Blog

Researchers from MiT have discovered a coating that could help prevent blockages in oil drilling pipes, potentially protecting the environment from oil leaks, as well as saving millions of dollars in lost oil.

The team was inspired by the events that led to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Following a deadly explosion and blow out in April 2010, BP engineers were confident that they would be able to stop the flow by placing a 125-ton dome over the broken wellhead.

However, the recovery operation failed because of a blockage caused by ‘an icy mixture of frozen water and methane, called a methane clathrate’. As the MiT website reports, “Because of the low temperatures and high pressure near the seafloor, the slushy mix [of methane clathrate] built up inside the containment dome and blocked the outlet pipe, preventing it from redirecting the flow. If it hadn’t been for that methane clathrate, the containment might have worked, and four months of unabated leakage and widespread ecological devastation might have been prevented.”

Publishing the results of tests on their new coating in the journal Applied Materials & Interfaces, the research team outlined that problem, stating, “Clathrate hydrates are icelike solid substances that can form inside oil and gas pipelines and are responsible for flow blockages, sometimes leading to catastrophic failures. Minimizing hydrate formation and adhesion on pipeline surfaces can effectively address this problem.”

The solution they devised is a new coating, whose design was based upon earlier research from 2011. As the online scientific journal Phys.org reported at the time, “The study produced several significant results: First, by using a simple coating, [the researchers] were able to reduce hydrate adhesion in the pipe to one-quarter of the amount on untreated surfaces. Second, the test system they devised provides a simple and inexpensive way of searching for even more effective inhibitors. Finally, the researchers also found a strong correlation between the ‘hydrate-phobic’ properties of a surface and its wettability — a measure of how well liquid spreads on the surface.”

The report continued by noting that, “The basic findings also apply to other adhesive solids, — for example, solder adhering to a circuit board, or calcite deposits inside plumbing lines — so the same testing methods could be used to screen coatings for a wide variety of commercial and industrial processes.”

Famously, one of these was a non-stick coating for shampoo, mayonnaise, or similar containers. As the industry journal Packaging Gateway reported, “Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a non-sticking coating for food packaging, which will allow substances such as ketchup to pour from containers easier.”

Converting this idea to the challenging environment of oil extraction has not been simple, but the new pipeline coating is not dissimilar to that used in ketchup bottles. As Kripa Varanasi, professor of mechanical engineering and one of the research team members explains, in this case, “we are using the liquid that’s in the environment itself rather than applying a lubricant to the surface. The key characteristic in clathrate formation is the presence of water, so as long as the water can be kept away from the pipe wall, clathrate buildup can be stopped. And the liquid hydrocarbons present in the petroleum, as long as they cling to the wall thanks to a chemical affinity of the surface coating, can effectively keep that water away. If the oil [in the pipeline] is made to spread more readily on the surface, then it forms a barrier film between the water and the wall.”

You can watch the MiT produced video explanation of the coating discovery on this YouTube link here.

Given the extreme temperatures and pressures involved in deep water drilling, it is difficult to reproduce the exact conditions experienced at a wellhead, but lab tests conducted have shown that the coating was able to keep pipes clear of a proxy chemical [used in place of actual methane clathrate] very effectively. As Varanasi said, “We didn’t see any hydrates adhering to the substrates.”

This is a ground-breaking development for the oil drilling and oil pipeline lubricant industry. Current prevention measures, known as flow assurance measures, have existed for a long time, but as Varanasi explains, “they are expensive or environmentally unfriendly.” Current use is estimated as costing the industry “hundreds of millions of dollars” every year. But they are essential, as they prevent hydrate build up that can cause blockages that lower flow rate, or cause accidents that can cost billions. As Varanasi states, “Clogging can lead to catastrophic failures.” Adding that, “Hydrates are a major problem for the industry, for both safety and reliability.”

The challenge could become even greater, says Arindam Das, the paper’s lead author, because methane hydrates themselves, which are abundant in numerous locations such as continental shelves, are a potential fuel source. The impact of capturing and processing methane hydrates as a power source could be huge, if an economic method of extraction could be developed. “The reserves themselves substantially overshadow all known reserves [of oil and natural gas] on land and in deep water,” he says.

But as the MiT website notes, “Such deposits would be even more vulnerable to freezing and plug formation than existing oil and gas wells. Preventing these icy buildups depends critically on stopping the very first particles of clathrate from adhering to the pipe.

“Once they attach, they attract other particles” of clathrate, and the buildup takes off rapidly, said research co-worker Taylor Farnham. “We wanted to see how we could minimize the initial adhesion on the pipe walls.”

