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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-119-47909-3

Cover image: All images supplied by Dreamstime.com; Rainbow Smoke: Nantapong Kittisubsiri | Oil Drop: Amnat Buakeaw | Trees: Christos Georghiou | Leaves: Nadezda Kostina I Orange Flower Wreath: Darya Smirnova

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This book is dedicated to the three creative geniuses that I have been blessed to call ‘my children’. They are: Elif Hamida Islam, Ali Omar Islam, and Jaan Sulaiman Islam.

M. R. Islam

2.5.1

5 Fundamentals of Reservoir Characterization in View

5.1

5.3

5.3.1

5.3.2

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.6.1 Effects of Fractures on Normal Moveout (NMO) Velocities and P-Wave Azimuthal AVO

5.6.2 Effects of Fracture Parameters on Properties of Anisotropic Parameters and P-Wave NMO Velocities

5.7.1

5.7.2

5.8.1

5.8.2

5.10.3

5.11

5.12

6 Future Potential of

6.3.3

6.4

6.5

6.4.1

6.4.2

6.5.1

6.5.2

6.6

7.3

7.2.2

7.2.3

7.3.1

7.3.2

7.3.3

7.4

7.5

7.5.1

7.5.2

7.5.3

7.6.1

7.6.2

7.6.3

7.6.4

8.2.3

8.3

8.6

8.7

8.7.1

8.7.8

8.7.9

8.7.10

8.7.11

8.8.1

8.8.2

8.8.3

8.8.4

8.8.5

8.8.6

9.2.1

9.2.2

9.2.3

9.2.4 Can the Current Reserve be Expanded without Resorting to EOR?

9.2.5 How Do We Characterize Complex Reservoirs?

9.2.7

9.2.8

Preface

“But what good will another round of corefloods and recovery curves do?”, quipped a Chemical Engineering professor over 3 decades ago. For a graduate student, whose PhD thesis (in Petroleum Engineering) is devoted to enhanced oil recovery in marginal reservoirs, that comment struck me with mixed emotions. My PhD supervisor was someone I would later characterize as academia’s most impactful petroleum engineering professor. The project that I was working on at the time was well funded by the government and industry consortium (translation: it was anything but a stale academic exercise). Even at its initial phase, the project was proving to be an academic masterpiece (it eventually broke the record for refereed publications for a PhD dissertation – at least for that University). Yet, this project was reduced to a set of ‘corefloods and recovery curves’.

I had immense respect for the chemical engineering professor (I still do – to this date), with whom I had a number of ground-breaking publications (that emerged from classwork), so I couldn’t even garner enough courage to confront him or ask for an explanation. Fast forward a 2 decades, I was giving a pep talk to industry and government delegates on sustainable engineering, upon which a mechanical engineering professor turned into a quasi-administrator, with no background in energy research, exclaimed, “Why are you focusing so much on society, where is engineering?” Thankfully, it was the government partner that quieted down the vociferous colleague, schooling him, “I thought sustainability is all about society…”

Fast forward another decade, I was lecturing on sustainable Enhanced Oil Recovery (the very same topic of this book) when I was ceremonially interrupted, “But where is the research in it, Professor Islam?” This time it was a physicist-turned materials engineer-turned Third World university administrator. Sadly, there was no government official to quiet him down, and to make it worse, a Third World-trained petroleum engineering professor chimed in, “but where does petroleum engineering come in this?”

Clearly, they were expecting me to show more coreflood results and recovery curves!

Suffice it to say, in the last 3 decades, the engineering world has not moved a needle toward knowledge. Just like 3 decades ago, chemical engineers want you to implement chemicals without research, and demand that you just take their word for it. Materials engineers want you to focus on how to turn the valve on the well head, trusting them with the material engineering part. Sadly, petroleum engineers are then convinced that their research focus should include only yet another coreflood test and another way to do the material balance Type-curve fitting. University administrators meanwhile are strictly focused on keeping engineers caged within their puny research domain, tightly focussed on drilling a copious number of holes through the thinnest part of the research plank.

