Assessment of Contamination Degree of Oil Residues on a Former Agricultural Site

In this study,our goal is to identify the land surface that has been polluted/degraded by petroleum products or other identified causes through laboratory analysis,to assess the depth of current contamination and to identify the specific causes of contamination.The level of contamination will be assessed by analyzing a total of 90 soil samples,both within the first 30 cm depth and within the 30-60 cm interval.The potential impact of the petroleum activities and their effects on the environment and agricultural development in the area will be evaluated by studying the distribution of the chemical elements analyzed,particularly total petroleum hydrocarbons(TPH).In addition,a thematic map was created using MapSys 10.0 software based on their distribution,indicating the polluted areas using color codes and values.This analysis and mapping revealed that 7,473 square meters of the site were severely contaminated at 30 cm,representing approximately 25% of the site.

Effect of petroleum chemical fraction and residual oil content in saline lacustrine organic-rich shale: A case study from the Paleogene Dongpu Depression of North China

Halite and gypsum minerals in saline shale make the retention mechanism and chemical fractionation of residual oil unique. The Dongpu Depression in North China is a typically saline lacustrine basin with developing halite and gypsum. The effect of gypsum minerals on residual oil content and chemical fractionation remains unclear. In this study, shale samples with different gypsum contents were used in organic geochemical experiments, showing that the high total organic matter (TOC) content and type II kerogen leads to a high residual oil content, as shown by high values of volatile hydrocarbon (S1) and extractable organic matter (EOM). XRD and FE-SEM result indicate that the existence of gypsum in saline shale contributes to an enhanced pore space and a higher residual oil content in comparison to non-gypsum shale. Additionally, the increase in the gypsum mineral content leads to an increase in the saturated hydrocarbon percentage and a decrease in polar components percentage (resins and asphaltene). Furthermore, thermal simulation experiments on low-mature saline shale show that the percentage of saturated hydrocarbons in the residual oil is high and remains stable and that the storage space is mainly mesoporous (> 20 nm) in the oil expulsion stage. However, the saturated hydrocarbons percentage decreases rapidly, and oil exists in mesopores (> 20 nm and < 5 nm) in the gas expulsion stage. In general, gypsum is conducive to the development of pore space, the adsorption of hydrocarbons and the occurrence of saturated hydrocarbon, leading to large quantities of residual oil. The data in this paper should prove to be reliable for shale oil exploration in saline lacustrine basins.

Utilization mechanism of foam flooding and distribution situation of residual oil in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

The development of fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs is extremely difficult because of the complex fractured-vuggy structure and strong heterogeneity.Foam flooding is a potential enhanced oil recovery(EOR)technology in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.Based on the similarity criterion,three types of 2D visual physical models of the fractured-vuggy structure were made by laser ablation technique,and a 3D visual physical model of the fractured-vuggy reservoir was made by 3D printing technology.Then the physical analog experiments of foam flooding were carried out in these models.The experimental results show that foam can effectively improve the mobility ratio,control the flow velocity of the fluid in different directions,and sweep complex fracture networks.The effect of foam flooding in fractures can be improved by increasing foam strength and enhancing foam stability.The effect of foam flooding in vugs can be improved by reducing the density of the foam and the interfacial tension between foam and oil.Three types of microscopic residual oil and three types of macroscopic residual oil can be displaced by foam flooding.This study verifies the EOR of foam flooding in the fractured-vuggy reservoir and provides theoretical support for the application of foam flooding in fractured-vuggy reservoirs.

