Microwaves extract tough-to-reach oil

The Patriot-News ^ | September 17, 2006 | DAVID DeKOK

[thackney]

If oil is the gold of the modern economy, then Frank Pringle is a 21st-century alchemist.

Instead of turning base materials into gold, Pringle turns them into oil. His philosopher's stone turns out to be microwaves. Used in a vacuum chamber, the microwaves help him pull oil from tires or oil shale rock. He can turn oil as thick as molasses into free-flowing crude. And he believes he can extract much of the oil remaining in capped wells.

Geologists said about 65 percent of oil in the ground is unrecoverable with current technology because it is too thick. Deposits of tar sands in Canada, for example, contain billions of barrels of oil but require large amounts of water and energy to extract.

State environmental officials said they believe as many as 237,000 abandoned oil wells are in northwestern Pennsylvania. That is where Col. Edwin Drake drilled what is believed to be the country's first commercial oil well in Titusville, Crawford County, in 1859. Oil production in Pennsylvania peaked in 1891, and the industry moved to Texas and elsewhere.

Pringle is raising $15 million to do his first test well in the Keystone State. He has raised a few million and plans to seek more from private investors. His plan calls for putting an antenna into the old wells and blasting them with microwaves to soften and gasify the oil.

No water would be required, and he said the amount of energy used in the process, the so-called energy balance, will be economical. The process will be environmentally clean, he said.

"It has to do with the frequency, and it has to do with the vacuum," Pringle said. "That's where our patents are."

Or will be, he said. Mobilestream has begun the patent process but hasn't yet received one.

Pringle and his staff of seven scientists continue to test and refine the process at their laboratory in West Berlin, N.J. He is also conferring with Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development and Department of Environmental Protection about state financial incentives for a tire reprocessing plant he hopes to build at the former U.S. Steel site in Fairless Hills, Bucks County.

In a series of tests witnessed by a Patriot-News reporter on Aug. 31, Pringle extracted oil from shredded tires. He turned Valero slurry oil, which is pourable but thick, like cold Hershey's chocolate syrup, into lighter, useable oil. And he pulled oil from tan, slightly greasy-feeling oil shale rock from Estonia.

Not long afterward, Mobilestream announced it had successfully cracked resid oil, the heavy, tarlike substance that remains after the refining of crude oil. Tests in the company's mass spectrometer confirmed the results.

Pringle placed the substances in a beaker and set them in his vacuum chamber microwave, which looks somewhat like a home microwave but is far different. There are millions of microwave frequencies, and the key is to find the right ones for the right materials, he said.

Once the calculations are made and the microwave turned on, he sat back in a comfortable chair with his ever-present cigar. Pringle, 63, whose office contains ocean fishing rods and a military weapon collection, has been a mechanical engineer for all of his working life.

[Liberal Classic]

Interesting post.

[bmwcyle]

with his ever-present cigar. Pringle, 63, whose office contains ocean fishing rods and a military weapon collection

This guy should be a Freeper.

[Arizona Carolyn]

It is, interesting. One question, though. We can find/extract more oil, but it we can't refine more oil, then what?

[RayChuang88]

This idea is actually closely-related to what Shell is working on for their oil shale extraction program. If they can make it economical supposedly pumped-out oilfields could become productive again. In short, the march of technology could hurt OPEC down the road.

[Liberal Classic]

You have a distinct point. More potential upstream capacity is good news, but in the future (if not today) we will need more downstream capacity as well.

[thackney]

One question, though. We can find/extract more oil, but it we can't refine more oil, then what?

We could nearly triple our domestic oil production and not meet the capacity of our existing refineries. But we would be refining US crude instead of crude oil that pays royalty and taxes to our enemies.

[wouldntbprudent]

Wow! I love the possibilities.

[Paleo Conservative]

We could nearly triple our domestic oil production and not meet the capacity of our existing refineries. But we would be refining US crude instead of crude oil that pays royalty and taxes to our enemies.

But we still need to diversify the geography of our refining capacity. We came very close last year to having both the New Orleans and Houston refineries out due to hurricanes. Adding more gulf coast refineries doesn't do anything to diverisify against risk of natural disasters disrupting product supply.

[fso301]

How does the energy input compare with the oil extract?

[Arizona Carolyn]

A group has been trying to bring a refinery to fruition in Yuma for four or five years now. Latest setback was Mexico saying they could no longer guarantee oil for the refinery so it will have to be brought by pipeline and ship from Canada (and much greater cost).

