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At least 1,045 records · Page 58

Pore connectivity influences mass transport in natural rocks: Pore structure, gas diffusion and batch sorption studies

For this work, six rocks (one granodiorite, one limestone, two chalks, one mudstone, and one dolostone) with different extents of heterogeneity at six different particle sizes (from 75 to 8000 μm) were studied to describe the effects of pore connectivity on mass transport. The methods applied were (i) porosity measurement of granular rocks, (ii) analyses of gas-phase diffusive transport in a bed of packed particles, along with a solid quartz method at these six particle sizes being developed to identify the contribution of intraparticle diffusion, and (iii) batch sorption tests of multiple ions (anions and cations) with subsequent analyses of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Granular porosity measurement results reveal that with decreasing particle sizes, the effective porosities for the “heterogenous” group of rocks (Grimsel granodiorite and Edwards limestone) increase, whereas the porosities of another “homogeneous” group (two Israel chalk samples, Japan mudstone, and Wyoming dolostone) remain constant. Gas diffusion results show that the intraparticle gas diffusion coefficient among these two sample groups, varying in the magnitude of 10 -8 to 10 -6 m 2 /s, are not directly correlated to the porosity differences. Moreover, the batch sorption work displays a different affinity of rocks for various tracers. For Grimsel granodiorite, Japan mudstone, and Wyoming dolostone, the adsorption capacity of Sm 3+ and Eu 3+ increases as the particle size decreases. In general, this integrated research of grain size distribution, granular rock porosity, intraparticle diffusivity, and ionic sorption capacity gives insights into the pore connectivity effect on both physical and chemical transport behaviors for different lithologies and/or different particle sizes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Carbon molecular-sieve membranes developed from a Tröger’s base polymer and possessing superior gas-separation performance

Carbon molecular-sieve membranes possess tremendous practical advantages over unary polymer membranes by providing high gas-separation performance levels, coupled with excellent mechanical and chemical stability. Improving their overall effectiveness greatly expands the competitiveness of this class of membranes. In the present study, carbon membranes are fabricated from a Tröger’s base polymer as the precursor. Further, by optimizing the carbonization conditions, the gas-separation performance of the resultant membranes are significantly enhanced. Under optimized conditions, a H 2 permeability of up to 1135 Barrer is achieved, with a corresponding H 2 /CH 4 selectivity of 1170 and a CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity of 238. While increasing the operating temperature slightly reduces the selectivity, it still remains in the high-separation region. Overall, the measured separation performance levels for H 2 -related separations, i.e., H 2 /CH 4 , H 2 /N 2 and H 2 /CO 2 , all substantially exceed the Robeson upper bound. Moreover, the CO 2 /CH 4 separation efficacy also lies above the 2019 upper bound, indicating that the carbon membranes developed in the present work are versatile and promising for many different gas-separation applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Estimating diffusion coefficients of shale oil, gas, and condensate with nano-confinement effect

Molecular diffusion plays an important role in oil and gas migration in tight shale formations. However, there are insufficient reference data in the literature to specify the diffusion coefficients within porous media. This study aims at calculating diffusion coefficients of shale gas, shale condensate, and shale oil at reservoir conditions with CO 2 injection for EOR/EGR. The large nano-confinement effects including large gas-oil capillary pressure and critical property shifts could alter the phase behaviors. This paper estimates the diffusivities of shale fluids in nanometer-scale shale rock from two perspectives: 1) examining the shift of diffusivity caused by nanopore confinement effects from phase change (phase composition and fluid property) perspective, and 2) calculating the effective diffusion coefficient in porous media by incorporating rock intrinsic properties (porosity and tortuosity factor). The tortuosity is obtained by using tortuosity-porosity relations as well as the measured tortuosity of shale from 3D imaging techniques. The results indicated that nano-confinement effects could affect the diffusion coefficient through altering the phase properties, such as phase compositions and densities. Compared to bulk phase diffusivity, the effective diffusion coefficient in porous shale rock is reduced by 10 2 to 10 4 times as porosity decreases from 0.1 to 0.03.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗

Radiation-induced molecular hydrogen gas generation in the presence of aluminum alloy 1100

