PresentationThis presentation reports on a case study from the financial sector with application ... more PresentationThis presentation reports on a case study from the financial sector with application to challenges in the field of process safety. Banks collect massive amounts of data from routine financial transactions. Some of the data is anomalous, is corrupt, or represents a signal that warrants follow-up attention from subject matter experts. Currently, review of such data is often a manual inspection which is time consuming, expensive, and limited to representative data sets. In this case study, we employ machine learning, deep learning to rapidly review historical data and tag anomalous data that represents a signal for follow-up attention. With this methodology, we are able to automate the manual process, quickly finding anomalies, dramatically reducing assessment time, expanding the range and volume of data that can be reviewed, and finding signals that previously would likely be missed. Benefits to the financial institution include major cost reductions and improvements in de...
Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a potentially attractive way to recover additional or i... more Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a potentially attractive way to recover additional or incremental oil from a reservoir beyond conventional operations. The objective of this work was to determine the effectiveness of a commercial MEOR iystem in controlled laboratory corefloods. The experiments were carried out as support for a field test conducted in the Shannon Formation of the Teapot Dome reservoir. Two sets of coreflood experiments were designed in order to carry out this research. The first set was designed to determine the incremental oil production of each of the components of the MEOR system, both individually and in all possible combinations. The second set of experiments attempted to maximize the opportunity for incremental oil production to occur. The results indicate that, under the conditions tested, there was no incremental increase in oil recovery as a result of the MEOR system.
Abstract Weathered crude oil tank bottom waste, and waste-impacted soil was treated on-site using... more Abstract Weathered crude oil tank bottom waste, and waste-impacted soil was treated on-site using a commercial bioaugmentation system in land farm-type treatment cells to reduce hydrocarbon contamination. Approximately 10,000 yds 3 of weathered sludge was discovered concentrated in a bermed pit near a former above-ground tank battery in rural Kansas. Laboratory tests of biocompatibility and growth indicated that bioremediation was an option for treatment at this site. Permission was granted by State authorities to bioremediate the hydrocarbon wastes on-site. Former pits were converted to bermed treatment cells by excavating to a clay or bedrock base. In each cell, six inches of concentrated sludge, three inches of chopped hay, and six inches of impacted soil were layered and homogenized by tilling. Blending of the soil and sludge reduced the hydrocarbon concentrations overall by approximately 50%. The prepared soil-sludge mixture was inoculated with a commercial mixed culture of naturally occurring hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, inorganic nutrients, and growth factors. The treatment was applied by spraying and subsequently tilled into the soil. Treatment cells were tilled twice monthly. Microbiological, chemical, and environmental parameters were monitored in each cell, and nutrients were reapplied as required. Hydrocarbon concentrations were evaluated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method 8020 for benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylene (BETX), and EPA method 8015 for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). TPH was reduced from starting concentrations of 39,000 to 140,000 mg/kg in the concentrated sludge to less than 100 mg/kg in each of the six treatment cells within six months. BETX was reduced from low starting levels to undetectable levels. No hydrocarbons were detected below the base of the treatment cells. The site was closed by State regulatory officials within 12 months of the start of treatment. The combined bioaugmentation-land farming technique was an appropriate technology for the on-site treatment of hydrocarbon sludge at this site. This technology shows substantial promise for broad application to hydrocarbon waste remediation in the oil industry.
Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is rapidly developing as a technology, and case studies fr... more Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is rapidly developing as a technology, and case studies from field applications are essential to its growth. This paper will discuss a small waterflooded reservoir which was inoculated with a commercial MEOR process in order to cost-effectively increase oil production. Treatment goal was to design and implement MEOR in an existing waterflood so that metabolic byproducts of the bacteria produced in reservoir pores, would cause the release of previously immobile oil. The oil release mechanism is similar to chemical solvent and surfactant flooding. Water injection volumes, oil and water production volumes, and hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria (HDB) populations are presented before and after MEOR treatment.
Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer contaminated with petr... more Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer contaminated with petroleum results in a distinctive inorganic solute plume that mimics the plume of organic constituents. At the USGS Bemidji, MN research site, microbial control of the geochemical environment beneath a floating pool of oil has resulted in a highly reducing groundwater zone along the major flow path. Within this region, where the fugacity of oxygen is extremely low, microbes utilize naturally occurring iron and manganese minerals as the terminal electron acceptor for the oxidation of hydrocarbons. This results in an increase in ferrous iron concentration from background levels of less than 0.05 mg/l to over 50 mg/l along about 40 meters of the flow path. Dissolved iron concentration remains elevated, and transport of iron occurs, as long as oxygen fugacity remains low. In the reducing zone, petroleum degrading microbes were found to colonize fresh silicate surfaces. Extracellular byproducts ...
Preprints-American Chemical Society Division of Petroleum Chemistry, 1994
In situ biodegradation of petroleum is both a part of the natural bioeochemical carbon cycle and ... more In situ biodegradation of petroleum is both a part of the natural bioeochemical carbon cycle and an applied technology rapidly gainig acceptance as an environmental clean-up tool. The purpose of this investigation was to directly observe the effects of indigeneous surface-adhering bacteria on mineral diagenesis in a hydrocarbon- contaminated shallow aquifer using both in situ microcosms and field flow-through column approaches.
