02 Liquid fuels (transport, refining, quality, storage)

of which is connected to a three-phase acoustic separator. The entire flow apparatus provides a closed loop and recycling of all phases. Both steady- state as well as unsteady-state type experiments may be performed, thanks to the fact that the injection rate of any of the phases can be changed any time. Along with production data, the pressure drop across the core sample was measured as a function of time using differential pressure transmitters and, whenever a steady-state condition was attained, three-phase in situ saturation profiles were measured using an X-ray system. A full description of this apparatus is given and the experimental procedures and perfor- mance tests results are discussed. A comprehensive comparison of average saturation determination by material balance and saturation profiles for a three-phase gas displacing water and oil case is reported. Experimental data from a three-phase experiment is also analysed.

98101938 Oleananes in oils and sediments: evidence of marine influence during early dlagenesis? Murray, A. P. et al. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acra, 1997, 61, (6). 1261-1276 The oleananes present in an oil, provide valuable source and age information as markers for the angiosperms, but are not quantitatively related to the land plant input, their presence reflecting only a small leak in diagenetic processes leading primarily to aromatic oleanoids. Being minor products, the abundance of oleananes in terrigenous oils and sediments may be highly sensitive to changes in early diagenetic conditions. The study presents evidence that contact of plant matter with seawater during early diagenesis enhances the expression of oleananes in a mature sediment or oil. Oleananes are absent or present at very low concentrations in samples from the base of an Eocene coal seam affected by post-depositional seawater intrusion. However, their abundance increases toward the top of the seam in correlation with % organic sulfur, dibenzothiophenel phenanthrene, and the homohopane index. Similarly, in deltaic sediments for the South Sumatra Basin, oleananeihopane is strongly correlated with indicators of marine influence such as C27/C29 steranes and the homo- hopane index. In each case, increasing oleanane abundance is accompanied by a reduction in the extent of aromatization and, for the South Sumatra Basin, the proportion of A-ring contracted oleananes. An angiosperm- derived Miocene coal from the Philippines, deposited under freshwater conditions, shows abundant aromatic oleanoids but no oleananes. These results show that oleananes need to be used with caution as age and source markers in fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine petroleum systems. On the other hand, their sensitivity to early diagenetic conditions may make them useful in locating effective source rocks in such systems.

98101939 Petroleum potential and oil-source correlation in the Great South and Canterbury basins Killops, S. D. et al. N. Z. J. Geol. Geophys., 1997, 40, (4), 405-423. Using pyrolysis analyses, it was discovered that Cretaceous coaly sediments in the Great South and Canterbury Basins, south-east and east of South Island, New Zealand, exhibit mixed oil and gas potential, like their counterparts in the Taranaki Basin. Formed from isotopic and biomarker characteristics together with maturity considerations, mid-Cretaceous coaly sediments are the most likely sources of the condensate and oil shows in Kawau-1A well (Great South Basin), oil shows in deep Cretaceous strata in Clipper-l and Galleon-l wells (Canterbury Basin), and the stains in beach sands in north-eastern Stewart Island. An oil stain in the upper Cretaceous in Galleon-l well was consistent with a Late Cretaceous coal source. Some marine strata have petroleum potential, in particular the Tartan Member (the equivalent of the latest Paleocene Waipawa Black Shale), but they are often immature, and no oils generated from such sources have been discovered so far.

98101940 Prediction of bulk properties of Fischer-Tropsch derived liquids Marano, J. J. and Holder, G. D. Ind. Eng. Chemical Res., 1997, 36, (6), 2409-2420. Based on the properties of pure n-paraffins asymptotic behaviour correlations are used to predict the bulk properties of liquid mixtures derived from the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The congealing point, density, specific heat, viscosity, thermal conduction and surface tension are compared to data in the literature. Mixture property predictions are based on appropriate average carbon numbers and on a general property mixing rule. Both ideal and non-ideal solution behaviour are exhibited. For the non-ideal properties, viscosity and surface tension, mixing rules are proposed and parameters regressed to obtain reasonable agreement with mixture data. Property estimates based on the appropriate average carbon number are probably sufficient for most engineering applications. Estima- tion methods for different carbon-number averages are outlined, based on congealing- and melting-point, density and the Anderson-Schulz-Flory distribution when the carbon number distribution of the mixture is not available. The presence of other Fischer-Tropsch by-products appears to have little effect on the accuracy of predictions made for high molecular weight mixtures.

gal01 941 Relationship between inertinite in coal and accu- mulationlmigratlon of oil from coal Chen, Z. and Hu, S. Shiyou Kantan Yu Kaqa, 1996, 23, (4), 25-27. (In Chinese) An investigation of the relation between macerals and the distribution of coal-formed oil accumulation revealed oil pools in the areas where the inertinite content is large in coal seams. Migration of coal-formed oil should

be easier in coal seams if inertinite content is relatively high, because inertinite has smaller absorption and larger pore-diameter than vitrinite. It is conducive to the accumulation and migration of coal-formed oil as there are both high hydrocarbon generation and more inertinite content in coal seams.

