Search results for: bulk%20waves

Authors: Sheila Shahidi, Hootan Rezaee, Abosaeed Rashidi, Mahmood Ghoranneviss

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Plasma treatment has an explosive increase in interest and use in industrial applications as for example in medical, biomedical, automobile, electronics, semiconductor and textile industry. A lot of intensive basic research has been performed in the last decade in the field of textiles along with technical textiles. Textile manufacturers and end-users alike have been searching for ways to improve the surface properties of natural and man-made fibers. Specifically, there is a need to improve adhesion and wettability. Functional groups may be introduced onto the fiber surface by using gas plasma treatments, improving fiber surface properties without affecting the fiber’s bulk properties. In this research work, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were insitue synthesized by sonochemical method at room temperature on both untreated and plasma pretreated cotton woven fabric. Oxygen and nitrogen plasmas were used for pre-functionalization of cotton fabric. And the effect of oxygen and nitrogen pre-functionalization on adhesion properties between ZnO nanoparticles and cotton surface were studied. The results show that nanoparticles with average sizes of 20-100 nm with different morphologies have been created on the surface of samples. Synthesis of ZnO-NPs was varied in the morphological transformation by changes in zinc acetate dehydrate concentration. Characterizations were carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Inductive coupled plasma (ICP) and Spectrophotometery. The antibacterial activities of the fabrics were assessed semi-quantitatively by the colonies count method. The results show that the finished fabric demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus in antibacterial test. The wash fastness of both untreated and plasma pretreated samples after 30 times of washing was investigated. The results showed that the parameters of plasma reactor plays very important role for improving the antibacterial durability.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, cotton, fabric, nanoparticles, plasma

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Authors: Hien Thi Dieu Truong, Mahmoud Al-Sarayreh, Pullanagari Reddy, Marlon M. Reis, Richard Archer

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New Zealand mānuka honey is a honeybee product derived mainly from Leptospermum scoparium nectar. The potent antibacterial activity of mānuka honey derives principally from methylglyoxal (MGO), in addition to the hydrogen peroxide and other lesser activities present in all honey. MGO is formed from dihydroxyacetone (DHA) unique to L. scoparium nectar. Mānuka honey also has an idiosyncratic phenolic profile that is useful as a chemical maker. Authentic mānuka honey is highly valuable, but almost all honey is formed from natural mixtures of nectars harvested by a hive over a time period. Once diluted by other nectars, mānuka honey irrevocably loses value. We aimed to apply hyperspectral imaging to honey frames before bulk extraction to minimise the dilution of genuine mānuka by other honey and ensure authenticity at the source. This technology is non-destructive and suitable for an industrial setting. Chemometrics using linear Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) showed limited efficacy in interpreting chemical footprints due to large non-linear relationships between predictor and predictand in a large sample set, likely due to honey quality variability across geographic regions. Therefore, an advanced modelling approach, one-dimensional convolutional neural networks (1D-CNN), was investigated for analysing hyperspectral data for extraction of biochemical information from honey. The 1D-CNN model showed superior prediction of honey quality (R² = 0.73, RMSE = 2.346, RPD= 2.56) to PLS (R² = 0.66, RMSE = 2.607, RPD= 1.91) and SVM (R² = 0.67, RMSE = 2.559, RPD=1.98). Classification of mono-floral manuka honey from multi-floral and non-manuka honey exceeded 90% accuracy for all models tried. Overall, this study reveals the potential of HSI and deep learning modelling for automating the evaluation of honey quality in frames.

Keywords: mānuka honey, quality, purity, potency, deep learning, 1D-CNN, chemometrics

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Authors: Suresh Kumar Verma, Jugal Kishore Das, Ealisha Jha, Mrutyunjay Suar, SKS Parashar

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In recent years nanoforms of inorganic metallic oxides has attracted a lot of interest due to their small size and significantly improved physical, chemical and biological properties compared to their molecular precursor. Some of the inorganic materials such as TiO2, ZnO, MgO, CaO, Al2O3 have been extensively used in biological applications. Zinc Oxide is a Wurtzite-type semiconductor and piezo-electric material exhibiting excellent electrical, optical and chemical properties with a band energy gap of 3.1-3.4 eV. Nanoforms of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) are increasingly recognised for their utility in biological application. The significant physical parameters such as surface area, particle size, surface charge and Zeta potential of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles makes it suitable for the uptake, persistance, biological, and chemical activities inside the living cells. The present study shows the effect of intrinsic defects of ZnO nanocrystals synthesized by high energy ball milling (HEBM) technique in their antibacterial activities. Bulk Zinc oxide purchased from market were ball milled for 7 h, 10 h, and 15 h respectively to produce nanosized Zinc Oxide. The structural and optical modification of such synthesized particles were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). The antibacterial property of synthesized Zinc Oxide nanoparticles was tested using well diffusion, minimum inhibitory Concentration, minimum bacteriocidal concentration, reactive oxygen species (ROS) estimation and membrane potential determination methods. In this study we observed that antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles is because of the intrinsic defects that exist as a function of difference in size and milling time.

Keywords: high energy ball milling, ZnO nanoparticles, EPR, Antibacterial properties

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Authors: Mahmoud Abdel Hameed Shahin

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Job demands that are incompatible with an employee's skills, resources, or needs cause unpleasant emotional and physical reactions known as job stress. Nurses offer care in hospital emergency rooms all around the world, and since they operate in such a dynamic and unpredictable setting, they are constantly under pressure. It has been discovered that job stress has harmful impacts on nurses' health as well as their capacity to handle the demands of their jobs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of job stress experienced by the emergency department nurses at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraidah City, Saudi Arabia. In October 2021, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. 80 nurses were conveniently selected for the study, the bulk of them worked at King Fahad Specialist Hospital's emergency department. An electronic questionnaire with a sociodemographic data sheet and a job stress scale was given to the participating nurses after ethical approval was received from the Ministry of Health's representative bodies. Using SPSS Version 26, both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze and tabulate the acquired data. According to the findings, the factors that contributed to the most job stress in the clinical setting were having an excessive amount of work to do and working under arbitrary deadlines, whereas the factors that contributed to the least stress were receiving the proper recognition or rewards for good work. In the emergency room of King Fahad Specialist Hospital, nurses had a moderate level of stress (M=3.32 ± 0.567/5). Based on their experience, emergency nurses' levels of job stress varied greatly, with nurses with less than a year of experience notably experiencing the lowest levels of job stress. The amount of job stress did not differ significantly based on the emergency nurses' age, nationality, gender, marital status, position, or level of education. The causes and impact of stress on emergency nurses should be identified and alleviated by hospitals through the implementation of interventional programs.

