Síntese e caracterização de catalisadores de LaNiO3 não suportados e suportados em Al2O3 e ZrO2 para a reforma a vapor do metano

Ionic oxides with ABO3 structure, where A represents a rare earth element or an alkaline metal and B is a transition metal from group VIII of the periodic table are potential catalysts for oxidation and good candidates for steam reforming reaction. Different methods have been considered for the synthesis of the oxide materials with perovskite structure to produce a high homogeneous material with low amount of impurities and low calcination temperatures. In the current work, oxides with the LaNiO3 formula had been synthesized using the method of the polymeric precursors. The thermal treatment of the materials took place at 300 ºC for 2h. The material supported in alumina and/or zirconia was calcined at 800 ºC temperature for 4h. The samples had been characterized by the following techniques: thermogravimetry; infrared spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; specific surface area; distribution of particle size; scanning electron microscopy and thermo-programmed reduction. The steam reforming reaction was carried out in a pilot plant using reducing atmosphere in the reactor with a mixture of 10% H2-Argon, a mass about 5g of catalyst, flowing at 50 mL.min-1. The temperature range used was 50 - 1000 oC with a heating rate of 10 oC.min-1. A thermal conductivity detector was used to analyze the gas after the water trapping, in order to permit to quantify the consumption of hydrogen for the lanthanum nickelates (LaNiO3). The results showed that lanthanum nickelate were more efficient when supported in alumina than when supported in zirconia. It was observed that the methane conversion was approximately 100% and the selectivity to hydrogen was about 70%. In all cases were verified low selectivity to CO and CO2

Estudo do desempenho de catalisadores tipo Ni/CexM1-xO2 (M = Zr ou Mn) na reação de oxidação parcial do metano

One of the main applications of methane is in the production of syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Procedures used in this process are steam reforming, CO2 reforming, partial oxidation and autothermal reforming. The present study evaluated and compared the behavior of nickel catalysts supported on mixed oxides of cerium and manganese in the partial oxidation of methane with that of nickel catalysts supported on mixed oxides of cerium and zirconium. Mixed oxides of cerium and zirconium or cerium and manganese were synthesized using two different preparation methods, the polymeric precursor based on Pechini method and combustion reaction using a microwave. This was followed by impregnation with nickel content of 15 %. Samples were calcined at 300, 800 and 900 °C and characterized by specific surface area (SSA), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and the reaction of partial oxidation of methane. The specific areas of samples decrease with the rise in calcination temperature and after nickel impregnation. Metal-cerium solid solution was formed and the presence of other manganese species outside the solid solution structure was confirmed in the compound with the highest amounts of manganese oxides showed. With regard to scanning electron microscopy, supports based on cerium and zirconium prepared by Pechini method exhibited agglomerated particles without uniform geometry or visible pores on the surface. However, compounds containing manganese presented empty spaces in its structure. Through synthesis by combustion reaction, morphology acquired independently of the proposed composition demonstrated greater porosity in relation to Pechini synthesis. Although catalysts were prepared using different synthesis methods, the insertion of nickel showed very similar reduction profiles (TPR). In relation to nickel catalysts supported on mixed oxide of cerium and zirconium, there is an initial reduction of NiO species that present certain interaction with the support. This is followed by the reduction of Ce4+ in Ce3+ surface, with subsequent bulk reduction. For catalysts containing manganese, a reduction of nickel oxide species occurs, followed by two stages of reduction for species Mn2O3 in Mn3O4 and Mn3O4 in MnO, with subsequent reduction of bulk. With respect to partial oxidation reactions, the nickel catalyst supported on mixed oxide of cerium and zirconium, prepared using the Pechini method, exhibited CH4 conversion of approximately 80 %, with conversion of 81 % when prepared by combustion. This behavior continued for 10 hours of reaction. Manganese content was also found to directly influence catalytic activity of materials; the greater the manganese oxide content, the faster deactivation and destabilization occurred in the catalyst. In both synthesis methods, the nickel catalyst supported on mixed oxide of cerium and zirconium maintained an H2/CO ratio very close to 2 during the 10 hours of partial oxidation reaction. Samples containing manganese displayed smaller H2/CO ratios and lower performance in partial oxidation.

