Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Advanced Buffer Materials For Indoor Air Co₂ Control In Commercial Buildings, Pavithra Ethi Rajan

Masters Theses

"The following describes a novel passive approach to control the indoor CO₂ levels in enclosed spaces, primarily focusing on commercial buildings. Amine impregnated silica sorbents were identified as suitable candidates and synthesized; the amine loading ratio was varied to create a range of materials. These samples along with other commercial zeolite candidates have been tested over a range of CO₂ concentrations to determine the CO₂ adsorption capacity in laboratory systems and under simulated room conditions. The research work also focuses on the CO₂ desorption capacity of the candidate adsorbents. The desorption is allowed to occur gradually …

Evaluation Of Swelling And Re-Swelling Of Preformed Particle Gels (Ppg) When Exposed To Co₂, Sujay Suresh

Masters Theses

"Long term water/gas flooding induces high permeability channels in reservoirs. Reservoir heterogeneity becomes the most prominent challenge faced in mature oil fields. Gel treatment has been a proven solution to counter the problem of reservoir heterogeneity, to provide in-depth treatment and improve the sweep efficiency for reservoirs. Preformed particle gels (PPGs) were developed as an alternative to in-situ gels as they preferentially penetrate and shutoff high permeability zones, leaving the low permeability zones undamaged. These gels have been predominantly used in water flooding projects, but have not been employed in carbon dioxide (CO₂) flooding projects. CO₂ Resistant …

Cathodic Protection Measurement Through Inline Inspection Technology Uses And Observations, Briana Ley Ferguson

Masters Theses

"This research supports the evaluation of an impressed current cathodic protection (CP) system of a buried coated steel pipeline through alternative technology and methods, via an inline inspection device (ILI, CP ILI tool, or tool), in order to prevent and mitigate external corrosion. This thesis investigates the ability to measure the current density of a pipeline's CP system from inside of a pipeline rather than manually from outside, and then convert that CP ILI tool reading into a pipe-to-soil potential as required by regulations and standards. This was demonstrated through a mathematical model that utilizes applications of Ohm's Law, circuit …

Study Of Surface Complexation And Mineral Dissolution During Water-Rock Interaction In High Salinity Waterflooding At Elevated Temperatures, Sameer Salasakar

Masters Theses

"High salinity waterflooding for carbonate reservoirs is efficient and cheap method used for improved oil recovery. Various mechanisms have been proposed including adsorption/desorption on rock surface, mineral dissolution and precipitation, multicomponent ion exchange, interfacial tension reduction, fine migration and double layer expansion. These all process alter the wettability which leads to improved oil recovery.

Objective of this study was to understand processes that occur during water-rock interaction when high salinity water is flooded into the reservoir. In this work, effect of temperature on water-rock interaction is studied along with effect of pH and specific surface areas of calcite at normal …

Geomechanical Analysis Of The Wellbore Instability Problems In Nahr Umr Formation Southern Iraq, Haider Qasim Mohammed

Masters Theses

"Wellbore instability problems play a major rule of increasing nonproductive time (NPT) during drilling processes. In most cases, the cost of drilling a well can be reduced by designing a suitable operational window using geomechanical models. Several wellbore instability problems have been encountered during drilling Nahr Umr Formation in an oil field in southern Iraq. These problems include but are not limited to, mechanical stuck, caving, and tight holes. Data from twenty vertical wells are investigated to reveal the major factors that control the instability problems and to design an optimum mud window. A geomechanical model is developed to determine …

An Investigation Of Borax For Sealing Inflow From Berea Sandstone, Tri-Tris Bao Nguyen

Masters Theses

"Well inflow control is a major challenge for the oil and gas industry. Erle Haliburton revolutionized well inflow control with his patent for cementing oil wells in 1921. Soon after, cement became the accepted material to establish well integrity and has been ever since. Cement is used in all phases of the well life cycle, and it is expected to hold indefinitely once set. Yet based on the nature of cement and the placement techniques, flow pathways may develop from improper cementing jobs or from cement degradation over time. Well integrity is especially crucial for wellbore plugging and abandonment, since …

Evaluation Of Preformed Particle Gel As A Diverting Agent For Acidizing, Bo Wei

Masters Theses

"Preformed particle gels (PPGs) have been developed and successfully used to improve conformance in heterogeneous reservoirs. However, no research has been reported to show their potential diverting applications in acidizing because of their unknown performance in this process. This work targets on evaluating the potential of PPGs to be used as diverting agents and factors influencing the diverting performance.

