The Relationship Between Oil and Gas Industry Investment in Alternative Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility

Science.gov (United States)

Konyushikhin, Maxim

The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasted energy consumption in the United States to increase approximately 19% between 2006 and 2030, or about 0.7% annually. The research problem addressed in this study was that the oil and gas industry's interest in alternative energy is contrary to its current business objectives and profit goals. The purpose of the quantitative study was to explore the relationship between oil and gas industry investments in alternative energy and corporate social responsibilities. Research questions addressed the relationship between alternative energy investment and corporate social responsibility, the role of oil and gas companies in alternative energy investment, and why these companies chose to invest in alternative energy sources. Systems theory was the conceptual framework, and data were collected from a sample of 25 companies drawn from the 28,000 companies in the oil and gas industry from 2004 to 2009. Multiple regression and correlation analysis were used to answer the research questions and test hypotheses using corporate financial data and company profiles related to alternative energy investment and corporate social responsibility in terms of oil and gas industry financial support of programs that serve the greater social good. Results indicated significant relationships between alternative energy investment and corporate social responsibility. With an increasing global population with energy requirements in excess of what is available using traditional means, the industry should increase investment in alternative sources. The research results may promote positive social change by increasing public awareness regarding the degree to which oil and gas companies invest in developing alternative energy sources, which might, in turn, inspire public pressure on companies in the oil and gas industry to pursue use of alternative energy.

Plant Essential Oils from Apiaceae Family as Alternatives to Conventional Insecticides

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Asgar Ebadollahi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Main method to control insect pest is using synthetic insecticides, but the development of insect resistance to this products, the high operational cost, environmental pollution, toxicity to humans and harmful effect on non-target organisms have created the need for developing alternative approaches to control insect pest. Furthermore, the demand for organic crops, especially vegetables for the fresh market, has greatly increased worldwide. The ideal insecticide should control target pests adequately and should be target-specific, rapidly degradable, and low in toxicity to humans and other mammals. Plant essential oils could be an alternative source for insect pest control because they constitute a rich source of bioactive chemicals and are commonly used as flavoring agents in foods. These materials may be applied to food crops shortly before harvest without leaving excessive residues. Moreover, medically safe of these plant derivatives has emphasized also. For these reasons, much effort has been focused on plant essential oils or their constituents as potential sources of insect control agents. In this context, Apiaceae (Umbelliferae family would rank among the most important families of plants. In the last few years more and more studies on the insecticidal properties of essential oils from Apiaceae family have been published and it seemed worthwhile to compile them. The focus of this review lies on the lethal (ovicidal, larvicidal, pupicidal and adulticidal and sublethal (antifeedant, repellent, oviposition deterrent, Growth inhibitory and progeny production activities of plant essential oils and theirmain components from Apiaceae family. These features indicate that pesticides based on Apiaceae essential oils could be used in a variety of ways to control a large number of pests. It can be concluded that essential oils and phytochemicals isolated from Apiaceae family may be efficacious and safe replacements for conventional synthetic

An alternative process for hydrogenation of sunflower oil

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Rosana de Cassia de Souza Schneider

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Classic methodologies for hydrogenation of vegetable oils have traditionally been carried out by nickel catalysts under high pressure of H2 and high temperature. An alternative method for hydrogenation of sunflower oil using limonene and palladium-on-carbon was investigated in this study. The use of limonene as a hydrogen donor solvent was proposed in order to avoid high temperature and high-pressure conditions. The catalytic transfer of hydrogenation was studied by using 0.5 to 2% of Pd as a catalyst, a limonene:oil ratio of 3:1, and reaction times from 0.5 to 2 hours. Under these conditions, high selectivities for oleic acid and low concentrations of stearic acid were obtained.

Hypersensitivity reaction studies of a polyethoxylated castor oil-free, liposome-based alternative paclitaxel formulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hongbo; Cheng, Guang; Du, Yuan; Ye, Liang; Chen, Wenzhong; Zhang, Leiming; Wang, Tian; Tian, Jingwei; Fu, Fenghua

2013-03-01

The commercial drug paclitaxel (Taxol) may introduce hypersensitivity reactions associated with the polyethoxylated castor oil-ethanol solvent. To overcome these problems, we developed a polyethoxylated castor oil-free, liposome-based alternative paclitaxel formulation, known as Lipusu. In this study, we performed in vitro and in vivo experiments to compare the safety profiles of Lipusu and Taxol, with special regard to hypersensitivity reactions. First, Swiss mice were used to determine the lethal dosages, and then to evaluate hypersensitivity reactions, followed by histopathological examination and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) of serum SC5b-9 and lung histamine. Additionally, healthy human serum was used to analyze in vitro complement activation. Finally, an MTT assay was used to determine the in vitro anti-proliferation activity. Our data clearly showed that Lipusu displayed a much higher safety margin and did not induce hypersensitivity or hypersensitivity-related lung lesions, which may be associated with the fact that Lipusu did not activate complement or increase histamine release in vivo. Moreover, Lipusu did not promote complement activation in healthy human serum in vitro, and demonstrated anti-proliferative activity against human cancer cells, similar to that of Taxol. Therefore, the improved formulation of paclitaxel, which exhibited a much better safety profile and comparable cytotoxic activity to Taxol, may bring a number of benefits to cancer patients.

New Biofuel Alternatives: Integrating Waste Management and Single Cell Oil Production

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Elia Judith; Raghavan, Vijaya; González-Andrés, Fernando; Gómez, Xiomar

2015-01-01

Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions have increased research efforts into alternatives in bio-based processes. With regard to transport fuel, bioethanol and biodiesel are still the main biofuels used. It is expected that future production of these biofuels will be based on processes using either non-food competing biomasses, or characterised by low CO2 emissions. Many microorganisms, such as microalgae, yeast, bacteria and fungi, have the ability to accumulate oils under special culture conditions. Microbial oils might become one of the potential feed-stocks for biodiesel production in the near future. The use of these oils is currently under extensive research in order to reduce production costs associated with the fermentation process, which is a crucial factor to increase economic feasibility. An important way to reduce processing costs is the use of wastes as carbon sources. The aim of the present review is to describe the main aspects related to the use of different oleaginous microorganisms for lipid production and their performance when using bio-wastes. The possibilities for combining hydrogen (H2) and lipid production are also explored in an attempt for improving the economic feasibility of the process. PMID:25918941

New Biofuel Alternatives: Integrating Waste Management and Single Cell Oil Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elia Judith Martínez

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions have increased research efforts into alternatives in bio-based processes. With regard to transport fuel, bioethanol and biodiesel are still the main biofuels used. It is expected that future production of these biofuels will be based on processes using either non-food competing biomasses, or characterised by low CO2 emissions. Many microorganisms, such as microalgae, yeast, bacteria and fungi, have the ability to accumulate oils under special culture conditions. Microbial oils might become one of the potential feed-stocks for biodiesel production in the near future. The use of these oils is currently under extensive research in order to reduce production costs associated with the fermentation process, which is a crucial factor to increase economic feasibility. An important way to reduce processing costs is the use of wastes as carbon sources. The aim of the present review is to describe the main aspects related to the use of different oleaginous microorganisms for lipid production and their performance when using bio-wastes. The possibilities for combining hydrogen (H2 and lipid production are also explored in an attempt for improving the economic feasibility of the process.

New biofuel alternatives: integrating waste management and single cell oil production.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Elia Judith; Raghavan, Vijaya; González-Andrés, Fernando; Gómez, Xiomar

2015-04-24

Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions have increased research efforts into alternatives in bio-based processes. With regard to transport fuel, bioethanol and biodiesel are still the main biofuels used. It is expected that future production of these biofuels will be based on processes using either non-food competing biomasses, or characterised by low CO₂ emissions. Many microorganisms, such as microalgae, yeast, bacteria and fungi, have the ability to accumulate oils under special culture conditions. Microbial oils might become one of the potential feed-stocks for biodiesel production in the near future. The use of these oils is currently under extensive research in order to reduce production costs associated with the fermentation process, which is a crucial factor to increase economic feasibility. An important way to reduce processing costs is the use of wastes as carbon sources. The aim of the present review is to describe the main aspects related to the use of different oleaginous microorganisms for lipid production and their performance when using bio-wastes. The possibilities for combining hydrogen (H₂) and lipid production are also explored in an attempt for improving the economic feasibility of the process.

Chemical characterization of Lippia alba essential oil: an alternative to control green molds

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Jasmina Glamočlija

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The essential oil of Lippia alba is reported as an antifungal against human pathogenic microorganisms but few articles report its use as an alternative to synthetic fungicides on green mould control. The objective of this study was to determine chemical characteristics of L. alba essential oil and its antifungal activity against green molds as an alternative to synthetic fungicides. Essential oil was extracted by Clevenger hydrodistillation, characterized by GC-MS analysis, and the structure of the main compounds confirmed by ¹H and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Microdilution assays evaluated the essential oil minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC. Commercial fungicides Ketoconazole and Bifonazole were used as control. Essential oil yield is of 0.15% and the major components are neral (33.32% and geranial (50.94%. The L. alba essential oil has MIC of 0.300-1.250 mg/mL and MFC of 0.600-1.250 mg/mL. Ketoconazole and Bifonazole show MIC ranging from 0.025-0.500 to 0.100-0.200 mg/mL, and MFC ranging from 0.250-0.100 to 0.200-0.250 mg/mL, respectively. L. alba essential oil is classified as citral type and the results indicate that it is a potential alternative to synthetic fungicides.

Recent developments in microbial oils production: a possible alternative to vegetable oils for biodiesel without competition with human food?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gwendoline Christophe

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Since centuries vegetable oils are consumed as human food but it also finds applications in biodiesel production which is attracting more attention. But due to being in competition with food it could not be sustainable and leads the need to search for alternative. Nowdays microbes-derived oils (single cell oils seem to be alternatives for biodiesel production due to their similar composition to that of vegetable oils. However, the cold flow properties of the biodiesel produced from microbial oils are unacceptable and have to be modified by an efficient transesterification. Glycerol which is by product of transesterification can be valorised into some more useful products so that it can also be utilised along with biodiesel to simplify the downstream processing. The review paper discusses about various potent microorganisms for biodiesel production, enzymes involved in the lipid accumulation, lipid quantification methods, catalysts used in transesterification (including enzymatic catalyst and valorisation of glycerol.

Vegetable Oils as Alternative Solvents for Green Oleo-Extraction, Purification and Formulation of Food and Natural Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Yara-Varón, Edinson; Li, Ying; Balcells, Mercè; Canela-Garayoa, Ramon; Fabiano-Tixier, Anne-Sylvie; Chemat, Farid

2017-09-05

Since solvents of petroleum origin are now strictly regulated worldwide, there is a growing demand for using greener, bio-based and renewable solvents for extraction, purification and formulation of natural and food products. The ideal alternative solvents are non-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have high dissolving power and flash point, together with low toxicity and less environmental impact. They should be obtained from renewable resources at a reasonable price and be easy to recycle. Based on the principles of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, vegetable oils could become an ideal alternative solvent to extract compounds for purification, enrichment, or even pollution remediation. This review presents an overview of vegetable oils as solvents enriched with various bioactive compounds from natural resources, as well as the relationship between dissolving power of non-polar and polar bioactive components with the function of fatty acids and/or lipid classes in vegetable oils, and other minor components. A focus on simulation of solvent-solute interactions and a discussion of polar paradox theory propose a mechanism explaining the phenomena of dissolving polar and non-polar bioactive components in vegetable oils as green solvents with variable polarity.

Ultrasound pretreatment as an alternative to improve essential oils extraction

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Flávia Michelon Dalla Nora

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Essential oils are substances originated from plants in general. These compounds are well known to have a high biological activity, specially the antioxidant and antimicrobial. Several extraction techniques are employed to obtain these substances. However, the majority of these techniques require a long extraction time. In this sense, innovative and alternative extraction techniques, such as ultrasound, have recently been the target of studies. In view of the small amount of publications using ultrasonic pretreatment, this review aimed to congregate current relevant information on ultrasound-assisted extraction of essential oils. In this sense, theoretical aspects, such as the main factors that influence the performance of this technique as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the use of ultrasound as an environmental friendly alternative technique to improve the extraction of essential oil in comparison to traditional methods, are shown. Considering the available studies in the literature on essential oil extraction using ultrasonic pretreatment, low frequencies ranged from 20 to 50kWz and times ranged from 20 to 40min were used. The use of ultrasonic pretreatment represents a time reduction to near 70% in relation to the conventional hydrodistillation. Also, these conditions enabled a growth in the extraction of bioactive compounds and consequently improving the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oils.

Fuel alternatives for oil sands development - the nuclear option

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bock, D [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Mississauga, ON (Canada); Donnelly, J K

1996-12-31

Currently natural gas is the fuel of choice in all oil sand developments. Alberta sources of hydrocarbon based fuels are large but limited. Canadian nuclear technology was studied as a possible alternative for providing steam for the deep commercial in situ oil sand projects which were initiated over ten years ago. Because the in situ technology of that time required steam at pressures in excess of 10 MPa, the nuclear option required the development of new reactor technology, or the use of steam compressors, which was not economical. The current SAGD (steam assisted gravity drainage) technology requires steam at pressures of less than 5 MPa, which is in the reach of existing Canadian nuclear technology. The cost of supplying steam for a SAGD in situ project using a CANDU 3 nuclear reactor was developed. The study indicates that for gas prices in excess of $2.50 per gigajoule, replacing natural gas fuel with a nuclear reactor is economically feasible for in situ projects in excess of 123 thousand barrels per day. (author). 9 refs., 3 tabs., 12 figs.

Fuel alternatives for oil sands development - the nuclear option

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bock, D.; Donnelly, J.K.

1995-01-01

Currently natural gas is the fuel of choice in all oil sand developments. Alberta sources of hydrocarbon based fuels are large but limited. Canadian nuclear technology was studied as a possible alternative for providing steam for the deep commercial in situ oil sand projects which were initiated over ten years ago. Because the in situ technology of that time required steam at pressures in excess of 10 MPa, the nuclear option required the development of new reactor technology, or the use of steam compressors, which was not economical. The current SAGD (steam assisted gravity drainage) technology requires steam at pressures of less than 5 MPa, which is in the reach of existing Canadian nuclear technology. The cost of supplying steam for a SAGD in situ project using a CANDU 3 nuclear reactor was developed. The study indicates that for gas prices in excess of $2.50 per gigajoule, replacing natural gas fuel with a nuclear reactor is economically feasible for in situ projects in excess of 123 thousand barrels per day. (author). 9 refs., 3 tabs., 12 figs

Biodiesel from plant seed oils as an alternate fuel for compression ignition engines-a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayakumar, C; Ramesh, M; Murugesan, A; Panneerselvam, N; Subramaniam, D; Bharathiraja, M

2016-12-01

The modern scenario reveals that the world is facing energy crisis due to the dwindling sources of fossil fuels. Environment protection agencies are more concerned about the atmospheric pollution due to the burning of fossil fuels. Alternative fuel research is getting augmented because of the above reasons. Plant seed oils (vegetable oils) are cleaner, sustainable, and renewable. So, it can be the most suitable alternative fuel for compression ignition (CI) engines. This paper reviews the availability of different types of plant seed oils, several methods for production of biodiesel from vegetable oils, and its properties. The different types of oils considered in this review are cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) oil, ginger oil, eucalyptus oil, rice bran oil, Calophyllum inophyllum, hazelnut oil, sesame oil, clove stem oil, sardine oil, honge oil, polanga oil, mahua oil, rubber seed oil, cotton seed oil, neem oil, jatropha oil, egunsi melon oil, shea butter, linseed oil, Mohr oil, sea lemon oil, pumpkin oil, tobacco seed oil, jojoba oil, and mustard oil. Several methods for production of biodiesel are transesterification, pre-treatment, pyrolysis, and water emulsion are discussed. The various fuel properties considered for review such as specific gravity, viscosity, calorific value, flash point, and fire point are presented. The review also portrays advantages, limitations, performance, and emission characteristics of engine using plant seed oil biodiesel are discussed. Finally, the modeling and optimization of engine for various biofuels with different input and output parameters using artificial neural network, response surface methodology, and Taguchi are included.

Alternative fossil-based transportation fuels

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

"Alternative fuels derived from oil sands and from coal liquefaction can cost-effectively diversify fuel supplies, but neither type significantly reduces U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions enough to arrest long-term climate change".

Waste cooking oil as an alternate feedstock for biodiesel production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chhetri, A. B.; Rafiqul Islam, M. [Civil and Resources Engineering Dalhousie University, Room D510, 1360 Barrington St., Box 1000, Halifax, N.S. B3J 2X4 (Canada); Watts, K. Ch. [Process Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Box 1000, Halifax, N.S. B3J 2X4 (Canada)

2008-07-01

As crude oil price reach a new high, the need for developing alternate fuels has become acute. Alternate fuels should be economically attractive in order to compete with currently used fossil fuels. In this work, biodiesel (ethyl ester) was prepared from waste cooking oil collected from a local restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Ethyl alcohol with sodium hydroxide as a catalyst was used for the transesterification process. The fatty acid composition of the final biodiesel esters was determined by gas chromatography. The biodiesel was characterized by its physical and fuel properties including density, viscosity, acid value, flash point, cloud point, pour point, cetane index, water and sediment content, total and free glycerin content, diglycerides and monoglycerides, phosphorus content and sulfur content according to ASTM standards. The viscosity of the biodiesel ethyl ester was found to be 5.03 mm{sup 2}/sec at 40 {sup o}C. The viscosity of waste cooking oil measured in room temperature (at 21 {sup o}C) was 72 mm{sup 2}/sec. From the tests, the flash point was found to be 164 {sup o}C, the phosphorous content was 2 ppm, those of calcium and magnesium were 1 ppm combined, water and sediment was 0 %, sulfur content was 2 ppm, total acid number was 0.29 mg KOH/g, cetane index was 61, cloud point was -1 {sup o}C and pour point was -16 {sup o}C. Production of biodiesel from waste cooking oils for diesel substitute is particularly important because of the decreasing trend of economical oil reserves, environmental problems caused due to fossil fuel use and the high price of petroleum products in the international market. (author)

Waste Cooking Oil as an Alternate Feedstock for Biodiesel Production

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M. Rafiqul Islam

2008-04-01

Full Text Available As crude oil price reach a new high, the need for developing alternate fuels has become acute. Alternate fuels should be economically attractive in order to compete with currently used fossil fuels. In this work, biodiesel (ethyl ester was prepared from waste cooking oil collected from a local restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Ethyl alcohol with sodium hydroxide as a catalyst was used for the transesterification process. The fatty acid composition of the final biodiesel esters was determined by gas chromatography. The biodiesel was characterized by its physical and fuel properties including density, viscosity, acid value, flash point, cloud point, pour point, cetane index, water and sediment content, total and free glycerin content, diglycerides and monoglycerides, phosphorus content and sulfur content according to ASTM standards. The viscosity of the biodiesel ethyl ester was found to be 5.03 mm2/sec at 40oC. The viscosity of waste cooking oil measured in room temperature (at 21° C was 72 mm2/sec. From the tests, the flash point was found to be 164oC, the phosphorous content was 2 ppm, those of calcium and magnesium were 1 ppm combined, water and sediment was 0 %, sulfur content was 2 ppm, total acid number was 0.29 mgKOH/g, cetane index was 61, cloud point was -1oC and pour point was -16oC. Production of biodiesel from waste cooking oils for diesel substitute is particularly important because of the decreasing trend of economical oil reserves, environmental problems caused due to fossil fuel use and the high price of petroleum products in the international market.

Emission and Performance analysis of hydrotreated refined sunflower oil as alternate fuel

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J. Hemanandh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The experiments were conducted by using the hydrotreated refined sunflower oil as alternative fuel in a 4-stroke, stationary DI diesel engine at a constant speed of 1500 rpm. The effects of hydrotreated vegetable oil blends on diesel engine emission and performance were studied. The emission and performance were studied for different proportions such as HTSF B25 and HTSF B100 and at different loading conditions and comparison was made with petrodiesel. The emission and performance results of HTSF B25 and HTSF B100 showed that decrease in CO by 9% and 37%, HC by 42% and 55%, NOx by 10% and 18.18%, BSFC by 25% and 12.5%. The increase in brake thermal efficiency was by 10% and 38%. It was observed from the study that hydrotreatment of refined sunflower oil could be one of the best alternative fuels for the diesel engine.

Environmental implications of release of oil-based drilling fluids and oily cuttings into waters of the Canadian northwest Atlantic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barchard, W.W.; Doe, K.G.; Mahon, S.D.; Moores, R.B.; Osborne, J.M.; Parker, W.R.

1986-01-01

In 1982, the Environmental Protection Service became aware that companies conducting petroleum exploration in the waters of eastern Canada would request permission to use and discharge oil-based drilling fluids and/or drill cuttings contaminated with oil-based drilling fluids. It was determined from an evaluation of North Sea data that aspects of the toxicity of oil-based drilling fluids should be evaluated using techniques applicable to Canadian marine conditions. Although it is unlikely that permission will be granted to dispose of whole oil-based muds into the ocean, whole mud formulations were tested as a close approximation to the mixture which would adhere to discharged drilling cuttings. Test organisms were exposed to whole muds as an approximation of the worst possible exposure regime. Static bioassays (96-hour) were conducted using threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). In general, high pH and the inclusion of certain emulsifiers seemed to contribute greatly to the lethality of the whole muds. Diesel oil-based muds were more acutely toxic than those formulated with alternate base oils which were virtually non-acutely toxic. Acute, sublethal and long-term studies were also conducted only on drill cuttings contaminated with alternate base oil muds. These more closely reflect proposed discharge strategies. Although 96-hour exposures resulted in no mortality, longer-term exposures (four to thirty-two days) resulted in significant behavioural changes and/or mortality to Macoma balthica, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, larval Homarus americanus and Nephthys caeca. The results suggest that use of alternate oil-based drilling fluids will have an effect on the marine environment intermediate between water-based muds and diesel oil-based muds. 73 refs., 6 figs., 18 tabs.

AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO THE USE OF HEAVY OIL RESIDUE

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Eugene Dashut

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We consider an alternative approach to the existing oil refining, in which instead of a single priority that emerged in the traditional approach, we consider two: get the light component and a heavy residue used for the production of new construction materials.

Rhazya stricta Decne seed oil as an alternative, non-conventional feedstock for biodiesel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nehdi, Imededdine Arbi; Sbihi, Hassen Mohamed; Al-Resayes, Saud Ibrahim

2014-01-01

Highlights: • First report of Rhazia stricta seed oil as feedstock for biodiesel production. • Biodiesel is prepared by alkaline transesterification. • Biodiesel from R. stricta oil meets specifications in biodiesel standards. - Abstract: Rhazya stricta Decne (R. stricta) is a hardy, drought-resistant, and arid land plant that is widely distributed from the Middle East to South Asia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of R. stricta seed oil as an alternative source of triacylglycerols that may be suitable for the synthesis of biodiesel. The oil content of the seeds was approximately 14% and was mainly composed of the fatty acids linoleic (60.95%) and oleic (25.48%) acid. R. stricta methyl esters (RSME) were prepared by a base-catalyzed transesterification reaction. The conversion rate of the triacylglycerols to the corresponding methyl esters was determined by 1 H-NMR to be approximately 97%. This study showed that the fuel properties of the RSMEs are comparable to other vegetable oil methyl esters that are commonly used as biodiesels. R. stricta plantations will therefore be suitable for promoting sustainable agriculture and for producing biodiesel with viable prices in arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world

Reduction of CO{sub 2} emission and oil dependency with biomass-based polygeneration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joelsson, Jonas M; Gustavsson, Leif [Ecotechnology and Environmental Science, Department of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Mid Sweden University, SE-831 25 Oestersund (Sweden)

2010-07-15

We compare different options for the use of lignocellulosic biomass to reduce CO{sub 2} emission and oil use, focusing on polygeneration of biomass-based motor fuels and electricity, and discuss methodological issues related to such comparisons. The use of biomass can significantly reduce CO{sub 2} emission and oil use, but there is a trade-off between the reductions in CO{sub 2} emission and oil use. Bioelectricity from stand-alone plants replacing coal-based electricity reduced CO{sub 2} emission by 99 kg per GJ biomass input but gave no oil use reduction. Stand-alone produced methanol replacing diesel reduced the CO{sub 2} emission with 38 kg and the oil use with 0.67 GJ per GJ biomass, indicating that a potential CO{sub 2} emission reduction of 90 kg is lost per GJ oil reduced. CO{sub 2} emission and oil use reduction for alternatives co-producing fuel and electricity fall between the stand-alone alternatives. Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles using bioelectricity reduced CO{sub 2} emission by 75-88 kg and oil use by 0.99-1.2 GJ, per GJ biomass input. Biomass can also reduce CO{sub 2} emission and/or oil use more efficiently if fossil-fuel-fired boilers or electric heating is replaced by district heating from biomass-based combined heat and power generation. This is also true if electricity or motor fuel is produced from black liquor gasification in pulp mills or if wood is used instead of concrete in building construction. Biomass gasification is an important technology to achieve large reductions, irrespective of whether CO{sub 2} emission or oil use reduction is prioritised. (author)

Biotechnological Perspectives of Pyrolysis Oil for a Bio-Based Economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Stefanie; Moss, Karin; Henkel, Marius; Hausmann, Rudolf

2017-10-01

Lignocellulosic biomass is an important feedstock for a potential future bio-based economy. Owing to its compact structure, suitable decomposition technologies will be necessary to make it accessible for biotechnological conversion. While chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis are currently established methods, a promising alternative is provided by fast pyrolysis. The main resulting product thereof, referred to as pyrolysis oil, is an energy-rich and easily transportable liquid. Many of the identified constituents of pyrolysis oil, however, have previously been reported to display adverse effects on microbial growth. In this Opinion we discuss relevant biological, biotechnological, and technological challenges that need to be addressed to establish pyrolysis oil as a reliable microbial feedstock for a bio-based economy of the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Palm oil based biofuel using blended crude palm oil/medium fuel oil: physical and thermal properties studies. Paper no. IGEC-1-015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuah, T.G.; Zakiah, M.; Wan Hasamuddin, W.H.; Hj. Ahmad, H.; Fakhru'l-Razi, A.; Robiah, Y.; Choong, T.S.Y.; Yip, Y.F.

2005-01-01

Crude Palm Oil (CPO) is renewable bio-based resource. It is an attractive alternative fuel which provides the potential to reduce emission problems. CPO is an example of biofuels that can be blended with petroleum distillates as a fuel in mobile engines and industrial processes to help offset the increasing energy demand. This paper highlights the results of blended Crude Palm Oil (CPO)/Medium Fuel Oil (MFO) as an alternative environmentally friendly boiler's fuel. Heating values of the blend fuels have been measured using an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Combustion performance of a blend containing 50% CPO in MFO fuel was examined using a commercial boiler. The blend burned satisfactorily without major modification to the appliance and fuel delivery system. SO 2 emissions were 51.67% lower than MFO, H 2 S decreased about 55.61% while NO x were 18.67% reduced. Results indicate potential reductions of SO 2 , H 2 S and NO x , and greenhouse gas emissions for the petroleum distillates can be replaced with this blend. (author)

Exercise-based transportation reduces oil dependence, carbon emissions and obesity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Higgins, P.A.T.

2005-09-15

Societal dependence on oil leads to increasingly negative social consequences throughout the world, including climate change, air pollution, political and economic instability, and habitat degradation. Reliance on the automobile for transportation also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, an obesity epidemic and poor health. These problems are particularly pronounced in the USA, which currently consumes c. 27% of global oil production and produces c. 25% of global carbon emissions, and where c. 65% of adults are overweight or obese. Other countries throughout the world that replicate or hope to replicate the automobile-based lifestyle of the USA face similar problems now or in the near future. This paper develops and applies calculations relating the distances that could be travelled through recommended daily walking or cycling with weight loss, oil consumption and carbon emissions. These straightforward calculations demonstrate that widespread substitution of driving with distances travelled during recommended daily exercise could reduce the USA's oil consumption by up to 38%. This saving far exceeds the amount of oil recoverable from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, suggesting that exercise can reduce foreign oil dependence and provide an alternative to oil extraction from environmentally sensitive habitat. At the same time, an average individual who substitutes this amount of exercise for transportation would burn respectively c. 12.2 and 26.0 kg of fat per year for walking and cycling. This is sufficient to eliminate obese and overweight conditions in a few years without dangerous or draconian diet plans. Furthermore, a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of c. 35% is possible if the revenue saved through decreased health care spending on obesity is redirected toward carbon abatement. As a result, exercise-based transportation may constitute a favourable alternative to the energy and diet plans that are currently being implemented in the USA and may

Nigella seed oil as alternative to avilamycin antibiotic in broiler ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was conducted to study the effect of nigella seed oil as an alternative to the antibiotic, avilamycin, on growth, digestibility, muscle fatty acid profile and some physiological parameters in broiler chickens. Fifty four chicks at 15 d of age (average weight, 320 ± 3 g) were divided into a control group and two treatment ...

Alternative fuel properties of tall oil fatty acid methyl ester-diesel fuel blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Altiparmak, D.; Keskin, A.; Koca, A. [Gazi University, Ankara (Turkey). Technical Education Faculty; Guru, M. [Gazi University, Ankara (Turkey). Engineering and Architectural Faculty

2007-01-15

In this experimental work, tall oil methyl ester-diesel fuel blends as alternative fuels for diesel engines were studied. Tall oil methyl ester was produced by reacting tall oil fatty acids with methyl alcohol under optimum conditions. The blends of tall oil methyl ester-diesel fuel were tested in a direct injection diesel engine at full load conditions. The effects of the new fuel blends on the engine performance and exhaust emission were tested. It was observed that the engine torque and power output with tall oil methyl ester-diesel fuel blends increased up to 6.1% and 5.9%, respectively. It was also seen that CO emissions decreased to 38.9% and NO{sub x} emissions increased up to 30% with the new fuel blends. The smoke capacity did not vary significantly. (author)

Alternative fuel properties of tall oil fatty acid methyl ester-diesel fuel blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Altiparmak, Duran; Keskin, Ali; Koca, Atilla; Gürü, Metin

2007-01-01

In this experimental work, tall oil methyl ester-diesel fuel blends as alternative fuels for diesel engines were studied. Tall oil methyl ester was produced by reacting tall oil fatty acids with methyl alcohol under optimum conditions. The blends of tall oil methyl ester-diesel fuel were tested in a direct injection diesel engine at full load condition. The effects of the new fuel blends on the engine performance and exhaust emission were tested. It was observed that the engine torque and power output with tall oil methyl ester-diesel fuel blends increased up to 6.1% and 5.9%, respectively. It was also seen that CO emissions decreased to 38.9% and NO(x) emissions increased up to 30% with the new fuel blends. The smoke opacity did not vary significantly.

Comparison of lubricant properties of castor oil and commercial engine oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Binfa Bongfa

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The tribological performance of crude Nigeria-based castor oil has been investigated and compared with that of a foreign, 20W-50 high quality crankcase oil, to see its suitability as base oil for lubricating oils in indigenous vehicle and power plants engines. The experiment was conducted using a four ball tester. The results showed that unrefined castor oil has superior friction reduction and load bearing capability in an unformulated form than the commercial oil; can compete favourably with the commercial oil in wear protection when formulated with suitable antiwear agent, hence can be a good alternative base stock for crankcase oils suitable for Nigeria serviced vehicles, and plants engines from tribological, environmental, and non-food competitive points of view.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT AND OIL PALM FROND WASTE MIXTURE AS AN ALTERNATIVE BIOMASS FUEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. HASSAN, L. S. KEE

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Palm oil mill effluent (POME sludge generated from palm oil mill industry and oil palm frond (OPF from oil palm plantation are considered biomass wastes that can be fully utilized as a renewable energy sources. In this study, an attempt has been made to convert these residues into solid biomass fuel. The study was conducted by developing experimental testing on the POME and OPF mixture. The performance of each sample with different weight percentage was investigated using standard tests. The biomass mixture was converted into compressed form of briquette through a simple process. The properties of the briquettes were observed and compared at different weight percentage following standard testing methods included ultimate and proximate analyses, burning characteristics, dimensional stability and crack analysis. Experimental results showed that POME sludge and OPF mixture is feasible as an alternative biomass fuel, with briquette of 90:10 POME sludge to OPF ratio has a good combination of properties as an overall.

Using of cotton oil soapstock biodiesel-diesel fuel blends as an alternative diesel fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keskin, Ali [Technical Education Faculty, Mersin University, 33500 Mersin (Turkey); Guerue, Metin [Engineering and Architectural Faculty, Gazi University, 06570 Maltepe, Ankara (Turkey); Altiparmak, Duran [Technical Education Faculty, Gazi University, 06500 Ankara (Turkey); Aydin, Kadir [Engineering and Architectural Faculty, Cukurova University, 01330 Adana (Turkey)

2008-04-15

In this study, usability of cotton oil soapstock biodiesel-diesel fuel blends as an alternative fuel for diesel engines were studied. Biodiesel was produced by reacting cotton oil soapstock with methyl alcohol at determined optimum condition. The cotton oil biodiesel-diesel fuel blends were tested in a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine. Engine performances and smoke value were measured at full load condition. Torque and power output of the engine with cotton oil soapstock biodiesel-diesel fuel blends decreased by 5.8% and 6.2%, respectively. Specific fuel consumption of engine with cotton oil soapstock-diesel fuel blends increased up to 10.5%. At maximum torque speeds, smoke level of engine with blend fuels decreased up to 46.6%, depending on the amount of biodiesel. These results were compared with diesel fuel values. (author)

Using of cotton oil soapstock biodiesel-diesel fuel blends as an alternative diesel fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keskin, Ali; Guerue, Metin; Altiparmak, Duran; Aydin, Kadir

2008-01-01

In this study, usability of cotton oil soapstock biodiesel-diesel fuel blends as an alternative fuel for diesel engines were studied. Biodiesel was produced by reacting cotton oil soapstock with methyl alcohol at determined optimum condition. The cotton oil biodiesel-diesel fuel blends were tested in a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine. Engine performances and smoke value were measured at full load condition. Torque and power output of the engine with cotton oil soapstock biodiesel-diesel fuel blends decreased by 5.8% and 6.2%, respectively. Specific fuel consumption of engine with cotton oil soapstock-diesel fuel blends increased up to 10.5%. At maximum torque speeds, smoke level of engine with blend fuels decreased up to 46.6%, depending on the amount of biodiesel. These results were compared with diesel fuel values. (author)

Use of a non-edible vegetable oils as an alternative fuel in compression ignition engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayaraj, S.; Ramadhas, A.S.; Muraleedharan, C.

2006-01-01

Shortage of petroleum fuels is assumed predominance globally and hence efforts are being made in every country to look for alternative fuels, especially for running internal compression ignition engines. However, the limited availability of edible vegetable oils in excess amounts is a limiting factors, which limits their large usage as an alternative fuel. A remedy for this is the use of non-edible oils obtained mainly from seeds, which are otherwise dumped as waste material. An effort is made here to use rubber seed oil as fuel in compression ignition engine at various proportions, mixed with diesel oil. The performance and emission characteristics of the engine are measured under dual fuel operation. The compression ignition engine could be run satisfactorily without any noticeable problem, even with 100% rubber seed oil. A multi-layer artificial neural network model was developed for predicting the performance and emission characteristics of the engine under dual fuel operation. Experimental data has been used to train the network. The predicted engine performance and emission characteristics obtained by neural network model are validated by using the experimental data. The neural network model is found to be quite efficient in predicting engine performance and emission characteristics. It has been found that 60-80% diesel replacement by rubber seed oil is the optimum in order to get maximum engine performance and minimum exhaust emission

A Review on Properties, Opportunities, and Challenges of Transformer Oil-Based Nanofluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Rafiq

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The mineral oil or synthetic oil in conjunction with paper is mainly being applied as dielectric medium in many of the high voltage apparatus. However, the advent of high voltage levels such high voltage alternating current (HVAC and high voltage direct current (HVDC has prompted researchers to direct their focus onto an insulation system which can bear the rising high voltage levels. The modern insulating liquid material development is guided by various factors such as high electrical insulation requirements and other safety and economic considerations. Therefore transformer manufacturer companies have to design transformers with these new specific requirements. The transformer oil-based nanofluids with improved dielectric and thermal properties have the potential to replace mineral oil base products in the market place. They are favorable because they function more superior than mineral oil and they contribute definite insulating and thermal gains. This paper reviews recent status of nanofluids use as transformer oils. The nanofluids used as transformer oils are presented and their advantages are described in comparison with mineral oil. The multiple experimental works carried out by different researchers are described, providing an overview of the current research conducted on nanofluids. In addition scope and challenges being confronted in this area of research are clearly presented.

A methodology for assessing the market benefits of alternative motor fuels: The Alternative Fuels Trade Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leiby, P.N.

1993-09-01

This report describes a modeling methodology for examining the prospective economic benefits of displacing motor gasoline use by alternative fuels. The approach is based on the Alternative Fuels Trade Model (AFTM). AFTM development was undertaken by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of a longer term study of alternative fuels issues. The AFTM is intended to assist with evaluating how alternative fuels may be promoted effectively, and what the consequences of substantial alternative fuels use might be. Such an evaluation of policies and consequences of an alternative fuels program is being undertaken by DOE as required by Section 502(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Interest in alternative fuels is based on the prospective economic, environmental and energy security benefits from the substitution of these fuels for conventional transportation fuels. The transportation sector is heavily dependent on oil. Increased oil use implies increased petroleum imports, with much of the increase coming from OPEC countries. Conversely, displacement of gasoline has the potential to reduce US petroleum imports, thereby reducing reliance on OPEC oil and possibly weakening OPEC`s ability to extract monopoly profits. The magnitude of US petroleum import reduction, the attendant fuel price changes, and the resulting US benefits, depend upon the nature of oil-gas substitution and the supply and demand behavior of other world regions. The methodology applies an integrated model of fuel market interactions to characterize these effects.

Oil-based paint poisoning

Science.gov (United States)

Paint - oil-based - poisoning ... Hydrocarbons are the primary poisonous ingredient in oil paints. Some oil paints have heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cobalt, and barium added as pigment. These heavy metals can cause additional ...

Polyalhpaolefins and VHVI base oils - base oils for high performance lubricants; Polyalfaolefine und VHVI-Grundoele - Grundoele fuer hochwertige Schmierstoffe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lehmus, M.; Nissfolk, F.; Kulmala, K. [Fortum Oil and Gas Oyj / Base Oils, Fortum (Finland)

2002-01-01

Next to polyalphaolefines (PAOs base oils of the API/ATIEL Group IV), VHVI base oils (belonging to API/ATIEL Group III) are being increasingly used in high-performance automotive and industrial lubricants. A comparative study of the properties of VHVI base oils and polyalphaolefins shows that high-quality VHVI base oils have comparable volatility, oxidation stability and viscosity indices to polyalphaolefins, whereas the most pronounced differences are viscometric properties in the low-temperature range. However, there are noticeable differences between different market-typical VHVI base oils, depending primarily on the manufacturing process. The differences in the physicochemical properties of PAOs and various VHVI base oils are attributable to differences in the typical molecular composition. This is illustrated by a compositional analysis of several VHVI base oils, in which the (iso)paraffin content and the content of different naphthenic and aromatic compounds is analyzed. The base oil influence on specific properties of formulated lubricants is discussed on the basis of several examples, and studies conducted with passenger car engine oils (PCMOs), heavy-duty engine oils (HDEOs) and gear oils are described in detail. As a result of extremely low CCS viscosities, PAOs are optimally suited for use in 0W-X PCMOs whereas 5W-X PCMOs meeting highest performance requirements can also be formulated with high-quality VHVI base oils. Emission measurements with HDEOs formulated with either SN mineral base oil or VHVI base oil demonstrated that the base oil type affects tailpipe particle emissions in the particle size range <5 {mu}m as replacement of SN mineral base oil with VHVI base oil resulted in lower particle emissions. Test stand measurements with gear oils formulated with either VHVI base oils or PAOs yielded comparable results in terms of power transfer ratio and oil temperature increase. (orig.)

Gasoline from biomass through refinery-friendly carbohydrate-based bio-oil produced by ketalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Batalha, Nuno; da Silva, Alessandra V; de Souza, Matheus O; da Costa, Bruna M C; Gomes, Elisa S; Silva, Thiago C; Barros, Thalita G; Gonçalves, Maria L A; Caramão, Elina B; dos Santos, Luciana R M; Almeida, Marlon B B; de Souza, Rodrigo O M A; Lam, Yiu L; Carvalho, Nakédia M F; Miranda, Leandro S M; Pereira, Marcelo M

2014-06-01

The introduction of biomass-derived compounds as an alternative feed into the refinery structure that already exists can potentially converge energy uses with ecological sustainability. Herein, we present an approach to produce a bio-oil based on carbohydrate-derived isopropylidene ketals obtained by reaction with acetone under acidic conditions directly from second-generation biomass. The obtained bio-oil showed a greater chemical inertness and miscibility with gasoil than typical bio-oil from fast pyrolysis. Catalytic upgrading of the bio-oil over zeolites (USY and Beta) yielded gasoline with a high octane number. Moreover, the co-processing of gasoil and bio-oil improved the gasoline yield and quality compared to pure gasoil and also reduced the amount of oxygenated compounds and coke compared with pure bio-oil, which demonstrates a synergistic effect. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

77 FR 41873 - In the Matter of Alternative Energy Sources, Inc., Arlington Hospitality, Inc., Consolidated Oil...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-16

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [File No. 500-1] In the Matter of Alternative Energy Sources, Inc., Arlington Hospitality, Inc., Consolidated Oil & Gas, Inc., CSMG Technologies, Inc., Dakotah... Alternative Energy Sources, Inc. because it has not filed any periodic reports since the period ended...

Effect of cassava starch-based edible coating incorporated with lemongrass essential oil on the quality of papaya MJ9

Science.gov (United States)

Praseptiangga, D.; Utami, R.; Khasanah, L. U.; Evirananda, I. P.; Kawiji

2017-02-01

Edible films and coatings have emerged as an alternative packaging in food applications and have received much attention due to their advantages. The incorporation of essential oils in film matrices to give antimicrobial properties had been observed recently, and could be used as promising preservation technology. In this study, cassava starch-based edible coating incorporated with lemongrass essential oil (1%) was applied by spraying and dipping methods to preserve papaya MJ9 during storage at room temperature. The quality of papaya MJ9 was analyzed based on its physicochemical and microbiological properties. The addition of lemongrass essential oil (1%) significantly inhibited the microbial growth on papaya MJ9 by reducing the value of total yeast and mold as compared to the control. This study also showed that for parameters of weight loss, total soluble solid, vitamin C, and total titratable acid, papaya MJ9 with cassava starch-based edible coating incorporated with lemongrass essential oil (1%) had the lower values than control, however, they had the higher value than control on firmness parameter. These results indicate that cassava starch-based edible coating incorporated with lemongrass essential oil (1%) can be used as an alternative preservation for papaya MJ9.

From oil-based mud to water-based mud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christiansen, C.

1991-01-01

Maersk Olie og Gas AS has used low toxic oil-based muds extensively since 1982 for drilling development wells and later in the development of horizontal well drilling techniques. However, in view of the strong drive towards a reduction in the amount of oil discharged to the North Sea from the oil industry, Maersk Olie og Gas AS initiated trials with new or improved types of water-based mud, first in deviated wells (1989) and then in horizontal wells (1990). The paper reviews Maersk Olie og Gas As experience with oil-based mud since the drilling of the first horizontal well in 1987, specifically with respect to cuttings washing equipment, oil retention on cuttings, and the procedure for monitoring of this parameter. It describes the circumstances leading to the decision to revert to water-based mud systems. Finally, it reviews the experience gained so far with the new improved types of water-based mud systems, mainly glycol and KCl/polymer mud systems. Comparison of operational data, such as rate of penetration, torque and drag, etc., is made between wells drilled with oil-based mud and water-based mud. The trials with the new improved types of water-based mud systems have been positive, i.e. horizontal wells can be drilled successfully with water-based mud. As a result, Maersk Olie og and Gas AS has decided to discontinue the use of low toxic oil-based muds in the Danish sector of the North Sea

Natural gas as an alternative to crude oil in automotive fuel chains well-to-wheel analysis and transition strategy development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hekkert, M.P.; Hendriks, F.H.J.F.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Neelis, M.L.

2005-01-01

Road transport produces significant amounts of CO 2 by using crude oil as primary energy source. A reduction of CO 2 emissions can be achieved by implementing alternative fuel chains. This article studies CO 2 emissions and energy efficiencies by means of a well to wheel analysis of alternative automotive fuel chains, using natural gas (NG) as an alternative primary energy source to replace crude oil. The results indicate that NG-based hydrogen applied in fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) lead to largest CO 2 emission reductions (up to 40% compared to current practice). However, large implementation barriers for this option are foreseen, both technically and in terms of network change. Two different transition strategies are discussed to gradually make the transition to these preferred fuel chains. Important transition technologies that are the backbone of these routes are traditional engine technology fuelled by compressed NG and a FCV fuelled by gasoline. The first is preferred in terms of carbon emissions. The results furthermore indicate that an innovation in the conventional chain, the diesel hybrid vehicle, is more efficient than many NG-based chains. This option scores well in terms of carbon emissions and implementation barriers and is a very strong option for the future

Study of greenhouse gases reduction alternatives for the exploitation of non conventional oil sands in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouchonneau, Deborah [Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP), Paris (France)

2008-07-01

High energy prices and greenhouse gases reduction represent the main challenges the current worldwide energetic situation has to face. As a consequence, paradox strategies can be highlighted: oil prices are sufficiently high to exploit non conventional oil resources, like extra heavy oils and oil sands. But the production of these resources emits larger GHG than the conventional oil path and implies other major environmental issues (water management, risks of soil pollution, destruction of the boreal forest), incompatible with the rules validated by the protocol of Kyoto. At the light of the new greenhouse gases reduction regulation framework announced by the Canadian Federal government, this work focuses on the study of greenhouse gases reduction alternatives applied to the non conventional oil sands exploitation in Canada. (author)

Synthesis and Application of Jatropha Oil based Polyurethane as Paint Coating Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zainal Alim Mas’ud

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Recently, the use of renewable sources in the preparation of various industrial materials has been revitalized in response to environmental concerns. Natural oils are considered to be the most important genre of renewable sources. Jatropha curcas oil (JPO based polyol is an alternative material that may possibly replace petrochemical-based polyol for polyurethane coating material. Polyurethane was synthesized by reacting JPO-based polyol with isocyanate. To produce JPO-based polyol, JPO was first epoxidized to form epoxidized J. curcas oil (EJP, subsequently it was converted to polyol by the opening ring reaction with acrylic acid (AA using triethylamine (TEA as a catalyst. The JPO-based polyurethane film resulting from this study is compared with polyurethane film from commercial polyol for gloss, hardness, and adhesion quality. The result showed that the source of polyol has an influence on gloss, hardness, and adhesion of polyurethane film, but the differences with using isocyanate has less influence. Using visual observation, polyurethane film produced from L.OHV polyol, H.OHV polyol and commercial polyol have similar quality.

Production Costs of Alternative Transportation Fuels. Influence of Crude Oil Price and Technology Maturity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cazzola, Pierpaolo; Morrison, Geoff; Kaneko, Hiroyuki; Cuenot, Francois; Ghandi, Abbas; Fulton, Lewis

2013-07-01

This study examines the production costs of a range of transport fuels and energy carriers under varying crude oil price assumptions and technology market maturation levels. An engineering ''bottom-up'' approach is used to estimate the effect of the input cost of oil and of various technological assumptions on the finished price of these fuels. In total, the production costs of 20 fuels are examined for crude oil prices between USD 60 and USD 150 per barrel. Some fuel pathways can be competitive with oil as their production, transport and storage technology matures, and as oil price increases. Rising oil prices will offer new opportunities to switch to alternative fuels for transport, to diversify the energy mix of the transport sector, and to reduce the exposure of the whole system to price volatility and potential distuption of supply. In a time of uncertainty about the leading vehicle technology to decarbonize the transport sector, looking at the fuel cost brings key information to be considered to keep mobility affordable yet sustainable.