Reforma a vapor catalítica do metano: Otimização da produção e seletividade em hidrogênio por absorção in situ do CO2 produzido

Topics of research related to energy and environment have significantly grown in recent years, with the need of its own energy as hydrogen. More particularly, numerous researches have been focused on hydrogen as energy vector. The main portion of hydrogen is presently obtained by reforming of methane or light hydrocarbons (steam, oxy, dry or auto reforming). During the methane steam reforming process the formation of CO2 undesirable (the main contributor to the greenhouse effect) is observed. Thus, an oxide material (sorbent) can be used to capture the CO2 generated during the process and simultaneously shifting the equilibrium of water gas shift towards thermodynamically more favorable production of pure hydrogen. The aim of this study is to develop a material with dual function (catalyst/sorbent) in the reaction of steam reforming of methane. CaO is well known as CO2 sorbent due to its high efficiency in reactions of carbonation and easy regeneration through calcination. However the kinetic of carbonation decreases quickly with time and carbonation/calcination cycles. A calcium aluminate (Ca12Al14O33) should be used to avoid sintering and increase the stability of CaO sorbents for several cycles. Nickel, the industrial catalyst choice for steam reforming has been added to the support from different manners. These bi-functional materials (sorbent/catalyst) in different molar ratios CaO.Ca12Al14O33 (48:52, 65:35, 75:25, 90:10) were prepared by different synthesis methodologies, among them, especially the method of microwave assisted self-combustion. Synthesis, structure and catalytic performances of Ni- CaO.Ca12Al14O33 synthesized by the novel method (microwave assisted selfcombustion) proposed in this work has not being reported yet in literature. The results indicate that CO2 capture time depends both on the CaO excess and on operating conditions (eg., temperature and H2O/CH4 ratio). To be efficient for CO2 sorption, temperature of steam reforming needs to be lower than 700 °C. An optimized percentage corresponding to 75% of CaO and a ratio H2O/CH4 = 1 provides the most promising results since a smaller amount of water avoids competition between water and CO2 to form carbonate and hydroxide. If this competition is most effective (H2O/CH4 = 3) and would have a smaller amount of CaO available for absorption possibly due to the formation of Ca(OH)2. Therefore, the capture time was higher (16h) for the ratio H2O/CH4 = 1 than H2O/CH4 = 3 (7h) using as catalyst one prepared by impregnating the support obtained by microwave assisted self-combustion. Therefore, it was demonstrated that, with these catalysts, the CO2 sorption on CaO modifies the balance of the water gas-shift reaction. Consequently, steam reforming of CH4 is optimized, producing pure H2, complete conversion of methane and negligible concentration of CO2 and CO during the time of capture even at low temperature (650 °C). This validates the concept of the sorption of CO2 together with methane steam reforming

Síntese e caracterização de catalisadores de LaNiO3 não suportados e suportados em Al2O3 e ZrO2 para a reforma a vapor do metano

Ionic oxides with ABO3 structure, where A represents a rare earth element or an alkaline metal and B is a transition metal from group VIII of the periodic table are potential catalysts for oxidation and good candidates for steam reforming reaction. Different methods have been considered for the synthesis of the oxide materials with perovskite structure to produce a high homogeneous material with low amount of impurities and low calcination temperatures. In the current work, oxides with the LaNiO3 formula had been synthesized using the method of the polymeric precursors. The thermal treatment of the materials took place at 300 ºC for 2h. The material supported in alumina and/or zirconia was calcined at 800 ºC temperature for 4h. The samples had been characterized by the following techniques: thermogravimetry; infrared spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; specific surface area; distribution of particle size; scanning electron microscopy and thermo-programmed reduction. The steam reforming reaction was carried out in a pilot plant using reducing atmosphere in the reactor with a mixture of 10% H2-Argon, a mass about 5g of catalyst, flowing at 50 mL.min-1. The temperature range used was 50 - 1000 oC with a heating rate of 10 oC.min-1. A thermal conductivity detector was used to analyze the gas after the water trapping, in order to permit to quantify the consumption of hydrogen for the lanthanum nickelates (LaNiO3). The results showed that lanthanum nickelate were more efficient when supported in alumina than when supported in zirconia. It was observed that the methane conversion was approximately 100% and the selectivity to hydrogen was about 70%. In all cases were verified low selectivity to CO and CO2

