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Ion exchange (IX) is a technology for removing hexavalent chromium from water, but waste brine disposal makes implementation cost prohibitive in many communities. Nanofiltration (NF) can be integrated to decrease the waste brine volume by 70% and reuse the permeate (NF-reuse) as brine in the next IX regeneration. However, the accumulation of impurities and resulting impact on IX regeneration and loading efficiency have not been evaluated through comparative mass balances or post-regeneration batch tests. Combining pilot-scale experiments with response surface modeling, impurities in waste brine are predicted to reach a pseudo steady state over 10 loading–regeneration–NF-reuse cycles, simulating long-term operation at full-scale facilities. Side-by-side regenerations show that NF-reuse brine does not impact the IX regeneration efficiency of chromium, sulfate or inorganic carbon. Regeneration efficiency increases for vanadium and uranium by 30–60% using the NF-reuse brine, which may decrease long-term fouling and reduce the frequency for strong acid regenerations. With NF-reuse, additional nitrate loads onto the IX resin during regeneration, which may impact the timing and magnitude of chromatographic peaking. During loading, arsenic exhibited chromatographic peaking at concentrations 220% higher than the influent concentration, exceeding regulatory thresholds under all regeneration scenarios. Arsenic leakage also occurred during the first 500 bed volumes with NF-reuse. Vanadium and chromium both exhibited faster breakthrough in the second loading cycle, demonstrating the importance of evaluating pilot-scale processes over multiple loading and regeneration cycles. Bench-scale studies need to be guided by full-scale IX operating constraints and evaluate factors beyond the contaminant of concern to fully identify potential impacts of implementing NF brine management. A supplemental spreadsheet is included for utilities to screen NF for system-specific testing.

To comply with the new regulations on coal-fired power plants, many treatment scenarios are inclining towards zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) technologies. Therefore, there has been a dramatic shift in the treatment approaches for managing effluents at coal-fired plants within the past decade. Traditionally, stabilization/solidification (S/S) ZLD technologies fall into two categories: cementitious and vitrification. However, neither approach offers the ideal solution for coal-fired power plants needing ZLD by S/S methods. Here, we report a novel proof-of-concept of a sol–gel encapsulation – chemical and physical – method using only one chemical: tetramethyl orthosilicate and the resulting materials are evaluated as an alternative S/S effluent treatment. We demonstrate that the concept of sol–gel encapsulation is an efficient method to solidify and chemically stabilize various brine waters and wastewater effluents from a midwestern coal-fired power plant that burns both bituminous and sub-bituminous coals. The encapsulated solids successfully retained positively charged contaminants during leaching analyses, while struggling to retain negatively charged contaminants. Based on the results shown, it is proposed that the negatively charged silicon dioxide network chemically fixates positively charged contaminants, leading to the retention of those contaminants. These results demonstrate that sol–gel encapsulation has the potential to be developed as an alternative S/S technique to meet the challenges of ZLD technologies. It is anticipated that the work presented will be a starting point for further development of S/S treatment with sol–gels derived from fly ash.

Seawater desalination has been considered an important solution for the water scarcity in coastal areas. Brazil has an 8,000 km long coastline where population and tourism have grown tremendously in the last years. Fortaleza is the fifth-largest city in Brazil with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, representing an important economic, recreational and touristic area in the Northeast. In addition, it is the city with the greatest gross domestic product (GDP) in the region, and ninth in the country. In the past 7 y, the dams that supply water to the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza have undergone droughts. This led the government to start a large-scale seawater desalination project that shall produce desalinated water at about 1.0 m3/s, for which plant location, water intake and brine disposal studies were performed. The most common environmental impact associated with desalination plants is the high concentration brine discharge. Aiming to evaluate the possible impact of such discharges, environmental modeling has become an important tool for projects, environmental management and studies, due to the complexity of these environments. With this tool, it is possible to integrate a large number of variables and processes to obtain a dynamic vision of those systems and evaluate present and future conditions. This work presents outcomes from brine discharge modeling in the water quality of the coast of Fortaleza, in particular, increased salinity, using Visual Plumes to evaluate near-field dilution and SisBaHiA (Environmental Hydrodynamic Base System) software to generate a hydrodynamic model and evaluate far-field dilution. Hydrodynamic models, forced by wind and tide, were coupled with a wave propagation model and then used in a Lagrangian transport model, which was fed by the outcomes of the near-field model. From the results generated, it was identified that the installation of the proposed desalination plant in Fortaleza does not compromise water quality and is consistent with the results reported in the literature, regarding the reduced impact caused by the disposal of this type of concentrate.

