Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Neubaum, John.
Description of efforts to examine the rapid mineralization of east coast mafic materials. Core characterization, batch experiments and building up dynamic flow processes.
The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia, were used to characterize Appalachian Basin core from Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The primary impetus of this work is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Pennsylvania Geological Survey to characterize and make publicly available core information from the Onondaga-Huntersville formations of the Appalachian Basin. This stratigraphic well and the core data produced in this report will aid in understanding the structural complexities of the Onondaga-Huntersville formations. The resultant datasets are presented in this report and can be accessed from NETL's Energy Data eXchange (EDX) online system using the following link: https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/jonesandlaughlin1well. All equipment and techniques used were non-destructive, enabling future examinations and analyses to be performed on these cores. Fractures, discontinuities, and millimeter-scale features were readily detectable with imaging performed with the NETL medical CT scanner over the entire core. Qualitative analysis of the medical CT images, coupled with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and magnetic susceptibility measurements from the MSCL were useful in identifying zones of interest for further study. Targeted higher resolution CT scanning of select sections was performed with NETL’s micro-CT scanner. The combination of methods used provides a multiscale analysis of the core; the resulting macro and micro descriptions are relevant to many subsurface energy related examinations traditionally performed at NETL.
Tabular igneous intrusions (sills) are common features in sedimentary basins and have the potential to be useful seals for fluids (e.g., CO 2 or H 2 ) in geological storage scenarios, and may be important as the need for geologic carbon sequestration and alternative fuel storage increases. This is advantageous in regions without ready access to large-volume reservoirs in depleted hydrocarbon plays and saline aquifers, like the northeastern United States. Moreover, geological H 2 storage requires more demanding conditions than typically associated with oil and gas. An enhanced seal will have the properties of a traditional seal - competent, low permeability, and laterally extensive - with the addition of being able to self-seal pre-existing and induced fractures. Self-sealing will occur along fluid pathways like fractures where CO 2 , water, and minerals like plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxene react together. Dolerite sills from the Gettysburg Basin, Pennsylvania, have remarkably low permeability and homogeneous compositions that include minerals that will readily react with CO 2 dissolved in water. Here, we characterize the physical properties and chemical gradients within several mafic sills cored in five boreholes. In addition, preliminary CO 2 -reaction experiments on dolerite samples demonstrated rapid carbonate mineralization.
Computed tomography and high-resolution core log data associated with the technical report "Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Triassic Diabase Core" Schmitt, R.; Paronish, T.; Crandall, D.; Moore, J.; Neubaum, J.; Andrews, G. "Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Triassic Diabase Core; DOE.NETL-2021.2843; NETL Technical Report Series; U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory: Morgantown, WV, 2021; p 104
The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia were used to characterize near-surface diabase core obtained near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.