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In the midst of an energy crisis, coal remains essential to the energy mix of many countries. Over time, coal reserves inevitably deplete, and as a result, coal mining progresses, and mines are closed and abandoned. Abandoned mines continue to emit methane for many years after closure, yet their emissions remain uncontrolled and unmonitored in many coal-producing regions. Closed mines may offer a small but significant opportunity to exploit a clean energy resource, known as Abandoned Mine Methane (AMM), which can ...

Drilling fluids are essential for safe and efficient oil and gas well construction, performing critical functions such as cuttings transport, pressure control, borehole stabilization, and bit lubrication. Traditional manual testing according to API standards provides only intermittent data, often leading to delayed responses and increased risks of kicks, lost circulation, stuck pipe, or formation damage – especially in complex unconventional, deepwater, and high-pressure/high-temperature wells. This paper propos...

The article presents data on the role of organic matter as the primary source of oil and gas formation. It provides a general overview of scientific research on the theory of the organic origin of hydrocarbons. The methodological part of the study is based on guidelines for determining the distribution patterns of organic matter in formations of various types, using the values of the formation-equivalent. The formation-equivalent is understood as the aggregation of all forms of organic matter of any type into a co...

Existing industrial ammonia production installations operating in potentially explosive atmospheres usually contain a wide range of explosion protection concepts implemented during different stages of plant modernization and expansion. In such brownfield installations, the coexistence of equipment originating from different technological periods often leads to a non-uniform distribution of protection concepts at installation level. This aspect is particularly relevant for industrial sectors associated with oil and...

The presence of flammable and/or combustible substances in various industrial production processes generates in most cases potentially explosive atmospheres, which transforms a regular work environment into an explosion risk area, directly influencing the way in which equipment intended to be used in these areas is designed, installed and maintained. In areas where potentially explosive atmospheres may form due to the presence of flammable and/or combustible substances, technical equipment must be used whose casin...

Natural gas leaks in residential buildings represent a major risk of explosion and fire, endangering lives and property. Current detection systems, predominantly individual and non-centralized, exhibit significant limitations regarding response time, precise leak localization, and effective notification of authorities. This paper proposes the architecture of a centralized system, based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, for the real-time monitoring of methane (CH4) emissions in medium-sized multi-family resid...

Potentially explosive atmospheres constitute a major risk in the operation of industrial installations that use or generate gases, flammable vapours or combustible dust. According to ATEX legislation, explosions can occur as a result of the interaction between an explosive atmosphere and an active ignition source. Even under the conditions of using ATEX-certified equipment, the progressive degradation of the components can lead to the appearance of uncontrolled ignition sources. This paper analyzes from a technica...

Percussive-rotary drilling remains the preferred method for penetrating hard abrasive rocks (UCS > 150–350 MPa) in mining, exploration, and geotechnical applications. Tungsten carbide (WC-Co) inserts, with their exceptional hardness and abrasion resistance, serve as the primary cutting elements, enabling efficient rock fracturing through combined impact and shear. This study examines tool performance, wear mechanisms (abrasive grooving, fatigue spalling, binder erosion), and optimization strategies including car...

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier for future low-carbon systems, but its high flammability, wide explosion range, and low ignition energy present significant safety challenges. This paper proposes an integrated ATEX-based risk assessment methodology specifically designed for hydrogen storage and utilization systems. The methodology combines regulatory requirements, including EN 1127-1:2019, with a hydrogen-specific risk matrix, ATEX zone classification, and operational risk mitigation measures. A high-pressur...

The oil and gas industry is undergoing a structural transformation driven by sustainability requirements, decarbonization policies, and the integration of alternative energy carriers such as hydrogen. In this context, ensuring the safety, reliability, and continuity of technological processes is critical, given the high-risk nature of hydrocarbon extraction, processing, and transport systems. Technological failures in oil and gas operations may generate cascading effects, including environmental pollution, greenho...

Drilling fluid properties – density and rheology (plastic viscosity, yield point, gel strength) – are essential for wellbore stability, pressure control, hole cleaning, and minimizing non-productive time (NPT) in oil and gas drilling. Traditional manual methods (pressurized mud balance, Fann 35 viscometer) are periodic, labor-intensive, and delay corrections, increasing risks of kicks, lost circulation, and instability. This study proposes an intelligent automated system for real-time monitoring and control us...

In this paper is presented a Mobile Integrated System for on the Site Testing (MISST) of equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, with type of protection pressurization p, resulting from research activities out by the research and testing team involved. The fundamental aspects of the design, implementation and easy use of such an integrated system have been examined, implemented and tested. A mobile integrated test system for Ex p type of protection applied to equipment in Ex construction, ...

