Kerry Kennedy Spilker

Development of 50 kW Fuel Processor for Stationary Fuel Cell Applications

The objective of the project was to develop and test a fuel processor capable of producing high hydrogen concentration (>98%) with less than ppm quantities of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide at lower capital cost and higher efficiency, compared to conventional natural gas reformers. It was intended that we achieve our objective by developing simple reactor/process design, and high durability CO2 absorbents, to replace pressure swing adsorption (PSA) or membrane separators. Cost analysis indicated that we would not meet DOE cost goals so the project was terminated before construction of the full scale fuel processor. The work on adsorbent development was focused on the development of calcium oxide-based reversible CO2 absorbents with various microstructures and morphologies to determine the optimum microstructure for long-term reversible CO2 absorption. The effect of powder production process variables was systematically studied including: the final target compositions, the reagents from which the final products were derived, the pore forming additives, the processing time and temperature. The sorbent materials were characterized in terms of their performance in the reversible reaction with CO2 and correlation made to their microstructure.

Enhanced Wellsite Technique for Oil Detection and Characterization

Fluorescence has been used as a means of detecting oil while drilling since first introduced in the 1930s. The visual technique is recognized to be subjective, making it unreliable for consistent detection of oil in formation samples. The Quantitative Fluorescence Technique (QFT ) introduced in the early 1990s uses a portable fluorometer to measure the fluorescence of crude oil extracted from a formation sample. The intensity of the fluorescence is proportional to the amount of oil in the sample. QFT was a substantial improvement over the visual technique for detection of oil in drill cuttings or cores, but still provided only a relative measure of oil in the sample. An enhanced technique called QFT2 has been developed that provides improved estimates of oil quantity and character from measurements made on drill cuttings or core samples. QFT2 involves a two-point fluorescence measurement that yields estimates of both quantity (Weight % Oil) and oil type (API gravity). While these estimates are not a substitute for laboratory analysis, the speed, accuracy and ease of application make QFT2 a practical tool for the determination of oil concentration and API gravity at the well site. QFT2 can be used effectively on fresh drill cuttings or cores, or older samples from wells previously drilled. Results can be combined with wire-line hydrocarbon porosity data to estimate volume percent oil in the formation, and resultant data can be further evaluated to estimate oil mobility. QFT2 was developed by Texaco and finalized in a joint development project with ENI-Agip Division. The project evaluated a world-wide suite of oils to determine relationships between surface measurements and in-situ conditions.