Numerical analysis of water-alternating-CO_(2) flooding for CO_(2)-EOR and storage projects in residual oil zones

Residual oil zones(ROZs)have high residual oil saturation,which can be produced using CO_(2) miscible flooding.At the same time,these zones are good candidates for CO_(2) sequestration.To evaluate the coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage perfor-mance in ROZs for Water-Alternating-CO_(2)(WAG)flooding,a multi-compositional CO_(2) miscible model with molecular diffusion was developed.The effects of formation parameters(porosity,permeability,temperature),operation parameters(bottom hole pressure,WAG ratio,pore volume of injected water),and diffusion coeffcient on the coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage were investigated.Five points from the CO_(2) sequestration curve and the oil recovery factor curve were selected to help better analyze coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage.The results demonstrate that enhanced performance is observed when formation permeability is higher and a larger volume of water is injected.On the other hand,the performance diminishes with increasing porosity,molecular diffusion of gas,and the WAG ratio.When the temperature is around 100℃,coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage performance is the worst.To achieve optimal miscible flooding,it is recommended to maintain the bottom hole pressure(BHP)of the injection well above 1.2 minimum miscibility pressure(MMP),while ensuring that the BHP of the production well remains sufficiently high.Furthermore,the tapered WAG flooding strategy proves to be profitable for enhanced oil recovery,as compared to a WAG ratio of 0.5:1,although it may not be as effective for CO_(2) sequestration.

Reservoir heterogeneity controls of CO_(2)-EOR and storage potentials in residual oil zones:Insights from numerical simulations

Residual oil zones(ROZs)have large potential for CO_(2)enhanced oil recovery(EOR)and geologic storage.During CO_(2)injection,the migration of CO_(2)in ROZs controls the performance of both EOR and storage.However,it has not been clearly visualized and understood that how geological heterogeneity factors control the transport of CO_(2)in ROZs.In this study,the oil recovery performance and geologic storage potential during continuous CO_(2)injection in a representative ROZ are studied based on geostatistical modelling and high-fidelity three-phase flow simulation.We examined the influence of autocorrelation length of permeability,global heterogeneity(DykstraeParsons coefficient),and permeability anisotropy on cumulative oil recovery and CO_(2)retention fraction.Simulation results indicate that,as the permeability autocorrelation length increases,the cumulative oil recovery and CO_(2)storage efficiency decrease.This results from the accelerated migration of CO_(2)along high permeability zones(i.e.,gas channeling).The increase in global heterogeneity and permeability anisotropies can lead to low oil recovery and poor CO_(2)sequestration performance,depending on the degree of CO_(2)channeling.The net utilization ratio of CO_(2)(CO_(2)retained/oil produced)unfavorably increases with both autocorrelation length and Dykstra eParsons coefficient,but decreases with the increase in kv/kh.Such a decrease is attributed to enlarged swept volume induced by gravity override.The study provides important implications for fieldscale CO_(2)EOR and storage applications in ROZs.

Ecological effects of crude oil residues on the functional diversity of soil microorganisms in three weed rhizospheres

Ecological effects of crude oil residues on weed rhizospheres are still vague. The quantitative and diversity changes and metabolic responses of soil-bacterial communities in common dandelion （Taraxacum officinale）, jerusalem artichoke （Silphiurn perfoliatum L.） and evening primrose （A colypha australis L.） rhizospheric soils were thus examined using the method of carbon source utilization. The results indicated that there were various toxic effects of crude oil residues on the growth and reproduction of soil bacteria, but the weed rhizospheres could mitigate the toxic effects. Total heterotrophic counting colony-forming units （CFUs） in the rhizospheric soils were significantly higher than those in the non-rhizospheric soils. The culturable soil-bacterial CFUs in the jerusalem artichoke （S. perfoliatum） rhizosphere polluted with 0.50 kg/pot of crude oil residues were almost twice as much as those with 0.25 kg/pot and without the addition of crude oil residues. The addition of crude oil residues increased the difference in substrate evenness, substrate richness, and substrate diversity between non-rhizospheric and rhizospheric soils of T. officinale and A. australis, but there was no significant （p〉0.05） difference in the Shannon＇s diversity index between non-rhizospheric and rhizospheric soils of S. perfoliatum. The rhizospheric response of weed species to crude oil residues suggested that S. perfoliatum may be a potential weed species for the effective plant-microorganism bioremediation of contaminated soils by crude oil residues.

Combustion characteristics of Daqing oil shale and oil shale semi-cokes

Thermo-gravimetric-analysis(TGA) was used to analyze the combustion characteristics of an oil shale and semi-cokes prepared from it.The effect of prior pyrolysis and TGA heating rate on the combustion process was studied.Prior pyrolysis affects the initial temperature of mass loss and the ignition temperature.The ignition temperature increases as the volatile content of the sample decreases.TG/DTG curves obtained at different heating rates show that heating rate has little effect on ignition temperature.But the peak of combustion shifts to higher temperatures as the heating rate is increased.The Coats-Redfern integration method was employed to find the combustion-reaction kinetic parameters for the burning of oil shale and oil shale semi-coke.

Pyrolysis of Oil Palm Residues in a Fixed Bed Tubular Reactor

Searching for alternative energy sources continues to grow in recent times due to the fear of energy insecurity in the near future and environmental and sociopolitical issues associated with the use of fossil fuel. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass is the only source that has carbon in its building blocks which can be processed to liquid fuel. In this study, pyrolysis of oil palm residues (trunk, frond and empty fruit bunch) was carried out in a fixed bed tubular reactor under nitrogen atmosphere at 30 mL/min, 30?C/min heating rate and 600?C reaction temperature. Pyrolysis products (bio-oil, bio-char and non-condensable gas) were characterized. Water content, acidity (pH), higher heating value (HHV) and oxygen content of the bio-oil varied between 39.28 - 43 wt%, 2.92 - 3.20, 19.29 - 21.92 MJ/kg and 58.47 - 59.85 wt% respectively. Low pH, highwater and oxygen contents in the oil make it unsuitable for being used as fuel and therefore require upgrading. Scanning electron microscopy and ultimate analysis of the bio-char suggests that it is a porous material and consists mainly carbon between 82.22 - 84.96 wt% and has HHV in the range of 25.98 - 27.65 MJ/kg. This may be used as solid biofuel, adsorbent and source of carbon. High percentage of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were observed in the non-condensable gas which may be processed to transportation fuel via Fisher-Tropsch process. Oil palm residues represent good source of renewable energy when all the pyrolysis products are efficiently utilized.

CO_(2) gas stripped off membranous residual oil from pore surfaces: Effects of temperature, pressure and wettability

The threshold values of CO_(2) gas stripped off membranous residual oil from the pore walls are not clear under different temperatures, pressures and wettability conditions. The extent to which temperature, pressure and wettability influence CO_(2) flooding for enhancing the recovery of residual oil in membranous formations also remains uncertain. Therefore, further quantitative characterization is entailed. In this study, the molecular dynamics method was employed to explore CO_(2) flooding under different temperatures, pressures and wettability conditions, aiming to enhance the production of membranous residual oil. The results reveal that the interaction energy between CO_(2), decane molecules and pore walls exhibits a decrease with increasing temperature and an increase with increasing pressure, respectively, in distinct wettability scenarios. When the temperature was at or below 363 K and the pressure was not lower than 40 MPa, CO_(2) gas could detach the membranous residual oil from the pore walls in the water-wet systems. When the temperature was equal to 363 K and the pressure remained under 40 MPa, or the temperature surpassed 363 K, CO_(2) gas failed to detach the membranous residual oil from the pore walls in the water-wet systems. For the mixed-wet and oil-wet systems, CO_(2) molecules could not detach the membranous residual oil from the pore walls. The hierarchy of influence regarding temperature, pressure and wettability on the competitive adsorption capacity of CO_(2) and decane molecules on the pore walls emerged as follows: wettability > temperature > pressure. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the application of CO_(2) gas flooding for the exploitation of membranous residual oil on pore walls.

Hydrogenation of Pyrolysis Oil from Loblolly Pine Residue

Loblolly pine residue prepared with and without zeolite ZSM-5 was pyrolyzed at 600℃ and the pyrolysis oil was hydrogenated using formic acid as a hydrogen source, in the presence of a Ru/activated carbon catalyst. As indicated by the pyrolysis yield, addition of the zeolite ZSM-5 increased the yield of light oil but decreased the yield of heavy oil. The pyrolysis oils were analyzed by 13C-,31P-,19F-nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR), and heteronuclear single quantum coherence or heteronuclear single quantum correlation nuclear magnetic resonance(HSQC-NMR), demonstrating that the zeolite ZSM-5 can efficiently induce decarboxylation reactions and decrease the content of aliphatic hydroxyl groups in the heavy oil by 57%.After hydrogenation of the pyrolysis oil, the aromatic carbon content decreased by 78%, with a significant increase in the aliphatic carbon content.

