Crude Oil Extraction Research Articles

Containing the risk of catastrophic climate change

There is a general perception that limiting emissions of carbon dioxide will be sufficient to avoid catastrophic climate change. The reality could well be that the many of the world’s wealthy coastal cities which historically developed as ports will be inundated repeatedly to disappear eventually below the sea, with large swathes of the earth being flooded. Other major conurbations may cease to be liveable without air conditioning, while large numbers of people could well starve as a result of disruption of ecosystems. To the extent that this possibility is recognized, it is nevertheless perceived as a gradual process with the worst results in a distance future with any sea-level rise a gradual process. Limiting emissions is unlikely to be sufficient, because the level of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is now much higher than ever before since humans started to exploit fossil fuels. We know this from the study of ancient air bubbles in Antarctic ice cores. There is a lack of balance between the energy transmitted by the incoming sunlight and the earth’s outgoing infrared heat radiation. So far this imbalance is absorbed by the enormous thermal mass of the oceans. As to the speed of sea-level rise, a period of extremely rapid sea-level rise of about 1.4 cm per year has occurred in the prehistoric past and disintegration of ice sheets as is happening currently may well be a plausible explanation of this fact. In fact, it is straightforward to create substantial amounts of negative emissions of carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, making it happen will require an unprecedented degree of global cooperation, a high level of taxation on the extraction of coal and crude oil, and the use of pressurized liquid petrol gas as aviation fuel.Graphic abstract

Artificial Reefs in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Community Ecology Amid the “Ocean Sprawl”

The northern Gulf of Mexico has been an important source for crude oil and natural gas extraction since the 1930s. Thousands of fixed platforms and associated equipment have been installed on the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf, leading to a pervasive ‘ocean sprawl’. After decommissioning, hundreds of these structures have been converted to artificial reefs under the federal ‘Rigs-to-Reefs’ program, in addition to artificial reefs specifically designed to enhance fisheries and/or benefit the recreational diving industry. Apart from a few natural banks, which reach to approximately 55 ft below the surface, artificial reefs provide the only shallow-water hard substrate for benthic organisms in the deeper waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. This vast expansion in available habitat has almost exclusively occurred over a relatively short span of time (~ 50 years). The ecological interactions of artificial and natural reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico are complex. Artificial reefs in general, and oil and gas structures in particular, have often been invoked as stepping stones for non-native and invasive species (e.g. Tubastrea cup corals, lionfish). The pilings are covered with fouling communities which remain largely unstudied. While the risks of these fouling organisms for invading natural reefs are being broadly discussed, other impacts on the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico, such as the potential to facilitate jellyfish blooms or increase the incidence of ciguatera fish poisoning, have received less attention. Artificial reefs also provide ecosystem services, particularly as habitat for economically important fish species like red snapper. Here we revisit the potential role of artificial reefs as ‘stepping stones’ for species invasions and for fisheries enhancement. Beyond concerns about ecological effects, some of these topics also raise public health concerns. We point out gaps in current knowledge and propose future research directions.

Environmental Assessment of Olive Mill Solid Waste Valorization via Anaerobic Digestion Versus Olive Pomace Oil Extraction

Anaerobic digestion is a promising alternative to valorize agrifood wastes, which is gaining interest under an environmental sustainability overview. The present research aimed to compare anaerobic digestion with olive pomace oil extraction, by using life cycle assessment, as alternatives for the valorization of the olive mill solid waste generated in the centrifugation process with a two-outlet decanter from oil mills. In the case of olive pomace oil extraction, two cases were defined depending on the type of fuel used for drying the wet pomace before the extraction: natural gas or a fraction of the generated extracted pomace. The anaerobic digestion alternative consisted of the production of biogas from the olive mill solid waste, heat and electricity cogeneration by the combustion of the generated biogas, and composting of the anaerobic digestate. The life cycle assessment showed that anaerobic digestion was the best alternative, with a global environmental impact reduction of 88.1 and 85.9% respect to crude olive pomace oil extraction using natural gas and extracted pomace, respectively, as fuel.