Keywords: emergency nurses, job pressure, Qassim, Saudi Arabia, job stress

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Authors: S. M. Rashed Ul Islam, Shahina Tabassum, Afsana Anwar Miti

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Objective: HIV testing and counseling center (HTC) is an important component of the HIV/AIDS detection, prevention and control interventions. The service was first initiated at the Department of Virology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) since the first case detection in 1989. The present study aimed to describe the demographic profile among the attendees tested HIV positive. Methods: The present study was carried out among 219 HIV positive cases detected through screening at the Department of Virology of BSMMU during the year of 2012-2016. Data were collected through pre-structured written questionnaire during the counseling session. Data were expressed as frequency and percentages and analyzed using SPSS v20.0 program. Results: Out of 219 HIV cases detected, 77.6% were males, and 22.4% were females with a mean age (mean±SD) of 35.46±9.46 years. Among them, 70.7% belonged to the 26-45 age groups representing the sexually active age. The majority of the cases were married (86.3%) and 49.8% had primary level of education whereas, 8.7% were illiterate. Nearly 42% of cases were referred from Chittagong division (south-east part of the country) followed by Dhaka division (35.6%). The bulk of study population admitted to involvement in high-risk behaviour (90%) in the past and 42% of them had worked overseas. The Pearson Chi-square (χ2) analysis revealed significant relationship of gender with marital (χ2=7.88 at 2% level) and occupation status (χ2=120.48 at 6% level); however, no association was observed with risk behaviour and educational status. Recommendations: HIV risk behavior was found to be a prime source for HIV infection among the study population. So, there is need for health education and awareness program to bring about behavioral changes to halt the yearly increase of new cases in the country with special attention to our overseas workers on HIV/AIDS risk and safety.

Keywords: Bangladesh, health education, HIV testing and counseling (HTC), HIV/AIDS, risk behavior

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Authors: Maryam Salehi, Gholamreza Bonyadinejad

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The application of agricultural plastic products like mulch, greenhouse covers, and silage films is increasing due to their economic benefits in providing an early and better-quality harvest. In 2015, the 4 million tons (valued a 10.6 million USD) global market for agricultural plastic films was estimated to grow by 5.6% per year through 2030. Despite the short-term benefits provided by plastic products, their long-term sustainability issues and negative impacts on soil health are not well understood. After their removal from the field, some plastic residuals remain in the soil. Plastic residuals in farmlands may fragment to small particles called microplastics (d<5mm). The microplastics' exposure to solar radiation could alter their surface chemistry and make them susceptible to fragmentation. Thus, this study examined the photodegradation of low density polyethylene as the model microplastics that are released to the agriculture farmland. The variation of plastic’s surface chemistry, morphology, and bulk characteristics were studied after accelerated UV-A radiation experiments and sampling from an agricultural field. The Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated the formation of oxidized surface functional groups onto the microplastics surface due to the photodegradation. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed an increased crystallinity for the photodegraded microplastics compared to the new samples. The gel permeation chromatography (GPC) demonstrated the reduced molecular weight for the polymer due to the photodegradation. This study provides an important opportunity to advance understanding of soil pollution. Understanding the plastic residuals’ variations as they are left in the soil is providing a critical piece of information to better estimate the microplastics' impacts on environmental biodiversity, ecosystem sustainability, and food safety.

Keywords: soil health, plastic pollution, sustainability, photodegradation

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Authors: Somayeh Lotfi, Manuel Eggimann, Eckhard Wagner, Radosław Mróz, Jan Deja

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One of the main environmental challenges in the construction industry is a strong social force to decrease the bulk transport of the building materials in urban environments. Considering this fact, applying more in-situ recycling technologies for Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is an urgent need. The European C2CA project develops a novel concrete recycling technology that can be performed purely mechanically and in situ. The technology consists of a combination of smart demolition, gentle grinding of the crushed concrete in an autogenous mill, and a novel dry classification technology called ADR to remove the fines. The feasibility of this recycling process was examined in demonstration projects involving in total 20,000 tons of End of Life (EOL) concrete from two office towers in Groningen, The Netherlands. This paper concentrates on the second demonstration project of C2CA, where EOL concrete was recycled on an industrial site. After recycling, the properties of the produced Recycled Aggregate (RA) were investigated, and results are presented. An experimental study was carried out on mechanical and durability properties of produced Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) compared to those of the Natural Aggregate Concrete (NAC). The aim was to understand the importance of RA substitution, w/c ratio and type of cement to the properties of RAC. In this regard, two series of reference concrete with strength classes of C25/30 and C45/55 were produced using natural coarse aggregates (rounded and crushed) and natural sand. The RAC series were created by replacing parts of the natural aggregate, resulting in series of concrete with 0%, 20%, 50% and 100% of RA. Results show that the concrete mix design and type of cement have a decisive effect on the properties of RAC. On the other hand, the substitution of RA even at a high percentage replacement level has a minor and manageable impact on the performance of RAC. This result is a good indication towards the feasibility of using RA in structural concrete by modifying the mix design and using a proper type of cement.

Keywords: C2CA, ADR, concrete recycling, recycled aggregate, durability

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Authors: Wen-Chyan Tsai, Syed S. H. Rizvi

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Organic solvent residues are always associated with liposomes produced by the traditional techniques like the thin film hydration and reverse phase evaporation methods, which limit the applications of these vesicles in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. Our objective was to develop a novel and benign process of liposomal microencapsulation by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) as the sole phospholipid-dissolving medium and a green substitute for organic solvents. This process consists of supercritical fluid extraction followed by rapid expansion via a nozzle and automatic cargo suction. Lecithin and cholesterol mixed in 10:1 mass ratio were dissolved in SC-CO2 at 20 ± 0.5 MPa and 60 oC. After at least two hours of equilibrium, the lecithin/cholesterol-laden SC-CO2 was passed through a 1000-micron nozzle and immediately mixed with the cargo solution to form liposomes. Liposomal micro-encapsulation was conducted at three pressures (8.27, 12.41, 16.55 MPa), three temperatures (75, 83 and 90 oC) and two flow rates (0.25 ml/sec and 0.5 ml/sec). Liposome size, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency were characterized as functions of the operating parameters. The average liposomal size varied from 400-500 nm to 1000-1200 nm when the pressure was increased from 8.27 to 16.55 MPa. At 12.41 MPa, 90 oC and 0.25 ml per second of 0.2 M glucose cargo loading rate, the highest encapsulation efficiency of 31.65 % was achieved. Under a confocal laser scanning microscope, large unilamellar vesicles and multivesicular vesicles were observed to make up a majority of the liposomal emulsion. This new approach is a rapid and continuous process for bulk production of liposomes using a green solvent. Based on the results to date, it is feasible to apply this technique to encapsulate hydrophilic compounds inside the aqueous core as well as lipophilic compounds in the phospholipid bilayers of the liposomes for controlled release, solubility improvement and targeted therapy of bioactive compounds.