Stabilization of sand dunes with oil residue: Application to civil engineering construction and environmental implications

The present work ascertains the feasibility of oil residue treatment for stabilizing wind-blown sand dunes. Various combinations of natural collapsible saline from the Jandaq desert of Iran and oil residue from distillation towers of Iranian refineries were tested in laboratory experiments. Stabilized sands were evaluated in terms of geotechnical properties, permeability, and oil retention characteristics(i.e. bonding mechanisms, leaching and migrating behaviour of oil residue from the stabilized sands). Since the presence of oil residue in soils can pose an environmental threat, the optimum retention capacity of the stabilized sands is of critical concern. Relative to sand that was not augmented with oil residue, specimens made of 7% oil residues had the highest compressive strength, significantly higher cohesion and load bearing capacity, and considerably lower permeability. The effect of distilled water, saline water and municipal sewage on prepared specimens were also evaluated.

A Comparative Study on the Hydrocracking for Atmospheric Residue of Mongolian Tamsagbulag Crude Oil and Other Crude Oils

Upgrading heavy and residual oils into valuable lighter fuels has attracted much attention due to growing worldwide demand for light petroleum product. This study focused on hydrocracking process for atmospheric residue (AR) of Mongolian crude oil in the first time compared to those of other countries. Residue samples were hydrocracked with a commercial catalyst at 450℃, 460℃, 470℃ for 2 hours under hydrogen pressure of 10 MPa. The AR conversion and yield of light fraction (LF) reached to 90.6 wt% and 53.9 wt%, at 470℃ by the hydrocracking for atmospheric residue of Tamsagbulag crude oil (TBAR). In each sample, the yield of MF was the highest at 460℃ temperature, which is valuable lighter fuel product. The polyaromatic, polar hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds were concentrated in the MF and HF because the large amount of light hydrocarbons produced from TBAR as the increasing of the hydrocracking temperature. The content of n-paraffinic hydrocarbons was decreased in HF of TBAR, on effect of hydrocracking temperature. This result suggests the longer molecules of n-paraffin (С20-С32) in HF were reacted better, than middle molecules of n-paraffin (С12-С20) in MF during the hydrocracking reaction. Because the hydrocarbon components of feed crude oils were various, the contents of n-paraffinic hydrocarbons in MF and HF of TBAR and DQAR were similar, but MEAR’s was around 2 times lower and the hydrogen consumption was the highest for the MEAR after hydrocracking.

Evaluation of nutritive value and in vitro rumen fermentation gas accumulation of de-oiled algal residues

Background：Algae are widely recognized for their high oil content and for exponentially accumulating biomass with particular potential to provide single cell protein for human consumption or animal feed.It is believed that along with biodiesel from algae,the high protein de-oiled algal residue may become an alternative feed supplement option in the future.This study was conducted to investigate de-oiled algal residue obtained from the common Chlorella species,Thalassiosira weissflogii,Selenarstrum capricornutum,Scenedesmus sp.,and Scenedesmus dimorphus for assessment as potential feed supplements for ruminants by comparing with soybean（Glycine max） meal and alfalfa（Medicago sativa） hay.Results：With the exception of T.weissflogii,algal residue had higher concentrations of Cu,Zn,and Mn and lower concentration of Ca,Mg,and K than soybean meal and alfalfa hay.The algal residue CP（crude protein）concentrations ranged from 140 to 445 g/kg DM and varied among the de-oiled residues.In vitro rumen fermentation gas accumulation curves indicated that algal biomass degradation potential was less than that of soybean meal or alfalfa hay by up to 41.7%.The gas production curve,interpreted with a dual pool logistic model,confirmed that the fraction sizes for fast fermenting and slow fermenting of de-oiled algal residues were smaller than those in soybean meal and alfalfa hay,and the fermenting rate of the fractions was also low.Conclusions：Inferior in vitro rumen gas accumulation from the five de-oiled algal residues suggests that these algal byproducts are less degradable in the rumen.