The swelling properties of three types of PPGs (PPG #1, #2, and #3) were first studied in brine and acid, including the swelling kinetics and equilibrium, PPG strength, and deswelling performance. Effects of different brine concentration, acid concentration, and temperature were …

Overview Of Co₂ Leakage Problems And Sealants For Co₂ Leakage Remediation, Shudai Peng

Masters Theses

"Excessive Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emission has become a serious issue and caused lots of environmental problems. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) program has been developed to reduce the CO₂ content in the atmosphere. CO₂ storage has been targeted mainly on depleted oil or gas reservoirs and deep saline aquifers. However, leakage could occur through wellbores, cap rocks, formation faults, and fractures during and after CO₂ injection. To minimize the risk, different types of sealants have been investigated to prevent CO₂ leaks. The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive review of the materials which could be used as …

Combined Flue Gas Cleanup Process For Simultaneous Removal Of SoX, NoX, And Co₂ -- A Techno-Economic Analysis, Amit Narendrasing Hajari

Masters Theses

"Flue gas cleanup often requires the removal of SO_x, NO_x and CO₂ in separate units before atmospheric emission. The step-wise treatment process currently in place incurs significant cost and energy penalty. A single-step adsorption process based on pressure swing adsorption (PSA) by which these impurities are removed is envisioned as an efficient means of flue gas cleanup that can be applied relatively easily. In this study, the technological and economic feasibility of a single-step separation process in which SO_x, NO_x and CO₂ are simultaneously removed from flue gas streams are assessed. Capital …

Evaluation Of Preformed Particle Gels Penetration And Propagation Behavior For A Conformance Control Treatment In Partially Open Conduits, Ahmed Mohamed Aldalfag

Masters Theses

"Preformed particle gels (PPGs) serve as a conformance control agent and have been used widely to control excess water production through conduits, fractures or fracture-like features. This research ranks the parameters that impact PPG resistance to water flow in partially opened conduits. Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of brine concentration, PPG injection pressure, back pressure, reducing water salinity and matrix permeability on PPG resistance to water flow through conduits, PPG penetration to the matrix. PPGs were swelled in different concentration brines and were injected into the conduits at a few designed injection pressures. PPG swollen in high brine …

Determination Of Significant Parameters That Drive Fracture Optimization In The Glauconite Formation, Southern Chile, Ghassan Saleh Mahdi Alqatrani

Masters Theses

"The Glauconite Formation in the Magallanes Basin of Southern Chile is a clay- and silica-rich formation with low permeability. As with many of the unconventional resources, the Glauconite Formation requires a hydraulic fracturing operation to enhance the productivity of the wells in this area.

Data and pertinent information of fracturing, completion, and reservoir quality parameters along with post-fracture production data were collected to initiate a database of nearly 70 wells, to be used to develop a better understanding of the fracturing behavior, optimize the well stimulation, and overcome the major barriers in the hydraulic fracturing of the Glauconite Formation. The …

Deformation Processes At The Leading Edge Of The Sevier Fold And Thrust Belt, Southwest Utah, William Joseph Michael Chandonia

Masters Theses

"Deformation processes leading to formation and abandonment of 'triangle zones' along the leading edge of the Sevier fold and thrust belt are investigated near Kanarraville, Utah through construction of a detailed geologic map and cross-section along Spring Creek. Here the eastern limb of the Kanarra fold, a Sevier structure, is well exposed along the Hurricane Cliffs due to uplift and erosion of the footwall of the Hurricane Fault. The east-verging Kanarra fold changes from upright to overturned within Spring Creek. Within the fold limb, parasitic folds, minor thrust faults, and duplex structures result in local tectonic overthickening of units and …

