment, therefore treatment of stable emulsion with micron oil droplets is urgent. This study aimed to propose a combined electrocoagulation and magnetic field processes to enhance performance of lightweight oil recovery with lower energy consumption. The effects of current density, electrolysis time, strength and direction of magnetic field on the overall treatment efficiency of the reactor were explored. Furthermore, the comparison between coupling device and only electrocoagulation through tracking oil removal in nine regions between the electrodes. The results were shown that the permanent magnets applied was found to enhance demulsification process within electrocoagulation reactor. For a given current density of 60 A m -2 at 16 min, Lorentz force downward was proved to promote the sedimentation of coagulants. As the magnetic field strength increases from 20 to 60 mT, oil removal efficiency was observed to increase and then decrease, and simultaneously energy consumption reduced and then present constantly. The results were found that the magnetic field strength of 40 mT was optimal within electrocoagulation reactor, which can not only diminishe difference of mass transfer rate along the height of vertical plate but also consume lowest energy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery performance according to the literature

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olea, Ricardo A.

2017-07-17

IntroductionThe need to increase the efficiency of oil recovery and environmental concerns are bringing to prominence the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a tertiary recovery agent. Assessment of the impact of flooding with CO2 all eligible reservoirs in the United States not yet undergoing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) requires making the best possible use of the experience gained in 40 years of applications. Review of the publicly available literature has located relevant CO2-EOR information for 53 units (fields, reservoirs, pilot areas) in the United States and 17 abroad.As the world simultaneously faces an increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and a higher demand for fossil fuels, the CO2-EOR process continues to gain popularity for its efficiency as a tertiary recovery agent and for the potential for having some CO2 trapped in the subsurface as an unintended consequence of the enhanced production (Advanced Resources International and Melzer Consulting, 2009). More extensive application of CO2-EOR worldwide, however, is not making it significantly easier to predict the exact outcome of the CO2 flooding in new reservoirs. The standard approach to examine and manage risks is to analyze the intended target by conducting laboratory work, running simulation models, and, finally, gaining field experience with a pilot test. This approach, though, is not always possible. For example, assessment of the potential of CO2-EOR at the national level in a vast country such as the United States requires making forecasts based on information already available.Although many studies are proprietary, the published literature has provided reviews of CO2-EOR projects. Yet, there is always interest in updating reports and analyzing the information under new perspectives. Brock and Bryan (1989) described results obtained during the earlier days of CO2-EOR from 1972 to 1987. Most of the recovery predictions, however, were based on intended injections of 30 percent the size of

Reactive Transport Modeling of Microbe-mediated Fe (II) Oxidation for Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surasani, V.; Li, L.

2011-12-01

Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) aims to improve the recovery of entrapped heavy oil in depleted reservoirs using microbe-based technology. Reservoir ecosystems often contain diverse microbial communities those can interact with subsurface fluids and minerals through a network of nutrients and energy fluxes. Microbe-mediated reactions products include gases, biosurfactants, biopolymers those can alter the properties of oil and interfacial interactions between oil, brine, and rocks. In addition, the produced biomass and mineral precipitates can change the reservoir permeability profile and increase sweeping efficiency. Under subsurface conditions, the injection of nitrate and Fe (II) as the electron acceptor and donor allows bacteria to grow. The reaction products include minerals such as Fe(OH)3 and nitrogen containing gases. These reaction products can have large impact on oil and reservoir properties and can enhance the recovery of trapped oil. This work aims to understand the Fe(II) oxidation by nitrate under conditions relevant to MEOR. Reactive transport modeling is used to simulate the fluid flow, transport, and reactions involved in this process. Here we developed a complex reactive network for microbial mediated nitrate-dependent Fe (II) oxidation that involves both thermodynamic controlled aqueous reactions and kinetic controlled Fe (II) mineral reaction. Reactive transport modeling is used to understand and quantify the coupling between flow, transport, and reaction processes. Our results identify key parameter controls those are important for the alteration of permeability profile under field conditions.

An evaluation of known remaining oil resources in the United States. Appendix, Project on Advanced Oil Recovery and the States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This volume contains appendices for the following: Overview of improved oil recovery methods (enhanced oil recovery methods and advanced secondary recovery methods); Benefits of improved oil recovery, selected data for the analyzed states; and List of TORIS fields and reservoirs.

Three approaches for estimating recovery factors in carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, Mahendra K.

2017-07-17

PrefaceThe Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2) and requested the USGS to estimate the “potential volumes of oil and gas recoverable by injection and sequestration of industrial carbon dioxide in potential sequestration formations” (42 U.S.C. 17271(b)(4)). Geologic CO2 sequestration associated with enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using CO2 in existing hydrocarbon reservoirs has the potential to increase the U.S. hydrocarbon recoverable resource. The objective of this report is to provide detailed information on three approaches that can be used to calculate the incremental recovery factors for CO2-EOR. Therefore, the contents of this report could form an integral part of an assessment methodology that can be used to assess the sedimentary basins of the United States for the hydrocarbon recovery potential using CO2-EOR methods in conventional oil reservoirs.

Ionic liquids for low-tension oil recovery processes: Phase behavior tests.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Escontrela, Iria; Puerto, Maura C; Miller, Clarence A; Soto, Ana

2017-10-15

Chemical flooding with surfactants for reducing oil-brine interfacial tensions (IFTs) to mobilize residual oil trapped by capillary forces has a great potential for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Surface-active ionic liquids (SAILs) constitute a class of surfactants that has recently been proposed for this application. For the first time, SAILs or their blends with an anionic surfactant are studied by determining equilibrium phase behavior for systems of about unit water-oil ratio at various temperatures. The test fluids were model alkane and aromatic oils, NaCl brine, and synthetic hard seawater (SW). Patterns of microemulsions observed are those of classical phase behavior (Winsor I-III-II transition) known to correlate with low IFTs. The two anionic room-temperature SAILs tested were made from common anionic surfactants by substituting imidazolium or phosphonium cations for sodium. These two anionic and two cationic SAILs were found to have little potential for EOR when tested individually. Thus, also tested were blends of an anionic internal olefin sulfonate (IOS) surfactant with one of the anionic SAILs and both cationic SAILs. Most promising for EOR was the anionic/cationic surfactant blend of IOS with [C 12 mim]Br in SW. A low equilibrium IFT of ∼2·10 -3 mN/m was measured between n-octane and an aqueous solution having the optimal blend ratio for this system at 25°C. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Isolation and Characterization of Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria for the Application in Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Niraj; Dasgupta, Sumita; Chakraborty, Mousumi; Gupta, Smita

2017-07-01

In the present study, a biosurfactant producing bacterial strain was isolated, screened and identified. Further, various fermentation conditions (such as pH (5-10), incubation period (24-96h) and incubation temperature (20-60 °C) were optimized for maximum production of biosurfactant. The produced biosurfactant was characterized by measuring emulsification index, foaming characteristics, rhamnolipid detection, interfacial tension between water and oil and stability against pH and temperature for its potential application in oil recovery process. The additional oil recovery for two different sand, sand1 and sand2, was found to be 49% and 38%, respectively.

Microfluidic diffusivity meter: a tool to optimize CO2 driven enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puneeth, S. B.; Kim, Young Ho; Goel, Sanket

2017-02-01

As the energy demands continue to swell with growing population and there persists a lack of unexploited oilfields, the prime focus of any nation would be to maximize the oil recovery factor from existing oil fields. CO2-Enhanced oil recovery is a process to improve the recovery of crude oil from an oil field and works at high pressure and in very deep conditions. CO2 and oil are miscible at high pressure, resulting in low viscosity and oil swells. This swelling can be measured based on mathematical calculations in real time and correlated with the CO2 concentration. This process has myriad advantages over its counterparts which include being able to harness oil trapped in reservoirs besides being cheaper and more efficient. A Diffusivity meter is inevitable in the measurement of the diffusion co-efficient of two samples. Diffusivity meters currently available in the market are weighed down by disadvantages like the requirement of large samples for testing, high cost and complexity. This elicits the need for a Microfluidic based diffusivity meter capable of analyzing Nano-liter sample volumes besides being more precise and affordable. The scope of this work involves the design and development of a Microfluidic robust and inexpensive prototype diffusivity meter using a capillary tube and endorsing its performance by comparison of results with known diffusivity range and supervision of the results with an electronic microscope coupled to PC and Data Acquisition System. The prototype produced at the end of the work is expected to outweigh disadvantages in existing products in terms of sample size, efficiency and time saving.

The Application Of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery On Unconventional Oil: A Field Specific Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Sean; Millar, Andrew; Allison, Heather; McCarthy, Alan

2014-05-01

A substantial amount of the world's recoverable oil reserves are made from unconventional or heavy resources. However, great difficulty has been had in recovering this oil after primary and secondary recovery methods have been employed. Therefore, tertiary methods such as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) have been employed. MEOR involves the use of bacteria and their metabolic products to alter the oil properties or rock permeability within a reservoir in order to promote the flow of oil. Although MEOR has been trialed in the past with mixed outcomes, its feasibility on heavier oils has not been demonstrated. The aim of this study is to show that MEOR can be successfully applied to unconventional oils. By using an indigenous strain of bacteria isolated from a reservoir of interest and applied to field specific microcosms, we will look into the effect of these bacteria compared to variant inoculums to identify which mechanisms of action the bacteria are using to improve recovery. Using this information, we will be able to identify genes of interest and groups of bacteria that may be beneficial for MEOR and look accurately identify favorable bacteria within a reservoir.

26 CFR 1.43-4 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... tangible property is used directly in a qualified enhanced oil recovery project and is essential to the... gas and water from the oil after it is produced are used directly in the project and are essential to... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2011-04-01 2009-04-01 true Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. 1.43-4...

26 CFR 1.43-4 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... tangible property is used directly in a qualified enhanced oil recovery project and is essential to the... gas and water from the oil after it is produced are used directly in the project and are essential to... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. 1.43-4...

26 CFR 1.43-4 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... tangible property is used directly in a qualified enhanced oil recovery project and is essential to the... gas and water from the oil after it is produced are used directly in the project and are essential to... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. 1.43-4...

Application of Sodium Ligno Sulphonate as Surfactant in Enhanced Oil Recovery and Its Feasibility Test for TPN 008 Oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakoso, N. I.; Rochmadi; Purwono, S.

2018-04-01

One of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods is using surfactants to reduce the interfacial tension between the injected fluid and the oil in old reservoir. The most important principle in enhanced oil recovery process is the dynamic interaction of surfactants with crude oil. Sodium ligno sulphonate (SLS) is a commercial surfactant and already synthesized from palm solid waste by another researcher. This work aimed to apply SLS as a surfactant for EOR especially in TPN 008 oil from Pertamina Indonesia. In its application as an EOR’s surfactant, SLS shall be passed feasibility test like IFT, thermal stability, compatibility, filtration, molecular weight, density, viscosity and pH tests. The feasibility test is very important for a preliminary test prior to another advanced test. The results demonstrated that 1% SLS solution in formation water (TPN 008) had 0.254 mN/M IFT value and was also great in thermal stability, compatibility, filtration, molecular weight, viscosity and pH test.

Simultaneous recovery and desulfurization of bitumen from oil sand using ultrasound irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okawa, Hirokazu; Kamal, Wan Mohamad Ikhwan bin Wan; Akazawa, Nobuyuki; Kato, Takahiro; Sugawara, Katsuyasu

2018-07-01

Oil sand contains bitumen, which includes a high percentage of sulfur. Before using bitumen as a fuel, it must be recovered from oil sand and desulfurized. Currently, bitumen is recovered from oil sand using hot water (<100 °C), and sulfur is removed via hydrodesulfurization (>300 °C). Both of these processes consume significant amounts of energy. In this study, we demonstrate the simultaneous recovery and desulfurization of bitumen from oil sand using oxidative desulfurization with ultrasonic irradiation and tetrahydrofuran at 20 °C. We successfully recovered 88% of the bitumen from oil sand and removed 42% of the sulfur from the bitumen.

Method for enhanced oil recovery

DOEpatents

Comberiati, Joseph R.; Locke, Charles D.; Kamath, Krishna I.

1980-01-01

The present invention is directed to an improved method for enhanced recovery of oil from relatively "cold" reservoirs by carbon dioxide flooding. In oil reservoirs at a temperature less than the critical temperature of 87.7.degree. F. and at a pore pressure greater than the saturation pressure of carbon dioxide at the temperature of the reservoir, the carbon dioxide remains in the liquid state which does not satisfactorily mix with the oil. However, applicants have found that carbon dioxide can be vaporized in situ in the reservoir by selectively reducing the pore pressure in the reservoir to a value less than the particular saturated vapor pressure so as to greatly enhance the mixing of the carbon dioxide with the oil.

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery in Fractional-Wet Systems: A Pore-Scale Investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armstrong, Ryan T.; Wildenschild, Dorthe

2012-10-24

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a technology that could potentially increase the tertiary recovery of oil from mature oil formations. However, the efficacy of this technology in fractional-wet systems is unknown, and the mechanisms involved in oil mobilization therefore need further investigation. Our MEOR strategy consists of the injection of ex situ produced metabolic byproducts produced by Bacillus mojavensis JF-2 (which lower interfacial tension (IFT) via biosurfactant production) into fractional-wet cores containing residual oil. Two different MEOR flooding solutions were tested; one solution contained both microbes and metabolic byproducts while the other contained only the metabolic byproducts. The columnsmore » were imaged with X-ray computed microtomography (CMT) after water flooding, and after MEOR, which allowed for the evaluation of the pore-scale processes taking place during MEOR. Results indicate that the larger residual oil blobs and residual oil held under relatively low capillary pressures were the main fractions recovered during MEOR. Residual oil saturation, interfacial curvatures, and oil blob sizes were measured from the CMT images and used to develop a conceptual model for MEOR in fractional-wet systems. Overall, results indicate that MEOR was effective at recovering oil from fractional-wet systems with reported additional oil recovered (AOR) values between 44 and 80%; the highest AOR values were observed in the most oil-wet system.« less

Investigation of Chemical-Foam Design as a Novel Approach toward Immiscible Foam Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Strong foam can be generated in porous media containing oil, resulting in incremental oil recovery; however, oil recovery factor is restricted. A large fraction of oil recovered by foam flooding forms an oil-in-water emulsion, so that costly methods may need to be used to separate the oil. Moreover, strong foam could create a large pressure gradient, which may cause fractures in the reservoir. This study presents a novel chemical-foam flooding process for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) from water-flooded reservoirs. The presented method involved the use of chemically designed foam to mobilize the remaining oil after water flooding and then to displace the mobilized oil to the production well. A blend of two anionic surfactant formulations was formulated for this method: (a) IOS, for achieving ultralow interfacial tension (IFT), and (b) AOS, for generating a strong foam. Experiments were performed using Bentheimer sandstone cores, where X-ray CT images were taken during foam generation to find the stability of the advancing front of foam propagation and to map the gas saturation for both the transient and the steady-state flow regimes. Then the proposed chemical-foam strategy for incremental oil recovery was tested through the coinjection of immiscible nitrogen gas and surfactant solutions with three different formulation properties in terms of IFT reduction and foaming strength capability. The discovered optimal formulation contains a foaming agent surfactant, a low IFT surfactant, and a cosolvent, which has a high foam stability and a considerably low IFT (1.6 × 10–2 mN/m). Coinjection resulted in higher oil recovery and much less MRF than the same process with only using a foaming agent. The oil displacement experiment revealed that coinjection of gas with a blend of surfactants, containing a cosolvent, can recover a significant amount of oil (33% OIIP) over water flooding with a larger amount of clean oil and less emulsion. PMID:29093612

Investigation of Chemical-Foam Design as a Novel Approach toward Immiscible Foam Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Hosseini-Nasab, S M; Zitha, P L J

2017-10-19

Strong foam can be generated in porous media containing oil, resulting in incremental oil recovery; however, oil recovery factor is restricted. A large fraction of oil recovered by foam flooding forms an oil-in-water emulsion, so that costly methods may need to be used to separate the oil. Moreover, strong foam could create a large pressure gradient, which may cause fractures in the reservoir. This study presents a novel chemical-foam flooding process for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) from water-flooded reservoirs. The presented method involved the use of chemically designed foam to mobilize the remaining oil after water flooding and then to displace the mobilized oil to the production well. A blend of two anionic surfactant formulations was formulated for this method: (a) IOS, for achieving ultralow interfacial tension (IFT), and (b) AOS, for generating a strong foam. Experiments were performed using Bentheimer sandstone cores, where X-ray CT images were taken during foam generation to find the stability of the advancing front of foam propagation and to map the gas saturation for both the transient and the steady-state flow regimes. Then the proposed chemical-foam strategy for incremental oil recovery was tested through the coinjection of immiscible nitrogen gas and surfactant solutions with three different formulation properties in terms of IFT reduction and foaming strength capability. The discovered optimal formulation contains a foaming agent surfactant, a low IFT surfactant, and a cosolvent, which has a high foam stability and a considerably low IFT (1.6 × 10 -2 mN/m). Coinjection resulted in higher oil recovery and much less MRF than the same process with only using a foaming agent. The oil displacement experiment revealed that coinjection of gas with a blend of surfactants, containing a cosolvent, can recover a significant amount of oil (33% OIIP) over water flooding with a larger amount of clean oil and less emulsion.

DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAS-ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE (GAGD) PROCESS FOR IMPROVED LIGHT OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni

This report describes the progress of the project ''Development And Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' for the duration of the thirteenth project quarter (Oct 1, 2005 to Dec 30, 2005). There are three main tasks in this research project. Task 1 is a scaled physical model study of the GAGD process. Task 2 is further development of a vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for miscibility determination. Task 3 is determination of multiphase displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks. Section I reports experimental work designed to investigate wettability effects of porous medium, on secondary andmore » tertiary mode GAGD performance. The experiments showed a significant improvement of oil recovery in the oil-wet experiments versus the water-wet runs, both in secondary as well as tertiary mode. When comparing experiments conducted in secondary mode to those run in tertiary mode an improvement in oil recovery was also evident. Additionally, this section summarizes progress made with regard to the scaled physical model construction and experimentation. The purpose of building a scaled physical model, which attempts to include various multiphase mechanics and fluid dynamic parameters operational in the field scale, was to incorporate visual verification of the gas front for viscous instabilities, capillary fingering, and stable displacement. Preliminary experimentation suggested that construction of the 2-D model from sintered glass beads was a feasible alternative. During this reporting quarter, several sintered glass mini-models were prepared and some preliminary experiments designed to visualize gas bubble development were completed. In Section II, the gas-oil interfacial tensions measured in decane-CO{sub 2} system at 100 F and live decane consisting of 25 mole% methane, 30 mole% n-butane and 45 mole% n-decane against CO{sub 2} gas at 160 F have been modeled using the Parachor and newly proposed

26 CFR 1.43-1 - The enhanced oil recovery credit-general rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true The enhanced oil recovery credit-general rules. 1... INCOME TAXES Credits Against Tax § 1.43-1 The enhanced oil recovery credit—general rules. (a) Claiming the credit—(1) In general. The enhanced oil recovery credit (the “credit”) is a component of the...

SURFACTANT - POLYMER INTERACTION FOR IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Unknown

1998-10-01

The goal of this research is to use the interaction between a surfactant and a polymer for efficient displacement of tertiary oil by improving slug integrity, adsorption and mobility control. Surfactant--polymer flooding has been shown to be highly effective in laboratory-scale linear floods. The focus of this proposal is to design an inexpensive surfactant-polymer mixture that can efficiently recover tertiary oil by avoiding surfactant slug degradation high adsorption and viscous/heterogeneity fingering. A mixture comprising a ''pseudo oil'' with appropriate surfactant and polymer has been selected to study micellar-polymer chemical flooding. The physical properties and phase behavior of this system havemore » been determined. A surfactant-polymer slug has been designed to achieve high efficiency recovery by improving phase behavior and mobility control. Recovery experiments have been performed on linear cores and a quarter 5-spot. The same recovery experiments have been simulated using a commercially available simulator (UTCHEM). Good agreement between experimental data and simulation results has been achieved.« less

Composition and process for enhanced oil recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karas, L.J.

1988-04-12

A process for recovering crude oil from a subterranean formating having at least one injection means in fluid communication with at least one production means is described comprising: (a) injecting into the formation a liquid composition consisting essentially of at least one surfactant selected from surfactants having a formula RCH/sub 2/CH=C(R)CH/sub 2/O(CH/sub 2/CH/sub 2/O)/sub m/X, wherein R is C/sub 3/-C/sub 8/ alkyl, m is an integer from 1 to 10, and X is a sulfonate, sulfate, glyceryl sulfonate, or carboxylate anion neutralized by a sodium, potassium, or ammonium cation and an aqueous medium; (b) injecting a gas to urge themore » composition toward the production means, provided that the surfactant is present in an amount effective to reduce the mobility of the gas through the formation; and (c) recovering crude oil from the formation through the production means.« less

SOVENT BASED ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY FOR IN-SITU UPGRADING OF HEAVY OIL SANDS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Munroe, Norman

With the depletion of conventional crude oil reserves in the world, heavy oil and bitumen resources have great potential to meet the future demand for petroleum products. However, oil recovery from heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs is much more difficult than that from conventional oil reservoirs. This is mainly because heavy oil or bitumen is partially or completely immobile under reservoir conditions due to its extremely high viscosity, which creates special production challenges. In order to overcome these challenges significant efforts were devoted by Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University and The Center for Energy Economics (CEE) atmore » the University of Texas. A simplified model was developed to assess the density of the upgraded crude depending on the ratio of solvent mass to crude oil mass, temperature, pressure and the properties of the crude oil. The simplified model incorporated the interaction dynamics into a homogeneous, porous heavy oil reservoir to simulate the dispersion and concentration of injected CO2. The model also incorporated the characteristic of a highly varying CO2 density near the critical point. Since the major challenge in heavy oil recovery is its high viscosity, most researchers have focused their investigations on this parameter in the laboratory as well as in the field resulting in disparaging results. This was attributed to oil being a complex poly-disperse blend of light and heavy paraffins, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes, which have diverse behaviors at reservoir temperature and pressures. The situation is exacerbated by a dearth of experimental data on gas diffusion coefficients in heavy oils due to the tedious nature of diffusivity measurements. Ultimately, the viscosity and thus oil recovery is regulated by pressure and its effect on the diffusion coefficient and oil swelling factors. The generation of a new phase within the crude and the differences in mobility between the new crude matrix and

Chemically evolving systems for oil recovery enhancement in heavy oil deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altunina, L. K.; Kuvshinov, I. V.; Kuvshinov, V. A.; Stasyeva, L. A.

2017-12-01

This work presents the results of laboratory studies and field tests of new physicochemical technologies for enhanced oil recovery of heavy oil fields under natural development conditions and with thermal-steam stimulation using oil-displacing "smart" systems. The systems are based on surfactants and buffer systems. Their rheological and acid-base properties can be regulated by their chemical evolution directly in the formation. Field tests of the technologies carried out on high-viscosity oil deposit in the Usinskoye oilfield have shown that the EOR technologies are environmentally friendly and technologically effective.

Optimization of Surfactant Mixtures and Their Interfacial Behavior for Advanced Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Somasundaran, Prof. P.

2002-03-04

The objective of this project was to develop a knowledge base that is helpful for the design of improved processes for mobilizing and producing oil left untapped using conventional techniques. The main goal was to develop and evaluate mixtures of new or modified surfactants for improved oil recovery. In this regard, interfacial properties of novel biodegradable n-alkyl pyrrolidones and sugar-based surfactants have been studied systematically. Emphasis was on designing cost-effective processes compatible with existing conditions and operations in addition to ensuring minimal reagent loss.

Bacterial community diversity in a low-permeability oil reservoir and its potential for enhancing oil recovery.

PubMed

Xiao, Meng; Zhang, Zhong-Zhi; Wang, Jing-Xiu; Zhang, Guang-Qing; Luo, Yi-Jing; Song, Zhao-Zheng; Zhang, Ji-Yuan

2013-11-01

The diversity of indigenous bacterial community and the functional species in the water samples from three production wells of a low permeability oil reservoir was investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology. The potential of application of indigenous bacteria for enhancing oil recovery was evaluated by examination of the effect of bacterial stimulation on the formation water-oil-rock surface interactions and micromodel test. The results showed that production well 88-122 had the most diverse bacterial community and functional species. The broth of indigenous bacteria stimulated by an organic nutrient activator at aerobic condition changed the wettability of the rock surface from oil-wet to water-wet. Micromodel test results showed that flooding using stimulated indigenous bacteria following water flooding improved oil recovery by 6.9% and 7.7% in fractured and unfractured micromodels, respectively. Therefore, the zone of low permeability reservoir has a great potential for indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial Activation of Bacillus subtilis-Immobilized Microgel Particles for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Son, Han Am; Choi, Sang Koo; Jeong, Eun Sook; Kim, Bohyun; Kim, Hyun Tae; Sung, Won Mo; Kim, Jin Woong

2016-09-06

Microbially enhanced oil recovery involves the use of microorganisms to extract oil remaining in reservoirs. Here, we report fabrication of microgel particles with immobilized Bacillus subtilis for application to microbially enhanced oil recovery. Using B. subtilis isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Myanmar, we evaluated the ability of this microbe to reduce the interfacial tension at the oil-water interface via production of biosurfactant molecules, eventually yielding excellent emulsification across a broad range of the medium pH and ionic strength. To safely deliver B. subtilis into a permeable porous medium, in this study, these bacteria were physically immobilized in a hydrogel mesh of microgel particles. In a core flooding experiment, in which the microgel particles were injected into a column packed with silica beads, we found that these particles significantly increased oil recovery in a concentration-dependent manner. This result shows that a mesh of microgel particles encapsulating biosurfactant-producing microorganisms holds promise for recovery of oil from porous media.

Optimizing the recovery efficiency of Finnish oil combating vessels in the Gulf of Finland using Bayesian Networks.

PubMed

Lehikoinen, Annukka; Luoma, Emilia; Mäntyniemi, Samu; Kuikka, Sakari

2013-02-19

Oil transport has greatly increased in the Gulf of Finland over the years, and risks of an oil accident occurring have risen. Thus, an effective oil combating strategy is needed. We developed a Bayesian Network (BN) to examine the recovery efficiency and optimal disposition of the Finnish oil combating vessels in the Gulf of Finland (GoF), Eastern Baltic Sea. Four alternative home harbors, five accident points, and ten oil combating vessels were included in the model to find the optimal disposition policy that would maximize the recovery efficiency. With this composition, the placement of the oil combating vessels seems not to have a significant effect on the recovery efficiency. The process seems to be strongly controlled by certain random factors independent of human action, e.g. wave height and stranding time of the oil. Therefore, the success of oil combating is rather uncertain, so it is also important to develop activities that aim for preventing accidents. We found that the model developed is suitable for this type of multidecision optimization. The methodology, results, and practices are further discussed.

Biosurfactant production by Bacillus subtilis B30 and its application in enhancing oil recovery.

PubMed

Al-Wahaibi, Yahya; Joshi, Sanket; Al-Bahry, Saif; Elshafie, Abdulkadir; Al-Bemani, Ali; Shibulal, Biji

2014-02-01

The fermentative production of biosurfactants by Bacillus subtilis strain B30 and the evaluation of biosurfactant based enhanced oil recovery using core-flood were investigated. Different carbon sources (glucose, sucrose, starch, date molasses, cane molasses) were tested to determine the optimal biosurfactant production. The isolate B30 produced a biosurfactant that could reduce the surface tension and interfacial tension to 26.63±0.45 mN/m and 3.79±0.27 mN/m, respectively in less than 12h in both glucose or date molasses based media. A crude biosurfactant concentration of 0.3-0.5 g/l and critical micelle dilution (CMD) values of 1:8 were observed. The biosurfactants gave stable emulsions with wide range of hydrocarbons including light and heavy crude oil. The biosurfactants were partially purified and identified as a mixture of lipopeptides similar to surfactin, using high performance thin layer chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The biosurfactants were stable over wide range of pH, salinity and temperatures. The crude biosurfactant preparation enhanced light oil recovery by 17-26% and heavy oil recovery by 31% in core-flood studies. The results are indicative of the potential of the strain for the development of ex situ microbial enhanced oil recovery processes using glucose or date molasses based minimal media. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of a Dispersant Agent in Fine Coal Recovery from Washery Tailings by Oil Agglomeration (Preliminary Study)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasar, Özüm; Uslu, Tuncay

2017-12-01

Among the fine coal cleaning methods, the oil agglomeration process has important advantages such as high process recovery, more clean product, simple dewatering stage. Several coal agglomeration studies have been undertaken recently and effects of different variables on the process performance have been investigated. However, unlike flotation studies, most of the previous agglomeration studies have not used dispersing agents to minimize slime coating effects of clays. In this study, agglomeration process was applied for recovery of fine coals from coal washery tailings containing remarkable amount of fine coal. Negative effect of fine clays during recovery was tried to be eliminated by using dispersing agent instead of de-sliming. Although ash reductions over 90 % were achieved, performance remained below expectations in terms of combustible matter recovery. However, this study is a preliminary one. It is considered that more satisfied results will be obtained in the next studies by changing the variables such as solid ratio, oil dosage, dispersant type and dosage.

Micro-Employees Employment, Enhanced Oil-Recovery Improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allahtavakoli, M.; Allahtavakoli, Y.

2009-04-01

Employment of Micro-organisms, as profitable micro-employees in improvement of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), leads us to a famous method named "MEOR". Applying micro-organisms in MEOR makes it more lucrative than other EOR ways because feeding these micro-employees is highly economical and their metabolic processes require some cheap food-resources such as molasses. In addition, utilizing the local micro-organism in reservoirs will reduce the costs effectively; Furthermore these micro-organisms are safety and innocuous to some extent. In MEOR, the micro-organisms are always employed for two purposes, "Restoring pressure to reservoir" and "Decreasing Oil-Viscosity". As often as more, the former is achievable by In-Situ Mechanism or by applying the micro-organisms producing Biopolymers and the latter is also reachable by applying the micro-organisms producing Bio-surfactants. This paper as a proposal which was propounded to National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is an argument for studying and reviewing "Interaction between Micro-organisms and Reservoir physiochemical properties", "Biopolymer producers and Bio-Surfactant Producers", "In-Situ Mechanism", "Proposed Methods in MEOR" and their limitations.

Recovery of oil from oil-in-water emulsion using biopolymers by adsorptive method.

PubMed

Elanchezhiyan, S Sd; Sivasurian, N; Meenakshi, Sankaran

2014-09-01

In the present study, it is aimed to identify, a low cost sorbent for the recovery of oil from oil-in-water emulsion using biopolymers such as chitin and chitosan. Chitin has the greater adsorption capacity than chitosan due to its hydrophobic nature. The characterizations of chitin and chitosan were done using FTIR, SEM, EDAX, XRD, TGA and DSC techniques. Under batch equilibrium mode, a systematic study was performed to optimize the various equilibrium parameters viz., contact time, pH, dosage, initial concentration of oil, and temperature. The adsorption process reached equilibrium at 40 min of contact time and the percentage removal of oil was found to be higher (90%) in the acidic medium. The Freundlich and Langmuir models were applied to describe the equilibrium isotherms and the isotherm constants were calculated. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS° were calculated to find out the nature of the sorption mechanism. The kinetic studies were investigated with reaction-based and diffusion-based models. The suitable mechanism for the removal of oil has been established. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAS-ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE (GAGD) PROCESS FOR IMPROVED LIGHT OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dandina N. Rao

This is the first Annual Technical Progress Report being submitted to the U. S. Department of Energy on the work performed under the Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-02NT15323. This report follows two other progress reports submitted to U.S. DOE during the first year of the project: The first in April 2003 for the project period from October 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003, and the second in July 2003 for the period April 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003. Although the present Annual Report covers the first year of the project from October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003, its contents reflectmore » mainly the work performed in the last quarter (July-September, 2003) since the work performed during the first three quarters has been reported in detail in the two earlier reports. The main objective of the project is to develop a new gas-injection enhanced oil recovery process to recover the oil trapped in reservoirs subsequent to primary and/or secondary recovery operations. The project is divided into three main tasks. Task 1 involves the design and development of a scaled physical model. Task 2 consists of further development of the vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for miscibility determination. Task 3 involves the determination of multiphase displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks. Each technical progress report, including this one, reports on the progress made in each of these tasks during the reporting period. Section I covers the scaled physical model study. A survey of literature in related areas has been conducted. Test apparatus has been under construction throughout the reporting period. A bead-pack visual model, liquid injection system, and an image analysis system have been completed and used for preliminary experiments. Experimental runs with decane and paraffin oil have been conducted in the bead pack model. The results indicate the need for modifications in the apparatus, which are currently underway. A bundle of capillary tube model has been

Application of Biosurfactants Produced by Pseudomonas putida using Crude Palm Oil (CPO) as Substrate for Crude Oil Recovery using Batch Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryanti, V.; Handayani, D. S.; Masykur, A.; Septyaningsih, I.

2018-03-01

The application of biosurfactants which have been produced by Pseudomonas putida in nutrient broth medium supplemented with NaCl and crude palm oil (CPO) for oil recovery has been evaluated. The crude and purified biosurfactants have been examined for oil recovery from a laboratory oil-contaminated sand in agitated flask (batch method). Two synthetic surfactants and water as control was also performed for oil recovery as comparisons. Using batch method, the results showed that removing ability of crude oil from the oil-contaminated sand by purified and crude biosurfactants were 79.40±3.10 and 46.84±2.23 %, respectively. On other hand, the recoveries obtained with the SDS, Triton X-100 and water were 94.33±0.47, 74.84±7.39 and 34.42±1.21%respectively.

Development of an In Situ Biosurfactant Production Technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

M.J. McInerney; R.M. Knapp; Kathleen Duncan

The long-term economic potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is large with more than 300 billion barrels of oil remaining in domestic reservoirs after conventional technologies reach their economic limit. Actual EOR production in the United States has never been very large, less than 10% of the total U. S. production even though a number of economic incentives have been used to stimulate the development and application of EOR processes. The U.S. DOE Reservoir Data Base contains more than 600 reservoirs with over 12 billion barrels of unrecoverable oil that are potential targets for microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). Ifmore » MEOR could be successfully applied to reduce the residual oil saturation by 10% in a quarter of these reservoirs, more than 300 million barrels of oil could be added to the U.S. oil reserve. This would stimulate oil production from domestic reservoirs and reduce our nation's dependence on foreign imports. Laboratory studies have shown that detergent-like molecules called biosurfactants, which are produced by microorganisms, are very effective in mobilizing entrapped oil from model test systems. The biosurfactants are effective at very low concentrations. Given the promising laboratory results, it is important to determine the efficacy of using biosurfactants in actual field applications. The goal of this project is to move biosurfactant-mediated oil recovery from laboratory investigations to actual field applications. In order to meet this goal, several important questions must be answered. First, it is critical to know whether biosurfactant-producing microbes are present in oil formations. If they are present, then it will be important to know whether a nutrient regime can be devised to stimulate their growth and activity in the reservoir. If biosurfactant producers are not present, then a suitable strain must be obtained that can be injected into oil reservoirs. We were successful in answering all three questions. The specific

Microfluidic and micro-core methods for enhanced oil recovery and carbon storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Phong

Injection of CO2 into the subsurface, for both storage and oil recovery, is an emerging strategy to mitigate atmospheric CO2 emissions and associated climate change. In this thesis microfluidic and micro-core methods were developed to inform combined CO2-storage and oil recovery operations and determine relevant fluid properties. Pore scale studies of nanoparticle stabilized CO2-in-water foam and its application in oil recovery to show significant improvement in oil recovery rate with different oils from around the world (light, medium, and heavy). The CO2 nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foams generate a three-fold increase in oil recovery (an additional 15% of initial oil in place) as compared to an otherwise similar CO2 gas flood. Nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foam flooding also results in significantly smaller oil-in-water emulsion sizes. All three oils show substantial additional oil recovery and a positive reservoir homogenization effect. A supporting microfluidic approach is developed to quantify the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) -- a critical parameter for combined CO 2 storage and enhanced oil recovery. The method leverages the inherent fluorescence of crude oils, is faster than conventional technologies, and provides quantitative, operator-independent measurements. In terms of speed, a pressure scan for a single minimum miscibility pressure measurement required less than 30 min, in stark contrast to days or weeks with existing rising bubble and slimtube methods. In practice, subsurface geology also interacts with injected CO 2. Commonly carbonate dissolution results in pore structure, porosity, and permeability changes. These changes are measured by x-ray microtomography (micro-CT), liquid permeability measurements, and chemical analysis. Chemical composition of the produced liquid analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) shows concentrations of magnesium and calcium. This work leverages established advantages of

Integration of Gas Enhanced Oil Recovery in Multiphase Fermentations for the Microbial Production of Fuels and Chemicals.