The United States government currently manages nearly 13 metric tons of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel (SNF) without a long-term storage solution, so a fundamental understanding of corrosion processes occurring on aluminum alloy surfaces is of utmost importance to plan for extended (>50 years) interim dry storage of aluminum-clad SNF. While thermal and chemical corrosion processes are well characterized for aluminum, radiation effects are not. To help understand the impacts of radiation on aluminum-clad SNF, here the radiation-induced molecular hydrogen gas (H 2 ) generation from pristine and pre-corroded aluminum alloy 1100 (Al-1100) coupons have been studied. Corrosion of coupons was achieved by submerging coupons in water at 95 °C for 29 days, yielding a ~5 μm boehmite/bayerite oxide film. Pre-corroded coupons were exposed to cobalt-60 gamma radiation to absorbed doses of up to 1.0 MGy under a variety of conditions: cover-gas composition (argon, nitrogen, or air), relative humidity (0, 50, and 100%), and temperature (ambient, 100, and 200 °C). Post-irradiation measurements demonstrated that the yield of H 2 was directly attributable to the presence of the Al-1100 coupons and their physisorbed water with dependence on absorbed gamma dose, relative humidity, and cover-gas composition. No H 2 was quantified in the presence of air, while both nitrogen and argon environments afforded higher H 2 yields with increasing relative humidities. This was attributed to the greater availability of adsorbed water for radiolytic processes. Irradiation of pre-corroded Al-1100 coupons at different temperatures under 0% relative humidity argon conditions yielded statistically equivalent H 2 yields for ambient temperatures and 100 °C. However, irradiation at 200 °C promoted a 3 to 4-fold increase in the yield of H 2 , possibly due to the transformation of bayerite to boehmite and/or improved efficiency of H • and H 2 release from oxide surfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High performance polymers for oil and gas applications

Proper material selection has been one of the most important aspects in the design of chemical process equipment. In particular, the oil and gas industry has transitioned from using metals to non-metals (e.g. advanced and high performance polymeric materials) in most of their structural components, coatings, equipment parts, and the like. It is therefore imperative to understand the advantages and limitations of these polymer materials before they can be effectively used for a specific application. This review article aims to provide an overview of the properties, applications, and durability against reactivity and degradation of high performance polymers commonly used in the oil and gas industry. These include polysulfone, polyetherimide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyetheretherketone, fluoropolymers, and other high performance thermosets, elastomers, and polymer nanocomposites. Further, this article covers the current research efforts in improving the properties of high performance polymers and expanding their applications (including 3D printing or additive manufacturing) in the oil and gas industry.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ultrafast and selective gas transport through highly ordered black phosphorene nanochannels

Two-dimensional (2D) materials bring a great opportunity to fabricate molecular sieving membranes that can potentially break the permeability-selectivity trade-off. Although 2D laminar membranes with interlayer nanochannels as molecular sieving channel were widely studied, for most of reported 2D laminar membranes, it is of a great challenge to fabricate highly ordered interlayer nanochannels for mass transport. Herein, we report a novel kind of black phosphorene membrane which is made from the stacking of highly ordered 2D black phosphorene nanoflakes. The as prepared black phosphorene membrane shows H 2 permeance > 1000 GPU and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity > 100 for H 2 /CO 2 mixed gas, demonstrating an extremely high gas separation performance. The DFT calculation results demonstrate that the interlayer galleries in the black phosphorene membrane allow the H 2 passing through easily while block the other gases with bigger kinetic diameters, matching well with the experimental findings. In conclusion, the present results indicate that the interlayer galleries in the black phosphorene membrane can be applied as molecular sieving channels for gas separation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Impulse-driven release of gas-encapsulated drops

Gas-encapsulated drops, much like antibubbles, are drops enclosed in a bubble within a liquid. They show potential as payload carriers in fluid transport and mixing techniques where sound waves can be leveraged to induce the collapse of the gas core and the subsequent release of the drop. Here, the interaction of millimetre-sized gas-encapsulated drops with impulsive laser-induced shock waves is investigated to gain fundamental insights into the release process. Experimental synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging, which allows the drop dynamics to be visualised inside the encapsulating bubble, is complemented by numerical simulations to study the intricate physics at play. Three drop dynamical release regimes are discovered, namely the drop impact , partial deposition and jet impact regimes. The regime type is mainly dependent on the shape of the bubble interface impacting the drop and the associated Weber and Reynolds numbers. The drop dynamics of the drop impact and partial deposition regimes show similarities with the canonical configuration of drops impacting flat liquid surfaces, whereas the jet impact regime resembles binary drop collisions, which allows existing scaling laws to be applied to describe the underlying processes. The release of the drop is investigated numerically. The time evolution of the drop dissemination within the surrounding liquid discloses enhanced mixing for dynamics involving high Weber and Reynolds numbers such as the drop impact and jet impact regimes.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Assessing Gas-Phase Ion Reactivity of 50 Elements with NO and the Direct Application for 239 Pu in Complex Matrices Using ICP-MS/MS