Keywords: liposome, micro encapsulation, supercritical carbon dioxide, non-toxic process

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Authors: Ariungerel Jargal

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: Cave mining is a bulk underground mining method, which allows large low-grade deposits to be mined underground. This method involves undermining the orebody to make it collapse under its own weight into a series of chambers from which the ore extracted. It is a useful technique to extend the life of large deposits previously mined by open pits, and it is a method increasingly proposed for new mines around the world. We plan to conduct a feasibility study using Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) technology to show how much subsidence there is at the intersection with the cave mining surface. EIT is an imaging technique which uses electrical measurements at electrodes attached on the body surface to yield a cross-sectional image of conductivity changes within the object. EIT has been developed in several different applications areas as a simpler, cheaper alternative to many other imaging methods. A low frequency current is injected between pairs of electrodes while voltage measurements are collected at all other electrode pairs. In the difference EIT, images are reconstructed of the change in conductivity distribution (σ) between the acquisition of the two sets of measurements. Image reconstruction in EIT requires the solution of an ill-conditioned nonlinear inverse problem on noisy data, typically requiring make simpler assumptions or regularization. It is noted that the ratio of current to voltage represents a complex value according to Ohm’s law, and that it is theoretically possible to re-express EIT. The results of the experiment were presented on the simulation, and it was concluded that it is possible to conduct further real experiments. Drill a certain number of holes in the top wall of the cave to attach the electrodes, flow a current through them, and measure and acquire the potential through these electrodes. Appropriate values should be selected depending on the distance between the holes, the frequency and duration of the measurements, the surface characteristics and the size of the study area using an EIT device.

Keywords: impedance tomography, cave mining, soil, EIT device

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Authors: Mohammad Tofayel Ahmed, Seung Kook An

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In contemporary research world, focus is more set on sustainable products and innovative processes. The global textile industries are putting tremendous effort to achieve a balance between economic development and ecological protection concurrently. The conservation of water sources and environment have become immensely significant issue in textile dyeing production. Accordingly, an attempt has been taken in this study to develop a process to dye polyester blend cotton without reduction clearing process and any extra wash off chemical by simple modification aiming at cost reduction and sustainability. A widely used combination of 60/40 cotton/polyester (c/p) single jersey knitted fabric of 30’s, 180 g/m² was considered for study. Traditionally, pretreatment is done followed by polyester part dyeing, reduction clearing and cotton part dyeing for c/p blend dyeing. But in this study, polyester part is dyed right away followed by pretreatment process and cotton part dyeing by skipping the reduction clearing process diametrically. The dyed samples of both traditional and modified samples were scrutinized by various color fastness tests, dyeing parameters and by consumption of water, steam, power, process time and total batch cost. The modified process in this study showed no necessity of reduction clearing process for polyester blend cotton dyeing. The key issue contributing to avoid the reduction clearing after polyester part dyeing has been the multifunctional effect of NaOH and H₂O₂ while pretreatment of cotton after polyester part dyeing. The results also revealed that the modified process could reduce the consumption of water, steam, power, time and cost remarkably. The bulk trial of modified process demonstrated the well exploitability to dye polyester blend cotton substrate ensuring all fastness and dyeing properties regardless of dyes category, blend ratio, color, and shade percentage thus making the process sustainable, eco-friendly and economical. Furthermore, the proposed method could be applicable to any cellulosic blend with polyester.

Keywords: cotton, dyeing, economical, polyester

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Authors: Julian Jaegers, Siegmar Wirtz, Viktor Scherer

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Wood pellets belong to the most established trade formats of wood-based fuels. Especially, because of the transportability and the storage properties, but also due to low moisture content, high energy density, and the homogeneous particle size and shape, wood pellets are well suited for power generation in power plants and for the use in automated domestic firing systems. Before they are thermally converted, wood pellets pass various transport and storage procedures. There they undergo different mechanical impacts, which leads to pellet breakage and abrasion and to an increase in fines. The fines lead to operational problems during storage, charging, and discharging of pellets, they can increase the risk of dust explosions and can lead to pollutant emissions during combustion. In the current work, the dependence of the formation of fines caused by breakage during pneumatic transport is analyzed experimentally and numerically. The focus lies on the influence of conveying velocity, pellet loading, pipe diameter, and the shape of pipe components like bends or couplings. A test rig has been built, which allows the experimental evaluation of the pneumatic transport varying the above-mentioned parameters. Two high-speed cameras are installed for the quantitative optical access to the particle-particle and particle-wall contacts. The particle size distribution of the bulk before and after a transport process is measured as well as the amount of fines produced. The experiments will be compared with results of corresponding DEM/CFD simulations to provide information on contact frequencies and forces. The contribution proposed will present experimental results and report on the status of the DEM/CFD simulations. The final goal of the project is to provide a better insight into pellet breakage during pneumatic transport and to develop guidelines ensuring a more gentle transport.

Keywords: DEM/CFD-simulation of pneumatic conveying, mechanical impact on wood pellets during transportation, pellet breakage, pneumatic transport of wood pellets

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Authors: Khanyisile Mnguni, Muthukrishnavellaisamy Kumarasamy, Jeff C. Smithers

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Umgeni Water is a water board that supplies most parts of KwaZulu Natal with bulk portable water. Currently, Umgeni Water is running its distribution system based on required reservoir levels and demands and does not consider the energy cost at different times of the day, number of pump switches, and background leakages. Including these constraints can reduce operational cost, energy usage, leakages, and increase performance. Optimising pump schedules can reduce energy usage and costs while adhering to hydraulic and operational constraints. Umgeni Water has installed an online hydraulic software, WaterNet Advisor, that allows running different operational scenarios prior to implementation in order to optimise the distribution system. This study will investigate operation scenarios using optimisation techniques and WaterNet Advisor for a local water distribution system. Based on studies reported in the literature, introducing pump scheduling optimisation can reduce energy usage by approximately 30% without any change in infrastructure. Including tariff structures in an optimisation problem can reduce pumping costs by 15%, while including leakages decreases cost by 10%, and pressure drop in the system can be up to 12 m. Genetical optimisation algorithms are widely used due to their ability to solve nonlinear, non-convex, and mixed-integer problems. Other methods such as branch and bound linear programming have also been successfully used. A suitable optimisation method will be chosen based on its efficiency. The objective of the study is to reduce energy usage, operational cost, and leakages, and the feasibility of optimal solution will be checked using the Waternet Advisor. This study will provide an overview of the optimisation of hydraulic networks and progress made to date in multi-objective optimisation for a selected sub-system operated by Umgeni Water.

