MRI RAPID: Deepwater Oil/Gas Well Blowout Simulator to Study Oil/Gas Dispersion and Mitigate Gas Hydrate Formation in the Gulf Oil Spill

这项MRI RAPID研究将组装一个实验室规模的油气井井喷模拟仪器，该仪器将用于解决墨西哥湾（GoM）漏油事故中石油/天然气井喷在水中和天然气水合物地层中石油/天然气分散的关键问题。由于墨西哥湾漏油事故需要快速的恢复响应，PIs寻求建立一个模拟设备来研究石油泄漏遏制过程中天然气水合物的形成，由于其快速形成和修复设备的堵塞，这一直是一个令人担忧的问题。深水油气井喷（DOGWB）将在6个月的时间内尽快组装（设计、制造和调试）。这种新仪器将与过去二十年来在PIs实验室开发的颗粒力和聚集测量工具相结合，模拟并提供井喷造成的水合物堵塞的缓解措施。一旦组装完成，DOGWB仪器将允许pi:(a)确定油/气分散/液滴随温度、压力、流速、分散剂/表面活性剂浓度和机械混合的变化，以及(b)在封堵墨西哥湾溢油期间减少天然气水合物的形成。这项研究在提高对深水油气井井喷的理解方面具有潜在的变革性，有助于制定应对措施并加强遏制措施。这项研究提供了一种新的方法，并结合了卡尔加里大学（University of Calgary）使用了30年的成功仪器设计（后来被拆除和丢弃），并结合了科罗拉多矿业学院（CSM）的先进知识库进行了几次实质性修改。这种改进后的仪器将能够模拟最近墨西哥湾深水油井井喷事故，在水合物地层条件下研究水中的油气气泡。该RAPID将补充另一个最近资助的CSM RAPID (CBET-1042732)，该RAPID被授予水合物研究。该仪器将提供独特的实验能力，以研究在现场条件下流经水柱的油气羽流。这将为不同地区/油田在不同温度、压力（深水深度）、流量和流体成分下发生的一般深水油气井井喷的油气分散和水合物减缓开发提供新的基于实验的科学和工程。这些信息有助于制定新的指导方针，以减轻深水油气井井喷对环境的影响，并通过最大限度地减少水合物形成的不利影响以及密封系统和相关结构的堵塞来控制石油泄漏。此外，对油/水滴破碎/团聚的研究结果也将进一步加深对乳液/分散科学的理解。鉴于最近的墨西哥湾石油泄漏，这一信息是及时和关键的。

This MRI RAPID research will assemble a laboratory-scale oil/gas well blowout simulator instrument, which will be used to address critical issues related to oil/gas dispersion in water and gas hydrate formation as those encountered in an oil/gas blowout in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) oil spill. Due to the quick recovery response necessary for the GoM oil spill, the PIs seek to build a simulation apparatus to study the gas hydrate formation in the containment of the oil leak, which has been a constant source of concern due to their rapid formation and plugging of remediation equipment. The Deepwater Oil/Gas Well Blowout (DOGWB) will be assembled (designed, fabricated, and commissioned) as quickly as possible in the timeframe of 6 months. This new instrument will be combined with particle force and aggregation measurement tools developed in the laboratory of the PIs over the last two decades, to model and provide mitigation of hydrate plugs from blowouts. Once assembled, the DOGWB instrument will allow the PIs to: (a) determine oil/gas dispersion/droplet evolution as a function of temperature, pressure, flow velocity, dispersant/surfactant concentration, and mechanical mixing, and (b) mitigate gas hydrate formation during containment of the GoM oil spill. This research is potentially transformative in improving the understanding of deep-water oil/gas well blowouts to help develop response efforts and enhance containment efforts. This research provides a new approach and combines a 30-year old successful instrument design used at the University of Calgary (since dismantled and discarded), with several substantial modifications incorporating the advanced knowledgebase at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). This improved instrument will enable the study of oil and gas bubbles in water at hydrate formation conditions simulating the recent GoM deepwater oil well blowout. This RAPID will complement another recently funded CSM RAPID (CBET-1042732) that was awarded in hydrate research. The instrument will provide unique experimental capabilities to study oil/gas plumes flowing through a water column at field conditions. This will enable new experimentally-based science and engineering on the development of oil/gas dispersion and hydrate mitigation in general deep-water oil/gas well blowouts occurring in different regions/fields under a range of temperature, pressure (deepwater depths), flow rates, and fluid compositions. This information can lead to the generation of new guidelines for mitigating the environmental impacts of deepwater oil/gas well blowouts, and containing oil spills by minimizing the adverse effects of hydrate formation and blockage of the containment system and associated structures. Moreover, the results obtained on oil/water droplet breakup/agglomeration will also further the understanding in emulsion/dispersion science. This information is timely and critical in light of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill.