PRRC Biannual NewsletterVolume 29, No. 2: FALL/WINTER 2014

The Petroleum Recovery Research Center is a division of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

(cont'd, p. 2)

New Produced Water Research for PRRC

Researchers at the PRRC recently won funding for projects on two aspects of produced water research, a subject that PRRC researchers have been pursuing since 2001. One project concerns the development of a portable water-clean-ing unit for use at the wellhead, and the other is for the renewal of a valuable water characterization database for the state of NM. Both address environ-mental and technological approaches to the state’s most valuable, and scarc-est, natural resource.

Nanofiltration “A Portable, Two-Stage, Antifoul-ing Hollow Fiber Membrane (TS-af-HFM) Nano-filtration Process for the Cost-Effective Treatment of Produced Water,” (PI Dr. Jianjia Yu, leader of

of interest to producers. The project’s objec-tive is to demonstrate hol-low fiber membrane-based technology, used in a por-table water-cleaning unit that can be transported to the wellhead. Each hollow fiber membrane (HFM) unit is a compact, 30 cm x 50 cm (12 in. by 20 in.) that can easily be placed in the well production facility system. The HFM units are scalable to treat most produced wa-ter production rates. Hollow fiber mem-branes, where many hollow strands of fiber are packed into a tube, are used in fil-tration technology. Hollow fiber membrane technology is used in a variety of in-dustries, as HFM units can cost-efficiently perform de-manding, high-pressure fil-tration tasks. Hollow fiber

PRRC’s Produced Water and Petroleum Engineering Group) combines three of PRRC’s research interests: produced water cleaning, membrane technology, and nanomaterials. Researchers will work with long-time industrial partner and research collaborator Harvard Petroleum LLC of Roswell, NM. Their participation in-cludes site use, electricity, demonstra-tion assistance, and water sampling. PRRC’s partnership with Harvard Pe-troleum LLC allows a synergy that could not occur otherwise, benefitting both research and industry. The successful realization of this project will demonstrate cost-effective technology for cleaning oilfield waste-water, and could significantly reduce the environmental impact of oil and gas recovery—two benefits that are always

Hollow fiber membranes (HFM), fabricated in PRRC's labs, that will supply the key part of a portable water cleaning unit for use at the wellhead.

membranes can be designed at differ-ent specifications and used in combi-nation for different filtration require-ments; their application in produced water treatment is still experimental. The demonstration unit involves a two-stage process. Produced water from the oilfield will first flow through a super-hydrophobic/super-oleophilic

Petroleum Recovery Research Center A Division ofNew Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology801 Leroy PlaceSocorro, NM 87801

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MNon-Profit Organization

U.S. PostagePaid

Socorro, NMPERMIT NO. 9

New Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologyDaniel H. López, President

Board of RegentsEx Officio

Susana Martinez, Governor of New MexicoDr. Jose J. Garcia, Secretary of Higher Education

AppointedRichard N. Carpenter, Santa Fe, President, Santa Fe

Jerry A. Armijo, SocorroDeborah Peacock, Corrales

Deborah Hicks, HobbsIsrael Rodriguez-Rios, Student Regent, Socorro

Petroleum Recovery Research CenterRobert Lee, Director

Senior StaffRobert Balch, Research ScientistJill S. Buckley, Senior Scientist

Martha Cather, Industrial Technology CoordinatorReid B. Grigg, Senior Engineer

Ning Liu, Research ScientistRandall S. Seright, Senior Engineer

PRRC Publications OfficeLiz Bustamante, Editor

Matthew Bradley, Student EditorThis newsletter is produced by the PRRC Publications Office. Views expressed are those of the PRRC staff. Submissions and letters to the editor are welcome. Reprints from the PRRC Review are permitted, provided that credit is given to the New Mexico PRRC. Please send two copies of the publication containing the reprint to Liz Bustamante, PRRC, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socor ro, NM 87801. PHONE: (575) 835-5406. FAX (575) 835-6031. EMAIL: lizb@prrc.nmt.edu. WEBSITE: http://baervan.nmt.edu

Petroleum Recovery Research CenterA Division of New Mexico Tech

The PRRC is a state-supported center that conducts research on improving methods of recovering crude oil and natural gas and that transfers petroleum technology to domestic oil producers. Funding for the PRRC comes from three sources: the State of New Mexico, the federal government (Department of Energy), and private industry.

