•The effect of ultrasound on viscosity of oil in well conditions was investigated.•A long lasting decrease in viscosity can be obtained only by sonochemical treatment.•The use of ultrasound may ...facilitate the production of viscous hydrocarbons.
Reduction of oil viscosity is of great importance for the petroleum industry since it contributes a lot to the facilitation of pipeline transportation of oil. This study analyzes the capability of acoustic waves to decrease the viscosity of oil during its commercial production. Three types of equipment were tested: an ultrasonic emitter that is located directly in the well and affects oil during its production and two types of acoustic machines to be located at the wellhead and perform acoustic treatment after oil extraction: a setup for ultrasonic hydrodynamic treatment and a flow-through ultrasonic reactor. In our case, the two acoustic machines were rebuilt and tested in the laboratory. The viscosity of oil was measured before and after both types of acoustic treatment; and 2, 24 and 48h after ultrasonic treatment and 1 and 4h after hydrodynamic treatment in order to estimate the constancy of viscosity reduction. The viscosity reduction achieved by acoustic waves was compared to the viscosity reduction achieved by acoustic waves jointly with solvents. It was shown, that regardless of the form of powerful acoustic impact, a long lasting decrease in viscosity can be obtained only if sonochemical treatment is used. Using sonochemical treatment based on ultrasonic hydrodynamic treatment a viscosity reduction by 72,46% was achieved. However, the reduction in viscosity by 16%, which was demonstrated using the ultrasonic downhole tool in the well without addition of chemicals, is high enough to facilitate the production of viscous hydrocarbons.
•We studied the sol-gel method for the titanium dioxide nanoparticles synthesis from titanyl sulphate.•We studied the synthesis of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles via sol-gel ...method.•The nanoparticles were synthesized near textile fibers and deposited on them in the same process via ultrasound.•Coated fabrics showed a suppression level of E. coli of more than 99.99% and the antibacterial activity of more than 1.8.•Such textiles can be used to prevent the spread of the nosocomial and other infections.
To prevent possible spread of nosocomial infections – HAI (Healthcare Acquired Infections) in healthcare facilities, Antibacterial textiles are developed. This carried out study has been conducted to assess the feasibility of the method of obtaining antibacterial coatings on textile materials. Specifically, the sol-gel method for synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in combination with zinc oxide nanoparticles from titanyl sulphate and zinc nitrate hexahydrate has been investigated.
During the synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in combination with the zinc oxide nanoparticles, the coated textile material showed stable antibacterial properties with a suppression level ofEscherichia coliof more than 99.99%. The method has been tested on a semi-industrial scale in roll-to-roll experimentby applying homogenous coatings at a speed of 1,5 m per minute.
•A sonochemical method is developed to enhance oil recovery from horizontal oil wells.•Ultrasound can enhance the effect of chemicals used to improve the performance of wells.•The method increases ...the permeability of the wellbore perforation zone and reduces blockages.•Field tests of the sonochemical method of EOR in vertical and horizontal wells have shown a significant improvement in oil production.
Oil production from wells reduces with time and the well becomes uneconomic unless enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are applied. There are a number of methods currently available and each has specific advantages and disadvantages depending on conditions. Currently there is a big demand for new or improved technologies in this field, the hope is that these might also be applicable to wells which have already been the subject of EOR. The sonochemical method of EOR is one of the most promising methods and is important in that it can also be applied for the treatment of horizontal wells. The present article reports the theoretical background of the developed sonochemical technology for EOR in horizontal wells; describes the requirements to the equipment needed to embody the technology. The results of the first field tests of the technology are reported.
•The use of 3 different types of waveguide systems for activation of ASFC reagents was investigated.•Ultrasound enables to reactivate the alumosilicic flocculant-coagulant.•In scaled up reactors the ...choice of the equipment type affects the stability of the achieved effect.
Acoustic fields formed during operation of ultrasonic reactors with waveguides of following types: rod-type, cylindrical with rectangular protrusions and tubular were calculated and measured. The influence of distribution of acoustic fields arising from the operation of waveguide systems of three different types on the efficiency of ultrasonic activation of alumosilicic flocculant-coagulant and magnetite intended for water purification was investigated. It was shown that regardless of the equipment used on an industrial scale it is possible to reactivate the alumosilicic flocculant-coagulant even after the shelf life period of it passed, however in case of activation of magnetite the use of a bigger reactor in inefficient.
In case of industrial scale processes, the choice of the correct reactor design is of significant importance, since it allows to reduce the required processing time, and, as a result, the energy consumption of the processes. The advantages of tubular waveguide systems include the possibility of processing large volumes of liquid. The high efficiency and uniformity of the excited ultrasonic fields can lead to reduction of operating costs. In case of smaller flows, the waveguide system with rectangular protrusions allowed to obtain better results.
Our work illustrates the dependence of the success of a specific method on the choice of the waveguide and the size of the reactor during upscale.
