Heavy Hydrocarbons Research Articles

Genesis Types and Migration of Middle and Lower Assemblages of Natural Gas in the Eastern Belt around the Penyijingxi Sag of the Junggar Basin, NW China

This study analyzes the geochemical characteristics of natural gas composition, carbon isotope, and light hydrocarbon in the eastern belt around the Penyijingxi sag of the Junggar Basin. The result shows the that natural gas content is dominated by alkane gas, with low contents of heavy hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon components. The overall carbon isotopic composition of the alkanes shows a trend as δ13methane (C1) < δ13ethane (C2) < δ13propane (C3) < δ13butane (C4), and all δ13C1 values are <−30‰, which are typical of gases of organic origin. The natural gas is mainly coal-derived gas from the Lower Urho formation, mixed with a small amount of oil-associated gas from the Fengcheng formation. The vertical migration of natural gas resulted in the mixing of oil-associated gas and coal-derived gas and the mixing of alkane gas at different stages of the same origin, which should be the origin of carbon isotope inversion. The diffusion migration of carboniferous oil and gas reservoirs has led to differences in gas geochemical characteristics among gas wells. These migration characteristics of natural gas may indicate that the shallow layers are a favorable stratum for the next step of oil and gas exploration in the eastern belt around the Penyijingxi sag.

Dynamic confinement catalysis in Fe-based CO2 hydrogenation to light olefins

Hydrogenation of CO2 into light olefins is an important route to carbon neutrality. Most of traditional researches focus on the catalyst component, structure, and promoter to enhance the selectivity of light olefins while ignoring the diffusion of products. Here, we report a NaFeZr-MOR composite catalyst for light olefin synthesis in CO2 hydrogenation via pore confinement. The selectivity in hydrocarbons and STY (Space-time yields) of C2–4= is gradually increasing maximum up to 51.3% and 12.2 (mmol·gcat−1.h−1), which lie in a high level among reported Fe-based catalysts. Further characterization revealed that the essence of selectivity change period is the accumulation and evolution of carbonaceous species, which causes the change of product diffusion behavior. It suppresses the escape of heavy hydrocarbons from MOR pores, leading to an increased light olefin, especially ethylene, which is called “dynamic confinement”. These findings provide a new insight for controlling low-carbon product selectivity in CO2 hydrogenation.

Examination of Condensation Liquid Formation in Istanbul Natural Gas Distribution Network

In this study, the formation of natural gas liquid in gas distribution lines, particularly at regional stations, service boxes, customer installations, and gas meters, was investigated. The study aims to address the problems associated with natural gas liquid formation, such as interruption of supply and decreased efficiency of combustion devices. The indirect measurement of the hydrocarbon dew point was analyzed using C6+ chromatograph data, and the model based on directly measured C6+ data were converted into C6/C7/C8 data by four different methods. As distinct from studies in the literature, this study experimentally determines the distribution of heavy hydrocarbons from C9 to C19 based on indirect methods for acquiring C8+ data and direct measurement of C6+ data. The hydrocarbon dew point temperature was calculated using the Peng–Robinson (PR) and Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) equations of state. The results of the analysis performed on two city gate stations showed that the critical temperatures were 4.21 °C at a pressure of 10.81 bar and 8.27 °C at a pressure of 11.25 bar, respectively. These values were obtained from a model designed to determine the dew point temperature in the area where natural gas liquid formation was most prevalent. The experimental analysis and indirect measurements indicated the occurrence of a two-phase gas–liquid formation.

