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Pulsed power sources are installed in one or more wells in the reservoir interval. The pulse sources include (1) an electrohydraulic generator that produces an intense and short lived electromagnetic pulse that travels at the speed of light through the reservoir, and an acoustic pulse from the plasma vaporization of water placed around the source that propagates through the reservoir at the speed of sound in the reservoir and (2) an electromagnetic generator that produces only an intense and short lived electromagnetic pulse that travels at the speed of light through the reservoir. The combination of electrohydraulic and electromagnetic generators in the reservoir causes both the acoustic vibration and electromagnetically-induced high-frequency vibrations occur over an area of the reservoir where stimulation is desired. Single generators and various configurations of multiple electrohydraulic and electromagnetic generators stimulate a volume of reservoir and mobilize crude oil so that it begins moving toward a producing well. The method can be performed in a producing well or wells, an injector well or wells, or special wells drilled for the placement of the pulsed power EOR devices. The method can be applied with other EOR methods such as water flooding, CO2 flooding, surfactant flooding, diluent flooding in heavy oil reservoirs. The recovered formation fluids may be separated into various constituents.
1. A process for recovering a desired constituent of a fluid from at least one porous zone of a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
(a) generating an electrical pulsed discharge in a first borehole at a distance from the at least one porous zone and propagating an electromagnetic wave into the formation at a first time, said electromagnetic wave reaching the at least one porous zone at a time substantially equal to the first time and inducing ultrasonic vibrations within said at least one porous zone;
(b) propagating at a second time an acoustic wave into the formation, said acoustic wave arriving at said at least one porous zone at a time substantially equal to the first time and combining with said ultrasonic vibrations thereby enhancing the mobility of previously immobile fluid in the at least one porous zone;
(c) recovering a fluid including the mobilized fluid from a producing well in the at least one porous zone to give a recovered fluid; and
(d) using at least one process selected from gravity separation, fractionation, cyclone separation, membrane separation, solvent extraction, cryogenic separation, liquefaction, and pyrolysis to obtain the desired constituent from the recovered fluid.
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This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/500,669, filed on Feb. 9, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,293.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the stimulation of crude oil reservoirs to enhance production using a combination of pulsed power electrohydraulic and electromagnetic methods and the processing of the recovered crude oil into its components. In particular, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for recovery of crude oil from oil bearing soils and rock formations using pulsed power electrohydraulic and electromagnetic discharges in one or more wells that produce acoustic and coupled electromagnetic-acoustic vibrations that can cause oil flow to be enhanced and increase the estimated ultimate recovery from reservoirs.
2. Background of the Invention
The stimulation of crude oil reservoirs to enhance oil production from known fields is a major area of interest for the petroleum industry. One of the single most important research goals in fossil fuels is to recover more of the hydrocarbons already found. At present, approximately 66% of discovered oil is left in the ground due to the lack of effective extraction technology for secondary and tertiary Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). A EOR technology that can be deployed easily and at low cost in onshore and offshore field locations would greatly improve the performance of many oil fields and would increase significantly the world's known recoverable oil reserves.
Methods that are widely used for the purpose rely on the injection of fluid at one well, called the injection well, and use of the injected fluid to flush the in situ hydrocarbons out of the formation to a producing well. In one mode of secondary recovery, a gas such as CO2 that may be readily available and inexpensive, is used. In other modes, water or, in the case of heavy oil, steam may be used to increase the recovery of hydrocarbons. One common feature of such injection methods is that once the injected fluid attains a continuous phase between the injection well and the production well, efficiency of the recovery drops substantially and the injected fluid is unable to flush out any remaining hydrocarbons trapped within the pore spaces of the reservoir. Addition of surfactants has been used with soome success, but at high cost, both economic and environmental.
Many methods have been developed that try address the problem of driving out the residual oil. They can be divided into a number of broad categories.
The first category uses electrical methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,641 issued to Bell discloses a method for enhancing oil flow through electrolytic means. The method uses direct current to stimulate an area around a well, and uses the well-documented effect known as electro-osmosis to enhance oil recovery. Another example of electro-osmosis is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,484 issued to Kermabon wherein direct current only is used to stimulate a reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,330 issued to Gill discloses a method for stimulating the near-wellbore volume using electricity passed upwards and downwards in the well using separate sets of electrodes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,450 issued to Kern teaches a method for dispersing an electric current in a subsurface formation by means of an electrolyte using a specific arrangement of electrodes. Whitting (U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,638) uses high-voltage pulsed currents in two wells, a producer and an injector, to stimulate an oil-bearing formation. It also describes equipment for achieving these electrical pulses.
A second category relies on the use of heating of the formation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,141,099 issued to Brandon teaches a device installed at the bottom of a well that causes resistive heating in the formation though dielectric or arc heating methods. This method is only effective within very close proximity to the well. Another example of the use of heating a petroleum bearing formation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,072 to Kern.
A third category of methods relies on mechanical fracturing of the formation. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,577 to Sarapuu wherein subsurface electrodes are used to cause electric impulses that induce flow between wells. The method is designed to create fissures or fractures in the near-wellbore volume that effectively increase the drainage area of the well, and also heat the hydrocarbons near the well so that oil viscosity is reduced and recovery is enhanced.
It has long been documented that acoustic waves can act on oil-bearing reservoirs to enhance oil production and total oil recovery. A fourth category of methods used for EOR rely on vibratory or sonic waves, possibly in conjunction with other methods. U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,075 to Bodine discloses a method for inducing sonic pumping in a well using a high-frequency sonic vibrator. Although the sonic energy generated by this method is absorbed rapidly in the near wellbore volume, it does have the effect of cleaning or sonicating the pores and fractures in the near-wellbore area and can reduce hydraulic friction in the oil flowing to the well. Another example of a vibratory only technique is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,053 to Fisher et al. wherein several low-frequency vibrators are installed in the well and are driven hydraulically using surface equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,518 issued to Williams describes the design for a piezoelectric vibrator that can be used to stimulate a petroleum reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,838 issued to Bodine teaches a method for using surface vibrations to stimulate oil production. The surface source defined in this patent is not sufficient to produce significant enhanced recovery of crude oil.
Turning next to methods that use vibratory or sonic waves in conjunction with other methods, U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,598 to Holloway, Jr. discloses a method that utilizes at least one injector well and another production well. The method imposes oscillating pressure waves from the injector well on a fluid that is injected to enhance oil production from the producing well. U.S. Pat. No. 2,670,801 issued to Sherborne discloses the use of sonic or supersonic vibrations in conjunction with fluid injection methods: the efficiency of the injected fluids in extracting additional oil from the formation is improved by the use of the acoustic waves. U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,800, also to Bodine teaches a sonic treatment in which a gas is injected into the well and is used to treat the wellbore surface using sonic wave stimulation. The method causes the formation to be heated through the gas by heating from the ultrasonic vibrations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,634 issued to Ellingsen uses vibrations of an appropriate frequency at or near the natural frequency of the formation to cause the adhesive forces between the formation and the oil to break down. The method calls for a metallic liquid (mercury) to be placed in the wells to the level of the reservoir and the liquid is vibrated while also using electrodes placed in the wells to electrically stimulate the formation. Apart from the potential environmental hazards associated with the handling and containment of mercury, this method faces the problem of avoiding formation damage due to an excess of borehole pressure over the formation fluid pressure caused by the presence of a dense liquid. U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,508, also issued to Ellingsen et al. defines an acoustic and electrical method for reservoir stimulation that excites resonant modes in the formation using AC and/or DC currents along with sonic treatment. The method uses low frequency electrical stimulation.
The success of the existing art in stimulating reservoirs has been spotty at best, and the effective range of such methods has been limited to less than 1000 feet from the stimulation source. A good discussion on wettability, permeability, capillary forces and adhesive and cohesive forces in reservoirs is provided by the Ellingsen '508 patent. These discussions fairly represent the state of knowledge on these subjects and are not repeated herein. These discussions do not, however, address the limitations on the current state of the art in acoustic stimulation.
Existing acoustic stimulation methods have demonstrated clearly that they are limited to a range of about 1000 feet from the stimulation point. This limit is caused by the natural attenuation properties of the reservoir, which absorb high frequencies preferentially and reduce the effective frequency range to less than a few hundred Hertz at distances beyond about 1000 feet from the acoustic source. This same limit has plagued seismic imaging in cross-borehole studies for many years and is a fundamental physical limitation on all acoustic methods.
Effective acoustic stimulation of oil-bearing reservoirs requires support at greater distances from the stimulation source than possible with most of the prior art. In addition, there is some empirical evidence suggesting that higher frequencies than direct acoustic methods can generate may be more effective in stimulation of oil-bearing reservoirs. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a stimulation source that has a greater range of effectiveness than the prior art discussed above. Such a source should preferably be able to provide stimulation at higher frequencies than the 10-500 Hz typically attainable using prior art methods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,650 issued to Wesley teaches a device for electrohydraulic recovery of crude oil using by means of an electrohydraulic spark discharge generated in the producing formation in a well. This method presents an elegant apparatus that can be placed in the producing interval and can produce a shock and acoustic wave with very desirable qualities. The present invention will build on the teachings of this patent and will extend the effective range of Wesley's method through new and novel equipment designs and field configurations of Wesley's apparatus and new apparatus designed to enhance the effect on oil reservoirs.
Hydrocarbons recovered from a wellbore may include a number of components. The term "crude oil" is used to refer to hydrocarbons in liquid form. The API gravity of crude oil can range from 6� to 50� API with a viscosity range of 5 to 90,000 cp under average conditions. Condensate is a hydroacarbon that may exist in the producing formation either as a liquid or as a condensable vapor. Liquefaction of the gaseous components occurs when the temperature of the recovered hydrocarbons is lowered to typical surface conditions. Recovered hydrocarbons also include free gas that occurs in the gaseous phase under reservoir conditions, solution gas that comes out of solution from the liquid phase when the temperature is lowered, or as condensable vapor. Recovered hydrocarbons also commonly include water that may be in either liquid form or vapor (steam). The liquid water may be free or emulsified: free water reaches the surface separated from liquid hydrocarbons whereas the emulsified water may be either water dispersed as an emulsion in liquid hydrocarbons or as liquid hydrocarbons dispersed as an emulsion in water. Produced well fluids may also include gaseous impurities including nitrogen, helium and other inert gases, CO2, SO2 and H2S. Solids present in the recovered wellbore fluids may include sulphur. Heavy metals such as chromium, vanadium or manganese may also be present in the recovered fluids from a wellbore, either as solids or in solution as salts. In all enhanced EOR operations, it is desirable to separate these and other commercially important materials from the recovered fluids.
