"For the application in EGS drilling, this device uses a metallic waveguide to carry the
millimeter wave (MMW) beam to a standoff distance from the crystalline rock. Argon gas is
used as the waveguide fill medium due to its ability to stay transparent to MMW’s at such
deep depths and thus higher pressures [12]. Purge gas is also used to pump out the excess
material that has been transformed into smaller particles (Figure 2.4). "
As a former geologist involved in drilling, thats going to get real expensive, real fast, in terms relative to regular mechanical drilling thanks to the requirement for argon. Perhaps theres an economically efficient changeover point at depth as mechanical drilling becomes less capable due to increasingly plastic deformation.
Yeah, they say in their launch video for Project Obsidian (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmrna_r_b3A) that they'll drill the first 3km using conventional rotary drilling and mmWave beyond that.
I'd be curious if anyone (perhaps the parent) knows why – my assumption is that it's more expensive and/or not as reliable to drill higher up with mmWave, not least because the ground might be uneven materials, etc., and then it becomes something predictable and harder to rotary drill lower down, incl. as you would spend more time doing things like replacing bits low down and sending things up and down?
You don't need a significant flow of argon, just enough to keep unwanted gasses out of the waveguide.
It's possible there exists a material that is transparent to mm waves, airtight, and can survive the conditions at the bottom of the hole. In such a case they could cap the waveguide and prevent any gas leakage.
I'm quite sure Quaise is well aware that Argon isn't cheap and are already exploring multiple avenues for reducing its usage.
It is interesting that they have to use Argon instead of the more typical Nitrogen or SF6. A waveguide with such a significant pressure differential is decidedly unusual and a unique challenger for what they are doing.
Sorry mate, but thats quite the underinformed reply. You have pote tially hundreds of metres of drill string sitting above the face of the drill. Material is being vaporised or cut, and depending on whether this setup is traditional circulation or reverse circulation, you're going to have vaporised material, cut material, and sidewall material appearing at the cutting face. You do need a lot of gas to move it out of thw way, even if its dust. You have only the hole down the centre of the rotating string, or the hole between the outer and inner steel jacket of the string through which to send gas. That in its own is not a teivially small space. You need to swap rods, which necessarily introduces a depressurisation pathway and event every 6m, and of course you need enough pressure to lift cuttings. Gas recapture will be very difficult and dirty, so recirculation is going to be extremely troublesome, not to mention escape to formation.
I really like what https://www.deepfission.com/ is trying to do. They have the absolute simplest model for nuclear fission that I can imagine. They’re digging one mile (1.6 km) holes dropping low enriched nuclear fuel to the bottom, and filling them with water. The pressure from the one mile column of water is perfect for the reactor. From there, it’s basically a geothermal well.
No need for an expensive containment dome, or expensive plumbing. If anything goes wrong, the nuclear fuel is already a mile underground. When the fuel is used up, they can leave it where it is since it’s below the water table. No need for expensive and hard to source highly enriched uranium.
The hard part is digging the wells, but that seems trivial compared to Quaise, who’s trying to dig 3-20km wells. The Deep Fission wells can just go anywhere (perhaps next to a disused former coal turbine?).
>They have the absolute simplest model for nuclear fission that I can imagine
Agree. What I don't understand is: why has it never been done before? They can't possibly be the first to come up with this idea, which doesn't seem to rely on any novel technology.
Might want to do yourself a favor and figure out the implied question behind 400(?)
It's... not a lot of work. At least for me personally it rubs me the wrong way to name an important metric in Fahrenheit and then to give an estimate with a question mark for the proper SI unit.
But why are there no near-term products? If you can cut through granite and such this way, it ought to be useful for other cutting jobs. There should be useful tools, such as small units for drilling pipe holes through concrete and rock. Going for a 10km hole as the initial product raises the suspicion that the real product is the stock.
This company might not be very good at getting deep, but they have definitely figured out how to get press attention.
I have been hearing about them for years in connection with enhanced geothermal, and while other companies are out drilling functional wells, Quaise is just getting basic drilling going, with seemingly zero promise of being cheaper than the alternatives.
28 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 51.2 ms ] threadVery interesting application of radio waves.
Nice article on an earlier demo: https://newatlas.com/energy/quaise-energy-millimeter-wave-dr... ; linked from this (nice but lots lots of ads): https://newatlas.com/energy/quaise-energy-millimeter-wave-dr... .
Company https://www.quaise.com/ on YT https://www.youtube.com/@quaise
MS thesis (2024; browsable) on the vitrified wall, for that and its intro: https://www.proquest.com/openview/624989df3cdd8055a6cee9affc...
Search for papers "Millimeter Wave Drilling for Deep Geothermal Energy Production" https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=Mil...
"For the application in EGS drilling, this device uses a metallic waveguide to carry the millimeter wave (MMW) beam to a standoff distance from the crystalline rock. Argon gas is used as the waveguide fill medium due to its ability to stay transparent to MMW’s at such deep depths and thus higher pressures [12]. Purge gas is also used to pump out the excess material that has been transformed into smaller particles (Figure 2.4). "
As a former geologist involved in drilling, thats going to get real expensive, real fast, in terms relative to regular mechanical drilling thanks to the requirement for argon. Perhaps theres an economically efficient changeover point at depth as mechanical drilling becomes less capable due to increasingly plastic deformation.
I doubt argon is the purge gas.
I'd be curious if anyone (perhaps the parent) knows why – my assumption is that it's more expensive and/or not as reliable to drill higher up with mmWave, not least because the ground might be uneven materials, etc., and then it becomes something predictable and harder to rotary drill lower down, incl. as you would spend more time doing things like replacing bits low down and sending things up and down?
It's possible there exists a material that is transparent to mm waves, airtight, and can survive the conditions at the bottom of the hole. In such a case they could cap the waveguide and prevent any gas leakage.
I'm quite sure Quaise is well aware that Argon isn't cheap and are already exploring multiple avenues for reducing its usage.
It is interesting that they have to use Argon instead of the more typical Nitrogen or SF6. A waveguide with such a significant pressure differential is decidedly unusual and a unique challenger for what they are doing.
This is such a sketchy company. Their "Demo" video doesn't demo anything.
At least this is progress though. In previous hype videos they just pretended you don't need to extract anything!
No need for an expensive containment dome, or expensive plumbing. If anything goes wrong, the nuclear fuel is already a mile underground. When the fuel is used up, they can leave it where it is since it’s below the water table. No need for expensive and hard to source highly enriched uranium.
The hard part is digging the wells, but that seems trivial compared to Quaise, who’s trying to dig 3-20km wells. The Deep Fission wells can just go anywhere (perhaps next to a disused former coal turbine?).
Agree. What I don't understand is: why has it never been done before? They can't possibly be the first to come up with this idea, which doesn't seem to rely on any novel technology.
But why are there no near-term products? If you can cut through granite and such this way, it ought to be useful for other cutting jobs. There should be useful tools, such as small units for drilling pipe holes through concrete and rock. Going for a 10km hole as the initial product raises the suspicion that the real product is the stock.
Nope that's a 0.1kilometerstone.
I have been hearing about them for years in connection with enhanced geothermal, and while other companies are out drilling functional wells, Quaise is just getting basic drilling going, with seemingly zero promise of being cheaper than the alternatives.