Jovens terena na cidade de Campo Grande (MS) Política e geração

Research with indigenous in urban context are gaining steam in recent years, particularly with the intensification of migration resulting from problems such as lack of land for subsistence. However, in relation to Terena, subjects in this study, the contemporary anthropological research aimed at residents in cities still are not privileged, especially to youth. Thus, the dissertation has as main objective the discussion around some axes, among them indigenous youth Terena ethnicity politics, - indigenous movement - and racism. These themes appeared during fieldwork where privileged six trajectories of young Terena who migrated to Campo Grande (MS) and have different ways to mean the city and experiencing everyday life

Influência da vermiculita expandida na resistência à compressão e reologia de pastas cimentantes de poços de petróleo

Several problems related to the loss of hydraulic seal in oilwells, causing gas migration and/or contamination of the production zone by water, have been reported. The loss of the hydraulic seal is a consequence of cracks which can be occasioned either by the invasion of gas during the wait on cement or by the expansion of the casing causing the fracture of the cement sheath. In case of the pressure of the formation is higher than the pressure in the annulus, gas can migrate into the slurry and form microannulus, which are channels where gas migrates after the cement is set. Cracks can be also occasioned by the fracture of the cement sheath when it does not withstand the thermal and dynamic loads. In reservoirs where the oil is heavy, steam water injection operation is required in order to get the oil flowing. This operation increases the temperature of the casing, and then it expands and causes the fracture of the cement sheath in the annulus. When the failures on the cement are detected, remedial cementing is required, which raise costs caused by the interventions. Once the use of cement in the construction civil sector is older than its use in the petroleum sector, it is common to bring technologies and solutions from the civil construction and apply them on the petroleum area. In this context, vermiculite, a mineral-clay widely encountered in Brazil, has been used, on its exfoliated form, in the civil construction, especially on the manufacture of lights and fireproof concretes with excellent thermal and acoustical properties. It has already been reported in scientific journals, studies of the addition of exfoliated vermiculite in Portland cements revealing good properties related to oilwell cementing operations. Thus, this study aimed to study the rheological behavior, thickening time, stability and compressive strength of the slurries made of Portland cement and exfoliated vermiculite in 5 different compositions, at room temperature and heated. The results showed that the compressive strength decreased with the addition of exfoliated vermiculite, however the values are still allowed for oiwell cementing operations. The thickening time of the slurry with no exfoliated vermiculite was 120 min and the thickening time of the slurry with 12 % of exfoliated vermiculite was 98 min. The stability and the rheological behavior of the slurries revealed that the exfoliated vermiculite absorbed water and therefore increased the viscosity of the slurries, even though increasing the factor cement-water. The stability experiment carried out at 133 ºF showed that, there was neither sedimentation nor reduction of the volume of the cement for the slurry with 12 % of exfoliated vermiculite. Thus, the addition of exfoliated vermiculite accelerates the set time of the cement and gives it a small shrinkage during the wait on cement, which are important to prevent gas migration

Análise do comportamento reológico de pastas de cimento contendo resíduos de pneu para poços de petróleo

