106 research outputs found

    Auswirkungen von H2- und CO2- Untergrundspeicherungen auf die Reservoireigenschaften von Sandsteinen: mineralogische Untersuchungen und hochauflösende Computertomographie Modellierungen aus HPHT Autoklaven-Laborexperimenten

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    This study was conducted as part of the research project -Hydrogen to Store- (H2STORE) with the focus of potential reactions of reservoir sandstones and formation fluids exposed to injected hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Therefore sandstone samples of three Rotliegend drilling wells and one Buntsandstein bore hole were investigated because these stratigraphic units form the most important underground storage sites in Germany. The material was provided by industrial partners. The characterization of lithological, petrographical and geochemical features as well as the microscopical documentation (by Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microcopy - FE-SEM, Digital Microscope System - DMS, Atomic Force Microscopy - AFM) of mineral surfaces, measurements of specific surface areas and of petrophysical properties (porosity, permeability) and high resolution computed tomography (μ-CT) associated with numerical simulations were conducted before and after static autoclave experiments to evaluate potential reactions induced by these tests. The experiments are performed under specific reservoir conditions (reservoir pressure, reservoir temperature, formation fluid composition) combined with H2 or CO2 exposure and running times of four to seven weeks. After the autoclave experiments the dissolution of pore-filling carbonate, anhydrite and barite (only after H2 experiments) is established, as shown by geochemical and hydrochemical data, µ-CT scans and microscopic sample surface studies by FE-SEM, AFM and DMS. The variation of mineral surfaces and the dissolution of pore-filling cements increased the size of specific surfaces areas and modified the petrophysical properties of the sandstones. These results in a variation of the size and direction of fluid pathways and in pore size distribution are also simulated by μ-CT data. The modelled results of these analyses are in good agreement with the measured results achieved by conventional experimental methods (He-porosity, N2-permeability)

    Parasites on parasites:Coupled fluctuations in stacked contact processes

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    We present a model for host-parasite dynamics which incorporates both vertical and horizontal transmission as well as spatial structure. Our model consists of stacked contact processes (CP), where the dynamics of the host is a simple CP on a lattice while the dynamics of the parasite is a secondary CP which sits on top of the host-occupied sites. In the simplest case, where infection does not incur any cost, we uncover a novel effect: a non-monotonic dependence of parasite prevalence on host turnover. Inspired by natural examples of hyperparasitism, we extend our model to multiple levels of parasites and identify a transition between the maintenance of a finite and infinite number of levels, which we conjecture is connected to a roughening transition in models of surface growth

    X-ray CT analyses, models and numerical simulations : a comparison with petrophysical analyses in an experimental CO2 study

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    An essential part of the collaborative research project H2STORE (hydrogen to store), which is funded by the German government, was a comparison of various analytical methods for characterizing reservoir sandstones from different stratigraphic units. In this context, Permian, Triassic, and Tertiary reservoir sandstones were analysed. Rock core materials, provided by RWE Gasspeicher GmbH (Dortmund, Germany), GDF Suez E&P Deutschland GmbH (Lingen,Germany), E.ON Gas Storage GmbH (Essen,Germany) and RAG Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft (Vienna, Austria), were processed by different laboratory techniques; thin sections were prepared, rock fragments were crushed and cubes of 1 cm edge length and plugs 3 to 5 cm in length with a Diameter of about 2.5 cm were sawn from macroscopic homogeneous cores. With this prepared sample material, polarized light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with image analyses, specific surface area measurements (after Brunauer, Emmet and Teller, 1938; BET), He-porosity and N2-permeability measurements and high resolution microcomputer tomography (µ-CT), which were used for numerical simulations, were applied. All These methods were practised on most of the same sample material, before and on selected Permian sandstones also after static CO2 experiments under reservoir conditions. A major concern in comparing the results of these methods is an appraisal of the reliability of the given porosity, permeability and mineral-specific reactive (inner) surface area data. The CO2 experiments modified the petrophysical as well as the mineralogical/geochemical rock properties. These changes are detectable by all applied analytical methods. Nevertheless, a major outcome of the high-resolution µ-CT analyses and following numerical data simulations was that quite similar data sets and data interpretations were maintained by the different petrophysical standard methods. Moreover, the µ-CT analyses are not only time saving, but also nondestructive. This is an important point if only minor sample material is available and a detailed comparison before and after the experimental tests on micrometre pore scale of specific rock features is envisaged