Keywords: energy usage, pump scheduling, WaterNet Advisor, leakages

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Authors: Amr Mohamed Bakry Ibrahim, Yingzhou Ni, Hao Cheng, Li Liang

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Tuna oil (omega-3 oil) has become increasingly popular in the last ten years, because it is considered one of the treasures of food which has many beneficial health effects for the humans. Nevertheless, the susceptibility of omega-3 oils to oxidative deterioration, resulting in the formation of oxidation products, in addition to organoleptic problems including “fishy” flavors, have presented obstacles to the more widespread use of tuna oils in the food industry. This study sought to evaluate the potential impact of Mentha piperita oil on physicochemical characteristics and oxidative stability of tuna oil microcapsules formed by spray drying using the partial substitution to whey protein isolate by carboxymethyl cellulose and pullulan. The emulsions before the drying process were characterized regarding size and ζ-potential, viscosity, surface tension. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that all emulsions were sphericity and homogeneous distribution without any visible particle aggregation. The microcapsules obtained after spray drying were characterized regarding microencapsulation efficiency, water activity, color, bulk density, flowability, scanning surface morphology and oxidative stability. The microcapsules were spherical shape had low water activity (0.11-0.23 aw). The microcapsules containing both tuna oil and Mentha piperita oil were smaller than others and addition of pullulan into wall materials improved the morphology of microcapsules. Microencapsulation efficiency of powdered oil ranged from 90% to 94%. Using Mentha piperita oil in the process of microencapsulation tuna oil enhanced the oxidative stability using whey protein isolate only or with carboxymethyl cellulose or pullulan as wall materials, resulting in improved storage stability and mask fishy odor. Therefore, it is foreseen using tuna-Mentha piperita oil mixture microcapsules in the applications of the food industries.

Keywords: Mentha piperita oil, microcapsule, tuna oil, whey protein isolate

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Authors: Sebastien Relave, Christophe Desrayaud, Aurelien Vilani, Alexey Sova

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Laser beam melting (LBM) is an additive manufacturing process that enables complex 3D parts to be designed. This process is now commonly employed for various applications such as chemistry or energy, requiring the use of stainless steel grades. LBM can offer comparable and sometimes superior mechanical properties to those of wrought materials. However, we observed an anisotropic microstructure which results from the process, caused by the very high thermal gradients along the building axis. This microstructure can be harmful depending on the application. For this reason, control and prediction of the microstructure are important to ensure the improvement and reproducibility of the mechanical properties. This study is focused on the 316L SS grade and aims at understanding the solidification and transformation mechanisms during process. Experiments to analyse the nucleation and growth of the microstructure obtained by the LBM process according to several conditions. These samples have been designed on different type of support bulk and lattice. Samples are produced on ProX DMP 200 LBM device. For the two conditions the analysis of microstructures, thanks to SEM and EBSD, revealed a single phase Austenite with preferential crystallite growth along the (100) plane. The microstructure was presented a hierarchical structure consisting columnar grains sizes in the range of 20-100 µm and sub grains structure of size 0.5 μm. These sub-grains were found in different shapes (columnar and cellular). This difference can be explained by a variation of the thermal gradient and cooling rate or element segregation while no sign of element segregation was found at the sub-grain boundaries. A high dislocation concentration was observed at sub-grain boundaries. These sub-grains are separated by very low misorientation walls ( < 2°) this causes a lattice of curvature inside large grain. A discussion is proposed on the occurrence of these microstructures formation, in regard of the LBM process conditions.

Keywords: selective laser melting, stainless steel, microstructure

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Authors: Chukwudalu C. Nwazojie, Wole W. Soboyejo, John Obayemi, Ali Salifu Azeko, Sandra M. Jusu, Chinyerem M. Onyekanne

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The conventional methods for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer include bulk systematic mammography, ultrasound, dynamic contrast-enhanced fast 3D gradient-echo (GRE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, nanoparticles and drug-loaded polymer microspheres for disease (cancer) targeting and treatment have enormous potential to enhance the approaches that are used today. The goal is to produce an implantable biomedical device for localized breast cancer drug delivery within Africa and the world. The main advantage of localized delivery is that it reduces the amount of drug that is needed to have a therapeutic effect. Polymer blends of poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and polycaprolactone (PCL), which are biodegradable, is used as a drug excipient. This work focuses on the development of PLGA-PCL (poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) blended with based injectable drug microspheres and are loaded with anticancer drugs (prodigiosin (PG), and paclitaxel (PTX) control) and also the conjugated forms of the drug functionalized with LHRH (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone) (PG-LHRH, and PTX- LHRH control), using a single-emulsion solvent evaporation technique. The encapsulation was done in the presence of PLGA-PCL (as a polymer matrix) and poly-(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) (as an emulsifier). Comparative study of the various drugs release kinetics and degradation mechanisms of the PLGA-PCL with an encapsulated drug is achieved, and the implication of this study is for the potential application of prodigiosin PLGA-PCL loaded microparticles for controlled delivery of cancer drug and treatment to prevent the regrowth or locoregional recurrence, following surgical resection of triple-negative breast tumor.

