Petroleum Engineering Commons^™

Experimental Study: Evaluating The Effect Of Low High Viscosity Friction Reducer Concentrations To Transport Proppant Across Static And Dynamic Models, Ghith Biheri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Shari Dunn-Norman, Khaled Elmaleh

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hydraulic fracturing treatments may significantly improve the oil production from wells in unconventional reservoirs by enhancing the fracture conductivities. Fracture conductivity can be improved by efficiently transporting and distributing the proppant through the lengths of the fractures. The main target of this study is to evaluate the viscosity and elasticity of high viscosity friction reducer (HVFR) for the purpose of transport and suspend the proppant at a temperature of 25°C. This study an alyzes the settling of proppant across HVFR using two different concentrations, 0.5 and 1 gallon per thousand of gallon (gpt). The tests were conducted using two static …

A Review Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cold Atmospheric Plasma For Surface Sterilization And Decontamination, Kolawole Adesina, Ta Chun Lin, Yue-Wern Huang, Marek Locmelis, Daoru Frank Han

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Numerous investigations have shown that non-equilibrium discharges at atmospheric pressure, also known as "cold atmospheric plasma" (CAP) are efficient to remove biological contaminants from surfaces of a variety of materials. Recently, CAP has quickly advanced as a technique for microbial cleaning, wound healing, and cancer therapy due to the chemical and biologically active radicals it produces, known collectively as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). This article reviews studies pertaining to one of the atmospheric plasma sources known as Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) which has been widely used to treat materials with microbes for sterilization, disinfection, and decontamination purposes. To …

Novel Re-Crosslinkable Preformed Particle Gels (Rppg) For Parent- And Infill-Well-Fracture Interactions Mitigation, Xiaojing Ge, Adel Alotibi, Ahmed Al-Hlaichi, Yanbo Liu, Tao Song, Junchen Liu, Baojun Bai, Thomas P. Schuman

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hydraulic fracturing treatments in unconventional infill (or "child") wells can be significantly affected by depletion from existing parent-well, resulting in asymmetrical fracture growth. These issues may lead to excessive load-water production, proppant deposition, casing deformation in the parent well, and unbalanced stimulation of infill wells. To mitigate these effects, various strategies have been proposed, including the use of far-field diverters in child wells and repressurization of parent wells. Additionally, an increasingly popular strategy involves injecting near-wellbore diverters to temporarily plug entry points into the parent wellbores during frac operations on infill wells. To achieve better application, a novel low-cost, self-degradable, …

Descriptive Statistical Analysis Of Experimental Data For Wettability Alteration With Smart Water Flooding In Carbonate Reservoirs, Muhammad Ali Buriro, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Ya Yao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Smart water flooding is a promising eco-friendly method for enhancing oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs. the optimal salinity and ionic composition of the injected water play a critical role in the success of this method. This study advances the field by employing machine learning and data analytics to streamline the determination of these critical parameters, which are traditionally reliant on time-intensive laboratory work. the primary objectives are to utilize data analytics to examine how smart water flooding influences wettability modification, identify key parameter ranges that notably alter the contact angle, and formulate guidelines and screening criteria for successful lab design. …

Pit Design And Mine Planning Of Nong Wa Sub-Basin, Sin Pun Coal Deposit, Southern Thailand, Gbenga Timilehin Adewumi

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nong Wa is a sub-basin located within the Sin Pun coal deposit, which has no history of mining activities. This study focused on the planning and design of the sub-basin pit, potentially paving the way for future mining operations in the region. The objective of the research was to evaluate the economic viability of coal extraction and to develop an optimized pit to maximize resource recovery. To achieve this objective, a coal seam model of the deposit was created using advanced modeling software such as AutoCAD and MineSight. The seam model was used to design the ultimate pit, pushback, and …

Investigations Of Performance And Emissions Of A Fischer-Tropsch Gtl Sustainable Aerospace Fuel With Lubricity Improver In A Compression Ignition Engine With Butanol Port Fuel Injection, James B. Willis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As there is increasing concern over emissions of traditional fossil fuels, as well as the future of continued reliance on this dwindling resource, it is becoming increasingly evident that alternative fuels are a necessity. This research investigates the use of a Fischer-Tropsch fuel from natural gas feedstocks, S8, in an internal combustion research engine with a common rail fuel injection system. This synthetic kerosene fuel has a high DCN of 62, indicating high affinity to autoignition compared to conventional pump diesel (ULSD) at 48 DCN. However, due to the process by which it is produced, this fuel lacks the necessary …

Investigation Of Asphaltene Instability Under Gas Injection In Unconventional Reservoirs And Its Impact On Oil Recovery Performance, Mukhtar Elturki

Doctoral Dissertations

"Unconventional reservoirs, such as shale gas and tight oil formations, have become an important source of energy in recent years. However, these reservoirs often contain high levels of asphaltenes, which can lead to deposition and blockages in production wells and reduce the flow of hydrocarbons during gas enhanced oil recovery (GEOR) techniques. This study aims to experimentally evaluate the impact of miscible and immiscible carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen (N₂) on asphaltene deposition and its impact on oil recovery performance in unconventional shale reservoirs.