PubMed

Pedraza-de la Cuesta, Susana; Keijzers, Lore; van der Wielen, Luuk A M; Cuellar, Maria C

2018-04-01

In multiphase fermentations where the product forms a second liquid phase or where solvents are added for product extraction, turbulent conditions disperse the oil phase as droplets. Surface-active components (SACs) present in the fermentation broth can stabilize the product droplets thus forming an emulsion. Breaking this emulsion increases process complexity and consequently the production cost. In previous works, it has been proposed to promote demulsification of oil/supernatant emulsions in an off-line batch bubble column operating at low gas flow rate. The aim of this study is to test the performance of this recovery method integrated to a fermentation, allowing for continuous removal of the oil phase. A 500 mL bubble column is successfully integrated with a 2 L reactor during 24 h without affecting cell growth or cell viability. However, higher levels of surfactants and emulsion stability are measured in the integrated system compared to a base case, reducing its capacity for oil recovery. This is related to release of SACs due to cellular stress when circulating through the recovery column. Therefore, it is concluded that the gas bubble-induced oil recovery method allows for oil separation and cell recycling without compromising fermentation performance; however, tuning of the column parameters considering increased levels of SACs due to cellular stress is required for improving oil recovery. © 2018 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal Published by Wiley-VCHVerlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mechanism governing nanoparticle flow behaviour in porous media: insight for enhanced oil recovery applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agi, Augustine; Junin, Radzuan; Gbadamosi, Afeez

2018-06-01

Nanotechnology has found its way to petroleum engineering, it is well-accepted path in the oil and gas industry to recover more oil trapped in the reservoir. But the addition of nanoparticles to a liquid can result in the simplest flow becoming complex. To understand the working mechanism, there is a need to study the flow behaviour of these particles. This review highlights the mechanism affecting the flow of nanoparticles in porous media as it relates to enhanced oil recovery. The discussion focuses on chemical-enhanced oil recovery, a review on laboratory experiment on wettability alteration, effect of interfacial tension and the stability of emulsion and foam is discussed. The flow behaviour of nanoparticles in porous media was discussed laying emphasis on the physical aspect of the flow, the microscopic rheological behaviour and the adsorption of the nanoparticles. It was observed that nanofluids exhibit Newtonian behaviour at low shear rate and non-Newtonian behaviour at high shear rate. Gravitational and capillary forces are responsible for the shift in wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. The dominant mechanisms of foam flow process were lamellae division and bubble to multiple bubble lamellae division. In a water-wet system, the dominant mechanism of flow process and residual oil mobilization are lamellae division and emulsification, respectively. Whereas in an oil-wet system, the generation of pre-spinning continuous gas foam was the dominant mechanism. The literature review on oil displacement test and field trials indicates that nanoparticles can recover additional oil. The challenges encountered have opened new frontier for research and are highlighted herein.

Emulsions in porous media: From single droplet behavior to applications for oil recovery.

PubMed

Perazzo, Antonio; Tomaiuolo, Giovanna; Preziosi, Valentina; Guido, Stefano

2018-06-01

Emulsions are suspensions of droplets ubiquitous in oil recovery from underground reservoirs. Oil is typically trapped in geological porous media where emulsions are either formed in situ or injected to elicit oil mobilization and thus enhance the amount of oil recovered. Here, we briefly review basic concepts on geometrical and wetting features of porous media, including thin film stability and fluids penetration modes, which are more relevant for oil recovery and oil-contaminated aquifers. Then, we focus on the description of emulsion flow in porous media spanning from the behaviour of single droplets to the collective flow of a suspension of droplets, including the effect of bulk and interfacial rheology, hydrodynamic and physico-chemical interactions. Finally, we describe the particular case of emulsions used in underground porous media for enhanced oil recovery, thereby discussing some perspectives of future work. Although focused on oil recovery related topics, most of the insights we provide are useful towards remediation of oil-contaminated aquifers and for a basic understanding of emulsion flow in any kind of porous media, such as biological tissues. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biosurfactant-biopolymer driven microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) and its optimization by an ANN-GA hybrid technique.

PubMed

Dhanarajan, Gunaseelan; Rangarajan, Vivek; Bandi, Chandrakanth; Dixit, Abhivyakti; Das, Susmita; Ale, Kranthikiran; Sen, Ramkrishna

2017-08-20

A lipopeptide biosurfactant produced by marine Bacillus megaterium and a biopolymer produced by thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis were tested for their application potential in the enhanced oil recovery. The crude biosurfactant obtained after acid precipitation effectively reduced the surface tension of deionized water from 70.5 to 28.25mN/m and the interfacial tension between lube oil and water from 18.6 to 1.5mN/m at a concentration of 250mgL -1 . The biosurfactant exhibited a maximum emulsification activity (E 24 ) of 81.66% against lube oil. The lipopeptide micelles were stabilized by addition of Ca 2+ ions to the biosurfactant solution. The oil recovery efficiency of Ca 2+ conditioned lipopeptide solution from a sand-packed column was optimized by using artificial neural network (ANN) modelling coupled with genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. Three important parameters namely lipopeptide concentration, Ca 2+ concentration and solution pH were considered for optimization studies. In order to further improve the recovery efficiency, a water soluble biopolymer produced by Bacillus licheniformis was used as a flooding agent after biosurfactant incubation. Upon ANN-GA optimization, 45% tertiary oil recovery was achieved, when biopolymer at a concentration of 3gL -1 was used as a flooding agent. Oil recovery was only 29% at optimal conditions predicted by ANN-GA, when only water was used as flooding solution. The important characteristics of biopolymers such as its viscosity, pore plugging capabilities and bio-cementing ability have also been tested. Thus, as a result of biosurfactant incubation and biopolymer flooding under the optimal process conditions, a maximum oil recovery of 45% was achieved. Therefore, this study is novel, timely and interesting for it showed the combined influence of biosurfactant and biopolymer on solubilisation and mobilization of oil from the soil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of Pumpkin Oil Recovery by Using Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction and Comparison of the Quality of the Obtained Oil with the Quality of Cold-Pressed Oil

PubMed Central

Roszkowska, Beata; Czaplicki, Sylwester; Tańska, Małgorzata

2016-01-01

Summary The study was carried out to optimize pumpkin oil recovery in the process of aqueous extraction preceded by enzymatic maceration of seeds, as well as to compare the quality of the obtained oil to the quality of cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil. Hydrated pulp of hulless pumpkin seeds was macerated using a 2% (by mass) cocktail of commercial pectinolytic, cellulolytic and proteolytic preparations (Rohapect® UF, Rohament® CL and Colorase® 7089). The optimization procedure utilized response surface methodology based on Box- -Behnken plan of experiment. The optimized variables of enzymatic pretreatment were pH, temperature and maceration time. The results showed that the pH value, temperature and maceration time of 4.7, 54 °C and 15.4 h, respectively, were conducive to maximize the oil yield up to 72.64%. Among these variables, the impact of pH was crucial (above 73% of determined variation) for oil recovery results. The oil obtained by aqueous enzymatic extraction was richer in sterols, squalene and tocopherols, and only slightly less abundant in carotenoids than the cold-pressed one. However, it had a lower oxidative stability, with induction period shortened by approx. 30% in relation to the cold-pressed oil. PMID:28115898

Influence of relative permeabilities on chemical enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Destefanis, M. F.; Savioli, G. B.

2011-05-01

The main objective of chemical flooding is to mobilize the trapped oil remaining after a secondary recovery by waterflooding. This purpose is achieved by lowering the oil-water interfacial tension and producing partial miscibility between both phases. The chemical partition among phases (phase behavior) influences all other physical properties. In particular, it affects residual saturations determining relative permeability curves. Relative permeabilities rule the flow of each phase through the porous medium, so they play an essential role in oil recovery. Therefore, in this work we study the influence of relative permeabilities on the behavior of a surfactant-polymer flooding for the three different types of phase behavior. This analysis is performed applying the 3D compositional numerical simulator UTCHEM developed at the University of Texas at Austin. From the examples studied, we conclude that the influence of relative permeabilities depends on the type of phase behavior, i.e., as microemulsion relative permeability decreases, oil recovery increases for Types II(+) and III while slightly decreases for Type II(-). Moreover, a better displacement efficiency is observed for Types II(+) and III, because they behave similarly to a miscible displacement.

Enhanced oil recovery using flash-driven steamflooding

DOEpatents

Roark, Steven D.

1990-01-01

The present invention is directed to a novel steamflooding process which utilizes three specific stages of steam injection for enhanced oil recovery. The three stages are as follows: As steam is being injected into an oil-bearing reservoir through an injection well, the production rate of a production well located at a distance from the injection well is gradually restricted to a point that the pressure in the reservoir increases at a predetermined rate to a predetermined maximum value. After the maximum pressure has been reached, the production rate is increased to a value such that the predetermined maximum pressure value is maintained. Production at maximum pressure is continued for a length of time that will be unique for each individual reservoir. In some cases, this step of the steamflooding process of the invention may be omitted entirely. In the third stage of the steamflooding process of the invention, production rates at the producing well are increased gradually to allow the pressure to decrease down from the maximum pressure value to the original pressure value at the producing well. The rate of pressure reduction will be unique for each reservoir. After completing stage three, the three stages can be repeated or the steamflood may be terminated as considered desirable.

Low-rank coal oil agglomeration product and process

DOEpatents

Knudson, Curtis L.; Timpe, Ronald C.; Potas, Todd A.; DeWall, Raymond A.; Musich, Mark A.

1992-01-01

A selectively-sized, raw, low-rank coal is processed to produce a low ash and relative water-free agglomerate with an enhanced heating value and a hardness sufficient to produce a non-decrepitating, shippable fuel. The low-rank coal is treated, under high shear conditions, in the first stage to cause ash reduction and subsequent surface modification which is necessary to facilitate agglomerate formation. In the second stage the treated low-rank coal is contacted with bridging and binding oils under low shear conditions to produce agglomerates of selected size. The bridging and binding oils may be coal or petroleum derived. The process incorporates a thermal deoiling step whereby the bridging oil may be completely or partially recovered from the agglomerate; whereas, partial recovery of the bridging oil functions to leave as an agglomerate binder, the heavy constituents of the bridging oil. The recovered oil is suitable for recycling to the agglomeration step or can serve as a value-added product.

Low-rank coal oil agglomeration product and process

DOEpatents

Knudson, C.L.; Timpe, R.C.; Potas, T.A.; DeWall, R.A.; Musich, M.A.

1992-11-10

A selectively-sized, raw, low-rank coal is processed to produce a low ash and relative water-free agglomerate with an enhanced heating value and a hardness sufficient to produce a non-degradable, shippable fuel. The low-rank coal is treated, under high shear conditions, in the first stage to cause ash reduction and subsequent surface modification which is necessary to facilitate agglomerate formation. In the second stage the treated low-rank coal is contacted with bridging and binding oils under low shear conditions to produce agglomerates of selected size. The bridging and binding oils may be coal or petroleum derived. The process incorporates a thermal deoiling step whereby the bridging oil may be completely or partially recovered from the agglomerate; whereas, partial recovery of the bridging oil functions to leave as an agglomerate binder, the heavy constituents of the bridging oil. The recovered oil is suitable for recycling to the agglomeration step or can serve as a value-added product.

Novel simple process for tocopherols selective recovery from vegetable oils by adsorption and desorption with an anion-exchange resin.

PubMed

Hiromori, Kousuke; Shibasaki-Kitakawa, Naomi; Nakashima, Kazunori; Yonemoto, Toshikuni

2016-03-01

A novel and simple low-temperature process was used to recover tocopherols from a deodorizer distillate, which is a by-product of edible oil refining. The process consists of three operations: the esterification of free fatty acids with a cation-exchange resin catalyst, the adsorption of tocopherols onto an anion-exchange resin, and tocopherol desorption from the resin. No degradation of tocopherols occurred during these processes. In the tocopherol-rich fraction, no impurities such as sterols or glycerides were present. These impurities are commonly found in the product of the conventional process. This novel process improves the overall recovery ratio and the mass fraction of the product (75.9% and 51.0wt%) compared with those in the conventional process (50% and 35wt%). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Zeta potential in oil-brine-sandstone system and its role in oil recovery during controlled salinity waterflooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, S.; Jackson, M.

2017-12-01

Wettability alteration is widely recognised as a primary role in improved oil recovery (IOR) during controlled salinity waterflooding (CSW) by modifying brine composition. The change of wettability of core sample depends on adsorption of polar oil compounds into the mineral surface which influences its surface charge density and zeta potential. It has been proved that zeta potentials can be useful to quantify the wettability and incremental oil recovery in natural carbonates. However, the study of zeta potential in oil-brine-sandstone system has not investigated yet. In this experimental study, the zeta potential is used to examine the controlled salinity effects on IOR in nature sandstone (Doddington) aged with two types of crude oils (Oil T and Oil D) over 4 weeks at 80 °C. Results show that the zeta potential measured in the Oil T-brine-sandstone system following primary waterflooding decreases compared to that in fully water saturation, which is consistent with the negative oil found in carbonates study, and IOR response during secondary waterflooding using diluted seawater was observed. In the case of negative oil, the injected low salinity brine induces a more repulsive electrostatic force between the mineral-brine interface and oil-brine interface, which results in an increase disjoining pressure and alters the rock surface to be more water-wet. For Oil D with a positive oil-brine interface, the zeta potential becomes more positive compared to that under single phase condition. The conventional waterflooding fails to observe the IOR in Oil D-brine-sandstone system due to a less repulsive electrostatic force built up between the two interfaces. After switching the injection brine from low salinity brine to formation brine, the IOR was observed. Measured zeta potentials shed some light on the mechanism of wettability alteration in the oil-brine-sandstone system and oil recovery during CSW.

Process Recovery after CaO Addition Due to Granule Formation in a CSTR Co-Digester—A Tool to Influence the Composition of the Microbial Community and Stabilize the Process?

PubMed Central

Liebrich, Marietta; Kleyböcker, Anne; Kasina, Monika; Miethling-Graff, Rona; Kassahun, Andrea; Würdemann, Hilke

2016-01-01

The composition, structure and function of granules formed during process recovery with calcium oxide in a laboratory-scale fermenter fed with sewage sludge and rapeseed oil were studied. In the course of over-acidification and successful process recovery, only minor changes were observed in the bacterial community of the digestate, while granules appeared during recovery. Fluorescence microscopic analysis of the granules showed a close spatial relationship between calcium and oil and/or long chain fatty acids. This finding further substantiated the hypothesis that calcium precipitated with carbon of organic origin and reduced the negative effects of overloading with oil. Furthermore, the enrichment of phosphate minerals in the granules was shown, and molecular biological analyses detected polyphosphate-accumulating organisms as well as methanogenic archaea in the core. Organisms related to Methanoculleus receptaculi were detected in the inner zones of a granule, whereas they were present in the digestate only after process recovery. This finding indicated more favorable microhabitats inside the granules that supported process recovery. Thus, the granule formation triggered by calcium oxide addition served as a tool to influence the composition of the microbial community and to stabilize the process after overloading with oil. PMID:27681911

Process Recovery after CaO Addition Due to Granule Formation in a CSTR Co-Digester-A Tool to Influence the Composition of the Microbial Community and Stabilize the Process?

PubMed

Liebrich, Marietta; Kleyböcker, Anne; Kasina, Monika; Miethling-Graff, Rona; Kassahun, Andrea; Würdemann, Hilke

2016-03-17

The composition, structure and function of granules formed during process recovery with calcium oxide in a laboratory-scale fermenter fed with sewage sludge and rapeseed oil were studied. In the course of over-acidification and successful process recovery, only minor changes were observed in the bacterial community of the digestate, while granules appeared during recovery. Fluorescence microscopic analysis of the granules showed a close spatial relationship between calcium and oil and/or long chain fatty acids. This finding further substantiated the hypothesis that calcium precipitated with carbon of organic origin and reduced the negative effects of overloading with oil. Furthermore, the enrichment of phosphate minerals in the granules was shown, and molecular biological analyses detected polyphosphate-accumulating organisms as well as methanogenic archaea in the core. Organisms related to Methanoculleus receptaculi were detected in the inner zones of a granule, whereas they were present in the digestate only after process recovery. This finding indicated more favorable microhabitats inside the granules that supported process recovery. Thus, the granule formation triggered by calcium oxide addition served as a tool to influence the composition of the microbial community and to stabilize the process after overloading with oil.

Constructive Activation of Reservoir-Resident Microbes for Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeBruyn, R. P.

2017-12-01

Microbial communities living in subsurface oil reservoirs biodegrade oil, producing methane. If this process could create methane within the waterflooded pore spaces of an oilfield, the methane would be expected to remain and occupy pore space, decreasing water relative permeability, diverting water flow, and increasing oil recovery by expanding the swept zone of the waterflood. This approach was tested in an oilfield in northern Montana. Preliminary assessments were made of geochemical conditions and microbiological habitations. Then, a formulation of microbial activators, with composition tailored for the reservoir's conditions, was metered at low rates into the existing injection water system for one year. In the field, the responses observed included improved oil production performance; a slight increase in injection pressure; and increased time needed for tracers to move between injection and producing wells. We interpret these results to confirm that successful stimulation of the microbial community caused more methane to be created within the swept zone of the waterflooded reservoir. When the methane exsolved as water flowed between high-pressure injection and low-pressure production wells, the bubbles occupied pore space, reducing water saturation and relative permeability, and re-directing some water flow to "slower" unswept rock with lower permeability and higher oil saturation. In total, the waterflood's swept zone had been expanded to include previously-unflooded rock. This technology was applied in this field after screening based on careful anaerobic sampling, advanced microbiological analysis, and the ongoing success of its waterflood. No reservoir or geological or geophysical simulation models were employed, and physical modifications to field facilities were minor. This technology of utilizing existing microbial populations for enhanced oil recovery can therefore be considered for deployment into waterfloods where small scale, advanced maturity, or

Modeling of the Temperature Field Recovery in the Oil Pool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khabibullin, I. L.; Davtetbaev, A. Ya.; Mar'in, D. F.; Khisamov, A. A.

2018-05-01

This paper considers the problem on mathematical modeling of the temperature field recovery in the oil pool upon termination of injection of water into the pool. The problem is broken down into two stages: injection of water and temperature and pressure recovery upon termination of injection. A review of the existing mathematical models is presented, analytical solutions for a number of cases have been constructed, and a comparison of the analytical solutions of different models has been made. In the general form, the expression has been obtained that permits determining the temperature change in the oil pool upon termination of injection of water (recovery of the temperature field).

Investigation of biosurfactant-producing indigenous microorganisms that enhance residue oil recovery in an oil reservoir after polymer flooding.

PubMed

She, Yue-Hui; Zhang, Fan; Xia, Jing-Jing; Kong, Shu-Qiong; Wang, Zheng-Liang; Shu, Fu-Chang; Hu, Ji-Ming

2011-01-01

Three biosurfactant-producing indigenous microorganisms (XDS1, XDS2, XDS3) were isolated from a petroleum reservoir in the Daqing Oilfield (China) after polymer flooding. Their metabolic, biochemical, and oil-degradation characteristics, as well as their oil displacement in the core were studied. These indigenous microorganisms were identified as short rod bacillus bacteria with white color, round shape, a protruding structure, and a rough surface. Strains have peritrichous flagella, are able to produce endospores, are sporangia, and are clearly swollen and terminal. Bacterial cultures show that the oil-spreading values of the fermentation fluid containing all three strains are more than 4.5 cm (diameter) with an approximate 25 mN/m surface tension. The hydrocarbon degradation rates of each of the three strains exceeded 50%, with the highest achieving 84%. Several oil recovery agents were produced following degradation. At the same time, the heavy components of crude oil were degraded into light components, and their flow characteristics were also improved. The surface tension and viscosity of the crude oil decreased after being treated by the three strains of microorganisms. The core-flooding tests showed that the incremental oil recoveries were 4.89-6.96%. Thus, XDS123 treatment may represent a viable method for microbial-enhanced oil recovery.

Bioaugmentation of oil reservoir indigenous Pseudomonas aeruginosa to enhance oil recovery through in-situ biosurfactant production without air injection.

PubMed

Zhao, Feng; Li, Ping; Guo, Chao; Shi, Rong-Jiu; Zhang, Ying

2018-03-01

Considering the anoxic conditions within oil reservoirs, a new microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology through in-situ biosurfactant production without air injection was proposed. High-throughput sequencing data revealed that Pseudomonas was one of dominant genera in Daqing oil reservoirs. Pseudomonas aeruginosa DQ3 which can anaerobically produce biosurfactant at 42 °C was isolated. Strain DQ3 was bioaugmented in an anaerobic bioreactor to approximately simulate MEOR process. During bioaugmentation process, although a new bacterial community was gradually formed, Pseudomonas was still one of dominant genera. Culture-based data showed that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and biosurfactant-producing bacteria were activated, while sulfate reducing bacteria were controlled. Biosurfactant was produced at simulated reservoir conditions, decreasing surface tension to 33.8 mN/m and emulsifying crude oil with EI 24  = 58%. Core flooding tests revealed that extra 5.22% of oil was displaced by in-situ biosurfactant production. Bioaugmenting indigenous biosurfactant producer P. aeruginosa without air injection is promising for in-situ MEOR applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of a dual-pump crude-oil recovery system, Bemidji, Minnesota, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Delin, Geoffrey N.; Herkelrath, William N.

2014-01-01

A crude-oil spill occurred in 1979 when a pipeline burst near Bemidji, MN. In 1998, the pipeline company installed a dual-pump recovery system designed to remove crude oil remaining in the subsurface at the site. The remediation from 1999 to 2003 resulted in removal of about 115,000 L of crude oil, representing between 36% and 41% of the volume of oil (280,000 to 316,000 L) estimated to be present in 1998. Effects of the 1999 to 2003 remediation on the dissolved plume were evaluated using measurements of oil thicknesses in wells plus measurements of dissolved oxygen in groundwater. Although the recovery system decreased oil thicknesses in the immediate vicinity of the remediation wells, average oil thicknesses measured in wells were largely unaffected. Dissolved-oxygen measurements indicate that a secondary plume was caused by disposal of the pumped water in an upgradient infiltration gallery; this plume expanded rapidly immediately following the start of the remediation in 1999. The result was expansion of the anoxic zone of groundwater upgradient and beneath the existing natural attenuation plume. Oil-phase recovery at this site was shown to be challenging, and considerable volumes of mobile and entrapped oil remain in the subsurface despite remediation efforts.

26 CFR 1.43-4 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... the anticipated use in a project or activity is a reasonable method. (b) Costs defined—(1) Qualified... used in the tertiary recovery method. Therefore, the storage tank is used directly in the project and... qualified tertiary recovery method. As part of the enhanced oil recovery project, K drills injection wells...

Technical difficulties and solutions of direct transesterification process of microbial oil for biodiesel synthesis.

PubMed

Yousuf, Abu; Khan, Maksudur Rahman; Islam, M Amirul; Wahid, Zularisam Ab; Pirozzi, Domenico

2017-01-01

Microbial oils are considered as alternative to vegetable oils or animal fats as biodiesel feedstock. Microalgae and oleaginous yeast are the main candidates of microbial oil producers' community. However, biodiesel synthesis from these sources is associated with high cost and process complexity. The traditional transesterification method includes several steps such as biomass drying, cell disruption, oil extraction and solvent recovery. Therefore, direct transesterification or in situ transesterification, which combines all the steps in a single reactor, has been suggested to make the process cost effective. Nevertheless, the process is not applicable for large-scale biodiesel production having some difficulties such as high water content of biomass that makes the reaction rate slower and hurdles of cell disruption makes the efficiency of oil extraction lower. Additionally, it requires high heating energy in the solvent extraction and recovery stage. To resolve these difficulties, this review suggests the application of antimicrobial peptides and high electric fields to foster the microbial cell wall disruption.

The Utilization of the Microflora Indigenous to and Present in Oil-Bearing Formations to Selectively Plug the More Porous Zones Thereby Increasing Oil Recovery During Waterflooding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Lewis R.; Byrnes, Martin J.; Stephens, James O.

This project was designed to demonstrate that a microbially enhanced oil recovery process (MEOR), developed in part under DOE Contract No. DE-AC22-90BC14665, will increase oil recovery from fluvial dominated deltaic oil reservoirs. The process involves stimulating the in-situ indigenous microbial population in the reservoir to grow in the more permeable zones, thus diverting flow to other areas of the reservoir, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the waterflood. This five and a half year project is divided into three phases, Phase I, Planning and Analysis (9 months), Phase II, Implementation (45 months), and Phase III, Technology Transfer (12 months). Phase Imore » was completed and reported in the first annual report. This fifth annual report covers the completion of Phase II and the first six months of Phase III.« less

Alkaline flooding for enhanced oil recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gittler, W.E.

1983-09-01

There are over 12 active projects of varying size using one of 3 major types of alkaline agents. These include sodium silicate, caustic soda, and soda ash. Among the largest pilots currently is the THUMS project in the Wilmington field, California. Plans called for the injection of a 4% weight concentration of sodium orthosilicate over a 60% PV. Through the first 3 yr, over 27 million bbl of chemicals have been injected. Gulf Oil is operating several alkaline floods, one of which is located off shore in the Quarantine Bay field, Louisiana. In this pilot, sodium hydroxide in a weightmore » concentration of 5 to 12% is being injected. Belco Petroleum Corp. has reported that their pilot operating in the Isenhour Unit in Wyoming is using a .5% weight concentration of soda ash in conjunction with a polymer. Other uses for alkaline agents in chemical flooding include the use of silicate as a preflush or sacrificial agent in micellar/polymer and surfactant recovery systems. In addition, caustic has been tested in the surface-mixed caustic emulsion process while orthosilicate has been tested in a recovery method known as mobility-controlled caustic floods.« less

CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery from the Residual Zone - A Sustainable Vision for North Sea Oil Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Jamie; Haszeldine, Stuart; Wilkinson, Mark; Johnson, Gareth

2014-05-01

This paper presents a 'new vision for North Sea oil production' where previously unattainable residual oil can be produced with the injection of CO2 that has been captured at power stations or other large industrial emitters. Not only could this process produce incremental oil from a maturing basin, reducing imports, it also has the capability to store large volumes of CO2 which can offset the emissions of additional carbon produced. Around the world oil production from mature basins is in decline and production from UK oil fields peaked in 1998. Other basins around the world have a similar story. Although in the UK a number of tax regimes, such as 'brown field allowances' and 'new field allowances' have been put in place to re-encourage investment, it is recognised that the majority of large discoveries have already been made. However, as a nation our demand for oil remains high and in the last decade imports of crude oil have been steadily increasing. The UK is dependent on crude oil for transport and feedstock for chemical and plastics production. Combined with the necessity to provide energy security, there is a demand to re-assess the potential for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) in the UK offshore. Residual oil zones (ROZ) exist where one of a number of natural conditions beyond normal capillary forces have caused the geometry of a field's oil column to be altered after filling [1]. When this re-structuring happens the primary interest to the hydrocarbon industry has in the past been in where the mobile oil has migrated to. However it is now considered that significant oil resource may exist in the residual zone play where the main oil column has been displaced. Saturations within this play are predominantly close to residual saturation (Sr) and would be similar to that of a water-flooded field [2]. Evidence from a number of hydrocarbon fairways shows that, under certain circumstances, these residual zones in US fields are comparable in thickness to the

The Prestige crisis: operational oceanography applied to oil recovery, by the Basque fishing fleet.

PubMed

González, Manuel; Uriarte, Adolfo; Pozo, Rogelio; Collins, Michael

2006-01-01

On 19th November 2002, the oil tanker Prestige (containing 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel no. 2 (M100)) sank in 3500 m of water, off the coast of northwestern Spain. Intermittent discharge of oil from the stricken tanker, combined with large-scale sea surface dispersion, created a tracking and recovery problem. Initially, conventional oil recovery approaches were adopted, close to the wreck. With time and distance from the source, the oil dispersed dramatically and became less viscous. Consequently, a unique monitoring, prediction and data dissemination system was established, based upon the principles of 'operational oceanography'; this utilised in situ tracked buoys and numerical (spill trajectory) modelling outputs, in combination with remote sensing (satellite sensors and visual observation). Overall, wind effects on the surface waters were found to be the most important mechanism controlling the smaller oil slick movements. The recovery operation involved up to 180 fishing boats, 9-30 m in length. Such labour-intensive recovery of the oil (21,000 tonnes, representing an unprecedented ratio of 6.6 tonnes at sea, per tonne recovered on land) continued over a 10 month period. The overall recovery at sea, by the fishing vessels, represented 63% of the total oil recovered at sea; this compares to only 37% recovered by specialised 'counter- pollution' vessels.

Application of forward osmosis membrane technology for oil sands process-affected water desalination.

PubMed

Jiang, Yaxin; Liang, Jiaming; Liu, Yang

2016-01-01

The extraction process used to obtain bitumen from the oil sands produces large volumes of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). As a newly emerging desalination technology, forward osmosis (FO) has shown great promise in saving electrical power requirements, increasing water recovery, and minimizing brine discharge. With the support of this funding, a FO system was constructed using a cellulose triacetate FO membrane to test the feasibility of OSPW desalination and contaminant removal. The FO systems were optimized using different types and concentrations of draw solution. The FO system using 4 M NH4HCO3 as a draw solution achieved 85% water recovery from OSPW, and 80 to 100% contaminant rejection for most metals and ions. A water backwash cleaning method was applied to clean the fouled membrane, and the cleaned membrane achieved 77% water recovery, a performance comparable to that of new FO membranes. This suggests that the membrane fouling was reversible. The FO system developed in this project provides a novel and energy efficient strategy to remediate the tailings waters generated by oil sands bitumen extraction and processing.

Ultrasonic oil recovery and salt removal from refinery tank bottom sludge.

PubMed

Hu, Guangji; Li, Jianbing; Thring, Ronald W; Arocena, Joselito

2014-01-01

The oil recovery and salt removal effects of ultrasonic irradiation on oil refinery tank bottom sludge were investigated, together with those of direct heating. Ultrasonic power, treatment duration, sludge-to-water ratio, and initial sludge-water slurry temperature were examined for their impacts on sludge treatment. It was found that the increased initial slurry temperature could enhance the ultrasonic irradiation performance, especially at lower ultrasonic power level (i.e., 21 W), but the application of higher-power ultrasound could rapidly increase the bulk temperature of slurry. Ultrasonic irradiation had a better oil recovery and salt removal performance than direct heating treatment. More than 60% of PHCs in the sludge was recovered at an ultrasonic power of 75 W, a treatment duration of 6 min, an initial slurry temperature of 25°C, and a sludge-to-water ratio of 1:4, while salt content in the recovered oil was reduced to <5 mg L(-1), thereby satisfying the salt requirement in refinery feedstock oil. In general, ultrasonic irradiation could be an effective method in terms of oil recovery and salt removal from refinery oily sludge, but the separated wastewater still contains relatively high concentrations of PHCs and salt which requires proper treatment.

On the use of sodium lignosulphonate for enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azis, M. M.; Rachmadi, H.; Wintoko, J.; Yuliansyah, A. T.; Hasokowati, W.; Purwono, S.; Rochmadi, W.; Murachman, B.

2017-05-01

There has been large interest to utilize oil reservoirs in Indonesia by using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes. Injection of surfactant as a part of chemical injection technique in EOR is known to aid the mobility and reduction in surface tension. One potential surfactant for EOR application is Sodium Lignosulphonate (SLS) which can be made from various sources particularly empty fruit bunch of oil palm and black liquor from kraft pulp production. Here, we will discuss a number of methods for SLS production which includes lignin isolation techniques and sulphonation reaction. The use of SLS alone as EOR surfactant, however, is often not feasible as the Interfacial Tension (IFT) value of SLS is typically above the order of 10-3 dyne/cm which is mandated for EOR application. Hence, brief discussion on SLS formulation screening is provided which illustrates an extensive labwork experience during the SLS development in our lab.

An Analysis of the Distribution and Economics of Oil Fields for Enhanced Oil Recovery-Carbon Capture and Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Kristyn Ann

The rising carbon dioxide emissions contributing to climate change has lead to the examination of potential ways to mitigate the environmental impact. One such method is through the geological sequestration of carbon (CCS). Although there are several different forms of geological sequestration (i.e. Saline Aquifers, Oil and Gas Reservoirs, Unminable Coal Seams) the current projects are just initiating the large scale-testing phase. The lead entry point into CCS projects is to combine the sequestration with enhanced oil recovery (EOR) due to the improved economic model as a result of the oil recovery and the pre-existing knowledge of the geological structures. The potential scope of CCS-EOR projects throughout the continental United States in terms of a systematic examination of individual reservoir storage potential has not been examined. Instead the majority of the research completed has centered on either estimating the total United States storage potential or the potential of a single specific reservoir. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between oil recovery, carbon dioxide storage and cost during CCS-EOR. The characteristics of the oil and gas reservoirs examined in this study from the Nehring Oil and Gas Database were used in the CCS-EOR model developed by Sean McCoy to estimate the lifting and storage costs of the different reservoirs throughout the continental United States. This allows for an examination of both technical and financial viability of CCS-EOR as an intermediate step for future CCS projects in other geological formations. One option for mitigating climate change is to store industrial CO2 emissions in geologic reservoirs as part of a process known as carbon capture and storage (CCS). There is general consensus that large-scale deployment of CCS would best be initiated by combining geologic sequestration with enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which can use CO2 to improve production from declining oil fields. Revenues from the

Process for recovering products from oil shale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacobs, H.R.; Udell, K.S.

A process is claimed for recovering hydrocarbon products from a body of fragmented or rubblized oil shale. The process includes initiating a combustion zone adjacent the lower end of a body of oil shale and using the thermal energy therefrom for volatilizing the shale oil from the oil shale above the combustion front. Improved recovery of hydrocarbon products is realized by refluxing the heavier fractions in the volatilized shale oil. The heavier fractions are refluxed by condensing the heavier fractions and allowing the resulting condensate to flow downwardly toward the combustion front. Thermal energy from the combustion zone cracks themore » condensate producing additional lower molecular weight fractions and a carbonaceous residue. The carbonaceous residue is burned in the combustion front to supply the thermal energy. The temperature of the combustion front is maintained by regulating input of oxygen to the combustion zone. The process also includes sweeping the volatilized products from the rubblized oil shale with a noncombustible gas. The flow rate of sweep gas is also controlled to regulate the temperature of the combustion front. The recovered products can be enriched with hydrogen by using water vapor as part of the noncombustible sweep gas and cracking the water vapor with the hot carbon in the combustion front to produce hydrogen and an oxide of carbon.« less

The effect of ZnO nanoparticles on improved oil recovery in spontaneous imbibition mechanism of heavy oil production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajmiri, M.; Ehsani, M. R.; Mousavi, S. M.; Roayaei, E.; Emadi, A.

