TOMSK, Aug 11 – RIA Tomsk. Scientists of Tomsk State University (TSU) with colleagues from scientific centers of Biysk and Moscow are creating a new generator for electrical exploration of oil fields in the Arctic; the device will operate on pyrotechnic fuel, which will reduce the amount of harmful emissions during the search, the university's press service said on Tuesday.
It is specified that the main method of exploration for deposits in the sea is electrical exploration, which probes the earth's crust at a depth of several tens of kilometers. The most popular for such exploration are magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generators. However, experts talk about the need for new technological approaches that will not only be effective, but also safe for the environment.
"Scientists are working on the creation of a new powerful MHD generator for electrical exploration of oil fields onshore and offshore the Arctic. For the first time, the upgraded installation will use not rocket fuel, but pyrotechnic fuel, which will make the work process many times more environmentally friendly and cheaper", - TSU employee Vladimir Butov is quoted in the report.
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According to him, traditionally MHD generators operate on combustion products of solid metallized plasma-forming fuel, similar to rocket fuel. Alkali metals are one of its important components. Previously, for example, cesium was often used. Now developers are trying to use less harmful ingredients.
According to the press service, the task of TSU scientists with colleagues from the Altai Research and Production Center (Biysk) and Troitsk Institute for Innovative and Fusion Research (Moscow) is to create an autonomous high-power energy source (17 megawatts) with a small volume and weight, low fuel cost and less harmful emissions in comparison with existing installations.
“It was decided to switch to a more environmentally friendly and cheaper type of fuel - pyrotechnic. The estimates showed that the total cost of one kilogram of combined fuel will be four times less than the lowest cost of ballistic solid plasma-forming fuel”, - explains Butov.
Until the end of 2020, scientists will carry out all the work on simulating the installation and testing its functionality. At the beginning of 2021, the developers will move to the level of conceptual design of a new pulsed MHD generator, which is required to search for offshore oil.