Oceanit (United States)

Abstract Whether used for transportation of gas, oil, produced water, or wastewater, pipeline infrastructure is critical to many industries and is the most effective way to transport large quantities of fluids and gases. Considering that that large portions of pipelines are increasingly reaching or exceeding their service lifetimes, technologies that help with maintenance and extension of service life are a critical future need. One increasingly popular method of improving performance and reducing maintenance requirements are utilizing internal surface application of coatings and surface treatments to reduce the chance of deposits and the formation of corrosion. Proper coating and application require careful surface preparation to minimize the risk of coating adhesion failure and catastrophic delamination. The natural variation in training and experience of applicators can often lead to quality control issues for coating, and on system performance and expected lifetime. Utilizing a disruptive application of artificial intelligence to reduce subjectivity and reliance on operator interpretation can thus enable a more systemically uniform method of achieving quality control goals, while additionally making the process of coating and surface treatment more efficient. This work describes a novel approach to combine a digital inspection system with artificial intelligence (AI) to identify defects and areas of risk in existing pipelines to assist with coating application quality control. Video captured from borescopes and pipeline inspection gauges (PIGs) were supplemented with sensor data for an AI to utilize for evaluation of coating quality and coverage. A two-step approach was followed, whereby transforms and training took place on small diameter pipes and using the algorithm with a pig-mounted capture tool. The inspection method transforms videos into a static two-dimensional (2D) image map that is representative of the inspected tubular being longitudinally cut and unwrapped into a flat surface, which can then be processed with the AI component to identify defects and features of interest. Applications described in this work include estimation of corrosion, cleanliness after intervention, and coating coverage after application. Additionally, the 2D generated maps were backmapped onto 3D plots to preserve the relative geometry and dimensions of the pipeline in a fully interactive virtual space which could be manipulated by a human user for further defect analysis and inspection. As a proof of concept, the AI system was trained to distinguish the level of discoloration present on steel substrates designed to imitate the interior diameter of transport pipelines. Classification accuracy was 91.2% overall when predicting for cleanliness using the AMPP standard classification system.

As the total cost of carbon to generate energy has become a global concern, operators are increasingly looking at all parts of the generation cycle to find areas where efficiency gains may be found. It has been long identified that fouling of heat exchangers is a persistent cause of up to 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, practice has also demonstrated that unless a powerful economic driver exists to encourage preemptive mitigation of fouling, there will always be a strong tendency for operators to minimize any form of intervention due to high costs and challenges in scheduling downtime. The objective of this proposed research effort was to demonstrate how existing power plants could lower their carbon emissions and significantly improve heat transfer efficiency using new surface treatment materials to control fouling in a variety of heat exchange equipment. The surface treatment material which was optimized and deployed in this effort is now known commercially as HeatX. It is a low-surface energy, water- and oil-repellent, abrasion resistant material which can be applied in-situ to a wide variety of previously worn/used/in-service substrates. Once applied, it provides a barrier against corrosion, scale deposit formation, and biofilm adhesion on the circulating water-containing tube-side. Alternatively, if applied to the tube exterior, the non-wetting nature of the surface was demonstrated to promote dropwise condensation, subsequently lowering condenser backpressure and increasing overall plant efficiency. As part of this cooperative effort, the Department of Energy’s support was crucial to de-risk and demonstrate the concept of HeatX, while validating both the performance and economic benefit in multiple pilot field studies. The HeatX material properties were optimized in this effort for full field applicability to heat exchangers and condensers, and Oceanit developed the necessary procedures and protocols to provide enough material to support extended length, multi-year demonstrations in the power generation, desalination, and refining industries, making this technology broadly applicable and ready for commercial transition. Field deployment case studies at thermal power plants have shown that the HeatX treatment can provide economic savings of up to $15,000 per day for an operator based on avoiding maintenance costs and lowering fuel usage. The complete mitigation of fouling effects can increase the efficiency of equipment by up to 7%, in a field where gains of 0.5% are generally seen as operationally significant. The HeatX treatment has also demonstrated exceptional lifetime and compatibility with a wide variety of seawater and hydrocarbon environments, further increasing both the return on investment and the effective emission reduction. Such efficiency improvements correlate to massive carbon savings. For every 1 GW of capacity, operators can see carbon emissions reductions of 300,000 tons of CO2 per year. When looking at the bigger picture, improved condenser function across the U.S. has the potential to prevent 221.3 million tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the sequestration capacity of 129 million acres of forest. If applied on a global scale, 1.26 billion metric tons of CO2 could be averted from the atmosphere, the same amount of carbon sequestrated by 1.5 billion acres of forest annually or 262,000 wind turbines operating annually. As businesses across multiple industries take a more active role in focusing on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) solutions as part of their core business operations, HeatX will be an attractive technology for commercial investment.