•The combined effect of shockwaves and ultrasound on water wells was investigated.•The use of the combined method is much more effective than ultrasound alone.•The production of the treated well ...increased by two times.
The regeneration of water wells is an urgent problem nowadays, when drilling of new wells becomes more and more expensive. Formation damage leads to a reduction of the formation's permeability and/or pore volume which in turn inhibits the ability of the water to flow from the reservoir formation into the wellbore. A new technology that uses high-power ultrasound to remove formation damage of water wells has been developed. The effectiveness of regeneration of wells can be enhanced if ultrasound and shockwaves are used during the same treatment. It was shown by computer modelling, that the two methods have different depths of impact. Whereas the ultrasonic method has a strong impact on the area of the filter tube, the impact of the shock waves is focused on the gavel pack, the wall of the well and the adjacent aquifer. A shockwave treatment, which is normally more effective due to larger impact zone, needs to be followed by ultrasonic treatment in order to facilitate the removal of the detached deposits. These theoretical assumptions were confirmed by field tests on two wells. The use of the method leaded to an increase of the production by 40% and 109% respectively.
A method for the production of antibacterial ZnO nanoparticles has been developed. The technique combines passing an electric current with simultaneous application of ultrasonic waves. By using ...high-power ultrasound a cavitation zone is created between two zinc electrodes. This leads to the possibility to create a spatial electrical discharge in water. Creation of such discharge leads to the depletion of the electrodes and the formation of ZnO nanoparticles, which demonstrate antibacterial properties. At the end of this reaction the suspension of ZnO nanoparticles is transported to a specially developed ultrasonic reactor, in which the nanoparticles are deposited on the textile. The nanoparticles are embedded into the fibres by the cavitation jets, which are formed by asymmetrically collapsing bubbles in the presence of a solid surface and are directed towards the surface of textile at very high velocities. Fabrics coated with ZnO nanoparticles by using the developed method showed good antibacterial activity against E. coli.
Water disinfection and potential sterilization in continuous flow was achieved in a hybrid reactor with a broadband hydrodynamic emitter combined with ultrasonic vibrations at different frequencies ...and with excess pressure. Such a combination showed synergistic effects by increasing the acoustic power in the reactor vortex flow. The present combined physical treatment, compared with sonication alone, could increase microorganism inactivation by 15–20%.
Various types of chemical and physical protocols are used, thermal treatment in particular, to increase the quality of bulk food products (for example, dates or some sort of nuts) and extend shelf ...life, and combinations of methods are frequently used to achieve the best results. However, the use of these processing methods is not always the best option to preserve the initial taste and appearance of food products. For instance, a product may lose its initial natural appearance and acquire different flavors due to chemical transformations that occur at certain temperatures or when the products are treated with chemicals. Non-thermal treatment methods are called “cold” pasteurization. This is a set of advanced techniques that are based on physical and chemical effects that do not result in the structural food-product transformations caused by heating. We have developed and tested a new technique for efficient food-product processing and cold pasteurization in an ultrasonic field under pressure in an atmosphere of supercritical or subcritical carbon dioxide. A laboratory-scale unit that was designed and built for this purpose has experimentally proven the feasibility of this process and demonstrated high efficiency in suppressing pathogenic flora.
Although water contamination with drug residues is a threat to public health, there are currently barely any effective methods of purifying water from pharmaceutical substances. In this study, ...continuous-flow sonoplasma treatment was used for the complete degradation of tetracycline and ciprofloxacin in polluted municipal water. The addition of CeO2 nanoparticles as catalysts significantly increased the degradation rate of the antibiotics, and a degradation degree of 70% was achieved. The presence of reactive oxygen species in the CeO2-nanoparticle-containing sonoplasma-treated system was experimentally proven for the first time using the chemiluminescence technique.
•An ultrasonic method for treatment of horizontal oil wells for water cut reduction is developed.•The developed method was tested on a horizontal well in Western Siberia.•A decrease of the water cut ...by 20% was observed in the tested well.•An increase of oil production by 91% after treatment of the test well was observed.
A technique for treatment of perforation zones of horizontal oil wells for water cut reduction based on selective ultrasonic treatment was suggested. The technique involves online geophysical studies of horizontal wells, determination of treatment intervals based on these studies, selective ultrasonic treatment of the chosen interval and subsequent pump-out using a specially designed jet pump. The technology does not involve reduction of the flow in the well. The developed innovative technique of water cut reduction using selective ultrasonic treatment is studied within this article. Theoretical estimations and computer modeling revealed that the position of the downhole ultrasonic tool near the sidewall of the well leads to more homogeneous distribution of the induced acoustical field and wider penetration of the acoustical waves. The developed method was tested on a horizontal well in Western Siberia, which was characterized by high water cut. Based on geophysical studies only zones with low water and high oil production were treated, this lead to a decrease of the water cut by 20% and an increase of oil production by 91% after treatment of the test well.
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