Understanding the reactivity of metal cations with various reaction gases in ICP-MS/MS is important to determine the best gas to use for a given analyte/interference pair. In this study, nitric oxide (NO) was investigated as the reaction gas following previous experimental designs. The reactions with 50 elements were investigated to examine periodic trends in reactivity, validate theoretical modeling of reaction enthalpies as a method to screen reactant gases, and provide a baseline for potential in-line gas separation methods. ICP-MS/MS studies involving actinides are typically limited to Th, U and Pu, with analyses of Np and Am rarely reported in the literature. To date, only two previous methods have investigated the use of NO in ICP-MS/MS analyses. To showcase the utility of NO, a method was developed to measure 239 Pu in the presence of environmental matrix constituent and other actinides, like what could be expected from post-detonation debris, with no chemical separation prior to analysis. 239 Pu + was reacted to form 239 Pu 16 O + , eliminating interferences derived from the sample matrix by measuring 239 Pu + intensity at m/z = 255 ( 239 Pu 16 O + ). To validate NO for 238 U 1 H + interference removal in environmental matrices, standard reference materials were diluted to 1 mg per gram of solution and spiked to 0.05 pg/g of 239 Pu and 1 µg/g 238 U (Pu/U = 5 x 10 -8 ). Measured 239 Pu concentrations were within 6% of the spiked value. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that reliable 239 Pu measurements can be made at levels relevant to nuclear forensics without the need for extensive chemical matrix separation prior to analysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Charge Movement and Structural Changes in the Gas-Phase Unfolding of Multimeric Protein Complexes Captured by Native Top-Down Mass Spectrometry

The extent to which noncovalent protein complexes retain native structure in the gas phase is highly dependent on experimental conditions. Energetic collisions with background gas can cause structural changes ranging from unfolding to subunit dissociation. Additionally, recent studies have highlighted the role of charge in such structural changes, but the mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, native top down (native TD) mass spectrometry was used to probe gas-phase structural changes of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, 4mer) under varying degrees of in-source activation. Changes in covalent backbone fragments produced by electron capture dissociation (ECD) or 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) were correlated to structural changes of the ADH 4mer. ECD fragments indicated unfolding started at the N-terminus, and the charge states of UVPD fragments enabled monitoring of charge migration to the unfolded regions. Interestingly, UVPD fragments also indicated that the charge at the “unfolding” N-terminus of ADH decreased at high in-source activation energies after the initial increase. We proposed a possible “refolding-after-unfolding” mechanism, as further supported by monitoring hydrogen elimination from radical a-ions produced by UVPD at the N-terminus of ADH. However, “refolding-after-unfolding” with increasing in-source activation was not observed for charge-reduced ADH, which likely adopted compact structures that are resistant to both charge migration and unfolding. Combined, these results support a charge-directed unfolding mechanism for protein complexes. Overall, an experimental framework was outlined for utilizing native TD to generate structure-informative mass spectral signatures for protein complexes that complement other structure characterization techniques, such as ion mobility spectrometry and computational modeling.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Numerical Simulations in Support of a Long-Term Test of Gas Production From Hydrate Accumulations on the Alaska North Slope: Water Production and Associated Design and Management Issues

Here, we investigated numerical simulation strategies for a long-term test of depressurization-induced gas production from the B1 Sand of Unit B at the Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well. The main objective of this study was to estimate fluid production rates (with emphasis on water production) under a variety of conditions and production scenarios and contribute new insights to the design and management of the field test. In the first part of the study, we investigated the system response to a three-step depressurization process using two limiting sets of flow properties─the expected maximum and minimum intrinsic and effective permeabilities─for the very heterogeneous reservoir. In the second part, we investigated the effect of the production interval length and placement within the formation relative to the boundaries of the hydrate-bearing unit. The best performing well configuration was used in the third part of the study, which used the most representative subsurface flow properties to investigate the effect of the depressurization strategy on the production performance. The best overall performance (largest gas production with modest water production and a strong response at the observation wells) was obtained with a 10 m-long well situated 3 m below the top of the formation and a three-step depressurization scheme at 15-day intervals to a terminal bottomhole pressure of 2.8 MPa. The overall production performance was enhanced by a faster rate of depressurization. Estimated water production rates in all cases were limited and easily manageable. None of the tested well configurations or depressurization strategies significantly reduced water production without also severely reducing gas production. In all the investigated cases, 95% of the long-term fraction of produced water was replenished by inflows from the boundaries and could not be reduced. These substantial water inflows are an unavoidable feature of HU-B and cannot be easily mitigated by a hydraulic control.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Seasonality and Declining Intensity of Methane Emissions from the Permian and Nearby US Oil and Gas Basins

