Characterization and Recovery of REE and Transition Metals from Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Solids
38th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Virtual, September 20-23, 2021
Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Lopano, Christina.
38th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Virtual, September 20-23, 2021
38th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Virtual, September 20-23, 2021
38th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Virtual, September 20-23, 2021
A standard method in unconventional oil and gas production is the process of hydraulic fracturing followed by a shut-in period, during which the fracture fluid remains pressurized in the reservoir for up to three weeks before production begins. Despite this widely used process, very little is known about what occurs in the reservoir during this shut-in process. In order to properly delineate potential reservoir reactions that may occur during shut-in that would lead to corrosion and scaling events, experiments were conducted in high pressure, high temperature reactors to simulate conditions of the Wolfcamp Formation in the Delaware Basin. Experimental design allowed the assessment of the effect of proppant, microbiology, and time on the mineralogy and fluid chemistry in the reservoir. Results suggest the biggest impact on fluid chemistry and shale mineralogy during shut-in is time. Analyses demonstrate dissolution of the shale material, with maximum dissolved ions occurring after 7 days of the shut-in period. After 21 days, results suggest precipitation occurs. The Delaware Basin is demonstrated to be high in sulfate content, which further increases in the fluid due to dissolution reactions during shut-in. The pressure vessel experiments suggest there was no significant contribution to reactions from microbiology during the shut-in period. Furthermore, early production samples demonstrate a significant selection of the microorganism Caminicella, a genus of which has previously been correlated to corrosion and sulfide production. Results suggest shut-in conditions may provide high sulfate concentrations that could later be utilized by a shifted microbial community to drive potential well infrastructure failure. This is the first study to incorporate microbiology, mineralogy, and fluid chemistry to investigate the fundamental geochemical reactions that occur during shut-in and early phase production of the Delaware Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/URTECONF/proceedings-pdf/21URTC/2-21URTC/D021S032R001/2477425/urtec-2021-5219-ms.pdf/1 by Carol Worster on 28 February 2022 Basin. Results from this study can complement observations from the Hydraulic Fracture Test Site 2 observations
Presented at the University of Oklahoma Department of Geosciences Shell Colloquium Series.
This report discusses the results of baseline geochemical data from a carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) field in the Permian Basin’s Central Basin Platform. This report focuses on understanding the variability in geochemistry during normal oil field practices, including the transition from water flooding to a water-alternating-gas (WAG) technique. The primary objectives of this study were to focus on 1) determining the best general geochemical parameters to identify produced water intrusion into overlying groundwaters, 2) observing if there was any intrusion during the sampling period, and 3) identifying changes in produced water following CO 2 injection.
Wellbore cement is subjected to a number of mechanical, thermal and chemical stress regimes over its lifetime. Therefore, next generation wellbore cement formulations need to be evaluated in conditions relevant to these environments. In this work, we investigate the mechanism of the alteration of a novel self-healing polymer-cement composite recently reported by our group after exposure to a CO2-rich environment by using synchrotron based X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Results showed that chemical alteration of the polymer-cement follows the rim carbonation mechanism, similar to conventional cement although carbonation takes place to a lesser extent in polymer-cements despite the higher porosity. Along with detailed mechanistic insights on carbonation in polymer-cement composite, the performance of these in CO2-rich environment is further studied using standard compressive strength analysis.
NETL is partnering with the University of Wyoming (UW) and ECED to mature a promising process for the recovery of rare earth elements (REE) and critical metals (CM) from the Powder River Basin (PRB) in Wyoming. The project will identify promising ash candidates from operating power generation facilities and optimize NETL’s proprietary REE and CM extraction and enrichment process for those materials, ultimately culminating in the creation and start-up of a pilot-scale production facility. This facility will demonstrate process performance and validate project economics, reducing the risk and uncertainty for further scale-up.
Presented at the Rare Earth Element and Critical Materials Project Review Meeting
The search for a reliable U.S. domestic source of rare earth elements (REE) is necessary to support the demand of advanced energy applications (e.g., catalysts, electronics, magnets). Sedimentary deposits may be sources for selectively recovering REE and critical metals—specifically the interbedded seat rock, or underclay, that underlies or forms the floor of a coal seam. This material is often a major component of coal waste fines and refuse and thus readily available. This study examines several Appalachian Basin underclays associated with actively mined coal seams as potential feedstocks for the REE. Multimodal microanalytical electron microscopy (SEM, FIB-SEM, EMPA) synchrotron-based µXRF, and image processing techniques are coupled with detailed elemental and mineral data to classify the 2D and 3D petrophysical properties of the materials. The REE contents of Appalachian Basin underclays were measured from 235–399 ppm and predominantly observed as discrete REE-bearing minerals such as monazite and xenotime on the order of 10–100 µm in size. These REE-bearing minerals typically accounted for less than 1% of the scanned areas and volumes under SEM and FIB-SEM analysis, with the exception of regions enriched in crandallite. Synchrotron-based µXRF elemental maps further identified several REE deposition environments in different underclays, including micro-scale (10–100 µm) light REEs co-localizing with Ca and P, micro-scale heavy REEs with Fe, and large-scale light REEs (>200 µm) co-localizing with Sr, Ba, Ca and P.
Presented at the 57th Annual Clay Mineral Society Conference 2020 (Virtual)