[Arizona Carolyn]

That is the part I like the best.. return to refining our own oil.

[Paleo Conservative]

Considering the amounts of fresh water needed by refineries, I don't think Arizona would be a good place for one. They are usually located on sea coasts near rivers so they can take advantage of low shipping costs and fresh water nearby.

[thackney]

But we still need to diversify the geography of our refining capacity.

Don't buy into all the media hype. We do need to add refining capabilities and in more than one area. But we have refining in most areas of the US.

Capacity of Operable Petroleum Refineries by State as of January 1, 2006

[Farmer Dean]

He sounds a lot like one of my uncles.

[thackney]

How does the energy input compare with the oil extract?

Not a lot of detail given, but the subject was touched upon.

the amount of energy used in the process, the so-called energy balance, will be economical

[deport]

Yep refineries all around but the Gulf Coast has a larger concentration of capacity......

U.S. Refineries Operable Atmospheric Crude Oil Distillation Capacity
(Barrels per Calendar Day)
as of January 1, 2006

Rank	COMPANY NAME	STATE	SITE	Barrels per Calendar Day
1	EXXONMOBIL REFINING & SUPPLY CO	Texas	BAYTOWN	562,500
2	EXXONMOBIL REFINING & SUPPLY CO	Louisiana	BATON ROUGE	501,000
3	BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA INC	Texas	TEXAS CITY	437,000
4	CITGO PETROLEUM CORP	Louisiana	LAKE CHARLES	429,500
5	BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA INC	Indiana	WHITING	410,000
6	EXXONMOBIL REFINING & SUPPLY CO	Texas	BEAUMONT	348,500
7	SUNOCO INC (R&M)	Pennsylvania	PHILADELPHIA	335,000
8	DEER PARK REFINING LTD PARTNERSHIP	Texas	DEER PARK	333,700
9	CHEVRON USA INC	Mississippi	PASCAGOULA	330,000
10	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Illinois	WOOD RIVER	306,000
11	Flint Hills Resources LP	Texas	CORPUS CHRISTI	288,126
12	Motiva Enterprises LLC	Texas	PORT ARTHUR	285,000
13	Flint Hills Resources LP	Minnesota	SAINT PAUL	279,300
14	LYONDELL CITGO REFINING CO LTD	Texas	HOUSTON	270,200
15	BP West Coast Products LLC	California	LOS ANGELES	260,000
16	CHEVRON USA INC	California	EL SEGUNDO	260,000
17	PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC	Texas	PORT ARTHUR	260,000
18	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Louisiana	BELLE CHASSE	247,000
19	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Texas	SWEENY	247,000
20	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Louisiana	GARYVILLE	245,000
21	CHEVRON USA INC	California	RICHMOND	242,901
22	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Louisiana	WESTLAKE	239,400
23	EXXONMOBIL REFINING & SUPPLY CO	Illinois	JOLIET	238,500
24	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	New Jersey	LINDEN	238,000
25	Motiva Enterprises LLC	Louisiana	CONVENT	235,000
26	TOTAL PETROCHEMICALS INC	Texas	PORT ARTHUR	232,000
27	Motiva Enterprises LLC	Louisiana	NORCO	226,500
28	BP West Coast Products LLC	Washington	FERNDALE (CHERRY POINT)	225,000
29	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Kentucky	CATLETTSBURG	222,000
30	VALERO REFINING CO TEXAS	Texas	TEXAS CITY	213,750
31	FLINT HILLS RESOURCES ALASKA LLC	Alaska	NORTH POLE	210,000
32	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Oklahoma	PONCA CITY	194,000
33	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Illinois	ROBINSON	192,000