    Sulfur cycling in an iron oxide-dominated, dynamic marine depositional system: The Argentine continental margin

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    The interplay between sediment deposition patterns, organic matter type and the quantity and quality of reactive mineral phases determines the accumulation, speciation, and isotope composition of pore water and solid phase sulfur constituents in marine sediments. Here, we present the sulfur geochemistry of siliciclastic sediments from two sites along the Argentine continental slope—a system characterized by dynamic deposition and reworking, which result in non-steady state conditions. The two investigated sites have different depositional histories but have in common that reactive iron phases are abundant and that organic matter is refractory—conditions that result in low organoclastic sulfate reduction rates (SRR). Deposition of reworked, isotopically light pyrite and sulfurized organic matter appear to be important contributors to the sulfur inventory, with only minor addition of pyrite from organoclastic sulfate reduction above the sulfate-methane transition (SMT). Pore-water sulfide is limited to a narrow zone at the SMT. The core of that zone is dominated by pyrite accumulation. Iron monosulfide and elemental sulfur accumulate above and below this zone. Iron monosulfide precipitation is driven by the reaction of low amounts of hydrogen sulfide with ferrous iron and is in competition with the oxidation of sulfide by iron (oxyhydr)oxides to form elemental sulfur. The intervals marked by precipitation of intermediate sulfur phases at the margin of the zone with free sulfide are bordered by two distinct peaks in total organic sulfur (TOS). Organic matter sulfurization appears to precede pyrite formation in the iron-dominated margins of the sulfide zone, potentially linked to the presence of polysulfides formed by reaction between dissolved sulfide and elemental sulfur. Thus, SMTs can be hotspots for organic matter sulfurization in sulfide-limited, reactive iron-rich marine sedimentary systems. Furthermore, existence of elemental sulfur and iron monosulfide phases meters below the SMT demonstrates that in sulfide-limited systems metastable sulfur constituents are not readily converted to pyrite but can be buried to deeper sediment depths. Our data show that in non-steady state systems, redox zones do not occur in sequence but can reappear or proceed in inverse sequence throughout the sediment column, causing similar mineral alteration processes to occur at the same time at different sediment depths

    Cardiovascular Effects in Childhood Cancer Survivors Treated with Anthracyclines

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    Anthracyclines are commonly used to treat childhood leukemias and lymphomas, as well as other malignancies, leading to a growing population of long-term childhood cancer survivors. However, their use is limited by cardiotoxicity, increasing survivors' vulnerability to treatment-related complications that can markedly affect their quality of life. Survivors are more likely to suffer from heart failure, coronary artery disease, and cerebrovascular accidents compared to the general population. The specific mechanisms of anthracycline cardiotoxicity are complex and remain unclear. Hence, determining the factors that may increase susceptibility to cardiotoxicity is of great importance, as is monitoring patients during and after treatment. Additionally, treatment and prevention options, such as limiting cumulative dosage, liposomal anthracyclines, and dexrazoxane, continue to be explored. Here, we review the cardiovascular complications associated with the use of anthracyclines in treating malignancies in children and discuss methods for preventing, screening, and treating such complications in childhood cancer survivors

    Galaxy Zoo: dust and molecular gas in early-type galaxies with prominent dust lanes

