Reducing Produced Water Disposal Via Effective Treatments Methods And Re-Use: Proposed Sustainable Application For Bakken, North Dakota

It is true that the advancements in both the hydraulic frack and directional drilling technologies led to less time and a bit easier ways to develop unconventional oil and gas assets worldwide. In the Bakken North Dakota, the result of these breakthroughs and advancements in technologies are that they drastically reduce the time it takes to drill and complete a well leading to more wells (347 in 2004 to 16,300 in 2020). In 2019, the United States became the largest global crude oil producer, and the unconventional Bakken Play in North Dakota is one of the major contributors to this feat. As more wells are being drilled, more waste water are being produced. Analysis also showed early increases in water cuts even in younger (less than 3 years) wells drilled around McKenzie and Williams Counties. The concern here is that the wastewater produced by these increased oilfield activities is highly saline (~170,000 to 350,000 ppm TDS), and the most commonly used water disposal method in the Bakken Formation is deep injection into disposal wells. Notwithstanding, there are growing environmental and operational concerns about the sustainability and impacts of this approach. However, if the wastewater is efficiently treated, it could be reused in hydraulic fracturing operations or to support coal mining and irrigation activities. This research uses various method to investigate the root cause of the high volume of wastewater production in the Bakken, North Dakota and how these flow back and produced water could be treated using various novel technologies like, the advanced and improved desalination, advanced electro-oxidation and dilution methods. Lastly, the research was able to provide robust and detailed results on how the Bakken treated produced water could be transformed to good use especially as base fluids for hydraulic frack fluid formulation

Exploring Underground Hydrogen Storage Options in North Dakota: A Review

As the world shifts towards a low-carbon future, the demand for efficient, safe, and cost-effective energy storage solutions has become increasingly critical. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising energy carrier with numerous advantages, such as high energy density, zero emission combustion, and versatile applications. Nevertheless, the challenge of effective hydrogen storage remains. This study examines the potential of underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in North Dakota, assessing its opportunities and challenges in supporting the region\u27s renewable energy objectives. North Dakota\u27s unique geological features, abundant renewable energy resources, and growing energy demands make it an ideal location for UHS implementation. This review explores various UHS technologies, including salt caverns, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and aquifers, emphasizing their technical feasibility, environmental impacts, and economic viability within the North Dakota context. Salt caverns, created in subsurface salt formations, are well-suited for UHS due to their impermeability, structural integrity, and rapid cycling capacity. North Dakota\u27s plentiful salt deposits, especially in the Williston Basin, present significant opportunities for large-scale hydrogen storage. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs offer another feasible option, leveraging existing infrastructure and reservoir knowledge. The state\u27s long history of oil and gas production yields numerous depleted reservoir candidates for potential UHS projects. Aquifers, naturally occurring underground water-bearing formations, constitute a third alternative. Although less investigated than salt caverns and depleted reservoirs, aquifers show promise for UHS in North Dakota due to their extensive distribution and potential for substantial storage capacities. Additionally, we emphasize key economic factors and benefits for the state. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive assessment of the opportunities and challenges linked to implementing underground hydrogen storage in North Dakota. By conducting a detailed analysis of the region\u27s geological characteristics, economic factors, and environmental concerns, we aim to offer valuable insights for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers. This information can help inform future UHS projects and support the state\u27s transition towards a sustainable energy future.https://commons.und.edu/pe-pp/1000/thumbnail.jp

Salts Removal as an Effective and Economical Method of Bakken Formation Treatment

One of the main aims of managing and containing waste disposal in deep rock formations is to safeguard individuals, the surroundings, and the groundwater reserves The elevated salt content of the water produced by the rock formation necessitated an analysis of its chemical composition, including its major ion content, in order to understand the characteristics of the rock Additionally, the total dissolved solids ( in the ND Bakken formation are greater than 300 g/l, which is much higher than the concentration of salt in seawater therefore, it is reasonable to propose a modified process to treat the salts found in this formation produced water Produced water in the unconventional U S Bakken oilfield has become a significant concern since oil and gas production growth has been substantial, and operating costs are increasing Reusing this considerable amount of produced water has become necessary since the treated water can be used for potable supplies, irrigation, deep well injection, maintenance, and fracking, which improves profits and mitigates groundwater pollution Several metals ( Ca, Mn, Sr, Li, and K) were extracted from the flow back water and water produced in the Bakken oilfield using lime, caustic soda, and soda ash at different dosages and pH values during this project The separation treatment using selective precipitation can be invaluable as a pre treatment process of desalination techniques Extracted salts are effective coagulants for removing various contaminants from wastewater therefore, the extracted Mg(OH) 2 and CaCO 3 were used for wastewater treatment and establish their efficiency in removing COD and the nutrients phosphorous and nitrogen from ND wastewater The recovery of these elements from produced water may create additional financial benefits for oil producing areas More importantly, this sustainable disposal of produced water may encourage the recycling and reuse practice, ultimately reducing the use of freshwater for hydraulic fracturinghttps://commons.und.edu/cie-pp/1000/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of Liquid Loading in Gas Wells Using Machine Learning