The present invention is a pulsed power device and a method of using the pulsed power device for EOR. Pulsed power is the rapid release of electrical energy that has been stored in capacitor banks. By varying the inductance of the discharge system, energies from 1 to 100,000 Kilojoules can be released over a pulse period from 1 to 100 microseconds. The rapid discharge results in a very high power output that can be harnessed in a variety of industrial, chemical, or medical applications. The energy release from the system can be used either in a direct plasma mode through a spark gap or exploding filament, or by discharging the energy through a single- or multiple-turn coil that generates a short-lived but extremely intense magnetic field.
When electricity stored in capacitors is released across a spark gap submerged in water, a plasma channel is created that vaporizes the surrounding water. This plasma ionizes the water and generates very high pressures and temperatures as it expands outward from the discharge point. In a plasma, or electrohydraulic (EH) mode, the pulse may be used in a wide range of processes including geophysical exploration, mining and quarrying, precision demolition, machining and metal forming, treatment and purification of a wide range of fluids, ice breaking, defensive weaponry, and enhanced oil recovery which is the purpose of the present invention. The basic physics of the shock wave that is generated by the EH discharge is well understood and is documented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,650 issued to Wesley, and incorporated herein by reference.
In the electromagnetic (EM) mode, the coil is designed to produce controlled flux compression that can be used to generate various physical effects without the coupled effect of the EH strong acoustic wave. In both systems, however, typical systems require about 0.5 to 1 seconds to accumulate energy from standard power sources. The ratio of accumulation time to discharge time (100,000 to 1,000,000) allows the generation of pulses with several gigawatts of peak power using standard power sources.
Given the physical limitations on direct acoustic stimulation caused by attenuation in natural materials, acoustic stimulation must be generated using wide band vibrations in these materials at distances much greater than the current limitation of about 1000 feet. The present invention addresses this issue in a new and innovative way using pulsed power as the source. The Wesley '650 patent teaches a method for generating strong acoustic vibrations for reservoir stimulation that has been shown in the field to have an effective limit of about 1000 feet. What was not recognized in the Wesley teachings was that the pulsed power method also has a unique ability to generate high-frequency acoustic stimulation of the reservoir separately from the direct acoustic response of the EH shock wave generated by the plasma discharge in the wellbore. In addition to the direct shock wave effect claimed in the Wesley patent, the pulsed power discharge also generates a strong electromagnetic pulse that travels at the speed of light across the reservoir. As this electromagnetic pulse transits the reservoir, it induces a coupled acoustic vibration at very high frequencies in geologic materials like quartz that causes stimulation at multiple scales in the reservoir body. This induced acoustic vibration acts for a short period of time after the pulse is discharged, usually on the order of about 0.1 to 0.3 seconds, but is induced everywhere that the electromagnetic pulse travels. Thus, it is not limited by the natural acoustic attenuation that limits the effectiveness of a direct acoustic pulse source because it is induced at all locations in-situ by the electromagnetic pulse. At the same time, the lower-frequency direct acoustic pulse travels through the reservoir at the velocity of sound. This direct acoustic pulse assists the electromagnetically-induced vibrations in stimulating the reservoir, but has a clearly limited range due to the finite speed that it can travel before the EM-induced vibrations decay and become ineffective.
Effective acoustic stimulation of oil-bearing reservoirs requires higher frequencies than direct acoustic methods can generate and support at great distances from the stimulation source. Every rock formation can be modeled as a uniform equivalent medium with imbedded inclusions. These inclusions can be present at the pore scale, grain scale, crack scale, lamina scale, bedding scale, sand body scale, and larger scales. Each of these inclusions, or features, of the formation act as scatterers that absorb acoustic energy. The frequency of the energy absorbed is directly correlated to the scale of the inclusions and the contrast in physical properties between the inclusion and the surrounding matrix, and this absorption provides the energy for enhanced oil recovery that is required at a specific scale of inclusion. Hence, an effective acoustic stimulation program can be designed to optimize the energy absorption and effective stimulation if the scale of the inclusions and their physical properties are known, and if the acoustic stimulation frequencies can be targeted at these inclusion scales over a large volume of the reservoir. The limitations and variations in the effectiveness of existing acoustic methods are directly correlated to the narrow band of seismic frequencies from 10-500 hertz used to stimulate and whether there are inclusions at those frequencies within the effective range of the stimulation method in question. When this physical understanding of the role of acoustic absorption by scale dependent features in reservoirs is included, it becomes readily apparent why existing acoustic methods with a frequency band limited to a few hundred hertz are not capable of stimulating most reservoirs effectively. The existing technology has demonstrated a spotty record because the narrow band of frequencies used are often not the right ones for stimulating the critical inclusions of a particular reservoir. The scale of the inclusions that are critical to effective stimulation exist at the pore scale, grain scale, flat-crack scale, and fracture scale, all of which are activated by much higher frequencies (kilohertz and higher) than the band pass of the low-frequency direct acoustic wave.
The present invention differs from all of the prior art in several ways. First, it uses a coupled process of direct EH acoustic vibrations that propagate outward into the formation from one or more wells, and electromagnetically-induced high-frequency acoustic vibrations that are generated using both EH and EM pulsed power discharge devices that takes advantage of the acoustic coupling between the electromagnetic pulse and the formation. This is significantly different from the prior art which relies on acoustic vibrations only, or a combination of acoustic vibrations and low-frequency AC or DC electrical stimulation.
The present invention also recognizes that these two effects must occur together to effectively mobilize the oil and increase production of the oil. The problem that arises is that the EM-induced vibrations only occur for a short time after the electrohydraulic or electromagnetic pulse is initiated. The electrohydraulic acoustic pulse travels at a finite speed from the well where the pulse originates, so that the effective range of the technique is defined by how far the acoustic wave can travel before the electromagnetically-induced vibration in the reservoir ceases. Hence, a single pulse source has a range that is limited by the pulse characteristics employed.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the technique can be applied using a multi-level discharge device that allows sequential firing of several sources in one well in a time sequence that is optimized to allow continuous electromagnetic-coupled stimulation of a large reservoir volume while the electrohydraulic acoustic pulse travels further from the pulse well than it could before a single source electromagnetic vibration would decay. This approach can be used to extend the effective range of the stimulation by a factor of 5-6 from about 1000 feet as claimed and proven in the Wesley patent, i.e., up to distances of 5000 to 6000 feet claimed in the present invention. This allows the technique to be applied effectively to a wide range of oil fields around the world. This concept can be extended to the placement of multiple tools in multiple wells to achieve better stimulation of a specific volume of the reservoir.
In another embodiment of the invention, the range of the technique is extended by using multiple pulse sources in multiple wells that allow the electromagnetically-induced vibrations to continue for a longer time, thus allowing the acoustic pulse to travel further into the formation, effectively extending the range of coupled stimulation that can be achieved. This embodiment utilizes a time-sequential discharge pattern that produces a series of electromagnetically-induced vibrations that will last up to several seconds while the direct acoustic pulse travels further from the discharge source to interact with the electromagnetically-induced vibrations at much greater distances in the reservoir.
In another embodiment of the present invention, multiple EH and EM sources can be placed in multiple wellbores and discharged to act as an array that will stimulate production of the oil in a given direction or specific volume of the reservoir.
In another aspect of the invention, the discharge characteristics of the pulse sources can be customized to produce specific frequencies that will achieve optimal stimulation by activating specific scales of inclusions in the reservoir. In this embodiment, the discharge devices can have their inductances modified to achieve a variety of pulse durations and peak frequencies that are tuned to the specific reservoir properties. This allows for the design of a multi-spectral stimulation program that can activate those inclusions that are critical to enhanced production, while preventing activation of those inclusions that might inhibit enhanced production. Once the desired inclusions for stimulation are defined by conventional geophysical logging methods, a reservoir model is constructed and the optimal frequencies for the stimulation are determined. The pulse tool can be adapted to a wide range of pulse durations and peak frequencies by adjusting the induction of the capacitor circuits in the pulse tool. Where multiple frequencies are desired to achieve stimulation at several scales, the multi-level tool in a single well or multiple tools placed in multiple wells can be tuned to the reservoir to optimize the desired stimulation effect and produce a multi-spectral stimulation of the reservoir.
The present invention also differs from the previous art in that it includes the use of EM pulse sources that do not generate a direct acoustic shock pulse like the plasma shock effect caused by the spark gap in the electrohydraulic device defined by Wesley. These pulse sources replace the conventional spark gap discharge device defined by Wesley with a single-turn magnetic coil that produces a magnetic pulse with no acoustic pulse effect. This tool can be placed in more sensitive wells that will not tolerate the strong shock effect of an EH pulse generator. They also allow a wider range of discharge pulse durations that will extend the effective frequency range of induced vibrations that can be applied to a given reservoir.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the EH pulse source can be directed using a range of directional focusing and shaping devices that will cause the acoustic pulse to travel only in specific directions. This reflector cone allows the operator to aim the pulses from one or multiple wells so that they can effect the specific portion of the formation where stimulation is desired.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the pulse source is placed in an injector well that is being used for water injection, surfactant injection, diluent injection, or CO2 injection. The tool can be configured to operate in a rubber sleeve to isolate it, where appropriate, from the fluids being injected. The tool can be deployed in a packer assembly suspended by production tubing, and can be bathed continuously in water to maintain good coupling to the formation. Gases generated by the electrohydraulic discharge can be removed from the packer assembly by pumping water down the well and allowing the gases to be flushed back up the production tubing to maintain optimal coupling and avoid the increase in compressibility that would occur if the gases were left in the well near the discharge device.
A chronic problem with electrohydraulic discharge devices is that the electrodes are prone to wear and must be replaced from time to time. In another embodiment of the present invention, the electrodes designed for electrohydraulic stimulation have been improved using several methods including (1) improved alloys that withstand the pulse discharge better and last longer, (2) two new feeding devices for exploding filaments, one with a hollow electrode using a pencil filament, and one with a rolled filament on a spool, that allows the exploding filament to be threaded across the spark gap rapidly between discharges so that the pulse generator can operate more efficiently, and (3) gas injection through a hollow electrode that acts as a spark initiation channel.