Separation and direct-indirect analysis of six group components from liquids of kerosene co-refining

The composition and structure of kerosene co-refining products (KCR) need to be studied to promote their further processing and utilization besides for making fuels. In this paper, their composition and structure were analyzed layer by layer from top to bottom in the form of “Surface (KCR)-Line (six group components, SGCs)-Point (compounds)”. SGCs combine extraction and column chromatography to provide a method for highly efficient separation of heavy hydrocarbons. Insoluble components (asphaltene, ASP) and n-heptane soluble (HS) were obtained from light and heavy liquids (LP and HP) of KCR by Soxhlet extraction. HS was gradient eluted by chromatographic column with different solvents and α-Al2O3, and separated into other five group components: saturates (SA), aromatics (AR), heteroatoms (HE), phenolics (PH) and resins (RE), wherein the results show that the extraction yields of LP-SA, LP-AR, LP-PH, LP-RE are 68.53 wt%, 7.28 wt%, 3.55 wt% and 1.20 wt%, and the extraction yields of HP-SA, HP-AR, HP-HE, HP-PH, HP-RE are 36.06 wt%, 25.13 wt%, 6.27 wt%, 4.53 wt% and 2.37 wt%, respectively. Physical and chemical characterization of the raw materials and SGCs were analyzed by TG, FTIR, 13C NMR, GC/MS, and Py-GC/MS, in which the combination of GC/MS and Py-GC/MS can fully detect the light and heavy components in LP and HP, including those difficult to detect above 300 °C. The final thermal mass loss rates of these components follow the order of LP-SA > LP-AR > LP-PH > LP-RE and HP-SA > HP-AR > HP-PH > HP-HE > ASP > HP-RE. The aromatic carbon mass ratio (fa) of LP and HP is 15.27% and 19.45%, respectively. n-Alkanes (C11–32) are the main compounds in LP and HP, followed by polycyclic aromatics with 3–4 R. Aromatics are rich in -CH2- bridge bond to generate light aliphatics and aromatics at 500 °C, especially the ASP generates many monocyclic aromatics with the increase of temperature by Py-GC/MS. In addition to aliphatics and aromatics, alkyl phenols, esters, pyridines and thiophenes are the main compounds in LP and HP.

Filamentous fungi for sustainable remediation of pharmaceutical compounds, heavy metal and oil hydrocarbons.

This review presents a comprehensive summary of the latest research in the field of bioremediation with filamentous fungi. The main focus is on the issue of recent progress in remediation of pharmaceutical compounds, heavy metal treatment and oil hydrocarbons mycoremediation that are usually insufficiently represented in other reviews. It encompasses a variety of cellular mechanisms involved in bioremediation used by filamentous fungi, including bio-adsorption, bio-surfactant production, bio-mineralization, bio-precipitation, as well as extracellular and intracellular enzymatic processes. Processes for wastewater treatment accomplished through physical, biological, and chemical processes are briefly described. The species diversity of filamentous fungi used in pollutant removal, including widely studied species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Verticillium, Phanerochaete and other species of Basidiomycota and Zygomycota are summarized. The removal efficiency of filamentous fungi and time of elimination of a wide variety of pollutant compounds and their easy handling make them excellent tools for the bioremediation of emerging contaminants. Various types of beneficial byproducts made by filamentous fungi, such as raw material for feed and food production, chitosan, ethanol, lignocellulolytic enzymes, organic acids, as well as nanoparticles, are discussed. Finally, challenges faced, future prospects, and how innovative technologies can be used to further exploit and enhance the abilities of fungi in wastewater remediation, are mentioned.

Correction of Light and Heavy Hydrocarbons and Their Application in a Shale Oil Reservoir in Gaoyou Sag, Subei Basin—A Case Study from Well SX84

To accurately evaluate the shale oil resources in the Funing Formation of the Gaoyou Sag, Subei Basin, light and heavy hydrocarbon correction models of S1 were developed based on the rock pyrolysis of liquefrozen, conventional, and oil-washed shales. The improved ΔlogR technique was applied to establish the TOC, S1, and S2 logging evaluation methods. The results showed that the S2 values after oil washing were significantly lower than before. The difference between these two S2 (ΔS2) values is the heavy hydrocarbon correction amount of S1, which is about 0.69 S2. There was almost no loss of light hydrocarbons during liquefrozen shales’ pyrolysis tests; the ratio of liquefrozen to conventional S1 values is the light hydrocarbon correction factor, which is about 1.67. The corrected S1 is about 3.2 times greater than the conventional shale-tested value. The S1 and TOC are obviously “trichotomous”; a TOC greater than 1.5% and corrected S1 larger than 4.0 mg/g corresponds to the enriched resource. The logging estimated results show that the total shale oil resources in the E1f2 of the Gaoyou Sag are about 572 million tons, of which the enriched resource is about 170 million tons.

