DEM simulations of methane hydrate exploitation by thermal recovery and depressurization methods

Methane hydrate (MH, also called fiery ice) exists in forms of pore filling, cementing and load-bearing skeleton in the methane hydrate bearing sediment (MHBS) and affects its mechanical behavior greatly. To study the changes of macro-scale and micro-scale mechanical behaviors of MHBS during exploitation by thermal recovery and depressurization methods, a novel 2D thermo-hydro-mechanical bonded contact model was proposed and implemented into a platform of distinct element method (DEM), PFC2D. MHBS samples were first biaxially compressed to different deviator stress levels to model different in-situ stress conditions. With the deviator stress maintained at constant, the temperature was then raised to simulate the thermal recovery process or the pore water pressure (i.e. confining pressure for MH bond) was decreased to simulate the depressurization process. DEM simulation results showed that: during exploitation, the axial strain increased with the increase of temperature (in the thermal recovery method) or decrease of pore water pressure (in the depressurization method); sample collapsed during MH dissociation if the deviator stress applied was larger than the compression strength of a pure host sand sample; sample experienced volume contraction but its void ratio was slightly larger than the pure host sand sample at the same axial strain throughout the test. By comparison with the laboratory test results, the new model was validated to be capable of reproducing the exploitation process by thermal recovery and depressurization methods. In addition, some micro-scale parameters, such as contact distribution, bond distribution, and averaged pure rotation rate, were also analyzed to investigate their relationships with the macroscopic responses.     

Reactive transport impacts on recovered freshwater quality during multiple partially penetrating wells (MPPW-)ASR in a brackish heterogeneous aquifer

The use of multiple partially penetrating wells (MPPW) during aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in brackish aquifers can significantly improve the recovery efficiency (RE) of unmixed injected water. The water quality changes by reactive transport processes in a field MPPW-ASR system and their impact on RE were analyzed. The oxic freshwater injected in the deepest of four wells was continuously enriched with sodium (Na⁺) and other dominant cations from the brackish groundwater due to cation exchange by repeating cycles of ‘freshening’. During recovery periods, the breakthrough of Na⁺ was retarded in the deeper and central parts of the aquifer by ‘salinization’. Cation exchange can therefore either increase or decrease the RE of MPPW-ASR compared to the RE based on conservative Cl⁻, depending on the maximum limits set for Na⁺, the aquifer’s cation exchange capacity, and the native groundwater and injected water composition. Dissolution of Fe and Mn-containing carbonates was stimulated by acidifying oxidation reactions, involving adsorbed Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ and pyrite in the pyrite-rich deeper aquifer sections. Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ remained mobile in anoxic water upon approaching the recovery proximal zone, where Fe²⁺ precipitated via MnO₂ reduction, resulting in a dominating Mn²⁺ contamination. Recovery of Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺ was counteracted by frequent injections of oxygen-rich water via the recovering well to form Fe and Mn-precipitates and increase sorption. The MPPW-ASR strategy exposes a much larger part of the injected water to the deeper geochemical units first, which may therefore control the mobilization of undesired elements during MPPW-ASR, rather than the average geochemical composition of the target aquifer.     

反渗透海水淡化技术现状和展望

反渗透膜技术于20世纪60年代取得突破性进展,促使反渗透海水淡化在近50年间高速发展,淡化产能自20世纪90年代起激增.海水反渗透(SWRO)淡化已成为目前投资最省、成本最低的利用海水制备饮用水的过程.文中主要对海水反渗透淡化的发展状况进行了介绍,如膜和组件的改进,关键设备高压泵和能量回收装置效率的提高,多种工艺过程的不断发展,包括预处理和后处理的新工艺,以及对环境的影响和相应对策等.反渗透技术的发展也推动了其他膜分离技术的进步,并扩展其应用领域.预计在不久的将来,膜技术在海水淡化和水再利用、扩大和保护水资源、循环经济、清洁生产、改造传统产业、节能减排及提高人民生活水平等方面发挥的作用会越来越显著.     