PresentationThis presentation reports on a case study from the financial sector with application ... more PresentationThis presentation reports on a case study from the financial sector with application to challenges in the field of process safety. Banks collect massive amounts of data from routine financial transactions. Some of the data is anomalous, is corrupt, or represents a signal that warrants follow-up attention from subject matter experts. Currently, review of such data is often a manual inspection which is time consuming, expensive, and limited to representative data sets. In this case study, we employ machine learning, deep learning to rapidly review historical data and tag anomalous data that represents a signal for follow-up attention. With this methodology, we are able to automate the manual process, quickly finding anomalies, dramatically reducing assessment time, expanding the range and volume of data that can be reviewed, and finding signals that previously would likely be missed. Benefits to the financial institution include major cost reductions and improvements in de...
Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a potentially attractive way to recover additional or i... more Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a potentially attractive way to recover additional or incremental oil from a reservoir beyond conventional operations. The objective of this work was to determine the effectiveness of a commercial MEOR iystem in controlled laboratory corefloods. The experiments were carried out as support for a field test conducted in the Shannon Formation of the Teapot Dome reservoir. Two sets of coreflood experiments were designed in order to carry out this research. The first set was designed to determine the incremental oil production of each of the components of the MEOR system, both individually and in all possible combinations. The second set of experiments attempted to maximize the opportunity for incremental oil production to occur. The results indicate that, under the conditions tested, there was no incremental increase in oil recovery as a result of the MEOR system.
Abstract Weathered crude oil tank bottom waste, and waste-impacted soil was treated on-site using... more Abstract Weathered crude oil tank bottom waste, and waste-impacted soil was treated on-site using a commercial bioaugmentation system in land farm-type treatment cells to reduce hydrocarbon contamination. Approximately 10,000 yds 3 of weathered sludge was discovered concentrated in a bermed pit near a former above-ground tank battery in rural Kansas. Laboratory tests of biocompatibility and growth indicated that bioremediation was an option for treatment at this site. Permission was granted by State authorities to bioremediate the hydrocarbon wastes on-site. Former pits were converted to bermed treatment cells by excavating to a clay or bedrock base. In each cell, six inches of concentrated sludge, three inches of chopped hay, and six inches of impacted soil were layered and homogenized by tilling. Blending of the soil and sludge reduced the hydrocarbon concentrations overall by approximately 50%. The prepared soil-sludge mixture was inoculated with a commercial mixed culture of naturally occurring hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, inorganic nutrients, and growth factors. The treatment was applied by spraying and subsequently tilled into the soil. Treatment cells were tilled twice monthly. Microbiological, chemical, and environmental parameters were monitored in each cell, and nutrients were reapplied as required. Hydrocarbon concentrations were evaluated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method 8020 for benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylene (BETX), and EPA method 8015 for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). TPH was reduced from starting concentrations of 39,000 to 140,000 mg/kg in the concentrated sludge to less than 100 mg/kg in each of the six treatment cells within six months. BETX was reduced from low starting levels to undetectable levels. No hydrocarbons were detected below the base of the treatment cells. The site was closed by State regulatory officials within 12 months of the start of treatment. The combined bioaugmentation-land farming technique was an appropriate technology for the on-site treatment of hydrocarbon sludge at this site. This technology shows substantial promise for broad application to hydrocarbon waste remediation in the oil industry.
Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is rapidly developing as a technology, and case studies fr... more Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is rapidly developing as a technology, and case studies from field applications are essential to its growth. This paper will discuss a small waterflooded reservoir which was inoculated with a commercial MEOR process in order to cost-effectively increase oil production. Treatment goal was to design and implement MEOR in an existing waterflood so that metabolic byproducts of the bacteria produced in reservoir pores, would cause the release of previously immobile oil. The oil release mechanism is similar to chemical solvent and surfactant flooding. Water injection volumes, oil and water production volumes, and hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria (HDB) populations are presented before and after MEOR treatment.
Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer contaminated with petr... more Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer contaminated with petroleum results in a distinctive inorganic solute plume that mimics the plume of organic constituents. At the USGS Bemidji, MN research site, microbial control of the geochemical environment beneath a floating pool of oil has resulted in a highly reducing groundwater zone along the major flow path. Within this region, where the fugacity of oxygen is extremely low, microbes utilize naturally occurring iron and manganese minerals as the terminal electron acceptor for the oxidation of hydrocarbons. This results in an increase in ferrous iron concentration from background levels of less than 0.05 mg/l to over 50 mg/l along about 40 meters of the flow path. Dissolved iron concentration remains elevated, and transport of iron occurs, as long as oxygen fugacity remains low. In the reducing zone, petroleum degrading microbes were found to colonize fresh silicate surfaces. Extracellular byproducts ...
Preprints-American Chemical Society Division of Petroleum Chemistry, 1994
In situ biodegradation of petroleum is both a part of the natural bioeochemical carbon cycle and ... more In situ biodegradation of petroleum is both a part of the natural bioeochemical carbon cycle and an applied technology rapidly gainig acceptance as an environmental clean-up tool. The purpose of this investigation was to directly observe the effects of indigeneous surface-adhering bacteria on mineral diagenesis in a hydrocarbon- contaminated shallow aquifer using both in situ microcosms and field flow-through column approaches.
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