98101942 advances

Some practical applications of recent core analysis

Williams, N. V. .I. Petroleum Science and Engineering, 1998, 19, (112). 133- 144. Consisting of a large number of thin good permeability reservoirs, the Eromanga Basin is Australia’s main onshore oil province and it overlies the Cooper Basin, Australia’s main onshore gas province. This consists of many thicker but low permeability gas reservoirs. Both basins often contain stacked reservoirs. In order to identify improvements in core analysis which can be applied to the basins the operator has conducted a series of experiments using newly or recently developed procedures.

98101943 Source and maturation of crude oils in northern and eastern Germany. An organic geochemical approach Wehner, H. Geol. Jahrb., Reihe D, 1997, 103, 85-102. For use as biomarkers for oil maturity, the distribution of steranes and triterpenes in crude oils and potential source rocks in Northern and Eastern Germany was determined, along with the carbon-isotope ratio of the crude oils. The Posidonia shale was found as the source of the crude oils in the troughs north of the Lower Saxony basin (LSB) and most of the oils produced from the LSB. In the Western part of the LSB the Berriasian oil shale (Bruckeberg Formation) played an important role as a source rock. On the basis of maturity considerations post-inversion generation of the oils in the LSB had to be assumed, which was in accordance to the structural development of the basin. The East German oils were generated from the Strassfurt Carbonate (Ca2). The source properties of the rock were only developed locally and were recently characterized by the application of sequence stratigraphic methods. Variations in the organic facies of the Ca2 explained the differences in the isotopic and chemical composition of the oils.

98lo1944 The structural characteristics and hydrocarbon accumulation in Turpan-Hami coal-bearing basin Wu, T. er al. Shiyou Xuebao, 1996, 17, (3), 12-18. (In Chinese) A large number of oil-gas fields of Jurassic coal-formed hydrocarbon have been discovered in the coal-bearing and hydrocarbon-rich Turpan-Hami basin. It is dominated by complex shear structure with various structural styles because the basin was a compressed one with sinistral shear during the geological history. The generation and evolution of the coal-formed hydrocarbons are characterized by multiple compounds, early generation and early expulsion of hydrocarbons, and rich in both oil and gas. Distribution of the oil fields is controlled by the combined effects of oil- generating depressions, palaeostructures and various deltaic sand bodies.

98101945 Studies on the evaporation of crude oil and petroleum products: 1. the relationship between evaporation rate and time Fingas, M. F. .I. Hazard. Maw., 1997, 56, (3). 227-235. Several crude oils and petroleum oil products were investigated with regard to the time dependence of evaporation. Evaporation was determined by weight loss measured on a balance and recorded constantly on a computer. On examination, the data reveals that most oil and petroleum products evaporate at a logarithmic rate with respect to time. This is attributed to the overall logarithmic appearance of many components evaporating at different linear rates. Petroleum products with fewer chemical components evaporate at a rate which can be best modelled as a square root of time. The particular behaviour is shown to be a result of the number of components evaporating by experimentation with artificial oils consisting of 1-15 components. Oils with >7 components evaporating simultaneously can be modelled with logarithmic equations; those with 3-7 components, with square root equations.

98lO1946 Yields of oil products from thermochemical bio- mass conversion processes Demirbas, A. Energy Cowers. Mgmr, 1998, 39, (7), 685-690. In order to obtain maximum fuels from biomass, thermoctiemical biomass conversion processes were applied both catalytically and non-catalytically. Different solvents and their mixtures were used in simple and supercritical extractions. Basic catalysts, such as NaOH, Na2C03 and KzCOj, were used in catalytic conversion experiments. The experiments were performed within the 498-820 K range.

Transport, Refining, Quality, Storage

gal01 947 Aspects of determining the process efficiency in petroleum refineries Perisic, B. and Zarkic-Joksimovic, N. Per. Coal, 1997, 39, (3). 16-20. Technological and economic aspects of the petroleum refinery power plant efficiency are analysed. As regards instruments for determining the process efficiency, research should be based on computers and interdisciplinary teams consisting of experts from and outside the oil industry.

178 Fuel and Energy Abstracts May 1998