2015-07-01

Spontaneous imbibition (SI) gets a controversial subject in oil- wet carbonate reservoirs. The new concept of nanoparticles applications in an EOR area have been recently raised by researches about oil viscosity reduction and generate emulsion without surfactant. But a lot of questions have been remained about which nanoparticles can alter wettability from oil- wet to water- wet to improve oil recovery. This study introduces the new idea of adding ZnO nanoparticles (0.2%wt concentration) by experimental work on oil recovery. The main goals of this research were to prove that ZnO nanoparticles have the ability to reduce viscosity and also alter wettability. The ultimate objective was to determine the potential of these nanoparticles to imbibe into and displace oil. Through the use of Amott- cell, laboratory tests were conducted in two experiments on four cylindrical core samples (three sandstones and one carbonate) were taken from real Iranian heavy oil reservoir. In the first experiment, core samples were saturated by crude oil and in the second experiment, nanoparticles were flooding into core samples and then saturated by crude oil for about two weeks and after that they were immersed in distilled water and the amount of recovery was monitored during 30 days for both tests. We expected that ZnO nanoparticles decreased the surface tension which reduced the capillary forces through SI and wettability alteration took place towards a more water-wet system and caused the oil relative permeability to increase which dominated the gravitational forces to pull out the oil. Our results proved this expectation from ZnO nanoparticles clearly because carbonate core was oil- wet and the capillary pressure was high and negative to push water into the core so the original oil in place (OOIP) was zero whereas by adding ZnO nanoparticles OOIP was increased to 8.89%. SI yielded recovery values from 17.3, 2 and 15 without nanoparticles to 20.68, 17.57 and 36.2 % OOIP with

Process for producing modified microorganisms for oil treatment at high temperatures, pressures and salinity

DOEpatents

Premuzic, Eugene T.; Lin, Mow

1996-02-20

This invention relates to the preparation of new, modified organisms, through challenge growth processes, that are viable in the extreme temperature, pressure and pH conditions and salt concentrations of an oil reservoir and that are suitable for use in microbial enhanced oil recovery. The modified microorganisms of the present invention are used to enhance oil recovery and remove sulfur compounds and metals from the crude oil. The processes are comprised of steps which successively limit the carbon sources and increase the temperature, pressure and salinity of the media. This is done until microbial strains are obtained that are capable of growing in essentially crude oil as a carbon source and at a temperature range from about 70.degree. C. to 90.degree. C., at a pressure range from about 2,000 to 2,500 psi and at a salinity range from about 1.3 to 35%.

Process for producing modified microorganisms for oil treatment at high temperatures, pressures and salinity

DOEpatents

Premuzic, E.T.; Lin, M.

1996-02-20

This invention relates to the preparation of new, modified organisms, through challenge growth processes, that are viable in the extreme temperature, pressure and pH conditions and salt concentrations of an oil reservoir and that are suitable for use in microbial enhanced oil recovery. The modified microorganisms of the present invention are used to enhance oil recovery and remove sulfur compounds and metals from the crude oil. The processes are comprised of steps which successively limit the carbon sources and increase the temperature, pressure and salinity of the media. This is done until microbial strains are obtained that are capable of growing in essentially crude oil as a carbon source and at a temperature range from about 70 C to 90 C, at a pressure range from about 2,000 to 2,500 psi and at a salinity range from about 1.3 to 35%. 68 figs.

Evaluation of Reservoir Wettability and its Effect on Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buckley, Jill S.

2002-01-29

The objectives of this five-year project were: (1) to achieve improved understanding of the surface and interfacial properties of crude oils and their interactions with mineral surfaces, (2) to apply the results of surface studies to improve predictions of oil production from laboratory measurements, and (3) to use the results of this research to recommend ways to improve oil recovery by waterflooding.

Sacrificial adsorbate for surfactants utilized in chemical floods of enhanced oil recovery operations

DOEpatents

Johnson, Jr., James S.; Westmoreland, Clyde G.

1982-01-01

The present invention is directed to a sacrificial or competitive adsorbate for surfactants contained in chemical flooding emulsions for enhanced oil recovery operations. The adsorbate to be utilized in the method of the present invention is a caustic effluent from the bleach stage or the weak black liquor from the digesters and pulp washers of the kraft pulping process. This effluent or weak black liquor is injected into an oil-bearing subterranean earth formation prior to or concurrent with the chemical flood emulsion and is adsorbed on the active mineral surfaces of the formation matrix so as to effectively reduce adsorption of surfactant in the chemical flood. Alternatively, the effluent or liquor can be injected into the subterranean earth formation subsequent to a chemical flood to displace the surfactant from the mineral surfaces for the recovery thereof.

Sacrificial adsorbate for surfactants utilized in chemical floods of enhanced oil recovery operations

DOEpatents

Johnson, J.S. Jr.; Westmoreland, C.G.

1980-08-20

The present invention is directed to a sacrificial or competitive adsorbate for surfactants contained in chemical flooding emulsions for enhanced oil recovery operations. The adsorbate to be utilized in the method of the present invention is a caustic effluent from the bleach stage or the weak black liquor from the digesters and pulp washers of the kraft pulping process. This effluent or weak black liquor is injected into an oil-bearing subterranean earth formation prior to or concurrent with the chemical flood emulsion and is adsorbed on the active mineral surfaces of the formation matrix so as to effectively reduce adsorption of surfactant in the chemical flood. Alternatively, the effluent or liquor can be injected into the subterranean earth formation subsequent to a chemical flood to displace the surfactant from the mineral surfaces for the recovery thereof.

Impact of carbon nanotubes based nanofluid on oil recovery efficiency using core flooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soleimani, Hassan; Baig, Mirza Khurram; Yahya, Noorhana; Khodapanah, Leila; Sabet, Maziyar; Demiral, Birol M. R.; Burda, Marek

2018-06-01

This study aims to investigate the influence of carbon nanotubes based nanofluid on interfacial tension and oil recovery efficiency. Practically multi-walled carbon nanotubes were successfully synthesized using chemical vapour deposition technique and characterized using X-ray diffraction and Field Emission Scanning Electron microscope in order to understand its structure, shape, and morphology. Nanofluids are one of the interesting new agents for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) that can change the reservoir rock-fluid properties in terms of interfacial tension and wettability. In this work, different concentration of carbon nanotubes based fluids were prepared and the effect of each concentration on surface tension was determined using pendant drop method. After specifying the optimum concentration of carbon nanotubes based nanofluid, core flooding experiment was conducted by two pore volume of brine and two pore volume of nanofluid and then oil recovery factor was calculated. The results show that carbon nanotubes can bring in additional recovery factor of 18.57% in the glass bead sample. It has been observed that nanofluid with high surface tension value gives higher recovery. It was found that the optimum value of concentration is 0.3 wt% at which maximum surface tension of 33.46 mN/m and oil recovery factor of 18.57% was observed. This improvement in recovery factor can be recognized due to interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration.

A new process for the management of olive oil mill waste water and recovery of natural antioxidants.

PubMed

Agalias, Apostolis; Magiatis, Prokopios; Skaltsounis, Alexios-Leandros; Mikros, Emmanuel; Tsarbopoulos, Anthony; Gikas, Evagelos; Spanos, Ioannis; Manios, Thrasyvoulos

2007-04-04

The high polyphenol content of the wastewater is the major environmental problem caused by the olive mills. A pilot scale system for the treatment of the olive oil mills wastewater was developed aiming at the recovery of high added value-contained polyphenols and the reduction of the environmental problems. The treatment system consists of three main successive sections: The first one includes successive filtration stages aiming at the gradual reduction of the wastewater suspended solids up to a limit of 25 microm. The second section includes passing of the filtered wastewater through a series of adsorbent resins (XAD16 and XAD7HP) in order to achieve the de-odoring and decolorization of the wastewater and the removal/ recovery of the polyphenol and lactone content. The third section of the procedure includes the thermal evaporation and recovery of the organic solvents mixture, which has been used in the resin regeneration process, and finally the separation of the polyphenols and other organic substance contents using fast centrifuge partition chromatography. The final outcome of the whole procedure is (i) an odorless yellowish wastewater with a 99.99% reduced content in polyphenols and 98% reduced COD, (ii) an extract rich in polyphenols and lactones with high antioxidant activity and high added value, (iii) an extract containing the coloring substances of the olive fruit, and (iv) pure hydroxytyrosol.

Surfactant based enhanced oil recovery mediated by naturally occurring microorganisms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas, C.P.; Bala, G.A.; Duvall, M.L.

1991-01-01

Oil recovery experiments using Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 and a sucrose based nutrient were performed using Berea sandstone cores ranging in permeability from 85 to 510 md (0.084 to 0.503 {mu}m{sup 2}). Bacillus licheniformis JF-2, a surfactant producing microorganism isolated from an oilfield environment, is nonpathogenic and will not reduce sulfate. Oil recovery efficiencies (E{sub r}) for four different crude oils ranging from 19.1 to 38.1{degrees}API (0.9396 to 0.8343 g/cm{sup 3}) varied from 2.8 to 42.6% of the waterflood residual oil. Injection of cell-free'' supernatants resulted in E{sub r} values from 7.0 to 16.4%. Microbially-mediated systems reduced interfacial tension (IFT) aboutmore » 20 mN/m for four different crude oils. Following microbial flood experimentation microorganisms were distributed throughout the core (110 md (0.109 {mu}m{sup 2}) Berea sandstone) with a predominance of cells located near the outlet end. 34 refs., 6 figs., 7 tabs.« less

Recovery of a subtropical rocky shore is not yet complete, four years after a moderate sized oil spill.

PubMed

Finlayson, Kimberly; Stevens, Tim; Arthur, James Michael; Rissik, David

2015-04-15

Little is known about the recovery trajectory from small to moderate spills (<1000 t), particularly in the sub-tropics. On 11 March 2009 the MV Pacific Adventurer spilt 270 t of bunker fuel oil 13 km off Moreton Island, Australia, impacting wetlands, sandy beaches and rocky shores. This study examines the recovery of the rocky shore community four years after the spill. Results indicate that recovery on Moreton Island is taking longer than the 3-4 years suggested by the literature. The upper shore is recovering faster than the mid shore and is nearly recovered while the mid shore is still in the recovery process. These results indicate that small to moderate sized spills can have environmental impacts on par with much larger spills and emphasizes the need for a clear definition of a recovery endpoint. Long term studies are required to gain a full understanding of trajectories of recovery after oil spill impacts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids in surfactant flooding with additives for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

PubMed

Dai, Caili; Wang, Kai; Liu, Yifei; Fang, Jichao; Zhao, Mingwei

2014-01-01

An investigation was conducted to study the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids composed of viscoelastic surfactants (VES) with additives in surfactant flooding, making the process more efficient and cost-effective. The clear fracturing flowback fluids were used as surfactant flooding system with the addition of α-olefin sulfonate (AOS) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The interfacial activity, emulsification activity and oil recovery capability of the recycling system were studied. The interfacial tension (IFT) between recycling system and oil can be reduced by 2 orders of magnitude to 10(-3) mN/m, which satisfies the basic demand of surfactant flooding. The oil can be emulsified and dispersed more easily due to the synergetic effect of VES and AOS. The oil-wet surface of quartz can be easily converted to water-wet through adsorption of surfactants (VES/AOS) on the surface. Thirteen core plug flooding tests were conducted to investigate the effects of AOS concentrations, slug sizes and slug types of the recycling system on the incremental oil recovery. The investigations prove that reclaiming clear fracturing flowback fluids after fracturing operation and reuse it in surfactant flooding might have less impact on environment and be more economical.

Influence of corn oil recovery on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn ethanol and corn oil biodiesel

DOE PAGES

Wang, Zhichao; Dunn, Jennifer B.; Han, Jeongwoo; ...

2015-11-04

Corn oil recovery and conversion to biodiesel has been widely adopted at corn ethanol plants recently. The US EPA has projected 2.6 billion liters of biodiesel will be produced from corn oil in 2022. Corn oil biodiesel may qualify for federal renewable identification number (RIN) credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard, as well as for low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity credits under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Because multiple products [ethanol, biodiesel, and distiller’s grain with solubles (DGS)] are produced from one feedstock (corn), however, a careful co-product treatment approach is required to accurately estimate GHG intensities of bothmore » ethanol and corn oil biodiesel and to avoid double counting of benefits associated with corn oil biodiesel production. This study develops four co-product treatment methods: (1) displacement, (2) marginal, (3) hybrid allocation, and (4) process-level energy allocation. Life-cycle GHG emissions for corn oil biodiesel were more sensitive to the choice of co-product allocation method because significantly less corn oil biodiesel is produced than corn ethanol at a dry mill. Corn ethanol life-cycle GHG emissions with the displacement, marginal, and hybrid allocation approaches are similar (61, 62, and 59 g CO 2e/MJ, respectively). Although corn ethanol and DGS share upstream farming and conversion burdens in both the hybrid and process-level energy allocation methods, DGS bears a higher burden in the latter because it has lower energy content per selling price as compared to corn ethanol. As a result, with the process-level allocation approach, ethanol’s life-cycle GHG emissions are lower at 46 g CO 2e/MJ. Corn oil biodiesel life-cycle GHG emissions from the marginal, hybrid allocation, and process-level energy allocation methods were 14, 59, and 45 g CO 2e/MJ, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to investigate the influence corn oil yield, soy biodiesel, and defatted DGS

Influence of corn oil recovery on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn ethanol and corn oil biodiesel.

PubMed

Wang, Zhichao; Dunn, Jennifer B; Han, Jeongwoo; Wang, Michael Q

2015-01-01

Corn oil recovery and conversion to biodiesel has been widely adopted at corn ethanol plants recently. The US EPA has projected 2.6 billion liters of biodiesel will be produced from corn oil in 2022. Corn oil biodiesel may qualify for federal renewable identification number (RIN) credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard, as well as for low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity credits under California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Because multiple products [ethanol, biodiesel, and distiller's grain with solubles (DGS)] are produced from one feedstock (corn), however, a careful co-product treatment approach is required to accurately estimate GHG intensities of both ethanol and corn oil biodiesel and to avoid double counting of benefits associated with corn oil biodiesel production. This study develops four co-product treatment methods: (1) displacement, (2) marginal, (3) hybrid allocation, and (4) process-level energy allocation. Life-cycle GHG emissions for corn oil biodiesel were more sensitive to the choice of co-product allocation method because significantly less corn oil biodiesel is produced than corn ethanol at a dry mill. Corn ethanol life-cycle GHG emissions with the displacement, marginal, and hybrid allocation approaches are similar (61, 62, and 59 g CO2e/MJ, respectively). Although corn ethanol and DGS share upstream farming and conversion burdens in both the hybrid and process-level energy allocation methods, DGS bears a higher burden in the latter because it has lower energy content per selling price as compared to corn ethanol. As a result, with the process-level allocation approach, ethanol's life-cycle GHG emissions are lower at 46 g CO2e/MJ. Corn oil biodiesel life-cycle GHG emissions from the marginal, hybrid allocation, and process-level energy allocation methods were 14, 59, and 45 g CO2e/MJ, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to investigate the influence corn oil yield, soy biodiesel, and defatted DGS displacement credits

Influence of corn oil recovery on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn ethanol and corn oil biodiesel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Zhichao; Dunn, Jennifer B.; Han, Jeongwoo

Corn oil recovery and conversion to biodiesel has been widely adopted at corn ethanol plants recently. The US EPA has projected 2.6 billion liters of biodiesel will be produced from corn oil in 2022. Corn oil biodiesel may qualify for federal renewable identification number (RIN) credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard, as well as for low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity credits under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Because multiple products [ethanol, biodiesel, and distiller’s grain with solubles (DGS)] are produced from one feedstock (corn), however, a careful co-product treatment approach is required to accurately estimate GHG intensities of bothmore » ethanol and corn oil biodiesel and to avoid double counting of benefits associated with corn oil biodiesel production. This study develops four co-product treatment methods: (1) displacement, (2) marginal, (3) hybrid allocation, and (4) process-level energy allocation. Life-cycle GHG emissions for corn oil biodiesel were more sensitive to the choice of co-product allocation method because significantly less corn oil biodiesel is produced than corn ethanol at a dry mill. Corn ethanol life-cycle GHG emissions with the displacement, marginal, and hybrid allocation approaches are similar (61, 62, and 59 g CO 2e/MJ, respectively). Although corn ethanol and DGS share upstream farming and conversion burdens in both the hybrid and process-level energy allocation methods, DGS bears a higher burden in the latter because it has lower energy content per selling price as compared to corn ethanol. As a result, with the process-level allocation approach, ethanol’s life-cycle GHG emissions are lower at 46 g CO 2e/MJ. Corn oil biodiesel life-cycle GHG emissions from the marginal, hybrid allocation, and process-level energy allocation methods were 14, 59, and 45 g CO 2e/MJ, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to investigate the influence corn oil yield, soy biodiesel, and defatted DGS

Enhanced oil recovery by nitrogen and carbon dioxide injection followed by low salinity water flooding for tight carbonate reservoir: experimental approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georges Lwisa, Essa; Abdulkhalek, Ashrakat R.

2018-03-01

Enhanced Oil Recovery techniques are one of the top priorities of technology development in petroleum industries nowadays due to the increase in demand for oil and gas which cannot be equalized by the primary production or secondary production methods. The main function of EOR process is to displace oil to the production wells by the injection of different fluids to supplement the natural energy present in the reservoir. Moreover, these injecting fluids can also help in the alterations of the properties of the reservoir like lowering the IFTs, wettability alteration, a change in pH value, emulsion formation, clay migration and oil viscosity reduction. The objective of this experiment is to investigate the residual oil recovery by combining the effects of gas injection followed by low salinity water injection for low permeability reservoirs. This is done by a series of flooding tests on selected tight carbonate core samples taken from Zakuum oil field in Abu Dhabi by using firstly low salinity water as the base case and nitrogen & CO2injection followed by low salinity water flooding at reservoir conditions of pressure and temperature. The experimental results revealed that a significant improvement of the oil recovery is achieved by the nitrogen injection followed by the low salinity water flooding with a recovery factor of approximately 24% of the residual oil.

26 CFR 1.43-2 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery project.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2014-04-01 2013-04-01 true Qualified enhanced oil recovery project. 1.43-2 Section 1.43-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INCOME TAX INCOME... the tertiary recovery method; or (ii) Test or experimental injections. (2) Example. The following...

26 CFR 1.43-2 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery project.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2011-04-01 2009-04-01 true Qualified enhanced oil recovery project. 1.43-2 Section 1.43-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INCOME TAX INCOME... the tertiary recovery method; or (ii) Test or experimental injections. (2) Example. The following...

Rhamnolipids Produced by Indigenous Acinetobacter junii from Petroleum Reservoir and its Potential in Enhanced Oil Recovery

PubMed Central

Dong, Hao; Xia, Wenjie; Dong, Honghong; She, Yuehui; Zhu, Panfeng; Liang, Kang; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Liang, Chuanfu; Song, Zhaozheng; Sun, Shanshan; Zhang, Guangqing

2016-01-01

Biosurfactant producers are crucial for incremental oil production in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) processes. The isolation of biosurfactant-producing bacteria from oil reservoirs is important because they are considered suitable for the extreme conditions of the reservoir. In this work, a novel biosurfactant-producing strain Acinetobacter junii BD was isolated from a reservoir to reduce surface tension and emulsify crude oil. The biosurfactants produced by the strain were purified and then identified via electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS). The biosurfactants generated by the strain were concluded to be rhamnolipids, the dominant rhamnolipids were C26H48O9, C28H52O9, and C32H58O13. The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source for biomass and biosurfactant production were NaNO3 and soybean oil. The results showed that the content of acid components increased with the progress of crude oil biodegradation. A glass micromodel test demonstrated that the strain significantly increased oil recovery through interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration and the mobility of microorganisms. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that the newly developed BD strain and its metabolites have great potential in MEOR. PMID:27872613

Rhamnolipids Produced by Indigenous Acinetobacter junii from Petroleum Reservoir and its Potential in Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Dong, Hao; Xia, Wenjie; Dong, Honghong; She, Yuehui; Zhu, Panfeng; Liang, Kang; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Liang, Chuanfu; Song, Zhaozheng; Sun, Shanshan; Zhang, Guangqing

2016-01-01

Biosurfactant producers are crucial for incremental oil production in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) processes. The isolation of biosurfactant-producing bacteria from oil reservoirs is important because they are considered suitable for the extreme conditions of the reservoir. In this work, a novel biosurfactant-producing strain Acinetobacter junii BD was isolated from a reservoir to reduce surface tension and emulsify crude oil. The biosurfactants produced by the strain were purified and then identified via electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS). The biosurfactants generated by the strain were concluded to be rhamnolipids, the dominant rhamnolipids were C 26 H 48 O 9 , C 28 H 52 O 9 , and C 32 H 58 O 13 . The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source for biomass and biosurfactant production were NaNO 3 and soybean oil. The results showed that the content of acid components increased with the progress of crude oil biodegradation. A glass micromodel test demonstrated that the strain significantly increased oil recovery through interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration and the mobility of microorganisms. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that the newly developed BD strain and its metabolites have great potential in MEOR.

Essays on carbon policy and enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, Benjamin R.

The growing concerns about climate change have led policy makers to consider various regulatory schemes designed to reduce the stock and growth of atmospheric CO2 concentrations while at the same time improving energy security. The most prominent proposals are the so called "cap-and-trade" frameworks which set aggregate emission levels for a jurisdiction and then issue or sell a corresponding number of allowances to emitters. Typically, these policy measures will also encourage the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in geological formations and mature oil fields through subsidies or other incentives. The ability to store CO 2 in mature oil fields through the deployment of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2--EOR) is particularly attractive as it can simultaneously improve oil recovery at those fields, and serve as a possible financial bridge to the development of CO2 transportation infrastructure. The purpose of this research is to explore the impact that a tandem subsidy-tax policy regime may have on bargaining between emitters and sequestration providers, and also to identify oil units in Wyoming that can profitably undertake CO 2--EOR as a starting point for the build-out of CO2 pipelines. In the first essay an economics lab experiment is designed to simulate private bargaining between carbon emitters (such as power plants) and carbon sequestration sites when the emitter faces carbon taxes, sequestration subsidies or both. In a tax-subsidy policy regime the carbon tax (or purchased allowances) can be avoided by sequestering the carbon, and in some cases the emitter can also earn a subsidy to help pay for the sequestration. The main policy implications of the experiment results are that the sequestration market might be inefficient, and sequestration providers seem to have bargaining power sufficient to command high prices. This may lead to the integration of CO2 sources and sequestration sites, and reduced prices for the injectable CO2 purchased by oil

Polymer as permeability modifier in porous media for enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsa, Shima; Weitz, David

2017-11-01

We use confocal microscopy to directly visualize the changes in morphology and mobilization of trapped oil ganglia within a 3D micromodel of porous media upon polymer flooding. Enhanced oil recovery is achieved in polymer flooding with large molecular weight at concentrations close or higher than a critical concentration of polymer. We also measure the fluctuations of the velocity of the displacing fluid and show that the velocities change upon polymer flooding in the whole medium. The changes in the fluid velocities are heterogeneous and vary in different pores, hence only providing enough pressure gradient across a few of the trapped oil ganglia and mobilize them. Our measurements show that polymer flooding is an effective method for enhancing oil recovery due to retention of polymer on the solid surfaces and changing the resistances of the available paths to water.

An experimental and theoretical study to relate uncommon rock/fluid properties to oil recovery. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watson, R.

Waterflooding is the most commonly used secondary oil recovery technique. One of the requirements for understanding waterflood performance is a good knowledge of the basic properties of the reservoir rocks. This study is aimed at correlating rock-pore characteristics to oil recovery from various reservoir rock types and incorporating these properties into empirical models for Predicting oil recovery. For that reason, this report deals with the analyses and interpretation of experimental data collected from core floods and correlated against measurements of absolute permeability, porosity. wettability index, mercury porosimetry properties and irreducible water saturation. The results of the radial-core the radial-core andmore » linear-core flow investigations and the other associated experimental analyses are presented and incorporated into empirical models to improve the predictions of oil recovery resulting from waterflooding, for sandstone and limestone reservoirs. For the radial-core case, the standardized regression model selected, based on a subset of the variables, predicted oil recovery by waterflooding with a standard deviation of 7%. For the linear-core case, separate models are developed using common, uncommon and combination of both types of rock properties. It was observed that residual oil saturation and oil recovery are better predicted with the inclusion of both common and uncommon rock/fluid properties into the predictive models.« less

Modeling and simulation of multiphase multicomponent multiphysics porous media flows in the context of chemical enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Sourav; Daripa, Prabir; Fluids Team

2015-11-01

One of the most important methods of chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) involves the use of complex flooding schemes comprising of various layers of fluids mixed with suitable amounts of polymer or surfactant or both. The fluid flow is characterized by the spontaneous formation of complex viscous fingering patterns which is considered detrimental to oil recovery. Here we numerically study the physics of such EOR processes using a modern, hybrid method based on a combination of a discontinuous, multiscale finite element formulation and the method of characteristics. We investigate the effect of different types of heterogeneity on the fingering mechanism of these complex multiphase flows and determine the impact on oil recovery. We also study the effect of surfactants on the dynamics of the flow via reduction of capillary forces and increase in relative permeabilities. Supported by the grant NPRP 08-777-1-141 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

Improved oil recovery using bacteria isolated from North Sea petroleum reservoirs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davey, R.A.; Lappin-Scott, H.

1995-12-31

During secondary oil recovery, water is injected into the formation to sweep out the residual oil. The injected water, however, follows the path of least resistance through the high-permeability zones, leaving oil in the low-permeability zones. Selective plugging of these their zones would divert the waterflood to the residual oil and thus increase the life of the well. Bacteria have been suggested as an alternative plugging agent to the current method of polymer injection. Starved bacteria can penetrate deeply into rock formations where they attach to the rock surfaces, and given the right nutrients can grow and produce exo-polymer, reducingmore » the permeability of these zones. The application of microbial enhanced oil recovery has only been applied to shallow, cool, onshore fields to date. This study has focused on the ability of bacteria to enhance oil recovery offshore in the North Sea, where the environment can be considered extreme. A screen of produced water from oil reservoirs (and other extreme subterranean environments) was undertaken, and two bacteria were chosen for further work. These two isolates were able to grow and survive in the presence of saline formation waters at a range of temperatures above 50{degrees}C as facultative anaerobes. When a solution of isolates was passed through sandpacks and nutrients were added, significant reductions in permeabilities were achieved. This was confirmed in Clashach sandstone at 255 bar, when a reduction of 88% in permeability was obtained. Both isolates can survive nutrient starvation, which may improve penetration through the reservoir. Thus, the isolates show potential for field trials in the North Sea as plugging agents.« less

Microbial consortia in Oman oil fields: a possible use in enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Al-Bahry, Saif N; Elshafie, Abdulkader E; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Joshi, Sanket J; Al-Maaini, Ratiba A; Al-Alawi, Wafa J; Sugai, Yuichi; Al-Mandhari, Mussalam

2013-01-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is one of the most economical and efficient methods for extending the life of production wells in a declining reservoir. Microbial consortia from Wafra oil wells and Suwaihat production water, Al-Wusta region, Oman were screened. Microbial consortia in brine samples were identified using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequences. The detected microbial consortia of Wafra oil wells were completely different from microbial consortia of Suwaihat formation water. A total of 33 genera and 58 species were identified in Wafra oil wells and Suwaihat production water. All of the identified microbial genera were first reported in Oman, with Caminicella sporogenes for the first time reported from oil fields. Most of the identified microorganisms were found to be anaerobic, thermophilic, and halophilic, and produced biogases, biosolvants, and biosurfactants as by-products, which may be good candidates for MEOR.

Bluebell Field, Uinta Basin: reservoir characterization for improved well completion and oil recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Montgomery, S.L.; Morgan, C.D.

1998-01-01

Bluefield Field is the largest oil-producing area in the Unita basin of northern Utah. The field inclucdes over 300 wells and has produced 137 Mbbl oil and 177 bcf gas from fractured Paleocene-Eocene lacustrine and fluvial deposits of the Green River and Wasatch (Colton) formations. Oil and gas are produced at depths of 10 500-13 000 ft (3330-3940 m), with the most prolific reservoirs existing in over-pressured sandstones of the Colton Formation and the underlying Flagstaff Member of the lower Green River Formation. Despite a number of high-recovery wells (1-3 MMbbl), overall field recovery remains low, less than 10% original oil in place. This low recovery rate is interpreted to be at least partly a result of completion practices. Typically, 40-120 beds are perforated and stimulated with acid (no proppant) over intervals of up to 3000 ft (900 m). Little or no evaluation of individual beds is performed, preventing identification of good-quality reservoir zones, water-producing zones, and thief zones. As a result, detailed understanding of Bluebell reservoirs historically has been poor, inhibiting any improvements in recovery strategies. A recent project undertaken in Bluebell field as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Class 1 (fluvial-deltaic reservoir) Oil Demonstration program has focused considerable effort on reservoir characterization. This effort has involved interdisciplinary analysis of core, log, fracture, geostatistical, production, and other data. Much valuable new information on reservoir character has resulted, with important implications for completion techniques and recovery expectations. Such data should have excellent applicability to other producing areas in the Uinta Basin withi reservoirs in similar lacustrine and related deposits.Bluebell field is the largest oil-producing area in the Uinta basin of northern Utah. The field includes over 300 wells and has produced 137 MMbbl oil and 177 bcf gas from fractured Paleocene-Eocene lacustrine

Study on the Reutilization of Clear Fracturing Flowback Fluids in Surfactant Flooding with Additives for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

PubMed Central

Dai, Caili; Wang, Kai; Liu, Yifei; Fang, Jichao; Zhao, Mingwei

2014-01-01

An investigation was conducted to study the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids composed of viscoelastic surfactants (VES) with additives in surfactant flooding, making the process more efficient and cost-effective. The clear fracturing flowback fluids were used as surfactant flooding system with the addition of α-olefin sulfonate (AOS) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The interfacial activity, emulsification activity and oil recovery capability of the recycling system were studied. The interfacial tension (IFT) between recycling system and oil can be reduced by 2 orders of magnitude to 10−3 mN/m, which satisfies the basic demand of surfactant flooding. The oil can be emulsified and dispersed more easily due to the synergetic effect of VES and AOS. The oil-wet surface of quartz can be easily converted to water-wet through adsorption of surfactants (VES/AOS) on the surface. Thirteen core plug flooding tests were conducted to investigate the effects of AOS concentrations, slug sizes and slug types of the recycling system on the incremental oil recovery. The investigations prove that reclaiming clear fracturing flowback fluids after fracturing operation and reuse it in surfactant flooding might have less impact on environment and be more economical. PMID:25409507

CO 2 water-alternating-gas injection for enhanced oil recovery: Optimal well controls and half-cycle lengths

DOE PAGES

Chen, Bailian; Reynolds, Albert C.

2018-03-11

We report that CO 2 water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection is an enhanced oil recovery method designed to improve sweep efficiency during CO 2 injection with the injected water to control the mobility of CO 2 and to stabilize the gas front. Optimization of CO 2 -WAG injection is widely regarded as a viable technique for controlling the CO 2 and oil miscible process. Poor recovery from CO 2 -WAG injection can be caused by inappropriately designed WAG parameters. In previous study (Chen and Reynolds, 2016), we proposed an algorithm to optimize the well controls which maximize the life-cycle net-present-value (NPV). However,more » the effect of injection half-cycle lengths for each injector on oil recovery or NPV has not been well investigated. In this paper, an optimization framework based on augmented Lagrangian method and the newly developed stochastic-simplex-approximate-gradient (StoSAG) algorithm is proposed to explore the possibility of simultaneous optimization of the WAG half-cycle lengths together with the well controls. Finally, the proposed framework is demonstrated with three reservoir examples.« less

CO 2 water-alternating-gas injection for enhanced oil recovery: Optimal well controls and half-cycle lengths

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Bailian; Reynolds, Albert C.

We report that CO 2 water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection is an enhanced oil recovery method designed to improve sweep efficiency during CO 2 injection with the injected water to control the mobility of CO 2 and to stabilize the gas front. Optimization of CO 2 -WAG injection is widely regarded as a viable technique for controlling the CO 2 and oil miscible process. Poor recovery from CO 2 -WAG injection can be caused by inappropriately designed WAG parameters. In previous study (Chen and Reynolds, 2016), we proposed an algorithm to optimize the well controls which maximize the life-cycle net-present-value (NPV). However,more » the effect of injection half-cycle lengths for each injector on oil recovery or NPV has not been well investigated. In this paper, an optimization framework based on augmented Lagrangian method and the newly developed stochastic-simplex-approximate-gradient (StoSAG) algorithm is proposed to explore the possibility of simultaneous optimization of the WAG half-cycle lengths together with the well controls. Finally, the proposed framework is demonstrated with three reservoir examples.« less

Response to heavy, non-floating oil spilled in a Great Lakes river environment: a multiple-lines-of-evidence approach for submerged oil assessment and recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dollhopf, Ralph H.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Kimble, Jeffrey W.; Capone, Daniel M.; Graan, Thomas P.; Zelt, Ronald B.; Johnson, Rex

2014-01-01

The Enbridge Line 6B pipeline release of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River downstream of Marshall, MI in July 2010 is one of the largest freshwater oil spills in North American history. The unprecedented scale of impact and massive quantity of oil released required the development and implementation of new approaches for detection and recovery. At the onset of cleanup, conventional recovery techniques were employed for the initially floating oil and were successful. However, volatilization of the lighter diluent, along with mixing of the oil with sediment during flooded, turbulent river conditions caused the oil to sink and collect in natural deposition areas in the river. For more than three years after the spill, recovery of submerged oil has remained the predominant operational focus of the response. The recovery complexities for submerged oil mixed with sediment in depositional areas and long-term oil sheening along approximately 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River led to the development of a multiple-lines-of-evidence approach comprising six major components: geomorphic mapping, field assessments of submerged oil (poling), systematic tracking and mapping of oil sheen, hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling, forensic oil chemistry, and net environmental benefit analysis. The Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) considered this information in determining the appropriate course of action for each impacted segment of the river. New sources of heavy crude oils like diluted bitumen and increasing transportation of those oils require changes in the way emergency personnel respond to oil spills in the Great Lakes and other freshwater ecosystems. Strategies to recover heavy oils must consider that the oils may suspend or sink in the water column, mix with fine-grained sediment, and accumulate in depositional areas. Early understanding of the potential fate and behavior of diluted bitumen spills when combined with timely, strong conventional recovery methods can

Method for recovery of petroleum oil from confining structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Friedman, R.H.

1969-09-02

Injected ammonia spontaneously reacts with the acid content of heavy crude petroleum oil to produce ammonium soaps in situ. The soaps cause an oil-in-water emulsion to be formed in the presence of reservoir (or flood) water, reducing the effective viscosity of the crude oil. If the ammonia slug is followed by steam, an advancing emulsion barrier is created by the thermal decomposition of part of the emulsion, freeing ammonia which can then react with additional crude in advance of the emulsion. Packs of 20-30 mesh Ottawa sand were saturated with water, flooded with Tulare crude oil from North Midway fieldmore » in California (high specific gravity), and waterflooded. A slug of 5.71 percent PV of 17 N ammonium hydroxide followed by water gave a total oil recovery of about 90 percent of the original oil.« less

Proficiency feasibility of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of polymeric surfactant on enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nezhad, Javad Razavi; Jafari, Arezou; Abdollahi, Mahdi

2018-01-01

Enhanced heavy oil recovery methods are widely utilized to increase oil recovery. For this purpose, polymer and surfactant flooding have been used extensively. Recently, polymeric surfactant flooding has become an attractive alternative to sole polymer flooding due to their capability of providing an increase in solution viscosity and a decrease in interfacial tension, which are both beneficial for efficiency of the process. Applying nanoparticles as an additive to polymer solutions is a method to improve viscosity and alter rock wettability. Therefore, in this research, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was mixed with a polymeric surfactant of polyacrylamide-graft-lignin copolymer (PAM-g-L) synthesized via radical grafting reaction. Moreover, several solutions with different concentrations of nanoparticles with PAM-g-L were prepared. The solutions were injected into a micromodel to evaluate the PAM-g-L flooding efficiency in presence of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The results of micromodel flooding showed that increasing MWCNT concentration results in lower sweep efficiencies; and consequently, oil production will decrease. Therefore, MWCNT along with PAM-g-L has an unacceptable performance in enhanced heavy oil recovery. But data of wettability tests revealed that MWCNT can change the wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. In addition, the combination of the PAM-g-L and MWCNT in a solution will cause more water-wet condition.

Resource recovery of organic sludge as refuse derived fuel by fry-drying process.

PubMed

Chang, Fang-Chih; Ko, Chun-Han; Wu, Jun-Yi; Wang, H Paul; Chen, Wei-Sheng

2013-08-01

The organic sludge and waste oil were collected from the industries of thin film transistor liquid crystal display and the recycled cooking oil. The mixing ratio of waste cooking oil and organic sludge, fry-drying temperatures, fry-drying time, and the characteristics of the organic sludge pellet grain were investigated. After the fry-drying process, the moisture content of the organic sludge pellet grain was lower than 5% within 25 min and waste cooking oil was absorbed on the dry solid. The fry-drying organic sludge pellet grain was easy to handle and odor free. Additionally, it had a higher calorific value than the derived fuel standards and could be processed into organic sludge derived fuels. Thus, the granulation and fry-drying processes of organic sludge with waste cooking oil not only improves the calorific value of organic sludge and becomes more valuable for energy recovery, but also achieves waste material disposal and cost reduction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Core Flood study for enhanced oil recovery through ex-situ bioaugmentation with thermo- and halo-tolerant rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCIM 5514.

