oilgeek, a unique process?
Strat Petroleum is obviously working on getting it right! We are still here because we think they have what it takes to get it right. We also know that every PR comes with a forward looking statement indicating the risks factors.
You may be correct that Strat had (past tense) a unique process. However, it would not surprise me one bit if Strat had to abandon what might have originally appeared to be a good idea but turned out not to be. Chances are that this would not be the first time that has happened. For example, IMHO, what Strat might have thought was a good idea a year ago could have been proven to be a major disaster if it had been implemented. But if you look on the bright side, Sam never gives up. He just keeps turning over rocks and I have faith that he will eventually find what he needs. IMHO, for example, "NANO-technology" based chemistry also know as the new "green chemistry" could hold the answer. Also, IMHO, if Sam has had discussions with the Academy of Science in Russia, I would bet that he has also had discussions with Queens University (Canada).
IMHO, the original chemical solution adopted by Strat could have proven to be the wrong one if it was of the less desirable types as Dr. Jessop from Queen's University (Canada) has shown in the article below. Sam would be looking for cheap, non-toxic and environmentally friendly solutions and just like any other type of application, sometimes you need to kick the tires a few times before making a final choice. This process sounds superior to the "Old-fashioned soap" legacy approach.
Article:
Mixing, Then Un-mixing Oil And Water 'On Command' Could Solve Oil Recovery And Clean-up Problems
Science Daily — Queen's University researchers have devised a "green chemistry" solution to one of the oil industry's biggest problems -- in a cost-effective way.
The study addresses the recurring problem of separating oil and water mixtures, and targets diverse applications including cleaning up oil spills, and extracting oil deposits from tar sands and reservoirs. Other potential beneficiaries are plastics manufacturers, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, mining companies and makers of cleaning products.
The new process can be used whenever industry requires an emulsion (the mixture of two liquids in which droplets of one are suspended evenly throughout the other), explains lead researcher and Queen's Chemistry Professor Philip Jessop. This might occur when cleaning spills, extracting oil from the ground, de-greasing metal equipment or metal surfaces, and manufacturing chemical products such as plastics.
Since oil and water don't normally mix, it's necessary to add a "surfactant" (surface active agent) in the layer between them before you can create an emulsion. "The problem is that in many situations, you later want the water and oil to separate again," he continues. But of the 'switchable' surfactants known so far, one is very expensive and contains metals, another is extremely toxic, and the third type is activated by light -- which doesn't work well with opaque emulsions.
Old-fashioned soap can be made to "switch" but that requires large amounts of acid to be added, which is not desirable, says Dr. Jessop, Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry. The surfactant developed by the Queen's team is also completely reversible and does not require metals, acid, or light. Exposure to carbon dioxide (CO2) activates it, while bubbling air through the liquid turns it off again. CO2 and air were chosen because they are cheap, non-toxic and environmentally benign: the CO2 can be recycled material from power plants.
"You can do this over and over, timing it for exactly when you want the switch to occur," Dr. Jessop notes. And when the surfactant is turned off, causing oil and water to separate, the now-clean water may be returned to its source or recycled.
The new surfactant builds on Dr. Jessop's discovery last year of "switchable solvents" that change their properties when alternately exposed to carbon dioxide and nitrogen, making it possible to re-use the same solvent for multiple steps in a chemical process.
"Right now there are big separation problems causing enormous headaches in the oil industry," says Dr. Jessop. "If 'green chemistry' can solve these problems, then the environment benefits and companies profit financially as well. It's very much a win-win situation."
Also on the team from Queen's are Chemistry Department graduate student Yingxin Liu and Chemical Engineering Professor Michael Cunningham, and from the Georgia Institute of Technology Drs. Charles Eckert and Charles Liotta.
Green chemistry refers to the development of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Rather than focusing on the natural environment and pollutant chemicals in nature, this type of chemistry seeks to reduce and prevent pollution at its source.
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