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)-assisted retrofitting of diesel engines remains attractive, but exhaustive dual-fuel bench mapping is costly and engine-specific. This paper presents a simulation-guided prioritization workflow for retrofitting the UTB 2404055 agricultural diesel engine to LPG-diesel operation. An AVL BOOST 1D model of a dual-fuel architecture with multi-point LPG port injection and direct diesel pilot injection was calibrated and validated against eight measured diesel baseline points at 1400 and 240...

The flameproof enclosure type of protection is a safety method designed to prevent the ignition of an explosive atmosphere in hazardous environments. It involves enclosing components that may generate sparks, electrical arcs, or high temperatures within a robust, explosion-resistant housing. This enclosure is engineered to withstand the pressure generated by an internal explosion of a flammable gas mixture, ensuring that the explosion does not propagate to the surrounding atmosphere. This type of protection is par...

Sand production poses a major challenge in the development of weakly consolidated and unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs, leading to equipment erosion, wellbore plugging, reduced productivity, and increased operational costs. Downhole sand control filters, primarily deployed as mechanical screens, are essential to retain formation sand while permitting hydrocarbon flow with minimal impairment. This review synthesizes established industry practices, laboratory sand retention test results, and field performance dat...

Climate change is a major challenge for offshore energy infrastructure, as it alters environmental conditions and increases operational risks. This paper analyzes the vulnerability of offshore platforms to climate-related factors, with a focus on wave climate variability and operational conditions in European seas, distinguishing between fixed platforms, floating installations, Arctic facilities affected by permafrost degradation, and coastal terminals exposed to sea level rise. The study is based on a systematic ...

The general concern about climate change and the actions that must be taken to protect the environment are current concerns and occupy the first places on global agenda regarding the search for viable and sustainable solutions. Transition to green energy involves numerous intensely analysed issues with major implications for the economies of many countries. Thus, integration of renewable energy in oil and gas operations is an increasingly used strategy to reduce the carbon footprint and improve sustainability of t...

The paper presents aspects of analyzing the AI possibilities in evaluating equipment for explosive atmospheres. In the first part of the paper, the context of the use of equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres is presented. The presence of flammable substances in industrial applications leads to additional requirements for technical equipment used in such spaces. Furthermore, machinery used in such spaces must remain in working order even when the risk of explosion is present. In summary, to confirm eligibi...

Technical installations in explosive hazard environments have specially designed characteristics to ensure safe operation in such atmospheres. For safety reasons, it is essential to maintain the integrity of these special features throughout the entire lifespan of the installations through maintenance and inspection processes. In this operation it is necessary to use safety tools. These tools must be assessed and certified in accordance with the applicable requirements of the current legislation, regulated by Dire...

With the growing interest in using hydrogen as a clean and sustainable energy source, the processes of obtaining, transporting and storing it are becoming increasingly relevant. In the event of industrial technological breakdowns, rapid and efficient intervention in hazardous environments requires the selection of specialized personnel, capable of operating in extreme conditions. Interventions in potentially explosive atmospheres require not only rigorous technical training, but also optimal physical and psycholog...

The present paper presents the transfer to the virtual environment and CFD analysis of physical experiments on the explosions of air-hydrogen mixtures carried out on a transparent stand, in the shape of a rectangular spiral. The shape of the stand was designed with the intention of directing the explosion process of the fuel mixture on a rectangular-spiral trajectory, with angles of 90 degrees. The free volume inside the spiral was sectioned by four foiled shutters into four ignition/combustion chambers, the first...

The protective clothing used by workers during the performance of work tasks is subject to the electrification process. The electrification process of protective clothing results in the generation of significant amounts of electrostatic charges both on the outer parts of the protective clothing and on the users' skin, as a result of specific mechanisms for generating electrostatic charges such as electrification by contact or induction. The formation and accumulation of electrostatic charges as a result of the ele...

Technical equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres generated by the presence of combustible dusts is provided with enclosures that must be designed in such a way as to ensure protection against the ingress of solid bodies and/or dust, as well as water, a concept materialized by the notion of normal protection degree. or increase protection (international code IP). The expression of the normal degree of protection of the casing of a technical equipment is done through the group of letters IP ...

In-situ combustion (ISC) is considered one of the most effective method to increase oil recovery from heavy oil and bitumen. Oxygen of injected air reacts with the heavy crude oil components, forming a hot zone, in which the oxidation and cracking of heavy fractions occur. It is known that catalysts of various types can significantly improve the processes of oil upgrading and increase the efficiency of thermal tertiary methods of oil production. This work devoted to study the influence of mixed oxide catalyst pres...

The study of hydrogen explosions in interconnected spaces is essential for safety in industrial and laboratory settings. Due to its highly flammable nature, understanding hydrogen explosion dynamics is essential for risk mitigation. This paper presents an experimental and computational analysis of a hydrogen explosion in a setup with four interconnected chambers. The experimental stand had transparent walls for direct observation. Ignition was initiated to analyze flame propagation, acceleration, and pressure vari...