PubMed

Varjani, Sunita J; Upasani, Vivek N

2016-11-01

The aim of this work was to study the Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) employing core field model ex-situ bioaugmenting a thermo- and halo-tolerant rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) revealed that the biosurfactant produced was rhamnolipid type. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance analysis showed that the purified rhamnolipids comprised two principal rhamnolipid homologues, i.e., Rha-Rha-C10-C14:1 and Rha-C8-C10. The rhamnolipid was stable under wide range of temperature (4°C, 30-100°C), pH (2.0-10.0) and NaCl concentration (0-18%, w/v). Core Flood model was designed for oil recovery operations using rhamnolipid. The oil recovery enhancement over Residual Oil Saturation was 8.82% through ex-situ bioaugmentation with rhamnolipid. The thermal stability of rhamnolipid shows promising scope for its application at conditions where high temperatures prevail in oil recovery processes, whereas its halo-tolerant nature increases its application in marine environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flexible, Mechanically Durable Aerogel Composites for Oil Capture and Recovery.

PubMed

Karatum, Osman; Steiner, Stephen A; Griffin, Justin S; Shi, Wenbo; Plata, Desiree L

2016-01-13

More than 30 years separate the two largest oil spills in North American history (the Ixtoc I and Macondo well blowouts), yet the responses to both disasters were nearly identical in spite of advanced material innovation during the same time period. Novel, mechanically durable sorbents could enable (a) sorbent use in the open ocean, (b) automated deployment to minimize workforce exposure to toxic chemicals, and (c) mechanical recovery of spilled oils. Here, we explore the use of two mechanically durable, low-density (0.1-0.2 g cm(-3)), highly porous (85-99% porosity), hydrophobic (water contact angles >120°), flexible aerogel composite blankets as sorbent materials for automated oil capture and recovery: Cabot Thermal Wrap (TW) and Aspen Aerogels Spaceloft (SL). Uptake of crude oils (Iraq and Sweet Bryan Mound oils) was 8.0 ± 0.1 and 6.5 ± 0.3 g g(-1) for SL and 14.0 ± 0.1 and 12.2 ± 0.1 g g(-1) for TW, respectively, nearly twice as high as similar polyurethane- and polypropylene-based devices. Compound-specific uptake experiments and discrimination against water uptake suggested an adsorption-influenced sorption mechanism. Consistent with that mechanism, chemical extraction oil recoveries were 95 ± 2 (SL) and 90 ± 2% (TW), but this is an undesirable extraction route in decentralized oil cleanup efforts. In contrast, mechanical extraction routes are favorable, and a modest compression force (38 N) yielded 44.7 ± 0.5% initially to 42.0 ± 0.4% over 10 reuse cycles for SL and initially 55.0 ± 0.1% for TW, degrading to 30.0 ± 0.2% by the end of 10 cycles. The mechanical integrity of SL deteriorated substantially (800 ± 200 to 80 ± 30 kPa), whereas TW was more robust (380 ± 80 to 700 ± 100 kPa) over 10 uptake-and-compression extraction cycles.

Chemical and Microbial Characterization of North Slope Viscous Oils to Assess Viscosity Reduction and Enhanced Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shirish Patil; Abhijit Dandekar; Mary Beth Leigh

2008-12-31

A large proportion of Alaska North Slope (ANS) oil exists in the form of viscous deposits, which cannot be produced entirely using conventional methods. Microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a promising approach for improving oil recovery for viscous deposits. MEOR can be achieved using either ex situ approaches such as flooding with microbial biosurfactants or injection of exogenous surfactant-producing microbes into the reservoir, or by in situ approaches such as biostimulation of indigenous surfactant-producing microbes in the oil. Experimental work was performed to analyze the potential application of MEOR to the ANS oil fields through both ex situ andmore » in situ approaches. A microbial formulation containing a known biosurfactant-producing strain of Bacillus licheniformis was developed in order to simulate MEOR. Coreflooding experiments were performed to simulate MEOR and quantify the incremental oil recovery. Properties like viscosity, density, and chemical composition of oil were monitored to propose a mechanism for oil recovery. The microbial formulation significantly increased incremental oil recovery, and molecular biological analyses indicated that the strain survived during the shut-in period. The indigenous microflora of ANS heavy oils was investigated to characterize the microbial communities and test for surfactant producers that are potentially useful for biostimulation. Bacteria that reduce the surface tension of aqueous media were isolated from one of the five ANS oils (Milne Point) and from rock oiled by the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS), and may prove valuable for ex situ MEOR strategies. The total bacterial community composition of the six different oils was evaluated using molecular genetic tools, which revealed that each oil tested possessed a unique fingerprint indicating a diverse bacterial community and varied assemblages. Collectively we have demonstrated that there is potential for in situ and ex situ MEOR of ANS oils. Future

Potential of wheat bran to promote indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Zhan, Yali; Wang, Qinghong; Chen, Chunmao; Kim, Jung Bong; Zhang, Hongdan; Yoza, Brandon A; Li, Qing X

2017-06-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is an emerging oil extraction technology that utilizes microorganisms to facilitate recovery of crude oil in depleted petroleum reservoirs. In the present study, effects of wheat bran utilization were investigated on stimulation of indigenous MEOR. Biostimulation conditions were optimized with the response surface methodology. The co-application of wheat bran with KNO 3 and NH 4 H 2 PO 4 significantly promoted indigenous MEOR (IMEOR) and exhibited sequential aerobic (O-), facultative (A n -) and anaerobic (A 0 -) metabolic stages. The surface tension of fermented broth decreased by approximately 35%, and the crude oil was highly emulsified. Microbial community structure varied largely among and in different IMEOR metabolic stages. Pseudomonas sp., Citrobacter sp., and uncultured Burkholderia sp. dominated the O-, A n - and early A 0 -stages. Bacillus sp., Achromobacter sp., Rhizobiales sp., Alcaligenes sp. and Clostridium sp. dominated the later A 0 -stage. This study illustrated occurrences of microbial community succession driven by wheat bran stimulation and its industrial potential.

Applicability of anaerobic nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation to microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR).

PubMed

Zhu, Hongbo; Carlson, Han K; Coates, John D

2013-08-06

Microbial processes that produce solid-phase minerals could be judiciously applied to modify rock porosity with subsequent alteration and improvement of floodwater sweep in petroleum reservoirs. However, there has been little investigation of the application of this to enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Here, we investigate a unique approach of altering reservoir petrology through the biogenesis of authigenic rock minerals. This process is mediated by anaerobic chemolithotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms that precipitate iron minerals from the metabolism of soluble ferrous iron (Fe(2+)) coupled to the reduction of nitrate. This mineral biogenesis can result in pore restriction and reduced pore throat diameter. Advantageously and unlike biomass plugs, these biominerals are not susceptible to pressure or thermal degradation. Furthermore, they do not require continual substrate addition for maintenance. Our studies demonstrate that the biogenesis of insoluble iron minerals in packed-bed columns results in effective hydrology alteration and homogenization of heterogeneous flowpaths upon stimulated microbial Fe(2+) biooxidation. We also demonstrate almost 100% improvement in oil recovery from hydrocarbon-saturated packed-bed columns as a result of this metabolism. These studies represent a novel departure from traditional microbial EOR approaches and indicate the potential for nitrate-dependent Fe(2+) biooxidation to improve volumetric sweep efficiency and enhance both the quality and quantity of oil recovered.

Fouling reduction by ozone-enhanced backwashing process in ultrafiltration of petroleum-based oil in water emulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aryanti, Nita; Prihatiningtyas, Indah; Kusworo, Tutuk Djoko

2017-06-01

Ultrafiltration membrane has been successfully applied for oily waste water treatment. However, one significant drawback of membrane technology is fouling which is responsible for permeate flux decline as well as reducing membrane performance. One method commonly used to reduce fouling is a backwashing process. The backwashing is carried out by a push of reversed flow from permeate side to the feed side of a membrane to remove fouling on the membrane pore and release fouling release fouling layer on the external side. However, for adsorptive fouling, the backwashing process was not effective. On the other hand, Ozone demonstrated great performance for reducing organics fouling. Hence this research was focused on backwashing process with ozone for removing fouling due to ultrafiltration of petroleum based oil emulsion. Gasoline and diesel oil were selected as dispersed phase, while as continuous phase was water added with Tween 80 as a surfactant. This research found that the Ozone backwashing was effective to improve flux recovery. In ultrafiltration of gasoline emulsion, the flux recovery after Ozone backwashing was in the range of 42-74%. For ultrafiltration of diesel oil emulsion, the permeate flux recovery was about 35-84%. In addition, foulant deposition was proposed and predicting that foulant deposition for ultrafiltration of gasoline-in-water emulsion was surfactant as the top layer and the oil was underneath the surfactant. On the other hand, for ultrafiltration of diesel oil-in-water emulsion, the oil was predicted as a top layer above the surfactant foulant.

An early approach for the evaluation of repair processes in fish after exposure to sediment contaminated by an oil spill.

PubMed

Salamanca, Maria J; Jimenez-Tenorio, Natalia; Reguera, Diana F; Morales-Caselles, Carmen; Delvalls, T Angel

2008-12-01

A chronic bioassay was carried out under laboratory conditions using juvenile Solea senegalensis to determine the toxicity of contaminants from an oil spill(Prestige). Also, the repair processes in fish affected by contaminants due to oil exposure were evaluated. Over 30 days individuals were exposed to clean sediment (control) and to sediment contaminated by a mixture of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other substances. The physicochemical parameters of the tanks (salinity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) were controlled during the exposure period. Clean sediment from the Bay of Cadiz (Spain) was used as negative control and was mixed with fuel oil to prepare the dilution (0.5% w:w dry-weight). After the exposure period, fish were labeled and transferred to "clean tanks" (tanks without sediment) in order to study the recovery and the repair processes in the exposed organisms. A biomarker of exposure (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity - EROD activity) and a biomarker of effect (histopathology) were analyzed during the exposure and recovery period. After 10, 20 and 30 days of exposure, individuals showed significant induction (P < 0.05) of the EROD activity and also presented diverse histopathological damages. The analysis of both the biomarkers of exposure and effect, after the 5th and 10th day of recovery in the "clean tank", enabled a first evaluation of the repair process of the induced damages due to the fuel oil exposure. After the recovery phase, control individuals showed a more significant decrease (P < 0.05) of the alteration of the measured biomarkers than in the oil-exposed fish. While in the oil-exposed fish the EROD activity showed some recovery, the histopathological damages did hardly improve. According to our results, tissue repair processes probably need longer recovery periods to observe significant improvement of the affected organs. This will be further investigated in the future.

Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams

DOE PAGES

Roth, Elliot; Bank, Tracy; Howard, Bret; ...

2017-04-05

The concentrations of rare earth elements in Alberta, Canada oil sands and six oil sand waste streams were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). The results indicate that the rare earth elements (REEs) are largely concentrated in the tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) sample compared to the oil sand itself. The concentration of lanthanide elements is ~1100 mg/kg (1100 ppm or 0.11 weight %), which represents a >20× increase in the concentration compared to the oil sand itself and a >7× increase compared to the North American Shale Composite (NASC). The process water, which is used to extractmore » the oil from oil sands, and the water fraction associated with the different waste streams had very low concentrations of REEs that were near or below the detection limits of the instrument, with the highest total concentration of REEs in the water fraction being less than 10 μg/L (ppb). Size and density separations were completed, and the REEs and other potentially interesting and valuable metals, such as Ti and Zr, were concentrated in different fractions. These results give insights into the possibility of recovering REEs from waste streams generated from oil sand processing.« less

Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roth, Elliot; Bank, Tracy; Howard, Bret

The concentrations of rare earth elements in Alberta, Canada oil sands and six oil sand waste streams were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). The results indicate that the rare earth elements (REEs) are largely concentrated in the tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) sample compared to the oil sand itself. The concentration of lanthanide elements is ~1100 mg/kg (1100 ppm or 0.11 weight %), which represents a >20× increase in the concentration compared to the oil sand itself and a >7× increase compared to the North American Shale Composite (NASC). The process water, which is used to extractmore » the oil from oil sands, and the water fraction associated with the different waste streams had very low concentrations of REEs that were near or below the detection limits of the instrument, with the highest total concentration of REEs in the water fraction being less than 10 μg/L (ppb). Size and density separations were completed, and the REEs and other potentially interesting and valuable metals, such as Ti and Zr, were concentrated in different fractions. These results give insights into the possibility of recovering REEs from waste streams generated from oil sand processing.« less

Production of lipopeptide biosurfactants by Bacillus atrophaeus 5-2a and their potential use in microbial enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Zhang, Junhui; Xue, Quanhong; Gao, Hui; Lai, Hangxian; Wang, Ping

2016-10-03

-contaminated sites and microbial enhanced oil recovery process.

An extended model for ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery with experimental validation.

PubMed

Mohsin, Mohammed; Meribout, Mahmoud

2015-03-01

This paper suggests a new ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) model for application in oil field reservoirs. The model is modular and consists of an acoustic module and a heat transfer module, where the heat distribution is updated when the temperature rise exceeds 1 °C. The model also considers the main EOR parameters which includes both the geophysical (i.e., porosity, permeability, temperature rise, and fluid viscosity) and acoustical (e.g., acoustic penetration and pressure distribution in various fluids and mediums) properties of the wells. Extended experiments were performed using powerful ultrasonic waves which were applied for different kind of oils & oil saturated core samples. The corresponding results showed a good matching with those obtained from simulations, validating the suggested model to some extent. Hence, a good recovery rate of around 88.2% of original oil in place (OOIP) was obtained after 30 min of continuous generation of ultrasonic waves. This leads to consider the ultrasonic-based EOR as another tangible solution for EOR. This claim is supported further by considering several injection wells where the simulation results indicate that with four (4) injection wells; the recovery rate may increase up-to 96.7% of OOIP. This leads to claim the high potential of ultrasonic-based EOR as compared to the conventional methods. Following this study, the paper also proposes a large scale ultrasonic-based EOR hardware system for installation in oil fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research Progress in Carbon Dioxide Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Keliang; Wang, Gang; Lu, Chunjing

2018-02-01

With the rapid development of global economy, human beings have become highly dependent upon fossil fuel such as coal and petroleum. Much fossil fuel is consumed in industrial production and human life. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions have been increasing, and the greenhouse effects thereby generated are posing serious threats to environment of the earth. These years, increasing average global temperature, frequent extreme weather events and climatic changes cause material disasters to the world. After scientists’ long-term research, ample evidences have proven that emissions of greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide have brought about tremendous changes to global climate. To really reduce carbon dioxide emissions, governments of different countries and international organizations have invested much money and human resources in performing research related to carbon dioxide emissions. Manual underground carbon dioxide storage and carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery are schemes with great potential and prospect for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Compared with other schemes for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, aforementioned two schemes exhibit high storage capacity and yield considerable economic benefits, so they have become research focuses for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This paper introduces the research progress in underground carbon dioxide storage and enhanced oil recovery, pointing out the significance and necessity of carbon dioxide-driven enhanced oil recovery.

Process for recovering uranium from waste hydrocarbon oils containing the same. [Uranium contaminated lubricating oils from gaseous diffusion compressors

DOEpatents

Conrad, M.C.; Getz, P.A.; Hickman, J.E.; Payne, L.D.

1982-06-29

The invention is a process for the recovery of uranium from uranium-bearing hydrocarbon oils containing carboxylic acid as a degradation product. In one aspect, the invention comprises providing an emulsion of water and the oil, heating the same to a temperature effecting conversion of the emulsion to an organic phase and to an acidic aqueous phase containing uranium carboxylate, and recovering the uranium from the aqueous phase. The process is effective, simple and comparatively inexpensive. It avoids the use of toxic reagents and the formation of undesirable intermediates.

Economic Implementation and Optimization of Secondary Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cary D. Brock

The St Mary West Barker Sand Unit (SMWBSU or Unit) located in Lafayette County, Arkansas was unitized for secondary recovery operations in 2002 followed by installation of a pilot injection system in the fall of 2003. A second downdip water injection well was added to the pilot project in 2005 and 450,000 barrels of saltwater has been injected into the reservoir sand to date. Daily injection rates have been improved over initial volumes by hydraulic fracture stimulation of the reservoir sand in the injection wells. Modifications to the injection facilities are currently being designed to increase water injection rates formore » the pilot flood. A fracture treatment on one of the production wells resulted in a seven-fold increase of oil production. Recent water production and increased oil production in a producer closest to the pilot project indicates possible response to the water injection. The reservoir and wellbore injection performance data obtained during the pilot project will be important to the secondary recovery optimization study for which the DOE grant was awarded. The reservoir characterization portion of the modeling and simulation study is in progress by Strand Energy project staff under the guidance of University of Houston Department of Geosciences professor Dr. Janok Bhattacharya and University of Texas at Austin Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering professor Dr. Larry W. Lake. A geologic and petrophysical model of the reservoir is being constructed from geophysical data acquired from core, well log and production performance histories. Possible use of an outcrop analog to aid in three dimensional, geostatistical distribution of the flow unit model developed from the wellbore data will be investigated. The reservoir model will be used for full-field history matching and subsequent fluid flow simulation based on various injection schemes including patterned water flooding, addition of alkaline surfactant-polymer (ASP) to the

Methanogenic degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in subsurface environments remediation, heavy oil formation, and energy recovery.

PubMed

Gray, N D; Sherry, A; Hubert, C; Dolfing, J; Head, I M

2010-01-01

Hydrocarbons are common constituents of surface, shallow, and deep-subsurface environments. Under anaerobic conditions, hydrocarbons can be degraded to methane by methanogenic microbial consortia. This degradation process is widespread in the geosphere. In comparison with other anaerobic processes, methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation is more sustainable over geological time scales because replenishment of an exogenous electron acceptor is not required. As a consequence, this process has been responsible for the formation of the world's vast deposits of heavy oil, which far exceed conventional oil assets such as those found in the Middle East. Methanogenic degradation is also a potentially important component of attenuation in hydrocarbon contamination plumes. Studies of the organisms, syntrophic partnerships, mechanisms, and geochemical signatures associated with methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation have identified common themes and diagnostic markers for this process in the subsurface. These studies have also identified the potential to engineer methanogenic processes to enhance the recovery of energy assets as biogenic methane from residual oils stranded in petroleum systems. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Production and characterisation of glycolipid biosurfactant by Halomonas sp. MB-30 for potential application in enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Dhasayan, Asha; Kiran, G Seghal; Selvin, Joseph

2014-12-01

Biosurfactant-producing Halomonas sp. MB-30 was isolated from a marine sponge Callyspongia diffusa, and its potency in crude oil recovery from sand pack column was investigated. The biosurfactant produced by the strain MB-30 reduced the surface tension to 30 mN m(-1) in both glucose and hydrocarbon-supplemented minimal media. The critical micelle concentration of biosurfactant obtained from glucose-based medium was at 0.25 mg ml(-1) at critical micelle dilution 1:10. The chemical structure of glycolipid biosurfactant was characterised by infrared spectroscopy and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The emulsification activity of MB-30 biosurfactant was tested with different hydrocarbons, and 93.1 % emulsification activity was exhibited with crude oil followed by kerosene (86.6 %). The formed emulsion was stable for up to 1 month. To identify the effectiveness of biosurfactant for enhanced oil recovery in extreme environments, the interactive effect of pH, temperature and salinity on emulsion stability with crude oil and kerosene was evaluated. The stable emulsion was formed at and above pH 7, temperature >80 °C and NaCl concentration up to 10 % in response surface central composite orthogonal design model. The partially purified biosurfactant recovered 62 % of residual crude oil from sand pack column. Thus, the stable emulsifying biosurfactant produced by Halomonas sp. MB-30 could be used for in situ biosurfactant-mediated enhanced oil recovery process and hydrocarbon bioremediation in extreme environments.

Engineering the biosynthesis of novel rhamnolipids in Escherichia coli for enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Han, L; Liu, P; Peng, Y; Lin, J; Wang, Q; Ma, Y

2014-07-01

The interfacial tension of rhamnolipids and their applications in enhanced oil recovery are dependent on their chemical structures and compositions. To improve their performances of interfacial tension and enhanced oil recovery, the engineered strategies were applied to produce novel rhamnolipids with different chemical structures and compositions. By introducing different key genes for rhamnolipid biosynthesis, Escherichia coli was firstly constructed to produce rhamnolipids that showed different performances in interfacial tension from those from Pseudomonas aeruginosa due to the different fatty acyl compositions. Then, the mutant RhlBs were created by directed evolution and subsequent site-directed mutagenesis and resulted in the production of the novel rhamnolipids with the different performances in interfacial tension as well as enhanced oil recovery. Lastly, computational modelling elucidates that the single amino acid mutation at the position 168 in RhlB would change the volume of binding pocket for substrate and thus affect the selectivity of rhamnolipid formation in E. coli. The novel rhamnolipids that showed the improved performances of interfacial tension and the potential different applications in enhanced oil recovery were successfully produced by engineered E. coli. This study proved that the combination of metabolic engineering and protein engineering is an important engineered strategy to produce many novel metabolites in micro-organisms. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Effects of sonication radiation on oil recovery by ultrasonic waves stimulated water-flooding.

PubMed

Mohammadian, Erfan; Junin, Radzuan; Rahmani, Omeid; Idris, Ahmad Kamal

2013-02-01

Due to partial understanding of mechanisms involved in application of ultrasonic waves as enhanced oil recovery method, series of straight (normal), and ultrasonic stimulated water-flooding experiments were conducted on a long unconsolidated sand pack using ultrasonic transducers. Kerosene, vaseline, and SAE-10 (engine oil) were used as non-wet phase in the system. In addition, a series of fluid flow and temperature rise experiments were conducted using ultrasonic bath in order to enhance the understanding about contributing mechanisms. 3-16% increase in the recovery of water-flooding was observed. Emulsification, viscosity reduction, and cavitation were identified as contributing mechanisms. The findings of this study are expected to increase the insight to involving mechanisms which lead to improving the recovery of oil as a result of application of ultrasound waves. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lithium niobate ultrasonic transducer design for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Wang, Zhenjun; Xu, Yuanming; Gu, Yuting

2015-11-01

Due to the strong piezoelectric effect possessed by lithium niobate, a new idea that uses lithium niobate to design high-power ultrasonic transducer for Enhanced Oil Recovery technology is proposed. The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for the further research and development of high-power ultrasonic oil production technique. The main contents of this paper are as follows: firstly, structure design technique and application of a new high-power ultrasonic transducer are introduced; secondly, the experiment for reducing the viscosity of super heavy oil by this transducer is done, the optimum ultrasonic parameters for reducing the viscosity of super heavy oil are given. Experimental results show that heavy large molecules in super heavy oil can be cracked into light hydrocarbon substances under strong cavitation effect caused by high-intensity ultrasonic wave. Experiment proves that it is indeed feasible to design high-power ultrasonic transducer for ultrasonic oil production technology using lithium niobate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Geologic input to enhanced oil recovery project planning in south Oman

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watts, N.L.; Ellis, D.; Heward, A.P.

1986-05-01

South Oman clastic reservoirs contain a combined stock-tank oil in place of more than 1.9 billion m/sup 3/ of predominantly heavy oil distributed in almost 40 fields of varying size. Successful early application of such enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods as steam flood, polymer drive, and steam soak could realize undiscounted incremental recoveries of 244 million m/sup 3/ of oil. Target oil is contained in three reservoir intervals with distinct characteristics relevant to EOR. (1) The Cambrian-Ordovician Haima Group is a thick monotonous sequence of continental and coastal sands; major problems are steam-rock reactions, recovery factors, effective kv/kh (ratio ofmore » vertical to horizontal permeability), and aquifer strength. (2) The Permian-Carboniferous Al Khlata Formation is a glacial package showing severe heterogeneity, strong permeability anisotropy, and poor predictability. (3) The Permian Gharif Formation is a coastal to fluvial sequence with isolated and multilayer channel sands, smectitic clays, and anomalous primary production performance. Several EOR pilot projects are either ongoing or in preparation as part of a longer term EOR strategy. Geologic input is important at four essential stages of pilot planning: initial project ranking, optimization of pilot location, definition of pilot size, and predictive/history match simulations. Each stage is illustrated using a specific project example from south Oman to show the diverse geologic and logistic problems of the area. Although geologic aspects are highlighted, EOR project planning in south Oman is multidisciplinary, with integration being aided by a dedicated EOR coordination department.« less

Evaluation of the North Stanley Polymer Demonstration Project. [Tertiary oil recovery; polymer-enhanced waterflooding; Oklahoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harpole, K.J.; Hill, C.J.

1983-02-01

A review of the performance of the North Stanley Polymer Demonstration Project has been completed. The objective of the cost-project was to evaluate the technical efficiency and economic feasibility of polymer-enhanced waterflooding as a tertiary recovery process in a highly heterogeneous and vertically fractured sandstone reservoir that has been successfully waterflooded and is approaching the economic limits of conventional waterflooding recovery. The ultimate incremental oil recovery from the project is estimated to be about 570,000 barrels (or approximately 1.4% of the original oil-in-place). This is significantly less than the original recovery predictions but does demonstrate that the project was technicallymore » successful. The lower-than-anticipated recovery is attributed principally to the extremely heterogeneous nature of the reservoir. One of the major objectives of this evaluation is to present an updated economic anlaysis of the North Stanley Polymer Demonstration Project. The updated economic analysis under current (mid-1982) economic conditions indicates that the North Stanley project would be commercially feasible if polymer injection had begun in 1982, rather than in 1976. Overall project operations were conducted efficiently, with a minimum of operational problems. The North Stanley polymer project provides a well-documented example of an actual field-scale tertiary application of polymer-augmented waterflooding in a highly heterogeneous reservoir.« less

Citrus essential oils and their influence on the anaerobic digestion process: an overview.

PubMed

Ruiz, B; Flotats, X

2014-11-01

Citrus waste accounts for more than half of the whole fruit when processed for juice extraction. Among valorisation possibilities, anaerobic digestion for methane generation appears to be the most technically feasible and environmentally friendly alternative. However, citrus essential oils can inhibit this biological process. In this paper, the characteristics of citrus essential oils, as well as the mechanisms of their antimicrobial effects and potential adaptation mechanisms are reviewed. Previous studies of anaerobic digestion of citrus waste under different conditions are presented; however, some controversy exists regarding the limiting dosage of limonene for a stable process (24-192 mg of citrus essential oil per liter of digester and day). Successful strategies to avoid process inhibition by citrus essential oils are based either on recovery or removal of the limonene, by extraction or fungal pre-treatment respectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) activities in Indonesia: How it's future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdurrahman, Muslim

2017-05-01

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is a proven method for increasing oil production in many oil fields in the world. Huge oil remaining in the reservoir after primary and secondary recovery stage are the main reason for developing EOR methods. Approximately of 49.50 billion barrels oil as a candidate for EOR activities in Indonesia. This present study focuses on the chemical EOR activities involved surfactant and polymer. This research based on pertinent information from various resources such as journal papers, conference papers, and report from the government. Based on this information, this paper explain in detail the progress of each project and it shows the potential oil field employ chemical EOR in the near future. Generally, the EOR activities can be categorized into two phases such as preliminary study phase and field implementation phase. In the preliminary study, the activities simply involve experimental and/or simulation works. Following the preliminary is the field implementation phase which can be categorized into three phases such as field trial, pilot project, and full-scale. In fact, several activities have been conducted by Lemigas (government oil and gas research center), Institut Teknologi Bandung, Institut Pertanian Bogor. These activities focused on laboratory and simulation work. Those institutions have been developing the chemical formula collaborating with oil companies for applying the EOR method in their oil fields. Currently, status of chemical EOR activities include 5 oil fields under pilot project and 12 oil fields under field trial. There are 7 oil fields applying surfactant, 4 oil fields by alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP), 2 oil fields by polymer, 1 oil field by surfactant polymer (SP), and 1 oil field by caustic. According to this information, we will have insight knowledge about the EOR current activities, the main issues, future activities on chemical EOR in Indonesia. Moreover, this study can became the preliminary information for

DEVELOPMENT OF MICROORGANISMS WITH IMPROVED TRANSPORT AND BIOSURFACTANT ACTIVITY FOR ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

M.J. McInerney; N. Youssef; T. Fincher

2004-05-31

Diverse microorganisms were screened for biosurfactant production and anaerobic growth at elevated salt concentrations to obtain candidates most suitable for microbial oil recovery. Seventy percent of the 205 strains tested, mostly strains of Bacillus mojavensis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus sonorensis, produced biosurfactants aerobically and 41% of the strains had biosurfactant activity greater than Bacillus mojavensis JF-2, the current candidate for oil recovery. Biosurfactant activity varied with the percentage of the 3-hydroxy-tetradecanoate isomers in the fatty acid portion of the biosurfactant. Changing the medium composition by incorporation of different precursors of 3-hydroxy tetradecanoate increased the activity of biosurfactant. Themore » surface tension and critical micelle concentration of 15 different, biosurfactant-producing Bacillus strains was determined individually and in combination with other biosurfactants. Some biosurfactant mixtures were found to have synergistic effect on surface tension (e.g. surface tension was lowered from 41 to 31 mN/m in some cases) while others had a synergistic effect on CMD-1 values. We compared the transport abilities of spores from three Bacillus strains using a model porous system to study spore recovery and transport. Sand-packed columns were used to select for spores or cells with the best transport abilities through brine-saturated sand. Spores of Bacillus mojavensis strains JF-2 and ROB-2 and a natural recombinant, strain C-9, transported through sand at very high efficiencies. The earliest cells/spores that emerged from the column were re-grown, allowed to sporulate, and applied to a second column. This procedure greatly enhanced the transport of strain C-9. Spores with enhanced transport abilities can be easily obtained and that the preparation of inocula for use in MEOR is feasible. Tertiary oil recovery experiments showed that 10 to 40 mg/l of JF-2 biosurfactant in the

Surfactant Based Enhanced Oil Recovery and Foam Mobility Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George J. Hirasaki; Clarence A. Miller

Surfactant flooding has the potential to significantly increase recovery over that of conventional waterflooding. The availability of a large number of surfactant structures makes it possible to conduct a systematic study of the relation between surfactant structure and its efficacy for oil recovery. A mixture of two surfactants was found to be particularly effective for application in carbonate formations at low temperature. The mixture is single phase for higher salinity or calcium concentrations than that for either surfactant used alone. This makes it possible to inject the surfactant slug with polymer close to optimal conditions and yet be single phase.more » A formulation has been designed for a particular field application. It uses partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide for mobility control. The addition of an alkali such as sodium carbonate makes possible in situ generation of naphthenic soap and significant reduction of synthetic surfactant adsorption. The design of the process to maximize the region of ultra-low IFT takes advantage of the observation that the ratio of soap to synthetic surfactant is a parameter in the conditions for optimal salinity. Even for a fixed ratio of soap to surfactant, the range of salinity for low IFT was wider than that reported for surfactant systems in the literature. Low temperature, forced displacement experiments in dolomite and silica sandpacks demonstrate that greater than 95% recovery of the waterflood remaining oil is possible with 0.2% surfactant concentration, 0.5 PV surfactant slug, with no alcohol. Compositional simulation of the displacement process demonstrates the role of soap/surfactant ratio on passage of the profile through the ultralow IFT region, the importance of a wide salinity range of low IFT, and the importance of the viscosity of the surfactant slug. Mobility control is essential for surfactant EOR. Foam is evaluated to improve the sweep efficiency of surfactant injected into fractured reservoirs as

Microbial Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery by the Aid of Inhabitant Spore-Forming Bacteria: An Insight Review

PubMed Central

Shibulal, Biji; Al-Bahry, Saif N.; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M.; Elshafie, Abdulkader E.; Al-Bemani, Ali S.; Joshi, Sanket J.

2014-01-01

Crude oil is the major source of energy worldwide being exploited as a source of economy, including Oman. As the price of crude oil increases and crude oil reserves collapse, exploitation of oil resources in mature reservoirs is essential for meeting future energy demands. As conventional recovery methods currently used have become less efficient for the needs, there is a continuous demand of developing a new technology which helps in the upgradation of heavy crude oil. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is an important tertiary oil recovery method which is cost-effective and eco-friendly technology to drive the residual oil trapped in the reservoirs. The potential of microorganisms to degrade heavy crude oil to reduce viscosity is considered to be very effective in MEOR. Earlier studies of MEOR (1950s) were based on three broad areas: injection, dispersion, and propagation of microorganisms in petroleum reservoirs; selective degradation of oil components to improve flow characteristics; and production of metabolites by microorganisms and their effects. Since thermophilic spore-forming bacteria can thrive in very extreme conditions in oil reservoirs, they are the most suitable organisms for the purpose. This paper contains the review of work done with thermophilic spore-forming bacteria by different researchers. PMID:24550702

Microbial enhanced heavy oil recovery by the aid of inhabitant spore-forming bacteria: an insight review.

PubMed

Shibulal, Biji; Al-Bahry, Saif N; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Elshafie, Abdulkader E; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Joshi, Sanket J

2014-01-01

Crude oil is the major source of energy worldwide being exploited as a source of economy, including Oman. As the price of crude oil increases and crude oil reserves collapse, exploitation of oil resources in mature reservoirs is essential for meeting future energy demands. As conventional recovery methods currently used have become less efficient for the needs, there is a continuous demand of developing a new technology which helps in the upgradation of heavy crude oil. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is an important tertiary oil recovery method which is cost-effective and eco-friendly technology to drive the residual oil trapped in the reservoirs. The potential of microorganisms to degrade heavy crude oil to reduce viscosity is considered to be very effective in MEOR. Earlier studies of MEOR (1950s) were based on three broad areas: injection, dispersion, and propagation of microorganisms in petroleum reservoirs; selective degradation of oil components to improve flow characteristics; and production of metabolites by microorganisms and their effects. Since thermophilic spore-forming bacteria can thrive in very extreme conditions in oil reservoirs, they are the most suitable organisms for the purpose. This paper contains the review of work done with thermophilic spore-forming bacteria by different researchers.

Co-Optimization of CO 2-EOR and Storage Processes in Mature Oil Reservoirs

DOE PAGES

Ampomah, William; Balch, Robert S.; Grigg, Reid B.; ...

2016-08-02

This article presents an optimization methodology for CO 2 enhanced oil recovery in partially depleted reservoirs. A field-scale compositional reservoir flow model was developed for assessing the performance history of an active CO 2 flood and for optimizing both oil production and CO 2 storage in the Farnsworth Unit (FWU), Ochiltree County, Texas. A geological framework model constructed from geophysical, geological, and engineering data acquired from the FWU was the basis for all reservoir simulations and the optimization method. An equation of state was calibrated with laboratory fluid analyses and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP).more » Initial history calibrations of primary, secondary and tertiary recovery were conducted as the basis for the study. After a good match was achieved, an optimization approach consisting of a proxy or surrogate model was constructed with a polynomial response surface method (PRSM). The PRSM utilized an objective function that maximized both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. Experimental design was used to link uncertain parameters to the objective function. Control variables considered in this study included: water alternating gas cycle and ratio, production rates and bottom-hole pressure of injectors and producers. Other key parameters considered in the modeling process were CO 2 purchase, gas recycle and addition of infill wells and/or patterns. The PRSM proxy model was ‘trained’ or calibrated with a series of training simulations. This involved an iterative process until the surrogate model reached a specific validation criterion. A sensitivity analysis was first conducted to ascertain which of these control variables to retain in the surrogate model. A genetic algorithm with a mixed-integer capability optimization approach was employed to determine the optimum developmental strategy to maximize both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. The proxy model reduced the computational cost

Co-Optimization of CO 2-EOR and Storage Processes in Mature Oil Reservoirs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ampomah, William; Balch, Robert S.; Grigg, Reid B.

