TETRA Technology Research Articles

Licensing agreements enable Tetra to create sustainable markets for produced water

Tetra Technologies Inc has entered into exclusive licensing agreements covering the treatment and recycling of produced water from oil and gas wells for reuse in hydraulic fracturing.

CO2-into-minerals advances

Two companies built around turning carbon dioxide into minerals are advancing their business plans. Low-carbon cement start-up Solidia Technologies closed a $78 million funding round and named a new CEO, Bryan Kalbfleisch, who has 20 years’ experience in the concrete and building materials industries. Solidia says its process uses up to 40% less energy than conventional plants during cement production and consumes 240 kg of CO 2 per metric ton of cement during curing. Meanwhile, the start-up CarbonFree has signed a 1-year memorandum of understanding with the calcium chloride specialist Tetra Technologies. CaCl 2 is a feedstock for CarbonFree’s second-generation carbon mineralization technology, which produces calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid. The firm already has a first-generation plant in San Antonio, Texas, that makes sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid from cement plant flue gas. In addition to R&D and supply chain collaboration over the next year, the firms say they will

Performance Analysis of TETRA Technology under Heterogeneous Traffic Flow in VANETs

Performance Analysis of TETRA Technology under Heterogeneous Traffic Flow in VANETs

Technology Focus: Well Testing (February 2017)

Technology Focus 2016 was another slow year in the oil industry as the price of oil remained low. Despite the ongoing downturn, the 18th meeting of the Win Cubed Well Test Net-work (WTN) was hosted by Tetra Technologies in Houston in April. There were 37 attendees present plus 11 others who participated by telephone. Delegates represented a broad spectrum of operators and service companies, as well as a few independent consultants. Fourteen presentations covered success stories and innovations developed and implemented in the industry. During the 2-day meeting, an enthusiastic and open-minded participation was commonplace. A significant portion of participants contributed to the discussion and, on the basis of experience, helped build on the presentations to ensure that relevant information was shared with the group. Plans are already under way for the WTN 2017 meeting in Houston. For those interested, further information about the meeting as well as steps to join the network can be found at www.wincubed.co.uk. Continued enthusiasm in the well-testing segment of the oil industry is also apparent. Even though there was a smaller number of articles and presentations among various conferences related to well testing during 2016, there are articles that contribute significantly not only for the experts but also for the upcoming generation. The papers for this issue of JPT were selected to cover field applications as well as value added by consultants and academics. As difficult as it is to narrow down the list to three manuscripts, I have confidence that, in the end, these three manuscripts show insightful use of well-test data. The additional-reading articles selected offer many insights that are of value to the practitioner. Most certainly, the interested reader should seek further articles on this topic in the OnePetro library. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 177785 Successful Delivery of Downhole Measurements From Abu Dhabi Giant Offshore Field by Daniel Newton, Zakum Development Company, et al. SPE 179008 Applied Buildup-Well-Test Interpretation: Field Testing of Conventional and Deconvolution Methods by Omar Rosario, PDVSA, et al. SPE 181352 Consistent Integration of Drillstem-Test Data Into Reservoir Models on a Giant Field Offshore Norway by Jon Sætrom, Resoptima, et al. SPE 181546 Temperature Transients Affect Reservoir-Pressure Estimation During Well Tests—Case Study and Model by Pierre-David Maizeret, Schlumberger, et al.

Road Clears For Calcium Chloride

Question: What do a soda ash plant in Canada, brine fields in northern Michigan, and fluorochemical facilities in the Southeast all have in common? Answer: Calcium chloride. Calcium chloride is a high-volume chemical made via several unrelated routes that seem to have in common only a propensity to create oversupply and poor prices for manufacturers. However, recent and planned cutbacks at several U.S. calcium chloride plants could finally balance supplies and turn the industry around. The North American calcium chloride market has long been supplied by three major producers—Dow Chemical, General Chemical, and Tetra Technologies—each of which obtains its product from a different source. Dow taps underground brines in Ludington, Mich., to make calcium chloride as a coproduct with magnesium hydroxide. General coproduces calcium chloride along with soda ash at a plant in Amherstburg, Ontario. And Tetra produces calcium chloride mainly by neutralizing by-product hydrochloric acid streams made by other compani...

Review of beneficial uses of calcium and ammonium salts for stimulating plant growth and metabolite translocation

Numerous investigations have been conducted to quantify Ca‐stimulated ammonium (NH4 +) absorption by plants [this technology is covered under U.S. patent 4,500,335, patent licensee is Tetra Technologies, 250251–45 North, The Woodlands, TX 77380]. Greenhouse and field studies on vegetable crops, field crops and ornamental foliage crops show significant growth increases from increasing Ca++:NH4 + ratios in the growth media. Increased root growth was normally the first plant response, with especially large root and bulb responses observed in onion (Allium cepa L.), beets (Beta vulgaris.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), and bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon Pers.). Direct measurements of Ca‐stimulated NH4 + absorption were obtained with isotopic nitrogen (15N) in greenhouse trials. As Ca++ concentrations were increased an increase in 15NH4 + absorption was obtained in all plant species tested. The Ca++ stimulated NH4 + absorption phenomenon in plants is best explained by the “Viets Effect”;, which describes the use of Ca++ or magnesium (Mg++) to increase plant absorption of potassium (K+). Although, increased NH4 absorption effectively increases plant growth, increasing K+ absorption does not. Increased NH4 + absorption has been associated with enhanced photosynthetic rates as well as increased proportions of new metabolites (compounds initially produced from newly captured carbon dioxide) translocated to the nutrient sinks (seeds, bulbs, roots, etc.). The integrity of the plasmalemma is maintained by the presence of extra Ca++, leading to greater turgor pressure (higher water content) and nutrient retention in cells which produce greater growth potential in plants.

Tetra Technologies wins US$17 M water treatment contracts

Tetra Technologies wins US$17 M water treatment contracts

5403495 Fluoride removal system: Kust Roger N; Mishra Surendra K; Pfeiffer James B Spring, TX, United States Assigned to Tetra Technologies Inc

5403495 Fluoride removal system: Kust Roger N; Mishra Surendra K; Pfeiffer James B Spring, TX, United States Assigned to Tetra Technologies Inc