Today, I am no longer the wide-eyed graduate student wondering about the meaning of what professors have to say. It has been well over a decade that I pointedly asked ‘how deep is the collective ignorance of the ‘enlightened’ academia?1 Ignorance – as I figured within years of stepping into academic life – doesn’t frighten me, it emboldens my resolve to write more. I decided to write a book on enhanced oil recovery that doesn’t teach another way to measure the minimum miscibility pressure – a phenomenon that doesn’t occur in the field. Upon hearing this, my former graduate student (currently a university professor) said with utter desperation, “But, Dr. Islam, that’s the only thing we teach in EOR classes?” The state of academia is not strong – not even close. It is no surprise that this book is over 700 pages. It doesn’t shy away from calling out the hollowness of the incessant theories and academic mumbo jumbo that produced storm in teacups. Of course, criticism is easy but one must answer the question, “where is the beef?” For every question raised, a comprehensive solution is given after demonstrating how modern-day researchers have failed and why they have failed. The book makes no apology for making a full disclosure of what true sustainability should be – a far cry from the theme that has been shoved down the throat of the general public in the name of: sustainability should come with a price. The book shows, true sustainability is free – as in sunlight. Why should that surprise anyone? Didn’t we know best water (rain), best air (breeze), best cleanser (clay), best food ingredient (carbon dioxide), best energy (sunlight) – they are all free?

1“How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension” is a paper by mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot, first published in Science in 5 May 1967.

A society that has heard for centuries that chemicals are chemicals, photons are photons, CO2’ is CO2, murders are murders, all backed by Nobel prize winning scientists and social scientists, how do you even use the term ‘collective ignorance’ when ignorance is all that the society has offered? Why such thoughts will be tolerated, let alone nurtured by the same establishment that has made economics – the driver of the society the most paradoxical discipline, ignorance into bliss, science into hysteria, secular philosophy into cult-like beliefs, Carbon into the ‘enemy’, humans into a liability, war into a profitable venture? These are not discreet problems that can be fixed individually. These webs of networks hidden behind hidden hands making it impossible to even mention what the core problem is. Thankfully, in the sustainability series of books from my research group, we have laid out the background. Starting from the dawn of the new millennium, we have published systematic deconstruction of Newtonian mechanics, quantum mechanics, Einstein’s energy theory, and practically all major theories and ‘laws’ in science and social science, after proving them to be more illogical than Trinity dogma, thus exposing the hopelessness of New Science. So, this book has a starting point based on fundamentally sound premises. As such it creates no paradox and when it recommends a new outlook, which is not just blue-sky research, it is the only recipe to reach true sustainability.

At this point, I don’t have to explain myself. As Ali Ibn Abu Talib (601–661 CE), the 4th Caliph of Islamic Caliphate pointed out, “Never explain yourself to anyone, because the one who likes you would not need it, and the one dislikes you wouldn’t believe it.” It has been a while that I have written to impress anyone. It’s all about eliminating ignorance and give knowledge a chance to shine.

M. R. Islam

Halifax September 2019

1.1 Opening Remarks

There have been many books on the topic of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) over the entire period of the plastic era, which spans over 100 years. Each book brings in incremental knowledge of how to recover more oil faster. They all follow the same approach – the approach that maximizes profit in the shortest possible term. This book is unlike any other book on the topic; petroleum engineering, of all disciplines, does not need another book on how to calculate minimum miscibility pressure. This book does not lecture on how to make calculations; rather, it presents how to make fundamental changes in a culture that has produced what Nobel laureate Chemist Robert Curl called a ‘technological disaster’.

1.2 The Prophets of the Doomed Turned Into Scientists

For well over a century, the world has been hearing that we are about to run out of fossil fuel in matter of decades. First it happened with coal. In 1865, Stanley Jevons (one of the most recognized 19th century economists) predicted that England would run out of coal by 1900, and that England’s factories would grind to a standstill. Today, after over 150 years of Jevons’ prediction of the impending disaster, US EIA predicts that the coal reserve will last another 325 years, based on U.S. coal production in 2017, the ‘recoverable coal’ reserves would last about 325 years (EIA, 2018c). When it comes to petroleum, as early as 1914, U.S. Bureau of Mines predicted, “The world will run out of oil in 10 years” (quoted by Eberhart, 2017). Later, the US Department of Interior chimed in, claiming that “the world would run out of oil in 13 years” (quoted by Eberhart, 2017). Obviously, the world has not run out of oil, the world, however, has been accustomed to the same “doomsday warning” and whooped it up as ‘settled

science’ (Speight and Islam, 2016). Starting with Zatzman and Islam’s (2007) work, this theme of ‘running out of oil’ has been deconstructed and over a decade later, the actual settled science has become the fact that it’s not a matter of if falsehoods are perpetrated it is a mater of why. In 2018a, Islam et al. made it clear that the entire matter is an economic decision, concocted to increase short-term profit. Science, let alone the science of sustainability, cannot be based on falsehood and deception.

