Totally optimal decision trees for Boolean functions

KAUST Repository

Chikalov, Igor

2016-07-28

We study decision trees which are totally optimal relative to different sets of complexity parameters for Boolean functions. A totally optimal tree is an optimal tree relative to each parameter from the set simultaneously. We consider the parameters characterizing both time (in the worst- and average-case) and space complexity of decision trees, i.e., depth, total path length (average depth), and number of nodes. We have created tools based on extensions of dynamic programming to study totally optimal trees. These tools are applicable to both exact and approximate decision trees, and allow us to make multi-stage optimization of decision trees relative to different parameters and to count the number of optimal trees. Based on the experimental results we have formulated the following hypotheses (and subsequently proved): for almost all Boolean functions there exist totally optimal decision trees (i) relative to the depth and number of nodes, and (ii) relative to the depth and average depth.

China's optimal stockpiling policies in the context of new oil price trend

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, Nan; Yan, Zhijun; Zhou, Yi; Huang, Wenjun

2017-01-01

Optimizing the size of oil stockpiling plays a fundamental role in the process of making national strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) policies. There have been extensive studies on the operating strategies of SPR. However, previous literatures have paid more attention to a booming or stable international oil market, while few studies analyzed the impact of a long-term low oil price on SPR policy. As a supplement, this paper extends a static model to study China's optimal stockpiling policy under different oil price trends, and in response to different current oil prices. A new variable “FC”, which demonstrates the appreciation and depreciation of the reserved oil economic value, has been taken into account to assess the optimal size of SPR. In this paper, a more multi-perspective of view is provided to consider the policies of China's SPR, especially under the different trend of international oil price fluctuations. - Highlights: • We extended a static model to study optimal stockpiling size of China's SPR. • A new variable “FC” was applied to illustrate the shifting financial value of SPR. • We analyzed how current oil price and varied prediction influence optimal size. • Operational measures could be adjusted at the end of each decision-making period. • A more multifaceted of view might be provided for China's SPR policy-making.

Process optimization and characterization of fragrant oil from red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seed extracted by subcritical butane extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Ling-Biao; Pang, Hui-Li; Lu, Ke-Ke; Liu, Hua-Min; Wang, Xue-De; Qin, Guang-Yong

2017-04-01

Red pepper seeds account for 450-500 g kg -1 of the total pepper weight and are often discarded as waste. In this study, process optimization and characterization of fragrant oil from roasted red pepper seed extracted by subcritical butane extraction were carried out. The optimal conditions of extraction were a temperature of 74.61 °C, a time of 68.65 min and a liquid/solid ratio of 30.24:1. The oil had a refractive index (25 °C) of 1.471, a relative density of 0.900, an acid value of 1.421 mg g -1 oil, an iodine value of 127.035 g per 100 g, a saponification value of 184.060 mg KOH g -1 , an unsaponifiable matter content of 12.400 g kg -1 , a peroxide value of 2.465 meq. O 2 kg -1 and a viscosity of 52.094 cP. The main fatty acids in the oil were linoleic acid (72.95%) followed by palmitic acid (11.43%) and oleic acid (10.00%). The oil showed desirable thermal and oxidative stability. A total of 19 volatile compounds, mostly aldehydes and alkenes, were identified from the oil. The results indicated that the method is appropriate for the preparation of fragrant red pepper seed oil, and the oil is suitable for used as edible oil. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Totally optimal decision trees for Boolean functions

KAUST Repository

Chikalov, Igor; Hussain, Shahid; Moshkov, Mikhail

2016-01-01

We study decision trees which are totally optimal relative to different sets of complexity parameters for Boolean functions. A totally optimal tree is an optimal tree relative to each parameter from the set simultaneously. We consider the parameters

Optimization of the process of methylic transesterification of palm oil an experimental plant in batches in RECOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delgado Quesada, Adrian

2013-01-01

The production process of biodiesel is optimized in the Laboratorio de Investigacion of RECOPE. A subprocess of raw material purification and finished product is implemented. Parameters of optimization for the experimental plant are established by a bibliographic search. Palm oil acquired by RECOPE is characterized. The optimization of the alkaline transesterification of palm oil with methanol is realized in the experimental plant of RECOPE, through a full factorial design of five variables on two levels: the effect of temperature, the relationship of catalyst-oil, the speed of agitation, the molar relationship alcohol-oil and the reaction time in the production of biodiesel. The operation optimal values of the experimental plant are obtained by ANOVA. The maximum quantity of soaps required is determined to saturate exchange resin used in the purification of the biodiesel. The parameters of optimum operating are proposed for the production process of methyl biodiesel of palm according to the conditions of the oil and in the test plant of RECOPE. The result of the analysis of control variables of the biodiesel as the density have been according to reported by the Reglamento Tecnico Centroamericano (RTCA). However, the measured variables to biodiesel as total glycerin, inflammability point, content of fatty acid methyl esters and acid number have indicated the necessity to implement pretreatment steps from the oil by acid esterification. Besides, the study has determined that biodiesel remains without comply with the standards established by the RTCA for its commercialization at national or international level [es

The Optimization of the Oiling Bath Cosmetic Composition Containing Rapeseed Phospholipids and Grapeseed Oil by the Full Factorial Design

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Michał Górecki

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The proper condition of hydrolipid mantle and the stratum corneum intercellular matrix determines effective protection against transepidermal water loss (TEWL. Some chemicals, improper use of cosmetics, poor hygiene, old age and some diseases causes disorder in the mentioned structures and leads to TEWL increase. The aim of this study was to obtain the optimal formulation composition of an oiling bath cosmetic based on rapeseed phospholipids and vegetable oil with high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In this work, the composition of oiling bath form was calculated and the degree of oil dispersion after mixing the bath preparation with water was selected as the objective function in the optimizing procedure. The full factorial design 23 in the study was used. The concentrations of rapeseed lecithin ethanol soluble fraction (LESF, alcohol (E and non-ionic emulsifier (P were optimized. Based on the calculations from our results, the optimal composition of oiling bath cosmetic was: L (LESF 5.0 g, E (anhydrous ethanol 20.0 g and P (Polysorbate 85 1.5 g. The optimization procedure used in the study allowed to obtain the oiling bath cosmetic which gives above 60% higher emulsion dispersion degree 5.001 × 10−5 cm−1 compared to the initial formulation composition with the 3.096 × 10−5 cm−1.

Quantitative genetic analysis of total glucosinolate, oil and protein ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Quantitative genetic analysis of total glucosinolate, oil and protein contents in Ethiopian mustard ( Brassica carinata A. Braun) ... Seeds were analyzed using HPLC (glucosinolates), NMR (oil) and NIRS (protein). Analyses of variance, Hayman's method of diallel analysis and a mixed linear model of genetic analysis were ...

Essential oils chemical composition, antioxidant activities and total phenols of Astrodaucus persicus

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Saeid Goodarzi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective(s:Astrodaucus persicus, Apiaceae, is used as vegetable or food additive in some parts of Iran. The essential oils of different parts of Astrodaucus persicus from Kordestan province were analyzed for the first time and compared with other regions. In this study, antioxidant activities and total phenols determination of aerial parts essential oils and root fractions of A. persicus were investigated. Materials and Methods: The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation from flowers/fruits, leaves/stems, ripe fruits and roots of plant and analyzed by GC-MS. Crude root extract was fractionated with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. Antioxidant activities by DPPH and FRAP methods and total phenols by Folin-ciocalteu assay were measured. Results: The abundant compounds of flowers/fruits blue essential oil were α-thujene, β-pinene and α-pinene. The predominant components of blue leaves/stems essential oil were α-thujene, α-pinene and α-fenchene. The major volatiles of ripe fruits blue essential oil were β-pinene, α-thujene and α-pinene. The chief compounds of root yellow essential oil were trans-caryophyllene, bicycogermacrene and germacrene-D. Total root extract and ethyl acetate fraction showed potent antioxidant activities and high amount of total phenols in comparison to other samples. Among volatile oils, the flowers/fruits essential oil showed potent reducing capacity. Conclusion: The major compounds of aerial parts essential oils were hydrocarbon monoterpenes while the chief percentage of roots essential oil constituents were hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes. α-Eudesmol and β-eudesmol were identified as responsible for creation of blue color in aerial parts essential oils. A. persicus was known as a potent antioxidant among Apiaceae.

Essential oils chemical composition, antioxidant activities and total phenols of Astrodaucus persicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodarzi, Saeid; Hadjiakhoondi, Abbas; Yassa, Narguess; Khanavi, Mahnaz; Tofighi, Zahra

2016-02-01

Astrodaucus persicus, Apiaceae, is used as vegetable or food additive in some parts of Iran. The essential oils of different parts of Astrodaucus persicus from Kordestan province were analyzed for the first time and compared with other regions. In this study, antioxidant activities and total phenols determination of aerial parts essential oils and root fractions of A. persicus were investigated. The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation from flowers/fruits, leaves/stems, ripe fruits and roots of plant and analyzed by GC-MS. Crude root extract was fractionated with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. Antioxidant activities by DPPH and FRAP methods and total phenols by Folin-ciocalteu assay were measured. The abundant compounds of flowers/fruits blue essential oil were α-thujene, β-pinene and α-pinene. The predominant components of blue leaves/stems essential oil were α-thujene, α-pinene and α-fenchene. The major volatiles of ripe fruits blue essential oil were β-pinene, α-thujene and α-pinene. The chief compounds of root yellow essential oil were trans-caryophyllene, bicycogermacrene and germacrene-D. Total root extract and ethyl acetate fraction showed potent antioxidant activities and high amount of total phenols in comparison to other samples. Among volatile oils, the flowers/fruits essential oil showed potent reducing capacity. The major compounds of aerial parts essential oils were hydrocarbon monoterpenes while the chief percentage of roots essential oil constituents were hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes. α-Eudesmol and β-eudesmol were identified as responsible for creation of blue color in aerial parts essential oils. A. persicus was known as a potent antioxidant among Apiaceae.

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of crude oil from winter melon (Benincasa hispida) seed using response surface methodology and evaluation of its antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and fatty acid composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Bimakr, Mandana; Rahman, Russly Abdul; Taip, Farah Saleena; Adzahan, Noranizan Mohd; Sarker, Md Zaidul Islam; Ganjloo, Ali

2012-10-08

In the present study, ultrasound-assisted extraction of crude oil from winter melon seeds was investigated through response surface methodology (RSM). Process variables were power level (25-75%), temperature (45-55 °C) and sonication time (20-40 min). It was found that all process variables have significant (p yield (108.62 mg-extract/g-dried matter). The antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and fatty acid composition of extract obtained under optimized conditions were determined and compared with those of oil obtained by the Soxhlet method. It was found that crude extract yield (CEY) of ultrasound-assisted extraction was lower than that of the Soxhlet method, whereas antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the extract obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction were clearly higher than those of the Soxhlet extract. Furthermore, both extracts were rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The major fatty acids of the both extracts were linoleic acid and oleic acid.

Optimization of natural lipstick formulation based on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) seed oil using D-optimal mixture experimental design.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamairudin, Norsuhaili; Gani, Siti Salwa Abd; Masoumi, Hamid Reza Fard; Hashim, Puziah

2014-10-16

The D-optimal mixture experimental design was employed to optimize the melting point of natural lipstick based on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) seed oil. The influence of the main lipstick components-pitaya seed oil (10%-25% w/w), virgin coconut oil (25%-45% w/w), beeswax (5%-25% w/w), candelilla wax (1%-5% w/w) and carnauba wax (1%-5% w/w)-were investigated with respect to the melting point properties of the lipstick formulation. The D-optimal mixture experimental design was applied to optimize the properties of lipstick by focusing on the melting point with respect to the above influencing components. The D-optimal mixture design analysis showed that the variation in the response (melting point) could be depicted as a quadratic function of the main components of the lipstick. The best combination of each significant factor determined by the D-optimal mixture design was established to be pitaya seed oil (25% w/w), virgin coconut oil (37% w/w), beeswax (17% w/w), candelilla wax (2% w/w) and carnauba wax (2% w/w). With respect to these factors, the 46.0 °C melting point property was observed experimentally, similar to the theoretical prediction of 46.5 °C. Carnauba wax is the most influential factor on this response (melting point) with its function being with respect to heat endurance. The quadratic polynomial model sufficiently fit the experimental data.

Optimization of Natural Lipstick Formulation Based on Pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus Seed Oil Using D-Optimal Mixture Experimental Design

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Norsuhaili Kamairudin

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The D-optimal mixture experimental design was employed to optimize the melting point of natural lipstick based on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus seed oil. The influence of the main lipstick components—pitaya seed oil (10%–25% w/w, virgin coconut oil (25%–45% w/w, beeswax (5%–25% w/w, candelilla wax (1%–5% w/w and carnauba wax (1%–5% w/w—were investigated with respect to the melting point properties of the lipstick formulation. The D-optimal mixture experimental design was applied to optimize the properties of lipstick by focusing on the melting point with respect to the above influencing components. The D-optimal mixture design analysis showed that the variation in the response (melting point could be depicted as a quadratic function of the main components of the lipstick. The best combination of each significant factor determined by the D-optimal mixture design was established to be pitaya seed oil (25% w/w, virgin coconut oil (37% w/w, beeswax (17% w/w, candelilla wax (2% w/w and carnauba wax (2% w/w. With respect to these factors, the 46.0 °C melting point property was observed experimentally, similar to the theoretical prediction of 46.5 °C. Carnauba wax is the most influential factor on this response (melting point with its function being with respect to heat endurance. The quadratic polynomial model sufficiently fit the experimental data.

Optimization of Sunflower Oil Transesterification Process Using Sodium Methoxide

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Sara KoohiKamali

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, the methanolysis process of sunflower oil was investigated to get high methyl esters (biodiesel content using sodium methoxide. To reach to the best process conditions, central composite design (CCD through response surface methodology (RSM was employed. The optimal conditions predicted were the reaction time of 60 min, an excess stoichiometric amount of alcohol to oil ratio of 25%w/w and the catalyst content of 0.5%w/w, which lead to the highest methyl ester content (100%w/w. The methyl ester content of the mixture from gas chromatography analysis (GC was compared to that of optimum point. Results, confirmed that there was no significant difference between the fatty acid methyl ester content of sunflower oil produced under the optimized condition and the experimental value (P≥0.05. Furthermore, some fuel specifications of the resultant biodiesel were tested according to American standards for testing of materials (ASTM methods. The outcome showed that the methyl ester mixture produced from the optimized condition met nearly most of the important biodiesel specifications recommended in ASTM D 6751 requirements. Thus, the sunflower oil methyl esters resulted from this study could be a suitable alternative for petrol diesels.

Numerical simulation and structural optimization of the inclined oil/water separator.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liqiong Chen

Full Text Available Improving the separation efficiency of the inclined oil/water separator, a new type of gravity separation equipment, is of great importance. In order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the internal flow field of the separation process of oil and water within this separator, a numerical simulation based on Euler multiphase flow analysis and the realizable k-ε two equation turbulence model was executed using Fluent software. The optimal value ranges of the separator's various structural parameters used in the numerical simulation were selected through orthogonal array experiments. A field experiment on the separator was conducted with optimized structural parameters in order to validate the reliability of the numerical simulation results. The research results indicated that the horizontal position of the dispenser, the hole number, and the diameter had significant effects on the oil/water separation efficiency, and that the longitudinal position of the dispenser and the position of the weir plate had insignificant effects on the oil/water separation efficiency. The optimal structural parameters obtained through the orthogonal array experiments resulted in an oil/water separation efficiency of up to 95%, which was 4.996% greater than that realized by the original structural parameters.

Tax policy can change the production path: A model of optimal oil extraction in Alaska

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leighty, Wayne; Lin, C.-Y. Cynthia

2012-01-01

We model the economically optimal dynamic oil production decisions for seven production units (fields) on Alaska's North Slope. We use adjustment cost and discount rate to calibrate the model against historical production data, and use the calibrated model to simulate the impact of tax policy on production rate. We construct field-specific cost functions from average cost data and an estimated inverse production function, which incorporates engineering aspects of oil production into our economic modeling. Producers appear to have approximated dynamic optimality. Consistent with prior research, we find that changing the tax rate alone does not change the economically optimal oil production path, except for marginal fields that may cease production. Contrary to prior research, we find that the structure of tax policy can be designed to affect the economically optimal production path, but at a cost in net social benefit. - Highlights: ► We model economically optimal dynamic oil production decisions for 7 Alaska fields. ► Changing tax rate alone does not alter the economically optimal oil production path. ► But change in tax structure can affect the economically optimal oil production path. ► Tax structures that modify the optimal production path reduce net social benefit. ► Field-specific cost functions and inverse production functions are estimated

Optimizing oil spill cleanup efforts: A tactical approach and evaluation framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubesic, Tony H; Wei, Ran; Nelson, Jake

2017-12-15

Although anthropogenic oil spills vary in size, duration and severity, their broad impacts on complex social, economic and ecological systems can be significant. Questions pertaining to the operational challenges associated with the tactical allocation of human resources, cleanup equipment and supplies to areas impacted by a large spill are particularly salient when developing mitigation strategies for extreme oiling events. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the application of advanced oil spill modeling techniques in combination with a developed mathematical model to spatially optimize the allocation of response crews and equipment for cleaning up an offshore oil spill. The results suggest that the detailed simulations and optimization model are a good first step in allowing both communities and emergency responders to proactively plan for extreme oiling events and develop response strategies that minimize the impacts of spills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An adaptive robust optimization scheme for water-flooding optimization in oil reservoirs using residual analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Siraj, M.M.; Van den Hof, P.M.J.; Jansen, J.D.

2017-01-01

Model-based dynamic optimization of the water-flooding process in oil reservoirs is a computationally complex problem and suffers from high levels of uncertainty. A traditional way of quantifying uncertainty in robust water-flooding optimization is by considering an ensemble of uncertain model

Application of Response Surface Methodology for Optimizing Oil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Application of Response Surface Methodology for Optimizing Oil Extraction Yield From ... AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL) · Journals · Advanced Search ... from tropical almond seed by the use of response surface methodology (RSM).

Analysis of total hydrogen content in palm oil and palm kernel oil using thermal neutron moderation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akaho, E.H.K.; Dagadu, C.P.K.; Maaku, B.T.; Anim-Sampong, S.; Kyere, A.W.K.; Jonah, S.A.

2001-01-01

A fast and non-destructive technique based on thermal neutron moderation has been used for determining the total hydrogen content in two types of red palm oil (dzomi and amidze) and palm kernel oil produced by traditional methods in Ghana. An equipment consisting of an 241 Am-Be neutron source and 3 He neutron detector was used in the investigation. The equipment was originally designed for detection of liquid levels in petrochemical and other process industries. Standards in the form of liquid hydrocarbons were used to obtain calibration lines for thermal neutron reflection parameter as a function of hydrogen content. Measured reflection parameters with respective hydrogen content with or without heat treatment of the three edible palm oils available on the market were compared with a brand cooking oil (frytol). The average total hydrogen content in the local oil samples prior to heating was measured to be 11.62 w% which compared well with acceptable value of 12 w% for palm oils in the sub-region. After heat treatment, the frytol oil (produced through bleaching process) had the least loss of hydrogen content of 0.26% in comparison with palm kernel oil of 0.44% followed by dzomi of 1.96% and by amidze of 3.22%. (author)

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.

Development and evaluation of analytical techniques for total chlorine in used oils and oil fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaskill, A. Jr.; Estes, E.D.; Hardison, D.L.; Friedman, P.H.

1990-01-01

A current EPA regulation prohibits the sale for burning in nonindustrial boilers of used oils and oil fuels. This paper discusses how analytical techniques for determining total chlorine were evaluated to provide regulatory agencies and the regulated community with appropriate chlorine test methods. The techniques evaluated included oxygen bomb combustion followed by chemical titration or ion chromatography, instrumental microcoulometry, field test kits, and instrumental furnace/specific ion electrode determinator, a device based on the Beilstein reaction, and x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. These techniques were subjected to interlaboratory testing to estimate their precision, accuracy, and sensitivity. Virgin and used crankcase oils, hydraulic and metalworking oils, oil fuels and oil fuel blends with used oils were tested. The bomb techniques, one of the test kits, microcoulometry and all but one x-ray analyzer were found to be suitable for this application. The chlorine furnace and the Beilstein device were found to be inapplicable at the levels of interest

Single Shooting and ESDIRK Methods for adjoint-based optimization of an oil reservoir

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capolei, Andrea; Völcker, Carsten; Frydendall, Jan

2012-01-01

the injections and oil production such that ow is uniform in a given geological structure. Even in the case of conventional water ooding, feedback based optimal control technologies may enable higher oil recovery than with conventional operational strategies. The optimal control problems that must be solved...

Optimization of Pumpkin Oil Recovery by Using Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction and Comparison of the Quality of the Obtained Oil with the Quality of Cold-Pressed Oil

Science.gov (United States)

Roszkowska, Beata; Czaplicki, Sylwester; Tańska, Małgorzata

2016-01-01

Summary The study was carried out to optimize pumpkin oil recovery in the process of aqueous extraction preceded by enzymatic maceration of seeds, as well as to compare the quality of the obtained oil to the quality of cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil. Hydrated pulp of hulless pumpkin seeds was macerated using a 2% (by mass) cocktail of commercial pectinolytic, cellulolytic and proteolytic preparations (Rohapect® UF, Rohament® CL and Colorase® 7089). The optimization procedure utilized response surface methodology based on Box- -Behnken plan of experiment. The optimized variables of enzymatic pretreatment were pH, temperature and maceration time. The results showed that the pH value, temperature and maceration time of 4.7, 54 °C and 15.4 h, respectively, were conducive to maximize the oil yield up to 72.64%. Among these variables, the impact of pH was crucial (above 73% of determined variation) for oil recovery results. The oil obtained by aqueous enzymatic extraction was richer in sterols, squalene and tocopherols, and only slightly less abundant in carotenoids than the cold-pressed one. However, it had a lower oxidative stability, with induction period shortened by approx. 30% in relation to the cold-pressed oil. PMID:28115898

Optimization of Pumpkin Oil Recovery by Using Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction and Comparison of the Quality of the Obtained Oil with the Quality of Cold-Pressed Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beata Roszkowska

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The study was carried out to optimize pumpkin oil recovery in the process of aqueous extraction preceded by enzymatic maceration of seeds, as well as to compare the quality of the obtained oil to the quality of cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil. Hydrated pulp of hulless pumpkin seeds was macerated using a 2 % (by mass cocktail of commercial pectinolytic, cellulolytic and proteolytic preparations (Rohapect® UF, Rohament® CL and Colorase® 7089. The optimization procedure utilized response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken plan of experiment. The optimized variables of enzymatic pretreatment were pH, temperature and maceration time. The results showed that the pH value, temperature and maceration time of 4.7, 54 °C and 15.4 h, respectively, were conducive to maximize the oil yield up to 72.64 %. Among these variables, the impact of pH was crucial (above 73 % of determined variation for oil recovery results. The oil obtained by aqueous enzymatic extraction was richer in sterols, squalene and tocopherols, and only slightly less abundant in carotenoids than the cold-pressed one. However, it had a lower oxidative stability, with induction period shortened by approx. 30 % in relation to the cold-pressed oil.

Statistical modeling/optimization and process intensification of microwave-assisted acidified oil esterification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Lingling; Lv, Enmin; Du, Lixiong; Lu, Jie; Ding, Jincheng

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Microwave irradiation was employed for the esterification of acidified oil. • Optimization and modeling of the process was performed by RSM and ANN. • Both models have reliable prediction abilities but the ANN was superior over the RSM. • Membrane vapor permeation and in-situ dehydration were used to shift the equilibrium. • Two dehydration approaches improved the FFAs conversion rate by 20.0% approximately. - Abstract: The esterification of acidified oil with ethanol under microwave radiation was modeled and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The impacts of mass ratio of ethanol to acidified oil, catalyst loading, microwave power and reaction time are evaluated by Box-Behnken design (BBD) of RSM and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) of ANN. RSM combined with BBD shows the optimal conditions as catalyst loading of 5.85 g, mass ratio of ethanol to acidified oil of 0.35 (20.0 g acidified oil), microwave power of 328 W and reaction time of 98.0 min with the free fatty acids (FFAs) conversion of 78.57%. Both of the models are fitted well with the experimental data, however, ANN exhibits better prediction accuracy than RSM based on the statistical analyses. Furthermore, membrane vapor permeation and in-situ molecular sieve dehydration were investigated to enhance the esterification under the optimized conditions.

Offset Risk Minimization for Open-loop Optimal Control of Oil Reservoirs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capolei, Andrea; Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Jørgensen, J. B.

2017-01-01

Simulation studies of oil field water flooding have demonstrated a significant potential of optimal control technology to improve industrial practices. However, real-life applications are challenged by unknown geological factors that make reservoir models highly uncertain. To minimize...... the associated financial risks, the oil literature has used ensemble-based methods to manipulate the net present value (NPV) distribution by optimizing sample estimated risk measures. In general, such methods successfully reduce overall risk. However, as this paper demonstrates, ensemble-based control strategies...... practices. The results suggest that it may be more relevant to consider the NPV offset distribution than the NPV distribution when minimizing risk in production optimization....

Optimization of factors affecting the production of biodiesel from crude palm kernel oil and ethanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuwornoo, David. K. [Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Private Mail Bag, Kumasi (Ghana); Ahiekpor, Julius C. [Chemical Engineering Department, Kumasi Polytechnic, P.O. Box 854, Kumasi (Ghana)

2010-07-01

Biodiesel, an alternative diesel fuel made from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and animal fats, has been identified by government to play a key role in the socio-economic development of Ghana. The utilization of biodiesel is expected to be about 10% of the total liquid fuel mix of the country by the year 2020. Despite this great potential and the numerous sources from which biodiesel could be developed in Ghana, studies on the sources of biodiesel and their properties as a substitute for fossil diesel have tended to be limited to Jatropha oil. This paper, however, reports the parameters that influences the production of biodiesel from palm kernel oil, one of the vegetable oils obtained from oil palm which is the highest vegetable oil source in Ghana. The parameters studied are; mass ratio of ethanol to oil, reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, and reaction time using completely randomized 24 factorial design. Results indicated that ethanol to oil mass ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time were the most important factors affecting the ethyl ester yield. There was also an interaction effect between catalyst and time and ethanol- oil ratio and time on the yield. Accordingly, the optimal conditions for the production of ethyl esters from crude palm kernel oil were determined as; 1:5 mass ratio of ethanol to oil, 1% catalyst concentration by weight of oil, 90 minutes reaction time at a temperature of 30 deg C.

OPTIMIZATION OF TRANSESTERIFICATION PARAMETERS FOR OPTIMAL BIODIESEL YIELD FROM CRUDE JATROPHA OIL USING A NEWLY SYNTHESIZED SEASHELL CATALYST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. N. R. REDDY

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Heterogeneous catalysts are promising catalysts for optimal biodiesel yield from transesterification of vegetable oils. In this work calcium oxide (CaO heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized from Polymedosa erosa seashell. Calcination was carried out at 900ºC for 2h and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Catalytic efficiency of CaO was testified in transesterification of crude Jatropha oil (CJO. A response surface methodology (RSM based on five-level-two-factor central composite design (CCD was employed to optimize two critical transesterification parameters catalyst concentration to pretreated CJO (0.01-0.03 w/w % and the reaction time (90 min - 150 min. A JB yield of 96.48% was estimated at 0.023 w/w% catalyst and 125.76 min reaction using response optimizer. The legitimacy of the predicted model was verified through the experiments. The validation experiments conformed a yield of JB 96.4%±0.01% as optimal at 0.023 w/w% catalyst to pretreated oil ratio and 126 min reaction time.

Optimization of Crude Oil and PAHs Degradation by Stenotrophomonas rhizophila KX082814 Strain through Response Surface Methodology Using Box-Behnken Design

Science.gov (United States)

Virupakshappa, Praveen Kumar Siddalingappa; Mishra, Gaurav; Mehkri, Mohammed Ameenuddin

2016-01-01

The present paper describes the process optimization study for crude oil degradation which is a continuation of our earlier work on hydrocarbon degradation study of the isolate Stenotrophomonas rhizophila (PM-1) with GenBank accession number KX082814. Response Surface Methodology with Box-Behnken Design was used to optimize the process wherein temperature, pH, salinity, and inoculum size (at three levels) were used as independent variables and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon, Biological Oxygen Demand, and Chemical Oxygen Demand of crude oil and PAHs as dependent variables (response). The statistical analysis, via ANOVA, showed coefficient of determination R 2 as 0.7678 with statistically significant P value 0.0163 fitting in second-order quadratic regression model for crude oil removal. The predicted optimum parameters, namely, temperature, pH, salinity, and inoculum size, were found to be 32.5°C, 9, 12.5, and 12.5 mL, respectively. At this optimum condition, the observed and predicted PAHs and crude oil removal were found to be 71.82% and 79.53% in validation experiments, respectively. The % TPH results correlate with GC/MS studies, BOD, COD, and TPC. The validation of numerical optimization was done through GC/MS studies and % removal of crude oil. PMID:28116165

Optimization of acid-activated bentonites on bleaching of cotton oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacin, O.; Sayan, E.; Kirali, E.G.

2013-01-01

Bentonites are commonly used adsorbent on bleaching cotton oil to produce edible oil products. Bleaching capacities of neutralized cotton oil were investigated with acid-activated Arguvan and Kursunlu bentonites. Two models for acid activation of the bentonites were developed by using a full factorial experimental design and central composite design. The parameters used to develop these models were contact time, solid to liquid ratio, acid concentration and moisture of bentonite. By using a constrained optimization program, the maximum bleaching capacities of neutralized cotton oil were determined as 99.99% and 48.5% for Arguvan and Kursunlu, respectively. Optimum results showed that Turkish bentonites (especially Arguvan bentonite) have high bleaching ability and they can be used efficiently to bleach neutralized cotton oil by considering the favorable volume weight, capacity of oil adsorbed and filtration rate. (author)

Optimization of China Crude Oil Transportation Network with Genetic Ant Colony Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yao Wang

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Taking into consideration both shipping and pipeline transport, this paper first analysed the risk factors for different modes of crude oil import transportation. Then, based on the minimum of both transportation cost and overall risk, a multi-objective programming model was established to optimize the transportation network of crude oil import, and the genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm were employed to solve the problem. The optimized result shows that VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier is superior in long distance sea transportation, whereas pipeline transport is more secure than sea transport. Finally, this paper provides related safeguard suggestions on crude oil import transportation.

Concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA of Asian catfish oil by urea complexation: optimization of reaction conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pornpisanu Thammapat

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Optimization of the concentrating conditions of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA extracted from Asian catfish oil was studied to obtain a maximum concentration. The crude fish oil was extracted from the belly flap and adipose tissue of Asian catfish, and the extracted oil was used as fresh crude oil. The EPA and DHA were concentrated by the urea complexation method. A hexagonal rotatable design was applied to examine the effects of crystallization temperature and urea-to-fatty acid ratio on the total content of EPA and DHA (Y1 and the liquid recovery yield (Y2 . The second order polynomial regression models for Y1 and Y2 were employed to generate the response surfaces. Under the optimum conditions of -20 °C and a urea-to-fatty acid ratio of 4 (w/w, the total concentration of EPA and DHA could be increased by up to 88%, while a liquid recovery yield of 26% was obtained.

Optimization of conditions for the extraction of phorbol esters from Jatropha oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devappa, Rakshit K.; Makkar, H.P.S.; Becker, K. [Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics (480b), University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart (Germany)

2010-08-15

The production of Jatropha curcas seeds as a biodiesel feedstock is expected to reach 160 Mt by 2017. The present study aims at extracting phorbol esters (PEs) as a co-product from Jatropha oil before processing it to biodiesel. The conditions were optimized for extraction of PEs in organic solvents by using a magnetic stirrer and an Ultra turrax. The extent of reduction in PEs was >99.4% in methanol using any of the stirring tools. However, the extraction using Ultra turrax affected considerably the colour of the remaining oil. Therefore, further solvent:oil ratio, time and temperature were optimized using a magnetic stirrer to get PE rich fraction-I (48.4 mg PEs g{sup -1}) and virtually PE-free oil. PEs were 14 fold higher in this fraction than the control oil. PEs, extracted in methanol from the untreated Jatropha oil, at 1 mg L{sup -1} produced 100% mortality in snails (Physa fontinalis). The methanol extract from virtually PE-free oil when concentrated 20 and 25 time the untreated Jatropha oil (equivalent of 20 mg L{sup -1} and 25 mg L{sup -1} PEs in the control oil) was nontoxic to snails. PE rich fraction-I, obtained as a co-product, can be used in agricultural, medicinal and pharmaceutical applications and the remaining oil can be used for biodiesel preparation. The remaining oil will be friendly to the environment and workers. (author)

Optimized production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil by lipase immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Chi-Yang; Huang, Liang-Yu; Kuan, I-Ching; Lee, Shiow-Ling

2013-12-11

Biodiesel, a non-toxic and biodegradable fuel, has recently become a major source of renewable alternative fuels. Utilization of lipase as a biocatalyst to produce biodiesel has advantages over common alkaline catalysts such as mild reaction conditions, easy product separation, and use of waste cooking oil as raw material. In this study, Pseudomonas cepacia lipase immobilized onto magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) was used for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil. The optimal dosage of lipase-bound MNP was 40% (w/w of oil) and there was little difference between stepwise addition of methanol at 12 h- and 24 h-intervals. Reaction temperature, substrate molar ratio (methanol/oil), and water content (w/w of oil) were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal reaction conditions were 44.2 °C, substrate molar ratio of 5.2, and water content of 12.5%. The predicted and experimental molar conversions of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were 80% and 79%, respectively.

Saponification of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil: Optimization by D-Optimal Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jumat Salimon

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, the effects of ethanolic KOH concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time to free fatty acid (FFA percentage were investigated. D-optimal design was employed to study significance of these factors and optimum condition for the technique predicted and evaluated. The optimum conditions for maximum FFA% were achieved when 1.75 M ethanolic KOH concentration was used as the catalyst, reaction temperature of 65°C, and reaction time of 2.0 h. This study showed that ethanolic KOH concentration was significant variable for saponification of J. curcas seed oil. In an 18-point experimental design, percentage of FFA for saponification of J. curcas seed oil can be raised from 1.89% to 102.2%.

Optimizing the Production of Renewable Aromatics via Crop Oil Catalytic Cracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clancy Kadrmas

2015-04-01

Full Text Available While HZSM-5 catalytic cracking of crop oil toward aromatics have been well documented, this work adds to this body of knowledge with a full acid byproduct analysis that provides improved mass balance closure along with a design of experiment optimization of reaction conditions. Fatty acids are an inevitable byproduct when converting any triglyceride oil, but are most often overlooked; despite the impact fatty acids have on downstream processing. Acid analysis verified that only short chain fatty acids, mainly acetic acid, were present in low quantities when all feed oil was reacted. When relatively high fatty acid amounts were present, these were mainly uncracked C16 and C18 fatty acids. Optimization is a balance of aromatics formation vs. unwanted gas products, coke and residual fatty acids. A design of experiments approach was used to provide insight into where the optimal reaction conditions reside for HZSM-5 facilitated reactions. These conditions can then form the basis for further development into a commercially viable process for the production of renewable aromatics and other byproducts.

Too little oil, too much coal: Optimal carbon tax and when to phase in oil, coal and renewables

OpenAIRE

van der Ploeg, Frederick; Withagen, Cees A.

2011-01-01

Our main message is that it is optimal to use less coal and more oil once one takes account of coal being a backstop which emits much more CO2 than oil. The way of achieving this is to have a steeply rising carbon tax during the initial oil-only phase, a less-steeply rising carbon tax during the intermediate phase where oil and coal are used alongside each other and the following coal-only phase, and a flat carbon tax during the final renewables-only phase. The "laissez-faire" outcome uses co...