This research began with a comprehensive literature review and data analysis of GEOR methods in unconventional …

Lithospheric Drip And Mantle Thermal Upwelling Beneath Central Asia And The Southern Great Plains Of North America: Evidence From Receiver Function Imaging, Yangyang Liao

Doctoral Dissertations

"Investigating the depth of mantle transition zone (MTZ) discontinuities provides insights into mantle dynamics, including regional-scale downwelling of mantle lithosphere (i.e., lithospheric drip) and upwelling of thermal materials (i.e., mantle plume). In our study, we employ receiver functions to image the 410 km (d410) and 660 km (d660) mantle discontinuities and to ascertain thickness of the MTZ beneath Central Asia and the Great Plains in United States. The findings unveil a significantly thickened transition zone, exhibiting an average thickness of 284 km beneath East Sayan. When considered alongside geochemical observations, our results indicate that the descent of the lithosphere is …

Exploring Seismic Anisotropy In The Crust And Mantle Of The Tibetan Plateau And Analyzing Seismic Velocity Variations In Yellowstone, Cong Shen

Doctoral Dissertations

"Seismology is a scientific discipline that utilizes seismic waves to investigate the deep structures within the Earth's interior, which are otherwise inaccessible to direct observation by humans. These seismic waves can be categorized into two types: body waves and surface waves, each with distinct propagation modes and behaviors, carrying valuable information about their travel paths. The first paper concentrates on the analysis and inversion of body waves produced by large seismic events. It employs shear wave splitting and receiver function methods to explore the geodynamic structure of the south-central Tibetan Plateau, near the plate boundary. The investigation covers the depth …

High Viscosity Friction Reducer Evaluation At High Temperature And High Tds Environments, Ghith Ali Ahmed Biheri

Doctoral Dissertations

"In unconventional reservoirs, proppant transport during hydraulic fracturing treatments could be successful when the proppant is placed further within the reservoir's fracture networks. This could increase the reservoir formation conductivities and improve the productivity of the wells. This job of improving the reservoir conductivity by distributing and transporting proppant can be conducted by reliable fracture fluids with excellent fluid rheology (e.g., viscosity and elasticity). However, several challenges, including the high temperatures and the presence of high TDS in produced water, may limit the capability of fracture fluids to transport proppant. Additionally, the use of fracture fluid has raised fears regarding …

Enhance Effectiveness Of Monitoring Scheme Using Insar On Tailings Storage Facility No. 2, Chatree Gold Mine, Thailand, Shanghai Chea

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Tailings storage facility (TSF) is a critical component of the mining industry, serving to safely contain waste generated during mineral extraction. At Chatree Gold Mine, the largest and only active gold mine in Thailand, TSF No.2 handles approximately 5 million tons of tailings annually. Effective monitoring of the facility is crucial for hazard prevention and regulatory compliance. This study aims to enhance the monitoring scheme of TSF No.2 by employing Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique, processed via MintPy software, to analyze ground deformation. Despite traditional monitoring methods, such as in-situ geodetic surveying, offering valuable insights, they …

Recovery Of Tin From Kaolin Mine Tailing, Rangoon, Thailand, Archana Pandit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigates the recovery of tin from kaolin waste using gravity, electrostatic, and magnetic separation techniques. A total of 123.500 kg of sand and 103.200 kg of silt were processed using a shaking table, spiral concentrator, high-tension separator, induced roll magnetic separator, and Frantz magnetic separator. Mineralogical and chemical characterization was conducted using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and microscopic analysis to determine tin distribution and occurrence. Experimental results showed that the silt fractions generally exhibited higher tin content than the sand fractions. In this study, Case A refers to the samples (Sand A and Silt A) processed …

Simulation On Acid Gas Removal From Natural Gas Processing With Membrane And Absorption Process, Ratikorn Sornumpol

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The comparison using simulations of CO₂ removal from natural gas via membrane separation and monoethanolamine (MEA) absorption has been studied. The membrane model is applied with the single- and two-stage configurations over feed pressures 3,000–9,000 kPa, temperatures 10–59 °C, CO₂ concentrations 20–70 mol %, membrane areas 2,500–5,500 m², and flows 331,800–580,600 m³/h. At 10 °C feed temperature, CO₂ permeability is enhanced while CH₄ selectivity improves slightly, increasing CO₂ capture efficiency up to 74 % with only minor methane losses, though at the cost of higher refrigeration duty. The 10 °C operation also leads to stronger driving force across the membrane, …

Investigation Of Operational Parameter Differences Between The Standard Ron Test Method And Knock-Limited Modern Spark-Ignition Engine Operation, Alexander Hoth