This article presents an optimization methodology for CO 2 enhanced oil recovery in partially depleted reservoirs. A field-scale compositional reservoir flow model was developed for assessing the performance history of an active CO 2 flood and for optimizing both oil production and CO 2 storage in the Farnsworth Unit (FWU), Ochiltree County, Texas. A geological framework model constructed from geophysical, geological, and engineering data acquired from the FWU was the basis for all reservoir simulations and the optimization method. An equation of state was calibrated with laboratory fluid analyses and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP).more » Initial history calibrations of primary, secondary and tertiary recovery were conducted as the basis for the study. After a good match was achieved, an optimization approach consisting of a proxy or surrogate model was constructed with a polynomial response surface method (PRSM). The PRSM utilized an objective function that maximized both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. Experimental design was used to link uncertain parameters to the objective function. Control variables considered in this study included: water alternating gas cycle and ratio, production rates and bottom-hole pressure of injectors and producers. Other key parameters considered in the modeling process were CO 2 purchase, gas recycle and addition of infill wells and/or patterns. The PRSM proxy model was ‘trained’ or calibrated with a series of training simulations. This involved an iterative process until the surrogate model reached a specific validation criterion. A sensitivity analysis was first conducted to ascertain which of these control variables to retain in the surrogate model. A genetic algorithm with a mixed-integer capability optimization approach was employed to determine the optimum developmental strategy to maximize both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. The proxy model reduced the computational cost

General introduction and recovery factors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, Mahendra K.

2017-07-17

IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compared methods for estimating an incremental recovery factor (RF) for the carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) process involving the injection of CO2 into oil reservoirs. This chapter first provides some basic information on the RF, including its dependence on various reservoir and operational parameters, and then discusses the three development phases of oil recovery—primary, second­ary, and tertiary (EOR). It ends with a brief discussion of the three approaches for estimating recovery factors, which are detailed in subsequent chapters.

Impact of innovations on future energy supply - chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR).

PubMed

Bittner, Christian

2013-01-01

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects an increase of global energy demand by one-third during next 20 years together with a change in the global energy mix. A key-influencing factor is a strong expected increase in oil and gas production in the United States driven by 'new' technologies such as hydraulic fracturing. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) is another strong growing technology with the potential of a step change innovation, which will help to secure future oil supply by turning resources into reserves. While conventional production methods give access to on average only one-third of original oil in place, the use of surfactants and polymers allows for recovery of up to another third of this oil. In the case of polymer flooding with poly acrylamide, the number of full field implementations has increased in recent years. In the meantime new polymers have been developed to cover previously unmet needs - such polymers can be applied in fields of high salinity and high temperature. Use of surfactants is in an earlier stage, but pilot tests show promising results.

Impact of an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery field trial on microbial community structure in a high pour-point oil reservoir.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan; She, Yue-Hui; Li, Hua-Min; Zhang, Xiao-Tao; Shu, Fu-Chang; Wang, Zheng-Liang; Yu, Long-Jiang; Hou, Du-Jie

2012-08-01

Based on preliminary investigation of microbial populations in a high pour-point oil reservoir, an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) field trial was carried out. The purpose of the study is to reveal the impact of the indigenous MEOR process on microbial community structure in the oil reservoir using 16Sr DNA clone library technique. The detailed monitoring results showed significant response of microbial communities during the field trial and large discrepancies of stimulated microorganisms in the laboratory and in the natural oil reservoir. More specifically, after nutrients injection, the original dominant populations of Petrobacter and Alishewanella in the production wells almost disappeared. The expected desirable population of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, determined by enrichment experiments in laboratory, was stimulated successfully in two wells of the five monitored wells. Unexpectedly, another potential population of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes which were not detected in the enrichment culture in laboratory was stimulated in the other three monitored production wells. In this study, monitoring of microbial community displayed a comprehensive alteration of microbial populations during the field trial to remedy the deficiency of culture-dependent monitoring methods. The results would help to develop and apply more MEOR processes.

Crude oil desulfurization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalvinskas, J. J.; Hsu, G. C.; Ernest, J. B. (Inventor)

1982-01-01

High sulfur crude oil is desulfurized by a low temperature (25-80 C.) chlorinolysis at ambient pressure in the absence of organic solvent or diluent but in the presence of water (water/oil=0.3) followed by a water and caustic wash to remove sulfur and chlorine containing reaction products. The process described can be practiced at a well site for the recovery of desulfurized oil used to generate steam for injection into the well for enhanced oil recovery.

Sonochemical approaches to enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Abramov, Vladimir O; Abramova, Anna V; Bayazitov, Vadim M; Altunina, Lyubov K; Gerasin, Artyom S; Pashin, Dmitriy M; Mason, Timothy J

2015-07-01

Oil production from wells reduces with time and the well becomes uneconomic unless enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are applied. There are a number of methods currently available and each has specific advantages and disadvantages depending on conditions. Currently there is a big demand for new or improved technologies in this field, the hope is that these might also be applicable to wells which have already been the subject of EOR. The sonochemical method of EOR is one of the most promising methods and is important in that it can also be applied for the treatment of horizontal wells. The present article reports the theoretical background of the developed sonochemical technology for EOR in horizontal wells; describes the requirements to the equipment needed to embody the technology. The results of the first field tests of the technology are reported. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tracing enhanced oil recovery signatures in casing gases from the Lost Hills oil field using noble gases

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barry, Peter H.; Kulongoski, Justin; Landon, Matthew K.; Tyne, R.L.; Gillespie, Janice; Stephens, Michael; Hillegonds, D.J.; Byrne, D.J.; Ballentine, C.J.

2018-01-01

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and hydraulic fracturing practices are commonly used methods to improve hydrocarbon extraction efficiency; however the environmental impacts of such practices remain poorly understood. EOR is particularly prevalent in oil fields throughout California where water resources are in high demand and disposal of high volumes of produced water may affect groundwater quality. Consequently, it is essential to better understand the fate of injected (EOR) fluids in California and other subsurface petroleum systems, as well as any potential effect on nearby aquifer systems. Noble gases can be used as tracers to understand hydrocarbon generation, migration, and storage conditions, as well as the relative proportions of oil and water present in the subsurface. In addition, a noble gas signature diagnostic of injected (EOR) fluids can be readily identified. We report noble gas isotope and concentration data in casing gases from oil production wells in the Lost Hills oil field, northwest of Bakersfield, California, and injectate gas data from the Fruitvale oil field, located within the city of Bakersfield. Casing and injectate gas data are used to: 1) establish pristine hydrocarbon noble-gas signatures and the processes controlling noble gas distributions, 2) characterize the noble gas signature of injectate fluids, 3) trace injectate fluids in the subsurface, and 4) construct a model to estimate EOR efficiency. Noble gas results range from pristine to significantly modified by EOR, and can be best explained using a solubility exchange model between oil and connate/formation fluids, followed by gas exsolution upon production. This model is sensitive to oil-water interaction during hydrocarbon expulsion, migration, and storage at reservoir conditions, as well as any subsequent modification by EOR.

Production, Characterization, and Application of Bacillus licheniformis W16 Biosurfactant in Enhancing Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Joshi, Sanket J; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Al-Bahry, Saif N; Elshafie, Abdulkadir E; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Al-Bahri, Asma; Al-Mandhari, Musallam S

2016-01-01

The biosurfactant production by Bacillus licheniformis W16 and evaluation of biosurfactant based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using core-flood under reservoir conditions were investigated. Previously reported nine different production media were screened for biosurfactant production, and two were further optimized with different carbon sources (glucose, sucrose, starch, cane molasses, or date molasses), as well as the strain was screened for biosurfactant production during the growth in different media. The biosurfactant reduced the surface tension and interfacial tension to 24.33 ± 0.57 mN m -1 and 2.47 ± 0.32 mN m -1 respectively within 72 h, at 40°C, and also altered the wettability of a hydrophobic surface by changing the contact angle from 55.67 ± 1.6 to 19.54°± 0.96°. The critical micelle dilution values of 4X were observed. The biosurfactants were characterized by different analytical techniques and identified as lipopeptide, similar to lichenysin-A. The biosurfactant was stable over wide range of extreme environmental conditions. The core flood experiments showed that the biosurfactant was able to enhance the oil recovery by 24-26% over residual oil saturation (S or ). The results highlight the potential application of lipopeptide biosurfactant in wettability alteration and microbial EOR processes.

Nitrate-Mediated Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (N-MEOR) from model upflow bioreactors.

PubMed

Gassara, Fatma; Suri, Navreet; Voordouw, Gerrit

2017-02-15

Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) can enhance oil production with less energy input and less costs than other technologies. The present study used different aqueous electron donors (acetate, glucose, molasses) and an aqueous electron acceptor (nitrate) to stimulate growth of heterotrophic nitrate reducing bacteria (hNRB) to improve production of oil. Initial flooding of columns containing heavy oil (viscosity of 3400cP at 20°C) with CSBK (Coleville synthetic brine medium) produced 0.5 pore volume (PV) of oil. Bioreactors were then inoculated with hNRB with 5.8g/L of molasses and 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 or 80mM nitrate, as well as with 17mM glucose or 57mM acetate and 80mM nitrate. During incubations no oil was produced in the bioreactors that received 5.8g/L of molasses and 0, 10, 20, 40 or 60mM nitrate. However, the bioreactors injected with 5.8g/L of molasses, 17mM glucose or 57mM acetate and 80mM nitrate produced 13.9, 11.3±3.1 and 17.8±6.6% of residual oil, respectively. The significant production of oil from these bioreactors may be caused by N 2 -CO 2 gas production. Following continued injection with CSBK without nitrate, subsequent elution of significant residual oil (5-30%) was observed. These results also indicate possible involvement of fermentation products (organic acids, alcohols) to enhance heavy oil recovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of the anaerobic treatment of a waste stream from an enhanced oil recovery process.

PubMed

Alimahmoodi, Mahmood; Mulligan, Catherine N

2011-01-01

The aim of this work was to optimize the anaerobic treatment of a waste stream from an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. The treatment of a simulated waste water containing about 150 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and the saturation level of CO2 was evaluated. A two-step anaerobic system was undertaken in the mesophilic temperature range (30-40°C). The method of evolutionary operation EVOP factorial design was used to optimize pH, temperature and organic loading rate with the target parameters of CO2 reduction and CH4 production in the first reactor and TPH removal in the second reactor. The results showed 98% methanogenic removal of CO2 and CH4 yield of 0.38 L/gCOD in the first reactor and 83% TPH removal in the second reactor. In addition to enhancing CO2 and TPH removal and CH4 production, application of this method showed the degree of importance of the operational variables and their interactive effects for the two reactors in series. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dataset on experimental investigation of gum arabic coated alumina nanoparticles for enhanced recovery of nigerian medium crude oil.

PubMed

Orodu, Oyinkepreye D; Orodu, Kale B; Afolabi, Richard O; Dafe, Eboh A

2018-08-01

The dataset in this article are related to an experimental Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) scheme involving the use of dispersions containing Gum Arabic coated Alumina Nanoparticles (GCNPs) for Nigerian medium crude oil. The result contained in the dataset showed a 7.18% (5 wt% GCNPs), 7.81% (5 wt% GCNPs), and 5.61% (3 wt% GCNPs) improvement in the recovery oil beyond the water flooding stage for core samples A, B, and C respectively. Also, the improvement in recovery of the medium crude oil by the GCNPs dispersions when compared to Gum Arabic polymer flooding was evident in the dataset.

The fifth international conference on microbial enhanced oil recovery and related biotechnology for solving environmental problems: 1995 Conference proceedings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bryant, R.

1995-12-31

This volume contains 41 papers covering the following topics: field trials of microbial enhanced recovery of oil; control and treatment of sour crudes and natural gas with microorganisms; bioremediation of hydrocarbon contamination in soils; microbial plugging processes; microbial waste water treatment; the use of microorganisms as biological indicators of oils; and characterization and behavior of microbial systems. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

Dissolved air flotation and centrifugation as methods for oil recovery from ruptured microalgal cells.

PubMed

Ghasemi Naghdi, Forough; Schenk, Peer M

2016-10-01

Solvent-free microalgal lipid recovery is highly desirable for safer, more sustainable and more economical microalgal oil production. Dispersed air flotation and centrifugation were evaluated for the ability to separate oil and debris from a slurry mixture of osmotically fractured Chaetoceros muelleri cells with and without utilizing collectors. Microalgal oil partially phase-separated as a top layer and partially formed an oil-in-water emulsion. Although collectors, such as sodium dodecyl sulphate enhanced selective flotation, by just adjusting the pH and cell concentration of the mixture, up to 78% of the lipids were recovered in the froth. Using centrifugation of fractured microalgal slurry resulted in removal of 60% cell debris and up to 68.5% of microalgal oil was present in the supernatant. Both methods, centrifugation and flotation provided options for separation of microalgal oil from C. muelleri slurry with similar fatty acid recoveries of 57% and 60%, respectively. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Transportation infrastructure asset damage cost recovery correlated with shale oil/gas recovery operations in Louisiana : research project capsule : technology transfer program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-01

Due to shale oil/gas recovery : operations, a large number : of truck trips on Louisiana : roadways are required for : transporting equipment and : materials to and from the : recovery sites. As a result, : roads and bridges that were : designed for ...

Analysis of edible oil processing options for the BIO-Plex advanced life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenwalt, C. J.; Hunter, J.

2000-01-01

Edible oil is a critical component of the proposed plant-based Advanced Life Support (ALS) diet. Soybean, peanut, and single-cell oil are the oil source options to date. In terrestrial manufacture, oil is ordinarily extracted with hexane, an organic solvent. However, exposed solvents are not permitted in the spacecraft environment or in enclosed human tests by National Aeronautics and Space Administration due to their potential danger and handling difficulty. As a result, alternative oil-processing methods will need to be utilized. Preparation and recovery options include traditional dehulling, crushing, conditioning, and flaking, extrusion, pressing, water extraction, and supercritical extraction. These processing options were evaluated on criteria appropriate to the Advanced Life Support System and BIO-Plex application including: product quality, product stability, waste production, risk, energy needs, labor requirements, utilization of nonrenewable resources, usefulness of by-products, and versatility and mass of equipment to determine the most appropriate ALS edible oil-processing operation.

CO 2 Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery: Bald Unit Test Site, Mumford Hills Oil Field, Posey County, Indiana

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frailey, Scott M.; Krapac, Ivan G.; Damico, James R.

2012-03-30

The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) carried out a small-scale carbon dioxide (CO 2) injection test in a sandstone within the Clore Formation (Mississippian System, Chesterian Series) in order to gauge the large-scale CO 2 storage that might be realized from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of mature Illinois Basin oil fields via miscible liquid CO 2 flooding.

Development of a highly efficient oil degumming process using a novel phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C enzyme.

PubMed

Cerminati, Sebastián; Eberhardt, Florencia; Elena, Claudia E; Peirú, Salvador; Castelli, María E; Menzella, Hugo G

2017-06-01

Enzymatic degumming using phospholipase C (PLC) enzymes may be used in environmentally friendly processes with improved oil recovery yields. In this work, phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PIPLC) candidates obtained from an in silico analysis were evaluated for oil degumming. A PIPLC from Lysinibacillus sphaericus was shown to efficiently remove phosphatidylinositol from crude oil, and when combined with a second phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine-specific phospholipase C, the three major phospholipids were completely hydrolyzed, providing an extra yield of oil greater than 2.1%, compared to standard methods. A remarkably efficient fed-batch Escherichia coli fermentation process producing ∼14 g/L of the recombinant PIPLC enzyme was developed, which may facilitate the adoption of this cost-effective oil-refining process.

Microbial mineral illization of montmorillonite in low-permeability oil reservoirs for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Cui, Kai; Sun, Shanshan; Xiao, Meng; Liu, Tongjing; Xu, Quanshu; Dong, Honghong; Wang, Di; Gong, Yejing; Sha, Te; Hou, Jirui; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Fu, Pengcheng

2018-05-11

Microbial mineral illization has been investigated for its role in the extraction and recovery of metals from ores. Here we report our application of mineral bioillization for the microbial enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability oil reservoirs. It aimed to reveal the etching mechanism of the four Fe (III)-reducing microbial strains under anaerobic growth conditions on the Ca-montmorillonite. The mineralogical characterization of the Ca-montmorillonite was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer. Results showed that the microbial strains could efficiently reduce Fe (III) at an optimal rate of 71 %, and alter the crystal lattice structure of the lamella to promote the interlayer cation exchange, and to efficiently inhibit the Ca-montmorillonite swelling at an inhibitory rate of 48.9 %. Importance Microbial mineral illization is ubiquitous in the natural environment. Microbes in low-permeability reservoirs are able to enable the alteration of the structure and phase of the Fe-poor minerals by reducing Fe (III) and inhibiting clay swelling which is still poorly studied. This study aimed to reveal the interaction mechanism between Fe (III)-reducing bacterial strains and Ca-montmorillonite under anaerobic atmosphere, and to investigate the extent and rates of Fe (III) reduction and phase changes with their activities. Application of Fe (III)-reducing bacteria will provide a new way to inhibit clay swelling, to elevate reservoir permeability, and to reduce pore throat resistance after water flooding for enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Use of water-external micellar dispersions in oil recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, S.C.

1970-04-14

A water-external micellar dispersion followed by a mobility buffer and a water drive were used for enhanced oil recovery. Field Berea sandstone cores (19.6 percent porosity, 387 md permeability) were saturated with brine (16,500 ppM sodium chloride), flooded with crude oil from the Henry lease in Illinois (viscosity of 5.9 cp at 72/sup 0/F, specific gravity of 0.833), and waterflooded with water from Henry lease (17,210 ppM TDS). The micellar dispersion followed by the mobility buffer produced 99.6 percent of the oil in the core. The micellar slug contained ammonium petroleum sulfonate (MW 450), Henry crude oil, isopropanol, nonyl phenol,more » sodium hydroxide, and water from the Palestine water reservoir in Palestine, Illinois (412 ppM TDS). No. 530 Pusher, ammonium thiocyanate, isopropanol, and Palestine water were in the mobility buffer.« less

Integrating Electrokinetic and Bioremediation Process for Treating Oil Contaminated Low Permeability Soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramadan, Bimastyaji Surya; Effendi, Agus Jatnika; Helmy, Qomarudin

2018-02-01

Traditional oil mining activities always ignores environmental regulation which may cause contamination in soil and environment. Crude oil contamination in low-permeability soil complicates recovery process because it requires substantial energy for excavating and crushing the soil. Electrokinetic technology can be used as an alternative technology to treat contaminated soil and improve bioremediation process (biostimulation) through transfer of ions and nutrient that support microorganism growth. This study was conducted using a combination of electrokinetic and bioremediation processes. Result shows that the application of electrokinetic and bioremediation in low permeability soils can provide hydrocarbon removal efficiency up to 46,3% in 7 days operation. The highest amount of microorganism can be found in 3-days operation, which is 2x108 CFU/ml using surfactant as flushing fluid for solubilizing hydrocarbon molecules. Enhancing bioremediation using electrokinetic process is very potential to recover oil contaminated low permeability soil in the future.

Production of microbial rhamnolipid by Pseudomonas aeruginosa MM1011 for ex situ enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Amani, Hossein; Müller, Markus Michael; Syldatk, Christoph; Hausmann, Rudolf

2013-07-01

Recently, several investigations have been carried out on the in situ bacteria flooding, but the ex situ biosurfactant production and addition to the sand pack as agents for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) has little been studied. In order to develop suitable technology for ex situ MEOR processes, it is essential to carry out tests about it. Therefore, this work tries to fill the gap. The intention of this study was to investigate whether the rhamnolipid mix could be produced in high enough quantities for enhanced oil recovery in the laboratory scale and prove its potential use as an effective material for field application. In this work, the ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MM1011 to grow and produce rhamnolipid on sunflower as sole carbon source under nitrogen limitation was shown. The production of Rha-C10-C10 and Rha2-C10-C10 was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The rhamnolipid mixture obtained was able to reduce the surface and interfacial tension of water to 26 and 2 mN/m, respectively. The critical micelle concentration was 120 mg/L. Maximum rhamnolipid production reached to about 0.7 g/L in a shake flask. The yield of rhamnolipid per biomass (Y RL/x ), rhamnolipid per sunflower oil (Y RL/s ), and the biomass per sunflower oil (Y x/s ) for shake flask were obtained about 0.01, 0.0035, and 0.035 g g(-1), respectively. The stability of the rhamnolipid at different salinities, pH and temperature, and also, its emulsifying activity has been investigated. It is an effective surfactant at very low concentrations over a wide range of temperatures, pHs, and salt concentrations, and it also has the ability to emulsify oil, which is essential for enhanced oil recovery. With 120 mg/L rhamnolipid, 27 % of original oil in place was recovered after water flooding from a sand pack. This result not only suggests rhamnolipids as appropriate model biosurfactants for MEOR, but it even shows the potential as a

Evaluation of Reservoir Wettability and its Effect on Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buckley, Jill S.

1999-07-01

The objective of this five-year project are: (1) to achieve improved understanding of the surface and interfacial properties of crude oils and their interactions with mineral surfaces, (2) to apply the results of surface studies to improve predictions of oil production from laboratory measurements, and (3) to use the results of this research to recommend ways to improve oil recovery by waterflooding. During the second year of this project we have tested the generality of the proposed mechanisms by which crude oil components can alter wetting. Using these mechanisms, we have begun a program of characterizing crude oils with respectmore » to their wettability altering potential. Wettability assessment has been improved by replacing glass with mica as a standard surface material and crude oils have been used to alter wetting in simple square glass capillary tubes in which the subsequent imbibition of water can be followed visually.« less

Recovery of Oil with Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Polyphenols from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin) Koehne: Process Optimization of Pilot-Scale Subcritical Fluid Assisted Extraction.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhenzhou; Zhang, Rui; Zhan, Shaoying; He, Jingren; Barba, Francisco J; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Wu, Weizhong; Li, Shuyi

2017-10-22

The potential effects of three modern extraction technologies (cold-pressing, microwaves and subcritical fluids) on the recovery of oil from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin) Koehne seeds have been evaluated and compared to those of conventional chemical extraction methods (Soxhlet extraction). This oil contains unsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols. Subcritical fluid extraction (SbFE) provided the highest yield-25.79 g oil/100 g dry seeds-of the three methods. Moreover, the fatty acid composition in the oil samples was analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This analysis showed that the percentages of monounsaturated (46.61%), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (42.14%), after applying SbFE were higher than those obtained by Soxhlet, cold-pressing or microwave-assisted extraction. In addition, the oil obtained under optimized SbFE conditions (35 min extraction at 35 °C with four extraction cycles), showed significant polyphenol (527.36 mg GAE/kg oil), and flavonoid (15.32 mg RE/kg oil), content, had a good appearance and was of high quality.

Secondary oil recovery from selected Carter sandstone oilfields, Black Warrior Basin, Alabama

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, J.C.

1993-04-15

The objectives of this secondary oil recovery project involving the Carter sandstone in northwest Alabama are: (1) To increase the ultimate economic recovery of oil from the Carter reservoirs, thereby increasing domestic reserves and lessening US dependence on foreign oil; (2) To extensively model, test, and monitor the reservoirs so their management is optimized; and (3) To assimilate and transfer the information and results gathered to other US oil companies to encourage them to attempt similar projects. Start-up water injection began on 0 1/12/93 at the Central Bluff Field, and daily operations began on 01/13/93. These operations include monitoring wellheadmore » pressures at the injector and two producers, and injection water treatment. Water injection was running 200-300 bbl/day at the end of February. Once the unit is pressured-up well testing will be performed. Unitization was approved on 03/01/93.b. For the North Fairview Field correlations and log analyses were used to determine the fluid and rock properties. A summary of these properties is included in Table 1. The results of the log analysis were used to construct the hydrocarbon pore volume map shown on Figure 1. The map was planimetered to determine original oil-in-place (OOIP) values and the hydrocarbon pore volume by tract. The OOIP summed over an tracts by this method is 824.7 Mbbl (Figure 2). Original oil-in-place was also calculated directly: two such independent calculations gave 829.4 Mbbl (Table 1) and 835.6 Mbbl (Table 2). Thus, the three estimates of OOIP are within one percent. The approximately 88% of OOIP remaining provides an attractive target for secondary recovery. Injection start-up is planned for mid-June.« less

Thermal acidization and recovery process for recovering viscous petroleum

DOEpatents

Poston, Robert S.

1984-01-01

A thermal acidization and recovery process for increasing production of heavy viscous petroleum crude oil and synthetic fuels from subterranean hydrocarbon formations containing clay particles creating adverse permeability effects is described. The method comprises injecting a thermal vapor stream through a well bore penetrating such formations to clean the formation face of hydrocarbonaceous materials which restrict the flow of fluids into the petroleum-bearing formation. Vaporized hydrogen chloride is then injected simultaneously to react with calcium and magnesium salts in the formation surrounding the bore hole to form water soluble chloride salts. Vaporized hydrogen fluoride is then injected simultaneously with its thermal vapor to dissolve water-sensitive clay particles thus increasing permeability. Thereafter, the thermal vapors are injected until the formation is sufficiently heated to permit increased recovery rates of the petroleum.

STIMULI-RESPONSIVE POLYMERS WITH ENHANCED EFFICIENCY IN RESERVOIR RECOVERY PROCESSES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Charles McCormick; Roger Hester

This sixth and final progress report for DOE Award Number DE-FC26-01BC15317 describes research during the period March 01, 2004 through August 31, 2004 performed at the University of Southern Mississippi on ''Stimuli Responsive Polymers with Enhanced Efficiency in Reservoir Recovery'' processes. Significantly, terpolymers that are responsive to changes in pH and ionic strength have been synthesized, characterized, and their solution properties have been extensively examined. Terpolymers composed of acrylamide, a carboxylated acrylamido monomer (AMBA), and a quaternary ammonium monomer (AMBATAC) with balanced compositions of the latter two, exhibit increases in aqueous solution viscosity as NaCl concentration is increased. This increasemore » in polymer coil size can be expected upon injection of this type of polymer into oil reservoirs of moderate-to-high salinity, leading to better mobility control. The opposite effect (loss of viscosity) is observed for conventional polymer systems. Additionally polymer mobility characteristics have been conducted for a number of hydrophilic copolymers utilizing an extensional flow apparatus and size exclusion chromatography. This study reveled that oil recovery enhancement through use of polymers in a water flood is due to the polymer's resistance to deformation as it flows through the reservoir. Individual polymers when in aqueous solution form coils. The larger the polymer's coil size, the greater the polymer's resistance to extensional flow and the more effective the polymer is in enhancing oil recovery. Large coil sizes are obtained by increasing the polymer molecular weight and having macromolecular structures that favor greater swelling of the coil by the aqueous solvent conditions (temperature, pH and electrolyte concentration) existing in the reservoir.« less

Integrated Mid-Continent Carbon Capture, Sequestration & Enhanced Oil Recovery Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brian McPherson

2010-08-31

A consortium of research partners led by the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration and industry partners, including CAP CO2 LLC, Blue Source LLC, Coffeyville Resources, Nitrogen Fertilizers LLC, Ash Grove Cement Company, Kansas Ethanol LLC, Headwaters Clean Carbon Services, Black & Veatch, and Schlumberger Carbon Services, conducted a feasibility study of a large-scale CCS commercialization project that included large-scale CO{sub 2} sources. The overall objective of this project, entitled the 'Integrated Mid-Continent Carbon Capture, Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery Project' was to design an integrated system of US mid-continent industrial CO{sub 2} sources with CO{sub 2} capture, and geologicmore » sequestration in deep saline formations and in oil field reservoirs with concomitant EOR. Findings of this project suggest that deep saline sequestration in the mid-continent region is not feasible without major financial incentives, such as tax credits or otherwise, that do not exist at this time. However, results of the analysis suggest that enhanced oil recovery with carbon sequestration is indeed feasible and practical for specific types of geologic settings in the Midwestern U.S.« less

Recovery of polyphenols from rose oil distillation wastewater using adsorption resins--a pilot study.

PubMed

Rusanov, Krasimir; Garo, Eliane; Rusanova, Mila; Fertig, Orlando; Hamburger, Matthias; Atanassov, Ivan; Butterweck, Veronika

2014-11-01

for the recovery of polyphenols from rose oil distillation wastewater suggesting an industrial scalability of the process. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Polymers for enhanced oil recovery: fundamentals and selection criteria.

PubMed

Rellegadla, Sandeep; Prajapat, Ganshyam; Agrawal, Akhil

2017-06-01

With a rising population, the demand for energy has increased over the years. As per the projections, both fossil fuel and renewables will remain as major energy source (678 quadrillion BTU) till 2030 with fossil fuel contributing 78% of total energy consumption. Hence, attempts are continuously made to make fossil fuel production more sustainable and cheaper. From the past 40 years, polymer flooding has been carried out in marginal oil fields and have proved to be successful in many cases. The common expectation from polymer flooding is to obtain 50% ultimate recovery with 15 to 20% incremental recovery over secondary water flooding. Both naturally derived polymers like xanthan gum and synthetic polymers like partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) have been used for this purpose. Earlier laboratory and field trials revealed that salinity and temperature are the major issues with the synthetic polymers that lead to polymer degradation and adsorption on the rock surface. Microbial degradation and concentration are major issues with naturally derived polymers leading to loss of viscosity and pore throat plugging. Earlier studies also revealed that polymer flooding is successful in the fields where oil viscosity is quite higher (up to 126 cp) than injection water due to improvement in mobility ratio during polymer flooding. The largest successful polymer flood was reported in China in 1990 where both synthetic and naturally derived polymers were used in nearly 20 projects. The implementation of these projects provides valuable suggestions for further improving the available processes in future. This paper examines the selection criteria of polymer, field characteristics that support polymer floods and recommendation to design a large producing polymer flooding.

Heterologous production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa rhamnolipid under anaerobic conditions for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Zhao, F; Shi, R; Zhao, J; Li, G; Bai, X; Han, S; Zhang, Y

2015-02-01

The ex situ application of rhamnolipid to enhance oil recovery is costly and complex in terms of rhamnolipid production and transportation, while in situ production of rhamnolipid is restricted by the oxygen-deficient environments of oil reservoirs. To overcome the oxygen-limiting conditions and to circumvent the complex regulation of rhamnolipid biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an engineered strain Pseudomonas stutzeri Rhl was constructed for heterologous production of rhamnolipid under anaerobic conditions. The rhlABRI genes for rhamnolipid biosynthesis were cloned into a facultative anaerobic strain Ps. stutzeri DQ1 to construct the engineered strain Rhl. Anaerobic production of rhamnolipid was confirmed by thin layer chromatography and Fourier transform infrared analysis. Rhamnolipid product reduced the air-water surface tension to 30.3 mN m(-1) and the oil-water interfacial tension to 0.169 mN m(-1). Rhl produced rhamnolipid of 1.61 g l(-1) using glycerol as the carbon source. Rhl anaerobic culture emulsified crude oil up to EI24 ≈ 74. An extra 9.8% of original crude oil was displaced by Rhl in the core flooding test. Strain Rhl achieved anaerobic production of rhamnolipid and worked well for enhanced oil recovery in the core flooding model. The rhamnolipid produced by Rhl was similar to that of the donor strain SQ6. This is the first study to achieve anaerobic and heterologous production of rhamnolipid. Results demonstrated the potential feasibility of Rhl as a promising strain to enhance oil recovery through anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Improved extraction of avocado oil by application of sono-physical processes.

PubMed

Martínez-Padilla, Laura Patricia; Franke, Lisa; Xu, Xin-Qing; Juliano, Pablo

2018-01-01

Ultrasound treatment is known to increase the oil extractability in olive and palm oil processes. This work examined the effect of ultrasound conditioning of avocado puree on oil extractability and quality, at low (18+40kHz) and high (2MHz) frequencies, at litre-scale. Other ultrasound parameters evaluated included high frequency effect (0.4, 0.6, and 2MHz; 5min; 90kJ/kg) and sonication time (2.5-10min at 2MHz), without malaxation. Finally, a megasonic post-malaxation intervention was assessed at selected malaxation times (15, 30, and 60min). Both low and high frequency ultrasound treatments of the non-malaxed avocado puree improved extractability by 15-24% additional oil recovery, with the highest extractability achieved after 2MHz treatments, depending on the fruit maturity and oil content. There was no preferential improvement on oil extractability observed across high frequencies, even though extractability increased with sonication time. Ultrasound treatment also showed a positive effect after puree malaxation. Oils obtained from sonicated purees showed peroxide and free fatty acid values below the industrial specification levels and an increase in total phenolic compounds after 2MHz treatment. High frequency ultrasound conditioning of avocado puree can enhance oil separation and potentially decrease the malaxation time in industrial processes without impacting on oil quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In situ burning of oil in coastal marshes. 1. Vegetation recovery and soil temperature as a function of water depth, oil type, and marsh type.

PubMed

Lin, Qianxin; Mendelssohn, Irving A; Bryner, Nelson P; Walton, William D

2005-03-15

In-situ burning of oiled wetlands potentially provides a cleanup technique that is generally consistent with present wetland management procedures. The effects of water depth (+10, +2, and -2 cm), oil type (crude and diesel), and oil penetration of sediment before the burn on the relationship between vegetation recovery and soil temperature for three coastal marsh types were investigated. The water depth over the soil surface during in-situ burning was a key factor controlling marsh plant recovery. Both the 10- and 2-cm water depths were sufficient to protect marsh vegetation from burning impacts, with surface soil temperatures of <35 and 48 degrees C, respectively. Plant survival rate and growth responses at these water depth burns were not significantly different from the unburned control. In contrast, a water table 2 cm below the soil surface during the burn resulted in high soil temperatures, with 90-200 degrees C at 0-0.5 cm soil depth and 55-75 degrees C at 1-2 cm soil depth. The 2-cm soil exposure to fire significantly impeded the post-burn recovery of Spartina alterniflora and Sagittaria lancifolia but did not detrimentally affect the recovery of Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata. Oil type (crude vs diesel) and oil applied to the marsh soil surface (0.5 L x m(-2)) before the burn did not significantly affect plant recovery. Thus, recovery is species-specific when no surface water exists. Even water at the soil surface will most likely protect wetland plants from burning impact.

Oil field experiments of microbial improved oil recovery in Vyngapour, West Siberia, Russia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murygina, V.P.; Mats, A.A.; Arinbasarov, M.U.

1995-12-31

Experiments on microbial improved oil recovery (MIOR) have been performed in the Vyngapour oil field in West Siberia for two years. Now, the product of some producing wells of the Vyngapour oil field is 98-99% water cut. The operation of such wells approaches an economic limit. The nutritious composition containing local industry wastes and sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium was pumped into an injection well on the pilot area. This method is called {open_quotes}nutritional flooding.{close_quotes} The mechanism of nutritional flooding is based on intensification of biosynthesis of oil-displacing metabolites by indigenous bacteria and bacteria from food industry wastes inmore » the stratum. 272.5 m{sup 3} of nutritious composition was introduced into the reservoir during the summer of 1993, and 450 m3 of nutritious composition-in 1994. The positive effect of the injections in 1993 showed up in 2-2.5 months and reached its maximum in 7 months after the injections were stopped. By July 1, 1994, 2,268.6 tons of oil was produced over the base variant, and the simultaneous water extraction reduced by 33,902 m{sup 3} as compared with the base variant. The injections in 1994 were carried out on the same pilot area.« less

Enhanced oil recovery system

DOEpatents

Goldsberry, Fred L.

1989-01-01

All energy resources available from a geopressured geothermal reservoir are used for the production of pipeline quality gas using a high pressure separator/heat exchanger and a membrane separator, and recovering waste gas from both the membrane separator and a low pressure separator in tandem with the high pressure separator for use in enhanced oil recovery, or in powering a gas engine and turbine set. Liquid hydrocarbons are skimmed off the top of geothermal brine in the low pressure separator. High pressure brine from the geothermal well is used to drive a turbine/generator set before recovering waste gas in the first separator. Another turbine/generator set is provided in a supercritical binary power plant that uses propane as a working fluid in a closed cycle, and uses exhaust heat from the combustion engine and geothermal energy of the brine in the separator/heat exchanger to heat the propane.