In another embodiment of the invention, the fluids produced from the wellbore are separated into its components. These components may include one or more of associated gas, condensate, liquid hydrocarbons, helium and other noble gases, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, pyrite, paraffins, heavy metals such as chromium, manganese and vanadium.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the basic configuration of the tool as deployed in a wellbore, including the surface equipment, winch truck and control panel, and showing the activation of various scales of the reservoir in a blow-up insert to the diagram.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing improvements in the basic one-level tool from U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,650 of Wesley.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the design of a multi-level tool allowing time sequential and variable inductance discharges with both EH and EM discharge devices under user control.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the design of a single-turn coil EM discharge device for the tool with rubber sleeve for electrical isolation.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the activation of a reservoir adjacent to the tool with a multi-level discharge device.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the deployment of multiple tools in multiple wells to act as a source array.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the deployment of a tool contained in a packer assembly in an injector well with tubing to feed water and electrical and control leads.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the design of the tool incorporating a sleeve exploder configuration for non-packer applications.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the design of the directional energy cone for the EH discharge device.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the design of hollow EH electrodes with a pencil exploding filament device.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the design of hollow EH electrodes with a spooled feeding device for an exploding filament.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the design of hollow electrodes with a gas-injection device for improving electrode wear.
FIG. 1 shows a wellbore 1 drilled in the subsurface of the earth penetrating formations 7, 9, 11, 13. 15 . . . The wellbore 1 is typically filled with a drilling fluid 5 known in the art as "drilling mud.". The sonde 21 that forms part of the present invention is conveyed downhole, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, on an armored electrical cable, commonly called a wireline 3.
The wireline is supported by a derrick 19 or other suitable device and may be spooled onto a drum (not shown) on a truck 25. By suitable rotation of the drum, the downhole tool may be lowered to any desired depth in the borehole. In FIG. 1, for illustrative purposes, the downhole tool is shown as being at the depth of the formation 11. This is commonly a hydrocarbon reservoir from which recovery of hydrocarbons is desired. An uphole power source 33 and a surface control unit 23 provide electrical power and control signals through the electrical conductors in the wireline to the sonde 21. In FIG. 1, the sonde is depicted as generating energy pulses 35 into one of the subsurface formations.
The control unit 23 includes a power control unit 25 that controls the supply of power to the sonde 21. The surface control unit also includes a fire control unit 27 that is used to initiate generation of the energy pulses 35 by the sonde. Another component of the surface control unit 23 is the inductance control unit 29 that controls the pulse duration of the energy pulses 35. Yet another component of the surface control unit is the rotation control 31 that is used to control the orientation of components of the sonde 35. The functions of the power control unit 25, the fire control unit 27, the inductance control unit 29 and the rotation control unit 31 are discussed below in reference to FIG. 3.
One embodiment of the invention is a tool designed for operation at a single level in a borehole. This is illustrated in FIG. 2 that is a view of the sonde 21 land the major components thereof as adapted to be lowered into the well. The basic EH sonde is an improvement over that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,650 issued to Wesley and the contents of which are fully incorporated here by reference.
One set of modifications relates to the use of processors wherever possible, instead of the electronic circuitry. This includes the surface control unit 23 and its components as well as in the downhole sonde.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sonde 21 is used within a cased well, though it is to be understood that the present invention may also be used in an uncased well. The sonde 21 comprises an adapter 53 that is supported by a cable head adapter 55 for electrical connection to the electrical conductors of the wireline 3. The sonde 21 includes a gyro section 57 that is used for establishing the orientation of the sonde and may additionally provide depth information to supplement any depth information obtained uphole in the truck 25 based upon rotation of the take-up spool. The operation of the gyro section 57 would be known to those versed in the art and is not discussed further. The gyro section 57 here is an improvement over the Wesley device and makes it possible to controllably produce energy pulses in selected directions.
The other main components of the sonde 21 are a power conversion and conditioning system 59, a power storage section 63, a discharge and inductance control section 65, and the discharge section 67. A connector 69 couples the power conversion and conditioning section to the power storage section 63. The power storage section 63, as discussed in the Wesley patent, comprises a bank of capacitors for storage of electrical energy. Electrical power is supplied at a steady and relatively low power from the surface through the wireline 3 to the sonde and the power conversion and conditioning system includes suitable circuitry for charging of the capacitors in the power storage section 63. Timing of the discharge of the energy in the power from the power storage section 63 through the discharge section 67 is accomplished using the discharge and induction control section 65 on the basis of a signal from the fire control unit (27 in FIG. 1). Upon discharge of the capacitors in the power storage section 63 through the discharge section 67 energy pulses are transmitted into the formation. In one embodiment of the invention, the discharge section 67 produces EH pulses. Refinements in the design of the discharge section 67 over that disclosed in the Wesley patent are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 9-12.
Turning now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of the invention suitable for use with multiple levels of energy stimulation into the formation is illustrated. The downhole portion of the apparatus comprises a plurality of sondes 121 a, 121 b, . . . 121 n. For illustrative purposes, only three sondes are shown. The coupling between two of the sondes 121 a and 121 b is illustrated in detail in the figure. Eyehooks 141 and 143 enable sonde 121 b to be suspended below sonde 121 a. This eyehook arrangement allows for a limited rotation of sonde 121 b relative to sonde 121 a. Flexible electrical leads 153 carry power and signals to the lower sonde 121 b and the eyehooks ensure that the leads 153 are not subjected to stresses that might cause them to break. The leads are carried within support post 151 in the upper sonde 121 a. A similar arrangement is used for suspending the remaining sondes.
Each of the sondes 121 a, 121 b . . . 121 n has corresponding components in the surface control unit 123. Illustrated are power control units 125 a, 125 b . . . 125 n for power supply to the sondes; inductance control units 127 a, 127 b . . . 127 n for inductance control; rotation control units 129 a, 129 b . . . 129 n for controlling the rotation of the various sondes relative to each other about the longitudinal axes of the sondes (see rotation bearing 71 in FIG. 2); and inclination control unites 131 a, 131 b, . . . 131 n for controlling the inclination of the discharge sections (see 67 in FIG. 2) of the sondes relative to the horizontal. In addition, the surface control unit also includes a fire control and synchronization unit 135 that controls the sequence in which the different sondes 121 a, 121 b, . . . 121 n are discharged to send energy into the subsurface formations.
Turning next to FIG. 4, an EM pulse source is depicted. This is a single-turn magnetic coil that produces a magnetic pulse with no significant acoustic pulse. This tool can be placed in more sensitive wells that will not tolerate the strong shock effect of an EH pulse generator. It also allows a wider range of discharge pulse durations that will extend the effective frequency range of induced vibrations (up to 100 microseconds) that can be applied to a given reservoir.
The input electrical power is supplied by a conductor 161. The EM discharge device comprises a cylindrical single-turn electromagnet 179 having an annular cavity 174 filled with insulation 175. The electromagnet body is separated by rubber insulation 173 from the steel top plate 164 and the steel base plate 181. Steel support rods 171 couple the steel top plate 164 and the steel base plate 181. The whole is within a nonconductive housing 163 with an expansion gap between the steel base plate 183. Optionally, provision may be made for circulating a cooling liquid between the electromagnet body 179 and the rubber insulation 173. The electromagnet does not allow current to flow back out of the device, which results in dissipative resistive heating of the magnet from each pulse, hence the potential need for a cooling medium if rapid discharge is desired.
Turning next to FIG. 5, the different scales at which the flow of reservoir fluids in the subsurface is depicted. Depicted schematically are four energy sources 211, 213, 215 and 217 within a borehole 201. Waves 200 a from source 211 are depicted as propagating into formations 221, 223 and 225 to stimulate the flow of hydrocarbons therein. The frequency of these waves is selected to stimulate flow on the scale of bedding layers: typically, this is of the order of a few centimeters to a few meters.
The energy source 217 is shown propagating waves 200 d into the subsurface to stimulate flow of hydrocarbons from fractures 227 therein. As would be known to those versed in the art, these fractures may range in size from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. Accordingly, the frequency associated with the waves 200 d would be greater than the frequency associated with the waves 200 a.
Also shown in FIG. 5 are waves 200 b and 200 c from sources 213 and 215 are depicted as propagating into the formation to stimulate flow of hydrocarbons on the scale of grain size 229 and pore size 231. Typical grain sizes for subsurface formations range from 0.1 mm to 2 mm. while pore sizes may range from 0.01 mm to about 0.5 mm, so that the frequency for stimulation of hydrocarbons at the grain size scale is higher than for the fractures and the frequency for stimulation of flow at the pore size level is higher still.
As would be known to those versed in the art, the discharge of a capacitor is basically determined by the inductance and resistance of the discharge path. Accordingly, one function of the inductance control units (27 in FIG. 1; 65 in FIG. 2; 127 a . . . 127 n in FIG. 3) in the invention is to adjust the rate of discharge (the pulse duration) and the frequency of oscillations associated with the discharge.
FIG. 6a is a plan view of an arrangement of wells using the present invention. Shown is a producing well 253 and a number of injection wells 251 a, 251 b, 251 c . . . 251 n. Each of the wells includes a source of EH or EM energy. Shown in FIG. 6a are the acoustic waves 255 a, 255 b . . . 255 n propagating from the injection wells in the formation towards the producing well. When sources in all the injection wells 251 a, 251 b, 251 c . . . 251 n are discharged simultaneously, then the acoustic wavefronts, depicted here by 257 a . . . 257 n propagate through the subsurface as shown and arrive at the producing well substantially simultaneously, so that the stimulation of hydrocarbon production by the different sources occurs substantially simultaneously.
One or more of the wells 251 a, 251 b, 251 c . . . 251 n may be used for water injection, surfactant injection, diluent injection, or CO2 injection using known methods. The tool can be configured to operate in a rubber sleeve to isolate it, where appropriate, from the fluids being injected. The tool can be deployed in a packer assembly suspended by production tubing, and can be bathed continuously in water to maintain good coupling to the formation. Gases generated by the electrohydraulic discharge can be removed from the packer assembly by pumping water down the well and allowing the gases to be flushed back up the production tubing to maintain optimal coupling and avoid the increase in compressibility that would occur if the gases were left in the well near the discharge device. This is discussed below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 6b shows a similar arrangement of injection wells 251 a, 251 b . . . 251 n and a producing well 253. However, if the sources in the injection well are excited at different times by the surface control unit, then the acoustic waves 255 a′, . . . 255 n′ appear as shown and the corresponding wavefronts 257 a′, . . . 257 n′ arrive at the producing well at different times. In the example shown in FIG. 6b, the acoustic wave 257 c′ from well 251 c is the first to arrive.
