Applications In Oil Industry Research Articles

Quantitative Structural Study of Cold-Crystallized PEKK

Poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK) is a semicrystalline polymer investigated for highly demanding applications in aerospace, transportation, electronics, and oil & gas industries. The properties requ...

Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide Thin Films for Ultrahigh CO2 Gas Sensing Performance at Room Temperature.

The demand for carbon dioxide (CO2) gas detection is increasing nowadays. However, its fast detection at room temperature (RT) is a major challenge. Graphene is found to be the most promising sensing material for RT detection, owing to its high surface area and electrical conductivity. In this work, we report a highly edge functionalized chemically synthesized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin films to achieve fast sensing response for CO2 gas at room temperature. The high amount of edge functional groups is prominent for the sorption of CO2 molecules. Initially, rGO is synthesized by reduction of GO using ascorbic acid (AA) as a reducing agent. Three different concentrations of rGO are prepared using three AA concentrations (25, 50, and 100 mg) to optimize the material properties such as functional groups and conductivity. Thin films of three different AA reduced rGO suspensions (AArGO25, AArGO50, AArGO100) are developed and later analyzed using standard FTIR, XRD, Raman, XPS, TEM, SEM, and four-point probe measurement techniques. We find that the highest edge functionality is achieved by the AArGO25 sample with a conductivity of ~1389 S/cm. The functionalized AArGO25 gas sensor shows recordable high sensing properties (response and recovery time) with good repeatability for CO2 at room temperature at 500 ppm and 50 ppm. Short response and recovery time of ~26 s and ~10 s, respectively, are achieved for 500 ppm CO2 gas with the sensitivity of ~50 Hz/µg. We believe that a highly functionalized AArGO CO2 gas sensor could be applicable for enhanced oil recovery, industrial and domestic safety applications.

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A BENTONITE DEPOSIT FROM THE EASTERN IRAN; COMPARISON WITH TWO REFERENCE BENTONITES

Mineralogically, bentonites are dominated by smectites and due to characteristic textural and physicochemical properties of smectites (e.g. very small particle sizes, high cation exchange capacity) are of a great use in industrial applications. In this study, a bentonite sample was characterized with regard to the particle size distribution, mineralogical composition and cation exchange capacity in comparison with the data for the two internationally well-known bentonites representative for Na- and Ca-bentonites: the Mx-80 bentonite of Wyoming, USA and that of Milos, Greece, respectively. Results show a high fraction of fine-grained particles, which demonstrates high yield of purified clay. Mineralogically, the studied bentonite comprises mainly smectites and expandable illite-smectite mixed layer clay minerals. Main accessory minerals are calcite, silica polymorphs and zeolites. The specific surface area and cation exchange capacity values are 330.3 (m2g-1) and 42.2 (meq/100 g), respectively. It is concluded that the mineralogical, textural and the measured physicochemical properties of the studied bentonite is applicable to the applications in oil industry and its related environment maintenance related issues.

Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Static Poisson's Ratio Prediction While Drilling.

The prediction of continued profile for static Poisson's ratio is quite expensive and requires huge experimental works, and the discontinuity in the measurement and the limited applicability and accuracy of the present empirical correlations necessitated the utilization of artificial intelligence with its prosperous application in oil and gas industry. This work aims to construct different artificial intelligence models for predicting static Poisson's ratio of complex lithology at real time during drilling. The functional networks (FN) and random forest (RF) approaches were utilized using the mechanical drilling parameters as inputs. This study uses a vertical well with 1775 records from complex lithology containing shale, sand, and carbonate for model building. Besides, a different dataset from another well was used to check the models' validity. The results demonstrated that both FN- and RF-based models predicted static Poisson's ratio with significant matching accuracy. The FN technique results' correlation coefficient (R) value of 0.89 and average absolute percentage error (AAPE) values of 10.23% and 10.28% in training and testing processes. While the RF technique is outperformed, as illustrated by the highest R values of 0.99 and 0.94 and the lowest AAPE values of 1.89% and 5.19% for training and testing processes, the robustness and reliability of the developed models were confirmed in the validation process with R values of 0.94 and 0.86 and AAPE values of 11.23% and 5.12% for FN- and RF-based models, respectively. The constructed models developed a basis for inexpensive static Poisson's ratio prediction in real time with significant accuracy.