While this discovery does bring the possibility of tapping methane hydrates as a resource a little closer, for now the team’s goal is to promote their discovery as a solution to a current problem in the petroleum industry.

In fact, the breakthrough coating is already gathering significant attention from both drilling experts and coating manufacturers. An oil pipeline coating that prevents clogging will save money on a daily basis by replacing current methods and lowering maintenance costs is a popular coating product.

The Deepwater Horizon tragedy will be remembered for years to come, with the oil extraction industry still reeling from its effects. But if this new product is able to prevent just one similar incident then the coating will be more than worth its weight in gold, or even black gold.

Photo credit: newsapi.au & creditwritedowns.com

It did not take long in human history for mankind to discovery that pigs can eat acorns. And in many ways, this discovery gave the pig farmers of Northern Europe, where there are plenty of oak trees, a competitive advantage over the pig farmers of say, Greece or Italy.

While it is only recently that trade in pork has gone very international, it is interesting that today’s swine populations are also larger in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, than in most Mediterranean states. Of course, this fact, in a nutshell, has little to do with acorns.

There are of course many reasons why livestock populations are located where they are: large grazing areas for American, Brazilian and Argentine cattle farmers; access to markets for China’s pig farming industry, or climate for Australian sheep farming.

But it is important not to dismiss the significance of industry intelligence in understanding the power of regional markets. And much of this intelligence is based on new ingredients and raw materials for animal feed.
With this in mind, here are two of the latest ideas being trialled and tested in the (sometimes crazy) world of animal feed R&D.

Garlic as an Animal Feed Additive

In 2014, National Geographic reported how, “A three-year study at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth has shown that when cows are fed garlic, methane production is cut in half. According to Jamie Newbold, leader of the Welsh research project, allicin from garlic kills off the methane-generating bacteria in the cows’ substantial bellies, thus creating both politer and more eco-responsible cows.”

The immediate problem though, was that cows that were fed garlic produced milk that tasted of garlic.
To avoid this problem, researchers have begun to study the use of propyl propane thiosulfonate, as a substitute for garlic (or onions). By using a panel of taste testers, a research team in Spain found that only 12.5% of people would be able to taste the use of garlic extract in milk produced by low-methane producing cattle.

Publishing their results in the journal ResearchGate, the team conclude that, “…although small traces of propyl propane thiosulfonate were found in milk samples … the identified concentration does not alter organoleptic properties of milk, and Garlicon can, therefore, be used as a supplement feed at doses of 25 g day”

You can find out more about this solution on the entertaining broadcast on YouTube, entitled, ‘Onions Could Stop Cows From Farting The Planet To Death’.

Seaweed as an Animal Feed Additive

In an effort to make the animal feed industry more environmentally friendly, researchers in Australia are experimenting with feeding cattle seaweed. While the study is still ongoing, they believe that eating seaweed may reduce methane production in cows by up to 99%.

“The seaweed has some chemicals inside it which interfere with the bacteria-producing methane,” says Rocky de Nys, an aquaculture researcher at James Cook University. “So instead of the carbon going out of the stomach with a burp, the carbon can get shunted into energy production in the cow.”

As the technology journal FastCompany reports, “In previous experiments, the researchers tested a seaweed supplement in sheep and found that it reduced their methane emissions by up to 70%, without affecting the growth of the sheep. In trials through 2017, the researchers are now studying the effect of the seaweed in cows.”

The researchers are focusing on a species of seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis, for which the team have created an artificial cow stomach. And if it works as expected, they hope to see a major reduction in methane.
This would of course present the challenge of scaling up seaweed production to be able to feed the world’s 1.5 billion cows. However, Nys doesn’t think that will be a problem.

“It’s a very big industry,” he says. “So the techniques and procedures and logistics are all in place. Really no one’s farmed this seaweed because there’s never been demand for this seaweed before. No one’s ever said, ‘Oh, can we feed this to cows to reduce methane?’ until now.”

While these ideas may sound a little unusual, they may well prove to be part of a new wave of ingredients that will have long-term impact on the animal feed industry. Both seaweed and garlic have long been known for their health properties for humans, so it is a short step to apply this nutrition intelligence to livestock.

In fact, many new ideas hit resistance when first published. After all, what was your initial reaction when you first heard of feeding livestock insect meal?

Photo credit: sustainable food trust
Photo credit: almesryoon

The animal feed industry is complex. While the man in the street believes that livestock eats a mixture of grass, hay, grain, and (in the case of pigs) general waste, feed producers know that modern farm nutrition is a scientific combination of bulk fibres, proteins, minerals, salts, phosphates, sodium tripolyphosphate, and potassium carbonate.
With these complex biochemical mixtures it is the responsibility of the animal feed industry to help feed a growing, hungry world. But as in many industries, animal feed producers must also share their responsibility for climate change.

