Role of Nanotechnology in Growth of Oil & Gasand UtilityIndustry

USA is presently making use ofnanotechnology with a diverseset of challenges from increasing energy demands

Summary Oil & Gas along with utilityindustry has been approachingnanotechnologies as a potential solution to meetcurrentchallenges. Nanotechnology is providing enormoussustainabilitypotential to bring about the much required powerchange in renewable energy:nanocomposites for morepowerful and lighter wind power rotor cutters, andgeneration ofextremely efficient photovoltaics. It also provided a new way

forcarbon capture at fossil fuel energy plants in form ofnanomembranes.

Role of Nanotechnology in Growthof Oil & Gasand Utility Industry

ForewordsOil & Gas along with utilityindustry has been approachingnanotechnologies as a potential solution to meetcurrentchallenges. Nanotechnology is providing enormoussustainabilitypotential to bring about the much required powerchange in renewable energy:nanocomposites for morepowerful and lighter wind power rotor cutters, andgeneration ofextremely efficient photovoltaics. It also provided a new wayforcarbon capture at fossil fuel energy plants in form ofnanomembranes. Powercost savings might be made in reliabledistribution and energy transmission butalso to createelectrochromic windows and smart glass capable of makinguse ofsolar power. Electricity storage can be substantiallyenhanced by optimizedsupercapacitors and batteries.USA is presently making use ofnanotechnology in variouscities to deal with a diverse set of challenges fromincreasingenergy demands to environmental problems as well as fromfinancialstagnancy to growing population.

What is Nanotechnology?

The word “nano” stands forone-billionth meter; it is derivedfrom the Greek word for “dwarf”. It is theword from whichnanotechnology was derived. This refers to a distance of abouttwo and twenty atoms joined head to head together,depending on the size of theatom in question. One of thesmallest atoms is the hydrogen atom and its sizeis 0.1nm(nm= nanometer) and many atoms are within this size range.Atomscombine end to end to form molecules and there couldbe up to 30 atoms in amolecule. The size of a molecule couldbe about 1nm. Cells are composed ofvarious molecules andits size could range from 3 to 20nm.Is it possible to creatematerials and devices of sizes ranging

below 100nm; this is the concept onwhich nanotechnology isbased. Nanotechnology deals on creating devices andmaterials very small in sizes (of sizes between 1 and 100 nm).Materials withinthese size ranges are said to be in thenanoscale. Such materials are known asnanocrystals ornanomaterials.

The reason why creating materials of such sizesis important is

simply because of the characteristics and features exhibited bymaterials at such extremely small sizes. This is because atsuch extreme smallsizes, the realm of quantum physics andquantum mechanics become dominant.Nanocrystals show some magneticproperties as well as otherextraordinary properties such as color changes.They alsoshow amazing catalyst ability as well as optical features. Atsuchsmall size, some physical and chemical properties do nothold. Thus, you canchange or even improve the chemical andphysical properties of a material byproducing it at thenanoscale. This is the reason why lots of researches havebeen focused on nanotechnology today.Producing large materialscomposing composite nanoparticlesis the secret of reducing weights andachieving a greaterstraight. Such materials are already being produced as canbeseen on mobile phone screens, wearable electronics, carbumpers, sunscreens,synthetic bones, glass packaging andmany more.

Nanotechnology in the Oil and Gasindustry

As much as nanotechnology isexpected to benefit other fieldsof life, there are lots of ways it can benefitthe oil and gasindustry. Nanotechnology is important in the oil and gasindustry as it will give way for a radical improvement in theconstruction ofdeep water oil and gas production facilities andalso in the absolutetitivation of the transport methods. Forinstance, if nanocrystals are used inabsolutely designing sport

utility vehicles, the end result would be theproduction of anSUV weighing one-third the original size. This simply meansthat the fuel consumption of the vehicle will be drasticallyreduced to as muchas 80 percent and therefore saving lots ofpetroleum in the process.

The growing issues regardingkeeping the future adequacy ofoil and gas sources have urged the drillingtechnologists tosearch for advanced alternatives of existing approaches andtechnologies for oil and gas extraction from both offshore andonshorereservoirs. Sector needs incredible discoveries as thelook for hydrocarbonsources has actually come to be severe inregards to going further and hencehigher temperature andpressure. Oman, being an oil based economy, is nowmakingevery effort to transcend standard ways for optimum upturn of

oil byaccessing deep lying reservoirs and cost reliable drillingprocedures forfeasible recuperation from small reservoirs anddiscovering -new areas becauseall of the existing wells arenow moving toward maturity.