Poiseuille Flow of Micropolar-Newtonian Fluid through Concentric Pipes Filled with Porous Medium

In this work we present a mathematical model for the flow of two fluids (micropolar and Newtonian ) through concentric cylinders having porous space of different permeability. The Poiseuille flow of micropolar fluid takes place in core region while Newtonian fluid in the annular region of concentric cylinders respectively. An analytical expression of velocity, flow rate, micro rotational velocity, wall shear stress for the flows of two-fluid through concentric cylinders have been evaluated. We also discuss the case of Newtonian-Newtonian fluid flow through concentric porous cylinders having different permeability. The significant effect of permeability parameter, micropolar fluid parameters, flow parameters on the velocity profile, flow rate and wall shear stress have been analyzed graphically. The model is applicable for the process of extraction of crude oil through the porous pipes, blood flow through arteries, and filtration process etc.

Centrifugal separation‐assisted and extraction of crude palm oil from separated mesocarp fiber: Central composite design optimization

AbstractIn the current research, a centrifugal separator was developed for oil palm fruitlets to separate the mesocarp fibers from the nuts prior to oil extraction, which usually involves grinding the whole palm fruitlets to get the oil. This new technique can increase the yield of crude palm oil derived from the mesocarp without the presence of kernel oil from the nuts. This work focused on the effect of rotational speed and separation time on the mesocarp/nut recovery, oil yield, and broken nut percentage. It was found that the increase of rotational speed and milling time increased the mesocarp recovery without damaging the kernels. The oil extracted from the mesocarp was analyzed, and the results show that the oil properties such as free fatty acid, deterioration of bleachability index, and carotene were better than the properties of the palm oil extracted using the conventional method. From the optimization study, the maximum mesocarp recovery (60.84%) and palm oil extracted (46.02%) were obtained at 943 rpm of rotational speed and 20 s of milling time. The centrifugal technique allowed the separation of mesocarp from the nuts for a better palm oil extraction.Practical applicationsCentrifugal separation is viable technique for mesocarp fiber and nuts separation process. This proposed technique has been proven in obtaining high oil yield with lower broken kernel. The crude palm oil extracted through the separation process also meets the standard industrial requirements.

Organic pollutants in indoor dust from Ecuadorian Amazonia areas affected by oil extractivism

Fifty-five household dust samples collected within six settlements surrounding oil production complexes along the Ecuadorian Amazonia were analysed to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, alkylphenols (APs), bisphenol A (BPA), nicotine, organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), legacy organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and organophosphorus pesticides. Studied areas are mainly affected by gas flares emissions and oil spilling coming from extractivist operations and pesticides used in agriculture. Median ΣPAHs values ranged from 739 to 1182 ng g−1 and up to 52% of the PAH dust concentrations were associated to petrogenic activities from crude oil extraction, according to diagnostic ratios. ΣPAHs and toxic equivalents based on benzo[a]pyrene concentration (ΣTEQBaP, ng g−1) suggested similar toxicities among the different areas. Individual lifetime cancer risk (ILCRdust) was calculated for ingestion and dermal contact exposure routes and a non-acceptable total carcinogenic risk of up to 10−4 (one case per ten thousand people) was found for newborns from 0 to 3 years-old in Pimampiro area. Plasticisers and OPFRs were present in dust at maximum median concentrations of 332,507 ng g−1 (DEHP), 5,249 ng g−1 (DBP), 1,885 ng g−1 (BPA), 871 ng g−1 (TBOEP) and 122 ng g−1 (TEHP). Some dust samples from Ecuadorian houses had high maximum levels of legacy and modern pesticides such as chlorpyrifos (up to 44,176 ng g−1), 4,4′-DDT (12,958 ng g−1), malathion (34,748 ng g−1) and α+β-endosulfan (10,660 ng g−1) attributed to inappropriate use and storage of the pesticides. Finally, nicotine was seldom detected (36 ng g−1). The sources and risks of these compounds are discussed based on the activities carried out in the study areas and attending to an additional non-cancer risk assessment which showed high hazard quotients (HQ) and hazard indexes (HI) for DEHP, DBP, 4,4′-DDT, malathion, chlorpyrifos, naphthalene and benzo[a]pyrene in newborns and children up to 16 years-old.