Crude Oil Pyrolysis Studies: Application to In Situ Superheat Steam Enhanced Oil Recovery

This work focuses on the occurrence and composition of flammable pyrolysis gases which can be expected from stimulation of heavy oil with superheat steam. These gases can have commodity value or be used to fire a conventional boiler to generate steam vapor for superheater feed. Seven oil samples taken from different US locations were tested via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) with off-gas analysis of light hydrocarbons via mass spectrometry (MS). The samples were heated up to 500 °C at 5 °C/min in a gas flow of moist carbon dioxide and held at 500 °C until no further mass loss was noted. Then, carbonaceous residue was exposed to air at 500 °C to determine enthalpy of combustion by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). To demonstrate that pyrolysis was indeed occurring and not simple de-volatilization, a high-molecular-weight reagent-grade organic molecule, lactose, was first demonstrated to produce components of interest. After treatment under moist CO2 at 500 °C, all samples were found to lose around 90% of mass, and the follow-up combustion process with air further reduced the residual mass to between 2% and 12%, which is presumed to be mineral matter and char. The light hydrocarbons methane, ethane, and propane, as well as hydrogen, were detected through MS during pyrolysis of each oil sample. Heavier hydrocarbons were not monitored but are assumed to have evolved, especially during periods where additional mass loss was occurring in the isothermal process, with minimal light hydrocarbon evolution. These results correspond to a possible concept of subsequent in situ combustion drive with or without heat scavenging following high-temperature pyrolysis from in situ superheat steam injection.

Basic principles for biosurfactant-assisted (bio)remediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons - A critical evaluation of the performance of rhamnolipids.

Despite the fact that rhamnolipids are among the most studied biosurfactants, there are still several gaps which must be filled. The aim of this review is to emphasize and to indicate which issues should be taken into account in order to achieve efficient rhamnolipids-assisted biodegradation or phytoextraction of soils contaminated by heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons without harmful side effects. Four main topics have been elucidated in the review: effective concentration of rhamnolipids in soil, their potential phytotoxicity, susceptibility to biodegradation and interaction with soil microorganisms. The discussed elements are often closely associated and often overlap, thus making the interpretation of research results all the more challenging. Each dedicated section of this review includes a description of potential issues and questions, an explanation of the background and rationale for each problem, analysis of relevant literature reports and a short summary with possible application guidelines. The main conclusion is that there is a necessity to establish regulations regarding effective concentrations for rhamnolipids-assisted remediation of soil. The use of an improper concentration is the direct cause of all the other discussed phenomena.

Microbial Removal of Petroleum Hydrocarbons from Contaminated Soil under Arsenic Stress.

The contamination of soils with petroleum and its derivatives is a longstanding, widespread, and worsening environmental issue. However, efforts to remediate petroleum hydrocarbon-polluted soils often neglect or overlook the interference of heavy metals that often co-contaminate these soils and occur in petroleum itself. Here, we identified Acinetobacter baumannii strain JYZ-03 according to its Gram staining, oxidase reaction, biochemical tests, and FAME and 16S rDNA gene sequence analyses and determined that it has the ability to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons. It was isolated from soil contaminated by both heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. Strain JYZ-03 utilized diesel oil, long-chain n-alkanes, branched alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as its sole carbon sources. It degraded 93.29% of the diesel oil burden in 7 days. It also had a high tolerance to heavy metal stress caused by arsenic (As). Its petroleum hydrocarbon degradation efficiency remained constant over the 0-300 mg/L As(V) range. Its optimal growth conditions were pH 7.0 and 25-30 °C, respectively, and its growth was not inhibited even by 3.0% (w/v) NaCl. Strain JYZ-03 effectively bioremediates petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil in the presence of As stress. Therefore, strain JYZ-03 may be of high value in petroleum- and heavy-metal-contaminated site bioremediation.