34	Chalmette Refining LLC	Louisiana	CHALMETTE	188,160
35	VALERO REFINING NEW ORLEANS LLC	Louisiana	NORCO	185,003
36	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Pennsylvania	TRAINER	185,000
37	PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC	Delaware	DELAWARE CITY	181,500
38	PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC	Tennessee	MEMPHIS	180,000
39	SUNOCO INC	Pennsylvania	MARCUS HOOK	175,000
40	PDV Midwest Refining LLC	Illinois	LEMONT (CHICAGO)	167,000
41	TESORO REFINING & MARKETING CO	California	MARTINEZ	166,000
42	SUNOCO INC	Ohio	TOLEDO	160,000
43	VALERO REFINING CO NEW JERSEY	New Jersey	PAULSBORO	160,000
44	VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION	Texas	SUNRAY	158,327
45	CITGO REFINING & CHEMICAL INC	Texas	CORPUS CHRISTI	156,000
46	Shell Oil Products US	California	MARTINEZ	155,600
47	EXXONMOBIL REFINING & SUPPLY CO	California	TORRANCE	149,500
48	PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC	Ohio	LIMA	146,900
49	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Texas	BORGER	146,000
50	Shell Oil Products US	Washington	ANACORTES	145,000
51	SUNOCO INC	New Jersey	WESTVILLE	145,000
52	VALERO REFINING CO CALIFORNIA	California	BENICIA	144,000
53	VALERO REFINING CO TEXAS	Texas	CORPUS CHRISTI	142,000
54	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	California	WILMINGTON	139,000
55	BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA INC	Ohio	TOLEDO	131,000
56	MURPHY OIL USA INC	Louisiana	MERAUX	120,000
57	Tesoro West Coast	Washington	ANACORTES	120,000
58	WESTERN REFINING COMPANY LP	Texas	EL PASO	116,000
59	COFFEYVILLE RESOURCES LLC	Kansas	COFFEYVILLE	112,000
60	FRONTIER EL DORADO REFINING CO	Kansas	EL DORADO	106,000
61	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Michigan	DETROIT	100,000
62	PASADENA REFINING SYSTEMS INC	Texas	PASADENA	100,000
63	Shell Oil Products US	California	WILMINGTON	98,500
64	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Washington	FERNDALE	96,000
65	TESORO HAWAII CORP	Hawaii	KAPOLEI	93,500
66	VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION	Texas	THREE RIVERS	90,000
67	SUNOCO INC	Oklahoma	TULSA	85,000
68	VALERO REFINING CO OKLAHOMA	Oklahoma	ARDMORE	83,640
69	VALERO REFINING CO TEXAS	Texas	HOUSTON	83,000
70	NCRA	Kansas	MCPHERSON	81,200
71	ULTRAMAR INC	California	WILMINGTON	80,887
72	CHEVRON USA INC	New Jersey	PERTH AMBOY	80,000
73	Shell Chem LP	Alabama	SARALAND	80,000
74	VALERO REFINING CO LOUISIANA	Louisiana	KROTZ SPRINGS	80,000
75	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	California	RODEO	76,000
76	NAVAJO REFINING CO	New Mexico	ARTESIA	75,000
77	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Ohio	CANTON	73,000
78	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Texas	TEXAS CITY	72,000
79	TESORO PETROLEUM CORP	Alaska	KENAI	72,000
80	SINCLAIR OIL CORP	Oklahoma	TULSA	70,300
81	LION OIL CO	Arkansas	EL DORADO	70,000
82	MARATHON PETROLEUM CO LLC	Minnesota	SAINT PAUL PARK	70,000
83	ALON USA ENERGY INC	Texas	BIG SPRING	67,000
84	BIG WEST OF CALIFORNIA	California	BAKERSFIELD	66,000
85	SINCLAIR OIL CORP	Wyoming	SINCLAIR	66,000
86	UNITED REFINING CO	Pennsylvania	WARREN	65,000
87	SUNCOR ENERGY (USA) INC	Colorado	COMMERCE CITY	62,000
88	EXXONMOBIL REFINING & SUPPLY CO	Montana	BILLINGS	60,000
89	GIANT YORKTOWN REFINING	Virginia	YORKTOWN	58,600
90	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	Montana	BILLINGS	58,000