Optimization of non-catalytic transesterification of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seed oil using supercritical methanol to biodiesel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

García-Martínez, Nuria; Andreo-Martínez, Pedro; Quesada-Medina, Joaquín; Pérez de los Ríos, Antonia Pérez; Chica, Antonio; Beneito-Ruiz, Rubén; Carratalá-Abril, Juan

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Biodiesel from tobacco oil was produced by non-catalytic supercritical methanolysis. • Maximum experimental yield of FAMEs (92.8%) was reached at 300 °C and 90 min. • Optimal conditions by RSM (303.4 °C and 90 min) predicted a maximum FAME yield of 91.1%. • Thermal decomposition of biodiesel was observed above 325 °C and 60 min of reaction. • Glycerol generated at 300 °C and 90 min was degraded and incorporated to the biodiesel. - Abstract: The biodiesel production from non-edible oils has high potential as renewable and ecological fuel. Few researches have been conducted to date on the production of biodiesel from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seed oil. The aim of this study was to optimize the biodiesel production from this crude oil by non-catalytic supercritical methanolysis using response surface methodology (RSM). Triglyceride conversion, total and individual FAME yield, monoglyceride and diglyceride yield, and thermal decomposition degree of biodiesel were determined in the temperature and reaction time ranges of 250–350 °C (12–43 MPa) and 15–90 min, respectively, at a fixed methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 43:1. According to the RSM, the optimal conditions were 303.4 °C and 90 min, reaching a predicted maximum FAME yield of 91.1 ± 3.2 mol%. This maximum was very close to that obtained experimentally (92.8 ± 2.1 mol%) at 300 °C and 90 min. Decomposition of biodiesel became evident at 325 °C and 60 min of reaction due to the thermal instability of unsaturated methyl esters (methyl linoleate and oleate). The biodiesel obtained in the best experimental reaction conditions (300 °C and 90 min), where no thermal decomposition of FAMEs was observed, contained most of the byproduct glycerol generated, which was degraded and incorporated to the product. This biodiesel basically failed to meet the content of FAMEs as required by the standard EN 14214, the content of monoglycerides and total glycerol, and the acid value, being a

A Novel Approach for Risk Minimization in Life-Cycle Oil Production Optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capolei, Andrea; Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

2017-01-01

The oil research community has invested much effort into computer aided optimization to enhance oil recovery. While simulation studies have demonstrated the potential of model-based technology to improve industrial standards, the largely unknown geology of subsurface reservoirs limits application...

Effects of tallow, choice white grease, palm oil, corn oil, or soybean oil on apparent total tract digestibility of minerals in diets fed to growing pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Merriman, L A; Walk, C L; Parsons, C M; Stein, H H

2016-10-01

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing diets fed to growing pigs with fat sources differing in their composition of fatty acids on the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of minerals. A diet based on corn, potato protein isolate, and 7% sucrose was formulated. Five additional diets that were similar to the previous diet with the exception that sucrose was replaced by 7% tallow, choice white grease, palm oil, corn oil, or soybean oil were also formulated. Diets were formulated to contain 0.70% Ca and 0.33% standardized total tract digestible P. Growing barrows ( = 60; 15.99 ± 1.48 kg initial BW) were allotted to a randomized complete block design with 2 blocks of 30 pigs, 6 dietary treatments, and 10 replicate pigs per treatment. Experimental diets were provided for 12 d with the initial 5 d being the adaptation period. Total feces were collected for a 5-d collection period using the marker-to-marker approach, and the ATTD of minerals, ether extract, and acid hydrolyzed ether extract was calculated for all diets. Digestibility of DM was greater ( soybean oil compared with the diet containing choice white grease or the basal diet, with all other diets being intermediate. The ATTD of Ca, S, and P was greater ( soybean oil, corn oil, palm oil, or tallow than for pigs fed the basal diet or the diet containing choice white grease. The ATTD of Mg, Zn, Mn, Na, and K were not different among dietary treatments. The ATTD of ether extract was greater ( oil, corn oil, or soybean oil compared with the diet containing choice white grease, and the ATTD of acid hydrolyzed ether extract in the diet containing soybean oil was also greater ( oil, corn oil, or soybean oil may increase the ATTD of some macrominerals, but that appears not to be the case if choice white grease is used. There was no evidence of negative effects of the fat sources used in this experiment on the ATTD of any minerals.

Optimization of biodiesel production from refined cotton seed oil and its characterization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominic Okechukwu Onukwuli

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Biodiesel was produced through transesterification of refined cotton seed oil with methanol and potassium hydroxide (KOH as a catalyst using batch mode. The physicochemical properties of cotton seed oil and biodiesel as an alternative fuel for diesel engine was characterized through ASTM standards for fuel tests. The functional groups of the biodiesel were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Influence of key parameters like reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst concentration and methanol/oil molar ratio were determined using batch mode. These process parameters were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM and analysis of variance (ANOVA. The significance of the different process parameters and their combined effects on the transesterification efficiency were established through a full factorial central composite design. The results obtained are in good agreement with published data for other vegetable oil biodiesel as well as various international standards for biodiesel fuel. An optimum yield of 96% was achieved with optimal conditions of methanol/oil molar ratio, 6:1; temperature, 55 °C; time, 60 min; and catalyst concentration, 0.6%. This investigation has shown that cotton seed oil from Nigeria can be used to produce biodiesel.

Optimization of oil extraction from waste “Date pits” for biodiesel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamil, Farrukh; Al-Muhtaseb, Ala’a H.; Al-Haj, Lamya; Al-Hinai, Mohab A.; Hellier, Paul; Rashid, Umer

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Oil extraction from “Date pits” has been optimized first time by using RSM. • Optimized conditions for oil extraction gave oil yield of 16.5%. • “Date pits” oil as non-edible feedstock was transformed to biodiesel. • Biodiesel from “Date pits” oil posses potential fuel properties. - Abstract: Biodiesel produced from non-edible feedstocks is increasingly attractive alternative to both fossil diesels and renewable fuels derived from food crops. Date pits are one such lipid containing feedstock, and are widely available in Oman as a waste stream. This study analyses the effects of soxhlet process parameters (temperature, solvent to seed ratio and time) on the extraction of oils from waste Date pits and the subsequent production of biodiesel from it. The highest yield of oil extracted from the Date pits was 16.5 wt% obtained at a temperature of 70 °C, solvent to seed ratio of 4:1 and extraction duration of 7 h. Gas Chromatography analysis showed that Date pits oil consisted of 54.85% unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). Transesterification of the oil extracted was undertaken at 65 °C, a methanol to oil ratio of 6:1 and a reaction time of 1 h for biodiesel production. Biodiesel produced from the Date pits oil was found to have a cetane number of 58.23, density 870 of kg m"−"3, cloud point of 4 °C, pour point of −1 °C, CFPP of −0.5 °C and kinematic viscosity of 3.97 mm"2 s"−"1 (40 °C). In general, Date pit oil appears to be a potential alternative feedstock for biodiesel production.

Optimal Physical and Nutrient Parameters for Growth of Trichoderma virens UKMP-1M for Heavy Crude Oil Degradation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ainon Hamzah; Buzarin, M.A.; Aidil Abdul Hamid; Thmanomar, O.; Sahidan Senafi

2012-01-01

This study was carried out to determine the optimal parameters for the production of biomass of Trichoderma virens UKMP-1M, a fungus isolated from oil-polluted wastewater. The isolate showed maximum growth at day six after incubation in Mineral Salt Medium (MSM) in the presence of 3 % (v/ v) heavy Khefji Sour crude oil. Although it grew at pH between 5.0 and 7.0, it grew best at pH 5.5. T. virens UKMP-1M grew at temperatures between 25 and 35 degree Celsius, with its highest growth at 30 degree Celsius. Aeration by agitation at 200 rpm was shown to yield the greatest biomass. Peptone at concentration of 1.5 % (w/ v) was determined to be a better nitrogen source than urea, potassium nitrate (KNO 3 ), yeast extract, ammonium sulphate ((NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ) and ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl). Addition of 1 % (v/ v) crude oil to the MSM medium led to higher biomass production than the addition of 3 %, 5 %, 7 % and 10 % (v/ v) crude oil. The result also revealed that 40 % of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), 100 % of pristane and 74 % of phytane compounds were degraded after 9 days of incubation at optimal physical and nutrient parameters. (author)

The relationship between total phenol concentration and the perceived style of extra virgin olive oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gawel, R.; Rogers, D. A. G.

2009-07-01

The degree of bitterness and pungency of a virgin olive oil largely defines its style, and therefore how it is most appropriately used by consumers. In order to assess how Australian olive oil producers interpret the style of their oils, 920 Australian virgin olive oils were classified by their producers as either being mild, medium or robust in style. Although in general, the classifications by producers were associated with the oils total phenol concentration, significant variability in phenol concentration within each style category was observed. The perceived styles of a subset of these oils were further assessed by panels of expert tasters. The expert panels were more discriminating when assigning oils to style categories based on total phenol levels. The producers and the expert panels were in moderate agreement with respect to oil style, with the interpretation of what constitutes a mild oil being the most contentious. (Author) 16 refs.

A Novel Approach for Risk Minimization in Life-Cycle Oil Production Optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capolei, Andrea; Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

2017-01-01

The oil research community has invested much effort into computer aided optimization to enhance oil recovery. While simulation studies have demonstrated the potential of model-based technology to improve industrial standards, the largely unknown geology of subsurface reservoirs limits applications...... to commercial oil fields. In particular, uncertain model descriptions lead to risks of profit loss. To address the challenges of geological uncertainty, this paper proposes offset risk minimization. As opposed to existing methodologies of the oil literature, the offset approach minimizes risk of profit loss...

Optimizing conditions for enzymatic extraction of sunflower oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Badr, F. H.

1992-10-01

Full Text Available Sunflower seed oil was extracted with an enzymatic processes using different hydrolytic enzymes: cellulase, hemicellulase, animal proteinase, acid proteinase, pectinase and pectinex, as compared to enzyme - free aqueous extraction. All the hydrolytic enzymes enhanced oil extraction from sunflower seeds. The most optimal conditions for oil extraction from sunflower seeds were: 2% enzyme concentration, 30% substrate concentration and 3 hrs period. Using Boganov and Buchkov equation showed that time must be prolonged to get higher yields. The maximum yield during 3 hrs extraction with enzymatic process ranged between 44,5%-57,1% of the soxhlet extractable oil. The potency of the investigated enzymes in extracting oil was in the following order: acid proteinase > cellulase > hemicellulase > animal proteinase > pectinex > pectinase when compared at the previous optimal conditions.

Aceite de semilla de girasol fue extraído mediante un proceso enzimático usando diferentes enzimas hidrolíticos: celulasa, hemicelulasa, proteinasa animal, proteinasa acida, pectinasa y pectinex, comparando con la extracción acuosa libre de enzima. Todos los enzimas hidrolíticos incrementan la extracción de aceites de semilla de girasol. Las condiciones óptimas para la extracción de aceite a partir de semillas de girasol fueron: 2% de concentración de enzima, 30% de concentración de sustrato y un período de 3 horas. La ecuación de Boganov y Buchkov mostró que el tiempo debe ser prolongado para alcanzar altos rendimientos. El máximo rendimiento durante tres horas de extracción con proceso enzimático osciló entre el 44,5%-57,1% del aceite extraído con soxhlet. La potencia de los enzimas investigados en la extracción de aceite siguió el orden: proteinasa acida > celulasa > hemicelulasa > proteinasa animal > pectinex > pectinasa cuando fue previamente comparado con las condiciones óptimas.

Development Optimization and Uncertainty Analysis Methods for Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ettehadtavakkol, Amin, E-mail: amin.ettehadtavakkol@ttu.edu [Texas Tech University (United States); Jablonowski, Christopher [Shell Exploration and Production Company (United States); Lake, Larry [University of Texas at Austin (United States)

2017-04-15

Uncertainty complicates the development optimization of oil and gas exploration and production projects, but methods have been devised to analyze uncertainty and its impact on optimal decision-making. This paper compares two methods for development optimization and uncertainty analysis: Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and stochastic programming. Two example problems for a gas field development and an oilfield development are solved and discussed to elaborate the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Development optimization involves decisions regarding the configuration of initial capital investment and subsequent operational decisions. Uncertainty analysis involves the quantification of the impact of uncertain parameters on the optimum design concept. The gas field development problem is designed to highlight the differences in the implementation of the two methods and to show that both methods yield the exact same optimum design. The results show that both MC optimization and stochastic programming provide unique benefits, and that the choice of method depends on the goal of the analysis. While the MC method generates more useful information, along with the optimum design configuration, the stochastic programming method is more computationally efficient in determining the optimal solution. Reservoirs comprise multiple compartments and layers with multiphase flow of oil, water, and gas. We present a workflow for development optimization under uncertainty for these reservoirs, and solve an example on the design optimization of a multicompartment, multilayer oilfield development.

Development Optimization and Uncertainty Analysis Methods for Oil and Gas Reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ettehadtavakkol, Amin; Jablonowski, Christopher; Lake, Larry

2017-01-01

Uncertainty complicates the development optimization of oil and gas exploration and production projects, but methods have been devised to analyze uncertainty and its impact on optimal decision-making. This paper compares two methods for development optimization and uncertainty analysis: Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and stochastic programming. Two example problems for a gas field development and an oilfield development are solved and discussed to elaborate the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Development optimization involves decisions regarding the configuration of initial capital investment and subsequent operational decisions. Uncertainty analysis involves the quantification of the impact of uncertain parameters on the optimum design concept. The gas field development problem is designed to highlight the differences in the implementation of the two methods and to show that both methods yield the exact same optimum design. The results show that both MC optimization and stochastic programming provide unique benefits, and that the choice of method depends on the goal of the analysis. While the MC method generates more useful information, along with the optimum design configuration, the stochastic programming method is more computationally efficient in determining the optimal solution. Reservoirs comprise multiple compartments and layers with multiphase flow of oil, water, and gas. We present a workflow for development optimization under uncertainty for these reservoirs, and solve an example on the design optimization of a multicompartment, multilayer oilfield development.

Supercritical CO2 extraction of candlenut oil: process optimization using Taguchi orthogonal array and physicochemical properties of the oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Subroto, Erna; Widjojokusumo, Edward; Veriansyah, Bambang; Tjandrawinata, Raymond R

2017-04-01

A series of experiments was conducted to determine optimum conditions for supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of candlenut oil. A Taguchi experimental design with L 9 orthogonal array (four factors in three levels) was employed to evaluate the effects of pressure of 25-35 MPa, temperature of 40-60 °C, CO 2 flow rate of 10-20 g/min and particle size of 0.3-0.8 mm on oil solubility. The obtained results showed that increase in particle size, pressure and temperature improved the oil solubility. The supercritical carbon dioxide extraction at optimized parameters resulted in oil yield extraction of 61.4% at solubility of 9.6 g oil/kg CO 2 . The obtained candlenut oil from supercritical carbon dioxide extraction has better oil quality than oil which was extracted by Soxhlet extraction using n-hexane. The oil contains high unsaturated oil (linoleic acid and linolenic acid), which have many beneficial effects on human health.

Biodiesel production from crude cottonseed oil: an optimization process using response surface methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fan, Xiaohu; Wang, Xi; Chen, Feng

2011-07-01

As the depletion of fossil resources continues, the demand for environmentally friendly sources of energy as biodiesel is increasing. Biodiesel is the resulting fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from an esterification reaction. The use of cottonseed oil to produce biodiesel has been investigated in recent years, but it is difficult to find the optimal conditions of this process since multiple factors are involved. The aim of this study was to optimize the transesterification of cottonseed oil with methanol to produce biodiesel. A response surface methodology (RSM), an experimental method to seek optimal conditions for a multivariable system and reverse phase HPLC was used to analyze the conversion of triglyceride into biodiesel. RSM was successfully applied and the optimal condition was found with a 97% yield.

Total facing the new oil and gas situation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desmarest, Th.

2006-01-01

Total produces oil and gas in more than thirty countries, and contributes to warding off energy shortfalls through its exploration and investment programmes, through its expertise at the leading edge of hydrocarbon technology, and by its attention to the interests of host countries. However, the combination of unflagging demand and growing dependence vis-a-vis the principal producing regions is a source of tension and of risks which call for a much greater discipline in energy consumption and a diversification of energy sources. Thierry Desmarest, the Chairman and Managing Director of Total, gives his view of the new energy situation. (author)

Relationship between total polar components and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fried edible oil.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Ke-Jing; Liu, Yu-Lan; Liu, Hai-Lan

2017-09-01

Deep-fried dough sticks (a Chinese traditional breakfast) were fried individually in peanut, sunflower, rapeseed, rice bran, soybean and palm oil without any time lag for 32 h (64 batches fried, each for 30 min) and fried oil samples were obtained every 2 h. The frying-induced changes in the levels of total polar compounds (TPC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated by edible oil polar compounds (EOPC) fast separation chromatographic system and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. The correlations were analysed of TPC with benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), TPC and PAH4 (benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene) as well as TPC with PAH16 (USEPA 16 PAHs). The results revealed that the levels of TPC and PAHs in fried oil considerably increased with frying time, and the type of oil affected their formation, which could inform the choice of oil for frying. The total BaP equivalents (∑BaPeq) concentrations in fresh oil and in oil whose TPC exceeded 27% were 2.14-13.48 and 5.78-10.80 μg kg -1 , respectively, which means that the carcinogenic potency of frying oil was more pronounced than that of fresh oil. In addition, the TPC concentration was significantly correlated with the concentrations of the sum of the 16 PAHs, PAH4 and BaP, so that the levels of PAHs could be predicted according to the levels of TPC in fried oil. In European standards, the rejection point for TPC in frying oil should be recalculated when considered PAHs. In all, the concentration of PAHs is a vital factor for ensuring the safety of frying oil.

Optimizing the recovery efficiency of Finnish oil combating vessels in the Gulf of Finland using Bayesian Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehikoinen, Annukka; Luoma, Emilia; Mäntyniemi, Samu; Kuikka, Sakari

2013-02-19

Oil transport has greatly increased in the Gulf of Finland over the years, and risks of an oil accident occurring have risen. Thus, an effective oil combating strategy is needed. We developed a Bayesian Network (BN) to examine the recovery efficiency and optimal disposition of the Finnish oil combating vessels in the Gulf of Finland (GoF), Eastern Baltic Sea. Four alternative home harbors, five accident points, and ten oil combating vessels were included in the model to find the optimal disposition policy that would maximize the recovery efficiency. With this composition, the placement of the oil combating vessels seems not to have a significant effect on the recovery efficiency. The process seems to be strongly controlled by certain random factors independent of human action, e.g. wave height and stranding time of the oil. Therefore, the success of oil combating is rather uncertain, so it is also important to develop activities that aim for preventing accidents. We found that the model developed is suitable for this type of multidecision optimization. The methodology, results, and practices are further discussed.

Is It Feasible for China to Optimize Oil Import Source Diversification?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Xu

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In 2013, China imported 282 million tons of crude oil with an external dependence of 58.1%, surpassing the USA as the world’s largest net oil importer. An import source diversification strategy has been adopted by China to ensure oil supply security and to prevent oil supply disruption. However, the strategy is restricted by the imbalance of oil reserves. What is the reasonable and clear objective of the diversification strategy under an imbalanced environment? How do we assess the natural imbalance? This paper analyzes the oil import diversification of China and the USA, as well as the oil production of oil export countries by the oil import source diversification index (OISDI. Our results are as follows: the distribution of oil import sources for China tends to coincide with the oil production distribution of oil exporters in the world. Compared with the USA, China has more diversified import sources. The Chinese government paid much attention to import sources in the past. In the future, China will adjust the distributions of regional sources rather than focus on the number of sources to further optimize the structure of imported regions in the course of implementing the import source diversification strategy.

Optimal ship forms for minimum total resistance in shallow water

OpenAIRE

Zhao, Lian-en

1984-01-01

Optimal ship forms for minimum total resistance in shallow water Optimal ship forms for minimum total resistance in shallow water: An attempt is made to obtain shallow-water optimal ship forms for total resistance by means of "tent" function representation under the constraints that the main dimensions of the ship and the water-line area were kept constant. The objective function in the quadratic programming is the sum of wave-making resistance calculated by Sretenski's formula and viscou...

Optimization of Malaxation Process using Major Aroma Compounds in Virgin Olive Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serife Cevik

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Optimization of major aroma compounds in olive oils produced from fruits at three maturity stages wasstudied. A central composite design was used for the optimization of malaxation conditions of temperature and times, each at five levels with 13 runs including five central points. The responses of interest were trans-2-hexenal and hexanal, which were investigated and their contents were optimized. A full quadratic second order regression model including the linear, quadratic, and two factor interaction effects was proposed to explain the variation in the contents of target compounds depending on the malaxation conditions. Adequacies of models were evaluated by checking regression coefficients for each model. Models were found to work with high success for trans-2-hexenal prediction for oils from fruits at both purple and black stages, whereas the model for hexanalwas only in black stage oil. Their regression coefficients were higher than 0.86. Influences of time and temperature for the malaxation process were found to be significant for the transition of major aroma compounds from the fruit matrix to olive oil. The optimum conditions of temperature and time pairs to maximize trans-2-hexenal and hexanal was found to be 23°C/31 minutes for black olive and to maximize only trans-2-hexenal was also 29°C/41 minutes for purple olive.

Optimization of the production of ethyl esters by ultrasound assisted reaction of soybean oil and ethanol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Rodrigues

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Biodiesel is a renewable liquid fuel that can be produced by a transesterification reaction between a vegetable oil and an alcohol. This paper evaluates and optimizes the production of ethyl esters (biodiesel from soybean oil and ethanol. The reaction was carried out by applying ultrasound under atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the influence of alcohol to oil molar ratio and catalyst concentration on the yield of conversion of soybean oil into ethyl esters. The process resulted in a maximum yield of 91.8% after 30 minutes of reaction. The process variables alcohol to oil ratio and catalyst to oil ratio were statistically significant regarding the yield of ethyl esters. The optimal operating condition was obtained applying an alcohol to oil molar ratio of 10.2 and a catalyst to oil weight ratio of 0.0035.

Biosurfactant-biopolymer driven microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) and its optimization by an ANN-GA hybrid technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhanarajan, Gunaseelan; Rangarajan, Vivek; Bandi, Chandrakanth; Dixit, Abhivyakti; Das, Susmita; Ale, Kranthikiran; Sen, Ramkrishna

2017-08-20

A lipopeptide biosurfactant produced by marine Bacillus megaterium and a biopolymer produced by thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis were tested for their application potential in the enhanced oil recovery. The crude biosurfactant obtained after acid precipitation effectively reduced the surface tension of deionized water from 70.5 to 28.25mN/m and the interfacial tension between lube oil and water from 18.6 to 1.5mN/m at a concentration of 250mgL -1 . The biosurfactant exhibited a maximum emulsification activity (E 24 ) of 81.66% against lube oil. The lipopeptide micelles were stabilized by addition of Ca 2+ ions to the biosurfactant solution. The oil recovery efficiency of Ca 2+ conditioned lipopeptide solution from a sand-packed column was optimized by using artificial neural network (ANN) modelling coupled with genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. Three important parameters namely lipopeptide concentration, Ca 2+ concentration and solution pH were considered for optimization studies. In order to further improve the recovery efficiency, a water soluble biopolymer produced by Bacillus licheniformis was used as a flooding agent after biosurfactant incubation. Upon ANN-GA optimization, 45% tertiary oil recovery was achieved, when biopolymer at a concentration of 3gL -1 was used as a flooding agent. Oil recovery was only 29% at optimal conditions predicted by ANN-GA, when only water was used as flooding solution. The important characteristics of biopolymers such as its viscosity, pore plugging capabilities and bio-cementing ability have also been tested. Thus, as a result of biosurfactant incubation and biopolymer flooding under the optimal process conditions, a maximum oil recovery of 45% was achieved. Therefore, this study is novel, timely and interesting for it showed the combined influence of biosurfactant and biopolymer on solubilisation and mobilization of oil from the soil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil, Total Phenolics, Total Flavonoids and Antioxidant Activity of Methanolic Extracts of Satureja montana L.

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Avni Hajdari

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Aerial parts of Satureja montana L. (Lamiaceae were collected from seven growing wild populations (four populations in Kosovo, two in Albania and one in Montenegro in 2013 with the aim of assessing the natural variation in the chemical composition of the essential oils, total flavonoids, total phenolics and the antioxidant activity of their methanolic extracts. Essential oils were obtained by steam distillation and analysed using GC-FID and GC-MS, whereas total flavonoids, total phenolics and antioxidant activities were determined using spectrophotometric methods. Sixty-one volatile constituents were identified. The main constituents were myrcene, p-cymene, γ-terpinene, linalool, thymol, carvacrol and viridiflorol. Total phenolics ranged from 68.1 to 102.6 mg/g dry mass, the total flavonoid content ranged from 38.3 to 67.0 mg/g dm, and the antioxidant activity according to the DPPH assay ranged from 253.3 to 342.9 mg TE/g dm and according to the FRAP assay ranged from 8.9 to 11.4 mg TE/g dm. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analyses were used to assess the geographical variations in the essential oil composition. Statistical analysis revealed that the analysed populations are grouped into four main clusters that appear to reflect the environmental impact on the chemical composition, which is influenced by differences in habitat composition, altitude and microclimatic conditions.

Oil product blending optimization system; Sistema de otimizacao de misturas de derivados

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, F.L.P.; Sousa, L.C.F.; Joly, M.; Takahashi, M.T.; Magalhaes, M.V.O.; Mendonca, P.N. [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

The current scenario of the world refining industry demands significant investment in the improvement of its products and production processes quality, either due to a competitive market or strict environmental restrictions, requiring deep changes in the oil companies. In this environment, blending optimization has been receiving increasing attention in both academic and industrial sectors resulting in the development and improvement of tools for decision support and realtime control. The main objective of these tools is to optimize, according to either an economic or an operational criterion, the fuel blending recipe, guaranteeing the product specification with minimum giveaway in the critical properties and avoiding the reblending process. This work presents a blending optimization system of oil products named OTIMIST and instances of its application in PETROBRAS' Recap refinery. (author)

Optimization of Mechanical Expression of Castor Seeds Oil (Ricinus communis using Response Surface Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. O. Olaoye

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The effect of the processing parameters of Castor seed on its oil yield was investigated. The castor seeds were passed through drying, crushing and separation into seeds and shells. These processing conditions were further succeeded by seed roasting and subsequent mechanical expression of the roasted nut by means of screw press in the course of its preparation for oil expression. Seed samples were conditioned by adding calculated amount of distilled water to obtain different moisture levels from the initial moisture content of the seeds. Samples were roasted at the temperatures of 83.18, 90.00, 100.00, 110.00 and 116.82°C, over periods of 6.59, 10.00, 15.00, 20.00 and 23.41min, seed moisture content of 6.32, 7.00, 8.00, 9.00 and 9.68 % wb, respectively and the oil was expressed using a screw roaster-expeller. Optimization of the oil expression process was achieved by applying Central Composite Rotatable Design of Response Surface Methodology. The optimal conditions for oil yield within the experimental range of the studied variables were 7%, 110°C and 20 min; moisture content, roasting temperature and roasting duration respectively. These values of the optimum process conditions were used to predict optimum value of oil yield to be 25.77%. A second-order model was obtained to predict oil yield as a function of moisture content, heating temperature and duration. Thus the result from this research work has established the optimal conditions for mechanical extraction of oil from castor seed. Closed agreement between experimental and predicted yield was obtained.

Influence of oil pollution to the total biological productivity of the Caspian sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salmanov, M.A.

2005-01-01

Full text : As a result of a numerous researches it was defined that among all the species of pollutants polluting water reservoirs, oil and its components has a leading role. In this respect the Caspian Sea is in a special condition, as it exists as an isolated water reservoirs it had a direct relation with oil and oil products earlier than others and more than the rest. For this reason the oil in the Caspian Sea in its turn has become a permanent substrate. The main reservoirs of contamination of environmental medium of the Caspian Sea by oil and oil products are oil industries, oil pipelines, oil processing ventures, oil transportation, oil-gas service and oil drilling. At the same time oil components due to dried lands appear in the sea by river floods that are a heavy showers. Oil is a complex environmental compound of carbohydrogenes and distributed in environmental medium. Its characteristic that no other pollutant as dangerous it hasn't been and cannot be compared with oil according to the range of distribution, amount of pollutant resources and range of pressure to all the compounds of environmental medium. During the involvement of oil in the hydrosphere deep, often inattentive changes of its chemical, physiological and microbiological features and even reconstruction of all the hydrospheric profile take place. Being dynamic and mobile it penetrates toxic metals increasing their emigrational ability, subsides to the bottom and oppresses benthofauna. At the same time oil products in water reservoirs in common negatively influence to the balance of oxygen and position of biocenoses in the surface layers of sea water. In the given information the results of many years and monitoring character of researches about the influence of pollution in the base of total biological productivity of the Caspian Sea are presented (as well as oil pollution). It was defined that in the basins of the North (Makachkala - from Berbash, Bautina, Shevchenko fleet), Middle (Sand

Maintenance optimization for subsea oil pipelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castanier, Bruno; Rausand, Marvin

2006-01-01

In this paper, the classical PF interval model, proposed for reliability centered maintenance, is used to optimize the preventive replacement policy of a subsea oil pipeline. The pipeline is subject to failure modes that may lead to oil release and pollution of the sea. The proposed replacement policy is based on regular condition measurements of the quality of an internal pipeline coating (lining). Holes in the coating will expose the pipe material (steel) to a corrosive environment. It is, therefore, important to identify holes in the coating and take action before the corrosion penetrates the pipe wall. The model proposed in the paper can be used to determine the inspection interval that minimizes the average maintenance cost per time unit. The model formulation is outlined and illustrative examples are solved. The mathematical evaluation of the replacement policy requires numerous assumptions. These assumptions have to be tailored to the specific application. The assumptions and the data provided are included for illustrative purposes to exemplify potential results that may be obtained by using the replacement policy

The Alberta dilemma: optimal sharing of a water resource by an agricultural and an oil sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaudet, G.; Moreaux, M.; Withagen, C.A.A.M.

2006-01-01

We fully characterize the optimal time paths of production and water usage by an agricultural and an oil sector that share a limited water resource. We show that for any given water stock, if the oil stock is sufficiently large, it will become optimal to have a phase during which the agricultural

Optimization of crude oil degradation by Dietzia cinnamea KA1, capable of biosurfactant production.

Science.gov (United States)

Kavynifard, Amirarsalan; Ebrahimipour, Gholamhossein; Ghasempour, Alireza

2016-05-01

The aim of this study was isolation and characterization of a crude oil degrader and biosurfactant-producing bacterium, along with optimization of conditions for crude oil degradation. Among 11 isolates, 5 were able to emulsify crude oil in Minimal Salt Medium (MSM) among which one isolate, named KA1, showed the highest potency for growth rate and biodegradation. The isolate was identified as Dietzia cinnamea KA1 using morphological and biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The optimal conditions were 510 mM NaCl, pH 9.0, 35 °C, and minimal requirement of 46.5 mM NH4 Cl and 2.10 mM NaH2 PO4 . Gravimetric test and Gas chromatography-Mass spectroscopy technique (GC-MS) showed that Dietzia cinnamea KA1 was able to utilize and degrade 95.7% of the crude oil after 5 days, under the optimal conditions. The isolate was able to grow and produce biosurfactant when cultured in MSM supplemented with crude oil, glycerol or whey as the sole carbon sources, but bacterial growth was occurred using molasses with no biosurfactant production. This is the first report of biosurfactant production by D. cinnamea using crude oil, glycerol and whey and the first study to report a species of Dietzia degrading a wide range of hydrocarbons in a short time. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Oil flow rate measurements using 198Au and total count technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, Eduardo R.; Crispim, Verginia R.

2013-01-01

In industrial plants, oil and oil compounds are usually transported by closed pipelines with circular cross-section. The use of radiotracers in oil transport and processing industrial facilities allows calibrating flowmeters, measuring mean residence time in cracking columns, locate points of obstruction or leak in underground ducts, as well as investigating flow behavior or industrial processes such as in distillation towers. Inspection techniques using radiotracers are non-destructive, simple, economic and highly accurate. Among them, Total Count, which uses a small amount of radiotracer with known activity, is acknowledged as an absolute technique for flow rate measurement. A viscous fluid transport system, composed by four PVC pipelines with 13m length (12m horizontal and 1m vertical) and 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 2-inch gauges, respectively, interconnected by maneuvering valves was designed and assembled in order to conduct the research. This system was used to simulate different flow conditions of petroleum compounds and for experimental studies of flow profile in the horizontal and upward directions. As 198 Au presents a single photopeak (411,8 keV), it was the radioisotope chosen for oil labeling, in small amounts (6 ml) or around 200 kBq activity, and it was injected in the oil transport lines. A NaI scintillation detector 2'x 2', with well-defined geometry, was used to measure total activity, determine the calibration factor F and, positioned after a homogenization distance and interconnected to a standardized electronic set of nuclear instrumentation modules (NIM), to detect the radioactive cloud. (author)

Optimal capital accumulation and the allocation of investment between traded and nontraded sectors in oil-producing countries.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Wijnbergen, S.J.G.

1985-01-01

A paper on the optimal capital accumulation and allocation of investment in oil exporting countries. Investigates the basis of consumption and investment levels on optimizing forward-looking behavior, the role of physical capital in the production, the impact of the decline in oil revenues on the

Analysis of multicriteria models application for selection of an optimal artificial lift method in oil production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crnogorac Miroslav P.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the world today for the exploitation of oil reservoirs by artificial lift methods are applied different types of deep pumps (piston, centrifugal, screw, hydraulic, water jet pumps and gas lift (continuous, intermittent and plunger. Maximum values of oil production achieved by these exploitation methods are significantly different. In order to select the optimal exploitation method of oil well, the multicriteria analysis models are used. In this paper is presented an analysis of the multicriteria model's application known as VIKOR, TOPSIS, ELECTRE, AHP and PROMETHEE for selection of optimal exploitation method for typical oil well at Serbian exploration area. Ranking results of applicability of the deep piston pumps, hydraulic pumps, screw pumps, gas lift method and electric submersible centrifugal pumps, indicated that in the all above multicriteria models except in PROMETHEE, the optimal method of exploitation are deep piston pumps and gas lift.

Enzymatic Transesterification of Ethyl Ferulate with Fish Oil and Its Optimization by Response Surface Methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Zhiyong; Glasius, Marianne; Xu, Xuebing

2012-01-01

formation of feruloyl fish oil products as well when appropriate amount of glycerol was present in the reaction. Therefore, the addition of equivalent molar amount of glycerol to EF was decided for the practical optimization of the system. The mutual effects of temperature (40 to 70 oC), reaction time (1......The enzymatic transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF) with cod liver fish oil was investigated with Novozym 435 as catalyst under solvent-free conditions. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the synthesis system for production of feruloyl fish oil in industry. The modified HPLC method...... to 5 days), enzyme load (2 to 20 %) and substrate amount ratio of fish oil/EF (1 to 5) were thus studied with assistance of response surface methodology (RSM) for the purpose of maximizing the formation towards feruloyl fish oil. The models were well fitted and verified. The optimized conditions were...

Multivariate optimization of a synergistic blend of oleoresin sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and ascorbyl palmitate to stabilize sunflower oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyay, Rohit; Mishra, Hari Niwas

2016-04-01

The simultaneous optimization of a synergistic blend of oleoresin sage (SAG) and ascorbyl palmitate (AP) in sunflower oil (SO) was performed using central composite and rotatable design coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) and response surface methodology (RSM). The physicochemical parameters viz., peroxide value, anisidine value, free fatty acids, induction period, total polar matter, antioxidant capacity and conjugated diene value were considered as response variables. PCA reduced the original set of correlated responses to few uncorrelated principal components (PC). The PC1 (eigen value, 5.78; data variance explained, 82.53 %) was selected for optimization using RSM. The quadratic model adequately described the data (R (2) = 0. 91, p  0.05). The contour plot of PC 1 score indicated the optimal synergistic combination of 1289.19 and 218.06 ppm for SAG and AP, respectively. This combination of SAG and AP resulted in shelf life of 320 days at 25 °C estimated using linear shelf life prediction model. In conclusion, the versatility of PCA-RSM approach has resulted in an easy interpretation in multiple response optimizations. This approach can be considered as a useful guide to develop new oil blends stabilized with food additives from natural sources.

Multi-objective optimization of two alkali catalyzed processes for biodiesel from waste cooking oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patle, Dipesh S.; Sharma, Shivom; Ahmad, Z.; Rangaiah, G.P.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Biodiesel processes use waste cooking oil and are close to industrial practice. • Detailed constituents of waste cooking oil and detailed kinetics are used. • Two complete processes are optimized for economic and environmental objectives. • Obtained trade-offs provide deeper understanding and alternative optimal solutions. - Abstract: In view of the finite availability and environmental concerns of fossil fuels, biodiesel is one of the promising fuel alternatives. This study considers waste cooking palm oil with 6% free fatty acids (FFA) as feed-stock, which facilitates its better utilization and promotes sustainability. Two biodiesel production processes (both involving esterification catalyzed by sulfuric acid and trans-esterification catalyzed by sodium hydroxide) are compared for economic and environmental objectives. Firstly, these processes are simulated, considering detailed constituents of palm oil and also detailed kinetics for both esterification and trans-esterification, in Aspen Plus simulator. Subsequently, both the processes are optimized considering profit, heat duty and organic waste as objectives, and using an Excel-based multi-objective optimization (EMOO) program for the elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II). The results show that the profit improves with the increase in heat duty, and that the profit increase is accompanied by larger amount of organic waste. Process 1 having three trans-esterification reactors produces significantly lower organic waste (by 32%), requires lower heat duty (by 39%) and slightly more profitable (by 1.6%) compared to Process 2 having a single trans-esterification reactor and also a different separation sequence. Overall, the obtained quantitative trade-offs between objectives enable better decision making about the process design for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

Optimum oil production planning using infeasibility driven evolutionary algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Hemant Kumar; Ray, Tapabrata; Sarker, Ruhul

2013-01-01

In this paper, we discuss a practical oil production planning optimization problem. For oil wells with insufficient reservoir pressure, gas is usually injected to artificially lift oil, a practice commonly referred to as enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The total gas that can be used for oil extraction is constrained by daily availability limits. The oil extracted from each well is known to be a nonlinear function of the gas injected into the well and varies between wells. The problem is to identify the optimal amount of gas that needs to be injected into each well to maximize the amount of oil extracted subject to the constraint on the total daily gas availability. The problem has long been of practical interest to all major oil exploration companies as it has the potential to derive large financial benefit. In this paper, an infeasibility driven evolutionary algorithm is used to solve a 56 well reservoir problem which demonstrates its efficiency in solving constrained optimization problems. Furthermore, a multi-objective formulation of the problem is posed and solved using a number of algorithms, which eliminates the need for solving the (single objective) problem on a regular basis. Lastly, a modified single objective formulation of the problem is also proposed, which aims to maximize the profit instead of the quantity of oil. It is shown that even with a lesser amount of oil extracted, more economic benefits can be achieved through the modified formulation.

Optimization of Malaxation Process using Major Aroma Compounds in Virgin Olive Oil

OpenAIRE

Cevik,Serife; Ozkan,Gulcan; Kıralan,Mustafa

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Optimization of major aroma compounds in olive oils produced from fruits at three maturity stages wasstudied. A central composite design was used for the optimization of malaxation conditions of temperature and times, each at five levels with 13 runs including five central points. The responses of interest were trans-2-hexenal and hexanal, which were investigated and their contents were optimized. A full quadratic second order regression model including the linear, quadratic, and two...

Response Surface Optimized Extraction of Total Triterpene Acids ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To optimize extraction of total triterpene acids from loquat leaf and evaluate their in vitro antioxidant activities. Methods: The independent variables were ethanol concentration, extraction time, and solvent ratio, while the dependent variable was content of total triterpene acids. Composite design and response ...

Approaches of Russian oil companies to optimal capital structure

Science.gov (United States)

Ishuk, T.; Ulyanova, O.; Savchitz, V.

2015-11-01

Oil companies play a vital role in Russian economy. Demand for hydrocarbon products will be increasing for the nearest decades simultaneously with the population growth and social needs. Change of raw-material orientation of Russian economy and the transition to the innovative way of the development do not exclude the development of oil industry in future. Moreover, society believes that this sector must bring the Russian economy on to the road of innovative development due to neo-industrialization. To achieve this, the government power as well as capital management of companies are required. To make their optimal capital structure, it is necessary to minimize the capital cost, decrease definite risks under existing limits, and maximize profitability. The capital structure analysis of Russian and foreign oil companies shows different approaches, reasons, as well as conditions and, consequently, equity capital and debt capital relationship and their cost, which demands the effective capital management strategy.

Profit and Risk Measures in Oil Production Optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capolei, Andrea; Foss, Bjarne; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

2015-01-01

In oil production optimization, we usually aim to maximize a deterministic scalar performance index such as the profit over the expected reservoir lifespan. However, when uncertainty in the parameters is considered, the profit results in a random variable that can assume a range of values dependi...... pro and cons for each of them. Finally, among the presented risk measures, we identify two of them as appropriate risk measures when minimizing the risk....

Production Optimization for Two-Phase Flow in an Oil Reservoir

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Völcker, Carsten; Jørgensen, John Bagterp; Thomsen, Per Grove

2012-01-01

framework to increase the production and economic value of an oil reservoir. Wether the objective is to maximize recovery or some financial measure like Net Present Value, the increased production is achieved by manipulation of the well rates and bottom-hole pressures of the injection and production wells....... The optimal water injection rates and production well bottom-hole pressures are computed by solution of a large-scale constrained optimal control problem. The objective is to maximize production by manipulating the well rates and bottom hole pressures of injection and production wells. Optimal control...... settings of injection and production wells are computed by solution of a large scale constrained optimal control problem. We describe a gradient based method to compute the optimal control strategy of the water flooding process. An explicit singly diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta (ESDIRK) method...

Optimization of Supercritical CO2 Extraction of Fish Oil from Viscera of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

Science.gov (United States)

Sarker, Mohamed Zaidul Islam; Selamat, Jinap; Habib, Abu Sayem Md. Ahsan; Ferdosh, Sahena; Akanda, Mohamed Jahurul Haque; Jaffri, Juliana Mohamed

2012-01-01

Fish oil was extracted from the viscera of African Catfish using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). A Central Composite Design of Response Surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the SC-CO2 extraction parameters. The oil yield (Y) as response variable was executed against the four independent variables, namely pressure, temperature, flow rate and soaking time. The oil yield varied with the linear, quadratic and interaction of pressure, temperature, flow rate and soaking time. Optimum points were observed within the variables of temperature from 35 °C to 80 °C, pressure from 10 MPa to 40 MPa, flow rate from 1 mL/min to 3 mL/min and soaking time from 1 h to 4 h. However, the extraction parameters were found to be optimized at temperature 57.5 °C, pressure 40 MPa, flow rate 2.0 mL/min and soaking time 2.5 h. At this optimized condition, the highest oil yields were found to be 67.0% (g oil/100 g sample on dry basis) in the viscera of catfish which was reasonable to the yields of 78.0% extracted using the Soxhlet method. PMID:23109854

Optimization of Supercritical CO2 Extraction of Fish Oil from Viscera of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Zaidul Islam Sarker

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Fish oil was extracted from the viscera of African Catfish using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2. A Central Composite Design of Response Surface methodology (RSM was employed to optimize the SC-CO2 extraction parameters. The oil yield (Y as response variable was executed against the four independent variables, namely pressure, temperature, flow rate and soaking time. The oil yield varied with the linear, quadratic and interaction of pressure, temperature, flow rate and soaking time. Optimum points were observed within the variables of temperature from 35 °C to 80 °C, pressure from 10 MPa to 40 MPa, flow rate from 1 mL/min to 3 mL/min and soaking time from 1 h to 4 h. However, the extraction parameters were found to be optimized at temperature 57.5 °C, pressure 40 MPa, flow rate 2.0 mL/min and soaking time 2.5 h. At this optimized condition, the highest oil yields were found to be 67.0% (g oil/100 g sample on dry basis in the viscera of catfish which was reasonable to the yields of 78.0% extracted using the Soxhlet method.

The relationship between total phenol concentration and the perceived style of extra virgin olive oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The degree of bitterness and pungency of a virgin olive oil largely defines its style, and therefore how it is most appropriately used by consumers. In order to assess how Australian olive oil producers interpret the style of their oils, 920 Australian virgin olive oils were classified by their producers as either being mild, medium or robust in style. Although in general, the classifications by producers were associated with the oils’ total phenol concentration, significant variability in phenol concentration within each style category was observed. The perceived styles of a subset of these oils were further assessed by panels of expert tasters. The expert panels were more discriminating when assigning oils to style categories based on total phenol levels. The producers and the expert panels were in moderate agreement with respect to oil style, with the interpretation of what constitutes a mild oil being the most contentious.

El grado de amargor y picante de un aceite de oliva define en gran manera su tipo, y, por tanto, también su uso más apropiado por el consumidor. Para evaluar cómo los productores australianos de aceite de oliva interpretan el tipo de sus aceites, 920 aceites de oliva virgen australianos fueron clasificados por sus productores en tipo suave, medio o fuerte. Aunque, en general, la clasificación de los productores estuvo asociada a la concentración de fenoles totales de los aceites, se observó una variabilidad significativa en la concentración de fenoles en cada tipo de aceite. Los tipos percibidos en un subgrupo de estos aceites fueron además evaluados por paneles de catadores expertos. Los paneles de expertos fueron más discriminantes cuando asignaron los aceites a los diversos tipos basándose en el nivel de fenoles totales. Los productores y los paneles de expertos estuvieron en relativamente de acuerdo con respecto al tipo de aceite, si bien la interpretación de qué es un aceite suave fue la m

OPEC's optimal crude oil price

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horn, Manfred

2004-01-01

OPEC decided to stabilise oil prices within a range of 22-28 US Dollar/barrel of crude oil. Such an oil-price-level is far beyond the short and long run marginal costs of oil production, beyond even that in regions with particularly high costs. Nevertheless, OPEC may achieve its goal if world demand for oil increases substantially in the future and oil resources outside the OPEC are not big enough to accordingly increase production. In this case OPEC, which controls about 78% of world oil reserves, has to supply a large share of that demand increase. If we assume OPEC will behave as a partial monopolist on the oil market, which takes into consideration the reaction of the other producers to its own sales strategy, it can reach its price target. Lower prices before 2020 are probable only if the OPEC cartel breaks up. Higher prices are possible if production outside OPEC is inelastic as assumed by some geologists, but they would probably stimulate the production of unconventional oil based on oil sand or coal. Crude oil prices above 30 US Dollar/barrel are therefore probably not sustainable for a long period. (Author)

Optimization of Alkali Catalyzed Transesterification of Safflower Oil for Production of Biodiesel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. C. Math

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The Central Composite Design is used for the optimization of alkaline catalyzed transesterification parameters such as methanol quantity, catalytic concentration, and rotational speed by keeping the temperature and reaction time constant. The Central Composite Design method is employed to get the maximum safflower oil methyl ester yield. The combined effects of catalyst concentration, rotational speed, and molar ratio of alcohol to oil were investigated and optimized using response surface methodology. A statistical model has predicted the maximum yield of safflower oil methyl ester (94.69% volume of oil parameters such as catalyst concentration (0.6 grams, methanol amount (30 mL, rotational speed (600 rpm, and keeping constant reaction temperature (55°C to 65°C and reaction time (60 minutes. Experimental maximum yield of 91.66% was obtained at above parameters. XLSTAT is used to generate a linear model to predict the methyl ester yield as a function of methanol quantity, catalyst concentration, and rotational speed by keeping constant reaction temperature (55°C to 65°C and reaction time (60 minutes. MINITAB is used to draw the 3D response surface plot and 2D contour plot to predict the maximum biodiesel yield.

SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OPERATION IN A HEAVY OIL RESERVOIR IN SOUTHERN IRAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

REZA MASOOMI

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Extraction of oil from some Iranian reservoirs due to high viscosity of their oil or reducing the formation permeability due to asphaltene precipitation or other problems is not satisfactory. Hydraulic fracturing method increases production in the viscous oil reservoirs that the production rate is low. So this is very important for some Iranian reservoirs that contain these characteristics. In this study, hydraulic fracturing method has been compositionally simulated in a heavy oil reservoir in southern Iran. In this study, the parameters of the fracture half length, the propagation direction of the cracks and the depth of fracturing have been considered in this oil reservoir. The aim of this study is to find the best scenario which has the highest recovery factor in this oil reservoir. For this purpose the parameters of the length, propagation direction and depth of fracturing have been optimized in this reservoir. Through this study the cumulative oil production has been evaluated with the compositional simulation for the next 10 years in this reservoir. Also at the end of this paper, increasing the final production of this oil reservoir caused by optimized hydraulic fracturing has been evaluated.

A comparative study on the effect of unsaturation degree of camelina and canola oils on the optimization of bio-diesel production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Yang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Transesterification is the most common method of producing biodiesel from vegetable oils. A comparative study on the optimization of reaction variables for refined canola oil, unrefined canola oil, and unrefined camelina oil using a four-factor (temperature, time, molar ratio of methanol to oil, and catalyst loading face-centered central composite design (FCCCD was carried out. The optimum settings of these four factors that jointly maximize product, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME and biodiesel yields for each of refined canola, unrefined canola and unrefined camelina were determined. Results showed that the optimized conditions were associated with the fatty acid profile and physical properties of the parent oils. The optimum temperature of vegetable oil with low polyunsaturation degree was higher than that of oils with high polyunsaturation degree. High free fatty acid content in parent oils led to low optimized catalyst concentration, and the decreased reaction rate could be compensated by increased reaction temperature due to significant interaction effect between reaction temperature and catalyst loading in the transesterification process. The highest biodiesel yields from the optimum setting for refined canola oil, unrefined canola oil, and unrefined camelina oil were 97.7%, 95.2%, and 95.6%, respectively. This study provided guidelines on how to optimize different reaction variables taking economic viability and feedstock availability into consideration when producing biodiesel at plant scale.

RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY FOR OPTIMIZATION OF THE EXTRACTION OF FLAX (LINUM USITATISSIMUM SEED OIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tibor Maliar

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Flax seed is an important source of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids essential for human physiology. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of major parameters of the lipid extraction from flax seed, in relation to the recovery of oil as well as the oil quality properties. The independent variables of extraction were proposed as: organic solvents, temperature, extraction time and solid-liquid ratio. The following quantitative and qualitative parameters were chosen as dependent variables: yield of the lipid fraction, acid value of oil and the absorbance at 490 nm. After calculating the optimal values of the extraction, the validation analysis was carried out and it was found out that the predicted and experimentally verified dependent variables were in agreement with the optimal extraction parameters.doi:10.5219/168

Optimal contant time injection policy for enhanced oil recovery and characterization of optimal viscous profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Daripa, Prabir

2011-11-01

We numerically investigate the optimal viscous profile in constant time injection policy of enhanced oil recovery. In particular, we investigate the effect of a combination of interfacial and layer instabilities in three-layer porous media flow on the overall growth of instabilities and thereby characterize the optimal viscous profile. Results based on monotonic and non-monotonic viscous profiles will be presented. Time permitting. we will also present results on multi-layer porous media flows for Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids and compare the results. The support of Qatar National Fund under a QNRF Grant is acknowledged.

Optimization of ultrasonic-assisted extraction of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) seed oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yuting; Xu, Zhenbo; Zheng, Baodong; Martin Lo, Y

2013-01-01

The effectiveness of ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) of pomegranate seed oil (PSO) was evaluated using a variety of solvents. Petroleum ether was the most effective for oil extraction, followed by n-hexane, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, acetone, and isopropanol. Several variables, such as ultrasonic power, extraction temperature, extraction time, and the ratio of solvent volume and seed weight (S/S ratio) were studied for optimization using response surface methodology (RSM). The highest oil yield, 25.11% (w/w), was obtained using petroleum ether under optimal conditions for ultrasonic power, extraction temperature, extraction time, and S/S ratio at 140 W, 40 °C, 36 min, and 10 ml/g, respectively. The PSO yield extracted by UAE was significantly higher than by using Soxhlet extraction (SE; 20.50%) and supercriti cal fluid extraction (SFE; 15.72%). The fatty acid compositions were significantly different among the PSO extracted by Soxhlet extraction, SFE, and UAE, with punicic acid (>65%) being the most dominant using UAE. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimizing the Long-Term Capacity Expansion and Protection of Iraqi Oil Infrastructure

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Brown, Patrick S

2005-01-01

This thesis introduces a tri-level defender-attacker-defender optimization model that prescribes how Iraq's oil infrastructure can, over time, be expanded, protected, and operated, even in the face of insurgent attacks...

Cleaning the Produced Water in Offshore Oil Production by Using Plant-wide Optimal Control Strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2014-01-01

To clean the produced water is always a challenging critical issue in the offshore oil & gas industry. By employing the plant-wide control technology, this paper discussed the opportunity to optimize the most popular hydrocyclone-based Produced Water Treatment (PWT) system. The optimizations of t...... of this research is to promote a technical breakthrough in the PWT control design, which can lead to the best environmental protection in the oil & gas production, without sacrificing the production capability and production costs....

Optimization of antifungal activity of Aeollanthus heliotropioides oliv essential oil and Time Kill Kinetic Assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo Mback, M N L; Agnaniet, H; Nguimatsia, F; Jazet Dongmo, P-M; Hzounda Fokou, J-B; Bakarnga-Via, I; Fekam Boyom, F; Menut, C

2016-09-01

The limitations encountered in the management of fungal infections are due to the resistance, high toxicity, and overuse of conventional antifungal drugs. For bringing solutions, the antifungal activity of Aeollanthus heliotropioides essential oil will be evaluated and optimized. The aerial parts of A. heliotropioides were harvested and essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation. The chemical composition was determined using gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. The sensitivity of fungal strains was determined using broth microdilution method. The fungicidal parameters were checked by viability assay using methylene blue dye. The Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index was determined according the two-dimensional checkboard methods. The efficiency of the simulated optimum concentrations confirmed experimentally on American type culture collection strains, through the Time Kill Kinetic Study. The yield of extraction of essential oil was 0.1%. The major compounds were linalool (38.5%), Z-α-farnesene (25.1%), 9-hexa-decen-1-ol (13.9%) saturated/unsaturated massoia and γ-lactones (4.5%). The MIC of extract on yeast isolates ranged from 0.6mg/mL to 5mg/mL. The combination of essential oil with thymol leads mainly to synergistic effects (0.5≤FICI). The optimums of essential oil (1.6±0.4μl/mL) and thymol (0.6±0.1mg/mL) revealed a total inhibition of yeast after 120 and 180minutes according to the yeasts strains used. This study highlights the in vitro antifungal activity of A. heliotropioides essential oil and it synergistic effect with thymol. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The influence of optimism on functionality after total hip replacement surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Balck, Friedrich; Lippmann, Maike; Jeszenszky, Csilla; Günther, Klaus-Peter; Kirschner, Stephan

2016-08-01

Among other factors, optimism has been shown to significantly influence the course of some diseases (cancer, HIV, coronary heart disease). This study investigated whether optimism of a patient before a total hip replacement can predict the functionality of the lower limbs 3 and 6 months after surgery. A total of 325 patients took part in the study (age: 58.7 years; w: 55%). The functionality was measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities arthrosis index, and optimism with the Life Orientation Test. To analyse the influences of age, gender and optimism, general linear models were calculated. In optimistic patients, functionality improved significantly over time. The study showed a clear influence of dispositional optimism on the recovery after total hip replacement in the first 3 months after surgery. © The Author(s) 2015.

Optimization of physicochemical and textural properties of pizza cheese fortified with soybean oil and carrot extract.

Science.gov (United States)

Motevalizadeh, Ehsan; Mortazavi, Seyed Ali; Milani, Elnaz; Hooshmand-Dalir, Moosa Al-Reza

2018-03-01

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize pizza cheese containing carrot extract. The effects of two important independent variables including soybean oil (5%-20%) and carrot extract (5%-20%) were studied on physicochemical and textural properties of pizza cheese containing carrot extract. According to the results, RSM was successfully used for optimizing formulation of pizza cheese containing carrot juice. Results of this study revealed that oil (A), carrot (B), AB, square term of carrot (B 2 ), B, AB, square term of oil (A 2 ), B 2 , AB, AB, A 2 B, A 2 , A 2 , A, A 2 , A 2 , AB, and AB 2 had the most effect on moisture, acidity, stretch, L*, a*, b*, hardness, meltability, springiness, peroxide value (PV), cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess, fracture force, adhesiveness force, stiffness, flavor, and overall acceptability, respectively. A formulation upon 20% oil and 10.88% carrot extract was found as the optimal formulation for pizza cheese containing carrot extract. At the optimal formulation, PV, L*, a*, b*, meltability, stretch, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness, adhesive force, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability at the optimum formulation were measured 2.23, 82.51, -3.69, 18.05, 17.86, 85.61, 0.41, 7.874, 23.7, 0.27, 0.61, 3.50, 3.95, and 3.65, respectively.

Determining optimal preventive maintenance interval for component of Well Barrier Element in an Oil & Gas Company

Science.gov (United States)

Siswanto, A.; Kurniati, N.

2018-04-01

An oil and gas company has 2,268 oil and gas wells. Well Barrier Element (WBE) is installed in a well to protect human, prevent asset damage and minimize harm to the environment. The primary WBE component is Surface Controlled Subsurface Safety Valve (SCSSV). The secondary WBE component is Christmas Tree Valves that consist of four valves i.e. Lower Master Valve (LMV), Upper Master Valve (UMV), Swab Valve (SV) and Wing Valve (WV). Current practice on WBE Preventive Maintenance (PM) program is conducted by considering the suggested schedule as stated on manual. Corrective Maintenance (CM) program is conducted when the component fails unexpectedly. Both PM and CM need cost and may cause production loss. This paper attempts to analyze the failure data and reliability based on historical data. Optimal PM interval is determined in order to minimize the total cost of maintenance per unit time. The optimal PM interval for SCSSV is 730 days, LMV is 985 days, UMV is 910 days, SV is 900 days and WV is 780 days. In average of all components, the cost reduction by implementing the suggested interval is 52%, while the reliability is improved by 4% and the availability is increased by 5%.

Optimization of the isolation and quantitation of kahweol and cafestol in green coffee oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Chartier, Agnes; Beaumesnil, Mathieu; de Oliveira, Alessandra Lopes; Elfakir, Claire; Bostyn, Stephane

2013-12-15

Kahweol and cafestol are two diterpenes that exist mainly as esters of fatty acids in green coffee oil. To recover them under their free form they have to be either saponified or trans-esterified. These two compounds are well known to be sensitive to heat, and reagents, therefore experimental conditions used in the transesterification reaction are critical. In this paper, a Doehlert experimental design plan is used to optimize the transesterification conditions using some key variables such as the temperature of the reaction, the reagent base concentration and the duration of the reaction. Therefore, the optimal parameters determined from the Doehlert design are equal to 70 °C, temperature of the reaction; 1.25 mol L(-1) concentration of the reagent base; and 60 min reaction time. The contour plots show that the extracted quantity of kahweol and cafestol can depend greatly from the experimental conditions. After transesterification, the free form of the diterpernes is extracted from the lipid fraction using liquid-liquid extraction and analyzed using GC-FID without prior derivatization. The amount of kahweol and cafestol obtained from green coffee oil obtained by cold mechanical press of Catuai coffee bean is equal to 33.2±2.2 and 24.3±2.4 g kg(-1)oil, respectively. In an attempt to streamline the process, the transesterification reaction is performed in an in-flow chemistry reactor using the optimal conditions obtained with the Doehlert experimental design. The amount of kahweol and cafestol obtained from the same green coffee oil is equal to 43.5 and 30.072 g kg(-1)oil, respectively. Results are slightly higher compared to the ones obtained with the batch procedure. This can be explained by a better mixing of the coffee oil with the reagents and a faster transesterification reaction. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of oil consumption in cylinder of diesel engine for optimization of piston rings

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Junhong; Zhang, Guichang; He, Zhenpeng; Lin, Jiewei; Liu, Hai

2013-01-01

The performance and particulate emission of a diesel engine are affected by the consumption of lubricating oil. Most studies on oil consumption mechanism of the cylinder have been done by using the experimental method, however they are very costly. Therefore, it is very necessary to study oil consumption mechanism of the cylinder and obtain the accurate results by the calculation method. Firstly, four main modes of lubricating oil consumption in cylinder are analyzed and then the oil consumption rate under common working conditions are calculated for the four modes based on an engine. Then, the factors that affect the lubricating oil consumption such as working conditions, the second ring closed gap, the elastic force of the piston rings are also investigated for the four modes. The calculation results show that most of the lubricating oil is consumed by evaporation on the liner surface. Besides, there are three other findings: (1) The oil evaporation from the liner is determined by the working condition of an engine; (2) The increase of the ring closed gap reduces the oil blow through the top ring end gap but increases blow-by; (3) With the increase of the elastic force of the ring, both the left oil film thickness and the oil throw-off at the top ring decrease. The oil scraping of the piston top edge is consequently reduced while the friction loss between the rings and the liner increases. A neural network prediction model of the lubricating oil consumption in cylinder is established based on the BP neural network theory, and then the model is trained and validated. The main piston rings parameters which affect the oil consumption are optimized by using the BP neural network prediction model and the prediction accuracy of this BP neural network is within 8%, which is acceptable for normal engineering applications. The oil consumption is also measured experimentally. The relative errors of the calculated and experimental values are less than 10%, verifying the

The optimal patch test concentration for ascaridole as a sensitizing component of tea tree oil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Christoffers, Wietske Andrea; Bloemeke, Brunhilde; Coenraads, Pieter-Jan; Schuttelaar, Marie-Louise Anna

BACKGROUND: Tea tree oil is used as a natural remedy, but is also a popular ingredient in household and cosmetic products. Oxidation of tea tree oil results in degradation products, such as ascaridole, which may cause allergic contact dermatitis. OBJECTIVES: To identify the optimal patch test

Effects of bonny light crude oil on anti-oxidative enzymes and total ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effects of bonny light crude oil on anti-oxidative enzymes and total proteins in Wistar rats. Christian E Odo, Okwesili FC Nwodo, Parker E Joshua, Chibuike S Ubani, Okon E Etim, Okechukwu PC Ugwu ...

Optimizing Geothermal Drilling: Oil and Gas Technology Transfer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tilley, Mitch; Eustes, Alfred; Visser, Charles; Baker, Walt; Bolton, Dan; Bell, Jason; Nagandran, Uneshddarann; Quick, Ralph

2015-01-26

There is a significant amount of financial risk associated with geothermal drilling; however, there are opportunities to improve upon current practices and technologies used. The scope of this drilling operational study included 21 geothermal wells and 21 oil and gas wells. The goal was to determine a 'perfect well' using historical data to compare the best oil and gas well to the best geothermal well. Unfortunately, limitations encountered in the study included missing data (bit records, mud information, etc.), poor data collection, and difficult to ascertain handwriting. An online software database was used to format drilling data to IADC coded daily drilling reports and generate analysis figures. Six major issues have been found in geothermal drilling operations. These problems include lost circulation, rig/equipment selection, cementing, penetration rate, drilling program, and time management. As a result of these issues, geothermal drilling averages 56.4 days longer than drilling comparable oil and gas wells in the wells in this study. Roughly $13.9 million would be lost due to non-productive time in the 21 geothermal wells and only $1.3 million in the oil and gas wells, assuming a cost of $50,000 per day. Comparable events such as drilling the same sized hole, tripping in/out, cementing, and running the same size casing took substantially less time in the oil and gas wells. Geothermal wells were drilled using older and/or less advanced technology to depths less than 10,000 feet, while oil and gas wells reached 12,500 feet faster with purpose built rigs. A new approach is now underway that will optimize drilling programs throughout the drilling industry. It is the use of Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) as a tool to realize efficient drilling processes. However, a work-flow must also be established in order for there to be an efficient drilling program. Potential improvements for current geothermal operations are: the use of electronic records, real

Optimizing Geothermal Drilling: Oil and Gas Technology Transfer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denninger, Kate; Eustes, Alfred; Visser, Charles; Baker, Walt; Bolton, Dan; Bell, Jason; Bell, Sean; Jacobs, Amelia; Nagandran, Uneshddarann; Tilley, Mitch; Quick, Ralph

2015-09-02

There is a significant amount of financial risk associated with geothermal drilling. This study of drilling operations seeks opportunities to improve upon current practices and technologies. The scope of this study included analyzing 21 geothermal wells and 21 oil and gas wells. The goal was to determine a 'Perfect Well' using historical data to compare the best oil and gas well to the best geothermal well. Unfortunately, limitations encountered in the study included missing data (bit records, mud information, etc.) and poor data collection practices An online software database was used to format drilling data to IADC coded daily drilling reports and generate figures for analysis. Six major issues have been found in geothermal drilling operations. These problems include lost circulation, rig/ equipment selection, cementing, penetration rate, drilling program, and time management. As a result of these issues, geothermal drilling averaged 56.4 days longer than drilling comparable oil and gas wells in the wells in this study. Roughly $13.9 million was spent on non-productive time in the 21 geothermal wells, compared with only $1.3 million in the oil and gas wells, assuming a cost of $50,000 per day. Comparable events such as drilling the same sized hole, tripping in/out, cementing, and running the same size casing took substantially less time in the oil and gas wells. Geothermal wells were drilled using older and/or less advanced technology to depths less than 10,000 feet, while oil and gas wells reached 12,500 feet faster with purpose built rigs. A new approach is now underway that will optimize drilling programs throughout the drilling industry using Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) as a tool to realize efficient drilling processes. Potential improvements for current geothermal operations are: the use of electronic records, real time services, and official glossary terms to describe rig operations, and advanced drilling rigs/technology.

Production Optimization of Oil Reservoirs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Völcker, Carsten

with emphasis on optimal control of water ooding with the use of smartwell technology. We have implemented immiscible ow of water and oil in isothermal reservoirs with isotropic heterogenous permeability elds. We use the method of lines for solution of the partial differential equation (PDE) system that governs...... the uid ow. We discretize the the two-phase ow model spatially using the nite volume method (FVM), and we use the two point ux approximation (TPFA) and the single-point upstream (SPU) scheme for computing the uxes. We propose a new formulation of the differential equation system that arise...... as a consequence of the spatial discretization of the two-phase ow model. Upon discretization in time, the proposed equation system ensures the mass conserving property of the two-phase ow model. For the solution of the spatially discretized two-phase ow model, we develop mass conserving explicit singly diagonally...

Optimization of the recycle used oil and its fuel quality characterization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eyitayo A. AFOLABI

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The optimization of recycling of used engine oil with clay sample has been studied using Response Surface Methodology. Acid concentration, activation temperature and time were the independent variables considered in optimizing the recycling of used oil and six responses evaluated. The surface characterization of the clay samples was performed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR spectra and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET analyses. The relationship between independent variables and response was described by a second order polynomial equation. Statistical testing of the model was performed with F-test to obtain the correlation between the experimental data and predicted results for all responses. The adequacy of the model equations were evaluated by the Adjusted and Predicted R2 coefficients observed to be close to each other for all the six responses. Data obtained from recycling used oil using clay sample showed the optimum condition as; activation temperature of 106.80oC, acid concentration of 3M and activation time of 180 minutes. A yield of 66.28% was obtained at optimum condition and characterized fuel qualities found close to fresh oil used as standard in this work. The surface area and adsorption capacity of raw clay and activated clay samples was observed to have increase from 19.8m2/g to 437.83m2/g and 1.41 mg/g to 8.64 mg/g respectively. This difference adequately described the improvement of the adsorption phenomena of the activated clay over raw clay samples.

Application of PSO (particle swarm optimization) and GA (genetic algorithm) techniques on demand estimation of oil in Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assareh, E.; Behrang, M.A.; Assari, M.R.; Ghanbarzadeh, A.

2010-01-01

This paper presents application of PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) and GA (Genetic Algorithm) techniques to estimate oil demand in Iran, based on socio-economic indicators. The models are developed in two forms (exponential and linear) and applied to forecast oil demand in Iran. PSO-DEM and GA-DEM (PSO and GA demand estimation models) are developed to estimate the future oil demand values based on population, GDP (gross domestic product), import and export data. Oil consumption in Iran from 1981 to 2005 is considered as the case of this study. The available data is partly used for finding the optimal, or near optimal values of the weighting parameters (1981-1999) and partly for testing the models (2000-2005). For the best results of GA, the average relative errors on testing data were 2.83% and 1.72% for GA-DEM exponential and GA-DEM linear , respectively. The corresponding values for PSO were 1.40% and 1.36% for PSO-DEM exponential and PSO-DEM linear , respectively. Oil demand in Iran is forecasted up to year 2030. (author)

Optimizing headspace sampling temperature and time for analysis of volatile oxidation products in fish oil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rørbæk, Karen; Jensen, Benny

1997-01-01

Headspace-gas chromatography (HS-GC), based on adsorption to Tenax GR(R), thermal desorption and GC, has been used for analysis of volatiles in fish oil. To optimize sam sampling conditions, the effect of heating the fish oil at various temperatures and times was evaluated from anisidine values (AV...

Application of response surface methodology for optimizing transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil: Biodiesel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rashid, Umer; Anwar, Farooq; Ashraf, Muhammad; Saleem, Muhammad; Yusup, Suzana

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Biodiesel production from Moringa oil (MO) has been optimized for the first time using RSM. → RSM-optimized reaction conditions gave a high Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs) yield (94.3%). → Fuel properties of MOMEs yielded satisfied the ASTM D 6751 and EU 14214 specifications. → Present RSM-model can be useful for predicting optimum biodiesel yield from other oils. - Abstract: Response surface methodology (RSM), with central composite rotatable design (CCRD), was used to explore optimum conditions for the transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil. Effects of four variables, reaction temperature (25-65 deg. C), reaction time (20-90 min), methanol/oil molar ratio (3:1-12:1) and catalyst concentration (0.25-1.25 wt.% KOH) were appraised. The quadratic term of methanol/oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time while the interaction terms of methanol/oil molar ratio with reaction temperature and catalyst concentration, reaction time with catalyst concentration exhibited significant effects on the yield of Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs)/biodiesel, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05, respectively. Transesterification under the optimum conditions ascertained presently by RSM: 6.4:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 0.80% catalyst concentration, 55 deg. C reaction temperature and 71.08 min reaction time offered 94.30% MOMEs yield. The observed and predicted values of MOMEs yield showed a linear relationship. GLC analysis of MOMEs revealed oleic acid methyl ester, with contribution of 73.22%, as the principal component. Other methyl esters detected were of palmitic, stearic, behenic and arachidic acids. Thermal stability of MOMEs produced was evaluated by thermogravimetric curve. The fuel properties such as density, kinematic viscosity, lubricity, oxidative stability, higher heating value, cetane number and cloud point etc., of MOMEs were found to be within the ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 biodiesel standards.

Application of response surface methodology for optimizing transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil: Biodiesel production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rashid, Umer, E-mail: umer.rashid@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040 (Pakistan); Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 31750, Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia); Anwar, Farooq, E-mail: fqanwar@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040 (Pakistan); Ashraf, Muhammad, E-mail: ashrafbot@yahoo.com [Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040 (Pakistan); Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Saleem, Muhammad [Department of Statistics, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000 (Pakistan); Yusup, Suzana, E-mail: drsuzana_yusuf@petronas.com.my [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 31750, Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

2011-08-15

Highlights: {yields} Biodiesel production from Moringa oil (MO) has been optimized for the first time using RSM. {yields} RSM-optimized reaction conditions gave a high Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs) yield (94.3%). {yields} Fuel properties of MOMEs yielded satisfied the ASTM D 6751 and EU 14214 specifications. {yields} Present RSM-model can be useful for predicting optimum biodiesel yield from other oils. - Abstract: Response surface methodology (RSM), with central composite rotatable design (CCRD), was used to explore optimum conditions for the transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil. Effects of four variables, reaction temperature (25-65 deg. C), reaction time (20-90 min), methanol/oil molar ratio (3:1-12:1) and catalyst concentration (0.25-1.25 wt.% KOH) were appraised. The quadratic term of methanol/oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time while the interaction terms of methanol/oil molar ratio with reaction temperature and catalyst concentration, reaction time with catalyst concentration exhibited significant effects on the yield of Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs)/biodiesel, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05, respectively. Transesterification under the optimum conditions ascertained presently by RSM: 6.4:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 0.80% catalyst concentration, 55 deg. C reaction temperature and 71.08 min reaction time offered 94.30% MOMEs yield. The observed and predicted values of MOMEs yield showed a linear relationship. GLC analysis of MOMEs revealed oleic acid methyl ester, with contribution of 73.22%, as the principal component. Other methyl esters detected were of palmitic, stearic, behenic and arachidic acids. Thermal stability of MOMEs produced was evaluated by thermogravimetric curve. The fuel properties such as density, kinematic viscosity, lubricity, oxidative stability, higher heating value, cetane number and cloud point etc., of MOMEs were found to be within the ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 biodiesel standards.

Optimal gasoline tax in developing, oil-producing countries: The case of Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antón-Sarabia, Arturo; Hernández-Trillo, Fausto

2014-01-01

This paper uses the methodology of Parry and Small (2005) to estimate the optimal gasoline tax for a less-developed oil-producing country. The relevance of the estimation relies on the differences between less-developed countries (LDCs) and industrial countries. We argue that lawless roads, general subsidies on gasoline, poor mass transportation systems, older vehicle fleets and unregulated city growth make the tax rates in LDCs differ substantially from the rates in the developed world. We find that the optimal gasoline tax is $1.90 per gallon at 2011 prices and show that the estimate differences are in line with the factors hypothesized. In contrast to the existing literature on industrial countries, we show that the relative gasoline tax incidence may be progressive in Mexico and, more generally, in LDCs. - Highlights: • We estimate the optimal gasoline tax for a typical less-developed, oil-producing country like Mexico. • The relevance of the estimation relies on the differences between less-developed and industrial countries. • The optimal gasoline tax is $1.90 per gallon at 2011 prices. • Distance-related pollution damages, accident costs and gas subsidies account for the major differences. • Gasoline tax incidence may be progressive in less developed countries

SAGD production optimization : combination of ESP and multiphase metering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinguet, B.G.; Guerra, E.; Drever, C. [Schlumberger Canada Ltd., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2008-07-01

Many commercial oil reservoirs in Canada are completed using electric submersible pumps (ESP) due to low reservoir pressures and extra heavy oils and bitumens. This paper presented details of an optimization process for steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) wells. The process used ESP and a multiphase flow meter (MFM) based on Vx technology. The MFM was based on a Venturi and nuclear fraction meter combination that was engineered to measure the steam phases during SAGD processes. The technology was designed to measure total mass or total volumetric flow rates as well as oil, water and gas in producing wells. Length fractions of oil, water, and gas were calculated based on the attenuation of Gamma-rays as they passed through the Venturi section. Production was optimized in real time using the frequency control of the pump to improve oil flow rates. The results of field tests showed that the optimization process resulted in longer life cycles for the ESP. It was concluded that use of the meter results in changes to lift system operating parameters at the well site as well as improved monitoring during the workflow process. 3 refs., 1 tab., 11 figs.

Optimization and characterization studies on bio-oil production from palm shell by pyrolysis using response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abnisa, Faisal; Wan Daud, W.M.A.; Sahu, J.N.

2011-01-01

In this work palm shell waste was pyrolyzed to produces bio-oil. The effects of several parameters on the pyrolysis efficiency were tested to identify the optimal bio-oil production conditions. The tested parameters include temperature, N 2 flow rate, feed-stock particle size, and reaction time. The experiments were conducted using a fix-bed reactor. The efficient response surface methodology (RSM), with a central composite design (CCD), were used for modeling and optimization the process parameters. The results showed that the second-order polynomial equation explains adequately the non-linear nature of the modeled response. An R 2 value of 0.9337 indicates a sufficient adjustment of the model with the experimental data. The optimal conditions found to be at the temperature of 500 o C, N 2 flow rate of 2 L/min, particle size of 2 mm and reaction time of 60 min and yield of bio-oil was approximately obtained 46.4 wt %. In addition, Fourier Transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to characterize the gained bio-oil under the optimum condition. -- Highlights: → The RSM, with a CCD, was used for modeling and optimization for bio-oil synthesis. → The obtained model explains adequately the non-linear nature. → An R 2 value of 0.9337 ensures a sufficient adjustment of the model. → It explains the importance of the experimental factors, their interactions.

A constrained optimization algorithm for total energy minimization in electronic structure calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Chao; Meza, Juan C.; Wang Linwang

2006-01-01

A new direct constrained optimization algorithm for minimizing the Kohn-Sham (KS) total energy functional is presented in this paper. The key ingredients of this algorithm involve projecting the total energy functional into a sequence of subspaces of small dimensions and seeking the minimizer of total energy functional within each subspace. The minimizer of a subspace energy functional not only provides a search direction along which the KS total energy functional decreases but also gives an optimal 'step-length' to move along this search direction. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate that this new direct constrained optimization algorithm can be more efficient than the self-consistent field (SCF) iteration

Solid fat content as a substitute for total polar compound analysis in edible oils

Science.gov (United States)

The solid fat contents (SFC) of heated edible oil samples were measured and found to correlate positively with total polar compounds (TPC) and inversely with triglyceride concentration. Traditional methods for determination of total polar compounds require a laboratory setting and are time intensiv...

Capacidade antioxidante total de óleos vegetais comestíveis: determinantes químicos e sua relação com a qualidade dos óleos Total antioxidant capacity of edible vegetable oils: chemical determinants and associations with oil quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa Naciuk Castelo-Branco

2011-02-01

Full Text Available A capacidade antioxidante total de óleos vegetais comestíveis é determinada por sua composição físico-química e pode estar associada a atributos de qualidade dos óleos, especialmente a sua bioatividade e possivelmente a sua estabilidade oxidativa. Este artigo apresenta os fundamentos dos ensaios de capacidade antioxidante total e avalia criticamente os ensaios aplicáveis na análise de óleos e os pontos críticos nas aplicações dos ensaios para a análise dessas amostras. Discute-se o potencial papel dos componentes químicos dos óleos comestíveis como determinantes da capacidade antioxidante total, assim como a possível relação da capacidade antioxidante com a bioatividade e a estabilidade oxidativa dos óleos. Finalmente, discutem-se evidências de que, caso seja sistematicamente investigado em trabalhos experimentais futuros, o uso de ensaios de capacidade antioxidante total na análise de óleos vegetais pode contribuir para integrar o conhecimento da composição química com a bioatividade e possivelmente com a estabilidade de óleos vegetais específicos. Dessa forma, os ensaios de capacidade antioxidante apresentam potencial para aplicação no controle da qualidade integral de óleos comestíveis.The total antioxidant capacity of edible vegetable oils is determined by their physical-chemical composition and might be associated with their quality attributes, especially with bioactivity and possibly with oxidative stability. The current review presents the fundamentals of total antioxidant capacity assays and critically evaluates the assays applicable to the analysis of oils. The role of the chemical components of edible oils as determinants of total antioxidant capacity is discussed, as well as the potential associations between antioxidant capacity and bioactivity or oxidative stability of the selected oils. Finally, we discuss evidences that, if systematically addressed in future experimental work, the application of

Biodiesel development from rice bran oil: Transesterification process optimization and fuel characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, Shailendra; Agarwal, Avinash Kumar; Garg, Sanjeev

2008-01-01

Increased environmental awareness and depletion of resources are driving industry to develop viable alternative fuels from renewable resources that are environmentally more acceptable. Vegetable oil is a potential alternative fuel. The most detrimental properties of vegetable oils are its high viscosity and low volatility, and these cause several problems during their long duration usage in compression ignition (CI) engines. The most commonly used method to make vegetable oil suitable for use in CI engines is to convert it into biodiesel, i.e. vegetable oil esters using process of transesterification. Rice bran oil is an underutilized non-edible vegetable oil, which is available in large quantities in rice cultivating countries, and very little research has been done to utilize this oil as a replacement for mineral Diesel. In the present work, the transesterification process for production of rice bran oil methyl ester has been investigated. The various process variables like temperature, catalyst concentration, amount of methanol and reaction time were optimized with the objective of producing high quality rice bran oil biodiesel with maximum yield. The optimum conditions for transesterification of rice bran oil with methanol and NaOH as catalyst were found to be 55 deg. C reaction temperature, 1 h reaction time, 9:1 molar ratio of rice bran oil to methanol and 0.75% catalyst (w/w). Rice bran oil methyl ester thus produced was characterized to find its suitability to be used as a fuel in engines. Results showed that biodiesel obtained under the optimum conditions has comparable properties to substitute mineral Diesel, hence, rice bran oil methyl ester biodiesel could be recommended as a mineral Diesel fuel substitute for compression ignition (CI) engines in transportation as well as in the agriculture sector

Optimization of Microencapsulation of Fish Oil with Gum Arabic/Casein/Beta-Cyclodextrin Mixtures by Spray Drying.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junjie; Xiong, Shanbai; Wang, Fang; Regenstein, Joe M; Liu, Ru

2015-07-01

Fish oil was encapsulated with gum arabic/casein/beta-cyclodextrin mixtures using spray drying. The processing parameters (solids concentration of the barrier solutions, ratio of oil to barrier materials, emulsifying temperature, and air inlet temperature) were optimized based on emulsion viscosity, emulsion stability, encapsulation efficiency, and yield. A suitable viscosity and high emulsion stability could increase encapsulation efficiency and yield. Encapsulation efficiency and yield were significantly affected by all the 4 parameters. Based on the results of orthogonal experiments, encapsulation efficiency and yield reached a maximum of 79.6% and 55.6%, respectively, at the optimal condition: solids concentration of 35%, ratios of oil to barrier materials of 3:7, emulsifying temperature of 55 °C, and air inlet temperature of 220 °C. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that fish oil microcapsules were nearly spherical with a smooth surface with droplet size ranging from 1 to 10 μm. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Comparison of different tests used in mapping the Greek virgin olive oil production for the determination of its total antioxidant capacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minioti, K. S.; Georgiou, C. A.

2010-07-01

This study aims to map the total antioxidant capacity (Tac) of 50 Greek olive oil samples from the 2005-2006 season according to production region and cultivar and to compare the 2, 2'-amino-bis (3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6- sulfonic acid (Abets), 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and F olin-Ciocalteu tests for use with olive oil. Antioxidant capacities determined in the hydrophilic fraction range between 5.42 - 22.5 mM gallic acid Kg{sup -}1 olive oil for the ABTS method and 1.29 - 9.95 mM Kg{sup -}1 for the DPPH method while in total, olive oil TAC ranges between 77 - 177 mM Kg{sup -}1 as assessed by the DPPH method. The results of total phenol content range between 3.8 and 29.4 mM Kg{sup -}1 olive oil. Total phenol content correlates with total antioxidant capacity assessed in the hydrophilic fraction through the DPPH (r = 0.89) and the ABTS (r = 0.69) assays. The hydrophilic fraction DPPH values correlate significantly with the ABTS values (r = 0.81). However, the DPPH values for total olive oil correlate poorly with the ABTS assay, the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the DPPH assay in hydrophilic fraction. Although total phenolic content shows good correlation with ABTS and DPPH values and could serve as a useful indicator for olive oil antioxidant capacity, the use of a battery of tests contributes to better characterization of the antioxidant capacity of olive oil. (Author) 14 refs.

Experimental optimization of catalytic process in-situ for heavy oil and bitumen upgrading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shah, A.; Fishwick, R.P.; Leeke, G.A.; Wood, J. [Birmingham Univ., Birmingham (United Kingdom); Rigby, S.P.; Greaves, M. [Bath Univ., Bath (United Kingdom)

2010-07-01

Peak crude oil production is expected to occur in the second decade of this century, followed by a phase of permanent decline in conventional crude oil production. However, very large resources of heavy oil and bitumen exist throughout the world, most notably in Canada and Venezuela. The high viscosity and density of these non-conventional crude oils require more energy intensive operations for production and upgrading, and also for transportation. As such, they are more costly to extract. This paper described some of the technological innovations that are being considered to extract heavier oil supplies with reduced environmental impact. The toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) process and its catalytic added-on (CAPRI) process combine in-situ combustion with catalytic upgrading using an annular catalyst packed around a horizontal producer well. Results of an experimental study concerning optimization of catalyst type and operating conditions showed that CAPRI can effect further upgrading of partially upgraded THAI oil, with upgrading levels of viscosity and API gravity dependent upon temperature and flow rate. 20 refs., 8 tabs., 10 figs.

Fluorescent fingerprints of edible oils and biodiesel by means total synchronous fluorescence and Tucker3 modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Insausti, Matías; de Araújo Gomes, Adriano; Camiña, José Manuel; de Araújo, Mario Cesar Ugulino; Band, Beatriz Susana Fernández

2017-03-01

The present work proposes the use of total synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (TSFS) as a discrimination methodology for fluorescent compounds in edible oils, which are preserved after the transesterification processes in the biodiesel production. In the same way, a similar study is presented to identify fluorophores that do not change in expired vegetal oils, to associate physicochemical parameters to fluorescent measures, as contribution to a fingerprint for increasing the chemical knowledge of these products. The fluorescent fingerprints were obtained by Tucker3 decomposition of a three-way array of the total synchronous fluorescence matrices. This chemometric method presents the ability for modeling non-bilinear data, as Total Synchronous Fluorescence Spectra data, and consists in the decomposition of the three way data arrays (samples × Δλ × λ excitation), into four new data matrices: A (scores), B (profile in Δλ mode), C (profile in spectra mode) and G (relationships between A, B and C). In this study, 50 samples of oil from soybean, corn and sunflower seeds before and after its expiration time, as well as 50 biodiesel samples obtained by transesterification of the same oils were measured by TSFS. This study represents an immediate application of chemical fingerprint for the discrimination of non-expired and expired edible oils and biodiesel. This method does not require the use of reagents or laborious procedures for the chemical characterization of samples.

Optimization and evaluation of foxtail millet (Setaria italica bran oil by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

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Pang, M.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A Box-Behnken central composite design combined with the response surface methodology (RSM was used to optimize the parameters of a supercritical fluid extraction (SFE of foxtail millet bran oil (FMBO. Results showed that a maximum oil yield of 7.97% was achieved under the optimal conditions with an extracting pressure of 30.03MPa, extracting temperature of 47.93 °C; and an extraction time of 2.3 h. The quality of the oil obtained from SFE and solvent extraction (SE was evaluated by proximate analysis to include physicochemical properties, fatty acids and sterol compounds. The FBMO obtained from SFE showed a much lower phospholipid (0.188 mg/g content and a preferable color compared to the oil from SE, while it contained a higher content of total sterols, 1.55%. The thermal gravimetric analysis results showed one major regime of weight loss over a temperature range of 300–500 °C. The results show that FBMO obtained by SFE can be a promising nutritional source for food fortification and is understood to have more potentially healthy biological properties.Un diseño Box-Behnken combinado con la metodología de superficie de respuesta (RSM se usó para optimizar los parámetros de extracción mediante fluido supercrítico (SFE de aceite de salvado de mijo (FMBO. Los resultados mostraron que un rendimiento máximo de extracción de aceite del 7,97% se logró en las condiciones óptimas correspondientes a una presión de 30.03MPa, una temperatura 47.93 °C y un tiempo 2,3H. Además, se evaluó la calidad del aceite obtenido por SFE y mediante extracción con disolvente (SE a partir de un análisis proximal que incluye propiedades fisicoquímicas, ácidos grasos y esteroles. El aceite de FBMO obtenido mediante SFE mostró un contenido mucho menor de fosfolípidos (0.188 mg/g y un color mas aceptable que el aceite de la SE, mientras que contenía un mayor contenido de esteroles totales: 1,55%. El resultado del análisis térmico gravimétrico mostr

Total output operation chart optimization of cascade reservoirs and its application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Zhiqiang; Ji, Changming; Sun, Ping; Wang, Liping; Zhang, Yanke

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a new double nested model for cascade reservoirs operation optimization. • We use two methods to extract the output distribution ratio. • The adopted two methods perform better than the widely used methods at present. • Stepwise regression method performs better than mean value method on the whole. - Abstract: With the rapid development of cascade hydropower stations in recent decades, the cascade system composed of multiple reservoirs needs unified operation and management. However, the output distribution problem has not yet been solved reasonably when the total output of cascade system obtained, which makes the full utilization of hydropower resources in cascade reservoirs very difficult. Discriminant criterion method is a traditional and common method to solve the output distribution problem at present, but some shortcomings cannot be ignored in the practical application. In response to the above concern, this paper proposes a new total output operation chart optimization model and a new optimal output distribution model, the two models constitute to a double nested model with the goal of maximizing power generation. This paper takes the cascade reservoirs of Li Xianjiang River in China as an instance to obtain the optimal total output operation chart by the proposed double nested model and the 43 years historical runoff data, progressive searching method and progressive optimality algorithm are used in solving the model. In order to take the obtained total output operation chart into practical operation, mean value method and stepwise regression method are adopted to extract the output distribution ratios on the basis of the optimal simulation intermediate data. By comparing with discriminant criterion method and conventional method, the combined utilization of total output operation chart and output distribution ratios presents better performance in terms of power generation and assurance rate, which proves it is an effective

Optimization of oil extraction process by the method of mathematical modeling

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М. V. Kopylov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the experimental study of all processes is the analysis, study and generalization of all available results. In accordance with the idea of indexing search experiment was carried out in several stages. The number of stages and steps on each of which depended on the results of the previous stage and the ultimate goal of research. The ultimate goal of the study is to determine the optimum process conditions. Studies vegetable oil extraction process was conducted in a pilot plant set up on the basis of a single-screw Oil-presses. To ensure maximum efficiency Oil-presses without loss of quality of the finished necessary to ensure continuity and uniformity of oilseeds admission hopper. To process the experimental studies, the software complex STATISTICA 10 was applied. To obtain the regression equation, the matrix data was processed using the MS Excel software package. It is found that in order to provide the required performance Oil-presses need to set the angular speed of the screw in the range of 5.5–6.4 s-1, the value of the annular gap between the screw and curb chamber is 0.7–0.9 mm, the quantity gap curb camera of 0.16–0.18 mm. To optimize the process, the output values of the parameters converted into a dimensionless scale desirability d. In the course of the research found that the desirability of the D function, which characterizes the adequacy of the obtained values, has an extreme experience in the 8 and equal to 0.8. On the basis of the following parameters should be considered optimal obtained data: the angular speed of the screw of 6.6 to 1, the value of the annular gap between the screw and camera curb 0.92 mm, the magnitude of the gap.

OPTIMIZATION OF PATCHOULI OIL (POGOSTEMON CABLIN, BENTH WITH STEAM DISTILLATION ASSISTED BY PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD VIA RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

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SUKARDI

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The study was aimed to determine the role of pulsed electric field (PEF treatment before hydro-distillation of the patchouli oil. Response Surface Methodology (RSM was employed to optimize PEF treatment (voltages, frequencies and times of distillation of patchouli oil from dried patchouli crops. The experimental design and analysis the result to obtain the optimal processing parameters was a Box-Behnken Design (BBD. Three variables were examined in this study: voltages (1,000-2,000 volt; frequencies (1,000-2,000 Hz; and distillation time (4-8 hours. The results showed that the voltage greatly affects the volume of patchouli oil obtained and optimum condition of PEF was voltages of 2,000 volts, frequencies of 1,874 Hz, and 8 hours distillation. The patchouli oil obtained is 8.037 ml of 300 g of dry material (±2.7%. The verification of the model shows that 96.6% (7.76±0.15 ml can adequately for reflecting the expected optimization.

Optimization and evaluation of wheat germ oil extracted by supercritical CO2

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Niu, LiYa

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Box-Behnken design combined with response surface methodology (RSM was used to optimize the parameters of supercritical CO2 extraction (SFE of wheat germ oil. The quality of the oil and residual meal obtained by SFE and solvent extraction (SE were evaluated from proximate analysis, fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity. A maximum oil yield of 10.46% was achieved under the optimal conditions of wheat germ particle size 60-80 mesh; water content 4.37%; pressure 30MPa; temperature 40°C extraction time 1.7h. The oil obtained by SFE showed stronger DPPH radical scavenging ability than SE oil at the same concentration. The fatty acid composition of SFE oil was similar to SE oil. Higher contents of protein (34.3% and lysine (2.47g/100g were found in the residual meal obtained by SFE. The results show that oil and defatted meal obtained by SFE can be promising nutritional sources for food.Un diseño Box-Behnken combinado con metodología de superficie de respuesta (RSM fue usado para optimizar los parámetros de extracción con fluido supercrítico (SFE del aceite de germen de trigo. La calidad del aceite y de la harina residual obtenida por SFE y por extracción con solvente (SE fue evaluada mediante su análisis porcentual, composición de ácidos grasos y actividad antioxidante. Un máximo rendimiento de aceite del 10.46% fue obtenido con las condiciones óptimas de 60-80 mesh de tamaño de partícula del germen de trigo; 4.37% contenido de agua; 30MPa de presión; 40°C de temperatura y 1.7 h de tiempo de extracción. El aceite obtenido por SFE mostró una capacidad atrapadora de radicales libres mucho mayor que el aceite obtenido por SE a la misma concentración. La composición de ácidos grasos del aceite SFE fue similar al aceite SE. El mayor contenido de proteínas (34% y de lisina (2.47g/100g fue encontrado en las harinas residuales obtenidas por SFE. Los resultados muestran que el aceite y la harina desengrasada obtenidas por SFE

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)

Total Oil Content and Fatty Acid Profile of some Almond (Amygdalus Communis L. Cultivars

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Yildirim Adnan Nurhan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to determine the total oil contents and fatty acid compositions of some commercial almond cultivars. The total oil contents changed significantly (p<0.05 by year in all cultivars with the exception of cultivar Ferrastar. Total oil contents were changed from 50.90% (Picantili to 62.01% (Supernova in 2008 and from 52.44% (Lauranne to 63.18% (Cristomorto in 2009. While predominant unsaturated fatty acids were oleic and linoleic acids, predominant saturated fatty acid was palmitic acid. The highest amount of oleic acid was obtained in Glorieta in both 2008 (83.35% and 2009 (72.74%. Linoleic acid content varied by year and the highest content was recorded in Picantili (26.08% in 2008 and Yaltinski (30.01% in 2009. The highest amount of palmitic acid was detected in cultivar Sonora in both years, i.e. as 7.76% in 2008 and 10.11% in 2009. The mean UFA:SFA ratio was 11.73 in 2008 but 7.59 in 2009. Principal component (PC analysis indicated that palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, arachidic acid, unsaturated fatty acid (UFA, saturated fatty acid (SFA and UFA:SFA ratio were primarily responsible for the separation on PC1

Performance Optimization of Centrifugal Pump for Crude Oil Delivery

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S.A.I. Bellary

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Crude oil transport is an essential task in oil and gas industries, where centrifugal pumps are extensively used. The design of a centrifugal pump involves a number of independent parameters which affect the pump performance. Altering some of the parameters within a realistic range improves pump performance and saves a significant amount of energy. The present research investigated the pump characteristics by modifying the number of blades and the exit blade-angles. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with standard k-ε two-equation turbulence closure were used for steady and incompressible flow of crude oil through the pump. The experimental set-up was installed and the pump performance calculated numerically  was compared with the experiments.   The investigations showed that the number of blades and the exit blade-angles have a significant influence on the head, shaft power, and efficiency. The vortical flow structures, recirculation and reverse flow characteristics around the impeller were investigated to explain the flow dynamics of impeller and casing. A larger number of blades on the rotor showed dominant streamlined flow without any wake phenomena. The combined effect of the number of blades and exit blade angle has led to an increase in head and efficiency through the parametric optimization.

Optimizing oil and xanthorrhizol extraction from Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. rhizome by supercritical carbon dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Salea, Rinaldi; Widjojokusumo, Edward; Veriansyah, Bambang; Tjandrawinata, Raymond R

2014-09-01

Oil and xanthorrhizol extraction from Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. rhizome by supercritical carbon dioxide was optimized using Taguchi method. The factors considered were pressure, temperature, carbon dioxide flowrate and time at levels ranging between 10-25 MPa, 35-60 °C, 10-25 g/min and 60-240 min respectively. The highest oil yield (8.0 %) was achieved at factor combination of 15 MPa, 50 °C, 20 g/min and 180 min whereas the highest xanthorrhizol content (128.3 mg/g oil) in Curcuma xanthorrhiza oil was achieved at a factor combination of 25 MPa, 50 °C, 15 g/min and 60 min. Soxhlet extraction with n-hexane and percolation with ethanol gave oil yield of 5.88 %, 11.73 % and xanthorrhizol content of 42.6 mg/g oil, 75.5 mg/g oil, respectively. The experimental oil yield and xanthorrhizol content at optimum conditions agreed favourably with values predicted by computational process. The xanthorrizol content extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide was higher than extracted using Soxhlet extraction and percolation process.

Optimization of the production of ethyl esters by ultrasound assisted reaction of soybean oil and ethanol

OpenAIRE

Rodrigues,S.; Mazzone,L. C. A.; Santos,F. F. P.; Cruz,M. G. A.; Fernandes,F. A. N.

2009-01-01

Biodiesel is a renewable liquid fuel that can be produced by a transesterification reaction between a vegetable oil and an alcohol. This paper evaluates and optimizes the production of ethyl esters (biodiesel) from soybean oil and ethanol. The reaction was carried out by applying ultrasound under atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the influence of alcohol to oil molar ratio and catalyst concentration on the yield of conversion of so...

Response surface methodology (RSM) based multi-objective optimization of fusel oil -gasoline blends at different water content in SI engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Awad, Omar I.; Mamat, R.; Ali, Obed M.; Azmi, W.H.; Kadirgama, K.; Yusri, I.M.; Leman, A.M.; Yusaf, T.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The optimal ratio ratio of fusel oil–gasoline blended fuels is proposed. • The water content of fusel oil was reduced from 13.5% to 6.5%. • The heating value of fusel oil was improved by 13%. • FAWE 20 fuels were found to be optimal values with a high desirability of 0.707. • RSM was applied to optimize the engine performance and exhaust emissions. - Abstract: The main objective of this study is to determine the optimal blend ratio of fusel oil–gasoline before and after water extraction (FBWE10, FBWE20, FAWE10, and FAWE20) regarding the performance and emissions of spark ignition engine using response surface methodology (RSM). The multi-objective optimization is applied to maximize the brake power, brake thermal efficiency and minimize the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), NOx emission, HC emission and CO emission. The water content of fusel oil has been extracted by employing rotary extractor method. The experimental of this study has been carried out with different fusel oil–gasoline blends, different throttle valve opening position (15%, 30%, 45% and 60%) and different engine speed (1500, 2500, 3500 and 4500 rpm). All the developed models for responses were determined to be statistically significant at 95% confidence level. The study results reveal an improvement in heating value of fusel oil after water extraction with FAWE20 (80 vol% gasoline fuel, 20 vol% fusel oil after water extracted) as the optimally blended fuel. The best condition of engine parameters with FAWE20 were 55.4% of WOT for load and 4499 rpm engine speed. In additional of the optimal values with a high desirability of 0.707 were 62.511 kW, 241.139 g/kW h, 36%, 1895.913 ppm140.829 ppm and % for brake power, BSFC, BTE, NO x , HC and CO emissions respectively. The reduction of water content in fusel oil has a statistical significance influence to increases BTE, NO x emission and decreases the BSFC, HC and CO emissions.

Optimization of processing parameters for extraction of essential oil from Foeniculum vulgare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: It is necessary to specify the best conditions of essential oils production to get more major compound(s and higher yield oil. The fennel oil is useful in pharmaceutical industry as flavor. The main component of fennel oil is anethole (55-75%. The objective of this work was to identify the effect of  particle size, pH of water, method of distillation and using ultrasound on extraction of fennel essential oil (and its major constituent, anethole. Methods: We used a statistical method called D-optimal Design that appointed pH, particle size and method for each assay. Fennel seeds were purchased, then milled and passed from different meshes. In the first series, the seeds powder was distilled directly. In the second series the seeds were placed in an ultrasonic apparatus for 30 min. The essential oils were subsequently isolated by two methods, hydro distillation and steam distillation, in different sizes (25, 30, 40, 50 and pH (5.5, 5.8, 7, 7.4, 8.5. Fifty g of dry seeds were used in each distillation (for 3 h. Analytical gas chromatography (GC was used to determine the essential oil composition. Results: In the steam distillation, the volume of essential oils and the concentration of anethole, whatever the plant became smaller, was less. However, in the water distillation, it was more and by comparing the two steps, without and with ultrasound, it increased 20% after the ultrasound. Conclusion: optimum conditions according to the statistical results were steam distillation, mesh size 50 and using ultrasounic device.

Report: Optimization study of the preparation factors for argan oil microcapsule based on hybrid-level orthogonal array design via SPSS modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xi; Wu, Xiaoli; Zhou, Hui; Jiang, Tao; Chen, Chun; Liu, Mingshi; Jin, Yuanbao; Yang, Dongsheng

2014-11-01

To optimize the preparation factors for argan oil microcapsule using complex coacervation of chitosan cross-linked with gelatin based on hybrid-level orthogonal array design via SPSS modeling. Eight relatively significant factors were firstly investigated and selected as calculative factors for the orthogonal array design from the total of ten factors effecting the preparation of argan oil microcapsule by utilizing the single factor variable method. The modeling of hybrid-level orthogonal array design was built in these eight factors with the relevant levels (9, 9, 9, 9, 7, 6, 2 and 2 respectively). The preparation factors for argan oil microcapsule were investigated and optimized according to the results of hybrid-level orthogonal array design. The priorities order and relevant optimum levels of preparation factors standard to base on the percentage of microcapsule with the diameter of 30~40 μm via SPSS. Experimental data showed that the optimum factors were controlling the chitosan/gelatin ratio, the systemic concentration and the core/shell ratio at 1:2, 1.5% and 1:7 respectively, presetting complex coacervation pH at 6.4, setting cross-linking time and complex coacervation at 75 min and 30 min, using the glucose-delta lactone as the type of cross-linking agent, and selecting chitosan with the molecular weight of 2000～3000.

Studies with a safflower oil emulsion in total parenteral nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, K. H.; Deitel, M.

1981-01-01

The prevention of essential fatty acid deficiency and the provision of adequate amounts of energy are two major concerns in total parenteral nutrition. Since earlier preparations of fat emulsion used to supplement the usual regimen of hypertonic glucose and amino acids have widely varying clinical acceptability, a new product, a safflower oil emulsion available in two concentrations (Liposyn), was evaluated. In four clinical trials the emulsion was used as a supplement to total parenteral nutrition. In five surgical patients 500 ml of the 10% emulsion infused every third day prevented or corrected essential fatty acid deficiency; however, in some cases in infusion every other day may be necessary. In 40 patients in severe catabolic states the emulsion provided 30% to 50% of the energy required daily: 10 patients received the 10% emulsion for 14 to 42 days, 9 patients received each emulsion in turn for 7 days, and 21 patient received the 20% emulsion for 14 to 28 days. All the patients survived and tolerated the lipid well; no adverse clinical effects were attributable to the lipid infusions. Transient mild, apparently clinically insignificant abnormalities in the results of one or more liver function tests and eosinophilia were observed in some patients. Thus, the safflower oil emulsion, at both concentrations, was safe and effective as a source of 30% to 50% of the energy required daily by seriously ill patients. PMID:6799182

Enzymatic production of sterculic acid from the novel Phoenix tree seed oil: Optimization and kinetic study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou, X.; Sun, S.

2017-01-01

Phoenix tree (Firmiana simplex) seed oil is a novel oil which is rich in sterculic acid. Sterculic acid, a cyclopropene fatty acid, can be used as the inhibitor of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase system and mammary carcinomas growth. In this work, Lipozyme TLIM-catalyzed hydrolysis of the novel Phoenix tree seed oil was used to prepare sterculic acid. High temperature GC-FID and the degree of hydrolysis (DH) were used to monitor the reaction progress. Effects of reaction variables on the hydrolysis were evaluated and optimized using response surface methodology. Results showed that sterculic acid can be successfully prepared from the novel seed oil, and the effect of reaction variables on the hydrolysis decreased in the order of reaction time > enzyme load > temperature. A high yield of fatty acids (DH, 98.2±0.8%) can be obtained under optimized conditions (45 ºC, mass ratio of water to oil 10:1, enzyme load 10%, and 18 h). The Arrhenius equation for the hydrolysis was LnV0 = 9.12 − 4721/T. The activation energy was 39.25KJ/mol. The kinetic values for Vmax, K/m were 0.232mol/(L∙min) and 0.084 mol/L, respectively. [es

Conversion of Oleum papaveris seminis oil into methyl esters via esterification process optimization and kinetic study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Syam, A.M.; Rashid, U.; Yunus, R.; Hamid, H.A.; Al-Resayes, S.I.; Nehdi, I.A.; Al-Muhtaseb, A.H.