Effect of dimethyl carbonate on the behavior of water confined in carbon nanotube

The dehydration of water by dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is of great significance for its application in electrochemistry and oil industry. With the rapid development of nanomaterial, one-dimensional (e.g. carbon nanotube (CNT)) and two-dimensional (e.g. lamellar graphene) materials have been widely used for molecular sieving. In this work, the molecular behavior of dimethyl carbonate/water mixture confined in CNT with varying diameters was studied based on molecular dynamics simulation. Due to different van der Waals interactions for the components in the mixtures with the solid surface, DMC molecules are preferentially adsorbed on the inner surface of the pore wall and formed an adsorption layer. Comparing with the pure water molecules confined in CNT, the adsorption DMC layer shows notable effect on the local compositions and microstructures of water molecules under nanoconfinement, which may result in different water mobility. Our analysis shows that the surface-induced DMC molecules can destroy the hydrogen bonding network of water molecules and result in an uniform and dispersed distribution of water molecules in the tube. These clear molecular understandings can be useful in material design for membrane separation.

Production of magnetic nanoparticles modified with silica for application in oil and gas industry

Production of magnetic nanoparticles modified with silica for application in oil and gas industry

(Invited) Investigation of Corrosion Inhibitor Adsorption on Mild Steel By Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscopy

Mild steel has wide application in oil and gas industry due to its excellent mechanical properties and low costs. However, it is susceptible to corrosion attack in a typical water-containing service environment. Organic corrosion inhibitors can adsorb on steel surfaces to form protective layers even when added in a small amount. As conceptualized in the literature, the decrease in corrosion rates due to addition of inhibitor should be directly related to their surface coverage. However, studies have so far not provided any direct evidence of such a link, primarily due to limitations of conventional electrochemical analysis that have been used to investigate them. In the present work, a specially designed holder for electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM) has been used to study the influence of a tetra-decyl-dimethyl-benzyl-ammonium inhibitor model compound on mitigation of corrosion. AFM results shows that when the bulk solution inhibitor concentration was at 0.5 CMC, partial coverage of the surface by the inhibitor film and patchy corrosion (which could lead to localized attack) of the UNS G1018 steel surface were observed by contact mode AFM imaging. When inhibitor bulk concentration was above the surface saturation value (1 CMC), full surface protection was indicated by the almost unchanged AFM topography images from 10 minutes to 4 hours exposure to the inhibited solution. The LPR results obtained with EC-AFM showed that the corrosion rates of this steel decreased as the bulk solution concentration of inhibitor in separate tests was increased from 0, 0.5 CMC to 1 CMC, while further increase of concentrations (from 1 CMC to 2 CMC) didn’t lead to any apparent reduction of general corrosion rate. Although the LPR corrosion rates at 1 CMC and 2 CMC were extremely low (0.05 - 0.1 mm/year), the values didn’t reduce to 0 under these full coverage conditions. Additional AFM tapping mode imaging results on mica indicated the formation of a porous film (a layer with ‘holes’) which is used to explain the types of adsorption layers possible and their probable influence on corrosion.

Artificial intelligence techniques and their application in oil and gas industry

Data are being continuously generated from various operational steps in the oil and gas industry. The recordings of these data and their proper utilization have become a major concern for the oil and gas industry. Decision making based on predictive as well as inferential data analytics helps in making accurate decisions within a short period of time. In spite of many challenges, the use of data analytics for decision making is increasing on a large-scale in the oil and gas industry. An appreciable amount of development has been done in the above area of research. Many complex problems may now be easily solved using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques. Historical, as well as real-time data, can be assimilated to achieve higher production by gathering data from the gas/oil wells. Various analytical modeling techniques are now widely being used by the oil and gas sector to make a decision based on data analytics. This paper reviews the recent developments via applications of AI and ML techniques for efficient exploitation of the data obtained, starting from the exploration for crude oil to the distribution of its end products. A brief account of the acceptance and future of these techniques in the oil and gas industry is also discussed. Present work may provide a technical framework for choosing relevant technologies for effectively gaining the information from the large volume of data generated by the oil and gas industry.

