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Chevron Rock Recycling Project

EDSGN 100 Section 004

The Longshots

Submitted to: Professor Wallace Catanach

12 December 2016

Michael Dolan- mad6025@psu.edu Sam Loeffler- stl5154@psu.edu

Chaewon Sohn- cjs6515@psu.edu Sparsh Agrawal- sna5177@psu.edu

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Index:

Title Page………………………………...…………………………………………1

Executive Summary.………………………………………………………………..3

Introduction………………………………………………………………………...4

Mission Statement………………………………………………………………….4

Customer Needs Analysis…………………………………………………………..5

External Research…………………………………………………………………..6

Concept Generation……………………………………………………………….10

Concept Selection…………………………………………………………………11

Design and Model…………………………………………………………………13

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...........14

Citations and References………………………………………………………….15

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Executive Summary

The Longshot engineers are looking to create an innovative way to reuse and recycle the

excess drill cuttings that come from shale fracking. Our plan involves the separation, breaking

down, and reusing of the shale byproduct as cement for building purposes. Careful consideration

will be paid to the sustainability, impact on the environment, safety, cost, and transportation of

the material. The shale that we will be using is a product of the initial drilling for the pipes which

will be ultimately used for fracking and we will be using a series of sifters and trucks to sort and

transport the shale respectively.

While developing this project, our first step was to do external research on shale and

fracking. We analyzed the process of fracking, the different kinds of shale produced from this

process, and the multitude of uses of the shale after the sorting. We then analyzed the best and

most effective use of the shale: concrete and various other building materials. We brainstormed

how we could make this process the most efficient and how we could make it more cost

effective. Cost was obviously an issue in this project, as we are attempting to save Chevron

money, so a major goal of the project was also to keep cost low.

Several risks of this recycling of shale occur as some of the shale cuttings can be

contaminated; however, there are ways to circumvent this problem. The cost was obviously an

issue as well, as we are attempting to keep cost low for the head of the project: Chevron. The

onsite materials are limited and the fracking sites are typically in distant locations, so building,

using, breaking down, and transporting the sifting materials to and from each site would not be

cost effective, so everything will be done at a main base located in the center of the nearby

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fracking sites. The project is estimated to be completed and be ready to be implemented on the

12th of December, 2016.

Introduction

With fracking becoming increasingly popular, companies, such as Chevron, are searching

for uses of the excess materials produced. One of the largest of these byproducts is shale

cuttings. Chevron is making an effort to find ways to recycle the excess shale after the drilling

process has been completed and has outlines a product for aspiring college engineers to help

them with a solution.

At a glance, our solution consists of separating the shale cuttings from the mud, trucking

the shale to a “base plant” where the shale will go through a grinding process which will break

the shale down into small enough pieces to make cement. Overall, this is an easy and somewhat

cheap solution to Chevron’s growing excess byproduct issue on each fracking site.

Mission Statement

The purpose of this project and design is to make the most cost effective and easiest plan

to reuse and recycle the excess shale produced at Chevron fracking sites.

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Customer Needs Analysis

Need Statement

1 Reuse Shale

2 Sustainability

3 Environmentally Friendly

4 Regulations

5 Safety

6 Cost

7 Schedule/Cycle Time

8 Transportation

Metric Number Need Number Metric

1 1 Recycling of all shale

2 2 Sustainable

3 3, 4 Friendly to Environment

4 3, 4 Safe for Humans

5 6 Cheap for Company

6 2, 7 Short Turnaround

7 6, 8 Cheap Transportation

8 1, 2 Helpful to Humans

9 1, 2 Actual Application in

Society

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These customer needs were outlines in Chevron’s project guideline .pdf document. After

making those requirements into a customer needs table, we outlined our needs as a group. We

then made a metric table which helped show how our needs corresponded to the needs of

Chevron.

External Research

In order to find the best way to reuse the drill cuttings, we researched many different

paths that we could take. This research included how drill cuttings were made as a byproduct

from fracturing, how they could be made safe for the environment, and how they could be used

in various parts of our lives. We found that it was possible to use shale in the making of clay and

cement and for use as a gravel type substance, especially on railroad tracks and in garden

decoration.

FRACKING:

• Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from

shale rock.

• Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water

mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.

• Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the

gas to flow out to the head of the well.

• The process can be carried out vertically or, more commonly, by drilling horizontally to

the rock layer and can create new pathways to release gas or can be used to extend

existing channels.

• Fracking allows drilling firms to access difficult-to-reach resources of oil and gas.