The source and formation characteristics of the Zhujiadun gas reservoirs in the Yancheng Sag, Subei Basin

The Yancheng Sag is a favorable exploration area in the Subei Basin. However, the key geological understanding of the natural gas source and reservoir formation characteristics of the sag is still controversial. Based on a set of organic geochemical experiments conducted on natural gas and associated condensate oil of the first member of the Funing Formation (E1f1) in well YCh5 and well data analysis, the oil-gas resources and reservoir formation model in the Zhujiadun gas reservoir in the Yancheng Sag, Subei Basin, were investigated. The results of this study are as follows. (1) The natural gas in the Zhujiadun gas reservoir is dry gas with high methane content, low heavy hydrocarbon content, and high maturity. The characteristics of carbon and hydrogen isotopes in the natural gas indicate that the natural gas is oil-cracked gas, which mainly originates from the source rocks of the Permian Qixia Formation. (2) The condensate oil from well YCh5 with a high degree of maturity has a high pristane/phytane ratio, low gamma-paraffin abundance, and low tricyclic terpene abundance, indicating a mixture of the Upper Paleozoic condensate oil and Cenozoic crude oil. The saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons have similar δ13C values to the Cenozoic continental crude oil. These features suggest two sources of condensate oil. (3) Oils generated from the source rocks of the Qixia Formation were cracked into highly mature gas after deep burial, which migrated along large faults into the sandstones of the E1f1 and K1t1 members. This type of reservoir was effectively preserved beneath the overlying mudstone cap rocks. Therefore, it can be inferred that a play fairway might occur in the eastern zone of the faults connected to the Paleozoic source rocks in the Yancheng Sag since this zone has similar petroleum geological conditions to well YCh5. Therefore, this zone is a favorable area for further exploration.

Heavy metals assessment of ecosystem polluted with wastewaters and taxonomic profiling of multi-resistant bacteria with potential for petroleum hydrocarbon catabolism in nitrogen-limiting medium.

The coexistence of heavy metals (HMs) and petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) exacerbates ecotoxicity and impair the drivers of eco-functionalities that stimulate essential nutrients for the productivity of the impacted environment. Profiling the bacteria that stem the ecological impact via HMs sequestration and PHs catabolism with nitrogen fixation is imperative to bioremediation of the polluted sites. The sediment of site that was consistently contaminated with industrial wastewaters was analysed for ecological toxicants and the bacterial strains that combined HMs resistance with PHs catabolism in a nitrogen-limiting system were isolated from the sediment and characterized. The geochemistry of the samples revealed the co-occurrence of the above-benchmark concentrations of HMs with the derivatives of hydrocarbons. Notwithstanding, nickel and mercury (with 5% each of the total metal concentrations in the polluted site) exhibited probable effect concentrations on the biota and thus hazardous to the ecosystem. Approx. 31% of the bacterial community, comprising unclassified Planococcaceae, unclassified Bradyrhizobiaceae, Rhodococcus, and Bacillus species, resisted 160µmol Hg2+ in the nitrogen-limiting system within 24h post-inoculation. The bacterial strains adopt volatilization, and sometimes in combination with adsorption/bioaccumulation strategies to sequester Hg2+ toxicity while utilizing PHs as sources of carbon and energy. Efficient metabolism of petroleum biomarkers (> 87%) and Hg2+ sequestration (≥ 75% of 40µmol Hg2+) displayed by the selected bacterial strains portend the potential applicability of the bacilli for biotechnological restoration of the polluted site.