It is the same story about ‘concerns’ of climate change and the hysteria that followed. All studies miraculously confirmed something scientists were paid to do whip up decades ago (Islam and Khan, 2019). Now that that ‘science’ has matured into settled science, carbon has become the enemy and the ‘carbon tax’ a universal reality.

If anything good came out of centuries of New Science, it is the fact that this ‘science’ and these scientists cannot be relied upon as a starting point (paradigm) for future analysis because each of those tracks will end up with paradoxes and falsehoods that would reveal themselves only as a matter of time.

1.3 Paradigm Shift in Sustainable Development

Both terms, ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘sustainability’ have been grossly misused in recent years. Paradigm shift, a phrase that was supposed to mean a different starting point (akin to the Sanskrit word, , Amulam, meaning ‘from the beginning’) has repeatedly and necessarily used the same starting point as the William Stanley Jevons (1835-1882), John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) the two most prominent alarmist of our time, both of whom were inspired by Adam Smith (1723-1790), the ‘father of Capitalism’ and virtually added nothing beyond what Adam Smith purported as the ‘ultimate truth’. Scientists, in the meantime, followed suit with regurgitating Atomism (a doctrine originally started by Democritus), recycled by Newton in name of New Science. The loop was completed when engineers blindly followed that science and defined ‘sustainability’ in a way that would satisfy politicians, whose primary interest lies in maintaining status quo – the antonym of progress. It is no surprise, therefore, our survey from over decade ago revealed that there is not a single technology that is sustainable (Chhetri and Islam, 2008). That leaves no elbow room for petroleum engineering to survive, let alone to thrive. Unsurprisingly, even petroleum companies have resigned to the ‘settled science’ that carbon is the enemy and petroleum resources have no place in our civilization (Islam et al., 2012; Islam and Khan, 2019).

The current book is a continuation of our research group’s work that started publishing on the subject of global sustainability involving energy and environment, dating back to early 2000s. In terms of the research monograph, we started the paradigm shift from economics, the driver of modern civilization, aptly characterized as the brainchild of Adam Smith. When our book, Economics of Intangibles (Zatzman and Islam, 2007) was published, it was perhaps the first initiatives to recognize the role of intangibles in economics and eventually all science and engineering. At that time, the very concept of intangibles in Economics was perceived to be an oxymoron. Ten years later, it became recognized as a natural process (Website 5), and a recognized branch of economics (Website 6). Now we know that without this approach, we cannot solve a single paradox. For that matter, economics is a branch that has the most number of paradoxes among all disciplines. It is quite revealing that after publishing some dozen of research monographs on the topic on sustainability in energy and environment, there had to be an encore of the original work on Economics to present specifically economics of sustainable energy (Islam et al., 2018a) – a book that solved all major paradoxes, included many cited by Nobel laureate economists.

By adequately introducing a paradigm shift in economic consideration, new features to sustainability could be invoked. When the concept of intangibles is introduced to fundamental engineering analysis, ‘zero-waste’ production becomes a reality. There again, when we introduced the concept of zero-waste as distinct from waste minimization over a decade ago, it was met with scepticism (Khan and Islam, 2012; Chhetri and Islam, 2008). Even the academics couldn’t stomach the concept that rocked the foundation of their long-term belief that waste can only be minimized and sustainability is a matter of adding another means to cover up the immediate consequences of the ‘toxic shock’, which no doubt made a lot of money for those who initiated it, leaving behind a ‘technological disaster’. Today, zero-waste engineering is accepted as a frontier of sustainable development (Khan and Islam, 2016).