The low tenacity presented by the Portland cement pastes used in the oil wells cementation has been motivating several researches with attention focused on alternative materials. Additives have been developed to generate flexible pastes with mechanical resistance capable to support the expansions and retractions of the metallic covering of the wells that submit to the steam injection, technique very used to increase the recovery factor in oil reservoirs with high viscosity. A fresh paste with inadequate rheological behavior may commit the cementation process seriously, involving flaws that affect the performance of the paste substantially in the hardened state. This work proposes the elaboration and the rheological analysis of Portland cement pastes with addition of residues of rubber tire in several proportions, with the aim of minimizing the damages provoked in the hem cementing of these wells. By thermogravimetric analysis, the particles of eraser that go by the sieve of 0,5mm (35 mesh) opening and treated superficially with NaOH solution of 1 mol/L presented appropriate thermal resistance for wells that submit to thermal cyclic. The evaluation of the study based on the results of the rheological analysis of the pastes, complemented by the mechanical analysis, thickening, stability, tenor of free water and filtrate loss, being used as parameter a paste reference, without rubber addition. The results showed satisfactory rheology, passive of few corrections; considerable loss of mechanical resistance (traction and compression), compensated by earnings of tenacity, however with established limits for its application in oil wells; satisfactory stability, free water and thickening time

Adição de vermiculita expandida mícron em pastas de baixa densidade para cimentação de poços de petróleo

The northeastern region of Brazil has a large number of wells producing oil using a method of secondary recovery steam injection, since the oil produced in this region is essentially viscous. This recovery method puts the cement / coating on thermal cycling, due to the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between cement and metal coating causes the appearance of cracks at this interface, allowing the passage of the annular fluid, which is associated with serious risk socioeconomic and environmental. In view of these cracks, a correction operation is required, resulting in more costs and temporary halt of production of the well. Alternatively, the oil industry has developed technology for adding new materials in cement pastes, oil well, providing high ductility and low density in order to withstand the thermo-mechanical loads generated by the injection of water vapor. In this context, vermiculite, a clay mineral found in abundance in Brazil has been applied in its expanded form in the construction industry for the manufacture of lightweight concrete with excellent insulation and noise due to its high melting point and the presence of air in their layers lamellar. Therefore, the vermiculite is used for the purpose of providing low-density cement paste and withstand high temperatures caused by steam injection. Thus, the present study compared the default folder containing cement and water with the folders with 6%, 8% and 10% vermiculite micron conducting tests of free water, rheology and compressive strength where it obtained the concentration of 8 % with the best results. Subsequently, the selected concentration, was compared with the results recommended by the API standard tests of filtered and stability. And finally, analyzed the results from tests of specific gravity and time of thickening. Before the study we were able to make a folder with a low density that can be used in cementing oil well in order to withstand the thermo-mechanical loads generated by steam injection

Estudos de Durabilidade Frente ao Ataque Ácido de Compósitos Portland-Polímero para Cimentação de Poços de Petróleo