Alternatives for operational cost reduction in oil pipelines; Alternativas para reducao de custos energeticos operacionais em oleodutos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krause, Philipe Barroso; Carneiro, Leonardo Motta; Pires, Luis Fernando Goncalves [Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (SIMDUT/DEM/ PUC-Rio), RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecancia. Nucleo de Simulacao Termo-Hidraulica de Dutos

2012-07-01

This paper intends to give a brief overview of some cost reduction alternatives in oil pipelines, to optimize the pipeline operation. Four different alternatives are presented, based on previous studies made on existing pipelines, to demonstrate the response obtained with these solutions. Pipeline operation, especially on mature ones, tends to have a high operational cost, be by tradition, the aging of the installation, change of operational characteristics - such as nominal flow, product, or even flow direction - for which the pipeline wasn't originally designed. The alternatives showed allow for an increase survival time of the pipeline, without resorting to major changes, such as replacement of pipes or adding pumping stations to the system. The alternative studied varies from no implementation cost to high installation cost or operational cost increase, depending on the system and the alternative chosen. From changing the pump arrays during operation or changing the products viscosity with different blends, that represent virtually no cost to the pipeline operation, to the use of VFDs, with a high installation cost or DRA, which increase the operational cost. (author)

Lemon peel oil – A novel renewable alternative energy source for diesel engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashok, B.; Thundil Karuppa Raj, R.; Nanthagopal, K.; Krishnan, Rahul; Subbarao, Rayapati

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Novel biofuel is extracted from lemon peels through steam distillation process. • Lemon peel oil is found to be a potential, renewable alternate eco-friendly fuel. • Significant vibration is observed with 100% lemon peel oil. • Reduction of CO, HC and smoke emission are observed with lemon peel oil blends. • Lemon peel oil blends are showed higher brake thermal efficiency than diesel fuel. - Abstract: The present research work has embarked on to exploit the novel renewable and biodegradable source of energy from lemon fruit rinds. A systematic approach has been made in this study to find the suitability of lemon peel oil for internal combustion engines and gensets applications. Extracted lemon peel oil is found to exhibit comparatively very low viscosity, flash point and boiling point than that of conventional diesel. Various blends of lemon peel oil have been prepared with conventional diesel with volumetric concentration of 20%, 40%, 50% and 100% and their physical and chemical properties are evaluated for its suitability in direct injection diesel engine. Lower cetane index of lemon peel oil significantly influences the ignition delay period and peak heat release rate that lead to the penalty in NOx emissions. Interestingly, the diesel engine performance characteristics have been improved to a remarkable level with higher proportions of lemon peel oil in the blends. In addition, the reduction of BSCO, BSHC and smoke emission is proportional to the lemon oil concentration in the blends. Overall diesel engine characteristics indicated that lemon peel oil can partially or completely replace the petroleum diesel usage to a great extent in developing countries like India.

Research of Brazilian crude in pilot plant for base oil production; Pesquisa em planta piloto visando valorizar o cru nacional na producao de oleos lubrificantes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fontes, Anita E.F.; Nogueira, Wlamir S.; Ximenes, Lelia M. de O. [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas (CENPES); Santos, Claudio A.P. dos [Fundacao Gorceix, Ouro Preto, MG (Brazil)

2004-07-01

One of the biggest challenges for PETROBRAS is to find alternative crude oils to produce base oil and wax in its refinery. Duque de Caxias refinery has been using imported crude oil for 31 years living with constants threats to continuity because of the Persian Gulf conflicts. If we analyze the profitability of this business, we can verify that the lubes complex had contributed for the profitability by about 41,9% in 2002, even using imported crude oil. So, if we can incorporate a national crude oil in the actual refinery scheme, we would produce besides strategic gains better profitability for the base oil and wax unit. This paper describes a series of tests performed in the pilot plant, in which we produced base oils and wax using a mixture of imported crude with Brazilian crude oil. The base oils produced were classified as Group I with lower aromatic, Sulphur and basic Nitrogen content. Another great advantage of this alternative is that the light fractions obtained from distillation step can be used as feed to make fuels of better quality, due to the lower sulphur content, thus also reducing the environmental impact. (author)

Alternative oil extraction methods from Echium plantagineum L. seeds using advanced techniques and green solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Castejón, Natalia; Luna, Pilar; Señoráns, Francisco J

2018-04-01

The edible oil processing industry involves large losses of organic solvent into the atmosphere and long extraction times. In this work, fast and environmentally friendly alternatives for the production of echium oil using green solvents are proposed. Advanced extraction techniques such as Pressurized Liquid Extraction (PLE), Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE) and Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) were evaluated to efficiently extract omega-3 rich oil from Echium plantagineum seeds. Extractions were performed with ethyl acetate, ethanol, water and ethanol:water to develop a hexane-free processing method. Optimal PLE conditions with ethanol at 150 °C during 10 min produced a very similar oil yield (31.2%) to Soxhlet using hexane for 8 h (31.3%). UAE optimized method with ethanol at mild conditions (55 °C) produced a high oil yield (29.1%). Consequently, advanced extraction techniques showed good lipid yields and furthermore, the produced echium oil had the same omega-3 fatty acid composition than traditionally extracted oil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greenhouse gas intensity of palm oil produced in Colombia addressing alternative land use change and fertilization scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castanheira, Érica Geraldes; Acevedo, Helmer; Freire, Fausto

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A comprehensive evaluation of alternative LUC and fertilization schemes. • The GHG intensity of palm oil greatly depends on the LUC scenario. • Colombian palm area expansion resulted in negative or low palm oil GHG intensity. • GHG emissions from plantation vary significantly with N 2 O emission parameters. - Abstract: The main goal of this article is to assess the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of palm oil produced in a specific plantation and mill in Colombia. A comprehensive evaluation of the implications of alternative land use change (LUC) scenarios (forest, shrubland, savanna and cropland conversion) and fertilization schemes (four synthetic and one organic nitrogen-fertilizer) was performed. A sensitivity analysis to field nitrous oxide emission calculation, biogas management options at mill, time horizon considered for global warming and multifunctionality approach were also performed. The results showed that the GHG intensity of palm oil greatly depends on the LUC scenario. Significant differences were observed between the LUC scenarios (−3.0 to 5.3 kg CO 2 eq kg −1 palm oil). The highest result is obtained if tropical rainforest is converted and the lowest if palm is planted on previous cropland, savanna and shrubland, in which almost all LUC from Colombian oil palm area expansion occurred between 1990 and 2009. Concerning plantation and oil extraction, it was shown that field nitrous oxide emissions and biogas management options have a high influence on GHG emissions

Green waste cooking oil-based rigid polyurethane foam

Science.gov (United States)

Enderus, N. F.; Tahir, S. M.

2017-11-01

Polyurethane is a versatile polymer traditionally prepared using petroleum-based raw material. Petroleum, however, is a non-renewable material and polyurethane produced was found to be non-biodegradable. In quest for a more environmentally friendly alternative, wastecooking oil, a highly abundant domestic waste with easily derivatized structure, is a viable candidate to replace petroleum. In this study,an investigation to determine physical and chemical properties of rigid polyurethane (PU) foam from waste cooking oil (WCO) was carried out. WCO was first adsorbed by using coconut husk activated carbon adsorbent prior to be used for polyol synthesis. The purified WCO was then used to synthesize polyol via transesterification reaction to yield alcohol groups in the WCO chains structure. Finally, the WCO-based polyol was used to prepare rigid PU foam. The optimum formulation for PU formation was found to be 90 polyol: 60 glycerol: 54 water: 40 diethanolamine: 23 diisocyanate. The rigid PU foam has density of 208.4 kg/m3 with maximum compressive strength and capability to receive load at 0.03 MPa and 0.09 kN, respectively. WCO-based PU can potentially be used to replace petroleum-based PU as house construction materials such as insulation panels.

Optical characterization of pure vegetable oils and their biodiesels using Raman spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Firdous, S.; Anwar, S.; Waheed, A.; Maraj, M.

2016-04-01

Great concern regarding energy resources and environmental polution has increased interest in the study of alternative sources of energy. Biodiesels as an alternative fuel provide a suitable diesel oil substitute for internal combustion engines. The Raman spectra of pure biodiesels of soybean oil, olive oil, coconut oil, animal fats, and petroleum diesel are optically characterized for quality and biofuel as an alternative fuel. The most significant spectral differences are observed in the frequency range around 1457 cm-1 for pure petroleum diesel, 1427 for fats biodiesel, 1670 cm-1 for pure soybean oil, 1461 cm-1 for soybean oil based biodiesel, 1670 cm-1 for pure olive oil, 1666 cm-1 for olive oil based biodiesel, 1461 cm-1 for pure coconut oil, and 1460 cm-1 for coconut oil based biodiesel, which is used for the analysis of the phase composition of oils. A diode pump solid-state laser with a 532 nm wavelength is used as an illuminating light. It is demonstrated that the peak positions and relative intensities of the vibrations of the oils can be used to identify the biodiesel quality for being used as biofuel.

Interpretation of Oil Seepage of Source Rock Based Magnetic Survey in Cipari Cilacap District

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukmaji Anom Raharjo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The magnetic survey had been conducted in Village of Cipari, District of Cipari, Region of  Cilacap to interpret to the location of the oil seepage source rock. Boundary of the research area is 108.75675°E – 108.77611°E and 7.42319°S – 7.43761°S. The observed total magnetic data is corrected and reducted to obtain the local magnetic anomaly data. The local magnetic anomaly data is applied to model the subsurface bodies anomalies based on the Mag2DC for Windows software. With be supported the geological information, the some bodies anomalies are interpreted as the basaltic igneous rock (c = 0.0051, the alternately of sandstone and claystone and insert of marl from Halang Formation (c = 0.0014, the breccia from Kumbang Formation (c = 0.0035, the alternately of sandstones and claystone with insert of marl and breccia from Halang Formation (c = 0.0036, the claystone from Tapak Formation (c = 0.0015, the alternately of sandstones and claystone with insert of marl and compacted breccia from Halang Formation (c = 0.0030, and the alternately of sandstone and claystone from   Halang Formation (c = 0.0020. The plantonic foraminifer fossils as resources of oil seepage are estimated in the sedimentaries rocks, where the oil flows from those rocks into the         reservoir (source rock. Based on the interpretation results, the source rock is above basaltic igneous rock with the approximate position is 108.76164°W and 7.43089°S; and the depth is 132.09 meters below the average topographic.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed oil as an alternative feedstock for the production of biodiesel in Greece

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schinas, P.; Karavalakis, G.; Davaris, C.; Anastopoulos, G.; Karonis, D.; Zannikos, F.; Stournas, S.; Lois, E. [Laboratory of Fuels and Lubricants Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens (Greece)

2009-01-15

In recent years, the acceptance of fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) as a substitute to petroleum diesel has rapidly grown in Greece. The raw materials for biodiesel production in this country mainly include traditional seed oils (cotton seed oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil and rapeseed oil) and used frying oils. In the search for new low-cost alternative feedstocks for biodiesel production, this study emphasizes the evaluation of pumpkin seed oil. The experimental results showed that the oil content of pumpkin seeds was remarkably high (45%). The fatty acid profile of the oil showed that is composed primarily of linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids. The oil was chemically converted via an alkaline transesterification reaction with methanol to methyl esters, with a yield nearly 97.5 wt%. All of the measured properties of the produced biodiesel met the current quality requirements according to EN 14214. Although this study showed that pumpkin oil could be a promising feedstock for biodiesel production within the EU, it is rather difficult for this production to be achieved on a large scale. (author)

Road construction replaceable materials. An alternative to oil-based materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deneuvillers, C.; Chappat, M.

2008-01-01

For some time the world has been subjected enormous upheavals with regard to energy resources: on one hand there is the steep rise in the price of oil and the other energy sources whose price depends on it; on the other hand, the prospects are that during the next 25 to 30 years oil resources will become increasingly scarce, which raises the problem of its replacement. This situation obviously raises the vital question of the present and future energy needs of each country, and, consequently, what type of energy. These are not only political issues but also issues for society. How could the roads sector help to find at least partial solutions? This paper will describe a policy adopted by a private sector construction company which is determined to apply the criteria of sustainable development and green chemistry in its products. Bitumen is a derivative of oil, can it be replaced? Most of the chemical products used in roads are petrochemical in nature, can they be replaced? Turning towards vegetable resources provides one way of reducing energy dependency. The paper demonstrates how this could be done, and at what price and with what precautions. This topic inevitably involves a discussion of the criteria of life-cycle analysis and an examination of how they can be applied in a clear manner. This response from industry has already provided some excellent results, which are described in this paper. It also attempts to show how vegetable resources may provide an opportunity for both developing and developed countries. The first could produce a new energy resource and increase their standard of living. The second could be a partial solution to their energy resources problems. Roads, which provide a universal link between different peoples, may still provide a future and hope. (authors)

Sensitivity of Candida albicans to essential oils: are they an alternative to antifungal agents?

Science.gov (United States)

Bona, E; Cantamessa, S; Pavan, M; Novello, G; Massa, N; Rocchetti, A; Berta, G; Gamalero, E

2016-12-01

Candida albicans is an important opportunistic pathogen, responsible for the majority of yeast infections in humans. Essential oils, extracted from aromatic plants, are well-known antimicrobial agents, characterized by a broad spectrum of activities, including antifungal properties. The aim of this work was to assess the sensitivity of 30 different vaginal isolated strains of C. albicans to 12 essential oils, compared to the three main used drugs (clotrimazole, fluconazole and itraconazole). Thirty strains of C. albicans were isolated from vaginal swab on CHROMagar ™ Candida. The agar disc diffusion method was employed to determine the sensitivity to the essential oils. The antifungal activity of the essential oils and antifungal drugs (clotrimazole, itraconazole and fluconazole) were investigated using a microdilution method. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed to get a deep inside on cellular damages. Mint, basil, lavender, tea tree oil, winter savory and oregano essential oils inhibited both the growth and the activity of C. albicans more efficiently than clotrimazole. Damages induced by essential oils at the cellular level were stronger than those caused by clotrimazole. Candida albicans is more sensitive to different essential oils compared to the main used drugs. Moreover, the essential oil affected mainly the cell wall and the membranes of the yeast. The results of this work support the research for new alternatives or complementary therapies against vaginal candidiasis. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

An Experimental Study of Surfactant Alternating CO2 Injection for Enhanced Oil Recovery of Carbonated Reservoir

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Asghar Gandomkar

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Core flooding experiments were conducted with the objective of evaluating near miscible surfactant alternating CO2 injection and the effect of surfactant concentrations on gas-oil and water displacements in porous media. The core samples were provided from a low permeability mixed wet oil reservoir at 156 °F and 1900 psia. In addition, very few studies of surfactant adsorption on carbonate minerals have been conducted. Hence, the surfactant adsorption on carbonate rock was determined by core flooding and crushed tests. It was found that for the crushed rock, the required equilibrium time is approximately five hours, while it is more than four days for the flow-through tests. Hysteresis effects demonstrated that the irreducible water saturations were 5 to 10% higher than the initial connate water saturation after drainage cycles during 5000 ppm surfactant solution. Furthermore, near-miscible surfactant alternating CO2 injection process led to a 4-17% increase in the recovery factor in comparison to water alternating gas process.

Interlaboratory Comparison Test as an Evaluation of Applicability of an Alternative Edible Oil Analysis by 1H NMR Spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zailer, Elina; Holzgrabe, Ulrike; Diehl, Bernd W K

2017-11-01

A proton (1H) NMR spectroscopic method was established for the quality assessment of vegetable oils. To date, several research studies have been published demonstrating the high potential of the NMR technique in lipid analysis. An interlaboratory comparison was organized with the following main objectives: (1) to evaluate an alternative analysis of edible oils by using 1H NMR spectroscopy; and (2) to determine the robustness and reproducibility of the method. Five different edible oil samples were analyzed by evaluating 15 signals (free fatty acids, peroxides, aldehydes, double bonds, and linoleic and linolenic acids) in each spectrum. A total of 21 NMR data sets were obtained from 17 international participant laboratories. The performance of each laboratory was assessed by their z-scores. The test was successfully passed by 90.5% of the participants. Results showed that NMR spectroscopy is a robust alternative method for edible oil analysis.

Large expansion of oil industry in the Ecuadorian Amazon: biodiversity vulnerability and conservation alternatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Lessmann, Janeth; Fajardo, Javier; Muñoz, Jesús; Bonaccorso, Elisa

2016-07-01

Ecuador will experience a significant expansion of the oil industry in its Amazonian region, one of the most biodiverse areas of the world. In view of the changes that are about to come, we explore the conflicts between oil extraction interests and biodiversity protection and apply systematic conservation planning to identify priority areas that should be protected in different oil exploitation scenarios. First, we quantified the current extent of oil blocks and protected zones and their overlap with two biodiversity indicators: 25 ecosystems and 745 species (whose distributions were estimated via species distribution models). With the new scheme of oil exploitation, oil blocks cover 68% (68,196 km(2)) of the Ecuadorian Amazon; half of it occupied by new blocks open for bids in the southern Amazon. This region is especially vulnerable to biodiversity losses, because peaks of species diversity, 19 ecosystems, and a third of its protected zones coincide spatially with oil blocks. Under these circumstances, we used Marxan software to identify priority areas for conservation outside oil blocks, but their coverage was insufficient to completely represent biodiversity. Instead, priority areas that include southern oil blocks provide a higher representation of biodiversity indicators. Therefore, preserving the southern Amazon becomes essential to improve the protection of Amazonian biodiversity in Ecuador, and avoiding oil exploitation in these areas (33% of the extent of southern oil blocks) should be considered a conservation alternative. Also, it is highly recommended to improve current oil exploitation technology to reduce environmental impacts in the region, especially within five oil blocks that we identified as most valuable for the conservation of biodiversity. The application of these and other recommendations depends heavily on the Ecuadorian government, which needs to find a better balance between the use of the Amazon resources and biodiversity conservation.

Essential Oils as an Alternative to Pyrethroids' Resistance against Anopheles Species Complex Giles (Diptera: Culicidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Gnankiné, Olivier; Bassolé, Imaël Henri Nestor

2017-09-22

Widespread resistance of Anopheles sp. populations to pyrethroid insecticides has led to the search for sustainable alternatives in the plant kingdom. Among many botanicals, there is great interest in essential oils and their constituents. Many researchers have explored essential oils (EOs) to determine their toxicity and identify repellent molecules that are effective against Anopheles populations. Essential oils are volatile and fragrant substances with an oily consistency typically produced by plants. They contain a variety of volatile molecules such as terpenes and terpenoids, phenol-derived aromatic components and aliphatic components at quite different concentrations with a significant insecticide potential, essentially as ovicidal, larvicidal, adulticidal, repellency, antifeedant, growth and reproduction inhibitors. The current review provides a summary of chemical composition of EOs, their toxicity at different developmental stages (eggs, larvae and adults), their repellent effects against Anopheles populations, for which there is little information available until now. An overview of antagonist and synergistic phenomena between secondary metabolites, the mode of action as well as microencapsulation technologies are also given in this review. Finally, the potential use of EOs as an alternative to current insecticides has been discussed.

Essential Oils for Alternative Teak Rust Control

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Pedro Raymundo Argüelles Osorio

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of lemon grass, citronella grass, Mexican-tea and noni essential oils on urediniospore germination of Olivea neotectonae , the agent responsible for rust in Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.; to evaluate the phytotoxic effect of these essential oils on teak seedlings; and to evaluate the use of essential oils to control rust in teak plants when preventively and curatively applied. We found that the noni and lemon grass essential oils inhibited 100% of urediniospore germination. On the other hand, the essential oils from noni and lemon grass caused phytotoxicity when applied to seedlings at concentrations of 2000 and 1500 μL L-1, respectively. The major constituents found in lemon grass essential oil were Geranial and Neral, while Octanoic Acid was found in noni oil. Lower values in the area below the rust progress curve were observed with the preventive application of lemon grass and noni essential oils.

[COCONUT OIL: NON-ALTERNATIVE DRUG TREATMENT AGAINST ALZHEIMER´S DISEASE].

Science.gov (United States)

Hu Yang, Iván; De la Rubia Ortí, Jose Enrique; Selvi Sabater, Pablo; Sancho Castillo, Sandra; Rochina, Mariano Julián; Manresa Ramón, Noemí; Montoya-Castilla, Inmaculada

2015-12-01

Alzheimer's dementia is the most prevalent nowadays. As for treatment, there is no definitive cure drug, thus new therapies are needed. In this regard the medium chain triglycerides are a direct source of cellular energy and can be a nonpharmacological alternative to the neuronal death for lack of it, that occurs in Alzheimer patients. to evaluate the impact of coconut oil in the development of Alzheimer's dementia, in any degree of dementia. Also determine whether this improvement influences within variables such as sex and suffering or not Type II Diabetes Mellitus. a prospective study was conducted in patients with Alzheimer's dementia, with a control and an intervention group which was administered 40 ml/day of extra virgin coconut oil. The parameters evaluated were the mini test scores Lobo cognitive test, pre and post intervention in both groups. it was observed in subjects taking the product, a statistically significant increase in test score MECWOLF and therefore an improvement in cognitive status, improving especially women's, those without diabetes mellitus type II, and severe patients. this study, although preliminary, demonstrated the positive influence of coconut oil at the cognitive level of patients with Alzheimer's, this improvement being dependent on sex, presence or absence of diabetes and degree of dementia. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Optical characterization of pure vegetable oils and their biodiesels using Raman spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firdous, S; Anwar, S; Waheed, A; Maraj, M

2016-01-01

Great concern regarding energy resources and environmental polution has increased interest in the study of alternative sources of energy. Biodiesels as an alternative fuel provide a suitable diesel oil substitute for internal combustion engines. The Raman spectra of pure biodiesels of soybean oil, olive oil, coconut oil, animal fats, and petroleum diesel are optically characterized for quality and biofuel as an alternative fuel. The most significant spectral differences are observed in the frequency range around 1457 cm −1 for pure petroleum diesel, 1427 for fats biodiesel, 1670 cm −1 for pure soybean oil, 1461 cm −1 for soybean oil based biodiesel, 1670 cm −1 for pure olive oil, 1666 cm −1 for olive oil based biodiesel, 1461 cm −1 for pure coconut oil, and 1460 cm −1 for coconut oil based biodiesel, which is used for the analysis of the phase composition of oils. A diode pump solid-state laser with a 532 nm wavelength is used as an illuminating light. It is demonstrated that the peak positions and relative intensities of the vibrations of the oils can be used to identify the biodiesel quality for being used as biofuel. (paper)

Rheology of oleo gels based on sorbitan and glyceryl mono stearates and vegetable oils for lubricating applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez, R.; Franco, J. M.; Delgado, M. A.; Valencia, C.; Gallegos, C.

2011-07-01

Oleo gels based on sorbitan and glyceryl mono stearates and different types of vegetable oils, potentially applicable as biodegradable alternatives to traditional lubricating greases, have been studied. In particular, the rheological behavior, by means of small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) measurements, and some lubrication performance-related properties (mechanical stability and tribological response) have been evaluated in this work. SAOS response and mechanical stability of these oleo gels are significantly influenced by the type and concentration of the organogelator and the vegetable oil used in the formulations. Glyceryl monostearate (GMS) generally produces stronger gels than sorbitan monostearate (SMS). The use of low-viscosity oils, such as rapeseed and soybean oils, yields gels with significantly higher values of the linear viscoelastic functions than oleo gels prepared with high-viscosity oils, i.e. castor oil. The rheological behavior of SMS-based oleo gels also depends on the cooling rate applied during the gelification process. On the other hand, the oleo gels studied present low values of the friction coefficient obtained in a tribological contact, although only some GMS/castor oil-based oleo gels exhibit a suitable mechanical stability. (Author) 28 refs.

Study of fuel properties of rubber seed oil based biodiesel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, Junaid; Yusup, Suzana; Bokhari, Awais; Kamil, Ruzaimah Nik Mohammad

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • This article presents the comparative studies of the fuel properties of rubber seed oil based biodiesel. • The design expert has been adopted for the optimization of the process variables. • The FTIR, cold flow properties and oxidation stability are the findings of present study. • All the fuel properties met the standards such as ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. • Present study reveals that rubber seed oil as a non-edible source potentially contributes for esters production. - Abstract: The scarcity of the fossil fuel, environmental pollution and food crisis are the world’s major issues in current era. Biodiesel is an alternative to diesel fuel, environment friendly and biodegradable and is produced from either edible or non-edible oils. In this study, a non-edible rubber seed oil (RSO) with high free fatty acid (FFA) content of 45% were used for the production of biodiesel. The process comprises of two steps. The first step is the acid esterification to reduce the FFA value and the second step is the base transesterification. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used for parametric optimization of the two stage processes i.e. acid esterification and base transesterification. The yield of biodiesel was analyzed using gas chromatography. The FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red) spectrum was also determined to confirm the conversion of fatty acid to methyl esters. The fuel properties were analyzed according to the ASTM D6751 and EN14214 and were compared with the previous finding of researchers. All analyzed properties fulfilled the biodiesel standard criteria

Biodiesel from Mandarin Seed Oil: A Surprising Source of Alternative Fuel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. K. Azad

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Mandarin (Citrus reticulata is one of the most popular fruits in tropical and sub-tropical countries around the world. It contains about 22–34 seeds per fruit. This study investigated the potential of non-edible mandarin seed oil as an alternative fuel in Australia. The seeds were prepared after drying in the oven for 20 h to attain an optimum moisture content of around 13.22%. The crude oil was extracted from the crushed seed using 98% n-hexane solution. The biodiesel conversion reaction (transesterification was designed according to the acid value (mg KOH/g of the crude oil. The study also critically examined the effect of various reaction parameters (such as effect of methanol: oil molar ratio, % of catalyst concentration, etc. on the biodiesel conversion yield. After successful conversion of the bio-oil into biodiesel, the physio-chemical fuel properties of the virgin biodiesel were measured according to relevant ASTM standards and compared with ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD and standard biodiesel ASTM D6751. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs were analysed by gas chromatography (GC using the EN 14103 standard. The behaviour of the biodiesel (variation of density and kinematic viscosity at various temperatures (10–40 °C was obtained and compared with that of diesel fuel. Finally, mass and energy balances were conducted for both the oil extraction and biodiesel conversion processes to analyse the total process losses of the system. The study found 49.23 wt % oil yield from mandarin seed and 96.82% conversion efficiency for converting oil to biodiesel using the designated transesterification reaction. The GC test identified eleven FAMEs. The biodiesel mainly contains palmitic acid (C16:0 26.80 vol %, stearic acid (C18:0 4.93 vol %, oleic acid (C18:1 21.43 vol % (including cis. and trans., linoleic acid (C18:2 4.07 vol %, and less than one percent each of other fatty acids. It is an important source of energy because it has a higher

Bio-oil based biorefinery strategy for the production of succinic acid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Caixia; Thygesen, Anders; Liu, Yilan

2013-01-01

Background: Succinic acid is one of the key platform chemicals which can be produced via biotechnology process instead of petrochemical process. Biomass derived bio-oil have been investigated intensively as an alternative of diesel and gasoline fuels. Bio-oil could be fractionized into organic...

Site Selection and Resource Allocation of Oil Spill Emergency Base for Offshore Oil Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yunbin; Liu, Jingxian; Wei, Lei; Wu, Weihuang

2018-02-01

Based on the analysis of the historical data about oil spill accidents in the Bohai Sea, this paper discretizes oil spilled source into a limited number of spill points. According to the probability of oil spill risk, the demand for salvage forces at each oil spill point is evaluated. Aiming at the specific location of the rescue base around the Bohai Sea, a cost-benefit analysis is conducted to determine the total cost of disasters for each rescue base. Based on the relationship between the oil spill point and the rescue site, a multi-objective optimization location model for the oil spill rescue base in the Bohai Sea region is established. And the genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem, and determine the emergency rescue base optimization program and emergency resources allocation ratio.

Bio-Based Polyols from Seed Oils for Water-Blown Rigid Polyurethane Foam Preparation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweena Ekkaphan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The preparation of water-blown rigid polyurethane (RPUR foams using bio-based polyols from sesame seed oil and pumpkin seed oil has been reported. Polyols synthesis involved two steps, namely, hydroxylation and alcoholysis reaction. FTIR, NMR, and ESI-MS were used to monitor the process of the synthesized polyols and their physicochemical properties were determined. The resulting polyols have OH number in the range of 340–351 mg KOH/g. RPUR foams blown with water were produced from the reaction of biopolyols with commercial polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI. The proper PUR formulations can be manipulated to produce the desired material applications. These seed oil-based RPUR foams exhibited relatively high compressive strength (237.7–240.2 kPa with the density in the range of 40–45 kg/m3. Additionally, the cell foam morphology investigated by scanning electron microscope indicated that their cellular structure presented mostly polygonal closed cells. The experimental results demonstrate that these bio-based polyols can be used as an alternative starting material for RPUR production.

Application of flexible slurries: an alternative for oil wells subject to cyclic steam injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suzart, J. Walter P.; Paiva, Maria D.M.; Cunha, Marcelo C.S. [Halliburton Energy Services (HES), Duncan, OK (United States); Farias, Antonio Carlos [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

Oil wells that receive cyclic steam injection are subject to high temperature variations during their life cycle. This causes volumetric expansion of the metallic casing which leads to cracks and channels in the formation of the cement. Studies show that volumetric expansion caused by temperature variation may cause wells to rise up to 20-in. at the surface. This paper presents alternative materials that improve the elastic properties of set cement slurries, focusing on maintaining sufficient resilience to maximize the life of the cement. We compare a set of fourteen formulations, some currently in use, selecting those with high flexibility. Analysis was based on the mechanical properties of the set slurries as well as tests according to standards from ABNT and from API Spec 10B. This work contributes new formulations for wells that under-go cyclic steam injection. These new formulations are presented as alternatives to current flexible slurry technology. We can obtain high-quality, more resilient slurries using materials that are more economical, have better cost-benefit, and are easily available in the market. (author)

Energy conservation: an alternative for investment in the oil sector for OPEC member countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zamani, M.

2005-01-01

Investment in the oil sector is the main policy of expanding net crude oil export capacity in OPEC Member Countries. The other alternative should be improving energy conservation policies. Since these countries benefit from cheap energy sources, it is reasonable to expect inefficient use of energy in their economies, resulting in relatively high energy intensity. This paper deals with the causality relationship between energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP). First, stationary tests are run. Second, if there is a cointegrating relationship, an error correction model is applied; otherwise a standard Granger causality test is conducted. It was discovered that for all OPEC Member Countries we cannot statistically accept causality running from energy to GDP. Therefore, not only are proper conservation policies not a threat to economic growth, they also lead to an expansion of oil export capacity. (author)

Grinding temperature and energy ratio coefficient in MQL grinding of high-temperature nickel-base alloy by using different vegetable oils as base oil

OpenAIRE

Li Benkai; Li Changhe; Zhang Yanbin; Wang Yaogang; Jia Dongzhou; Yang Min

2016-01-01

Vegetable oil can be used as a base oil in minimal quantity of lubrication (MQL). This study compared the performances of MQL grinding by using castor oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and palm oil as base oils. A K-P36 numerical-control precision surface grinder was used to perform plain grinding on a workpiece material with a high-temperature nickel base alloy. A YDM–III 99 three-dimensional dynamometer was used to measure grinding force, and a clip-type t...

Palm oil based polyols for acrylated polyurethane production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rida Tajau; Mohd Hilmi Mahmood; Mek Zah Salleh; Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan; Rosley Che Ismail

2006-01-01

Palm oil becomes important renewable resources for the production of polyols for the polyurethane manufacturing industry. The main raw materials used for the production of acrylated polyurethane are polyols, isocyanates and hydroxyl terminated acrylate compounds. In these studies, polyurethane based natural polymer (palm oil), i.e., POBUA (Palm Oil Based Urethane Acrylate) were prepared from three different types of palm oil based polyols i.e., epoxidised palm oil (EPOP), palm oil oleic acid and refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein based polyols. The performances of these three acrylated polyurethanes when used for coatings and adhesives were determined and compared with each other. (Author)

Microalgae based biorefinery: evaluation of oil extraction methods in terms of efficiency, costs, toxicity and energy in lab-scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ángel Darío González-Delgado

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Several alternatives of microalgal metabolites extraction and transformation are being studied for achieving the total utilization of this energy crop of great interest worldwide. Microalgae oil extraction is a key stage in microalgal biodiesel production chains and their efficiency affects significantly the global process efficiency. In this study, a comparison of five oil extraction methods in lab-scale was made taking as additional parameters, besides extraction efficiency, the costs of method performing, energy requirements, and toxicity of solvents used, in order to elucidate the convenience of their incorporation to a microalgae-based topology of biorefinery. Methods analyzed were Solvent extraction assisted with high speed homogenization (SHE, Continuous reflux solvent extraction (CSE, Hexane based extraction (HBE, Cyclohexane based extraction (CBE and Ethanol-hexane extraction (EHE, for this evaluation were used the microalgae strains Nannochloropsis sp., Guinardia sp., Closterium sp., Amphiprora sp. and Navicula sp., obtained from a Colombian microalgae bioprospecting. In addition, morphological response of strains to oil extraction methods was also evaluated by optic microscopy. Results shows that although there is not a unique oil extraction method which excels in all parameters evaluated, CSE, SHE and HBE appears as promising alternatives, while HBE method is shown as the more convenient for using in lab-scale and potentially scalable for implementation in a microalgae based biorefinery

Grinding temperature and energy ratio coefficient in MQL grinding of high-temperature nickel-base alloy by using different vegetable oils as base oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Benkai

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Vegetable oil can be used as a base oil in minimal quantity of lubrication (MQL. This study compared the performances of MQL grinding by using castor oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and palm oil as base oils. A K-P36 numerical-control precision surface grinder was used to perform plain grinding on a workpiece material with a high-temperature nickel base alloy. A YDM–III 99 three-dimensional dynamometer was used to measure grinding force, and a clip-type thermocouple was used to determine grinding temperature. The grinding force, grinding temperature, and energy ratio coefficient of MQL grinding were compared among the seven vegetable oil types. Results revealed that (1 castor oil-based MQL grinding yields the lowest grinding force but exhibits the highest grinding temperature and energy ratio coefficient; (2 palm oil-based MQL grinding generates the second lowest grinding force but shows the lowest grinding temperature and energy ratio coefficient; (3 MQL grinding based on the five other vegetable oils produces similar grinding forces, grinding temperatures, and energy ratio coefficients, with values ranging between those of castor oil and palm oil; (4 viscosity significantly influences grinding force and grinding temperature to a greater extent than fatty acid varieties and contents in vegetable oils; (5 although more viscous vegetable oil exhibits greater lubrication and significantly lower grinding force than less viscous vegetable oil, high viscosity reduces the heat exchange capability of vegetable oil and thus yields a high grinding temperature; (6 saturated fatty acid is a more efficient lubricant than unsaturated fatty acid; and (7 a short carbon chain transfers heat more effectively than a long carbon chain. Palm oil is the optimum base oil of MQL grinding, and this base oil yields 26.98 N tangential grinding force, 87.10 N normal grinding force, 119.6 °C grinding temperature, and 42.7% energy

Brazilian sugarcane ethanol as an expandable green alternative to crude oil use

Science.gov (United States)

Jaiswal, Deepak; de Souza, Amanda P.; Larsen, Søren; Lebauer, David S.; Miguez, Fernando E.; Sparovek, Gerd; Bollero, Germán; Buckeridge, Marcos S.; Long, Stephen P.

2017-11-01

Reduction of CO2 emissions will require a transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources. Expansion of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol provides one near-term scalable solution to reduce CO2 emissions from the global transport sector. In contrast to corn ethanol, the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol system may offset 86% of CO2 emissions compared to oil use, and emissions resulting from land-use change to sugarcane are paid back in just 2-8 years. But, it has been uncertain how much further expansion is possible given increasing demand for food and animal feed, climate change impacts and protection of natural ecosystems. We show that Brazilian sugarcane ethanol can provide the equivalent of 3.63-12.77 Mb d-1 of crude oil by 2045 under projected climate change while protecting forests under conservation and accounting for future land demand for food and animal feed production. The corresponding range of CO2 offsets is 0.55-2.0 Gigatons yr-1. This would displace 3.8-13.7% of crude oil consumption and 1.5-5.6% of net CO2 emission globally relative to data for 2014.

Studied on Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) and Olive Oil (OO) as an Alternative for Stabilizer of Radiation Vulcanized Natural Rubber Latex (RVNRL) Preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syuhada Ramli; Sofian Ibrahim; Mohd Noorwadi Mat Lazim

2016-01-01

This paper presents the effects of virgin coconut oil (VCO) and olive oil (OO) as an alternative stabilizer in the radiation vulcanized natural rubber latex (RVNRL). Potassium laurite (KL) as a stabilizer considered as a control of RVNRL sample were compared to mixed ratio 1:1 KL: VCO and 1:1 KL: OO stabilizer formulation. Total solid content (TSC) and tensile strength (TS) results showed no significant different between the formulations. Mechanical stability time (MST) indicates higher stability of RVNRL with addition of VCO. The fatty acid composition in VCO indicate VCO was acting well as stabilizer for latex stabilizer formulation. (author)

Distillate Fuel Trends: International Supply Variations and Alternate Fuel Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-31

fuel in NATO countries will have some amount of FAME present. There is some work being done on hydrocarbon alternatives but the regulatory structure ... synthesis or hydrotreatment – Requirements and test methods.” According to the specification, paraffinic diesel fuel does not meet the current requirements...or international specification for triglyceride based fuel oils (straight vegetable oil / raw vegetable oil). The same holds true for alcohol-based

Production and characterization of MDF using eucalyptus fibers and castor oil-based polyurethane resin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Campos Cristiane Inácio de

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The growing popularity of wooden panels renders this market segment increasingly competitive. MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard, in particular, is widely employed for a variety of applications, including civil construction, furniture, and packaging. This paper discusses a study of MDF produced from alternative raw materials, i.e., Eucalyptus fibers and castor-oil-based polyurethane resin. Physical and mechanical tests were performed to determine the MDF's modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture in static bending tests, its swelling, water absorption, moisture and density. The results of the physical and mechanical characterization of this laboratory-produced MDF are discussed and compared with the Euro MDF Board standard. MDF produced with eucalyptus fiber and castor-oil-based polyurethane resin presents results very satisfactory.

Analysis of nitrogen injection as alternative fluid to steam in heavy oil reservoir; Analise da injecao de nitrogenio como fluido alternativo ao vapor em reservatorio de oleo pesado

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodrigues, Marcos Allyson Felipe; Galvao, Edney Rafael Viana Pinheiro; Barillas, Jennys Lourdes; Mata, Wilson da; Dutra Junior, Tarcilio Viana [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), RN (Brazil)

2012-07-01

Many of hydrocarbon reserves existing in the world are formed by heavy oils (deg API between 10 and 20). Moreover, several heavy oil fields are mature and, thus, offer great challenges for oil industry. Among the thermal methods used to recover these resources, steam flooding has been the main economically viable alternative. Latent heat carried by steam heats the reservoir, reducing oil viscosity and facilitating the production. This method has many variations and has been studied both theoretically and experimentally (in pilot projects and in full field applications). In order to increase oil recovery and reduce steam injection costs, the injection of alternative fluid has been used on three main ways: alternately, co-injected with steam and after steam injection interruption. The main objective of these injection systems is to reduce the amount of heat supplied to the reservoir, using cheaper fluids and maintaining the same oil production levels. In this paper, the use of N{sub 2} as an alternative fluid to the steam was investigated. The analyzed parameters were oil recoveries and net cumulative oil productions. The reservoir simulation model corresponds to an oil reservoir of 100 m x 100 m x 28 m size, on a Cartesian coordinates system (x, y and z directions). It is a semi synthetic model with some reservoir data similar to those found in Potiguar Basin, Brazil. All studied cases were done using the simulator STARS from CMG (Computer Modelling Group, version 2009.10). It was found that N{sub 2} injection after steam injection interruption achieved the highest net cumulative oil compared to others injection system. Moreover, it was observed that N2 as alternative fluid to steam did not present increase on oil recovery. (author)

Castor oil biodiesel and its blends as alternative fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman, Paula; Nizri, Shahar; Wiesman, Zeev

2011-01-01

Intensive production and commercialization of biodiesel from edible-grade sources have raised some critical environmental concerns. In order to mitigate these environmental consequences, alternative oilseeds are being investigated as biodiesel feedstocks. Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is one of the most promising non-edible oil crops, due to its high annual seed production and yield, and since it can be grown on marginal land and in semi-arid climate. Still, few studies are available regarding its fuel-related properties in its pure form or as a blend with petrodiesel, many of which are due to its extremely high content of ricinoleic acid. In this study, the specifications in ASTM D6751 and D7467 which are related to the fatty acid composition of pure castor methyl esters (B100) and its blend with petrodiesel in a 10% vol ratio (B10) were investigated. Kinematic viscosity and distillation temperature of B100 (15.17 mm 2 s -1 and 398.7 o C respectively) were the only two properties which did not meet the appropriate standard limits. In contrast, B10 met all the specifications. Still, ASTM D7467 requires that the pure biodiesel meets the requirements of ASTM D6751. This can limit the use of a wide range of feedstocks, including castor, as alternative fuel, especially due to the fact that in practice vehicles normally use low level blends of biodiesel and petrodiesel. These issues are discussed in depth in the present study. -- Highlights: → CaME can be used as a biodiesel alternative feedstock when blended in petrodiesel. → Due to the high levels of ricinoleic acid maximum blending level is limited to 10%. → Today, CaME blends are not a viable alternative feedstock. → ASTM D7467 requires that pure biodiesel must meet all the appropriate limits.

Characterization of Novel Castor Oil-Based Polyurethane Polymer Electrolytes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salmiah Ibrahim

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Castor oil-based polyurethane as a renewable resource polymer has been synthesized for application as a host in polymer electrolyte for electrochemical devices. The polyurethane was added with LiI and NaI in different wt% to form a film of polymer electrolytes. The films were characterized by using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear sweep voltammetry and transference number measurement. The highest conductivity of 1.42 × 10−6 S cm−1 was achieved with the addition of 30 wt% LiI and 4.28 × 10−7 S·cm−1 upon addition of 30 wt% NaI at room temperature. The temperature dependence conductivity plot indicated that both systems obeyed Arrhenius law. The activation energy for the PU-LiI and PU-NaI systems were 0.13 and 0.22 eV. Glass transition temperature of the synthesized polyurethane decreased from −15.8 °C to ~ −26 to −28 °C upon salts addition. These characterizations exhibited the castor oil-based polyurethane polymer electrolytes have potential to be used as alternative membrane for electrochemical devices.

Castor Oil-Based Biodegradable Polyesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunduru, Konda Reddy; Basu, Arijit; Haim Zada, Moran; Domb, Abraham J

2015-09-14

This Review compiles the synthesis, physical properties, and biomedical applications for the polyesters based on castor oil and ricinoleic acid. Castor oil has been known for its medicinal value since ancient times. It contains ∼90% ricinoleic acid, which enables direct chemical transformation into polyesters without interference of other fatty acids. The presence of ricinoleic acid (hydroxyl containing fatty acid) enables synthesis of various polyester/anhydrides. In addition, castor oil contains a cis-double bond that can be hydrogenated, oxidized, halogenated, and polymerized. Castor oil is obtained pure in large quantities from natural sources; it is safe and biocompatible.

Quality assessment of biodiesels obtained from pure cooking oils of some feedstocks and their waste oils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, I.; Ansari, T.M.; Manzoor, S.

2017-01-01

Biodiesel being a renewable energy resource possesses compositional variability based on the type of feedstock. Biodiesel is considered a cleaner burning fuel and can be used as pure B100 or blended with petro-diesel. In this study, biodiesel was prepared from pure cooking oils (soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil) and their waste frying oils by base-catalyzed transesterification with methanol in presence of sodium hydroxide. The optimized experimental parameters were applied to achieve the maximum yield of biodiesel. Various fuel properties like kinematic viscosity, flash point, pour point, cloud point, total acid number, specific gravity, water and sediments, conradson carbon residue, sulfur contents, phosphorous contents, sulphated ash, cetane and copper corrosion were determined and found comparable to ASTM standards. Pure cooking oils, their waste frying oils and prepared biodiesels were characterized by FT-IR. The study showed that the biodiesel derived from waste frying oils can be a promising alternative of the biodiesel from pure cooking oils. (author)

Production of an alternative fuel by the co-pyrolysis of landfill recovered plastic wastes and used lubrication oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Breyer, Sacha; Mekhitarian, Loucine; Rimez, Bart; Haut, B

2017-02-01

This work is a preliminary study for the development of a co-pyrolysis process of plastic wastes excavated from a landfill and used lubrication oils, with the aim to produce an alternative liquid fuel for industrial use. First, thermogravimetric experiments were carried out with pure plastics (HDPE, LDPE, PP and PS) and oils (a motor oil and a mixture of used lubrication oils) in order to highlight the interactions occurring between a plastic and an oil during their co-pyrolysis. It appears that the main decomposition event of each component takes place at higher temperatures when the components are mixed than when they are alone, possibly because the two components stabilize each other during their co-pyrolysis. These interactions depend on the nature of the plastic and the oil. In addition, co-pyrolysis experiments were led in a lab-scale reactor using a mixture of excavated plastic wastes and used lubrication oils. On the one hand, the influence of some key operating parameters on the outcome of the process was analyzed. It was possible to produce an alternative fuel for industrial use whose viscosity is lower than 1Pas at 90°C, from a plastic/oil mixture with an initial plastic mass fraction between 40% and 60%, by proceeding at a maximum temperature included in the range 350-400°C. On the other hand, the amount of energy required to successfully co-pyrolyze, in lab conditions, 1kg of plastic/oil mixture with an initial plastic mass fraction of 60% was estimated at about 8MJ. That amount of energy is largely used for the thermal cracking of the molecules. It is also shown that, per kg of mixture introduced in the lab reactor, 29MJ can be recovered from the combustion of the liquid resulting from the co-pyrolysis. Hence, this co-pyrolysis process could be economically viable, provided heat losses are addressed carefully when designing an industrial reactor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reinforced cassava starch based edible film incorporated with essential oil and sodium bentonite nanoclay as food packaging material.

Science.gov (United States)

Iamareerat, Butsadee; Singh, Manisha; Sadiq, Muhammad Bilal; Anal, Anil Kumar

2018-05-01

Biodegradable packaging in food materials is a green technology based novel approach to replace the synthetic and conventional packaging systems. This study is aimed to formulate the biodegradable cassava starch based films incorporated with cinnamon essential oil and sodium bentonite clay nanoparticles. The films were characterized for their application as a packaging material for meatballs. The cassava starch films incorporated with sodium bentonite and cinnamon oil showed significant antibacterial potential against all test bacteria; Escherichia coli , Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus. Antibacterial effect of films increased significantly when the concentration of cinnamon oil was increased. The cassava starch film incorporated with 0.75% (w/w) sodium bentonite, 2% (w/w) glycerol and 2.5% (w/w) cinnamon oil was selected based on physical, mechanical and antibacterial potential to evaluate shelf life of meatballs. The meatballs stored at ambient temperature in cassava starch film incorporated with cinnamon oil and nanoclay, significantly inhibited the microbial growth till 96 h below the FDA limits (10 6  CFU/g) in foods compared to control films that exceeded above the limit within 48 h. Hence cassava starch based film incorporated with essential oils and clay nanoparticles can be an alternate approach as a packaging material for food industries to prolong the shelf life of products.