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• In the US, it has significantly boosted domestic oil production and driven down gas

prices. It is estimated to have offered gas security to the US and Canada for about 100

years, and has presented an opportunity to generate electricity at half the CO2 emissions

of coal.

TRANSPORTATOIN:

• If trailers are not already owned by Chevron, they would cost around $10,000-$15,000 a

piece.

SHALE CUTTING:

• As the drill bit grinds rocks into drill cuttings, these cuttings become entrained in the mud

flow and are carried to the surface.

• In order to return the mud to the recirculating mud system and to make the solids easier

to handle, the solids must be separated from the mud.

• The first step in separating the cuttings from the mud involved circulating the mixture of

mud and cuttings over vibrating screens called shale shakers.

• The liquid mud passes through the screens and is recirculated back to the mud tanks from

which mud is withdrawn from pumping downhole.

• The drill cuttings remain on top of the shale shaker screens; the vibratory action of the

shakers moves the cuttings down the screen and off the end of the shakers to a point

where they can be collected and stored in a tank or pit for further treatment or

management.

• Often two series of shake shakers are used.

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• The first series (called primary shakers) use coarse screens to remove only the larger

cuttings.

• The second series (called secondary shakers) use fine mesh screens to remove much

smaller particles.

• In general, the separated drill cuttings are coated with a large quantity of drilling mud

roughly equal in volume to the cuttings.

MAKING CEMENT:

• Materials that contain appropriate amounts of calcium compounds, silica, alumina and

iron oxide are crushed and screened and placed in a rotating cement kiln.

• Ingredients used in this process are typically materials such as limestone, sandstone,

marl, shale, iron, clay, and fly ash.

• The kiln resembles a large horizontal pipe with a diameter of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.1

meters) and a length of 300 feet (90 meters) or more.

• One end is raised slightly.

• The raw mix is placed in the high end and as the kiln rotates the materials move slowly

toward the lower end.

• Flame jets are at the lower end and all the materials in the kiln are heated to high

temperatures that range between 1450 and 1650 Celsius (2700 and 3000 Fahrenheit).

• This high heat drives off, or calcines, the chemically combined water and carbon dioxide

from the raw materials and forms new compounds (tricalcium silicate, dicalcium silicate,

tricalcium aluminate and tetracalcium aluminoferrite).

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• For each ton of material that goes into the feed end of the kiln, two thirds of a ton then

come out the discharge end, called clinker.

• This clinker is in the form of marble sized pellets.

• The clinker is very finely ground to produce portland (hydraulic) cement. A small amount

of gypsum is added during the grinding process to control the cement's set or rate of

hardening.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE OHIO:

• Shale Recycling is a joint venture between Environmental Management Specialists

(EMS) and Ohio Soil Recycling (OSR) for the treatment and recycling of drill cuttings

generated by the oil and gas (O&G) industry. With the only Ohio EPA-approved drill

cutting treatment/recycling facility, Shale Recycling provides the first and only zero-

landfill disposal alternative in Ohio for O&G drill cuttings. By combining the experience

and expertise of EMS and OSR in the areas of treatment technology, safety, permitting,

environmental construction and waste management,

• Shale Recycling provides an environmentally friendly recycling alternative to traditional

landfill disposal options.

• The enhanced bioremediation treatment/recycling process is conducted at OSR’s 58-acre

facility in Columbus, Ohio and soon at a new facility in Belmont County, Ohio, via the

introduction of cultured microbes, protozoa, fungus, algae and bacteria, as well as oxygen

and nutrients to the drill cuttings. The process uses 100 percent naturally occurring

organisms and creates no byproducts other than carbon dioxide, water and biomass.

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Concept Generation

Aspect of Project Votes in Group

Trucks for Transportation 4

“Base” at Center of Fracking Sites 3

Sifting 2

Recycle as Concrete 4

Open Top Trailer ($15,000 Each) 3

Recycle use: Clay 3

Gravel Type Substance 1

After Researching the topic of fracking and the different recycling methods and uses for

shale, the group decided to vote on various options to be implemented into the project. Each

getting 5 votes, we wrote down as many ideas as we could think of in a set amount of time,

categorized them, and voted with the 5 votes that we got. Only items with 2 votes and above

(with the exception of Gravel Type Substance) are displayed on the above table.

