Production • Processing • Handling


Extending the life of oil reserves: made possible at ISIS A


a new way to treat carbon dioxide (CO2


research team led by the UK’s University of Bristol has used STFC’s ISIS Neutron Source to come up with ), so that it can be


used in efficient and environmentally friendly methods for extracting oil. These new CO2


soluble additives can also


be used to reduce the environmental damage caused by every day industrial processes such as food processing and the manufacture of electronics. The results of this work are published in the journal Langmuir. The researchers have developed a soap-like additive that turns it into a viable solvent for commercial-


for CO2


scale enhanced oil recovery to increase the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from oil fields. “Carbon dioxide is useful in enhanced oil recovery as


it is able to flow through the pores in the rock much more easily than water,” said Professor Julian Eastoe from the University of Bristol. “The additive, a surfactant, will help thicken the carbon dioxide, which is vital for this process, allowing it to flow through the rock more efficiently. There is also a useful side effect of our ability to use CO2


in this


way, as in the future the process will take carbon dioxide generated by industrial activity from the atmosphere and lock it deep underground.” Minister for Science and Universities David


Willetts said: “This shows what science can do for the


environment. It’s why the Government has protected the science budget. In particular it shows how financing core science facilities can lead to many different projects with valuable applications.” Liquid CO2


is increasingly being used industrially


to replace common petrochemical solvents because it requires less processing and it can be easily recycled. The difficulty has been that in order to operate effectively as a solvent, carbon dioxide needs additives, many of which are in themselves, damaging to the environment. This new development by an international team including scientists from Bristol University led by Professor Julian Eastoe, from the University of Pittsburgh led by Professor Bob Enick and ISIS scientists Dr Sarah Rogers and Dr Richard Heenan provides a solution. The project has been funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the US Department of Energy to explore using high pressure CO2


to extract


residual oil retained in the pores of rock. “The quest to find a chemical capable of modifying to make it suitable for widespread


the properties of CO2


use as a solvent in enhanced oil recovery has been long,” said Professor Bob Enick. “Previous advances have involved surfactants containing fluorine, which although highly soluble in CO2


offers an efficient, cheap, non-toxic, non-


The new additive, surfactant TC14, contains no fluorine at all and is a harmless hydrocarbon.” CO2


flammable and environmentally responsible alternative to conventional petrochemical solvents. Even water as a solvent for example, comes with its own set of problems; after being used to flush out oil from rocks it then requires


cleaning before it can be used again, whereas liquid CO2 can be re-used immediately. The paper published in the Langmuir is the first to


come from Sans2d, one of seven new neutron instruments built at the ISIS second target station, a £145 million expansion to the facility completed last year. The new additive, surfactant TC14 enables small called reverse micelles


pockets to form in the liquid CO2


causing the liquid to thicken. Neutron scattering at ISIS allowed the structure of the reverse micelles to be studied in the CO2


as they formed under high pressure. The


neutron instruments giving this molecular level viewpoint are often described as ‘super-microscopes’. The project has been funded by the UK Engineering


and Physical Sciences Research Council and the US Department of Energy. ●


, are very environmentally damaging. For more information, visit www.epsrc.ac.uk


Circle 34 or ✔ at www.engineerlive.com/iog M-2007-05-06.1.4 AICS3.ai


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