An Assessment of the Potential Use of Forest Residues for the Production of Bio-Oils in the Urban-Rural Interface of Louisiana

Louisiana is endowed with forest resources. Forest wastes generated after thinning, land clearing, and logging operations, such as wood debris, tree trimmings, barks, sawdust, wood chips, and black liquor, among others, can serve as potential fuels for energy production in Louisiana. This paper aims to evaluate the potential annual volumes of forest wastes established on detailed and existing data on the forest structure in the rural-urban interface of Louisiana. It also demonstrates the state’s prospects of utilizing forest wastes to produce bio-oils. The data specific to the study was deduced from secondary data sources to obtain the annual average total residue production in Louisiana and estimate the number of logging residues available for procurement for bioenergy production. The total biomass production per year was modeled versus years by polynomial regression curve fitting using Microsoft Excel. Results of the model show that the cumulative annual total biomass production for 2025 and 2030 in Louisiana is projected to be 80000000 Bone Dry Ton (BDT) and 16000000 (BDT) respectively. The findings of the study depict that Louisiana has a massive biomass supply from forest wastes for bioenergy production. Thus, the potential for Louisiana to become an influential player in the production of bio-based products from forest residues is evident. The author recommends that future research can use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create maps displaying the potential locations and utilization centers of forest wastes for bioenergy production in the state.

Formulating Highway Paving Asphalts from the Vacuum Residue of a Paraffinic Crude

Many specifications of paving asphalts are closely related to their colloidal stability, which is, however, determined by their exact chemical compositions. The Yumen vacuum residue (YVR), the bottoms of a paraffinic crude oil is unfit for the production of highway paving asphalts directly, Neither are the de-oiled asphalts of the YVR. In this research a blending method and an optimal process of solvent de-asphalts are adopted to investigate the feasibility of formulating highway-paving asphalts from YVR. Results show that highway paving asphalts are formulated by blending solvent de-oiled asphalts with one or more of the materials including YVR, decanted oil from FCC process, and furfural extracts from lubricating base stocks. Further investigations indicate that adding oil decanted from FCC process to the solvent de-asphalting process can increase the de-asphalted oil production, improve the de-oiled asphalts quality, and thus optimize the refinery processes. The methodology of this research can be extended even to refineries processing non-paraffinic crude oils.

A model study of residual oil distribution jointly using crosswell and borehole-surface electric potential methods

Although high resolution can be provided by electrical logging, the measured electrical log range is narrow and is limited to near the well. Borehole-surface electric potential measurements are able to detect a wide enough range but its resolution is limited, particularly for reservoirs with complex oil and water distribution or complicated structure. In this study, we attempt to accurately locate the 3-D reservoir water and oil distribution by combining borehole-surface and crosswell electric potentials. First, the distributions of oil and water in both vertical and horizontal directions are detected by the borehole-surface and erosswell electric potential methods, respectively, and then the measured crosswell potential result is used to calibrate the measured borehole-surface electric potential data to improve vertical resolution so that the residual oil distribution is determined in a lower half-space with three dimensions. The evaluation of residual oil distribution is obtained by investigation of differences between the simulation results of the reservoir with and without water flooding. The finite difference numerical simulation results prove that the spatial residual oil distribution can be effectively determined by combining the crosswell and borehole-surface electric potentials.

