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Radioactive Waste Disposal by Hydraulic Fracturing WALLACE de LAGUNA, Geologist Health Physics Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee HYDRAULIC FRACTURING IN THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY The use of hydraulic fracturing for the disposal of radioactive waste is a direct outgrowth of the use of hydraulic fracturing to stimulate the flow of oil wells, and so some description of the use of the method by the petroleum industry is advisable. If the petroleum industry were not making extensive use of the method, the know how, the equipment, and the specialized service companies required would not exist, and the nuclear power industry would find it very expensive to develop them for its own limited needs. The great majority of oil wells are drilled by the rotary method, in which, after setting surface casing, the hole is drilled to the desired depth by rotating a string of hollow drill rods, on the lower end of which is a cutting bit. Muddy water is pumped down the drill rods to bring up the cuttings and also to support the walls of the hole. The technology of drilling has been highly developed and is very much more sophisticated than one might imagine. After the hole has been drilled, the drill rods are removed and steel well casing, a special form of pipe manufactured to the exacting specifications of the American Petroleum Institute, is lowered into the hole. Next, a slurry of water and Portland cement is pumped directly down the casing until, by circulating up from the bottom, it has filled the annular space between the casing and the wall of the hole. The final step in cementing in the casing is to pump a tightly fitting rubber plug down the casing with water until the plug seats on a ridge on the inside at the bottom. This leaves the well casing full of water and the annular space full of cement, which, after it has set, seals the casing firmly into the earth. Access from inside the steel casing to the surrounding rock may be provided in various ways, but one of the best is with a high pressure sand jet. Tubing, with the bottom end closed except for a small horizontal opening, is lowered inside the casing until the bottom is at the desired depth. Then water and sand are pumped down the tubing at a pressure of about 3,500 psi, and the resulting jet quickly cuts through the casing, the cement, and out a ft or more into the surrounding rock. By rotating the tubing, the jet can be made to cut a full circular slot. In an oil well, the slot would be cut opposite the oil reservoir rock, the position of which would be determined while the well was being drilled. After the slot is cut, the tubing is removed and a mixture of oil and sand under very high pressure is pumped directly down the casing. The casing confines the pressure in the well itself, -795-
Object Description
Purdue Identification Number | ETRIWC197086 |
Title | Radioactive waste disposal by hydraulic fracturing |
Author | De Laguna, Wallace |
Date of Original | 1970 |
Conference Title | Proceedings of the 25th Industrial Waste Conference |
Conference Front Matter (copy and paste) | http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/u?/engext,18196 |
Extent of Original | p. 795-804 |
Series | Engineering extension series no. 137 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Date Digitized | 2009-06-09 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
Description
Title | page795 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Transcript | Radioactive Waste Disposal by Hydraulic Fracturing WALLACE de LAGUNA, Geologist Health Physics Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee HYDRAULIC FRACTURING IN THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY The use of hydraulic fracturing for the disposal of radioactive waste is a direct outgrowth of the use of hydraulic fracturing to stimulate the flow of oil wells, and so some description of the use of the method by the petroleum industry is advisable. If the petroleum industry were not making extensive use of the method, the know how, the equipment, and the specialized service companies required would not exist, and the nuclear power industry would find it very expensive to develop them for its own limited needs. The great majority of oil wells are drilled by the rotary method, in which, after setting surface casing, the hole is drilled to the desired depth by rotating a string of hollow drill rods, on the lower end of which is a cutting bit. Muddy water is pumped down the drill rods to bring up the cuttings and also to support the walls of the hole. The technology of drilling has been highly developed and is very much more sophisticated than one might imagine. After the hole has been drilled, the drill rods are removed and steel well casing, a special form of pipe manufactured to the exacting specifications of the American Petroleum Institute, is lowered into the hole. Next, a slurry of water and Portland cement is pumped directly down the casing until, by circulating up from the bottom, it has filled the annular space between the casing and the wall of the hole. The final step in cementing in the casing is to pump a tightly fitting rubber plug down the casing with water until the plug seats on a ridge on the inside at the bottom. This leaves the well casing full of water and the annular space full of cement, which, after it has set, seals the casing firmly into the earth. Access from inside the steel casing to the surrounding rock may be provided in various ways, but one of the best is with a high pressure sand jet. Tubing, with the bottom end closed except for a small horizontal opening, is lowered inside the casing until the bottom is at the desired depth. Then water and sand are pumped down the tubing at a pressure of about 3,500 psi, and the resulting jet quickly cuts through the casing, the cement, and out a ft or more into the surrounding rock. By rotating the tubing, the jet can be made to cut a full circular slot. In an oil well, the slot would be cut opposite the oil reservoir rock, the position of which would be determined while the well was being drilled. After the slot is cut, the tubing is removed and a mixture of oil and sand under very high pressure is pumped directly down the casing. The casing confines the pressure in the well itself, -795- |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
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