We quantify weekly methane emissions and trends from oil and gas production in the US Permian Basin for 2019-2023, and in nearby basins for 2022-2023, by analytical inversion of Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite observations with the Integrated Methane Inversion (IMI) at 25 km resolution. Permian oil and gas emissions averaged 4.0 ± 1.1 Tg a-1 over 2019-2023, with large seasonal variation but little interannual variability. Methane intensity fell from 5.2 to 3.2% as production surged. Intensity in the New Mexico Permian fell from 4.5 to 2.1%, approaching the state's 2026 target of <2%. Emissions were on average 50 ± 10% higher in winter than summer, which we corroborate with Permian Basin Tower Network measurements, Insight M aircraft data, and GHGSat satellite observations. This seasonality may be driven in part by higher winter emissions from liquid storage tanks due to decreased separator efficiency in cold conditions. Similar but weaker seasonality along with decreasing emissions and intensities is found in weekly inversions for the Anadarko, Barnett, Eagle Ford, and Haynesville basins in 2022-2023. Our work suggests that better weatherization of oil and gas facilities could significantly reduce methane emissions.

Permian↗

Cradle-to-Grave Lifecycle Analysis of U.S. Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle-Fuel Pathways: A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment of Current (2021) and Future (2035) Technologies

This study presents a cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis of energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for U.S. medium- and heavy-duty vehicles across current (2021) and future (2035) technologies using the Greenhouse gas, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model with industry-vetted assumptions. Results vary across vehicle classes but point to common trends: today, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) offer significant (10–60%) GHG emissions reduction compared to diesel internal combustion engine vehicles and are the lowest emissions option per ton-mile of cargo movement, followed by hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) (5–50% emissions reduction). Emissions savings depend largely on the duty cycle and fuel economy of the vehicle type. Future vehicle technology advancements result in comparable emission reductions associated with BEVs and hydrogen FCEVs. Weight-limited BEV trucks see less per-ton-mile emissions reduction due to the impact of battery weight on increased vehicle weight and reduced payload capacity. By 2035, improvements in vehicle efficiency can reduce emissions across all powertrains. However, very low levels of emissions require switching vehicles’ use-phase fuel/energy to low-carbon fuels and electricity. Renewable diesel, e-fuels, hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage or renewables, and use of low-carbon electricity can all achieve over 70% reduction in GHG emissions from the current day diesel-based internal combustion engine vehicle.

alternative fuels↗

Comprehensive Assessment of the Accuracy of the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory for Predicting Binary Adsorption of Gas Mixtures in Porous Materials

Quantifying the adsorption of chemical mixtures in porous adsorbents is critical to developing these materials for useful separation applications. The ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) is the most widely applied mixing theory for predicting mixture adsorption using single-component adsorption data, but a perceived lack of experimental data has limited previous efforts to explore the accuracy of IAST in a systematic way. In this paper, we take advantage of a large collection of binary experimental data for gas adsorption that became available recently to tackle this issue. Specifically, we identify more than 400 examples in which binary adsorption data and single-component data are available in the same publication and apply IAST to all these examples. This analysis includes experimental data from 63 gas mixtures of 37 different molecular species and 174 different adsorbents. In addition to being the most systematic evaluation to date of the accuracy of IAST for gas adsorption, these data will be valuable for future efforts to test or develop mixing theories that improve upon IAST.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Single-Step Mechanism for Regioselective Nitration of 9,10-BN-Naphthalene with Acetyl Nitrate in the Gas Phase

Here, the energetics of the regioselective mononitration of 9,10-BN-naphthalene with acetyl nitrate (H 3 C 2 NO 4 ) were modeled with ab initio simulations in the gas phase and an acetonitrile solvent. The single-electron-transfer (SET) nitration mechanism leading to a σ-complex and a single-step nitration mechanism were modeled. The energy barrier for the single-step mechanism was lower than that for the SET mechanism in the gas phase. However, the two are much more energetically competitive in the solvent. The σ-complex was found to be unstable in the gas phase owing to the interaction with the counterion. Using the single-step mechanism, the carbon site 1 nearest boron had the lowest activation energy for nitration of 22.6 kcal/mol, while site 3 had the second lowest barrier of 24.6 kcal/mol. Finally, details on the molecular structures at intermediate and transition states as well as charges in different configurations are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Consequences of 131 I Transmutation in Gas Phase Radioiodine Molecules and Adsorbed on Graphite Surface