Keywords: cancer, polymers, drug kinetics, nanoparticles

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Authors: Uzaira Rafique, Kousar Parveen

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The discharge volume and composition of Textile effluents gains scientific concern due to its hazards and biotoxcity of azo dyes. Azo dyes are non-biodegradable due to its complex molecular structure and recalcitrant nature. Serious attempts have been made to synthesize and develop new materials to combat the environmental problems. The present study is designed for removal of a range of azo dyes (Methyl orange, Congo red and Basic fuchsine) from synthetic aqueous solutions and real textile effluents. For this purpose, Metal (cobalt) doped alumina hybrids are synthesized and applied as adsorbents in the batch experiment. Two different aluminium precursor (aluminium nitrate and spent aluminium foil) and glucose are mixed following sol gel method to get hybrids. The synthesized materials are characterized for surface and bulk properties using FTIR, SEM-EDX and XRD techniques. The characterization of materials under FTIR revealed that –OH (3487-3504 cm-1), C-H (2935-2985 cm-1), Al-O (~ 800 cm-1), Al-O-C (~1380 cm-1), Al-O-Al (659-669 cm-1) groups participates in the binding of dyes onto the surface of hybrids. Amorphous shaped particles and elemental composition of carbon (23%-44%), aluminium (29%-395%), and oxygen (11%-20%) is demonstrated in SEM-EDX micrograph. Time-dependent batch-experiments under identical experimental parameters showed 74% congo red, 68% methyl orange and 85% maximum removal of basic fuchsine onto the surface of cobalt doped alumina hybrids probably through the ion-exchange mechanism. The experimental data when treated with adsorption models is found to have good agreement with pseudo second order kinetic and freundlich isotherm for adsorption process. The present study concludes the successful synthesis of novel and efficient cobalt doped alumina hybrids providing environmental friendly and economical alternative to the commercial adsorbents for the treatment of industrial effluents.

Keywords: alumina hybrid, adsorption, dopant, isotherm, kinetic

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Authors: Vladimir Klepikov

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To develop the programs to supply crude oil to North European refineries, it is necessary to take into account the refineries’ location, crude refining capacity, and the transport infrastructure capacity. Among the countries of the region, we include those having a marine boundary along the Northern Sea and the Baltic Sea (from France in the west to Finland in the east). The paper envisages the geographic allocation of the refineries and contains the evaluation of the refineries’ capacities for the region under review. The sustainable operations of refineries in the region are determined by the transportation system capacity to supply crude oil to them. The assessment of capacity of crude oil transportation to the refineries is conducted. The research is performed for the period of 2005/2015, using the quantitative analysis method. The countries are classified by the refineries’ aggregate capacities and the crude oil output on their territory. The crude oil output capacities in the region in the period under review are determined. The capacities of the region’s transportation system to supply crude oil produced in the region to the refineries are revealed. The analysis suggested that imported raw materials are the main source of oil for the refineries in the region. The main sources of crude oil supplies to North European refineries are reviewed. The change in the refineries’ capacities in the group of countries and each particular country, as well as the utilization of the refineries' capacities in the region in the period under review, was studied. The input suggests that the bulk of crude oil is supplied by marine and pipeline transport. The paper contains the assessment of the crude oil transportation by pipeline transport in the overall crude oil cargo flow. The refineries’ production rate for the groups of countries under the review and for each particular country was the subject of study. Our study yielded the trend towards the increase in the crude oil refining at the refineries of the region and reduction in the crude oil output. If this trend persists in the near future, the cargo flow of imported crude oil and the utilization of the North European logistics infrastructure may increase. According to the study, the existing transport infrastructure in the region is able to handle the increasing imported crude oil flow.

Keywords: European region, infrastructure, oil terminal capacity, pipeline capacity, tanker draft

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Authors: Roopchand Tandon, Zaheer Khan Yusufzai, R. Manna, R. K. Mandal

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Present work describes microstructures, mechanical properties, and texture characteristics of the friction stir processed AA7075T7352 aluminum alloy. Phases were analyzed with the help of x-ray diffractometre (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) along with the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Depth-wise microstructures and dislocation characteristics from the nugget-zone of the friction stir processed specimens were studied using the bright field (BF) and weak beam dark-field (WBDF) TEM micrographs, and variation in the microstructures as well as dislocation characteristics were the noteworthy features found. XRD analysis display changes in the chemistry as well as size of the phases in the nugget and heat affected zones (Nugget and HAZ). Whereas the base metal (BM) microstructures remain un-affected. High density dislocations were noticed in the nugget regions of the processed specimen, along with the formation of dislocation contours and tangles. .The ɳ’ and ɳ phases, along with the GP-Zones were completely dissolved and trapped by the dislocations. Such an observations got corroborated to the improved mechanical as well as stress corrosion cracking (SCC) performances. Bulk texture and residual stress measurements were done by the Panalytical Empyrean MRD system with Co- kα radiation. Nugget zone (NZ) display compressive residual stress as compared to thermo-mechanically(TM) and heat affected zones (HAZ). Typical f.c.c. deformation texture components (e.g. Copper, Brass, and Goss) were seen. Such a phenomenon is attributed to the enhanced hardening as well as other mechanical performance of the alloy. Mechanical characterizations were done using the tensile test and Anton Paar Instrumented Micro Hardness tester. Enhancement in the yield strength value is reported from the 89MPa to the 170MPa; on the other hand, highest hardness value was reported in the nugget-zone of the processed specimens.

Keywords: aluminum alloy, mechanical characterization, texture characterstics, friction stir processing

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Authors: Suresh Vanguri, Suresh Palla, Prasad G., Ramaswamy V., Kalyani K. V., Chaturvedi S. K., Mohapatra B. N., Sunder Rao TBVN

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The utilization of industrial waste materials and by-products in the cement industry helps in the conservation of natural resources besides avoiding the problems arising due to waste dumping. The use of non-carbonated materials as raw mix components in clinker manufacturing is identified as one of the key areas to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Chrome sludge is a waste material generated from the manufacturing process of sodium dichromate. This paper aims to present studies on the use of chrome sludge in clinker manufacturing, its impact on the development of clinker mineral phases and on the cement properties. Chrome sludge was found to contain substantial amounts of CaO, Fe2O3 and Al2O3 and therefore was used to replace some conventional sources of alumina and iron in the raw mix. Different mixes were prepared by varying the chrome sludge content from 0 to 5 % and the mixes were evaluated for burnability. Laboratory prepared clinker samples were evaluated for qualitative and quantitative mineralogy using X-ray Diffraction Studies (XRD). Optical microscopy was employed to study the distribution of clinker phases, their granulometry and mineralogy. Since chrome sludge also contains considerable amounts of chromium, studies were conducted on the leachability of heavy elements in the chrome sludge as well as in the resultant cement samples. Estimation of heavy elements, including chromium was carried out using ICP-OES. Further, the state of chromium valence, Cr (III) & Cr (VI), was studied using conventional chemical analysis methods coupled with UV-VIS spectroscopy. Assimilation of chromium in the clinker phases was investigated using SEM-EDXA studies. Bulk cement was prepared from the clinker to study the effect of chromium sludge on the cement properties such as setting time, soundness, strength development against the control cement. Studies indicated that chrome sludge can be successfully utilized and its content needs to be optimized based on raw material characteristics.