Possibilities of land use change analysis in a mountainous rural area: a methodological approach

Decreasing population density is a current trend in the European Union, and causes a lower environmental impact on the landscape. However, besides the desirable effect on the regeneration processes of semi-natural forest ecosystems, the lack of traditional management techniques can also lead to detrimental ecological processes. In this study we investigated the land use pattern changes in a micro-region (in North-Eastern Hungary) between 1952 and 2005, based on vectorised land use data from archive aerial photos. We also evaluated the methodology of comparisons using GIS methods, fuzzy sets and landscape metrics. We found that both GIS methods and statistical analysis of landscape metrics resulted in more or less the same findings. Differences were not as relevant as was expected considering the general tendencies of the past 60 years in Hungary. The change in the annual rate of forest recovery was 0.12%; settlements extended their area by an annual rate of 3.04%, while grasslands and arable lands had a net loss in their area within the studied period (0.60% and 0.89%, respectively). The kappa index showed a smaller similarity (~60%) between these dates but the fuzzy kappa and the aggregation index, taking into account both spatial and thematic errors, gave a more reliable result (~70–80% similarity). Landscape metrics on patch and class level ensured the possibility of a detailed analysis. We arrived at a similar outcome but were able to verify all the calculations through statistical tests. With this approach we were able to reveal significant (p < 0.05) changes; however, effect sizes did not show large magnitudes. Comparing the methods of revealing landscape change, the approach of landscape metrics was the most effective approach, as it was independent of spatial errors and ensuring a multiple way of interpretation.     

苏里格大型致密砂岩气田储层结构与水平井提高采收率对策

在分析苏里格气田辫状河体系及储层结构特征的基础上,提出了剖面储量集中度的概念,建立了厚层块状型、垂向叠置泛连通型、分散局部连通型、分散孤立型4种砂体分布模式,探讨了不同储层结构下的水平井采出程度,提出了水平井提高采收率技术对策。研究结果表明,辫状河沉积体系复合有效砂体由于“阻流带”的存在,直井动用不完善,水平井能克服“阻流带”的影响,提高层内储量动用程度;但由于砂体多层状分散分布,水平井开发会导致纵向含气层系储量动用不充分,影响层间采出程度。对于剖面储量集中度高的厚层块状型、垂向叠置泛连通型储层,采用水平井整体开发,Ⅰ+Ⅱ类井比例达70%以上,可显著提高储量动用程度和采收率。对于剖面储量集中度低的分散局部连通型储层,采用直井井网开发后进行甜点式优选水平井井位加密部署,可提高采收率10%以上。     

微生物-CMC无固相钻井液固壁作用与机理初探

松散破碎性地层孔壁失稳一直是困扰钻探工程界的难题之一,增强该类地层的胶结性,提高其力学性能是有效解决孔壁失稳的技术关键。本文将微生物诱导碳酸钙沉积（MICP）技术与CMC无固相钻井液相结合,构建微生物-CMC无固相钻井液体系。通过岩心浸泡实验、X射线衍射实验（XRD）以及扫描电镜分析两种微观分析手段对微生物-CMC无固相钻井液的固壁作用与机理进行了初探。结果表明：微生物-CMC无固相钻井液对松散破碎性地层具有较明显的加固作用,且作用时间越长,初始菌种浓度越高,钙源浓度越大,固壁效果越好。在固壁过程中,微生物随钻井液渗透进入试样内部,在松散颗粒之间诱导生成碳酸钙晶体,填充孔隙空间,将松散颗粒胶结成整体,并具有一定的力学强度,从而达到加固孔壁的目的。本研究结果为解决松散破碎性地层孔壁失稳提供了新的钻井液技术方案。     

下二门油田H2Ⅲ油组交联聚合物驱后油藏剩余油分布特征

微观驱油试验表明,交联聚合物驱后剩余油进一步减少,主要以斑块状、小油滴状等形态分布于微孔隙中;数值模拟显示,下二门油田H2Ⅲ油组交联聚合物驱后80.8%的面积已为中强水淹,纵向上79.7%的剩余油分布于主力油层.受构造、储层物性及井网因素控制,未淹、弱水淹剩余油平面上主要分布在断层附近、断层破碎带、微构造高点和砂体上倾尖灭区等部位;纵向上主要分布于低渗透层段.针对剩余油分布特征,通过完善注采关系、优化注采结构,单元含水量的上升速度和产量递减幅度得到控制,采收率在交联聚合物驱的基础上进一步提高了2.01%.     