The Study of Extractionmethod of Hard-to-Recover Hydrocarbonstocks Using Oilfield Core Material

The displacement of hard-to-recover oil by water has become the most widespread method of crude oil extraction. However, in its implementation, the oil recovery factor is insignificant. Recently for this purpose the technology of water alternation gas injectionhas become widespread. In this work, the laboratory tests were carried out in conditions of artificial oil stratumusing the samples of live oil, water and gas. For the study were usedcore material samples selectedfrom the well ofoil fields. Experiments were conducted using different models of samples and fluids under conditions of maintaining the layer pressure and back pressure with a flow rate of 0.1 ml / min.

Double exposure and dynamic vulnerability: Assessing economic well-being, ecological change and the development of the oil and gas industry in coastal Louisiana

The oil and gas industry has been a powerful driver of economic change in coastal Louisiana for the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st. Yet, the overall impact of the industry on the economic well-being of host communities is varied, both spatially and temporally. While the majority of Louisiana’s oil and gas production now occurs offshore, processing the extracted product is an energy-intensive undertaking requiring an expansive network of land-based infrastructure. Despite the positive economic aspects of this development, there are also potential negatives posed to coastal ecosystems and to communities located adjacent to oil and gas infrastructure. This research utilizes a double exposure framework to explore the relationship between oil and gas infrastructure development, fish and shellfish habitat, and economic well-being in Louisiana’s coastal zone from 1950 to 2010. The approach followed four main steps: (1) Developing a hazardousness of place model to identify areas of magnified risk due to the combined hazards of multiple potential exposure sites related to the extraction and processing of crude oil and natural gas; (2) developing a model of ecological functioning to measure the ability of aquatic habitat to support key fish and shellfish species; (3) utilizing an integrated community economic well-being index to assess change on a decadal timescale; and (4) analyzing selected oil-dependent communities to illustrate how change processes occurring in different energy sectors result in differential outcomes. The results suggest that, for many communities, the dependence on the oil and gas industry has increased economic well-being but also increased sensitivity to natural and human-induced changes, including fluctuating economic conditions, environmental stress, coastal habitat destruction, and increasing social and economic pressures.

The environmental and economic impact of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) in Vietnam

This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by examining the impacts of an emissions trading scheme (ETS) in Vietnam, as the policy has been discussed for a decade in the country but the likely impacts on the economy and different sectors are still unidentified. The simulations are carried out in a global energy computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, an extension of the GTAP-E model, which treats Vietnam as a country region. Results show that restricting the number of industrial sectors in the emissions trading market substantially affects the country's economy with a decline in real GDP by 4.57%. However, the country experiences much smaller adverse impacts (e.g., real GDP declines by 1.78%) when all industries participate in the emissions trading market. In either case of the ETS design, the coal mining, manufacturing, transportation, and electricity sectors are highly adversely affected; however, the crude oil and natural gas extraction sectors would experience expansion in their production levels due to substitutions for coal. In general, under the policy the emission levels from burning fossil fuels decline at significant rates, particularly from the electricity generation sector.

Rapid determination and classification of crude oils by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and chemometric methods.