I report on the occurrence of a pair of novel and related post-sedimentary structures that form in the Neogene cross-bedded red sandstones in the As-Subbiyah area, north of Kuwait Bay, Kuwait. I named them barrellite and pillarrite. Barrellite forms as vertical tubes of concentric sheaths of siltstone with partially hollow interior or intervening homogeneous and structure-less sandstone. It stands as barrels above the background sandstone. Pillarrite forms as discrete, vertical and solitary spines of homogeneous sandstone and siltstone, or inside barrellite masses from which successive siltstone sheaths were stripped. The structures range in diameter from one-centimeter poke marks to one-meter-wide barrels and hunks, and their vertical length exceeds two meters. Barrellite, pillarrite and their complex intergrowths develop near thin quartz veins and chaotic zones, and form with them complex geometrical relationships. The dual structures are genetically related and fall within the general class of tubular structures in sedimentary rocks. I consider them as a special type of sand injectites. The mode of formation of these structures is enigmatic. They develop in a geological setting that displays evidence of a widespread and vigorous oil field brine. I suggest a tentative scenario for their formation, involving flushing of the brine through hydraulic fracturing of the sedimentary succession above the Ebharah Oil Field reservoir in the As-Subbiyah area. The brine plucks mineral and rock fragments and mixes with them along its paths, producing a heterogeneous slurry. Ultimately, the slurry solidifies as barrellite and pillarrite, chaotic zones and quartz veins. The vertical nature of the structures, circular and internal concentric arrangements, as well as the homogenous lithology inside their masses mimic characteristics of flow and deposits in vertical and horizontal pipelines.

Crystallized salt can be extracted by boiling brine in pottery over fire. This technique was implemented in many ancient civilizations throughout the world and is used even today. We identified the raw materials and technological aspects of potteries used in salt workshops from the Early Classic period (AD 250–550) of Nueva Esperanza (Pacific coast of El Salvador) by subjecting 19 samples to a petrographic analysis and wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Previous research suggests salt pots were local, but decorated pots were transported from inland communities through markets. However, all 19 samples were made from similar main raw materials, indicating that a variety of techniques and processes were used to manufacture different types of potteries in the associated salt workshops. In sum, this study’s approach should enhance understanding of ancient salt workshops, particularly regarding related pottery production systems and the nature of trade.

This study aimed to determine of the nutritional composition and chemical composition of herby cheeses produced tradionally by two different methods (brine and embedding) in the province of Bitlis and to evaulate the determined quality parameters according to different standards (Turkish Standards Institute (TSI) herby cheese standard (TS 13205), Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) Van herby cheese geographical indication (No: 405) and Turkish Food Codex (TFC) cheese communique). After determining the dry matter, ash, fat, protein and salt amounts and energy values of the samples, the values of the fat and salt in the dry matter and the moisture ratio in the fat-free cheese mass (CHMM) were calculated. It was determined that the moisture content of the Bitlis herby cheese samples were in accordance with the TSI herby cheese standard, and the dry matter and fat content of the embedding cheese samples were higher than the upper value specified in the TPI Van herby cheese geographical indication registration. It was established that the energy values of the samples (except two) were higher than the average value specified in the TPI Van herby cheese geographical indication registration. Embedding cheese samples (except one) were found to be in the semi-hard cheese category according to the CHMM values specified in the TFC cheese communique. It was determined that the nutritional value of Bitlis herby cheese is quite high in terms of fat, protein and energy values, but it was revealed that the development and implementation of modern, industrial and standard production method is very important due to the variability of quality parameters.

One of the primary drivers of global warming is the exponential increase in CO2 emissions. According to IPCC, if the CO2 emissions continue to increase at the current rate, global warming is likely to increase by 1.5 °C, above pre-industrial levels, between the years 2030 and 2052. Efficient and sustainable geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS) offers one plausible solution for reducing CO2 levels. The impermeable shale formations have traditionally served as good seals for reservoirs in which CO2 has been injected for GCS. The rapid development of subsurface organic-rich shales for hydrocarbon recovery has opened up the possibility of utilizing these hydraulically fractured shale reservoirs as potential target reservoirs for GCS. However, to evaluate the GCS potential of different types of shales, we need to better understand the geochemical reactions at CO2–fluid–shale interfaces and how they affect the flow and CO2 storage permanence. In this review, we discuss the current state of knowledge on the interactions of CO2 with shale fluids, minerals, and organic matter, and the impact of parameters such as pressure, temperature, and moisture content on these interactions. We also discuss the potential of using CO2 as an alternate fracturing fluid, its role in enhanced shale gas recovery, and different geochemical tracers to identify whether CO2 or brine migration occurred along a particular fluid transport pathway. Additionally, this review highlights the need for future studies to focus on determining (1) the contribution of CO2 solubility and the impact of formation water chemistry on GCS, (2) the rates of dissolution/precipitation and sorption reactions, (3) the role of mineralogical and structural heterogeneities in shale, (4) differences in reaction mechanisms/rates between gaseous CO2vs. brine mixed CO2vs. supercritical CO2, (5) the use of CO2 as a fracturing fluid and its proppant carrying capacity and (6) the role of CO2 in enhanced hydrocarbon recovery.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of wet aging and brine injection on meat quality attributes of the one-humped camel. Both longissimus thoracis muscles of eight male camels were collected; the right muscle of each carcass was used for aging (A) only where no brine (B) injection applied, and the left muscle was brine-injected with 250 mM food-grade CaCl2 at 5% (wt/wt). The aged muscles were cut into steaks, vacuum-packaged, and stored at 2°C for 3, 7, or 10 days. The injected muscles were also treated as the aged muscles. Wet aging had significant effects (p