Evaluation of alternative Plutella xylostella control by two Isaria fumosorosea conidial formulations - oil-based formulation and wettable powder - combined with Bacillus thuringiensis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nian, Xiao-Ge; He, Yu-Rong; Lu, Li-Hua; Zhao, Rui

2015-12-01

Entomopathogenic fungi are potential candidates for controlling the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). The control efficacy of two Isaria fumosorosea conidial formulations - wettable powder and oil-based formulation - combined with Bacillus thuringiensis against P. xylostella was tested. In the laboratory, the combined application of two pathogens increased larval mortality either in an additive or a synergistic way. P. xylostella larvae treated with oil-based formulation died sooner than larvae infected with wettable powder. For pot and field experiments, each formulation was applied alone or combined with B. thuringiensis 668 µg mL(-1) , and then larval mortality, pupation rate, adult emergence rate, female longevity and fecundity were recorded. In pot experiments there was no evidence of any antagonistic effects between the two pathogens. Combined application of B. thuringiensis and a high concentration of the two I. fumosorosea formulations resulted in higher mortality (84.4 and 86.2%) with minimum pupation (15.6 and 11.9%) and adult emergence rates (8.7 and 7.0%). Female longevity and fecundity were significantly reduced by the two formulations at high concentration compared with the control. Similar results were also observed in field experiments. The combined application of I. fumosorosea and B. thuringiensis is a promising alternative strategy for P. xylostella control. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Esters of ricebran oil with short chain alcohols as alternative fuel for diesel engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F.A. Zaher

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The potential of ricebran oil as a feedstock for the production of a fuel for diesel engines alternative to regular diesel fuel has been assessed. Esterification rate of crude ricebran oil with methyl alcohol was studied using different volumetric ratios of alcohol to oil, different catalyst loads and catalyst types. Catalysts used were sulfuric acid at a concentration of 2% of the oil/alcohol mixture in addition to hydrochloric acid and Amberlite IR-120 cation exchange resin at the same molar concentration of H+ as in case of sulfuric acid. The reaction was fastest using sulfuric acid which has been then used to prepare esters of ricebran oil with methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl alcohols. The four products have been evaluated as a fuel for diesel engines according to their fuel properties compared to regular diesel fuel. These properties include the calorific value, flash point, viscosity, pour point, cetane number, sulfur content and ASTM distillation characteristics. The results have shown that the methyl as well as the ethyl esters have the closest properties to those of regular diesel fuel. Diesel engine performance using blends of regular diesel fuel with methyl and ethyl esters of ricebran oil have been tested and compared to that using regular diesel fuel. The results have shown that the engine performance using a blend of 50% regular diesel fuel and 50% methyl esters of ricebran oil is better than that using regular diesel fuel. The brake thermal efficiency at full load was 30.2% using the fuel blend compared to 27.5% in case of regular fuel.

Oil scarcity, oil crises, and alternative energies - don't be fooled again

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynch, Michael C.

1999-01-01

The author warns against basing investment on new energy forms on crisis forecasts about the future price of oil, cut-backs in production, and security of access. He argues that the main concerns are a supply disruption, the creation of a crisis due to the disruption, and the price increase that would follow and its economic consequences. He then examines briefly whether renewables can contribute to help manage such a situation. (UK)

Alternative to conventional extraction of vetiver oil: Microwave hydrodistillation of essential oil from vetiver roots (Vetiveria zizanioides)

Science.gov (United States)

Kusuma, H. S.; Altway, A.; Mahfud, M.

2017-12-01

In this study the extraction of essential oil from vetiver roots (Vetiveria zizanioides) has been carried out by using microwave hydrodistillation. In the extraction of vetiver oil using microwave hydrodistillation method is studied the effect of microwave power, feed to solvent (F/S) ratio and extraction time on the yield of vetiver oil. Besides, in this study can be seen that microwave hydrodistillation method offers important advantages over hydrodistillation, such as shorter extraction time (3 h vs. 24 h for hydrodistillation); better yields (0.49% vs. 0.46% for hydrodistillation); and environmental impact (energy cost is appreciably higher for performing hydrodistillation than that required for extraction using microwave hydrodistillation). Based on the analysis using GC-MS can be seen 19 components on vetiver oil that has been extracted using microwave hydrodistillation. In addition, GC-MS analysis showed that the main components of vetiver oil that has been extracted using microwave hydrodistillation method were β-Gurjunene (30.12%), α-Vetivone (20.12%), 4-(1-cyclohexenyl)-2-trimethylsilymethyl-1-buten-3-yne (13.52%) and δ-Selinene (7.27%).

Wavelet-based prediction of oil prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yousefi, Shahriar; Weinreich, Ilona; Reinarz, Dominik

2005-01-01

This paper illustrates an application of wavelets as a possible vehicle for investigating the issue of market efficiency in futures markets for oil. The paper provides a short introduction to the wavelets and a few interesting wavelet-based contributions in economics and finance are briefly reviewed. A wavelet-based prediction procedure is introduced and market data on crude oil is used to provide forecasts over different forecasting horizons. The results are compared with data from futures markets for oil and the relative performance of this procedure is used to investigate whether futures markets are efficiently priced

Effect of the use of waste vegetable oil based biodiesel on the landscape in diesel engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bereczky Akos

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Petroleum-based fuels are now widely known as environmentally unfriendly because of non-renewable supplies and its contribution to environmental pollution. The challenge, therefore is to ensure appropriate energy supplies at minimum cost. There is an increasing energy demand in the world and nowadays it can be fulfilled only on the basis of fossil fuels. Therefore, it is necessary to evolve a renewable energy source with lower environmental impact. One alternative solution can be oils of plant origin, like vegetable oils and non-edible oils. With waste vegetable oil methyl ester, biofuel dependency can be decreased. Therefore, the aim of this research paper is to analyze the economic and environmental effect of waste vegetable oil methyl ester compared to fossil fuels. In some cases only the age of vehicles could raise burdens to biofuel utilization in road vehicles. Transport and energy policy – on a large scale – can play an important role in fuel consumption. Author is aware that waste vegetable oil methyl ester can play only a limited role in biofuel substitution.

Evaluation of hazelnut kernel oil of Turkish origin as alternative fuel in diesel engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gumus, M.

2008-01-01

In the present study, hazelnut kernel oil of Turkish origin was evaluated as alternative fuel in a diesel engine. Potential hazelnut production throughout the world and the status of Turkey were examined. Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) kernel oil was transesterified with methanol using potassium hydroxide as catalyst to obtain hazelnut kernel oil methyl ester (HOME) and a comprehensive experimental investigation was carried out to examine performance and emissions of a direct injection diesel engine running with HOME and its blends with diesel fuel. Experimental parameters included the percentage of HOME in the blend, engine load, injection timing, compression ratio, and injector. The cost analysis of HOME production comparing to the price of conventional diesel fuel was performed for last decade was performed. Results showed that HOME and its blends with diesel fuel are generally comparable to diesel fuel and small modifications such as increasing injection timing, compression ratio and injector opening pressure provide significant improvement in performance and emissions. It is also expected that the price of HOME will be lower than the price of conventional diesel fuel in the near future. (author)

Alternative Fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Alternative fuels include gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, natural gas, and propane; alcohols such as ethanol, methanol, and butanol; vegetable and waste-derived oils; and electricity. Overview of alternative fuels is here.

Grinding temperature and energy ratio coe cient in MQL grinding of high-temperature nickel-base alloy by using di erent vegetable oils as base oil

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Li Benkai; Li Changhe; Zhang Yanbin; Wang Yaogang; Jia Dongzhou; Yang Min

2016-01-01

Vegetable oil can be used as a base oil in minimal quantity of lubrication (MQL). This study compared the performances of MQL grinding by using castor oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and palm oil as base oils. A K-P36 numerical-control precision surface grinder was used to perform plain grinding on a workpiece material with a high-temperature nickel base alloy. A YDM–III 99 three-dimensional dynamometer was used to measure grinding force, and a clip-type thermocouple was used to determine grinding temperature. The grinding force, grind-ing temperature, and energy ratio coefficient of MQL grinding were compared among the seven veg-etable oil types. Results revealed that (1) castor oil-based MQL grinding yields the lowest grinding force but exhibits the highest grinding temperature and energy ratio coefficient;(2) palm oil-based MQL grinding generates the second lowest grinding force but shows the lowest grinding temperature and energy ratio coefficient;(3) MQL grinding based on the five other vegetable oils produces similar grinding forces, grinding temperatures, and energy ratio coefficients, with values ranging between those of castor oil and palm oil;(4) viscosity significantly influences grinding force and grinding tem-perature to a greater extent than fatty acid varieties and contents in vegetable oils;(5) although more viscous vegetable oil exhibits greater lubrication and significantly lower grinding force than less vis-cous vegetable oil, high viscosity reduces the heat exchange capability of vegetable oil and thus yields a high grinding temperature;(6) saturated fatty acid is a more efficient lubricant than unsaturated fatty acid;and (7) a short carbon chain transfers heat more effectively than a long carbon chain. Palm oil is the optimum base oil of MQL grinding, and this base oil yields 26.98 N tangential grinding force, 87.10 N normal grinding force, 119.6 °C grinding temperature, and 42.7%energy ratio coefficient

Potential use of California lignite and other alternate fuel for enhanced oil recovery. Phase I and II. Final report. [As alternative fuels for steam generation in thermal EOR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shelton, R.; Shimizu, A.; Briggs, A.

1980-02-01

The Nation's continued reliance on liquid fossil fuels and decreasing reserves of light oils gives increased impetus to improving the recovery of heavy oil. Thermal enhanced oil recovery EOR techniques, such as steam injection, have generally been the most effective for increasing heavy oil production. However, conventional steam generation consumes a large fraction of the produced oil. The substitution of alternate (solid) fuels would release much of this consumed oil to market. This two-part report focuses on two solid fuels available in California, the site of most thermal EOR - petroleum coke and lignite. Phase I, entitled Economic Analysis, shows detailed cost comparisons between the two candidate fuels and also with Western coal. The analysis includes fuels characterizations, process designs for several combustion systems, and a thorough evaluation of the technical and economic uncertainties. In Phase II, many technical parameters of petroleum coke combustion were measured in a pilot-plant fluidized bed. The results of the study showed that petroleum coke combustion for EOR is feasible and cost effective in a fluidized bed combustor.

Catalytic activity of calcium-based mixed metal oxides nanocatalysts in transesterification reaction of palm oil

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Noraakinah; Ismail, Kamariah Noor; Hamid, Ku Halim Ku; Hadi, Abdul

2017-12-01

Nowadays, biodiesel has become the forefront development as an alternative diesel fuel derived from biological sources such as oils of plant and fats. Presently, the conventional transesterification of vegetable oil to biodiesel gives rise to some technological problem. In this sense, heterogeneous nanocatalysts of calcium-based mixed metal oxides were synthesized through sol-gel method. It was found that significant increase of biodiesel yield, 91.75 % was obtained catalyzed by CaO-NbO2 from palm oil compared to pure CaO of 53.99 % under transesterification conditions (methanol/oil ratio 10:1, reaction time 3 h, catalyst concentration 4 wt%, reaction temperature 60 °C, and mixing speed of 600 rpm). The phase structure and crystallinity as well as the texture properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and the textural properties were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption analysis. Sol-gel method has been known as versatile method in controlling the structural and chemical properties of the catalyst. Calcium-based mixed oxide synthesized from sol-gel method was found to exist as smaller crystallite size with high surface area.

Usage of methyl ester of tall oil fatty acids and resinic acids as alternative diesel fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keskin, Ali; Yasar, Abdulkadir; Guerue, Metin; Altiparmak, Duran

2010-01-01

In the experimental study, tall oil fatty and resinic acids were investigated as alternative diesel fuels. The fatty acids, obtained by distilling the crude tall oil, were esterified with methanol in order to obtain tall oil methyl ester (biodiesel). Blends of the methyl ester, resinic acids and diesel fuel were prepared for test fuels. Performance and emission tests of the test fuels were carried out in an unmodified direct injection diesel engine on full load conditions. The results showed that the specific fuel consumption (SFC) with the blend fuels did not show a significant change. CO emission and smoke level decreased up to 23.91% and 19.40%, respectively. In general, NO x emissions showed on trend of increasing with the blend fuels (up to 25.42%). CO 2 emissions did not vary with the blend fuels significantly.

Usage of methyl ester of tall oil fatty acids and resinic acids as alternative diesel fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keskin, Ali; Yasar, Abdulkadir [Tarsus Technical Education Faculty, Mersin University, 33500 Mersin (Turkey); Guerue, Metin [Engineering and Architectural Faculty, Gazi University, 06570 Maltepe, Ankara (Turkey); Altiparmak, Duran [Technical Education Faculty, Gazi University, 06500 Ankara (Turkey)

2010-12-15

In the experimental study, tall oil fatty and resinic acids were investigated as alternative diesel fuels. The fatty acids, obtained by distilling the crude tall oil, were esterified with methanol in order to obtain tall oil methyl ester (biodiesel). Blends of the methyl ester, resinic acids and diesel fuel were prepared for test fuels. Performance and emission tests of the test fuels were carried out in an unmodified direct injection diesel engine on full load conditions. The results showed that the specific fuel consumption (SFC) with the blend fuels did not show a significant change. CO emission and smoke level decreased up to 23.91% and 19.40%, respectively. In general, NO{sub x} emissions showed on trend of increasing with the blend fuels (up to 25.42%). CO{sub 2} emissions did not vary with the blend fuels significantly. (author)

Utilization of alternative fuels in diesel engines

Science.gov (United States)

Lestz, S. A.

1984-01-01

Performance and emission data are collected for various candidate alternate fuels and compare these data to that for a certified petroleum based number two Diesel fuel oil. Results for methanol, ethanol, four vegetable oils, two shale derived oils, and two coal derived oils are reported. Alcohol fumigation does not appear to be a practical method for utilizing low combustion quality fuels in a Diesel engine. Alcohol fumigation enhances the bioactivity of the emitted exhaust particles. While it is possible to inject many synthetic fuels using the engine stock injection system, wholly acceptable performance is only obtained from a fuel whose specifications closely approach those of a finished petroleum based Diesel oil. This is illustrated by the contrast between the poor performance of the unupgraded coal derived fuel blends and the very good performance of the fully refined shale derived fuel.

Encapsulated Essential Oils as an Alternative to Insecticides in Funnel Traps.

Science.gov (United States)

Pascual-Villalobos, M J; López, M D; Castañé, C; Soler, A; Riudavets, J

2015-08-01

Pheromone-lured funnel traps are widely used for pest monitoring and mass trapping in agricultural fields and stores. DDVP vapona (dichlorvos), the insecticide of choice as a killing agent inside traps, has been banned, and research on new products is being pursued. Essential oils (EO) could be an alternative if properly formulated. To test their potential, beads of encapsulated coriander and basil EO were tested in funnel traps in stores of almonds and pet foods during 2 mo. The number of adult moth (Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) and Ephestia kuehniella Zeller) dead captures was similar with either coriander or basil EO beads and with vapona tablets while there were more insects alive in the control. These preliminary results indicate a good potential for the development of such natural products as an alternative to synthetic insecticides to include them inside funnel traps. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Quality characteristics of alternative diesel from hydrotreatment of used frying oils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karonis, Dimitrios; Chilari, Despina [National Technical Univ. of Athens (Greece). Lab. of Fuels Technology and Lubricants; Bezergianni, Stella [Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Thessaloniki (Greece). Lab. of Environmental Fuels and Hydrocarbons (LEFH)

2013-06-01

This paper examines the properties of alternative diesel fuel that is derived from the hydrotreatment of used frying oils (UFO). Used frying oil is a difficult feedstock for biodiesel production. The hydrotreating of UFO converts triglycerides mainly into normal paraffins in the diesel fuel range. The results obtained show that the use of hydrotreated UFO has many advantages in comparison conventional diesel. Particularly, this renewable fuel has an excellent cetane number and cetane index (> 90) justified from its paraffinic character. Furthermore, this finding complies with the lower value of density in comparison to diesel, reinforcing the paraffinic nature of this fuel, comprising straight chain alkanes and negligible content of aromatic hydrocarbons in its composition. Due to the hydrotreating, these fuels do not contain olefinic bonds, therefore they are resistant to oxidation, permitting long term storage abilities. Despite these benefits, there are some considerations from the use of HFOs. Hydrotreating is a process which successfully removes heteroatoms such as S, N, O and eliminates the existence of double unstable bonds, rendering to fuel appreciable characteristics. Unfortunately, these high ignition quality oils suffer from lower lubricity and worse cold flow properties in comparison to diesel, making their use during winter period inevitable. These problems could be addressed by blending hydrotreated UFO with regular diesel. A compromise should be found in order to promote a renewable fuel with lower cetane number but with much better lubricity in order to meet the EN 590 European Standard regarding the main quality characteristics of the final fuel. (orig.)

Alternative radionuclides for using in oil exploratory tools - PIG TAG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira Junior, Robson da Costa; Estrada, Julio Jose da Silva; Delgado, Jose Ubiratan; Pinho, Adaugoberto Soares de; Oliveira, Estela Maria de

2011-01-01

The ionizing radiations are present from prospecting to production of oil or gas, using a variety of techniques with radioactive sources. The radioactive tracer (pip tag) is a technique in which is placed a mark in different depths of the well that is being profiled. This marker is done generally with gamma emitter 60 Co which activity until 74 kBq (2 μCi). The purpose of this marker is to identify places of interest of investigations or where will be blast the rock that has been identified as potential hydrocarbon deposits. Currently, these radioactive markers are obtained in the international market in the form of metallic solid sources. However, there are some difficulties in the importation of material, ranging from the permission by the regulatory organization (CNEN) to the customs costs, through the attendance criteria set out in international and national standards related to the transport of radioactive material. These import processes, therefore, involve high costs and delays in having the products. This work aims to develop a methodology that makes possible the preparation of alternative radioactive sources in the country in order to supply the growing demand for this market in a shorter time and with less cost. For this purpose, are being evaluated not only the appropriate support for the markers as well as the possibility of replacement 60 Co by other radionuclides that can perform the same functional properly. This replacement will be based on technical parameters such as energy, half-life, and activity and emission intensity, according to the characteristics of each radionuclide to be evaluated. The production of radioactive markers will be made at the National Laboratory for Metrology of Ionizing Radiation of the Institute of Radioprotection and Dosimetry (IRD), while the field tests had been performed in an industry located in the region of Macae-RJ, which is specialized in marking and profiling of wells oil in deep waters. (author)

Oil and the political economy of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matutinovic, Igor

2009-01-01

The key issues concerning oil exploitation are still open for discussion: there is no agreement about where we presently stand in the world oil extraction curve, what is its exact shape, and how far can oil price grow before it changes irreversibly the world economy and consumer behavior. The paper proposes an alternative scenario to the Hubbert's bell-shaped model of oil exploitation, based on more realistic assumptions regarding political agendas in oil-exporting countries and consumer behavior dynamics in oil-importing countries. Under this scenario, the joint impact of markets and public policy in oil importing countries together with 'resource pragmatism' policy in oil-exporting countries allows for a less steep oil supply curve with a much fatter tail compared to the Hubbert's model.

Have we run out of oil yet? Oil peaking analysis from an optimist's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, David L.; Hopson, Janet L.; Li Jia

2006-01-01

This study addresses several questions concerning the peaking of conventional oil production from an optimist's perspective. Is the oil peak imminent? What is the range of uncertainty? What are the key determining factors? Will a transition to unconventional oil undermine or strengthen OPEC's influence over world oil markets? These issues are explored using a model combining alternative world energy scenarios with an accounting of resource depletion and a market-based simulation of transition to unconventional oil resources. No political or environmental constraints are allowed to hinder oil production, geological constraints on the rates at which oil can be produced are not represented, and when USGS resource estimates are used, more than the mean estimate of ultimately recoverable resources is assumed to exist. The issue is framed not as a question of 'running out' of conventional oil, but in terms of the timing and rate of transition from conventional to unconventional oil resources. Unconventional oil is chosen because production from Venezuela's heavy-oil fields and Canada's Athabascan oil sands is already underway on a significant scale and unconventional oil is most consistent with the existing infrastructure for producing, refining, distributing and consuming petroleum. However, natural gas or even coal might also prove to be economical sources of liquid hydrocarbon fuels. These results indicate a high probability that production of conventional oil from outside of the Middle East region will peak, or that the rate of increase of production will become highly constrained before 2025. If world consumption of hydrocarbon fuels is to continue growing, massive development of unconventional resources will be required. While there are grounds for pessimism and optimism, it is certainly not too soon for extensive, detailed analysis of transitions to alternative energy sources

Catalytic flash pyrolysis of oil-impregnated-wood and jatropha cake using sodium based catalysts

KAUST Repository

Imran, Ali

2015-11-24

Catalytic pyrolysis of wood with impregnated vegetable oil was investigated and compared with catalytic pyrolysis of jatropha cake making use of sodium based catalysts to produce a high quality bio-oil. The catalytic pyrolysis was carried out in two modes: in-situ catalytic pyrolysis and post treatment of the pyrolysis vapors. The in-situ catalytic pyrolysis was carried out in an entrained flow reactor system using a premixed feedstock of Na2CO3 and biomass and post treatment of biomass pyrolysis vapor was conducted in a downstream fixed bed reactor of Na2CO3/γ-Al2O3. Results have shown that both Na2CO3 and Na2CO3/γ-Al2O3 can be used for the production of a high quality bio-oil from catalytic pyrolysis of oil-impregnated-wood and jatropha cake. The catalytic bio-oil had very low oxygen content, water content as low as 1wt.%, a neutral pH, and a high calorific value upto 41.8MJ/kg. The bio-oil consisted of high value chemical compounds mainly hydrocarbons and undesired compounds in the bio-oil were either completely removed or considerably reduced. Increasing the triglycerides content (vegetable oil) in the wood enhanced the formation of hydrocarbons in the bio-oil. Post treatment of the pyrolysis vapor over a fixed bed of Na2CO3/γ-Al2O3 produced superior quality bio-oil compared to in-situ catalytic pyrolysis with Na2CO3. This high quality bio-oil may be used as a precursor in a fractionating process for the production of alternative fuels. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

HFRR investigation of biobased and petroleum based oils

Science.gov (United States)

Biobased oils come in a wide range of chemical structures as do petroleum based oils. In addition, a distinct structural difference exists between these two broad categories of oils. Previous work has shown that, in spite of the structural differences, these two categories of oils display similar pr...

Alternative materials for sustainable transportation.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

A shortage of asphalt and polymers is creating opportunities for engineers to utilize alternative pavement materials. Three types of bio oil, untreated bio oil (UTB), treated bio oil (TB) and polymer-modified bio oil (PMB) were studied in this resear...

African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines. ... based on a descriptive survey from the western black sea region of Turkey · EMAIL ... on volatile oil constituents of Codonopsis radix (dangshen) by GC-MS method ...

Enhanced oil recovery projects data base

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pautz, J.F.; Sellers, C.A.; Nautiyal, C.; Allison, E.

1992-04-01

A comprehensive enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project data base is maintained and updated at the Bartlesville Project Office of the Department of Energy. This data base provides an information resource that is used to analyze the advancement and application of EOR technology. The data base has extensive information on 1,388 EOR projects in 569 different oil fields from 1949 until the present, and over 90% of that information is contained in tables and graphs of this report. The projects are presented by EOR process, and an index by location is provided.

Jatropha oil methyl ester and its blends used as an alternative fuel in diesel engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yarrapathruni Rao Hanumantha Venkata

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Biomass derived vegetable oils are quite promising alternative fuels for agricultural diesel engines. Use of vegetable oils in diesel engines leads to slightly inferior performance and higher smoke emissions due to their high viscosity. The performance of vegetable oils can be improved by modifying them through the transesterification process. In this present work, the performance of single cylinder water-cooled diesel engine using methyl ester of jatropha oil as the fuel was evaluated for its performance and exhaust emissions. The fuel properties of biodiesel such as kinematic viscosity, calorific value, flash point, carbon residue, and specific gravity were found. Results indicate that B25 has closer performance to diesel and B100 has lower brake thermal efficiency mainly due to its high viscosity compared to diesel. The brake thermal efficiency for biodiesel and its blends was found to be slightly higher than that of diesel fuel at tested load conditions and there was no difference of efficiency between the biodiesel and its blended fuels. For jatropha biodiesel and its blended fuels, the exhaust gas temperature increased with the increase of power and amount of biodiesel. However, its diesel blends showed reasonable efficiency, lower smoke, and CO2 and CO emissions.

Oil and the political economy of energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matutinovic, Igor [GfK-Center for Market Research, Zagreb (Croatia)

2009-11-15

The key issues concerning oil exploitation are still open for discussion: there is no agreement about where we presently stand in the world oil extraction curve, what is its exact shape, and how far can oil price grow before it changes irreversibly the world economy and consumer behavior. The paper proposes an alternative scenario to the Hubbert's bell-shaped model of oil exploitation, based on more realistic assumptions regarding political agendas in oil-exporting countries and consumer behavior dynamics in oil-importing countries. Under this scenario, the joint impact of markets and public policy in oil importing countries together with 'resource pragmatism' policy in oil-exporting countries allows for a less steep oil supply curve with a much fatter tail compared to the Hubbert's model. (author)

Changes in the Characteristics of Water-in-Oil-based High Internal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HP

Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur 63100, ... and water-in-oil (W/O) systems with internal .... stresses were applied on the samples, and shear rates and .... Curr Opin Colloid Interfac.

Pheromone based alternative route planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liangbing Feng

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this work, we propose an improved alternative route calculation based on alternative figures, which is suitable for practical environments. The improvement is based on the fact that the main traffic route is the road network skeleton in a city. Our approach using nodes may generate a higher possibility of overlapping. We employ a bidirectional Dijkstra algorithm to search the route. To measure the quality of an Alternative Figures (AG, three quotas are proposed. The experiment results indicate that the improved algorithm proposed in this paper is more effective than others.

Natural oils and waxes: studies on stick bases.

Science.gov (United States)

Budai, Lívia; Antal, István; Klebovich, Imre; Budai, Marianna

2012-01-01

The objective of the present article was to examine the role of origin and quantity of selected natural oils and waxes in the determination of the thermal properties and hardness of stick bases. The natural oils and waxes selected for the study were sunflower, castor, jojoba, and coconut oils. The selected waxes were yellow beeswax, candelilla wax, and carnauba wax. The hardness of the formulations is a critical parameter from the aspect of their application. Hardness was characterized by the measurement of compression strength along with the softening point, the drop point, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It can be concluded that coconut oil, jojoba oil, and carnauba wax have the greatest influence on the thermal parameters of stick bases.

A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF DI DIESEL ENGINE PERFORMANCE WITHVEGETABLE OIL: AN ALTERNATIVE BIO-FUEL SOURCE OF ENERGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. K. Azad

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This study offers comprehensive details on the use of bio-fuel as a viable and alternative source of energy. The bio-fuel was prepared from vegetable oil, i.e., mustard oil and tested in a diesel engine in both pure form and as a diesel blend. The mustard oil blend proportions were 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% and named as bio-diesel blends B20, B30, B40 and B50. A fuel-testing laboratory determined the properties of the pure mustard oil fuel and its blends, i.e., density, viscosity, dynamic viscosity, carbon residue, flash point, fire point and calorific value. An assessment of engine performance, i.e., brake horsepower (bhp, brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc, brake thermal efficiency (bte and brake mean effective pressure (bmep etc., was carried out for pure diesel, pure mustard and the blends, both in laboratory conditions and under British Standard (BS conditions. Finally, an analysis and comparison was made of the effects of the various fuels on the different engine properties.

Alternative fat sources to animal fat for pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Charlotte; Christensen, Thomas Bruun; Halekoh, Ulrich

2007-01-01

% of either animal fat, palm oil mix, palm oil, vegetable oil mix, coconut oil, or rapeseed oil were tested in weaned and growing pigs. It was concluded that several vegetable fat sources (palm oil mix, palm oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil) could be used as alternatives to animal fat in pig feed, whereas fat......The use of fats and oils in diets for pigs is of great importance due to their high energy value. As a consequence of the BSE-crisis in the European Union, the amount of animal fat available for animal feeds has been reduced, and alternative fat sources are of increasing importance. In this paper...

Properties of a biosurfactant produced by Bacillus pumilus using vinasse and waste frying oil as alternative carbon sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Guerra de Oliveira

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Biosurfactants are chemical molecules produced by the microorganisms with potential for application in various industrial and environmental sectors. The production parameters and the physicochemical properties of a biosurfactant synthesized by Bacillus pumilus using different concentrations of vinasse and waste frying oil as alternative carbon sources were analyzed. The microorganism was able to grow and produce a biosurfactant using both the residues. The surface tension was reduced up to 45 mN/m and the maximum production of crude biosurfactant was 27.7 and 5.7 g/l for vinasse and waste frying oil, respectively, in concentration of 5%. The critical micelle concentration (CMC results of 1.5 and 0.2 g/l showed the efficiency of the biosurfactant produced on both the substrates. The results showed that the alternative substrates could be used for the production of an efficient biosurfactant by B. pumilus. These properties have potential for industrial and environmental applications.

Whey protein-based films incorporated with oregano essential oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Prestes Lessa Fernandes Oliveira

Full Text Available Abstract This study aimed to prepare whey protein-based films incorporated with oregano essential oil at different concentrations, and evaluate their properties and antimicrobial activity. Films were more flexible with increasing the concentration of oregano oil and water vapor permeability was higher in the films with oregano oil. Increasing the concentration of essential oil decreased the water solubility. The solubility of control film and film with 1.5% oregano oil was 20.2 and 14.0%, respectively. The addition of 1% of oregano oil improved the resistance of the films. The tensile strength for the control film was 66.0 MPa, while for the film with 1% of oregano oil was 108.7 MPa. Films containing 1.5% oregano oil showed higher antimicrobial activity. The zone of inhibition ranged from 0 to 1.7 cm. The results showed that the whey protein-based films incorporated with oregano essential oil has potential application as active packaging.

Electrokinetic mechanism of wettability alternation at oil-water-rock interface

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Huanhuan; Wang, Moran

2017-12-01

Design of ions for injection water may change the wettability of oil-brine-rock (OBR) system, which has very important applications in enhanced oil recovery. Though ion-tuned wettability has been verified by various experiments, the mechanism is still not clear. In this review paper, we first present a comprehensive summarization of possible wettability alteration mechanisms, including fines migration or dissolution, multicomponent ion-exchange (MIE), electrical double layer (EDL) interaction between rock and oil, and repulsive hydration force. To clarify the key mechanism, we introduce a complete frame of theories to calculate attribution of EDL repulsion to wettability alteration by assuming constant binding forces (no MIE) and rigid smooth surface (no fines migration or dissolution). The frame consists of three parts: the classical Gouy-Chapman model coupled with interface charging mechanisms to describe EDL in oil-brine-rock systems, three methods with different boundary assumptions to evaluate EDL interaction energy, and the modified Young-Dupré equation to link EDL interaction energy with contact angle. The quantitative analysis for two typical oil-brine-rock systems provides two physical maps that show how the EDL interaction influences contact angle at different ionic composition. The result indicates that the contribution of EDL interaction to ion-tuned wettability for the studied system is not quite significant. The classical and advanced experimental work using microfabrication is reviewed briefly on the contribution of EDL repulsion to wettability alteration and compared with the theoretical results. It is indicated that the roughness of real rock surface may enhance EDL interaction. Finally we discuss some pending questions, perspectives and promising applications based on the mechanism.

The Security Impact of Oil Nationalization: Alternate Futures Scenarios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Johnston

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This article highlights the security impact of oil nationalization, develops and analyzes four energy security scenarios, and suggests options to reduce the potential negative impact of oil nationalization. In addition to the use of oil as a weapon, nationalization of oil can also lead to competition for scarce resources among states, facilitate the funding of terrorists or insurgents, contribute to destabilizing regional arms races, influence intra-state conflict, and sustain antagonistic political agendas.

Potential production of palm oil-based foaming agent as fire extinguisher of peatlands in Indonesia: Literature review

Science.gov (United States)

Subekti, P.; Hambali, E.; Suryani, A.; Suryadarma, P.

2017-05-01

This study aims to analyze the potential aplication of of palm oil-based foaming agent as peat fires fighter in Indonesia. From literature review, it has been known that the foaming agent able to form foam to extinguish fire, wrap and refrigerate the burning peat. It is necessary to develop the production and application of foaming agent in Indonesia because peat fires occur almost every year that caused smoke haze. Potential raw material for the production of environmental friendly foaming agent as foam extinguishing for peat fires in Indonesia aong other is palm oil due to abundant availability, sustainable, and foam product easily degraded in the environment of the burnt areas. Production of foaming agent as fire-fighting in Indonesia is one alternative to reduce the time to control the fire and smog disaster impact. Application of palm oil as a raw material for fire-fighting is contribute to increase the value added and the development of palm oil downstream industry.

The geopolitics of $10 oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1998-01-01

The market and the geopolitical implications of the possibility of $10 a barrel becoming the norm for oil prices in 1999 are examined. The low price will present budgetary difficulties for all the world's major oil producing countries with the exception of Brunei. In some countries, such as Nigeria and Venezuela, general financial and economic reform will become inevitable with the pressure for political reform to follow. If energy development is to continue in the Caspian region in a low price era, long term political stability will be necessary and a move towards democracy from the present autocracies may be necessary to achieve this. In the Middle East, countries are facing the erosion of their core financial base. Depressed oil prices could force Gulf States, which in the past have depended on their oil revenues alone, to introduce taxation as an alternative source of income. Hitherto, oil has meant power in political as well as in energy terms, but the diminished value of oil in a world where their are alternative energy sources will reduce the importance, even of key regions such as the Middle East. The power of OPEC is threatened by its failure to bring about the massive co-ordinated production cutbacks which alone might turn the market around. The beneficiaries of cheap oil will be the consuming nations, particularly those of East Asia where the pace of economic recovery will be speeded up. (UK)

Comparison of Oxidation Stability and Quenchant Cooling Curve Performance of Soybean Oil and Palm Oil

Science.gov (United States)

Said, Diego; Belinato, Gabriela; Sarmiento, Gustavo S.; Otero, Rosa L. Simencio; Totten, George E.; Gastón, Analía; Canale, Lauralice C. F.

2013-07-01

The potential use of vegetable oil-derived industrial oils continues to be of great interest because vegetable oils are relatively non-toxic, biodegradable, and they are a renewable basestock alternative to petroleum oil. However, the fatty ester components containing conjugated double bonds of the triglyceride structure of vegetable oils typically produce considerably poorer thermal-oxidative stability than that achievable with petroleum basestocks under typical use conditions. Typically, these conditions involve furnace loads of hot steel (850 °C), which are rapidly immersed and cooled to bath temperatures of approximately 50-60 °C. This is especially true when a vegetable oil is held in an open tank with agitation and exposed to air at elevated temperatures for extended periods of time (months or years). This paper will describe the thermal-oxidative stability and quenching performance of soybean oil and palm oil and the resulting impact on the heat transfer coefficient. These results are compared to typical fully formulated, commercially available accelerated (fast) and an unaccelerated (slow) petroleum oil-based quenchants.

Solidification/stabilisation of liquid oil waste in metakaolin-based geopolymer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cantarel, V.; Nouaille, F.; Rooses, A.; Lambertin, D., E-mail: david.lambertin@cea.fr; Poulesquen, A.; Frizon, F.

2015-09-15

Highlights: • Formulation with 20 vol.% of oil in a geopolymer have been successful tested. • Oil waste is encapsulated as oil droplets in metakaolin-based geopolymer. • Oil/geopolymer composite present good mechanical performance. • Carbon lixiviation of oil/geopolymer composite is very low. - Abstract: The solidification/stabilisation of liquid oil waste in metakaolin based geopolymer was studied in the present work. The process consists of obtaining a stabilised emulsion of oil in a water-glass solution and then adding metakaolin to engage the setting of a geopolymer block with an oil emulsion stabilised in the material. Geopolymer/oil composites have been made with various oil fraction (7, 14 and 20 vol.%). The rigidity and the good mechanical properties have been demonstrated with compressive strength tests. Leaching tests evidenced the release of oil from the composite material is very limited whereas the constitutive components of the geopolymer (Na, Si and OH{sup −}) are involved into diffusion process.

The Effect of Reactives Diluents to the Physical Properties of Acrylated Palm Oil Based Polyurethane Coatings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Onn Munirah

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The development of polyurethane with hydroxyl access in a molecule leads to a new alternative of low toxicity green product. Palm oil is one of the major commodities in Malaysia. The potential of palm oil to be used as coatings raw material such as alkyd is limited due to low unsaturated side on fatty acid chains. To overcome this limitation, palm oil was modified through transesterification process to produce polyol. Acrylated isocyanate (urethane oligomer was then grafted onto polyol to produce polyurethane with vinylic ends. The polyurethane was formulated with different cross-linkers (reactive diluents and cured under UV radiation. The effect of three different diluents; monoacrylate, diacrylate and triacrylate on the properties of cured polymer were studied in this research. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR, Hydroxyl Value Titration, Gel Content, and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC were used for characterization. Physical testing performed were Pencil Hardness and Pull-Off Adhesion test. Novel palm oil-based polyurethane coatings have been found to have good properties with mono acrylate functionality.

Imperata cylindrica sp as Novel Silica-Based Heterogeneous Catalysts for Transesterification of Palm Oil Mill Sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngaini, Zainab; Shahrom, Farra Diana; Jamil, Nurfarahen; Wahi, Rafeah; Ahmad, Zainal Abiddin

2016-06-01

Biodiesel from palm oil mill sludge (POMS) was prepared in the presence of novel silica-based heterogeneous catalysts derived from Imperata cylindrica sp. Imperatacid and Imperatabase are two types of heterogeneous catalysts derived from Imperata cylindrica sp and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and pore size measurement. Imperatacid has particle size of 43.1-83.9 µm while Imperatabase in the range of 89-193 µm. Imperatacid was conveniently applied in esterification step to afford > 90 wt% oil in 1:3 (oil/methanol) and 10 wt% catalyst, followed by transesterification with 1 wt% Imperatabase and 1:1 (oil/methanol) for 1 h at 65°C to afford 80% biodiesel with higher percentage of methyl palmitate (48.97%) and methyl oleate (34.14%) compare to conventional homogeneous catalyst. Reusability of the catalyst up to three times afforded biodiesel ranging from 78-80% w/w. The biodiesel was demonstrated onto alternative diesel engine (Megatech(®)-Mark III) and showed proportional increased of torque (ɽ) to biodiesel loading.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Vermont Transportation Data for Alternative

Science.gov (United States)

alternative fuels Fuel Public Private Biodiesel (B20 and above) 3 0 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) 1 2 Electric Recycled Cooking Oil Powers Biodiesel Vehicles in Vermont Recycled Cooking Oil Powers Biodiesel Vehicles in sold per GGE Biodiesel (B20) $2.79/gallon $2.54/GGE $2.84/gallon $2.58/GGE Biodiesel (B99-B100) $2.47

Structural level characterization of base oils using advanced analytical techniques

KAUST Repository

Hourani, Nadim

2015-05-21

Base oils, blended for finished lubricant formulations, are classified by the American Petroleum Institute into five groups, viz., groups I-V. Groups I-III consist of petroleum based hydrocarbons whereas groups IV and V are made of synthetic polymers. In the present study, five base oil samples belonging to groups I and III were extensively characterized using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC), and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) equipped with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) sources. First, the capabilities and limitations of each analytical technique were evaluated, and then the availed information was combined to reveal compositional details on the base oil samples studied. HPLC showed the overwhelming presence of saturated over aromatic compounds in all five base oils. A similar trend was further corroborated using GC×GC, which yielded semiquantitative information on the compound classes present in the samples and provided further details on the carbon number distributions within these classes. In addition to chromatography methods, FT-ICR MS supplemented the compositional information on the base oil samples by resolving the aromatics compounds into alkyl- and naphtheno-subtituted families. APCI proved more effective for the ionization of the highly saturated base oil components compared to APPI. Furthermore, for the detailed information on hydrocarbon molecules FT-ICR MS revealed the presence of saturated and aromatic sulfur species in all base oil samples. The results presented herein offer a unique perspective into the detailed molecular structure of base oils typically used to formulate lubricants. © 2015 American Chemical Society.

Evaluation of restoration alternatives for natural resources injured by oil spills, first edition, October 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

This book builds upon previous work in the field of oil spill impact assessment and habitat restoration to assess the technical feasibility and practicability of proactive restoration following oil spills and presents an approach for evaluating tradeoffs between natural recovery and active restoration. The scenarios developed to represent a broad spectrum of possible oil spills were based on selected case studies. The report concludes that in general, available restoration techniques are not very effective for enhancing natural recovery and may in certain cases cause more severe impacts than the oil spill alone

Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery Systems Based on Melon Oil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Method: Melon oil and cow fat were extracted by standard methods and used in the formulation of SNEDDS based on either melon oil alone, or its admixture with cow fat by utilizing varying ratios of oil(s), surfactants and co-surfactants, with or without carbosil, a glidant. The formulations were encapsulated in hard gelatin ...

Analysis of filtration properties of locally sourced base oil for the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examines the use of locally sourced oil like, groundnut oil, melon oil, vegetable oil, soya oil and palm oil as substitute for diesel oil in formulating oil base drilling fluids relative to filtration properties. The filtrate volumes of each of the oils were obtained for filtration control analysis. With increasing potash and ...

Synthesis and characterization of castor oil-based polyurethane

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Polyurethane (PU) based on polyol, derived from castor oil has been synthesized and characterized for potential use as a base material for electrolytes. Transesterification process of castor oil formed a polyol with hydroxyl value of 190 mg KOH g–1 and molecular weight of 2786 g mol–1. The polyols together with 4 ...

Impact of operating variables on re-refining of vehicle waste oil to base-oil by acid-clay process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durrani, H.A.; Panhwar, M.I.; Kazi, R.A.

2009-01-01

A large volume of waste oil is generated each year as the number of vehicles in the country is increasing every day. This used lubricant oil constitutes a serious pollution problem. It easily be converted as a resource depending on the manners of utilization and management. This paper compares various end uses of waste oil and develops technology by which basic properties of the base oil can be regained. An experimental setup (Experimental rig) of acid-clay method was used to regain waste oil collected and number of experiments were conducted by varying different process variables. The impacts of the operating variables on the quality of re-refined oil are also discussed. The recovery of re-refined base oil was found in between 44-49%. (author)

Oil sands tailings management project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Godwalt, C. [Alberta WaterSMART, Calgary, AB (Canada); Kotecha, P. [Suncor Energy Inc, Calgary, AB (Canada); Aumann, C. [Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures, Alberta Governement, AB (Canada)

2010-11-15

The Oil sands leadership initiative (OSLI) works with the Government of Alberta on the development of the oil sands industry, considering environmental, economical and social aspects. Water management was identified as one of most important areas to focus on. Alberta WaterSMART was requested to support the development and the management of projects resulting from the work done or underway in this field. The development of a regional water management solution stood out as the most interesting solution to obtain significant results. In the Athabasca Region, oil sands producers work independently on their water sourcing and disposal with particular attention to fresh water conservation and economics. The Athabasca River represents a source for mines and distant saline aquifers are the target of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operators. As part of a four-phase project aiming to study the environmental and economic footprint (EEF) benefit of alternatives for Athabasca oil sands production water supply and disposal, the purpose of the tailings water management project was to identify tailings treatment technologies that are ready to be implemented, and to design and evaluate solutions in order to improve regional oil sands production water sourcing and disposal. Alternatives were evaluated based on their total EEF, applying a lifecycle assessment methodology with a particular attention on the quantification of important performance indicators. 25 refs., 8 tabs., 40 figs.

Oil sands tailings management project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godwalt, C.; Kotecha, P.; Aumann, C.

2010-11-01

The Oil sands leadership initiative (OSLI) works with the Government of Alberta on the development of the oil sands industry, considering environmental, economical and social aspects. Water management was identified as one of most important areas to focus on. Alberta WaterSMART was requested to support the development and the management of projects resulting from the work done or underway in this field. The development of a regional water management solution stood out as the most interesting solution to obtain significant results. In the Athabasca Region, oil sands producers work independently on their water sourcing and disposal with particular attention to fresh water conservation and economics. The Athabasca River represents a source for mines and distant saline aquifers are the target of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operators. As part of a four-phase project aiming to study the environmental and economic footprint (EEF) benefit of alternatives for Athabasca oil sands production water supply and disposal, the purpose of the tailings water management project was to identify tailings treatment technologies that are ready to be implemented, and to design and evaluate solutions in order to improve regional oil sands production water sourcing and disposal. Alternatives were evaluated based on their total EEF, applying a lifecycle assessment methodology with a particular attention on the quantification of important performance indicators. 25 refs., 8 tabs., 40 figs.

Base Oils Biodegradability Prediction with Data Mining Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malika Trabelsi

2010-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we apply various data mining techniques including continuous numeric and discrete classification prediction models of base oils biodegradability, with emphasis on improving prediction accuracy. The results show that highly biodegradable oils can be better predicted through numeric models. In contrast, classification models did not uncover a similar dichotomy. With the exception of Memory Based Reasoning and Decision Trees, tested classification techniques achieved high classification prediction. However, the technique of Decision Trees helped uncover the most significant predictors. A simple classification rule derived based on this predictor resulted in good classification accuracy. The application of this rule enables efficient classification of base oils into either low or high biodegradability classes with high accuracy. For the latter, a higher precision biodegradability prediction can be obtained using continuous modeling techniques.

Lippia origanoides essential oil: an efficient and safe alternative to preserve food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandes, C; Pina, E S; Taleb-Contini, S H; Bertoni, B W; Cestari, I M; Espanha, L G; Varanda, E A; Camilo, K F B; Martinez, E Z; França, S C; Pereira, A M S

2017-04-01

The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Lippia origanoides essential oil as a preservative in industrial products. The composition, antimicrobial activity, mutagenic and toxic potential of L. origanoides were determined. Then, the effect of essential oil as a preservative in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products was evaluated. The essential oil of L. origanoides consisted mainly of oxygenated monoterpenes (38·13%); 26·28% corresponded to the compound carvacrol. At concentrations ranging from 0·312 to 1·25 μl ml -1 and in association with polysorbate 80, the essential oil of L. origanoides inhibited the growth of all the tested micro-organisms. The medium lethal dose in mice was 3·5 g kg -1 , which categorizes it as nontoxic according to the European Union criteria, and negative results in the Ames test indicated that this oil was not mutagenic. In combination with polysorbate 80, the essential oil exerted preservative action on orange juice, cosmetic and pharmaceutical compositions, especially in the case of aqueous-based products. Lippia origanoides essential oil is an effective and safe preservative for orange juice, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. This study allowed for the complete understanding of the antimicrobial action and toxicological potential of L. origanoides essential oil. These results facilitate the development of a preservative system based on L. origanoides essential oil. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms.

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez-Sánchez, Daniel; Cabo, Marta L; Rodríguez-Herrera, Juan J

2015-12-01

The present study was aimed to evaluate the potential of essential oils to remove the foodborne pathogen Staphylococcus aureus from food-processing facilities. The effectiveness of 19 essential oils against planktonic cells of S. aureus was firstly assessed by minimal inhibitory concentration. Planktonic cells showed a wide variability in resistance to essential oils, with thyme oil as the most effective, followed by lemongrass oil and then vetiver oil. The eight essential oils most effective against planktonic cells were subsequently tested against 48-h-old biofilms formed on stainless steel. All essential oils reduced significantly (p oils were the most effective, but high concentrations were needed to achieve logarithmic reductions over 4 log CFU/cm(2) after 30 min exposure. Alternatively, the use of sub-lethal doses of thyme oil allowed to slow down biofilm formation and to enhance the efficiency of thyme oil and benzalkonium chloride against biofilms. However, some cellular adaptation to thyme oil was detected. Therefore, essential oil-based treatments should be based on the rotation and combination of different essential oils or with other biocides to prevent the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strains. © The Author(s) 2014.