Thin liquid films in improved oil recovery from low-salinity brine

DOE PAGES

Myint, Philip C.; Firoozabadi, Abbas

2015-03-19

Low-salinity waterflooding is a relatively new method for improved oil recovery that has generated much interest. It is generally believed that low-salinity brine alters the wettability of oil reservoir rocks towards a wetting state that is optimal for recovery. The mechanism(s) by which the wettability alteration occurs is currently an unsettled issue. This study reviews recent studies on wettability alteration mechanisms that affect the interactions between the brine/oil and brine/rock interfaces of thin brine films that wet the surface of reservoir rocks. Of these mechanisms, we pay particular attention to double-layer expansion, which is closely tied to an increase inmore » the thickness and stability of the thin brine films. Our review examines studies on both sandstones and carbonate rocks. We conclude that the thin-brine-film mechanisms provide a good qualitative, though incomplete, picture of this very complicated problem. Finally, we give suggestions for future studies that may help provide a more quantitative and complete understanding of low-salinity waterflooding.« less

Optimization of rhamnolipid production from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PBS towards application for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Sharma, Rajni; Singh, Jagdish; Verma, Neelam

2018-01-01

The present work reveals the potential of biosurfactant producing P. aeruginosa PBS for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The biosurfactant production medium and culture conditions were optimized using response surface methodology. The optimization of media components and process parameters was consecutively executed in two sets of experimental runs designed by central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The maximum biosurfactant yield was attained with 2% fresh inoculum of P. aeruginosa PBS in minimal salt medium (pH 7), possessing 2.17% sodium citrate as C-source and 0.5% yeast extract as N-source, after 48 h upon incubation at 30 °C/150 rpm. Under optimum conditions, biosurfactant yield was increased more than threefold and turned out to be 2.65 g/L as compared to 0.82 g/L under previous conditions. The biosurfactant was characterized as a glycolipid comprising of four rhamnolipid homologs (RhaRhaC 10 C 10 , RhaRhaC 8 C 10 , RhaRhaC 12 C 10 /RhaRhaC 10 C 12 , RhaC 10 C 10 ) by thin layer chromatography, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The produced biosurfactant was highly efficient for oil recovery application showing extreme reduction in surface tension of medium (71.80 to 23.76 mN/m), immense hydrocarbons emulsification capacity (50-60%) and greater stability at wide range of temperature (4-100 °C) and pH (4-10) along with an excellent (56.18 ± 1.59%) additional oil recovery in sand-pack column lab test.

Interfacial activity in alkaline flooding enhanced oil recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chan, M.K.

1981-01-01

The ionization of long-chained organic acids in the crude oil to form soaps was shown to be primarily responsible for the lowering of oil-water interfacial tension at alkaline pH. These active acids can be concentrated by silica gel chromatography into a minor polar fraction. An equilibrium chemical model was proposed based on 2 competing reactions: the ionization of acids to form active anions, and the formation of undissociated soap between acid anions and sodium ions. It correlates the interfacial activity with the interfacial concentration of active acid anions which is expressed in terms of the concentrations of the chemical speciesmore » in the system. The model successfully predicts the observed oil-alkaline solution interfacial phenomenon, including its dependence on pH, alkali and salt concentrations, type of acid present and type of soap formed. Flooding at different alkali concentrations to activate different acid species present in the crude was shown to give better recovery than flooding at a single high alkali concentration. Treating the crude oil with a dilute solution of mineral acids liberates additional free active acids and yields better interfacial activity during subsequent alkali contact.« less

Preparation and Investigation of Foaming Amphiphilic Fluorinated Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Wang, Keliang; Wang, Gang; Lu, Chunjing; Pei, Cuiying; Wang, Ying

2017-12-08

Amphiphilic nanoparticles have attracted increasing interest as Pickering emulsifiers owing to the combined advantages of both traditional surfactants and homogeneous particles. Here, foaming amphiphilic fluorinated nanoparticles were prepared for enhanced oil recovery by the toposelective surface modification method. The structure and properties of amphiphilic nanoparticles were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, a laser diffraction method, fluorescence microscopy, a pendant drop tensiometer, and foamscan. It was found that the amphiphilic fluorinated nanoparticles exhibited significant interfacial activity at the air-water interface and generated stabilized aqueous foams against coalescence and drainage even in the absence of surfactants. When the particle concentration reached 0.6 wt %, the adsorption of the amphiphilic nanoparticles at the interface was saturated and the equilibrium surface tension dropped to around 32.7 mN/m. When the particle concentration reached 0.4 wt %, the Gibbs stability criterion was fulfilled. The amphiphilic nanoparticles foam system has a better plugging capacity and enhanced oil recovery capacity. The results obtained provide fundamental insights into the understanding of the self-assembly behavior and foam properties of amphiphilic fluorinated nanoparticles and further demonstrate the future potential of the amphiphilic nanoparticles used as colloid surfactants for enhanced oil recovery applications.

Preparation and Investigation of Foaming Amphiphilic Fluorinated Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oil Recovery

PubMed Central

Wang, Keliang; Lu, Chunjing; Pei, Cuiying; Wang, Ying

2017-01-01

Amphiphilic nanoparticles have attracted increasing interest as Pickering emulsifiers owing to the combined advantages of both traditional surfactants and homogeneous particles. Here, foaming amphiphilic fluorinated nanoparticles were prepared for enhanced oil recovery by the toposelective surface modification method. The structure and properties of amphiphilic nanoparticles were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, a laser diffraction method, fluorescence microscopy, a pendant drop tensiometer, and foamscan. It was found that the amphiphilic fluorinated nanoparticles exhibited significant interfacial activity at the air–water interface and generated stabilized aqueous foams against coalescence and drainage even in the absence of surfactants. When the particle concentration reached 0.6 wt %, the adsorption of the amphiphilic nanoparticles at the interface was saturated and the equilibrium surface tension dropped to around 32.7 mN/m. When the particle concentration reached 0.4 wt %, the Gibbs stability criterion was fulfilled. The amphiphilic nanoparticles foam system has a better plugging capacity and enhanced oil recovery capacity. The results obtained provide fundamental insights into the understanding of the self-assembly behavior and foam properties of amphiphilic fluorinated nanoparticles and further demonstrate the future potential of the amphiphilic nanoparticles used as colloid surfactants for enhanced oil recovery applications. PMID:29292747

Microbial enhanced oil recovery research. Final report, Annex 5

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, M.M.; Gerogiou, G.

1993-07-01

The objective of this project was to develop an engineering framework for the exploitation of microorganisms to enhance oil recovery. An order of magnitude analysis indicated that selective plugging and the production of biosurfactants are the two most likely mechanisms for the mobilization of oil in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The latter, biosurfactant production, is easier to control within a reservoir environment and was investigated in some detail. An extensive literature survey indicated that the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 produces a very effective surface active agent capable of increasing the capillary number to values sufficiently low for oil mobilization.more » In addition, earlier studies had shown that growth of this bacterium and biosurfactant production occur under conditions that are typically encountered in MEOR, namely temperatures up to 55{degrees}C, lack of oxygen and salinities of up to 10% w/v. The chemical structure of the surfactant, its interfacial properties and its production by fermentation were characterized in some detail. In parallel, a set of experiments as conducted to measure the transport of Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 in sandpacks. It was shown that the determining parameters for cell transport in porous media are: cell size and degree of coagulation, presence of dispersants, injection velocity and cell concentration. The mechanisms of bacteria retention within the pores of the reservoir were analyzed based on heuristic arguments. A mathematical simulator of MEOR was developed using conservation equations in which the mechanisms of bacteria retention and the growth kinetics of the cells were incorporated. The predictions of the model agreed reasonably well with experimental results.« less

Development of epoxide compound from kapok oil for enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anam, M. K.; Supranto; Murachman, B.; Purwono, S.

2017-06-01

Epoxide compound is made by reacting Kapok Oil with acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide with in situ method. The epoxidation reaction was varied at temperatures of 60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C, while the time of reaction time was varied at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 90 minutes. The reaction rate coefficient for the epoxide was obtained as {\\boldsymbol{k}}{\\boldsymbol{=}}{{124}}{\\boldsymbol{,}}{{82}} {{\\exp }} {\\boldsymbol{\\bigg(}}\\frac{{\\boldsymbol-}{{24}}{\\boldsymbol{,}}{{14}}}{{\\boldsymbol{R}}{\\boldsymbol{T}}}{\\boldsymbol{\\bigg)}}. The addition of the epoxide compound 0.5 w/w in the formulation of SLS was able to reduce the IFT value up to 9.95 x 10-2 m N/m. The addition of co-surfactant (1-octanol) was varied between 0.1 and 0.4 of the total mass of the main formulation (SLS + epoxide + water formation). The smallest interfacial tension value is obtained on the addition of co-surfactants as much as 0.2 w/w, with the IFT value is 2.43 x 10-3 m N/m. The effectiveness of the chemicals was tested through micro displacement using artificial porous medium. The experimental results show that some chemicals developed in the laboratory can be used as EOR chemicals. The oil displacement experiments show that as much as 20 to 80 of remaining oil can be recovered by flooding it with the chemicals. The results also show that the oil recovery depends on type of chemicals and chemical concentration.

Characterisation of crude palm oil O/W emulsion produced with Tween 80 and potential in residual oil recovery of palm pressed mesocarp fibre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramly, N. H.; Zakaria, R.; Naim, M. N.

2016-06-01

Surfactant-assisted aqueous extraction has been proposed as a “green” alternative to hexane extraction for the recovery of oil from plant matters. An efficient aqueous surfactant extraction system usually use an extended type of ionic surfactant with the ability to produce Winsor type III microemulsion, reducing the interfacial tension (IFT) between plant oil and surfactant solution to an ultralow level (10-3 mN/m). However, the safe used of this surfactant in food processing is uncertain leading to non-food application of the recovered oil. In the present study, the potential of Tween 80, a commercial food-grade non-ionic surfactant, was evaluated in the recovery of residual oil from palm-pressed mesocarp. The emulsion produced between Tween 80 and crude palm oil (CPO) was characterised in terms of IFT, droplet size, viscosity and phase inversion temperature (PIT). The effect of surfactant concentration, electrolyte (NaCl) and temperature were studied to determine whether a Winsor Type III microemulsion can be produced. Results shows that although these parameters were able to reduce the IFT to very low values, Winsor type III microemulsion was not produced with this single surfactant. Emulsion of CPO and Tween 80 solution did not produce a PIT even after heating to 100°C indicating that middle phase emulsion was not able to be formed with increasing temperature. The highest percentage of oil extraction (38.84%) was obtained at the concentration above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of Tween 80 and CPO, which was at 0.5 wt% Tween 80 with 6% NaCl, and temperature of 60°C. At this concentration, the IFT value is 0.253 mN/m with a droplet size of 4183.8 nm, and a viscosity of 7.38 cp.

Aqueous enzymatic extraction of Moringa oleifera oil.

PubMed

Mat Yusoff, Masni; Gordon, Michael H; Ezeh, Onyinye; Niranjan, Keshavan

2016-11-15

This paper reports on the extraction of Moringa oleifera (MO) oil by using aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE) method. The effect of different process parameters on the oil recovery was discovered by using statistical optimization, besides the effect of selected parameters on the formation of its oil-in-water cream emulsions. Within the pre-determined ranges, the use of pH 4.5, moisture/kernel ratio of 8:1 (w/w), and 300stroke/min shaking speed at 40°C for 1h incubation time resulted in highest oil recovery of approximately 70% (goil/g solvent-extracted oil). These optimized parameters also result in a very thin emulsion layer, indicating minute amount of emulsion formed. Zero oil recovery with thick emulsion were observed when the used aqueous phase was re-utilized for another AEE process. The findings suggest that the critical selection of AEE parameters is key to high oil recovery with minimum emulsion formation thereby lowering the load on the de-emulsification step. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Model study of enhanced oil recovery by flooding with aqueous surfactant solution and comparison with theory.

PubMed

Fletcher, Paul D I; Savory, Luke D; Woods, Freya; Clarke, Andrew; Howe, Andrew M

2015-03-17

With the aim of elucidating the details of enhanced oil recovery by surfactant solution flooding, we have determined the detailed behavior of model systems consisting of a packed column of calcium carbonate particles as the porous rock, n-decane as the trapped oil, and aqueous solutions of the anionic surfactant sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT). The AOT concentration was varied from zero to above the critical aggregation concentration (cac). The salt content of the aqueous solutions was varied to give systems of widely different, post-cac oil-water interfacial tensions. The systems were characterized in detail by measuring the permeability behavior of the packed columns, the adsorption isotherms of AOT from the water to the oil-water interface and to the water-calcium carbonate interface, and oil-water-calcium carbonate contact angles. Measurements of the percent oil recovery by pumping surfactant solutions into calcium carbonate-packed columns initially filled with oil were analyzed in terms of the characterization results. We show that the measured contact angles as a function of AOT concentration are in reasonable agreement with those calculated from values of the surface energy of the calcium carbonate-air surface plus the measured adsorption isotherms. Surfactant adsorption onto the calcium carbonate-water interface causes depletion of its aqueous-phase concentration, and we derive equations which enable the concentration of nonadsorbed surfactant within the packed column to be estimated from measured parameters. The percent oil recovery as a function of the surfactant concentration is determined solely by the oil-water-calcium carbonate contact angle for nonadsorbed surfactant concentrations less than the cac. For surfactant concentrations greater than the cac, additional oil removal occurs by a combination of solubilization and emulsification plus oil mobilization due to the low oil-water interfacial tension and a pumping pressure increase.

Local and Global Impacts of Carbon Capture and Storage Combined with Enhanced Oil Recovery in Four Depleted Oil Fields, Kern County, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillespie, J.; Jordan, P. D.; Goodell, J. A.; Harrington, K.; Jameson, S.

2015-12-01

Depleted oil reservoirs are attractive targets for geologic carbon storage (GCS) because they possess proven trapping mechanisms and large amounts of data pertaining to production and reservoir geometry. In addition, CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can improve recovery of the remaining oil at recovery factors of 6 to 20% of original oil in place in appropriate reservoirs. CO2 EOR increases the attractiveness of depleted oil and gas reservoirs as a starting point for CCS because the CO2 becomes a commodity that can be purchased by field operators for EOR purposes thereby offsetting the costs of CO2 capture at the power plant. In California, Kern County contains the largest oil reservoirs and produces 76% of California's oil. Most of the production at depths suitable for CCS combined with CO2 EOR comes from three reservoirs: the Vedder and Temblor formations and the Stevens Sandstone of the Monterey Formation. These formations were evaluated for GCS and CO2 EOR potential at the North and South Coles Levee (Stevens Sandstone), Greeley (Vedder) and McKittrick (Temblor) fields. CO2 EOR could be expected to produce an additional 150 million bbls of oil. The total storage space created by pre- and post-EOR fluid production for all three reservoirs is approximately 104 million metric tons (MMT). Large fixed sources in California produce 156 MMT/yr of CO2, and sources in Kern County produce 26 MMT/yr (WESTCARB, 2012). Therefore, the fields could store about four years of local large fixed source emissions and about two thirds of statewide emissions. However, from a global perspective, burning the additional oil produced by CO2 EOR would generate an additional 65 MMT of CO2 if not captured. This would result in a net reduction of greenhouse gas of only 39 MMT rather than the full 104 MMT. If the water produced along with the oil recovered during CO2 EOR operations is not reinjected into the reservoir, the storage space could be much higher.

Solar heated oil shale pyrolysis process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qader, S. A. (Inventor)

1985-01-01

An improved system for recovery of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel from oil shale is presented. The oil shale pyrolysis system is composed of a retort reactor for receiving a bed of oil shale particules which are heated to pyrolyis temperature by means of a recycled solar heated gas stream. The gas stream is separated from the recovered shale oil and a portion of the gas stream is rapidly heated to pyrolysis temperature by passing it through an efficient solar heater. Steam, oxygen, air or other oxidizing gases can be injected into the recycle gas before or after the recycle gas is heated to pyrolysis temperature and thus raise the temperature before it enters the retort reactor. The use of solar thermal heat to preheat the recycle gas and optionally the steam before introducing it into the bed of shale, increases the yield of shale oil.

Advanced Oil Recovery Technologies for Improved Recovery From Slope Basin Clastic Reservoirs, Nash Draw Brushy Canyon Pool, Eddy County, New Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mark B. Murphy

The overall goal of this project is to demonstrate that an advanced development drilling and pressure maintenance program based on advanced reservoir management methods can significantly improve oil recovery. The plan included developing a control area using standard reservoir management techniques and comparing its performance to an area developed using advanced methods. A key goal is to transfer advanced methodologies to oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin and elsewhere, and throughout the US oil and gas industry.

Burning crude oil without pollution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houseman, J.

1979-01-01

Crude oil can be burned at drilling sites by two-stage combustion process without producing pollution. Process allows easier conformance to strict federal or state clean air standards without installation of costly pollution removal equipment. Secondary oil recovery can be accomplished with injection of steam heating by burning oil.

Effects of Dual-Pump Recovery on Crude-Oil Contamination of Groundwater, Bemidji, Minnesota

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delin, G. N.; Herkelrath, W. N.; Lounsbury, S.

2009-12-01

In 1979 a crude-oil pipeline ruptured near Bemidji, Minnesota spilling about 1.7 million liters of crude oil onto a glacial-outwash deposit. Initial remediation efforts in 1979-80 removed about 75% of this oil. In 1983 the U.S. Geological Survey and several academic institutions began research to study the fate and transport of the petroleum hydrocarbons in the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In 1998 the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requested that the pipeline company remove as much of the remaining oil as possible. A dual-pump recovery system was installed using five wells to remove the free-phase oil. Each well had an oil skimming pump as well as a deeper pump in the groundwater, which was used to create a cone of depression in the water table near the well. The oil/water mixture from the skimming pump was pumped to a treatment facility where the oil was separated for later removal from the site. Pumped wastewater was injected into an upgradient infiltration gallery. Despite large public and private expenditures on development and implementation of this type of remediation system, few well-documented field-scale case studies have been published. The renewed remediation presented an opportunity to document how the dissolution, biodegradation, vapor transport, and other processes changed as the site transitioned from natural attenuation to a condition of pump-and-treat remediation and back again following termination of the remediation. Impacts of the remediation were evaluated in part using measurements of oil thicknesses in wells, dissolved-oxygen concentrations in groundwater, and concentrations of methane and other gases in the unsaturated zone. The remediation from 1999 - 2004 resulted in removal of about 114,000 liters of crude oil from the site, or about 27% of the total that remained following the initial remediation in 1979-80. Although the renewed remediation decreased oil thicknesses in the immediate vicinity of remediation

Morphological Variation and Recovery Mechanism of Residual Crude Oil by Biosurfactant from Indigenous Bacteria: Macro- and Pore-Scale Experimental Investigations.

PubMed

Song, Zhi-Yong; Han, Hong-Yan; Zhu, Wei-Yao

2015-06-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is being used more widely, and the biological contributions involved in MEOR need to be identified and quantified for the improvement of field applications. Owing to the excellent interfacial activity and the wide distribution of producing strains in oil reservoirs, lipopeptides have proved to be an essential part of the complex mechanisms in MEOR. In this study, crude lipopeptides were produced by a strain isolated from an indigenous community in an oil reservoir. It was found that crude lipopeptides can effectively reduce the IFT (interfacial tension) to 10(-1)~10(-2) mN/m under high salinity without forming stable emulsions, and the wettability of natural sandstone can be enhanced (Amott index, from 0.36 to 0.48). The results of core flooding experiments indicate that an additional 5.2% of original oil in place can be recovered with a 9.5% reduction of injection pressure. After the shut-in period, the wettability of the core, the reduction of injection pressure, and the oil recovery can be improved to 0.63, 16.2% and 9.6%, respectively. In the microscopic flooding experiments, the crude oil in membrane, cluster, and throat states contribute nearly 90% in total of the additional oil recovery, and the recovery of membranestate oil was significantly enhanced by 93.3% after shut in. Based on the results in macro and pore scale, the IFT reduction and the wettability alteration are considered primary contributors to oil recovery, while the latter was more dominant after one shut-in period.

Recovery of different waste vegetable oils for biodiesel production: a pilot experience in Bahia State, Brazil.

PubMed

Torres, Ednildo Andrade; Cerqueira, Gilberto S; Tiago, M Ferrer; Quintella, Cristina M; Raboni, Massimo; Torretta, Vincenzo; Urbini, Giordano

2013-12-01

In Brazil, and mainly in the State of Bahia, crude vegetable oils are widely used in the preparation of food. Street stalls, restaurants and canteens make a great use of palm oil and soybean oil. There is also some use of castor oil, which is widely cultivated in the Sertão Region (within the State of Bahia), and widely applied in industry. This massive use in food preparation leads to a huge amount of waste oil of different types, which needs either to be properly disposed of, or recovered. At the Laboratorio Energia e Gas-LEN (Energy & Gas lab.) of the Universidade Federal da Bahia, a cycle of experiments were carried out to evaluate the recovery of waste oils for biodiesel production. The experiences were carried out on a laboratory scale and, in a semi-industrial pilot plant using waste oils of different qualities. In the transesterification process, applied waste vegetable oils were reacted with methanol with the support of a basic catalyst, such as NaOH or KOH. The conversion rate settled at between 81% and 85% (in weight). The most suitable molar ratio of waste oils to alcohol was 1:6, and the amount of catalyst required was 0.5% (of the weight of the incoming oil), in the case of NaOH, and 1%, in case of KOH. The quality of the biodiesel produced was tested to determine the final product quality. The parameters analyzed were the acid value, kinematic viscosity, monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, free glycerine, total glycerine, clearness; the conversion yield of the process was also evaluated. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oil recovery test using bio surfactants of indigenous bacteria in variation concentration of carbon source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yudono, B.; Purwaningrum, W.; Estuningsih, S. P.; Kaffah, S.

2017-05-01

Recovery tests of crude oil by using bio surfactant of indigenous bacteria Pseudomonas peli, Pseudomonas citronellolis, Burkholderia glumae and Bacillus firmus. The bio surfactants were prepared with the variation concentrations of molasses carbon source; 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 %. The results showed that 10 g samples, which concentration 18.64% TPH could be dissolved in the bio surfactant 10%. Optimally in the molasses carbon source concentrations for each bacterium at 5, 10, 20 and 15 % with oil recovery as much as 31.92, 17.65, 22.32, and 14.38 % respectively. Oil components which extracted by bio surfactant were analyzed by using GLC (Gas Liquid Chromatography). The bio surfactants of Pseudomonas peli could dissolve oil fraction temperatures; 139.85; 144.69; 149.98; 1.55.03: 174.22 °C, Pseudomonas citronellolis could dissolve oil fraction temperatures; 139.13; 142.64;147.99; 155.03; 159.85; 164.50 °C, Burkholderia glumae could dissolve oil fraction temperatures 144.69; 149.98; 155.03; 159.85; 164.50 °C, and Bacillus firmus could dissolve oil fraction temperatures; 149.98; 155.03; 158.46; 164.50 °C.

Market potential of solar thermal enhanced oil recovery-a techno-economic model for Issaran oil field in Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Sunay; Guédez, Rafael; Laumert, Björn

2017-06-01

Solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (S-EOR) is an advanced technique of using concentrated solar power (CSP) technology to generate steam and recover oil from maturing oil reservoirs. The generated steam is injected at high pressure and temperature into the reservoir wells to facilitate oil production. There are three common methods of steam injection in enhanced oil recovery - continuous steam injection, cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). Conventionally, this steam is generated through natural gas (NG) fired boilers with associated greenhouse gas emissions. However, pilot projects in the USA (Coalinga, California) and Oman (Miraah, Amal) demonstrated the use of S-EOR to meet their steam requirements despite the intermittent nature of solar irradiation. Hence, conventional steam based EOR projects under the Sunbelt region can benefit from S-EOR with reduced operational expenditure (OPEX) and increased profitability in the long term, even with the initial investment required for solar equipment. S-EOR can be realized as an opportunity for countries not owning any natural gas resources to make them less energy dependent and less sensible to gas price fluctuations, and for countries owning natural gas resources to reduce their gas consumption and export it for a higher margin. In this study, firstly, the market potential of S-EOR was investigated worldwide by covering some of the major ongoing steam based EOR projects as well as future projects in pipeline. A multi-criteria analysis was performed to compare local conditions and requirements of all the oil fields based on a defined set of parameters. Secondly, a modelling approach for S-EOR was designed to identify cost reduction opportunities and optimum solar integration techniques, and the Issaran oil field in Egypt was selected for a case study to substantiate the approach. This modelling approach can be consulted to develop S-EOR projects for any steam flooding based oil

Investigation of Multiscale and Multiphase Flow, Transport and Reaction in Heavy Oil Recovery Processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yortsos, Yanis C.

In this report, the thrust areas include the following: Internal drives, vapor-liquid flows, combustion and reaction processes, fluid displacements and the effect of instabilities and heterogeneities and the flow of fluids with yield stress. These find respective applications in foamy oils, the evolution of dissolved gas, internal steam drives, the mechanics of concurrent and countercurrent vapor-liquid flows, associated with thermal methods and steam injection, such as SAGD, the in-situ combustion, the upscaling of displacements in heterogeneous media and the flow of foams, Bingham plastics and heavy oils in porous media and the development of wormholes during cold production.

TOGA: A TOUGH code for modeling three-phase, multi-component, and non-isothermal processes involved in CO 2-based Enhanced Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pan, Lehua; Oldenburg, Curtis M.

TOGA is a numerical reservoir simulator for modeling non-isothermal flow and transport of water, CO 2, multicomponent oil, and related gas components for applications including CO 2-enhanced oil recovery (CO 2-EOR) and geologic carbon sequestration in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. TOGA uses an approach based on the Peng-Robinson equation of state (PR-EOS) to calculate the thermophysical properties of the gas and oil phases including the gas/oil components dissolved in the aqueous phase, and uses a mixing model to estimate the thermophysical properties of the aqueous phase. The phase behavior (e.g., occurrence and disappearance of the three phases, gas +more » oil + aqueous) and the partitioning of non-aqueous components (e.g., CO 2, CH 4, and n-oil components) between coexisting phases are modeled using K-values derived from assumptions of equal-fugacity that have been demonstrated to be very accurate as shown by comparison to measured data. Models for saturated (water) vapor pressure and water solubility (in the oil phase) are used to calculate the partitioning of the water (H 2O) component between the gas and oil phases. All components (e.g., CO 2, H 2O, and n hydrocarbon components) are allowed to be present in all phases (aqueous, gaseous, and oil). TOGA uses a multiphase version of Darcy’s Law to model flow and transport through porous media of mixtures with up to three phases over a range of pressures and temperatures appropriate to hydrocarbon recovery and geologic carbon sequestration systems. Transport of the gaseous and dissolved components is by advection and Fickian molecular diffusion. New methods for phase partitioning and thermophysical property modeling in TOGA have been validated against experimental data published in the literature for describing phase partitioning and phase behavior. Flow and transport has been verified by testing against related TOUGH2 EOS modules and CMG. The code has also been validated against a CO 2-EOR experimental

Sophorolipids Production by Candida bombicola ATCC 22214 and its Potential Application in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

PubMed Central

Elshafie, Abdulkadir E.; Joshi, Sanket J.; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M.; Al-Bemani, Ali S.; Al-Bahry, Saif N.; Al-Maqbali, Dua’a; Banat, Ibrahim M.

2015-01-01

Biosurfactant production using Candida bombicola ATCC 22214, its characterization and potential applications in enhancing oil recovery were studied at laboratory scale. The seed media and the production media were standardized for optimal growth and biosurfactant production. The production media were tested with different carbon sources: glucose (2%w/v) and corn oil (10%v/v) added separately or concurrently. The samples were collected at 24 h interval up to 120 h and checked for growth (OD660), and biosurfactant production [surface tension (ST) and interfacial tension (IFT)]. The medium with both glucose and corn oil gave better biosurfactant production and reduced both ST and IFT to 28.56 + 0.42mN/m and 2.13 + 0.09mN/m, respectively within 72 h. The produced biosurfactant was quite stable at 13–15% salinity, pH range of 2–12, and at temperature up to 100°C. It also produced stable emulsions (%E24) with different hydrocarbons (pentane, hexane, heptane, tridecane, tetradecane, hexadecane, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2,2,4,4,6,8-heptamethylnonane, light and heavy crude oil). The produced biosurfactant was extracted using ethyl acetate and characterized as a mixture of sophorolipids (SPLs). The potential of SPLs in enhancing oil recovery was tested using core-flooding experiments under reservoir conditions, where additional 27.27% of residual oil (Sor) was recovered. This confirmed the potential of SPLs for applications in microbial enhanced oil recovery. PMID:26635782

Sophorolipids Production by Candida bombicola ATCC 22214 and its Potential Application in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Elshafie, Abdulkadir E; Joshi, Sanket J; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Al-Bahry, Saif N; Al-Maqbali, Dua'a; Banat, Ibrahim M

2015-01-01

Biosurfactant production using Candida bombicola ATCC 22214, its characterization and potential applications in enhancing oil recovery were studied at laboratory scale. The seed media and the production media were standardized for optimal growth and biosurfactant production. The production media were tested with different carbon sources: glucose (2%w/v) and corn oil (10%v/v) added separately or concurrently. The samples were collected at 24 h interval up to 120 h and checked for growth (OD660), and biosurfactant production [surface tension (ST) and interfacial tension (IFT)]. The medium with both glucose and corn oil gave better biosurfactant production and reduced both ST and IFT to 28.56 + 0.42mN/m and 2.13 + 0.09mN/m, respectively within 72 h. The produced biosurfactant was quite stable at 13-15% salinity, pH range of 2-12, and at temperature up to 100°C. It also produced stable emulsions (%E24) with different hydrocarbons (pentane, hexane, heptane, tridecane, tetradecane, hexadecane, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2,2,4,4,6,8-heptamethylnonane, light and heavy crude oil). The produced biosurfactant was extracted using ethyl acetate and characterized as a mixture of sophorolipids (SPLs). The potential of SPLs in enhancing oil recovery was tested using core-flooding experiments under reservoir conditions, where additional 27.27% of residual oil (Sor) was recovered. This confirmed the potential of SPLs for applications in microbial enhanced oil recovery.

Numerical investigation of complex flooding schemes for surfactant polymer based enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Sourav; Daripa, Prabir

2015-11-01

Surfactant-polymer flooding is a widely used method of chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in which an array of complex fluids containing suitable and varying amounts of surfactant or polymer or both mixed with water is injected into the reservoir. This is an example of multiphase, multicomponent and multiphysics porous media flow which is characterized by the spontaneous formation of complex viscous fingering patterns and is modeled by a system of strongly coupled nonlinear partial differential equations with appropriate initial and boundary conditions. Here we propose and discuss a modern, hybrid method based on a combination of a discontinuous, multiscale finite element formulation and the method of characteristics to accurately solve the system. Several types of flooding schemes and rheological properties of the injected fluids are used to numerically study the effectiveness of various injection policies in minimizing the viscous fingering and maximizing oil recovery. Numerical simulations are also performed to investigate the effect of various other physical and model parameters such as heterogeneity, relative permeability and residual saturation on the quantities of interest like cumulative oil recovery, sweep efficiency, fingering intensity to name a few. Supported by the grant NPRP 08-777-1-141 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

Timelines and mechanisms of wildlife population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esler, Daniel; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Matkin, Craig; Cushing, Daniel; Kaler, Robert; Bodkin, James; Monson, Daniel; Esslinger, George; Kloecker, Kim

2018-01-01

Research and monitoring activities over the 28 years since the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska have led to an improved understanding of how wildlife populations were damaged, as well as the mechanisms and timelines of recovery. A key finding was that for some species, such as harlequin ducks and sea otters, chronic oil spill effects persisted for at least two decades and were a larger influence on population dynamics over the long term than acute effects of the spill. These data also offer insights into population variation resulting from factors other than the oil spill. For example, while many seabirds experienced direct and indirect effects of the spill, population trajectories of some piscivorous birds, including pigeon guillemots and marbled murrelets, were linked to long-term environmental changes independent of spill effects. Another species, killer whales, suffered population declines due to acute spill effects that have not been resolved despite lack of chronic direct effects, representing a novel pathway of long-term injury. The observed variation in mechanisms and timelines of recovery is linked to species specific life history and natural history traits, and thus may be useful for predicting population recovery for other species following other spills.

Timelines and mechanisms of wildlife population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esler, Daniel N.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Matkin, Craig O.; Cushing, Daniel; Kaler, Robert; Bodkin, James L.; Monson, Daniel; Esslinger, George G.; Kloecker, Kimberly A.

2018-01-01

Research and monitoring activities over the 28 years since the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska have led to an improved understanding of how wildlife populations were damaged, as well as the mechanisms and timelines of recovery. A key finding was that for some species, such as harlequin ducks and sea otters, chronic oil spill effects persisted for at least two decades and were a larger influence on population dynamics over the long term than acute effects of the spill. These data also offer insights into population variation resulting from factors other than the oil spill. For example, while many seabirds experienced direct and indirect effects of the spill, population trajectories of some piscivorous birds, including pigeon guillemots and marbled murrelets, were linked to long-term environmental changes independent of spill effects. Another species, killer whales, suffered population declines due to acute spill effects that have not been resolved despite lack of chronic direct effects, representing a novel pathway of long-term injury. The observed variation in mechanisms and timelines of recovery is linked to species specific life history and natural history traits, and thus may be useful for predicting population recovery for other species following other spills.

Geomechanical Study of Bakken Formation for Improved Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ling, Kegang; Zeng, Zhengwen; He, Jun

2013-12-31

On October 1, 2008 US DOE-sponsored research project entitled “Geomechanical Study of Bakken Formation for Improved Oil Recovery” under agreement DE-FC26-08NT0005643 officially started at The University of North Dakota (UND). This is the final report of the project; it covers the work performed during the project period of October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013. The objectives of this project are to outline the methodology proposed to determine the in-situ stress field and geomechanical properties of the Bakken Formation in Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA to increase the success rate of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing so as to improvemore » the recovery factor of this unconventional crude oil resource from the current 3% to a higher level. The success of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing depends on knowing local in-situ stress and geomechanical properties of the rocks. We propose a proactive approach to determine the in-situ stress and related geomechanical properties of the Bakken Formation in representative areas through integrated analysis of field and well data, core sample and lab experiments. Geomechanical properties are measured by AutoLab 1500 geomechanics testing system. By integrating lab testing, core observation, numerical simulation, well log and seismic image, drilling, completion, stimulation, and production data, in-situ stresses of Bakken formation are generated. These in-situ stress maps can be used as a guideline for future horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing design to improve the recovery of Bakken unconventional oil.« less

Pollutant in palm oil production process.

PubMed

Hosseini, Seyed Ehsan; Abdul Wahid, Mazlan

2015-07-01

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a by-product of the palm industry and it releases large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Water systems are also contaminated by POME if it is released into nonstandard ponds or rivers where it endangers the lives of fish and water fowl. In this paper, the environmental bottlenecks faced by palm oil production were investigated by analyzing the data collected from wet extraction palm oil mills (POMs) located in Malaysia. Strategies for reducing pollution and technologies for GHG reduction from the wet extraction POMs were also proposed. Average GHG emissions produced from processing 1 ton of crude palm oil (CPO) was 1100 kg CO2eq. This amount can be reduced to 200 kg CO2eq by capturing biogases. The amount of GHG emissions from open ponds could be decreased from 225 to 25 kg CO2eq/MT CPO by covering the ponds. Installation of biogas capturing system can decrease the average of chemical oxygen demand (COD) to about 17,100 mg/L and stabilizing ponds in the final step could decrease COD to 5220 mg/L. Using a biogas capturing system allows for the reduction of COD by 80% and simultaneously using a biogas capturing system and by stabilizing ponds can mitigate COD by 96%. Other ways to reduce the pollution caused by POME, including the installation of wet scrubber vessels and increasing the performance of biogas recovery and biogas upgrading systems, are studied in this paper. Around 0.87 m3 POME is produced per 1 ton palm fruit milled. POME consists of around 2% oil, 2-4% suspended solid, 94-96% water. In palm oil mills, more than 90% of GHGs were emitted from POME. From 1 ton crude palm oil, 1100 kg CO2eq GHGs are generated, which can be reduced to 200 kg CO2eq by installation of biogas capturing equipment.

