Clean and Secure Energy from Domestic Oil Shale and Oil Sands Resources Quarterly Progress Report (April-June 2011).

摘要

The Clean and Secure Energy from Domestic Oil Shale and Oil Sands Resources program is part of the research agenda of the Institute for Clean and Secure Energy (ICSE) at the University of Utah. In this quarter, the Clean and Secure Energy program sponsored the University of Utah Unconventional Fuels Conference and the Uinta Basin field trip. Attendance at the conference was the highest ever, with at least 135 registered attendees. The field trip filled up quickly and feedback was very positive; attendees valued the experience of seeing oil shale and oil sands production facilities, outcrops, mines, and research facilities available at the Bingham Energy Research Center in Vernal, Utah. Task 3.0 researchers focused this quarter on developing an understanding of oil and gas operations in the Uinta Basin and on developing an understanding of the CLEARuff model and the AnyLogic software it is based on. Together, they developed a simplified set of processes for oil and gas development that is outlined in this report. In addition, Subtask 3.1 researchers collected relevant emissions factors, Subtask 3.3 researchers studied drilling processes in more detail, and Subtask 3.4 researchers updated and refined the CLEARuff model to make it more understandable and easier to use by all team members. Subtask 3.2 researchers performed simulations of a pilot-scale oxy-gas burner using a new reaction table the better reflected air in-leakage and water removal in the experimental flue gas recycle system. Walls were also added to the computational domain, resulting in simulations that were much more stable. The domain length is being increase to 4 m to better capture system dynamics.