Biodiesel classification by base stock type (vegetable oil) using near infrared spectroscopy data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balabin, Roman M., E-mail: balabin@org.chem.ethz.ch [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Safieva, Ravilya Z. [Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2011-03-18

The use of biofuels, such as bioethanol or biodiesel, has rapidly increased in the last few years. Near infrared (near-IR, NIR, or NIRS) spectroscopy (>4000 cm{sup -1}) has previously been reported as a cheap and fast alternative for biodiesel quality control when compared with infrared, Raman, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods; in addition, NIR can easily be done in real time (on-line). In this proof-of-principle paper, we attempt to find a correlation between the near infrared spectrum of a biodiesel sample and its base stock. This correlation is used to classify fuel samples into 10 groups according to their origin (vegetable oil): sunflower, coconut, palm, soy/soya, cottonseed, castor, Jatropha, etc. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used for outlier detection and dimensionality reduction of the NIR spectral data. Four different multivariate data analysis techniques are used to solve the classification problem, including regularized discriminant analysis (RDA), partial least squares method/projection on latent structures (PLS-DA), K-nearest neighbors (KNN) technique, and support vector machines (SVMs). Classifying biodiesel by feedstock (base stock) type can be successfully solved with modern machine learning techniques and NIR spectroscopy data. KNN and SVM methods were found to be highly effective for biodiesel classification by feedstock oil type. A classification error (E) of less than 5% can be reached using an SVM-based approach. If computational time is an important consideration, the KNN technique (E = 6.2%) can be recommended for practical (industrial) implementation. Comparison with gasoline and motor oil data shows the relative simplicity of this methodology for biodiesel classification.

Biodiesel classification by base stock type (vegetable oil) using near infrared spectroscopy data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balabin, Roman M.; Safieva, Ravilya Z.

2011-01-01

The use of biofuels, such as bioethanol or biodiesel, has rapidly increased in the last few years. Near infrared (near-IR, NIR, or NIRS) spectroscopy (>4000 cm -1 ) has previously been reported as a cheap and fast alternative for biodiesel quality control when compared with infrared, Raman, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods; in addition, NIR can easily be done in real time (on-line). In this proof-of-principle paper, we attempt to find a correlation between the near infrared spectrum of a biodiesel sample and its base stock. This correlation is used to classify fuel samples into 10 groups according to their origin (vegetable oil): sunflower, coconut, palm, soy/soya, cottonseed, castor, Jatropha, etc. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used for outlier detection and dimensionality reduction of the NIR spectral data. Four different multivariate data analysis techniques are used to solve the classification problem, including regularized discriminant analysis (RDA), partial least squares method/projection on latent structures (PLS-DA), K-nearest neighbors (KNN) technique, and support vector machines (SVMs). Classifying biodiesel by feedstock (base stock) type can be successfully solved with modern machine learning techniques and NIR spectroscopy data. KNN and SVM methods were found to be highly effective for biodiesel classification by feedstock oil type. A classification error (E) of less than 5% can be reached using an SVM-based approach. If computational time is an important consideration, the KNN technique (E = 6.2%) can be recommended for practical (industrial) implementation. Comparison with gasoline and motor oil data shows the relative simplicity of this methodology for biodiesel classification.

Bio-oil based biorefinery strategy for the production of succinic acid

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Succinic acid is one of the key platform chemicals which can be produced via biotechnology process instead of petrochemical process. Biomass derived bio-oil have been investigated intensively as an alternative of diesel and gasoline fuels. Bio-oil could be fractionized into organic phase and aqueous phase parts. The organic phase bio-oil can be easily upgraded to transport fuel. The aqueous phase bio-oil (AP-bio-oil) is of low value. There is no report for its usage or upgrading via biological methods. In this paper, the use of AP-bio-oil for the production of succinic acid was investigated. Results The transgenic E. coli strain could grow in modified M9 medium containing 20 v/v% AP-bio-oil with an increase in OD from 0.25 to 1.09. And 0.38 g/L succinic acid was produced. With the presence of 4 g/L glucose in the medium, succinic acid concentration increased from 1.4 to 2.4 g/L by addition of 20 v/v% AP-bio-oil. When enzymatic hydrolysate of corn stover was used as carbon source, 10.3 g/L succinic acid was produced. The obtained succinic acid concentration increased to 11.5 g/L when 12.5 v/v% AP-bio-oil was added. However, it decreased to 8 g/L when 50 v/v% AP-bio-oil was added. GC-MS analysis revealed that some low molecular carbon compounds in the AP-bio-oil were utilized by E. coli. Conclusions The results indicate that AP-bio-oil can be used by E. coli for cell growth and succinic acid production. PMID:23657107

Life cycle assessment of village electrification based on straight jatropha oil in Chhattisgarh, India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gmuender, Simon Michael; Zah, Rainer; Widmer, Rolf [Technology and Society Lab, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Ueberlandstr. 129, 8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland); Bhatacharjee, Somnath [Winrock India International, New Delhi (India); Classen, Mischa [First Climate AG, Zuerich (Switzerland); Mukherjee, Prodyut [Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Allied Trusts, New Delhi (India)

2010-03-15

A decentralized power generation plant fuelled by straight jatropha oil was implemented in 2006 in Ranidhera, Chhattisgarh, India. The goal of this study was to assess the environmental sustainability of that electrification project in order to provide a scientific basis for policy decisions on electrifying remote villages. A full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted on jatropha-based rural electrification and then compared with other electrification approaches such as photovoltaic (PV), grid connection and a diesel-fuelled power generator. In summary, the jatropha-based electrification in Ranidhera reduces greenhouse gas emissions over the full life cycle by a factor of 7 compared to a diesel generator or grid connection. The environmental performance is only slightly improved, mainly due to the high air pollution from pre-heating the jatropha seeds. With additional measures oil extraction and overall efficiency could be further improved. However, environmental benefits can only be achieved if jatropha is cultivated on marginal land and land use competition can be excluded. Under these conditions, jatropha-based electricity generation might be a useful alternative to other renewable electrification options, as the technology is very sturdy and can be maintained even in remote and highly under-developed regions. (author)

BioOil presents: Free-flowing alternative to traditional biomass energy generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McChesney, S.

2003-12-01

A new technology, called fast pyrolysis, is described. Fast pyrolysis is a process for converting biomass collected from agricultural and forest residues into an organic liquid fuel, called BioOil, that's easily transported, stored and handled. BioOil's principal virtue is that it can be used to generate carbon-neutral, cost-effective process heat and electricity; it also disposes of organic waste, and creates new jobs and industries. As an indication of interest in BioOil, two recent developments are cited as worthy of note: an award of $23 million for biomass research jointly by the USDA and the USDOE and a commitment of $30 million by the Government of Canada to support the development and demonstration of bio-based systems and technologies. (The Canadian investment is part of the $1 billion commitment toward implementation of the Climate Change Program for Canada). The fast pyrolysis process is carbon dioxide neutral, i.e. when biomass is converted into thermal energy, the carbon dioxide that is released is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide that went into growing the biomass. The process is particularly appealing to energy companies in areas with large forestry or agricultural potential. In Canada, DynaMotive Energy Systems Corporation is the most advanced in developing and commercializing environmentally friendly fuels produced from biomass; the company is also a world leader in fast pyrolysis technology. Ontario Power Generation is cooperating with DynaMotive on a project to produce BioOil from residue supplied by Erie Flooring and Wood Products. The 2.5 megawatt gas turbine that will combust the bio-oil and generate electricity will be supplied by the Magellan Aerospace Corporation. Beyond meeting the energy requirements of Erie Flooring and Wood Products, the project will also contribute about 1.5 megawatts of power to OPG's green energy portfolio in 2004. It is expected that the example of a commercial project of this scale, will serve

Production of oil from Israeli oil shale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Givoni, D.

1993-01-01

Oil shale can be utilized in two-ways: direct combustion to generate steam and power or retorting to produce oil or gas. PAMA has been developing both direct combustion and retorting processes. Its main effort is in the combustion. An oil shale fired steam boiler was erected in the Rotem industrial complex for demonstration purposes. PAMA has also been looking into two alternative retorting concepts - slow heating of coarse particles and fast heating of fine particles. The present paper provides operating data of oil shale processing in the following scheme: (a) retorting in moving bed, pilot and bench scale units, and (b) retorting in a fluidized bed, bench scale units. (author)

Coated kapok fiber for removal of spilled oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jintao; Zheng, Yian; Wang, Aiqin

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A low-cost and biodegradable oil absorbent based on kapok fiber was prepared. ► The polymer-coated kapok fiber showed higher oil sorption capacity. ► Coated kapok fiber can be reused and the absorbed oil can be easily recovered. ► Adsorption of oil is spontaneous and exothermic physisorption and chemisorption. -- Abstract: Based on raw kapok fiber, two kinds of oil absorbers with high sorption capacity were prepared by a facile solution–immersion process. The coated polymer with low surface energy and rough fiber surface play important role in the retention of oil. The as-prepared fiber can quickly absorb gasoline, diesel, soybean oil, and paraffin oil up to above 74.5%, 66.8%, 64.4% and 47.8% of oil sorption capacity of raw fiber, respectively. The absorbed oils can be easily recovered by a simple vacuum filtration and the recovered coated-fiber still can be used for several cycles without obvious loss in oil sorption capacity. The thermodynamic study indicates that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic, with complex physisorption and chemisorption. The results suggest that the coated fiber can be used as a low-cost alternative for the removal of oil spilled on water surface

Evaluation of Palm Oil-Based Paracetamol Suppositories by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: The suppository base was prepared by mixing hydrogenated palm oil and palm kernel ... DSC can be used to predict drug release in paracetamol suppository formulations. Keywords: Palm oil, Liquefaction time, Paracetamol, Suppositories, Thermal analysis. ..... Drug Evaluation & Research (CDER), Food and.

Demand elasticity of oil in Barbados

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, Alvon, E-mail: armoore@centralbank.org.bb [Economist, Central Bank of Barbados, Toms Adams Financial Centre, Bridgetown (Barbados)

2011-06-15

The importation of oil is a significant component of Barbados' imports, rising from 7% of imports in 1998 to over 20% in 2009. This increase has impacted greatly on the level of foreign reserves. As a price-taker, relying entirely on imported oil for our energy needs could prove a continuous drain on the economy. With a view to formulating an appropriate energy policy for Barbados, this paper analyses the demand for oil using monthly data from 1998 to 2009. The paper estimates the elasticities of demand for oil by employing single equation cointegration approach and comparing the results with countries that rely heavily on imported oil and whose policy objective are to alter their energy structure to rely less on imported oil. The results show that the demand for oil imports is price inelastic in the long run. The consumption of oil is responsive to past consumption, prices, income, electricity consumption and the number of appliances imported in the short-run. A policy framework to reduce the use of oil for electricity consumption via alternative energy sources should be considered and the taxation of oil imports given its elasticity is a good source of revenue. - Highlights: > Demand for oil is price inelastic in the long-run (-0.552). > The relationship between oil demand and income is insignificant in the long run. > As electricity consumption increases by 1%, the demand for oil rises by 1.43%. > Need to determine if investments in alternative sources can offset demand for oil. > Investment in alternative resources may be required before gains are realised.

Magnetorheological fluid based on thixotropic PTFE-oil organogel

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hansong; Yan, Hua; Hu, Zhide; Yang, Jianjian; Niu, Fanghao

2018-04-01

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) micropowders were employed in this work to fabricate PTFE-oil organogel, then carbonyl iron particles were dispersed in this thixotropic organogel to prepare magnetorheological fluids without any other additives. By performing a comparative investigation of MRFs' performances, enhanced magnetorheological response, suspension stability and tribological performance were obtained contrast to pure silicon oil based MRFs. The experimental results revealed a changeable viscosity of organogel, considerable increases in thixotropy also can be observed with the increase of PTFE content. Sedimentation tests demonstrated a much better suspension stability of MRFs based on organogel, suggesting that the internal network microstructures formed by hydrogen bonds between PTFE microparticles and oil molecular chains are likely to impose the gaps among magnetic particles thus hinder the particle aggregation and sedimentation. Moreover, a critical PTFE volume fraction about 4.7 vol% was recognized in this study, lower content organogels tended to display enhanced yield stresses contrast to pure silicon oil based MRFs while high content organogels showed slightly lower ones. It may suggest a compromise between nonmagnetic particle adsorption and the reinforcement effect of network microstructures. The adsorption is likely to decrease the saturation magnetization of carbonyl iron particles and to hinder the formation of field-induced chains, however, the reinforcement effect tends to strengthen these magnetic chains. Besides, the tribological tests confirmed the lubricant effects of PTFE-oil organogel by acquiring rather sharp decreases in friction coefficients of organogel based MRFs especially in the presence of magnetic field.

Effects of a fish oil-based emulsion on rat hepatoma cell invasion in culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagi, Akifumi; Nakayama, Mitsuo; Miura, Yutaka; Yagasaki, Kazumi

2007-01-01

Total parenteral nutrition containing a lipid emulsion is often employed after surgical tumor resection. This study investigated the effects of a fish oil-based infusion on rat hepatoma cell invasion. Rat ascites hepatoma cell line AH109A was precultured with a fish oil-based or safflower oil-based emulsion for 48 h. Changes in membranous fatty acid composition were evaluated by gas chromatography. The invasiveness of hepatoma cells was assessed by coculturing with mesentery-derived mesothelial cells. To examine ex vivo effects of the fish oil-based infusion on hepatoma invasion, sera were prepared from rats infused with fish oil- or safflower oil-based emulsion and the effects of these sera were assessed. To clarify the mechanism of inhibition of invasion by the fish oil-based emulsion, the effects of prostaglandin (PG) E(2) and PGE(3) on invasion were examined. Pretreatment with the fish oil-based emulsion reduced invasiveness without affecting growth compared with the safflower oil-based emulsion. Pretreatment with the sera from rats infused with the fish oil-based emulsion also reduced invasiveness compared with the sera from rats infused with the safflower oil-based emulsion. The addition of PGE(2) eliminated the inhibitory effect of the fish oil-based emulsion, and the addition of PGE(3) reduced the invasiveness of hepatoma cells pretreated with the safflower oil-based emulsion. These results suggest that the fish oil-based emulsion may have anti-invasive effects. Changes in the membranous fatty acid composition and consequent changes in the prostaglandins produced may be involved in this inhibitory effect.

Environmental quality indexing of large industrial development alternatives using AHP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solnes, Julius

2003-01-01

Two industrial development alternatives have been proposed for the East Coast of Iceland in order to strengthen its socio-economic basis. The favoured option is to build a large aluminium smelter, which requires massive hydropower development in the nearby highlands. Another viable option is the construction of a 6-million-ton oil refinery, following the planned exploitation of the Timan Pechora oil reserves in the Russian Arctic. A third 'fictitious' alternative could be general development of existing regional industry and new knowledge-based industries, development of ecotourism, establishment of national parks, accompanied by infrastructure improvement (roads, tunnels, communications, schools, etc.). The three alternatives will have different environmental consequences. The controversial hydropower plant for the smelter requires a large water reservoir as well as considerable land disturbance in this unique mountain territory, considered to be the largest uninhabited wilderness in Western Europe. The aluminium smelter and the oil refinery will give rise to substantial increase of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the country (about 20%). Then there is potential environmental risk associated with the refinery regarding oil spills at sea, which could have disastrous impact on the fisheries industry. However, the oil refinery does not require any hydropower development, which is a positive factor. Finally, the third alternative could be defined as a ''green'' solution whereby the detrimental environmental consequences of the two industrial solutions are mostly avoided. In order to compare the three alternatives in an orderly manner, the analytic hierarchy process methodology of Saaty was applied to calculate the environmental quality index of each alternative, which is defined as a weighted sum of selected environmental and socio-economic factors. These factors are evaluated on a comparison basis, applying the AHP methodology, and the weights in the quality

International Oil Supplies and Demands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-09-01

The eleventh Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) working group met four times over the 1989--90 period to compare alternative perspectives on international oil supplies and demands through 2010 and to discuss how alternative supply and demand trends influence the world's dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. Proprietors of eleven economic models of the world oil market used their respective models to simulate a dozen scenarios using standardized assumptions. From its inception, the study was not designed to focus on the short-run impacts of disruptions on oil markets. Nor did the working group attempt to provide a forecast or just a single view of the likely future path for oil prices. The model results guided the group's thinking about many important longer-run market relationships and helped to identify differences of opinion about future oil supplies, demands, and dependence

International Oil Supplies and Demands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-04-01

The eleventh Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) working group met four times over the 1989--1990 period to compare alternative perspectives on international oil supplies and demands through 2010 and to discuss how alternative supply and demand trends influence the world's dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. Proprietors of eleven economic models of the world oil market used their respective models to simulate a dozen scenarios using standardized assumptions. From its inception, the study was not designed to focus on the short-run impacts of disruptions on oil markets. Nor did the working group attempt to provide a forecast or just a single view of the likely future path for oil prices. The model results guided the group's thinking about many important longer-run market relationships and helped to identify differences of opinion about future oil supplies, demands, and dependence

International Oil Supplies and Demands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-09-01

The eleventh Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) working group met four times over the 1989--90 period to compare alternative perspectives on international oil supplies and demands through 2010 and to discuss how alternative supply and demand trends influence the world's dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. Proprietors of eleven economic models of the world oil market used their respective models to simulate a dozen scenarios using standardized assumptions. From its inception, the study was not designed to focus on the short-run impacts of disruptions on oil markets. Nor did the working group attempt to provide a forecast or just a single view of the likely future path for oil prices. The model results guided the group's thinking about many important longer-run market relationships and helped to identify differences of opinion about future oil supplies, demands, and dependence.

International Oil Supplies and Demands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-04-01

The eleventh Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) working group met four times over the 1989--1990 period to compare alternative perspectives on international oil supplies and demands through 2010 and to discuss how alternative supply and demand trends influence the world's dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. Proprietors of eleven economic models of the world oil market used their respective models to simulate a dozen scenarios using standardized assumptions. From its inception, the study was not designed to focus on the short-run impacts of disruptions on oil markets. Nor did the working group attempt to provide a forecast or just a single view of the likely future path for oil prices. The model results guided the group's thinking about many important longer-run market relationships and helped to identify differences of opinion about future oil supplies, demands, and dependence.

DHA-Containing Oilseed: A Timely Solution for the Sustainability Issues Surrounding Fish Oil Sources of the Health-Benefitting Long-Chain Omega-3 Oils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soressa M. Kitessa

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Benefits of long-chain (≥C20 omega-3 oils (LC omega-3 oils for reduction of the risk of a range of disorders are well documented. The benefits result from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; optimal intake levels of these bioactive fatty acids for maintenance of normal health and prevention of diseases have been developed and adopted by national and international health agencies and science bodies. These developments have led to increased consumer demand for LC omega-3 oils and, coupled with increasing global population, will impact on future sustainable supply of fish. Seafood supply from aquaculture has risen over the past decades and it relies on harvest of wild catch fisheries also for its fish oil needs. Alternate sources of LC omega-3 oils are being pursued, including genetically modified soybean rich in shorter-chain stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4ω3. However, neither oils from traditional oilseeds such as linseed, nor the SDA soybean oil have shown efficient conversion to DHA. A recent breakthrough has seen the demonstration of a land plant-based oil enriched in DHA, and with omega-6 PUFA levels close to that occurring in marine sources of EPA and DHA. We review alternative sources of DHA supply with emphasis on the need for land plant oils containing EPA and DHA.

DHA-Containing Oilseed: A Timely Solution for the Sustainability Issues Surrounding Fish Oil Sources of the Health-Benefitting Long-Chain Omega-3 Oils

Science.gov (United States)

Kitessa, Soressa M.; Abeywardena, Mahinda; Wijesundera, Chakra; Nichols, Peter D.

2014-01-01

Benefits of long-chain (≥C20) omega-3 oils (LC omega-3 oils) for reduction of the risk of a range of disorders are well documented. The benefits result from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA); optimal intake levels of these bioactive fatty acids for maintenance of normal health and prevention of diseases have been developed and adopted by national and international health agencies and science bodies. These developments have led to increased consumer demand for LC omega-3 oils and, coupled with increasing global population, will impact on future sustainable supply of fish. Seafood supply from aquaculture has risen over the past decades and it relies on harvest of wild catch fisheries also for its fish oil needs. Alternate sources of LC omega-3 oils are being pursued, including genetically modified soybean rich in shorter-chain stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4ω3). However, neither oils from traditional oilseeds such as linseed, nor the SDA soybean oil have shown efficient conversion to DHA. A recent breakthrough has seen the demonstration of a land plant-based oil enriched in DHA, and with omega-6 PUFA levels close to that occurring in marine sources of EPA and DHA. We review alternative sources of DHA supply with emphasis on the need for land plant oils containing EPA and DHA. PMID:24858407

DHA-containing oilseed: a timely solution for the sustainability issues surrounding fish oil sources of the health-benefitting long-chain omega-3 oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitessa, Soressa M; Abeywardena, Mahinda; Wijesundera, Chakra; Nichols, Peter D

2014-05-22

Benefits of long-chain (≥C20) omega-3 oils (LC omega-3 oils) for reduction of the risk of a range of disorders are well documented. The benefits result from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA); optimal intake levels of these bioactive fatty acids for maintenance of normal health and prevention of diseases have been developed and adopted by national and international health agencies and science bodies. These developments have led to increased consumer demand for LC omega-3 oils and, coupled with increasing global population, will impact on future sustainable supply of fish. Seafood supply from aquaculture has risen over the past decades and it relies on harvest of wild catch fisheries also for its fish oil needs. Alternate sources of LC omega-3 oils are being pursued, including genetically modified soybean rich in shorter-chain stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4ω3). However, neither oils from traditional oilseeds such as linseed, nor the SDA soybean oil have shown efficient conversion to DHA. A recent breakthrough has seen the demonstration of a land plant-based oil enriched in DHA, and with omega-6 PUFA levels close to that occurring in marine sources of EPA and DHA. We review alternative sources of DHA supply with emphasis on the need for land plant oils containing EPA and DHA.

Efficiency versus cost of alternative fuels from renewable resources: outlining decision parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaul, Sanjay; Edinger, Raphael

2004-01-01

In the discussion of traditional versus renewable energies and alternatives to conventional crude oil-based fuels in the transportation sector, efficiency calculations are but one decision making parameter. Comparing the assets and liabilities of fossil-based and renewable fuels in the transportation sector, further aspects such as centralized versus decentralized technologies, cost evaluations, taxation, and ecological/social benefits have to be taken into account. This paper outlines the driving parameters for shifting toward alternative fuels based on fossil or renewable resources and their use in innovative vehicle technologies such as advanced internal combustion and fuel cell electric drive systems. For the decision in favor or against an alternative fuel to be introduced to the mass market, automotive technologies and the energy supply system have to be examined in an integrated way. From an economic and technological perspective, some fuels may be even incompatible with the trend toward using renewable resources that have advantages in decentralized systems. Beyond efficiency calculations, political and industrial interests arise and may be influential to reshaping our currently crude oil-based mobility sector

Prevention of refinery tower plugging by residual oil gellant chemicals in crude-pilot plant evaluation of alternative oil gellants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, R.S.; Fyten, G.C.; Cheng, A. [Halliburton Energy Services, Calgary, AB (Canada); Stemler, P.S. [Petro-Canada Oil and Gas Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada); Lemieux, A. [Omnicon Consultants Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

Tower fouling at petroleum refineries is related to background volatile phosphorus components originating from phosphate ester oil gellants. In an attempt to reduce the cost of unplanned refinery shut downs, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) may institute a new specification in July 2006 of 0.5 ppm maximum volatile phosphorus in crude. In concept, volatile phosphorus can be removed from phosphate esters by eliminating volatile components in the original phosphate ester gellant. However, the issue of of whether modified phosphate esters can really reduce refinery tower fouling has been questioned. For that reason, this study focused on water hydrolysis which may occur in a distillation tower, causing localized areas of acidity and causticity. Halogenation reactions could occur in the presence of acid at high temperatures if halogen ions are present. The source of halide ions could be any salts that have not been removed in the de-salters. Full-scale testing at a pilot plant facility was conducted over several days with flowback captured after actual fracturing treatments. Fouling of distillation tower trays was measured along with fouling of the packing material. The study examined how fouling was influenced by changes in operating parameters such as rate, temperature, or pressure during each test. Three full-scale pilot evaluations were conducted using actual flowback fluids from fracturing treatments conducted with 3 different oil gellants: conventional phosphate ester, modified phosphate and phosphonate ester. The comparison of actual tower fouling between these alternative gellants can be used as a guide when choosing oil gellant systems to reduce refinery tower and heat exchanger fouling. It was concluded that phosphonate gellants are hydrolytically stable at higher temperatures and should minimize volatile phosphorus created through the hydrolysis of phosphate esters. However, they are more expensive since they are more complex to create

Performance of the mineral blended ester oil-based drilling fluid systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ismail, A.R.; Kamis, A.; Foo, K.S. [University Teknologi (Malaysia)

2001-06-01

A study was conducted in which the properties of ester oil-based drilling fluid systems were examined using a blended mixture of ester and synthetic mineral oil. Biodegradable invert emulsion ester-based fluids are preferred over mineral oil-based drilling fluids for environmental reasons, but they tend to cause alkaline hydrolysis resulting in solidification of the drilling fluid systems. The drilling fluid examined here consisted of Malaysian palm oil ester derivatives (methyl laureate ester or isopropyl laureate ester) blended with commercially available synthetic mineral oil. This mineral oil was added to reduce the problem of alkaline hydrolysis. This mixture, however, was found to be unstable and could not solve the problem at high temperature. The isopropyl laureate and mineral oil blended system was more stable towards the hydrolysis process up to 250 degrees F. In order to enhance the performance of an invert emulsion drilling fluid system, it was recommended that brine water content of the fluid system be lowered. 3 refs., 2 figs.

Structure- and oil type-based efficacy of emulsion adjuvants.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansen, Theo; Hofmans, Marij P M; Theelen, Marc J G; Manders, Frans; Schijns, Virgil E J C

2006-06-29

Oil-based emulsions are well-known immunopotentiators for inactivated, "killed" vaccines. We addressed the relationship between emulsion structure and levels of in vivo antibody formation to inactivated New Castle Disease virus (NDV) and Infectious Bronchitis virus (IBV) as antigens in 3-week-old chickens. The use of a polymeric emulsifier allowed for direct comparison of three types of emulsions, water-in-oil (W/O), oil-in-water (O/W) and W/O-in-water (W/O/W), while maintaining an identical content of components for each vehicle. They were prepared with either non-metabolizable, mineral oil or metabolizable, Miglyol 840. In addition, we assessed the inherent release capacity of each emulsion variant in vitro. Remarkably, we noted that W/O-type emulsions induced the best immune responses, while they released no antigen during 3 weeks. In general, mineral oil vaccines showed superior efficacy compared to Miglyol 840-based vaccines.

Drilling fluid base oil biodegradation potential of a soil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Staphylococcus sp. isolated from oil-contaminated soil was grown in 1% drilling fluid base oil, HDF- 2000, as a sole source of carbon and energy. The organism has strong affinity for the substrate, growing at the rate of 0.16 h-1. It uses adherence and emulsification as mechanisms for oil uptake. In a nutrient-rich marine ...

Oil crops in biofuel applications: South Africa gearing up for a bio-based economy

OpenAIRE

Marvey, B B

2009-01-01

Large fluctuations in crude oil prices and the diminishing oil supply have left economies vulnerable to energy shortages thus placing an enormous pressure on nations around the world to seriously consider alternative renewable resources as feedstock in biofuel applications. Apart from energy security reasons, biofuels offer other advantages over their petroleum counterparts in that they contribute to the reduction in green- house gas emissions and to sustainable development. Just a few decade...

Friction Theory Prediction of Crude Oil Viscosity at Reservoir Conditions Based on Dead Oil Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cisneros, Sergio; Zeberg-Mikkelsen, Claus Kjær; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

2003-01-01

The general one-parameter friction theory (f-theory) models have been further extended to the prediction of the viscosity of real "live" reservoir fluids based on viscosity measurements of the "dead" oil and the compositional information of the live fluid. This work representation of the viscosity...... of real fluids is obtained by a simple one-parameter tuning of a linear equation derived from a general one-parameter f-theory model. Further, this is achieved using simple cubic equations of state (EOS), such as the Peng-Robinson (PR) EOS or the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) EOS, which are commonly used...... within the oil industry. In sake of completeness, this work also presents a simple characterization procedure which is based on compositional information of an oil sample. This procedure provides a method for characterizing an oil into a number of compound groups along with the critical constants...

Castor oil biodiesel as an alternative fuel for diesel engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benavides, Alirio; Benjumea, Pedro; Pashova, Veselina

2007-01-01

In this paper, a study related to the production and use of castor oil biodiesel is presented. The maximum methyl esters yield of the castor oil transesterification reaction is obtained under the following conditions: ambient temperature, a molar ratio of methanol to vegetable oil equal to 9 and a catalyst percentage equal to 0.8%. The castor oil biodiesel can be blended with petroleum diesel as far as 15% in such way that the resulting blend complies with national and international technical standards for diesel fuels. Its high viscosity becomes the main difficulty for using castor oil biodiesel in engines. However this biofuel exhibits excellent cold flow properties (low values of cloud and pour points). The motor tests using castor oil biodiesel petroleum diesel blends, for the biodiesel proportion tested; show that a biodiesel percentage increase leads to an increase in the specific fuel consumption, a decrease in the fuel air ratio, a slight decrease in smoke opacity, while the fuel conversion efficiency and the CO and CO 2 emissions practically remain constants

Recycling used palm oil and used engine oil to produce white bio oil, bio petroleum diesel and heavy fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Al-abbas, Mustafa Hamid; Ibrahim, Wan Aini Wan; Sanagi, Mohd. Marsin

2012-09-01

Recycling waste materials produced in our daily life is considered as an additional resource of a wide range of materials and it conserves the environment. Used engine oil and used cooking oil are two oils disposed off in large quantities as a by-product of our daily life. This study aims at providing white bio oil, bio petroleum diesel and heavy fuel from the disposed oils. Toxic organic materials suspected to be present in the used engine oil were separated using vacuum column chromatography to reduce the time needed for the separation process and to avoid solvent usage. The compounds separated were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and found to contain toxic aromatic carboxylic acids. Used cooking oils (thermally cracked from usage) were collected and separated by vacuum column chromatography. White bio oil produced was examined by GC-MS. The white bio oil consists of non-toxic hydrocarbons and is found to be a good alternative to white mineral oil which is significantly used in food industry, cosmetics and drugs with the risk of containing polycyclic aromatic compounds which are carcinogenic and toxic. Different portions of the used cooking oil and used engine were mixed to produce several blends for use as heavy oil fuels. White bio oil was used to produce bio petroleum diesel by blending it with petroleum diesel and kerosene. The bio petroleum diesel produced passed the PETRONAS flash point and viscosity specification test. The heat of combustion of the two blends of heavy fuel produced was measured and one of the blends was burned to demonstrate its burning ability. Higher heat of combustion was obtained from the blend containing greater proportion of used engine oil. This study has provided a successful recycled alternative for white bio oil, bio petroleum fuel and diesel which can be an energy source.

Viscous Flow Behaviour of Karanja Oil Based Bio-lubricant Base Oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Umesh Chandra; Sachan, Sadhana; Trivedi, Rakesh Kumar

2018-01-01

Karanja oil (KO) is widely used for synthesis of bio-fuel karanja oil methyl ester (KOME) due to its competitive price, good energy values and environmentally friendly combustion properties. Bio-lubricant is another value added product that can be synthesized from KO via chemical modification. In this work karanja oil trimethylolpropane ester (KOTMPE) bio-lubricant was synthesized and evaluated for its viscous flow behaviour. A comparison of viscous flow behaviours of natural KO and synthesized bio-fuel KOME and bio-lubricant KOTMPE was also made. The aim of this comparison was to validate the superiority of KOTMPE bio-lubricant over its precursors KO and KOME in terms of stable viscous flow at high temperature and high shear rate conditions usually encountered in engine operations and industrial processes. The free fatty acid (FFA) content of KO was 5.76%. KOME was synthesized from KO in a two-step, acid catalyzed esterification followed by base catalyzed transesterification, process at 65°C for 5 hours with oil-methanol ratio 1:6, catalysts H 2 SO 4 and KOH (1 and 1.25% w/w KO, respectively). In the final step, KOTMPE was prepared from KOME via transesterification with trimethylolpropane (TMP) at 150°C for 3 hours with KOME-TMP ratio 4:1 and H 2 SO 4 (2% w/w KOME) as catalyst. The viscosity versus temperature studies were made at 0-80°C temperatures in shear rate ranges of 10-1000 s -1 using a Discovery Hybrid Rheometer, model HR-3 (TA instruments, USA). The study found that viscosities of all three samples decreased with increase in temperature, though KOTMPE was able to maintain a good enough viscosity at elevated temperatures due to chemical modifications in its molecular structure. The viscosity index (VI) value for KOTMPE was 206.72. The study confirmed that the synthesized bio-lubricant KOTMPE can be used at high temperatures as a good lubricant, though some additives may be required to improve properties other than viscosity.

Demand elasticity of oil in Barbados

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, Alvon

2011-01-01

The importation of oil is a significant component of Barbados' imports, rising from 7% of imports in 1998 to over 20% in 2009. This increase has impacted greatly on the level of foreign reserves. As a price-taker, relying entirely on imported oil for our energy needs could prove a continuous drain on the economy. With a view to formulating an appropriate energy policy for Barbados, this paper analyses the demand for oil using monthly data from 1998 to 2009. The paper estimates the elasticities of demand for oil by employing single equation cointegration approach and comparing the results with countries that rely heavily on imported oil and whose policy objective are to alter their energy structure to rely less on imported oil. The results show that the demand for oil imports is price inelastic in the long run. The consumption of oil is responsive to past consumption, prices, income, electricity consumption and the number of appliances imported in the short-run. A policy framework to reduce the use of oil for electricity consumption via alternative energy sources should be considered and the taxation of oil imports given its elasticity is a good source of revenue. - Highlights: → Demand for oil is price inelastic in the long-run (-0.552). → The relationship between oil demand and income is insignificant in the long run. → As electricity consumption increases by 1%, the demand for oil rises by 1.43%. → Need to determine if investments in alternative sources can offset demand for oil. → Investment in alternative resources may be required before gains are realised.

Encapsulation of Polymethoxyflavones in Citrus Oil Emulsion-Based Delivery Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ying; Zhao, Chengying; Chen, Jingjing; Tian, Guifang; McClements, David Julian; Xiao, Hang; Zheng, Jinkai

2017-03-01

The purpose of this work was to elucidate the effects of citrus oil type on polymethoxyflavone (PMF) solubility and on the physicochemical properties of PMF-loaded emulsion-based delivery systems. Citrus oils were extracted from mandarin, orange, sweet orange, and bergamot. The major constituents were determined by GC/MS: sweet orange oil (97.4% d-limonene); mandarin oil (72.4% d-limonene); orange oil (67.2% d-limonene); and bergamot oil (34.6% linalyl acetate and 25.3% d-limonene). PMF-loaded emulsions were fabricated using 10% oil phase (containing 0.1% w/v nobiletin or tangeretin) and 90% aqueous phase (containing 1% w/v Tween 80) using high-pressure homogenization. Delivery systems prepared using mandarin oil had the largest mean droplet diameters (386 or 400 nm), followed by orange oil (338 or 390 nm), bergamot oil (129 or 133 nm), and sweet orange oil (122 or 126 nm) for nobiletin- or tangeretin-loaded emulsions, respectively. The optical clarity of the emulsions increased with decreasing droplet size due to reduced light scattering. The viscosities of the emulsions (with or without PMFs) were similar (1.3 to 1.4 mPa·s), despite appreciable differences in oil phase viscosity. The loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of the emulsions depended on carrier oil type, with bergamot oil giving the highest loading capacity. In summary, differences in the composition and physical characteristics of citrus oils led to PMF-loaded emulsions with different encapsulation and physicochemical characteristics. These results will facilitate the rational design of emulsion-based delivery systems for encapsulation of PMFs and other nutraceuticals in functional foods and beverages.

Dielectric oil-based polymer actuator for improved thickness strain and breakdown voltage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Min Sung; Yamamoto, Akio

2016-01-01

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have been increasingly investigated as alternative actuators to conventional ones. However, DEAs suffer from high rates of premature failure. Therefore, this study proposes a dielectric oil-based polymer actuator, also called a Dielectric liquid actuator (DLA), to compensate for the drawbacks of DEAs. DLA was experimentally compared with conventional DEAs. Results showed that DLA successfully prevented thermal runaway at defects in the electrode and excessive thinning of the film, resulting in increased breakdown voltage. Consequently, premature failure was inhibited, and the performance was improved. The breakdown voltages of DLA and DEA were 6000 and 2000 V, respectively, and their maximum thickness strains were 49.5% and 37.5%, respectively

Dielectric oil-based polymer actuator for improved thickness strain and breakdown voltage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Min Sung; Yamamoto, Akio [Dept. of Precision Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

2016-09-15

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have been increasingly investigated as alternative actuators to conventional ones. However, DEAs suffer from high rates of premature failure. Therefore, this study proposes a dielectric oil-based polymer actuator, also called a Dielectric liquid actuator (DLA), to compensate for the drawbacks of DEAs. DLA was experimentally compared with conventional DEAs. Results showed that DLA successfully prevented thermal runaway at defects in the electrode and excessive thinning of the film, resulting in increased breakdown voltage. Consequently, premature failure was inhibited, and the performance was improved. The breakdown voltages of DLA and DEA were 6000 and 2000 V, respectively, and their maximum thickness strains were 49.5% and 37.5%, respectively.

Homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzymatic catalysis for transesterification of high free fatty acid oil (waste cooking oil) to biodiesel: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Man Kee; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

2010-01-01

In the last few years, biodiesel has emerged as one of the most potential renewable energy to replace current petrol-derived diesel. It is a renewable, biodegradable and non-toxic fuel which can be easily produced through transesterification reaction. However, current commercial usage of refined vegetable oils for biodiesel production is impractical and uneconomical due to high feedstock cost and priority as food resources. Low-grade oil, typically waste cooking oil can be a better alternative; however, the high free fatty acids (FFA) content in waste cooking oil has become the main drawback for this potential feedstock. Therefore, this review paper is aimed to give an overview on the current status of biodiesel production and the potential of waste cooking oil as an alternative feedstock. Advantages and limitations of using homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzymatic transesterification on oil with high FFA (mostly waste cooking oil) are discussed in detail. It was found that using heterogeneous acid catalyst and enzyme are the best option to produce biodiesel from oil with high FFA as compared to the current commercial homogeneous base-catalyzed process. However, these heterogeneous acid and enzyme catalyze system still suffers from serious mass transfer limitation problems and therefore are not favorable for industrial application. Nevertheless, towards the end of this review paper, a few latest technological developments that have the potential to overcome the mass transfer limitation problem such as oscillatory flow reactor (OFR), ultrasonication, microwave reactor and co-solvent are reviewed. With proper research focus and development, waste cooking oil can indeed become the next ideal feedstock for biodiesel.

Alternative motor fuels today and tomorrow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bensaid, B.

2004-01-01

Today, petroleum products account for 97% of the energy consumed in road transport. The purpose of replacing these products with alternative energies is to reduce oil dependence as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The high price of oil has promoted the use of 'conventional' alternative motor fuels (biofuels, LPG, NGV) and also renewed interest in syn-fuels (GTL, CTL, BTL) that have already given rise to industrial and pilot projects. (author)

Treatment of Mineral Oil Refinery Wastewater in Microbial Fuel Cells Using Ionic Liquid Based Separators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasna Addi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Microbial fuel cells (MFCs are an environmentally friendly technology that can recover electricity directly from several wastes at ambient temperatures. This work explores the use of mineral oil refinery wastewater as feedstock in single-chamber air-cathode MFC devices. A polymer inclusion membrane based on the ionic liquid methyltrioctylammonium chloride, [MTOA+][Cl−], at a concentration of 70% w/w, was used as separator, showing a good efficiency in power production and chemical oxygen demand (COD removal. The power and the chemical oxygen demand removal reached values of 45 mW/m3 and over 80%, respectively. The evolution of other parameters of the wastewater including nitrites, phosphates and sulphates were also studied. Kjeldahl nitrogen and sulphates were significantly reduced during MFC operation. The results show that mineral oil refinery wastewater can be used as feedstock in air breathing cathode-microbial fuel cells based on polymer ionic liquid inclusion membranes. This configuration could represent a good alternative for wastewater depuration while producing energy during the process.

MICROWAVE HEATING AND SEPARATION OF WATER-IN-OIL EMULSION FROM MEXICAN CRUDE OIL

OpenAIRE

VAZQUEZ V., ADRIAN; LOPEZ M., ARTURO; ANDRADE C., LUIS J.; VAZQUEZ A., ARIANA M.

2014-01-01

Microwave heating and gravity sedimentation are alternatives for demulsification and layer separation into oil and water layers, this process was demonstrated in the laboratory and provides an option for reducing and oil recovering from water-in-oil Mexican oil emulsions. The combinatorial process was implemented in a test lab using Mexican crude oil samples. The Laboratory samples were 100% and 50-50%, crude and crude-water respectively, were heated. The results were encouraging show that mi...

Synthesis and characterization of castor oil based polyurethane ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

Abstract. A series of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of castor oil based polyurethane/polyacrylo- nitrile (PU/PAN: 80/20, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60 and 20/80) were synthesized by condensation reaction of castor oil with methylene diisocyanate and acrylonitrile, employing benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and ethylene glycol ...

Preparation of biodiesel from soybean oil by using heterogeneous catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferdous, Kaniz; Rakib Uddin, M.; Islam, M.A. [Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114 (Bangladesh); Khan, Maksudur R. [Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114 (Bangladesh); Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, University Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Gambang, Kuantan, Pahang (Malaysia)

2013-07-01

The predicted shortage of fossil fuels and related environmental concerns has recently attracted significant attention to search alternative fuel. Biodiesel is one of the alternatives to fossil fuel. Now-a-days, most biodiesel is produced by the transesterification of oils using methanol and a homogeneous base catalyst. The use of homogeneous catalysts is normally limited to batch mode processing followed by a catalyst separation step. The immiscible glycerol phase, which accumulates during the course of the reaction, solubilizes the homogeneous base catalyst and therefore, withdraws from the reaction medium. Moreover, other difficulties of using homogeneous base catalysts relate to their sensitivity to free fatty acid (FFA) and water and resulting saponification phenomenon. High energy consumption and costly separation of the catalyst from the reaction mixture have inspired the use of heterogeneous catalyst. The use of heterogeneous catalysts does not lead to the formation of soaps through neutralization of FFA and saponification of oil. In the present paper, biodiesel was prepared from crude (soybean) oil by transesterification reaction using heterogeneous base catalyst name calcium oxide (CaO). Various reaction parameters were optimized and the biodiesel properties were evaluated.

Alternative Raw Materials for Animal Feed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A R Alimon

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The increase in world fuel prices in the last few years has charged the global animal feedstuffs. In Malaysia, the feed industry is dependent on the importation of corn and soybean meal as the poultry and swine industries are almost totally based on corn soya bean meal diets. However, there are many byproducts and coproducts available in Malaysia as alternatives to corn or soy bean. Since Malaysia has more than 4 million hectares of oil palm plantation and after processing for the oil, large quantities of several byproducts are produced. This paper describes several available byproducts and co products in Malaysia, their nutritive value and their problems.

Modeling oil production based on symbolic regression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Guangfei; Li, Xianneng; Wang, Jianliang; Lian, Lian; Ma, Tieju

2015-01-01

Numerous models have been proposed to forecast the future trends of oil production and almost all of them are based on some predefined assumptions with various uncertainties. In this study, we propose a novel data-driven approach that uses symbolic regression to model oil production. We validate our approach on both synthetic and real data, and the results prove that symbolic regression could effectively identify the true models beneath the oil production data and also make reliable predictions. Symbolic regression indicates that world oil production will peak in 2021, which broadly agrees with other techniques used by researchers. Our results also show that the rate of decline after the peak is almost half the rate of increase before the peak, and it takes nearly 12 years to drop 4% from the peak. These predictions are more optimistic than those in several other reports, and the smoother decline will provide the world, especially the developing countries, with more time to orchestrate mitigation plans. -- Highlights: •A data-driven approach has been shown to be effective at modeling the oil production. •The Hubbert model could be discovered automatically from data. •The peak of world oil production is predicted to appear in 2021. •The decline rate after peak is half of the increase rate before peak. •Oil production projected to decline 4% post-peak

Testing and preformance measurement of straight vegetable oils as an alternative fuel for diesel engines

Science.gov (United States)

Lakshminarayanan, Arunachalam

Rising fuel prices, growing energy demand, concerns over domestic energy security and global warming from greenhouse gas emissions have triggered the global interest in bio-energy and bio-fuel crop development. Backlash from these concerns can result in supply shocks of traditional fossil fuels and create immense economic pressure. It is thus widely argued that bio-fuels would particularly benefit developing countries by off-setting their dependencies on imported petroleum. Domestically, the transportation sector accounts for almost 40% of liquid fuel consumption, while on-farm application like tractors and combines for agricultural purposes uses close to an additional 18%. It is estimated that 40% of the farm budget can be attributed to the fuel costs. With the cost of diesel continuously rising, farmers are now looking at using Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) as an alternative fuel by producing their own fuel crops. This study evaluates conventional diesel compared to the use of SVO like Camelina, Canola and Juncea grown on local farms in Colorado for their performance and emissions on a John Deere 4045 Tier-II engine. Additionally, physical properties like density and viscosity, metal/mineral content, and cold flow properties like CFPP and CP of these oils were measured using ASTM standards and compared to diesel. It was found that SVOs did not show significant differences compared to diesel fuel with regards to engine emissions, but did show an increase in thermal efficiency. Therefore, this study supports the continued development of SVO production as a viable alternative to diesel fuels, particularly for on-farm applications. The need for providing and developing a sustainable, economic and environmental friendly fuel alternative has taken an aggressive push which will require a strong multidisciplinary education in the field of bio-energy. Commercial bio-energy development has the potential to not only alleviate the energy concerns, but also to give renewed

Kinetics of Chlorella protothecoides microalgal oil using base catalyst

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mukesh Kumar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Due to continuous diminishing of fossil fuel resources and emission of greenhouse gases, the search for alternative fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol has become inevitable. Biodiesel, also known as fatty acid methyl or ethyl ester, has emerged as a substitute for diesel because of similar fuel properties. Presently, biodiesel is produced from edible, non-edible and microalgal oil. Chlorella protothecoides (lipid content 14.6–57.8% is being investigated as the potential microalgae species owing to high oil content, less land area required for cultivation and faster growth rate. The present investigation shows the results of the kinetics of transesterification of C. protothecoides microalgal oil carried out at optimum conditions of catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, molar ratio and reaction time. The percentage of methyl ester yield is the only parameter chosen to carry out the optimum parameter and the kinetics of transesterification. The reaction rate constant was to be 0.0618 min−1. Furthermore, microalgal biodiesel is characterized for physico-chemical properties that are found to meet American (ASTM D6751 and Indian (IS 15607 standards, especially in cold flow properties and stability of conventional biodiesel.