Electrical installations in spaces classified as being in danger of explosive atmospheres have special characteristics to correspond to operation in such atmospheres. For safety reasons in these areas, it is essential that during the lifetime of these installations, the integrity of these special characteristics be maintained. The assessment of explosion-protected electrical equipment within the scope of certification is of paramount importance in view of the risk of explosion which must be minimized to ensure the...

The flameproof enclosure type of protection is a safety method designed to prevent the ignition of an explosive atmosphere in hazardous environments. It involves enclosing components that may generate sparks, electrical arcs, or high temperatures within a robust, explosion-resistant housing. This enclosure is engineered to withstand the pressure generated by an internal explosion of a flammable gas mixture, ensuring that the explosion does not propagate to the surrounding atmosphere. This type of protection is par...

The rational use of natural resources is an urgent task not only in the oil and gas sector, but also in all sectors of production. This paper presents procedures for the preparation and purification of extracted oil-containing wastewater and stormwater from suspended solids, as well as various salts dissolved in water with the supply of coagulant solutions: iron sulfate or aluminum sulfate and soda ash to adjust the pH value. The conducted research and measures for the treatment of stormwater and carbonaceous wast...

The need to develop an integrated testing system for explosion-protected construction equipment with the type of protection "p" arose from practical considerations. The use of a mobile, versatile and adaptable system for the field performance of tests specific to this type of protection applied to explosion-protected construction equipment brings several novel advantages, the most important of which are: grouping all the test equipment required for the tests, elimination of measurement errors by performing several...

Asphalt-resin-paraffin deposits (ARPD) are a complex dispersed system formed by substances that have separated from the oil phase according to various signs. The sediments include asphaltenes, resins, paraffins, liquid hydrocarbons, mechanical impurities and water. In conditions of intensive deposition of ARPD, normal operation of wells is impossible without carrying out work using dewaxing equipment. The purpose of the treatment is the use of chemical reagents in the composition of the emulsion to affect the bott...

The concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) encompasses a set of technological, technical, and organizational solutions for preventing and controlling negative environmental impacts while improving resource efficiency. Within key technological processes, built-in solutions play a crucial role in pollution prevention, while end-of-pipe measures are applied to control emissions that cannot be prevented by primary solutions. In most countries, BAT applies to key resource-intensive sectors, including hydrocarbon ex...

Sustainable aviation fuels represent the most viable near-term option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector, as they can be deployed within existing aircraft and fuel infrastructure. Despite significant advances in microbial metabolic engineering, the contribution of biological platforms to aviation fuel supply remains marginal, indicating persistent limitations that extend beyond laboratory-scale performance. This review provides a critical analysis of microbial systems proposed for susta...

Accurate estimation of greenhouse gases in national inventory reports, submitted by countries every year under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement is an important task. Fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from oil production, gathering and treatment is a key category in the Russian national inventory report. Total emissions from this category accounted to more than 30 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2021. Since in Russian inventory the default IPCC emission factors from these operations are used, in the framework o...

Natural gas hydrate reservoirs often consist of a mixture of various gaseous species: small-chain hydrocarbons, as methane, ethane, propane and butane, and other species, as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen sulfide and others. Every species shows different forming conditions. Moreover, those conditions may change as a function of the mixture composition and the properties of the surrounding environment. The present study deals the production of hydrates with small-chain hydrocarbons, within a silica-base...

The most attractive option to recover methane trapped within natural gas hydrate reservoirs, consists of the so-called -replacement process-, mainly based on the contemporary injection of carbon dioxide during the mining process. If appropriately carried out, this process allows to improve the amount of methane recovered, preserve the crystalline hydrate cages and permanently store enough carbon dioxide to make this source definitively carbon neutral. For that reason, this process is widely studied worldwide. Howe...

The paper presents an alternative approach for detecting potential oil or gas leaks from transport and distribution pipelines. The detection of possible accidental pollution is carried out using small UAV systems with the help of photogrammetry. Currently, significant material and human resources are allocated to detect such events, and the use of UAVs can solve the problem of monitoring both small areas like oil platforms, gas extraction stations, or oil wells by implementing multirotor-type architectures, as wel...

With the continuous technological advancement the global demand for selected chemical elements in both emerging and established solutions is rising. This is particularly evident in energy storage applications, such as lithium-ion batteries for increasingly popular electric vehicles. The growing need for lithium carbonate drives the search for innovative extraction methods, including recovery from brine through chemical processes. This approach not only aids in lithium recovery but also positively impacts the envir...

The Triassic sediments in the Moesian Platform are very well explored. The study area is in the Bulgarian territory and covers ce ntral part of the South Moesian Platform Margin and adjoining zone to the north. The Triassic rocks there are characterized by considerable diversity, thickness and burial depths. Among them Mitrovo Fm. (T 2lad- T3crn) contains mostly silty-argillacious car bonates with a fair to good organic matter content. The Pre-Jurassic erosion reached different le vels up to Middle Triassic, Lower...