2016-07-01

This paper presents an acid pre-treatment process and a kinetic study for the esterification reaction of Oleum papaveris seminis oil with methanol in the presence of amberlite 120 as a solid catalyst to convert the oil into methyl esters. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the reaction parameters, i.e. reaction time, percentage of the catalyst and volume ratio of methanol to oil. The results revealed that 0.87% w/w of catalyst concentration and 44.70% v/v of methanol to oil ratio provided final free fatty acid (FFA) contents of 0.60% w/w at 102.40 min of reaction time. It proved that the contribution of Amberlite 120 in the esterification of FFA was highly significant. The kinetics of the esterification in Oleum papaveris seminis oil with methanol in the presence of the amberlite 120 catalyst were also investigated to establish the reaction rate constant (k), reaction order, and activation energy. The study was performed under the optimized parameters at three reaction temperatures (50, 55, and 60 ºC). The value of k was in the range of 0.013 to 0.027 min-1. The first-order kinetics’ model was suitable for this irreversible FFA esterification with the activation energy of about 60.9 KJ·mol-1. (Author)

Studying and optimizing the biodiesel production from mastic oil aided by ultrasonic using response surface method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B Hosseinzdeh Samani

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction Biodiesel is a promising renewable substitute source of fuel produced from tree born oils, vegetable based oils, fats of animals and even waste cooking oil, has been identified as one of the key solutions for the alarming global twin problems of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. One of the sources for biodiesel production is mastic which is often grown in mountains. Its kernel contains 55% oil which makes it as a valuable renewable resource for biodiesel production. The objective of this research was to study of the feasibility of biodiesel production from Atlas mastic oil using ultrasonic system and optimization of the process using Response surface methodology. Materials and Methods In order to supply the required oil for the biodiesel production process, the oil should be prepared before the reaction. Hence, the purified oil was methylated using Metcalf et al (1996 method, and the prepared sample was injected into Gas Chromatography device to determine fatty acids profile and molecular weight of the used oil. An ultrasonic processor (Hielscher Model UP400S, USA. was used to perform the transesterification reaction. All the experiments were replicated three times to determine the variability of the results and to assess the experimental errors. The reported values are the average of the individual runs. The different operating parameters used in the present work, to optimize the extent of conversion of Atlas pistache oil, include methanol to oil molar ratio (4:1, 5:1 ,6:1, amplitude (24.1, 62.5 100%, pulse (24.1, 62.5 100%, reaction time (3, 6, 9 min. Results and Discussion Results of analyses showed that the independent variables, namely molar ratio, vibration amplitude, pulse and reaction time had significant effects on the amount of produced methyl ester. By increasing the amplitude and pulse, the methyl ester content increased. Increase in amplitude and pulse cause to increase the mixing effect and physical

Alkaline catalyzed biodiesel production from moringa oleifera oil with optimized production parameters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kafuku, G.; Mbarawa, M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, 0001 Pretoria (South Africa)

2010-08-15

The utilization of non-edible feedstock such as moringa oleifera for biodiesel production attracts much attention owing to the issue with regards to avoiding a threat to food supplies. In this study, the optimization of biodiesel production parameters for moringa oleifera oil was carried out. The free fatty acid value of moringa oil was found to be 0.6%, rendering the one step alkaline transesterification method for converting moringa fatty acids to their methyl esters possible. The optimum production parameters: catalyst amount, alcohol amount, temperature, agitation speed and reaction time were determined experimentally and found to be: 1.0 wt% catalyst amount, 30 wt% methanol amount, 60 C reaction temperature, 400 rpm agitation rate and 60 min reaction time. With these optimal conditions the conversion efficiency was 82%. The properties of the moringa biodiesel that was produced were observed to fall within the recommended international biodiesel standards. However, moringa biodiesel showed high values of cloud and pour points of 10 C and 3 C respectively, which present a problem as regards use in cold temperatures. (author)

In growing pigs, the true ileal and total tract digestibility of acid hydrolyzed ether extract in extracted corn oil is greater than in intact sources of corn oil or soybean oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, B G; Kil, D Y; Stein, H H

2013-02-01

An experiment was conducted to determine the true ileal digestibility (TID) and the true total tract digestibility (TTTD) of acid-hydrolyzed ether extract (AEE) in extracted corn oil, high-oil corn, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), corn germ, and high protein distillers dried grains (HP DDG) and to compare these values to the TID and TTTD of AEE in full-fat soybeans. Nineteen barrows with an initial BW of 52.2 kg (SD = 3.8) were fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum and allotted to a 19 × 11 Youden square design with 19 diets and 11 periods. A basal diet based on cornstarch, casein, sucrose, and corn bran was formulated. Eighteen additional diets were formulated by adding 3 levels of extracted corn oil, high-oil corn, DDGS, corn germ, HP DDG, or full-fat soybeans to the basal diet. The apparent ileal and the apparent total tract digestibility of AEE were calculated for each diet. The endogenous flow of AEE associated with each ingredient and values for TID and TTTD were calculated using the regression procedure. Results indicated that digested AEE in ileal digesta and feces linearly increased as AEE intake increased regardless of ingredient (P 0.77). However, the ileal and fecal endogenous losses of AEE were different (P oil, HP DDG, and full-fat soybeans. The TID of AEE was greater (P oil (95.4%) than for all other ingredients. The TID of AEE in HP DDG (76.5%) was not different from the TID of AEE in full-fat soybeans (85.2%) but greater (P oil corn, DDGS, and corn germ (53.0, 62.1, and 50.1%, respectively). The TTTD of AEE was greater (P oil (94.3%) than for all other ingredients, and the TTTD in full-fat soybeans (79.7%) was greater (P oil corn, DDGS, corn germ, and HP DDG (41.4, 51.9, 43.9, and 70.2%, respectively). The TTTD of AEE in HP DDG was also greater (P oil corn, DDGS, and corn germ. In conclusion, the intact sources of oil originating from high-oil corn, DDGS, corn germ, or HP DDG are much less digestible than extracted corn oil

Optimization and kinetic studies of sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil for biodiesel production via supercritical reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ang, Gaik Tin; Ooi, San Nee; Tan, Kok Tat; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Sea mango oil as feedstock for biodiesel via non-catalytic supercritical reaction. • Extracted sea mango oil with high FFA could produce high yield of FAME. • Employment of Response Surface Methodology for optimization of FAME. • Kinetic study for reversible transesterification and esterification reactions. - Abstract: Sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil, which is rich in free fatty acids, was utilized to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) via supercritical transesterification reaction. Sea mango oil was extracted from seeds and was subsequently reacted with methanol in a batch-type supercritical reactor. Response surface methodology (RSM) analysis was used to optimize important parameters, including reaction temperature, reaction time and the molar ratio of methanol to oil. The optimum conditions were found as 380 °C, 40 min and 45:1 mol/mol, respectively, to achieve 78% biodiesel content. The first kinetic modelling of FAME production from sea mango oil incorporating reversible transesterification and reversible esterification was verified simultaneously. The kinetic parameters, including reaction rate constants, k, the pre-exponential constant, A, and the activation energy, Ea, for transesterification and esterification were determined using an ordinary differential equation (ODE45) solver. The highest activation energy of 40 kJ/mol and the lowest reaction rate constant of 2.50 × 10 −5 dm 3 /mol s verified that the first stepwise reaction of TG to produce DG was the rate-limiting step

Optimization of biodiesel production from soybean oil in a microreactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahimi, Masoud; Aghel, Babak; Alitabar, Mohammad; Sepahvand, Arash; Ghasempour, Hamid Reza

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Continuous transesterification of soybean oil is studied in a microreactor. • Box–Behnken method and response surface methodology used for optimization. • Fatty Acid Methyl Ester transesterification of 89% obtained at optimum condition. • The microchannel pressure drop was related to energy dissipation rate and FAME %. • Higher FAME % values were obtained at higher energy dissipation rate. - Abstract: Transesterification of soybean oil with methanol in the presence of potassium hydroxide, as a catalyst, in a microreactor has been investigated. The transesterification reaction was performed at specific condition in circular tubes with hydraulic diameter of (0.8 mm). In order to further improve the biodiesel production, the experimental design was performed using Box–Behnken method. The results were analyzed using response surface methodology. The influence of reaction variables including; molar ratio of methanol to oil (6:1–12:1), temperature (55–65 °C) and catalyst concentration (0.6–1.8 wt.%) and residence time (20–180 s) under various flow rates of reactants (1–11 ml min −1 ) on Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) transesterification reaction was studied. The optimum condition was found at molar ratio of methanol to oil (9:1), catalyst concentration (1.2 wt.%) and temperature (60 °C) with a FAME % of about 89%. Considering optimum parameters, by changing the reactant residence time the FAME % was reached to 98% at 180 s

Maximizing heavy-oil recovery by containing steam through optimized cementing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravi, K.; Hunter, B.; Kulakofsky, D [Halliburton Energy Services, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2008-10-15

As the world's oil and gas reserves decline, interest in unconventional sources, such as heavy oil, is increasing in response to global energy demand. Conventional methods are not sufficient to produce highly viscous heavy oil, and measures must be taken to decrease its viscosity. Although steam injection is an option, steam heats the casing and the cement sheath posing considerable thermal stress on the casing and the cement sheath. This paper described the design procedures that are required for evaluating the properties needed in the cement sheath in order to assist in withstanding thermal stresses. The steps needed to deliver an optimized cement system were presented. The paper presented an illustration of a typical wellbore for heavy-oil application and listed the parameters responsible for the extent of heat loss. These included formation properties; cement sheath thermal conductivity; steam-injection rate; and steam quality. The paper also described the Zhang unified mechanistic model which involved the temperature, pressure, steam quality, and heat loss changes as a function of the depth and the surroundings. Recommendations for withstanding well operations, hole cleaning, and slurry placement were also presented. Insurance for incomplete drilling fluid displacement and cement with the ability to react and respond were also proposed. It was concluded that in thermal recovery wells, energy loss to the surroundings could be reduced by lowering the thermal conductivity of the cement sheath. This could greatly improve the economics of such wells. 9 refs., 5 figs.

Optimization of parameters for enhanced oil recovery from enzyme treated wild apricot kernels.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajaram, Mahatre R; Kumbhar, Baburao K; Singh, Anupama; Lohani, Umesh Chandra; Shahi, Navin C

2012-08-01

Present investigation was undertaken with the overall objective of optimizing the enzymatic parameters i.e. moisture content during hydrolysis, enzyme concentration, enzyme ratio and incubation period on wild apricot kernel processing for better oil extractability and increased oil recovery. Response surface methodology was adopted in the experimental design. A central composite rotatable design of four variables at five levels was chosen. The parameters and their range for the experiments were moisture content during hydrolysis (20-32%, w.b.), enzyme concentration (12-16% v/w of sample), combination of pectolytic and cellulolytic enzyme i.e. enzyme ratio (30:70-70:30) and incubation period (12-16 h). Aspergillus foetidus and Trichoderma viride was used for production of crude enzyme i.e. pectolytic and cellulolytic enzyme respectively. A complete second order model for increased oil recovery as the function of enzymatic parameters fitted the data well. The best fit model for oil recovery was also developed. The effect of various parameters on increased oil recovery was determined at linear, quadric and interaction level. The increased oil recovery ranged from 0.14 to 2.53%. The corresponding conditions for maximum oil recovery were 23% (w.b.), 15 v/w of the sample, 60:40 (pectolytic:cellulolytic), 13 h. Results of the study indicated that incubation period during enzymatic hydrolysis is the most important factor affecting oil yield followed by enzyme ratio, moisture content and enzyme concentration in the decreasing order. Enzyme ratio, incubation period and moisture content had insignificant effect on oil recovery. Second order model for increased oil recovery as a function of enzymatic hydrolysis parameters predicted the data adequately.

Optimization of Two-Step Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch for High Sugar Concentration in Hydrolysate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongxu Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Getting high sugar concentrations in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysate with reasonable yields of sugars is commercially attractive but very challenging. Two-step acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB was conducted to get high sugar concentrations in the hydrolysate. The biphasic kinetic model was used to guide the optimization of the first step dilute acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of EFB. A total sugar concentration of 83.0 g/L with a xylose concentration of 69.5 g/L and a xylose yield of 84.0% was experimentally achieved, which is in well agreement with the model predictions under optimal conditions (3% H2SO4 and 1.2% H3PO4, w/v, liquid to solid ratio 3 mL/g, 130°C, and 36 min. To further increase total sugar and xylose concentrations in hydrolysate, a second step hydrolysis was performed by adding fresh EFB to the hydrolysate at 130°C for 30 min, giving a total sugar concentration of 114.4 g/L with a xylose concentration of 93.5 g/L and a xylose yield of 56.5%. To the best of our knowledge, the total sugar and xylose concentrations are the highest among those ever reported for acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of lignocellulose.

Optimization of olive oil hydrolysis process using immobilized Lipase from Burkholderia cepacia sp. in Polyurethane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nádia Ligianara Dewes Nyari

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to achieve the best conditions for the  olive oil hydrolysis process at optimal pH and temperature using Burkholderia cepacia lipase immobilized in situ in rigid polyurethane support. The influences of the temperature (13.85 to 56.5ºC and pH (4.18 to 9.82 were evaluated by a central composite rotational experimental design 22. The operational stability and storage conditions were also studied. The olive oil hydrolysis process was optimized in pH 7.0, at 40°C and 15 min of reaction, with 66 and 93 U g-1 of hydrolysis activity in free and immobilized lipase, respectively, with > 700% yield. The immobilized remained stable for up to 40 days of storage at temperatures of 60oC, and for 100 days from 4 to 25°C. The operational stability of the immobilized was 6 continuous cycles. In this way, immobilization showed to be a promising alternative for its application in olive oil hydrolysis, having storage stability and reuse capability.

Acid esterification of a high free fatty acid crude palm oil and crude rubber seed oil blend: Optimization and parametric analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, Modhar A.; Yusup, Suzana; Ahmad, Murni M. [Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Chemical Engineering, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

2010-12-15

Free fatty acids content plays an important role in selecting the appropriate route for biodiesel production. Oils with high content of free fatty acids can be treated by acid esterification where an alcohol reacts with the given oil in the presence of acid catalyst. In the current study, an equivolume blend of crude rubber seed oil and crude palm oil is fed to the reaction with methanol as the alcohol of choice and sulfuric acid. Selected reaction parameters were optimized, using Taguchi method for design of experiments, to yield the lowest free fatty acid content in the final product. The investigated parameters include alcohol to oil ratio, temperature and amount of catalyst. The effect and significance of each parameter were then studied based on the fractional factorial design and verified by additional experiments. The optimum conditions for acid esterification which could reduce the free fatty acid content in the feedstock to lower than 0.6% (95% reduction) were 65 C, 15:1 methanol to oil ratio (by mole) and 0.5 wt% H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} after 3 h of reaction time. Temperature had been found to have the most effect on the reduction of free fatty acids followed by reactants ratio while increasing catalyst amount had nominal effect. (author)

Enzymatic Transesterification of Ethyl Ferulate with Fish Oil and Reaction Optimization by Response Surface Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiyong Yang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The enzymatic transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF with fish oil from cod liver was investigated with Novozym® 435 as catalyst under solvent-free conditions. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the synthesis system for the production of feruloyl fish oil in industry. The modified HPLC method was first set up to characterise the reaction products together with liquid chromatography electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS. The influence of the addition of glycerol to the system on the feruloyl acylglycerol profile was investigated in terms of transesterification performance. The bioconversion rate of EF can be significantly increased with the increased formation of feruloyl fish oil products when appropriate amount of glycerol is present in the reaction. Therefore, an equivalent molar amount of glycerol was added to EF for the practical optimization of the system. The mutual effects of temperature (40 to 70 °C, reaction time (1 to 5 days, enzyme load (2 to 20 % and molar ratio of fish oil and EF in the substrate (1 to 5 were thus studied with the assistance of response surface methodology (RSM for the purpose of maximizing the formation of feruloyl fish oil. The models were well fitted and verified. The optimized conditions were found to be: temperature 70 °C, enzyme load 4.3 %, substrate ratio 4.7, and reaction time 5 days. Under these conditions, the maximum conversion of EF reached 92.4 %, and the formation of feruloyl fish oil reached 80.4 %, but the formation of by-product was minimized to 11.4 % only.

Are oil and gas stocks from the Australian market riskier than coal and uranium stocks? Dependence risk analysis and portfolio optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arreola Hernandez, Jose

2014-01-01

This article models the dependence risk and resource allocation characteristics of two 20-stock coal–uranium and oil–gas sector portfolios from the Australian market in the context of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. The modeling framework implemented consists of pair vine copulas and, linear and nonlinear portfolio optimization methods with respect to five risk measures. The paper's objectives are to find out if the oil and gas stocks are riskier than the coal and uranium stocks, to identify the optimization method and risk measure that produce the best risk-return trade-off, to recognize the stocks in which the optimal weight allocations converge on average, and to acknowledge the vine copula model that best accounts for the overall dependence of the energy portfolios. The research findings indicate that the oil stocks have higher dependence risk than the coal, uranium and gas stocks in financial crisis periods. The higher risk of the oil stocks is confirmed by the larger concentration of symmetric and asymmetric dependence they have in the negative tail. The canonical vine (c-vine) copula model is observed to better capture the overall dependence of the energy portfolios. The combination of a pair c-vine copula and nonlinear portfolio optimization produces the highest return relative to risk. The optimal weight allocations converge on average in some stocks. - Highlights: • Vine copula dependence modeling of coal, uranium, oil and gas stocks • Oil stocks are riskier than coal, uranium and gas stocks in financial crisis periods. • The c-vine model better captures the overall dependence of the energy portfolios. • Vine copulas and nonlinear optimization combined produce the best results. • The optimal weight allocations converge on average in some stocks

Evaluation of the Optimal Reaction Conditions for the Methanolysis and Ethanolysis of Castor Oil Catalyzed by Immobilized Enzymes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andrade, Thalles Allan; Al-Kabalawi, Ibrahim F.; Errico, Massimiliano

:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 5 wt% of enzymes, 7.5 wt% of water, 50 wt% n-hexane, at 50 °C. The fatty acid methyl esters content was 96.8 % and 1.0 % FFA. Regarding the reactions with ethanol, 98.0 % fatty acid ethyl ester was obtained and 1.3 % FFA, when the reaction was carried out at 60 °C, 4:1 ethanol......As an alternative to the use of chemical catalysts, immobilized enzyme Lipozyme 435 was evaluated as catalyst for biodiesel production, comparing its efficiency in the castor oil transesterification with methanol and ethanol. Different reaction conditions were assessed and optimized, including...... the reaction temperature (35 – 60 °C), alcohol-to-oil molar ratio (from 3:1 to 6:1), amount of catalyst (from 3 to 15 wt% by weight of oil), addition of water (0 – 15 wt%), and use of n-hexane as a solvent (0 – 75 wt%). For the transesterification with methanol, the optimal reaction conditions were 3...

Optimization of acidified oil esterification catalyzed by sulfonated cation exchange resin using response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Lingling; Han, Ying; Sun, Kaian; Lu, Jie; Ding, Jincheng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • As lipid source, acidified oil are from industrial wastes for renewable energy. • The predicted conversion rate of FFAs was 75.24% under the RSM optimized conditions. • The adsorption system was employed to remove the water produced to shift the equilibrium toward ethyl ester production. • Maximum conversion rate of 98.32% was obtained using adsorption system at optimum process parameters. • Compared with tradition methods, molecular sieve dehydration method improved the conversion rate by 23.08%. - Abstract: The esterification of acidified oil with ethanol catalyzed by sulfonated cation exchange resins (SCER) was optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM). The effects of the molar ratio of ethanol to acidified oil, reaction time and catalyst loading on the conversion rate of free fatty acids (FFAs) were investigated at the temperature of the boiling point of ethanol. Results showed that the highest conversion rate of 75.24% was obtained at the molar ratio of ethanol to acidified oil of 23.2, reaction time of 8.0 h and catalyst loading of 35.0 wt.%. Moreover, the conversion rate of FFAs was increased to 98.32% by using a water adsorption apparatus under the RSM optimized conditions. Scanning electronic microscopic–energy dispersive spectrometric (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffractometric (XRD) and thermogravimetric–derivative thermogravimetric (TG–DTG) analyses confirmed that the morphology of catalysts did not change much and the mechanical and thermal stabilities were still good after the reaction. Furthermore, SCER exhibited a high catalytic activity and stability after being reused for five successive times. The fuel properties of the biodiesel were comparable to that of ASTM, EN and GB biodiesel standard

OPTIMIZATION OF DEMULSIFIER FORMULATION FOR SEPARATION OF WATER FROM CRUDE OIL EMULSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Hajivand

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract In this study, various water-soluble and oil-soluble demulsifiers were selected for separation of water from crude oil emulsions and their productivity measured using the Bottle-test method at 70 °C and 10 ppm concentration. The best ones among 23 demulsifiers examined through the screening process were fatty alcohol ethoxylate, triethanol amine and urea from the water-soluble group and Basororol E2032, Basorol PDB 9935 and TOMAC from the oil-soluble category. Furthermore, the present study investigated the factors effective for demulsification such as temperature, concentration, pH, salinity and modifiers. It was found that the separation improves with increasing demulsifier concentration, increasing salt content, increasing temperature up to 80 °C, keeping the pH values between 5-9. Adding solvent modifiers proved unnecessary. Two formulations were prepared based on suggested optimal concentrations of demulsifier content by experimental design using Qualitec 4 and these proved to be highly effective in treating real and synthetic emulsions.

Investigation on chemical composition and optimization of essential oil obtainment from waste Pinus taeda L. using hydrodistillation

OpenAIRE

Teixeira, Sirlei Dias; Fiorio, Jhonatan Luiz; Galvan, Diego; Sefstrom, Carolina; Cogo, Priscila Morgana; Sales Junior, Valber; Rodrigues, Márcio Barreto; Hendges, Ana Paula Palaro Klein; Maia, Beatriz Helena L. de Noronha Sales; Benghi, Thalita Gilda Santos

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT: The extraction of essential oils obtained by the hydrodistillation of needles/twigs waste of Pinus taeda L. was optimized by applying response surface methodology (RSM), with 24 full factorial design, in order to improve oil essential production, and aggregate value to the production chain of pine wood. Through the model it was possible to ascertain the influence of the variables in the average amount of essential oil (0.1032 mL), being the variables analyzed: biomass - Bm (x1), ext...

Chemical Flooding in Heavy-Oil Reservoirs: From Technical Investigation to Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si Le Van

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Heavy-oil resources represent a large percentage of global oil and gas reserves, however, owing to the high viscosity, enhanced oil recovery (EOR techniques are critical issues for extracting this type of crude oil from the reservoir. According to the survey data in Oil & Gas Journal, thermal methods are the most widely utilized in EOR projects in heavy oil fields in the US and Canada, and there are not many successful chemical flooding projects for heavy oil reported elsewhere in the world. However, thermal methods such as steam injection might be restricted in cases of thin formations, overlying permafrost, or reservoir depths over 4500 ft, for which chemical flooding becomes a better option for recovering crude oil. Moreover, owing to the considerable fluctuations in the oil price, chemical injection plans should be employed consistently in terms of either technical or economic viewpoints. The numerical studies in this work aim to clarify the predominant chemical injection schemes among the various combinations of chemical agents involving alkali (A, surfactant (S and polymer (P for specific heavy-oil reservoir conditions. The feasibilities of all potential injection sequences are evaluated in the pre-evaluation stage in order to select the most efficient injection scheme according to the variation in the oil price which is based on practical market values. Finally, optimization procedures in the post-evaluation stage are carried out for the most economic injection plan by an effective mathematic tool with the purpose of gaining highest Net Present Value (NPV of the project. In technical terms, the numerical studies confirm the predominant performances of sequences in which alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP solution is injected after the first preflushing water whereby the recovery factor can be higher than 47%. In particular, the oil production performances are improved by injecting a buffering viscous fluid right after the first chemical slug

Low cost and conformal microwave water-cut sensor for optimizing oil production process

KAUST Repository

Karimi, Muhammad Akram

2015-08-01

Efficient oil production and refining processes require the precise measurement of water content in oil (i.e., water-cut) which is extracted out of a production well as a byproduct. Traditional water-cut (WC) laboratory measurements are precise, but are incapable of providing real-time information, while recently reported in-line WC sensors (both in research and industry) are usually incapable of sensing the full WC range (0 – 100 %), are bulky, expensive and non-scalable for the variety of pipe sizes used in the oil industry. This work presents a novel implementation of a planar microwave T-resonator for fully non-intrusive in situ WC sensing over the full range of operation, i.e., 0 – 100 %. As opposed to non-planar resonators, the choice of a planar resonator has enabled its direct implementation on the pipe surface using low cost fabrication methods. WC sensors make use of series resonance introduced by a λ/4 open shunt stub placed in the middle of a microstrip line. The detection mechanism is based on the measurement of the T-resonator’s resonance frequency, which varies with the relative percentage of oil and water (due to the difference in their dielectric properties). In order to implement the planar T-resonator based sensor on the curved surface of the pipe, a novel approach of utilizing two ground planes is proposed in this work. The innovative use of dual ground planes makes this sensor scalable to a wide range of pipe sizes present in the oil industry. The design and optimization of this sensor was performed in an electromagnetic Finite Element Method (FEM) solver, i.e., High Frequency Structural Simulator (HFSS) and the dielectric properties of oil, water and their emulsions of different WCs used in the simulation model were measured using a SPEAG-dielectric assessment kit (DAK-12). The simulation results were validated through characterization of fabricated prototypes. Initial rapid prototyping was completed using copper tape, after which a

Total phenolic content, radical scavenging properties, and essential oil composition of Origanum species from different populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Dambolena, José S; Zunino, María P; Lucini, Enrique I; Olmedo, Rubén; Banchio, Erika; Bima, Paula J; Zygadlo, Julio A

2010-01-27

The aim of this work was to compare the antiradical activity, total phenol content (TPC), and essential oil composition of Origanum vulgare spp. virens, Origanum x applii, Origanum x majoricum, and O. vulgare spp. vulgare cultivated in Argentina in different localities. The experiment was conducted in the research station of La Consulta (INTA-Mendoza), the research station of Santa Lucia (INTA-San Juan), and Agronomy Faculty of National University of La Pampa, from 2007 to 2008. The composition of the essential oils of oregano populations was independent of cultivation conditions. In total, 39 compounds were identified in essential oils of oregano from Argentina by means of GC-MS. Thymol and trans-sabinene hydrate were the most prominent compounds, followed by gamma-terpinene, terpinen-4-ol, and alpha-terpinene. O. vulgare vulgare is the only Origanum studied which is rich in gamma-terpinene. Among tested oregano, O. x majoricum showed the highest essential oil content, 3.9 mg g(-1) dry matter. The plant extract of O. x majoricum had greater total phenol content values, 19.36 mg/g dry weight, than the rest of oregano studied. To find relationships among TPC, free radical scavenging activity (FRSA), and climate variables, canonical correlations were calculated. The results obtained allow us to conclude that 70% of the TPC and FRSA variability can be explained by the climate variables (R(2) = 0.70; p = 8.3 x 10(-6)), the temperature being the most important climatic variable.

OPTIMIZING CONDITIONS FOR SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF TOTAL POLYPHENOLS IN WINES USING FOLIN-CIOCALTEU REAGENT

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Daniel Bajčan

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Wine is a complex beverage that obtains its properties mainly due to synergistic effect of alcohol, organic acids, arbohydrates, as well as the phenolic and aromatic substances. At present days, we can observe an increased interest in the study of polyphenols in wines that have antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and many other beneficial effects. Moderate and regular consumption of the red wine especially, with a high content of phenolic compounds, has a beneficial effect on human health. The aim of this work was to optimize conditions for spectrophotometric determination of total polyphenols in winwas to optimize conditions for spectrophotometric determination of total polyphenols in winwas to optimize conditions for spectrophotometric determination of total polyphenols in winwas to optimize conditions for pectrophotometric determination of total polyphenols in wine using Folin-Ciocaulteu reagent. Based on several studies, in order to minimize chemical use and optimize analysis time, we have proposed a method for the determination of total polyphenols using 0.25 ml Folin-Ciocaulteu reagent, 3 ml of 20% Na2CO3 solution and time of coloring complex 1.5 hour. We f

Optimization and characterization of biosurfactant production from kitchen waste oil using Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chunyan; Sun, Ni; Li, Dongsheng; Long, Sihua; Tang, Xiaoyu; Xiao, Guoqing; Wang, Linyuan

2018-03-16

Kitchen waste oil (KWO) from catering industries or households was used as a low-cost carbon source for producing biosurfactants by self-isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Fermentation performance with KWO was superior to those with four other carbon sources, with higher optical density (OD 600 ) of 2.33 and lower interfacial tension of 0.57 mN/m. Culture conditions for biosurfactant production were optimized, with optimal pH of 8.0 and nitrogen source concentration of 2.0 g/L, respectively. The results of infrared spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) showed that the biosurfactant was a mixture of six rhamnolipid congeners, among which Rha-Rha-C 10 -C 10 and Rha-C 10 -C 10 were the main components, with mass fraction of approximately 34.20 and 50.86%, respectively. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) obtained was 55.87 mg/L. In addition, the rhamnolipids exhibited excellent tolerance to temperature (20-100 °C), pH (6.0-12.0), and salinity (2-20%; w/v) in a wide range, thereby showing good stability to extreme environmental conditions. The rhamnolipids positively affected oil removal from oil sludge and KWO-contaminated cotton cloth, with removal rate of 34.13 and of 30.92%, respectively. Our results demonstrated that biosurfactant production from KWO was promising, with advantages of good performance, low cost and environmental safety.

Interactive optimization of biosurfactant production by Paenibacillus alvei ARN63 isolated from an Iranian oil well.

Science.gov (United States)

Najafi, A R; Rahimpour, M R; Jahanmiri, A H; Roostaazad, R; Arabian, D; Soleimani, M; Jamshidnejad, Z

2011-01-01

The potential of an indigenous bacterial strain isolated from an Iranian oil field for the production of biosurfactant was investigated in this study. After isolation, the bacterium was characterized to be Paenibacillus alvei by biochemical tests and 16S ribotyping. The biosurfactant, which was produced by this bacterium, was able to lower the surface tension of media to 35 mN/m. Accordingly, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and FT-IR has been carried out to determine compositional analysis of the produced biosurfactant. After all the tests related to characterization of the biosurfactant produced by the isolated bacterium, it was characterized as lipopeptide derivative. The combination of central composite rotatable design (CCRD) and response surface methodology (RSM) was exploited to optimize biosurfactant production. Therefore, variations of four impressive parameters, pH, temperature, glucose and salinity concentrations were selected for optimization of growth conditions. The empirical model developed through RSM in terms of effective operational factors mentioned above was found to be adequate to describe the biosurfactant production. A maximum reduction in surface tension was obtained under the optimal conditions of 13.03 g/l glucose concentration, 34.76 °C, 51.39 g/l total salt concentration and medium pH 6.89. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of Conditions for Obtaining Alginate/Olive Oil Capsules for Application in Dairy Industry

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Poirieux Magalie

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Encapsulation is a process of incorporation of bioactive substances in a specific matrix. It results in increasing and/or maintaining of the biological agent concentration in the food matrix or the fermentation system. The encapsulation process is influenced by various factors. The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of alginate type and concentration, homogenization rate and the oil phase amount in the preparation of capsules rich in olive oil. It has been found that emulsions obtained with medium viscosity alginate were characterized by better stability. To establish the joint influence of the factors was used screening design experiment, the optimization features selected being temperature, centrifugal and microscopic stability. The optimal levels of the factors were established and they we applied for capsule preparation. The obtained capsules showed maximum stability and possibility to be used in dairy product manufacture.

On the optimal environmental liability limit for marine oil transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Jin; Kite-Powell, H.L.

1999-01-01

Recent changes in the US liability regime for oil pollution damage have intensified a policy debate about environmental liability limits. Economic theory suggests that some type of limit may be needed under certain conditions, and that such a limit should be set so that the marginal social benefit and cost are equal. However, it is unclear how a liability limit may be determined specifically for tanker shipping in US waters. We first examine conditions under which corner solutions (no liability or unlimited liability) are desirable. We then formulate a model to determine a socially optimal liability limit for oil pollution damage in US waters when a non-zero, finite liability limit is desirable. The model captures the tradeoff between less expensive energy supply and more stringent protection of the marine environment. Numerical simulations illustrate the properties of the model and major factors affecting the public policy decision regarding a liability limit. (author)

Optimal solution of full fuzzy transportation problems using total integral ranking

Science.gov (United States)

Sam’an, M.; Farikhin; Hariyanto, S.; Surarso, B.

2018-03-01

Full fuzzy transportation problem (FFTP) is a transportation problem where transport costs, demand, supply and decision variables are expressed in form of fuzzy numbers. To solve fuzzy transportation problem, fuzzy number parameter must be converted to a crisp number called defuzzyfication method. In this new total integral ranking method with fuzzy numbers from conversion of trapezoidal fuzzy numbers to hexagonal fuzzy numbers obtained result of consistency defuzzyfication on symmetrical fuzzy hexagonal and non symmetrical type 2 numbers with fuzzy triangular numbers. To calculate of optimum solution FTP used fuzzy transportation algorithm with least cost method. From this optimum solution, it is found that use of fuzzy number form total integral ranking with index of optimism gives different optimum value. In addition, total integral ranking value using hexagonal fuzzy numbers has an optimal value better than the total integral ranking value using trapezoidal fuzzy numbers.

Assessment of soil pollution based on total petroleum hydrocarbons and individual oil substances.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinedo, J; Ibáñez, R; Lijzen, J P A; Irabien, Á

2013-11-30

Different oil products like gasoline, diesel or heavy oils can cause soil contamination. The assessment of soils exposed to oil products can be conducted through the comparison between a measured concentration and an intervention value (IV). Several national policies include the IV based on the so called total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) measure. However, the TPH assessment does not indicate the individual substances that may produce contamination. The soil quality assessment can be improved by including common hazardous compounds as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and aromatic volatile hydrocarbons like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX). This study, focused on 62 samples collected from different sites throughout The Netherlands, evaluates TPH, PAH and BTEX concentrations in soils. Several indices of pollution are defined for the assessment of individual variables (TPH, PAH, B, T, E, and X) and multivariables (MV, BTEX), allowing us to group the pollutants and simplify the methodology. TPH and PAH concentrations above the IV are mainly found in medium and heavy oil products such as diesel and heavy oil. On the other hand, unacceptable BTEX concentrations are reached in soils contaminated with gasoline and kerosene. The TPH assessment suggests the need for further action to include lighter products. The application of multivariable indices allows us to include these products in the soil quality assessment without changing the IV for TPH. This work provides useful information about the soil quality assessment methodology of oil products in soils, focussing the analysis into the substances that mainly cause the risk. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2002 results: TotalFinaElf makes a ''much better performance'' than the overall international oil groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salles, E.

2003-01-01

T. Desmarest, head of TotalFinaElf oil and gas company, has presented the 2002 results of his company in the particular context of a moving international oil situation (the Iraq crisis and the situation in Venezuela) with important consequences on markets. At the same time, the company decided to change its name into 'Total' and to adopt a new logo. The results show a 17% drop with respect to 2001 but a 10% increase of the production. The high rate of exploration successes has led to the discovery of about 1 billion of bpe with a 0.8 US$ cost per bpe, which represents the best performance of the 5 world oil majors. The rate of reserves renewal reached 151% (11.2 billions of bpe at the end of 2002). The downstream activities (refining/distribution and basic chemistry) encountered much more problems for various reasons: low economic growth, climate warmth, international instability etc.. (J.S.)

Development and optimization of an efficient qPCR system for olive authentication in edible oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Rebollo, Alba; Ramos-Gómez, Sonia; Busto, María D; Ortega, Natividad

2017-10-01

The applicability of qPCR in olive-oil authentication depends on the DNA obtained from the oils and the amplification primers. Therefore, four olive-specific amplification systems based on the trnL gene were designed (A-, B-, C- and D-trnL systems). The qPCR conditions, primer concentration and annealing temperature, were optimized. The systems were tested for efficiency and sensitivity to select the most suitable for olive oil authentication. The selected system (D-trnL) demonstrated specificity toward olive in contrast to other oleaginous species (canola, soybean, sunflower, maize, peanut and coconut) and showed high sensitivity in a broad linear dynamic range (LOD and LOQ: 500ng - 0.0625pg). This qPCR system enabled detection, with high sensitivity and specificity, of olive DNA isolated from oils processed in different ways, establishing it as an efficient method for the authentication of olive oil regardless of its category. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anti-pseudomonas activity of essential oil, total extract, and proanthocyanidins of Pinus eldarica Medw. bark.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, Masoud; Zolfaghari, Behzad; Jahanian-Najafabadi, Ali; Abtahi, Seyed Reza

2016-01-01

Pinus eldarica Medw. (Iranian pine) is native to Transcaucasian region and has been vastly planted in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Various parts of this plant have been widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases including infectious conditions (e.g. infectious wounds). In this study we aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of P. eldarica bark extract, essential oil and proanthocyanidins on three important bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibacterial analysis was performed using standard disk diffusion method with different concentrations of essential oil, bark total hydroalcoholic extract, and bark proanthocyanidins (0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mg/ml). After incubation at 37°C for 24 h, the antibacterial activity was assessed by measuring the zone of growth inhibition surrounding the disks. The results indicated that the essential oil, total hydroalcoholic extract, and proanthocyanidins of the bark of the P. eldarica were effective against the gram negative bacteria, P. aeruginosa, and significantly inhibited its growth in disk diffusion method (Pessential oil had the most potent inhibitory effect. However, none of the bark preparations could significantly inhibit the growth of S. aureus or E. coli. Our findings showed that P. eldarica bark components have significant anti-pseudomonas activity having potentials for new sources of antibacterial agents or antibacterial herbal preparations.

Crude Oil Price Forecasting Based on Hybridizing Wavelet Multiple Linear Regression Model, Particle Swarm Optimization Techniques, and Principal Component Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Shabri, Ani; Samsudin, Ruhaidah

2014-01-01

Crude oil prices do play significant role in the global economy and are a key input into option pricing formulas, portfolio allocation, and risk measurement. In this paper, a hybrid model integrating wavelet and multiple linear regressions (MLR) is proposed for crude oil price forecasting. In this model, Mallat wavelet transform is first selected to decompose an original time series into several subseries with different scale. Then, the principal component analysis (PCA) is used in processing subseries data in MLR for crude oil price forecasting. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to adopt the optimal parameters of the MLR model. To assess the effectiveness of this model, daily crude oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has been used as the case study. Time series prediction capability performance of the WMLR model is compared with the MLR, ARIMA, and GARCH models using various statistics measures. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the individual models in forecasting of the crude oil prices series. PMID:24895666

Crude oil price forecasting based on hybridizing wavelet multiple linear regression model, particle swarm optimization techniques, and principal component analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabri, Ani; Samsudin, Ruhaidah

2014-01-01

Crude oil prices do play significant role in the global economy and are a key input into option pricing formulas, portfolio allocation, and risk measurement. In this paper, a hybrid model integrating wavelet and multiple linear regressions (MLR) is proposed for crude oil price forecasting. In this model, Mallat wavelet transform is first selected to decompose an original time series into several subseries with different scale. Then, the principal component analysis (PCA) is used in processing subseries data in MLR for crude oil price forecasting. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to adopt the optimal parameters of the MLR model. To assess the effectiveness of this model, daily crude oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has been used as the case study. Time series prediction capability performance of the WMLR model is compared with the MLR, ARIMA, and GARCH models using various statistics measures. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the individual models in forecasting of the crude oil prices series.