Muti-Dimensional Reservoir Simulation Platform

The muti-dimensional reservoir simulation platform is a digital twin reservoir system that integrates seismic, geology, numerical simulation and production. Based on years of accumulation, we make full use of late-comer advantages and adapt to the tide of networking and cloudification to fully integrate with informatization. In the oil and gas industry applications, we regard integration and sharing as our goal. The muti-dimensional reservoir simulation platform will realize application integration on the basis of digital integration realized by informatization and maximize knowledge sharing on the basis of data sharing realized by informatization.

Physicochemical Properties and Fatty Acids Composition of Sudanese Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil

Moringa oleifera is a robust and fast growing tree considered as one of the most beneficial trees worldwide since almost all parts of it used as food, medicines and for industrial purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition of M. oleifera seed oil. The oil was extracted by Soxhlet using n-hexane; the physicochemical properties of the seed oil were assessed by standard and established methods, as well the fatty acid composition of the seed oil was determined by GC-MS. The golden yellow with characteristic odor oil obtained from the seeds had the following physicochemical properties: yield, 42.87%; freezing point, 0 °C; melting point, 21 °C; boiling point, 225 °C; refractive index (25 °C), 1.447; iodine value, 96.6 g/100g of oil; peroxide value, 7.6 meq.O2/kg of oil; free fatty acids, 0.07%; acid value, 1.4 mg of KOH/g of oil; saponification value, 185.2 mg KOH/g of oil; unsaponifiable matter, 3.2; moisture and volatile value, 4.91 (wt.%); density, 0.900 g/cm3; viscosity, 60.99 mm2/s; specific gravity, 0.907. The fatty acids composition showed that oleic- acid (51.74%) was the major fatty acid and followed by behenic- (10.54%), palmitic- (9.20%), stearic- (8.46%), arachidic- (6.41%), gondic- (4.88%), lignoceric- (3.08%) and palmitoleic acid (2.85%). Therefore, more and advanced research should be undertaken for this abundant source of natural oil for edible oil and possible industrial applications.

Strengthening WSN Applications in Oil and Gas Industries for Multiple Monitoring Frameworks

Strengthening WSN Applications in Oil and Gas Industries for Multiple Monitoring Frameworks

Use of Triple Bagging System and Biopesticides for the Optimization of Storage Methods of Corn Grains for an Application in Oil Industry

Use of Triple Bagging System and Biopesticides for the Optimization of Storage Methods of Corn Grains for an Application in Oil Industry

Some studies on nickel based Inconel 625 hard overlays on AISI 316L plate by gas metal arc welding based hardfacing process

The aim of the study was to examine the characteristics of Inconel 625 hard overlays over AISI 316L used for oil and gas industry applications. Weaving technique was adopted using robotic gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process in this study to reduce the dilution % and contact angle. Multiple overlapped beads were fabricated with a welding current of 120 Amps, welding speed of 250 mm/min with sinewave weaving technique. The hard overlays were then examined to expose the microstructural variation and mechanical integrity. In addition, reciprocating wear test and three-body abrasion tests were performed to study the wear characteristics. Microstructural results showed the existence of precipitates rich in Mo and Nb dispersed in the interdendritic regions with a dendritic structure. Hardfaced overlay and interface samples showed an increase of 17.8% and 3.7% respectively in ultimate tensile strength than the substrate material. Microhardness test exhibited intended results which follow an increasing trend from substrate to the overlay with an average of 246.02 HV0.5 at the overlay region and 184.94 HV0.5 on the substrate zone. Wear test results revealed excellent wear resistance of the hardfaced samples in comparison with substrate specimens. Co-efficient of friction (CoF) of hardfaced samples were 0.16 and 0.12 while the CoF of substrate specimen were 0.25 and 0.53 at room temperature and 180 °C respectively in ball on flat reciprocating wear test. Specific wear rate of hardfaced samples during the three-body abrasion test at 50 N and 130 N load decreased by ⁓39% in comparison with substrate. The surfaces of the worn samples from the wear test were characterized by SEM wear tracks and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy analysis.

Oil spill cleanup by raw flax fiber: Modification effect, sorption isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamics

Modification of raw flax fiber by acetylating process and microwave energy was useful in the application of oil spill cleanup. The change in fibers was characterized by scientific analysis(FTIR, SEM, XRD and contact angle). The results indicate that the modified fibers by the acetylating process have extra hydrophobic properties than both microwave radiation and raw fibers. Oil/Artificial seawater(3.5% salinity by NaCl) system (O/W-S) was used as a liquid phase operation system. Fast oil sorption was reached at 6 min and attained(equilibrium) at 10 min. Acetylated fiber(ACF)has higher oil sorption capacity(24.54 g/g) than both raw(13.75 g/g) and microwave fiber(17.42 g/g) with exothermic effect. The sorption kinetics and isotherms indicate that the oil sorption onto ACF agreement with pseudo second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model. Also, the economic reusing of fiber was evaluated. The process of acetylation demonstrated the ability to improve the absorptive properties of the fibers, which makes them able to compete with synthetic fibers in the oil spill cleanup and industrial applications, as well as cheap and eco-friendly due to their biodegradation.

A comparative study of the properties of 10 variety melon seeds and seed oils

The moisture content of seeds of the melon varieties varied between 4.8%–6.3%, the ash interval 2.5%–3.5%, the crude oil 19.4%–33.0%, the crude protein 30.4%–37.2%, and the crude cellulose value 1.5%–2.7%. Flavonoid contents of seeds were found between 134 and 257 mg CE/kg, and the total phenol contents were found between 615 and 850 mg GAE/kg. The phosphorus contents of melon seeds changed between 5,912 and 8,964 mg/kg. The seed oils contained 57.1%–74.7% linoleic, 13.0%–28.4% oleic, and 7.0%–10.1% palmitic acids. While α-tocopherol contents of oils varied between 1.8 mg/kg (Kırkağaç-Dalaman) and 10.4 mg/100 g (Çankırı winter), γ-tocopherol contents of oils changed between 6.6 mg/100 g (Mühürlü) and 30.0 mg/100 g (Çankırı winter). The cholesterol, brassicasterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, sitosterol, and sitostanol contents were the main sterols for Chocolate variety oil (13.73, 14.21, 27.41, 38.05, 152.04, and 117.57 mg/kg, respectively).The ∆5-avenasterol (116.62 mg/kg) and ∆7-avenasterol (31.28 mg/kg) were significantly (p < .05) high in Çankırı winter. ∆7-stigmastenol content was dominated in Kırkağaç-Dalaman seed oil (143.69 mg/kg). Practical applications Seeds belonging to Cucurbitaceae family are known to be as rich in oil. The fatty acid profile plays an important role in their stabiliy and nutritional value. The high content oil showing useful characteristics such as odorlessness, good color. Melon seed oil rich in the bioactive components. These seeds suitable for oil industrial applications. Because many of these oils were used as cooking oil in some countries in Africa and in the Middle East, the melon seed oils could be developed into the commercial products to serve as alternate vegetable oils.

Design and Cost Optimization of Heat Exchangers Network System in a Typical Brewery Plant

Heat exchanger design and cost optimization had been carried out for Pabod Brewery, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria using Pinch Technology as process application method. The gross energy expenditure by the plant is 10.44MW at production capacity of 400,000 liters of beer per day. On quantitative aggregate 6.157MW goes for heating and 4.267MW for cooling. A temperature pinch or minimum approach temperature (?Tmin) of 100C, minimum heating utility of 5.04MW and cooling utility of 3.09MW were recorded. Energy upturn of 1.08MW and 1.23MW for the hot and cold flows were measured. This finding correlates to energy conservationS of 18% for hot utility and 21% for the cold utility. Overall improvement in capital and annualized costs of 39% was achieved for the hot and cold utilities. The researchers strongly recommend the outcome of this research to process applications in brewery, chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas industries.

Design and Cost Optimization of Heat Exchangers Network System in a Typical Brewery Plant

Heat exchanger design and cost optimization had been carried out for Pabod Brewery, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria using Pinch Technology as process application method. The gross energy expenditure by the plant is 10.44MW at production capacity of 400,000 liters of beer per day. On quantitative aggregate 6.157MW goes for heating and 4.267MW for cooling. A temperature pinch or minimum approach temperature (ΔTmin) of 100C, minimum heating utility of 5.04MW and cooling utility of 3.09MW were recorded. Energy upturn of 1.08MW and 1.23MW for the hot and cold flows were measured. This finding correlates to energy conservationS of 18% for hot utility and 21% for the cold utility. Overall improvement in capital and annualized costs of 39% was achieved for the hot and cold utilities. The researchers strongly recommend the outcome of this research to process applications in brewery, chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas industries.

