STWA appears in recent edition of New Technology Magazine. The POSITIVE vibe about the PROVEN AOT is spreading throughout the oil industry. The AOT is a "GAME CHANGER".
Electrifying Potential
STWA Provides Global Energy Industry with Viscosity Reduction Technology
Electromagnetic technology offers innovative solution to pipeline capacity challenges
STWA (OTCQX: ZERO) Provides Global Energy Industry with Viscosity Reduction Technology to Optimize Overburdened Pipeline Infrastructure
Published in New Technology Magazine October 2014 – By Gordon Cope
Every day, millions of barrels of crude are shipped throughout North America. The majority of it moves by pipeline, the most efficient means of transporting hydrocarbons. But the effort still requires massive amounts of energy to be expended at thousands of pumping stations to keep fluids moving.
Now a tiny California company is launching a technology that could make that job easier and help the climate to boot. “One of the most promising applications for AOT [Applied Oilfield Technology] is in the midstream,” says Greggory M. Bigger, chairman and chief executive officer of STWA. “Essentially, we believe that it can improve the efficiency of a pipeline and lower carbon emissions per ton per mile.”
The AOT Viscosity Reduction System is a revolutionary approach to an age-old problem: pipeline drag. The drag, which slows flow and requires extra pumping energy to compensate, has several causes. As crude bumps against the pipe wall, it creates turbulence. Drag reducing agents (DRAs), primarily polymers, are therefore added to reduce turbulent flow. Some crude is simply too thick; for instance, diluent must be mixed with bitumen in order to reduce its specific gravity.
Kinetic viscosity, or resistance to change in motion, is caused by longer-chain molecules in heavy crude, such as paraffin or asphaltene, which cause friction by rubbing against the interior wall of the pipeline. “They are like a big bowl of tangled spaghetti,” says Mr. Bigger. By applying electromagnetic radiation to crude, however, paraffin and asphaltene can be tightly clumped together, reducing friction. “Instead of a bowl of spaghetti, you end up with a tight meatball. We refer to the effect as conformational change.”
Electrorheology, the study of how fluids react to electrical fields, is the foundation of AOT. According to the physics that govern electrorheology, the properties of certain fluids can change instantly when subjected to electromagnetic radiation, an effect that is sometimes used in car components, like brakes, clutches and suspensions.
Rongjia Tao, now physics chair at Temple University in Philadelphia, was investigating electrorheology when he was a professor there in the early 1990s. The U.S. military contracted with the researcher to quantify electrorheological effects on rocket fuel. Tao continued his efforts over the following decades, significantly advancing the understanding of how electrorheology affected a wide range of fluids, including hydrocarbons. It was at this stage that his work attracted the attention of STWA.
The technology is energy efficient, as it only requires a small amount of energy to aggregate the suspended particles. Research continues at Temple University with projects related to oil recovery from oilsands, offshore oil transportation, heavy crude transportation, biodiesel production and efficient fuel injection to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines.
STWA is a publicly listed company that traces its origins back to the late 1990s. “STWA is short for Save the World Air,” says Mr. Bigger. “When the company was originally incorporated, its goal was to commercialize fuel-saving technologies.”
In the mid-2000s, STWA was reconfigured and became dedicated to identifying new technologies and commercializing them in the oil and gas (O&G) sector. STWA was especially intrigued by Tao’s work, and it established a co-commercialization agreement to bring the AOT Viscosity Reduction System to the O&G sector.
HOW AOT WORKS
The electrorheological device at the heart of the AOT system is a grid pack. When charged, the grid pack emits electromagnetic radiation that induces dielectrophoresis, the phenomenon in which a force is exerted on a dielectric particle when it is subjected to a non-uniform electric field. “Electrons within the paraffin molecules are pulled to one side, which makes them stick together,” says Mr. Bigger. An STWA video illustrates how the process works.
The effect, which is immediate and remains active for up to 96 hours, is to reduce the overall surface area for a constant of the paraffin within a barrel of oil and thus the amount of energy needed to move the oil. “It’s like drinking a milkshake or a cola through a straw,” says Mr. Bigger. “It takes a lot less energy to drink the less-viscous cola.”