In both FIG. 6a and 6 b, the injection wells have been shown more or less linearly arranged on one side of the producing well. This is for illustrative purposes only and in actual practice, the injection wells may be arranged in any manner with respect to the producing well. Those versed in the art would recognize that with the arrangement of either 6 a or 6 b, the frequencies of the acoustic pulses may be controlled to a limited extent by controlling the pulse discharge in the sources using the inductance controls of the surface control unit. As noted in the background to the invention, these acoustic waves will have a limited range of frequencies. However, when combined with the large range of frequencies possible with the EM waves, the production of hydrocarbons may be significantly improved over prior art methods.
Turning now to FIG. 7, a tool of the present invention is shown deployed in a cased borehole within a formation 301. The casing 305 and the cement 303 have perforations 307 therein. An upper packer assembly 309 and a lower packer assembly 311 serve to isolate the source and limit the depth interval of the well over which energy pulses are injected into the formation. In addition to the power supply 313, provision is also made for water inflow 315 and water outflow 317. The outflow carries with it any gases generated by the excitation of the source 319. With the provision of the water supply, the borehole between the packers 309, 311 is filled with water or other suitable fluid and is in good acoustic coupling with the formation. This increases the efficiency of generation of acoustic pulses into the formation.
An alternate embodiment of the invention that does not use packer assemblies is schematically depicted in FIG. 8 wherein a tool of the present invention is shown deployed in a cased borehole within a formation 351. The casing 355 and the cement 353 have perforations (not shown). As in the embodiment of FIG. 7, in addition to the power supply 363, provision is also made for water inflow 365 and water outflow 367. The outflow carries with it any gases generated by the excitation of the source 369. The tool is provided with a flexible sleeve 373 that is clamped to the body of the tool by clamps 371 and 375. The sleeve isolates the fluid filled wellbore 357 from the water and the explosive source within the sleeve while maintaining acoustic coupling with the formation.
Turning now to FIG. 9, an embodiment of the invention allowing for directional control of the outgoing energy is illustrated. The tool 421 includes a bearing 403 that allows for rotation of the lower portion 405 relative to the upper portion 401. This rotation is accomplished by a motor (not shown) that is controlled from the surface control unit. By this mechanism, the energy may be directed towards any azimuth desired. In addition, the tool includes a controller motor that rotates a threaded rotating post 409. Rotation of the post 409 pivots a pulse director 412 in a vertical plane, and a substantially cone-shaped opening in the pulse director directs the outgoing energy in the vertical direction.
A common problem with prior art spark discharge devices is damage to the electrodes from repeated firing. One embodiment of the present invention that addresses this problem is depicted in FIG. 10. Shown are the electrodes 451 and 453 between which an electrical discharge is produced by the discharge of the capacitors discussed above with reference to FIG. 2. The electrode 451 connected to the power supply (not shown) is referred to as the "live" electrode. In such spark discharge devices, the greatest amount of damage occurs to the live electrode upon initiation of the spark discharge. In the device shown in FIG. 10, the live electrode is provided with a hollow cavity 454 through which a pencil electrode 457 passes. The pencil electrode 457 is designed to be expendable and initiation of the spark discharge occurs from the pencil electrode while the bulk of the electrical discharge occurs from the live electrode 451 after the spark discharge is initiated. This greatly reduces damage to the live electrode 451 with most of the damage being limited to the end 459 of the pencil electrode from which the spark discharge is initiated. The device is provided with a motor drive 455 that feeds the pencil electrode 457 through the live electrode upon receipt of a signal from the control unit received through the power and control leads 455. In one embodiment of the invention, this signal is provided after a predetermined number of discharges. Alternatively, a sensor (not shown) in the downhole device measures wear on the pencil electrode and sends a signal to the control unit.
Another embodiment of the invention illustrated schematically in FIG. 11 uses a filament for the initiation of the spark discharge. The power leads (not shown) are connected to the live electrode 501 as before, and the return electrode 503 is positioned in the same way as before. The filament 511 is wound on a spool 509 and is carried between rollers 513 into a hole 504 within the live electrode. The spark is initiated at the tip 515 of the filament 511. The filament 511 gets consumed by successive spark discharges and additional lengths are unwound from the spool 509 as needed using the power and control leads 505.
FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the invention wherein a gas 561 is conveyed through tubes 563 and 565 to the hollow lower electrode 553 via a threaded pressure fitting 569. The lower electrode is coupled by means of a thread to the bottom plate 567. The flowing gas gets ionized by the potential difference between the lower electrode 553 and the upper electrode 551. The initiation of the spark takes place in this ionized gas, thereby reducing damage to the electrodes 551 and 553.
There are a number of different methods in which the various embodiments of the device discussed above may be used. Central to all of them is the initiation of an electromagnetic wave into the formation. The EM wave by itself produces little significant hydrocarbon flow on a macroscopic scale; however, it does serve the function of exciting the hydrocarbons within the formation at a number of different scales as discussed above with reference to FIG. 5. This EM wave may be produced by an electromagnetic device, such as is shown in FIG. 4, or may be produced as part of an EH wave by a device such as described in the Wesley patent or described above with reference to FIGS. 10, 11 or 12. This EM wave is initiated at substantially the same time as the arrival of the acoustic component of an earlier EH wave at the zone of interest from which hydrocarbon recovery is desired. Any suitable combination of EH and EM sources fired at appropriate times may be used for the purpose as long as an EM and an acoustic pulse arrive at the region of interest at substantially the same time.
For example, a single EH source as in FIG. 1, may be fired in a repetitive manner so that acoustic pulses propagate into the layer 11: the EM component of later firings of the EH source will then produce the necessary conditions for stimulation of hydrocarbon flow at increasing distances from the wellbore 1. Also by way of example, a vertical array of sources such as is shown in FIG. 5 may be used to propagate EM and acoustic pulses into the formation to stimulate hydrocarbon flow from different formations and from different types of pore spaces (fractures, intragranular, etc.). EH and/or EM sources may be fired from a plurality of wellbores as shown in FIG. 6a, 6 b to stimulate hydrocarbon flow in the vicinity of a single production well. The sources may be oriented in any predetermined direction in azimuth and elevation using a device as shown in FIG. 9. In any of the arrangements, additional materials such as steam, water, a surfactant, a diluent or CO2 may be injected into the subsurface. The injected material serves to increased the mobility of the hydrocarbon, and/or increase the flow of hydrocarbon.
The primary purpose of using electrohydraulic stimulation as described above is the recovery of hydrocarbons from the subsurface formations. However, as noted above in the Background of the Invention, the fluids recovered from a producing borehole may include a mixture of hydrocarbons and water and additional material such as, solids, CO2, H2S, SO2, inert gases.
H. Vernon Smith in Chapter 12 of the Petroleum Engineering Handbook (Society of Petroleum Engineers), and the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, reviews devices known as Oil and Gas Separators, that are normally used near the wellhead, manifold or tank battery to separate fluids produced from oil and gas wells into oil and gas or liquid and gas. In one embodiment of the present invention, any of the devices discussed in Smith may be used to separate fluids produced by the electrohydraulic stimulation discussed above. Favret (U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,918), the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, teaches a fractionation column for separation of oil from a fluid mixture containing oil. Kjos (U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,476), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, teaches an arrangement in which a first cyclone separator is used to separate gas and liquid, a second cyclone separation is used to separate condensate/oil from water, and a membrane separation us used to separate gases including H2S, CO2, and SO2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,697 to Fouillout et al, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, teaches a method in which recovered fluids from the wellbore are separated into an aqueous and a light phase consisting primarily of hydrocarbons and the aqueous phase is reinjected into the producing formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,549 to Daus et al., the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, teaches a membrane process for separating carbon dioxide from a gas stream. U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,896 to Chen et al, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, discloses the use of a membrane process for separation of CO2 and H2S from a sour gas stream. One embodiment of the present invention uses a membrane process such as that taught by Daus and Chen et al to separate CO2, H2S, He, Ar, N2, hydrocarbon vapors and/or H2O from a gaseous component of the recovered fluids from the borehole: Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 7 th Ed., by Robert H. Perry and Don W. Green, 1997, Chapter 22, Membrane Separation Processes, page 22-61, Gas-Separation Processes the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, teaches further methods for accomplishing such separation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,663 to Sterner, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, discloses a fractionation process for separation of of CO2 and H2S from a gas stream. One embodiment of the invention uses a fractionation process to separate CO2 and H2S from the recovered formation fluids.
Another embodiment of the invention uses a solvent method for removing H2S from the recovered formation fluids using a method such as that taught by Minkkinen et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,936, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Cryogenic separation may also be used to separate carbon dioxide and other acid gases from the recovered formation fluids. Examples of such methods are disclosed in Swallow (U.S. Pat. No. 4 ,441,900) and in Valencia et al (U.S. Pat. 4,923,493) the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. Those versed in the art would recognize that removal of carbon dioxide from the recovered formation fluids is particularly important if, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 6a, CO2 injection is used in conjunction with electrohydraulic stimulation.
Another embodiment of the invention uses a process of cryogenic separation such as that taught by Wissoliki (U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,407), the contents of which are fully incorporated here by reference, for recovering argon, oxygen and nitrogen from a natural gas stream. Optionally, Helium may be recovered from a natural gas stream using a cryogenic separation such as that taught by Blackwell et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,438), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment of the invention, a combination of cryogenic separation and solvent extraction, such as that disclosed in Mehra (U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,350) may be used for recovery of Helium.
As discussed above, a heavy liquid portion of the recovered formation fluids may include vanadium, nickel, sulphur and asphaltenes. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, these may be recovered by using, for example, the method taught by Uedal et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,371), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The process disclosed in Ueda includes bringing the liquid hydrocarbon in contact with a red mud containing alumina, silica and ferric oxide at elevated temperatures in the presence of hydrogen. Another method for recovery of heavy metals disclosed by Cha et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,209) includes mixing the heavy crude oil with tar sand, heating the mixture to about 800� F. and separating the tar send from the light oils formed during the heating. The heavy metals are then removed from the tar sand by pyrolysis.
While the foregoing disclosure is directed to the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims be embraced by the foregoing disclosure.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
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Author: John Galt
John Galt, 1779 ? 1839, Scottish novelist. He wrote poems, tragedies and travel books, but he is known chiefly for his novels of Scottish country life. As a young man, he made the acquaintance of Lord Byron, of whom he wrote a biography in 1830.
Count: 4392

