Empirically evaluating virtual reality’s effect on reservoir engineering tasks

To help determine in what ways virtual reality(VR)technologies may benefit reservoir engineering workflows,we conducted a usability study on a prototype VR tool for performing reservoir model analysis tasks.By leveraging the strengths of VR technologies,this tool’s aim is to help advance reservoir analysis workflows beyond conventional methods by improving how one understands,analyzes,and interacts with reservoir model visualizations.To evaluate our tool’s VR approach to this,the study presented herein was conducted with reservoir engineering experts who used the VR tool to perform three common reservoir model analysis tasks:the spatial filtering of model cells using movable planes,the cross-comparison of multiple models,and well path planning.Our study found that accomplishing these tasks with the VR tool was generally regarded as easier,quicker,more effective,and more intuitive than traditional model analysis software while maintaining a feeling of low task workload on average.Overall,participants provided positive feedback regarding their experience with using VR to perform reservoir engineering work tasks,and in general,it was found to improve multi-model cross-analysis and rough object manipulation in 3D.This indicates the potential for VR to be better than conventional means for some work tasks and participants also expressed they could see it best utilized as an addition to current software in their reservoir model analysis workflows.There were,however,some concerns voiced when considering the full adoption of VR into their work that would be best first addressed before this took place.

Amine-based solvent for CO_2 absorption and its impact on carbon steel corrosion: A perspective review

Carbon dioxide(CO2)is one of the commonly emitted gaseous by-products in industrial processes.While CO2 gas is the main cause to greenhouse effect,various CO2 capture technologies have been proposed and implemented to sequester the CO2 before the waste gases being released into the atmosphere.One of the mature technologies for CO2 absorption is by using amine-based solvents.In this regard,different single amine solvents or blended amine solvents have been proven for their capability to remove CO2.However,the dissolution and reaction of CO2 gas with the amine solvents turn the solution corrosive.Such phenomenon is undesired as it posts corrosion problem to the absorption column,which normally built of carbon steel material.Henceforth,understanding the behaviour of different amine-based solvents in absorbing CO2 and its subsequent impact on carbon steel corrosion is very significant.In this review article,we will outline some of the more commonly used solvents and their respective advantages and disadvantages,motivating further investigation into the corrosion tendency.Meanwhile,existing gaps in this research area are discussed for future investigation.

Effects of TiO_(2) Support and Cobalt Addition of Ni/TiO_(2) Catalyst in Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol

An effect of phase compositions(rutile,Rut and anatase,Ant)of TiO_(2)supports on the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol was investigated.The 15%wt Ni/TiO_(2)catalysts were prepared by incipient impregnation method.The result showed that Ni supported on anatase-rutile mixed phase TiO_(2)(91%Rut and 9%Ant,A2)provided the highest furfuryl alcohol yield at 43.8%due to the relatively strong Ni-TiO_(2)interaction,its appropriate crystallite sizes,and high average pore sizes.Furthermore,the effect of cobalt as a promoter on Ni/TiO_(2)-A2 catalysts was studied.The result showed that the Ni-Co/TiO_(2)-A2 catalysts exhibited poorer catalyst performances compared to the monometallic Ni/TiO_(2),probably because addition of cobalt can lower the reduction temperatures of Ni/TiO_(2)and weaken the metal-support interaction.

Development of sustainable thermal insulation based on bio-polyester filled with date pits

Date palm pit(DPP)-filled poly(-hydroxybutyrate)(PHB)composites were prepared,evaluated,and characterized to determine their thermal insulation ability.Thermal conductivity values ranged between 0.086 and 0.100 W/(m·K).At a maximum filler concentration(50%(w)),the specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity were 1183 J/(kg·K)and 0.0689 mm^(2)/s,respec-tively.The DPP increased the thermal stability,and the highest compressive strength obtained was 80 MPa at 30%filler content.The PHB-DPP composites exhibited promising water absorption(less than 6%)and tensile strength(6-14 MPa).Date-pit-based PHB composites could be used in sustainable building engineering and cleaner production.

Recent Advances in the Unconventional Design of Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Devices

As the world works to move away from traditional energy sources,effective efficient energy storage devices have become a key factor for success.The emergence of unconventional electrochemical energy storage devices,including hybrid batteries,hybrid redox flow cells and bacterial batteries,is part of the solution.These alternative electrochemical cell configurations provide materials and operating condition flexibility while offering high-energy conversion efficiency and modularity of design-to-design devices.The power of these diverse devices ranges from a few milliwatts to several megawatts.Manufactur-ing durable electronic and point-of-care devices is possible due to the development of all-solid-state batteries with efficient electrodes for long cycling and high energy density.New batteries made of earth-abundant metal ions are approaching the capacity of lithium-ion batteries.Costs are being reduced with the advent of flow batteries with engineered redox molecules for high energy density and membrane-free power generating electrochemical cells,which utilize liquid dynamics and interfaces(solid,liquid,and gaseous)for electrolyte separation.These batteries support electrode regeneration strategies for chemical and bio-batteries reducing battery energy costs.Other batteries have different benefits,e.g.,carbon-neutral Li-CO_(2) batteries consume CO_(2) and generate power,offering dual-purpose energy storage and carbon sequestration.This work considers the recent technological advances of energy storage devices.Their transition from conventional to unconventional battery designs is examined to identify operational flexibilities,overall energy storage/conversion efficiency and application compatibility.Finally,a list of facilities for large-scale deployment of major electrochemical energy storage routes is provided.

High-throughput screening of hypothetical metal-organic frameworks for thermal conductivity

Thermal energy management in metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)is an important,yet often neglected,challenge for many adsorption-based applications such as gas storage and separations.Despite its importance,there is insufficient understanding of the structure-property relationships governing thermal transport in MOFs.To provide a data-driven perspective into these relationships,here we perform large-scale computational screening of thermal conductivity k in MOFs,leveraging classical molecular dynamics simulations and 10,194 hypothetical MOFs created using the ToBaCCo 3.0 code.We found that high thermal conductivity in MOFs is favored by high densities(>1.0 g cm^(−3)),small pores(<10Å),and four-connected metal nodes.We also found that 36 MOFs exhibit ultra-low thermal conductivity(<0.02 W m^(−1) K^(−1)),which is primarily due to having extremely large pores(~65Å).Furthermore,we discovered six hypothetical MOFs with very high thermal conductivity(>10 W m^(−1) K^(−1)),the structures of which we describe in additional detail.

Theoretical and experimental study on the fluidity performance of hard-to-fluidize carbon nanotubes-based CO_(2) capture sorbents

Carbon nanotubes-based materials have been identified as promising sorbents for efficient CO_(2)capture in fluidized beds,suffering from insufficient contact with CO_(2)for the high-level CO_(2)capture capacity.This study focuses on promoting the fluidizability of hard-to-fluidize pure and synthesized silica-coated amine-functionalized carbon nanotubes.The novel synthesized sorbent presents a superior sorption capacity of about 25 times higher than pure carbon nanotubes during 5 consecutive adsorption/regeneration cycles.The low-cost fluidizable-SiO_(2)nanoparticles are used as assistant material to improve the fluidity of carbon nanotubes-based sorbents.Results reveal that a minimum amount of 7.5 and 5 wt%SiO_(2)nanoparticles are required to achieve an agglomerate particulate fluidization behavior for pure and synthesized carbon nanotubes,respectively.Pure carbon nanotubes+7.5 wt%SiO_(2)and synthesized carbon nanotubes+5 wt%SiO_(2)indicates an agglomerate particulate fluidization characteristic,including the high-level bed expansion ratio,low minimum fluidization velocity(1.5 and 1.6 cm·s^(–1)),high Richardson−Zaki n index(5.2 and 5.3>5),and lowΠvalue(83.2 and 84.8<100,respectively).Chemical modification of carbon nanotubes causes not only enhanced CO_(2)uptake capacity but also decreases the required amount of silica additive to reach a homogeneous fluidization behavior for synthesized carbon nanotubes sorbent.

Will the future of shale reservoirs lie in CO2 geological sequestration?

CO2 geological sequestration in a depleted shale gas reservoir is a promising method to address the global energy crisis as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Though improvements have been achieved by many researchers, the carbon sequestration and enhanced gas recovery(CS-EGR) in shale formations is still in a preliminary stage. The current research status of CO2 sequestration in shale gas reservoirs with potential EGR is systematically and critically addressed in the paper. In addition, some original findings are also presented in this paper. This paper will shed light on the technology development that addresses the dual problem of energy crisis and environmental degradation.

EFFICIENT LINEAR SCHEMES WITH UNCONDITIONAL ENERGY STABILITY FOR THE PHASE FIELD MODEL OF SOLID-STATE DEWETTING PROBLEMS

In this paper,we study linearly first and second order in time,uniquely solvable and unconditionally energy stable numerical schemes to approximate the phase field model of solid-state dewetting problems based on the novel"scalar auxiliary variable"(SAV)approach,a new developed efficient and accurate method for a large class of gradient flows.The schemes are based on the first order Euler method and the second order backward differential formulas(BDF2)for time discretization,and finite element methods for space discretization.The proposed schemes are proved to be unconditionally stable and the discrete equations are uniquely solvable for all time steps.Various numerical experiments are presented to validate the stability and accuracy of the proposed schemes.

Effect of Environmental Contaminants on the Interfacial Properties of Two-Dimensional Materials

CONSPECTUS:The surface of 2D materials can spontaneously adsorb and react with molecules in the environment during their processing and storage.This effect,while having a significant impact on many properties of 2D materials,is not always recognized and accounted for in the research involving them.This Account summarizes our recent work in understanding how the ambient environment impacts the properties of 2D materials and its mitigation strategies.We highlight graphene and hydrocarbons in our discussion and complement it with selected studies involving other 2D materials as well as water and oxygen.