Classification based on °API gravity is very important to estimate the parameters related to the extraction, purification, toxicity, and pricing of crude oils. Spectroscopy methods show some advantages over ASTM and API methods for crude oil analysis. The attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy coupled with chemometric methods has been applied as a quick and non-destructive method for crude oil analysis. In this work, a new analytical method using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy associated with chemometric methods were proposed for adressing regression and classification tasks for crude oils analysis based on °API gravity values. The designed methods are rapid, economic, and nondestructive ways in production process of oil industry. The spectral data were used for estimation of °API gravity using two approaches according to PLS-R and SVM-R algorithm, separately. The ATR-FTIR spectral data were also analyzed by classification method using the partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for crude oil classification. The samples were classified into three classes based on their °API gravity values. The SVM-R model showed better results than PLS-R for °API gravity values using the F-test at 95% of confidence. The result of classification, showed about 100% accuracy and a zero classification error for calibration and prediction samples in PLS-DA algorithm.

Life cycle assessment of petroleum refining process: A case study in China

Climate change mainly caused by transportation fuel consumption has attracted global concern. In life cycle environmental burdens generated from transportation fuel production, petroleum refining stage is the hotspot. However, the in-depth environmental analysis of petroleum refining is very limited. China is the second largest petroleum refining country, so it is very essential to break petroleum refining stage into specific unit to analyze how Chinese refinery can be improved in environment performance. To achieve this goal, a systematic life cycle analysis of the environmental burden generated from petroleum refining process was conducted to identify the control emphasis and seek potential improvement measures. Sensitive analysis and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission characteristics were additional discussed to improve the accuracy of results. The significant burdens generated from petroleum refining process were freshwater ecotoxicity and climate change. Crude oil extraction and transport dominated most environmental categories, which indicated that the environmental problem exist in upstream supply chain. Catalytic cracking, feedstock and product handling, catalytic reforming, crude oil distillation, cooling water system and diesel hydrotreating were the major control units due to their direct emissions and electricity consumption. VOCs (e.g., acrolein and chlorofluorocarbons) produced from refinery fugitive emissions were the main substances for refinery to reduce human toxicity, ozone depletion and photochemical oxidant formation influences. 14% of Climate change were derived from organic chemicals emission in this study, which suggested that VOCs-related carbon emission should be involved in current carbon accounting work or greenhouse gases (GHGs) studies on the petroleum refining industry. The identified control emphasis included equipment leaks from core refining units, storage tank emissions control, energy structure optimization and catalysts consumption intensity reduction. Some feasible and useful reduction measures targeted the control emphasis were proposed for policy makers and refinery managers to formulate reduction strategies and improve the sustainability of the petrochemical industry.

Application of environmental and hazard assessment methodologies towards the sustainable production of crude palm oil in North-Colombia

Palm oil processing is one of the most dynamic economic activities in Colombia due to its high productivity for oil extraction. The crude palm oil (CPO) extraction from fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) requires processing stages (e.g. sterilization, threshing, digestion, pressing, clarification and drying) that may generate by-products or wastes impacting negatively the environment. In this work, the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) was used for a better understanding of environment/human health-related issues during oil extraction. Besides, potential hazards were determined through Hazard Identification and Ranking (HIRA) methodology to identify the most critical units and propose relevant safety corrections. The environmental assessment revealed that pressed cake and empty fruit bunches (EFBs) most contributed to total freshwater ecotoxicity calculated in 2.66 × 10−1 CTUeco/kg CPO. The residual water from both clarification and sterilization stages caused significant impacts to water eutrophication (1.51 × 10−2 kg N eq/kg CPO). Process safety assessment showed risks of fire and explosion due to emissions of combustible dust and handling flammable materials. For most of the studied units, Fire & Explosion Damage Index (FEDI) achieved values above 400, which are classified in the categories of extremely or highly hazardous. Boiler reached the highest FEDI (790) due to the high temperature and pressure conditions during combustion and steam production. The novelty of this work lies in: i) detecting environmental and safety issues that need to be addressed, ii) providing insights for process improvements to move towards sustainable CPO production by incorporating safety and environmental aspects.

