Re: TDP and oil wells

From: Pete Lynn (pete_at_peterlynnkites.com)
Date: 01/14/05 

Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2005 09:36:12 +1300

"m II" <C@In.The.Hat> wrote in message
news:bwKFd.100264$KO5.37997@clgrps13...
> Pete Lynn wrote:
> > The thought occurs that it might be possible to
> > purchase dead oil wells and pump biomass and general
> > such waste down the well where it should undergo
> > thermal depolymerization and return as gas, oil, etc. It
> > uses the heat and pressure present at the bottom of the
> > well and might be more efficient, cheaper and generally
> > much easier than surface TDP systems. I have not yet
> > investigated in detail, comments?
>
>
> I see at least one problem that has to be solved.
>
> How much power will be consumed to pump all this stuff > down to that
level?

It will likely be self pumping, due to reducing in average density on
TDP. I was just thinking along the lines of turning the biomass into a
slurry and letting it fall down the drill pipe to float back up the
outside. Much the same as how the drilling mud is currently circulated.
The drilling pipe/pipes might also serve as something of a counter flow
heat exchanger.

> What if it costs more to compress this way down there
> than you get back out of it?

The opposite will happen, there will be some gasification when it gets
down there, powering it back up.

> It may not even be possible to do. A lot, if not all, of the
> strata where the oil was is a sort of miniature honeycomb
> and wouldn't allow anything thicker than a warm
> milkshake to be pumped into it.

Now days they generally use sand to hold the cracks open after over
pressurization, not that you would necessarily do this. In the old days
they would use mattresses, wood, almost anything...

Pulsating the pressure might be a viable technique for extracting the
heat from more rock further out. However, I was not thinking of actually
passing the slurry through the rock, just circulating it as per drilling
mud. When you cool an exhausted well down, just move onto the next one,
there are quite a few of them around.

> The waste would have to be pre-processed before any
> pumping could happen. Then delivery to site, then
> pumping. It's a big undertaking.

Probably less than standard TDP, say nothing bigger than a golf ball.
The drilling pipe which the mud usually goes down is typically around a
100mm diameter, though you might go a bit bigger, (or use many smaller
ones), depending on casing size. Flow rate should regulate the TDP
dwell time, which you might leave quite slow, depending on temperature.
At very low mass flow rates you might operate within thermal equilibrium
with the surrounding rock, allowing it to work in perpetuity.

Pete.

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