Nanofluids and Nanomaterials forExploration andDrilling

Exploration and drilling sectorsare two main oil brancheswhere the perks of nanofluids and nanomaterialsapplicationare already tangible. Nanotechnology has opened up the doorto thedevelopment of a new generation of liquids specified as"smart fluids"for drilling, exploration, production and simulationassociated applications.

Montmorillonite(Mt) is theintegral part of bentonite and itsefficacy in drilling industry comes from itsunique rheologicalproperties. Small quantities of montmorillonite disseminatedinwater formulate a relatively more viscous shear thinningmaterial.Ideal palygorskite (Pal) hasdioctahedral character and itselongated results in unique colloidalproperties, particularly theresistance to high concentrations of electrolytes.Pal contains good colloidal properties including specificfeatures indispersion, high temperature persistence, alkali andsalt resistance, highadsorbing and de-coloring abilities which ismore suitable for commercialapplications.The drilling mud circulation in awell serves the key feature ofremoving small bit cuttings from the hole. Ontop of that, itlubricate the bit, prevents open sloughing, and forms aimpervious filter cake on the walls of the hole, hence avoidingloss of theliquid to porous developments.Of utmost valueamong the features of clay-basedfor an exploration mud is theability of the clay to construct up anappropriate viscosity atrelatively low strong levels and to maintain therequiredviscosity throughout the exploration procedure. Mt hasactually beenwidely utilized for this objective, but it can bemade use of just with the helpof expensive chemical therapiesin areas where pollutants are in abundance likesalt,magnesium sulfate or calcium sulfate. The special nanorodstructure andlarge specific surface area of Pal make it more

efficient and stabletransformer for drilling fluids. Due to huge domain ofnanotechnology applications, thedrilling & exploration sector will gain alot from it among whichis using nanoparticles in drilling fluids in order tohave a certainoperational efficiency, security and viability to embrace wellwith a broad assortment of operation with minor adjustmentsin composition anddimensions. Using nanoparticles in drillingfluids will allow the explorationtechnologists to swiftlycustomize the exploration liquid rheology by changingthecomposition, prevent use of various other expensive additives,and type aswell as size of distribution of nanoparticles to suitany specificcircumstance. Using nanoparticles manufacturedfrom different materials hasactually been made use of toobtain particular targets. By controlling therheology ofexploration fluid by utilizing nanoparticles, extensive drillingproblems can be stayed clear of by modification of propertiesto suitparticular drilling conditions including type of formation,surroundingpressure and temperature, required operatingpressure, formation pressure andso forthNanofluids can provide somefurther benefits as mentionedbelow:• Nanofluids used in drilling mudis considered as a solution toultra-deep drilling fluid• Significant impact in the fluidcan be achieved by addition ofnanoparticles at low percentage by weight.• The suspension of nanoparticlescan provide improved

stability against sedimentation along with better magneticmechanical, electrical, and thermal properties• It is customizable for thedifferent situations and geographicalregions• Nanofluids will enable access todeep and hot regions in highgrade formations where oil companies cannotpresently bereached

Use of Nanomembranes

Inspired by the excellence ofzeolites, which are materialshaving ability of separation of gases such asoxygen and

nitrogen, a new generation of large scale, light-weight anddurablenanomembranes is being developed and deployed.These nanomembranes willsubstantially boost the exploitationof tight gas by providing efficienttechniques for taking outpollutants, dividing gas streams and allowing GTLmanufacturing. By exploiting techniques usual in themicroelectronics market,the cost of creating extremelyconsistent and reproducible membranes is fairlyaffordable.Nanoporous and nanoparticular products are likewise quiteencouraging to manage the environmental, safety and healththreats that comingfrom the visibility of CO2 and H2S inhydrocarbon combination.Due to the synthesis of a newcourseof elastomeric composites filled of carbon nanotubes orother highlyanisotropic nano-objects, tougher, stronger andresistant drilling devices andapparatus will be made in thecoming years.Nanotechnology is providingsolution of different issuesincluding lowering the amount of water used inenhanced oilrecovery, enhancement of the catalysts used, enhancing theefficiency of fluids flowing through long pipes and alsocleaning waste water.Nanotechnology is very importantin value chains of the oil andgas industry. The application of variousnanoscale materialsand particles is highly pivotal in petroleum exploration,reservoir, drilling, completion, production, processing andrefinery. It is noweasy to resolve the subsurface imaging inorder to achieve advanced fieldcharacterization technique with