A Linguistic Study of Helon Habila’s Novel, Oil on Water

Petroleum, Nigeria’s major source of revenue is obtained in the Niger Delta. Yet, the region has been besieged by a lot of crises right from the colonial era. The process of crude oil extraction, resulting in oil pollution has done serious damages to the region, thereby hindering farming and fishing, the main occupations of the Deltans. This plunged the people into the unemployment that is responsible for poverty, hardship, diseases and deaths among the people. Deltans suffer so many losses, yet they are not adequately compensated. This is the cause of the Niger Delta crises. During the colonial era, the British government established oil companies to explore petroleum to enrich her home country, Britain, at the expense of the Niger Delta. Many years after independence, the condition of the region has remained deplorable due to corruption in Nigeria. Being exploited and cheated, the people resorted to different forms of protests, violence and militancy, that have culminated in social unrest in the region. Despite all efforts by the government to arrest the situation, the Niger delta issue has remained a serious problem of public concern, which needs permanent solution. To this effect, many Nigerian literary artists such as Ken Saro-wiwa, Tanure Ojaide, Kaine Agary and Helon Habila expressed their concern over the crises in their literary works, aimed at proffering permanent solution to the problem. This reiterates the importance of literature and the literary artists to the society. This paper examines and expounds how Helon Habila deploys language resources in his novel, Oil on Water, to convey the Niger Delta crises, their security risks to the society and the Nigerian economy, as well as the decisive steps to arrest the ugly situation.

Niger Delta Crises and the Way Forward: A Study of the Mood System in Helon Habila’s Novel, Oil on Water

The Niger delta of Nigeria has been besieged by a lot of crises, which have posed serious security risks to the region. This has adversely and seriously affected not only the region, but Nigeria in general. The processes of crude oil extraction in the Niger delta have resulted in ecological degradation and oil pollutions, thereby doing a lot of damages to the farmlands and fishing waters of the people, whose major occupations are farming and fishing. Petroleum, the main source of Nigeria’s revenue is obtained in the Niger delta. Yet, Deltans are confronted with a lot of problems; they are impoverished, exploited, neglected and marginalized despite the economic value of the region to the Nigerian economy. No serious or commensurate efforts are made by the government or the multinational oil companies operating in the region to compensate the people for the losses they suffer through oil pollutions. This has resulted in a lot of protests and violence, culminating in the social unrest in the region. To this effect, there have been reactions to the crises in diverse ways. Though such efforts have yielded little dividends, the crises have persisted. Niger delta deserves priority attention in terms of human and infrastructural developments. In the literary circle, some Nigerian literary artists have expressed concern over the issue with a view to creating awareness on the seriousness of the crises, and advancing suggestions that will proffer permanent solutions to the problems. This paper examines and expounds how Helon Habila deploys the mood system as a language tool in his novel, Oil on Water, to address the Niger Delta crises. He advances suggestions to put an end to the crises in order to restore peace, and enhance sustainable development in Nigeria.

THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF SPHINGOMONAS PAUCIMOBILIS IN BIOREMEDIATION OF SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HYDROCARBON AND HEAVY METAL

Aiming to find the solution to the problem of soil polluted by hydrocarbons and the associated heavy metals, the present study focused on the biodegradation and bioremediation capability of Sphingomonas paucimobilis. Morphological and biochemical tests have been used to identify bacterial isolates and to confirm that an automated instrument for bacterial identification (Vitek II) has been used. Based on the results, the bacteria were identified as Sphingomonas paucimobilis. The bioremediation capacity was monitored: the lowest inhibitory concentration (MIC) of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) followed by an assay of the removal capacity of S. paucimobilis using the atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) analyzer. The bacteria showed higher MIC value for Pb (2000 ppm) the Cd (500 ppm). The percentage of removal for Pb and Cd were 27.95% and 58.78%, and 22.37% and 48.21% for the concentration 25 ppm and 50 ppm, respectively. These findings showed the high aliphatic hydrocarbon biodegradation capacity of S. paucimobilis, with the percentage of degradation being 48.15% and 63.40% of the concentration of crude oil by 2% and 5%, respectively. S. paucimobilis can potentially be a safe biological treatment strategy to remediate soil polluted with hydrocarbons in crude oil extraction sites.