Keywords: chrome sludge, leaching, mineralogy, non-carbonate materials

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Authors: Ayman H. Amer Eissa, Abdul Rahman O. Alghannam

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The agricultural crop residuals are considered one of the most important problems faced by the environmental life and farmers in the world. A study was carried out to evaluate the physical characteristics of chopped date palm stalks (fronds and leaflets). These properties are necessary to apply normal design procedures such as pneumatic conveying, fluidization, drying, and combustion. The mechanical treatment by cutting, crushing or chopping and briquetting processes are the primary step and the suitable solution for solving this problem and recycling these residuals to be transformed into useful products. So the aim of the present work to get a high quality for agriculture residues such as date palm stalks (fronds), date palm leaflets briquettes. The results obtained from measuring the mechanical properties (average shear and compressive strength) for date palm stalks at different moisture content (12.63, 33.21 and 60.54%) was (6.4, 4.7 and 3.21MPa) and (3.8, 3.18 and 2.86MPa) respectively. The modulus of elasticity and toughness were evaluated as a function of moisture content. As the moisture content of the stalk regions increased the modulus of elasticity and toughness decreased indicating a reduction in the brittleness of the stalk regions. Chopped date palm stalks (palm fronds), date palm leaflets having moisture content of 8, 10 and 12% and 8, 10 and 12.8% w.b. were dandified into briquettes without binder and with binder (urea-formaldehyde) using a screw press machine. Quality properties for briquettes were durability, compression ratio hardness, bulk density, compression ratio, resiliency, water resistance and gases emission. The optimum quality properties found for briquettes at 8 % moisture content and without binder. Where the highest compression stress and durability were 8.95, 10.39 MPa and 97.06 %, 93.64 % for date palm stalks (palm fronds), date palm leaflets briquettes, respectively. The CO and CO2 emissions for date palm stalks (fronds), date palm leaflets briquettes were less than these for loose residuals.

Keywords: residues, date palm stalks, chopper, briquetting, quality properties

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Authors: Mahsa Shafaei Bajestani, Mahmoud Yazdani, Aliakbar Golshani

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Artificial lightweight aggregates have a wide range of applications in industry and engineering. Nowadays, the usage of this material in geotechnical activities, especially as backfill in retaining walls has been growing due to the specific characteristics which make it a competent alternative to the conventional geotechnical materials. In practice, a material with lower weight but higher shear strength parameters would be ideal as backfill behind retaining walls because of the important roles that these parameters play in decreasing the overall active lateral earth pressure. In this study, two types of Light Expanded Clay Aggregates (LECA) produced in the Leca factory are investigated. LECA is made in a rotary kiln by heating natural clay at different temperatures up to 1200 °C making quasi-spherical aggregates with different sizes ranged from 0 to 25 mm. The loose bulk density of these aggregates is between 300 and 700 kN/m³. The purpose of this research is to determine the stress-strain behavior, shear strength parameters, and the energy absorption of LECA materials. Direct shear tests were conducted at five normal stresses of 25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 kPa. In addition, conventional triaxial compression tests were operated at confining pressures of 50, 100, and 200 kPa to examine stress-strain behavior. The experimental results show a high internal angle of friction and even a considerable amount of nominal cohesion despite the granular structure of LECA. These desirable properties along with the intrinsic low density of these aggregates make LECA as a very proper material in geotechnical applications. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that lightweight aggregates may have high energy absorption that is excellent alternative material in seismic isolations.

Keywords: expanded clay, direct shear test, triaxial test, shear properties, energy absorption

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Jin Lin, Shouxiang Lu, Kim Meow Liew

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In a fire accident, fire smoke often poses a serious threat to human safety especially in the enclosed space such as submarine and space-crafts environment. Efficient removal of the hazardous gas products particularly a large amount of CO and CO₂ gases from these confined space is critical for the security of the staff and necessary for the post-fire environment recovery. In this work, Cu-Mn-Ce composite oxide catalysts coupled with CO₂ sorbents were prepared using wet impregnation method, solid-state impregnation method and wet/solid-state impregnation method. The as-prepared samples were tested dynamically and isothermally for CO oxidation and CO₂ sorption and further characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption and desorption, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed that all the samples were able to catalyze CO into CO₂ and capture CO₂ in situ by chemisorption. Among all the samples, the sample synthesized by the wet/solid-state impregnation method showed the highest catalytic activity toward CO oxidation and the fine ability of CO₂ sorption. The sample prepared by the solid-state impregnation method showed the second CO oxidation performance, while the coupled sample using the wet impregnation method exhibited much poor CO oxidation activity. The various CO oxidation and CO₂ sorption properties of the samples might arise from the different dispersed states of the CO₂ sorbent in the CO catalyst, owing to the different preparation methods. XRD results confirmed the high-dispersed sorbent phase in the samples prepared by the wet and solid impregnation method, while that of the sample prepared by wet/solid-state impregnation method showed the larger bulk phase as indicated by the high-intensity diffraction peaks. Nitrogen adsorption and desorption results further revealed that the latter sample had a higher surface area and pore volume, which were beneficial for the CO oxidation over the catalyst. Hence, the Cu-Mn-Ce oxide catalyst coupled with CO₂ sorbent using wet/solid-state impregnation method could be a good choice for fire smoke removal in the enclosed space.

Keywords: CO oxidation, CO₂ sorption, preparation methods, smoke removal

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Authors: L. Shafiq, A. Rigby

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All polyethylene processes are highly exothermic, and the safe removal of the heat of reaction is a fundamental issue in the process design. In slurry and gas processes, the velocity of the polymer particles in the reactor and external coolers can be very high, and under certain conditions, this can lead to static charging of these particles. Such static charged polymer particles may start building up on the reactor wall, limiting heat transfer, and ultimately leading to severe reactor fouling and forced reactor shut down. Statsafe™ is an FDA approved anti-fouling additive currently used around the world for polyolefin production as an anti-fouling additive. The unique polymer chemistry aids static discharge, which prevents the build-up of charged polyolefin particles, which could lead to fouling. Statsafe™ is being used and trailed in gas, slurry, and a combination of these technologies around the world. We will share data to demonstrate how the use of Statsafe™ allows more stable operation at higher solids level by eliminating static, which would otherwise prevent closer packing of particles in the hydrocarbon slurry. Because static charge generation depends also on the concentration of polymer particles in the slurry, the maximum slurry concentration can be higher when using Statsafe™, leading to higher production rates. The elimination of fouling also leads to less downtime. Special focus will be made on the impact anti-static additives have on catalyst performance within the polymerization process and how this has been measured. Lab-scale studies have investigated the effect on the activity of Ziegler Natta catalysts when anti-static additives are used at various concentrations in gas and slurry, polyethylene and polypropylene processes. An in-depth gas phase study investigated the effect of additives on the final polyethylene properties such as particle size, morphology, fines, bulk density, melt flow index, gradient density, and melting point.