Effect Of Fracture Heterogeneity On Proppant Transport And Settling Mechanism, Dhurgham Abdulameer Kadhim

Masters Theses

"Proppant transport modeling through fractures with slickwater fluid systems assumes uniform and homogeneous fracture widths by implying constant fluid behavior at wall boundaries. Hydraulic fracturing mineback operations have demonstrated that induced fractures are heterogeneous and varying in width. This work investigates the impact of fracture width heterogeneity, roughness, and leak-off on ceramic proppant transport and settling, using proppant distribution concepts of Equilibrium Dune Level (EDL) and equilibrium Dune Length (EDX). Experimental work was conducted to investigate the impact of fracture width heterogeneity by varying fracture width along two plexiglass sheets. To mimic actual hydraulic fractures, the injection side was designed …

Quantifying Ceramic Proppant Transport In Complex Fracture Networks, Vivekvardhan Reddy Kesireddy

Masters Theses

"Water fracs have become an essential part of unconventional reservoirs to create deeper fracture networks. Proppant transport in water fracs is challenging in terms of fluids ability to carry the proppant deeper into these fracture networks. This experimental study investigates the impact of the flow rates, fracture widths and complexity controlling the ability of proppant to flow into complex fracture networks. This research attempts to nullify the knowledge gap in understanding width heterogeneity in primary and secondary fractures. This study speaks for settling pattern and proppant transport through a slot flow model with a unique approach to understand stage wise …

Survey And Data Analysis Of Weak Gel Treatments In Injection Wells, Zhuxing Chen

Masters Theses

"Excessive water production is a major concern in mature reservoirs. Weak gels have been applied in injection wells for in-depth profile modification. However, the data range and distribution of each parameter that affects performance of weak gels have not been studied thoroughly.

China has the largest amount of chemical-based conformance control treatments. This paper presents a summary of comprehensive data ranges and distributions for weak gel treatments based on the laboratory experiments and field applications in China from 2001 to 2010. The data set includes 76 cases compiled from China Academic Journals papers. In this study, reservoir properties, gel properties …

Well Log Interpretation And 3d Reservoir Property Modeling Of Maui-B Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, Aziz Mennan

Masters Theses

"Maui-B is one of the largest hydrocarbon-producing fields in the Taranaki Basin. Many previous works have estimated reservoir volume. This study uses 3D property modeling, which is one of the most powerful tools to characterize lithology and reservoir fluids distribution through the field. This modeling will help in understanding the reservoir properties and enhancing the production by selecting the best location for future drilling candidates. In this study, 3D seismic, core, and well log data were used to build and define a structural model, facies analysis, and petrophysical parameters. After well log interpretation and petrophysical parameter calculations, each parameter was …

Measurement Of Activity And Stability Of Physical Vapor Deposition (Pvd) Coated Crystal Surfaces, Anuradha Krishnan

Masters Theses

The overall objective of this research work is to investigate the hydrophilic and hydrophobic forces acting on organic crystal planes and understanding the interaction of functional groups with additive molecular nanolayers. Crystals of acetaminophen and lactose were made and the surface forces were tested on Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Uniformity of crystal surface was confirmed from the AFM study in the first stage. The growth factors of crystal planes as a function of time were studied. Adhesion forces on plain crystals were measured on both two different organic crystals made of acetaminophen and lactose. In the second stage, …

Electrostatic Nanosmearing Architecture Of Additive Functional Groups During High Shear Mixing Of Pharmaceutical Blends, Sajan Kumar Chatarla

Masters Theses

The main objective of the research project is to detect and quantify the rate and extent of nanosmearing of hydrophobic functional groups of additives on multiple pharmaceutical particles during high shear mixing of formulations due to electrostatics affecting critical blend properties on the bulk scale. We accomplished this task by systematically detecting the electrostatics during powder flow and its consequence on the nanosmearing distribution of additives during mixing. In the first stage, the electrostatic behavior of particles was correlated to the powder flow. Secondly, its relative influence on nanosmearing of additives during mixing was determined by developing a methodology to …