Nanocellulose as an inhibitor of water-in-crude oil emulsion formation

Formation of water/oil emulsions is a frequent and challenging problem to deal with during crude oil extraction and processing. Crude oil must have water contents (BS&W) below 0,5% to meet transport and export requirements. Lowering BS&W values in crude oils involve physical and chemical processes or their combinations. Chemical demulsifiers, particularly, are structurally diverse and predominantly petrochemically-derived; however, alternative surface-active compounds such as biosurfactants are nowadays the topic of active research. In this contribution, we report the use of aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanoparticles, both nanocrystals (CNC) and nanofibrils (CNF), to inhibit the formation of w/o emulsions. HLB values of 13.0 for CNF and 10.7 for CNC indicate that these materials are hydrophilic o/w emulsifying agents, and as such can also act as destabilizers for w/o emulsions. We observe, by recovered water and Near-Infrared (NIR) scattering measurements, that CNC and CNF can effectively function as inhibitors of synthetic w/o and natural w/crude oil emulsions. Aqueous suspensions of CNC and CNF decrease the amount of emulsified water, inhibiting the formation of w/o emulsions up to 75% in some cases.

Life Cycle Analysis of Biodiesel Blends for Aviation

In the aviation sector, the use of biofuels has increased worldwide, therefore, this study assesses the environmental impact of these mass-based blends, named BK0, BK10, BK20 and BK30, according to their composition (Biodiesel + Kerosene) and the percentage of mass fraction. The study uses life cycle analysis with the SimaPro software and the Ecoinvent database for Colombia. The stages of cultivation, oil extraction and refining were established for biodiesel, while for the kerosene the stages defined were crude oil extraction and its refining. Results show that the stage with the greatest impact is the cultivation and extraction for both the category of freshwater ecotoxicity, acidification and terrestrial eutrophication

Polymer blend: a new approach towards flow improvement of crude oil

Crude oil extraction, transportation and even its storage require a lot of struggle due to its high density, high viscosity and high pour point. To overcome these problems, polymers have attracted much attention as efficient chemical additive. Moreover polymer blending is an economic and easy process to develop better polymeric materials with higher thermal and mechanical stability. In this context, we evaluated a polymer blend of two copolymers viz. vinyl acetate-octyl acrylate and dodecyl acrylate-methyl methacrylate, as flow improver by measuring viscometric parameters, pour point and shear stability index in crude oil.

Using Microwave Technology to Extract Organic Matter from Rocks

Rock extraction is one of the most important processes to prepare samples to core analyses but this method consumes large quantity of solvents and time which means high cost; so it is necessary to innovate new high efficiency ways to replace the traditional methods. The use of microwaves in rock processing is an innovative and unobtrusive method in this field. The design of special furnaces to generate microwave and use them in the extraction of crude oil from rocks become a necessity; because of the need to reduce the costs of this treatment and shorten the necessary time to laboratory experiments and decreased conducted solvent for this process.
 A number of samples of carbonate reservoir rocks exposed to microwave radiation assisted extraction and many solvents were used to detect more suitable solvent, the results of the experiment show that some solvents were superior to others and the samples did not harm as a result of that processes, note that the type of rocks may be important in determining the ability of microwave waves to perform the required treatment. And it is approved its high efficiency by decreasing time of cleaning up to less than 25% of time, more economical, in term of the least consumption of solvent and safer by comparison with conventional.

An overview of papaya seed oil extraction methods

SummaryPapaya seeds account for about 20% of the total fresh fruit weight. The seeds are generally discarded as agricultural waste products during fruit processing despite being edible. The seeds contain high levels of lipid and thus can be a new source of edible oil. Numerous technologies have been used for extraction of crude oil from papaya seeds. Papaya seed oil is composed mostly of unsaturated fatty acids with oleic acid being the major one. The oil also contains lipophilic phytochemicals such as tocopherols, phytosterols and carotenoids. Further investigations are necessary to validate the functional properties of papaya seed oil produced from different extraction techniques.