Bio-crude Turns Cheap Waste Into Valuable Fuel

Daily Science Journal (Feb. 5, 2008) — CSIRO and Monash University have developed a chemical process that turns green waste into a stable bio-crude oil. The bio-crude oil can be used to produce high value chemicals and biofuels, including both petrol and diesel replacement fuels.

Forest waste can be converted into bio-crude oil. (Credit: Image courtesy of CSIRO Australia)

“By making changes to the chemical process, we’ve been able to create a concentrated bio-crude which is much more stable than that achieved elsewhere in the world,” says Dr Steven Loffler of CSIRO Forest Biosciences.

“This makes it practical and economical to produce bio-crude in local areas for transport to a central refinery, overcoming the high costs and greenhouse gas emissions otherwise involved in transporting bulky green wastes over long distances.”

The process uses low value waste such as forest thinnings, crop residues, waste paper and garden waste, significant amounts of which are currently dumped in landfill or burned.

“By using waste, our Furafuel technology overcomes the food versus fuel debate which surrounds biofuels generated from grains, corn and sugar,” says Dr Loffler.

“The project forms part of CSIRO’s commitment to delivering cleaner energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by improving technologies for converting waste biomass to transport fuels.”

The plant wastes being targeted for conversion into biofuels contain chemicals known as lignocellulose, which is increasingly favoured around the world as a raw material for the next generation of bio-ethanol.

Lignocellulose is both renewable and potentially greenhouse gas neutral. It is predominantly found in trees and is made up of cellulose; lignin, a natural plastic; and hemicellulose.

CSIRO and Monash University will apply to patent the chemical processes underpinning the conversion of green wastes to bio-crude oil once final laboratory trials are completed.

The research to date is supported by funding from CSIRO’s Energy Transformed Flagship program, Monash University, Circa Group and Forest Wood Products Australia.

National Research Flagships CSIRO initiated the National Research Flagships to provide science-based solutions in response to Australia’s major research challenges and opportunities. The nine Flagships form multidisciplinary teams with industry and the research community to deliver impact and benefits for Australia.

Adapted from materials provided by CSIRO Australia.

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Finding New Oil In Long-exhausted Oil Wells

Daily Science Journal (Feb. 3, 2008) — Under contemporary conditions, it is more economically sound not to look for new oil fields but to overhaul old ones. Oil reappears from time to time in old deposits and long ago exhausted oil wells.

The earth's crust is similar to a sandwich cake, consisting of hard layers and fractured-porous layers saturated by various fluids, including oil. In some places, the crust is penetrated by an extremely dense network of fissures and ruptures. Ruptures form cavities located almost horizontally and united into a network. All this complicated system is in constant motion due to tectonic forces’ action. The layers are moving, fissures are widening and acting as a rubber bulb: liquid starts coming into formed interstice from surrounding porous layers. In case of significant tectonic tensions, liquid moves at large distances.

This phenomenon attracts attention of multiple researchers. Specialists of the Institute of Oil and Gas Problems under the guidance of Academician Dmitrievsky offer their explanation.

According to the researchers’ opinion, this mechanism of liquid movement in the crust is the most intense and universal among all possible ones. It acts both in ruptures and in thin fractured layers, which stretch at significant distances. Vibrations in the crust drive fluids along all possible directions, including horizontal and even downward directions. Migration occurs along lengthy cavities and fractures systems, located at the depth of 10 to 15 kilometers.

Liquid movement caused by widening of internal cavities is of vibrating character. Oil sometimes rushes in or sometimes floods back. The mode and period of vibration depend on the size of perturbed area. In large porous layers, the vibration period makes about 10 thousand years. In the ruptures, the period is shorter and it varies from a thousand to hundreds and even dozens of years, if rupture zones are located at small depths.

The researchers have investigated the carbohydrates migration process from the petroliferous stratum into the upper layers in several regions. An example can be the Romashinskoye oilfield in Tatarstan. The volume of produced oil there has significantly exceeded the previously asserted reserves. According to the TATANEFT Joint Stock Company’s data, more than 65% of oil in Tatarstan is produced in old oilfields exhausted by 80%. However, supplementary exploration of the known deposits allowed to increment reserves of oil by one and a half times within the last 25 years. In the Romashinskoye oilfield, the researchers also discovered old exhausted drillings with regenerated inflow of oil and oil with water.