PRRC

Oil price data from PRRC's GO-TECH website. Prices are NYMEX, May 1 through November 28, 2014.

page 2 pRRC biannual newsletteR page 3 pRRC biannual newsletteR

a division of the new mexiCo institute of mining and teChnology a division of the new mexiCo institute of mining and teChnology

Publications, PresentationsTwo new projects (cont'd from p.1)

HFM unit to remove all small-sized floating oil and organic matter. Then, a nanofiltration HFM unit will process out the highly purified, clean water. An important facet of this re-search concerns the improved antifoul-ing capacities of the HFM fabricated in PRRC's laboratories. The propensity to fouling is a major drawback in mem-brane applications for produced water cleaning. These HFM can be regenerat-ed and used again, a distinct economic and technical advantage over conven-tional HFM. Successful completion of the project will result in a produced water purification demonstration system with water treatment capacity of 120 barrels per day. This project could lead to the pro-duction of usable water that is clean enough for many uses, thus convert-ing produced water from an environ-mentally sensitive and high cost waste stream into a beneficial and much-needed commodity, especially in an arid region like New Mexico.

Another Approach An earlier project, whose Phase II is still underway, also seeks to optimize a well-head water-cleaning unit that was developed by PRRC researchers. This apparatus utilizes humidifi-cation-dehumidification (HDH): a ther-mal water desalination method based on evaporation of brines and condensa-tion of the resulting humid air, mostly at ambient pressure, similar to the natu-ral water cycle. The optimization aims to improve the prototype for a higher processing capacity unit using copro-duced heat and solar energy, and opti-mizing and increasing automation. Both types of units are aimed at reducing or eliminating transportations costs of produced water management, as they can be deployed at the well-head.

NM WAIDS“Characterization of Produced Water in New Mexico,” (PI Martha Cather, leader of the Industrial Services and Outreach Group) was recently awarded from the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) to up-date the NM WAIDS database, bring the database online, provide GIS us-

source. The geodatabase will be made Internet-accessible, to be hosted at a website with a user-friendly interface that will provide access to previously difficult-to-attain data. There will be multiple benefits to this project. The updated NM WAIDS database will improve the availability of information on the chemical compo-sition and volumes of produced water. The information gained from the project could be used to identify and characterize produced water as an al-ternate source of future water supply. In addition, the proposed project will benefit the NMOSE in state and region-al water planning efforts by character-izing this nontraditional groundwater supply, and targeting its potential for future use. NM WAIDS will facilitate further research and analysis of produced wa-ter as a potential resource for the state, and enhance NMOSE’s and PRRC’s ability to provide information to the public on all potential sources of wa-ter supply in New Mexico. PRRC re-searchers will work with the New Mex-ico Oil Conservation Division and NM oil and gas producers on retrieving old data and adding new to the database.

nism of Hematite Nanoparticles.” Jour-nal of Nanoparticle Research 16, 2362.

Khalil, M., Yu, J., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Synthesis, Modification, And Characterization of Oleic Acid Func-tional Hematite Nanoparticles.” Paper presented at the 247th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Dallas, Texas, March 16–20, 2014.

Liu, N. (2014). “Development of a CO2 Chemical Sensor for Downhole CO2 Monitoring in Carbon Sequestration.” Paper presented at the NETL Crosscut-ting Research Review Meeting held in Pittsburgh, PA, May 19–23, 2014

Manichand, R., and Seright, R. (2014). "Field vs Laboratory Polymer Reten-tion Values for a Polymer Flood in the Tambaredjo Field." Paper SPE 169027 pre-sented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium. Tulsa, Okla-homa. 12–16 April. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/169027-MS.