The Effect Of Flexibility On Interaction Of Two Fibers Settling In Moderate Reynolds Numbers, Ahmed Alhasan

Masters Theses

The behavior of solid particles in a fluid has become an important topic. The need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of fluid-particle interaction is the motivation for the present work. The characteristics of fibers suspensions depend on the many variables such as flexibility, Reynolds numbers, density and aspect ratio. The aim of this work is to probe effects of these variables on sedimentation behavior by using a fiber-level simulation technique. In this techniques, a D3Q15 model in a lattice Boltzmann equation with a Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) approximation is used to simulate motion of fluids, where Navier-Stokes equations are solved …

Minimization Of Metamerism In Wood Grain Printing Using Different Gcr Settings, Vinay Anil Turke

Masters Theses

In printing industry, prototyping is necessary to ensure quality reproduction of jobs. Conventional printing processes like gravure cannot be used for prototyping because of high manufacturing cost of gravure cylinders. Such challenges can be successfully tackled by use of relatively cheap and flexible printing processes, such as inkjet. Even though inkjet printing is a cost effective way for prototyping, it has its own limitations, especially in the case of woodgrain printing. Wood-grain patterns need to be printed with a release coating and adhesive. Inkjet printers are incapable of printing release coating and adhesive because release coat and adhesive require certain …

Evaluation Of Highly Viscous Polymeric Fluids And Recrosslinked Degraded Gel, Danlu Zhang

Masters Theses

”This work presents the evaluations of two products. One can be used for hydraulic fracturing to achieve viscosity stable under high shear rate, and the other is potential to be applied to enhance oil recovery from mature oilfield.

The first experiment is to synthesize and evaluate a new polymeric fracturing fluid that can resist high shear rate of 511^-1 with favorable viscosity. Zirconium crosslinked fracturing fluids are lack of self-healing ability after shearing, and the difficulties still exist in maintaining viscous with lower polymer content exposed to high shearing conditions, therefore, the research is trying to develop a new …

A Comprehensive Study Of Lost Circulation With Application In The South Rumaila Field, Iraq, Abo Taleb Tuama Al-Hameedi

Masters Theses

“Drilling mud losses and problems associated with lost circulation while drilling account for a major expense in drilling oil and gas wells. By industry estimates, more than 2 billion USD is spent annually to combat and mitigate this problem (Ali et al., 2015).

The South Rumaila field in Iraq is one of the largest oilfields in the world. Wells drilled in this field are highly susceptible to lost circulation problems when drilling through the Dammam, Hartha and Shuaiba formations. Lost circulation events range from seepage losses to complete loss of the borehole and are a critical issue in field development. …

Aspen Simulation Of Oil Shale And Biomass Process, Anand Alembath

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on design and analysis of two major chemical processes using computer simulation which performs a steady state computation. The objective is to design processes using Aspen simulation to establish optimum operating conditions by performing various simulation runs which are challenging to execute at lab scale.

Increasing energy needs and decline of global oil prices has shifted our focus on commercially developing unconventional and renewable resources. Commercialization of any process relies on developing a process model that identifies different process parameters by performing a steady state mass and heat balance. Aspen simulation is considered an effective process modeling …

Experimental Evaluations Of Selected Sealants To Remediate Co₂ Leakage, Aaron Jeffrey Blue

Masters Theses

"Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) sequestration into porous and permeable brine-filled aquifers is seen as one of the most feasible solutions for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants. To safely store the CO₂, it must be trapped under an impermeable rock acting as a seal. One of the concerns with CO₂ sequestration is the generation of new fractures or reopening of existing fractures caused by CO₂ injection in the sealing formation. This project evaluates the potential of sealing these fractures by injecting sealing materials into them. These sealing …

Iron Phosphide Nanostructures As An Efficient Bifunctional Catalysts For Water Splitting, Nikitaa Ashokan