Portland-polymers composites are promising candidates to be used as cementing material in Northeastern oil wells of Brazil containing heavy oils submitted to steam injection. In this way, it is necessary to evaluate its degradation in the commonly acidizind agents. In addition, to identify how aggressive are the different hostile environments it is an important contribution on the decision of the acidic systems to be used in. It was investigated the performance of the Portland-polymer composites using powdered polyurethane, aqueous polyurethane, rubber tire residues and a biopolymer, those were reinforced with polished carbon steel SAE 1045 to make the electrochemical measurements. HCl 15,0 %, HCl 6,0 % + HF 1,5 % (soft mud acid), HCl 12,0 % + HF 3,0 % (regular mud acid) and HAc 10 % + HF 1,5 % were used as degrading environment and electrolytes. The more aggressive acid solution to the plain Portland hardened cement paste was the regular mud acid, that showed loss of weight around 23.0 %, followed by the soft mud acid, the showed 11.0 %, 15.0 % HCl with 7,0 % and, at last the 10.0 % HAc plus HF 1.5 % with just 1.0 %. The powdered polyurethane-composite and the aqueous polyurethane one showed larger durability, with reduction around 87.0 % on the loss of weight in regular mud acid. The acid attack is superficial and it occurs as an action layer, where the degraded layer is responsible for the decrease on the kinetic of the degrading process. This behavior can be seen mainly on the Portland- aqueous polyurethane composite, because the degraded layer is impregnated with chemically modified polymer. The fact of the acid attack does not have influence on the compressive strength or fratography of the samples, in a general way, confirms that theory. The mechanism of the efficiency of the Portland-polymers composites subjected to acid attack is due to decreased porosity and permeability related with the plain Portland paste, minor quantity of Ca+2, element preferentially leached to the acidic solution, wave effect and to substitute part of the degrading bulk for the polymeric one. The electrolyte HAc 10 % + HF 1,5 % was the least aggressive one to the external corrosion of the casing, showing open circuit potentials around +250 mV compared to -130 mV to the simulated pore solution to the first 24 hours immersion. This behavior has been performed for two months at least. Similar corrosion rates were showed between both of the electrolytes, around 0.01 μA.cm-2. Total impedance values, insipient arcs and big polarization resistance capacitive arcs on the Nyquist plots, indicating passivity process, confirm its efficiency. In this way, Portlandpolymers composites are possible solutions to be succeed applied to oilwell cementing concomitant submitted to steam injection and acidizing operation and the HAc 10,0 % + HF 1,5 % is the less aggressive solution to the external corrosion of the casing

Desenvolvimento de pastas de cimento flexíveis para poços de petróleo submetidos à injeção de vapor utilizando látex do tipo SBR

Novel cementing materials formulations containing flexible polymeric admixtures have been studied aiming at improving the mechanical behavior of oil well cement slurries submitted to steam injection. However, research activities in this sector are still under development. The steam injected directly into the well causes casing dilation, which after a reduction in temperature, tends to return to its original dimensions, resulting in crack formation and hydraulic isolation loss of the well, which will result in shortening of well life. In this scenario, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the mechanical behavior of Portland-based slurries containing SBR latex, applied in oil well cementing of wells submitted to steam injection. Were formulated slurries with densities of 1.797 g/cm3 (15.0 lb/Gal) and 1.869 g/cm3 (15.6 lb/Gal), containing admixtures with a latex concentration of 0; 66.88; 133.76; 200.64 and 267.52 L/m3 (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 gpc). Tests including rheology, fluid loss control, thickening time, API compressive strength and splitting tensile strength, beyond steam injection simulation. Microstrutural characteristics of the slurries were also performed (XRD, TG, FTIR and SEM). The results showed that increasing the polymer concentration increased in the rheological properties and fluid loss, and a decrease in the elasticity modulus of the cement slurries. The results obtained showed that the slurries can be applied in cementing operations of oil wells submitted to steam injection.

Otimização e análise mecânica de pastas geopoliméricas para uso em poços sujeitos à injeção cíclica de vapor