subset: commoncrawl


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Parks & Recreation
Featured LinksContact Parks & Recreation P&R Comprehensive and Master Plans Parks and Trails PRAC Report Graffiti, Vandalism or Trash Salty the Sea Otter Shelter Reservations Subscribe to P&R News OHV Park Information Auke Lake
Facilities & RecreationAdult Sports Augustus Brown Pool Centennial Hall Convention Center Dimond Park Aquatic Center Jensen-Olson Arboretum Parking Facilities Treadwell Ice Arena Youth Sports Zach Gordon Youth Center
Mission Statement
To enhance the quality of life in Juneau, the Parks and Recreation Department will deliver a high level of guest service with cost effective operations provided by highly engaged employees.
News Items5th Annual DAY AT THE POOL -- JULY 11WELCOME new Zach Gordon Youth Center Manager - JORDEN NIGROHave you checked out the summer schedules at the POOLS -- we are OPENP&R Pools Get new staff!!John Caouette Cabin at Twin Lakes now available for reservationsP&R NewsletterKristi West's retirement recognized at CBJ Assembly on May 18The Flowers of Juneau donation opportunityParty RentalsDPAC July swim schedule Electric Vehicle Charging Station comes to the MPGSHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH P&RYouth Activities Board Meeting NoticeYouth Outdoor Soccer Registration - Ages 5-14Aquatics Facility Advisory BoardParks & Recreation Advisory CommitteeJuneau Non-Motorized Transportation PlanJuneau Non-Motorized Transportation Plan MapsJensen-Olson Arboretum Advisory Board MeetingJSC Soccer Camps in JULY. Registration continuing.Dimond Park Aquatic Center DesignParks & Recreation Comprehensive PlanSavikko Park Master Plan
Dog Task Force
2006 Dog Task Force Recommendations and Public Comment:
2003-2005 Final Recommendations, Public Comments, Notes & Agendas, etc.


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i heard they're announcing it tomorrow at 7 pm pacific time
yah me too. just heard it
KROQ have always been shit. and they are terrible with coachella announcements. ive been around this board since 07. they have always sucked balls!
I wonder if this how shit goes down in Africa when they're waiting on their food relief packages..."Maliki from two huts down said the rice is going to be dropped two sundowns from today." Two sundowns later..."Maliki is motherfucking douchebag! EVERY year we fall for this bullshit!"
i think the whole not changing the video on the homepage sucked us into it 2...
u understood it didnt u??
Wow a lot of lurkers around. I like it!
Best Coachellacomic ever.
Anything with E becomes a dance party. My vacuum cleaner becomes a dance party on E
Quick question, has anyone else here actually held a fetus? They're not very cute.
WHOA... now that was pretty fucking cool!
Anything with E becomes a dance party. My vacuum cleaner becomes a dance party on E
Quick question, has anyone else here actually held a fetus? They're not very cute.
GV are some smart mother fuckers by dragging this out,look at immature you guys are all acting,i'm pretty sure GV paid kroq to say that "coachella info coming soon,stay tuned" its all marketing,funny thing is when the lineup is released,all will be forgotten,just be patient..fuckin A,we all know its coming any day now
you really think kroq is going to announce this first? you pay kroq to piss everyone off(like now) then coachella will release the line up and all will be forgotten,and you'll still hate kroq
Last edited by arsgunner; 01-18-2011 at 08:41 PM.
past, present and future...KROQ can fuck right off
are you guys tea partiers by any chance?
so when a douche from kroq comes out on the main stage to do their shitty job of getting everyone hyped for the headliner can we throw bottles of piss at them?
people...lets not forget how gay kroq has been this year, with all those teasers leading up to nothing on the radio. i say we raid the kroq tent this year at coachella. teach them a thing or two for teasing us. its like licking the tip and not letting you finish. unacceptable. we will put this bitch back in its place.


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Among those changes: the revival of an indigenous food culture.
He brought indigenous Australians onstage and had them play the didgeridoo just because he could.
The Social Realism and Muralist Movements from artists like Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco worked with indigenous crafts.
1640s, from Late Latin indigenus "born in a country, native," from Latin indigena "sprung from the land," as a noun, "a native," literally "in-born," or "born in (a place)," from Old Latin indu "in, within" (earlier endo) + *gene-, root of gignere (perf. genui) "beget," from PIE *gen- "produce" (see genus).
Native to a particular region or environment but occurring naturally in other places as well. The American black bear is indigenous to many different parts of North America. Compare alien, endemic.


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Rabbit With Fruit Sauce
|4 Pound, cut into serving pieces and fat removed
|Rice vinegar
|2 1⁄2 Cup (40 tbs)
|1 1⁄2 Cup (24 tbs)
|2 Medium, sliced
|Chopped celery
|1⁄2 Cup (8 tbs)
|Mixed pickling spices
|1 1⁄2 Tablespoon
|Bay leaves
|Chicken stock
|2 Tablespoon
|1⁄2 Cup (8 tbs)
|Apple cider
|1 1⁄2 Cup (24 tbs)
|Chopped peeled apples
|2 Cup (32 tbs)
|2 Teaspoon
|Cold water
|2 Tablespoon
|Watercress sprigs
|1 (For Garnish)
Place the rabbit in a large bowl.
Add the vinegar, 1 1/2 cups water, onions, celery, pickling spices, and bay leaves.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, turning the rabbit pieces occasionally.
Remove the rabbit from the marinade and dry with paper towels.
Strain the marinade and reserve.
Dredge the rabbit pieces in flour, then brown in the stock in a large flameproof casserole.
Add the strained marinade, the raisins, and enough cider to cover the rabbit.
Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat, cover the casserole, and bake at 350° for 1 hour.
Remove the rabjbit and keep warm.
Strain the raisins from the braising liquid and reserve the liquid.
Press the raisins with the back of a spoon to release juices, then discard the raisins.
Place 1 cup of the braising liquid in a blender with the apples and process on medium speed until smooth.
Place with the remaining liquid in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a rolling boil, uncovered.
When the sauce has been reduced by nearly half, stir together the arrowroot and 2 tablespoons water and add to the saucepan.
Stir until the sauce is thickened.
Place the rabbit on a large serving platter and top with the sauce.
Garnish with watercress, if desired.