Perhaps the biggest shock was when our research group introduced the concept of Green Petroleum in mid 2000’s. When our books on Green Petroleum (Islam et al., 2010; Islam et al., 2012) were introduced to the general readership, the phrase Green Petroleum was considered to be an oxymoron. The word ‘green’ was reserved for renewable energy sources –something we deemed to be unsustainable (Chhetri and Islam, 2008). Ever since that pioneering work, the world has become more accustomed to the phrase ‘Green Petroleum’ although petroleum engineers remain clueless about how to fight against the ‘carbon is the enemy’ mantra that has swept the entire globe outside of the 3% scientists, who are marginalized as ‘conspiracy theorists’, ‘creationists’, etc. In defence of the 97% alarmists, the 3%

never talked about real science, instead resorting to denying climate change altogether (Islam and Khan, 2019). The biggest victim of this saga has been real science and real engineering. Today, when petroleum engineers talk about sustainable development, they mean coupling with biosurfactants, or generating some energy with solar or wind power. They have all but forgotten petroleum itself is 100% natural and that if a paradigm of ‘nature is sustainable’ - a time honoured principle that has millennia of history to back it up, there is nothing more sustainable than petroleum itself.

With that paradigm shift, our research group was able to debunk the following myths, some of which are in the core of every technology of modern era.

Myth 1: Natural resources are limited, human greed is infinity;

Myth 2: There is no universal standard for sustainability, therefore, total sustainability is a myth;

Myth 3: Environmental integrity must come with a cost and compromise with cost effectiveness must be made;

Myth 4: Human intervention is limited to adding artificial or synthetic chemicals;

Myth 5: 3 R’s (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse) is the best we can do;

Myth 6: Energy and mass are separable, meaning mass has no role in energy transfer;

Myth 7: All physical changes are reversible and original state can be restored as long as external features are brought back to the original state;

Myth 8: Carbon, natural water, and natural air are our enemy and sustainability lies within reducing carbon, natural water and natural air, thus purity must be sought in every level;

Myth 9: Synthetic chemicals can be a replacement of natural chemicals as long as the most external features are comparable;

Myth 10: Zero-waste is an absurd concept; and

Myth 11: Economic viability must precede technical feasibility, which itself is preceded by environmental integrity test.

Of course, had we not started with premise different from what all those philosophers and scientists started from, we would end up shifting the number of years on Hubert’s graph (Hubbert, 1956) or adding another coefficient to the curve fitting endeavor to account for another unknown that we have no clue about, meanwhile ignoring the 800 pound gorilla that everyone is afraid to talk about (Islam et al., 2018a). We would also revel about new array of chemicals, which are even more than their predecessors, meanwhile ignoring the toxic shock of the current ‘technological disaster’ (Chhetri and Islam, 2008). This book is not about repeating the same conclusion that has been made for over centuries. This book is not about replacing dogma theories with New Science theories or replacing “original sin” dogma with some utility theory that’s premised on the same theme that humans can’t do better. The conclusion of this book shall not be: the best humanity can do and must try to do is follow the same path that brought us here. If this book proves anything, it is that with paradigm shift, the outlook changes like never before and after that the obsession with status quo is gone for ever. The ‘story’ this book has to offer has not been told before.

The starting point of this book was entirely different from that taken by every book on EOR. This approach made it possible to offer solutions that do not create long-term disasters nor do they cover up long-term liabilities. Then, key questions that have puzzled industry as well as academia are answered without resorting to dogmatic assertions. If the book has to be summarized in one line, it is: It gives a recipe on enhancing oil recovery while restoring environmental integrity and economic appeal. It is not a matter of minimizing waste, or maximizing recovery or even minimizing cost, it is about restoring sustainable techniques that are inherently less expensive and beneficial to the environment.

1.4 Questions Answered in This Book

1.4.1 Where to Look for in the Quest of Sustainable Energy Solutions?

We know that 3 R solutions is nothing more than pathetic effort to cover up toxic shock. In fact, recycling toxic products is more toxic to the environment, less efficient, and more costly than the original form (Chhetri and Islam, 2008; Khan and Islam, 2012). Reusing, on the other hand, increases the extent off contamination (Miralai, 2016; Islam et al., 2010). The question the arises Ask 2 where to look for sustainable solutions. Chapter 2

briefly introduces the current status of the oil and gas sector, then embark on a delinearized history analysis to show how things used to be done in the past and where exactly the bifurcation between natural an artificial started. The chapter makes it clear that the modern era is synonymous with artificial systems, involving both mass and energy. Our previous work already described the recipe for sustainable energy and mass utilization (Islam et al., 2015; Islam et al., 2010). So, the question becomes how we can extract those solutions in the context of EOR. The chapter then revisits historical developments of petroleum production to pinpoint crucial issues that led to global unsustainability.