Solvent extraction of base oil from used lubricant oil: a study on the performance of zeolite adsorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim Lee Ping; Rosli Mohd Yunus; Adnan Ripin

2001-01-01

Solvent extraction is known as one of the potential techniques for recycling used lubricant oil. The recovered oil is identical to the virgin oil, but the oil maintains its darkish color and some odor. This paper is to study the performance of zeolite in removing color and odor. A part from the study, factorial design analysis indicated that the concentration of zeolite exerts to be the most influenced on the adsorption process in which the increase of zeolite concentration resulted in an average increase of 2.22% adsorption response. The number of contact stage appeared to be the second most influential effects, which brought an average increase of 1.38% adsorption response. Further more, it was found that the interaction between the concentration of zeolite and the number of contact stage was the most significant of all interactions under study, at 2.71%. Thus, the additions of 10 g zeolite in 50 ml base oil of 3 rd stage color removal produces the best color removal from the recovered base oil. (Author)

Fueling the dragon: Alternative Chinese oil futures and their implications for the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Eberling, George G.

This study examines how Chinese oil energy will likely shape future Sino-American relations under conditions of dependency and non-dependency. The study will list and describe three possible Chinese oil energy futures or scenarios (Competitive Dependency, Competitive Surplus and Cooperative Surplus) using Scenario Analysis to subsequently estimate their associated likelihoods using the PRINCE forecasting system and discuss and evaluate their strategic implications for the United States. Further, this study will determine the most likely oil energy future or scenario. Finally, the study will list and describe the most likely United States political, economic and/or military policy responses for each future or scenario. The study contributes to the literature on Chinese and United States energy security, foreign policy, political economy and political risk analysis by showing how China will most likely address its growing oil energy dependence and by determining what will be the most likely U.S. foreign policy consequences based on the most current literature available on energy security and foreign policy.

The effect of oil revenues instability on the oil-based and labor-exporting economies: The case of the Arab region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Abbasi, M.A.

1991-01-01

The changes in the trend of the oil-export earnings in the oil-based economics not only affected the growth of the domestic economics not only affected the growth of the domestic economies but influenced the economic activities in the neighboring labor-exporting economies. This study investigates and tests the hypothesis that uncertainty associated with fluctuations in oil-export earnings affect adversely the economic growth in the oil-based economies of the Middle East. In addition, it seeks to examine the hypothesis that the impact of such fluctuations has been transmitted to the neighboring labor-exporting economies, during the period 1970-1986. Results show that oil-export instability does indeed create a wave of fluctuations in the domestic economic activity of the oil-based economies through the negative effect on investment, government spending, and domestic output. For the labor-exporting economies, results suggest that the flow of workers' remittances have had a positive impact on investment and income growth. Results also indicate that the rate of economic growth in the oil-based economies sets a broad limit on the range of feasible growth in the labor-exporting economies

Normetex Pump Alternatives Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Elliot A.

2013-01-01

A mainstay pump for tritium systems, the Normetex scroll pump, is currently unavailable because the Normetex company went out of business. This pump was an all-metal scroll pump that served tritium processing facilities very well. Current tritium system operators are evaluating replacement pumps for the Normetex pump and for general used in tritium service. An all-metal equivalent alternative to the Normetex pump has not yet been identified. 1. The ideal replacement tritium pump would be hermetically sealed and contain no polymer components or oils. Polymers and oils degrade over time when they contact ionizing radiation. 2. Halogenated polymers (containing fluorine, chlorine, or both) and oils are commonly found in pumps. These materials have many properties that surpass those of hydrocarbon-based polymers and oils, including thermal stability (higher operating temperature) and better chemical resistance. Unfortunately, they are less resistant to degradation from ionizing radiation than hydrocarbon-based materials (in general). 3. Polymers and oils can form gaseous, condensable (HF, TF), liquid, and solid species when exposed to ionizing radiation. For example, halogenated polymers form HF and HCl, which are extremely corrosive upon reaction with water. If a pump containing polymers or oils must be used in a tritium system, the system must be designed to be able to process the unwanted by-products. Design features to mitigate degradation products include filters and chemical or physical traps (eg. cold traps, oil traps). 4. Polymer components can work in tritium systems, but must be replaced regularly. Polymer components performance should be monitored or be regularly tested, and regular replacement of components should be viewed as an expected normal event. A radioactive waste stream must be established to dispose of used polymer components and oil with an approved disposal plan developed based on the facility location and its regulators. Polymers have varying

Rapid determination of phenol content in extra virgin olive oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Favati, F.

1994-04-01

Full Text Available A quick extraction methodology was developed to reduce the time usually required to determine the phenol content in olive oil. The validity of this method, based on SPE technique, was tested against two other phenol extraction techniques.
The statistical analysis of the analytical data showed that over a phenol content range of 110-550 μg/g oil, the proposed method can be a reliable alternative for a rapid extraction of the phenols from olive oil.

No disponible.

Recovery of oil from underground drill sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streeter, W.S.; Hutchinson, T.S.; Ameri, S.; Wasson, J.A.; Aminian, K.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that a significant quantity of oil is left in reservoirs after conventional oil recovery techniques have been applied. In West Virginia and Pennsylvania alone, this oil has been estimated at over 4.5 billion barrels (0.72 billion m 3 ). Conventional recovery methods are already being used when applicable. But a new recovery method is needed for use in reservoirs that have been abandoned. One alternative method for recovery of the residual oil is known as oil recovery from underground drill sites. This recovery technology is a combination of proven methods and equipment from the petroleum, mining, and civil construction industries. Underground oil recovery can be an economically viable method of producing oil. This has been shown in producing fields, field tests, and feasibility, studies. Faced with decreasing domestic oil production, the petroleum industry should give serious consideration to the use of oil recovery from underground drill sites as a safe, practical, and environmentally sensitive alternative method of producing oil from many reservoirs

Computer based training for oil spill management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodman, R.

1993-01-01

Large oil spills are infrequent occurrences, which poses a particular problem for training oil spill response staff and for maintaining a high level of response readiness. Conventional training methods involve table-top simulations to develop tactical and strategic response skills and boom-deployment exercises to maintain operational readiness. Both forms of training are quite effective, but they are very time-consuming to organize, are expensive to conduct, and tend to become repetitious. To provide a variety of response experiences, a computer-based system of oil spill response training has been developed which can supplement a table-top training program. Using a graphic interface, a realistic and challenging computerized oil spill response simulation has been produced. Integral to the system is a program editing tool which allows the teacher to develop a custom training exercise for the area of interest to the student. 1 ref

Ni-Based Catalysts for the Hydrotreatment of Fast Pyrolysis Oil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ardiyanti, A. R.; Bykova, M. V.; Khromova, S. A.; Yin, W.; Venderbosch, R. H.; Yakovlev, V. A.; Heeres, Hero

Catalytic hydrotreatment is an attractive technology to convert fast pyrolysis oil to stabilized oil products for co processing in conventional crude oil refinery units. We report here the use of novel bimetallic NiCu- and NiPd-based (Picula) catalysts characterized by a high Ni content (29-58 wt %)

Soil burial biodegradation studies of palm oil-based UV-curable films

Science.gov (United States)

Tajau, Rida; Salleh, Mek Zah; Salleh, Nik Ghazali Nik; Abdurahman, Mohamad Norahiman; Salih, Ashraf Mohammed; Fathy, Siti Farhana; Azman, Anis Asmi; Hamidi, Nur Amira

2016-01-01

The palm oil-based ultraviolet (uv)-curable films were subjected to an outdoor soil burial test to investigate the biodegradation under natural environment. The films were burial in the soil experiment plot at the Nuclear Malaysia's Dengkil complex. The uv-curable films were synthesized from the epoxidized palm oil acrylated (EPOLA) resin and the polyurethane palm oil (POBUA) resin, respectively. Biodegradation tests are more specific to burial film in soil experiments for 12 months under natural conditions. The biodegradability of palm oil resin based uv-curable films were investigated and compared with the petrochemical resin based film. The films properties were compared with respect to properties of the thermal characteristic, the crystallinity, the morphology and the weight loss which are analyzed using the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope and the weight loss of film calculation. These findings suggested that the palm oil-based uv-curable films show quite satisfactory biodegradation levels.

Soil burial biodegradation studies of palm oil-based UV-curable films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajau, Rida; Salleh, Mek Zah; Salleh, Nik Ghazali Nik; Abdurahman, Mohamad Norahiman; Salih, Ashraf Mohammed; Fathy, Siti Farhana; Azman, Anis Asmi; Hamidi, Nur Amira

2016-01-01

The palm oil-based ultraviolet (uv)-curable films were subjected to an outdoor soil burial test to investigate the biodegradation under natural environment. The films were burial in the soil experiment plot at the Nuclear Malaysia’s Dengkil complex. The uv-curable films were synthesized from the epoxidized palm oil acrylated (EPOLA) resin and the polyurethane palm oil (POBUA) resin, respectively. Biodegradation tests are more specific to burial film in soil experiments for 12 months under natural conditions. The biodegradability of palm oil resin based uv-curable films were investigated and compared with the petrochemical resin based film. The films properties were compared with respect to properties of the thermal characteristic, the crystallinity, the morphology and the weight loss which are analyzed using the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope and the weight loss of film calculation. These findings suggested that the palm oil-based uv-curable films show quite satisfactory biodegradation levels

Soil burial biodegradation studies of palm oil-based UV-curable films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tajau, Rida, E-mail: rida@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Salleh, Mek Zah, E-mail: mekzah@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Salleh, Nik Ghazali Nik, E-mail: nik-ghazali@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Abdurahman, Mohamad Norahiman, E-mail: iman5031@yahoo.com [Division of Radiation Processing Technology, Malaysia Nuclear Agency, Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Salih, Ashraf Mohammed, E-mail: ashraf.msalih@gmail.com [Department of Radiation Processing, Sudan Atomic Energy Commission, Khartoum, 1111 Sudan (Sudan); Fathy, Siti Farhana, E-mail: farhana811@hotmail.com [Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience (IBS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor (Malaysia); Azman, Anis Asmi, E-mail: anisasmi18@gmail.com; Hamidi, Nur Amira, E-mail: amirahamidi93@yahoo.com [School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800 USM, Pulau Pinang (Malaysia)

2016-01-22

The palm oil-based ultraviolet (uv)-curable films were subjected to an outdoor soil burial test to investigate the biodegradation under natural environment. The films were burial in the soil experiment plot at the Nuclear Malaysia’s Dengkil complex. The uv-curable films were synthesized from the epoxidized palm oil acrylated (EPOLA) resin and the polyurethane palm oil (POBUA) resin, respectively. Biodegradation tests are more specific to burial film in soil experiments for 12 months under natural conditions. The biodegradability of palm oil resin based uv-curable films were investigated and compared with the petrochemical resin based film. The films properties were compared with respect to properties of the thermal characteristic, the crystallinity, the morphology and the weight loss which are analyzed using the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope and the weight loss of film calculation. These findings suggested that the palm oil-based uv-curable films show quite satisfactory biodegradation levels.

Operational Satellite-based Surface Oil Analyses (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Streett, D.; Warren, C.

2010-12-01

During the Deepwater Horizon spill, NOAA imagery analysts in the Satellite Analysis Branch (SAB) issued more than 300 near-real-time satellite-based oil spill analyses. These analyses were used by the oil spill response community for planning, issuing surface oil trajectories and tasking assets (e.g., oil containment booms, skimmers, overflights). SAB analysts used both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and high resolution visible/near IR multispectral satellite imagery as well as a variety of ancillary datasets. Satellite imagery used included ENVISAT ASAR (ESA), TerraSAR-X (DLR), Cosmo-Skymed (ASI), ALOS (JAXA), Radarsat (MDA), ENVISAT MERIS (ESA), SPOT (SPOT Image Corp.), Aster (NASA), MODIS (NASA), and AVHRR (NOAA). Ancillary datasets included ocean current information, wind information, location of natural oil seeps and a variety of in situ oil observations. The analyses were available as jpegs, pdfs, shapefiles and through Google, KML files and also available on a variety of websites including Geoplatform and ERMA. From the very first analysis issued just 5 hours after the rig sank through the final analysis issued in August, the complete archive is still publicly available on the NOAA/NESDIS website http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/MPS/deepwater.html SAB personnel also served as the Deepwater Horizon International Disaster Charter Project Manager (at the official request of the USGS). The Project Manager’s primary responsibility was to acquire and oversee the processing and dissemination of satellite data generously donated by numerous private companies and nations in support of the oil spill response including some of the imagery described above. SAB has begun to address a number of goals that will improve our routine oil spill response as well as help assure that we are ready for the next spill of national significance. We hope to (1) secure a steady, abundant and timely stream of suitable satellite imagery even in the absence of large-scale emergencies such as

Three different applications of genetic algorithm (GA) search techniques on oil demand estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canyurt, Olcay Ersel; Oztuerk, Harun Kemal

2006-01-01

This present study develops three scenarios to analyze oil consumption and make future projections based on the Genetic algorithm (GA) notion, and examines the effect of the design parameters on the oil utilization values. The models developed in the non-linear form are applied to the oil demand of Turkey. The GA Oil Demand Estimation Model (GAODEM) is developed to estimate the future oil demand values based on Gross National Product (GNP), population, import, export, oil production, oil import and car, truck and bus sales figures. Among these models, the GA-PGOiTI model, which uses population, GNP, oil import, truck sales and import as design parameters/indicators, was found to provide the best fit solution with the observed data. It may be concluded that the proposed models can be used as alternative solution and estimation techniques for the future oil utilization values of any country

The addition of medium-chain triglycerides to a purified fish oil-based diet alters inflammatory profiles in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Sarah J; Nandivada, Prathima; Chang, Melissa I; Mitchell, Paul D; O'Loughlin, Alison; Cowan, Eileen; Gura, Kathleen M; Nose, Vania; Bistrian, Bruce R; Puder, Mark

2015-02-01

Parenteral nutrition associated liver disease (PNALD) is a deadly complication of long term parenteral nutrition (PN) use in infants. Fish oil-based lipid emulsion has been shown in recent years to effectively treat PNALD. Alternative fat sources free of essential fatty acids have recently been investigated for health benefits related to decreased inflammatory response. We hypothesized that the addition of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) to a purified fish oil-based diet would decrease the response to inflammatory challenge in mice, while allowing for sufficient growth and development. Six groups of ten adult male C57/Bl6 mice were pair-fed different dietary treatments for a period of twelve weeks, varying only in fat source (percent calories by weight): 10.84% soybean oil (SOY), 10% coconut oil (HCO), 10% medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), 3% purified fish oil (PFO), 3% purified fish oil with 3% medium-chain triglycerides (50:50 MCT:PFO) and 3% purified fish oil with 7.59% medium-chain triglycerides (70:30 MCT:PFO). An endotoxin challenge was administered to half of the animals in each group at the completion of dietary treatment. All groups demonstrated normal growth throughout the study period. Groups fed MCT and HCO diets demonstrated biochemical essential fatty acid deficiency and decreased IL-6 and TNF-α response to endotoxin challenge. Groups containing PFO had increased inflammatory response to endotoxin challenge, and the addition of MCT to PFO mitigated this inflammatory response. These results suggest that the addition of MCT to PFO formulations may decrease the host response to inflammatory challenge, which may pose potential for optimized PN formulations. Inclusion of MCT in lipid emulsions given with PN formulations may be of use in therapeutic interventions for disease states resulting from chronic inflammation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An experiment of used palm oil refinery using the value engineering method

Science.gov (United States)

Sumiati; Waluyo, M.

2018-01-01

Palm Oil is one of prime materials which very necessary for Indonesia. In the development of palm oil industry the constraint which faced is raw material availability and the economic crisis that attack Indonesia which cause increasing of cost industry so that the salaes price become very expensive . With using alternative raw material namely used palm oil them be made palm oil design to solve this problems. In the designing which comply the consideration of good pal oil planning aspect be use value engineer study. While the criteria parameter of hygienic palm oil which obtained from the questioner area free fatty acid, water content, Iodine number, peroxide number, odor, taste and the color. The research which use value engineer study is throught any phase that is information phase, analyzes phase, creative phase, development phase and presentation phase. This research began with doing the identification of palm oil demand, continued by methodology development in order to measure oil design. By using creative process could be obtained flow rate position, the amount of adsorbent and the best settling time for palm oil alternative that is in the flow rate 70 ml/sec, 4% of adsorbent and the 70 minute for the settling time with free fatty acid value: 0.299. While the best palm oil alternative are palm oil with free fatty acid value = 0.299, water content = 0.31, Iodine number = 40.08, Peroxide number = 3.72, odor and taste = Normal, the color = Normal. The Evalution which done by value engineer study generate the value from alternative palm oil is 1.330 and market palm oil 1.392. Thus, can be conclude thet the value engineer study can be good implemented in the alternative palm oil planning so that alternative palm oil can be produced largely because they have better value that market palm oil and appropriate for little industries.

Effect of fast pyrolysis bio-oil from palm oil empty fruit bunch on bitumen properties

Science.gov (United States)

Poh, Chia Chin; Hassan, Norhidayah Abdul; Raman, Noor Azah Abdul; Shukry, Nurul Athma Mohd; Warid, Muhammad Naqiuddin Mohd; Satar, Mohd Khairul Idham Mohd; Ros Ismail, Che; Asmah Hassan, Sitti; Mashros, Nordiana

2018-04-01

Bitumen shortage has triggered the exploration of another alternative waste material that can be blended with conventional bitumen. This study presents the performance of pyrolysis bio-oil from palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) as an alternative binder in modified bitumen mixtures. The palm oil EFB was first pyrolyzed using auger pyrolyzer to extract the bio-oil. Conventional bitumen 80/100 penetration grade was used as a control sample and compared with samples that were modified with different percentages, i.e., 5% and 10%, of pyrolysis EFB bio-oil. The physical and rheological properties of the control and modified bitumen samples were investigated using penetration, softening point, viscosity and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests. Results showed that the addition of EFB bio-oil softened the bitumen with high penetration and a reduction in softening point, penetration index, and viscosity. However, the DSR results showed a comparable rutting resistance between the bitumen samples containing EFB bio-oil and virgin bitumen with a failure temperature achieved greater than 64°C.

Exploring Alternative Fuels in Middle Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Donley, John F.; Stewardson, Gary A.

2010-01-01

Alternative energy sources have become increasingly important as the production of domestic oil has declined and dependence on foreign oil has increased. Historically, there have been four time periods during which the United States was in fact crippled by oil shortages. These time periods include: (1) the early 1900s; (2) World War II; (3) the…

Process for separating and recovering oil from oil-sands, etc

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Preller, H

1920-07-14

A process for separating and recovering oil from oil-sands, bitumen from oil-chalk, oil shale, and coal is characterized in that the material to be separated feeds, by a self-acting feeding arrangement, to a system with slowly rotating drums alternating in different directions and thereby it is exposed to the action of hot water running opposite to the rotation, direction of the drum, with addition of extraction-medium, so that the light material is washed out and rises to the top. It is carried off, while the heavy material sinks to the bottom and, by bucket-conveyor is removed.

Stability Proxies for Water-in-Oil Emulsions and Implications in Aqueous-based Enhanced Oil Recovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehrnoosh Moradi

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Several researchers have proposed that mobility control mechanisms can positively contribute to oil recovery in the case of emulsions generated in Enhanced-Oil Recovery (EOR operations. Chemical EOR techniques that use alkaline components or/and surfactants are known to produce undesirable emulsions that create operational problems and are difficult to break. Other water-based methods have been less studied in this sense. EOR processes such as polymer flooding and LoSalTM injection require adjustments of water chemistry, mainly by lowering the ionic strength of the solution or by decreasing hardness. The decreased ionic strength of EOR solutions can give rise to more stable water-in-oil emulsions, which are speculated to improve mobility ratio between the injectant and the displaced oil. The first step toward understanding the connection between the emulsions and EOR mechanisms is to show that EOR conditions, such as salinity and hardness requirements, among others, are conducive to stabilizing emulsions. In order to do this, adequate stability proxies are required. This paper reviews commonly used emulsion stability proxies and explains the advantages and disadvantage of methods reviewed. This paper also reviews aqueous-based EOR processes with focus on heavy oil to contextualize in-situ emulsion stabilization conditions. This context sets the basis for comparison of emulsion stability proxies.

Systematic approach for synthesis of palm oil-based biorefinery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NG, Rex T. L.; NG, Denny K. S.; LAM, Hon Loong [Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Centre of Excellence for Green Technologies, Univ. of Nottingham, Selangor, (Malaysia); TAY, Douglas H. S.; LIM, Joseph H. E. [2GGS Eco Solutions Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2012-11-01

Various types of palm oil biomasses are generated from palm oil mill when crude palm oil (CPO) is produced from fresh fruit bunch (FFB). In the current practice, palm oil biomasses are used as the main source of energy input in the palm oil mill to produce steam and electricity. Moreover, those biomasses are regarded as by-products and can be reclaimed easily. Therefore, there is a continuous increasing interest concerning biomasses generated from the palm oil mill as a source of renewable energy. Although various technologies have been exploited to produce bio-fuel (i.e., briquette, pellet, etc.) as well as heat and power generation, however, no systematic approach which can analyse and optimise the synthesise biorefinery is presented. In this work, a systematic approach for synthesis and optimisation of palm oil-based biorefinery which including palm oil mill and refinery with maximum economic performance is developed. The optimised network configuration with achieves the maximum economic performance can also be determined. To illustrate the proposed approach, a case study is solved in this work.

Breakdown Characteristic Analysis of Paper- Oil Insulation under AC and DC Voltage

Science.gov (United States)

Anuar, N. F.; Jamail, N. A. M.; Rahman, R. A.; Kamarudin, M. S.

2017-08-01

This paper presents the study of breakdown characteristic of Kraft paper insulated with two different types of insulating fluid, which are Palm oil and Coconut oil. Palm oil and Coconut oil are chosen as the alternative fluid to the transformer oil because it has high potential and environmentally-friendly. The Segezha Kraft papers with various thicknesses (65.5 gsm, 75 gsm, 85gsm, 90 gsm) have been used in this research. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC), High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) and carbon track and severity analysis is conducted to observe the sample of aging Kraft paper. These samples have been immersed using Palm oil and Coconut oil up to 90 days to observe the absorption rate. All samples started to reach saturation level at 70 days of immersion. HVDC and HVAC breakdown experiments have been done after the samples had reached the saturation level based on normal condition, immersed in Palm oil and immersed in Coconut oil. All samples immersed in liquid show different breakdown voltage reading compared to normal condition. The analysis of carbon track and severity on surface has been done using Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Analysis. The results of the experiment show that the sample of Kraft paper immersed in Palm oil was better than Coconut oil immersed sample. Therefore the sample condition was the main factor that determines the value of breakdown voltage test. Introduction

Harvesting alternate energies from our planet

Science.gov (United States)

Rath, Bhakta B.

2009-04-01

Recent price fluctuations have focused attention on the phenomenal increase of global energy consumption in recent years. We have almost reached a peak in global oil production. Total world consumption of oil will rise by nearly 60% between 1999 and 2020. In 1999 consumption was 86 million barrels of oil per day, which has reached a peak of production extracted from most known oil reserves. These projections, if accurate, will present an unprecedented crisis to the global economy and industry. As an example, in the United States, nearly 40% of energy usage is provided by petroleum, of which nearly a third is used in transportation. An aggressive search for alternate energy sources, both renewable and nonrenewable, is vital. This article will review national and international perspectives on the exploration of alternate energies with a focus on energy derivable from the ocean.

A Simplified Top-Oil Temperature Model for Transformers Based on the Pathway of Energy Transfer Concept and the Thermal-Electrical Analogy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Hakirin Roslan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an alternative approach to determine the simplified top-oil temperature (TOT based on the pathway of energy transfer and thermal-electrical analogy concepts. The main contribution of this study is the redefinition of the nonlinear thermal resistance based on these concepts. An alternative approximation of convection coefficient, h, based on heat transfer theory was proposed which eliminated the requirement of viscosity. In addition, the lumped capacitance method was applied to the thermal-electrical analogy to derive the TOT thermal equivalent equation in differential form. The TOT thermal model was evaluated based on the measured TOT of seven transformers with either oil natural air natural (ONAN or oil natural air forced (ONAF cooling modes obtained from temperature rise tests. In addition, the performance of the TOT thermal model was tested on step-loading of a transformer with an ONAF cooling mode obtained from previous studies. A comparison between the TOT thermal model and the existing TOT Thermal-Electrical, Exponential (IEC 60076-7, and Clause 7 (IEEE C57.91-1995 models was also carried out. It was found that the measured TOT of seven transformers are well represented by the TOT thermal model where the highest maximum and root mean square (RMS errors are 6.66 °C and 2.76 °C, respectively. Based on the maximum and RMS errors, the TOT thermal model performs better than Exponential and Clause 7 models and it is comparable with the Thermal-Electrical 1 (TE1 and Thermal-Electrical 2 (TE2 models. The same pattern is found for the TOT thermal model under step-loading where the maximum and RMS errors are 5.77 °C and 2.02 °C.

Portable detection system of vegetable oils based on laser induced fluorescence

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Li; Zhang, Yinchao; Chen, Siying; Chen, He; Guo, Pan; Mu, Taotao

2015-11-01

Food safety, especially edible oils, has attracted more and more attention recently. Many methods and instruments have emerged to detect the edible oils, which include oils classification and adulteration. It is well known than the adulteration is based on classification. Then, in this paper, a portable detection system, based on laser induced fluorescence, is proposed and designed to classify the various edible oils, including (olive, rapeseed, walnut, peanut, linseed, sunflower, corn oils). 532 nm laser modules are used in this equipment. Then, all the components are assembled into a module (100*100*25mm). A total of 700 sets of fluorescence data (100 sets of each type oil) are collected. In order to classify different edible oils, principle components analysis and support vector machine have been employed in the data analysis. The training set consisted of 560 sets of data (80 sets of each oil) and the test set consisted of 140 sets of data (20 sets of each oil). The recognition rate is up to 99%, which demonstrates the reliability of this potable system. With nonintrusive and no sample preparation characteristic, the potable system can be effectively applied for food detection.

Testing the ecotoxicology of vegetable versus mineral based lubricating oils: 2. Induction of mixed function oxidase enzymes in barramundi, Lates calcarifer, a tropical fish species

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercurio, Philip; Burns, Kathryn A.; Cavanagh, Joanne

2004-01-01

An increasing number of vegetable-based oils are being developed as environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum products. However, toxicity towards key tropical marine species has not been investigated. In this study we used laboratory-based biomarker induction experiments to compare the relative stress of a vegetable-based lubricating oil for marine 2-stroke engines with its mineral oil-based counterpart on tropical fish. The sub-lethal stress of 2-stoke outboard lubricating oils towards the fish Lates calcarifer (barramundi) was examined using liver microsomal mixed function oxidase (MFO) induction assays. This study is the first investigation into the use of this key commercial species in tropical North Queensland, Australia in stress assessment of potential hydrocarbon pollution using ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) induction. Our results indicated that barramundi provide a wide range of inducible rates of EROD activity in response to relevant organic stressors. The vegetable- and mineral-based lubricants induced significant EROD activity at 1.0 mg kg -1 and there was no significant difference between the two oil treatments at that concentration. At increasing concentrations of 2 and 3 mg kg -1 , the mineral-based lubricant resulted in slightly higher EROD activity than the vegetable-based lubricant. The EROD activity of control and treated barramundi are found to be within ranges for other species from temperate and tropical environments. These results indicate that vegetable-based lubricants may be less stressful to barramundi than their mineral counterparts at concentrations of lubricant ≥2 mg kg -1 . There is great potential for this species to be used in the biomonitoring of waterways around tropical North Queensland and SE Asia. - Vegetable-based lubricating oils appear to cause a tropical fish species less stress than mineral oils

Testing the ecotoxicology of vegetable versus mineral based lubricating oils: 2. Induction of mixed function oxidase enzymes in barramundi, Lates calcarifer, a tropical fish species

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mercurio, Philip; Burns, Kathryn A.; Cavanagh, Joanne

2004-05-01

An increasing number of vegetable-based oils are being developed as environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum products. However, toxicity towards key tropical marine species has not been investigated. In this study we used laboratory-based biomarker induction experiments to compare the relative stress of a vegetable-based lubricating oil for marine 2-stroke engines with its mineral oil-based counterpart on tropical fish. The sub-lethal stress of 2-stoke outboard lubricating oils towards the fish Lates calcarifer (barramundi) was examined using liver microsomal mixed function oxidase (MFO) induction assays. This study is the first investigation into the use of this key commercial species in tropical North Queensland, Australia in stress assessment of potential hydrocarbon pollution using ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) induction. Our results indicated that barramundi provide a wide range of inducible rates of EROD activity in response to relevant organic stressors. The vegetable- and mineral-based lubricants induced significant EROD activity at 1.0 mg kg{sup -1} and there was no significant difference between the two oil treatments at that concentration. At increasing concentrations of 2 and 3 mg kg{sup -1}, the mineral-based lubricant resulted in slightly higher EROD activity than the vegetable-based lubricant. The EROD activity of control and treated barramundi are found to be within ranges for other species from temperate and tropical environments. These results indicate that vegetable-based lubricants may be less stressful to barramundi than their mineral counterparts at concentrations of lubricant {>=}2 mg kg{sup -1}. There is great potential for this species to be used in the biomonitoring of waterways around tropical North Queensland and SE Asia. - Vegetable-based lubricating oils appear to cause a tropical fish species less stress than mineral oils.

Computational estimation of soybean oil adulteration in Nepalese mustard seed oil based on fatty acid composition

OpenAIRE

Shrestha, Kshitij; De Meulenaer, Bruno

2011-01-01

The experiment was carried out for the computational estimation of soybean oil adulteration in the mustard seed oil using chemometric technique based on fatty acid composition. Principal component analysis and K-mean clustering of fatty acid composition data showed 4 major mustard/rapeseed clusters, two of high erucic and two of low erucic mustard type. Soybean and other possible adulterants made a distinct cluster from them. The methodology for estimation of soybean oil adulteration was deve...

Alternate Energy Report, Koleda Childress and Company

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1988-11-01

This is a NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) report on alternate energy dated November 1, 1988, based on a Koleda Childress and Company of EPA report. As for moves in the US Government, Congress approved an additional budget of $575 million for the Clean Coal Technology Program. President Reagan has signed it and the appropriation will be available in fiscal 1990. The Department of Energy selected sixteen projects for negotiations. It earmarked $382 million for fiscal 1989 for research on fossil fuels with emphasis laid on coal liquefaction, coal combustion systems, heat engines, EOR (enhanced oil recovery), etc. The U.S. Congress has extended for one year the production tax credit for synthetic fuel projects using coal and oil shale as raw materials. The development status is described for the Dow Syngas project and IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle) technology. The President signed into law the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988, which covers ethanol, methanol, and natural gas. Enactment of an acid rain control act will be put off until 1989. Alternative fuels for the transportation sector are also taken up. Direct methane-to-liquids conversion is an interesting technology. (NEDO)

Biological and Clinical Aspects of an Olive Oil-Based Lipid Emulsion—A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Cai

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Intravenous lipid emulsions (ILEs have been an integral component of parenteral nutrition for more than 50 years. Numerous formulations are available and are based on vegetable (soybean, olive, coconut and animal (fish oils. Therefore, each of these formulations has a unique fatty acid composition that offers both benefits and limitations. As clinical experience and our understanding of the effects of fatty acids on various physiological processes has grown, there is evidence to suggest that some ILEs may have benefits compared with others. Current evidence suggests that olive oil-based ILE may preserve immune, hepatobiliary, and endothelial cell function, and may reduce lipid peroxidation and plasma lipid levels. There is good evidence from a large randomized controlled study to support a benefit of olive oil-based ILE over soybean oil-based ILE on reducing infections in critically ill patients. At present there is limited evidence to demonstrate a benefit of olive oil-based ILE over other ILEs on glucose metabolism, and few data exist to demonstrate a benefit on clinical outcomes such as hospital or intensive care unit stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, or mortality. We review the current research and clinical evidence supporting the potential positive biological and clinical aspects of olive oil-based ILE and conclude that olive oil-based ILE is well tolerated and provides effective nutritional support to various PN-requiring patient populations. Olive oil-based ILE appears to support the innate immune system, is associated with fewer infections, induces less lipid peroxidation, and is not associated with increased hepatobiliary or lipid disturbances. These data would suggest that olive oil-based ILE is a valuable option in various PN-requiring patient populations.

Renewable resources in the chemical industry--breaking away from oil?

Science.gov (United States)

Nordhoff, Stefan; Höcker, Hans; Gebhardt, Henrike

2007-12-01

Rising prices for fossil-based raw materials suggest that sooner or later renewable raw materials will, in principle, become economically viable. This paper examines this widespread paradigm. Price linkages like those seen for decades particularly in connection with petrochemical raw materials are now increasingly affecting renewable raw materials. The main driving force is the competing utilisation as an energy source because both fossil-based and renewable raw materials are used primarily for heat, electrical power and mobility. As a result, prices are determined by energy utilisation. Simple observations show how prices for renewable carbon sources are becoming linked to the crude oil price. Whether the application calls for sugar, starch, virgin oils or lignocellulose, the price for the raw material rises with the oil price. Consequently, expectations regarding price trends for fossil-based energy sources can also be utilised for the valuation of alternative processes. However, this seriously calls into question the assumption that a rising crude oil price will favour the economic viability of alternative products and processes based on renewable raw materials. Conversely, it follows that these products and processes must demonstrate economic viability today. Especially in connection with new approaches in white biotechnology, it is evident that, under realistic assumptions, particularly in terms of achievable yields and the optimisation potential of the underlying processes, the route to utilisation is economically viable. This makes the paradigm mentioned at the outset at least very questionable.

The Rebirth of Waste Cooking Oil to Novel Bio-based Surfactants

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qi-Qi; Cai, Bang-Xin; Xu, Wen-Jie; Gang, Hong-Ze; Liu, Jin-Feng; Yang, Shi-Zhong; Mu, Bo-Zhong

2015-05-01

Waste cooking oil (WCO) is a kind of non-edible oil with enormous quantities and its unreasonable dispose may generate negative impact on human life and environment. However, WCO is certainly a renewable feedstock of bio-based materials. To get the rebirth of WCO, we have established a facile and high-yield method to convert WCO to bio-based zwitterionic surfactants with excellent surface and interfacial properties. The interfacial tension between crude oil and water could reach ultra-low value as 0.0016 mN m-1 at a low dosage as 0.100 g L-1 of this bio-based surfactant without the aid of extra alkali, which shows a strong interfacial activity and the great potential application in many industrial fields, in particular, the application in enhanced oil recovery in oilfields in place of petroleum-based surfactants.

UV curable palm oil based inks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mek Zah Salleh; Hilmi Mahmood

2002-01-01

UV curable inks are useful for their instant drying, energy saving and high productivity properties. The basic materials for formulating UV curable inks consist of prepolymer, monomers, photoinitiators, pigments and other additives. The percentage composition and ingredients depend very much on the types of inks to be produced. Palm oil is one of the main raw materials available in the country. Hence, the diversification of palm oil derivatives into new products has been given priority. The current focus of the present work is to evaluate the use of palm oil based urethane acrylate (POBUA) as a prepolymer in the UV inks system. A study was conducted on the use of POBUA with other materials in ink formulation. These include the types and concentration of photoinitiators, monomers and commercial urethane acrylates. The evaluation of the ink properties such as curing, adhesion, color density have been carried out. It was found that POBUA could be introduced in the UV ink system. (Author)

Biodiesel Production from Spent Fish Frying Oil Through Acid-Base Catalyzed Transesterification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdalrahman B. Fadhil

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Biodiesel fuels were prepared from a special type of frying oil namely spent fish frying oil through two step transesterification viz. acid-base catalyzed transesterification. Hydrochloric acid and potassium hydroxide with methanol were used for this purpose. The oil was pre-treated with (1.0 wt% HCl and methanol to reduce free fatty acids content of the oil. Then, conditions of the base catalyzed step such as base concentration, reaction temperature, methanol to oil molar ratio and reaction time were optimized. The study raveled that, 0.50% KOH w/w of oil; a 6:1 methanol to oil molar ratio; a reaction temperature of 60°C and a duration of 1h were the optimal conditions because they resulted in high biodiesel yield. Fuel properties of the products were assessed and found better than those of the parent oil. Furthermore, they met the specified limits according to the ASTM standards. Thin layer chromatography was used as a simple technique to monitor the transesterification of the oil. Blending of the optimal biodiesel sample with petro diesel using specified volume percentages was done as well. The results indicated that biodiesel had slight effect on the values of the assessed properties.

Anaerobic digestion of residues from production and refining of vegetable oils as an alternative to conventional solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Torrijos, M; Thalla, Arun Kumar; Sousbie, P; Bosque, F; Delgenès, J P

2008-01-01

The purpose of this work was to study the anaerobic digestion of by-products generated during the production and refining of oil with the objective of proposing an alternative solution (methanisation) to the conventional solutions while reducing the energy consumption of fossil origin on refinery sites. The production of sunflower oil was taken as example. Glycerine from the production of biodiesel was also included in this study. The results show that glycerine has a high potential for methanisation because of its high methane potential (465 ml CH4/g VS) and high metabolization rates (0.42 g VS/g VSS.d). The use of oil cake as substrate for anaerobic digestion is not interesting because it has a low methane potential of 215 ml CH4/g VS only and because it is easily recovered in animal feed. Six residues have quite a high methane potential (465 to 850 ml CH4/g VS) indicating a good potential for anaerobic digestion. However, they contain a mixture of rapidly and slowly biodegradable organic matter and the loading rates must remain quite low (0.03 to 0.09 g VS/g VSS.d) to prevent any accumulation of slowly biodegradable solids in the digesters. IWA Publishing 2008.

Effects of de-oiled palm kernel cake based fertilizers on sole maize ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A study was conducted to determine the effect of de-oiled palm kernel cake based fertilizer formulations on the yield of sole maize and cassava crops. Two de-oiled palm kernel cake based fertilizer formulations A and B were compounded from different proportions of de-oiled palm kernel cake, urea, muriate of potash and ...

Offshore disposal of oil-based drilling fluid waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malachosky, E.; Shannon, B.E.; Jackson, J.E.

1991-01-01

Offshore drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico may use oil-based drilling fluids to mitigate drilling problems. The result is the generation of a significant quantity of oily cuttings and mud. The transportation of this waste for onshore disposal is a concern from a standpoint of both personnel safety and potential environmental impact. A process for preparing a slurry of this waste and the subsequent disposal of the slurry through annular pumping has been put into use by ARCO Oil and Gas Company. The disposal technique has been approved by the Minerals Management Service (MMS). The slurried waste is displaced down a casing annulus into a permeable zone at a depth below the surface casing setting depth. The annular disposal includes all cuttings and waste oil mud generated during drilling with oil-based fluids. This disposal technique negates the need for cuttings storage on the platform, transportation to shore, and the environmental effects of onshore surface disposal. The paper describes the environmental and safety concerns with onshore disposal, the benefits of annular disposal, and the equipment and process used for the preparation and pumping of the slurry

Oil market prices 1989/1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, G.

1991-01-01

There are many oil markets. Oil Market Prices lists the markets, provides statistics on prices and the volumes of trade, analyses the price structures in the markets and provides supplementary information on ocean freight rates and oil refining margins. Oil Market Prices will serve as a permanent record of crude oil prices including those quoted on the futures and forward markets, the many wholesale prices for refined oil products, prices consumers pay and the average prices received by the oil companies. In all instances the sources of the statistics are given together with comprehensive listing of alternative sources. (Author)

Vegetable Oil-Based Hyperbranched Thermosetting Polyurethane/Clay Nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Deka, Harekrishna; Karak, Niranjan

2009-04-25

The highly branched polyurethanes and vegetable oil-based polymer nanocomposites have been showing fruitful advantages across a spectrum of potential field of applications. Mesua ferrea L. seed oil-based hyperbranched polyurethane (HBPU)/clay nanocomposites were prepared at different dose levels by in situ polymerization technique. The performances of epoxy-cured thermosetting nanocomposites are reported for the first time. The partially exfoliated structure of clay layers was confirmed by XRD and TEM. FTIR spectra indicate the presence of H bonding between nanoclay and the polymer matrix. The present investigation outlines the significant improvement of tensile strength, scratch hardness, thermostability, water vapor permeability, and adhesive strength without much influencing impact resistance, bending, and elongation at break of the nanocomposites compared to pristine HBPU thermoset. An increment of two times the tensile strength, 6 degrees C of melting point, and 111 degrees C of thermo-stability were achieved by the formation of nanocomposites. An excellent shape recovery of about 96-99% was observed for the nanocomposites. Thus, the formation of partially exfoliated clay/vegetable oil-based hyperbranched polyurethane nanocomposites significantly improved the performance.

Composition and biological activity of essential oils against Metopolophium dirhodum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) cereal crop pest.

Science.gov (United States)

Chopa, Carolina Sánchez; Descamps, Lilian R

2012-11-01

Natural pesticides based on plant essential oils may represent alternative crop protectants. This study analysed the chemical constituents and bioactivities of essential oils from Schinus areira L., Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Tagetes terniflora Kunth against winged and wingless adults of Metopolophium dirhodum (Walk.). The major component of S. areira was α-phellandrene, that of R. officinalis was 1,8-cineole and that of T. terniflora was cis-ocimene. Rosemary essential oil was more effective than the others in immersion method tests. In contact toxicity, the rosemary oil was the most toxic to wingless adults and the S. areira leaf oil was the most toxic to winged adults. All the EOs produced some degrees of repellency in adults and effects on the reproduction and demographic parameters. These results showed that the essential oils from S. areira, R. officinalis and T. terniflora could be used as an alternative in the management of M. dirhodum. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

RoadRail: An economically viable infrastructure which facilitates the transition from oil to electricity for all forms of road transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Connolly, David

2012-01-01

to convert road transport from oil to electricity. This involves the electrification of major roads so that electric cars, vans, busses, and trucks can use electricity as their primary fuel over long distance, which in this study is referred to as ‘RoadRail’. This is a new and radical alternative......In recent decades, economic renewable energy technologies have been developed for the electricity and heat sectors. Although there has been some development in the transport sector, there is still no well-establish sustainable alternatives to oil. In this study, a new alternative is proposed...... and electricity/oil costs, Denmark is presented as a case study for the installation of RoadRail. The results indicate that based on 2020 cost assumptions, RoadRail is a more socio-economic alternative than a business-as-usual using oil. This is primarily due to decreasing electric vehicle costs, decreasing...

Electron microscopy study of the deactivation of nickel based catalysts for bio oil hydrodeoxygenation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gardini, Diego; Mortensen, Peter Mølgaard; Carvalho, Hudson W. P.

2014-01-01

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is proposed as an efficient way to remove oxygen in bio-oil, improving its quality as a more sustainable alternative to conventional fuels in terms of CO2 neutrality and relative short production cycle [1]. Ni and Ni-MoS2 nanoparticles supported on ZrO2 show potential...... as high-pressure (100 bar) catalysts for purification of bio-oil by HDO. However, the catalysts deactivate in presence of sulfur, chlorine and potassium species, which are all naturally occurring in real bio-oil. The deactivation mechanisms of the Ni/ZrO2 have been investigated through scanning...... transmission electron microscopy (STEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Catalytic testing has been performed using guaiacol in 1-octanol acting as a model compound for bio-oil. Addition of sulphur (0.3 vol% octanethiol) in the feed...

An evaluation of alternative technologies for the management of industrial wastes at Nalluk Base, Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacDonald, A.R.

1993-05-01

A study was carried out to identify and evaluate alternative waste treatment and/or disposal technologies that would be effective in improving the management of slops, used glycol and industrial solid wastes at Nalluk Base, Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. This site was used as a base for an offshore oil and gas drilling program between 1983 and 1992. Background research was conducted to review the biophysical, regulatory and socioeconomic conditions which have had an influence on Nalluk Base waste management operations. Concerns in relation to management of industrial wastes at the base include: extreme climate, permafrost geology, remote location, excessive government regulations but no specific legislation, and distrust of white man by local Inuvialuit. The five major waste streams handled at the base (used glycol, oily slops, scrap metal, used containers and ash) were characterized in terms of physical and chemical characteristics, anticipated volumes, and potential contaminants. Eighty-six waste treatment and disposal processes were reviewed for their applicability in treating each of the five waste streams. Short-listed options were subjected to full-cost environmental accounting. Preferred options identified were: used glycol, one site reuse using vacuum distillation; unseparated slops and used oil/fuel, off-site cement kiln incineration; oily wastewater, on-site evaporation; sludge, offsite landfill; scrap metal and used containers, Hamlet landfill (current practise); and ash, off-site landfill. 178 refs., 15 figs., 34 tabs.

Evaluation the Phytoremediation of Oil-contaminated Soils Around Isfahan Oil Refinery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farida Iraji-Asiabadi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Petroleum compounds are pollutants that most commonly occur in soils around oil refineries and that often find their ways into groundwater resources. Phytoremediation is a cost-effective alternative to physicochemical methods for oil-contaminated soil remediation, where feasible. In this study, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the phytoremediation of oil-contaminated soils around Isfahan Oil Refinery. Four different plants (namely, sorghum, barley, agropyron, and festuca were initially evaluated in terms of their germinability in both contaminated and control (non-contaminated soils. Sorghum and barley (recording the highest germinability values were chosen as the species for use in the phytoremediation experiments. Shoot and root dry weights, total and oil-degrading bacteria counts, microbial activity, and total concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs were determined at harvest 120 days after planting. A significant difference was observed in the bacterial counts (total and oil-degrading bacteria between the planted soils and the control. In contaminated soils, a higher microbial activity was observed in the rhizosphere of the sorghum soil than in that of barley. TPHs concentration decreased by 52%‒64% after 120 days in contaminated soil in which sorghum and barley had been cultivated. This represented an improvement of 30% compared to the contaminated soil without plants. Based on the results obtained, sorghum and barley may be recommended for the removal of petro-contaminants in areas close to Isfahan Oil Refinery. Nevertheless, caution must be taken as such cultivated lands may need to be protected against grazing animals.