Abstract Well construction typically involves cementing a casing placed in the well in order to support the casing and isolate it from the surrounding formation and fluids. For oil and gas wells, well integrity is a critical issue that can affect safety and productivity throughout the life of the wells. Hydraulic isolation primarily enabled by cement reduces unintended fluid communication within and between wells and prevents contamination of the aquifers. Well integrity monitoring can significantly improve the reliability, efficiency, and safety of oil and gas production and related operations. However, current pulse-echo ultrasonic and other bond log evaluation techniques for determining well integrity rely largely on effects at the casing-cement interface and provide limited information about the actual cement properties. An improved method for construction and inspection of cemented wells would greatly enhance well integrity diagnostics. Laboratory and field trial results indicate that well integrity diagnostics can be improved by the incorporation of a specialized cement additive along with slightly modified detection techniques based on industry standard acoustic logging methods. The additive is composed of acoustic metamaterial particles that impart to the cement a frequency-dependent response, that is highly sensitive and indicative of cement contamination and mechanical stress. Traditional cement bond log tools can be used with the smart material to investigate the cement and create a log of cement presence and mechanical stress. Measurements of cement integrity and load conditions can help predict and prevent failure mechanisms and optimize production operations. Two shallow wells were drilled, cased, and cemented at a test site in South Texas. Engineered voids with different lengths and circumferences were secured to the casings at specific locations before installation. Along with the void configurations, the lightweight cement formulations and completion and pumping operations for each well were identical, except that the composite cement contained acoustic metamaterial particles. The cements in the wells were then interrogated using several downhole acoustic tools. Traditional CBL/VDL, multi-sector bond log, full waveform triple sonic, and ultrasonic radial scanning tools were used to investigate the cement properties under different well pressures. The results of the study illustrate the utility of the composite cement for improving well cement integrity diagnostics using standard acoustic tools. The cement bond logs indicated an increase in the resolution and accuracy of contamination profiles. The acoustic frequency band gap response, a unique feature of the added acoustic metamaterial particles, was clear and consistent allowing detection of cement presence and assessment of mechanical loading. This enables reliable time-lapse monitoring of not only cement bond, but also cement integrity and identification of failure mechanisms.