In this paper, preliminary studies of ten different plant extracts as potential corrosion inhibitors of carbon steel were examined. For each extract, the concentration range in which it shows anti-corrosion action was first determined, and then the most effective concentration was determined for each extract. The tests were performed in a brine solution saturated with CO2 at room temperature. The aim of this study was to isolate extracts with high effectiveness and subsequent electrochemical and surface methods to determine the mechanism of inhibitory action. For this purpose, potentiodynamic polarization was performed with Tafel extrapolation. Among all the tested extracts, lady’s mantle (92.17%) and dandelion root (95.07%) stood out with their effectiveness. Both tested extracts showed the behaviour of a mixed corrosion inhibitor with a dominant influence on the anode process., U ovome radu provedena su preliminarna ispitivanja deset različitih biljnih ekstrakata kao potencijalnih korozijskih inhibitora ugljičnoga čelika. Za svaki ekstrakt najprije je određen raspon koncentracija u kojemu pokazuje antikorozijsko djelovanje, a potom je za svaki ekstrakt određena najdjelotvornija koncentracija. Ispitivanja su provedena u sintetskoj slojnoj vodi zasićenoj s CO2 pri sobnoj temperaturi. Cilj rada bio je izdvojiti ekstrakte s visokim djelotvornostima te naknadnim elektrokemijskim i površinskim metodama utvrditi mehanizam inhibitorskoga djelovanja. U tu svrhu provedena je potenciodinamička polarizacija s Tafelovom ekstrapolacijom. Od svih ispitanih ekstrakata sa svojim djelotvornostima izdvajaju se vrkuta (92,17 %) i korijen maslačka (95,07 %). Oba ispitana ekstrakta pokazala su ponašanje mješovitoga korozijskog inhibitora s dominantnim utjecajem na anodni proces.

Post-treatment of brine produced by reverse osmosis (RO) is a great challenge as it often requires high energy input and works under extreme operating conditions. In this study, brine from a RO plant in El Paso, TX USA was successfully treated using a pilot-scale nanophotonics enhanced solar membrane distillation (NESMD) system. The novel NESMD reactor has a nanophotonic membrane surface area of 0.2 m2 and an internal heat recovery system to recover the latent heat released during vapor condensation. By utilizing a sweeping gas operational mode under real solar irradiation (585–827 W m−2), the NESMD realized successful desalination of RO brine with the membrane flux reaching 0.45–0.65 kg m−2 h−1 and total dissolved solids (TDS) removal greater than 99.5% without an external heat condenser. The decrease in the feed flow rate to the evaporation channel of the NESMD system led to an increase in the gained output ratio (GOR) from 0.35 to 0.62. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest photothermal reactor utilized for the desalination of real RO brine under practical solar irradiation. Compared with conventional brine treatment processes that require high temperature or pressure, the NESMD desalinates RO brine at near-ambient temperature and pressure with free solar energy, providing a promising approach for water desalination, and RO brine post treatment.

Agrotechnical assessment of struvite produced by a lab-scale sedimentation unit is performed. As a source of phosphates and ammonia, liquor obtained through dewatering of Мunicipal wastewater treatment plant sludge was in use. The range of phosphates and ammonia was in the range of 130 - 250 and 380 - 560 mg/L, respectively. Seawater brine with a magnesium concentration of around 60 g Mg2+/L was applied as a source of magnesium. The agrotechnical characteristics of struvite obtained were compared to ammonium nitrate and carbamide in regards to the productivity effects on maize hybrid P9241. The results show that the effectiveness of struvite and some commercial fertilizers is quite close. The highest yield in the experiment was achieved with the application of carbamide plus ammonium nitrate (56.64 kg/ha), while in applying struvite solely it is 54.60 kg/ha. The highest protein content of maize (9.7%) was observed in the case of struvite/ammonium nitrate application.

Removal of oil field scales commonly requires low pH acid, which may cause many issues under downhole conditions. Because of the deposition of different scale types and the economic effect, there is a need to develop a remedial descaling fluid that can be effectively used to remove different types of scales at a different position in the well. This paper provides a new scale dissolver that is noncorrosive and has high scale dissolution performance for composite scales. This study shows a series of comprehensive experimental lab tests as scale characterization, equilibrium brine compositional analysis, fluid compatibility and stability, solubility test, precipitation tendency for the dissolved solids, corrosion test, and core flooding. The scale samples contain magnetite, kaolinite, calcium carbonate, and sulfate scales. The results showed that the dissolution rate was higher than 74% for composite field scale samples after 6 h at 70 °C, while the new dissolver completely dissolved the two samples at 100 °C after 5 h. The new dissolver outperformed the common commercial dissolver used in the oil and gas industry. The new dissolver has a pH of 9 and showed safe use regarding the precipitation of dissolved solids that can be produced during the scale treatment and a low corrosion rate of 0.063 kg/m2 at 6.9 MPa and 100 °C for 6 h. Also, the new dissolver was tested through core flooding for Indiana limestone and showed core permeability enhancement; the treatment with the new dissolver enhanced the core permeability from an initial value of 0.67 milliDarcy (mD) to record 1.29 mD.

