Experimental investigation of wellbore integrity and CO2–brine flow along the casing–cement microannulus

Wellbore integrity is one of the key performance criteria in the geological storage of CO₂. It is significant in any proposed storage site but may be critical to the suitability of depleted oil and gas reservoirs that may have 10’s to 1000’s of abandoned wells. Much previous work has focused on Portland cement which is the primary material used to seal wellbore systems. This work has emphasized the potential dissolution of Portland cement. However, an increasing number of field studies (e.g., Carey et al., 2007), experimental studies (e.g., Kutchko et al., 2006) and theoretical considerations indicate that the most significant leakage mechanism is likely to be flow of CO₂ along the casing–cement microannulus, cement–cement fractures, or the cement–caprock interface.In this study, we investigate the casing–cement microannulus through core-flood experiments. The experiments were conducted on a synthetic wellbore system consisting of a 5-cm diameter sample of cement that was cured with an embedded rectangular length of steel casing that had grooves to accommodate fluid flow. The experiments were conducted at 40 $°$ C and 14 MPa pore pressure for 394 h. During the experiment, 6.2 l of a 50:50 mixture of supercritical CO₂ and 30,000 ppm NaCl-rich brine flowed through 10-cm of limestone before flowing through the 6-cm length cement–casing wellbore system. Approximately 59,000 pore volumes of fluid moved through the casing–cement grooves. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the CO₂–brine mixture impacted both the casing and the cement. The Portland cement was carbonated to depths of 50–250 $\mu$m by a diffusion-dominated process. There was very little evidence for mass loss or erosion of the Portland cement. By contrast, the steel casing reacted to form abundant precipitates of mixed calcium and iron carbonate that lined the channels and in one case almost completely filled a channel. The depth of steel corroded was estimated at 25– $30\mu$m and was similar in value to results obtained with a simplified corrosion model.The experimental results were applied to field observations of carbonated wellbore cement by Carey et al. (2007) and Crow et al. (2009) to show that carbonation of the field samples was not accompanied by significant CO₂–brine flow at the casing–cement interface. The sensitivity of standard-grade steel casing to corrosion suggests that relatively straight-forward wireline logging of external casing corrosion could be used as a useful indicator of flow behind casing. These experiments also reinforce other studies that indicate rates of Portland cement deterioration are slow, even in the high-flux CO₂–brine experiments reported here.     

A 21st-Century perspective on snow drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin

In the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), there is a deep reliance on seasonal snowpack for maintenance of water resources. The term “snow drought” has recently emerged to describe periods of anomalously low snowpack. Unique seasonal patterns in precipitation and temperature that drive snow drought can have distinct hydrologic signatures, and these relationships have not been carefully studied in the UCRB. Here we examine snow drought with a new classification scheme using peak snow water equivalent (SWE) and the ratio of basin-wide modeled peak SWE to accumulated (onset to peak) precipitation (SWE/P) that clusters snow drought years into three distinct groups—“warm,” “dry,” and “warm & dry”—that minimize within-group variance. Over the period 1916–2018, we identify 14 warm years ($\overline{P}$ = 160 mm; $\overline{\mathrm{SWE}/P}$ = 0.24), 24 dry years ($\overline{P}$ = 117 mm; $\overline{\mathrm{SWE}/P}$ = 0.35), and 21 warm & dry years ($\overline{P}$ = 94 mm; $\overline{\mathrm{SWE}/P}$ = 0.23). An elevation-based analysis reveals two distinct patterns: warm snow droughts see severe SWE reductions primarily at lower (<2600 m) elevations (65% at lower elevations, 37% overall), whereas “dry” scenarios exhibit a consistent reduction across all elevations (39% overall). Using naturalized streamflow data, we also differentiate snow droughts by their earlier streamflow timing and decreased peakedness (warm: 7 days, 2%; dry: 7 days, 2%; warm & dry: 13 days, 5%). This research provides new insights into snow drought patterns relevant for regional water management.     

Physicochemical characterization of hydroxyapatite and its application towards removal of nitrate from water

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the efficiency of hydroxyapatite (HAP) towards removal of nitrate from synthetic nitrate solution. In the present research HAP synthesized from egg-shell was characterized using SEM, XRD, FTIR and TGA–DSC. The removal of nitrate was 96% under neutral conditions, using 0.3 g of adsorbent in 100 mL of nitrate solution having an initial concentration of 100 mg/L. An adsorption kinetic study revealed that the adsorption process followed first order kinetics. Adsorption data were fitted to a linearly transformed Langmuir isotherm with correlation coefficient (R²) > 0.98. Thermodynamic parameters were also calculated to study the effect of temperature on the removal process. In order to understand the adsorption type, equilibrium data were tested with the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm. The process was rapid and equilibrium was established within the first 40 min.     

