Harvesting hydrocarbons from coal, shale, peat and landfill seams
A method of extraction of fuels and elements from coal, shale, peat and landfill seams is described which cuts the earth with only a main shaft which could measure half a meter diameter and with auxiliary narrow drillings of, say 10 centimeter diameter, widely spaced from the shaft. The coal, shale or peat seam is heated to the highest temperature of the hydrocarbon fraction desired to be extracted and the evaporated hydrocarbons are carried out of the shaft by Nitrogen gas. To enhance the extraction rate of the evaporated hydrocarbons, tonal input from two or more organ pipes vibrates the seam structure freeing the evaporated hydrocarbons allowing their escape into the shaft. As the extraction continues requiring inclusion of a greater area of the seam structure, narrow drillings are made and Liquid Nitrogen is inserted in the drillings reaching seam levels as Nitrogen gas which seeps into the seam. A gas-impenetrable sleeve prevents the Nitrogen gas from seeping into the soil or substrate between the ground level and the seams. Further expansion of the field moves the Nitrogen sourcing to the outer circle and inserts auxiliary heaters in the narrow drillings between the outer ring and main shaft bringing more of the seam to the desired extraction temperature. Extracted evaporated hydrocarbons are cold cracked allowing the fractionation of hydrocarbons into fuel types as heating oil, kerosene, gasoline, ethers, and fuel gas, methane, argon and rare gas segments. The thermal gradient of the extraction pipe is implemented by sourcing the Nitrogen from Liquid Nitrogen and running the pipes bundled with the extraction pipe condensing its contents by hydrocarbon fractions in vessels and gas drums depending on boiling points of fractions. Water is separated from the gasoline segment and purified by separation and freezing.
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1. Field of the Invention
The world's coal and shale reserves often pose difficulty in harvesting the fuel components. Extraction by mining is becoming increasingly dangerous because the easy to get coals have been mined and the shales have continued to be difficult to pull organics from with any degree of economic and procedural ease. Peat and landfill seam extraction of hydrocarbons should be handled in the same manner, though their deposits are more recent than coal and shale seams. The method here proposed should make the hard to access coals and in-ground shale safe and relatively easy and economical to extract the organics contained therein. The peat and landfill, because of their softness, may pose sinking problems which can be handled post extraction making them dry landfill.
Thermally, petroleum fractions have melting points from fuel gas at between minus 162° C. and plus 30° C. to lubricating oils melting over 300° C. Paraffin and asphalt melt at higher temperatures and may not be extracted in this method. To prevent heating flash in the extraction, pure Nitrogen gas is inserted in the extraction drilling and will be the carrier for the evaporated organics.
Economically, extraction is done with all personnel at ground level and the heat and tone causing the breakdown and evaporation of the light and medium weight organics. The method requires drilling, powering the heating element, and available Liquid Nitrogen to provide cold cracking cooling and pure Nitrogen gas for extraction.
Physiologically, the coal/shale field workers will have little exposure to the coal or shale gases since they are captured at the lower segment of the drilling and pulled out via pipes leading directly to the on-site cold cracking system that separates the organics into common condensation point materials. Full containers are replaced with empties, sealed and trucked away for the heavy molecule substances and the gaseous components can be compressed into gas tanks drawing the contents from the drums. Tonal vibrations are used to unsettle the buried sediments and release the trapped organics enhancing the harvest of petroleum chemicals from both coal and shale structures.
Convection at the coal or shale levels is created by inserting narrow drillings in ring patterns around the extraction drilling where the outer ring uses the coal mine fire equipment to insert pure Nitrogen gas into the layers being extracted. The first ring provides the external Nitrogen to push the evaporated petroleum into the extraction drilling. To expand the range of the extraction, a second ring of narrow drillings is made and the pure Nitrogen is inserted there while the inner ring holes are refitted with heating units comprise of, for instance, tube boilers with heating units inside them. To concentrate the pure Nitrogen gas input the upper portion of the drilling is fitted with an air sealing sleeve to reduce soil and rock layer absorption of the Nitrogen gas. To concentrate the heat in the inner narrow drillings, the narrow drilling is insulated to retain the heat emitted in the coal or shale layers of the earth at seam depths.
The present invention relates to cryo-technology providing pure Nitrogen gas cooling for the cold cracking process and providing the wind power to activate the vibro-tonals to shake the volatile organics from their point of formation and storage to the drill location for drawing up to the surface, separating by cold cracking and collection. This will make inaccessible fuel resources available for present extraction increasing the overall active oil reserves to include previously “useless” territories. The peripheral insertion of the Nitrogen provides the inert carrier gas to transport the evaporated organics and provides fire protection preventing flash fire in the coal or shale layers.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Patent application Ser. No. of Denyse DuBrucq, Liquid Nitrogen Enabler, 11/706,723 section for coal mine fire control and condenser methods and Liquid Nitrogen Enabler Apparatus, Ser. No. 11/750,149 for the related apparatus. Similar methods are employed here for fire prevention, for the separator or cold cracking system, and for providing the Nitrogen carrier gas for the evaporated organics in coal, shale, peat and landfill layers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with one aspect of the invention, the method of drilling into the coal and shale fields for extraction of fuel gas and liquid petroleum fractions. Extraction from one drilling should pull organics from an acre or hectare or more.
In another aspect of the present invention, the method includes shaking the substrate to loosen the organics from their long term entrapment allowing them to seep toward the heat source of the drilling.
In another aspect of the present invention, the method applies a contained heat source to the coal or shale layers heating them to evaporate the organic gases trapped in the underground. To safely carry these organic gases to the surface, the pure Nitrogen gas used in blowing the organ pipes mixes with and carries the organics from the depth of the drilling to the ground surface
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the method of using pure Nitrogen gas as the carrier prevents fires because it lowers Oxygen levels in the gas mixture as it is heated to evaporation temperatures and brought to the surface.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the method carries the hot gas mixture to a cold cracking system that slowly cools the gas as it moves through a tube with traps to remove the organic material that condensed in that section of the tube. Monitored temperatures and a means to move the divisions between condensation temperatures results in quite pure distillates to be carried from the mine site to market. As the remaining gases have boiling points at room temperature and below, the cold of the condenser for Liquid Nitrogen pulls them down as liquids and, once through the trap, they evaporate and are collected in gas drums. The remaining Nitrogen and Rare Gas mixture allows vertical passage of Hydrogen, Helium and Neon and capture in Mylar balloons for separation later. The Nitrogen release location has a mixing fan to insure the Nitrogen does not remain pure in clouds, rather mixes it to near 78% of atmospheric gases which is the portion of air it occupies.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the fractions of the extracted petroleum materials are separately collected and marketed as partially refined organics increasing the price levels of the unrefined extractions.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, this method expands the field of extraction by drilling narrow peripheral holes to apply Liquid Nitrogen as used in putting out coal mine fires. This provides pressure to fill the porous coal and shale layers with Nitrogen gas which carries the evaporants to the extraction drilling. The Nitrogen flooding also reduces the opportunity for fires or flashes during extraction.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, once the extraction is exhausted in the space served by the first ring of narrow drillings, another ring of narrow drillings away from the extraction hole are made and these holes provide the Liquid Nitrogen application as did the first narrow holes drilled. The first narrow holes are then converted to supplemental heating locations having narrow boilers inserted in the holes at the coal and shale depths and the top of the holes sealed with thermal insulation.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the field of extraction is expanded by drilling another ring of narrow drillings where Liquid Nitrogen is inserted and converting the inner ring holes to auxiliary heating locations to keep the evaporants gaseous and able to be carried to the extraction drilling by the outer ring insertion of Nitrogen. This convection carriage of the desired organic material in gaseous form through the porous coal and shale is what allows this method of extraction to pull material from a large field of coal, shale, peat and landfill substrates under the ground.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, this method will be ecologically an improvement over current mining methods because it does not disturb the underground structure and is carried out with a small surface footprint over the coal and shale reserves and subsequent narrow drillings to expand the field of extraction.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, this method will allow selection of the carbon content of the extraction by the primary heat and the auxiliary heat temperature level. To extract petroleum to include fuel gas through gasoline substrates, the thermal temperature should be at 200° C. To include Kerosene as used in diesel and jet fuels, the thermal temperature must be 275° C. and heating oil, 375° C.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, this method will allow capture of the rare gases, helium, neon and hydrogen for later separation; provides means to separate water from the gasoline segment of the Cold Cracker processing ridding the hydrocarbons of the contamination and pulling forth clear water and purifying it by freezing the water slowly allowing it to rid itself of contaminants. Regulating the evaporation of Liquid Nitrogen between the primary output into the Cold Cracker and a secondary output into the Nitrogen pipes after the Cold Cracker keeps both the Cold Cracker segment outputs in the same range of temperatures on a continuous basis and allows the Nitrogen flow through the shaft via the organ pipes to maintain the working vibrational levels and sufficient Nitrogen carrier gas available for extracting the evaporated hydrocarbons.
These and other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and accompanying drawings, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which:
Turning now to the drawings and initially to
For safety and to prevent clouding of pure Nitrogen 3, a tan 38 is employed to mix the Nitrogen with the residual air so there is no opportunity for people or animals to develop Nitrogen Asphyxiation or Nitrogen Coma, a reflex of the lungs when Oxygen is not available and Carbon dioxide cannot be exchanged in the lungs. Breathing stops, but the heart keeps pumping and one loses consciousness. There are about six minutes from when one is so stricken until he or she or an animal would die. With these Nitrogen employing methods, one should be aware of the possibility of this condition and, if finding a person down, one should think first to apply artificial respiration with a good mix of air present and, if the person recovers, all is well. If he or she does not recover, then call 911 and do the CPR-type work to recover a person from a heart attack. And if that fails, check for stroke or other difficulties. Shortly the medics will arrive.
And, finally,
This clean method of hydrocarbon extraction should allow the readily burnable parts of coal, shale and peat be extracted from underground with minimal disturbance of the site and with little chance of sinking surface structure after the extraction. It may replace surface mining as we know it, eliminate underground coal mining as we know it, and bring hydrocarbons from some situations where mining would not be practical or economical because of the difficulty of extraction of the material, as is the case presently with shale deposits.
This completes the statement of invention.
Claims
1. A method of extracting evaporated hydrocarbons from a coal, shale, peat, or landfill seam using a primary shaft drilling comprising the steps of:
- a. cooling the coal, shale, peat or landfill seam to brittle with Liquid Nitrogen to enable vibration shock to open the seam formation for hydrocarbon extraction,
- b. heating the coal, shale or peat seam with a contained heat source at the seam level in the lower parts of the main shaft;
- c. vibrating the coal, shale or peat seam with single frequency sound, and with harmonic beating of a matching size, but adjustably tuned sound using two or more organ pipes;
- d. applying Nitrogen gas to the shaft environment initially using it to activate the organ pipes, then to be an inert carrier of the evaporated hydrocarbons emerging from the seam into the shaft, and, at the same time, serve as a fire suppressant so the mining operation does not ignite a coal mine, shale or peat seam fire; and
- e. keeping the Nitrogen gas pressure such that the shaft functions are kept at required levels of vibrations and carrying the evaporated hydrocarbons out of the shaft and into processing.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit raises the coal, shale, peat or landfill seam temperature to the highest temperature of the longest carbon content hydrocarbons desired to be extracted determining the range of hydrocarbon fractions being extracted from the seam.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cue or harmonic vibration rate causing the highest extraction rate for the evaporated hydrocarbons from the coal, shale, peat or landfill seams into the shaft for extraction.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the adjustable organ pipe can be manually adjusted or driven to scan harmonics and enter matched tuning with the fixed tone organ pipe.
5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the carriage of the evaporated hydrocarbons with Nitrogen gas heated to the highest temperature of the heaviest hydrocarbon desired to be extracted.
6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the collection of the hot Nitrogen/Hydrocarbon into an isolated extraction tube taking these gases hot from the shaft.
7. The method according to claim 1 of regulating Nitrogen flow such that the thermal segments of the Cold Cracker are kept at constant conditions so the separated hydrocarbons are accurately refining the output into reliable fractions of hydrocarbons.
8. A method of extracting evaporated hydrocarbons from a coal, shale, peat or landfill seam using a primary shaft drilling, and as the extraction continues, secondary narrow drillings to enable continued evaporated hydrocarbon extraction comprising the steps of:
- a. drilling narrow secondary holes and applying a pulsed application of Liquid Nitrogen through a spaced hole sieve making Nitrogen droplets that evaporate rapidly as they drop down the hole releasing Nitrogen gas into the coal, shale, peat or landfill seam. Initially this can freeze to brittle the coal seam in this area allowing vibration cracking of the seam structure. As it heats up, the hydrocarbons evaporated are carried to the main drilling in the gaseous Nitrogen flow and as the ring of these units freezes it keeps the ground water from entering the active extraction zone.
- b. forcing the Nitrogen gas to seep into the seam only by covering the soil and rock above the seam with a gas impervious sleeve.
- c. increasing the sequence of rings of holes, keeping the furthest hole for the application of the Liquid Nitrogen the hydrocarbons evaporated are carried to the main drilling in the gaseous Nitrogen flow and as the ring of these units freezes it keeps the ground water from entering the active extraction zone, and applying a heating unit to the holes where earlier the Liquid Nitrogen was applied.
- d. regulating the temperature of the narrow drilling heaters to the desired temperature, as that of the highest temperature of the highest carbon count molecules of the fraction of hydrocarbons desired to be extracted.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the Nitrogen sourcing insures the Nitrogen gas evaporating from the Liquid Nitrogen seeps into the coal, shale, peat or landfill seam by keeping the top of the drilling sealed and lining the drilling to the seam levels with Nitrogen gas-impenetrable material.
10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the heating of the inner narrow drillings by insulating the narrow drilling down to the coal, shale or peat seam so all the heat produced affects the temperature of the seam only.
11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the heating unit in the narrow drillings is controlled by an enclosed liquid boiler at the temperature desired by selection of the liquid in the boiler where the heating element is immersed to boil at the temperature desired to heat the seam.
12. The method according to claim 8, which prevents ignition of the seam by containing the heating element in a boiler and flooding the porous seam with Nitrogen which is the carrier for the evaporated hydrocarbons.
13. A method of separating the hydrocarbon fractions by Cold Cracking comprised by the steps of:
- a. initiating the infusion of Nitrogen gas by evaporating Liquid Nitrogen in a condenser which feeds directly into two or more pipes delivering Nitrogen gas, one organ pipe per Nitrogen pipe;
- b. running the Nitrogen pipes over the evaporated hydrocarbon/Nitrogen extraction pipe in an insulated packet including the Nitrogen pipes and the extraction pipe with radiator plates to transfer the thermal temperature between the cold pipes of Nitrogen gas and hot gas of the extraction pipe;
- c. segmenting the extraction pipe by placing draining pipes with traps in sections of the extraction pipe to drain out condensed liquids and allow their flow into a collecting vessel;
- d. accommodating both hydrocarbon fractions which are liquids at normal temperatures and hydrocarbon fractions which are gaseous at normal temperatures;
- e. enabling collection of the rare gases, Hydrogen, Helium and Neon, by allowing their rising into a tube and capturing them in an inverted container which allows by their containment in mylar balloons their storage and movement to market and final separation, one from another;
- f. separating the light gasoline from water in the collection cylinder with a float with holes to keep the separation from turmoil in the solution when adding condensed liquid mix; and
- g. further removing contaminants from the water by slow freezing so the crystal structure of the freezing water eliminates other materials.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the cold Nitrogen tubes emerging from the condenser for evaporating Liquid Nitrogen intersect with the extraction tube at its coolest point and flows warming to its hottest point as it is insulated coming from the shaft causing the extraction pipe to have a thermal gradient.
15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the thermal ranges of the extraction pipe are isolated with a drain collecting the condensed hydrocarbons in the segment collecting the highest temperature evaporating (condensing) hydrocarbons in barrels or vessels storing them as liquid at normal temperatures and collecting the lower temperature evaporating (condensing) hydrocarbons that are gaseous at normal temperatures in gas collection drums.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the condensed liquids are divided at the thermal point between the neighboring segments at the defined thermal point as defines the types of hydrocarbons, molecules, and atoms using an adjustable barrier so the cooler condensation goes to the first drain and the hotter segment condenses and flows to the second drain of the two materials.
17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the gases that condense at higher temperatures than Nitrogen and are of smaller molecular weights are allowed to escape from the extraction tube by rising in a vertical tube topped with an inverted container that allows transfer to transport-capable containment.
18. The method, according to claim 13 of extracting water from the material condensed by using a secondary separation in the thermal range of water condensation where water being denser than hydrocarbons, will sink to the bottom and the hydrocarbons condensed in that section float on the water and increasing the separation stability with a float riding on water but sinking in hydrocarbons that is slightly smaller than the cylinder and has many holes allowing small regional separation and less splash and mixing as condensed material is added to the cylinder.
19. The method according to claim 18 whereby the water is further purified by slow freezing so crystal structure of water formed forces out contaminates making water that is welcome to a clean environment from the extraction process.
20. A method of clearing the extraction tube of its remaining gas after cooling to minus 162° C., which condenses methane gas and possibly Argon at—185.7° C., allowing release of the rare gases and then releasing the remaining Nitrogen to the atmosphere, and cutting the Nitrogen clouding with a fan causing air mixing at wind speeds exceeding five miles an hour to insure any resulting Nitrogen cloud is dispersed, insuring that people or animals do not breathe the pure Nitrogen gas and succumbing to Nitrogen Asphyxiation or Coma.
21. The method according to claim 8 which uses a large heater, electric using a heating element in the lower section of the boiling can or fuel gas heating of the liquid using extracted fuel gas with cooler liquid drained to the flame heater at ground level with one-way valves keeping the fluid rising and the heated liquid proceeding upward with one one-way valve keeping the heated fluid going down to enter the boiling can through a funnel in the middle of the can releasing the hot liquid upward with all fluids passing through insulated hoses, with higher boiling point liquid transferring the coil heat to the outside and radiating the heat to the gases in the shaft and drillings and though the coal, shale, peat, or landfill seams evaporating the hydrocarbons designated for extraction.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 21, 2007
Publication Date: Mar 26, 2009
Applicant:
Inventor: Denyse Claire DuBrucq (Cedarville, OH)
Application Number: 11/903,346
International Classification: E21B 43/295 (20060101);