فهرست مطالب

Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Volume:8 Issue: 2, Spring 2019

Iranian Journal of Oil & Gas Science and Technology
Volume:8 Issue: 2, Spring 2019

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1398/01/12
  • تعداد عناوین: 7
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  • Omid Jalalvandi, Firooz Kheradmand, Farhad Salimi *, Farhad Golmohammadi Pages 1-14
    In this work, adsorbents, namely bentonite and sludge, modified by iron and copper were used to remove the H2S and mercaptan from Kermanshah refinery. The used adsorbents are inexpensive materials, which substantially decrease the operational costs. The structure of the adsorbents was analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The effects of gas and flow rate on the H2S and mercaptan removal were also studied. The results indicated that the bentonite modified by iron has a high capacity for removing H2S (32.256 mg/g) and mercaptan (0.98 mg/g). Moreover, the adsorption capacity of the sludge modified by copper for removing H2S and mercaptan was 11.18 and 0.81 mg/g respectively. Furthermore, by increasing the flow rate and concentration of H2S and mercaptan, H2S and mercaptan concentrations in the sludge output gas increased, but no considerable change was observed in the bentonite output gas.
    Keywords: Gas Sweetening, Bentonite, Sludge, Adsorption, H2, and Mercaptan
  • Benyamin Khadem, Abdolrahim Javaherian * Pages 15-32
    Reservoir characterization has a leading role in the reservoir geophysics and reservoir management. Since the interests of the reservoir geophysics and reservoir managements are the elastic properties and reservoir properties of the subsurface rock for their purposes, a robust method is required for converting seismic data into elastic properties. Accordingly, by employing a rock physics model and using the inverted seismic data, one can describe the reservoir for purposes such as improvement in the production of the reservoir. In the present study, we employ one of the methods for converting the seismic data into the elastic properties. This method of inversion is known as simultaneous inversion, which is grouped in amplitude-variation-with-offset (AVO) inversion category. In this method, unlike the other methods of AVO inversion, the pre-stack seismic data are directly inverted into the elastic properties of the rock and an excellent lithology and fluid indicator (VP/VS) are provided. Then, this indicator is tested on one of the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Moreover, by means of this method, one can locate the fluids contact and the lithological interlayers; also, by the inversion results, which are the cubes of the seismic properties of the rock, one can generate sections of the elastic properties of the rock such as Poisson’s ratio and Young modulus which are useful for geomechanical analysis. Therefore, this kind of method is a quick way for the prior analysis of the studied area.
    Keywords: AVO inversion, simultaneous inversion, Elastic properties, Reservoir characterization
  • Abiodun Ogbesejana *, Oluwadayo Sonibare, Zhong Ningning, Oluwasesan Bello Pages 34-52
    Crude oils and source rocks from the northern and offshore Niger Delta basin, Nigeria, have been characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in terms of their origin and thermal maturity based on the distribution of chrysene and its derivatives. The crude oils and source rocks were characterized by the dominance of chrysene over benzo[a]anthracene. 3-methylchrysene predominated over other methylchrysene isomers in the oils, while 3-methylchrysenes and 1-methylchrysenes were in higher abundance in the rock samples. The abundance and distribution of chrysene and its derivatives allow source grouping of the oils into three families. However, this grouping disagrees with the results obtained from well-established aromatic source grouping parameters. The maturity-dependent parameters computed from chrysene distributions (MCHR and 2- methylchrysene/1-methylchrysene ratios) indicated that the oils have a similar maturity status, while the rock samples are within an immature to early oil window maturity status, which was further supported by other maturity parameters computed from the saturate and aromatic biomarkers and vitrinite reflectance data. The abundance and distribution of chrysene and its derivatives were found to be effective in determining the thermal maturity of crude oil and source rock extracts in the Niger Delta basin, but they may not be a potential source-dependent biomarker in the crude oils and rock extracts from the basin.
    Keywords: Chrysene, Crude Oil, Niger Delta, Maturity, Correlation
  • Hadi Bagherzadeh, Zahra Mansourpour, Bahram Dabir * Pages 53-72
    In the current study, the kinetics of asphaltene particle flocculation is investigated under a shear flow through numerical simulation. The discrete element method (DEM) is coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model the agglomeration and fragmentation processes. In addition, a coalescence model is proposed to consider the attachment of colliding particles. The changes in mean asphaltene floc size, the particle size distribution (PSD) of asphaltene flocs over simulation time, and the average fractal dimension are presented. Moreover, the effect of fluid velocity on the kinetics of asphaltene flocculation is examined. The mean asphaltene floc size increases exponentially at first, and then the growth slows; finally, it ceases due to the establishment of a dynamic equilibrium between the agglomeration and fragmentation processes. As expected, asphaltene PSD’s move from fine to coarse sizes during the simulation. Log-normal distribution matches the PSDs best, which is in agreement with the nature of asphaltene. As fluid velocity increases, the dynamic equilibrium is attained more rapidly at a smaller mean floc size and higher average fractal dimension; furthermore, PSDs shift to smaller asphaltene floc sizes. The obtained average fractal dimensions of the asphaltene flocs are in the range of 1.65 to 1.74, which is compatible with the values reported in the literature. Eventually, a semi-analytical model is utilized to fit the simulation results. It is found out that the semi-theoretical model is capable of predicting the evolution of asphaltene particle size appropriately.
