Nano for Oil and Gas

The Choice is Yours

column by Gregor Wolbring

April 15 th 2009

http://politicsofhealth.org/wol/2009-04-15.htm

A recent article in the Oil & Gas Journal with the title ‘Nanotechnology Seen Boosting Recovery Factors’ makes the point that nanotechnology may someday boost the average global recovery factor of oil and gas by 10 percentage points and that research in nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry is advancing rapidly and an explosion in application of nanotechnology in the Oil and Gas area is to be expected in the next five years. Having researched the application of nano in so many areas in my columns it is surprising how little there is in the public domain on nano and oil and gas. If one searches the Oil and Gas Journal there are a few articles mentioning nano. Shattering the 'myth' of dirty oil in Oil & Gas Journal. Oct 20, 2008. Vol. 106, Iss. 39; talks about a nano-catalyst, that is believed to “hold the potential to upgrade bitumen in its natural underground reservoir, thus eliminating the need for tailing ponds.” The article “New technologies targeting changing feeds, products challenges” in Oil & Gas Journal. Oct 6, 2008. Vol. 106, Iss. 37 states "The emergence of new hydroprocessing technologies using slurry nano-sized catalysts will prove to be the residual oil conversion technology of choice for many feedstocks in the future," Oilweek talks about nano-CT that can image tight gas sands, tight shales, and tight carbonates in which the pore structure is below what micro-CT can detect. Nanotechnology to help extract more petrol from oil fields has been developed by researchers from The University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). Pepfactants® are nanotechnology products that can control the emulsions and foams used in a wide range of industry processes including in the oil industry. Nanotechnology is also envisioned in the remediation process for recovery and reuse of spilled oil. The 2008 NSTI nanotechnology conference and trade show had a short course that covered nanocoatings (Anti-corrosion Coatings, Thermal Coatings, Lubricant Coatings, Anti-fouling Coatings) and nanotechnology-Based Filtration (Gas Separations, Heavy Metal Separation, Oil-water Separation). Petrotech 2009 conference had paper on synthesis of nano-materials to improve the quality of petroleum materials and develop their application in petroleum industry - Download and Applications of Nanotechnology in Oil and Gas Industry - Download. Another conference is advertized here. Lux research wrote a piece ‘Petroleum Players Seek Nanotech Solutions to Oil Supply Woes" that talks about that nanotechnology can help the oil and gas industry find new fields and extract more from existing ones" The report states that “Underground oil inhabits nanoscale pores; oil wells' extreme temperatures and pressures benefit from nanostructured materials and coatings; and engineered nanocatalysts can upgrade heavy oils to lighter, more valuable ones. With these benefits in store, it's no surprise that 78 nanotech start-ups focus on oil and gas - and that associations like the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Advanced Energy Consortium are investigating everything from subsurface nanosensors to autonomous nanobots." It talks about companies such as Integran and Intrinsiq Materials . Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to combine infinitesimal particles of boric acid — known primarily as a mild antiseptic and eye cleanser — with traditional motor oils in order to improve their lubricity and by doing so increase energy efficiency. CleanTechnology International Corp. made available free samples of its solid Carbon NanoSphere Chain™ (CNSC) material to approved oil/additive/bio-diesel companies.

The Choice is Yours:

It seems that there should be more on nano applications for Oil and Gas in the public domain. One wonders why there isn’t.

All of the "The Choice is Yours" articles can be found here.

Gregor Wolbring is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. He is Affiliated Scholar, Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University, USA; Part Time Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa Canada; Adjunct Faculty Critical Disability Studies, York University, Canada. He is a science and technology governance scholar, a disability/vari-ability/ability studies scholar, and a health policy and science and technology studies researcher. He is a member of the Center for Nanotechnology and Society at Arizona State University. He is the Chair of the Bioethics Taskforce of Disabled People's International. He publishes the Bioethics, Culture and Disability website, authors a weblog on NBICS and its social implications and on Ableism and Ability Ethics and Governance and contributes to the What Sorts of People blog.