Abstract One of the biggest points of emphasis for the energy production industry is how to effectively decarbonize and reduce the footprint of generation activities while still maintaining sufficient capacity to fulfill the energy needs of the world at large. Unlike many other sectors that can pivot to alternate forms of zero-emission fuel, the very nature of fossil fuel extraction, production, and transmission makes this transition particularly difficult and expensive. Small, immediate gains in efficiency with minimal investment can play a significant role in both smoothing the energy transition as well as extending the window where climate effects and increases in global temperatures above 3.5°F can still be mitigated or eliminated. Previous work and field trials presented by the authors have demonstrated that efficiency losses associated with fouling of heat transfer surfaces are a significant contributor to carbon emissions; in steam generation plants, fouling of the main condenser can lead to increased backpressure and reductions in power output. Hard deposit buildup on the pre-heat train (PHT) of a refinery can result in dramatically increased fuel use to raise the temperature of production fluid so that is ready for separation and distillation. New materials capable of imparting low-surface energy properties and greatly reduced surface roughness have been demonstrated to significantly decrease fouling in many of these cases, opening untapped operational capacity. However, without careful monitoring of the exchanger itself, this capacity may go entirely unrealized and un-utilized. This paper presents a new strategy in developing a monitoring and prescriptive maintenance solution that can specifically work as a complement to determine improved heat transfer performance after refurbishment by an anti-fouling surface treatment. The thermal sensor intelligence module (TSIM) was designed to be a lightweight and self-contained system, with the ability to be easily deployed on heat transfer equipment. To make accurate and precise predictions for the absence or presence of fouling on a treated system, where both historical and real-time data may be limited, an ensemble learning method was utilized in conjunction with a subscale condenser system whereby the TSIM could be rapidly trained on a variety of simulated fouling conditions, and the presence or absence of treatment. The learning method demonstrated in this work allowed for the TSIM to improve its fouling predictions through a model that allows it to impute the values of different parameters if the deployed exchanger or condenser does not have the necessary instrumentation. This imputation and prediction of the missing exchanger parameters allows for the accuracy be improved by nearly 20%, and the precision and F1 scores to be comparable to the model with a full set of input features. Finally, results gathered from this test condenser system, and the calculation of heat transfer efficiency showed good correlation with previously reported field data gathered under similar conditions, with a roughly 3-7% improvement after the addition of the anti-fouling treatment.

Abstract The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 3 adults suffer from hearing loss. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) further provides that 24% of U.S. workers hearing loss is caused by occupational exposure. To prevent hearing loss, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that workers not be exposed to sounds at or greater than 85 decibels (dBA) for 8 hours. Abrasive blast nozzles, however, can produce noise levels upward of 115dBA, for which OSHA sets a max safe exposure time of just 15 minutes per day. Leveraging cutting edge advancements in jet engine technology, new Blast Ninja abrasive nozzle designs can now reduce noise by up to 17dB, an approximate 50× reduction in sound power, when compared with conventional venturi nozzles of the same bore size. Blast Ninja nozzles accomplish this by reducing the nozzle air exit velocity and sound pressure level, while preserving particle velocity to maintain equal abrasive power. The difference in noise exposure enables operators to be safer and more productive, diminishes operator fatigue, and minimizes employer liability. Furthermore, whereas NIOSH estimates a $100 per dBA of savings when purchasing quieter products, such improvements in acoustical performance can also translate to employer cost savings. The efficacy of Blast Ninja nozzles was evaluated by Oceanit and 3rd party industry partners interested in use or distribution of the nozzles for the industry. This paper explores the efficacy of such nozzles, and details their performance in different conditions, with different blasting setups, with different abrasives, and on different surfaces.