91	DELEK REFINING LTD	Texas	TYLER	58,000
92	Tesoro West Coast	North Dakota	MANDAN	58,000
93	Tesoro West Coast	Utah	SALT LAKE CITY	58,000
94	PLACID REFINING CO	Louisiana	PORT ALLEN	56,000
95	Cenex Harvest States Coop	Montana	LAUREL	55,000
96	Shell Chem LP	Louisiana	SAINT ROSE	55,000
97	CHEVRON USA INC	Hawaii	HONOLULU	54,000
98	WYNNEWOOD REFINING CO	Oklahoma	WYNNEWOOD	54,000
99	PARAMOUNT PETROLEUM CORPORATION	California	PARAMOUNT	50,000
100	PETRO STAR INC	Alaska	VALDEZ	48,000
101	FRONTIER REFINING INC	Wyoming	CHEYENNE	47,000
102	CHEVRON USA INC	Utah	SALT LAKE CITY	45,000
103	CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY	California	ARROYO GRANDE	44,200
104	CALUMET SHREVEPORT LLC	Louisiana	SHREVEPORT	42,000
105	US OIL & REFINING CO	Washington	TACOMA	37,850
106	HUNT REFINING CO	Alabama	TUSCALOOSA	34,500
107	MURPHY OIL USA INC	Wisconsin	SUPERIOR	34,300
108	CITGO ASPHALT REFINING CO	New Jersey	PAULSBORO	32,000
109	SUNCOR ENERGY(USA)INC	Colorado	DENVER	32,000
110	CALCASIEU REFINING CO	Louisiana	LAKE CHARLES	30,000
111	BIG WEST OIL CO	Utah	NORTH SALT LAKE	29,400
112	CITGO ASPHALT REFINING CO	Georgia	SAVANNAH	28,000
113	EDGINGTON OIL CO INC	California	LONG BEACH	26,000
114	KERN OIL & REFINING CO	California	BAKERSFIELD	26,000
115	HOLLY CORP REFINING & MARKETING	Utah	WOODS CROSS	24,700
116	LITTLE AMERICA REFINING CO	Wyoming	EVANSVILLE (CASPER)	24,500
117	COUNTRYMARK COOPERATIVE INC	Indiana	MOUNT VERNON	23,000
118	ERGON REFINING INC	Mississippi	VICKSBURG	23,000
119	GIANT REFINING CO	New Mexico	GALLUP	20,800
120	ERGON WEST VIRGINIA INC	West Virginia	NEWELL (CONGO)	20,000
121	PETRO STAR INC	Alaska	NORTH POLE	17,000
122	GIANT INDUSTRIES INC	New Mexico	BLOOMFIELD	16,800
123	GULF ATLANTIC OPERATIONS LLC	Alabama	MOBILE	16,700
124	SAN JOAQUIN REFINING CO INC	California	BAKERSFIELD	15,000
125	CONOCOPHILLIPS ALASKA INC	Alaska	KUPARUK	14,000
126	CALUMET LUBRICANTS CO LP	Louisiana	COTTON VALLEY	13,020
127	BP EXPLORATION ALASKA INC	Alaska	PRUDHOE BAY	12,500
128	WYOMING REFINING CO	Wyoming	NEWCASTLE	12,500
129	AGE REFINING INC	Texas	SAN ANTONIO	12,200
130	HUNT SOUTHLAND REFINING CO	Mississippi	SANDERSVILLE	11,000
131	Silver Eagle Refining	Utah	WOODS CROSS	10,250
132	AMERICAN REFINING GROUP INC	Pennsylvania	BRADFORD	10,000
133	Greka Energy	California	SANTA MARIA	9,500
134	LUNDAY THAGARD CO	California	SOUTH GATE	8,500
135	CALUMET LUBRICANTS CO LP	Louisiana	PRINCETON	8,300
136	MONTANA REFINING CO	Montana	GREAT FALLS	8,200
137	CROSS OIL REFINING & MARKETING INC	Arkansas	SMACKOVER	7,200
138	VALERO REFINING CO CALIFORNIA	California	WILMINGTON	6,200
139	HUNT SOUTHLAND REFINING CO	Mississippi	LUMBERTON	5,800
140	SOMERSET REFINERY INC	Kentucky	SOMERSET	5,500
141	GOODWAY REFINING LLC	Alabama	ATMORE	4,100
142	Silver Eagle Refining	Wyoming	EVANSTON	3,000
143	TENBY INC	California	OXNARD	2,800
144	FORELAND REFINING CORP	Nevada	EAGLE SPRINGS	2,000

Source: Refinery Capacity Data by individual refinery as of January 1, 2006

[freedumb2003]

Just in case... ;)

[FairWitness]

"It has to do with the frequency, and it has to do with the vacuum," Pringle said. "That's where our patents are."

Frequency I understand, and vacuum in a laboratory is no problem, but how do you pull a vacuum (how much of a vacuum?) in an underground area the size of an oil well ?

[JRandomFreeper]

Let me guess. 2.4 GHz. Like WISPS need yet another source of RF pollution. In Texas. Now.

/johnny