Microbial Dasyatis sp. (stingray fish) was a popular fish in Indonesia. Commonly, this fish is processed into smoked fish and perishable products. Therefore, it needs a preservation method through the handling process. Wet salting was considered as an efficient and inexpensive preservation method. This study aimed to determine the effect of brine concentration on the physicochemical and microbial quality of Dasyatis sp. The research used a Completely Randomized Design with factor of brine concentration (i.e. 10%, 20% and 30%). The statistical analysis consists of variance analysis (ANOVA) and followed by LSD or DMRT test (α=5%). The fish sample was soaked in brine solution at different concentrations for one hour. Total crude protein, physicochemical (total volatile basic nitrogen/TVB-N, tri-methyl amine/TMA, and pH), and (total plate count/TPC) were analyzed. The results showed that the brine concentration effect of physicochemical and microbiological of Dasyatis sp (p

In the new vision of complete street, the use of colored pavements has been promoted in recent years to improve road user safety and to enhance the reorganization and aesthetic of the urban environment. But, besides several benefits these pavements undergo environmentally and traffic induced changes in appearance, faster than the traditional ones, a few months after installation. Thus, the laboratory-scale investigation analyzed the color durability of pigmented slurry seals, which were prepared using a clear synthetic emulsion and mineral pigments, subject to different artificial accelerated aging procedures. They simulated the exposition to sunlight at high temperature (QUV weathering tester), the aggression of chemical products (salt brine bath) used for winter maintenance operations and the dynamic actions of vehicle tires (loaded wheel tester). The analyses of color change measured with a spectrophotometer highlighted the extreme sensitivity of pigmented thin surfacing to physical and mechanical stresses. Specifically, the thermal and photo-oxidation of the binder film induced by the UV exposure at high temperature and its wear caused by the dynamic passage of rubber tire produced a large supra-threshold color difference on the samples’ surface. These results suggest how a correct mix-design, both in the materials choice and ingredients dosage, should be properly calibrated on the basis of the pavement end-use and of the prevailing climatic conditions to ensure color consistency throughout the pavement lifetime.

Hydrocarbons are commonly invoked as triggers for the precipitation of sphalerite in carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn deposits, but direct evidence for the presence of petroleum during sulfide mineralization is rarely documented. Here, we report evidence of fluid mixing between basinal brines and oil during deposition of coarse sphalerite at a classic carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn district, Pine Point, Northwest Territories, Canada. The brines contain high concentrations of Pb, detectable aqueous sulfate, and hydrocarbons that attest to chemical interaction with oil. The oil inclusions in sphalerite contain much less Pb relative to the brines and no evident H2S, suggesting that the principal role of hydrocarbons was as a reductant. Mixing of brine with oil enabled the conversion of aqueous sulfate to sulfide, and thereby triggered sphalerite deposition.

Aquaculture of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is still incipient in Brazil, as well as the sale of its meat. However, there is a market demand for this product in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The salting process for the meat of cultivated cobia is a way of preserving and marketing the product for the growers. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the chemical properties of salted cobia meat. Market-sized cobia grown in net-tanks located in Baía de Ilha Grande, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were used. The fish were eviscerated (gutted), beheaded and lightly flattened. The fillets “charutos” were then subjected to brine salting for 6 days, immersed in saturated brine at refrigeration temperature. After the preparation of the product, analyzes of percent composition, chloride content and lipid profile were performed. The product had high concentrations of protein (20.16%), lipids (19.88%) and 6.56% of total chloride. Lipid profile assessment showed significant percentages of palmitic (6.66%) and oleic (4.99%) acids. Therefore, it is concluded that the salted meat of cobia has good nutritional quality, and the product is a source of palmitic and oleic acids that help preventing cardiovascular diseases and lowering cholesterol levels.

The study assesses the impact of selected fruit properties and the souring process parameters on the mechanical properties of four varieties of field cucumbers (Śremianin, Śremski, Polan and Izyd) harvested from 2014 to 2016. The analyses focused on the changes in the values of the puncture strength parameters of the peel and the mesocarp, the deformation from the moment of puncture and the energy needed to puncture the peel and the mesocarp of the selected cucumber varieties relative to the year of harvest, fruit size, type of brine, puncture location and souring time. Neural networks were used to model the relationships studied. Sensitivity analysis of the obtained models showed that the length fraction had the greatest impact on the puncture strength and the energy needed to puncture the peel and the mesocarp. On the other hand, deformation was most affected by the souring time and the brine composition.

It is significant to understand the values and trends of the contact angle of CO2/brine/mineral systems to evaluate and model the sealing performance of CO2 Geo-Sequestration (CGS). It has been reported that the contact angles of the CO2/brine/muscovite systems increase as pressure increases from ambient conditions to reservoir conditions. This trend suggests a decrease in seal integrity. In this paper, we studied its mechanisms and the contributing factors by calculating the Frumkin-Derjaguin equation, which is based on the thermodynamics of the interfacial system. Results show that a decrease of pH is a critical factor for the wettability alteration at a lower pressure range (0.1 MPa to 3.0 MPa). In contrast, the increase of CO2 density and the decrease in the interfacial tension of CO2/brine are significant for the wettability change at a higher pressure range (3.0 MPa to 10.0 MPa). Also, sensitivity analysis shows that the contact angle is sensitive to the interfacial tension of CO2/brine and the coefficients of hydration forces.