Keywords: anti-static additives, catalyst performance, FDA approved anti-fouling additive, polymerisation

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Authors: Lin Meng, Xi Lu, Haibo Wang, Yong Song, Lili Cao, Wenfang Song, Yong Hu

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China has abundant heavy oil resources, and thermal recovery is the main recovery method for heavy oil reservoirs. However, high energy consumption, high carbon emission and high production costs make heavy oil thermal recovery unsustainable. It is urgent to explore a replacement for developing technology. A low Carbon and cost technology of heavy oil recovery, chemical viscosity-reduction in layer (CVRL), is developed by the petroleum exploration and development research institute of Sinopec via investigated mechanisms, synthesized products, and improved oil production technologies, as follows: (1) Proposed a cascade viscous mechanism of heavy oil. Asphaltene and resin grow from free molecules to associative structures further to bulk aggregations by π - π stacking and hydrogen bonding, which causes the high viscosity of heavy oil. (2) Aimed at breaking the π - π stacking and hydrogen bond of heavy oil, the copolymer of N-(3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl) acryl amide and 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid was synthesized as a viscosity reducer. It achieves a viscosity reduction rate of>80% without shearing for heavy oil (viscosity < 50000 mPa‧s), of which fluidity is evidently improved in the layer. (3) Synthesized hydroxymethyl acrylamide-maleic acid-decanol ternary copolymer self-assembly plugging agent. The particle size is 0.1 μm-2 mm adjustable, and the volume is 10-500 times controllable, which can achieve the efficient transportation of viscosity reducer to enriched oil areas. CVRL has applied 400 wells until now, increasing oil production by 470000 tons, saving 81000 tons of standard coal, reducing CO2 emissions by 174000 tons, and reducing production costs by 60%. It promotes the transformation of heavy oil towards low energy consumption, low carbon emissions, and low-cost development.

Keywords: heavy oil, chemical viscosity-reduction, low carbon, viscosity reducer, plugging agent

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Authors: Samson Abayomi Olasoju, Olufemi Adekunle, Titilope Edun, Johnson Owoseni

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Science offers opportunities for revolutionizing human activities, enriched by input from scientific research and technology. Biotechnology is a major force for development in developing countries such as Nigeria. It is found to contribute to solving human problems like water and food insecurity that impede national development and threaten peace wherever it is applied. This review identified the problems of agricultural biotechnology in Nigeria. On the part of rural farmers, there is a lack of adequate knowledge or awareness of biotechnology despite the fact that they constitute the bulk of Nigerian farmers. On part of the government, the problems include: lack of adequate implementation of government policy on bio-safety and genetically modified products, inadequate funding of education as well as research and development of products related to biotechnology. Other problems include: inadequate infrastructures (including laboratory), poor funding and lack of national strategies needed for development and running of agricultural biotechnology. In spite of all the challenges associated with agricultural biotechnology, its prospects still remain great if Nigeria is to meet with the food needs of the country’s ever increasing population. The introduction of genetically engineered products will lead to the high productivity needed for commercialization and food security. Insect, virus and other related diseases resistant crops and livestock are another viable area of contribution of biotechnology to agricultural production. In conclusion, agricultural biotechnology will not only ensure food security, but, in addition, will ensure that the local farmers utilize appropriate technology needed for large production, leading to the prosperity of the farmers and national economic growth, provided government plays its role of adequate funding and good policy implementation.

Keywords: biosafety, biotechnology, food security, genetic engineering, genetic modification

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Mrinal Kanti Bhowmik, Debanjana Debnath Jr., Debotosh Bhattacharjee

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A facial expression is undeniably the human manners. It is a significant channel for human communication and can be applied to extract emotional features accurately. People in pain often show variations in facial expressions that are readily observable to others. A core of actions is likely to occur or to increase in intensity when people are in pain. To illustrate the changes in the facial appearance, a system known as Facial Action Coding System (FACS) is pioneered by Ekman and Friesen for human observers. According to Prkachin and Solomon, a set of such actions carries the bulk of information about pain. Thus, the Prkachin and Solomon pain intensity (PSPI) metric is defined. So, it is very important to notice that facial expressions, being a behavioral source in communication media, provide an important opening into the issues of non-verbal communication in pain. People express their pain in many ways, and this pain behavior is the basis on which most inferences about pain are drawn in clinical and research settings. Hence, to understand the roles of different pain behaviors, it is essential to study the properties. For the past several years, the studies are concentrated on the properties of one specific form of pain behavior i.e. facial expression. This paper represents a comprehensive study on pain assessment that can model and estimate the intensity of pain that the patient is suffering. It also reviews the historical background of different pain assessment techniques in the context of painful expressions. Different approaches incorporate FACS from psychological views and a pain intensity score using the PSPI metric in pain estimation. This paper investigates in depth analysis of different approaches used in pain estimation and presents different observations found from each technique. It also offers a brief study on different distinguishing features of real and fake pain. Therefore, the necessity of the study lies in the emerging fields of painful face assessment in clinical settings.

Keywords: facial action coding system (FACS), pain, pain behavior, Prkachin and Solomon pain intensity (PSPI)

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Authors: Yulna Yulnafatmawita, Syafrimen Yasin, Lusi Maira

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Irrigation source is one of the factors affecting physical properties of rice field. This research was aimed to determine the impact of polluted irrigation wáter on soil physical properties of rice field. The study site was located in Koto Nan IV, Dharmasraya Regency, West Sumatra, Indonesia. The rice field was irrigated with wáter from Momongan river in which people do gold mining. The soil was sampled vertically from the top to 100 cm depth with 20 cm increment of soil profile from 2 year-fallowed rice field, as well as from the top 20 cm of cultivated rice field from the terrace-1 (the highest terrace) to terrace-5 (the lowest terrace) position. Soil samples were analysed in laboratory. For comparison, rice field receiving irrigation wáter from non-polluted source was also sampled at the top 20 cm and anaysed for the physical properties. The result showed that there was a change in soil physical properties of rice field after 9 years of getting irrigation from the river. Based on laboratory analyses, the total suspended solid (TSS) in the tailing reached 10,736 mg/L. The texture of rice field at polluted rice field (PRF) was dominated (>55%) by sand particles at the top 100 cm soil depth, and it tended to linearly decrease (R2=0.65) from the top 20 cm to 100 cm depth. Likewise, the sand particles also linearly decreased (R2=0.83), but clay particles linearly increased (R2=0.74) horizontally as the distance from the wáter input (terrace-1) was fartherst. Compared to nonpolluted rice field (NPRF), percentage of sand was higher, and clay was lower at PRF. This sandy texture of soil in PRF increased soil hydraulic conductivity (up to 19.1 times), soil bulk density (by 38%), and sharply decreased SOM (by 88.5 %), as well as soil total pore (by 22.1%) compared to the NPRF at the top 20 cm soil. The rice field was suggested to be reclaimed before reusing it. Otherwise the soil characteristics requirement, especially soil wáter retention, for rice field could not be fulfilled.