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    We study dust and associated molecular gas in 352 nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs) with prominent dust lanes. 65% of these `dusty ETGs' (D-ETGs) are morphologically disturbed, suggesting a merger origin. This is consistent with the D-ETGs residing in lower density environments compared to the controls drawn from the general ETG population. 80% of D-ETGs inhabit the field (compared to 60% of the controls) and <2% inhabit clusters (compared to 10% of the controls). Compared to the controls, D-ETGs exhibit bluer UV-optical colours (indicating enhanced star formation) and an AGN fraction that is more than an order of magnitude greater (indicating higher incidence of nuclear activity). The clumpy dust mass residing in large-scale features is estimated, using the SDSS r-band images, to be 10^{4.5}-10^{6.5} MSun. A comparison to the total (clumpy + diffuse) dust masses- calculated using the far-IR fluxes of 15% of the D-ETGs that are detected by the IRAS- indicates that only ~20% of the dust resides in these large-scale features. The dust masses are several times larger than the maximum value expected from stellar mass loss, ruling out an internal origin. The dust content shows no correlation with the blue luminosity, indicating that it is not related to a galactic scale cooling flow. No correlation is found with the age of the recent starburst, suggesting that the dust is accreted directly in the merger rather than being produced in situ by the triggered star formation. Using molecular gas-to-dust ratios of ETGs in the literature we estimate that the median current and initial molecular gas fraction are ~1.3% and ~4%, respectively. Recent work suggests that the merger activity in nearby ETGs largely involves minor mergers (mass ratios between 1:10 and 1:4). If the IRAS-detected D-ETGs form via this channel, then the original gas fractions of the accreted satellites are 20%-44%. [Abridged]Comment: 11 pages, 18 figures, 1 table, MNRAS (Accepted for publication- 2012 March 19

    Kinematics of Galactic Centre clouds shaped by shear-seeded solenoidal turbulence

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    The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ; the central ~ 500 pc of the Galaxy) is a kinematically unusual environment relative to the Galactic disc, with high velocity dispersions and a steep size-linewidth relation of the molecular clouds. In addition, the CMZ region has a significantly lower star formation rate (SFR) than expected by its large amount of dense gas. An important factor in explaining the low SFR is the turbulent state of the star-forming gas, which seems to be dominated by rotational modes. However, the turbulence driving mechanism remains unclear. In this work, we investigate how the Galactic gravitational potential affects the turbulence in CMZ clouds. We focus on the CMZ cloud G0.253+0.016 (`the Brick'), which is very quiescent and unlikely to be kinematically dominated by stellar feedback. We demonstrate that several kinematic properties of the Brick arise naturally in a cloud-scale hydrodynamics simulation that takes into account the Galactic gravitational potential. These properties include the line-of-sight velocity distribution, the steepened size-linewidth relation, and the predominantly solenoidal nature of the turbulence. Within the simulation, these properties result from the Galactic shear in combination with the cloud's gravitational collapse. This is a strong indication that the Galactic gravitational potential plays a crucial role in shaping the CMZ gas kinematics, and is a major contributor to suppressing the SFR by inducing predominantly solenoidal turbulent modes.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures; accepted to MNRAS (July 24th 2023

    High-mass star-forming cloud G0.38+0.04 in the Galactic center dust ridge contains H2CO and SiO masers

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    We have discovered a new H2CO (formaldehyde) 11,0−11,1 4.82966 GHz maser in Galactic center Cloud C, G0.38+0.04. At the time of acceptance, this is the eighth region to contain an H2CO maser detected in the Galaxy. Cloud C is one of only two sites of confirmed high-mass star formation along the Galactic center ridge, affirming that H2CO masers are exclusively associated with high-mass star formation. This discovery led us to search for other masers, among which we found new SiO vibrationally excited masers, making this the fourth star-forming region in the Galaxy to exhibit SiO maser emission. Cloud C is also a known source of CH3OH Class-II and OH maser emission. There are now two known regions that contain both SiO and H2CO masers in the CMZ, compared to two SiO and six H2CO in the Galactic disk, while there is a relative dearth of H2O and CH3OH Class-II masers in the CMZ. SiO and H2CO masers may be preferentially excited in the CMZ, perhaps because of higher gas-phase abundances from grain destruction and heating, or alternatively H2O and CH3OH maser formation may be suppressed in the CMZ. In any case, Cloud C is a new testing ground for understanding maser excitation conditions
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