Necessity and feasibility of improving the residual resistance factor of polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs

The efficiency of water flooding in heavy oil reservoirs would be improved by increasing the viscosity of the displacing phase, but the sweep efficiency is not of significance due to the low mobility of the vicious oil. On the basis of mobility control theory, increasing the residual resistance factor not only reduces the water-oil mobility ratio but also decreases the requirement for viscosity enhancement of the polymer solution. The residual resistance factor caused by hydrophobic associating polymer solution is higher than that caused by polyacrylamide solution in brine containing high concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions. The results of numerical simulations show that the polymer flooding efficiency improved by increasing the residual resistance factor is far better than that by only increasing solution viscosity. The recovery factor of heavy oil reservoirs （70 mPa·s） can be enhanced by hydrophobic associating polymer solution of high residual resistance factor （more than 3） and high effective viscosity （24 mPa·s）. Therefore, increasing the residual resistance factor of the polymer solution not only decreases the requirement for the viscosity of polymer solution injected into heavy oil reservoirs but also is favorable to enhanced oil recovery during polymer flooding.

Effects of compression ratio on variation of stresses and residual oil of cake in pressing process of castor beans and its curve fitting

The relationships among compression ratio and stress, compression ratio and residual oil of cake in pressing process of castor beans were studied using the test equipment under different states of oilseeds and ways of pressing manners. The results show that variation of stress increases nonlinearly and residual oil rate decreases with the increase of compression ratio. Lower residual oil of cake was obtained by pressing gently and frequently. Curve fitting on both relationships had been built and parameters for the model were obtained by least square procedure and deepening research on pressing process of the castor beans for castor oil. By assuming that the value of oil production is equivalent to the value of energy consumption, the critical compression ratio of intact seeds is 6.2 while that of crushed seeds is 3.6.

Micro-mechanisms of residual oil mobilization by viscoelastic fluids

Four typical types of residual oil, residual oil trapped in dead ends, oil ganglia in pore throats, oil at pore corners and oil film adhered to pore walls, were studied. According to main pore structure characteristics and the fundamental morphological features of residual oil, four displacement models for residual oil were proposed, in which pore-scale flow behavior of viscoelastic fluid was analyzed by a numerical method and micro-mechanisms for mobilization of residual oil were discussed. Calculated results indicate that the viscoelastic effect enhances micro displacement efficiency and increases swept volume. For residual oil trapped in dead ends, the flow field of viscoelastic fluid is developed in dead ends more deeply, resulting in more contact with oil by the displacing fluid, and consequently increasing swept volume. In addition, intense viscoelastic vortex has great stress, under which residual oil becomes small oil ganglia, and finally be carried into main channels. For residual oil at pore throats, its displacement mechanisms are similar to the oil trapped in dead ends. Vortices are developed in the depths of the throats and oil ganglia become smaller. Besides, viscoelastic fluid causes higher pressure drop on oil ganglia, as a driving force, which can overcome capillary force, consequently, flow direction can be changed and the displacing fluid enter smaller throats. For oil at pore corners, viscoelastic fluid can enhance displacement efficiency as a result of greater velocity and stress near the corners. For residual oil adhered to pore wall, viscoelastic fluid can provide a greater displacing force on the interface between viscoelastic fluid and oil, thus, making it easier to exceed the minimum interfacial tension for mobilizing the oil film.

Residual oil evolution based on displacement characteristic curve

The purpose of this study was to determine the displacement and dynamic distribution characteristics of the remaining oil in the two development stages of water flooding and subsequent alkaline surfactant polymer(ASP) flooding. The well pattern types in the water and ASP flooding stages are a longdistance determinant well pattern and short-distance five-point well pattern, respectively. The type A displacement characteristic curve can be obtained using the production data, and the slope of the straight-line section of the curve can reflect the displacement strength of the oil displacement agent. A numerical simulation was carried out based on the geological model. The results revealed that the injected water advances steadily with a large-distance determinant water-flooding well pattern. The single-well water production rate increases monotonically during water flooding. There is a significant positive correlation between the cumulative water-oil ratio and the formation parameter. Differential seepage between the oil and water phases is the main factor causing residual oil formation after water flooding, while the residual oil is still relatively concentrated. The effect of the chemical oildisplacement agent on improving the oil-water two-phase seepage flow has distinct stages during ASP flooding. The remaining oil production is extremely sporadic after ASP flooding.