Biodiesel from Mustard oil: a Sustainable Engine Fuel Substitute for Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.M. Alam

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Various attractive features of mustard oil based biodiesel as a potential substitute for engine fuel are investigated in this paper for use in Bangladesh. Although the use of mustard oil as edible oil has been reduced, Bangladesh still produces 0.22 million metric tons of mustard oil per year. This surplus mustard oil would satisfactorily be used as an alternative to diesel fuel, and thus could contribute in reducing the expenses for importing fuel from foreign countries. Moreover, the rural people of Bangladesh are capable of producing mustard oil themselves using indigenous machines. Fuel properties of biodiesel obtained from mustard oil were determined in the laboratory using standard procedure and an experimental setup was constructed to study the performance of a small diesel engine. It is observed that with biodiesel, the engine is capable of running without difficulty. Initially different lower blends of biodiesel (e.g., B20, B30 etc. have been used to avoid complicated modification of the engine and the fuel supply system. It is also found in some condition that mustard oil based biodiesel have better properties than those made from other vegetable oils. These properties of mustard oil based biodiesel were evaluated to validate its sustainability in Bangladesh. Keywords: biodiesel, indigenous machines, mustard oil, renewable energy policy, sustainability

Avocado and olive oil methyl esters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knothe, Gerhard

2013-01-01

Biodiesel, the mono-alkyl esters of vegetable oils, animal fats or other triacylglycerol-containing materials and an alternative to conventional petroleum-based diesel fuel, has been derived from a variety of feedstocks. Numerous feedstocks have been investigated as potential biodiesel sources, including commodity oils, however, the methyl esters of avocado and olive oil would likely be suitable as biodiesel fuel. In order to expand the database and comprehensive evaluation of the properties of vegetable oil esters, in this work the fuel-related properties of avocado and olive oil methyl esters, which exhibit similar fatty acid profiles including high oleic acid content, are determined. The cetane numbers of avocado oil methyl esters and olive oil methyl esters are relatively high, determined as 59.2 and 62.5, respectively, due to their elevated content of methyl oleate. Other properties are well within the ranges specified in biodiesel standards. The cloud points of both esters are slightly above 0 °C due to their content of saturated esters, especially methyl palmitate. Overall, avocado and olive oil yield methyl esters with fuel properties comparable to methyl esters from other commodity vegetable oils. The 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra of avocado and olive oil methyl esters are reported. -- Highlights: • Methyl esters of avocado and olive oil meet biodiesel fuel standards. • Provides comparison for methyl esters of other vegetable oils with high oleic content. • Discusses and compares present results with prior literature

Experimental Study on the Production of Karanja Oil Methyl Ester and Its Effect on Diesel Engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N Shrivastava

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Fast depletion of fossil fuel resources forces the extensive research on the alternative fuels. Vegetable oils edible or non edible can be a better substitute for the petroleum diesel. Karanja, a non edible oil can be a potential source to replace the diesel fuel. To investigate the feasibility of Karanja oil as an alternative diesel fuel, its biodiesel was prepared through the transesterification process. The Biodiesel was then subjected to performance and emission tests in order to assess its actual performance, when used as a diesel engine fuel. The data generated for the 20, 50 and 100 percent blended biodiesel were compared with base line data generated for neat diesel fuel. Result showed that the Biodiesel and its blend showed lower thermal efficiency. Emission of Carbon monoxide, unburned Hydrocarbon and smoke was found to be reduced where as oxides of nitrogen was higher with biodiesel and its blends. Keywords: alternate Diesel fuel; Biodiesel; Karanja oil methyl ester; performance and emission

Plant oil renewable resources as green alternatives in polymer science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meier, M.A.R.; Metzger, J.O.; Schubert, U.S.

2007-01-01

The utilization of plant oil renewable resources as raw materials for monomers and polymers is discussed and reviewed. In an age of increasing oil prices, global warming and other environmental problems (e.g. waste) the change from fossil feedstock to renewable resources can considerably contribute

International Oil Supplies and Demands. Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-09-01

The eleventh Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) working group met four times over the 1989--90 period to compare alternative perspectives on international oil supplies and demands through 2010 and to discuss how alternative supply and demand trends influence the world`s dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. Proprietors of eleven economic models of the world oil market used their respective models to simulate a dozen scenarios using standardized assumptions. From its inception, the study was not designed to focus on the short-run impacts of disruptions on oil markets. Nor did the working group attempt to provide a forecast or just a single view of the likely future path for oil prices. The model results guided the group`s thinking about many important longer-run market relationships and helped to identify differences of opinion about future oil supplies, demands, and dependence.

International Oil Supplies and Demands. Volume 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-04-01

The eleventh Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) working group met four times over the 1989--1990 period to compare alternative perspectives on international oil supplies and demands through 2010 and to discuss how alternative supply and demand trends influence the world`s dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. Proprietors of eleven economic models of the world oil market used their respective models to simulate a dozen scenarios using standardized assumptions. From its inception, the study was not designed to focus on the short-run impacts of disruptions on oil markets. Nor did the working group attempt to provide a forecast or just a single view of the likely future path for oil prices. The model results guided the group`s thinking about many important longer-run market relationships and helped to identify differences of opinion about future oil supplies, demands, and dependence.

Millet and corn oil in sorghum-based diets for broilers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Paulo Rodrigues Bueno

2015-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the effects of millet and corn oil additions to sorghum-based diets on the performance, carcass yields and prime cuts (i.e., wings, breasts, thighs and drumsticks and the relative weights of edible offal (i.e., gizzard, heart, and liver of broiler chickens. A total of 684 Hubbard Flex chickens, including 342 broilers of each sex, were housed. The design was completely randomized, and the following diets were supplied: A sorghum and soybean meal + soybean oil (control; B sorghum and soybean meal + corn oil; and C sorghum and soybean meal + millet and soybean oil. Six replicates with 38 birds each (19 males and 19 females were evaluated regarding each experimental diet. At 14, 21, 35 and 42 days of age, the feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion and viability of the chickens were evaluated. At 42 days, the live weight, carcass yield, prime cuts and relative weight of the edible offal were measured. The dietary inclusion of either millet or corn oil did not affect any of the parameters. In conclusion, additions of millet and corn oil to sorghum-based diets of broilers do not compromise poultry performance.

An Evaluation of Holistic Sustainability Assessment Framework for Palm Oil Production in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Lim, Chye; Biswas, Wahidul

2015-01-01

Palm oil based biodiesel offers an alternative energy source that can reduce current dependence on conventional fossil fuels and may reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions depending on the type of feedstock and processes used. In the Malaysian context, the palm oil industry not only provides high-yield, renewable feedstock to the world, it brings socio-economic development to the Malaysian rural community and contributes to the national income. However, the sustainability of palm oil remains c...

Edible antimicrobial films based on microencapsulated lemongrass oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Bustos C, Rubén O; Alberti R, Francesca V; Matiacevich, Silvia B

2016-01-01

Edible films and coatings have been proposed as viable alternatives for the preservation of fresh food such as fruit, meat, fish and cheese. They can be designed to contain natural antioxidants, vitamins and antimicrobials in order to extend shelf life of the product keeping the natural sensorial properties. Essential oils have been targeted as potential active principles for edible films and coatings given their well-recognized antioxidant, antimicrobial and sensory properties. In the present work, lemongrass oil (LMO) microcapsules were prepared by the emulsification-separation method using sodium caseinate as wall material. Microcapsules had an average size of 22 μm and contained over 51 % oil in their nucleus. The release kinetics of the LMO components was studied for both, microcapsules and microcapsule containing films. Experimental data for the controlled release of LMO components showed good correlation with Peppas and Weibull models. The effect of the alginate matrix on the release parameters of the mathematical models could be detected by the modification of the b constant of the Weibull equation which changed from 0.167 for the microcapsules to 0.351 for the films. Films containing LMO at concentrations of 1250, 2500 and 5000 ppm were able to inhibit growth of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Listeria monocytogenes ISP 65-08 in liquid cultures. A possible future application of these films for shelf life extension of fresh food is discussed.

Energy return on (energy) invested (EROI), oil prices, and energy transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heun, Matthew Kuperus; de Wit, Martin

2012-01-01

Very little work has been done so far to model, test, and understand the relationship between oil prices and EROI over time. This paper investigates whether a declining EROI is associated with an increasing oil price and speculates on the implications of these results on oil policy. A model of the relationship between EROI and oil market prices was developed using basic economic and physical assumptions and non-linear least-squares regression models to correlate oil production price with EROI using available data from 1954–1996. The model accurately reflects historical oil prices (1954–1996), and it correlates well with historical oil prices (1997–2010) if a linear extrapolation of EROI decline is assumed. As EROI declines below 10, highly non-linear oil price movements are observed. Increasing physical oil scarcity is already providing market signals that would stimulate a transition away from oil toward alternative energy sources. But, price signals of physical oil scarcity are not sufficient to guarantee smooth transitions to alternative fuel sources, especially when there is insufficient oil extraction technology development, a declining mark-up ratio, a non-linear EROI–cost of production relationship, and a non-linear EROI–price relationship. - Highlights: ► A model of the relationship between EROI and oil prices has been developed. ► As EROI declines below 10, highly non-linear oil price movements are expected. ► Physical oil scarcity provides market signals for a transition to alternatives. ► Scarcity price signals are insufficient for smooth transitions to alternatives.

Biobased lubricant from used cooking oils

Science.gov (United States)

As more and more people look for healthy alternatives for cooking and frying oils, the opportunity to develop high-value products from these waste streams increases. Cooking oils that are often described as healthier contain higher levels of monounsaturated fats. NuSun® sunflower oil is an example o...

Biodiesel in Belgium. From rapeseed oil to used vegetable oils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelkmans, L.

1997-01-01

There are two motives for the search for alternative motor fuels: reducing the growing pressure of traffic on environment, and looking for a replacement for petrol and diesel oil that are bound to be worn-out in a few decades. A promising alternative motor fuel is biodiesel. The author's institute is involved in its second biodiesel demonstration project. In the first project RME (rapeseed methyl ester) was used undiluted in five passenger cars for two years. There were no technical problems and a clear environmental advantage was noticed. However, the price remains a problem. The use of waste vegetable oils for the production of biodiesel could help to overcome this problem. Therefore, a second biodiesel demonstration project was started in which UVOME (used vegetable oil methyl ester) is used. The preliminary results show a great similarity with the RME results and no technical problems in real life use. 1 fig., 1 tab., 5 refs

Alternatives to Mineral Oil Adjuvants in Vaccines Against Aeromonas salmonicida subs. salmonicida in Rainbow Trout Offer Reductions in Adverse Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villumsen, Kasper Rømer; Koppang, Erling Olaf; Christensen, Dennis

2017-01-01

In an effort to reduce the frequency and severity of adverse reactions seen from the use of mineral oil adjuvants in salmonid fish, the effects of two alternative adjuvants were assessed, focusing on the induction of adverse effects as well as protection. Using rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)...... protection appears similar to that of the benchmark formulation, thus introducing viable, potential alternative types of adjuvants for use in future fish vaccines....

The potential use of Khaya senegalensis oil as base in paracetamol ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The potential of the oil from Khaya senegalensis seed as a suppository base was investigated. Some physicochemical properties of the oil like the physical appearance, saponification value, iodine value, acid value and refractive index were evaluated. The oil was used to prepare paracetamol suppositories either as the ...

Characteristics of Waste Plastics Pyrolytic Oil and Its Applications as Alternative Fuel on Four Cylinder Diesel Engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nosal Nugroho Pratama

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Waste plastics recycling using pyrolysis method is not only able to decrease a number of environment pollutant but also able to produce economical and high quality hydrocarbon products. Two experiments were conducted to completely study Waste Plastic Pyrolytic Oil (WPPO characteristics and its applications.  First experiment investigated oil characteristics derived from pyrolysis process in two stages batch reactors: pyrolysis and catalytic reforming reactor, at maximum temperature 500oC and 450oC respectively. Waste Polyethylene (PE, Polypropylene (PP, Polystyrene (PS, Polyethylene Terepthalate (PET and others were used as raw material. Nitrogen flow rate at 0.8 l/minutes was used to increase oil weight percentage. Indonesian natural zeolite was used as catalyst. Then, second experiment was carried out on Diesel Engine Test Bed (DETB used blending of WPPO and Biodiesel fuel with a volume ratio of 1:9. This experiment was specifically conducted to study how much potency of blending of WPPO and biodiesel in diesel engine. The result of first experiment showed that the highest weight percentage of WPPO derived from mixture of PE waste (50%wt, PP waste (40%wt and PS waste (10%wt is 45.13%wt. The more weight percentage of PE in feedstock effected on the less weight percentage of WPPO, the more percentage of C12-C20 content in WPPO and the higher calorific value of WPPO. Characteristics of WPPO such as, Specific Gravity, Flash point, Pour Point, Kinematic Viscosity, Calorific value and percentage of C12-C20 showed interesting result that WPPO could be developed as alternative fuel on diesel fuel blending due to the proximity of their characteristics. Performance of diesel engine using blending of WPPO and biodiesel on second experiment gave good result so the WPPO will have great potency to be valuable alternative liquid fuel in future, especially on stationary diesel engine and transportation engine application.

Ultrafiltration-based degumming of crude rice bran oil using a polymer membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sehn, G.A.R.; GonCalves, L.A.G.; Ming, C.C.

2016-07-01

Membrane technology has been gaining momentum in industrial processes, especially in food technology. It is believed to simplify processes, reduce energy consumption, and eliminate pollutants. The objective was to study the performance of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyethersulfone (PES) polymeric membranes in the degumming of the miscella of crude rice bran oil by using a bench-scale tangential filtration module. In addition, oil miscella filtration techniques using hexane and anhydrous ethyl alcohol solvents were compared. All membranes showed the retention of phospholipids and high flow rates. However, the best performance was observed using the 50-kDa PVDF membrane in miscella hexane solvent, with a 95.5% retention of the phosphorus concentration (by a factor of 1.4), resulting in a permeate with 29 mg·kg−1 of phosphorus and an average flow rate of 48.1 L·m−2·h−1. This technology can be used as a low-pollution, economical alternative for the de-gumming of crude rice bran oil, being effective in the removal of hydratable and non-hydratable phospholipids, resulting in oils with a low phosphorus content. (Author)

Rheology of oleogels based on sorbitan and glyceryl monostearates and vegetable oils for lubricating applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sánchez, R.

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Oleogels based on sorbitan and glyceryl monostearates and different types of vegetable oils, potentially applicable as biodegradable alternatives to traditional lubricating greases, have been studied. In particular, the rheological behavior, by means of small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS measurements, and some lubrication performance-related properties (mechanical stability and tribological response have been evaluated in this work. SAOS response and mechanical stability of these oleogels are significantly influenced by the type and concentration of the organogelator and the vegetable oil used in the formulations. Glyceryl monostearate (GMS generally produces stronger gels than sorbitan monostearate (SMS. The use of low-viscosity oils, such as rapeseed and soybean oils, yields gels with significantly higher values of the linear viscoelastic functions than oleogels prepared with high-viscosity oils, i.e. castor oil. The rheological behavior of SMS-based oleogels also depends on the cooling rate applied during the gelification process. On the other hand, the oleogels studied present low values of the friction coefficient obtained in a tribological contact, although only some GMS/castor oil-based oleogels exhibit a suitable mechanical stability.

En el presente trabajo se han estudiado diferentes oleogeles, basados en monoestearatos de sorbitano y glicerilo y aceites vegetales, que podrían ser potencialmente empleados como alternativas biodegradables a las grasas lubricantes tradicionales. En concreto, se ha evaluado su comportamiento reológico, a través de ensayos en cizalla oscilatoria, y algunas propiedades relacionadas con su rendimiento en la lubricación, tales como su estabilidad mecánica y comportamiento tribológico. La respuesta reológica y la estabilidad mecánica de los oleogeles estudiados están significativamente influenciadas por el tipo y la concentración del agente gelificante y por el aceite vegetal empleado. As

Oil palm waste and synthetic zeolite: an alternative soil-less growth substrate for lettuce production as a waste management practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jayasinghe, G.Y.; Tokashiki, Y.; Kitou, M.; Kinjo, K. [Kagoshima University, Kagoshima (Japan). United Graduate School of Agricultural Science

2008-12-15

A study was conducted to assess the characteristics and the prospective utilization of oil palm waste (OP) and synthetic zeolite (SZ) developed by coal fly ash, as an alternative substrate to peat and commercial perlite for lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production. The SZ, OP, sphagnum peat (PE), perlite (PL) and two different SZ-OP mixtures (v/v) at the ratio of 1 : 3 and 1 : 10 were utilized as the substrates under this study. The substrates formulated by mixing SZ with OP at the ratio of 1 : 3 and 1 : 10 showed improved substrate physical and chemical properties such as air space, bulk density, particle density, water-holding capacity, pH and electrical conductivity (EC), which were in the ideal substrate range when compared with PL. Furthermore, the water-holding capacity of the substrate having a 1 : 10 mixing ratio of SZ with OP was higher than that of the PL by 28.23%, whereas the bulk density was lower than that of PL by 35%. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to assess the influence of the substrates on the growth and development of lettuce. The results of the study suggest that the SZ-OP-based substrates and OP can be successfully utilized as alternatives to the commercial perlite and to substitute the conventional peat substrate for lettuce cultivation. In addition, this can be proposed as an alternative waste management practice.

Insight into the dielectric response of transformer oil-based nanofluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Dong

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The oil-based nanofluids with greater dielectric strength have attracted much attention as a crucial insulating materials in high-voltage oil-immersed power equipment. In fact, the different microstructures of the transformer oil-based nanofluids (TNFs would result in different dielectric properties. In this work, the broadband dielectric spectroscopy measurement was used to establish the linkage between the electric double layer (EDL and dielectric response properties of TNFs which was performed at 298K temperature and with frequency range from 10-2Hz∼106Hz. The modified Havriliak-Negami (HN model function was used to analyze the measured results. The results demonstrate that both the real and imaginary parts of dielectric spectra of two kinds of oil are composed of the conductivity and polarization process. Compared with pure oil, two polarization process could be observed for the TNFs, explained by the EDL structure reasonably. The introduction of the EDL structure provides an idea to account for the insulating strength improvement of TNFs for the first time.

Holistic oil field value management: using system dynamics for 'intermediate level' and 'value-based' modelling in the oil industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corben, D.; Stevenson, R.; Wolstenholme, E.F.

1999-01-01

System dynamics has been seen primarily as a strategic tool, most effectively used at the highest level of strategy to identify robust policy interventions under a wide range of scenarios. However, an alternative, complementary and powerful role is emerging. This is at an 'intermediate level' in organisations to coordinate and integrate policies across the value chain. It is at this level where business value, as defined by the discounted value of future free cash flow, is both created and destroyed. This paper introduces the need for 'intermediate-level' and 'value-based' modelling and emphasises the natural role of system dynamics in supporting a methodology to fulfil the need. It describes the development of an approach and its application in the oil industry to coordinate the response of people and tools within operational, financial and commercial functions across the value chain to address a variety of problems and issues. (author)

Gas inflow in oil base fluids; Influxo de gas em fluidos a base de oleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazaro, Welmar [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Dept. de Perfuracao. Div. de Fluidos de Perfuracao; Boas, Mario Barbosa V [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas. Div. de Explotacao

1990-12-31

One of the major problems related to the use of oil base fluids is the dissolution of the natural gas in the fluid. This paper attempts initially at making a bibliographical review of all that was written on the subject of drilling fluids up to now. It also mentions some theoretical aspects regarding the process of gas dissolution in diesel oils, in order to produce an understanding of how the dissolution mechanism is processed. For a same increase in measured volume on the surface, the amount of gas incorporated into the fluid is significantly larger if the gas is dissolved in the oil phase than if it is emulsified in the fluid, as occurs when the fluid is water base. A rig team used to working with water-base fluids may be surprised with the fact that an increase of 20 bbl of fluid on the surface of a 5000 m well can mean the incorporation of about 1800 m{sup 3} of gas, if the fluid is oil-base and all the gas is in solution instead of the incorporation of 900 m{sup 3} if the fluid is water base. This paper has the goal of warning drilling engineers and technicians about this problem, as well as presenting charts and equations that allow for a more realistic evaluation of the amount of gas incorporated into oil fluids. (author) 16 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

Vegetable Oil-Based Hyperbranched Thermosetting Polyurethane/Clay Nanocomposites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deka Harekrishna

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The highly branched polyurethanes and vegetable oil-based polymer nanocomposites have been showing fruitful advantages across a spectrum of potential field of applications.Mesua ferreaL. seed oil-based hyperbranched polyurethane (HBPU/clay nanocomposites were prepared at different dose levels by in situ polymerization technique. The performances of epoxy-cured thermosetting nanocomposites are reported for the first time. The partially exfoliated structure of clay layers was confirmed by XRD and TEM. FTIR spectra indicate the presence of H bonding between nanoclay and the polymer matrix. The present investigation outlines the significant improvement of tensile strength, scratch hardness, thermostability, water vapor permeability, and adhesive strength without much influencing impact resistance, bending, and elongation at break of the nanocomposites compared to pristine HBPU thermoset. An increment of two times the tensile strength, 6 °C of melting point, and 111 °C of thermo-stability were achieved by the formation of nanocomposites. An excellent shape recovery of about 96–99% was observed for the nanocomposites. Thus, the formation of partially exfoliated clay/vegetable oil-based hyperbranched polyurethane nanocomposites significantly improved the performance.

Characterization of corn starch-based edible film incorporated with nutmeg oil nanoemulsion

Science.gov (United States)

Aisyah, Y.; Irwanda, L. P.; Haryani, S.; Safriani, N.

2018-05-01

This study aimed to formulate corn starch-based edible films by varying concentrations of nutmeg oil nanoemulsion and glycerol. Furthermore, the resulted edible film was characterized by its mechanical properties and antibacterial activity. The edible films were made using corn starch, nutmeg oil nanoemulsion, and glycerol. Concentrations of nutmeg oil nanoemulsion were 1%, 2%, and 3%, and glycerol were 10%, 20%, and 30%. Results indicated that the increase of nutmeg oil nanoemulsion concentration could increase the film thickness. However, the nutmeg oil had no effect on the film tensile strength and elongation. Glycerol had no effect on the film tensile strength. The best treatment of the corn starch-based film was obtained by adding 1% of nutmeg oil and 30% of glycerol, yielding a tensile strength of 18.73 Kgf/mm2, elongation of 69.44% and thickness of 0.0840. The addition of 1% nutmeg oil nanoemulsion has been able to inhibit the growth of two types of the bacteria tested (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli).

Experiment on the Effects of Storage Duration of Biodiesel produced from Crude Palm Oil, Waste Cooking oil and Jatropha

Science.gov (United States)

Nanihar, Nadiarulah; Khalid, Amir; Mustaffa, Norrizal; Jaat, Norrizam; Sapit, Azwan; Razali, Azahari; Sunar, Norshuhaila Mohamed

2017-10-01

Biodiesel based on vegetable oil is an alternative that had various advantage in term of sustainability and environmental attractive compare to others conventional diesel. Biodiesel is product of any fat or oil that derived from any organic sources through a refinery process called transesterification process. This research investigates the effects of storage duration and variant ambient condition on the biodiesel properties and characteristics. In this study, there are three types of blending which is 5vol% blends ( 5vol% plant oil 95vol% diesel), 10vol% blending (10vol% plant oil and 90vol% diesel) and 15vol% blending (15vol% plant oil and 85vol% diesel) each called CPO5 (crude palm oil 5vol%), CPO10 (crude palm oil 10vol%),CPO15 (crude palm oil 15vol%), JO5 (jatropha oil 5vol%), JO10 (jatropha oil 10vol%),and JO15 (jatropha oil 15vol%) respectively. Biodiesel samples were stored at indoor condition and outdoor condition for a 3 months period. The fuel properties such as acid value, viscosity, density, water content and flash point are observed with the laboratory instrument. Flash point value and water content increased under both of indoor and outdoor condition and a steady data for viscosity and density. However, acid value at indoor condition nearly constant but increased dramatically for outdoor condition over the time.

Generation of shrimp waste-based dispersant for oil spill response.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kedong; Zhang, Baiyu; Song, Xing; Liu, Bo; Jing, Liang; Chen, Bing

2018-04-01

In this study, shrimp waste was enzymatically hydrolyzed to generate a green dispersant and the product was tested for crude oil dispersion in seawater. The hydrolysis process was first optimized based on the dispersant effectiveness (DE) of the product. The functional properties of the product were identified including stability, critical micelle concentration, and emulsification activity. Water was confirmed as a good solvent for dispersant generation when compared with three chemical solvents. The effects of salinity, mixing energy, and temperature on the dispersion of the Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil were examined. Microtox acute toxicity test was also conducted to evaluate the toxicity of the produced dispersant. In addition, DE of the product on three different types of crude oil, including ANS crude oil, Prudhoe Bay crude oil (PBC), and Arabian Light crude oil (ALC) was compared with that of the Corexit 9500, respectively. The research output could lead to a promising green solution to the oil spill problem and might result in many other environmental applications.

Birches against mineral oils. Lignin - a renewable resource for the alternative production of phenols; Birke contra Erdoel. Lignin - ein nachwachsender Rohstoff zur alternativen Gewinnung von Phenolen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zehnpfund, C.; Bormann, J.; Wehrkamp zu Hoene, F. [Gymnasium Bersenbrueck (Germany)

1998-02-01

We wanted to offer an alternative for the `After-mineral oil time` with our work when we attempted to isolate phenols, which are won up to now from mineral oil, of a growing raw material. Phenols are economic important substances for production of epoxies, herbicides, artificial resins, dyes and drugs (e.g. aspirin or Paracetamol). We managed to isolate phenols with normal conditions of lignin, a component of wood. (orig.) [Deutsch] Wir wollten mit unserer Arbeit eine Alternative fuer die `Nach-Erdoel-Zeit` bieten, indem wir versuchten, Phenole, die bisher aus Erdoel gewonnen werden, aus einem nachwachsenden Rohstoff zu isolieren. Phenole sind volkswirtschaftlich bedeutsame Substanzen zur Herstellung von Kunststoffen, Herbiziden, Kunstharzen, Farbstoffen und Arzneimitteln (z.B. Aspirin oder Paracetamol). Es gelang uns, Phenole unter Normalbedingungen aus Lignin, einem Bestandteil des Holzes, zu isolieren. (orig.)

Vegetable oil based liquid nanocomposite dielectric

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leon Chetty

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Physically smaller dielectric materials would improve the optimisation of space for power systems. Development of nanotechnology provides an effective way to improve the performances of insulating oils used in power system applications. In this research study, we focused on the development of nanomodified vegetable oils to be used in power transformers. Higher conduction currents were observed in virgin linseed oil than in virgin castor oil. However, for both virgin linseed and virgin castor oil, the DC conduction current increased approximately linearly with the applied DC voltage. In nanomodified linseed oil, the characteristic curve showed two distinct regions: a linear region (at lower applied voltage and a saturation region (at slightly higher voltage. Conversely, in nanomodified castor oil, the characteristic curve showed three distinct regions: a linear region (at lower applied voltage, a saturation region (at intermediate applied voltage and an exponential growth region (at higher applied voltage. The nanomodified linseed oil exhibited a better dielectric performance than the nanomodified castor oil. Overall, the addition of nanodielectrics to vegetable oils decreased the dielectric performance of the vegetable oils. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the pre-breakdown phenomenon in liquid nanocomposite dielectrics.

Pyrolysis oil as diesel fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gros, S [Wartsila Diesel International Ltd., Vaasa (Finland). Diesel Technology

1997-12-31

Wood waste pyrolysis oil is an attractive fuel alternative for diesel engine operation. The main benefit is the sustainability of the fuel. No fossil reserves are consumed. The fact that wood waste pyrolysis oil does not contribute to CO{sub 2} emissions is of utmost importance. This means that power plants utilising pyrolysis oil do not cause additional global warming. Equally important is the reduced sulphur emissions that this fuel alternative implies. The sulphur content of pyrolysis oil is extremely low. The high water content and low heating value are also expected to result in very low NO{sub x} emissions. Utilisation of wood waste pyrolysis oil in diesel engines, however, involves a lot of challenges and problems to be solved. The low heating value requires a new injection system with high capacity. The corrosive characteristics of the fluid also underline the need for new injection equipment materials. Wood waste pyrolysis oil contains solid particles which can clog filters and cause abrasive wear. Wood waste pyrolysis oil has proven to have extremely bad ignition properties. The development of a reliable injection system which is able to cope with such a fuel involves a lot of optimisation tests, redesign and innovative solutions. Successful single-cylinder tests have already been performed and they have verified that diesel operation on wood pyrolysis oil is technically possible. (orig.)

Pyrolysis oil as diesel fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gros, S. [Wartsila Diesel International Ltd., Vaasa (Finland). Diesel Technology

1996-12-31

Wood waste pyrolysis oil is an attractive fuel alternative for diesel engine operation. The main benefit is the sustainability of the fuel. No fossil reserves are consumed. The fact that wood waste pyrolysis oil does not contribute to CO{sub 2} emissions is of utmost importance. This means that power plants utilising pyrolysis oil do not cause additional global warming. Equally important is the reduced sulphur emissions that this fuel alternative implies. The sulphur content of pyrolysis oil is extremely low. The high water content and low heating value are also expected to result in very low NO{sub x} emissions. Utilisation of wood waste pyrolysis oil in diesel engines, however, involves a lot of challenges and problems to be solved. The low heating value requires a new injection system with high capacity. The corrosive characteristics of the fluid also underline the need for new injection equipment materials. Wood waste pyrolysis oil contains solid particles which can clog filters and cause abrasive wear. Wood waste pyrolysis oil has proven to have extremely bad ignition properties. The development of a reliable injection system which is able to cope with such a fuel involves a lot of optimisation tests, redesign and innovative solutions. Successful single-cylinder tests have already been performed and they have verified that diesel operation on wood pyrolysis oil is technically possible. (orig.)

Studies on exhaust emissions of mahua oil operated compression ignition engine.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapilan, N; Reddy, R P

2009-07-01

The world is confronted with fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. The energy demand and pollution problems lead to research for an alternative renewable energy sources. Vegetable oils and biodiesel present a very promising alternative fuel to diesel. In this work, an experimental work was carried out to study the feasibility of using raw mahua oil (MO) as a substitute for diesel in dual fuel engine. A single cylinder diesel engine was modified to work in dual fuel mode and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was used as primary fuel and mahua oil was used as pilot fuel. The results show that the performance of the dual fuel engine at the injector opening pressure of 220 bar and the advanced injection timing of 30 degrees bTDC results in performance close to diesel base line (DBL) operation and lower smoke and oxides of nitrogen emission.

Global sensitivity analysis of Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer enhanced oil recovery processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carrero, Enrique; Queipo, Nestor V.; Pintos, Salvador; Zerpa, Luis E. [Applied Computing Institute, Faculty of Engineering, University of Zulia, Zulia (Venezuela)

2007-08-15

After conventional waterflooding processes the residual oil in the reservoir remains as a discontinuous phase in the form of oil drops trapped by capillary forces and is likely to be around 70% of the original oil in place (OOIP). The EOR method so-called Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding has been proved to be effective in reducing the oil residual saturation in laboratory experiments and field projects through reduction of interfacial tension and mobility ratio between oil and water phases. A critical step for the optimal design and control of ASP recovery processes is to find the relative contributions of design variables such as, slug size and chemical concentrations, in the variability of given performance measures (e.g., net present value, cumulative oil recovery), considering a heterogeneous and multiphase petroleum reservoir (sensitivity analysis). Previously reported works using reservoir numerical simulation have been limited to local sensitivity analyses because a global sensitivity analysis may require hundreds or even thousands of computationally expensive evaluations (field scale numerical simulations). To overcome this issue, a surrogate-based approach is suggested. Surrogate-based analysis/optimization makes reference to the idea of constructing an alternative fast model (surrogate) from numerical simulation data and using it for analysis/optimization purposes. This paper presents an efficient global sensitivity approach based on Sobol's method and multiple surrogates (i.e., Polynomial Regression, Kriging, Radial Base Functions and a Weighed Adaptive Model), with the multiple surrogates used to address the uncertainty in the analysis derived from plausible alternative surrogate-modeling schemes. The proposed approach was evaluated in the context of the global sensitivity analysis of a field scale Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer flooding process. The design variables and the performance measure in the ASP process were selected as slug size

Early warning model based on correlated networks in global crude oil markets

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jia-Wei; Xie, Wen-Jie; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang

2018-01-01

Applying network tools on predicting and warning the systemic risks provides a novel avenue to manage risks in financial markets. Here, we construct a series of global crude oil correlated networks based on the historical 57 oil prices covering a period from 1993 to 2012. Two systemic risk indicators are constructed based on the density and modularity of correlated networks. The local maximums of the risk indicators are found to have the ability to predict the trends of oil prices. In our sample periods, the indicator based on the network density sends five signals and the indicator based on the modularity index sends four signals. The four signals sent by both indicators are able to warn the drop of future oil prices and the signal only sent by the network density is followed by a huge rise of oil prices. Our results deepen the application of network measures on building early warning models of systemic risks and can be applied to predict the trends of future prices in financial markets.

The challenge of shale to the post-oil dreams of the Arab Gulf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sultan, Nabil

2013-01-01

Growth patterns in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries suggest that demand for energy in this region is likely to increase in the years to come and this situation ultimately means that more of the region’s natural resources will need to be devoted to meeting this demand. For some of the GCC countries, the option to meet future power demands through alternative sources of energy such as nuclear power was deemed an attractive proposition. Furthermore, real investments and plans to use other alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, hydrogen and geothermal are also gaining momentum in the region. However, relatively recent developments in the technology used for extracting gas and oil from shale rock formations places a big question mark on the GCC countries’ energy plans including those relating to alternative and renewable sources of energy. This article examines the GCC’s new energy drive and explores the economic and political motivations behind it. Furthermore, the article also examines the potential impact of shale gas and oil extraction on this region’s abundant fossil-based resources and the ramifications of such impact (if it materialises) for the GCC countries’ alternative energy plans, future wealth and their political stability. - Highlights: • Shale gas (and oil) could potentially affect future oil prices. • Gas could be the future transport fuel. • Arab Gulf countries could be the victims

Transformation of heavy gas oils derived from oil sands to petrochemical feedstock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Du Plessis, D.; Laureshen, C. [Alberta Energy Research Inst., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

Alberta's petrochemical industry is primarily based on ethane. However, ethane could potentially impede future growth of Alberta's petrochemical industry because of increasing cost and diminishing supplies. Alternately, the rapidly growing oil sands production could provide abundant new feedstocks. Different integration schemes and technologies were evaluated in this study. Research on converting bitumen-derived heavy gas oil into petrochemical feedstock has resulted in the development of two novel technologies and process integration schemes, notably the NOVA heavy oil laboratory catalyst (NHC) process and the aromatic ring cleavage (ARORINCLE) process. This paper described progress to date on these two projects. The paper presented the experimental results for each scheme. For the ARORINCLE process, results were discussed in terms of the effect of process parameters on the hydrogenation step; effect of process parameters on the ring cleavage step; and integrating the upgrading and petrochemical complex. Early laboratory stage results of these two technologies were found to be encouraging. The authors recommended that work should progress to larger scale demonstration of the NHC and ARORINCLE technologies., 13 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs.

Pollution Impact and Alternative Treatment for Produced Water

Science.gov (United States)

Hedar, Yusran; Budiyono

2018-02-01

Oil and gas exploration and production are two of the activities that potentially cause pollution and environmental damage. The largest waste generated from this activity is produced water. Produced water contains hazardous pollutants of both organic and inorganic materials, so that the produced water of oil and gas production cannot be discharged directly to the environment. Uncontrolled discharge can lead to the environmental damage, killing the life of water and plants. The produced water needs to be handled and fulfill the quality standards before being discharged to the environment. Several studies to reduce the contaminants in the produced water were conducted by researchers. Among them were gravity based separation - flotation, separation technique based on filtration, and biological process treatment. Therefore, some of these methods can be used as an alternative waste handling of produced water.

Horizontal alternating steam drive process for the Orinoco heavy oil belt in eastern Venezuela

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edgar A. Fernandez R.; Bashbush, J.L. [Schlumberger, Sugar Land, TX (United States)

2008-10-15

Horizontal alternating steam drive (HASD) processes use single horizontal wells that cyclically switch between injection and production phases. The steam chambers generated by the wells are laterally driven by the pressure differentials created by adjacent producers to form a sweeping front between the wells. This feasibility study assessed the use of HASD processes at a heavy oil reservoir in Venezuela. The study used numerical simulations from a representative reservoir with a 5-horizontal well array to asses the HASD recovery technique under various scenarios. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted to consider the positioning of the horizontal well placement in the reservoir column; different injection sequences; variations in the duration of injection cycles; injection rates; and the lengths of the horizontal reach of the wells. Results of the study suggested that HASD is a suitable alternative for reservoirs with sands in the 20 foot to 50 foot thickness range. HASD achieved average recovery factors of above 20 per cent over a 15 year period, and required fewer wells than steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) processes. It was concluded that the wells must be designed to consider the additional thermal stresses resulting the repeated injection and production cycles associated with HASD processes. The 6 refs., 2 tabs., 16 figs.

Silicon Oil DC200(R)5CST as AN Alternative Coolant for Cvd Diamond Windows

Science.gov (United States)

Vaccaro, A.; Aiello, G.; Meier, A.; Schere, T.; Schreck, S.; Spaeh, P.; Strauss, D.; Gantenbein, G.

2011-02-01

The production of high power mm-wave radiation is a key technology in large fusion devices, since it is required for localized plasma heating and current drive. Transmission windows are necessary to keep the vacuum in the gyrotron system and also act as tritium barriers. With its excellent optical, thermal and mechanical properties, synthetic CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond is the state of the art material for the cw transmission of the mm-wave beams produced by high power gyrotrons. The gyrotrons foreseen for the W7-X stellarator are designed for cw operation with 1 MW output power at 140 GHz. The output window unit is designed by TED (Thales Electron Devices, France) using a single edge circumferentially cooled CVD-diamond disc with an aperture of 88 mm. The window unit is cooled by de-ionized water which is considered as chemical aggressive and might cause corrosion in particular at the brazing. The use of a different coolant such as silicon oil could prevent this issue. The cooling circuit has been simulated by steady-state CFD analysis. A total power generation of 1 kW (RF transmission losses) with pure Gaussian distribution has been assumed for the diamond disc. The performance of both water and the industrial silicon oil DC200(R) have been investigated and compared with a focus on the temperature distribution on the disc, the pressure drop across the cooling path and the heat flux distribution. Although the silicon oil has a higher viscosity (~x5), lower heat capacity (~x1/2) and lower thermal conductivity (~x1/3), it has proven to be a good candidate as alternative to water.

Upgrading of raw tall oil soap into fuel oils and lubricants; Raakasuovan jalostus poltto- ja voiteluoeljyksi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oasmaa, A; Arpiainen, V; McKeough, P; Tapola, E; Haekkinen, R; Kuoppala, E; Koskela, K [VTT Energy, Jyvaeskylae (Finland). Energy Production Technologies

1997-12-01

Thermochemical processing of tall oil soap originating from various mixtures of birch and pine has been experimentally investigated. The organic matter of tall oil soap, which is a by- product of Kraft pulping, originates mainly from wood extractives. Conventional processing of tall oil soap involves acidulation with sulphuric acid to yield crude tall oil and subsequent distillation of the oil at centralised refineries. Because tall oil originating from birch wood is far less valuable than that from pine, there is an economic incentive in the Nordic countries to develop alternative conversion processes for the tall oil soap produced at pulp mills where birch is widely used as feedstock. Furthermore, thermochemical processing of tall oil soap does not introduce sulphur into the chemical recovery cycle. This would be a significant advantage in future mills employing closure of water circuits and/or sulphur-free pulping. In small-scale experiments tall oil soaps from wood mixtures with high birch content have been processed using both liquid-phase thermal treatment and pyrolysis. The liquid-phase thermal treatment at 450 deg C under a nitrogen atmosphere yielded a good-quality oil product at high yield (about 50 % of the energy content of the tall oil soap). In the atmospheric pyrolysis of birch tall oil soap a separation of inorganic and organic constituents was obtained. The energy value of the product gases was high. Both processes are promising, but the pyrolysis alternative has the greater economic potential, providing that the promising preliminary experimental results have given a true picture of the performance of the full-scale pyrolysis process. (orig.)

Uppgrading of raw tall oil soap into fuel oils and lubricants; Raakasuovan jalostus poltto- ja voiteluoeljyksi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oasmaa, A.; Arpiainen, V.; McKeough, P.; Tapola, E. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

1998-12-31

Thermochemical processing of tall oil soap originating from various mixtures of birch and pine has been experimentally investigated. The organic matter of tall oil soap, which is a by-product of kraft pulping, originates mainly from wood extractives. Conventional processing of tall oil soap involves acidulation with sulphuric acid to yield crude tall oil and subsequent distillation of the oil at centralised refineries. Because tall oil originating from birch wood is far less valuable than that from pine, there is an economic incentive in the Nordic countries to develop alternative conversion processes for the tall oil soap produced at pulp mills where birch is widely used as feedstock. Furthermore, thermochemical processing of tall oil soap does not introduce sulphur into the chemical recovery cycle. This would be a significant advantage in future mills employing closure of water circuits and/or sulphur-free pulping. In small-scale experiments tall oil soaps from wood mixtures with high birch content have been processed using both liquid-phase thermal treatment and pyrolysis. The liquid-phase thermal treatment at 450 deg C under a nitrogen atmosphere yielded a good-quality oil product at high yield (about 50% of the energy content of the tall oil soap). In the atmospheric pyrolysis of birch tall oil soap a separation of inorganic and organic constituents was obtained. The energy value of the product gases was high. Both processes are promising, but the pyrolysis alternative has the greater economic potential, providing that the promising preliminary experimental results have given a true picture of the performance of the full-scale pyrolysis process. (orig.)

[Effectiveness of antimicrobial formulations for acne based on orange (Citrus sinensis) and sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L) essential oils].

Science.gov (United States)

Matiz, Germán; Osorio, María R; Camacho, Francisco; Atencia, Maira; Herazo, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Currently, the antimicrobial resistance has developed in bacterial strains involved in the development of acne. Therefore, alternatives to antibiotic treatment have become necessary. Gel formulations were designed based on essential oils and acetic acid, and their effectiveness was evaluated in patients affected by acne. Masked simple experimental study of three gel formulations on 28 volunteer patients, separated in four groups of seven patients. Treatments were applied daily for eight weeks and consisted of (1) antibacterial (essential oils), (2) keratolytic medication (3) essential oils mixed with acetic acetic, and (4) kerolytic medication with acetic acid. Weekly checks were conducted to evaluate patient improvement. All groups reported an improvement of the acne condition, which ranged between 43% and 75% clearance of lesions. Evidence of treatment disappeared within minutes, showing little discomfort or side effects after application. The essential oil formulations were chemically and physically stable during application of treatments. This was demonstrated by gas chromatography, where no evidence no change neither the composition profiles of essential oils nor in acetic acid. The results were ranked good to excellent, particularly for the acetic acid mixture, which achieved improvements of 75%. This appeared to be a result of their joint antiseptic and keratolytic activity. Side effects (burning and redness) disappeared within a few minutes of completing the application, therefore, did not interfere with adherence to treatment.

Efficacy of pretreating oil palm fronds with an acid-base mixture catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Young Hoon; Park, Hyun Min; Park, Yong-Cheol; Park, Kyungmoon; Kim, Kyoung Heon

2017-07-01

Oil palm fronds are abundant but recalcitrant to chemical pretreatment. Herein, an acid-base mixture was applied as a catalyst to efficiently pretreat oil palm fronds. Optimized conditions for the pretreatment were a 0.1M acidic acid-base mixture and 3min ramping to 190°C and 12min holding. The oil palm fronds pretreated and washed with the acid-base mixture exhibited an enzymatic digestibility of 85% by 15 FPU Accellerase 1000/g glucan after 72h hydrolysis, which was significantly higher than the enzymatic digestibilities obtained by acid or alkali pretreatment alone. This could be attributed to the synergistic actions of the acid and base, producing an 87% glucose recovery with 100% and 40.3% removal of xylan and lignin, respectively, from the solids. Therefore, an acid-base mixture can be a feasible catalyst to deconstruct oil palm fronds for sugar production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oil spill contingency planning for offshore oil fields - a new concept established for the Norwegian continental shelf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singsaas, I.; Reed, M.; Nygaard, T.; Sundnes, G.Jr.

1998-01-01

The development of a new concept for oil spill contingency planning to be used for offshore oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf was discussed. The factors which are important in developing a good oil spill contingency plan include a good understanding of: (1) the fate, behaviour and weathering of the specific oil, (2) relevant oil spill scenarios, (3) drift and spreading of the oil, and (4) specific requirements for the effectiveness of the chosen response options. The oil spill contingency and response (OSCAR) model was used for quantitative comparison of alternative response options. 21 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs

Mixed field radiation modification of polyurethanes based on castor oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mortley, A.; Bonin, H.W.; Bui, V.T. [Royal Military College of Canada, Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Kingston, Ontario (Canada)]. E-mail: aba.mortley@rmc.ca

2006-07-01

Polyurethane is among the polymers and polymer-based composite materials being investigated at the Royal Military College of Canada for the fabrication of leak-tight containers for the long-term disposal of radioactive waste. Due to the long aliphatic chain of the castor oil component of polyurethane, thermal curing of castor oil based polyurethane (COPU) is limited by increasing polymer viscosity. To enhance further crosslinking, COPUs were subjected to a range of doses (0.0 - 3.0 MGy) produced by the mixed ionizing radiation field of a SLOWPOKE-2 research nuclear reactor. The tensile mechanical properties of castor oil based polyurethanes (COPU), unirradiated and irradiated, were characterized by mechanical tensile tests. Increases in mechanical strength due to radiation-induced crosslinking and limitations of thermal curing were confirmed by tensile tests and changing {sup 13}C-NMR and FTIR spectra. (author)

Mixed field radiation modification of polyurethanes based on castor oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mortley, A.; Bonin, H.W.; Bui, V.T.

2006-01-01

Polyurethane is among the polymers and polymer-based composite materials being investigated at the Royal Military College of Canada for the fabrication of leak-tight containers for the long-term disposal of radioactive waste. Due to the long aliphatic chain of the castor oil component of polyurethane, thermal curing of castor oil based polyurethane (COPU) is limited by increasing polymer viscosity. To enhance further crosslinking, COPUs were subjected to a range of doses (0.0 - 3.0 MGy) produced by the mixed ionizing radiation field of a SLOWPOKE-2 research nuclear reactor. The tensile mechanical properties of castor oil based polyurethanes (COPU), unirradiated and irradiated, were characterized by mechanical tensile tests. Increases in mechanical strength due to radiation-induced crosslinking and limitations of thermal curing were confirmed by tensile tests and changing 13 C-NMR and FTIR spectra. (author)

Financial oil derivatives: from options to oil warrants and synthetic oilfields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trabia, Xavier

1992-01-01

This study aims to shed light on some of the most interesting financial oil derivatives issued so far in order to assess the potential of this new wave of innovative funding instruments. In Part I some theoretical background is provided and applied to the problem of the American futures option. The ''binomial'' model for valuing future option contracts is presented and the most accurate alternatives for pricing American futures options are reviewed. The role of these numerical procedures in valuing more complex options involved in oil warrants is examined. Comments are made on the behaviour of volatility, which stands as a key interface between theory and practice in oil trading on the oil futures market. Part II of the study describes in detail some of the most famous new financial oil derivatives. Some final conclusions are drawn on the potential of oil trusts and synthetic oilfields to be involved in project and general funding in the oil industry. (44 figures, 11 tables, 53 references) (UK)

Alternatives to traditional transportation fuels 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-01

Interest in alternative transportation fuels (ATF`s) has increased in recent years due to the drives for cleaner air and less dependence upon foreign oil. This report, Alternatives to Traditional Transportation Fuels 1996, provides information on ATFs, as well as the vehicles that consume them.

Numerical Study on Alternating Current Breakdown Mechanism Between Sphere-Sphere Electrodes in Transformer Oil-Based Magnetic Nanofluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Won-Ho; Lee, Jong-Chul

2018-09-01

A numerical simulation was developed for magnetic nanoparticles in a liquid dielectric to investigate the AC breakdown voltage of the magnetic nanofluids according to the volume concentration of the magnetic nanoparticles. In prior research, we found that the dielectric breakdown voltage of the transformer oil-based magnetic nanofluids was positively or negatively affected according to the amount of magnetic nanoparticles under a testing condition of dielectric fluids, and the trajectory of the magnetic nanoparticles in a fabricated chip was visualized to verify the related phenomena via measurements and computations. In this study, a numerical simulation of magnetic nanoparticles in an insulating fluid was developed to model particle tracing for AC breakdown mechanisms happened to a sphere-sphere electrode configuration and to propose a possible mechanism regarding the change in the breakdown strength due to the behavior of the magnetic nanoparticles with different applied voltages.