A Review of Biogenic Coalbed Methane Experimental Studies in China

Biogenic coalbed methane (CBM) is an important alternative energy that can help achieve carbon neutrality. Accordingly, its exploration and development have become a research hotspot in the field of fossil energy. In this review, the latest detection technologies for and experimental research on biogenic CBM in China in recent decades are summarized. The factors influencing the generation of biogenic CBM and the identification method of biogenic CBM are systematically analyzed. The technologies to detect biogas and the research methods to study microbial diversity are summarized. The literature shows that biogenic CBM is easily produced in the presence of highly abundant organic matter of low maturity, and the organic matter reaching a certain thickness can compensate for the limitation of biogenic CBM gas production due to the small abundance of organic matter to a certain extent. Biogenic CBM production could be increased in an environment with low salinity, medium alkalinity, and rich Fe2+ and Ni2+ sources. Furthermore, biogenic CBM can be identified by considering three aspects: (1) the presence of gas composition indicators; (2) the content of heavy hydrocarbon; and (3) variation in the abundance of biomarkers. In recent years, research methods to study the microbial community and diversity of CBM-producing environments in China have mainly included 16S rRNA gene library, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and high-throughput sequencing, and the dominant microorganisms have been determined in various basins in China. The results of numerous studies show that the dominant bacterial phyla are commonly Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, while the archaeal fraction mainly includes Methanoculleus, Methanobacterium, Methanocorpusculum, and Methanothrix. This review summarizes and discusses the advances in biogenic CBM production and the associated microbial community in order to promote further development of coal biotransformation and CO2 bio-utilization to meet energy demands under carbon neutrality.

Insights from 595 tank farm fires from around the world

This article presents several insights from research of fire incident data from tank farms from around the world, which store products ranging from low flashpoint materials to crude and heavier hydrocarbons. The incidents and information in the database came from over 130 mostly publicly available sources, including technical and news reports. Updating of the database takes place when new studies require analysis of previous incidents. The database contained 595 fire incidents at the time of preparation of this article, and this research has already supported the analysis of the reliability of fire water protection system, hazard identification, and risk assessment for several tank farms.The research provided valuable insights regarding the frequency of tank farm fires, the frequency of boilovers, the frequency of injuries/fatalities, the expected numbers of injuries/fatalities per incident, the frequency of dike fires, the probability of failure of the fire water system, the time to extinguish (TtEx) the fires, the ignition source, and the types of tank roofs. When the database provided sufficient information, these numbers appear as a function of the material or product. The data also allowed plotting TtEx as a function of the (a) time for over a century, (b) tank diameter, and (c) number of tanks on fire.

Genetic engineering to enhance microalgal-based produced water treatment with emphasis on CRISPR/Cas9: A review.

In recent years, the increased demand for and regional variability of available water resources, along with sustainable water supply planning, have driven interest in the reuse of produced water. Reusing produced water can provide important economic, social, and environmental benefits, particularly in water-scarce regions. Therefore, efficient wastewater treatment is a crucial step prior to reuse to meet the requirements for use within the oil and gas industry or by external users. Bioremediation using microalgae has received increased interest as a method for produced water treatment for removing not only major contaminants such as nitrogen and phosphorus, but also heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Some research publications reported nearly 100% removal of total hydrocarbons, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and iron when using microalgae to treat produced water. Enhancing microalgal removal efficiency as well as growth rate, in the presence of such relevant contaminants is of great interest to many industries to further optimize the process. One novel approach to further enhancing algal capabilities and phytoremediation of wastewater is genetic modification. A comprehensive description of using genetically engineered microalgae for wastewater bioremediation is discussed in this review. This article also reviews random and targeted mutations as a method to alter microalgal traits to produce strains capable of tolerating various stressors related to wastewater. Other methods of genetic engineering are discussed, with sympathy for CRISPR/Cas9 technology. This is accompanied by the opportunities, as well as the challenges of using genetically engineered microalgae for this purpose.

Comparison of Geochemical Characteristics of Products from Thermal Simulation Experiments of Hydrocarbon Generation at Different Heating Rates in the Semiclosed System

Based on the thermal simulation experiment in a semiclosed system, the products of continental type II of the Chang 7 shale under slow and fast heating rates were studied. The results show that the yield of hydrocarbon gases (C1–C5) increases under the fast heating rate. Under the slow heating rate, the heavy hydrocarbon gas (C2–C5) begins to crack when the temperature exceeds 400 °C. The H2S and H2 have similar variation rules with hydrocarbon gases. Under the slow heating rate, the expelled oil is larger than that of the fast heating rate. C15+ constitutes the main component of retained oil, and the yield of retained oil at the fast heating rate is larger than that of the slow heating rate, which is different from the expelled oil. After 380 °C, the slow heating rate leads to the cracking of C15+, so the amount of C15+ generated by the fast heating rate is larger than that of the slow heating rate. After 340 °C, the proportion of expelled oil to total expelled hydrocarbons at a slow heating rate is larger than that of the fast heating rate. This study confirms that the fast heating rate can lead to a retardation effect, making the slow heating rate more favorable for the generation and discharge of hydrocarbons. The experimental results verify the compensation effect of time on temperature in the process of hydrocarbon generation.

Experimental investigation on electromagnetic induction thermal desorption for remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated soil

A novel electromagnetic induction low temperature thermal desorption treatment (EMI LTTD) for petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated soil was introduced in this work. The removal rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) under various factors, the morphology changes of soils as well as removal mechanism were investigated. Results suggested that increasing the heating temperature significantly increased the removal rate of TPH. At the beginning of 20 min, most of hydrocarbons (93.44–96.91 wt%) was removed with the temperature ranged from 200 °C to 300 °C. Besides, the initial contaminants concentration, particle size and thickness of soil slightly influenced the removal rate of TPH. Desorption kinetic study demonstrated that first-order model was well-described for desorption behavior. Response surface methodology analysis showed the temperature of 216 °C, the residence time of 21 min and the moisture content of 18% was an optimum condition recommended for potentially practical application. Under this condition, the results for the composition of hydrocarbons based on carbon number fractions indicated that the fractions of C10∼C16, C17∼C22 still existed in soil, while C23∼C28 was not detected after EMI LTTD treatment. Proposed mechanism was both hydrocarbons removed by evaporation at any temperature, while parts of heavy hydrocarbons was cracked within the soil close to induction medium, resulting in re-adsorption of light hydrocarbons. A buckwheat germination and growth test indicated that soil treated by EMI LTTD was potential in reutilization for planting.

Physics guided data-driven model to estimate minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) for hydrocarbon gases

Local or regional availability of hydrocarbon gases, and being associated with the native fluids makes them a reliable candidate for gas injection processes. As the achievement of miscibility leads to higher recoveries (see the comprehensive review on miscibility by Dindoruk et al., 2021), miscible hydrocarbon injection will be preferred where it is feasible. Using hydrocarbon gases for miscible injection has additional benefits 1) High outlet pressures from the separators (using gas compressors) (Griffith et al., 1970) leading to lesser gas volume to transport, 2) Reduction of flaring: in many places where there is no or not enough infrastructure capacity to transport these gases, such gases are simply flared (Worldbank, 2022; USCUSA, 2022), 3) Being associated with the in-situ fluids, less likely to have issues such as corrosion, or other potential problems. Methane (dominant component in hydrocarbon gas streams) and other live HC blends is classified greenhouse gases (GHG) which are harmful to the environment and such actions do not comply with the tighter carbon/emission reduction policies that are being implemented, especially considering the fact that resulting in the emission of methane, which has 28 to 36 times the global warming potential (GWP) compared to CO2 (EPA2, 2022; Turner et al., 2016; Turner et al., 2019). From the recovery point of view and as well as tuning the equation of state (EOS) for gas injection processes, minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) is a pivotal parameter estimating the recovery factor during gas injection processes. In this study we developed a methodology using Light Gradient Boost (Light GBM) (Ke et al., 2017) based model to estimate: 1) Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP) for the injected stream of hydrocarbon (HC) gas, and 2) minimum heavy HC gas (C2H6, C3H8 or their equivalence like CO2 and H2S) that is required to be added for a target MMP into the light HC gas stream. This is also known as minimum miscible enrichment, MME to achieve a prescribed MMP if the pressure requirements for a given lean gas are too high to implement in the field, usually due to compression cost and/or reservoir/well integrity reasons. We validate our MMP model using Leave-One-Out-Cross-Validation (LOOCV) (Shao, 1993) method which is the least unbiased cross -validation method and therefore proves the robustness of the proposed model. We compared the accuracy of the proposed model (AARE = 3.83%) with the leading correlations in the industry, and the proposed model significantly outperforms all the relevant models in the literature as shown in this study (Maklavani et al., 2010; Eakin and Mitch, 1988; Glaso, 1985; Kuo, 1985). The proposed model fully considers the underlying physics of miscibility and takes into consideration all the key and easy to obtain input parameters that influence the miscibility pressure of the injected gas.

INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMPLEX HYDROGEN THERMOBARIC CHEMICAL EFFECT TECHNOLOGY FOR STIMULATION OF THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROCARBONS BY USING POLYMER PARACYANOGEN

The research is focused on increasing the manageability and effectiveness of the technology of complex hydrogen thermobaric chemical effect (CHTBCE) to increase the production of hydrocarbons from oil and gas wells. It is demonstrated that the basic chemical-technological process of this technology is ineffective because both the temperature level and the duration of its high-temperature stage are insufficient for generating hydrogen and effecting partial hydrocracking of heavy hydrocarbons. This limiting stage of the process can be overcome by using the physico-chemical activation technique. Experiments have demonstrated that these problems can be solved by adding polymer paracyanogen to the composition of basic process fluids as a combustion activator. The dispersing and the mechanochemical activation of paracyanogen into a particle size range of 1-5 μm, combined with simultaneous homogenization of the "activator-liquid suspension medium" system, were conducted using the hydrocavitation activation method. Experiments have shown that the optimal amount of 0.7% to 0.95% mass of paracyanogen as a combustion activator in process fluids can increase and sustain the temperature level during the high-temperature stage of the process. This can be sufficient for generating hydrogen from hydroreactive agents to effect the process of hydrocracking heavy hydrocarbons.

Biological activity of forest litters in Ukhta City’s Central Park soils (The Komi Republic)

Physicochemical properties and parameters of biological activity of forest litter horizons of illuvial-ferruginous podzols, formed the main part of soil cover of the largest recreational zone of Ukhta city, the G. A. Karchevsky Central Park, have been determined for the first time ever. In the park soils, a change in the basic agrochemical parameters (alkalinization and an increase in the content of available forms of the most important biogens with the exception of organic compounds carbon), the accumulation of heavy metals (up to moderately toxic level according to value of total pollution index) and petroleum hydrocarbons were indicated in comparison with background soils. An increase in soil enzymes (catalase, invertase) activity and a metabolic activity of soil microbial community was established. Based on the spectra of organic substrate consumption (multisubstrate testing method), a higher activity of all microbial functional (trophic) groups, with the exception of bacteria that consume alcohols, hexoses, and amino acids as an energy source, was revealed.

The Geochemical Effect of Impact Processing of Polar Regolith on the Moon

The paper considers the geochemical effects of impact processing of the polar regolith of the Moon. It contains an admixture of water ice, which can (should?) provide conditions for possible chemical reactions. To date, only one geochemical effect was reliably found—the formation of hematite Fe2O3, which is uncharacteristic for relatively low selenographic latitudes. In the work, a thermodynamic analysis of the conditions required for the formation of hematite is carried out. It is shown that this requires the presence of free oxygen, which (this is a possible option) can accumulate during the dissipation into outer space of hydro gen formed during water decomposition. The specific process or processes of hematite formation require fur ther study. It is very likely that impact processing of polar regolith also leads to hydration of silicate glasses and to the formation of heavy hydrocarbons. The dissipation of free hydrogen into outer space, which, apparently, is formed in these processes, should lead to an increase in the deuterium content in the remaining hydrogen. The Н2О ice of the polar regolith likely contains a significant amount of heavy water. Future inves tigations in the polar regions of the Moon, especially with the delivery of samples to Earth, should confirm or refute these conclusions and assumptions.