According to STWA, AOT has huge potential for midstream companies. Lab tests have shown a reduction in viscosity as high as 90 percent and as low as zero. “Much of the effect is coupled to the amount of paraffin,” says Mr. Bigger. A reasonable midpoint is a reduction of viscosity from 250 centipoise to 175 centipoise. “This reduces the amount of pumping energy by a small but significant amount,” says Simundson. “Energy savings alone result in a return on investment of about one year.”
In addition, increased flow rates add to the bottom line. “When you’re moving half a million barrels per day, a one per cent gain multiplied by 24 hours per day, 365 days per year amounts to a significant barrel tariff increase over the year,” says Simundson.
What happens, however, if a pipeline is idled for an extended period of time? While stoppages from leaks are rare, some pipelines operate in batches, where streams of crude sit motionless. Would the charged oil turn into a gooey plug? “We are taking the original operation profile of the line and making it more efficient, so if the conformational change effect wears off, it won’t cause any adverse effects to the pipeline,” says Mr. Bigger.
Knowing that lab results alone were unlikely to convince pipeline companies to place the device on their mainline assets, STWA sought independent confirmation. It contracted with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to use an out-of-service pipeline connected to the Teapot Dome field in Wyoming.
Over the course of 2011-12, the DOE’s Rocky Mountain Oil Testing Center conducted a series of tests that confirmed AOT’s ability to lower viscosity. A lower viscosity level means that the crude can be pumped at a lower pressure with lower energy unit costs and at higher speeds. “Industry became excited about a way to reduce viscosity without changing the chemical composition of the crude,” says Mr. Bigger.
FIELD TEST
Currently, STWA is collaborating with a half-dozen firms to commercialize the technology. It is furthest down the line with a major North American pipeline company with whom it has installed a 110-ton, full-scale commercial unit astride a 500,000-barrel-per-day mainline in a busy U.S. Midwest terminal. (Due to a proprietary non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, STWA cannot identify the collaborating partner.)
The system consists of four large pressure vessels that sit adjacent to a pump station. The 500,000-barrel-per-day flow is divided into four equal streams, and the crude is subjected to electromagnetic radiation. The AOT Viscosity Reduction System will be tested on a variety of batches throughout 2014. “We will be able to evaluate the conformational change reaction to each type of fluid,” says Mr. Bigger.
In terms of cost, public documents note that each AOT installation is approximately US$4 million. “The number of installations varies with each line depending on the hydraulic modelling and other factors,” says Mr. Bigger. “Regions of cold weather and steep inclines will require more; hot environments and flat terrain require less.”
The pipeline industry formally acknowledged the value of STWA’s technology by inviting Simundson to present a paper, “Pipeline Flow Improver Using Dielectrophoresis,” at the prestigious 2014 Pipeline Energy Group Conference, held this year in Denver.
“Discussing the technical specifics of our solutions in this venue with many of the most visionary leaders of today’s energy industry is a true honour,” says Mr. Bigger.
In August, STWA announced a second agreement with an energy company operating in the Eagle Ford shale in Texas. The new contract consists of one train capable of handling 150,000 barrels per day of condensate. “We have five further NDAs with companies,” said Mr. Bigger during an investors’ webcast. “We will continue to make inroads with potential customers in the U.S., Canada and Africa.”
STWA is also investigating commercial applications on smaller upstream pipeline systems. “We are working with multiple exploration and production teams to use AOT and other technologies to deliver heat to hydrocarbon products,” says Mr. Bigger.
As for its midstream applications, STWA sees a strong future for AOT. “We aren’t in competition with other viscosity-reducing technologies, like heat or diluents,” says Mr. Bigger. “We like to say, ‘When DRA stops working, we start working.’”
Investor Relations & Media Contact:
Save The World Air, Inc. d/b/a STWA
Tel: (805) 845-3581
E-mail: investor@stwa.com
Source: Save The World Air, Inc. d/b/a STWA
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