黔西北普宜地区下三叠统嘉陵江组沉凝灰岩锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄、微量元素特征及其地质意义

早三叠世时期频繁的火山事件是导致全球性气候和海洋环境异常的主要原因,前人对早三叠世重要界线时期的火山事件地层开展了大量研究,但对典型界线时期以外的其他火山事件地层却鲜有报道.本文以上扬子西南普宜地区嘉陵江组两件沉凝灰岩为研究对象开展了岩石学、岩相学、锆石年代学及微量元素组合特征等方面的研究.沉凝灰岩样品具有典型岩浆锆石...     

The effects of beach nourishment on the sandy-beach amphipod Exoediceros fossor: impact and recovery in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Beach nourishment is increasingly being implemented to address problems of erosion. However, the ecological consequences of nourishment are poorly understood, especially in Australia. In Botany Bay, sand was piped from an intertidal borrow area at Elephant's Trunk to nourish the nearby eroding beach at Towra Point. The effects on an intertidal exoedicerotid amphipod, Exoediceros fossor (Stimpson, 1856), were examined using a beyond-BACI (Before–After, Control–Impact) sampling design. Sampling was conducted before and after engineering operations at sites within the borrow and nourishment locations and multiple control locations. Hypotheses concerning impact and recovery were tested using asymmetrical ANOVAs and two-tailed F-tests. These examined the effects on abundance and spatial variability, respectively. The impact of the engineering operations on abundance was very large at both borrow and nourishment locations. However, recovery started within several weeks and, using space × time interactions as a criterion, appeared to be complete within a year. This conclusion is made cautiously because of low statistical power and because other criteria for recovery suggest that it was not complete at some sites. As beach erosion is likely to increase in severity with rising sea levels and greater storm surges associated with climate change, management authorities will need a better understanding of the ecological effects of beach nourishment.     

Assessing the extent of mangrove change caused by Cyclone Vance in the eastern Exmouth Gulf, northwestern Australia

Changes in mangal area were quantified in the eastern Exmouth Gulf over six years (1999–2004) after Cyclone Vance using Landsat TM satellite imagery and aerial photography. Vance was the strongest tropical cyclone ever to impact the Australian mainland before 2006 and produced wind gusts of more than 280 km h⁻¹. Image data were processed using ENVI™ and IDRISI™ software. Three sets of Landsat TM images from 1999 (a few days before the cyclone), 2002 and 2004 were used, along with 2004 digital aerial photography. A ‘common’ subset of 904 km² was selected from all images and classification was developed using ISODATA™ unsupervised classification to identify spectrally distinct areas followed by principal component analysis (PCA), vegetation indices and supervised classification. Some 12,800 ha of mangrove habitat was present before the cyclone and approximately 5700 ha (44%) was removed by it. Most mangroves lost (74%) between 1999 and 2004 were converted either to bare sediment or to live saltmarshes and this occurred mostly between 1999 and 2002. Five basic categories of damage were conspicuous from imagery and field observations, and evidence suggests that much of the loss was due to the longer term consequences of sediment deposition or smothering, rather than the immediate effects of wind or waves. Mangroves exhibited accelerated recovery between 2002 and 2004, and around 1580 ha regenerated during this time, amounting to a return of 68% of their former coverage. At this recovery rate we estimate that they should have returned to their pre-cyclone area by 2009. Over half of the saltmarsh habitats (54%) were removed by the cyclone (4060 ha) but their recovery has been far more rapid than mangroves. After 5 years, saltmarshes had returned to 87% of their previous area. The 5700 ha of mangrove habitat damaged by Cyclone Vance exceeds any anthropogenic impact that has ever taken place in Western Australia by several orders of magnitude.