The inevitable result that gas wells witness during their life production is the liquid loading problem. The liquids that come with gas block the production tubing if the gas velocity supplied by the reservoir pressure is not enough to carry them to surface. Researchers used different theories to solve the problem naming, droplet fallback theory, liquid film reversal theory, characteristic velocity, transient simulations, and others. While there is no definitive answer on what theory is the most valid or the one that performs the best in all cases. This paper comes to involve a different approach, a combination between physics-based modeling and statistical analysis of what is known as Machine Learning (ML). The authors used a refined ML algorithm named XGBoost (extreme gradient boosting) to develop a novel full procedure on how to diagnose the well with liquid loading issues and predict the critical gas velocity at which it starts to load if not loaded already. The novel procedure includes a combination of a classification problem where a well will be evaluated based on some completion and fluid properties (diameter, liquid density, gas density, liquid viscosity, gas viscosity, angle of inclination from horizontal (alpha), superficial liquid velocity, and the interfacial tension) as a “Liquid Loaded” or “Unloaded”. The second practice is to determine the critical gas velocity, and this is done by a regression method using the same inputs. Since the procedure is a data-driven approach, a considerable amount of data (247 well and lab measurements) collected from literatures has been used. Convenient ML technics have been applied from dividing the data to scaling, modeling and assessment. The results showed that a wellconstructed XGBoost model with an optimized hyperparameters is efficient in diagnosing the wells with the correct status and in predicting the onset of liquid loading by estimating the critical gas velocity. The assessment of the model was done relatively to existing correlations in literature. In the classification problem, the model showed a better performance with an F-1 score of 0.947 (correctly classified 46 cases from 50 used for testing). In contrast, the next best model was the one by Barnea with an F-1 score of 0.81 (correctly classified 37 from 50 cases). In the regression problem, the model showed an R2 of 0.959. In contrast, the second best model was the one by Shekhar with an R2 of 0.84. The results shown here prove that the model and the procedure developed give better results in diagnosing the well correctly if properly used by engineers

Evaluation of engine characteristics of a micro-gas turbine powered with JETA1 fuel mixed with Afzelia biodiesel and dimethyl ether (DME)

The use of Jet fuels in micro gas turbines results in high fuel consumption and increased gaseous emissions which in turn causes environmental pollution. In this study, a fixed proportion of Afzelia-Africana biodiesel (A) was mixed with dimethyl-ether (B) and Jet A1 (J) fuel of varying proportions, A10B10J80 (10% biodiesel, 10% dimethyl-ether, 80% Jet fuel), A10B15J75 (10% biodiesel, 15% dimethyl-ether, 75% Jet fuel), and A10B20J70 (10% biodiesel, 20% dimethyl-ether, 70% Jet fuel) in a bid to produce a fuel of improved properties. Their properties were compared with those of their pristine forms by testing the fuels in the gas turbine in order to ascertain the resulting engine emissions, thrust and thrust specific fuel consumption. Compared to the JETA1 fuel, the A10B10J80 fuel gave the best results in terms of engine speed, thrust (37 N) and thrust specific fuel consumption (4.3/h vs 5/h); the CO2, NOx, and CO emissions were lower for the blended fuels compared to those of the JET fuel. The A10B15J75 and A10B20J70 fuels gave 3 and 4.5% lower thrusts respectively, while the A10B10J80 fuel gave 3% increase in static thrust with a 14% reduction in its thrust-specific fuel consumption over the JET A1 fuel

Pyrolytic-gasification of biomass and plastic accompanied with catalytic sequential tar reformation into hydrogen-rich gas

Synthetic Fe–CaO–Ni-mayenite-CeO2 catalyst was adopted in the production of H2-rich gas from formed tar obtained from biomass-plastic pyrolysis and gasification. The molar ratio of the individual components in the catalyst (Fe–CaO–Ni-mayenite-CeO2) is 1:1:1: 1:2 as designed for the catalytic reforming of tar. The steam flow rate was fixed at 0.5 g/min. The role of mayenite-CeO2 in the catalyst and the temperature at which the catalyst was calcined during the pyrolysis–gasification of the Hazelnut shell/polypropylene mixture was examined. The inclusion of Mayenite was to provide the desired support for the activity of Ni–Fe. In addition, sulfur poisoning influences the activity of the Fe–CaO–Ni-Mayenite catalyst. On the other hand, CaO can easily become deactivated by biomass-tar, hence the reason it was impregnated with Fe along with Mayenite which was present on the surface of the catalyst’s support as evidenced by the result from characterization. As a promoter, CeO2 improves nickel’s resistance to carbon deposits while also boosting its sulfur tolerance. The activity of the catalyst was also monitored at varying space velocities, temperatures, steam to carbon ratios, residence times and particle sizes. The production of H2-rich gas was achieved at 1000 ◦C using 30 wt% of the catalyst

Experimental investigation on the influence of H2 on diesel engine fueled with Afzelia Africana biofuel – Titanium oxide nanoparticle blends

Diesel engines are a major source of air pollution, which is increasingly endangering both the natural and built environments. The use of H2-enrichment with nano-fuel was adopted in this research. The TiO2-nanoparticles- Afzelia-Africana biodiesel was blended with H2 for use in diesel engine. 25 ppm of TiO2 nanoparticles was admixed with the biofuel and ultrasonicated. After that, H2 was introduced through the intake air at different flowrates. The ratio of H2 to the blended fuels (BNH) is (15:85 vol/vol%). The effects of the blends with H2 on emission/performance characteristics were investigated by evaluating NOx, CO, and HC emissions and brake thermal efficiency-(BTE). Higher BTE blends with hydrogen flowrate of 3 LPM improved the engine performance with lesser emissions. Sample blend with hydrogen flowrates of 3LPM gave the best performance/BTE of 39.4 %. The nano-fuel BN@25 + H2 (3 LPM) recorded the lowest emissions (81, 0.33 and 5 g/kWh) at full load when compared with the diesel (129, 0.63 and 20 g/kWh) in terms of NOx, CO, and HC. The in-cylinder pressure and heat release rates of the biodiesel significantly improved H2 addition to TiO2 -NPs by 10 and 14 % relative to diesel. Therefore, the H2-enrichment with the nano-fuel displayed a positive effect on the engine without further modifications