Oil wells subjected to cyclic steam injection present important challenges for the development of well cementing systems, mainly due to tensile stresses caused by thermal gradients during its useful life. Cement sheath failures in wells using conventional high compressive strength systems lead to the use of cement systems that are more flexible and/or ductile, with emphasis on Portland cement systems with latex addition. Recent research efforts have presented geopolymeric systems as alternatives. These cementing systems are based on alkaline activation of amorphous aluminosilicates such as metakaolin or fly ash and display advantageous properties such as high compressive strength, fast setting and thermal stability. Basic geopolymeric formulations can be found in the literature, which meet basic oil industry specifications such as rheology, compressive strength and thickening time. In this work, new geopolymeric formulations were developed, based on metakaolin, potassium silicate, potassium hydroxide, silica fume and mineral fiber, using the state of the art in chemical composition, mixture modeling and additivation to optimize the most relevant properties for oil well cementing. Starting from molar ratios considered ideal in the literature (SiO2/Al2O3 = 3.8 e K2O/Al2O3 = 1.0), a study of dry mixtures was performed,based on the compressive packing model, resulting in an optimal volume of 6% for the added solid material. This material (silica fume and mineral fiber) works both as an additional silica source (in the case of silica fume) and as mechanical reinforcement, especially in the case of mineral fiber, which incremented the tensile strength. The first triaxial mechanical study of this class of materials was performed. For comparison, a mechanical study of conventional latex-based cementing systems was also carried out. Regardless of differences in the failure mode (brittle for geopolymers, ductile for latex-based systems), the superior uniaxial compressive strength (37 MPa for the geopolymeric slurry P5 versus 18 MPa for the conventional slurry P2), similar triaxial behavior (friction angle 21° for P5 and P2) and lower stifness (in the elastic region 5.1 GPa for P5 versus 6.8 GPa for P2) of the geopolymeric systems allowed them to withstand a similar amount of mechanical energy (155 kJ/m3 for P5 versus 208 kJ/m3 for P2), noting that geopolymers work in the elastic regime, without the microcracking present in the case of latex-based systems. Therefore, the geopolymers studied on this work must be designed for application in the elastic region to avoid brittle failure. Finally, the tensile strength of geopolymers is originally poor (1.3 MPa for the geopolymeric slurry P3) due to its brittle structure. However, after additivation with mineral fiber, the tensile strength became equivalent to that of latex-based systems (2.3 MPa for P5 and 2.1 MPa for P2). The technical viability of conventional and proposed formulations was evaluated for the whole well life, including stresses due to cyclic steam injection. This analysis was performed using finite element-based simulation software. It was verified that conventional slurries are viable up to 204ºF (400ºC) and geopolymeric slurries are viable above 500ºF (260ºC)

Síntese e caracterização de cerâmicas nanométricas para produção de gás de síntese

In this work, ceramic powders belonging to the system Nd2-xSrxNiO4 (x = 0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6) were synthesized for their use as catalysts to syngas production partial. It was used a synthesis route, relatively new, which makes use of gelatin as organic precursor. The powders were analyzed at several temperatures in order to obtain the perovskite phase and characterized by several techniques such as thermal analysis, X-rays diffraction, Rietveld refinement method, specific surface area, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy of X-rays and temperature programmed reduction. The results obtained using these techniques confirmed the feasibility of the synthesis method employed to obtain nanosized particles. The powders were tested in differential catalytic conditions for dry reforming of methane (DRM) and partial oxidation of methane (POM), then, some systems were chosen for catalytic integrals test for (POM) indicating that the system Nd2-xSrxNiO4 for x = 0, 0.4 and 1.2 calcined at 900 °C exhibit catalytic activity on the investigated experimental conditions in this work without showing signs of deactivation

Adição de resíduo cerâmico em pastas geopoliméricas para cimentação de poços de petróleo

The development of activities the of oil and gas sector have promoted the search for suitable materials for cementing oil wells. In the state of the Rio Grande do Norte, the integrity of the cement sheath tends to be impaired during steam injection, a procedure necessary to increase oil recovery in reservoirs with low-viscosity oil. The geopolymer is a material that can be used as alternative cement, since it has been used in the production of fire-resistant components, building structures, and for the control of toxic or radioactive residues. Geopolymers result from condensation polymer alkali aluminosilicates and silicates resulting three-dimensional polymeric structures. They are produced in a manner different from that of Portland cement, which is made an activating solution that is mixed with geopolymer precursor. Among the few works studied allowed us to conclude that the pastes prepared with metakaolin as precursor showed better performance of its properties. Several studies show the addition of waste clay as a means of reducing cost and improving end of the folder properties. On this basis, the goal is to study the influence of the addition of ceramic waste in geopolymer paste. To develop the study of rheology tests were carried out, filtered, thickening time, compressive strength, free water, specific gravity and permeability, according to the American Pretoleum Institute (API). The results for all formulations studied show that the folders have high mechanical strength to a light paste; low filtrate volume, absence of free water, very low permeability, slurry, consistent with a light paste, and thickening time low that can be corrected with the use of a retardant handle. For morphological characterization, microstructural, physical, chemical and thermal tests were carried out by XRD, MEV, DTA, TG, FTIR. In the trial of XRD, it was found that geopolymer is an amorphous material, with a peak of crystalline kaolinite. In tests of TG / DTA, revealed the presence of a significant event, which represents the mass loss related to water, and also observed the reduction of weight loss by increasing the concentration of ceramic waste. In the trial of MEV, we found a uniform matrix without the presence of other phases. In the trial of FT-IR, we observed the presence of the band related to water. From all results it was determined that the optimum concentration range of use is between 2.5 and 5% of waste ceramic