Abstract Cementing is an integral part of well construction. Cement provides the seal, protection, and support for the casing to maintain the strong barriers that isolate the well. The benefits of cement are well known and a compendium of knowledge on well cement design and durability has been building since the development of engineered cement application over a century ago. To achieve effective isolation, cement needs to fill the area around the pipe and produce a channel-free section of cement over a length of the cement column suitable to isolate zones and prevent leakage into or out of a hydrocarbon productive zone. In many published case histories of cement bond studies and several multi-well studies, logs of cement quality show channels over short zones, even where isolation has been proven by decades of production. Channels probably exist for short intervals in many cemented intervals that are still effectively isolated. Unless the channels extend through the entire length of the cemented column, the isolation potential of a cement column is still acceptable. Wells can experience integrity failure due to structural instability in cemented regions due to subsidence and compaction caused by reservoir depletion over the lifetime of the well. Unique environmental conditions present significant operational and safety risks to the operator. Increased knowledge of cement placement, integrity, and condition will help to better guide well construction and operation. In this paper, a novel solution to well integrity monitoring is presented to address these issues to improve HSSE, enhance the economics of production, mitigate costs of catastrophic failure, and support commitments to improving environmental sustainability. We have developed a smart well cement with specific enhanced acoustic signatures that can be detected by traditional sonic logging tools. This smart acoustically responsive cement utilizes a specially engineered particulate filler that acts as an acoustic band gap filter and contrast agent at specific frequencies. The cement can be used to harness the potential of the unified digital oil field in increasing productivity and consistency. The acoustic signature of the cement can be analyzed to determine the integrity of the cement, contamination in the cement, and, importantly, mechanical loading on the cement. Finite element modeling and simulation were used to determine the acoustic response of the novel material and guide the design of the particle additive. The material was produced on the lab scale and the acoustic band gap features were confirmed using vibrational measurements. Ultrasonic measurements were used to determine the acoustic response of subscale composite structures, including under mechanical load and in simulated environmental tests. Shallow buried pipes with cemented annuli and engineered voids were constructed at a field site. A monopole sonic logging tool was then used to map the cement location and determine the location and relative degree of mechanical loading. Stress was applied using a variety of methods and mapped along the length of the wellbore. The results indicated improved acoustic detection using sonic bond log tools including uniquely identifiable cement placement, enhanced void discrimination, and localization of loaded regions. This provides significant value for a smart acoustically responsive cement in detecting and thereby reducing well integrity risks due to cementing and formation issues. The acoustically responsive cement allows discrimination between fluids and lightweight cement, monitoring of formation depletion and reservoir compaction, and increased knowledge of wellbore stresses in the oil field. Furthermore, the material has the potential to be continuously monitored with an acoustic interrogation system for remote real-time indication of cement stress and integrity on a zone-by-zone basis. These results provide confidence in the next steps to further mature and de-risk the acoustically responsive cement technology for well integrity evaluation.

Among the many impaired waterbodies on the Island of Oahu that have been listed in the 303(d) of Clean Water Act, three waterbodies, Kawa Stream, Ala Wai Canal, and Waimanalo Stream have EPA approved Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) established by Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH). Load allocations were developed for all three waterbodies as part of the process. Two watersheds, Kawa and Ala Wai Canal, have waste load allocations (WLA) assigned to several NPDES MS4 permit holders including the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Division (HDOT-Hwys). HDOT-Hwys has developed a comprehensive strategy that includes the implementation and monitoring plan for the three watersheds. The TMDL/WLA Implementation Plan identifies specific activities where the reduction of total nitrogen and total phosphorus discharges in each watershed are necessary to comply with the WLAs. The monitoring plan specifies the water quality monitoring and tracking activity necessary to demonstrate efforts to comply with the urban source WLAs assigned to HDOT-Hwys and the effectiveness of the BMPs and the WLA implementation.

The monoclonal antibody to ciguatoxin (CTX) produced from a hybridoma cell line was assayed for the detection of four congeners of CTX: Pacific ciguatoxin-1 (P-CTX-1), Pacific ciguatoxin-2 (P-CTX-2), Pacific ciguatoxin-3 (P-CTX-3), and Caribbean ciguatoxin-1 (C-CTX-1) and related marine toxins, including domoic acid, palytoxin, and okadaic acid, using a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Lower detection limits were assessed and linearity was statistically established (P<0.05) for P-CTX-1, P-CTX-2, and P-CTX-3 and C-CTX-1 at concentrations ranging from 0 to 5.00 ng, while the other marine toxins showed statistically insignificant cross-reactivities at similar concentrations. Thus, the monoclonal antibody to CTX is able to specifically detect various CTX congeners at levels comparable to those naturally occurring in ciguatoxic fish.

A wide-band low-noise amplifier designed in 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS process is discussed in this paper. Simulation results show that this low-noise amplifier is able to achieve a very wide bandwidth from 70 MHz to 1.6 GHz, with the maximum gain of 12.4 dB, and NF below 2 dB. In addition, compared to other known CMOS wide-band topologies, this low-noise amplifier has a better linearity with its 1 dB compression point at 0.5 dBm.