1.4.2 How Do Energy and Mass Evolve in Sustainable System?

We continue to be told carbon is the enemy, water is the source of contamination and sustainability hinges upon how remotely placed we are from the natural state of all resources (including sunlight and air). Otherwise, alarmists tell us that we are about to embark on an apocalyptical point of no return. Of course, by now we know water is the source of all sustainability (Islam, 2014), carbon is the most important ingredient for sustaining life (water being the source), and sunlight is the primary energy source alteration of which can onset ripples that can turn into a Tsunami (Khan and Islam, 2016; Islam and Khan, 2019).

A paradigm shift really means we cannot rely on any previous theory at least the ones that started after the natural artificial bifurcation took place. It means; therefore, we cannot rely upon modern theory of light, atomic theory of mass, or the quantum theory of ‘everything’. Fortunately, the background work of deconstruction of current theories as well as reconstruction of dogma-free comprehensive theory of mass and energy was done by Islam (2014) and Khan and Islam (2016). So, we are perfectly capable of answering the question of this subsection. Chapter 3 presents the science behind water-petroleum cycle, oxygen cycle, carbon cycle, and delves into such radical topics, as the scientific difference between lightening (natural electricity) and electricity (AC or DC), chemicals from natural sources (both energy and mass) and artificial sources, etc.

1.4.3 What Real Natural Resource Do We Have?

We have been told by the ‘father of capitalism’ that natural resources are limited, while human needs are infinity, and sustainability and sustainability depends on how fast we can contain population growth. By now

Total remaining recoverable resources

Proven

Figure 1.1 Chapter 4 solves the puzzle of what really is the fossil fuel asset asset and how long one can produce energy sustainably. Notes: All bubbles are expressed as a number of years based on estimated production in 2013. The size of the bubble for total remaining recoverable resources of coal is illustrative and is not proportional to the others. Sources: BGR (2012), OGJ (2012), USGS (2000, 2012a and 2012b), IEA estimates and analysis.

we know capitalism is more wrong-headed than dogma; socialism is more hypocritical than trickle down capitalistic economy; and the new progressive agenda is more sinister than socialism (Islam et al., 2018a). In fact, the entire the economic development model has undergone degradation that was dubbed as HSSA (honey→sugar→Saccharine→Aspartame) by Zatzman and Islam (2007). Chapter 4 discards the old theories of hysteria and spurious premises and offers scientific answer to the question: what is the real oil and gas asset that we have? In answering this question, Chapter 4 brings out a comprehensive explanation to the actual global energy status, offering clear picture, free from paradoxes of the past (Figure 1.1).

1.4.4 Can the Current Reserve be Expanded without Resorting to EOR?

This book is not about selling a particular EOR technique, but rather is about uncovering the real potential of oil and gas production. The discussion of enhancing recovery or interference with a production regime can only commence after we are certain what actual asset we have. Chapter 4 first deconstructs the perception-based reserve estimate models, then presents latest findings of USGS with scientific analysis performed by Islam (2018) and Islam et al. (2018) to draw a clear picture for the developer.

1.4.5

How Do We Characterize Complex Reservoirs?

We are familiar with the recent surge in oil and gas from unconventional oil and reservoirs. What we are less familiar with is the fact that conventional

tools do not apply to unconventional reservoirs. Even less known is the fact that conventional characterization tools don’t accurately represent even the conventional reservoirs. Chapter 5 takes a fresh look at all types of reservoirs and offers practical guideline for scientific characterization. It turns out that inherent features of conventional reservoirs are often a less complicated version of those of unconventional reservoirs. This finding eluded others because of the presumption that the reservoir characterization tools are adequate for most reservoirs, unless there prevails extraordinary complexity in terms of rock and fluid properties. A newly developed reservoir characterization tool is presented in Chapter 5.