It has long been known that mankind’s hunger for meat and dairy products is having a negative impact on the environment. Not only is wildlife cleared for grazing areas, but cattle also have an impact on the environment in the amount of methane they produce. This has led to the public perception of an environmentally destructive farming and animal feed industry. A concept fuelled by stories such as this, “the world’s top destroyer of the environment, is not the car, or even the plane: it is the cow.” And that was from the respected British newspaper the Independent.

This story, and many others like it, was based on “A United Nations report [by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, called Livestock’s Long Shadow] which has identified the world’s rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs.”

Meanwhile, other reports in the press or on social media paint an equally gloomy picture. For example, a YouTube video called Cow Farts and Climate Change, states how, “Each cow’s emissions are about the same as burning 1,000 litres of petrol every year.” Explaining how, “Cow’s are mostly responsible for 18% of the total greenhouse gases world-wide, which is more than the entire transportation system put together.”

Impressive as the statistics may be, science is now looking at ways to lessen the impact of livestock. Part of this process includes analysing even basic animal feedstuffs, such as grass; for it now seems that climate change is impacting even grazing.

A recent study by a research team from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Scotland’s Rural College, and the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, have found that warmer average temperatures is making plants tougher. When the tougher vegetation is eaten by livestock, it then produces even more methane, which in turn adds to global warming.

Reporting on the study, the online industry journal FarmingUK, states that, “There are several reasons why rising temperatures may make plants tougher for grazing livestock to digest. Plants have adaptations to prevent heat damage, they can flower earlier, have thicker leaves or in some cases, tougher plants can invade into new areas replacing more nutritious species – all of which makes grazing more difficult.” Adding that the problem is a, “pressing concern, because climate change is likely to make plants tougher for grazing cattle, increasing the amount of methane that the animals breathe out into the atmosphere.”

Dr Mark Lee, a research fellow in Natural Capital & Plant Health at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew who led the research says: “The vicious cycle we are seeing now is that ruminant livestock such as cattle produce methane which warms our planet.
“This warmer environment alters plants so they are tougher to digest, and so each mouthful spends more time in the animals’ stomach, producing more methane, further warming the planet, and the cycle continues. We need to make changes to livestock diets to make them more environmentally sustainable.”

Fortunately, the study, which is downloadable here via the open access biogeosciences website, also offers suggestions on how this problem can be solved, stating that, “Cattle methane production can be reduced by growing more nutritious forage plants, adding N fertiliser, adding feed supplements (e.g. macroalgae and fats), adjusting rumen pH, increasing concentrate feeding, practicing genetic selection and feeding methane inhibitors.” However, it continues by adding that, “implementing many of these measures is not feasible at a global scale and is unlikely to result in sufficient reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to meet ambitious reduction targets.”

While the industry is looking into some ways to tackle the problem of cow gas, for example researchers in Canada are experimenting with selective breeding, in an effort to find ‘cows that burp less’. It is clear that many of these ideas will take a lot more research, time, and money before a global solution will be found.

For example, the technology website FastCompany, is reporting that, “[Researchers] are experimenting with vaccines that fight the microbes that make cows produce methane, or backpacks that cows wear to capture their gas for energy.”

It also adds that, “Many others are experimenting with plant-based supplements that can be added to cow feed to help. A byproduct of cashew nut processing, for example, can reduce emissions by 8%. Furthermore, if cows graze in pasture, adding plants like legumes can make them burp less.” The report also notes that, “Researchers in Denmark are working on a ‘super grass’, bred after analyzing the genetics of which grasses are easiest to digest.”

However, the fact remains that the farming industry has a problem that few feed manufacturers or suppliers wish to talk about. The world is demanding more meat and dairy, but wants more sustainable products with lower carbon footprints, and yet even the most basic of animal feeds, grass, is proving more toxic for the planet.

Added to this is the fact that protein additives from fishmeal are also widespread, continuing to put huge pressure on ocean fish stocks. While other feedstocks, such as inorganic rock phosphate, are also unsustainable and yet remain a vital pillar of agriculture. When these factors are added in to the news that simple grazing is also having a worse impact on the environment, then the environmental credentials of the entire livestock industry is under scrutiny.

For if the study is validated, and proves that even grass and natural grazing is an increasing hazard to the environment, then is there anything the feed industry can do to become more sustainable?
Is there any way to avoid the environmental impact of cow gas?

Photo credit: MotherEarthNews