In the petroleum industry, core flooding intended to study the relative permeability of the carbon dioxide–brine–rock system is carried out using predetermined wettability states where carbon dioxide saturated brine is injected to displace carbonated brine. This prevents mutual solubility and acidity generation to influence wettability during gas flooding stage. However, no one has yet found out if these systems retain their ambient wettability states despite the availability of relevant petrophysical models that are useful for developing suitable modes for contact angle calculation. The motivation of this study stems from this knowledge gap in issues related to wettability preservation in multiphase flow in porous media. In this paper, we have used published data on carbon dioxide–brine–rock systems to show that core plugs do retain their predetermined wettabilities. The basis for this inference is the calculation of a wettability dependent parameter and contact angle, using a derived petrophysical model based on Purcell’s original equation. In addition to acid gas systems, a similar approach has also been applied to an oil–water system, which generally retains its predetermined wettability. Trends in contact vs. water saturation for both systems are found to be similar, indicating wettability preservation during core flooding. Consequently, we have demonstrated for the first time, the feasibility of contact angle calculation using our derived equation.

The application of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods is essential to promoting increase in the oil recovery where the conventional recovery methods unsuccessful. Numerous studies have demonstrate...

The world economy depends heavily on crude oil. With a conventional oil recovery process, only one-third of crude oil is extracted. Various technologies have been developed to maximize the recovery of oil resources from natural reservoirs. Polymer technology has been used in many oil fields around the world. The biopolymer pullulan, produced by some Aureobasidium species, has been used in many industrial applications, but no research has been conducted regarding its use in the microbial enhancement of oil recovery (MEOR). Here, we investigate the potential of pullulan produced by newly isolated species Aureobasidium mangrovei SARA-138H for enhancement of oil recovery. Our results indicate that under optimized conditions, that is, sucrose as the carbon source in the medium, a pH of 9, incubation at 25 °C, and 250 rpm agitation, the fungus was able to produce 10 g/L of pullulan. The maximum viscosity achieved under these conditions was 318 cP after 15 days of incubation. Pullulan solution (10 g/L) showed the ability to recover 36.7% of heavy crude oil after 34.2% of secondary oil recovery. However, diluted pullulan in brine at the ratio (1:1) resulted in the recovery of 20.23% of oil from the residual oil in the core after 22.6% of secondary oil recovery. A 20-day injectivity test revealed that pullulan passed smoothly through the core, causing no blockage. It was concluded that pullulan from A. mangrovei SARA-138H was able to increase oil recovery to a degree comparable to that achieved with many polymers used in oil fields around the world. KEY POINTS: • First report of biopolymer "pullulan" from A. mangrovie. • Optimum conditions for pullulan production were obtained. • Pullulan recovered 36.7% of heavy oil from residual oil in place, with good injectivity.

Wayang Windu geothermal field, which is situated in quaternary volcanic rock, has been delivering 227 MW of electricity and is planned to be developed in near future. Isotope and geochemistry study has been done to support understanding of the system. Samples were taken from thermal manifestations and production wells (two-phase and dry steam wells) to analyse its isotope and chemical compositions. Most of the hot springs are bicarbonate type and have neutral pH values, except for steam heated waters found near fumarolic fields, which are acid sulfate type waters. Deep brine fluids are of mature chloride type, while other deep dilute fluids are bicarbonate type indicates the existance of condensate layer. Solute and gas geothermometer calculation showed good agreement with measured temperature, i.e., 280–300 °C. However, gas-gas equilibria calculation showed increasing T and decreasing y (steam fraction) compare to previous study which indicates contribution form hotter source with high liquid saturation. Aside from different recharge area of thermal manifestation and production wells, the isotopes composition also shows physical processes in reservoir, i.e., adiabatic boiling, steam separation at different temperature (140–260 °C) and steam fraction (0.30–0.65), and also mixing process with meteoric water.

This study explored the feasibility of biosurfactant amendment in modifying the interfacial characteristics of carbon dioxide (CO2) with rock minerals under high-pressure conditions for GCS. In particular, while varying the CO2 phase and the rock mineral, we quantitatively examined the production of biosurfactants by Bacillus subtilis and their effects on interfacial tension (IFT) and wettability in CO2-brine-mineral systems. The results demonstrated that surfactin produced by B. subtilis caused the reduction of CO2-brine IFT and modified the wettability of both quartz and calcite minerals to be more CO2-wet. The production yield of surfactin was substantially greater with the calcite mineral than with the quartz mineral. The calcite played the role of a pH buffer, consistently maintaining the brine pH above 6. By contrast, an acidic condition in CO2-brine-quartz systems caused the precipitation of surfactin, and hence surfactin lost its ability as a surface-active agent. Meanwhile, the CO2-driven mineral dissolution and precipitation in CO2-brine-calcite systems under a non-equilibrium system altered the solid substrates, produced surface roughness, and caused contact angle variations. These results provide unique experimental data on biosurfactant-mediated interfacial properties and wettability in GCS-relevant conditions, which support the exploitation of in situ biosurfactant production for biosurfactant-aided CO2 injection.