Mo, D., Jia, B., Yu, J., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Study of Nanoparticle-Sta-bilized CO2 foam for Oil Recovery at Different Pressure, Temperature, and Rock Samples.” Paper SPE 169110 presented at the 2014 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Okla-homa, 12–16 April.

Seright, R.S., and Skjevrak, I. (2014). Effect of Dissolved Iron and Oxygen on Stability of HPAM Polymers. Paper SPE 169030 presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium. Tulsa, Oklahoma. 12–16 April. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/169030-MS.

Wade, S., Cather, M., Cumming, L., et al. (2014) “Digital Communications: Status and Potential Applications for CCUS Public Outreach.” Paper GHGT-12 In: Energy Procedia 2013. Online at www.sciencedirect.com.

Yu, J., Khalil, M., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Effect of Particle Hydrophobic-ity on CO2 Foam Generation and Foam Flow Behavior in Porous Media.” Fuel 126, 104–108.

Yu, J., Wang, S., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Study of Particle Structure and Hydrophobicity Effects on the Flow Be-havior of Nanoparticle-Stabilized CO2 Foam in Porous Media.” Paper SPE 169047 presented at the 2014 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 12–16 April.

Yu, J., Khalil, M., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Prepare Iridium Oxide Chemi-cal Sensor for pH Measurement at Harsh Conditions.” Paper presented at the 247th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Dallas, Texas, March 16–20, 2014.

Yu, J., Khalil, M., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Iridium Oxide-Based Chemical Sensor for in situ Ph Measurement of Oilfield-Produced Water Under Sub-surface Conditions.” Ionics (2014) DOI 10.1007/s11581-014-1214-0.

Zhang, G., and Seright, R.S. (2014). Effect of Concentration on HPAM Re-tention in Porous Media. SPEJ 19(3): 373–380. Paper 166256. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/166256-PA.

Distribution of produced water in NM: Concentrated in three areas that correspond to active plays (circled on map).

Brattekås, B., Pederson, S., Nistov, H., Haugen, Å., Graue, A., Liang, J-T., and Seright, R. (2014). "The Effect of Cr(III) Acetate-HPAM Gel Maturity on Washout from Open Fractures." Paper SPE 169064 presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium. Tulsa, Oklahoma. 12-16 April. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/169064-MS.

Brattekås, B., Haugen, Å., Graue, A., and Seright, R. (2014). "Gel Dehy-dration by Spontaneous Imbibition of Brine from Aged Polymer Gel." SPEJ 19(1): 122–134. Paper 153118. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/153118-PA.

Khalil, M., Yu, J., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Non-Aqueous Modification of Syn-thesized Hematite Nanoparticles with Oleic Acid.” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 453 7–12.

Khalil, M., Yu, J., Liu, N., and Lee, R. (2014). “Hydrothermal Synthesis, Characterization, and Growth Mecha-

er-friendly functionality and analysis tools, and identify data gaps. Researchers at PRRC compiled water quality data of produced water into the NM WAIDS database from 2001–2005, but work on the database ceased about 10 years ago and the data-base remains incomplete; online access to the database is currently not avail-able. The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMOSE) and PRRC require information on produced water to support the design of water treat-ment systems to promote the use of this resource. Produced water is often disposed of by deep injection or evaporation, and some is re-used for oil and gas production. Rather than disposal or industrial re-use, produced water might be applied to other uses. The updated NM WAIDS database will provide wa-ter quality information on this potential alternate source of water supply that could be used to meet demand in the future. The heart of the project is a com-prehensive online geodatabase of exist-ing and new data on the composition of produced water in New Mexico that will allow geospatial representation and analysis of the produced water re-

Cross section of a hollow fiber membrane, highly magnified. These mem-branes can be regenerated for subsequent use, making them more eco-nomical as well as more efficient in produced water cleaning.