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Octane numbers (ONs) are used worldwide to rate the knock propensity of gasoline-like fuels for spark-ignition engines, making ONs the leading indicator of fuel quality for commercial distribution. The ONs were established 90 years ago and have only received minor changes compared to significant advancements in modern engine operation and fuel composition. This has resulted in discrepancies between knock-limited modern engine operation and standard ON ratings. This dissertation used a standard CFR octane rating engine at Argonne National Laboratory that was instrumented with modern combustion research tools to investigate key differences between the Research Octane Number (RON) rating conditions and …

Enhancing Reservoir Modeling And Simulation Through Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning: A Smart Proxy Modeling Approach, Andrew Timothy Jenkins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The application of numerical reservoir simulation (NRS) has been a common approach within the oil and gas industry for decades, providing a means to model and forecast dynamic subsurface interactions, as a basis for reservoir management and development decisions. These techniques have expanded to application within carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects as domestic and global policy shift towards reducing carbon emissions while maintaining the energy needs of our modern society. NRS techniques have become a core process for permitting approval in Class VI (large-scale geological sequestration) wells due to the fundamental similarity of these types of subsurface processes. …

Carbon Dioxide Gasification Of Biochar: A Study On Utilizing Captured Co2 To Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emission And Improving Carbon Conversion Efficiency, Nnamdi Ofuani

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With rapidly growing global economies and world population, fossil fuel continues to play a major role in meeting current energy demands. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies have, hence, been implemented to reduce CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. With the implementation of CCS technologies comes the need to utilize the captured CO₂. This research, therefore, proposes CO₂ gasification of biochar as a viable carbon utilization pathway. With captured CO₂ coming at various concentrations, there is a need to understand how CO₂ concentration affects biochar conversion to useful products. This study, therefore, evaluates the effects …

Molecular Dynamics Investigation Of Fluorine-Free Electrolytes For Sodium-Ion Batteries, Phitchapa Ausamanwet Zijdemans

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to the abundance and low cost of sodium. However, conventional SIB electrolytes often rely on fluorine-based salts, contributing to the formation of persistent and environmentally harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs). This study employs molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigates the properties of fluorine-free electrolytes for SIBs, focusing on the solvation structure and dynamics of sodium ions (Na+) in bulk electrolytes and at the inner solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) for SIBs. Sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) at a concentration of 1 M was examined in glyme solvents with varying chain lengths, …

Preliminary Remote Identification Of Unstable Zone On Large-Scale Waste Dump At Mae Moh Mine Using Insar Technique, Chitra Buth

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Mae Moh Mine is one of the largest lignite mine in Southeast Asia, operated by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). It is located in the northern part of Thailand, in Mae Moh district, Lampang province. In March 2018, a significant sliding incidence occurred at a waste dump site with sliding area of 1.56 km2 approximately, highlighting the pressing issue of instability within this large-scale waste dump area. This study aims to address this concern in the future and demonstrate an innovative method for investigating the failure by employing Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology. The methodology involves the …

Oxygen Fugacity Of Global Ocean Island Basalts, Lori N. Willhite, Ricardo Arevalo, Philip Piccoli, John C. Lassiter, Devin Rand, Matthew G. Jackson, James M.D. Day, Robert W. Nicklas, Marek Locmelis, Thomas J. Ireland, Igor S. Puchtel

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mantle plumes contain heterogenous chemical components and sample variable depths of the mantle, enabling glimpses into the compositional structure of Earth's interior. In this study, we evaluated ocean island basalts (OIB) from nine plume locations to provide a global and systematic assessment of the relationship between fO₂ and He-Sr-Nd-Pb-W-Os isotopic compositions. Ocean island basalts from the Pacific (Austral Islands, Hawaii, Mangaia, Samoa, Pitcairn), Atlantic (Azores, Canary Islands, St. Helena), and Indian Oceans (La Réunion) reveal that fO₂ in OIB is heterogeneous both within and among hotspots. Taken together with previous studies, global OIB have elevated and heterogenous fO …

Evaluation Of Novel Preformed Particle Gel System For Conformance Control In Mature Oil Reservoirs, Abdulaziz Almakimi, Ahmed Ben Ali, Ibnelwaleed A. Hussein, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To address challenges associated with excessive water production in mature oil reservoirs, this study introduces a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-based material as a novel preformed particle gel (PPG) designed to plug excessive water pathways and redistribute the subsequent injected water toward unswept zones. Through microwave-assisted grafting copolymerization of CMC with acrylamide (AM), we successfully generated multi-sized dry particles within the range of 250–800 µm. Comprehensive analyses, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), have confirmed the chemical composition and morphology of the resulting carboxymethyl cellulose-grafted crosslinked polyacrylamide (CMC/PAMBA). Swelling kinetics and rheology tests were conducted to confirm the …