1.4.6 When Should We Plan for EOR?

The history of EOR has been marked with controversy, misjudgement and non-technical considerations, devoid of scientific merit. Decisions have been made based on tax credits, government incentives, politics, and other factors, unrelated to engineering. The same applies to the latest ‘awareness’ of environmental concerns. In brief, it has been about monetizing science and technology and not about economic and environmental sustainability. Engineering should be technology before politicking and science should be before engineering. In the modern era, we have started a preposterous culture of short-term profiteering over long-term sustainability. Chapter 6 offers the scientific analysis of all major EOR initiatives and identifies the source of environmental and economic unsustainability. This chapter takes a close look at historical developments and evolutions in oil and gas reserves to offer a guideline for the start of EOR projects. All existing technologies are considered, and their sustainability assessed. Reservoirs for which EOR should be implemented immediately are highlighted. The recent awareness of environmental concerns is factored in to present a new set of criteria for start up of an EOR project.

1.4.7 How to Achieve Environmental and E conomic Sustainability?

This crucial question is answered in Chapter 7. A systematic and scientifically sound analysis shows that only zero-waste schemes can assure both environmental and economic sustainability. It turns out that these two concerns are not separate nor are they contradictory. It means a truly environmentally sustainable scheme will have the greatest efficiency and the most lucrative economic benefit.

1.4.8 Do We Need to Sacrifice Financially to Assure Environmental Sustainability?

For the longest time, the guiding principle of environmental sustainability has been that it must come with a cost. Often an environmentally sustainable project is considered to be untenable with the absence of public funding. In fact, this notion is so prevalent that the recent global warming hysteria has been driven by calls for a universal carbon tax, the cornerstone of the Paris Agreement, which in turn is a euphemism for globalization of the ‘money for environment’ mantra (Khan and Islam, 2019). Chapter 8 debunks this perception and presents an array of technological options in both EOR and EGR (Enhanced Gas Recovery) that are inherently sustainable as well as the least cost intensive.

Petroleum in the Big Picture

2.1 Introduction

The role of petroleum products in shaping human energy needs is undeniable. Hydrocarbons and their transformations play major roles in sustaining today’s civilization. Even though petroleum continues to be the world’s most diverse, efficient, and abundant energy source, due to “grim climate concerns”, global initiatives are pointing toward a “go green” mantra. When it comes to defining ‘green’, numerous schemes are being presented as ‘green’ even though all it means is the source of energy is not carbon. This newfound activism against petroleum sources is illogical and defies the fact that petroleum fluids, including natural gas are 100% natural. While there had been no ambiguity in terms what constitutes natural in both material and spiritual senses before modern age, modern age is rife with confusion regarding sustainability of energy as well as mere existence of the human race.

The current practice of petroleum engineering is not sustainable but the source of unsustainability is hardly known by the mainstream scientists, content with the ‘carbon is the enemy mantra’ – the ones called ‘97% consensus group’ by Islam and Khan (2018). The study of sustainability is a complex science as it involves subsurface and surface, natural and artificial materials, with very high ratio of unknowns over known information (Figure 2.1). Any false-step of Figure 2.1 can trigger unsustainability. Both science and mathematics of the process have been deficient at best. In 2018, Islam and Khan used detailed pathway analysis to identify flaws of various energy production schemes, including petroleum resource development. They pointed out that the sources of unsustainability have eluded modern scientists. Instead, scientists have gone with the most popular theme of any given time and conformed to the path of maximizing benefit to the scientific community, in terms of government funding.

Consideration of complex rheology

Figure 2.1 Various steps involved in petroleum technology.

In this chapter, a delinearized history of energy developments in relation to petroleum production, particularly as it relates to oil and gas is presented. It is complimented with timelines of unsustainable practices, including those involved in enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

2.2 Pre-Industrial Revolution Period

Ancient practices right up to the era of industrial revolution were all sustainable (Khan and Islam, 2012). The technological marvels ranging from pyramids and mummies to curving houses out of rock were all based on sustainable developments. The energy sources were no exception. The knowledge of how beneficial oil could be was widespread all across the ancient world and people from all continents used oil for a number of purposes. These practices were also extremely effective and produced far more durable products than what are available today, without adding toxic chemicals. In terms of petroleum use, pre-industrial age era used natural products in their raw form. For instance, for millennia tar, a naturally deposited petroleum product, was used as a sealant for roofing shingles, brick bonding, the hulls of ships and boats (Daintith, 2008). The desired quality of tar was its ability to be waterproof. Tar was also used us a general disinfectant. Often tar would be mixed with other natural oil, such as

balsam turpentine, linseed oil or Chinese tung oil, to obtain the desired properties.