    Keywords: Asphaltene Flocculation, Kinetics, discrete element method, Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Behrouz Harimi, Mohsen Masihi *, Mohammad Hosein Ghazanfari Pages 73-91
    Gravity drainage is the main mechanism which controls the oil recovery from fractured reservoirs in both gas-cap drive and gas injection processes. The liquid bridge formed between two adjacent matrix blocks is responsible for capillary continuity phenomenon. The accurate determination of gas-liquid interface profile of liquid bridge is crucial to predict fracture capillary pressure precisely. The liquid bridge interface profile in the absence and in the presence of gravity is numerically derived, and the obtained results are compared with the measured experimental data. It is shown that in the presence of gravity, fracture capillary pressure varies across the fracture, whereas, by ignoring gravitational effects, a constant capillary pressure is obtained for the whole fracture. Critical fracture aperture which is the maximum aperture that could retain a liquid bridge was computed for a range of liquid bridge volumes and contact angles. Then, non-linear regression was conducted on the obtained dataset to find an empirical relation for the prediction of critical fracture aperture as a function of liquid bridge volume and contact angle. The computation of fracture capillary pressure at different liquid bridge volumes, fracture apertures, and contact angles demonstrates that if the liquid bridge volume is sufficiently small (say less than 0.5 microliters), capillary pressure in a horizontal fracture may reach values more than 0.1 psi, which is comparable to capillary pressure in the matrix blocks. The obtained results reveal that the variation of fracture capillary pressure versus bridge volume (which represents liquid saturation in fracture) obeys a trend similar to the case of matrix capillary pressure. Therefore, the capillary pressure of matrix can be applied directly to fractures considering proper modifications. The results of this study emphasize the importance of capillary continuity created by liquid bridges in the performance of gas-oil gravity drainage in fractured reservoirs.
    Keywords: Fractured Reservoir, Gravity Drainage, Capillary Continuity, liquid bridge, Fracture Capillary Pressure
  • Gholamreza Rashed *, Hadi Eskandari, Ardeshir Savari Pages 92-105
    The purpose of this study is to investigate bending moment and the axial load capacity of a pressurized pipe suffering from a through-wall circumferential crack repaired by a composite sleeve. The three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) was adopted to compute the results, and the failure assessment diagram (FAD) was employed to investigate the failure behavior of the repaired pipe. The findings revealed that, for the investigated range of applied loads and angles of the crack, the interaction of brittle and ductile failure modes is negligible. Additionally, the yield strength of the cracked pipe was considered as reference stress to achieve a conservative design. Two cases of the combined loading state consisting of internal pressure/bending moment and internal pressure/axial tensile force were investigated. Repairing the crack under combined loadings using carbon-epoxy composites was studied where the influences of various parameters, including internal pressure, crack angle, and the composite patch thickness on the capacity of the cracked pipe to withstand bending moment and axial load were included. The results indicated that the bending moment and axial load capacities of the cracked pipe depend on internal pressure, crack angle, and the composite patch thickness; nevertheless, the crack angle is the main parameter. A composite sleeve can increase both bending moment and axial load capacity of the cracked pipe, but bending moment can be increased further than axial load. Using the composite patch to repair the cracked pipe caused the bending moment capacity to improve from 14.28% to 120%. On the other hand, the composite patch raised the axial load capacity from 5.1% to 93.5%. Additionally, an increase in the composite patch thickness caused the axial load capacity to extend more than bending load capacity.
    Keywords: Cracked Pipe, Composite patch, Combined Loading, Circumferential Crack
  • Cyrus Fallahi, Sadegh Moradi *, Reza Masayebi Behbahani Pages 106-126
    In the present study, the permeabilities of CO2 and CH4 in terms of ideal and actual CO2/CH4 selectivity were investigated through the synthesized membranes of poly (ether-block-amide) (Pebax 1657) accompanied with poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG 400) and NH2-MIL125 nanoparticles. NH2-MIL125 nanofillers were added to the blend of PEG 400 and Pebax 1657 at various weight fractions to fabricate polymeric nanocomposite membranes. Several analyses such as the crystalline structure of the synthesized membranes, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were utilized to investigate the cross-sectional and surface morphology of the membranes; the formation of the chemical bonds was identified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). This study presents the permeation of both pure and mixed gases ofmethane and carbon dioxide through Pebax 1657, Pebax/PEG blend, and the Pebax/PEG/NH2-MIL125 nanocomposite membranes in a pressure range of 2-8 bar and at ambient temperature. The findings demonstrated that the synthesized nanocomposite membranes had a positive effect on the separation performance in comparison with the membranes made of neat polymer and polymer blends.
    Keywords: CO2, CH4 Separation, Pebax 1657 membrane, PEG, MOF, NH2-MIL125 nanoparticles