the use of nano-sensors. With high endnanotechnology, theproduction stages in the oil and gas industry are greatlyenhanced. This goes a long way to ensure oil recoverythrough molecularmodification and also the control ofintermediary features. Not only this,nanotechnology goes along way to offer avenues for improving post productionprocesses.It is quite evident that the oiland gas industry faces greatchallenges when it comes to cost of production aswell asmany other challenges involved in the exploration processessuch asdeep water oil exploration. However, it is expected thatthese challenges willbe properly addressed and solved withnanotechnology. The key solution to oilproduction challengeslies with nanotechnology. With this technology, the rateofrecovering of oil will be greatly increased. Since it enhancestheproduction techniques and tools, the cost of production willbe greatly reducedas various problems that usually occur infield development operations will begreatly eliminated orreduced.Different key players in the oiland gas industry are playing vitalroles in the Advanced Energy Consortium andthey poll theirresources for effective researches to reach common goals. 10companiesinvolved in the consortium include Baker HughesInc., ConocoPhilips, BP AmericaInc., Petrobras, HalliburtonEnergy Services Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas,Marathon OilCorp., Schlumberger, Shell and Total.

Nanotechnology in the Utilityindustry

The term “utility” is a verybroad but main form of utilitiesincluding electricity,communication, water andgas. Theseutilities greatly influence human beings and environment. Withnanotechnology, the utility industry can be greatly enhancedas advanced andstate of the art devices can now be used inthe different phases of operations.For instance, with the high endtechnology, differentequipments and devices used in the electric utilityindustry, aswell as other utility industries, can be modified so as to ensureall round enhancements in the performances of the products.Good examples ofsuch devices are nanoscale ceramics

coating and high temperature andsulphur-tolerantnanomaterials.Using nanoscale or nanotechnologyin the utility industry wouldensure that devices produced will last longer andalso will beable to operate at a much higher efficiency. This simply impliesthat the profitability of the utility industry will be increased in anunprecedented way by employing these technologies invarious stages of theoperation.Energy experts report that theglobal demand for energy isexpected to increase from 13 terawatts of energy toabout 30terawatts. Achieving such significant feat depends solely onnanotechnology and its emerging sciences. Withnanotechnology, growth will bedriven to a very high ratewhereas high level of efficiency and performanceswill still beachieved.Nanotechnology can be leveragedin enhancing the efficiencyof fluids (including water and gases) flowing alonglong pipesfor the supply of water and gases. In addition, it can also bewielded in the cleaning of waste waters. The technology canbe employed inwater purification stages and it will go a longway to facilitate the processesand result to the achievement ofenhanced results.Safe water filtration,purification and desalination through low-cost and portable nanotechnologydevices is a big expect offuture which could possibly assist establishingnations to havetheir own clean and drinkable water.

Nanomembranes having organicpolymer properties can makefilters running at the molecular degree. The stateof art work istransferred from nature, and living cells function asnanomembranes to operate.Nanotechnology is additionallyconcentrating onlooking into nanoparticles as effectiveadsorbents and nanoscale titaniumdioxide as a driver toremove pollutants.Information & communicationindustry is benefiting fromnanotechnology in even more ways than one. Theapplicationsare many including those in smarter sensors, logiccomponents,computer chips, memory storage devices,quantum computer optoelectronics, andso on. It couldgenerally be classified under groups of nanoelectronics andphotonics, specifically integrated circuits, digital manufacturingdevices,data storage, displays and graphenes, and so forth.

Environmental sustainabilityOil & Gas industry is facingmany environmental issues whichcan be resolved by Nanotechnology. It offers anexcitingbreakthrough in environment friendly technologies, from thedeterrenceof pollution to renewable energy sources. Currently,more efficient and cheapersolar energy collectors usingnanostructured materials are on their way. Forenergy storage,nanotechnology embodies a powerful tool for safely storing thehydrogen inside nanostructures such as Zeolithic and carbonnanotubes basedmaterials as well as nanodusts.In addition, nanotechnology is leadingtowards development of

more efficient and environmentally friendly supercapacitorsand batteries with increased available power and decreasedrecharging time. Generally, these benefits are attained bycoating theelectrodes surfaces with nanoparticles.

Conclusion

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The extreme size ofnanoparticles is of great importance inboth the oil &gas and the utilityindustry. Refineries becomeless productive as they grow old. They are expectedto functionat a lower pressure and temperature. Such reduction inpressure andtemperature greatly affects yield. However, withnanoparticles acting likecatalysts, the refinery can function at areduced temperature and pressurewithout sacrificing yield inany way. Employing nanotechnology in the water,electric andgas utility industry will go a long way to ensure environmentalprotection as toxins will be greatly eliminated. Indeed thebenefits ofnanotechnology cannot be overemphasized.

Quote : "Fusion of small things will create greater power and benefitglobal community." - Prince Amir Al Saud

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