One important direct use of petroleum products (e.g. tar) was medicinal (Barnes and Grieve, 2017). Since most oils that had seeped to the surface would mostly evaporate and leave behind bitumen - the tarry component of the mixture of hydrocarbons from which it is composed, this tarry material was the most in use. Even in Ancient Europe, tar once had the reputation of being a panacea. Pine tar, a carbonized distilled form of pine, is reported to be in use for over 2000 years as a medicine for skin conditions because of its soothing and antiseptic properties (Barnes and Grieve, 2017). Although pine tar is considered to be distinct from coal tar or naturally occurring petroleum tar, they all have medicinal values for a wide range of applications because of its antipruritic, anti‐inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal nature (Muller, 1984). In addition to its keratolytic action, pine tar has been shown to be antipruritic (Braun‐Falco, 1991), anti‐inflammatory, antiseptic (Dawber, 1994), astringent, keratoplastic, cytostatic, antibacterial (Veijola and Mustakallio, 1964) and antifungal (Ishida et al., 1992). This is no surprise because it is well known that tar from natural sources have all of the natural chemicals (including heavy metals) that can serve as a medicine. After all, the pharmaceutical industry indeed uses the synthetic version of the same chemicals.

Similarly, crude oil is known to have been used since the ancient era. Even today, some parts of the globe use crude oil for medicinal (Dienye et al., 2012) and therapeutical (Hoke, 2015) purposes. However, in the modern era, use of crude oil or petroleum products in their native form is not promoted as a valid material source for any application and invariably all petroleum resources undergo refining.

In terms of refining petroleum products, there is evidence that even during medieval era, refining techniques were present. However, those days, refining was not done in an unsustainable manner (Islam et al., 2010). There is evidence that both distillation and expression were common during the medieval era. In the perfume industry, as early as during early Islamic era (7th century onward), distillation in the form of hydrodistillation and production of absolute, mainly through Enfleurage and fermentation was common (Katz, 2012).

The distillation process for refining oil appears to have been practiced throughout ancient times. Recent discovery of a 5000-year-old earthenware distillation apparatus, used for steam distillation tells us that our ancestors were well versed on developing sustainable technologies (Shnaubelt, 2002). Khan and Islam (2016) demonstrated how an earthenware distillation apparatus is sustainable. The ancient and middle age practices were

mainly focused on medicinal applications. It was the case in ancient Orient and ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the Americas the oils used for medicinal purposes.

However, as reported by Islam et al. (2010), Medieval era scientists were also refining oil for producing shoot-free light. During the fifth century AD, the famed writer, Zosimus of Panopolis, refers to the distilling of a divine water and panacea. Throughout the early Middle Ages and beyond, a basic form of distillation was known and was used primarily to prepare floral waters or distilled aromatic waters. These appear to have been used in perfumery, as digestive tonics, in cooking, and for trading.

Over 1000 years ago, Al-Rāzī (865-923), a Persian Muslim alchemist, wrote a book titled: Kitāb al-Asrār (Book of Secrets), in which he outlined a series of refining and material processing technologies (See Taylor, 2015 for the translation). Al-Rāzī developed a perfectly functioning distillation process. In this distillation process, he used naturally occurring chemicals. His stockroom was enriched with products of Persian mining and manufacturing, even with sal ammoniac, a Chinese discovery. These were all additives that he was using similar to the way catalysts are used today. His approach was fitting for his time, but way ahead of today’s concept of technology development. He avoided, the ‘intellectual approach’ (what has become known as mechanical approach ever since Newtonian era or New Science) in favour of causal or essential approach (what Khan and Islam, 2016, called the ‘science of intangibles’). Table 2.1 shows that the 389 procedures by Al-Rāzī can be divided into four basic types: primary, intermediate, reagent, and preparation methods. The 175 “primary” procedures involve transformation of metals into gold or silver. It is worth noting here that bulk of Newton’s unpublished work also involved transformation of metals into gold (Zatzman and Islam, 2007). The 127 preparatory procedures involve softening and calcination. Today, equivalent processes are called denaturing, in which the natural features of materials are rendered artificial. Al-Rāzī then adds 51 procedures for reagent preparations. The reagents are solvents and tinctures, which usually contain trace amount of heavy metals. It is similar to what is used today except that Al-Rāzī used natural sources. Table 2.1 further shows 36 instructions for commonly needed processes such as mixing or dissolving.

