In the geologic formation where the oil deposits are located, diverse types of rocks perform functions as structural elements, storage containers for hydrocarbon water and calorific energy, as well as impermeable barriers and transport means of the energy and the fluids. Among the most important properties that are used to describe these functions are the porosity, the permeability, the compressibility of the pores volume, the formation resistivity factor, the saturation exponent, the velocity of acoustic waves P and S, the relative permeability, the capillary pressures, the elastic constants and other mechanical properties, the thermal expansion, coefficient, the thermal conductivity, the thermal diffusivity and the specific heat. The execution of an ample variety of activities related to the stages of exploration, location, evaluation and development of the oil deposits, depends strongly on having a good knowledge of the magnitude and the spatial variability of these properties. The ...
A plan has been put forth to strategically thin northern California forests to reduce fire danger and improve forest health. The resulting biomass residue, instead of being open burned, can be converted into ethanol that can be used as a fuel oxygenate or an octane enhancer. Economic potential for a biomass-to-ethanol facility using this softwood biomass was evaluated for two cases: Stand-alone and co-located. The co-located case refers to a specific site with an existing biomass power facility owned by Wheelabrator Environmental Systems Inc. near Martell, California. A two-stage dilute acid hydrolysis process is used for the production of ethanol from softwoods, and the residual lignin is used to generate steam and electricity. For a plant processing 800 dry tonnes per day of feedstock, the co-located case is an economically attractive concept. Total estimated capital investment is approximately $ 70 million for the co-located case. The resulting internal rate of return is about 24% ...