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Frozen Smiles Ice Cube: Love It or Hate It?
by Food
Like us on Facebook
While I was browsing online the other day, I came across this Frozen Smiles ice cube tray, which molds ice into dentures. It had me in stitches, and I think it would be a hilarious prank to pull on a friend. Do you agree, or does this ice cube tray gross you out?
POPSUGAR, the #1 independent media and technology company for women. Where more than 75 million women go for original, inspirational content that feeds their passions and interests.
u-know-wt 6 years
funny :p
u-know-wt 6 years
funny :p
allinavhcnerf 6 years
eww that's creepy!
allinavhcnerf 6 years
eww that's creepy!
AmberHoney 6 years
sfbutterfly24 I just got my first titanium implant on #14 and never thought of the dentist. Truly genius.
sfbutterfly24 6 years
I am so buying these!! My mom works for a dental school and my god-mother & god-father are dentist and they would FREAKIN LOVE THEM!!! Especially since every dentist I know has a wicked sense of humor (and I know a TON of dentist)
trouble450 6 years
yuk. Maybe made with fruit juice for Halloween but, yuk.
missyd 6 years
ummm hello HILARIOUS!
missyd 6 years
ummm hello HILARIOUS!
TheEnchantedOne 6 years
This would be good for a prank, but using it to cool my drink would just remind me of old people's false teeth in water cups! Gross! I wouldn't want to drink that!
Rancher'sGirl 6 years
These are priceless and a hoot! I would definitely play a prank with these. (My friends are a bit unique.);) BTW, MsMO, your folks sound like they have really cool senses of humor!:) Kinda like my dad, who would have so loved these.:)
MsMO 6 years
Sent it to my mom, told her to switch these out with my dad's LOL!!!
emalove 6 years
Gross, but kind of funny.
JaimeLeah526 6 years
I thought I'd be the only one who thought they were creepy, Guess not.
AmberHoney 6 years
I'm not the prankster type, so it's super gross to me. On the other hand, I love Halloween so it would be great in the punch bowl.
Diana172 6 years
I feel like they would be really fragile
Spectra 6 years
I'd only use it for Halloween, otherwise it is just a tad on the gross-out side.
LilGlamDiva 6 years
LilGlamDiva 6 years
jennjennnbubba 6 years
I love it!! its so funny! and part of the fun is giving ppl the unexpected!
Marci 6 years
I agree it's kind of creepy, but funny at the same time.
Nyrina-Windu 6 years
This would only work in your home if you were hosting a Halloween party. Other than that, no thanks.
saramd 6 years
think its kind of creepy.
saramd 6 years
think its kind of creepy.
partysugar 6 years
I think it would be fabulous floating in punch at a Halloween party!


text:
Mark Schulman will speak on Internet Scams
Mark Schulman is an author, speaker, software designer, and technology enthusiast. He enjoys learning about the ways technology can make life better and sharing those ideas with others. A particular interest is the growing trend to move medical records from paper to electronic records and how this trend will improve medical care. Mark speaks on a wide variety of technological issues.
Mark is a published author of seven computer books, including Using UNIX, Understanding UNIX, and Que's Guide to Lotus Notes (all published by Que, a division of MacMillan/McGraw-Hill).
Mark works as a software developer for a large international technology company and lives in Oviedo, Florida.


text:
Generates a simple sitemap for your site.
If you use the All In One SEO plugin or the Thesis theme, you can supply Custom Titles for each page and post. You can tick a box on the settings page to use those titles instead of the standard titles. If one page doesn't have a custom title, it will fall back to use the standard title.
Pages are listed according to 'menu order'. When you edit pages, you can set the Order. There are plugins available which let you drag/drop pages to set your preferred order.
Yes - if you have pages & subpages, they will be listed as an indented list.
Not yet. Posts are listed from newest to oldest, and are not grouped by category.


text:
+ - Nvidia Details 'Gameworks VR', Aims to Boost Virtual Reality Render Performance->
An anonymous reader writes: In a guest article published to Road to VR, Nvidia graphics programmer Nathan Reed details Nvidia's 'Gameworks VR' initiative which the company says is designed to boost virtual reality render performance, including support for 'VR SLI' which will render one eye view per GPU for low latency stereoscopy. While many Gameworks VR features will be supported as far back as GeForce 6xx cards, the company's latest 'Maxwell' (9xx and Titan X) GPUs offer 'Multi-projection' which Reed says, "enables us to very efficiently rasterize geometry into multiple viewports within a single render target at once... This better approximates the shading rate of the warped image that will eventually be displayed—in other words, it avoids rendering a ton of extra pixels that weren't going to make it to the display anyway, and gives you a substantial performance boost for no perceptible reduction in image quality."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source


text:
Experian Quarterly Business Credit Review Webinar | Q1 2014
Tags: Business Information, Small Business, Fraud Prevention
Experian and Moody's Analytics team up to review key findings from the latest Experian/Moody's Small Business Credit Index Q1 2014 report. Learn more about what the small business credit trends could mean for you and your business.
In Q1 2014, small-business credit conditions started off on a sour note. Our recent Experian/Moody's Analytics Small Business Credit Index fell slightly, as credit balances receded and 60 to 90 day delinquency rates increased. A harsh winter and the ripple effect of the Government Shutdown left many small businesses playing catchup from mostly lackluster retail sales and underwhelming job gains. For companies and organizations targeting the small business segment, it's important to understand the overall health of business credit, and the underlying macroeconomic trends which shape economic growth. In this webinar, Joel Pruis and Nate Kelley, Economist from Moody's Analytics offer key insights into the current economic landscape, answering questions to help you make better business decisions.