Electricity generation analyses in an oil-exporting country: Transition to non-fossil fuel based power units in Saudi Arabia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farnoosh, Arash; Lantz, Frederic; Percebois, Jacques

2014-01-01

In Saudi Arabia, fossil-fuel is the main source of power generation. Due to the huge economic and demographic growth, the electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia has increased and should continue to increase at a very fast rate. At the moment, more than half a million barrels of oil per day is used directly for power generation. Herein, we assess the power generation situation of the country and its future conditions through a modelling approach. For this purpose, we present the current situation by detailing the existing generation mix of electricity. Then we develop an optimization model of the power sector which aims to define the best production and investment pattern to reach the expected demand. Subsequently, we will carry out a sensitivity analysis so as to evaluate the robustness of the model's by taking into account the integration variability of the other alternative (non-fossil fuel based) resources. The results point out that the choices of investment in the power sector strongly affect the potential oil's exports of Saudi Arabia. For instance, by decarbonizing half of its generation mix, Saudi Arabia can release around 0.5 Mb/d barrels of oil equivalent per day from 2020. Moreover, total power generation cost reduction can reach up to around 28% per year from 2030 if Saudi Arabia manages to attain the most optimal generation mix structure introduced in the model (50% of power from renewables and nuclear power plants and 50% from the fossil power plants). - Highlights: • We model the current and future power generation situation of Saudi Arabia. • We take into account the integration of the other alternative resources. • We consider different scenarios of power generation structure for the country. • Optimal generation mix can release considerable amount of oil for export

Forecasting crude oil price with an EMD-based neural network ensemble learning paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Lean; Wang, Shouyang; Lai, Kin Keung

2008-01-01

In this study, an empirical mode decomposition (EMD) based neural network ensemble learning paradigm is proposed for world crude oil spot price forecasting. For this purpose, the original crude oil spot price series were first decomposed into a finite, and often small, number of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Then a three-layer feed-forward neural network (FNN) model was used to model each of the extracted IMFs, so that the tendencies of these IMFs could be accurately predicted. Finally, the prediction results of all IMFs are combined with an adaptive linear neural network (ALNN), to formulate an ensemble output for the original crude oil price series. For verification and testing, two main crude oil price series, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil spot price and Brent crude oil spot price, are used to test the effectiveness of the proposed EMD-based neural network ensemble learning methodology. Empirical results obtained demonstrate attractiveness of the proposed EMD-based neural network ensemble learning paradigm. (author)

Towards a Life Cycle Based Chemical Alternative Assessment (LCAA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jolliet, O.; Huang, L.; Overcash, Michael

2017-01-01

approach combines the following elements: a) The manufacturing phase chemical inventory is based on the environmental genome of industrial products database, ensuring mass and energy balance, b) near-field exposure to consumer products during the use phase is determined based on the mass of chemical......There is a need for an operational quantitative screening-level assessment of alternatives, that is life-cycle based and able to serve both Life cycle Assessment (LCA and chemical alternatives assessment (CAA). This presentation therefore aims to develop and illustrate a new approach called “Life...... Cycle Based Chemical Alternative Assessment (LCAA)” that will quantify exposure and life cycle impacts consistently and efficiently over the main life cycle stages. The new LCAA approach is illustrated though a proof-of-concept case study of alternative plasticizers in vinyl flooring. The proposed LCAA...

Effects of a protected inclusion of organic acids and essential oils as antibiotic growth promoter alternative on growth performance, intestinal morphology and gut microflora in broilers.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yanli; Yang, Xin; Xin, Hongliang; Chen, Si; Yang, Chengbo; Duan, Yulan; Yang, Xiaojun

2017-09-01

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of protected essential oils and organic acids mixture on poultry feeding. A total of 450 1-day-old Cobb 500 chicks were randomly allotted into three treatments with six replicates. Birds were offered a basal diet (C), basal diet with 0.15 g/kg enramycin premix (A) and basal diet with 0.30 g/kg protected essential oils and organic acids mixture product (P). The results showed that protected essential oils and organic acids mixture supplementation reduced average daily feed intake and ratio of feed to gain (F/G) at 22-42 days of age, and F/G during 1-42 days of age also declined (P essential oils and organic acids mixture supplementation changed gut microflora mainly in Lactobacillus. These data suggested that dietary mixture of organic acids and essential oils addition could be used in the poultry industry as an antibiotic growth promoter alternative. © 2017 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Potential reduction of carbon emissions from Crude Palm Oil production based on energy and carbon balances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patthanaissaranukool, Withida; Polprasert, Chongchin; Englande, Andrew J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We evaluate energy and carbon equivalence from CPO production based on a CBM. ► Energy spent and produced via carbon movement from palm oil mill was determined. ► Scenarios were formulated to evaluate the potential reduction of carbon emission. ► Utilization of biomass from palm oil mill shows the high potential of C-reduction. -- Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate energy and carbon equivalences (CE) associated with palm oil milling and to evaluate sustainability alternatives for energy consumption. Appropriate ways to reduce carbon emissions were also evaluated. A field survey was carried out to quantify the input and output of energy and materials following the conceptual framework of a carbon-balanced model (CBM), which exclude other non-CO 2 greenhouse gases. Survey results indicate that the electrical energy consumption for daily mill start-up averaged 18.7 ± 5.4 kWh/ton Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs). This energy is equivalent to 114.4 ± 33.2 kWh/ton Crude Palm Oil (CPO) which was found to be offset by that generated in the mills using palm fiber as a solid fuel. Currently, organic residues contained in the wastewater are anaerobically converted to methane. The methane is used as fuel to generate electricity and sold to an outside grid network at a generation rate of 8.1 ± 2.1 kWh/ton FFB. Based on the CBM approach, carbon emissions observed from the use of fossil energy in palm oil milling were very small; however, total carbon emission from oil palm plantation and palm oil milling were found to be 12.3 kg CE/ton FFB, resulting in the net carbon reduction in CPO production of 2.8 kg CE/ton FFB or 53.7 kg CE/ha-y. Overall, the sum of C-reduction was found 1.2 times greater than that of C-emission. This figure can be increased up to 5.5, if all biomass by-products are used as fuel to generate electricity only. The full potential for carbon reduction from palm oil milling is estimated at 0.94 kW of electric power for every hectare of

Alternate Energy for National Security.

Science.gov (United States)

Rath, Bhakta

2010-02-01

Recent price fluctuations at the gas pump have brought our attention to the phenomenal increase of global energy consumption in recent years. It is now evident that we have almost reached a peak in global oil production. Several projections indicate that total world consumption of oil will rise by nearly 60 per cent between 1999 and 2020. In 1999 consumption was equivalent to 86 million barrels of oil per day, which has reached a peak of production extracted from most known oil reserves. These projections, if accurate, will present an unprecedented crisis to the global economy and industry. As an example, in the US, nearly 40 per cent of energy usage is provided by petroleum, of which nearly a third is used in transportation. The US Department of Defense (DOD) is the single largest buyer of fuel, amounting to, on the average, 13 million gallons per day. Additionally, these fuels have to meet different requirements that prevent use of ethanol additives and biodiesel. An aggressive search for alternate energy sources, both renewable and nonrenewable, is vital. The presentation will review national and DOD perspectives on the exploration of alternate energy with a focus on energy derivable from the ocean. )

Dual Resonant Frequencies Effects on an Induction-Based Oil Palm Fruit Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noor Hasmiza Harun

2014-11-01

Full Text Available As the main exporter in the oil palm industry, the need to improve the quality of palm oil has become the main interest among all the palm oil millers in Malaysia. To produce good quality palm oil, it is important for the miller to harvest a good oil palm Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB. Conventionally, the main reference used by Malaysian harvesters is the manual grading standard published by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB. A good oil palm FFB consists of all matured fruitlets, aged between 18 to 21 weeks of antheses (WAA. To expedite the harvesting process, it is crucial to implement an automated detection system for determining the maturity of the oil palm FFB. Various automated detection methods have been proposed by researchers in the field to replace the conventional method. In our preliminary study, a novel oil palm fruit sensor to detect the maturity of oil palm fruit bunch was proposed. The design of the proposed air coil sensor based on the inductive sensor was further investigated mainly in the context of the effect of coil diameter to improve its sensitivity. In this paper, the sensitivity of the inductive sensor was further examined with a dual flat-type shape of air coil. The dual air coils were tested on fifteen samples of fruitlet from two categories, namely ripe and unripe. Samples were tested within 20 Hz to 10 MHz while evaluations on both peaks were done separately before the gap between peaks was analyzed. A comparative analysis was conducted to investigate the improvement in sensitivity of the induction-based oil palm fruit sensor as compared to previous works. Results from the comparative study proved that the inductive sensor using a dual flat-type shape air coil has improved by up to 167%. This provides an indication in the improvement in the coil sensitivity of the palm oil fruit sensor based on the induction concept.

Dual resonant frequencies effects on an induction-based oil palm fruit sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Harun, Noor Hasmiza; Misron, Norhisam; Mohd Sidek, Roslina; Aris, Ishak; Wakiwaka, Hiroyuki; Tashiro, Kunihisa

2014-11-19

As the main exporter in the oil palm industry, the need to improve the quality of palm oil has become the main interest among all the palm oil millers in Malaysia. To produce good quality palm oil, it is important for the miller to harvest a good oil palm Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB). Conventionally, the main reference used by Malaysian harvesters is the manual grading standard published by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). A good oil palm FFB consists of all matured fruitlets, aged between 18 to 21 weeks of antheses (WAA). To expedite the harvesting process, it is crucial to implement an automated detection system for determining the maturity of the oil palm FFB. Various automated detection methods have been proposed by researchers in the field to replace the conventional method. In our preliminary study, a novel oil palm fruit sensor to detect the maturity of oil palm fruit bunch was proposed. The design of the proposed air coil sensor based on the inductive sensor was further investigated mainly in the context of the effect of coil diameter to improve its sensitivity. In this paper, the sensitivity of the inductive sensor was further examined with a dual flat-type shape of air coil. The dual air coils were tested on fifteen samples of fruitlet from two categories, namely ripe and unripe. Samples were tested within 20 Hz to 10 MHz while evaluations on both peaks were done separately before the gap between peaks was analyzed. A comparative analysis was conducted to investigate the improvement in sensitivity of the induction-based oil palm fruit sensor as compared to previous works. Results from the comparative study proved that the inductive sensor using a dual flat-type shape air coil has improved by up to 167%. This provides an indication in the improvement in the coil sensitivity of the palm oil fruit sensor based on the induction concept.

Ambient Pressure Test Rig Developed for Testing Oil-Free Bearings in Alternate Gases and Variable Pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Bauman, Steven W.

1990-01-01

The Oil-Free Turbomachinery research team at the NASA Glenn Research Center is conducting research to develop turbomachinery systems that utilize high-speed, high temperature foil (air) bearings that do not require an oil lubrication system. Such systems combine the most advanced foil bearings from industry with NASA-developed hightemperature solid-lubricant technology. New applications are being pursued, such as Oil- Free turbochargers, auxiliary power units, and turbine propulsion systems for aircraft. An Oil-Free business jet engine, for example, would be simpler, lighter, more reliable, and less costly to purchase and maintain than current engines. Another application is NASA's Prometheus mission, where gas bearings will be required for the closed-cycle turbine based power-conversion system of a nuclear power generator for deep space. To support these applications, Glenn's Oil-Free Turbomachinery research team developed the Ambient Pressure Test Rig. Using this facility, researchers can load and heat a bearing and evaluate its performance with reduced air pressure to simulate high altitude conditions. For the nuclear application, the test chamber can be purged with gases such as helium to study foil gas bearing operation in working fluids other than air.

Quantification of rice bran oil in oil blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, R.; Sharma, H. K.; Sengar, G.

2012-11-01

Blends consisting of physically refined rice bran oil (PRBO): sunflower oil (SnF) and PRBO: safflower oil (SAF) in different proportions were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters. The quantification of pure rice bran oil in the blended oils was carried out using different methods including gas chromatographic, HPLC, ultrasonic velocity and methods based on physico-chemical parameters. The physicochemical parameters such as ultrasonic velocity, relative association and acoustic impedance at 2 MHz, iodine value, palmitic acid content and oryzanol content reflected significant changes with increased proportions of PRBO in the blended oils. These parameters were selected as dependent parameters and % PRBO proportion was selected as independent parameters. The study revealed that regression equations based on the oryzanol content, palmitic acid composition, ultrasonic velocity, relative association, acoustic impedance, and iodine value can be used for the quantification of rice bran oil in blended oils. The rice bran oil can easily be quantified in the blended oils based on the oryzanol content by HPLC even at a 1% level. The palmitic acid content in blended oils can also be used as an indicator to quantify rice bran oil at or above the 20% level in blended oils whereas the method based on ultrasonic velocity, acoustic impedance and relative association showed initial promise in the quantification of rice bran oil. (Author) 23 refs.

Evaluation of nano emulsion containing asphaltenes dispersant additive in dehydration of oil; Avaliacao de nanoemulsoes contendo aditivo dispersante de asfaltenos na desidratacao de petroleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Priscila F. de; Rodrigues, Jessica S.; Mansur, Claudia R.E. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/ Instituto de Macromoleculas/ Laboratorio de Macromoleculas e Coloides na Industria de Petroleo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], e-mail: prisfrias@hotmail.com

2011-07-01

Due to the problem of the formation of emulsions type water-oil during oil production, new alternatives of the breakdown of these emulsions have been proposed over the years. Several polymers have been used to destabilize these emulsions and among them are those based on polyphenylene ether. The aim of this study was to develop nanoemulsions type oil / water, where an asphaltenes dispersant additive was dissolved in dispersed phase in order to evaluate them as a new alternative in the breakdown of oil emulsions. The nanoemulsions were prepared in the presence of surfactant based on polyoxide using a high pressure homogenizer (HPH). We obtained stable nanoemulsions for more than 30 days in the presence or absence of additive. These nanoemulsions were effective in water /oil phase separation, and the nanoemulsion containing the dispersant additive provided a faster separation of these phases. (author)

Modeling Oil Exploration and Production: Resource-Constrained and Agent-Based Approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakobsson, Kristofer

2010-05-01

Energy is essential to the functioning of society, and oil is the single largest commercial energy source. Some analysts have concluded that the peak in oil production is soon about to happen on the global scale, while others disagree. Such incompatible views can persist because the issue of 'peak oil' cuts through the established scientific disciplines. The question is: what characterizes the modeling approaches that are available today, and how can they be further developed to improve a trans-disciplinary understanding of oil depletion? The objective of this thesis is to present long-term scenarios of oil production (Paper I) using a resource-constrained model; and an agent-based model of the oil exploration process (Paper II). It is also an objective to assess the strengths, limitations, and future development potentials of resource-constrained modeling, analytical economic modeling, and agent-based modeling. Resource-constrained models are only suitable when the time frame is measured in decades, but they can give a rough indication of which production scenarios are reasonable given the size of the resource. However, the models are comprehensible, transparent and the only feasible long-term forecasting tools at present. It is certainly possible to distinguish between reasonable scenarios, based on historically observed parameter values, and unreasonable scenarios with parameter values obtained through flawed analogy. The economic subfield of optimal depletion theory is founded on the notion of rational economic agents, and there is a causal relation between decisions made at the micro-level and the macro-result. In terms of future improvements, however, the analytical form considerably restricts the versatility of the approach. Agent-based modeling makes it feasible to combine economically motivated agents with a physical environment. An example relating to oil exploration is given in Paper II, where it is shown that the exploratory activities of individual

OSCAR2000 : a multi-component 3-dimensional oil spill contingency and response model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, M.; Daling, P.S.; Brakstad, O.G.; Singsaas, I.; Faksness, L.-G.; Hetland, B.; Ekrol, N.

2000-01-01

Researchers at SINTEF in Norway have studied the weathering of surface oil. They developed a realistic model to analyze alternative spill response strategies. The model represented the formation and composition of the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) of oil for both treated and untreated oil spills. As many as 25 components, pseudo-components, or metabolites were allowed for the specification of oil. Calculations effected using OSCAR were verified in great detail on numerous occasions. The model made it possible to determine rather realistically the dissolution, transformation, and toxicology of dispersed oil clouds, as well as evaporation, emulsification, and natural dispersion. OSCAR comprised a data-based oil weathering model, a three-dimensional oil trajectory and chemical fates model, an oil spill combat model, exposure models for birds, marine mammals, fish and ichthyoplankton. 17 refs., 1 tab., 11 figs

Microbial ecology of methanogenic crude oil biodegradation; from microbial consortia to heavy oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Head, Ian M.; Maguire, Michael J.; Sherry, Angela; Grant, Russell; Gray, Neil D.; Aitken, Carolyn M.; Martin Jones, D.; Oldenburg, Thomas B.P.; Larter, Stephen R. [Petroleum Research Group, Geosciences, University of Calgary (Canada)

2011-07-01

This paper presents the microbial ecology of methanogenic crude oil biodegradation. Biodegraded petroleum reservoirs are one of the most dramatic indications of the deep biosphere. It is estimated that heavy oil and oil sands will account for a considerable amount of energy production in the future. Carbon, a major resource for deep subsurface microorganisms, and energy are contained in large quantities in petroleum reservoirs. The aerobic to anaerobic paradigm shift is explained. A key process for in-situ oil biodegradation in petroleum reservoirs is methanogenesis. New paradigms for in-reservoir crude oil biodegradation are discussed. Variations in anaerobic degradation of crude oil hydrocarbons are also discussed. A graph shows the different patterns of crude oil biodegradation under sulfate-reducing and methanogenic conditions. Alternative anaerobic alkane activation mechanisms are also shown. From the study, it can be concluded that methanogenic crude oil degradation is of global importance and led to the establishment of the world's enormous heavy oil deposits.

Edible oils from microalgae: insights in TAG accumulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klok, A.J.; Lamers, P.P.; Martens, D.E.; Draaisma, R.B.; Wijffels, R.H.

2014-01-01

Microalgae are a promising future source for sustainable edible oils. To make microalgal oil a cost-effective alternative for common vegetable oils, increasing TAG productivity and TAG content are of high importance. Fulfilling these targets requires proper understanding of lipid metabolism in

Biodiesel from non-food alternative feed-stock

Science.gov (United States)

As a potential feedstock for biodiesel (BD) production, Jojoba oil was extracted from Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis L.) plant seeds that contained around 50-60 wt.%, which were explored as non-food alternative feedstocks. Interestingly, Jojoba oil has long-chain wax esters and is not a typical trigly...

Thermally stable, transparent, pressure-sensitive adhesives from epoxidized and dihydroxyl soybean oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, B Kollbe; Kraft, Stefan; Wang, D; Sun, X Susan

2011-05-09

Thermal stability and optical transparency are important factors for flexible electronics and heat-related applications of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). However, current acryl- and rubber-based PSAs cannot attain the required thermal stability, and silicon-based PSAs are much more expensive than the alternatives. Oleo-chemicals including functionalized plant oils have great potential to replace petrochemicals. In this study, novel biobased PSAs from soybean oils were developed with excellent thermal stability and transparency as well as peel strength comparable to current PSAs. In addition, the fast curing (drying) property of newly developed biobased PSAs is essential for industrial applications. The results show that soybean oil-based PSA films and tapes have great potential to replace petro-based PSAs for a broad range of applications including flexible electronics and medical devices because of their thermal stability, transparency, chemical resistance, and potential biodegradability from triglycerides.

Potentials and limitations of alternative fuels for diesel engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gligorijević Radinko

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The primary energy consumption in the world has increased continuously. The most important primary energy source is oil. The supply of automotive fuels today is based almost entirely on oil, and the demand for liquid transportation fuels worldwide will rise significantly in the next fifty years. Growing energy consumption and decreasing fossil resources are reasons for increasing prices of fossil fuel. Besides limited availability, contribution to greenhouse effect and pollutant emission represent another problem of fossil fuel. Both of these problems can be overcome by increased application of renewable biofuels. Therefore, great effort is made to supplement the primary energy sources by including renewable energies. There are alternative fuels 1st and 2nd generation. Some of them show high potential for reduction of engine out emission. But there are economical and technical barriers when such fuels are applied. This paper shows both advantage and disadvantage of alternative fuels, especially when used for diesel engines.

Pt-based Bi-metallic Monolith Catalysts for Partial Upgrading of Microalgae Oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lawal, Adeniyi [Stevens Inst. of Technology, Hoboken, NJ (United States); Manganaro, James [Anasyn LLC, Princeton, NJ (United States); Goodall, Brian [Valicor Renewables LLC, Dexter, MI (United States); Farrauto, Robert [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)

2015-03-24

Valicor’s proprietary wet extraction process in conjunction with thermochemical pre-treatment was performed on algal biomass from two different algae strains, Nannochloropsis Salina (N.S.) and Chlorella to produce algae oils. Polar lipids such as phospholipids were hydrolyzed, and metals and metalloids, known catalyst poisons, were separated into the aqueous phase, creating an attractive “pre-refined” oil for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) upgrading by Stevens. Oil content and oil extraction efficiency of approximately 30 and 90% respectively were achieved. At Stevens, we formulated a Pt-based bi-metallic catalyst which was demonstrated to be effective in the hydro-treating of the algae oils to produce ‘green’ diesel. The bi-metallic catalyst was wash-coated on a monolith, and in conjunction with a high throughput high pressure (pilot plant) reactor system, was used in hydrotreating algae oils from N.S. and Chlorella. Mixtures of these algae oils and refinery light atmospheric gas oil (LAGO) supplied by our petroleum refiner partner, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, were co-processed in the pilot plant reactor system using the Pt-based bi-metallic monolith catalyst. A 26 wt% N.S. algae oil/74 wt % LAGO mixture hydrotreated in the reactor system was subjected to the ASTM D975 Diesel Fuel Specification Test and it met all the important requirements, including a cetane index of 50.5. An elemental oxygen analysis performed by an independent and reputable lab reported an oxygen content of trace to none found. The successful co-processing of a mixture of algae oil and LAGO will enable integration of algae oil as a refinery feedstock which is one of the goals of DOE-BETO. We have presented experimental data that show that our precious metal-based catalysts consume less hydrogen than the conventional hydrotreating catalyst NiMo Precious metal catalysts favor the hydrodecarbonylation/hydrodecarboxylation route of HDO over the dehydration route preferred by base metal

Research into Oil-based Colloidal-Graphite Lubricants for Forging of Al-based Alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrov, A.; Petrov, P.; Petrov, M.

2011-01-01

The presented paper describes the topical problem in metal forging production. It deals with the choice of an optimal lubricant for forging of Al-based alloys. Within the scope of the paper, the properties of several oil-based colloidal-graphite lubricants were investigated. The physicochemical and technological properties of these lubricants are presented. It was found that physicochemical properties of lubricant compositions have an influence on friction coefficient value and quality of forgings.The ring compression method was used to estimate the friction coefficient value. Hydraulic press was used for the test. The comparative analysis of the investigated lubricants was carried out. The forging quality was estimated on the basis of production test. The practical recommendations were given to choose an optimal oil-based colloidal-graphite lubricant for isothermal forging of Al-based alloy.

The Improvement of Screening the Significant Factors of Oil Blends as Bio lubricant Base Stock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noor Hajarul Ashikin Shamsuddin; Rozaini Abdullah; Zainab Hamzah; Siti Jamilah Hanim Mohd Yusof

2015-01-01

A new formulation bio lubricant base stock was developed by blending of waste cooking oil (WCO) with Jatropha curcas oil (JCO). The objective of this research is to evaluate significant factors contributing to the production of oil blends for bio lubricant application. The significant factors used in this study were oil ratio (WCO:JCO), agitation times (min) and agitation speed (rpm). The blended oil bio based lubricant was used to determine the saponification, acid, peroxide and iodine values. The experimental design used in this study was the 2 level-factorial design. In this experiment, it was found that the effect of oil ratio and interaction of oil ratio and agitation speed gave the most significant effect in oil blends as bio lubricant base stock. The highest ratio of oil blend 80 %:20 % WCO:JCO, with low agitation speed of 300 rpm and low agitation time of 30 minutes gave the optimum results. The acid, saponification, peroxide and iodine values obtained were 0.517±0.08 mg KOH/ g, 126.23±1.62 mg/ g, 7.5±2.0 m eq/ kg and 50.42±2.85 mg/ g respectively. A higher ratio of waste cooking oil blends was found to be favourable as bio lubricant base stock. (author)

Selection and application of microorganisms to improve oil recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almeida, P.F.; Moreira, R.S.; Almeida, R.C.C.; Guimaraes, A.K.; Carvalho, A.S. [Laboratorio de Biotecnologia e Ecologia de Microrganismos da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Avenida Reitor Miguel Calmon, s/n, Vale do Canela, CEP 41.160-100 Salvador BA (Brazil); Quintella, C.; Esperidia, M.C.A. [Instituto de Quimica da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barao de Geremoabo, s/n, Campus Universitario de Ondina, CEP 40.170-290, Salvador BA (Brazil); Taft, C.A. [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas, Rua Xavier Sigaud, 150, Urca, 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2004-08-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (Meor) is an incontestably efficient alternative to improve oil recovery, especially in mature fields and in oil reservoirs with high paraffinic content. This is the case for most oil fields in the Reconcavo basin of Bahia, Brazil. Given the diverse conditions of most oil fields, an approach to apply Meor technology should consider primarily: (i) microbiological studies to select the appropriate microorganisms and (ii) mobilization of oil in laboratory experiments before oil field application. A total of 163 bacterial strains, selectively isolated from various sources, were studied to determine their potential to be used in Meor. A laboratory microbial screening based on physiological and metabolic profiles and growth rates under conditions representative for oil fields and reservoirs revealed that 10 bacterial strains identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2), Bacillus licheniformis (2), Bacillus brevis (1), Bacillus polymyxa (1), Micrococcus varians (1), Micrococcus sp. (1), and two Vibrio species demonstrated potential to be used in oil recovery. Strains of B. licheniformis and B. polymyxa produced the most active surfactants and proved to be the most anaerobic and thermotolerant among the selected bacteria. Micrococcus and B. brevis were the most salt-tolerant and polymer producing bacteria, respectively, whereas Vibrio sp. and B. polymyxa strains were the most gas-producing bacteria. Three bacterial consortia were prepared with a mixture of bacteria that showed metabolic and technological complementarity and the ability to grow at a wide range of temperatures and salinity characteristics for the oil fields in Bahia, Brazil. Oil mobilization rates in laboratory column experiments using the three consortia of bacteria varied from 11.2 to 18.3 % [v/v] of the total oil under static conditions. Consortia of B. brevis, B. icheniformis and B. polymyxa exhibited the best oil mobilization rates. Using these consortia under anaerobic

Structural analysis of oil containment booms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badesha, S.S.; Hunt, J.; Wenck, E.

1993-01-01

In recent years, major oil spills, such as the Exxon Valdez incident, and many smaller spills have given rise to a worldwide marine environmental concern. One of the most successful devices for containing and facilitating the recovery of spilled oil, and one which does not endanger or alter the environment in any way, is the oil containment boom. Described in this paper is a finite element (FE)-based method for structural analysis of oil booms. In general, a number of FE models for a typical oil boom section are set up using the COSMOS FEA code. These models differ from one another in oil boom geometry, deployment configurations, and oil boom components. The FEA (fimite element analysis) models are made from the plate elements (skirt and tube), truss elements (tension members and ballast chain), and beam elements (end connector). Loads due to tow/current velocity, wind velocity, wave action, and ballasting, as determined from aero/hydrodynamics analysis, are applied as distributed pressures on the plate and beam elements. This method will predict boom tensile load strength, detailed stress distribution, and distortion characteristics for a particular boom with specific deployment configuration and environmental condition. The derived information can be used to highlight critical design features, thereby optimizing the oil boom design. Alternatively, this information can be used for the selection of an oil boom suited for a particular application and, more importantly, can provide the user with a control evaluation tool to determine whether a given oil boom design can withstand the stresses of its intended application

Oxidative Desulfurization of Fuel Oil by Pyridinium-Based Ionic Liquids

OpenAIRE

Erhong Duan; Dishun Zhao; Yanan Wang

2009-01-01

In this work, an N-butyl-pyridinium-based ionic liquid [BPy]BF4 was prepared. The effect of extraction desulfurization on model oil with thiophene and dibenzothiophene (DBT) was investigated. Ionic liquids and hydrogen peroxide (30%) were tested in extraction-oxidation desulfurization of model oil. The results show that the ionic liquid [BPy]BF4 has a better desulfurization effect. The best technological conditions are: V(IL)/V(Oil) /V(H2O2) = 1:1:0.4, temperature 55 °C, the time 30 min. The ...

Oil Trade and Climate Policy

OpenAIRE

Malik Curuk; Suphi Sen

2015-01-01

It has been argued that a depletable resource owner might optimally increase near-term supply in response to environmental policies promoting the development of alternative resources, which might render climate policy ineffective or even counterproductive. This paper empirically confirms this prediction using data on crude oil exports from OPEC to OECD countries between 2001-2010 in a gravity framework. It documents that oil exporters decrease prices and increase quantity of oil exports in re...

Efficacy and Safety of a Mineral Oil-Based Head Lice Shampoo: A Randomized, Controlled, Investigator-Blinded, Comparative Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luise Wolf

Full Text Available Due to increased resistance and safety concerns with insecticide-based pediculicides, there is growing demand for head lice treatments with a physical mode of action. Certain mineral oils kill lice by blocking spiracles or by disrupting the epicuticular wax layer. The present study was performed to evaluate efficacy and safety of a mineral oil-based shampoo.This randomized, controlled, investigator-blinded, monocentric study (EudraCT registration no. 2014-002918-23 was performed from October 2014-June 2015 in Germany. A mineral oil shampoo (Mosquito® Med Läuse Shampoo 10 in Germany, Paranix or Silcap shampoo elsewhere, registered as medical device, was compared to a conventional, locally reimbursed, pyrethroid-based pediculicide (Goldgeist® Forte solution. In total, 107 patients (>1 year with confirmed head lice infestation were included (test arm: n = 53; control arm: n = 54. All subjects received two applications of either test or control product at day 0 and day 7, according to the instructions for use. Efficacy and safety was evaluated directly, 1h and 24h after first application, before and after second treatment, and at day 10. The main objective was demonstrating a cure rate for the test product, being superior to 70% at day 10.Cure rates at day 10 (corrected for re-infestation for the test product (96.1% and control (94% significantly exceeded the pre-defined target (70% (p < 0.001, 2-sided, 1-sample, chi-square test with confirmed non-inferiority for the test product. Over all visits, cure rates were consistently higher for the test product, whereas more initially-cured subjects remained lice-free until end of study (78%; control: 60%. Both products were safe and well tolerated, offering good esthetical effects.This study showed that substance-based medical devices (including the tested mineral oil shampoo can be safe and effective alternatives for insecticide-based pediculicides, with less risk for development of resistance because

Toxicities of Selected Essential Oils, Silicone Oils, and Paraffin Oil against the Common Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Zha, Chen; Wang, Changlu; Li, Andrew

2018-02-09

The common bed bug [Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)] and tropical bed bug [Cimex hemipterus F. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)] resurged in the United States and many other countries over the past decades. The need for safe and effective bed bug control products propelled the development of numerous 'green insecticides', mostly with essential oils listed as active ingredients. Various inorganic and organic oils also were used for bed bug management. However, there are no published studies on their toxicities against bed bugs. In this study, we screened 18 essential oils, three silicone oils, and paraffin oil (C5-20 paraffins) for their toxicities against bed bugs. All the oils exhibited insecticidal activity in topical assays. Their toxicities varied significantly; all of the evaluated essential oils were less effective than silicone oils and paraffin oil. The LD50 values of the most effective essential oil (blood orange), paraffin oil, and the most effective silicone oil (dodecamethylpentasiloxane) are 0.184 ± 0.018, 0.069 ± 0.012, and 0.036 ± 0.005 mg per bug, respectively. Direct spray of 1% water solution of 3-[hydroxy (polyethyleneoxy) propyl] heptamethyltrisiloxane, the only silicone oil that mixes well with water, resulted in 92% bed bug mortality after 1 d. Results of this study indicate silicone oils and paraffin oil have the potential to be used as safer alternative bed bug control materials. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Oil base fluids without tensoactive additives; Fluidos a base de oleo sem tensoativos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Machado, Jose Carlos V; Aragao, Atila Fernando L [PETROBRAS, XX (Brazil). Centro de Desenvolvimento de Recursos Humanos Norte e Nordeste

1990-12-31

The goal of this paper is to define an ideal oil base fluid composition without tensoactive additives, since these may cause damage to producing formation during drilling or well completion. We investigated the rheological, filtrating and phase separation properties of the systems composed of diesel oil, organophilic clay and a polar agent (water or ethyl alcohol). In order to to that, we used the 286 Baroid digital rotating viscometer, filtrating cells standardized according to the American Petroleum Institute (AP) for temperatures of 25 deg C to 149 deg C and pressures of 6,89 x 10{sup 5} Pa (100 psig) to 3,44 x 10{sup 6} (500 psig), and the setting method, according to the determinations of respectively rheological, filtrating and phase separation parameters. Results proved that the composition: diesel oil-94% v/v, Na Cl saturated solution - 6% v/v and bentone - 17,1 to 22,8 kg/m{sup 3} (6 to 8 lb/bbl), is ideal to meet the properties required for drilling and well completion operations for low densities, that is 0,84% to 1,02 (6,9 to 8,5 ib/gal). In order to obtain densities in the interval of 1,02 to 1,14 (8,5 to 9,5 ib/gal) the system should be condensed with calcite (Ca CO{sub 3}) and the base fluid composition should be : diesel oil-94 to 98% v/v, Na Cl saturated solution - 2 to 6% v/v and bentone 17,1 to 22,8 kg/m{sup 3} (6 to 8 ib/bbl). The average cost per barrel for the systems studied here is of the same order of conventional oil base fluids (with tensoactive additives). (author) 13 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

Oil base fluids without tensoactive additives; Fluidos a base de oleo sem tensoativos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Machado, Jose Carlos V.; Aragao, Atila Fernando L. [PETROBRAS, XX (Brazil). Centro de Desenvolvimento de Recursos Humanos Norte e Nordeste

1989-12-31

The goal of this paper is to define an ideal oil base fluid composition without tensoactive additives, since these may cause damage to producing formation during drilling or well completion. We investigated the rheological, filtrating and phase separation properties of the systems composed of diesel oil, organophilic clay and a polar agent (water or ethyl alcohol). In order to to that, we used the 286 Baroid digital rotating viscometer, filtrating cells standardized according to the American Petroleum Institute (AP) for temperatures of 25 deg C to 149 deg C and pressures of 6,89 x 10{sup 5} Pa (100 psig) to 3,44 x 10{sup 6} (500 psig), and the setting method, according to the determinations of respectively rheological, filtrating and phase separation parameters. Results proved that the composition: diesel oil-94% v/v, Na Cl saturated solution - 6% v/v and bentone - 17,1 to 22,8 kg/m{sup 3} (6 to 8 lb/bbl), is ideal to meet the properties required for drilling and well completion operations for low densities, that is 0,84% to 1,02 (6,9 to 8,5 ib/gal). In order to obtain densities in the interval of 1,02 to 1,14 (8,5 to 9,5 ib/gal) the system should be condensed with calcite (Ca CO{sub 3}) and the base fluid composition should be : diesel oil-94 to 98% v/v, Na Cl saturated solution - 2 to 6% v/v and bentone 17,1 to 22,8 kg/m{sup 3} (6 to 8 ib/bbl). The average cost per barrel for the systems studied here is of the same order of conventional oil base fluids (with tensoactive additives). (author) 13 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

Oil shale highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The low prices of crude oil have continued to retard the commercial development of oil shale and other syn fuels. Although research funds are more difficult to find, some R and D work by industry, academia, and governmental agencies continues in the United States and in other parts of the world. Improvements in retorting technology, upgrading oil-shale feedstock, and developing high-value niche-market products from shale oil are three notable areas of research that have been prominent for the past several years. Although the future prices of conventional crude cannot be predicted, it seems evident that diminishing supplies and a burgeoning world population will force us to turn to alternate fossil fuels as well as to cleaner sources of non-fossil energy. (author)

The essential oil of Allium sativum as an alternative agent against Candida isolated from dental prostheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza-Juache, Alejandro; Aranda-Romo, Saray; Bermeo-Escalona, Josué R; Gómez-Hernández, Araceli; Pozos-Guillén, Amaury; Sánchez-Vargas, Luis Octavio

The colonization of the surfaces of dental prostheses by Candida albicans is associated with the development of denture stomatitis. In this context, the use of fluconazole has been proposed, but its disadvantage is microbial resistance. Meanwhile, the oil of Allium sativum has shown an effect in controlling biofilm formation by C. albicans. The objective of this study was to determine the antifungal activities of the essential oil of A. sativum and fluconazole against clinical isolates of Candida species obtained from rigid, acrylic-based partial or total dentures and to compare these agents' effects on both biofilm and planktonic cells. A total of 48 clinical isolates obtained from the acrylic surface of partial or complete dentures were examined, and the following species were identified: C. albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. For each isolate, the antifungal activities of the essential oil of A. sativum and fluconazole against both biofilm and planktonic cells were evaluated using the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M27-A3 method. The isolates were also evaluated by semiquantitative XTT reduction. All planktonic Candida isolates were susceptible to the essential oil of A. sativum, whereas 4.2% were resistant to fluconazole. Regarding susceptibilities in biofilms, 43.8% of biofilms were resistant to A. sativum oil, and 91.7% were resistant to fluconazole. All planktonic cells of the different Candida species tested are susceptible to sativum oil, and the majority are susceptible to fluconazole. Susceptibility decreases in biofilm cells, with increased resistance to fluconazole compared with A. sativum oil. The essential oil of A. sativum is thus active against clinical isolates of Candida species obtained from dentures, with effects on both biofilm and planktonic cells in vitro. Copyright © 2017 Asociación Española de Micología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jain, Siddharth; Sharma, M.P. [Alternate Hydro Energy Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand 247667 (India)

2010-12-15

In view of the fast depletion of fossil fuel, the search for alternative fuels has become inevitable, looking at huge demand of diesel for transportation sector, captive power generation and agricultural sector, the biodiesel is being viewed a substitute of diesel. The vegetable oils, fats, grease are the source of feedstocks for the production of biodiesel. Significant work has been reported on the kinetics of transesterification of edible vegetable oils but little work is reported on non-edible oils. Out of various non-edible oil resources, Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) is considered as future feedstocks for biodiesel production in India and limited work is reported on the kinetics of transesterification of high FFA containing oil. The present study reports a review of kinetics of biodiesel production. The paper also reveals the results of kinetics study of two-step acid-base catalyzed transesterification process carried out at pre-determined optimum temperature of 65 and 50 C for esterification and transesterification process, respectively, under the optimum condition of methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1% (w/w) for H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and NaOH and 400 rpm of stirring. The yield of methyl ester (ME) has been used to study the effect of different parameters. The maximum yield of 21.2% of ME during esterification and 90.1% from transesterification of pretreated JCO has been obtained. This is the first study of its kind dealing with simplified kinetics of two-step acid-base catalyzed transesterification process carried at optimum temperature of both the steps which took about 6 h for complete conversion of TG to ME. (author)

Planning for Higher Oil Prices : Power Sector Impact in Latin America and the Caribbean

OpenAIRE

Yépez-García, Rigoberto Ariel; San Vicente Portes, Luis; García, Luis Enrique

2013-01-01

A scenario with higher oil prices has important implications for diverting from oil-based technologies to renewables, as well as gas, coal, and nuclear alternatives. By 2030, energy demand in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is expected to double from 2008 levels. A key issue is deciding on the most appropriate mix of fuels for power generation, given the various prices of energy sour...

Transesterification of coconut oil for FAME production using ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Supriadi, Eko; Marlinda, Lenny; Prajitno, Danawati Hari; Mahfud, Mahfud

2017-05-01

To overcome energy crisis, the vegetable oils-derived biofuel can be chosen as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel. The transesterification of coconut oil in methanol with K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst using ultrasound-assisted to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) as one of type biofuel was studied. The reaction occurred in batch reactor at a 9 : 1 molar ratio of methanol to coconut oil. The following reaction conditions were used in the catalytic test : concentration of catalyst to oil of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5%, the reaction time of 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 s, and the frequency ultrasonication of 20 and 40 KHz. At first, the preparation of K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was done and followed by transesterification process. After reaction, the phase separation and purification from impurities were done. Finally, FAME was analized based on this parameters, i.e., yield, density, viscosity, and flash point. FAME yield of 93.76% was obtained at the frequency ultrasonication of 40 kHz with K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst concentration to oil of 2.5 wt.% for 150 s. It's the best conditions for FAME production by transesterification of coconut oil using ultrasound-assisted.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: James Madison University Teaches Alternative

Science.gov (United States)

Alternative Fuels Sept. 16, 2017 Photo of a truck Phoenix Utility Fleet Drives Smarter with Biodiesel Aug. 26 Cooking Oil Powers Biodiesel Vehicles in Rhode Island July 14, 2017 Photo of a truck Idaho Transports Mail Home Runs on Biodiesel in North Carolina June 9, 2017 Photo of a bus New Hampshire Cleans up with

An empirical nexus between oil price collapse and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African oil based economies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KEJI Sunday Anderu

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The focus of this study, is to empirically investigate the nexus between oil price collapse and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa oil based economies, specifically from Angola, Nigeria and Sudan between January, 2010 and December, 2015, through panel random effects model (REM: Economic growth rate (GDPR and independent variables: Oil price (OPR, Exchange rate (EXR, Industrial Output (IND and Terms of Trade (TOT. REM result showed that there is negative link between oil price collapse and the economic growth in the case of Angola, Nigeria and Sudan, which confirmed the nexus between oil price collapse and economic growth. Post estimation tests such as Hausman and Breusch and Pagan Lagrange Multiplier Test were adopted to empirically show the consistency and efficiency of the model. Interestingly, the two key variables (GDPR and OPR disclose how unprecedented oil price fall disrupts economic growth of the selected economies. Meanwhile, poor institutional quality in the oil sector coupled with poor fiscal measure among others, further expose these economies to unprecedented external shocks that was characterized by skyrocket exchange rate, hence destabilize growth within the period under review. Therefore, the need for a robust fiscal measure is pertinent in order to sustain economic growth

Palm oil as a fuel for agricultural diesel engines: Comparative testing against diesel oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teerawat Apichato

2003-05-01

Full Text Available Due to unstable oil price situation in the world market, many countries have been looking for alternative energy sources to substitute for petroleum. Vegetable oil is one of the alternatives which can be used as fuel in automotive engines either in the form of straight vegetable oil, or in the form of ethyl or methyl ester. This paper presents a comparative performance testing of diesel engine using diesel oil and refined palm oil over 2,000 hours of continuous running time. Short-term performance testing was conducted for each fuel on the dynamometer engine test bed. Specific fuel consumption, exhaust temperature and black smoke density were determined and measured. Long-term performance testing (or endurance test was also done by running the engines coupled with a generator in order to supply load (electricity to a lightbulb board. For each 500 hours of engine run time, the engines were dissembled for engine wear inspection. It was found that the fuel pump and fuel valve weight losses from both engines showed insignificant differences either at the first 500 hours of running time or at the second 500 hours of running time but the inlet valve from the engine fueled by diesel oil had a higher weight loss than the engine fueled by refined palm oil at the first 500 hours and at the second 500 hours of running time. The compression rings from the engine fueled by refined palm oil showed a significant weight loss compared to the engine fueled by diesel oil both after 500 hours and after 1000 hours of running time.

Pollution Impact and Alternative Treatment for Produced Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hedar Yusran

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Oil and gas exploration and production are two of the activities that potentially cause pollution and environmental damage. The largest waste generated from this activity is produced water. Produced water contains hazardous pollutants of both organic and inorganic materials, so that the produced water of oil and gas production cannot be discharged directly to the environment. Uncontrolled discharge can lead to the environmental damage, killing the life of water and plants. The produced water needs to be handled and fulfill the quality standards before being discharged to the environment. Several studies to reduce the contaminants in the produced water were conducted by researchers. Among them were gravity based separation - flotation, separation technique based on filtration, and biological process treatment. Therefore, some of these methods can be used as an alternative waste handling of produced water.

Alternatives to antibiotics as growth promoters for use in swine production: a review

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

In the past two decades, an intensive amount of research has been focused on the development of alternatives to antibiotics to maintain swine health and performance. The most widely researched alternatives include probiotics, prebiotics, acidifiers, plant extracts and neutraceuticals such as copper and zinc. Since these additives have been more than adequately covered in previous reviews, the focus of this review will be on less traditional alternatives. The potential of antimicrobial peptides, clay minerals, egg yolk antibodies, essential oils, eucalyptus oil-medium chain fatty acids, rare earth elements and recombinant enzymes are discussed. Based on a thorough review of the literature, it is evident that a long and growing list of compounds exist which have been tested for their ability to replace antibiotics as feed additives in diets fed to swine. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these compounds produce inconsistent results and rarely equal antibiotics in their effectiveness. Therefore, it would appear that research is still needed in this area and that the perfect alternative to antibiotics does not yet exist. PMID:24034214

TAG Oil hunting elephants in New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2005-01-01

Calgary-based TAG Oil is an exploration company that manages 4.1 million acres of major producing oil and gas fields in New Zealand. The enormous Maui field, with 4 tcf of natural gas in place, has dominated the gas market in New Zealand by meeting nearly 90 per cent of the country's energy demand at costs much lower than world prices. However, the maturing field is in decline and will cease production by 2008. New gas field discoveries will only meet 60 per cent of the country's energy requirements for 5 additional years. Unless new large reserves of gas are discovered, the supply and demand situation will get worse. Lead time to place new production on-stream requires 5 to 10 years, which creates a large supply gap over the next decade. Public resistance to coal-fired power plants, new hydroelectric dams and nuclear power has left the country with no viable alternative to natural gas. TAG Oil has taken this unique opportunity to create value when gas demand is at its maximum and energy alternatives are at a minimum. This paper presented 8 reasons why New Zealand is a good place for petroleum investment. Most exploration has occurred in the Taranaki Basin, where only 130 exploration wells have been drilled. The rest of the sedimentary basins are essentially unexplored, although many exhibit oil seeps and have hydrocarbon potential. In 1998, an onshore gas discovery was made on the East Coast Basin. Sub-commercial discoveries have also been made in the offshore Canterbury and Great South basins. TAG Oil is focusing on shallow oil and gas pools in the Miocene reservoirs at Taranaki, as well as on deeper gas prospects in Tariki and Kapuni Sands. One of the challenges was a shortage of drilling rigs, so TAG is having a rig built in Calgary and shipped south. 2 figs

Seed production for fuel oils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mosca, G.

1992-01-01

With the aim of assessing commercialization prospects for vegetable oils to be used as diesel fuel alternatives, this paper provides maps indicating regional production quantities for soybean, rape and sunflower seeds in Italy. It then tables and discusses the results of energy input-output analyses carried out for rape and soybean oil production

Bio-Based Nano Composites from Plant Oil and Nano Clay

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jue; Hong, Chang K.; Wool, Richard P.