The procedure types include sublimation, calcination, softening whereas major sources are all natural (such as, quicksilver, sulfur, metals, stones). The calcination, sublimation and calcination themselves are also done through natural processes.

The dominant theme was all source materials are derived from plants, animals and minerals and used in their natural state. The knowledge of

Table 2.1 Classification of the procedures use by Al-Razi in Book of Secrets.

Type of procedure Purpose Count Percent Example

Primary Produces a substance that transforms metals into gold or silver

Intermediate Prepares materials required for primary procedures

Reagent Produces a chemical used in other procedures

PreparationInstructions for a method used in other procedures

17545Sublimation of mercury

12733Calcination of silver through burning

5113Liquids that dissolve or create colours

369Mixing through pulverizing and roasting

Total 389100

seven alchemical procedures and techniques involved: sublimation and condensation of mercury, precipitation of sulphur, and arsenic calcination of minerals (gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron), salts, glass, talc, shells, and waxing. In addition, the source of heat was fire.

Al-Rāzī gave methods and procedures of coloring a silver object to imitate gold (gold leafing) and the reverse technique of removing its color back to silver. Also described was gilding and silvering of other metals (alum, calcium salts, iron, copper, and tutty, all being processed in a furnace with real fire), as well as how colors will last for years without tarnishing or changing.

Al-Rāzī classified naturally occurring earthly minerals into six divisions (Rashed, 1996):

I. Four spirits (Al-Arwāh, the plural of the Arabic word Rūh, which is best described in the Qur’an as an order of Allah):

1. mercury

2. sal ammoniac, NH4Cl

3. sulfur

4. arsenic sulphide (orpiment, As2S3 and realgar, As4S4 or AsS)

Even though this classification has been often referred to as ‘ghosts that roam around the earth’, this translation is ill-conceived and defies Qur’anic logic. Correct meaning is these materials are the source materials as in essence. In our previous work, we have called it the ‘intangible’ (Zatzman and Islam, 2007; Khan and Islam, 2012; Islam et al., 2010; Islam et al., 2015).

The above list is meaningful. Each of these materials bears some significance in terms of sustainability and human health. In today’s society, mercury is known to be a toxic material with adverse effects on the body and unanimously portrayed as a toxic chemical with long-term implication, it is one of those rare metals that had time-honoured applications even in the ancient society (Iqbal and Asmat, 2012). This unique heavy metal, which is less toxic in its elemental form than in its compound form, has enjoyed both industrial and medicinal applications throughout history (Wong, 2001).

2.2.1 Mercury

From ancient times, the history of mercury has been connected with that of the medicine and chemistry (Block, 2001). Both sulphur and mercury are known to have been used in early civilizations in China, India and Egypt. Mercury has particular relevance to the history of science of both medicine and alchemy (Norn et al., 2008). Both sulphur and mercury have been used as disinfectants. In post Roman Catholic Church (RCC) Europe, mercury was first introduced by Muslim physicians and it was first mentioned in European literature in 1140 by Matthaeus Platearius, who recommended its use for treatment of syphilis as well as for treatment of wound and others (Block, 2001). On the medicinal side, mercury, in both its elemental and compound forms, has been used throughout history as a microbiocide (Weber and Rutala, 2001). However, ancient times had used only natural processes for extracting mercury. In this context, Figure 2.3 Summarizes how metals act within human bodies. This figure is adapted from Islam et al. (2016), who used the bifurcation to demonstrate that natural chemicals act the opposite way from unnatural chemicals, and Weber and Rutala (2001), who did not distinguish between natural processing and unnatural processing, settling instead for ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ varieties. Islam et al. (2015) as well as Islam (2014) contended that every naturally occurring chemical is beneficial at some concentration, beyond which it becomes toxic (see the top graph in Figure 2.2) On the other hand, what is perceived as non-essential (as per Weber and Rutala, 2001, most heavy metals are non-essential although there is almost yearly discovery that these