The goal of this article is to test the potential application of lignosulfonates (LSs) in crude oil production and processing. Three LS samples of varying hydrophobicity and average molecular weight were considered. First, the interfacial tension between brine and xylene and interfacial dilational rheology properties of LS samples were measured. It was found that the most surface-active LS sample has the lowest molecular weight in agreement with the results from the literature. In the presence of asphaltenes, all three LS samples were able to compete with asphaltenes, the most polar crude oil component, at the interface and form mixed LS−asphaltene interfaces. However, only the most surface-active LS sample among the three tested could fully desorb asphaltenes at the highest tested LS concentration (500 ppm). Second, three possible applications were screened. LSs were tested to prevent the formation of w/o crude oil emulsions or to break these. However, the opposite effect was observed, that is, stabilization of water-in-crude oil emulsions. The potential application of LS in produced water (PW) clarification was furthermore considered. The kinetics of PW clarification was found unaffected by the presence of LS, even at very high concentrations (1000 ppm). Finally, the potential of LS for enhanced oil recovery was assessed. The LS flood changed the surface wettability toward water wetness for one of the samples, yet LS injection did not recover additional oil beyond brine recovery. It was concluded that LS has interesting properties, such as the potential to compete with crude oil indigenous components at the oil/water interface. The stabilization action of LS was dominant over any destabilization effect, which led to the conclusion that LSs are more efficient for stabilizing emulsions rather than destabilizing. Lignosulfonates in Crude Oil Processing: Interactions with Asphaltenes at the Oil/Water Interface and Screening of Potential Applications This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c04654

This work is part of a study for the conservation of fish products through solar drying. The grey seabream is dried after a pre-treatment of 16 hours in a salt brine under two conditions: on a rack in open air and in a solar dryer. The tests were carried out under average irradiance conditions of 592.76 W/m², an average ambient temperature of 30°C and an average air temperature in the dryer of 50°C. The results obtained, allowed us to reach a final humidity of 32% from an initial humidity of 65% in a wet basis. The drying was processed in 15 hours, (i.e. two days in the dryer) and 24 hours (i.e. three days in the open air). The modeling of the drying kinetics of the grey sea bream is carried out from empirical or semi-empirical models taken from the previous works. Several criteria were defined for the choice of the two-term model as being the one that can describe in the best way, the drying of the fish in both conditions. The effective diffusivity was determined using Ficks diffusive model whose solution is given by Crank, so that the logarithm of the reduced moisture allows us to find effective diffusivities for fish of 9.88823 10-7 (m²/s) and 1.72534 10-6 (m²/s) for open-air and in dryer drying respectively.

CO2 geological storage in deep saline formations is considered a promising method to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions and, thereby, minimize changes to the Earth’s atmosphere. A fundamental und...

In this paper, the effect of temperature on low salinity brine and combined low salinity enzyme oil recovery processes in sandstone rock sample was experimentally investigated. The core flooding displacement tests were conducted with the injection of the enzyme in post-tertiary mode after secondary high salinity brine and tertiary low salinity brine injection processes. Effluents analyses of each of the flooding were carried out and used to evaluate the effect of temperature on rock-fluid interactions and enhanced oil recovery processes. The results showed that tertiary low salinity brine injection and post-tertiary enzyme injection increased recovery by 2.4-8.72% over the secondary high salinity brine flooding at 25 oC. Also, increase in oil recovery (0.57-13.18%) was observed with increase in the system temperature from 25 oC to 70 oC. Furthermore, the effluent of the 70 oC flooding was associated with the earliest low salinity brine ionic breakthrough front at 10 injected pore volume, while the 25 oC flooding breakthrough front occurred at 22 pore volume. However, no obvious effect of temperature on pH of the effluents was observed with all the floodings, but temperature effects were observed with the conductivity and ionic concentrations of all the effluents as evident by varied breakthrough times. Hence, the observed increased recovery in this study is attributable to combined effects of electric double-layer expansion, oil viscosity reduction and interfacial tension reduction. This novel study of the combined low salinity enzyme injection process is significant for the design of enzyme enhanced oil recovery processes. Keywords: Enhanced oil recovery, enzyme, sandstone, low salinity, core flooding, temperature.