In the case of nuclear power plant accidents, several radionuclides are being dispersed into the environment. In particular, the release of radioiodine 131 I represents a major health concern because of its absorption by the thyroid gland. To reduce the release of 131 I into the environment, capture materials, such as activated carbon, provide a mean to efficiently retain radioiodine-bound molecular species. Here, we use ab initio molecular dynamic calculations to investigate the effects of 131 I radioactive decay on the molecular stability of I 2 , acid iodine (HI, HIO, HIO 2 , and HIO 3 ), and methyl-iodine species in both gas phase and adsorbed on graphite. In gas phase, we found that I 2 is the least resistant to 131 I transmutation, followed by the HIO x family of molecules, then HI and CH 3 I which are the most resistant. However, the graphite surface is found to greatly favorize the fragmentation of adsorbed molecular species. While the identification of gas phase fragments can offer new chemical route to consider in chemical kinetics models, the formation reactive fragment products at the graphite surface can favorize their reaction with surface carbon atoms which overtime could reduce the number of adsorption sites of capture materials available, and hence, impacting their capture capability.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Gas-Phase Hydrogen-Atom Measurement above Catalytic and Noncatalytic Materials during Ethane Dehydrogenation

The role of a solid surface for initiating gas-phase reactions is still not well understood. The hydrogen atom (H) is an important intermediate in gas-phase ethane dehydrogenation and is known to interact with surface sites on catalysts. However, direct measurements of H near catalytic surfaces have not yet been reported. Here, we present the first H measurements by laser-induced fluorescence in the gas-phase above catalytic and noncatalytic surfaces. Measurements at temperatures up to 700 °C show H concentrations to be at the highest above inert quartz surfaces compared to stainless steel and a platinum-based catalyst. Additionally, H concentrations above the catalyst decreased rapidly with time on stream. Furthermore, these newly obtained observations are consistent with the recently reported differences in bulk ethane dehydrogenation reactivity of these materials, suggesting H may be a good reporter for dehydrogenation activity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Revealing Intermetallic Active Sites of PtNi Nanocatalysts for Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction

Bimetallic nanoparticles have gained great interest due to their potential applications in catalysis. By combining Lattice Boltzmann Modeling (LBM), Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation, here we rationalize the superior performance of supported Pt-Ni alloy nanostructures over Pt and Ni alone during the reverse Water Gas Shift (rWGS) reaction, which was observed previously. The LBM simulation including the diffusion and flow of the reacting gas molecules within the supporting nanoporous channels in SBA-15 indicates that the simple combination of contributions from Ni and Pt alone is not enough to result in the observed promotion in rWGS activity and selectivity of the Pt-Ni alloy. Instead, the synergy between Pt and Ni via a unique intermetallic motif is responsible according to the DFT and KMC simulation. In conclusion, compared to the monometallic counterparts, the intermetallic-introduced ensemble effect at the low-coordinated Pt-Ni hybrid site of Pt-Ni alloy nanocatalysts enables the enhanced activation of CO 2 and promoted removal of CO/H 2 O as gas phase product.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Understanding Anomalous Gas-Phase Peak Shifts in Dip-and-Pull Ambient Pressure XPS Experiments

Dip-and-pull ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) holds promise to uncover elementary processes of (photo)electrochemistry. We show, however, that the sample for such experiments should preferably be nonporous and the potential on the surface homogeneous. We carried out dip-and-pull AP-XPS experiments on a hematite thin film sample under the photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and find unexpected O 1s core level shifts. Upon electrochemical biasing under simulated solar light illumination, the gas-phase water peak shifted more than the electrolyte peak. To uncover the origin of the unexpected larger shift of the gas-phase peak, we performed electrostatic simulations using COMSOL, to map the potential field in the relevant volume between the sample and the first aperture of the XPS spectrometer. A number of geometric models were considered. We find that when the potential on the sample surface is inhomogeneous, e.g., with ionically isolated electrolyte patches, the gas-phase peak of the spectrum can shift more than the peak due to the electrolyte film. This suggests that at the measured sample position, the local potential was not as set by the potentiostat. Despite this, we find reversible consumption and replenishment of hydroxide in the spectra, which, due to OH– being the reactant of the OER in alkaline electrolyte, makes sense chemically. We propose that this is linked to OH– diffusion across the measured sample position, driven by the potential dependent consumption and replenishment of OH– at the nearby well-connected surface regions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