EAPSI: Investigating the potential release of trace elements and heavy metal contaminants during drilling for shale oil and gas

随着人们意识到这些深埋岩层中蕴藏着巨大的自然资源，黑页岩最近成为能源组合的前沿。相对较新的钻井技术，如水平钻井和水力压裂在黑色页岩系统中的应用，使开采天然气和石油在经济上可行。然而，对这些钻井作业期间发生的化学变化以及重金属污染物（如砷）和其他微量金属（如稀土元素）可能被释放的可能性知之甚少。为了进一步了解页岩油气钻井过程中可能发生的化学变化，该项目将评估黑色页岩样品的热成熟度（即产生天然气的潜力），以便在钻井前对系统进行评估。该研究将与韩国地质矿产研究院的金志勋博士共同进行。Kim博士是在能源利用方面表征有机碳含量的专家，也精通深海沉积物岩心成岩过程中的REE系统。该项目将表征约100个大陆黑色页岩样品中的有机质含量，这些样品对能源工业的页岩气开发很有意义。此外，来自海洋沉积物的约60个样品将用于解释黑色页岩数据的背景和指导。有机质含量分析将使用LECO chin -900和LECO SC-132仪器测定总碳、氮、硫含量，并使用Rock-Eval 6仪器测定总有机碳含量和有机质特征。美国国家科学基金会EAPSI奖与韩国国家研究基金会合作资助。

Black shales have recently come to the forefront of the energy portfolio with the realization of the vast natural resources contained within these deeply buried rock formations. The relatively recent application of drilling technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to the black shale system have made accessibility to the natural gas and oil economically viable. However, relatively little is known of the chemical changes occurring during these drilling operations and the potential for heavy metal contaminants (e.g. arsenic) and other trace metals (e.g. rare earth elements (REEs)) to be released. As a step towards understanding the potential chemical changes occurring during shale oil/gas drilling, this project will evaluate the thermal maturity (i.e. potential to produce natural oil/gas) of black shale samples to evaluate the system before drilling occurs. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ji-Hoon Kim at the Korean Institute for Geological and Mineral Resources. Dr. Kim is an expert in characterizing organic carbon content in terms of energy utilization and is also well-versed in REE systematics during diagenesis of deep-sea sediment cores.This project will characterize the organic matter content in ~100 samples of continental black shales which are of interest to the energy industry for shale gas development. Additionally, ~60 samples from marine sediments will be used to provide context and guidance for interpretations of the black shale data. Organic matter content will be analyzed using LECO CHN-900 and LECO SC-132 instruments for total carbon, nitrogen, sulfur contents and using a Rock-Eval 6 instrument for total organic carbon content and organic matter character. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea.