Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention provides a system including at least one computing device for enhancing the recovery of heavy oil in an underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment by performing a method comprising sampling and identifying microbial species (bacteria and/or fungi) that reside in the underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment; collecting rock and fluid property data from the underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment; collecting nutrient data from the underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment; identifying a preferred microbial species from the underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment that can transform the heavy oil into a lighter oil; identifying a nutrient from the underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment that promotes a proliferation of the preferred microbial species; and introducing the nutrient into the underground, near-surface crude oil extraction environment.

Abstract: Vacuum/gas phase reactor embodiments used in gas phase dehydroxylation and alkylation reactions are described in which the substrate could be subjected to high vacuum, heated to target temperature, and treated with silane as quickly and efficiently as possible. To better facilitate the silylation and to increase the efficiency of the process, the reactor is designed to contain quasi-catalytic surfaces which can act both as an “activator” to put species in a higher energy state or a highly activated state, and as a “scrubber” to eliminate possible poisons or reactive by-products generated in the silylation reactions. One described embodiment is a hot filament reactor having hot, preferably metallic, solid surfaces within the reactor's chamber in which wafers having mesoporous silicate films are treated. Another is an IR reactor having upper and lower quartz windows sealing the upper and lower periphery of an aluminum annulus to form a heated chamber.