Keywords: gold mine tailing, polluted irrigation, rice field, soil physical properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Milenko Košutić, Jelena Filipović, Zvonko Nježić

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Extrusion technology is thermal processing that is applied to improve the nutritional, hygienic, and physical-chemical characteristics of the raw material. Overall, the extrusion process is an efficient method for the production of a wide range of food products. It combines heat, pressure, and shear to transform raw materials into finished goods with desired textures, shapes, and nutritional profiles. The extruded products’ quality is remarkably dependent upon feed material composition, barrel temperature profile, feed moisture content, screw speed, and other extrusion system parameters. Given consumer expectations for snack foods, a high expansion index and low bulk density, in addition to crunchy texture and uniform microstructure, are desired. This paper investigates the effects of simultaneous different types of corn (white corn, yellow corn, red corn, and black corn) addition and different screw speed (350, 500, 650 rpm) on the physical, technological, and functional properties of flakes products. Black corn flour and screw speed at 350 rpm positively influenced physical, technological characteristics, mineral composition, and antioxidant properties of flake products with the best total score analysis of 0,59. Overall, the combination of Tukey's HSD test and PCA enables a comprehensive analysis of the observed corn products, allowing researchers to identify them. This research aims to analyze the influence of different types of corn flour (white corn, yellow corn, red corn, and black corn) on the nutritive and sensory properties of the product (quality, texture, and color), as well as the acceptance of the new product by consumers on the territory of Novi Sad. The presented data point that investigated corn flakes from black corn flour at 350 rpm is a product with good physical-technological and functional properties due to a higher level of antioxidant activity.

Keywords: corn types, flakes product, nutritive quality, acceptability

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Authors: Xiaoqing Liu, Kurt Friese, Karsten Rinke

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Lacustrine sediment archives rich paleoenvironmental information in lake and surrounding environment. Additionally, modern sediment is used as an effective medium for the monitoring of lake. Organic carbon in sediment is a heterogeneous mixture with varying turnover times and qualities which result from the different biogeochemical processes in the deposition of organic material. Therefore, the isolation of different carbon pools is important for the research of lacustrine condition in the lake. However, the numeric available fractionation procedures can hardly yield homogeneous carbon pools on terms of stability and age. In this work, a multi-step fractionation protocol that treated sediment with hot water, HCl, H2O2 and Na2S2O8 in sequence was adopted, the treated sediment from each step were analyzed for the isotopic and structural compositions with Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer coupled with element analyzer (IRMS-EA) and Solid-state 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), respectively. The sequential extractions with hot-water, HCl, and H2O2 yielded a more homogeneous and C3 plant-originating OC fraction, which was characterized with an atomic C/N ratio shift from 12.0 to 20.8, and 13C and 15N isotopic signatures were 0.9‰ and 1.9‰ more depleted than the original bulk sediment, respectively. Additionally, the H2O2- resistant residue was dominated with stable components, such as the lignins, waxes, cutans, tannins, steroids and aliphatic proteins and complex carbohydrates. 6M HCl in the acid hydrolysis step was much more effective than 1M HCl to isolate a sedimentary OC fraction with higher degree of homogeneity. Owing to the extremely high removal rate of organic matter, the step of a Na2S2O8 oxidation is only suggested if the isolation of the most refractory OC pool is mandatory. We conclude that this multi-step chemical fractionation procedure is effective to isolate more homogeneous OC pools in terms of stability and functional structure, and it can be used as a promising method for OC pools fractionation of sediment or soil in future lake research.

Keywords: 13C-CPMAS-NMR, 13C signature, lake sediment, OC fractionation

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Authors: Muheddin Hamza, Entisar Etter

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This study is a part of investigating the possibility of blending two crude oils obtained from Libyan oil fields, namely crude oil (A) and crude oil (B) with different ratios, prior to blending the crude oils have to be compatible in order to avoid phase out and precipitation of asphaltene from the bulk of crude. The physical properties of both crudes such as density, viscosity, pour point and sulphur content were measured according to (ASTM) method. To examine the stability of both crudes and their blends, the oil compatibility model using microscopic, colloidal instability index (CII) using SARA analysis and asphaltene stabilization test using Turbiscan tests were conducted in the Libyan Petroleum Institute laboratories. Compatibility tests were carried out with both crude oils, the insolubility number (IN), and the solubility blending number (SBN), for both crude oils and their blends were calculated. The criteria for compatibility of any blend is that the volume average solubility blending number (SBN) is greater than the insolubility number (IN) of any component in the blend, the results indicated that both crudes were compatible. To support the results of compatibility tests the SARA analysis was done for the fractional determination of (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes) content. From this result, the colloidal Instability index (CII) and resin to asphaltenes ratio (R/A) were calculated for crudes and their blends. The results show that crude oil (B) which has higher (R/A) and lower (CII) is more stable than crude oil (A) and as the ratio of crude (B) increases in the blend the (CII) and (R/A) were improved, and the blends becomes more stable. Asphaltene stabilization test was also conducted for the crudes and their blends using Turbiscan MA200 according to the standard test method ASTM D7061-04, the Turbiscan shows that the crude (B) is more stable than crude (A) which shows a fair tendency. The (CII) and (R/A) were compared with the solubility number (SBN) for each crude and the blends along with Turbiscan results. The solubility blending number (SBN) of the crudes and their blends show that the crudes are compatible, also by comparing (R/A) and (SBN) values of the blends, it can be seen that they are complements of each other. All the experimental results show that the blends of both crudes are more stability.

Keywords: asphaltene, crude oil, compatibility, oil blends, resin, SARA

Procedia PDF Downloads 455