Mechanisms behind injecting the combination of nano-clay particles and polymer solution for enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalili Nezhad, Seyyed Shahram; Cheraghian, Goshtasp

2016-08-01

Laboratory investigations and field applications have proved injection of polymer solution to be an effective means to improve oil recovery for reservoirs of medium oil viscosity. The incremental oil produced in this case is the result of an increase in areal and vertical sweep efficiencies. Biopolymers and synthetic polymers are the major categories used in the petroleum industry for specific reasons. Biopolymers like xanthan are limited in their application as they are more susceptible to biodegradation. Synthetic polymers like Hydrolyzed PolyAcrylaMide (HPAM) have a much wider application as they are less susceptible to biodegradation. Furthermore, development of nanotechnology has successfully provided technical and economical viable alternatives for present materials. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of combining clay nanoparticles with polymer solution on oil recovery. This paper includes a history match of both one-dimensional and two-dimensional polymer floods using a three-dimensional numerical model for fluid flow and mass transport. Results indicated that the amount of polymer adsorption decreased when clay nanoparticles were added to the PolyAcrylaMide solution; however, mobility ratio improvement is believed to be the main contributor for the proposed method in order to enhance much oil recovery compared to xanthan flood and HPAM flood.

On the stabilizing role of species diffusion in chemical enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daripa, Prabir; Gin, Craig

2015-11-01

In this talk, the speaker will discuss a problem on the stability analysis related to the effect of species diffusion on stabilization of fingering in a Hele-Shaw model of chemical enhanced oil recovery. The formulation of the problem is motivated by a specific design principle of the immiscible interfaces in the hope that this will lead to significant stabilization of interfacial instabilities, there by improving oil recovery in the context of porous media flow. Testing the merits of this hypothesis poses some challenges which will be discussed along with some numerical results based on current formulation of this problem. Several open problems in this context will be discussed. This work is currently under progress. Supported by the grant NPRP 08-777-1-141 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

Thermodynamic and economic analysis of heat pumps for energy recovery in industrial processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urdaneta-B, A. H.; Schmidt, P. S.

1980-09-01

A computer code has been developed for analyzing the thermodynamic performance, cost and economic return for heat pump applications in industrial heat recovery. Starting with basic defining characteristics of the waste heat stream and the desired heat sink, the algorithm first evaluates the potential for conventional heat recovery with heat exchangers, and if applicable, sizes the exchanger. A heat pump system is then designed to process the residual heating and cooling requirements of the streams. In configuring the heat pump, the program searches a number of parameters, including condenser temperature, evaporator temperature, and condenser and evaporator approaches. All system components are sized for each set of parameters, and economic return is estimated and compared with system economics for conventional processing of the heated and cooled streams (i.e., with process heaters and coolers). Two case studies are evaluated, one in a food processing application and the other in an oil refinery unit.

Thermally-enhanced oil recovery method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Stahl, Charles R.; Gibson, Michael A.; Knudsen, Christian W.

1987-01-01

A thermally-enhanced oil recovery method and apparatus for exploiting deep well reservoirs utilizes electric downhole steam generators to provide supplemental heat to generate high quality steam from hot pressurized water which is heated at the surface. A downhole electric heater placed within a well bore for local heating of the pressurized liquid water into steam is powered by electricity from the above-ground gas turbine-driven electric generators fueled by any clean fuel such as natural gas, distillate or some crude oils, or may come from the field being stimulated. Heat recovered from the turbine exhaust is used to provide the hot pressurized water. Electrical power may be cogenerated and sold to an electric utility to provide immediate cash flow and improved economics. During the cogeneration period (no electrical power to some or all of the downhole units), the oil field can continue to be stimulated by injecting hot pressurized water, which will flash into lower quality steam at reservoir conditions. The heater includes electrical heating elements supplied with three-phase alternating current or direct current. The injection fluid flows through the heater elements to generate high quality steam to exit at the bottom of the heater assembly into the reservoir. The injection tube is closed at the bottom and has radial orifices for expanding the injection fluid to reservoir pressure.

Enhancing the recovery of oilseed rape seed oil bodies (oleosomes) using bicarbonate-based soaking and grinding media.

PubMed

De Chirico, Simone; di Bari, Vincenzo; Foster, Tim; Gray, David

2018-02-15

An aqueous process for the recovery of oil bodies from rapeseed using sodium bicarbonate-based soaking and grinding media (pH 9.5) was investigated. The effect of the ratio between seed and mass of media during grinding and molarity of the medium used on oil body integrity, purity and storage stability have been studied. The grinding of seeds in solution at a ratio of 1:7 (w/w) significantly improved the quality of oil body suspension to a size more in-line with that seen in vivo (average D 4,3 of 1.19µm). The purity and the composition of the recovered oil bodies depends on the molarity of medium used; the use of a sodium bicarbonate solution (pH 9.5, 0.1M) in the grinding and washing steps produced oil body preparations with the same purity as that resulting from washing a crude preparation with 9M urea. The resultant emulsion had improved physical stability over a storage period of one month. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Novel CO2-Responsive Viscoelastic Amphiphilic Surfactant Fluid for Fracking in Enhanced Oil/Gas Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, L.; Wu, X.; Dai, C.

2017-12-01

Over the past decade, the rapid rise of unconventional shale gas and tight sandstone oil development through horizontal drilling and high volume hydraulic fracturing has expanded the extraction of hydrocarbon resources. Hydraulic fracturing fluids play very important roles in enhanced oil/gas recovery. However, damage to the reservoir rock and environmental contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids has raised serious concerns. The development of reservoir rock friendly and environmental benign fracturing fluids is in immediate demand. Studies to improve properties of hydraulic fracturing fluids have found that viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluid can increase the productivity of gas/oil and be efficiently extracted after fracturing. Compared to conventional polymer fracturing fluid, VES fracturing fluid has many advantages, such as few components, easy preparation, good proppant transport capacity, low damage to cracks and formations, and environment friendly. In this work, we are developing a novel CO2-responsive VES fracking fluid that can readily be reused. This fluid has a gelling-breaking process that can be easily controlled by the presence of CO2 and its pressure. We synthesized erucamidopropyl dimethylamine (EA) as a thickening agent for hydraulic fracturing fluid. The influence of temperature, presence of CO2 and pressure on the viscoelastic behavior of this fluid was then investigated through rheological measurements. The fracturing fluid performance and recycle property were lastly studied using core flooding tests. We expect this fluid finds applications not only in enhanced oil/gas recovery, but also in areas such as controlling groundwater pollution and microfluidics.

Elemental sulfur recovery process

DOEpatents

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, M.; Zhicheng Hu.

1993-09-07

An improved catalytic reduction process for the direct recovery of elemental sulfur from various SO[sub 2]-containing industrial gas streams. The catalytic process provides combined high activity and selectivity for the reduction of SO[sub 2] to elemental sulfur product with carbon monoxide or other reducing gases. The reaction of sulfur dioxide and reducing gas takes place over certain catalyst formulations based on cerium oxide. The process is a single-stage, catalytic sulfur recovery process in conjunction with regenerators, such as those used in dry, regenerative flue gas desulfurization or other processes, involving direct reduction of the SO[sub 2] in the regenerator off gas stream to elemental sulfur in the presence of a catalyst. 4 figures.

Elemental sulfur recovery process

DOEpatents

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, Maria; Hu, Zhicheng

1993-01-01

An improved catalytic reduction process for the direct recovery of elemental sulfur from various SO.sub.2 -containing industrial gas streams. The catalytic process provides combined high activity and selectivity for the reduction of SO.sub.2 to elemental sulfur product with carbon monoxide or other reducing gases. The reaction of sulfur dioxide and reducing gas takes place over certain catalyst formulations based on cerium oxide. The process is a single-stage, catalytic sulfur recovery process in conjunction with regenerators, such as those used in dry, regenerative flue gas desulfurization or other processes, involving direct reduction of the SO.sub.2 in the regenerator off gas stream to elemental sulfur in the presence of a catalyst.

Mixing in three-phase systems: Implications for enhanced oil recovery and unconventional gas extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez-Martinez, J.; Porter, M. L.; Hyman, J.; Carey, J. W.; Viswanathan, H. S.

2015-12-01

Although the mixing of fluids within a porous media is a common process in natural and industrial systems, how the degree of mixing depends on the miscibility of multiple phases is poorly characterized. Often, the direct consequence of miscible mixing is the modification of the resident fluid (brine and hydrocarbons) rheological properties. We investigate supercritical (sc)CO2 displacement and mixing processes in a three-phase system (scCO2, oil, and H2O) using a microfluidics experimental system that accommodates the high pressures and temperatures encountered in fossil fuel extraction operations. The miscibility of scCO2 with the resident fluids, low with aqueous solutions and high with hydrocarbons, impacts the mixing processes that control sweep efficiency in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the unlocking of the system in unconventional oil and gas extraction. Using standard volume-averaging techniques we upscale the aqueous phase saturation to the field-scale (i.e., Darcy scale) and interpret the results as a simpler two-phase system. This process allows us to perform a statistical analysis to quantify i) the degree of heterogeneity in the system resulting from the immiscible H2O and ii) how that heterogeneity impacts mixing between scCO2 and oil and their displacement. Our results show that when scCO2 is used for miscible displacement, the presence of an aqueous solution, which is common in secondary and tertiary EOR and unconventional oil and gas extraction, strongly impacts the mixing of scCO2 with the hydrocarbons due to low scCO2-H2O miscibility. H2O, which must be displaced advectively by the injected scCO2, introduces spatio-temporal variability into the system that acts as a barrier between the two miscibile fluids. This coupled with the effect of viscosity contrast, i.e., viscous fingering, has an impact on the mixing of the more miscible pair.

Vegetation recovery in an oil-impacted and burned Phragmites australis tidal freshwater marsh.

PubMed

Zengel, Scott; Weaver, Jennifer; Wilder, Susan L; Dauzat, Jeff; Sanfilippo, Chris; Miles, Martin S; Jellison, Kyle; Doelling, Paige; Davis, Adam; Fortier, Barret K; Harris, James; Panaccione, James; Wall, Steven; Nixon, Zachary

2018-01-15

In-situ burning of oiled marshes is a cleanup method that can be more effective and less damaging than intrusive manual and mechanical methods. In-situ burning of oil spills has been examined for several coastal marsh types; however, few published data are available for Phragmites australis marshes. Following an estimated 4200gallon crude oil spill and in-situ burn in a Phragmites tidal freshwater marsh at Delta National Wildlife Refuge (Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana), we examined vegetation impacts and recovery across 3years. Oil concentrations in marsh soils were initially elevated in the oiled-and-burned sites, but were below background levels within three months. Oiling and burning drastically affected the marsh vegetation; the formerly dominant Phragmites, a non-native variety in our study sites, had not fully recovered by the end of our study. However, overall vegetation recovery was rapid and local habitat quality in terms of native plants, particularly Sagittaria species, and wildlife value was enhanced by burning. In-situ burning appears to be a viable response option to consider for future spills in marshes with similar plant species composition, hydrogeomorphic settings, and oiling conditions. In addition, likely Phragmites stress from high water levels and/or non-native scale insect damage was also observed during our study and has recently been reported as causing widespread declines or loss of Phragmites stands in the Delta region. It remains an open question if these stressors could lead to a shift to more native vegetation, similar to what we observed following the oil spill and burn. Increased dominance by native plants may be desirable as local patches, but widespread loss of Phragmites, even if replaced by native species, could further acerbate coastal erosion and wetland loss, a major concern in the region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOE tallies Class III oil recovery field projects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-07-25

Here are details from midterm proposals submitted as part of the US Department of Energy's Class 3 oil recovery field demonstration candidate projects. All of the proposals emphasize dissemination of project details so that the results, if successful, can be applied widely in similar reservoirs. Project results will also be fed into a national petroleum technology transfer network. The proposals include: Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast, offshore California, a California thermal, immiscible CO[sub 2], produced/potable water, microbial EOR, California diatomite, West Texas Spraberry field, and other Permian Basin fields.

Improved Characterization and Modeling of Tight Oil Formations for CO 2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential and Storage Capacity Estimation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sorensen, James; Smith, Steven; Kurz, Bethany

Tight oil formations such as those in the Bakken petroleum system are known to hold hundreds of billions of barrels of oil in place; however, the primary recovery factor for these plays is typically less than 10%. Tight oil formations, including the Bakken Formation, therefore, may be attractive candidates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using CO 2. Multiphase fluid behavior and flow in fluid-rich shales can vary substantially depending on the size of pore throats, and properties such as fluid viscosity and density are much different in nanoscale pores than in macroscale pores. Thus it is critical to understand themore » nature and distribution of nano-, micro-, and macroscale pores and fracture networks. To address these issues, the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has been conducting a research program entitled “Improved Characterization and Modeling of Tight Oil Formations for CO 2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential and Storage Capacity Estimation.” The objectives of the project are 1) the use of advanced characterization methods to better understand and quantify the petrophysical and geomechanical factors that control CO 2 and oil mobility within tight oil formation samples, 2) the determination of CO 2 permeation and oil extraction rates in tight reservoir rocks and organic-rich shales of the Bakken, and 3) the integration of the laboratory-based CO 2 permeation and oil extraction data and the characterization data into geologic models and dynamic simulations to develop predictions of CO 2 storage resource and EOR in the Bakken tight oil formation. A combination of standard and advanced petrophysical characterization techniques were applied to characterize samples of Bakken Formation tight reservoir rock and shales from multiple wells. Techniques included advanced computer tomography (CT) imaging, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, whole-core and micro x-ray CT imaging, field emission (FE) SEM, and focused ion beam (FIB) SEM

A commercial microbial enhanced oil recovery process: statistical evaluation of a multi-project database

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Portwood, J.T.

1995-12-31

This paper discusses a database of information collected and organized during the past eight years from 2,000 producing oil wells in the United States, all of which have been treated with special applications techniques developed to improve the effectiveness of MEOR technology. The database, believed to be the first of its kind, has been generated for the purpose of statistically evaluating the effectiveness and economics of the MEOR process in a wide variety of oil reservoir environments, and is a tool that can be used to improve the predictability of treatment response. The information in the database has also beenmore » evaluated to determine which, if any, reservoir characteristics are dominant factors in determining the applicability of MEOR.« less

Dynamic investigation of nutrient consumption and injection strategy in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) by means of large-scale experiments.

PubMed

Song, Zhiyong; Zhu, Weiyao; Sun, Gangzheng; Blanckaert, Koen

2015-08-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) depends on the in situ microbial activity to release trapped oil in reservoirs. In practice, undesired consumption is a universal phenomenon but cannot be observed effectively in small-scale physical simulations due to the scale effect. The present paper investigates the dynamics of oil recovery, biomass and nutrient consumption in a series of flooding experiments in a dedicated large-scale sand-pack column. First, control experiments of nutrient transportation with and without microbial consumption were conducted, which characterized the nutrient loss during transportation. Then, a standard microbial flooding experiment was performed recovering additional oil (4.9 % Original Oil in Place, OOIP), during which microbial activity mostly occurred upstream, where oil saturation declined earlier and steeper than downstream in the column. Subsequently, more oil remained downstream due to nutrient shortage. Finally, further research was conducted to enhance the ultimate recovery by optimizing the injection strategy. An extra 3.5 % OOIP was recovered when the nutrients were injected in the middle of the column, and another additional 11.9 % OOIP were recovered by altering the timing of nutrient injection.

Harlequin Duck population injury and recovery dynamics following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

PubMed

Iverson, Samuel A; Esler, Daniel

2010-10-01

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill caused significant injury to wildlife populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) were particularly vulnerable to the spill and have been studied extensively since, leading to one of the most thorough considerations of the consequences of a major oil spill ever undertaken. We compiled demographic and survey data collected since the spill to evaluate the timing and extent of mortality using a population model. During the immediate aftermath of the spill, we estimated a 25% decrease in Harlequin Duck numbers in oiled areas. Survival rates remained depressed in oiled areas 6-9 years after the spill and did not equal those from unoiled areas until at least 11-14 years later. Despite a high degree of site fidelity to wintering sites, immigration was important for recovery dynamics, as the relatively large number of birds from habitats outside the spill zone provided a pool of individuals to facilitate numerical increases. On the basis of these model inputs and assumptions about fecundity rates for the species, we projected a timeline to recovery of 24 years under the most-likely combination of variables, with a range of 16 to 32 years for the best-case and worst-case scenarios, respectively. Our results corroborate assertions from other studies that the effects of spilled oil on wildlife can be expressed over much longer time frames than previously assumed and that the cumulative mortality associated with chronic exposure to residual oil may actually exceed acute mortality, which has been the primary concern following most oil spills.

Understanding the role of brine ionic composition on oil recovery by assessment of wettability from colloidal forces.

PubMed

Alshakhs, Mohammed J; Kovscek, Anthony R

2016-07-01

The impact of injection brine salinity and ionic composition on oil recovery has been an active area of research for the past 25years. Evidence from laboratory studies and field tests suggests that implementing certain modifications to the ionic composition of the injection brine leads to greater oil recovery. The role of salinity modification is attributed to its ability to shift wettability of a rock surface toward water wetness. The amount of trapped oil released depends on the nature of rock, oil, and brine surface interactions. Reservoir rocks exhibit different affinities to fluids. Carbonates show stronger adsorption of oil films as opposed to the strongly water-wet and mixed-wet sandstones. The concentration of divalent ions and total salinity of the injection brine are other important factors to consider. Accordingly, this paper provides a review of laboratory and field studies of the role of brine composition on oil recovery from carbonaceous rock as well as rationalization of results using DLVO (Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey and Overbeek) theory of surface forces. DLVO evaluates the contribution of each component of the oil/brine/rock system to the wettability. Measuring zeta potential of each pair of surfaces by a charged particle suspension method is used to estimate double layer forces, disjoining pressure, and contact-angle. We demonstrate the applicability of the DLVO approach by showing a comprehensive experimental study that investigates the effect of divalent ions in carbonates, and uses disjoining pressure results to rationalize observations from core flooding and direct contact-angle measurements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact and Recovery of Ecologically and Hydrologically Diverse Wetlands after the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ustin, S.; Khanna, S.; Shapiro, K.; Santos, M. J.

2015-12-01

April 20, 2010 marked the start of the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the largest oil spill in US history, which contaminated the coastal wetland ecosystems along the northern Gulf of Mexico. We used NASA airborne AVIRIS imagery and field surveys to determine the impact and recovery of three ecologically and hydrologically diverse ecosystems after the oil spill using data acquired in 2010, 2011 and 2012. This was the largest campaign attempted at that time, collecting 456 AVIRIS flightlines between 6 May and 4 Oct., 2010, many covering the coastal region impacted by the oil spill. We investigated Barataria Bay (an intertidal saltmarsh ecosystem, predominantly a Spartina-Juncus meadow), East Bird's Foot (the most botanically diverse wetland, is an intermediate/freshwater marsh, fed by the Mississippi River), and Chandeleur Islands (barrier islands surrounded by tidal mangrove shrublands). A comparison of the three sites showed variable impacts from the oil and differential ecosystem recoveries. Mangroves around the Chanderleur Islands were the most adversely affected by the oil spill and showed the least recovery after a year, based on spectral changes characteristic of stressed vegetation. East Bird's Foot freshwater marshes were minimally affected by the spill and it is likely that the Mississippi outflow resulted in little crude oil reaching these shorelines. A zonal analysis of Barataria Bay revealed that oil primarily impacted the intertidal zone along shorelines that faced the Gulf, with little impact of the oil after an average distance of 20m inland, approximately the height of the highest high tides. Although recovery of the saltgrass meadow was robust during the first year after the spill, it was also variable, with the 5m zone immediately inland from the shoreline showing the least recovery. Hurricane Isaac in 2012, although a mild category 1 hurricane, adversely impacted the saltgrass meadows along the shorelines that were recovering from

Polymer/reduced graphene oxide functionalized sponges as superabsorbents for oil removal and recovery.

PubMed

Periasamy, Arun Prakash; Wu, Wen-Ping; Ravindranath, Rini; Roy, Prathik; Lin, Guan-Lin; Chang, Huan-Tsung

2017-01-30

Polyurethane dish-washing (PU-DW) sponges are functionalized sequentially with polyethylenimine (PEI) and graphene oxide (GO) to form PEI/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) PU-DW sponges. The PEI/RGO PU-DW sponge consists of PEI/RGO sheets having numerous pores, with diameters ranging from 236 to 254nm. To further enhance hydrophobicity and absorption capacity of oil, PEI/RGO PU-DW sponge is further coated with 20% phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMOS). The PTMOS/PEI/RGO PU-DW sponge absorbs various oils within 20s, with maximum absorption capacity values of 880% and 840% for bicycle chain oil and motorcycle engine oil, respectively. The absorbed oils were released completely by squeezing or immersed in hexane. The PTMOS/PEI/RGO PU-DW sponge efficiently separates oil/water mixtures through a flowing system. Having the advantages of faster absorption rate, reusability, and low cost, the PTMOS/PEI/RGO PU-DW sponge holds great potential as a superabsorbent for efficient removal and recovery of oil spills as well as for the separation of oil/water mixtures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 279.11 - Used oil specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... burned for energy recovery, and any fuel produced from used oil by processing, blending, or other... levels of the constituents and properties shown in Table 1. Once used oil that is to be burned for energy recovery has been shown not to exceed any allowable level and the person making that showing complies with...

Process for converting heavy oil deposited on coal to distillable oil in a low severity process

DOEpatents

Ignasiak, Teresa; Strausz, Otto; Ignasiak, Boleslaw; Janiak, Jerzy; Pawlak, Wanda; Szymocha, Kazimierz; Turak, Ali A.

1994-01-01

A process for removing oil from coal fines that have been agglomerated or blended with heavy oil comprises the steps of heating the coal fines to temperatures over 350.degree. C. up to 450.degree. C. in an inert atmosphere, such as steam or nitrogen, to convert some of the heavy oil to lighter, and distilling and collecting the lighter oils. The pressure at which the process is carried out can be from atmospheric to 100 atmospheres. A hydrogen donor can be added to the oil prior to deposition on the coal surface to increase the yield of distillable oil.

Oil recovery by imbibition in low-permeability chalk

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cuiec, L.; Bourbiaux, B.; Kalaydjian, F.

1994-09-01

This paper describes experimental studies of spontaneous imbibition of oil by water in a low-permeability outcrop chalk. At constant and high interfacial tension (IFT), the importance of capillary forces and the existence of a predominantly countercurrent mechanism were established. Additional experiments were performed to investigate the influence of length and of various boundary conditions. In another investigation the authors modified the IFT at the sample boundary by using pairs of conjugate phases of the n-hexane/ethanol/brine ternary system. Final recovery increased when IFT was lowered. They give a numerical interpretation for this last result.

Visualizing Oil Process Dynamics in Porous Media with Micromodels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biswal, S. L.

2016-12-01

The use of foam in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications is being considered for gas mobility control to ensure pore-trapped oil can be effectively displaced. In fractured reservoirs, gas tends to channel only through the highly permeability regions, bypassing the less permeable porous matrix, where most of the residual oil remains. Because of the unique transport problems presented by the large permeability contrast between fractures and adjacent porous media, we aim to understand the mechanism by which foam transitions from the fracture to the matrix and how initially trapped oil can be displaced and ultimately recovered. My lab has generated micromodels, which are combined with high-speed imaging to visualize foam transport in models with permeability contrasts, fractures, and multiple phases. The wettability of these surfaces can be altered to mimic the heterogeneous wettability found in reservoir systems. We have shown how foam quality can be modulated by adjusting the ratio of gas flow ratio to aqueous flow rate in a flow focusing system and this foam quality influences sweep efficiency in heterogeneous porous media systems. I will discuss how this understanding has allowed us to design better foam EOR processes. I will also highlight our recent efforts in ashaltene deposition. Asphaltene deposition is a common cause of significant flow assurance problems in wellbores and production equipment as well as near-wellbore regions in oil reservoirs. I will present our results for visualizing real time asphaltene deposition from model and crude oils using microfluidic devices. In particular, we consider porous-media micromodel designs to represent various flow conditions typical of that found in oil flow processes. Also, four stages of deposition have been found and investigated in the pore scale and with qualitatively macroscopic total collector efficiency as well as Hamaker expressions for interacting asphaltenes with surfaces. By understanding the nature and

40 CFR 279.11 - Used oil specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Used oil specifications. 279.11... (CONTINUED) STANDARDS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF USED OIL Applicability § 279.11 Used oil specifications. Used oil burned for energy recovery, and any fuel produced from used oil by processing, blending, or other...

40 CFR 279.11 - Used oil specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Used oil specifications. 279.11... (CONTINUED) STANDARDS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF USED OIL Applicability § 279.11 Used oil specifications. Used oil burned for energy recovery, and any fuel produced from used oil by processing, blending, or other...

40 CFR 279.11 - Used oil specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Used oil specifications. 279.11... (CONTINUED) STANDARDS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF USED OIL Applicability § 279.11 Used oil specifications. Used oil burned for energy recovery, and any fuel produced from used oil by processing, blending, or other...

40 CFR 279.11 - Used oil specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Used oil specifications. 279.11... (CONTINUED) STANDARDS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF USED OIL Applicability § 279.11 Used oil specifications. Used oil burned for energy recovery, and any fuel produced from used oil by processing, blending, or other...

Eos modeling and reservoir simulation study of bakken gas injection improved oil recovery in the elm coulee field, Montana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Wanli

The Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin is one of the most productive liquid-rich unconventional plays. The Bakken Formation is divided into three members, and the Middle Bakken Member is the primary target for horizontal wellbore landing and hydraulic fracturing because of its better rock properties. Even with this new technology, the primary recovery factor is believed to be only around 10%. This study is to evaluate various gas injection EOR methods to try to improve on that low recovery factor of 10%. In this study, the Elm Coulee Oil Field in the Williston Basin was selected as the area of interest. Static reservoir models featuring the rock property heterogeneity of the Middle Bakken Member were built, and fluid property models were built based on Bakken reservoir fluid sample PVT data. By employing both compositional model simulation and Todd-Longstaff solvent model simulation methods, miscible gas injections were simulated and the simulations speculated that oil recovery increased by 10% to 20% of OOIP in 30 years. The compositional simulations yielded lower oil recovery compared to the solvent model simulations. Compared to the homogeneous model, the reservoir model featuring rock property heterogeneity in the vertical direction resulted in slightly better oil recovery, but with earlier CO2 break-through and larger CO2 production, suggesting that rock property heterogeneity is an important property for modeling because it has a big effect on the simulation results. Long hydraulic fractures shortened CO2 break-through time greatly and increased CO 2 production. Water-alternating-gas injection schemes and injection-alternating-shut-in schemes can provide more options for gas injection EOR projects, especially for gas production management. Compared to CO2 injection, separator gas injection yielded slightly better oil recovery, meaning separator gas could be a good candidate for gas injection EOR; lean gas generated the worst results. Reservoir

Community Recovery Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Toward A Theory of Cultural Resilience

PubMed Central

Clarke, Hannah E.; Mayer, Brian

2017-01-01

Culture plays an important role in communities’ abilities to adapt to environmental change and crises. The emerging field of resilience thinking has made several efforts to better integrate social and cultural factors into the systems-level approach to understanding socialecological resilience. However, attempts to integrate culture into structural models often fail to account for the agentic processes that influence recovery at the individual and community levels, overshadowing the potential for agency and variation in community response. Using empirical data on the 2010 BP oil spill’s impact on a small, natural resource-dependent community, we propose an alternative approach emphasizing culture’s ability to operate as a resource that contributes to social, or community, resilience. We refer to this more explicit articulation of culture’s role in resilience as cultural resilience. Our findings reveal that not all cultural resources that define resilience in reference to certain disasters provided successful mitigation, adaptation, or recovery from the BP spill. PMID:29104368

Long Term, Operational Monitoring Of Enhanced Oil Recovery In Harsh Environments With INSAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, S.; Henschel, M. D.

2012-01-01

Since 2004, MDA GSI has provided ground deformation measurements for an oil field in northern Alberta, Canada using InSAR technology. During this period, the monitoring has reliably shown the slow rise of the oil field due to enhanced oil recovery operations. The InSAR monitoring solution is essentially based on the observation of point and point-like targets in the field. Ground conditions in the area are almost continuously changing (in their reflectivity characteristics) making it difficult to ob- serve coherent patterns from the ground. The extended duration of the oil operations has allowed us to continue InSAR monitoring and transition from RADARSAT-1 to RADARSAT-2. With RADARSAT-2 and the enhancement of the satellite resolution capability has provided more targets of opportunity as identified by a differential coherence method. This poster provides an overview of the long term monitoring of the oil field in northern Alberta, Canada.

Superelastic and superhydrophobic bacterial cellulose/silica aerogels with hierarchical cellular structure for oil absorption and recovery.

PubMed

He, Jian; Zhao, Hangyuan; Li, Xiaolei; Su, Dong; Zhang, Fengrui; Ji, Huiming; Liu, Rui

2018-03-15

Bacterial cellulose aerogels/silica aerogels (BCAs/SAs) are prepared using three-dimensional self-assembled BC skeleton as reinforcement and methyltriethoxysilane derived silica aerogels as filler through vacuum infiltration and freeze drying. The BCAs/SAs possess a hierarchical cellular structure giving them superelasticity and recyclable compressibility. The BCAs/SAs can bear a compressive strain up to 80% and recover their original shapes after the release of the stress. The BCAs/SAs exhibit super-hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 152° and super-oleophilicity resulting from the methyl groups on the surface of silica aerogel filler. This endows the BCAs/SAs outstanding oil absorbing capability with the quality factor Q from 8 to 14 for organic solvents and oils. Moreover, the absorbed oil can be retrieved by mechanically squeezed with a recovery of 88% related to the superelastic ability of the composites. In addition, the oil absorbing of BS/SAs could be well maintained with the quality factor Q about 11 for gasoline after harsh conditional treatment down to -200 °C and up to 300 °C. Such outstanding elastic and oleophilic properties make the BC/SAs tremendous potential for applications of oil absorbing, recovery and oil-water separation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Optimizing separate phase light hydrocarbon recovery from contaminated unconfined aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Grant S.; Peralta, Richard C.; Kaluarachchi, Jagath J.

A modeling approach is presented that optimizes separate phase recovery of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) for a single dual-extraction well in a homogeneous, isotropic unconfined aquifer. A simulation/regression/optimization (S/R/O) model is developed to predict, analyze, and optimize the oil recovery process. The approach combines detailed simulation, nonlinear regression, and optimization. The S/R/O model utilizes nonlinear regression equations describing system response to time-varying water pumping and oil skimming. Regression equations are developed for residual oil volume and free oil volume. The S/R/O model determines optimized time-varying (stepwise) pumping rates which minimize residual oil volume and maximize free oil recovery while causing free oil volume to decrease a specified amount. This S/R/O modeling approach implicitly immobilizes the free product plume by reversing the water table gradient while achieving containment. Application to a simple representative problem illustrates the S/R/O model utility for problem analysis and remediation design. When compared with the best steady pumping strategies, the optimal stepwise pumping strategy improves free oil recovery by 11.5% and reduces the amount of residual oil left in the system due to pumping by 15%. The S/R/O model approach offers promise for enhancing the design of free phase LNAPL recovery systems and to help in making cost-effective operation and management decisions for hydrogeologists, engineers, and regulators.

Oil production by entrained pyrolysis of biomass and processing of oil and char

DOEpatents

Knight, James A.; Gorton, Charles W.

1990-01-02

Entrained pyrolysis of lignocellulosic material proceeds from a controlled pyrolysis-initiating temperature to completion of an oxygen free environment at atmospheric pressure and controlled residence time to provide a high yield recovery of pyrolysis oil together with char and non-condensable, combustible gases. The residence time is a function of gas flow rate and the initiating temperature is likewise a function of the gas flow rate, varying therewith. A controlled initiating temperature range of about 400.degree. C. to 550.degree. C. with corresponding gas flow rates to maximize oil yield is disclosed.

Recovery of oil components of okara by ethanol-modified supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.

PubMed

Quitain, Armando T; Oro, Kazuyuki; Katoh, Shunsaku; Moriyoshi, Takashi

2006-09-01

Recovery of the oil components of okara by ethanol-modified supercritical carbon dioxide extraction was investigated at 40-80 degrees C temperature and 12-30 MPa pressure. In a typical run (holding period of 2 h, continuous flow extraction of 5 h), results indicated that the oil component could be best obtained with a recovery of 63.5% at relatively low temperature of 40 degrees C and mild pressure of 20 MPa in the presence of 10 mol% EtOH as entrainer. Based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, the extracts consisted mainly of fatty acids and phytosterols, and traces of decadienal. Folin-Ciocalteau estimates of total phenols showed that addition of EtOH as entrainer increased the yield and the amount of phenolic compounds in the extracts. The amounts of two primary soy isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, in the extracts also increased with increasing amount of EtOH.

Thermotropic nanostructured gels with complex hierarchical structure and two gelling components for water shut-off and enhance of oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altunina, L. K.; Kuvshinov, I. V.; Kuvshinov, V. A.; Kozlov, V. V.; Stasyeva, L. A.

2017-12-01

This work presents the results of laboratory and field tests of thermotropic composition MEGA with two simultaneously acting gelling components, polymer and inorganic. The composition is intended for improving oil recovery and water shut-off at oilfields developed by thermal flooding, and cyclic-steam stimulated oil production wells. The composition forms an in-situ "gel-in-gel" system with improved structural-mechanical properties, using reservoir or carrier fluid heat for gelling. The gel blocks water breakthrough into producing wells and redistribute fluid flows, thus increasing the oil recovery factor.

Documentation of time-scales for onset of natural attenuation in an aquifer treated by a crude-oil recovery system.

PubMed

Ponsin, Violaine; Maier, Joachim; Guelorget, Yves; Hunkeler, Daniel; Bouchard, Daniel; Villavicencio, Hakeline; Höhener, Patrick

2015-04-15

A pipeline transporting crude-oil broke in a nature reserve in 2009 and spilled 5100 m(3) of oil that partly reached the aquifer and formed progressively a floating oil lens. Groundwater monitoring started immediately after the spill and crude-oil recovery by dual pump-and-skim technology was operated after oil lens formation. This study aimed at documenting the implementation of redox-specific natural attenuation processes in the saturated zone and at assessing whether dissolved compounds were degraded. Seven targeted water sampling campaigns were done during four years in addition to a routine monitoring of hydrocarbon concentrations. Liquid oil reached the aquifer within 2.5 months, and anaerobic processes, from denitrification to reduction of sulfate, were observable after 8 months. Methanogenesis appeared on site after 28 months. Stable carbon isotope analyses after 16 months showed maximum shifts in δ(13)C of +4.9±0.22‰ for toluene, +2.4±0.19‰ for benzene and +0.9±0.51‰ for ethylbenzene, suggesting anaerobic degradation of these compounds in the source zone. Estimations of fluxes of inorganic carbon produced by biodegradation revealed that, in average, 60% of inorganic carbon production was attributable to sulfate reduction. This percentage tended to decrease with time while the production of carbon attributable to methanogenesis was increasing. Within the investigation time frame, mass balance estimations showed that biodegradation is a more efficient process for control of dissolved concentrations compared to pumping and filtration on an activated charcoal filter. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relevance of Linear Stability Results to Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Xueru; Daripa, Prabir

2012-11-01

How relevant can the results based on linear stability theory for any problem for that matter be to full scale simulation results? Put it differently, is the optimal design of a system based on linear stability results is optimal or even near optimal for the complex nonlinear system with certain objectives of interest in mind? We will address these issues in the context of enhanced oil recovery by chemical flooding. This will be based on an ongoing work. Supported by Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation).

Noble Gas signatures of Enhanced Oil Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barry, P. H.; Kulongoski, J. T.; Tyne, R. L.; Hillegonds, D.; Byrne, D. J.; Landon, M. K.; Ballentine, C. J.