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Concept Selection

Through our external research on fracking and the recycling of shale, we came to the

conclusion that using the recycled, ground-up shale as cement was the best and most feasible

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option. Overall, we considered many different options such as decorative material, clay, roads,

tarmacs, and other things of the sort; however, cement came out victorious. There are no issues

with using the leftover shale as cement except the cost; it obviously costs money to grind up and

process the shale. This problem, however, is easily managed since, eventually, the value of the

produced cement will balance out and exceed the cost of the trailers and the transportation.

General information about our overall plan is that we are going to have a central “base”

station located in the relative center of several fracking sites. This is where the trucks will

transport the shale in order to be sorted, grinded, and cooked in the kiln. From there, the cement

will be transported to the purchaser. This is a much cheaper option as opposed to having a

grinding and cooking site at each fracking well.

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Design and Model

Our design, as previously aforementioned, consists of a central “base” where the

grinding, cooking, and packaging of the cement occurs. After the shale is drilled out of the

ground to make room for the fracking pipe, the muddy shale is placed into trailers and

transported along the arrows going FROM the site TO the base, where the refining process will

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occur. Once this process is completed, the granulated cement will be packages and sold to

consumers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while brainstorming, designing, and presenting the group found that,

overall, this was a difficult project. This project required a lot of brainstorming and critical

thinking to complete. There was abundant research on fracking; however, a lot of it was

controversial. There was not that much research on recycling shale; however, the one source on

that worked excellently. After our brainstorming session, the rest of the project flowed into place

and came together very easily. We have put a lot of work into this project and are proud of the

outcome. Overall, this project has paid off in the end.

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Citations and References

1. Characterization of Marcellus Shale and Huntersville Chart before and after exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid via feature relocation using field-emission scanning electron microscopy Dieterich, Matthew (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Research and Development, National Energy Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh; PA; 15236, United States); Kutchko, Barbara; Goodman, Angela Source: Fuel, v 182, p 227-235, October 15, 2016 Database: Compendex Compilation and indexing terms, Copyright 2016 Elsevier Inc. Data Provider: Engineering Village

2. 2nd International Conference on Energy Materials and Material Application, EMMA

2013 Source: Advanced Materials Research, v 848, 2014, Advanced Research on Energy, Chemistry and Materials Application Database: Compendex Compilation and indexing terms, Copyright 2016 Elsevier Inc. Data Provider: Engineering Village

3. Effect of oil shale ash on dynamic creep of asphalt concrete mixtures Khedaywi, Taisir S.

(Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan); Al-Qadi, Arabi N. Source: ISEC 2011 - 6th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference: Modern Methods and Advances in Structural Engineering and Construction, p 1201-1206, 2011 Database: Compendex Compilation and indexing terms, Copyright 2016 Elsevier Inc. Data Provider: Engineering Village

4. Technology for producing mineral fibers by recycling ash-sludge and oil-shale wastes

Volokitin, G.G. (Tomsk State Architecture and Civil Engineering University TSACEU (TGASU), Tomsk, Russia); Skripnikova, N.K.; Volokitin, O.G.; Volland, S. Source: Glass and Ceramics (English translation of Steklo i Keramika), v 68, n 7-8, p 239-241, October 2011 Database: Compendex Compilation and indexing terms, Copyright 2016 Elsevier Inc. Data Provider: Engineering Village

5. "Drilling Waste Management Fact Sheet: Beneficial Reuse Of Drilling Wastes".

Web.ead.anl.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

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6. Susich, M. L. and Schwenne, M. W. 2004. “Onshore drilling waste management: Beneficial reuse of cuttings.”. In SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and the Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Calgary, Alberta, Canada, March 29–31

7. "Terra-Hydrochem, Inc.; "Method for Treatment of Drill Cuttings" in Patent Application

Approval Process (USPTO 20160326020)." Energy Weekly News (2016): 693. ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

8. "Patents; Researchers Submit Patent Application, "Methods for Solidification and

Stabilization of Industrial Byproducts", for Approval (USPTO 20160318000)." Ecology, Environment & Conservation (2016): 1800. ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.v

9. http://www.csur.com/sites/default/files/Understanding_Well_Construction_final.pdf

10. http://web.ead.anl.gov/dwm/techdesc/reuse/

11. https://www.onepetro.org/download/conference-paper/SPE-86732-MS?id=conference-

paper%2FSPE-86732-MS

12. http://geology.com/rocks/shale.shtml

13. http://emsonsite.com/environmental-services/oil-gas/shale-recycling/

14. http://www.concretealberta.ca/the-process-for-making-portland-cement