Stability of nanoparticle stabilized oil-in-water Pickering emulsion under high pressure and high temperature conditions: comparison with surfactant stabilized oil-in-water emulsion

Stability of oil-in-water emulsions under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions has a significant interest in upstream oil and gas industrial applications. Such emulsions are generally stabilized with surfactants, which are thermodynamically unstable under HPHT conditions. Alternate to surfactants, the addition of nanoparticles has emerged as a method for emulsion stabilization, known as Pickering emulsion. In this work, a comparative study of the stability of silica nanoparticle (Ludox CL) stabilized Pickering emulsion against surfactant SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) stabilized emulsion under HPHT conditions has been explored. The stability of the emulsions was measured in terms of change in emulsion droplet diameter. Subsequently, emulsion samples are aged under different pressure and temperature conditions in an aging cell for 24 hours. The emulsion mean droplet diameter increases with an increase in temperature. The magnitude of change in the mean droplet diameter of aged SDS stabilized emulsion is higher as compared to Ludox CL stabilized emulsion under varying pressure (0.1–10 MPa) and temperature (303–363 K). It can be concluded that Ludox CL stabilized emulsion shows better stability as compared to SDS stabilized emulsion under HPHT conditions. Hence, emulsion stabilized by Ludox CL nanoparticle may withstand harsh reservoir conditions and can be used for enhanced oil recovery applications.

Downhole Microseismic Monitoring Using Time-Division Multiplexed Fiber-Optic Accelerometer Array

Microseismic monitoring is of importance for several geoscience research aspects and for applications in oil and gas industry. For signals generated by the ultra-weak microseismic events, conventional moving-coil geophone systems have reached their limit in detection sensitivity especially at high frequency range. Here we for the first time present a specially tailored fiber-optic sensing system targeting at downhole microseismic monitoring. The system contains 30 individual interferometric accelerometers and 2 reference sensors, which are time-division multiplexed into a 12-level vector seismic sensor array. The multiplexed accelerometers can achieve ~50 ng/ $\sqrt {\mathrm{Hz}} $ noise equivalent acceleration, which is superior to the commercial available moving-coil geophone systems at frequencies above 200 Hz. The measured sensitivity of the accelerometers can reach ~200 rad/g from 10 Hz to 1 kHz. The dynamic range is above 134 dB over the same frequency range and is higher than its electronic counterpart in the low frequency band. Moreover, the sensors can function properly under the harsh condition of 120 °C temperature and 40 MPa pressure over the 4-hour test duration. The sensor array along with the interrogator has been running uninterruptedly over 3 weeks in a multi-stage hydraulic fracturing stimulation field test. On-site results show that our system can clearly resolve the vector nature of both compressional and shear waves generated by the microseismic events.

The role of ferrite-cementite interface in formation of hierarchical film on carbon steel in CO2-saturated brine

Carbon steels with ferrite-pearlite structures are commonly used materials in many industrial operations, and their protection against corrosion often relies on preventative inhibition measures. Film-forming corrosion inhibitors are known to provide protection to carbon steels in oil and gas productions lines for decades. However, the mechanisms of how these protect against corrosion are not known. Corrosion inhibitor films with hierarchical structures can be protective to the steel surface due to their large surface area and interconnected hierarchical porosity. The compounds that contribute to the formation of hierarchical morphology can be components of corrosion inhibitor formulations.This study demonstrates solution deposition of a hierarchically structured film derived from sodium thiosulphate. The film forms on an AISI 1030 carbon steel (UNS G10300) substrate in CO2-saturated sodium chloride containing solution under ambient conditions. We identified that the hierarchical film derived from sodium thiosulphate occurs originally at the interface of ferrite-cementite phase in pearlite and elucidate the role of oxygen in the formation of the hierarchical structures. These findings are expected to facilitate developments of novel corrosion inhibition strategies, through a controlled growth of surface films at metallic substrates for specific applications, including corrosion protection in oil and gas industry, catalysis and energy-storage applications.