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It was a privilege to attend the early set on Saturday May 2 of the latest Mike Stern band at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA. Imagine a band that features the phenomenal guitarist with Anthony Jackson on bass, Randy Brecker on trumpet and Dennis Chambers on drums! Each player holds a special place in music history. It was especially heartening to see and hear Dennis Chambers play again after his recent health scare. He looked great and he sounded great!
I am still working on my latest project. I can't wait for it to be released. However, sometimes research takes more time than you expect. This is especially true if you are waiting for certain responses. Patience is the key in such circumstances.
Witnessed a fine performance from the Levin Brothers at TCAN in Natick. They are reliving their youth in a quartet playing cool jazz from the fifties.
Another winning album from MoonJune Records. On Proof of Light, guitarist Mark Wingfield's notes are forcibly extruded through the smallest of openings. Remarkably, he uses no synthesis at all during his lead playing to obtain this fascinating sound. That said, his unique style only matters because his compositions are so compelling. Some melodic heavy lifting is given to bassist Yaron Stavi and the wonderfully inventive Asaf Sirkis rounds out the trio on drums. Proof of Light is proof that Wingfield and his companions have it going on and you should listen as soon as possible.
Had a chance to listen to the new album "Groundswell" from Moraine (MoonJune Records) this morning. If a gun were held to my head, I'd call it "grunge jazz-rock swing." If not, I'd call it really good and well worth your time.
New Tony Williams Lifetime Images Emerge
A couple of months back, I was contacted by drummer Al Faaet. He was a fan of my Mahavishnu book. He wanted to help with the comprehensive Mahavishnu Orchestra gig list that we have been compiling for years. I get notes all the time from people who tell me they were at a concert that we don't have listed. The problem is that many times they cannot prove it. Memories aren't so perfect- especially memories from the 70s. (Those of you who lived through those years know what I mean.) So, I have learned to require some tangible proof before I place a concert in the gig list. A newspaper review, a ticket stub or some sort of provable record will do it. Well, Al had evidence in the form of the concert poster and he added, he had taken a few pictures. It turns out his photos were fantastic and historically important. They will soon be debuted in an eBook project I am currently working on.
Almost as an aside, Al mentioned he had some other photos too. Good previously unseen Mahavishnu Orchestra pictures are very hard to find. However, decent pictures of the Tony Williams Lifetime, the trailblazing jazz rock band that included John McLaughlin and helped pave the way for Mahavishnu and other jazz rock groups, were virtually nonexistent!
Al's pictures were not of the first version of Lifetime with McLaughlin, organist Larry Young, and of course, leader Tony Williams. By 1970, the trio had added bassist Jack Bruce straight after the demise of Cream. Still, to see Lifetime, in any incarnation, in color and performing live is a true jazz rock treasure. Due to the position of the camera, only Larry Young's sandals can be seen. That is a shame. Still, these are the best pictures of that seminal band I have ever seen.
Al Faaet: I had been turned on to Lifetime's Emergency album in 1969 by the drummer in the band I was with in college. So, I was already a huge fan by the time I saw Lifetime in August of 1970 at Ungano's. (In New York City.) I had received my draft notice for September and had been burning the candle pretty hard all summer long with regular applications of psychedelics. Nonetheless, it was still astonishing to me that the Lifetime show got me much higher than anything else I had been doing all summer!
(Click to enlarge)
I am currently hard at work on two new exciting Mahavishnu Orchestra related projects. Details soon!
The HuffingtonPost has picked-up the full story about the discovery of the long-lost Mahavishnu Orchestra Live in Seattle video!
See the homepage of this site for the exclusive viewing of the video Mahavishnu Orchestra Live in Seattle!
Jazz Rock guitar master Carl Orr really changes things up on Forbearance and what he gives us is a stunningly beautiful feast for the ears and the heart. Joined by an empathetic group of musicians, Orr may be quieter this time out, but his composing and brilliant guitar playing scream out louder than ever.
I only wish The Kai Eckhardt Band's infectious, funky and clever Zeitgeist was the reality of everyday life. Luckily, its uplifting grooves, head-swaying melodies and witty lyrics are certainly the antidote for it.
I just finished writing the liner notes for an exciting upcoming Larry Coryell and Eleventh House album.
"This is not some nostalgia trip. This is not retro. This is contemporary hard-driving instrumental music sporting its own id. Diamond Dust is how a 21st century power trio should sound."- That is what I have to say about Diamond Dust's It's That Time.
Guitar Channel interviewed me here.
Read my interview with Carlos Santana here.
I highly, highly recommend Wolfgang Schalk's remixed and remastered "The Second Third Man"... and not just because I wrote the liner notes! Wolfgang is one of the finest and most creative guitarists we have. Add legend Michael Brecker and a fine band interpreting Schalk's provocative compositions and you have a wondrous result! I would not lie to you... Buy it here.
Conduit, guitarist Greg Diamond's latest album is aptly named. A swirling solution of disparate styles and genres flows all through this music. Diamond can lay down husky bebop lines, sound like a nasty Carlos Santana or play it gentle. (And that is just on the first 3 tunes!) Saxophonists Seamus Blake and Brian Hoggins, pianist Mike Eckroth, bassist Edward Perez, drummer Henry Cole and conga player Mauricio Herrara are more than worthy compatriots in the non-homogeneous mixture that will have your head on a swivel one moment and your heart in your hand the next. Conduit does not fit easily into any category except really good music. Check out Greg's website.
I just interviewed Steve Howe, the legendary Yes guitarist, for my upcoming updated Mahavishnu Orchestra eBook!
I spoke with drummer Carmine Appice after a fantastic performance with Vanilla Fudge at TCAN. What a nice guy! I learned that his two all-time favorite bands are The Police and The Mahavishnu Orchestra.
I have an article at the Guitar Channel about the 40th Anniversary of the rise of the Mahavishnu Orchestra! Go to http://tinyurl.com/7no3aja
The exceedingly gifted guitarist Raul Mannola has a new album out. The album, Inner Visions of Flamenco, features both acoustic and electric guitars to produce a unique flamenco amalgam. Read about Raul, his new album and tour here
It was a real pleasure to be speak with Ian Patterson of allaboutjazz. The results are found in this in-depth interview.
I acted as guest blogger at Jazzstage.net. Read the blog here.
I heard the great bass player Tony Grey and his band at the Regattabar in Cambridge. Read more about this remarkable musician and his new album at his website.
Yet another fantastic review! I am so touched. This time out, the legendary rock critic and author Steven Rosen takes a turn. Read here.
Ian Patterson of allaboutjazz.com loves the book! Read here.
A rave review from Guitar International! Read here.
I was on Tom Gagliardi's Philadelphia radio and Internet show. As usual, had a great time. The interview is archived here!
Both evocative and in the here and now, veteran guitarist Joe Guido Walsh's Nothing Left To Say will appeal to fusion fans, progressive rockers and any listener with a clue.


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You know who you are; you killed this little girl's dog; apologize
To The Daily Sun,
To a thoughtless person with no heart,
On Sunday morning, September 28 at 8:30-8:45 a.m. I was just going out to my yard with my 5-year-old great-granddaughter so she could play for a while. Her 2-year-old dog "Koko" sneaked out the door and ran across the front lawn chasing something and I called to her but she did not listen. As I walked down the driveway to try and get her to come back up, she ran out onto Route 140 and a car struck and killed her.
The person who hit her never stopped or came back to see if all was alight. What really upset me is the fact that I have this child who saw what happened to her dog. She stood in the driveway crying unconditionally because she had seen what happened. She does not understand how a person could be like that.
I would like the person to get in touch with The Laconia Daily Sun and apologize to this little girl. Koko was her best friend and buddy.
Have a heart please. Olivia misses her friend.
Eileen R. Longo
Last Updated on Monday, 20 October 2014 08:09
Hits: 311
Recent events in Texas rendered Obama's prediction inaccurate
To The Daily Sun,
On September 16, President Obama publicly addressed the Ebola outbreak that was ravaging three Western African nations at that time. In his comments the president called for worldwide coordination to fight the disease while proclaiming the chances of an outbreak in the United States "very low." Recent events in Texas have rendered the president's prediction ephemerally inaccurate.
We now have two confirmed cases of the disease in Texas among health care professionals who cared for a deceased Ebola patient, Thomas Duncan, and health authorities in Dallas are tracking more than 120 people who may have had contact with that victim and the diseased workers. The president has not ordered any travel restrictions with the Western African countries where the disease has killed more than 4,000 people, including more than 200 health care workers.
Travelers are asked questions at the gate and temperatures are taken. This protocol is deemed prophylactic even though we don't know if Ebola can be spread by those who are currently asymptomatic. The disease has a 21-day incubation period, we do seem to know that much. The government tells us via its director of the Center for Disease Control that travel restrictions or a ban would be ineffective in controlling the disease, using an unconvincing excuse that we would not be able to get aid to those countries if we restricted travel, an assertion patently incredible on its face. That comes from a man who can't tell you scientifically if the disease can be transmitted through coughing or sneezing.
I wonder if Mr. Duncan would have infected anyone in Dallas if he had been questioned more carefully before entering the country (he had actual physical contact with an Ebola victim in Africa before flying here), or if he had been quarantined prior to traveling?
In slightly less recent times we have seen the ineffectiveness of our government at controlling the outbreak of TB, the entero virus, and other communicable diseases that have been transmitted through our southern border, largely due to intentionally lax border security and the subsequent relocation of tens of thousands of illegal aliens to all 50 states by the INS, ironically a division of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security doesn't seem to be terribly effective at having control over who comes into our country and federal authority doesn't seem to be much interested in trying and deporting those who have no right to be here in the first place. I wonder if that might be because the leadership in both the Democrat and Republican parties seemed hell bent on passing an amnesty bill a mere eight weeks ago, in spite of the fact that more than 60 percent of our citizens are against such preferential treatment for illegal aliens?
The executive branch of the federal government has the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security at its command to protect U.S. citizens from the deleterious effects of pathogens that could harm us, illegal aliens who have no right to be here under federal statute, and otherwise legal travelers who are infected with deadly disease.
We taxpayers expend multiple tens of billions of dollars to fund their operations. The employees of these agencies get all sorts of bonuses and other benefits that we in the private sector can only dream of. Yet it is remarkable how reluctant each department seems about doing its job. I wonder if that might be a reflection of the fact that our Commander in Chief doesn't seem much interested in his constitutional duty to "take care that the
laws be faithfully executed..."?
Perhaps we taxpayers should have all of this in mind when we go to the polls on Nov. 4.
Charlie Gallagher
Last Updated on Monday, 20 October 2014 07:58
Hits: 121
Why denigrate an obituary written as a tribute to a loved one?
To The Daily Sun,
Dear Mr. Albushies:
Just read your letter concerning a recent obituary in The Daily Sun. Are you aware that most obituaries are submitted by the family of the deceased? If they wish to celebrate his dedication to a sport he loved, then why denigrate it?
Daylon Brock
Last Updated on Monday, 20 October 2014 07:53
Hits: 308
Scott Brown is not a person with N.H. is his heart
To The Daily Sun,
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown think we in New Hampshire are annexable. How very different the two states are, however. Our economies are not at all alike, though southern-edge New Hampshire may somewhat resemble Massachusetts. It must be the two politicians are hoping that we in the rest of the state succumb to look alike with Massachusetts.
Romney is in our state stumping for Brown "to send a message to President Obama" by defeating Shaheen, who has loyally given her adult life energies to our state. How shallow a proposition. Two more years of Obama would be the target for this "message," leaving four more additional years the "message" would serve to undo our stature as an independent New England state should their "message" plan work and we get Brown for six years.
We have more independents than registered Republicans or Democrats. May the independents care, at this time, and vote in our November election, and realize their power to keep New Hampshire for New Hampshire. Scott Brown is not a person with New Hampshire in his heart.
Lynn Rudmin Chong
Last Updated on Friday, 17 October 2014 09:33
Hits: 575
George Hurt has pledged to protect our money & our freedoms
To The Daily Sun,
I ask that Meredith and Gilford Voters join me in voting for George Hurt on Nov. 4 in the general election. George, while raised in Sanbornton, has been a long time Gilford resident and a Laconia businessman for 30 years. He knows what it takes to make a payroll in tough economic times. His common sense approach to business matters will bode well for the taxpayers of Belknap County District 2 and the entire county as well.
George feels low business taxes and less government regulation are key to a healthy business environment and more jobs. He will work toward that end.
The Nov. 4 election is critical in terms of change. While many of our families and small business are under enormous financial strain, the current Democrat representative, Lisa DiMartino, of Gilford and Meredith has voted for increasing fees on home heating oil and more business taxes. This is not good for us, the taxpayers, nor the economy.
I hope you will join me in voting for a known, well respected, and trusted individual, who has pledged to protect our "money, our freedoms, and the economic future of our families." That individual is George Hurt.
Krystie Glines
Last Updated on Friday, 17 October 2014 09:29
Hits: 100