Optimization of Fenton oxidation pre-treatment for B. thuringiensis – Based production of value added products from wastewater sludge

Fenton oxidation pretreatment was investigated for enhancement of biodegradability of wastewater sludge (WWS) which was subsequently used as substrate for the production of value- added products. The Response surface method with fractional factorial and central composite designs was applied to determine the effects of Fenton parameters on solubilization and biodegradability of sludge and the optimization of the Fenton process. Maximum solubilization and biodegradability were obtained as 70% and 74%, respectively at the optimal conditions: 0.01 ml H₂O₂/g SS, 150 [H₂O₂]₀/[Fe²⁺]₀, 25 g/L TS, at 25 °C and 60 min duration. Further, these optimal conditions were tested for the production of a value added product, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which is being used as a biopesticide in the agriculture and forestry sector. It was observed that Bt growth using Fenton oxidized sludge as a substrate was improved with a maximum total cell count of 1.63 × 10⁹ CFU ml^?1 and 96% sporulation after 48 h of fermentation. The results were also tested against ultrasonication treatment and the total cell count was found to be 4.08 × 10⁸ CFU ml^?1 with a sporulation of 90%. Hence, classic Fenton oxidation was demonstrated to be a rather more promising chemical pre-treatment for Bt - based biopesticide production using WWS when compared to ultrasonication as a physical pre-treatment.     

The Austrian P budget as a basis for resource optimization

Phosphorus (P) is a finite and non-substitutable resource that is essential to sustaining high levels of agricultural productivity but is also responsible for environmental problems, e.g., eutrophication. Based on the methodology of Material Flow Analysis, this study attempts to quantify all relevant flows and stocks of phosphorus (P) in Austria, with a special focus on waste and wastewater management. The system is modeled with the software STAN, which considers data uncertainty and applies data reconciliation and error propagation. The main novelty of this work lies in the high level of detail at which flows and stocks have been quantified to achieve a deeper understanding of the system and to provide a sound basis for the evaluation of various management options. The budget confirms on the one hand the dependence of mineral P fertilizer application (2 kg cap⁻¹ yr⁻¹), but it highlights on the other hand considerable unexploited potential for improvement. For example, municipal sewage sludge (0.75 kg cap⁻¹ yr⁻¹) and meat and bone meal (0.65 kg cap⁻¹ yr⁻¹) could potentially substitute 70% of the total applied mineral P fertilizers. However, recycling rates are low for several P flows (e.g., 27% of municipal sewage sludge; 3% of meat and bone meal). Therefore, Austria is building up a remarkable P stock (2.1 kg P cap⁻¹ yr⁻¹), mainly due to accumulation in landfills (1.1 kg P cap⁻¹ yr⁻¹) and agricultural soils (0.48 kg P cap⁻¹ yr⁻¹).     

Treatment and toxicity evaluation of methylene blue using electrochemical oxidation,fly ash adsorption and combined electrochemical oxidation-fly ash adsorption

Treatment of a basic dye, methylene blue, by electrochemical oxidation, fly ash adsorption, and combined electrochemical oxidation-fly ash adsorption was compared. Methylene blue at 100 mg L^?1 was used in this study. The toxicity was also monitored by the Vibrio fischeri light inhibition test.When electrochemical oxidation was used, 99% color and 84% COD were removed from the methylene blue solution in 20 min at a current density of 428 A m^?2, NaCl of 1000 mg L^?1, and pH₀ of 7. However, the decolorized solution showed high toxicity (100% light inhibition).For fly ash adsorption, a high dose of fly ash (>20,000 mg L^?1) was needed to remove methylene blue, and the Freundlich isotherm described the adsorption behavior well.In the combined electrochemical oxidation-fly ash adsorption treatment, the addition of 4000 mg L^?1 fly ash effectively reduced intermediate toxicity and decreased the COD of the electrochemical oxidation-treated methylene blue solution. The results indicated that the combined process effectively removed color, COD, and intermediate toxicity of the methylene blue solution.