2003-03-01

We explored the combination of nanoclay with new chemically functionalized, amphiphilic, plant oil resins to form bio-based nanocomposites with improved physical and mechanical properties. These can be used in many new applications, including the development of self-healing nanocomposites through controlled reversible exfoliation/intercalation, and self-assembled nano-structures. Several chemically modified triglyceride monomers of varying polarity, combined with styrene (ca 30include acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO), maleated acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (MAESO) and soybean oil pentaerythritol glyceride maleates (SOPERMA), containing either hydroxyl group or acid functionality or both. The clay used is a natural montmorillonite modified with methyl tallow bis-2-hydroxyethyl quaternary ammonium chloride, which has hydroxyl groups. Both XRD and TEM showed a completely exfoliated structure at 3 wtwhen the clay content is above 5 wtconsidered a mix of intercalated and partially exfoliated structure. The controlled polarity of the monomer has a major effect on the reversible dispersion of clay in the polymer matrix. The bio-based nanocomposites showed a significant increase in flexural modulus and strength. Supported by EPA and DoE

An extended model for ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery with experimental validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohsin, Mohammed; Meribout, Mahmoud

2015-03-01

This paper suggests a new ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) model for application in oil field reservoirs. The model is modular and consists of an acoustic module and a heat transfer module, where the heat distribution is updated when the temperature rise exceeds 1 °C. The model also considers the main EOR parameters which includes both the geophysical (i.e., porosity, permeability, temperature rise, and fluid viscosity) and acoustical (e.g., acoustic penetration and pressure distribution in various fluids and mediums) properties of the wells. Extended experiments were performed using powerful ultrasonic waves which were applied for different kind of oils & oil saturated core samples. The corresponding results showed a good matching with those obtained from simulations, validating the suggested model to some extent. Hence, a good recovery rate of around 88.2% of original oil in place (OOIP) was obtained after 30 min of continuous generation of ultrasonic waves. This leads to consider the ultrasonic-based EOR as another tangible solution for EOR. This claim is supported further by considering several injection wells where the simulation results indicate that with four (4) injection wells; the recovery rate may increase up-to 96.7% of OOIP. This leads to claim the high potential of ultrasonic-based EOR as compared to the conventional methods. Following this study, the paper also proposes a large scale ultrasonic-based EOR hardware system for installation in oil fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biodiesel production from waste frying oils and its quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabudak, T; Yildiz, M

2010-05-01

The use of biodiesel as fuel from alternative sources has increased considerably over recent years, affording numerous environmental benefits. Biodiesel an alternative fuel for diesel engines is produced from renewable sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats. However, the high costs implicated in marketing biodiesel constitute a major obstacle. To this regard therefore, the use of waste frying oils (WFO) should produce a marked reduction in the cost of biodiesel due to the ready availability of WFO at a relatively low price. In the present study waste frying oils collected from several McDonald's restaurants in Istanbul, were used to produce biodiesel. Biodiesel from WFO was prepared by means of three different transesterification processes: a one-step base-catalyzed, a two-step base-catalyzed and a two-step acid-catalyzed transesterification followed by base transesterification. No detailed previous studies providing information for a two-step acid-catalyzed transesterification followed by a base (CH(3)ONa) transesterification are present in literature. Each reaction was allowed to take place with and without tetrahydrofuran added as a co-solvent. Following production, three different procedures; washing with distilled water, dry wash with magnesol and using ion-exchange resin were applied to purify biodiesel and the best outcome determined. The biodiesel obtained to verify compliance with the European Standard 14214 (EN 14214), which also corresponds to Turkish Biodiesel Standards. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy and power alternatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Messerle, H.K.

1992-01-01

Taking into consideration the need for a safe energy supply, rising demand for energy worldwide and limited oil reserves, alternative energy resources for bulk power are discussed. They are nuclear fuel, fluidized bed combustion of coal, coal gasification with combined cycle process, coal-oil mixture combustion and MHD power generation process. It is pointed out that the major environmental impact of fossil fuels is in accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and air pollution due to sulphur emission. (M.G.B.)

Preparation of Jojoba Oil Ester Derivatives for Biodiesel Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

As a result of the increase in commodity vegetable oil prices, it is imperative that non-food oils should be considered as alternative feedstocks for biodiesel production. Jojoba oil is unusual in that it is comprised of wax esters as opposed to the triglycerides found in typical vegetable oils. A...

Oil supply between OPEC and non-OPEC based on game theory

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yuwen; Yi, Jiexin; Yan, Wei; Yang, Xinshe; Zhang, Song; Gao, Yifan; Wang, Xi

2014-10-01

The competing strategies between OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC producers make the oil supply market a complex system, and thus, it is very difficult to model and to make predictions. In this paper, we combine the macro-model based on game theory and micro-model to propose a new approach for forecasting oil supply. We take into account the microscopic behaviour in the clearing market and also use the game relationships to adjust oil supplies in our approach. For the supply model, we analyse and consider the different behaviour of non-OPEC and OPEC producers. According to our analysis, limiting the oil supply, and thus maintaining oil price, is the best strategy for OPEC in the low-price scenario, while the rising supply is the best strategy in the high-price scenario. No matter what the oil price is, the dominant strategy for non-OPEC producers is to increase their oil supply. In the high-price scenario, OPEC will try to deplete non-OPEC's share in the oil supply market, which is to OPEC's advantage.

Partial Discharge Phase Distribution Of Palm Oil As Insulating Liquid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Rajab

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Due to the low biodegradability level of mineral oil and its susceptibility to the fire, palm oil was proposed as alternative insulating liquid. This paper discusses partial discharge (PD in palm oil under sinusoidal voltages and the comparison with mineral oil. PD was generated using a needle-plane electrode configuration which is enable enhancing electric field at the needle tip. PD pulses were detected using RC detector and they were measured using a Computer-based partial discharge measurement system. The results showed that PD activities in both oils are similar. The PD was initiated at the negative polarity of applied voltage. The discharges took place in both polarity’s of applied voltage with PD number was higher at negative one. Several discharges phenomena showed the presence of space charge which changed electric field and governed PD activities besides the main field introduced by voltage application.

Using wintergreen oil for mounting mosquito larvae: a safer alternative to xylene.

Science.gov (United States)

Koay, J B; Natasya, N N; Nashithatul, Mag; Ihsanuddin, R; Salleh, F M; Azil, A H

2016-01-01

Permanent mounting of fourth instar mosquito larvae is essential for identifying Aedes spp. This procedure requires extensive exposure to xylene, a clearing agent in the mounting process. We investigated wintergreen oil as a substitute for xylene. Five hundred larvae were mounted on slides to evaluate shrinkage or expansion of specimens after clearing using xylene or wintergreen oil. We examined the ventral brush and siphonal hair tufts for species identification and for preservation of morphological characteristics after clearing specimens in xylene or wintergreen oil. Shrinkage of the length of whole larvae and width of the head, thorax and abdomen after mounting was significantly greater after clearing with xylene than with wintergreen oil. The length of the comb scale nearest the ventral brush was similar for both clearing agents. The clarity of the specimens after mounting was improved by clearing with wintergreen oil, but the integrity of the ventral brush and siphonal hair tufts were similar for both clearing agents.

Production of Biodiesel from Vegetable Oil Using Microware Irradiation

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N. Kapilan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The petroleum oil supply crisis, the increase in demand and the price eruption have led to a search for an alternative fuel of bio-origin in India. Among the alternative fuels, biodiesel is considered as a sustainable renewable alternative fuel to fossil diesel. Non-edible jatropha oil has considerable potential for the production of biodiesel in India. The production of biodiesel from jatropha oil using a conventional heating method takes more than 1h. In this work, microwave irradiation has been used as a source of heat for the transesterification reaction. A domestic microwave oven was modified and used for microwave heating of the reactants. The time taken for biodiesel production using microwave irradiation was 1 min. The fuel property analysis shows that the properties of jatropha oil biodiesel satisfy the biodiesel standards, and are close to the fossil diesel standards. From this work, it is concluded that biodiesel can be produced from vegetable oil using microwave irradiation, with a significant reduction in production time.

Finding the multipath propagation of multivariable crude oil prices using a wavelet-based network approach

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Xiaoliang; An, Haizhong; Sun, Xiaoqi; Huang, Xuan; Gao, Xiangyun

2016-04-01

The globalization and regionalization of crude oil trade inevitably give rise to the difference of crude oil prices. The understanding of the pattern of the crude oil prices' mutual propagation is essential for analyzing the development of global oil trade. Previous research has focused mainly on the fuzzy long- or short-term one-to-one propagation of bivariate oil prices, generally ignoring various patterns of periodical multivariate propagation. This study presents a wavelet-based network approach to help uncover the multipath propagation of multivariable crude oil prices in a joint time-frequency period. The weekly oil spot prices of the OPEC member states from June 1999 to March 2011 are adopted as the sample data. First, we used wavelet analysis to find different subseries based on an optimal decomposing scale to describe the periodical feature of the original oil price time series. Second, a complex network model was constructed based on an optimal threshold selection to describe the structural feature of multivariable oil prices. Third, Bayesian network analysis (BNA) was conducted to find the probability causal relationship based on periodical structural features to describe the various patterns of periodical multivariable propagation. Finally, the significance of the leading and intermediary oil prices is discussed. These findings are beneficial for the implementation of periodical target-oriented pricing policies and investment strategies.

Study of Dielectric Breakdown Performance of Transformer Oil Based Magnetic Nanofluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuzhen Lv

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Research on the transformer oil-based nanofluids (NFs has been raised expeditiously over the past decade. Although, there is discrepancy in the stated results and inadequate understanding of the mechanisms of improvement of dielectric nanofluids, these nanofluids have emerged as a potential substitute of mineral oils as insulating and heat removal fluids for high voltage equipment. The transformer oil (TO based magnetic fluids (ferrofluids may be regarded as the posterity insulation fluids as they propose inspiring unique prospectus to improve dielectric breakdown strength, as well as heat transfer efficiency, as compared to pure transformer oils. In this work, transformer oil-based magnetic nanofluids (MNFs are prepared by dispersal of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MNPs into mineral oil as base oil, with various NPs loading from 5 to 80% w/v. The lightning impulse breakdown voltages (BDV measurement was conducted in accordance with IEC 60897 by using needle to sphere electrodes geometry. The test results showed that dispersion of magnetic NPs may improve the insulation strength of MO. With the increment of NPs concentrations, the positive lightning impulse (LI breakdown strength of TO is first raised, up to the highest value at 40% loading, and then tends to decrease at higher concentrations. The outcomes of negative LI breakdown showed that BDV of MNFs, with numerous loadings, were inferior to the breakdown strength of pure MO. The 40% concentration of nanoparticles (optimum concentration was selected, and positive and negative LI breakdown strength was also further studied at different sizes (10 nm, 20 nm, 30 nm and 40 nm of NPs and different electrode gap distances. Augmentation in the BDV of the ferrofluids (FFs is primarily because of dielectric and magnetic features of Fe3O4 nanoaprticles, which act as electron scavengers and decrease the rate of free electrons produced in the ionization process. Research challenges and technical difficulties

Microfluidic acoustophoretic force based low-concentration oil separation and detection from the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Han; Liu, Zhongzheng; Kim, Sungman; Koo, Chiwan; Cho, Younghak; Jang, Dong-Young; Kim, Yong-Joe; Han, Arum

2014-03-07

Detecting and quantifying extremely low concentrations of oil from the environment have broad applications in oil spill monitoring in ocean and coastal areas as well as in oil leakage monitoring on land. Currently available methods for low-concentration oil detection are bulky or costly with limited sensitivities. Thus they are difficult to be used as portable and field-deployable detectors in the case of oil spills or for monitoring the long-term effects of dispersed oil on marine and coastal ecosystems. Here, we present a low-concentration oil droplet trapping and detection microfluidic system based on the acoustophoresis phenomenon where oil droplets in water having a negative acoustic contrast factor move towards acoustic pressure anti-nodes. By trapping oil droplets from water samples flowing through a microfluidic channel, even very low concentrations of oil droplets can be concentrated to a detectable level for further analyses, which is a significant improvement over currently available oil detection systems. Oil droplets in water were successfully trapped and accumulated in a circular acoustophoretic trapping chamber of the microfluidic device and detected using a custom-built compact fluorescent detector based on the natural fluorescence of the trapped crude oil droplets. After the on-line detection, crude oil droplets released from the trapping chamber were successfully separated into a collection outlet by acoustophoretic force for further off-chip analyses. The developed microfluidic system provides a new way of trapping, detecting, and separating low-concentration crude oil from environmental water samples and holds promise as a low-cost field-deployable oil detector with extremely high sensitivity. The microfluidic system and operation principle are expected to be utilized in a wide range of applications where separating, concentrating, and detecting small particles having a negative acoustic contrast factor are required.

Development and material properties of new hybrid plywood from oil palm biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Khalil, H.P.S.; Nurul Fazita, M.R.; Bhat, A.H.; Jawaid, M.; Nik Fuad, N.A.

2010-01-01

Shortage of wood as a raw material has forced wood-based industries to find alternative local raw materials. Currently, oil palm biomass is undergoing research and development (R and D) and appears to be the most viable alternative. This work examines the conversion of oil palm trunk (OPT) and oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) into new plywood and analyses its properties. We prepared five-ply veneer hybrid plywood (alternating layers of oil palm trunk veneer and empty fruit bunch mat) with different spread levels (300 g/m 2 and 500 g/m 2 ) of resins (phenol formaldehyde and urea formaldehyde). We then studied the mechanical and physical properties of the plywood. The results show that hybridisation of EFB with OPT improves some properties of plywood, such as bending strength, screw withdrawal and shear strength. The thermal properties of the plywood panels were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The panels glued with phenol formaldehyde with a spread level of 500 g/m 2 showed better thermal stability than the other panels. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the fibre matrix bonding and surface morphology of the plywood at different glue spread levels of the resins. The fibre-matrix bonding showed good improvement for the hybrid panel glued with 500 g/m 2 phenol formaldehyde.

Stabilization of Softwood-Derived Pyrolysis Oils for Continuous Bio-oil Hydroprocessing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olarte, Mariefel V.; Zacher, Alan H.; Padmaperuma, Asanga B.; Burton, Sarah D.; Job, Heather M.; Lemmon, Teresa L.; Swita, Marie S.; Rotness, Leslie J.; Neuenschwander, Gary N.; Frye, John G.; Elliott, Douglas C.

2015-10-15

The use of fast pyrolysis as a potential renewable liquid transportation fuel alternative to crude oil depends on successful catalytic upgrading to produce a refinery-ready product with oxygen content and qualities (i.e. specific functional group or compound content) that is compatible with the product’s proposed insertion point. Catalytic upgrading of bio-oil requires high temperature and pressure, while similar to crude oil hydrotreating, is not as straightforward for the thermally unstable pyrolysis oil. For years, a two-temperature zone, downflow trickle bed reactor was the state-of-the art for continuous operation. However, pressure excursion due to plug formation still occurred, typically at the high temperature transition zone, leading to a process shutdown within 140 h. Recently, a bio-oil pre-treatment process, together with a robust commercial catalyst, was found to be enabling the continuous operation of the two-zone hydroprocessing system. Here, we report the results on pre-treating bio-oil at 413 K and 8.4 MPa of flowing H2 (500 L H2/L bio-oil, 0.5 L bio-oil/L catalyst bed) and the attempts to characterize this oil product to understand the chemistry which enabled the long-term processing of bio-oil.

Calibration and testing of IKU's oil spill contingency and response (OSCAR) model system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, M.; Aamo, O.M.; Downing, K.

1996-01-01

A computer modeling system entitled Oil Spill Contingency and Response (OSCAR), was calibrated and tested using a variety of field observations. The objective of the exercise was to establish model credibility and increase confidence in efforts to compare alternate oil spill response strategies, while maintaining a balance between response costs and environmental protection. The key components of the system are IKU's data-based oil weathering model, a three dimensional oil trajectory and chemical fates model, an oil spill combat model, and exposure models for fish, ichthyoplankton, birds, and marine mammals. Most modelled calculations were in good agreement with field observations. One discrepancy was found which could be attributed to an underestimation of wind drift in the current model. 21 refs., 4 tabs., 32 figs

Economic efficiency or self-sufficiency: alternative strategies for oil consumers?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heal, D.W.

1992-01-01

The ideal energy source is low cost (efficient) and reliable (secure). The high price and perceived political unreliability of Middle East oil supplies prompted a nearly worldwide trend towards energy self-sufficiency. Gains in energy efficiency, which have been most marked in the OECD, are permanent and, prompted by environmental concern, probably progressive. But the opportunity that is still available to low cost oil suppliers to regain lost markets will only be realized if those supplies are demonstrably reliable. (author)

Fatty acids profile of chia oil-loaded lipid microparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. F. Souza

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Encapsulation of poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFAis an alternative to increase its stability during processing and storage. Chia (Salvia hispanica L. oil is a reliable source of both omega-3 and omega-6 and its encapsulation must be better evaluated as an effort to increase the number of foodstuffs containing PUFAs to consumers. In this work chia oil was extracted and encapsulated in stearic acid microparticles by the hot homogenization technique. UV-Vis spectroscopy coupled with Multivariate Curve Resolution with Alternating Least-Squares methodology demonstrated that no oil degradation or tocopherol loss occurred during heating. After lyophilization, the fatty acids profile of the oil-loaded microparticles was determined by gas chromatography and compared to in natura oil. Both omega-3 and omega-6 were effectively encapsulated, keeping the same omega-3:omega-6 ratio presented in the in natura oil. Calorimetric analysis confirmed that encapsulation improved the thermal stability of the chia oil.

Nanostructured systems containing babassu (Orbignya speciosa oil as a potential alternative therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Sousa VP

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Valeria Pereira de Sousa,1 Joanne Crean,2 Vinícius Raphael de Almeida Borges,1 Carlos Rangel Rodrigues,1 Lidia Tajber,2 Fabio Boylan,2 Lucio Mendes Cabral1 1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland Abstract: The oil of babassu tree nuts (Orbignya speciosa is a potential alternative for treatment and prophylaxis of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Improved results can be obtained by drug vectorization to the hyperplastic tissue. The main objective of this work was the preparation and characterization of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA nanoparticle and clay nanosystems containing babassu oil (BBS. BBS was extracted from the kernels of babassu tree nuts and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as well as 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance. BBS-clay nanosystems were obtained by adding polyvinylpyrrolidone, Viscogel B8®, and BBS at a 2:1:1 mass ratio and characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and laser diffraction. The PLGA-BBS nanoparticles were prepared by the precipitation-solvent evaporation method. Mean diameter, polydispersity, zeta potential, and scanning electron microscopic images of the nanosystems were analyzed. Thermogravimetric analysis showed successful formation of the nanocomposite. PLGA nanoparticles containing BBS were obtained, with a suitable size that was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Both nanostructured systems showed active incorporation yields exceeding 90%. The two systems obtained represent a new and potentially efficient therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Keywords: babassu oil, nanocomposite, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid, nanoparticles, benign prostatic hyperplasia, treatment, nanotechnology

Efficacy and Safety of a Mineral Oil-Based Head Lice Shampoo: A Randomized, Controlled, Investigator-Blinded, Comparative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Luise; Eertmans, Frank; Wolf, Doerte; Rossel, Bart; Adriaens, Els

2016-01-01

Due to increased resistance and safety concerns with insecticide-based pediculicides, there is growing demand for head lice treatments with a physical mode of action. Certain mineral oils kill lice by blocking spiracles or by disrupting the epicuticular wax layer. The present study was performed to evaluate efficacy and safety of a mineral oil-based shampoo. This randomized, controlled, investigator-blinded, monocentric study (EudraCT registration no. 2014-002918-23) was performed from October 2014-June 2015 in Germany. A mineral oil shampoo (Mosquito® Med Läuse Shampoo 10 in Germany, Paranix or Silcap shampoo elsewhere), registered as medical device, was compared to a conventional, locally reimbursed, pyrethroid-based pediculicide (Goldgeist® Forte solution). In total, 107 patients (>1 year) with confirmed head lice infestation were included (test arm: n = 53; control arm: n = 54). All subjects received two applications of either test or control product at day 0 and day 7, according to the instructions for use. Efficacy and safety was evaluated directly, 1h and 24h after first application, before and after second treatment, and at day 10. The main objective was demonstrating a cure rate for the test product, being superior to 70% at day 10. Cure rates at day 10 (corrected for re-infestation) for the test product (96.1%) and control (94%) significantly exceeded the pre-defined target (70%) (p shampoo) can be safe and effective alternatives for insecticide-based pediculicides, with less risk for development of resistance because of the physical mode of action. German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00009753 and EudraCT database 2014-002918-23.

China to Establish Strategic Oil Stockpile Bases

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2003-01-01

@@ Based on the reports from China's State Development and Reform Committee, a new department of the State Council recently put into operation, the relevant departments have located a number of places as the country's strategic oil stockpile bases, such as Zhoushan and Zhenghai in Zhejiang Province, Huangdao in Shandong Province and Daya Bay in Guangdong Province. However, the plan still needs to be examined and approved by the State Council.

Lipid oxidation in base algae oil and water-in-algae oil emulsion: Impact of natural antioxidants and emulsifiers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bingcan; Rao, Jiajia; Ding, Yangping; McClements, David Julian; Decker, Eric Andrew

2016-07-01

The impact of natural hydrophilic antioxidants, metal chelators, and hydrophilic antioxidant/metal chelator mixture on the oxidative stability of base algae oil and water-in-algae oil emulsion was investigated. The results showed that green tea extract and ascorbic acid had greatest protective effect against algae oil oxidation and generated four day lag phase, whereas rosmarinic acid, grape seed extract, grape seed extract polymer, deferoxamine (DFO), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) had no significant protective effect. Besides, there was no synergistic effect observed between natural antioxidants and ascorbic acid. The emulsifiers are critical to the physicochemical stability of water-in-algae oil emulsions. Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) promoted the oxidation of emulsion. Conversely, the protective effect on algae oil oxidation was appreciated when defatted soybean lecithin (PC 75) or defatted lyso-lecithin (Lyso-PC) was added. The role of hydrophilic antioxidants in emulsion was similar to that in algae oil except EDTA which demonstrated strong antioxidative effect in emulsion. The results could provide information to build up stable food products containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of fatty monoester lubricant base oil catalyzed by Fe-Zn ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

J. Chem. Sci. Vol. 126, No. 4, July 2014, pp. 997–1003. c Indian Academy of Sciences. Synthesis of fatty ... environmental pollution which the conventional min- eral oil-based ... fication of a fatty acid or transesterification of veg- etable oil with a ...

LINNAEUS OIL

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

Crude jatropha oil; Heterogeneous catalyst; Transesterification ... mmage for alternative fuel ... be designed to give higher activity and lifetimes [13]. So, the need for a cheap catalyst for biodiesel synthesis from no ... methanol (High Performance Liquid Chromatography ... ratio and were then charged into the glass reactor.

Triacylglycerol-based fuels: An evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

A variety of feedstocks exist and several processes have been developed to produce alternative diesel fuels from triacylglycerol-based materials, such as plant and algal oils as well as animal fats and used cooking oils. Biodiesel is obtained by transesterifying a triacylglycerol feedstock with an a...

Bioremediation potential of crude oil spilled on soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMillen, S.J.; Young, G.N.; Davis, P.S.; Cook, P.D.; Kerr, J.M.; Gray, N.R.; Requejo, A.G.

1995-01-01

Spills sometimes occur during routine operations associated with exploration and production (E and P) of crude oil. These spills at E and P sites typically are small, less than 1 acre (0.4 ha), and the spill may be in remote locations. As a result, bioremediation often represents a cost-effective alternative to other cleanup technologies. The goal of this study was to determine the potential for biodegrading a range of crude oil types and determining the effect of process variables such as soil texture and soil salinity. Crude oils evaluated ranged in American Petroleum institute (API) gravity from 14 degree to 45 degree. The extent of biodegradation was calculated from oxygen uptake data and the total extractable material (TEM) concentration. Based on the data collected, a simple model was developed for predicting the bioremediation potential of a range of crude oil types. Biodegradation rates were significantly lower in sandy soils. Soil salinities greater than approximately 40 mmhos/cm adversely impacted soil microbial activity and biodegradation rate

Potential alternatives to edible oils for biodiesel production - A review of current work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balat, Mustafa

2011-01-01

Biodiesel production is a very modern and technological area for researchers due to the relevance that it is winning everyday because of the increase in the petroleum price and the environmental advantages. Currently, biodiesel is mainly prepared from conventionally grown edible oils such as rapeseed, soybean, sunflower and palm thus leading to alleviate food versus fuel issue. About 7% of global vegetable oil supplies were used for biodiesel production in 2007. Extensive use of edible oils may cause other significant problems such as starvation in developing countries. The use of non-edible plant oils when compared with edible oils is very significant in developing countries because of the tremendous demand for edible oils as food, and they are far too expensive to be used as fuel at present. The production of biodiesel from different non-edible oilseed crops has been extensively investigated over the last few years. (author)

Biosynthesis and therapeutic properties of Lavandula essential oil constituents.

Science.gov (United States)

Woronuk, Grant; Demissie, Zerihun; Rheault, Mark; Mahmoud, Soheil

2011-01-01

Lavenders and their essential oils have been used in alternative medicine for several centuries. The volatile compounds that comprise lavender essential oils, including linalool and linalyl acetate, have demonstrative therapeutic properties, and the relative abundance of these metabolites is greatly influenced by the genetics and environment of the developing plants. With the rapid progress of molecular biology and the genomic sciences, our understanding of essential oil biosynthesis has greatly improved over the past few decades. At the same time, there is a recent surge of interest in the use of natural remedies, including lavender essential oils, in alternative medicine and aromatherapy. This article provides a review of recent developments related to the biosynthesis and medicinal properties of lavender essential oils. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Oil inventories should be based on margins, supply reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waguespack, K.; Cantor, B.D.

1996-01-01

US oil inventories have plummeted to their lowest recorded levels this year, leading industry observers to conclude that refiners have adopted new just-in-time (JIT) inventory policies. Total crude oil inventories are about 300 million bbl -- 8% below the 10-year average. Distillate inventories posted similar declines this year because of unusually cold winter temperatures and refiners' reluctance to build sufficient stocks in the autumn months. Gasoline stocks are 20% below the 10-year average at 200 million bbl, despite forecasts of record-high gasoline demand this summer. The sudden drop in crude and product inventories this year is widely considered a sign that refiners have implemented JIT, signaling a permanent shift to reduced stocks. The authors submit that the shift towards reduced oil inventories is not related to a concerted adoption of JIT by US refiners, and that oil inventory management decisions should instead be based on refining margins and supply reliability. The paper discusses the JIT revolution and the optimal-inventory model

Oil seed marketing prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceroni, G.

1992-01-01

With its 100 million tonnes annual production, the American continent is by far the world's biggest producer of oil seed, followed by Asia - 52 million, and Europe - 27 million tonnes. The Italian and European Communities have the farming capacity to double their production, but international agreements currently prohibit such initiatives. After first providing a panorama of the world oil seed market, this paper discusses new reforms in European Communities internal agricultural policies which currently limit production. These reforms, intended to encourage the production of oil seed for use as an ecological automotive fuel alternative, call for an obligatory set-aside of 15% of producing farm-land in exchange for the compensatory removal of oil seed production limits

A Comparison of Alternative Tax Bases

OpenAIRE

John Freebairn

2005-01-01

The revenue, efficiency, equity and operating costs properties of alternative tax bases or taxable sums are compared and contrasted. Initially the assessment is made for generic, comprehensive tax bases on income and consumption flows, wealth stocks, and on transactions. On the criteria of efficiency and equity, there are unresolved conceptual and empirical arguments in choosing between income, consumption and wealth tax bases, but general revenue raising transaction taxes are inferior. In pr...

Multivariate EMD-Based Modeling and Forecasting of Crude Oil Price

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaijian He

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Recent empirical studies reveal evidence of the co-existence of heterogeneous data characteristics distinguishable by time scale in the movement crude oil prices. In this paper we propose a new multivariate Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD-based model to take advantage of these heterogeneous characteristics of the price movement and model them in the crude oil markets. Empirical studies in benchmark crude oil markets confirm that more diverse heterogeneous data characteristics can be revealed and modeled in the projected time delayed domain. The proposed model demonstrates the superior performance compared to the benchmark models.

40 CFR 446.10 - Applicability; description of the oil-base solvent wash paint subcategory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...-base solvent wash paint subcategory. 446.10 Section 446.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL...-Base Solvent Wash Paint Subcategory § 446.10 Applicability; description of the oil-base solvent wash... production of oil-base paint where the tank cleaning is performed using solvents. When a plant is subject to...

Alternative Energy Busing

Science.gov (United States)

LaFee, Scott

2012-01-01

In recent years, school districts have converted portions of their bus fleets to cleaner-burning, sometimes cheaper, alternative fossil fuels, such as compressed natural gas or propane. Others have adopted biodiesel, which combines regular diesel with fuel derived from organic sources, usually vegetable oils or animal fats. The number of biodiesel…

Hydraulic oil control system for transformer stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Truong, P.

2002-01-01

'Full text:' Electrical oil control systems are commonly used to contain large volumes of spilled oil in transformer stations. Specially calibrated floats, some of which are designed to float only in oil and others only in water, are used in combination with a pump to contain oil at the catch basin below a transformer station.This electrical control system requires frequent maintenance and inspections to ensure the electrical system is not affected by any electrical surges. Also the floats need to be inspected and cleaned frequently to prevent oil or grit build up that may affect the systems' ability to contain oil.Recognizing the limitations of electrical oil control systems, Hydro One is investigating alternative control systems. A hydraulic oil control system is being investigated as an alternative which can backup oil in a containment area while allowing any water entering the containment area to pass through. Figure 1 shows a schematic of a bench-top model tested at Ryerson University. Oil and water separation occurs within the double-piped column. Oil and water are allowed to enter the external pipe column but only water is allowed to exit the internal pipe column. The internal pipe column is designed to generate enough hydrostatic pressure to ensure the oil is contained in the external pipe column.The hydraulic oil control system provides a reliable control mechanism and requires less maintenance compared to that of the electrical control system. Since the hydraulic oil control system has no moving parts, nor would any parts that require electricity, it is not affected by electrical surges such as lightening.The maintenance requirements of the hydraulic oil control system are: the removal of any oil and grit from the catch basin, and the occasional visual inspection for any crack or clogs in the system. (author)

Oil prices, SUVs, and Iraq. An investigation of automobile manufacturer oil price sensitivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cameron, Ken [United States Navy (United States); Schnusenberg, Oliver [Department of Accounting and Finance, Coggin College of Business, The University of North Florida, 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224 (United States)

2009-05-15

There has been much speculation about the recent upsurge in crude oil prices and the effect it will have on the economy and business. The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between oil prices and stock prices of automobile manufacturers. We add an oil price factor, measured alternatively by the excess change in WTI crude oil prices or the excess return on an energy ETF, to the Fama-French three-factor model over the period March 20, 2001 to September 30, 2008. Our dependent variable is the excess return on a price-weighted index of automobile manufacturers. Results indicate that oil prices add value to the pricing model, particularly for manufacturers specializing in SUVs and for a subperiod following the Iraq invasion on March 19, 2003. (author)

Comparative Study of Breakdown Voltage of Mineral, Synthetic and Natural Oils and Based Mineral Oil Mixtures under AC and DC Voltages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abderrahmane Beroual

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with a comparative study of AC and DC breakdown voltages of based mineral oil mixtures with natural and synthetic esters mainly used in high voltage power transformers. The goal was to analyze the performances of oil mixtures from the dielectric withstand point of view and to predict the behavior of transformers originally filled with mineral oil and re-filled with synthetic or natural ester oils when emptied for maintenance. The study concerns mixtures based on 20%, 50%, and 80% of natural and synthetic ester oils. AC breakdown voltages were measured using a sphere-sphere electrode system according to IEC 60156 specifications; the same specification was adopted for DC measurements since there is no standard specifications for this voltage waveform. A statistical analysis of the mean values, standard deviations, and histograms of breakdown voltage data was carried out. The Normal and Weibull distribution functions were used to analyze the experimental data and the best function that the data followed was used to estimate the breakdown voltage with risk of 1%, 10%, and 50% probability. It was shown that whatever the applied voltage waveforms, ester oils always have a significantly higher breakdown voltage than mineral oil. The addition of only 20% of natural or synthetic ester oil was sufficient to considerably increase the breakdown voltage of mineral oil. The dielectric strength of such a mixture is much higher than that of mineral oil alone and can reach that of ester oils. From the point of view of dielectric strength, the mixtures constitute an option for improving the performance of mineral oil. Thus, re-filling of transformers containing up to 20% mineral oil residues with ester oils, does not present any problem; it is even advantageous when considering only the breakdown voltage. Under AC, the mixtures with natural ester always follow the behavior of vegetable oil alone. With the exception of the 20% mixture of natural

Evaluation of alternative rice planthopper control by the combined action of oil-formulated Metarhizium anisopliae and low-rate buprofezin.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Shao-Feng; Feng, Ming-Guang; Ying, Sheng-Hua; Mu, Wen-Jing; Chen, Jue-Qi

2011-01-01

High resistance of brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens Stål to common insecticides is a challenge for control of the pest. An alternative control strategy based on the combined application of fungal and chemical agents has been evaluated. Three gradient spore concentrations of oil-formulated Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (Ma456) were sprayed onto third-instar nymphs in five bioassays comprising the low buprofezin rates of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 µg mL(-1) respectively. Fungal LC(50) after 1 week at 25 °C and 14:10 h light:dark photoperiod decreased from 386 conidia mm(-2) in the buprofezin-free bioassay to 40 at the highest chemical rate. Buprofezin (LC(50): 1647, 486 and 233 µg mL(-1) on days 2 to 4) had no significant effect on the fungal outgrowths of mycosis-killed cadavers at the low application rates. The fungal infection was found to cause 81% reduction in reproductive potential of BPH adults. In two 40 day field trials, significant planthopper (mainly BPH) control (54-60%) was achieved by biweekly sprays of two fungal candidates (Ma456 and Ma576) at 1.5 × 10(13) conidia ha(-1) and elevated to 80-83% by incorporating 30.8 g buprofezin ha(-1) into the fungal sprays. The combined application of the fungal and chemical agents is a promising alternative strategy for BPH control. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

Novel alternative to antibiotics in shrimp hatchery: effects of the essential oil of Cinnamosma fragrans on survival and bacterial concentration of Penaeus monodon larvae.

Science.gov (United States)

Randrianarivelo, R; Danthu, P; Benoit, C; Ruez, P; Raherimandimby, M; Sarter, S

2010-08-01

The activity of two essential oils (EOs) of Cinnamosma fragrans, an endemic plant to Madagascar (B8: linalool-type and B143: 1,8-cineole-type), against bacterial isolates from a shrimp hatchery of Penaeus monodon and their effects on the survival and bacterial concentration of larvae were determined. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined using a broth dilution technique. The bacterial concentrations of both larvae and water tank were assessed on Marine agar and Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Sucrose agar. The assays took place in OSO Farming's shrimp hatchery in Madagascar. EOs were directly added to the water tank. Regarding the survival, the assays in larval culture (four replicates each of B8, B143, E and control) showed that B8 oil had a similar effect (P > 0.05) as the antibiotic (Erythromycin) and was more active than B143 (P larvae for all assays. Both C. fragrans essential oils, as antibiotic, exhibited significantly higher survival rates and lower bacterial concentrations of the larvae than the control (oil and antibiotic free). The potential of C. fragrans essential oil to control the bacterial load in in vivo conditions, thereby enhancing survival rate of P. monodon larvae, makes it a relevant option for developing a novel alternative to antibiotics in shrimp hatchery culture.

Olive Oil Based Emulsions in Frozen Puff Pastry Production

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriele, D.; Migliori, M.; Lupi, F. R.; de Cindio, B.

2008-07-01

Puff pastry is an interesting food product having different industrial applications. It is obtained by laminating layers of dough and fats, mainly shortenings or margarine, having specific properties which provides required spreading characteristic and able to retain moisture into dough. To obtain these characteristics, pastry shortenings are usually saturated fats, however the current trend in food industry is mainly oriented towards unsatured fats such as olive oil, which are thought to be safer for human health. In the present work, a new product, based on olive oil, was studied as shortening replacer in puff pastry production. To ensure the desired consistency, for the rheological matching between fat and dough, a water-in-oil emulsion was produced based on olive oil, emulsifier and a hydrophilic thickener agent able to increase material structure. Obtained materials were characterized by rheological dynamic tests in linear viscoelastic conditions, aiming to setup process and material consistency, and rheological data were analyzed by using the weak gel model. Results obtained for tested emulsions were compared to theological properties of a commercial margarine, adopted as reference value for texture and stability. Obtained emulsions are characterized by interesting rheological properties strongly dependent on emulsifier characteristics and water phase composition. However a change in process temperature during fat extrusion and dough lamination seems to be necessary to match properly typical dough rheological properties.

Crisis and adjustment variables of Mediterranean oil states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beraud, Philippe; Jablanczy, Adrienne

2010-01-01

This paper deals with the performance of the Mediterranean and the other Arabian oil exporting countries. As far as the resource-based industry is concerned, it could be interesting to notice that the performance of these countries is linked to sectoral mix, nature of industry, type of enterprise, nature of joint-venture contracts and obviously macro-economic policies. The studies on the relationship between oil resources, oil production and valorization and global growth show that oil sector is not reliable, especially if we take into account the gap between low and high absorbing countries in the Arab world. In the first group of countries, oil revenues have a positive and significant effect on economic growth and development. In the second group of countries, oil revenues often copy with the Dutch-disease type resource reallocation process and have a negative effect on growth and development. Three alternative ways seem to be opened for these countries. And we study each of them: growing influence of profit sharing contracts between the state-owned companies and the international oil companies linked to technology transfers agreements, entrepreneurial and managerial trajectories coping with the influence of small and medium enterprises, effects of the regional integration in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean trade agreements

Present status on world alternative energy developments to oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddington, J.

1980-01-01

The IEA was established about five years ago in the OECD immediately after the oil crisis, and 20 countries have participated in it. Progress was observed in the control of the expansion of energy demand. The energy utilization in IEA member countries became efficient due to the contribution of new technologies, and owing to the improvement of productivity, the growth of energy consumption was less than 1% despite the GDP grew at the yearly rate of 2.5%. The expansion of the utilization of natural gas and coal is promising, but the projects of nuclear power generation are behind schedule. The short term prospect in petroleum market is discussed, and the price of crude oil tends to be stabilized. ''The prospect of energy in the world by 2000'' will be published by the IEA in the latter half of 1980. The scale of the development of nuclear power generation was reduced because the prediction of the rate of power generation growth was changed from 5.2% to 3.1%. The effect of new energy technologies on future energy market has been studied by the support of 15 countries, and it was recommended to give financial aid to heat pumps, coal liquefaction and the efficient recovery of oil and natural gas. Also the techniques for operating existing facilities under strict environment and safety regulations have been studied. (Kako, I.)

Use of Oil-Based Mud Cutting Waste in Cement Clinker Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Saif Al-Dhamri, H; Black, L

2014-01-01

Oil-based Mud (OBM) cutting waste is generated during the process of oil well drilling. The drilled rocks are removed from deep within the drilled well and pumped to the surface. The portion removed , known at "cutting", is a mixture of rocks, mud, water and oil. Most drilling companies store this waste in open yards with no specific treatment solution. The environmental regulations in Oman specify that storage should involve isolation, to prevent penetration of the contamination to the surfa...

Ecological effects of low toxicity oil-based mud drilling in the Beatrice oilfield

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Addy, J M; Hartley, J P; Tibbetts, P J.C.

1984-12-01

To investigate the effects of drilling discharges on the seabed fauna, surveys were carried out in the Beatrice oilfield after drilling 13 wells with water-based muds, and then after one and five further wells had been drilled using low toxicity oil-based muds. Localized benthic effects were found after the water-based mud drilling. After the use of oil-based muds, the nature of the effects was different, although there was little increase in the area involved. Possible reasons for this are discussed and burial and organic enrichment are suggested as the major influences. It is concluded that the use of low toxicity oil-based mud at Beatrice has resulted in only limited benthic effects, suggesting that the use of these muds is environmentally acceptable.

Review and Analysis of Alternatives for the Valorisation of Agro-Industrial Olive Oil By-Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julio Berbel

2018-01-01

Full Text Available By-products and waste from olive production (agriculture and the olive oil industry (mills and refineries are an important environmental issue in Mediterranean areas. Industrial waste and by-products contain highly valuable components that can also be phytotoxic. This article reviews recent research on the valorisation of olive by-products under the bioeconomy strategy. The alternatives are classified according to the ‘bioeconomy value pyramid’, which prioritises higher value uses over the current energy and compost valorisation. Special attention is paid to the use of these by-products for animal feed that can be improved by reducing the content of saturated fatty acids (SFAs and increase the polyunsaturated fatty acids amount considered beneficial in response to their use; this makes the food healthier for humans while simultaneously reducing feeding costs and the environmental impact of livestock.

A new approach for crude oil price prediction based on stream learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuang Gao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Crude oil is the world's leading fuel, and its prices have a big impact on the global environment, economy as well as oil exploration and exploitation activities. Oil price forecasts are very useful to industries, governments and individuals. Although many methods have been developed for predicting oil prices, it remains one of the most challenging forecasting problems due to the high volatility of oil prices. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for crude oil price prediction based on a new machine learning paradigm called stream learning. The main advantage of our stream learning approach is that the prediction model can capture the changing pattern of oil prices since the model is continuously updated whenever new oil price data are available, with very small constant overhead. To evaluate the forecasting ability of our stream learning model, we compare it with three other popular oil price prediction models. The experiment results show that our stream learning model achieves the highest accuracy in terms of both mean squared prediction error and directional accuracy ratio over a variety of forecast time horizons.

Slow oil shocks and the 'weakening of the oil price-macroeconomy relationship'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naccache, Theo

2010-01-01

Many papers have been documenting and analysing the asymmetry and the weakening of the oil price-macroeconomy relationship as off the early eighties. While there seems to be a consensus about the factors causing the asymmetry, namely adjustment costs which offset the benefits of low energy prices, the debate about the weakening of the relationship is not over yet. Moreover, the alternative oil price specifications which have been proposed by, and to restore the stability of the relationship fail to Granger cause output or unemployment in post-1980 data. By using the concept of accelerations of the oil price, we show that the weakening of this relationship corresponds to the appearance of slow oil price increases, which have less impact on the economy. When filtering out these slow oil price variations from the sample, we manage to rehabilitate the causality running from the oil price to the macroeconomy and show that far from weakening, the oil price accelerations-GDP relationship has even been growing stronger since the early eighties. (author)

Anatomy of an Oil-Based Welfare State: Rent Distribution in Kuwait

OpenAIRE

El-Katiri, Laura; Fattouh, Bassam; Segal, Paul

2011-01-01

Oil wealth has transformed Kuwait within decades from a modest, trade-based desert emirate into a modern city-state. It has also created a relatively egalitarian economy based on an extensive distributive system that provides Kuwaiti citizens with essential services including free healthcare, education and social security. Therefore, the most important fact about Kuwait’s oil wealth is that it has been successfully used to benefit its citizens. This feat has been achieved through a broad dist...

A MODIS-Based Robust Satellite Technique (RST for Timely Detection of Oil Spilled Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teodosio Lacava

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Natural crude-oil seepages, together with the oil released into seawater as a consequence of oil exploration/production/transportation activities, and operational discharges from tankers (i.e., oil dumped during cleaning actions represent the main sources of sea oil pollution. Satellite remote sensing can be a useful tool for the management of such types of marine hazards, namely oil spills, mainly owing to the synoptic view and the good trade-off between spatial and temporal resolution, depending on the specific platform/sensor system used. In this paper, an innovative satellite-based technique for oil spill detection, based on the general robust satellite technique (RST approach, is presented. It exploits the multi-temporal analysis of data acquired in the visible channels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS on board the Aqua satellite in order to automatically and quickly detect the presence of oil spills on the sea surface, with an attempt to minimize “false detections” caused by spurious effects associated with, for instance, cloud edges, sun/satellite geometries, sea currents, etc. The oil spill event that occurred in June 2007 off the south coast of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea has been considered as a test case. The resulting data, the reliability of which has been evaluated by both carrying out a confutation analysis and comparing them with those provided by the application of another independent MODIS-based method, showcase the potential of RST in identifying the presence of oil with a high level of accuracy.

Asphalts tests using onshore drilling oil wells residues; Ensaios asfalticos utilizando residuos de perfuracao onshore

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucena, Adriano Elisio de F.L.; Rodrigues, John Kennedy G.; Ferreira, Heber Carlos; Lucena, Leda Christiane de F.L. [Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), PB (Brazil); Lucena, Luciana de F.L. [Faculdade de Ciencias Sociais Aplicada (FACISA), Campina Grande, PB (Brazil)

2008-07-01

The drilling cuttings are one of the residues produced by the oils industries in large amounts during the drilling of oil wells. An alternative of final disposal of the drilling cutting residue is its utilization in asphalt mixtures. Based on this alternative, it was realized chemical and granulometric analysis and tests (Marshall and indirect tensile strength), on the asphaltic mixture using the residue from the oil drilling wells (well: 1-POTI-4-RN, located at Governador DIX-Sept Rosado - RN - Brazil). The achieved results to Marshall test indicated that for the analyzed mixture, the ideal content of residue that can be incorporated to the asphaltic composition and attend at the DNIT-ES 31 (2006) is 5%. To the indirect tensile strength test, the results showed a strength value higher than the minimum limit requested by the DNIT (0,65 MPa). The achieved results indicated the possibility of the utilization of the drilling cuttings in asphaltic pavements as fine aggregate, obeying the percentage limits, as an alternative to the final disposal. (author)

Challenges in Modelling and Control of Offshore De-oiling Hydrocyclone Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Løhndorf, Petar Durdevic; Pedersen, Simon; Yang, Zhenyu

2017-01-01

, and alternatively this task imposes a number of key control challenges. Specifically, there is much research to be performed in the direction of dynamic modelling and control of de-oiling hydrocyclone systems. The current solutions rely heavily on empirical trial-and-error approaches. This paper gives a brief......Offshore de-oiling installations are facing an increasing challenge with regards to removing oil residuals from produced water prior to discharge into the ocean. The de-oiling of produced water is initially achieved in the primary separation processes using gravity-based multi-phase separators...... in the produced water before it can be discharged into the ocean. The popularity of hydrocyclone technology in the offshore oil and gas industry is mainly due to its rugged design and low maintenance requirements. However, to operate and control this type of system in an efficient way is far less simple...

Study on Biodegradation of Palm Oil-based UV-Curable Films in Soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rida Tajau; Siti Farhana Fathy; Mohamad Norahiman Abdurahman; Anis Asmi Azman; Nur Amira Hamidi; Mek Zah Salleh; Nik Ghazali Nik Salleh

2014-01-01

The palm oil-based ultraviolet (UV)-curable films were subjected to an outdoor soil burial test to investigate the biodegradation under natural environment. The films were burial in the soil experiment plot at the Nuclear Malaysia's Dengkil complex which is near the BTS building at block 42. Biodegradation tests are more specific to burial film in soil experiments for 12 months under natural conditions. The biodegradability of palm oil resin based UV-curable films were investigated and compared with the petrochemical resin based film. The films properties were compared with respect to properties of the film morphology and the film weight loss which are analyzed using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope and the weight loss of film calculation. These findings suggested that the palm oil-based UV-curable films show quite satisfactory biodegradation levels. (author)

Report on the oil and gas industry in 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This report proposes an overview of facts, events and data concerning the world oil and gas markets, the oil and gas exploration and production in the world, the challenges of gas European supplies, the exploration and production in France, the oil and oil-related industry, hydrocarbons imports, the refining activity in France, fuel quality, alternative fuels, the domestic transportation of oil products, gas infrastructures, the storage of oil products, the consumption of oil and gas products, taxes on hydrocarbons, prices for the final consumer, and the prices of oil products

Fiber Optic Long Period Grating Based Sensor for Coconut Oil Adulteration Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. M. Libish

2010-03-01

Full Text Available We report the development and demonstration of a Long-Period Grating (LPG based optical fiber sensor for determining the adulteration of coconut oil by palm oil. The fundamental principle of detection is the sensitive dependence of the resonance peaks of LPG on the changes of the refractive index of the environmental medium around the cladding surface of the grating. Refractive index sensing with LPGs employs light coupling between core and cladding modes in the grating section. The transmittance spectra of a long period grating element immersed in different mixtures of coconut oil and palm oil were recorded. Results show that resonance wavelengths and transmission intensities varied as a function of the adulteration level of coconut oil. Detection limit of adulteration was found to be 2 % for coconut oil–palm oil binary mixture.

Advances in biofuel production from oil palm and palm oil processing wastes: A review