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School starts at new building for Sandy Hook kids
Teams of workers, many of them volunteers, prepared the new school and even raised bathroom floors so the smaller elementary school students can reach the toilets. The students' backpacks and other belongings that were left behind after the shooting were taken to the new school to make them feel at home.
Students found the same chairs and desks, when possible. Their classroom walls were painted the same colors and hung with the same pictures. Other details, such as the location of bookshelves and cubby holes, were replicated as much as possible.
Newtown school Superintendent Janet Robinson said the school has been transformed into a "cheerful" place for the students. She said mental health counselors continue to be available for anyone who needs them.
Caron, 32, said her son knows what happened and has undergone counseling. She said her 5-year-old daughter, Paige, attends afternoon kindergarten at the school and has been dealing with nightmares about "snakes and bears and coyotes."
"She wasn't at school that day but was with me when we went to look for William at the firehouse," Caron said. "Unfortunately, she heard more about it than I wish she did."
Intellectually, Caron said, she knows her children will be very safe at their new school.
"But, emotionally," she said. "It's very hard to turn off the little `What if?' that kind of hangs on and says, `Well, you know what, December 14th started out as a normal day, too."
Associated Press writer Michael Melia contributed to this report from Hartford, Conn.
The Associated Press


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More weird developments in Rhoads' case 11/19/05 column
The twists and turns leading from the scene of a double-murder 20 years ago in Edgar County through the state and federal courts keep getting stranger and stranger.
One man convicted in the case and sentenced to death, Randy Steidl, has been freed and is living in Missouri. He filed suit against those who prosecuted him and is asking Gov. Rod Blagojevich for clemency based on his innocence.
But the other man convicted, Herbert Whitlock, is serving a life sentence while pursuing a so-far-futile effort to win a new trial and his freedom.
Here are the latest Twilight Zone-type developments:
[–] Edgar County Circuit Judge H. Dean Andrews this week denied without comment a defense request to reconsider a decision he made earlier this year denying Whitlock a new trial.
[–] A public relations representative for the Paris businessman identified in recent civil court hearings as a "person of interest" in the Rhoads' murders announced that his client took a polygraph examination and denied involvement in the brutal stabbing deaths of Dyke and Karen Rhoads of Paris.
"Prominent entrepreneur passes polygraph," was the headline of a news release issued by Dan Curry, a former press secretary for former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald and former Attorney General Jim Ryan.
[–] Another embarrassing anonymous leak of confidential information from the Illinois State Police, this time a memo from a state police investigator assigned to a reinvestigation of the Rhoads' murders. In the memo, the investigator, Jeffrey Marlow, describes himself as someone who "naively wanted to play a part in the discovery of who really killed the kids" but requests reassignment because, in his opinion, neither his superiors in law enforcement nor lawyers in the state appellate prosecutor's office are interested in an honest probe of the Rhoads' case.
"The frustration level is too great for such a short life," Marlow wrote in his memo to state police Capt. Bruce Zywiec.
[–] A decision by the Illinois Attorney General's office not to intervene in the case at the circuit court level, replacing the state appellate prosecutor, for the purpose of confessing error in the Whitlock prosecution. But Barry Gross, chief deputy attorney general, said allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in the original prosecution remain "under review" as Whitlock's lawyers appeal.
Gross also said the Marlow memo is "something that is worthy of looking into" and that his office has asked state police to speak with investigator Marlow.
Judge Andrews' decision this week to again deny Whitlock a new trial did not come as a surprise. But the speed and brevity with which he did so was stunning.
After listening on Monday to defense lawyer Richard Kling, a Chicago law professor, Andrews denied the motion Tuesday without comment.
In a previous lengthy opinion, Andrews rejected defense claims, suggesting that questions about the credibility of the two alleged eyewitnesses to the killings were of little significance and downplaying defense challenges to physical evidence introduced in the case.
Andrews' findings as he sustained Whitlock's conviction were in sharp contrast to a ruling two years ago by U.S. Judge Michael McCuskey, who reviewed exactly the same evidence and overturned Steidl's conviction.
McCuskey ordered that Steidl either be released from prison or retried, and after reexamining the case, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided not to retry Steidl.
In his decision, McCuskey demolished physical evidence that prosecutors used to link Steidl and Whitlock to the killings. He said expert testimony produced by the defense on appeal demonstrated that the knife police said was used to kill the Rhoads could not have been the murder weapon.
Further, McCuskey ruled that Steidl's defense attorney, the late John Muller of Charleston, erred grievously when he did not call as a witness the work supervisor of the state's star witness, Debra Reinbolt, to testify that work records showed that Reinbolt was at work at the same time she told police she was drinking with Steidl and Whitlock hours before the murders.
The knife in question was turned over to police by Reinbolt, who said it had been given to her by Steidl and Whitlock.
But Judge Andrews rejected the significance of the knife testimony, although he conceded it "may not have been the knife to inflict all of the wounds." Speculating on his own, Andrews suggested there were two knives, although neither defense nor prosecution lawyers ever raised that scenario.
Further, Andrews placed great weight on testimony of Reinbolt, who said she was with Steidl and Whitlock when the killings occurred. Since the trial, Reinbolt and another purported eyewitness, Darrell Herrington, have repeatedly recanted their trial testimony and then recanted their recantations.
Nonetheless, Whitlock's lawyers now will appeal Andrews' decision while they retain hope that the attorney general's office will decide to push the appellate prosecutor's office off the case.
Meanwhile, the Illinois State Police Department is riven with discord over the case, with some command officers fighting furiously against any change in the status quo of the case, others disenchanted and distressed over its handling and still others ducking for cover so as not to be tainted by what's going on.
In the Marlow memo, which was mailed anonymously to John Baker, a Springfield lawyer who represents former state police Lt. Michale Callahan, Marlow referred to an occasion when he attempted to speak to one of his supervisors, Capt. Zywiec, about his concerns.
"As I remember well, when I first tried to discuss this case with you, you literally put (your) fingers in your ears and informed me you were better off not knowing about the case. (Master Sgt. Brian) Henn also was consistent about not wanting to be involved in the investigation," Marlow wrote Zywiec.
Marlow and fellow investigator Greg Dixon worked briefly under Callahan on the Rhoads' matter. Initially assigned to re-examine the case in response to a complaint that Steidl and Whitlock were wrongfully convicted, Callahan concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support their convictions, identified another suspect and briefly had complete backing from his commanders for a reinvestigation.
But that changed after Callahan and his superiors learned that the suspect Callahan identified was a political supporter of former Gov. George Ryan. The probe was sidetracked, and Callahan eventually transferred to patrol when he complained too much.
Eventually, Callahan retired from the state police and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit at the U.S. Court in Urbana against three superiors, alleging they retaliated against him for speaking out in the case. He won a $360,000 judgment, which the state is expected to appeal.
While the litigation continues to unfold, the suspect Callahan identified, a well-known Paris businessman who employed Karen Rhoads, is defending himself, denying any involvement in the killings and asking "those trying to seek justice in Rhoads' murders to stop trying to frame him," public relations spokesman Curry said.
Curry told reporters that the results of his client's polygraph examination will be shared with the state police, attorney general and appellate prosecutor's office.
Jim Dey, a member of The News-Gazette staff, can be reached at jdey<@>news-gazette.com or at 351-5369.
News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.


text:
Remediation Treatment
Photocatalytic Decontamination of Sulfur Mustard Over Manganese Oxide Nanobelts
Article first published online: 26 DEC 2012
DOI: 10.1002/ep.11735
Copyright © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog
Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy
Volume 32, Issue 4, pages 1118–1123, December 2013
Additional Information
How to Cite
Ramacharyulu, P.V.R.K., Prasad, G.K., Kumar, J. P., Ganesan, K., Singh, B. and Dwivedi, K. (2013), Photocatalytic Decontamination of Sulfur Mustard Over Manganese Oxide Nanobelts. Environ. Prog. Sustainable Energy, 32: 1118–1123. doi: 10.1002/ep.11735
Publication History
- Issue published online: 22 OCT 2013
- Article first published online: 26 DEC 2012
- Manuscript Accepted: 12 NOV 2012
- Manuscript Revised: 9 OCT 2012
- Manuscript Received: 30 APR 2012
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
- manganese oxide nanobelts;
- sulfur mustard;
- decontamination;
- photocatalysis;
- sun light
Photocatalytic decontamination of sulfur mustard was studied on manganese oxide nanobelts (MON) in the presence of Sun light and UV-A light. Data obtained from the experiments conducted under the irradiation of Sun light and UV-A light was compared with that of the obtained without irradiation of light. Sulfur mustard and the products of reaction were studied using gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques (GC-MS). 100% of sulfur mustard was found to be decontaminated on the surface of MON with irradiation of Sun light in 8 h. Whereas without irradiation only 46% of sulfur mustard was found to be decontaminated. Superior Sun light activity of MON against sulfur mustard was attributed to its high irradiance. GC-MS data indicated the formation of acetaldehyde, carbon dioxide, sulfur mustard sulfoxide, chloroethyl vinyl sulfide, and so forth, due to photocatalysis of sulfur mustard. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 1118–1123, 2013