Compósitos Portland-biopolímeros para cimentação de poços de petróleo

The oil production in mature areas can be improved by advanced recovery techniques. In special, steam injection reduces the viscosity of heavy oils, thus improving its flow to surrounding wells. On the other hand, the usually high temperatures and pressures involved in the process may lead to cement cracking, negatively affecting both the mechanical stability and zonal isolation provided by the cement sheath of the well. The addition of plastic materials to the cement is an alternative to prevent this scenario. Composite slurries consisting of Portland cement and a natural biopolymer were studied. Samples containing different contents of biopolymer dispersed in a Portland cement matrix were prepared and evaluated by mechanical and rheological tests in order to assess their behavior according to API (American Petroleum Institute) guidelines. FEM was also applied to map the stress distribution encountered by the cement at bottom bole. The slurries were prepared according to a factorial experiment plan by varying three parameters, i.e., cement age, contents of biopolymer and water-to-cement ratio. The results revealed that the addition of the biopolymer reduced the volume of free water and the setting time of the slurry. In addition, tensile strength, compressive strength and toughness improved by 30% comparing hardened composites to plain Portland slurries. FEM results suggested that the stresses developed at bottomhole may be 10 to 100 times higher than the strength of the cement as evaluated in the lab by unconfined mechanical testing. An alternative approach is proposed to adapt the testing methodology used to evaluate the mechanical behavior of oilwell cement slurries by simulating the confined conditions encountered at bottornhole

Aditivação de pastas geopoliméricas com tetraborato de sódio e látex não iônico para cimentação de Poços de Petróleo

The development of activities in the oil and gas sector has been promoting the search for materials more adequate to oilwell cementing operation. In the state of Rio Grande do Norte, the cement sheath integrity tend to fail during steam injection operation which is necessary to increase oil recovery in reservoir with heavy oil. Geopolymer is a material that can be used as alternative cement. It has been used in manufacturing of fireproof compounds, construction of structures and for controlling of toxic or radioactive waste. Latex is widely used in Portland cement slurries and its characteristic is the increase of compressive strength of cement slurries. Sodium Tetraborate is used in dental cement as a retarder. The addition of this additive aim to improve the geopolymeric slurries properties for oilwell cementing operation. The slurries studied are constituted of metakaolinite, potassium silicate, potassium hydroxide, non-ionic latex and sodium tetraborate. The properties evaluated were: viscosity, compressive strength, thickening time, density, fluid loss control, at ambient temperature (27 ºC) and at cement specification temperature. The tests were carried out in accordance to the practical recommendations of the norm API RP 10B. The slurries with sodium tetraborate did not change either their rheological properties or their mechanical properties or their density in relation the slurry with no additive. The increase of the concentration of sodium tetraborate increased the water loss at both temperatures studied. The best result obtained with the addition of sodium tetraborate was thickening time, which was tripled. The addition of latex in the slurries studied diminished their rheological properties and their density, however, at ambient temperature, it increased their compressive strength and it functioned as an accelerator. The increase of latex concentration increased the presence of water and then diminished the density of the slurries and increased the water loss. From the results obtained, it was concluded that sodium tetraborate and non-ionic latex are promising additives for geopolymer slurries to be used in oilwell cementing operation