A quantitative analysis of coccoliths is presented in 18 core-top samples ranging between 26° N and 21° N and covering two major deep brine pools in the northern part of the Red Sea. Non-brine sites are characterized by rich coccoliths that may reach up to 3.31 × 109 coccoliths/g made by 22 species, whereas brine sites of Shaban and Kebrit Deeps with additional two non-brine sites are characterized by a decline in coccoliths/g (3.25 × 108 coccoliths/g), Shannon diversity, CaCO3 (%), and high TOC (%). Carbonate dissolution, inferred by qualitative observation and quantitative indices, was only observed at one brine site GeoB7828 in Kebrit Deep. This suggests that the decline in coccolith assemblages may not entirely be attributed to carbonate dissolution. The major decline, however, is probably related to the suspension of fecal pellets and marine aggregates containing delicate coccolith shields within a nepheloid layer and subsequently grazed by zooplankters in which reduced the numbers of coccolith that reached the bottom of the brine sites, or alternatively a deep-sea flow current that carried and remobilized some suspended particles outside the brine pool. Latitudinal fluctuations of eutrophic/oligotrophic coccoliths suggest profound trophic changes in the photic zone in the northern part of the Red Sea. C. braarudii, a valuable nutrient-indicator species is here reported for the first time, along with G. oceanica, H. carteri as well as biogenic opal dominating the assemblage between 26° N and 24° N, suggesting elevated nutrient conditions and supporting recent high chl-a records, whereas areas between 21° N and 23° N lie under oligotrophic conditions due to the presence of U. sibogae, U. tenuis, R. clavigera, F. profunda, and S. pulchra.

The CO2 Huff-n-Puff process enhances the shale oil production and it could incur a risk of forming asphaltene, causing damage to the formation. During the process, the effects of aqueous solubility of CO2 and nano-confinement affect the amount of CO2 interacting with asphaltene-bearing oil, phase behavior of fluid determining the asphaltene deposition, CO2 storage, and oil production. Therefore, this study quantifies the effects of the aqueous solubility of CO2 and the nano-confinement on the performance of the CO2 Huff-n-Puff process and the asphaltene formation in a tight formation. When the aqueous solubility of CO2 is considered in the CO2 Huff-n-Puff process, a fraction of the injected CO2 dissolves in the brine, indicating the CO2 sequestration through solubility trapping. Decreasing oil production by 4% is also obtained with a reduction in asphaltene deposition. When the process undergoes the nano-confinement effect, higher oil production by up to 14% and more asphaltene deposition are observed. This study emphasizes that the aqueous solubility of CO2 and the nano-confinement effects are necessary factors in accurate predictions of the oil production, CO2 sequestration, and asphaltene formation during the CO2 Huff-n-Puff in confined formations.

This investigation assessed the synergistic effectiveness of alkyltrimethylammonium bromide (ATMB) and chlorhexidine digluconate (CDG) on selected microbes causing red-heat and purple stain degradations on salt-cured hides and leather products. This biological phenomenon ultimately deteriorates the finished leather quality and grounds considerable economic losses for leather industry. In tryptic soy broth, combination of ATMB and/CDG at the concentration of 900/90 ppm for predefined time interval of 1, 3, and 6 min caused in 0.73, 2.45, and 2.95 log CFU/mL reductions of bacterial cocktail population cell survival, respectively. Whereas in saturated brine solution (SBS), the bacterial cocktail treated with 600/60 and 900/90 ppm of ATMB/CDG for 18 h resulted ~ 74% and 98% reduction, respectively, in comparison to their respective controls. Furthermore, lessening of individual bacterial cultivations by combined ATMB and CDG in SBS was also elucidated.

Membrane distillation (MD) has been garnering increasing attention in research and development, since it has been proposed as a promising technology for desalinating hypersaline brine from various ...

On the “Transarktika-2019” expedition, works were carried out for determining the physical and mechanical characteristics of frost field of the first-year sea ice and the field of second-year ice. The thickness of the ice cover was determined by contact and non-contact methods, the temperature, salinity and density of ice, the strength of the samples at central bending and uniaxial compression, as well as the local (borehole) strength of ice were measured. Studies have shown that most of the field is an ice formation formed in the process of dynamic metamorphism. At the beginning of the expedition, an ice floe passed through a section of warm surface waters. This led to the disappearance of the openwork layer on the lower boundary of the ice and stopping the growth of ice from below. During the observation period, the average temperature and salinity of the deformed ice increased, while the average density decreased. The values of mechanical characteristics decreased with increasing temperature and brine volume. The average borehole strength were close to the values obtained by the quadratic approximation for ice in the area of the Ice Station “Cape of Baranov”. The physical and mechanical properties of the level ice are generally similar to the properties of ice, composed mainly of fibrous structures. The ratios between the borehole strength and the strength under uniaxial compression of ice samples drilled parallel to the ice surface were 4.5 and 4.7, which corresponds to the literature data. The thickness of the second-year sea ice at the place of work was 166 — 169 cm, the snow height was 27 cm, the raft of the ice surface above the water surface was 15 cm. The average ice temperature was –4.0 °C. Second-year ice can be divided into three parts that differ in their physical properties. The upper part (0 — 10 cm) was formed in the autumn. The second part (10 — 85 cm) is ice that has undergone seasonal thermometamorphic changes. The lower part was formed during the natural growth of ice from below at the current season.