Masters Theses

"The first part of this thesis work focuses on developing a bifunctional catalyst for electrochemical water splitting encompassing both oxygen and hydrogen evolution. A highly efficient catalyst is necessary to improve kinetics of the sluggish four electron process for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and two-electron process for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Recently, transition metal phosphides have gained increasing interest in this field because of their good electrical conductivity properties as well as better catalytic activity. Many transition-metal phosphides are being considered for this application and iron phosphide (FeP) has proved to be a good HER catalyst. In this work, we …

The Impact Of Heat Exchanging Internals On Hydrodynamics Of Bubble Column Reactor, Ahmed Jasim

Masters Theses

"In this study, the impact of configuration and size of vertical heat exchanging internals in bubble columns on gas holdup, specific gas-liquid interfacial area, bubble chord length, and bubble rise velocity were investigated. Three different configurations of internals, each covering 25% of the column's cross-sectional area, were used to simulate the heat exchanging tubes utilized in the F-T process. The First configuration is a circular-like arrangement of 0.5 inch diameter vertical rods, whereas the second is a hexagonal-like arrangement of 0.5 inch diameter vertical rods. The third configuration is also a circular arrangement but of 1 inch diameter vertical rods …

Variable Stress Orientations In The Offshore Nile Delta: The Role Of Salt As A Mechanical Detachment Horizon, Weicheng Zhang

Masters Theses

"The offshore Nile Delta is characterized by variations of the maximum horizontal stress orientation in subsalt and supra-salt sequences. Margin-parallel SH, typical for tertiary deltas, is observed for regions that are below or do not contain evaporites. In sequences underlain by evaporates pre-dominantly margin-normal SH is observed. This observation yielded the first conclusive in situ evidence that salt acts as a mechanical detachment layer. In this study, 3D finite element analysis (FEA) is used to simulate the total stress distribution in the offshore Nile Delta featuring evaporate sequences. Several parameters such as different salt sequence geometries, friction coefficient on faults, …

Effect Of Reservoirs Heterogeneity On Injection Pressure And Placement Of Preformed Particle Gel For Conformance Control, Ze Wang

Masters Theses

"Preformed particle gels (PPG) have been successfully applied as a plugging agent for plugging fractures and then divert displacing fluid into poorly swept zones. However, PPG propagation and plugging mechanisms through open fractures have not been studied thoroughly.

This work investigated the influence of some factors (particle size, brine concentration, heterogeneity, and brine salinity) on gel injectivity, plugging performance for water flow through open fractures. Five-foot tubes were used to mimic open fractures. Three models were designed to conduct the work, including (1) single fracture with uniform fracture width, (2) single fracture with different widths, and (3) two parallel fractures …

Study On The Applicability Of Relative Permeability Modifiers For Water Shutoff Using Numerical Simulation, Dheiaa Khafief Khashan Alfarge

Masters Theses

"Water production is a challenging problem to be controlled during hydrocarbon-reservoirs production life. Disproportionate Permeability Reduction (DPR) is often used as water shutoff treatment in production wells when other conventional solutions like mechanical isolations are difficult to perform. This study applied numerical simulation methods to diagnose the factors impacting DPR treatment success on macroscopic level and to see when, where and at which conditions DPR treatment can give best results.

This work indicated that the following points should be considered before DPR treatment is executed in any reservoir to get a successful treatment. Firstly, this research explored that DPR performance …

Mixed Metal Oxide Catalysts Supported On H-Beta For Hydrogenolysis Of Glycerol Into 1,3-Propanediol, Amit Kant

Masters Theses

"Bioglycerol is the by-product which is produced largely from the microbial fermentation, hydrogenolysis of glucose in the mixture of polyols, fatty ester, soap manufacturing process and fatty acid production. Hydrogenolysis of glycerol is one of the most promising ways to convert glycerol and many work has been done towards 1,3-propanediol, 1,2-propanediol and 1-propanol using various metals and mixed-metal oxides such as W, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd, Cu, Ni and different zeolites have been extensively used as the active components.

It has been well documented that the presence of Bronsted acid sites leads to the formation of acrolein, while Lewis acid …