None of the above | Fall 2018

Oil Shale Imbibition

Hydraulic fracturing is a process where forceful fluid splits apart shale rock containing synthetic oil for energy. Due to the porosity of the shale, this fluid can’t be reclaimed and is wasted as a result. To find a solution to this problem, the imbibition of oil shale will be studied via the single drop experiment. The single drop reveals a contact angle which provides useful information on the wetting properties of the shale. Further experiments include repeating the single drop experiment with varying compositions of oil shale, illite, and kaolin clay- two other species present in rock during hydraulic fracturing.