The space of oil pools and their reserves increase with increasing rupture network density. It is interesting to note that the depth of sedimentary covering in the zone of the gigantic Romashinskoye oilfield does not exceed 2 kilometers on average, and this mantle does not possess significant oil potential. Most likely, oil cames to these locations from the direction of Pre-Ural downfold.

In the researchers’ opinion, to overhaul old oil deposits is currently much more profitable and efficient than expensive geological exploration works at new locations.

Adapted from materials provided by Informscience.

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Oil Exploration In Arctic Highly Risky: 'Response Gap' In Case Of Oil Spill, According To New Report

Daily Science Journal (Jan. 31, 2008) — Arctic marine conditions contribute to an oil spill “response gap” that effectively limits the ability to clean up after an oil spill.

A new report commissioned by WWF concludes that the only way to avoid the potentially devastating environmental risks is to ensure that no more of the Arctic is opened up to oil development until the response gap is closed.

“The ability to effectively clean up an arctic marine oil spill is a critical component of the risk equation,” said Dr Neil Hamilton, Director of the WWF International Arctic Programme. “The fact that a catastrophic spill might exceed the operating limits of existing oil spill response technologies is a strong argument for a moratorium until the response gap is filled.”

According to the report Oil Spill Response Challenges in Arctic Waters, arctic conditions can impact on both the probability that a spill will occur from oil and gas operations and the consequences of such a spill. The same conditions that contribute to oil spill risks (including lack of natural light, extreme cold, moving ice floes, high wind and low visibility) can also make spill response operations extremely difficult or totally ineffective.

“The Arctic offers the highest level of ecological sensitivity and the lowest level of capacity to clean up after an accident,” said James Leaton, Senior Policy Adviser, WWF-UK. “This combination makes it unacceptable to expose the Arctic to an unfettered scramble for oil.”

The report recognizes that significant efforts are ongoing to test and improve spill response technologies for use in arctic conditions. However, until such technologies are field-proven and market-ready, additional prevention and planning measures are required to eliminate oil spill risks during times when response operations are not feasible.

WWF has also called for an international mandatory instrument to regulate shipping in the Arctic, as shipping imposes great risks to the Arctic Environment. Routing, zero-discharge zones, areas to be avoided and obligations to keep a certain amount of “self-help” oil spill response equipment on board are among the needed measures.

The report can be downloaded at: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/nuka_oil_spill_response_report_final_jan_08.pdf

Adapted from materials provided by World Wildlife Fund.

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Black Sea To Take Years To Recover From Oil Spill

Daily Science Journal (Nov. 29, 2007) — The oil spill that wreaked havoc in the Kerch Strait leading to the Black Sea in early November will take at least 5 to 10 years for the marine environment to recover, says WWF.

According to WWF specialists, the 2000-tonne spill has badly affected the local fishing industry. Fish caught in the Kerch Strait are not safe for consumption.

The spill has also threatened birds. About 11 endangered species inhabit the area around the strait, including the Dalmatian pelican and great black-headed gull, and many more migrating birds will be wintering in this area in the coming months.

Thanks to the efforts of clean-up crews, including WWF staff and members, some birds have been rescued. However, these activities can only help save a very small percentage of the thousands of affected birds. Two dolphins have also been found washed up on shore where clean-up operations are being conducted, but their chances of survival are slim. The Black Sea is home to common and bottlenose dolphins.

“Although it is practically impossible to completely eliminate the damage caused by the large oil spill,” said Igor Chestin, CEO of WWF-Russia, “we believe that to avoid such disasters in the future drastic changes need to be made in the oil transportation system; oil pollution laws need to be enacted.”

To avoid such accidents in the future, WWF and other environmental NGOs are developing recommendations for the Russian government, which include:

• Local volunteers should be trained to respond to oil spills (WWF has already been training clean-up teams on the Russian coast of the Barents Sea for several years).

• Oil export via the river-sea corridor should be stopped, and river vessels not suited for marine conditions should be instructed to enter ports.

• Russia should develop a legislative base for oil spills, similar to the US Oil Pollution Act adopted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, and should set up an independent agency responsible for environmental protection.

According to Alexey Knizhnikov, head of WWF-Russia’s oil and gas project, there is a prepared draft law introducing the “polluter pays” principle and environmental insurance. However, they have not been approved by the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament).

“If these draft law is approved, many problems will be solved, as companies will feel more responsible for the risks they take,” says Knizhnikov.

“We hope that this accident will spur the process in adopting these laws and creating such an agency.”

Adapted from materials provided by World Wildlife Fund.

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