2017-12-01

Noble gases are powerful tracers of fluids from various oil and gas production activities in hydrocarbon reservoirs and nearby groundwater. Non-radiogenic noble gases are introduced into undisturbed oil and natural gas reservoirs through exchange with formation waters [1-3]. Reservoirs with extensive hydraulic fracturing, injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and/or waste disposal also show evidence for a component of noble gases introduced from air [4]. Isotopic and elemental ratios of noble gases can be used to 1) assess the migration history of the injected and formation fluids, and 2) determine the extent of exchange between multiphase fluids in different reservoirs. We present noble gas isotope and abundance data from casing, separator and injectate gases of the Lost Hills and Fruitvale oil fields in the San Joaquin basin, California. Samples were collected as part of the California State Water Resource Control Board's Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program. Lost Hills (n=7) and Fruitvale (n=2) gases are geochemically distinct and duplicate samples are highly reproducible. Lost Hills casing gas samples were collected from areas where EOR and hydraulic fracturing has occurred in the past several years, and from areas where EOR is absent. The Fruitvale samples were collected from a re-injection port. All samples are radiogenic in their He isotopes, typical of a crustal environment, and show enrichments in heavy noble gases, resulting from preferential adsorption on sediments. Fruitvale samples reflect air-like surface conditions, with higher air-derived noble gas concentrations. Lost Hills gases show a gradation from pristine crustal signatures - indicative of closed-system exchange with formation fluids - to strongly air-contaminated signatures in the EOR region. Pristine samples can be used to determine the extent of hydrocarbon exchange with fluids, whereas samples with excess air can be used to quantify the extent of EOR. Determining noble

Prolonged recovery of sea otters from the Exxon Valdez oil spill? A re-examination of the evidence.

PubMed

Garshelis, David L; Johnson, Charles B

2013-06-15

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) suffered major mortality after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1989. We evaluate the contention that their recovery spanned over two decades. A model based on the otter age-at-death distribution suggested a large, spill-related population sink, but this has never been found, and other model predictions failed to match empirical data. Studies focused on a previously-oiled area where otter numbers (~80) stagnated post-spill; nevertheless, post-spill abundance exceeded the most recent pre-spill count, and population trends paralleled an adjacent, unoiled-lightly-oiled area. Some investigators posited that otters suffered chronic effects by digging up buried oil residues while foraging, but an ecological risk assessment indicated that exposure levels via this pathway were well below thresholds for toxicological effects. Significant confounding factors, including killer whale predation, subsistence harvests, human disturbances, and environmental regime shifts made it impossible to judge recovery at such a small scale. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrated process for the recovery of high added-value compounds from olive oil using solid support free liquid-liquid extraction and chromatography techniques.

PubMed

Angelis, Apostolis; Hamzaoui, Mahmoud; Aligiannis, Nektarios; Nikou, Theodora; Michailidis, Dimitris; Gerolimatos, Panagiotis; Termentzi, Aikaterini; Hubert, Jane; Halabalaki, Maria; Renault, Jean-Hugues; Skaltsounis, Alexios-Léandros

2017-03-31

An integrated extraction and purification process for the direct recovery of high added value compounds from extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is proposed by using solid support free liquid-liquid extraction and chromatography techniques. Two different extraction methods were developed on a laboratory-scale Centrifugal Partition Extractor (CPE): a sequential strategy consisting of several "extraction-recovery" cycles and a continuous strategy based on stationary phase co-current elution. In both cases, EVOO was used as mobile phase diluted in food grade n-hexane (feed mobile phase) and the required biphasic system was obtained by adding ethanol and water as polar solvents. For the sequential process, 17.5L of feed EVOO containing organic phase (i.e. 7L of EVOO treated) were extracted yielding 9.5g of total phenolic fraction corresponding to a productivity of 5.8g/h/L of CPE column. Regarding the second approach, the co-current process, 2L of the feed oil phase (containing to 0.8L of EVOO) were treated at 100mL/min yielding 1.03g of total phenolic fraction corresponding to a productivity of 8.9g/h/L of CPE column. The total phenolic fraction was then fractionated by using stepwise gradient elution Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC). The biphasic solvent systems were composed of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water in different proportions (X/Y/2/3, v/v). In a single run of 4h on a column with a capacity of 1L, 910mg of oleocanthal, 882mg of oleacein, 104mg of hydroxytyrosol were successfully recovered from 5g of phenolic extract with purities of 85%, 92% and 90%, respectively. CPC fractions were then submitted to orthogonal chromatographic steps (adsorption on silica gel or size exclusion chromatography) leading to the isolation of additional eleven compounds belonging to triterpens, phenolic compounds and secoiridoids. Among them, elenolic acid ethylester was found to be new compound. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Nuclear magnetic Resonance (NMR) and

Development of the Write Process for Pipeline-Ready Heavy Oil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee Brecher; Charles Mones; Frank Guffey

Work completed under this program advances the goal of demonstrating Western Research Institute's (WRI's) WRITE{trademark} process for upgrading heavy oil at field scale. MEG Energy Corporation (MEG) located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada supported efforts at WRI to develop the WRITE{trademark} process as an oil sands, field-upgrading technology through this Task 51 Jointly Sponsored Research project. The project consisted of 6 tasks: (1) optimization of the distillate recovery unit (DRU), (2) demonstration and design of a continuous coker, (3) conceptual design and cost estimate for a commercial facility, (4) design of a WRITE{trademark} pilot plant, (5) hydrotreating studies, and (6) establishmore » a petroleum analysis laboratory. WRITE{trademark} is a heavy oil and bitumen upgrading process that produces residuum-free, pipeline ready oil from heavy material with undiluted density and viscosity that exceed prevailing pipeline specifications. WRITE{trademark} uses two processing stages to achieve low and high temperature conversion of heavy oil or bitumen. The first stage DRU operates at mild thermal cracking conditions, yielding a light overhead product and a heavy residuum or bottoms material. These bottoms flow to the second stage continuous coker that operates at severe pyrolysis conditions, yielding light pyrolyzate and coke. The combined pyrolyzate and mildly cracked overhead streams form WRITE{trademark}'s synthetic crude oil (SCO) production. The main objectives of this project were to (1) complete testing and analysis at bench scale with the DRU and continuous coker reactors and provide results to MEG for process evaluation and scale-up determinations and (2) complete a technical and economic assessment of WRITE{trademark} technology to determine its viability. The DRU test program was completed and a processing envelope developed. These results were used for process assessment and for scaleup. Tests in the continuous coker were intended to determine the

Oil-shale program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bader, B. E.

1981-10-01

The principal activities of the Sandia National Laboratories in the Department of Energy Oil shale program during the period April 1 to June 30, 1981 are discussed. Currently, Sandia's activities are focused upon: the development and use of analytical and experimental modeling techniques to describe and predict the retort properties and retorting process parameters that are important to the preparation, operation, and stability of in situ retorts, and the development, deployment, and field use of instrumentation, data acquisition, and process monitoring systems to characterize and evaluate in site up shale oil recovery operations. In-house activities and field activities (at the Geokinetics Oil Shale Project and the Occidental Oil Shale Project) are described under the headings: bed preparation, bed characterization, retorting process, and structural stability.

Environmental Impacts and Recovery After the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill in Korea.

PubMed

Yim, U H; Khim, J S; Kim, M; Jung, J-H; Shim, W J

2017-07-01

The Hebei Spirit oil spill (HSOS) on December 7, 2007 was the worst oil spill recorded in Korea, with the release of approximately 10,900 tons of crude oil and 375 km of coastline polluted along the west coast of Korea. Cleanup operation was conducted by official and contract responders as well as volunteers for massive oil containment and removal of heavy accumulations of stranded oil. Together with the oil cleanup, a long-term environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the HSOS was initiated based on the Marine Environmental Management Act, which covers oil contamination in a multimedia environment, toxic effects on organisms, and ecosystem injury. This review summarizes the long-term monitoring results of HSOS EIA focused on (1) pollution status of seawater, sediment, and bivalves, (2) ecotoxicological effects, and (3) ecosystem recovery. Overall, concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment indicated that their concentrations were well down to at or near background or pre-spill contamination levels at most sites after 1 year. The potential toxic effects of residual oils in sediments have decreased to background levels in most coastal areas of Taean. The entire ecosystem in the most affected area of the Taean coasts appear to be considerably, but not fully, recovered at present, namely after 8 years of the HSOS. The presence of lingering oil and elevated contamination levels at several sites still require continuous long-term monitoring.

Novel robust cellulose-based foam with pH and light dual-response for oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qian; Meng, Guihua; Wu, Jianning; Wang, Yixi; Liu, Zhiyong; Guo, Xuhong

2018-05-01

We fabricated pH and light dual-responsive adsorption materials which could induce the transition of surface wettability between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity by using ATRP. The structure and morphology of adsorption materials were confirmed by ATR-FTIR, XPS, TGA and SEM. It showed that the modified cellulose (CE)-based foam was hydrophobic, which can adsorb a range of oils and organic solvents in water under pH = 7.0 or visible light irradiation (λ > 500 nm). Meanwhile, the wettability of robust CE-based foam can convert hydrophobicity into hydrophilicity and underwater oleophobicity under pH = 3.0 or UV irradiation (λ = 365 nm), giving rise to release oils and organic solvents. Most important of all, the adsorption and desorption processes of the modified CE-based foam could be switched by external stimuli. Furthermore, the modified CE-based foam was not damaged and still retained original performance after reversible cycle repeated for many times with variation of surface wettability. In short, it indicates that CE-based foam materials with switchable surface wettability are new responsive absorbent materials and have owned potential application in the treatment of oil recovery.

Novel robust cellulose-based foam with pH and light dual-response for oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qian; Meng, Guihua; Wu, Jianning; Wang, Yixi; Liu, Zhiyong; Guo, Xuhong

2018-06-01

We fabricated pH and light dual-responsive adsorption materials which could induce the transition of surface wettability between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity by using ATRP. The structure and morphology of adsorption materials were confirmed by ATR-FTIR, XPS, TGA and SEM. It showed that the modified cellulose (CE)-based foam was hydrophobic, which can adsorb a range of oils and organic solvents in water under pH = 7.0 or visible light irradiation ( λ > 500 nm). Meanwhile, the wettability of robust CE-based foam can convert hydrophobicity into hydrophilicity and underwater oleophobicity under pH = 3.0 or UV irradiation ( λ = 365 nm), giving rise to release oils and organic solvents. Most important of all, the adsorption and desorption processes of the modified CE-based foam could be switched by external stimuli. Furthermore, the modified CE-based foam was not damaged and still retained original performance after reversible cycle repeated for many times with variation of surface wettability. In short, it indicates that CE-based foam materials with switchable surface wettability are new responsive absorbent materials and have owned potential application in the treatment of oil recovery.

Chemical Method to Improve CO{sub 2} Flooding Sweep Efficiency for Oil Recovery Using SPI-CO{sub 2} Gels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burns, Lyle D.

2009-04-14

-product of hydrocarbon combustion for energy, chemical and fertilizer plants. For example, coal fired power plants emit large amounts of CO{sub 2} in order to produce electrical energy. Carbon dioxide sequestration is gaining attention as concerns mount over possible global climate change caused by rising emissions of greenhouse gases. Removing the CO{sub 2} from the energy generation process would make these plants more environmentally friendly. In addition, CO{sub 2} flooding is an attractive means to enhance oil and natural gas recovery. Capture and use of the CO{sub 2} from these plants for recycling into CO{sub 2} flooding of marginal reservoirs provides a “dual use” opportunity prior to final CO{sub 2} sequestration in the depleted reservoir. Under the right pressure, temperature and oil composition conditions, CO{sub 2} can act as a solvent, cleaning oil trapped in the microscopic pores of the reservoir rock. This miscible process greatly increases the recovery of crude oil from a reservoir compared to recovery normally seen by waterflooding. An Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project that uses an industrial source of CO{sub 2} that otherwise would be vented to the atmosphere has the added environmental benefit of sequestering the greenhouse gas.« less

Sports massage with ozonised oil or non-ozonised oil: Comparative effects on recovery parameters after maximal effort in cyclists.

PubMed

Paoli, Antonio; Bianco, Antonino; Battaglia, Giuseppe; Bellafiore, Marianna; Grainer, Alessandro; Marcolin, Giuseppe; Cardoso, Claudia C; Dall'aglio, Roberto; Palma, Antonio

2013-11-01

To study the effects of passive rest (PR) and sports massage with (SMOZO) and without (SM) ozonised oil on sports performance psycho-physiological indices in competitive amateur cyclists after 3 pre-fatiguing Wingate cycle and post-recovery ramp tests. An intra-subjects experimental design with repeated measures. Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University of Padua. Fifteen male competitive cyclists (age: 27 ± 3.5 years, body weight: 77.6 ± 8.3 kg, height: 178 ± 7.7 cm) were studied. Subjects' power output (P), heart rate (HR), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and blood lactate (BL) clearance in response to PR, SMOZO and SM recoveries were compared. There were no significant differences in cyclists' heart rate patterns in the three experimental conditions (p > 0.05). After SMOZO recovery, athletes showed a higher Pmax (p < 0.05) and a lower perceived fatigue VAS score (p < 0.033) in the ramp test. Blood lactate decreased more at T2 (mid-time point of treatment) and T3 (final time point of treatment) than T1 (beginning of treatment) compared to SM and PR conditions. These findings suggest that use of ozonised oil during sports massage increases blood lactate removal, improves performance and reduces the perception of fatigue in cyclists from 3 Wingate tests. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bio-oil production from hydrothermal liquefaction of Pteris vittata L.: Effects of operating temperatures and energy recovery.

PubMed

Chen, Jinbo

2018-06-14

Hyper-accumulator biomass, Pteris vittata L., was hydrothermally converted into bio-oils via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) in sub-supercritical water. The distributions and characterizations of various products as well as energy recovery under different temperatures (250-390 °C) were investigated. The highest bio-oil yield of 16.88% was obtained at 350 °C with the hydrothermal conversion of 61.79%, where the bio-oil was dominated by alcohols, esters, phenols, ketones and acidic compounds. The higher heating values of bio-oil were in the range of 19.93-35.45 MJ/kg with a H/C ratio of 1.26-1.46, illustrating its high energy density and potential for use as an ideal liquid fuel. The main gaseous products were CO 2 , H 2 , CO, and CH 4 with the H 2 yield peaking at 22.94%. The total energy recovery from bio-oils and solid residues fell within the range of 37.72-45.10%, highlighting the potential of HTL to convert hyper-accumulator biomass into valuable fuels with high conversion efficiency. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A combination of solvent extraction and freeze thaw for oil recovery from petroleum refinery wastewater treatment pond sludge.

PubMed

Hu, Guangji; Li, Jianbing; Hou, Haobo

2015-01-01

A combination of solvent extraction and freeze thaw was examined for recovering oil from the high-moisture petroleum refinery wastewater treatment pond sludge. Five solvents including cyclohexane (CHX), dichloromethane (DCM), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), ethyl acetate (EA), and 2-propanol (2-Pro) were examined. It was found that these solvents except 2-Pro showed a promising oil recovery rate of about 40%, but the recycling of DCM solvent after oil extraction was quite low. Three solvents (CHX, MEK and EA) were then selected for examining the effect of freeze/thaw treatment on improving the quality of recovered oil. This treatment increased the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content in recovered oil from about 40% to 60% for both MEK and EA extractions, but little effect was observed for CHX extraction. Although the solid residue after oil recovery had a significantly decreased TPH content, a high concentration of heavy metals was observed, indicating that this residue may require proper management. In general, the combination of solvent extraction with freeze/thaw is effective for high-moisture oily hazardous waste treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stepwise pumping approach to improve free phase light hydrocarbon recovery from unconfined aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Grant S.; Peralta, Richard C.; Kaluarachchi, Jagath J.

1995-04-01

A stepwise, time-varying pumping approach is developed to improve free phase oil recovery of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) from a homogeneous, unconfined aquifer. Stepwise pumping is used to contain the floating oil plume and obtain efficient free oil recovery. The graphical plots. The approach uses ARMOS ©, an areal two-dimensional multiphase flow, finite-element simulation model. Systematic simulations of free oil area changes to pumping rates are analyzed. Pumping rates are determined that achieve LNAPL plume containment at different times (i.e. 90, 180 and 360 days) for a planning period of 360 days. These pumping rates are used in reverse order as a stepwise (monotonically increasing) pumping strategy. This stepwise pumping strategy is analyzed further by performing additional simulations at different pumping rates for the last pumping period. The final stepwise pumping strategy is varied by factors of -25% and +30% to evaluate sensitivity in the free oil recovery process. Stepwise pumping is compared to steady pumping rates to determine the best free oil recovery strategy. Stepwise pumping is shown to improve oil recovery by increasing recoveredoil volume (11%) and decreasing residual oil (15%) when compared with traditional steady pumping strategies. The best stepwise pumping strategy recovers more free oil by reducing the amount of residual oil left in the system due to pumping drawdown. This stepwise pumping pproach can be used to enhance free oil recovery and provide for cost-effective design and management of LNAPL cleanup.

The extraction of bitumen from western oil sands. Annual report, July 1991--July 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oblad, A.G.; Bunger, J.W.; Dahlstrom, D.A.

1992-08-01

The University of Utah tar sand research and development program is concerned with research and development on Utah is extensive oil sands deposits. The program has been intended to develop a scientific and technological base required for eventual commercial recovery of the heavy oils from oil sands and processing these oils to produce synthetic crude oil and other products such as asphalt. The overall program is based on mining the oil sand, processing the mined sand to recover the heavy oils and upgrading them to products. Multiple deposits are being investigated since it is believed that a large scale (approximatelymore » 20,000 bbl/day) plant would require the use of resources from more than one deposit. The tasks or projects in the program are organized according to the following classification: Recovery technologies which includes thermal recovery methods, water extraction methods, and solvent extraction methods; upgrading and processing technologies which covers hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and hydropyrolysis; solvent extraction; production of specialty products; and environmental aspects of the production and processing technologies. These tasks are covered in this report.« less

Viscous fingering and channeling in chemical enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daripa, Prabir; Dutta, Sourav

2017-11-01

We have developed a hybrid numerical method based on discontinuous finite element method and modified method of characteristics to compute the multiphase multicomponent fluid flow in porous media in the context of chemical enhanced oil recovery. We use this method to study the effect of various chemical components on the viscous fingering and channeling in rectilinear and radial flow configurations. We will also discuss about the efficiency of various flooding schemes based on these understandings. Time permitting, we will discuss about the effect of variable injection rates in these practical setting. U.S. National Science Foundation Grant DMS-1522782.

Four Years of Chemical Measurements from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Define the Deep Sea Sediment footprint and Subsequent Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, P.

2016-02-01

Chemical data acquired during and after the DWHOS showed that several mechanisms were responsible for transport of oil from the water column to the sediments in the deep sea off the continental shelf. Three primary pathways were identified:Sorption onto and sinking of drilling mud particles during "Top Kill" response activity, highly scattered deposition of residuesfrom in situ burns, and deposition of oil combined with microbial organic matter from diffuse oil plumes ("marine snow"). Data collected during 2010, 2011 and 2014 were used to define the oil footprint and estimate time to recovery. More than 1200 stations were sampled. Of these, 27 stations were visited all three years, providing a time series from which recovery rates were calculated using the loss of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (TPAH) over time fit to first order kinetics. Results showed that the footprint of the oil was limited to the area around the wellhead and in patches to the southwest. Mostsamples had returned to background levels by 2015, with some exceptions close to the wellhead. Deposition to the northeast (DeSoto Canyon) was minor as evidenced by the absence of oil in sediments in that area. Samples with the longest recovery times were within 2 nautical miles of the wellhead, and often contained drilling mud, as shown by olefin signatures on the GC/FID chromatogram. Detailed chemistry data evaluation and chemical fingerprinting provided evidence that oil was being degraded in situ.

Remediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Soil and Simultaneous Recovery of Oil by Fast Pyrolysis.

PubMed

Li, De-Chang; Xu, Wan-Fei; Mu, Yang; Yu, Han-Qing; Jiang, Hong; Crittenden, John C

2018-05-01

Petroleum-contaminated soil (PCS) caused by the accidental release of crude oil into the environment, which occurs frequently during oil exploitation worldwide, needs efficient and cost-effective remediation. In this study, a fast pyrolysis technology was implemented to remediate the PCS and concurrently recover the oil. The remediation effect related to pyrolytic parameters, the recovery rate of oil and its possible formation pathway, and the physicochemical properties of the remediated PCS and its suitability for planting were systematically investigated. The results show that 50.9% carbon was recovered in oil, whose quality even exceeds that of crude oil. Both extractable total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and water-soluble organic matter (SOM) in PCS were completely removed at 500 °C within 30 min. The remaining carbon in remediated PCS was determined to be in a stable and innocuous state, which has no adverse effect on wheat growth. On the basis of the systematically characterizations of initial PCS and pyrolytic products, a possible thermochemical mechanism was proposed which involves evaporation, cracking and polymerization. In addition, the energy consumption analysis and remediation effect of various PCSs indicate that fast pyrolysis is a viable and cost-effective method for PCS remediation.

2013 update on sea otter studies to assess recovery from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ballachey, Brenda E.; Monson, Daniel H.; Esslinger, George G.; Kloecker, Kimberly A.; Bodkin, James L.; Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith

2014-01-01

On March 24, 1989, the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling an estimated 42 million liters of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. Oil spread in a southwesterly direction and was deposited on shores and waters in western Prince William Sound (WPWS). The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) was one of more than 20 nearshore species considered to have been injured by the spill. Since 1989, the U.S. Geological Survey has led a research program to evaluate effects of the spill on sea otters and assess progress toward recovery, as defined by demographic and biochemical indicators. Here, we provide an update on the status of sea otter populations in WPWS, presenting findings through 2013. To assess recovery based on demographic indicators, we used aerial surveys to estimate abundance and annual collections of sea otter carcasses to evaluate patterns in ages-at-death. To assess recovery based on biochemical indicators, we quantified transcription rates for a suite of genes selected as potential indicators of oil exposure in sea otters based on laboratory studies of a related species, the mink (Mustela vison). In our most recent assessment of sea otter recovery, which incorporated results from a subset of studies through 2009, we concluded that recovery of sea otters in WPWS was underway. This conclusion was based on increasing abundance throughout WPWS, including increasing numbers at northern Knight Island, an area that was heavily oiled in 1989 and where the local sea otter population had previously shown protracted injury and lack of recovery. However, we did not conclude that the WPWS sea otter population had fully recovered, due to indications of continuing reduced survival and exposure to lingering oil in sea otters at Knight Island, at least through 2009. Based on data available through 2013, we now conclude that the status of sea otters—at all spatial scales within WPWS—is consistent with the designation of recovery from the spill as

Generation of Hot Water from Hot-Dry for Heavy-Oil Recovery in Northern Alberta, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, V.; Babadagli, T.; Majorowicz, J. A.; Unsworth, M. J.

2011-12-01

The focus of prior applications of hot-dry-rock (HDR) technology was mostly aimed at generating electricity. In northern Alberta, the thermal gradient is low and, therefore, this technology is not suitable for electricity generation. On the other hand, the cost of steam and hot water, and environmental impacts, are becoming critical issues in heavy-oil and bitumen recovery in Alberta. Surface generation of steam or hot-water accounts for six percent of Canada's natural gas consumption and about 50 million tons of CO2 emission. Lowered cost and environmental impacts are critical in the widespread use of steam (for in-situ recovery) and hot-water (for surface extraction of bitumen) in this region. This paper provides an extensive analysis of hot-water generation to be used in heavy-oil/bitumen recovery. We tested different modeling approaches used to determine the amount of energy produced during HDR by history matching to example field data. The most suitable numerical and analytical models were used to apply the data obtained from different regions containing heavy-oil/bitumen deposits in northern Alberta. The heat generation capacity of different regions was determined and the use of this energy (in the form of hot-water) for surface extraction processes was evaluated. Original temperature gradients were applied as well as realistic basement formation characteristics through an extensive hydro thermal analysis in the region including an experimental well drilled to the depth of 2,500m. Existing natural fractures and possible hydraulic fracturing scenarios were evaluated from the heat generation capacity and the economics points of view. The main problem was modeling difficulties, especially determination and representation of fracture network characteristics. A sensitivity analysis was performed for the selected high temperature gradient regions in Alberta. In this practice, the characteristics of hydraulic fractures, injection rate, depth, the distance between

Off-shore enhanced oil recovery in the north sea: matching CO_2 demand and supply given uncertain market conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Compernolle, Tine; Welkenhuysen, Kris; Huisman, Kuno; Piessens, Kris; Kort, Peter

2015-04-01

Introduction CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) entails the injection of CO2 in mature oil fields in order to mobilize the oil. In particular, the injected CO2 reduces the oil's viscosity and acts as a propellant, resulting in an increased oil extraction rate (Leach et al., 2011). Given uncertainty in both oil price and CO2 price under the EU ETS system, aim of this study is to analyze under which economic conditions a CO2 exchange can be established between a CO2 supplier (an electricity producer for whom CO2 is a by-product) and a CO2 user (an offshore oil company that exploits oil fields in the North Sea and needs CO2 for enhanced oil recovery). Methodology A techno-economic simulation tool, PSS IV, was developed to provide investment decision support on integrated CO2-EOR projects (Welkenhuysen et al., 2014). Until now, a fixed onshore supply of CO2 was presumed. An economic optimization model is now developed for both the CO2 producer and the CO2 user. Because net present value and discounted cash flow methods are inadequate to deal with issues like uncertainty and the irreversibility of an investment decision, the real options theory is applied (Dixit and Pindyck, 1994). The way in which cooperation between the companies can take place, will be studied using game theoretical concepts (Lukas and Welling, 2014). Economic and technical data on CO2 capture are available from the PSS database (Piessens et al., 2012). Data on EOR performance, CO2 requirements and various costs are taken from literature (BERR, 2007; Klokk et al., 2010; Pershad et al., 2012). Results/Findings It will be shown what the impact of price uncertainty is on the investment decision of the electricity producer to capture and sell CO2, and on the decision of the oil producer to make the necessary investments to inject CO2 for enhanced oil recovery. Based on these results, it will be determined under which economic conditions a CO2 exchange and transport can take place. Furthermore, also the

Potential evaluation of CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery of tight oil reservoir in the Ordos Basin, China.

PubMed

Tian, Xiaofeng; Cheng, Linsong; Cao, Renyi; Zhang, Miaoyi; Guo, Qiang; Wang, Yimin; Zhang, Jian; Cui, Yu

2015-07-01

Carbon -di-oxide (CO2) is regarded as the most important greenhouse gas to accelerate climate change and ocean acidification. The Chinese government is seeking methods to reduce anthropogenic CO2 gas emission. CO2 capture and geological storage is one of the main methods. In addition, injecting CO2 is also an effective method to replenish formation energy in developing tight oil reservoirs. However, exiting methods to estimate CO2 storage capacity are all based on the material balance theory. This was absolutely correct for normal reservoirs. However, as natural fractures widely exist in tight oil reservoirs and majority of them are vertical ones, tight oil reservoirs are not close. Therefore, material balance theory is not adaptive. In the present study, a new method to calculate CO2 storage capacity is presented. The CO2 effective storage capacity, in this new method, consisted of free CO2, CO2 dissolved in oil and CO2 dissolved in water. Case studies of tight oil reservoir from Ordos Basin was conducted and it was found that due to far lower viscosity of CO2 and larger solubility in oil, CO2 could flow in tight oil reservoirs more easily. As a result, injecting CO2 in tight oil reservoirs could obviously enhance sweep efficiency by 24.5% and oil recovery efficiency by 7.5%. CO2 effective storage capacity of Chang 7 tight oil reservoir in Longdong area was 1.88 x 10(7) t. The Chang 7 tight oil reservoir in Ordos Basin was estimated to be 6.38 x 10(11) t. As tight oil reservoirs were widely distributed in Songliao Basin, Sichuan Basin and so on, geological storage capacity of CO2 in China is potential.

Surfactant-aided recovery/in situ bioremediation for oil-contaminated sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ducreaux, J.; Baviere, M.; Seabra, P.

1995-12-31

Bioremediation has been the most commonly used method way for in situ cleaning of soils contaminated with low-volatility petroleum products such as diesel oil. However, whatever the process (bioventing, bioleaching, etc.), it is a time-consuming technique that may be efficiency limited by both accessibility and too high concentrations of contaminants. A currently developed process aims at quickly recovering part of the residual oil in the vadose and capillary zones by surfactant flushing, then activating in situ biodegradation of the remaining oil in the presence of the same or other surfactants. The process has been tested in laboratory columns and inmore » an experimental pool, located at the Institut Franco-Allemand de Recherche sur l`Environnement (IFARE) in Strasbourg, France. Laboratory column studies were carried out to fit physico-chemical and hydraulic parameters of the process to the field conditions. The possibility of recovering more than 80% of the oil in the flushing step was shown. For the biodegradation step, forced aeration as a mode of oxygen supply, coupled with nutrient injection aided by surfactants, was tested.« less

Effects of nitrate injection on microbial enhanced oil recovery and oilfield reservoir souring.

PubMed

da Silva, Marcio Luis Busi; Soares, Hugo Moreira; Furigo, Agenor; Schmidell, Willibaldo; Corseuil, Henry Xavier

2014-11-01

Column experiments were utilized to investigate the effects of nitrate injection on sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) inhibition and microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). An indigenous microbial consortium collected from the produced water of a Brazilian offshore field was used as inoculum. The presence of 150 mg/L volatile fatty acids (VFA´s) in the injection water contributed to a high biological electron acceptors demand and the establishment of anaerobic sulfate-reducing conditions. Continuous injection of nitrate (up to 25 mg/L) for 90 days did not inhibit souring. Contrariwise, in nitrogen-limiting conditions, the addition of nitrate stimulated the proliferation of δ-Proteobacteria (including SRB) and the associated sulfide concentration. Denitrification-specific nirK or nirS genes were not detected. A sharp decrease in water interfacial tension (from 20.8 to 14.5 mN/m) observed concomitantly with nitrate consumption and increased oil recovery (4.3 % v/v) demonstrated the benefits of nitrate injection on MEOR. Overall, the results support the notion that the addition of nitrate, at this particular oil reservoir, can benefit MEOR by stimulating the proliferation of fortuitous biosurfactant-producing bacteria. Higher nitrate concentrations exceeding the stoichiometric volatile fatty acid (VFA) biodegradation demands and/or the use of alternative biogenic souring control strategies may be necessary to warrant effective SRB inhibition down gradient from the injection wells.

Analysis of backward error recovery for concurrent processes with recovery blocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, K. G.; Lee, Y. H.

1982-01-01

Three different methods of implementing recovery blocks (RB's). These are the asynchronous, synchronous, and the pseudo recovery point implementations. Pseudo recovery points so that unbounded rollback may be avoided while maintaining process autonomy are proposed. Probabilistic models for analyzing these three methods under standard assumptions in computer performance analysis, i.e., exponential distributions for related random variables were developed. The interval between two successive recovery lines for asynchronous RB's mean loss in computation power for the synchronized method, and additional overhead and rollback distance in case PRP's are used were estimated.

LOWER COST METHODS FOR IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY (IOR) VIA SURFACTANT FLOODING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

William A. Goddard III; Yongchun Tang; Patrick Shuler

2004-09-01

This report provides a summary of the work performed in this 3-year project sponsored by DOE. The overall objective of this project is to identify new, potentially more cost-effective surfactant formulations for improved oil recovery (IOR). The general approach is to use an integrated experimental and computational chemistry effort to improve our understanding of the link between surfactant structure and performance, and from this knowledge, develop improved IOR surfactant formulations. Accomplishments for the project include: (1) completion of a literature review to assemble current and new surfactant IOR ideas, (2) Development of new atomistic-level MD (molecular dynamic) modeling methodologies tomore » calculate IFT (interfacial tension) rigorously from first principles, (3) exploration of less computationally intensive mesoscale methods to estimate IFT, Quantitative Structure Property Relationship (QSPR), and cohesive energy density (CED) calculations, (4) experiments to screen many surfactant structures for desirable low IFT and solid adsorption behavior, and (5) further experimental characterization of the more promising new candidate formulations (based on alkyl polyglycosides (APG) and alkyl propoxy sulfate surfactants). Important findings from this project include: (1) the IFT between two pure substances may be calculated quantitatively from fundamental principles using Molecular Dynamics, the same approach can provide qualitative results for ternary systems containing a surfactant, (2) low concentrations of alkyl polyglycoside surfactants have potential for IOR (Improved Oil Recovery) applications from a technical standpoint (if formulated properly with a cosurfactant, they can create a low IFT at low concentration) and also are viable economically as they are available commercially, and (3) the alkylpropoxy sulfate surfactants have promising IFT performance also, plus these surfactants can have high optimal salinity and so may be attractive for use in

Process for preparing lubricating oil from used waste lubricating oil

DOEpatents

Whisman, Marvin L.; Reynolds, James W.; Goetzinger, John W.; Cotton, Faye O.

1978-01-01

A re-refining process is described by which high-quality finished lubricating oils are prepared from used waste lubricating and crankcase oils. The used oils are stripped of water and low-boiling contaminants by vacuum distillation and then dissolved in a solvent of 1-butanol, 2-propanol and methylethyl ketone, which precipitates a sludge containing most of the solid and liquid contaminants, unspent additives, and oxidation products present in the used oil. After separating the purified oil-solvent mixture from the sludge and recovering the solvent for recycling, the purified oil is preferably fractional vacuum-distilled, forming lubricating oil distillate fractions which are then decolorized and deodorized to prepare blending stocks. The blending stocks are blended to obtain a lubricating oil base of appropriate viscosity before being mixed with an appropriate additive package to form the finished lubricating oil product.

Catalytic and thermal cracking processes of waste cooking oil for bio-gasoline synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewanto, Muhammad Andry Rizki; Januartrika, Aulia Azka; Dewajani, Heny; Budiman, Arief

2017-03-01

Non-renewable energy resources such as fossil fuels, and coal were depleted as the increase of global energy demand. Moreover, environmental aspect becomes a major concern which recommends people to utilize bio-based resources. Waste cooking oil is one of the economical sources for biofuel production and become the most used raw material for biodiesel production. However, the products formed during frying, can affect the trans-esterification reaction and the biodiesel properties. Therefore, it needs to convert low-quality cooking oil directly into biofuel by both thermal and catalytic cracking processes. Thermal and catalytic cracking sometimes are regarded as prospective bio-energy conversion processes. This research was carried out in the packed bed reactor equipped with 2 stages preheater with temperature of reactor was variated in the range of 450-550°C. At the same temperature, catalytic cracking had been involved in this experiment, using activated ZSM-5 catalyst with 1 cm in length. The organic liquid product was recovered by three stages of double pipe condensers. The composition of cracking products were analyzed using GC-MS instrument and the caloric contents were analyzed using Bomb calorimeter. The results reveal that ZSM-5 was highly selective toward aromatic and long aliphatic compounds formation. The percentage recovery of organic liquid product from the cracking process varies start from 8.31% and the optimal results was 54.08%. The highest heating value of liquid product was resulted from catalytic cracking process at temperature of 450°C with value of 10880.48 cal/gr and the highest product yield with 54.08% recovery was achieved from thermal cracking process with temperature of 450°C.

Impact of hurricane Isaac on recovery of saltmarshes affected by the BP oil spill in Barataria Bay in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khanna, S.; Haverkamp, P. J.; Santos, M. J.; Shapiro, K.; Lay, M.; Koltunov, A.; Ustin, S.

2013-12-01

Saltmarshes of the Gulf of Mexico have a long history of being impacted by oil spills. The Deep Water Horizon BP Oil spill was the biggest spill in US history. Its effects are still noticeable on these coastal wetlands. While it is expected that over time these ecosystems will recover from oil spill impacts, disturbances can alter the pathway to recovery. In August 2012, hurricane Isaac traced the same path as the 2010 oil spill. We questioned whether the hurricane had a detrimental effect on the recovery of wetland communities previously affected by the oil spill. We analyzed AVIRIS hyperspectral imagery acquired over Bay Jimmy in Barataria Bay in September of 2010, in August of 2011, and after hurricane Isaac in October of 2012. We estimated oil and hurricane impact extent, and effects on plant stress based on change detection and trajectories of narrow band vegetation indexes. In September 2010, the oil impact extended 14m inland from the shore. Four plant stress indexes (NDVI, mNDVI, ANIR, ARed) and three water content indexes (NDII, WA980, WA1240) consistently showed that plant stress was significantly negatively correlated with distance from the shore. A year after the oil spill, in August 2011, we found that the vegetation was regenerating rapidly in more than 80% of the affected area. However, after hurricane Isaac, in October 2012, 24% of the 14-m green vegetation belt next to the shore disappeared under water in regions previously impacted by oil and 21% of the oil-free shoreline also lost its land to water. In the first 7 m adjacent to the shore, 38.5% of the land disappeared in oil-impacted zones and 32% in the oil-free zones. These results suggest that post-oil disturbance events can delay vegetation recovery in an already fragile wetland community.