Tuning the salinity and concentration of potential-determining ions, such as Mg2+, Ca2+, and SO42−, could alter the wettability toward a more water-wet state. The rate of alteration in carbonate rock wettability is a critical parameter to design the duration of the ion-engineered water flooding. Characteristic experiments, such as dynamic contact angle and pH measurements, ion chromatography, and spontaneous imbibition, are applied to study the rate of wettability alteration using different samples of ion-engineered water. Our study shows that the Caspian Sea water (CSW) with a salinity of 15,000 ppm is an efficient displacing fluid as it can initiate the multi-ion exchange (MIE) mechanism and alter the wettability from 86° to 35° within 2 d. The adjustment of salinity and active ion concentration makes the MIE mechanism much faster. For example, with five times diluted CSW, the same change in wettability is only achieved only within 9 h. Spiking the concentration of Ca2+ and SO42− ions is used to further shift the contact angle to 22° within 9 h. Spontaneous imbibition tests demonstrate that the rate of oil production doubles as a result of the ion-engineered brine due to the faster MIE process. The results obtained from this research work suggest that even a short period of interaction with optimized engineered water can affect the brine, oil, and carbonates interactions and change the reservoir rock initial wettability from neutral to strongly water-wet state. This allows to efficiently design engineered water flooding based on CSW in the field scale and make such projects more profitable.

A primary challenge of chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) in high temperature (>100°C) carbonate fields is to obtain viable and cost-effective chemicals that can survive at such critical reservo...

The study evaluated nutritional and organoleptic properties of Clarias gariepinus pre-treated with aqueous leave extracts of Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina before processing. Thirty-six (36) C. gariepinus (live weight = 1.2± 0.2kg) samples were procured and processed for the study. Fish samples were divided into three parts of twelve fish each. Each part was grouped into three treatments having four fish in each group using a completely randomized design. Treatment one (T1) had fish immersed in 5% brine without herbal extract (control). In Treatment two (T2), fish were soaked in mixture of 5% brine and 5% O. gratissium (scent leaf) extracts while Treatment three (T3) had fish soaked in mixture of 5% brine and 5% V. amygdalina (bitter leaf) extracts all for 30 minutes. Treated fish samples were smoke-dried using charcoal kiln for 5 hours at temperature of 80 – 90° C. Samples were then cooled under ambient condition (30+3oC) for 4 hours. The smoke-dried fish samples were labeled according to treatments and stored for 7 days under aseptic condition. Organoleptic properties of the samples were conducted at every 24-hour of storage using a 9-point hedonic scale. Mean values of proximate composition of samples were significantly different (p

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of geologic CO2 sequestration in terms of CO2‐brine‐rock interactions in Ramin oil field, Iran. Static experiments were conducted with carbonate rocks at 70°C and atmospheric pressure for 14, 30, and 60 days. CO2‐brine‐rock interactions were inferred from the evaluation of Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, and SO42− concentrations and a thorough characterization of the carbonate rocks before and after treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed the formation of dissolution pits and the growth of new structures. Energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) indicated these minerals to be calcite. Porosity of the carbonate rocks increased from an initial value of 4.72% to the maximum value of 11.83%. Then, it decreased to a value of 5.48% until the end of the experiments, that is, 60 days. Chemical analysis of brine suggested the precipitation and dissolution of calcium sulfate. In addition, dolomite dissolution and halite precipitation/dissolution were inferred. Calcite precipitation and porosity reduction suggested that CO2 can be stored via mineral entrapment in the Ramin oil field, which is desired from the perspective of CO2 geologic sequestration. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The objective of this study was to compare effects of two different aging methods on physical, chemical, and microbial traits of pork loin: Dry and wet-aged meat was hung in the cooler at 8±1°C and 85±2.1% humidity for 14 days, while wet-aged meat was immersed in a 3.5% salt solution of brine in vacuum pouches. On day 7, pH and moisture content were higher in dry-aged loins than in wet-aged, while drip loss and total plate counts (p

Trinidad and Tobago (TT) has a rich history of crude oil production and is still one of the largest oil- and gas-producing countries in the Caribbean region. The energy sector contributes approximately 35% of GDP to its economy; however, economic headwinds due to steadily decreasing oil production, low commodity prices and increased competition worldwide have highlighted the need for more economical methods of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Although the use of low salinity polymer flooding for EOR has had success in other countries, critical information relating associated flooding system parameters such as soil type, additive type, adsorption characteristics, rheological (flow) characteristics, pH and salinity is not available and is critical if this type of EOR is to be implemented in TT. The nature and inter-relationship of these parameters are unique to a particular reservoir, and studies in this regard will provide key input data for simulations to produce near realistic projections of this EOR strategy. These projections can be used to evaluate the usefulness of a low salinity polymer flooding in TT and guide for the proper implementation of the strategy. The EOR 33 wells located in the lower Forest sands in Southern Trinidad was selected for study as they satisfied the screening criteria. Laboratory studies of the adsorption of xanthan gum concentrations of 0 to 4000 ppm in combination with NaCl solutions (0–40,000 ppm) onto gravel packed sand found that the mixture of 1000 ppm polymer containing 1000 ppm NaCl exhibited the lowest adsorption capacity. The Langmuir coefficients were derived for each salinity, and together with results from the viscosity studies were inputted within the simulation models. Simulations of a sector of the EOR 33 projected that the highest oil recovery occurred using NaCl