The main shortcoming of the earlier offered casing methods was the fact that along with the productivity slowdown of a well, in some cases there was observed renewing of sanding, with even greater intensity. Renewal of sand production after the carried out casing is explained by the specificity of cement stone perforation, in the production process of which a part of projectiles remain in layer of a cement stone, and the other, with the influence on a productive layer, dest roys it, forming new caverns. In additio...

Crude oil composition is very complex and can vary even within in every reservoir. Petroleum crude oil content varies according to light, the ratio of hydrocarbon classes, the content of compounds with oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur and the presence or absence of components.Such oils have been classified according to the amount of paraffin, the percentage of sulfur in the fuel freezing point. This material is inte nded to present the existing classifications andproperties near the Romanian Petroleum and ordering a ne...

In the present study behavior of different footing anchors in reinforced soil subjected to vertical pullout loads were investigated. The plate anchors were considered as footings with their axis vertical and the study was made to plate anchors in cohesive non swelling clays. To carry out these studies number of laboratory tests were conducted on anchors of different shapes (circular, square and rectangular) and sizes in reinforced and non reinforced soil using three different Geosynthetics. It was concluded that o...

Current management of phosphate-bearing resources (mainly rock phosphates, RPs), which in fact are finite non-renewable sources, is quite far from the principles of sustainability and may cause an escalating price increase mainly because of increases in RP-processing costs. One of the most studied approaches in solubilization of insoluble phosphates is the biological treatment of phosphate-bearing materials. In this work, we propose a microbial extraction of phosphate from insoluble inorganic natural sources as a ...

Balan perimeter is one of the most representative mining zones of the Eastern Carpathians, well known for its copper ores, represented mainly by massive and/or disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite concordantly interlayered with low grade Cambrian metamorphites of the Tulghes Group. The chemical study of these accumulations highlighted the presence of elements (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn) which, by geochemical characteristics and behaviour, can be included in the category of heavy metals and which, by build-up and/or m...

Lead (Pb) mobility in soils and hence its availability for plant uptake may be influenced by several soil properties, some of which are modified by sludge application. It is therefore imperative to understand how these modified properties affect Pb concentrations in different geochemical fractions of sludge-amended soils. Vertisols are common in arid- and semi-arid areas and are used extensively for agriculture. This study aimed at determining the relationship between selected soil properties (pH, organic matter (...

Various heavy metals contained in fuel are released to environment at fossil fuels use. Mercury has come to front of public interest recently. The North West Bohemia region is an area with high potential concentration of Hg emission sources (open pit brown coal mines) and large combustion facilities (power and heat stations) combusting fossil fuels. Mercury is taken for one of the most environment loading matters because its stability and bioaccumulation potential of itself and its compounds. More detailed regulat...

Major environmental problem worldwide, air pollution gains our particular attention, especially in the case of industrial emission. Among such concerns, SO2 generated by combustion flue gas requires profound analysis, mostly because it is known to cause acid rains. In time, many mathematical models gave both quantification and prediction of pollution level. This work aims to compare several SO2 dispersion equations (i.e. Sutton equation, Bosanquet-Pearson equation and diffusion equation, derived from the plume dis...

In this study, some attention will be paid to the recent scientific and technological developments in waste stocks remediation. The consideration will be focused on this still not developed area of practical application of polymers as a first step towards remediation of polluted waste stocks. Some function and utility of organic polymers will be offered, which behave similarly to those naturally present in soils that are to be considered as potential substrata for remediation and rebuilding of depleted waste stock...

Collapsible lands are generally found in arid and sub arid areas. These kinds of soils that are in metastable structure have high void ratio and low weight per unit volume. Loess soil that are wind deposits, residual soils, soils that are formed by volcanic ashes, alluvium soils, fine sand and silts, silt sand and loam are among the soils that have collapsing tendency. Collapsing that happened due to the increase on the water content of the base soil is generally seen in loosen silt layers that have low water cont...

One of the most important factors of industrialization and development is energy. Demand of energy significantly increases parallel to technology developing and world population increasing. The consumed amount of energy indicates the development level of countries in today. Oil and coal stocks are decreasing fastly, and lack of natural gas sources results in an increasing demand on renewable energy sources. The negative effects of the renewable energy sources are less than conventional energy sources on environmen...

A horizon of carbonate minerals underlies the organic soils of the Thracian plane. This horizon has irregular thickness, density and mineral composition. In the world scientific literature, such horizons are usually described as pedogenic calcretes. The growth of the carbonate layer depends on many factors; among them are the global climate change, the acidity of the atmospheric precipitates and the agricultural practices. The carbonate layer is very significant to the biological productivity of the soil. It tends...