Low-fat meat sausages with fish oil: optimization of milk proteins and carrageenan contents using response surface methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchetti, L; Andrés, S C; Califano, A N

2014-03-01

Response surface methodology was used to analyze the effect of milk proteins and 2:1 κ:ι-carrageenans on cooking loss (CL), weight lost by centrifugation (WLC) and texture attributes of low-fat meat sausages with pre-emulsified fish oil. A central-composite design was used to develop models for the objective responses. Changes in carrageenans affected more the responses than milk proteins levels. Convenience functions were calculated for CL, WLC, hardness, and springiness of the product. Responses were optimized simultaneously minimizing CL and WLC; ranges for hardness and springiness corresponded to commercial products (20 g of pork fat/100 g). The optimum corresponded to 0.593 g of carrageenans/100 g and 0.320 g of milk proteins and its total lipid content was 6.3 g/100 g. This formulation was prepared and evaluated showing a good agreement between predicted and experimental responses. These additives could produce low-fat meat sausages with pre-emulsified fish oil with good nutritional quality and similar characteristics than traditional ones. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statistical optimization for lipase production from solid waste of vegetable oil industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, Rajesh Kumar; Kumar, Mohit; Mohanty, Swati; Sawyer, Matthew; Rahman, Pattanathu K S M; Sukla, Lala Behari; Subudhi, Enketeswara

2018-04-21

The production of biofuel using thermostable bacterial lipase from hot spring bacteria out of low-cost agricultural residue olive oil cake is reported in the present paper. Using a lipase enzyme from Bacillus licheniformis, a 66.5% yield of methyl esters was obtained. Optimum parameters were determined, with maximum production of lipase at a pH of 8.2, temperature 50.8°C, moisture content of 55.7%, and biosurfactant content of 1.693 mg. The contour plots and 3D surface responses depict the significant interaction of pH and moisture content with biosurfactant during lipase production. Chromatographic analysis of the lipase transesterification product was methyl esters, from kitchen waste oil under optimized conditions, generated methyl palmitate, methyl stearate, methyl oleate, and methyl linoleate.

Measurement of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in CLA-rich soy oil by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR).

Science.gov (United States)

Kadamne, Jeta V; Jain, Vishal P; Saleh, Mohammed; Proctor, Andrew

2009-11-25

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers in oils are currently measured as fatty acid methyl esters by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) technique, which requires approximately 2 h to complete the analysis. Hence, we aim to develop a method to rapidly determine CLA isomers in CLA-rich soy oil. Soy oil with 0.38-25.11% total CLA was obtained by photo-isomerization of 96 soy oil samples for 24 h. A sample was withdrawn at 30 min intervals with repeated processing using a second batch of oil. Six replicates of GC-FID fatty acid analysis were conducted for each oil sample. The oil samples were scanned using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and the spectrum was collected. Calibration models were developed using partial least-squares (PLS-1) regression using Unscrambler software. Models were validated using a full cross-validation technique and tested using samples that were not included in the calibration sample set. Measured and predicted total CLA, trans,trans CLA isomers, total mono trans CLA isomers, trans-10,cis-12 CLA, trans-9,cis-11 CLA and cis-10,trans-12 CLA, and cis-9,trans-11 CLA had cross-validated coefficients of determinations (R2v) of 0.97, 0.98, 0.97, 0.98, 0.97, and 0.99 and corresponding root-mean-square error of validation (RMSEV) of 1.14, 0.69, 0.27, 0.07, 0.14, and 0.07% CLA, respectively. The ATR-FTIR technique is a rapid and less expensive method for determining CLA isomers in linoleic acid photo-isomerized soy oil than GC-FID.

Optimization of catalyst-free production of biodiesel from Ceiba pentandra (kapok) oil with high free fatty acid contents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ong, Lu Ki; Effendi, Chintya; Kurniawan, Alfin; Lin, Chun Xiang; Zhao, Xiu Song; Ismadji, Suryadi

2013-01-01

Catalyst-free biodiesel production from non-edible Ceiba pentandra (kapok) oil via supercritical methanol transesterification was demonstrated in this work. The supercritical transesterification experiments were performed in a batch reactor at temperatures of 250–350 °C, pressures of 10–18 MPa, reaction times of 120–600 s, and methanol to oil molar ratios of 15:1–35:1. Response surface methodology (RSM) and four-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied for the design and optimization of the experiments with respect to temperature, pressure, reaction time, and molar ratio of methanol to oil simultaneously. The response (i.e., FAME yield) was fitted by a quadratic polynomial regression model using least square analysis in a five-level-four-factor central composite design (CCD). The optimum conditions were found as follows: methanol to oil molar ratio of 30:1, temperature of 322 °C, pressure of 16.7 MPa, and reaction time of 476 s with FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) yield of 95.5%. The significance of the reaction parameters toward FAME yield was in the order of methanol to oil molar ratio > reaction time > pressure > temperature. - Highlights: • Transesterification of non-edible kapok oil into biodiesel via a non-catalytic route. • Methanol to oil molar ratio, temperature, pressure, and reaction time were optimized. • Experimental design in a five-level-four-factor central composite design. • Application of quadratic polynomial model for fitting the response (FAME yield)

Optimization of the Transesterification of Waste Cooking Oil with Mg-Al Hydrotalcite Using Response Surface Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laureano Costarrosa

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, biodiesel has become a very promising alternative to fossil diesel fuel, regarding environmental concerns and fuel resource depletion. Biodiesel is usually produced through homogeneous or heterogeneous transesterification of different fatty raw materials. Although main research has been carried out with homogenous catalysts, heterogeneous catalysts may be of interest due to ease of recovery and recycling, as well as readiness for continuous processing. In this work, calcined Mg-Al hydrotalcite (HT was used for the heterogeneous transesterification of waste cooking oil. Three reaction parameters, namely, reaction time, amount of catalyst, and methanol-to-oil molar ratio, were optimized by means of Response Surface Methodology (RSM at constant temperature (65 °C, using a Box-Behnken design. Optimal fatty acid methyl ester (FAME content (86.23% w/w FAME/sample was predicted by the model with an R-squared value of 98.45%, using 3.39 g of HT (8.5% w/w oil and an 8:1 methanol-oil molar ratio, for a duration of 3.12 h. It was observed that calcination of HT, while avoiding the previous washing step, allowed the presence of chemical species that enhanced the effect of the catalyst. It can be concluded from this field trial that calcined and nonwashed Mg-Al hydrotalcite may be considered an effective basic catalyst for the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil. Also, RSM proved to be a useful tool for predicting biodiesel yield.

NEB view of development potential and markets for heavy crude oil. [Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scotland, W A; Gutek, A M.H.

1977-01-01

The phased reduction in total crude oil and equivalent exports, from 911 Mpbd in 1974 to 465 Mbpd in 1976, has no doubt had a disruptive effect on the rate of development of heavy crude oil reserves. The effect could have become more series as total exports continued to drop. However, the separate licensing of heavy crude oil for export will allow heavy crude oil to enter available markets until the early 1980s. The construction of one or several upgrading facilities by the early 1980s, combined with growing domestic requirements for heavy crude oil feedstock, could make the disposition of heavy oil largely independent of the purchasing patterns of export markets. The prospect of increased market stability combined with increasing cash flows should provide an appropriate environment to optimize the role that heavy oil resources can play in Canada's future energy balance. (12 refs.)

EXPLOT - decision support system for optimization of oil exploitation; EXPLOT - sistema de apoio a decisao para a otimizacao da explotacao de petroleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tupac Valdivia, Yvan Jesus; Almeida, Luciana Faletti; Pacheco, Marco Aurelio Cavalcanti; Vellasco, Marley Maria Bernardes Rebuzzi [Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Eletrica. Lab. de Inteligencia Computacional], e-mail: yvantv@ele.puc-rio.br, e-mail: faletti@ele.puc-rio.br, e-mail: marco@ele.puc-rio.br, e-mail: marley@ele.puc-rio.br

2007-06-15

The present work offers a decision supporting system, integrated in different techniques (genetic algorithms, cultural algorithms, co-evolution, neural networks, neuro fuzzy model and distributed processing) for optimization of exploitation of oil reservoirs. The EXPLOT system identifies exploitation alternatives and determines the quantity, position, type (producers or injectors) and structure (horizontal or vertical) of wells, that maximize the present net value of the alternative (VPL). The EXPLOT system is composed of three main modules: the optimizer (genetic algorithms, cultural algorithms and co-evolution), the Production Curves Obtention (approximator neuro fuzzy-NFHB of the production curve) and the present net value calculation. To estimate the VPL of each developmental alternative, the system utilizes a reservoir simulator, specifically the IMEX, although other simulators may be utilized. In addition to these technologies, the system also utilizes distributed processing, based on the CORBA architecture for distributed execution of the reservoir simulator in a computer network, which significantly reduces the total optimization time. The EXPLOT system was already tested in different examples of oil fields. Results obtained so far are considered consistent according to the opinion of specialists, who consider the system as a new decision support tool concept in the area. The differences of EXPLOT are not only to be found in its efficient optimization model, but also in its interface, through which the specialists interact with the system, introducing project recommendations (e.g., five-spot wells), commanding a localized search for best solutions, sizing the simulation network and monitoring simulation distribution by means of available networks. The EXPLOT system is the result of joint research between CENPES and the Applied Computational Intelligence Lab, PUC-Rio, accomplished during the past three years. The continuation of this research project expands

Optimization of the production of bio diesel from egusi melon (Colocynthis Citrullus L.) oil using response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giwa, S.O.; Chuah, L.A.; Nor Mariah Adam

2009-01-01

Full text: In the present work, the response surface methodology (RSM), based on a central composite design (CCD), was used to determine the optimum conditions for the transesterification of crude egusi melon (Colocynthis citrullus L.) seed oil. Three process factors were evaluated at three levels (2 3 experimental design): the oil/ methanol molar ratio, the amount of catalyst in relation to the oil mass, and the reaction temperature. The amounts of catalyst and reaction temperature were the most significant (P 2 = 0.98). Using multiple regression analysis a quadratic polynomial equation was obtained for predicting methyl ester yield of the transesterification reaction. The squared terms of catalyst amount (P < 0.0001) and oil/ methanol molar ratio (P < 0.0072) showed significant effects on esters yield. The optimum reaction conditions for synthesis of EMOME were 1:6.55 oil-to-methanol molar ratio, 1.22 % catalyst amounts, and 65 degree Celsius reaction temperature resulting in a yield of 84.01 %. Using these optimal factor values under experimental conditions a methyl esters yield of 84.04 % was obtained on an average, and this value was well within the range predicted by the model. RSM was found to be a suitable technique for optimizing transesterification of egusi melon seed oil. Fuel properties of EMOME measured according to accepted methods were found to satisfy all prescribed ASTM (D 6751) and EN 14214 specifications. (author)

Optimization of culture medium for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by recombinant Pseudomonas stutzeri Rhl for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, F; Mandlaa, M; Hao, J; Liang, X; Shi, R; Han, S; Zhang, Y

2014-08-01

Response surface methodology was employed to enhance the anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by recombinant Pseudomonas stutzeri Rhl. Glycerol is a promising carbon source used to anaerobically produce rhamnolipid. In a Plackett-Burman design, glycerol, KH2 PO4 and yeast extract were significant factors. The proposed optimized medium contained the following: 46·55 g l(-1) glycerol; 3 g l(-1) NaNO3 ; 5·25 g l(-1) K2 HPO4 ·3H2 O; 5·71 g l(-1) KH2 PO4 ; 0·40 g l(-1) MgSO4 ·7H2 O; 0·13 g l(-1) CaCl2 ; 1·0 g l(-1) KCl; 1·0 g l(-1) NaCl; and 2·69 g l(-1) yeast extract. Using this optimized medium, we obtained an anaerobic yield of rhamnolipid of 3·12 ± 0·11 g l(-1) with a 0·85-fold increase. Core flooding test results also revealed that Ps. stutzeri Rhl grown in an optimized medium enhanced the oil recovery efficiency by 15·7%, which was 6·6% higher than in the initial medium. Results suggested that the optimized medium is a promising nutrient source that could effectively mobilize oil by enhancing the in situ production of rhamnolipid. The ex situ application of rhamnolipid for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is costly and complex in terms of rhamnolipid production, purification and transportation. Compared with ex situ applications, the in situ production of rhamnolipid in anaerobic oil reservoir is more advantageous for MEOR. This study is the first to report the anaerobic production optimization of rhamnolipid. Results showed that the optimized medium enhanced not only the anaerobic production of rhamnolipid but also crude oil recovery. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Biodiesel Production from Non-Edible Beauty Leaf (Calophyllum inophyllum Oil: Process Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad I. Jahirul

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the beauty leaf plant (Calophyllum Inophyllum is being considered as a potential 2nd generation biodiesel source due to high seed oil content, high fruit production rate, simple cultivation and ability to grow in a wide range of climate conditions. However, however, due to the high free fatty acid (FFA content in this oil, the potential of this biodiesel feedstock is still unrealized, and little research has been undertaken on it. In this study, transesterification of beauty leaf oil to produce biodiesel has been investigated. A two-step biodiesel conversion method consisting of acid catalysed pre-esterification and alkali catalysed transesterification has been utilized. The three main factors that drive the biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester (FAME conversion from vegetable oil (triglycerides were studied using response surface methodology (RSM based on a Box-Behnken experimental design. The factors considered in this study were catalyst concentration, methanol to oil molar ratio and reaction temperature. Linear and full quadratic regression models were developed to predict FFA and FAME concentration and to optimize the reaction conditions. The significance of these factors and their interaction in both stages was determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA. The reaction conditions for the largest reduction in FFA concentration for acid catalysed pre-esterification was 30:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 10% (w/w sulfuric acid catalyst loading and 75 °C reaction temperature. In the alkali catalysed transesterification process 7.5:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 1% (w/w sodium methoxide catalyst loading and 55 °C reaction temperature were found to result in the highest FAME conversion. The good agreement between model outputs and experimental results demonstrated that this methodology may be useful for industrial process optimization for biodiesel production from beauty leaf oil and possibly other industrial processes as well.

Screening, optimization and kinetics of Jatropha curcas oil transesterification with heterogeneous catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zanette, Andreia F.; Barella, Rodrigo A.; Silva, Edson A. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Parana, Toledo (Brazil); Pergher, Sibele B.C.; Treichel, Helen; Oliveira, Debora; Mazutti, Marcio A.; Oliveira, J. Vladimir [Department of Food Engineering, URI, Campus de Erechim, CEP 99700-000, Erechim (Brazil)

2011-02-15

This work investigates the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from Jatropha curcas oil using a variety of heterogeneous catalysts: resins, zeolites, clays, hydrotalcites, aluminas and niobium oxide. For this purpose, a catalyst screening was first conducted in a batch reactor at the following operating conditions: oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:9, 6 h of reaction, 5 wt% catalyst, at 333 and 393 K. From the screening step, KSF clay and Amberlyst 15 catalysts were selected to carry out a 2{sup 3} full factorial central composite rotatable design so as to elucidate the effects of process variables on FAME yield. The optimum reaction conditions for both catalysts were found to be oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:12, 5 wt% of catalyst, 433 K and 6 h of reaction with a FAME yield of about 70 wt%. A kinetic study was then experimentally performed and a semi-empirical model was built to represent the experimental data. Finally, catalyst re-utilization in five successive batch experiments was evaluated at the optimized conditions. (author)

Production and optimization of polyhydroxyalkanoates from non-edible Calophyllum inophyllum oil using Cupriavidus necator.

Science.gov (United States)

Arumugam, A; Senthamizhan, S G; Ponnusami, V; Sudalai, S

2018-06-01

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable polymers found in the cellular masses of a wide range of bacterial species and the demand for PHA is steadily growing. In this work we have produced PHA from a low-cost substrate, Calophyllum inophyllum oil, using Cupriavidus necator. Effects of various process parameters such as Oil concentration, Nitrogen source and inoculum size on the production of PHA were studied using Response Surface Methodology. A quadratic equation was used in the model to fit the experimental data. It was found that the model could satisfactorily predict the PHA yield (R 2 =99.17%). Linear, quadratic and interaction terms used in the model were found to be statistically significant. Maximum PHA yield of 10.6gL -1 was obtained under the optimized conditions of oil concentration - 17.5%, inoculum concentration - 50mL/L and nitrogen content - 1.125gL -1 , respectively. The product obtained was characterized using FTIR and NMR to confirm that it was PHA. The results demonstrate that C. inophyllum oil, a non-edible oil, can be potentially used as a low-cost substrate for the production of PHA. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of aqueous enzymatic extraction of oil from shrimp processing by-products using response surface methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen WENWEI

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract The aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE of oil from shrimp processing by-products was investigated. Four kinds of proteases, including alkaline protease, neutral protease, flavor protease and compound protease, were applied to hydrolysis shrimp processing by-products. The results showed that flavor protease was the best hydrolysis enzyme for shrimp processing by-products to obtain high oil recovery. The influences of four factors, including enzyme amount, liquid/solid ratio, hydrolysis time and hydrolysis temperature, on shrimp oil extraction yield were also studied. The flavor enzyme hydrolysis condition was optimized as following: enzyme amount of 2.0% (w/w, liquid/solid ratio of 9.0ml/g, hydrolysis time of 2.6 h and hydrolysis temperature of 50 °C. Under these optimum hydrolysis conditions, the experimental oil extraction yield was 88.9%.

Oil fuel delivery optimization for multi product and multi depot: the case of petrol station replenishment problem (PSRP)

Science.gov (United States)

Surjandari, Isti; Rachman, Amar; Dianawati, Fauzia; Wibowo, R. Pramono

2011-10-01

With the Oil and Gas Law No. 22 of 2001, national and foreign private enterprises can invest in all sectors of Oil and Gas in Indonesia. In anticipation of this free competition, Pertamina, as a state-owned enterprises, which previously had monopolized the oil and gas business activities in Indonesia, should be able to improve services as well as the efficiency in order to compete in the free market, especially in terms of cost efficiency of fuel distribution to gas station (SPBU). To optimize the distribution activity, it is necessary to design a scheduling system and its fuel delivery routes daily to every SPBU. The determination of routes and scheduling delivery of fuel to the SPBU can be modeled as a Petrol Station Replenishment Problem (PSRP) with the multi-depot, multi-product, time windows and split deliveries, which in this study will be completed by the Tabu Search algorithm (TS). This study was conducted in the area of Bandung, the capital of West Java province, which is a big city and the neighboring city of Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. By using the fuel delivery data for one day, the results showed a decrease of 16.38% of the distance of the route compared to the current conditions, which impacted on the reduction of distribution costs and decrease the number of total trips by 5.22% and 3.83%.

Equipment cost optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, E.M.; Farias, M.A.; Dreyer, S.R.B.

1995-01-01

Considering the importance of the cost of material and equipment in the overall cost profile of an oil company, which in the case of Petrobras, represents approximately 23% of the total operational cost or 10% of the sales, an organization for the optimization of such costs has been established within Petrobras. Programs are developed aiming at: optimization of life-cycle cost of material and equipment; optimization of industrial processes costs through material development. This paper describes the methodology used in the management of the development programs and presents some examples of concluded and ongoing programs, which are conducted in permanent cooperation with suppliers, technical laboratories and research institutions and have been showing relevant results

The investigation for attaining the optimal yield of oil shale by integrating high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharyya, A.T.

1984-03-01

This work presents a systemanalytical investigation and shows how far a high temperature reactor can be integrated for achieving the optimal yield of kerogen from oil shale. About 1/3 of the produced components must be burnt out in order to have the required high temperature process heat. The works of IGT show that the hydrogen gasification of oil shale enables not only to reach oil shale of higher quality but also allows to achieve a higher extraction quantity. For this reason a hydro-gasification process has been calculated in this work in which not only hydrogen is used as the gasification medium but also two high temperature reactors are integrated as the source of high temperature heat. (orig.) [de

Crude Oil Price Forecasting Based on Hybridizing Wavelet Multiple Linear Regression Model, Particle Swarm Optimization Techniques, and Principal Component Analysis

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Ani Shabri

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Crude oil prices do play significant role in the global economy and are a key input into option pricing formulas, portfolio allocation, and risk measurement. In this paper, a hybrid model integrating wavelet and multiple linear regressions (MLR is proposed for crude oil price forecasting. In this model, Mallat wavelet transform is first selected to decompose an original time series into several subseries with different scale. Then, the principal component analysis (PCA is used in processing subseries data in MLR for crude oil price forecasting. The particle swarm optimization (PSO is used to adopt the optimal parameters of the MLR model. To assess the effectiveness of this model, daily crude oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI, has been used as the case study. Time series prediction capability performance of the WMLR model is compared with the MLR, ARIMA, and GARCH models using various statistics measures. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the individual models in forecasting of the crude oil prices series.

Too Much Coal, Too Little Oil

OpenAIRE

Frederick van der Ploeg; Cees Withagen

2011-01-01

Optimal climate policy is studied. Coal, the abundant resource, contributes more CO2 per unit of energy than the exhaustible resource, oil. We characterize the optimal sequencing oil and coal and departures from the Herfindahl rule. "Preference reversal" can take place. If coal is very dirty compared to oil, there is no simultaneous use. Else, the optimal outcome starts with oil, before using oil and coal together, and finally coal on its own, The "laissez-faire" outcome uses coal forever or ...

Optimal nutrient application strategy for bioremediation of oil-polluted beaches. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, H.; Zhao, Q.; Boufadel, M.C.; Venosa, A.D.

2007-01-01

Offshore oil spills in coastal areas generally occur in the intertidal zone of beaches and affect the top 25 cm of soil, known as the bioremediation zone. Biostimulation by nutrient application such as nitrogen and phosphorus is a viable technology for restoring oil-contaminated beaches. The key for achieving a rapid cost-effective cleanup is to ensure maximum nutrient residence time. This study proposed a strategy that consisted of injecting nutrients through a perforated pipe at the high tide line. Beach hydraulics were numerically simulated to estimate the optimal injection flow rate of nutrient solution. It was shown that the optimal application should begin following high tide just as it drops and should last for half a tidal cycle. The flow rate ensures that the saturated wet-front of the nutrient solution on the beach surface moves seaward with the same speed of the falling tide keeping a constant distance with the tide line. The numerical results were generalized to a broad range of hydraulic and tidal properties of beaches using an innovative dimensionless formulation for water flow and solute transport in porous media. Nomographs were presented to provide the flow rate based on 4 parameters, notably the beach slope, permeability, tidal amplitude and tidal period. 29 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs

Preoperative Optimization of Total Joint Arthroplasty Surgical Risk: Obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Fournier, Matthew N; Hallock, Justin; Mihalko, William M

2016-08-01

Obesity is a problem that is increasing in prevalence in the United States and in other countries, and it is a common comorbidity in patients seeking total joint arthroplasty for degenerative musculoskeletal diseases. Obesity, as well as commonly associated comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and those contributing to the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, have been shown to have detrimental effects on total joint arthroplasty outcomes. Although there are effective surgical and nonsurgical interventions which can result in weight loss in these patients, concomitant benefit on arthroplasty outcomes is not clear. Preoperative optimization of surgical risk in obese total joint arthroplasty patients is an important point of intervention to improve arthroplasty outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of varying levels of formaldehyde treatment of mustard oil cake on rumen fermentation, digestibility in wheat straw based total mixed diets in vitro

Science.gov (United States)

Mahima; Kumar, Vinod; Tomar, S. K.; Roy, Debashis; Kumar, Muneendra

2015-01-01

Aim: The aim of the current study was to protect the protein in mustard cake by different levels of formaldehyde treatment with a view to optimize the level of formaldehyde. Materials and Methods: Different levels of formaldehyde treatment (0, 1, 1.5 and 2% of crude protein) containing concentrate and roughages diet in 40:60 ratio were tested for their effect on nutrients digestibility, in vitro ammonia release, in vitro gas production and change in protein fractions. Non-significant (p≤0.05) effect on pH, microbial biomass, partitioning factor, total gas production (TGP), TGP per g dry matter and TGP per g digestible dry matter (ml/g) was observed in almost all the treatments. Results: Total volatile fatty acids at 2% formaldehyde treatment level of mustard cake was lower (p<0.05) as compared to other groups, while in vitro dry matter digestibility and in vitro organic matter digestibility were reported to be low in 1% formaldehyde treated group. Conclusion: On a holistic view, it could be considered that formaldehyde treatment at 1.5% level was optimal for protection of mustard oil cake protein. PMID:27047133

Effect of varying levels of formaldehyde treatment of mustard oil cake on rumen fermentation, digestibility in wheat straw based total mixed diets in vitro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahima

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of the current study was to protect the protein in mustard cake by different levels of formaldehyde treatment with a view to optimize the level of formaldehyde. Materials and Methods: Different levels of formaldehyde treatment (0, 1, 1.5 and 2% of crude protein containing concentrate and roughages diet in 40:60 ratio were tested for their effect on nutrients digestibility, in vitro ammonia release, in vitro gas production and change in protein fractions. Non-significant (p≤0.05 effect on pH, microbial biomass, partitioning factor, total gas production (TGP, TGP per g dry matter and TGP per g digestible dry matter (ml/g was observed in almost all the treatments. Results: Total volatile fatty acids at 2% formaldehyde treatment level of mustard cake was lower (p<0.05 as compared to other groups, while in vitro dry matter digestibility and in vitro organic matter digestibility were reported to be low in 1% formaldehyde treated group. Conclusion: On a holistic view, it could be considered that formaldehyde treatment at 1.5% level was optimal for protection of mustard oil cake protein.

Optimal valve location in long oil pipelines

OpenAIRE

Grigoriev, A.; Grigorieva, N.V.

2007-01-01

We address the valve location problem, one of the basic problems in design of long oil pipelines. Whenever a pipeline is depressurized, the shutoff valves block the oil flow and seal the damaged part of the pipeline. Thus, the quantity of oil possibly contaminating the area around the pipeline is determined by the volume of the damaged section of the pipeline between two consecutive valves. Then, ecologic damage can be quantified by the amount of leaked oil and the environmental characteristi...

Oil characterisation: assessment of composition, risks, degradation and remediation potential of total petroleum hydrocarbons in soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lookman, R.; Vanermen, G.; Van De Weghe, H.; Gemoets, J.; Van der Sterren, G.; Alphenaar, A.

2005-01-01

Several methods are available for the characterization of petroleum hydrocarbons. The TPHCWG (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Criteria Working Group) developed a method based on a silica column separation of aromatics and aliphatics and a GC-FID subdivision into equivalent-carbon fractions (EC) ('TPH-method'). This method was mainly developed for assessing human risks of oil compounds. Within NOBIS (Dutch Research program Biological In-situ Remediation), another method was developed based upon an equilibrium-experiment of the oil-polluted soil with water (column recirculation), which was further developed by TTE ('TTE-method'). This method uses measured water solubilities of individual oil components and GC-retention times yielding a subdivision of the hydrocarbons into compound classes that are relevant for assessing the remediation potential of the specific oil pollution. In this paper we present results of a research project in which we developed a new method, the 'OK-method' that combines these two procedures and allows a complete characterisation of the oil in terms of composition, (human) risks, volatility, solubility, plume behaviour (migration velocities of the soluble components) and aerobic degradation potential. (authors)

Optimal Power Allocation for Downstream xDSL With Per-Modem Total Power Constraints: Broadcast Channel Optimal Spectrum Balancing (BC-OSB)

Science.gov (United States)

Le Nir, Vincent; Moonen, Marc; Verlinden, Jan; Guenach, Mamoun

2009-02-01

Recently, the duality between Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Multiple Access Channels (MAC) and MIMO Broadcast Channels (BC) has been established under a total power constraint. The same set of rates for MAC can be achieved in BC exploiting the MAC-BC duality formulas while preserving the total power constraint. In this paper, we describe the BC optimal power allo- cation applying this duality in a downstream x-Digital Subscriber Lines (xDSL) context under a total power constraint for all modems over all tones. Then, a new algorithm called BC-Optimal Spectrum Balancing (BC-OSB) is devised for a more realistic power allocation under per-modem total power constraints. The capacity region of the primal BC problem under per-modem total power constraints is found by the dual optimization problem for the BC under per-modem total power constraints which can be rewritten as a dual optimization problem in the MAC by means of a precoder matrix based on the Lagrange multipliers. We show that the duality gap between the two problems is zero. The multi-user power allocation problem has been solved for interference channels and MAC using the OSB algorithm. In this paper we solve the problem of multi-user power allocation for the BC case using the OSB algorithm as well and we derive a computational efficient algorithm that will be referred to as BC-OSB. Simulation results are provided for two VDSL2 scenarios: the first one with Differential-Mode (DM) transmission only and the second one with both DM and Phantom- Mode (PM) transmissions.

Optimization of palm oil physical refining process for reduction of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) ester formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zulkurnain, Musfirah; Lai, Oi Ming; Tan, Soo Choon; Abdul Latip, Razam; Tan, Chin Ping

2013-04-03

The reduction of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) ester formation in refined palm oil was achieved by incorporation of additional processing steps in the physical refining process to remove chloroester precursors prior to the deodorization step. The modified refining process was optimized for the least 3-MCPD ester formation and acceptable refined palm oil quality using response surface methodology (RSM) with five processing parameters: water dosage, phosphoric acid dosage, degumming temperature, activated clay dosage, and deodorization temperature. The removal of chloroester precursors was largely accomplished by increasing the water dosage, while the reduction of 3-MCPD esters was a compromise in oxidative stability and color of the refined palm oil because some factors such as acid dosage, degumming temperature, and deodorization temperature showed contradictory effects. The optimization resulted in 87.2% reduction of 3-MCPD esters from 2.9 mg/kg in the conventional refining process to 0.4 mg/kg, with color and oil stability index values of 2.4 R and 14.3 h, respectively.

Fatty Acid Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Seed Oil Extracted by Optimized Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuefei; Sun, Da; Chen, Hao; Qian, Lisheng; Xu, Ping

2011-01-01

Seeds are another product in addition to leaves (raw materials for teas) of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plant. The great increase of tea consumption in recent years raises the challenge of finding commercial applications for tea seeds. In the present study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction edible oil from tea seed was carried out, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize processing parameters including time (20–90 min), temperature (35–45 °C) and pressure (50–90 MPa). The fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity of the extracted oil was also investigated. The highest yield of oil (29.2 ± 0.6%) was obtained under optimal SC-CO2 extraction conditions (45 °C, 89.7 min and 32 MPa, respectively), which was significantly higher (p Soxhlet extraction. Meanwhile, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO2 contained approximately 80% unsaturated fatty acids and showed a much stronger scavenging ability on the DPPH radical than that extracted by Soxhlet. SC-CO2 is a promising alternative for efficient extraction of edible oil from tea seed. Moreover, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO2 is highly edible and has good antioxidant activity, and therefore may play a potential role as a health-promoting food resource in human diets. PMID:22174626

Fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) seed oil extracted by optimized supercritical carbon dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuefei; Sun, Da; Chen, Hao; Qian, Lisheng; Xu, Ping

2011-01-01

Seeds are another product in addition to leaves (raw materials for teas) of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plant. The great increase of tea consumption in recent years raises the challenge of finding commercial applications for tea seeds. In the present study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO(2)) extraction edible oil from tea seed was carried out, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize processing parameters including time (20-90 min), temperature (35-45 °C) and pressure (50-90 MPa). The fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity of the extracted oil was also investigated. The highest yield of oil (29.2 ± 0.6%) was obtained under optimal SC-CO(2) extraction conditions (45 °C, 89.7 min and 32 MPa, respectively), which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that (25.3 ± 1.0%) given by Soxhlet extraction. Meanwhile, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO(2) contained approximately 80% unsaturated fatty acids and showed a much stronger scavenging ability on the DPPH radical than that extracted by Soxhlet. SC-CO(2) is a promising alternative for efficient extraction of edible oil from tea seed. Moreover, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO(2) is highly edible and has good antioxidant activity, and therefore may play a potential role as a health-promoting food resource in human diets.

Fatty Acid Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Tea (Camellia sinensis L. Seed Oil Extracted by Optimized Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping Xu

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Seeds are another product in addition to leaves (raw materials for teas of tea (Camellia sinensis L. plant. The great increase of tea consumption in recent years raises the challenge of finding commercial applications for tea seeds. In the present study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2 extraction edible oil from tea seed was carried out, response surface methodology (RSM was used to optimize processing parameters including time (20–90 min, temperature (35–45 °C and pressure (50–90 MPa. The fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity of the extracted oil was also investigated. The highest yield of oil (29.2 ± 0.6% was obtained under optimal SC-CO2 extraction conditions (45 °C, 89.7 min and 32 MPa, respectively, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05 than that (25.3 ± 1.0% given by Soxhlet extraction. Meanwhile, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO2 contained approximately 80% unsaturated fatty acids and showed a much stronger scavenging ability on the DPPH radical than that extracted by Soxhlet. SC-CO2 is a promising alternative for efficient extraction of edible oil from tea seed. Moreover, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO2 is highly edible and has good antioxidant activity, and therefore may play a potential role as a health-promoting food resource in human diets.

Nonlinear dynamic simulation of optimal depletion of crude oil in the lower 48 United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruth, M.; Cleveland, C.J.

1993-01-01

This study combines the economic theory of optimal resource use with econometric estimates of demand and supply parameters to develop a nonlinear dynamic model of crude oil exploration, development, and production in the lower 48 United States. The model is simulated with the graphical programming language STELLA, for the years 1985 to 2020. The procedure encourages use of economic theory and econometrics in combination with nonlinear dynamic simulation to enhance our understanding of complex interactions present in models of optimal resource use. (author)

Dynamics of the oil transition: Modeling capacity, depletion, and emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, Adam R.; Plevin, Richard J.; Farrell, Alexander E.

2010-01-01

The global petroleum system is undergoing a shift to substitutes for conventional petroleum (SCPs). The Regional Optimization Model for Emissions from Oil Substitutes, or ROMEO, models this oil transition and its greenhouse gas impacts. ROMEO models the global liquid fuel market in an economic optimization framework, but in contrast to other models it solves each model year sequentially, with investment and production optimized under uncertainty about future prevailing prices or resource quantities. ROMEO includes more hydrocarbon resource types than integrated assessment models of climate change. ROMEO also includes the carbon intensities and costs of production of these resources. We use ROMEO to explore the uncertainty of future costs, emissions, and total fuel production under a number of scenarios. We perform sensitivity analysis on the endowment of conventional petroleum and future carbon taxes. Results show incremental emissions from production of oil substitutes of ∼ 0-30 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon over the next 50 years (depending on the carbon tax). Also, demand reductions due to the higher cost of SCPs could reduce or eliminate these increases. Calculated emissions are highly sensitive to the endowment of conventional oil and less sensitive to a carbon tax.

Optimization process condition for deacidification of palm oil by liquid-liquid extraction using NADES (Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent)

Science.gov (United States)

Israyandi, Zahrina, Ida; Mulia, Kamarza

2017-03-01

One of many steps in palm oil refining process is deacidification which aims to separate free fatty acids and other compounds from the oil. The deacidification process was using a green solvent, known as NADES, that consisted of betaine monohydrate and propionic acid at molar ratio of 1:8. In this study, the process conditions were optimized using the response surface method (RSM) through central composite design in order to predict the maximum distribution coefficient of palmitic acid. The obtained regression equation of the basic model for optimization was: y = 0.717 + 0.003x1 + 0.043 x2 + 0.148x3 - 0.005 x1x1 - 0.030 x2x2 + 0.047 x3x3 - 0.008 x1x2 + 0.008 x1x3 + 0.033 x2x3. The independent variables are x1 ≡ temperature (40, 60, 80 °C), x2≡ amount of palmitic acid in the palm oil (2, 5, 8 %) and x3 ≡ mass ratios of oil to NADES (1:2, 1:1, 2:1). The optimum process condition found was temperature of 62.3°C, palmitic acid content of 8%, and NADES to palm oil mass ratio of 1:2, resulting in the maximum distribution coefficient of 0.96.

Process Optimization for Biodiesel Production from Corn Oil and Its Oxidative Stability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. El Boulifi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Response surface methodology (RSM based on central composite design (CCD was used to optimize biodiesel production process from corn oil. The process variables, temperature and catalyst concentration were found to have significant influence on biodiesel yield. The optimum combination derived via RSM for high corn oil methyl ester yield (99.48% was found to be 1.18% wt catalyst concentration at a reaction temperature of 55.6∘C. To determine how long biodiesel can safely be stored, it is desirable to have a measurement for the stability of the biodiesel against such oxidation. Storage time and oxygen availability have been considered as possible factors influencing oxidative instability. Biodiesel from corn oil was stored for a period of 30 months, and the physico-chemical parameters of samples were measured at regular interval of time. Results show that the acid value (AV, peroxide value (PV, and viscosity (ν increased while the iodine value (IV decreased. These parameters changed very significantly when the sample was stored under normal oxygen atmosphere. However, the ν, AV, and IV of the biodiesel sample which was stored under argon atmosphere were within the limit by the European specifications (EN 14214.

DETERMINATION OF OPTIMAL CONTOURS OF OPEN PIT MINE DURING OIL SHALE EXPLOITATION, BY MINEX 5.2.3. PROGRAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Ignjatović

2013-04-01

Full Text Available By examination and determination of optimal solution of technological processes of exploitation and oil shale processing from Aleksinac site and with adopted technical solution and exploitation of oil shale, derived a technical solution that optimize contour of the newly defined open pit mine. In the world, this problem is solved by using a computer program that has become the established standard for quick and efficient solution for this problem. One of the computer’s program, which can be used for determination of the optimal contours of open pit mines is Minex 5.2.3. program, produced in Australia in the Surpac Minex Group Pty Ltd Company, which is applied at the Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor (no. of licenses are SSI - 24765 and SSI - 24766. In this study, authors performed 11 optimization of deposit geo - models in Minex 5.2.3. based on the tests results, performed in a laboratory for soil mechanics of Mining and Metallurgy Institute, Bor, on samples from the site of Aleksinac deposits.

Design and Optimization of Sheet Hydroforming Process for Manufacturing Oil tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prakash, C.; Narasimhan, K.

2005-01-01

The need for reduction of weight is an important issue in sheet metal forming industry. The hydroforming process has become an effective manufacturing process, as it can be adapted for the manufacturing of complex structural components with high structural stiffness. The process parameters and material properties are important factors that influence the quality of final product. In this paper, an optimized window of process parameters is obtained for successful sheet hydroforming of Oil tank. The simulation of hydroforming process is performed by using a Finite Element Method based Commercial code

From water-in-oil to oil-in-water emulsions to optimize the production of fatty acids using ionic liquids in micellar systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Luísa D F; Coutinho, João A P; Ventura, Sónia P M

2015-01-01

Biocatalysis is nowadays considered as one of the most important tools in green chemistry. The elimination of multiple steps involved in some of the most complex chemical synthesis, reducing the amounts of wastes and hazards, thus increasing the reaction yields and decreasing the intrinsic costs, are the major advantages of biocatalysis. This work aims at improving the enzymatic hydrolysis of olive oil to produce valuable fatty acids through emulsion systems formed by long alkyl chain ionic liquids (ILs). The optimization of the emulsion and the best conditions to maximize the production of fatty acids were investigated. The stability of the emulsion was characterized considering the effect of several parameters, namely, the IL and its concentration and different water/olive oil volumetric ratios. ILs from the imidazolium and phosphonium families were evaluated. The results suggest that the ILs effect on the hydrolysis performance varies with the water concentration and the emulsion system formed, that is, water-in-oil or oil-in-water emulsion. Although at low water concentrations, the presence of ILs does not present any advantages for the hydrolysis reaction, at high water contents (in oil-in-water emulsions), the imidazolium-based IL acts as an enhancer of the lipase catalytic capacity, super-activating 1.8 times the enzyme, and consequently promoting the complete hydrolysis of the olive oil for the highest water contents [85% (v/v)]. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Optimizing the conditions for the microwave-assisted direct liquefaction of Ulva prolifera for bio-oil production using response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Junhai; Zhuang, Yingbin; Li, Yan; Chen, Limei; Guo, Jingxue; Li, Demao; Ye, Naihao

2013-01-01

Microwave-assisted direct liquefaction (MADL) of Ulva prolifera was performed in ethylene glycol (EG) using sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) as a catalyst. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on central composite rotatable design (CCRD) was employed to optimize the conditions of three independent variables (catalyst content, solvent-to-feedstock ratio and temperature) for the liquefaction yield. And the bio-oil was analyzed by elementary analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis (FT-IR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The maximum liquefaction yield was 93.17%, which was obtained under a microwave power of 600 W for 30 min at 165 °C with a solvent-to-feedstock ratio of 18.87:1 and 4.93% sulfuric acid. The bio-oil was mainly composed of phthalic acid esters, alkenes and a fatty acid methyl ester with a long chain from C 16 to C 20 . - Highlights: • Ulva prolifera was converted to bio-oil through microwave-assisted direct liquefaction. • Response surface methodology was used to optimize the liquefaction technology. • A maximum liquefaction rate of 93.17 wt% bio-oil was obtained. • The bio-oil was composed of carboxylic acids and esters

Evaluation of extracts and essential oil from Callistemon viminalis leaves: antibacterial and antioxidant activities, total phenolic and flavonoid contents.

Science.gov (United States)

Salem, Mohamed Z M; Ali, Hayssam M; El-Shanhorey, Nader A; Abdel-Megeed, Ahmed

2013-10-01

To investigate antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Callistemon viminalis (C. viminalis) leaves. The essential oil of C. viminalis leaves obtained by hydro-distillation was analyzed by GC/MS. Different extracts were tested for total phenolic and flavonoid contents and in vitro antioxidant (DPPH assay) and antibacterial (agar disc diffusion and 96-well micro-plates methods) actives. Fourteen components were identified in the essential oil, representing 98.94% of the total oil. The major components were 1,8-cineole (64.53%) and α-pinene (9.69%). Leaf essential oil exhibited the highest antioxidant activity of (88.60±1.51)% comparable to gallic acid, a standard compound [(80.00±2.12)%]. Additionally, the biggest zone of inhibitions against the studied bacterial strains was observed by the essential oil when compared to the standard antibiotic (tetracycline). The crude methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction had a significant antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains. It can be suggested that C. viminalis is a great potential source of antibacterial and antioxidant compounds useful for new antimicrobial drugs from the natural basis. The present study revealed that the essential oil as well as the methanol extracts and ethyl acetate fraction of C. viminalis leaves exhibited highly significant antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains. Copyright © 2013 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevention of refinery plugging by residual oil gellant chemicals in crude-optimization of phosphonate ester oil gellants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2005-07-01

This study examined the use of phosphonate ester oil gellants for refinery plugging. Field tests were performed to test ways to optimize cost and performance and to establish quality control specifications based on performance testing and compositional analysis determined through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Additional field tests were performed to ensure both operational performance and the ability to control volatile phosphorus while continuing to meet the standards of the 2 initial field trials. The study assessed the ability of phosphonate esters to control volatile phosphorus at higher temperatures. Distillations used to evaluate volatile phosphorus to date have had a 250 degree C end point. This temperature was chosen because it represents the approximate temperature experienced at the distillation tower trays where plugging has been observed from components condensing from the gas phase. However, the actual peak temperature in the tower bottom is closer to 350 degrees C. This higher temperature is the actual temperature at which decomposition or volatilization occurs. In order to fully understand the ability to control volatile phosphorus, distillations were conducted with a 350 degree C end point. Volatile and total phosphorus to both 250 degrees C and 350 degrees C end points were reported. The study also addressed the concern regarding organic halide formation under distillation tower conditions, although no organic halides were detected in the field trials. 3 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

Effect of soy oil, orange (Citrus sinensis) peel oil and their blends on total phospholipid, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant defense system in brain tissues of normo rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erukainure, O.L.; Ajiboye, J.A.; Davis, F.F.; Obabire, K.; Okoro, E.E.; Adenekan, S.O.; Adegbola, M.V.; Awogbemi, B.J.; Odjobo, B.O.; Zaruwa, M.Z.

2016-07-01

Soy and orange peel (C. sinensis) oils were fed to albino male rats to determine their effects on malondialdehyde (MDA), total phospholipid (TP) content and oxidative stress biomarkers of brain tissue. Beside mouse chow, four diets were designed to contain 50% of their energy as carbohydrate, 35% as fat, and 15% as protein, and one lipid-free diet which had distilled water substituted for fat. Groups of five rats were each fed one of these diets, while a fifth group was fed pelletized mouse chow. A significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in the TP of the mouse chow group. The TP was highest (p < 0.05) in those fed the soy and orange peel oil blend as compared to those fed these oils separately. Feeding soy oil led to decreased MDA in brain tissues and influenced the TP content. Significantly lower (p < 0.05) GSH and SOD activities were observed in the groups fed soy oil+orange peel oil, and soy oil diets respectively. Higher significant (p < 0.05) activities were observed in the orange oil fed group. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) catalase activity was observed in the lipid free diet fed group, which was followed by orange peel oil, and soy oil+orange peel oil diets, respectively. A combination of both oils may be useful in the management of certain neurological diseases or illnesses and protect against other oxidative stress complications. (Author)

Multivariate optimization of the determination of zinc in diesel oil employing a novel extraction strategy based on emulsion breaking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassella, Ricardo J.; Brum, Daniel M.; Lima, Claudio F.; Caldas, Luiz Fernando S.; Paula, Carlos Eduardo R. de

2011-01-01

This paper describes the extraction/pre-concentration of Zn from diesel oil and its determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS), proposed as a novel approach for these kinds of analyses and the multivariate optimization of the proposed procedure. The extraction of Zn is based on the emulsification of an aqueous solution containing Triton X-114 and HNO 3 with diesel oil samples followed by breaking of the emulsion by heating. The aqueous phase obtained after the emulsion breaking was collected and used for Zn quantification by FAAS. The methodology was optimized using a Doehlert design and the system variables were the concentrations of surfactant and HNO 3 in the solution employed in the emulsification and the temperature used in the emulsion breaking. The ratio between absorbance and the time required to break the emulsions was taken as response. Two sets of experiments, using different emulsifier agents, were run: the first one using Triton X-100 and the second one using Triton X-114. At optimized conditions, the emulsions were prepared by mixing 10 mL of diesel oil with 2 mL of a solution containing 5% w/v of Triton X-114 and 15% v/v of HNO 3 and broken by heating at 80 o C. The proposed analytical procedure was applied in the analysis of six real samples of diesel oil and a recovery test was carried out by spiking the samples with known amounts of Zn (25 and 50 μg L -1 ), added as organometallic oiled standard. Recovery percentages achieved in this test were between 92 and 109%.

Multivariate optimization of the determination of zinc in diesel oil employing a novel extraction strategy based on emulsion breaking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cassella, Ricardo J., E-mail: cassella@vm.uff.br [Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Outeiro de Sao Joao Batista s/n, Centro, Niteroi, RJ 24020-141 (Brazil); Brum, Daniel M.; Lima, Claudio F. [Departamento de Quimica, Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Av. Peter Henry Rolfs s/n, Vicosa, MG 36570-000 (Brazil); Caldas, Luiz Fernando S.; Paula, Carlos Eduardo R. de [Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Outeiro de Sao Joao Batista s/n, Centro, Niteroi, RJ 24020-141 (Brazil)

2011-03-25

This paper describes the extraction/pre-concentration of Zn from diesel oil and its determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS), proposed as a novel approach for these kinds of analyses and the multivariate optimization of the proposed procedure. The extraction of Zn is based on the emulsification of an aqueous solution containing Triton X-114 and HNO{sub 3} with diesel oil samples followed by breaking of the emulsion by heating. The aqueous phase obtained after the emulsion breaking was collected and used for Zn quantification by FAAS. The methodology was optimized using a Doehlert design and the system variables were the concentrations of surfactant and HNO{sub 3} in the solution employed in the emulsification and the temperature used in the emulsion breaking. The ratio between absorbance and the time required to break the emulsions was taken as response. Two sets of experiments, using different emulsifier agents, were run: the first one using Triton X-100 and the second one using Triton X-114. At optimized conditions, the emulsions were prepared by mixing 10 mL of diesel oil with 2 mL of a solution containing 5% w/v of Triton X-114 and 15% v/v of HNO{sub 3} and broken by heating at 80 {sup o}C. The proposed analytical procedure was applied in the analysis of six real samples of diesel oil and a recovery test was carried out by spiking the samples with known amounts of Zn (25 and 50 {mu}g L{sup -1}), added as organometallic oiled standard. Recovery percentages achieved in this test were between 92 and 109%.

A dynamic model of optimal reduction of marine oil pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deissenberg, C. [CEFI-CNRS, Les Milles (France); Gottinger, H.W. [International Inst. for Environmental Economics and Management, Bad Waldsee (Germany); Gurman, V. [RAS, Program Systems Inst., Pereslavl-Zalessky (Russian Federation); Marinushkin, D. [Pereslavl Univ., Pereslavl-Zalessky (Russian Federation)

2001-07-01

This paper proposes a system of dynamic models to describe the interactive behaviour of different agents (polluters, inspectors, and a principal pollution control agency) involved in the processes of marine oil pollution and of its prevention and purification, under some realistic assumptions, In particular, short- and long-term economic responses of polluters to monitoring efforts, as well as possible collusions between polluters and inspectors, are taken into account. A numerical example is considered using the results of Deissenberg et al., (2001), which show the existence of optimal fines and inspector wage rates that minimize (along with other variables) a simple and visual 'social damage' criterion. (Author)

Design and optimization of hybrid ex situ/in situ steam generation recovery processes for heavy oil and bitumen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, X.; Gates, I.D. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering; Larter, S.R. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Geoscience]|[Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In Situ Energy, Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2008-10-15

Hybrid steam-air based oil recovery techniques were investigated using advanced 3-D reactive thermal reservoir simulations. The hybrid techniques combined ex situ steam and in situ steam generation processes in order to raise efficiency, lower natural gas consumption, and reduce gas emissions. The steam-air based processes used 70 per cent of the energy of conventional steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) techniques to recover the same amount of oil. The process used an SAGD wellpair arrangement, where steam and air were injected through the top injection well. The kinetic parameters used in the study were developed by history matching a combustion tube experiments with Athabasca bitumen conducted to predict cumulative bitumen and gas production volumes and compositions. A total of 6 SAGD and 6 in situ combustion simulations were conducted with steam oxygen volume ratios set at 50 per cent steam and 50 per cent oxygen. Various case studies were considered over a 5 year period. Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions were also measured as well as cumulative water and methane consumption rates. Results of the study were used to develop an optimized hybrid operation that consisted of a SAGD well pair arrangement operating with cyclic steam-oxygen injection at high pressures. It was concluded that the high pressure operation increased the steam partial pressure within the reservoir and enhanced combustion performance. A 29 per cent improvement in the cumulative energy to oil ratio was obtained. 23 refs., 2 tabs., 9 figs.

Pilot scale production, characterization, and optimization of epoxidized vegetable oil-based resins

Science.gov (United States)

Monono, Ewumbua Menyoli

Novel epoxidized sucrose soyate (ESS) resins perform much better than other vegetable oil-based resins; thus, they are of current interest for commercial scale production and for a wide range of applications in coatings and polymeric materials. However, no work has been published that successfully scaled-up the reaction above a 1 kg batch size. To achieve this goal, canola oil was first epoxidized at a 300 g scale to study the epoxidation rate and thermal profile at different hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) addition rates, bath temperatures, and reaction times. At least 83% conversion of double bonds to oxirane was achieved by 2.5 h, and the reaction temperature was 8-15 °C higher than the water bath temperature within the first 30-40 min of epoxidation. A 38 L stainless steel kettle was modified as a reactor to produce 10 kg of ESS. Twenty 7-10 kg batches of ESS were produced with an overall 87.5% resin yield and > 98% conversion after batch three. The conversion and resin quality were consistent across the batches due to the modifications on the reaction that improved mixing and reaction temperature control within 55-65 oC. The total production time was reduced from 8 to 4 days due to the fabrication of a 40 L separatory funnel for both washing and filtration. A math model was developed to optimize the epoxidation process. This was done by using the Box-Behnken design to model the conversion at various acetic acid, H2O2, and Amberlite ratios and at various reaction temperatures and times. The model had an adjusted R2 of 97.6% and predicted R2 of 96.8%. The model showed that reagent amounts and time can be reduced by 18% without compromising the desired conversion value and quality.

Optimizing flurbiprofen-loaded NLC by central composite factorial design for ocular delivery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez-Mira, E; Egea, M A; Garcia, M L [Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Barcelona, Avenida Joan XXIII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Souto, E B [Faculty of Health Sciences, Fernando Pessoa University, Rua Carlos da Maia, Nr. 296, Office S.1, P-4200-150 Porto (Portugal); Calpena, A C, E-mail: eligonzalezmi@ub.edu [Department of Biopharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Avenida Joan XXIII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain)

2011-01-28

The purpose of this study was to design and optimize a new topical delivery system for ocular administration of flurbiprofen (FB), based on lipid nanoparticles. These particles, called nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), were composed of a fatty acid (stearic acid (SA)) as the solid lipid and a mixture of Miglyol 812 and castor oil (CO) as the liquid lipids, prepared by the hot high pressure homogenization method. After selecting the critical variables influencing the physicochemical characteristics of the NLC (the liquid lipid (i.e. oil) concentration with respect to the total lipid (cOil/L (wt%)), the surfactant and the flurbiprofen concentration, on particle size, polydispersity index and encapsulation efficiency), a three-factor five-level central rotatable composite design was employed to plan and perform the experiments. Morphological examination, crystallinity and stability studies were also performed to accomplish the optimization study. The results showed that increasing cOil/L (wt%) was followed by an enhanced tendency to produce smaller particles, but the liquid to solid lipid proportion should not exceed 30 wt% due to destabilization problems. Therefore, a 70:30 ratio of SA to oil (miglyol + CO) was selected to develop an optimal NLC formulation. The smaller particles obtained when increasing surfactant concentration led to the selection of 3.2 wt% of Tween 80 (non-ionic surfactant). The positive effect of the increase in FB concentration on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and its total solubilization in the lipid matrix led to the selection of 0.25 wt% of FB in the formulation. The optimal NLC showed an appropriate average size for ophthalmic administration (228.3 nm) with a narrow size distribution (0.156), negatively charged surface (-33.3 mV) and high EE ({approx}90%). The in vitro experiments proved that sustained release FB was achieved using NLC as drug carriers. Optimal NLC formulation did not show toxicity on ocular tissues.

Optimizing flurbiprofen-loaded NLC by central composite factorial design for ocular delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Mira, E; Egea, M A; Garcia, M L; Souto, E B; Calpena, A C

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to design and optimize a new topical delivery system for ocular administration of flurbiprofen (FB), based on lipid nanoparticles. These particles, called nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), were composed of a fatty acid (stearic acid (SA)) as the solid lipid and a mixture of Miglyol 812 and castor oil (CO) as the liquid lipids, prepared by the hot high pressure homogenization method. After selecting the critical variables influencing the physicochemical characteristics of the NLC (the liquid lipid (i.e. oil) concentration with respect to the total lipid (cOil/L (wt%)), the surfactant and the flurbiprofen concentration, on particle size, polydispersity index and encapsulation efficiency), a three-factor five-level central rotatable composite design was employed to plan and perform the experiments. Morphological examination, crystallinity and stability studies were also performed to accomplish the optimization study. The results showed that increasing cOil/L (wt%) was followed by an enhanced tendency to produce smaller particles, but the liquid to solid lipid proportion should not exceed 30 wt% due to destabilization problems. Therefore, a 70:30 ratio of SA to oil (miglyol + CO) was selected to develop an optimal NLC formulation. The smaller particles obtained when increasing surfactant concentration led to the selection of 3.2 wt% of Tween 80 (non-ionic surfactant). The positive effect of the increase in FB concentration on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and its total solubilization in the lipid matrix led to the selection of 0.25 wt% of FB in the formulation. The optimal NLC showed an appropriate average size for ophthalmic administration (228.3 nm) with a narrow size distribution (0.156), negatively charged surface (-33.3 mV) and high EE (∼90%). The in vitro experiments proved that sustained release FB was achieved using NLC as drug carriers. Optimal NLC formulation did not show toxicity on ocular tissues.

Optimization of diacylglycerol production by glycerolysis of fish oil catalyzed by Lipozyme TL IM with Tween 65.

Science.gov (United States)

Monte Blanco, S F M; Santos, J S; Feltes, M M C; Dors, G; Licodiedoff, S; Lerin, L A; de Oliveira, D; Ninow, J L; Furigo, A

2015-12-01

The diacylglycerols (DAG) are emulsifiers with high added value used as functional additives in food, medicine, and cosmetic industries. In glycerolysis of oils for the production of DAG, the immiscibility between the substrates (glycerol and oil phases) has to be overcome, for example, by the addition of a food grade surfactant like Tween 65. The main objective of this work was to optimize the process conditions for obtaining diacylglycerols rich in the omega-3 eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, through the enzymatic glycerolysis of fish oil, in systems with Tween 65 and without this surfactant, using Lipozyme TL(®) IM as biocatalyst. The experiments were performed according to predetermined conditions varying the temperature, enzyme load, the oil to glycerol molar ratio and, when added, the surfactant load. After 6 h of reaction, it was possible to produce up to 20.76 and 13.76% of diacylglycerols from fish oil in the reactions with and without Tween 65, respectively.

Comparison of different tests used in mapping the Greek virgin olive oil production for the determination of its total antioxidant capacity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgiou, Constantinos A.

2010-03-01

Full Text Available This study aims to map the total antioxidant capacity (TAC of 50 Greek olive oil samples from the 2005-2006 season according to production region and cultivar and to compare the 2, 2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6- sulfonic acid (ABTS, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH and Folin-Ciocalteu tests for use with olive oil. Antioxidant capacities determined in the hydrophilic fraction range between 5.42 - 22.5 mM gallic acid Kg-1 olive oil for the ABTS method and 1.29 - 9.95 mM Kg-1 for the DPPH method while in total, olive oil TAC ranges between 77 - 177 mM Kg-1 as assessed by the DPPH method. The results of total phenol content range between 3.8 and 29.4 mM Kg-1 olive oil. Total phenol content correlates with total antioxidant capacity assessed in the hydrophilic fraction through the DPPH (r = 0.89 and the ABTS (r = 0.69 assays. The hydrophilic fraction DPPH values correlate significantly with the ABTS values (r = 0.81. However, the DPPH values for total olive oil correlate poorly with the ABTS assay, the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the DPPH assay in hydrophilic fraction. Although total phenolic content shows good correlation with ABTS and DPPH values and could serve as a useful indicator for olive oil antioxidant capacity, the use of a battery of tests contributes to better characterization of the antioxidant capacity of olive oil.El objetivo de este estudio es el mapeo de la actividad antioxidante total (TAC de 50 aceites de oliva Griego de los años 2005-2006 de acuerdo a su región y cultivar, y se comparan los ensayos del ácido 2, 2’-azino-bis (3-etilbenzo-tiazolina- 6-sulfónico (ABTS, del 2,2-difenil-1-picrlhidrazil radical (DPPH y de Folin-Ciocalteu. La capacidad antioxidante determinada en la fracción hidrofílica varió entre 5.42-22.5 mM de ácido gálico Kg-1 de aceite para el método ABTS y 1.29- 9.95 mM Kg-1 de aceite para el método de DPPH mientras que la TAC del aceite de oliva completo varió entre 77-177 m

Oil characterisation: assessment of composition, risks, degradation and remediation potential of total petroleum hydrocarbons in soil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lookman, R.; Vanermen, G.; Van De Weghe, H.; Gemoets, J. [Vito, Mol (Belgium); Van der Sterren, G.; Alphenaar, A. [TTE, Deventer (Netherlands)

2005-07-01

Several methods are available for the characterization of petroleum hydrocarbons. The TPHCWG (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Criteria Working Group) developed a method based on a silica column separation of aromatics and aliphatics and a GC-FID subdivision into equivalent-carbon fractions (EC) ('TPH-method'). This method was mainly developed for assessing human risks of oil compounds. Within NOBIS (Dutch Research program Biological In-situ Remediation), another method was developed based upon an equilibrium-experiment of the oil-polluted soil with water (column recirculation), which was further developed by TTE ('TTE-method'). This method uses measured water solubilities of individual oil components and GC-retention times yielding a subdivision of the hydrocarbons into compound classes that are relevant for assessing the remediation potential of the specific oil pollution. In this paper we present results of a research project in which we developed a new method, the 'OK-method' that combines these two procedures and allows a complete characterisation of the oil in terms of composition, (human) risks, volatility, solubility, plume behaviour (migration velocities of the soluble components) and aerobic degradation potential. (authors)

Optimization of Jatropha curcas pure plant oil production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Subroto, Erna

2015-01-01

The use of pure plant oils as fuel, either directly or after conversion of the oil to bio-diesel, is considered to be one of the potential contributions to the transformation of the current fossil oil based economy to a sustainable bio-based one. The production of oil producing seeds using plants

Optimized design of total energy systems: The RETE project

Science.gov (United States)

Alia, P.; Dallavalle, F.; Denard, C.; Sanson, F.; Veneziani, S.; Spagni, G.

1980-05-01

The RETE (Reggio Emilia Total Energy) project is discussed. The total energy system (TES) was developed to achieve the maximum quality matching on the thermal energy side between plant and user and perform an open scheme on the electrical energy side by connection with the Italian electrical network. The most significant qualitative considerations at the basis of the plant economic energy optimization and the selection of the operating criterion most fitting the user consumption characteristics and the external system constraints are reported. The design methodology described results in a TES that: in energy terms achieves a total efficiency evaluated on a yearly basis to be equal to about 78 percent and a fuel saving of about 28 percent and in economic terms allows a recovery of the investment required as to conventional solutions, in about seven years.

Olive paste oil content on a dry weight basis (OPDW): an indicator for optimal harvesting time in modern olive orchards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zipori, I.; Bustan, A.; Kerem, Z.; Dag, A.

2016-07-01

In modern oil olive orchards, mechanical harvesting technologies have significantly accelerated harvesting outputs, thereby allowing for careful planning of harvest timing. While optimizing harvest time may have profound effects on oil yield and quality, the necessary tools to precisely determine the best date are rather scarce. For instance, the commonly used indicator, the fruit ripening index, does not necessarily correlate with oil accumulation. Oil content per fruit fresh weight is strongly affected by fruit water content, making the ripening index an unreliable indicator. However, oil in the paste, calculated on a dry weight basis (OPDW), provides a reliable indication of oil accumulation in the fruit. In most cultivars tested here, OPDW never exceeded ca. 0.5 g·g–1 dry weight, making this threshold the best indicator for the completion of oil accumulation and its consequent reduction in quality thereafter. The rates of OPDW and changes in quality parameters strongly depend on local conditions, such as climate, tree water status and fruit load. We therefore propose a fast and easy method to determine and monitor the OPDW in a given orchard. The proposed method is a useful tool for the determination of optimal harvest timing, particularly in large plots under intensive cultivation practices, with the aim of increasing orchard revenues. The results of this research can be directly applied in olive orchards, especially in large-scale operations. By following the proposed method, individual plots can be harvested according to sharp thresholds of oil accumulation status and pre-determined oil quality parameters, thus effectively exploiting the potentials of oil yield and quality. The method can become a powerful tool for scheduling the harvest throughout the season, and at the same time forecasting the flow of olives to the olive mill. (Author)

Aggressive oil extraction and precautionary saving: Coping with volatility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ploeg, F.

2010-01-01

The effects of stochastic oil demand on optimal oil extraction paths and tax, spending and government debt policies are analyzed when the oil demand schedule is linear and preferences quadratic. Without prudence, optimal oil extraction is governed by the Hotelling rule and optimal budgetary policies

Process Parameters Optimization of Potential SO42-/ZnO Acid Catalyst for Heterogeneous Transesterification of Vegetable Oil to Biodiesel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Istadi Istadi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Among the possible renewable energy resources, diesel fuels derived from triglycerides of vegetable oils and animal fats have shown potential as substitutes for petroleum-based diesel fuels. The biodiesel could be produced from vegetable oils over homogeneous catalyst, heterogeneous catalyst, or enzymatic catalyst. In this study, the synthesized SO42-/ZnO catalyst was explored to be used in the heterogeneous biodiesel production by using the vegetable oils and methanol. The study began with the preparation of SO42-/ZnO catalyst followed by the transesterification reaction between vegetable oil with methanol. The independent variables (reaction time and the weight ratio of catalyst/oil were optimized to obtain the optimum biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester yield. The results of this study showed that the acid catalyst SO42-/ZnO was potential to be used as catalyst for biodiesel production through heterogeneous transesterification of vegetable oils. Optimum operating condition for this catalytic reaction was the weight ratio of catalyst/oil of 8:1 and reaction time of 2.6 h with respect to 75.5% yield of methyl ester products. The biodiesel product was also characterized to identify the respected fatty acid methyl ester components. Copyright © 2012 by BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved. (Selected Paper from International Conference on Chemical and Material Engineering (ICCME 2012Received: 23rd October 2012, Revised: 25th November 2012, Accepted: 25th November 2012[How to Cite: I. Istadi, Didi D. Anggoro, Luqman Buchori, Inshani Utami, Roikhatus Solikhah, (2012. Process Parameters Optimization of Potential SO42-/ZnO Acid Catalyst for Heterogeneous Transesterification of Vegetable Oil to Biodiesel. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7(2: 150-157. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.2.4064.150-157][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.2.4064.150-157 ] | View in 

Effect of Eucalyptus Oil Inhalation on Pain and Inflammatory Responses after Total Knee Replacement: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Suk Jun

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Eucalyptus oil has been reported effective in reducing pain, swelling, and inflammation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of eucalyptus oil inhalation on pain and inflammatory responses after total knee replacement (TKR surgery. Participants were randomized 1 : 1 to intervention group (eucalyptus inhalation group or control group (almond oil inhalation group. Patients inhaled eucalyptus or almond oil for 30 min of continuous passive motion (CPM on 3 consecutive days. Pain on a visual analog scale (VAS, blood pressure, heart rate, C-reactive protein (CRP concentration, and white blood cell (WBC count were measured before and after inhalation. Pain VAS on all three days (P<.001 and systolic (P<.05 and diastolic (P=.03 blood pressure on the second day were significantly lower in the group inhaling eucalyptus than that inhaling almond oil. Heart rate, CRP, and WBC, however, did not differ significantly in the two groups. In conclusion, inhalation of eucalyptus oil was effective in decreasing patient's pain and blood pressure following TKR, suggesting that eucalyptus oil inhalation may be a nursing intervention for the relief of pain after TKR.

Overview of Total Group financial year

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2003-01-01

In 2004, the combination of very high crude oil prices with a strong rise of refining margins, and in the second half of 2004 of the start off again of the rise of petrochemical margins, has led Total Group to reach a record level of 9.04 billion euros for its net adjusted result, which represents a 23% rise with respect to 2003, and this despite a fall of the Dollar exchange rate. Total has also carried on its downstream strategy of natural gas production. This strategy aims at facilitating and optimizing the access to its present day and future productions and reserves, not only to traditional markets but also to markets opened to world competition. (J.S.)

Optimization of biodiesel production from castor oil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Nivea de Lima; Maciel, Maria Regina Wolf; Batistella, César Benedito; Maciel Filho, Rubens

2006-01-01

The transesterification of castor oil with ethanol in the presence of sodium ethoxide as catalyst is an exceptional option for the Brazilian biodiesel production, because the castor nut is quite available in the country. Chemically, its oil contains about 90% of ricinoleic acid that gives to the oil some beneficial characteristics such as its alcohol solubility at 30 degrees C. The transesterification variables studied in this work were reaction temperature, catalyst concentration and alcohol oil molar ratio. Through a star configuration experimental design with central points, this study shows that it is possible to achieve the same conversion of esters carrying out the transesterification reaction with a smaller alcohol quantity, and a new methodology was developed to obtain high purity biodiesel.

Optimization of oil yield from Hevea brasiliensis seeds through ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction via response surface methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Val Irvin F. Mabayo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The demand for oil has been increasing vastly over time, and the source of this has slowly been diminishing. The use of non-food feedstock is seen as a promising alternative source for the production of bio-based fuel. In this study, rubber (Hevea brasiliensis seeds were utilized as biomass in bio-oil production considering that these are non-edible and considered wastes in rubber tree plantations. In the oil extraction process, the rubber seed kernels were oven dried at 100 °C for 24 h, powdered and then dried further at 105 °C for 4 h. After characterization, optimization study was done using Design Expert 7.0 software through central composite design of the response surface methodology. Ultrasonication technology was employed in the oil extraction process which significantly reduced the reaction time needed for extraction to 15 min compared the conventional extraction method of at least 8 h. An optimum rubber seed oil (RSO yield of 30.3 ± 0.3% was obtained using 15 g biomass, 5:1 n-hexane to biomass (mL g−1 ratio, 50 μm resonance amplitude and 60 ± 5 °C temperature at 15 min reaction time. The oil yield at optimum condition was found to have 0.89 g mL−1 density at room temperature, 26.7 cSt kinematic viscosity at 40 °C and high heating value of 39.2 MJ kg−1. The Fourier Transform Infrared Radiation spectroscopy analysis of the RSO, at optimum condition, showed the presence of carboxylic acid and ester carbonyl functional groups which are good indicators as a potential source of biodiesel. Keywords: Hevea brasiliensis, Oil extraction, Optimization, Response surface methodology, Rubber seed oil, Ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction

ECMOR 4. 4th European conference on the mathematics of oil recovery. Topic E: History match and recovery optimization. Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-01-01

The report with collected proceedings from a conference, deals with mathematics of oil recovery with the focus on history match and recovery optimization. Topics of proceedings are as follow: Calculating optimal parameters for history matching; new technique to improve the efficiency of history matching of full-field models; flow constrained reservoir characterization using Bayesian inversion; analysis of multi-well pressure transient data; new approach combining neural networks and simulated annealing for solving petroleum inverse problems; automatic history matching by use of response surfaces and experimental design; determining the optimum location of a production well in oil reservoirs. Seven papers are prepared. 108 refs., 45 figs., 12 tabs.

Optimizing Ship Speed to Minimize Total Fuel Consumption with Multiple Time Windows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Gon Kim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We study the ship speed optimization problem with the objective of minimizing the total fuel consumption. We consider multiple time windows for each port call as constraints and formulate the problem as a nonlinear mixed integer program. We derive intrinsic properties of the problem and develop an exact algorithm based on the properties. Computational experiments show that the suggested algorithm is very efficient in finding an optimal solution.

Transesterification of waste cooking oil: Process optimization and conversion rate evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd Rabu, R.; Janajreh, I.; Honnery, D.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The highest purity of the produced biodiesel determined by gas chromatography was 95%. ► Produced biodiesel samples fell within the requirements of American standard for biodiesel. ► The reaction order is 1st order with a rate constant of 0.01 min -1 in the above point min -1 . - Abstract: Biodiesel is a mono-alkyl ester of vegetable oil, animal fat, and recycled cooking oil. It is gaining importance in the quest of finding sustainable fuel as it is compatible with petrodiesel and its synthesis process is becoming more commercially deployable. It is commonly prepared by the transesterification of triglycerides or the esterification of free fatty acid with methanol by stirring and accelerated by the presence of base or acidic catalyst. In this work biodiesel was produced by transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) following different process settings with the objective to achieve maximum yield and purity. Due to immiscibility and reaction reversibility, high purity WCO biodiesel of 95% was produced at 12:1 alcohol to oil molar ratio at 1% w/w NaOH catalyst and under continuous mixing of 2 h at 60 °C. Chemical kinetics was determined for the optimal process and found to follow 1st order reaction rate with a rate constant ranges from 0.0035 to 0.0106 min −1 . The activation energy was also evaluated by running the experiment at three different temperatures and found to be near 25,496 J/mol. The distillation curve and properties of the resulted fuel was also assessed and were compared plausibly to ASTM biodiesel standards. Furthermore, the emitted soot from a diffusion wick flame was measured via opacity meter and clearly show the advantage of the biodiesel with a nearly an order of magnitude lower.

Totally Optimal Decision Trees for Monotone Boolean Functions with at Most Five Variables

KAUST Repository

Chikalov, Igor

2013-01-01

In this paper, we present the empirical results for relationships between time (depth) and space (number of nodes) complexity of decision trees computing monotone Boolean functions, with at most five variables. We use Dagger (a tool for optimization of decision trees and decision rules) to conduct experiments. We show that, for each monotone Boolean function with at most five variables, there exists a totally optimal decision tree which is optimal with respect to both depth and number of nodes.

Total phenolic compounds and tocopherols profiles of seven olive oil varieties grown in the south-west of Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, Maria Nieves; Galeano-Díaz, Teresa; Sánchez, Jacinto; De Miguel, Concha; Martín-Vertedor, Daniel

2014-01-01

This article reports about the presence of some of the components of minor fraction of virgin olive oils, polyphenols and tocopherols, in several of the VOO varieties from Extremadura. The relationship between both classes of compounds and the oxidative stability of the oils is also examined. The levels of total phenols, α, β, and γ tocopherols showed significant differences (ptocopherol was the most representative in the seven varieties (95.97 %) and ranged from (288 - 170) to (485 - 244) mg/kg in the Morisca and Carrasqueña varieties respectively. On the other hand, a positive high lineal correlation was observed between oxidative stability and studied along the maturity of the fruit and the total phenolic compounds (natural antioxidants) (r(2)>0.90; ptocopherol (r(2)>0.85; ptocopherol (r(2)>0.70; ptocopherols (r(2)>0.87; ptocopherol fraction contributed equally to the oxidative stability of all the VOO whereas the largest contribution was provided by the oil phenolic fraction, as it was the case of the Carrasqueña variety.

Application of 2k Full Factorial Design in Optimization of Solvent-Free Microwave Extraction of Ginger Essential Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mumtaj Shah

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The solvent-free microwave extraction of essential oil from ginger was optimized using a 23 full factorial design in terms of oil yield to determine the optimum extraction conditions. Sixteen experiments were carried out with three varying parameters, extraction time, microwave power, and type of sample for two levels of each. A first order regression equation best fits the experimental data. The predicted values calculated by the regression model were in good agreement with the experimental values. The results showed that the extraction time is the most prominent factor followed by microwave power level and sample type for extraction process. An average of 0.25% of ginger oil can be extracted using current setup. The optimum conditions for the ginger oil extraction using SFME were the extraction time 30 minutes, microwave power level 640 watts, and sample type, crushed sample. Solvent-free microwave extraction proves a green and promising technique for essential oil extraction.

Optimization of soxhlet extraction and physicochemical analysis of crop oil from seed kernel of Feun Kase (Thevetia peruviana)

Science.gov (United States)

Suwari, Kotta, Herry Z.; Buang, Yohanes

2017-12-01

Optimizing the soxhlet extraction of oil from seed kernel of Feun Kase (Thevetia peruviana) for biodiesel production was carried out in this study. The solvent used was petroleum ether and methanol, as well as their combinations. The effect of three factors namely different solvent combinations (polarity), extraction time and extraction temperature were investigated for achieving maximum oil yield. Each experiment was conducted in 250 mL soxhlet apparatus. The physicochemical properties of the oil yield (density, kinematic viscosity, acid value, iodine value, saponification value, and water content) were also analyzed. The optimum conditions were found after 4.5 h with extraction time, extraction temperature at 65 oC and petroleum ether to methanol ratio of 90 : 10 (polarity index 0.6). The oil extract was found to be 51.88 ± 3.18%. These results revealed that the crop oil from seed kernel of Feun Kase (Thevetia peruviana) is a potential feedstock for biodiesel production.

Optimization of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) for rapid determination of mineral oil saturated (MOSH) and aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in cardboard and paper intended for food contact.

Science.gov (United States)

Moret, Sabrina; Sander, Maren; Purcaro, Giorgia; Scolaro, Marianna; Barp, Laura; Conte, Lanfranco S

2013-10-15

Packaging can represent a primary source of food contamination with mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH), especially when recycled cardboard or mineral oil based printing inks are used. A pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) method, followed by on-line LC-GC analysis, has been optimized for rapid mineral oil determination in cardboard and paper samples. The proposed method involves extraction with hexane (2 cycles) at 60°C for 5 min, and allows for the processing of up to 6 samples in parallel with minimal sample manipulation and solvent consumption. It gave good repeatability (coefficient of variation lower than 5%) and practically quantitative extraction yield (less than 2% of the total contamination found in a third separate cycle). The method was applied to different cardboards and paper materials intended for food contact. Results obtained were similar to those obtained by applying classical solvent extraction with hexane/ethanol 1:1 (v/v) as described by Lorenzini et al. [20]. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of production in the oil field through the study of the problem of location of wells and production units; Otimizacao da producao em campo de petroleo pelo estudo do problema de localizacao de pocos e unidades de producao

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santana, Roberta G.S. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil); Rosa, Vinicius R. [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2012-07-01

This project provides a process for determining the best location of well and production units in an oil field in order to optimize the reservoir performance and the volume of recovered oil, maximizing the profitability. The process uses various statistical analyses presented in the reservoir simulation results, under considerations and parameters. Sensibility analysis and response surface methodology is also applied to a better understanding of how each well influence the total production and the location of the platform and/or manifold can be changed to optimize the production. The method is shown being applied on a field scale with synthetic data. It aims to be a new way of guiding decision-making on a project to develop a field production. (author)

Properties of cellulose nanocrystals from oil palm trunk isolated by total chlorine free method.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamaming, Junidah; Hashim, Rokiah; Leh, Cheu Peng; Sulaiman, Othman

2017-01-20

Cellulose nanocrystals were isolated from oil palm trunk by total chlorine free method. The samples were either water pre-hydrolyzed or non-water pre-hydrolyzed, subjected to soda pulping, acidified and ozone bleached. Cellulose and cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) physical, chemical, thermal properties, and crystallinity index were investigated by composition analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. Water pre-hydrolysis reduced lignin (process compared to non-fibrillated of non-water pre-hydrolyzed cellulose. Water pre-hydrolysis improved final CNC crystallinity (up to 75%) compared to CNC without water pre-hydrolysis crystallinity (69%). Cellulose degradation was found to occur during ozone bleaching stage but CNC showed an increase in crystallinity after acid hydrolysis. Thus, oil palm trunk CNC can be potentially applied in pharmaceutical, food, medical and nanocomposites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System, Taranaki Basin Assessment Unit, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Wandrey, Craig J.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2013-01-01

The Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System coincident Taranaki Basin Assessment Unit was recently assessed for undiscovered technically recoverable oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) World Energy Resources Project, World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 487 million barrels of oil, 9.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 408 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Impact of Crude Oil Quality on the Refining Conditions and Composition of Nutraceuticals in Refined Palm Oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Sampaio, Klicia A; Ayala, Jose Vila; Van Hoed, Vera; Monteiro, Simone; Ceriani, Roberta; Verhé, Roland; Meirelles, Antonio J A

2017-08-01

Palm oil is the major vegetable oil used worldwide due to its unique properties. The effect of crude palm oil acidity on the final free fatty acids (FFA) content, neutral oil loss (NOL), and nutraceutical compounds, such as carotenes, total tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols), squalene, and phytosterols was investigated. A central composite design was employed to study the influence of the refining conditions: temperature (200 to 260 °C), steam percentage (0.5% to 3.5%), and initial FFA content (2.2% to 6.0%) on the quality of the refined product. The results revealed that initial palm oil acidity is a statistically important parameter to obtain commercially acceptable values for final FFA content. The increase of temperature presented the most important effect on the reduction of all nutraceutical compounds. The highest tocopherols (88%), phytosterols (98%), and squalene retention (84%) was obtained when applying the mildest temperature (200 °C). From the experimental results, 3 equations were generated enabling the prediction of the free fatty acids content, the tocols content, and the losses of neutral oil. Therefore, this work contributes to the understanding and optimization of the process for the production of palm oil with high nutraceutical quality and low free fatty acid contents. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Response surface methodology optimization of lipase catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil for biodiesel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Yingxia; Wang, Yun; Guan, Xiu Li; Yu, Dong Dong

2013-01-01

The immobilized lipase-catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil and methanol for biodiesel production in tert-butanol was investigated. The effects of different tert-butanol volume, methanol molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time and immobilized lipase amount on the total conversion were systematically analyzed by response surface methodology (RSM). RSM analysis showed good correspondence between experimental and predicted values. The optimal conditions for the transesterification were a reaction time of 17.355 h, a reaction temperature of 34.868 °C, an immobilized lipase amount of 12.435 %, a methanol molar ratio of 5.282:1, a tert-butanol volume ratio of 0.577:1. The optimal predicted yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was 88.5 % and the actual value was 88.1 %. The predicted yield of fatty acid esters and the real one was very close, indicating that the RSM based on central composite design (CCD) was adaptable for a FAME study for the present transesterification system. Moreover, the infrared spectrum of biodiesel showed the characteristic bands of C=O, O–C–O, C=C and –(CH_2)n–. Furthermore, GC-linked mass spectrometry showed that biodiesel was mainly composed of the methyl esters of hexadecanoic, 9,12-octadecadienoic and 9-octadecadienoic acid

Assessment of the relationship between oil prices and US oil stocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saif Ghouri, Salman

2006-01-01

This paper qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes the relationship between US monthly ending oil stocks position with that of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices from February 1995 to July 2004. The paper concludes if other things are held constant, WTI is inversely related to the petroleum products (PPP), combined petroleum products and crude oil (CPPP), crude oil alone (Crude), total oil stocks including petroleum products, crude oil and strategic petroleum reserves SPR (Total), total gasoline (TGO), total distillate (TDO). It could not establish a statistically significant and negative relationship with SPR when run alone. One percent increase (decrease) in CPPP, PPP, Crude, Total, TGO and TDO leads to decrease (increase) in WTI, respectively, by 0.70, 0.43, 0.37, 0.97, 0.26 and 0.21 percent. Oil prices are largely influenced by total crude and Crude and PPP inventories levels while modestly with variations in gasoline and distillate stocks levels. Despite a healthy increase of over 22 percent in SPR from January 2001 to April 2004, it did not result in easing of oil prices. Primarily because SPR are meant for security of supply concern and are only released under extreme conditions by the President of United States, they are neither meant for the purposes of balancing supply-demand gap nor for the stability of oil prices. The aggressive SPR buildup in recent years is related to international terrorism, geopolitical situation in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, that encourages US government to enhance its SPR to meet any short-term eventuality. The analyst must keep a close eye on CPPP and the total oil stocks variation to forecast WTI in the short run whilst gasoline and distillate influence oil prices modestly in the short run. SPR, on the other hand, are expected to play a pivotal role in balancing oil prices and in providing a critical resource for the economy in case of any major shortfall in the long run

Assessment of the relationship between oil prices and US oil stocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saif Ghouri, Salman [Business Environment Section, Corporate Planning Department, Qatar Petroleum, Doha (Qatar)]. E-mail: ghouri@qp.com.qa

2006-11-15

This paper qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes the relationship between US monthly ending oil stocks position with that of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices from February 1995 to July 2004. The paper concludes if other things are held constant, WTI is inversely related to the petroleum products (PPP), combined petroleum products and crude oil (CPPP), crude oil alone (Crude), total oil stocks including petroleum products, crude oil and strategic petroleum reserves SPR (Total), total gasoline (TGO), total distillate (TDO). It could not establish a statistically significant and negative relationship with SPR when run alone. One percent increase (decrease) in CPPP, PPP, Crude, Total, TGO and TDO leads to decrease (increase) in WTI, respectively, by 0.70, 0.43, 0.37, 0.97, 0.26 and 0.21 percent. Oil prices are largely influenced by total crude and Crude and PPP inventories levels while modestly with variations in gasoline and distillate stocks levels. Despite a healthy increase of over 22 percent in SPR from January 2001 to April 2004, it did not result in easing of oil prices. Primarily because SPR are meant for security of supply concern and are only released under extreme conditions by the President of United States, they are neither meant for the purposes of balancing supply-demand gap nor for the stability of oil prices. The aggressive SPR buildup in recent years is related to international terrorism, geopolitical situation in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, that encourages US government to enhance its SPR to meet any short-term eventuality. The analyst must keep a close eye on CPPP and the total oil stocks variation to forecast WTI in the short run whilst gasoline and distillate influence oil prices modestly in the short run. SPR, on the other hand, are expected to play a pivotal role in balancing oil prices and in providing a critical resource for the economy in case of any major shortfall in the long run.

Formulation development and optimization of palm kernel oil esters-based nanoemulsions containing sodium diclofenac.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaee, Malahat; Basri, Mahiran; Rahman, Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abdul; Salleh, Abu Bakar; Chaibakhsh, Naz; Karjiban, Roghayeh Abedi

2014-01-01

Response surface methodology was employed to study the effect of formulation composition variables, water content (60%-80%, w/w) and oil and surfactant (O/S) ratio (0.17-1.33), as well as high-shear emulsification conditions, mixing rate (300-3,000 rpm) and mixing time (5-30 minutes) on the properties of sodium diclofenac-loaded palm kernel oil esters-nanoemulsions. The two response variables were droplet size and viscosity. Optimization of the conditions according to the four variables was performed for preparation of the nanoemulsions with the minimum values of particle size and viscosity. The results showed that the experimental data could be sufficiently fitted into a third-order polynomial model with multiple regression coefficients (R(2) ) of 0.938 and 0.994 for the particle size and viscosity, respectively. Water content, O/S ratio and mixing time, quadrics of all independent variables, interaction between O/S ratio and mixing rate and between mixing time and rate, as well as cubic term of water content had a significant effect (Pdiclofenac nanoemulsions were predicted to be: 71.36% water content; 0.69 O/S ratio; 950 rpm mixing rate, and 5 minute mixing time. The optimized formulation showed good storage stability in different temperatures.

Can Optimism, Pessimism, Hope, Treatment Credibility and Treatment Expectancy Be Distinguished in Patients Undergoing Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsjitske M Haanstra

Full Text Available The constructs optimism, pessimism, hope, treatment credibility and treatment expectancy are associated with outcomes of medical treatment. While these constructs are grounded in different theoretical models, they nonetheless show some conceptual overlap. The purpose of this study was to examine whether currently available measurement instruments for these constructs capture the conceptual differences between these constructs within a treatment setting.Patients undergoing Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty (THA and TKA (Total N = 361; 182 THA; 179 TKA, completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised for optimism and pessimism, the Hope Scale, the Credibility Expectancy Questionnaire for treatment credibility and treatment expectancy. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine whether the instruments measure distinct constructs. Four theory-driven models with one, two, four and five latent factors were evaluated using multiple fit indices and Δχ2 tests, followed by some posthoc models.The results of the theory driven confirmatory factor analysis showed that a five factor model in which all constructs loaded on separate factors yielded the most optimal and satisfactory fit. Posthoc, a bifactor model in which (besides the 5 separate factors a general factor is hypothesized accounting for the commonality of the items showed a significantly better fit than the five factor model. All specific factors, except for the hope factor, showed to explain a substantial amount of variance beyond the general factor.Based on our primary analyses we conclude that optimism, pessimism, hope, treatment credibility and treatment expectancy are distinguishable in THA and TKA patients. Postdoc, we determined that all constructs, except hope, showed substantial specific variance, while also sharing some general variance.

Can Optimism, Pessimism, Hope, Treatment Credibility and Treatment Expectancy Be Distinguished in Patients Undergoing Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Science.gov (United States)

Haanstra, Tsjitske M; Tilbury, Claire; Kamper, Steven J; Tordoir, Rutger L; Vliet Vlieland, Thea P M; Nelissen, Rob G H H; Cuijpers, Pim; de Vet, Henrica C W; Dekker, Joost; Knol, Dirk L; Ostelo, Raymond W

2015-01-01

The constructs optimism, pessimism, hope, treatment credibility and treatment expectancy are associated with outcomes of medical treatment. While these constructs are grounded in different theoretical models, they nonetheless show some conceptual overlap. The purpose of this study was to examine whether currently available measurement instruments for these constructs capture the conceptual differences between these constructs within a treatment setting. Patients undergoing Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty (THA and TKA) (Total N = 361; 182 THA; 179 TKA), completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised for optimism and pessimism, the Hope Scale, the Credibility Expectancy Questionnaire for treatment credibility and treatment expectancy. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine whether the instruments measure distinct constructs. Four theory-driven models with one, two, four and five latent factors were evaluated using multiple fit indices and Δχ2 tests, followed by some posthoc models. The results of the theory driven confirmatory factor analysis showed that a five factor model in which all constructs loaded on separate factors yielded the most optimal and satisfactory fit. Posthoc, a bifactor model in which (besides the 5 separate factors) a general factor is hypothesized accounting for the commonality of the items showed a significantly better fit than the five factor model. All specific factors, except for the hope factor, showed to explain a substantial amount of variance beyond the general factor. Based on our primary analyses we conclude that optimism, pessimism, hope, treatment credibility and treatment expectancy are distinguishable in THA and TKA patients. Postdoc, we determined that all constructs, except hope, showed substantial specific variance, while also sharing some general variance.

An empirically tractable model of optimal oil spills prevention in Russian sea harbours

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deissenberg, C. [CEFI-CNRS, Les Milles (France); Gurman, V.; Tsirlin, A. [RAS, Program Systems Inst., Pereslavl-Zalessky (Russian Federation); Ryumina, E. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation). Inst. of Economic Market Problems

2001-07-01

Based on previous theoretical work by Gottinger (1997, 1998), we propose a simple model of optimal monitoring of oil-related activities in harbour areas that is suitable for empirical estimation within the Russian-Ukrainian context, in spite of the poor availability of data in these countries. Specifically, the model indicates how to best allocate at the steady state a given monitoring budget between different monitoring activities. An approximate analytical solution to the optimization problem is derived, and a simple procedure for estimating the model on the basis of the actually available data is suggested. An application using data obtained for several harbours of the Black and Baltic Seas is given. It suggests that the current Russian monitoring practice could be much improved by better allocating the available monitoring resources. (Author)

Optimizing flurbiprofen-loaded NLC by central composite factorial design for ocular delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Mira, E.; Egea, M. A.; Souto, E. B.; Calpena, A. C.; García, M. L.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to design and optimize a new topical delivery system for ocular administration of flurbiprofen (FB), based on lipid nanoparticles. These particles, called nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), were composed of a fatty acid (stearic acid (SA)) as the solid lipid and a mixture of Miglyol® 812 and castor oil (CO) as the liquid lipids, prepared by the hot high pressure homogenization method. After selecting the critical variables influencing the physicochemical characteristics of the NLC (the liquid lipid (i.e. oil) concentration with respect to the total lipid (cOil/L (wt%)), the surfactant and the flurbiprofen concentration, on particle size, polydispersity index and encapsulation efficiency), a three-factor five-level central rotatable composite design was employed to plan and perform the experiments. Morphological examination, crystallinity and stability studies were also performed to accomplish the optimization study. The results showed that increasing cOil/L (wt%) was followed by an enhanced tendency to produce smaller particles, but the liquid to solid lipid proportion should not exceed 30 wt% due to destabilization problems. Therefore, a 70:30 ratio of SA to oil (miglyol + CO) was selected to develop an optimal NLC formulation. The smaller particles obtained when increasing surfactant concentration led to the selection of 3.2 wt% of Tween® 80 (non-ionic surfactant). The positive effect of the increase in FB concentration on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and its total solubilization in the lipid matrix led to the selection of 0.25 wt% of FB in the formulation. The optimal NLC showed an appropriate average size for ophthalmic administration (228.3 nm) with a narrow size distribution (0.156), negatively charged surface (-33.3 mV) and high EE (~90%). The in vitro experiments proved that sustained release FB was achieved using NLC as drug carriers. Optimal NLC formulation did not show toxicity on ocular tissues.

In vitro total phenolics, flavonoids contents and antioxidant activity of essential oil, various organic extracts from the leaves of tropical medicinal plant Tetrastigma from Sabah.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, M Amzad; Shah, Muhammad Dawood; Gnanaraj, Charles; Iqbal, Muhammad

2011-09-01

To detect the in vitro total phenolics, flavonoids contents and antioxidant activity of essential oil, various organic extracts from the leaves of tropical medicinal plant Tetrastigma from Sabah. The dry powder leaves of Tetrastigma were extracted with different organic solvent such as hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol and aqueous methanol. The total phenolic and total flavonoids contents of the essential oil and various organic extracts such as hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol and aqueous ethanol were determined by Folin - Ciocalteu method and the assayed antioxidant activity was determined in vitro models such as antioxidant capacity by radical scavenging activity using α, α-diphenyl- β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The total phenolic contents of the essential oil and different extracts as gallic acid equivalents were found to be highest in methanol extract (386.22 mg/g) followed by ethyl acetate (190.89 mg/g), chloroform (175.89 mg/g), hexane (173.44 mg/g), and butanol extract (131.72 mg/g) and the phenolic contents not detected in essential oil. The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil and different extracts as ascorbic acid standard was in the order of methanol extract > ethyl acetate extract >chloroform> butanol > hexane extract also the antioxidant activity was not detected in essential oil. The findings show that the extent of antioxidant activity of the essential oil and all extracts are in accordance with the amount of phenolics present in that extract. Leaves of Tetrastigma being rich in phenolics may provide a good source of antioxidant. Copyright © 2011 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

OPTIMASI RENDEMEN EKSTRAKSI LESITIN DARI MINYAK KEDELAI VARIETAS ANJASMORO DENGAN WATER DEGUMMING [Yield Optimization of Lecithin Extraction of Anjasmoro Variety Soybean Oil by Water Degumming

OpenAIRE

Teti Estiasih1)*; Kgs. Ahmadi2); Erliana Ginting3); Deny Kurniawati1)

2013-01-01

Lecithin is one of natural emulsifiers widely used in food industries. The main source of lecithin is soybean and it is obtained during water degumming in soybean oil purification. This research was aimed to optimize the yield of lecithin during water degumming of Anjasmoro variety soybean oil by response surface methodology. The factors optimized were added water (%), temperature (ºC), and extraction time (minute). The relationship between lecithin yield and the parameters was quadratic. The...

Particle swarm optimization-based support vector machine for forecasting dissolved gases content in power transformer oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fei, Sheng-wei; Wang, Ming-Jun; Miao, Yu-bin; Tu, Jun; Liu, Cheng-liang [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2009-06-15

Forecasting of dissolved gases content in power transformer oil is a complicated problem due to its nonlinearity and the small quantity of training data. Support vector machine (SVM) has been successfully employed to solve regression problem of nonlinearity and small sample. However, the practicability of SVM is effected due to the difficulty of selecting appropriate SVM parameters. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a new optimization method, which is motivated by social behaviour of organisms such as bird flocking and fish schooling. The method not only has strong global search capability, but also is very easy to implement. Thus, the proposed PSO-SVM model is applied to forecast dissolved gases content in power transformer oil in this paper, among which PSO is used to determine free parameters of support vector machine. The experimental data from several electric power companies in China is used to illustrate the performance of proposed PSO-SVM model. The experimental results indicate that the PSO-SVM method can achieve greater forecasting accuracy than grey model, artificial neural network under the circumstances of small sample. (author)

Particle swarm optimization-based support vector machine for forecasting dissolved gases content in power transformer oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fei Shengwei [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)], E-mail: feishengwei@sohu.com; Wang Mingjun; Miao Yubin; Tu Jun; Liu Chengliang [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2009-06-15

Forecasting of dissolved gases content in power transformer oil is a complicated problem due to its nonlinearity and the small quantity of training data. Support vector machine (SVM) has been successfully employed to solve regression problem of nonlinearity and small sample. However, the practicability of SVM is effected due to the difficulty of selecting appropriate SVM parameters. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a new optimization method, which is motivated by social behaviour of organisms such as bird flocking and fish schooling. The method not only has strong global search capability, but also is very easy to implement. Thus, the proposed PSO-SVM model is applied to forecast dissolved gases content in power transformer oil in this paper, among which PSO is used to determine free parameters of support vector machine. The experimental data from several electric power companies in China is used to illustrate the performance of proposed PSO-SVM model. The experimental results indicate that the PSO-SVM method can achieve greater forecasting accuracy than grey model, artificial neural network under the circumstances of small sample.

Evaluation of the optimal strategy for ex situ bioremediation of diesel oil-contaminated soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ta-Chen; Pan, Po-Tsen; Young, Chiu-Chung; Chang, Jo-Shu; Chang, Tsung-Chung; Cheng, Sheng-Shung

2011-11-01

Bioaugmentation and biostimulation have been widely applied in the remediation of oil contamination. However, ambiguous results have been reported. It is important to reveal the controlling factors on the field for optimal selection of remediation strategy. In this study, an integrated field landfarming technique was carried out to assess the relative effectiveness of five biological approaches on diesel degradation. The limiting factors during the degradation process were discussed. A total of five treatments were tested, including conventional landfarming, nutrient enhancement (NE), biosurfactant addition (BS), bioaugmentation (BA), and combination of bioaugmentation and biosurfactant addition (BAS). The consortium consisted of four diesel-degrading bacteria strains. Rhamnolipid was used as the biosurfactant. The diesel concentration, bacterial population, evolution of CO(2), and bacterial community in the soil were periodically measured. The best overall degradation efficiency was achieved by BAS treatment (90 ± 2%), followed by BA (86 ± 2%), NE (84 ± 3%), BS (78 ± 3%), and conventional landfarming (68 ± 3%). In the early stage, the total petroleum hydrocarbon was degraded 10 times faster than the degradation rates measured during the period from day 30 to 100. At the later stage, the degradation rates were similar among treatments. In the conventional landfarming, contaminated soil contained bacteria ready for diesel degradation. The availability of hydrocarbon was likely the limiting factor in the beginning of the degradation process. At the later stage, the degradation was likely limited by desorption and mass transfer of hydrocarbon in the soil matrix.

Total and methyl mercury concentrations in sediment and water of a constructed wetland in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oswald, Claire J.; Carey, Sean K.

2016-01-01

In the Athabasca Oil Sands Region in northeastern Alberta, Canada, oil sands operators are testing the feasibility of peatland construction on the post-mining landscape. In 2009, Syncrude Canada Ltd. began construction of the 52 ha Sandhill Fen pilot watershed, including a 15 ha, hydrologically managed fen peatland built on sand-capped soft oil sands tailings. An integral component of fen reclamation is post-construction monitoring of water quality, including salinity, fluvial carbon, and priority pollutant elements. In this study, the effects of fen reclamation and elevated sulfate levels on mercury (Hg) fate and transport in the constructed system were assessed. Total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in the fen sediment were lower than in two nearby natural fens, which may be due to the higher mineral content of the Sandhill Fen peat mix and/or a loss of Hg through evasion during the peat harvesting, stockpiling and placement processes. Porewater MeHg concentrations in the Sandhill Fen typically did not exceed 1.0 ng L −1 . The low MeHg concentrations may be a result of elevated porewater sulfate concentrations (mean 346 mg L −1 ) and an increase in sulphide concentrations with depth in the peat, which are known to suppress MeHg production. Total Hg and MeHg concentrations increased during a controlled mid-summer flooding event where the water table rose above the ground surface in most of the fen. The Hg dynamics during this event showed that hydrologic fluctuations in this system exacerbate the release of THg and MeHg downstream. In addition, the elevated SO 4 2− concentrations in the peat porewaters may become a problem with respect to downstream MeHg production once the fen is hydrologically connected to a larger wetland network that is currently being constructed. - Highlights: • A constructed fen peatland in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region was studied. • Total and methyl mercury concentrations in fen sediment and waters

Investigation of stability, consistency, and oil oxidation of emulsion filled gel prepared by inulin and rice bran oil using ultrasonic radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nourbehesht, Newsha; Shekarchizadeh, Hajar; Soltanizadeh, Nafiseh

2018-04-01

Inulin, rice bran oil and rosemary essential oil were used to produce high quality emulsion filled gel (EFG) using ultrasonic radiation. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of oil content, inulin content and power of ultrasound on the stability and consistency of prepared EFG. The process conditions were optimized by conducting experiments at five different levels. Second order polynomial response surface equations were developed indicating the effect of variables on EFG stability and consistency. The oil content of 18%; inulin content of 44.6%; and power of ultrasound of 256 W were found to be the optimum conditions to achieve the best EFG stability and consistency. Microstructure and rheological properties of prepared EFG were investigated. Oil oxidation as a result of using ultrasonic radiation was also investigated. The increase of oxidation products and the decrease of total phenolic compounds as well as radical scavenging activity of antioxidant compounds showed the damaging effect of ultrasound on the oil quality of EFG. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of rhamnolipid production from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PBS towards application for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Rajni; Singh, Jagdish; Verma, Neelam

2018-01-01

The present work reveals the potential of biosurfactant producing P. aeruginosa PBS for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The biosurfactant production medium and culture conditions were optimized using response surface methodology. The optimization of media components and process parameters was consecutively executed in two sets of experimental runs designed by central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The maximum biosurfactant yield was attained with 2% fresh inoculum of P. aeruginosa PBS in minimal salt medium (pH 7), possessing 2.17% sodium citrate as C-source and 0.5% yeast extract as N-source, after 48 h upon incubation at 30 °C/150 rpm. Under optimum conditions, biosurfactant yield was increased more than threefold and turned out to be 2.65 g/L as compared to 0.82 g/L under previous conditions. The biosurfactant was characterized as a glycolipid comprising of four rhamnolipid homologs (RhaRhaC 10 C 10 , RhaRhaC 8 C 10 , RhaRhaC 12 C 10 /RhaRhaC 10 C 12 , RhaC 10 C 10 ) by thin layer chromatography, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The produced biosurfactant was highly efficient for oil recovery application showing extreme reduction in surface tension of medium (71.80 to 23.76 mN/m), immense hydrocarbons emulsification capacity (50-60%) and greater stability at wide range of temperature (4-100 °C) and pH (4-10) along with an excellent (56.18 ± 1.59%) additional oil recovery in sand-pack column lab test.

Investigation of certain physical–chemical features of oil recovery by an optimized alkali–surfactant–foam (ASF) system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hosseini Nasab, S.M.; Zitha, P.L.J.

2017-01-01

The objective of this study is to discover a synergistic effect between foam stability in bulk and micro-emulsion phase behaviour to design a high-performance chemical system for an optimized alkaline–surfactant–foam (ASF) flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The focus is on the interaction

Hybrid Cloud Computing Architecture Optimization by Total Cost of Ownership Criterion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Valeryevna Makarenko

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Achieving the goals of information security is a key factor in the decision to outsource information technology and, in particular, to decide on the migration of organizational data, applications, and other resources to the infrastructure, based on cloud computing. And the key issue in the selection of optimal architecture and the subsequent migration of business applications and data to the cloud organization information environment is the question of the total cost of ownership of IT infrastructure. This paper focuses on solving the problem of minimizing the total cost of ownership cloud.

Microwave-assisted extraction of silkworm pupal oil and evaluation of its fatty acid composition, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Bin; Li, Cheng; Zhang, Zhiqing; Zhao, Qing; Zhu, Yadong; Su, Zhao; Chen, Yizi

2017-09-15

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of oil from silkworm pupae was firstly performed in the present research. The response surface methodology was applied to optimize the parameters for MAE. The yield of oil by MAE was 30.16% under optimal conditions of a mixed solvent consisting of ethanol and n-hexane (1:1, v/v), microwave power (360W), liquid to solid ratio (7.5/1mL/g), microwave time (29min). Moreover, oil extracted by MAE was quantitatively (yield) and qualitatively (fatty acid profile) similar to those obtained using Soxhlet extraction (SE), but oil extracted by MAE exhibited favourable physicochemical properties and oxidation stability. Additionally, oil extracted by MAE had a higher content of total phenolic, and it showed stronger antioxidant activities. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that microwave technique efficiently promoted the release of oil by breaking down the cell structure of silkworm pupae. Therefore, MAE can be an effective method for the silkworm pupal oil extraction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between growth and total nucleic acids in juvenile pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, fed crude oil contaminated food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Shiao, Y.; Lum, J.L.; Carls, M.G.; Rice, S.D.

1993-01-01

Total nucleic acids of junvenile pink salmon fed crude oil contaminated food were analyzed to deteremine if nucleic acid measurements can be used to evaluate growth of fish collected at oil spill sites. In general, the nucleic acid concentration (μg per mg dry weight) of salmon fry fed food contaminated with either 0.37 or 2.78 mg crude oil/g food was not significantly affected. However, RNA concentration of fry fed food contaminated with 34.83 mg/g was reduced whereas DNA concentration increased. Results over 8 weeks indicate decreased protein synthesis and cell content but maintenance of cell integrity in these fish. Growth was inversely related to the level of crude oil contamination in the food. The significant correlations between measured growth and RNA/DNA ratios and RNA contents (mg RNA per mm fork length) suggest that nucleic acid measurement can be used to compare growth of fish collected from the field. 23 refs., 4 figs

Evaluation of the Optimal Reaction Conditions for the Methanolysis and Ethanolysis of Castor Oil Catalyzed by Immobilized Enzymes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andrade, Thalles Allan; Al-Kabalawi, Ibrahim; Errico, Massimiliano

This study aims to compare the efficiency of the transesterification of castor oil with methanol and ethanol as part of the biodiesel production, using immobilized enzyme Lipozyme IM as catalyst. Different reaction conditions were evaluated and optimized, including the reaction temperature, alcohol...

Characterization of Starch Edible Films with Different Essential Oils Addition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šuput Danijela

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated properties of starch-based edible films with oregano and black cumin essential oil addition. Essential oils addition positively affected film swelling (decreased due to essential oil addition, mechanical properties (tensile strength decreased while elongation at break increased, and water vapor barrier properties (decreased along with essential oils addition. Control film did not have any biological activity, which proves the need for essential oils addition in order to obtain active packaging. Oregano oil was more effective in terms of biological activity. Endothermal peak, above 200°C, represents total thermal degradation of edible films. Diffraction pattern of control film showed significant destruction of A-type crystal structure. Addition of essential oils resulted in peak shape change: diffraction peaks became narrower. Principal Component Analysis has been used to assess the effect of essential oils addition on final starch-based edible films characteristics with the aim to reveal directions for the film characteristics improvement, since the next phase will be optimal film application for food packaging.

Optimization and validation of a method using UHPLC-fluorescence for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cold-pressed vegetable oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Simone Alves da; Sampaio, Geni Rodrigues; Torres, Elizabeth Aparecida Ferraz da Silva

2017-04-15

Among the different food categories, the oils and fats are important sources of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of organic chemical contaminants. The use of a validated method is essential to obtain reliable analytical results since the legislation establishes maximum limits in different foods. The objective of this study was to optimize and validate a method for the quantification of four PAHs [benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene] in vegetable oils. The samples were submitted to liquid-liquid extraction, followed by solid-phase extraction, and analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography. Under the optimized conditions, the validation parameters were evaluated according to the INMETRO Guidelines: linearity (r2 >0.99), selectivity (no matrix interference), limits of detection (0.08-0.30μgkg -1 ) and quantification (0.25-1.00μgkg -1 ), recovery (80.13-100.04%), repeatability and intermediate precision (analysis of PAHs in the vegetable oils evaluated. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

DEGRADATION OF WEATHERED OIL BY MIXED MARINE BACTERIA AND THE TOXICITY OF ACCUMULATED WATER-SOLUBLE MATERIAL TO TWO MARINE CRUSTACEA

Science.gov (United States)

Artificially weathered crude oil was degraded by four diverse cultures of mixed marine bacteria under optimized conditions for 7 and 14 days. Loss in total weight of starting oil (30 g) ranged from 6.8-17.3% in biologically active incubations compared with only 0.9-1.1% in steril...

Deodorization optimization of Camelina sativa oil: Oxidative and sensory studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hrastar, Robert; Cheong, Ling‐Zhi; Xu, Xuebing

2011-01-01

[peroxide value (PV), p‐anisidine value (p‐AV), γ‐tocopherol (γ‐T) and oxidative stability (OS)]. Additionally, sensory evaluation was performed. RSM analysis showed a significant effect of deodorization temperature and to a lesser extent, deodorization steam flow and time on removal of oxidative compounds....... In the present study RSM and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to optimize bench‐scale deodorization of CO. Mathematical models were generated through multiple regressions with backward elimination, describing the effects of process parameters (temperature, steam flow, time) on oil quality indicators......, flavour and odour. PCA of chemical and sensory results showed that deodorization temperature affected the sensory properties in the samples. The best conditions for removing undesirable flavour and odour were achieved by using a deodorization temperature of 195–210°C....

Application of Box-Behnken Design in Optimization of Glucose Production from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Cellulose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satriani Aga Pasma

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (OPEFB is a lignocellulosic waste from palm oil mills. It contains mainly cellulose from which glucose can be derived to serve as raw materials for valuable chemicals such as succinic acid. A three-level Box-Behnken design combined with the canonical and ridge analysis was employed to optimize the process parameters for glucose production from OPEFB cellulose using enzymatic hydrolysis. Organosolv pretreatment was used to extract cellulose from OPEFB using ethanol and water as the solvents. The extracted cellulose was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Hydrolysis parameters including amount of enzyme, amount of cellulose, and reaction time were investigated. The experimental results were fitted with a second-order polynomial equation by a multiple regression analysis and found that more than 97% of the variations could be predicted by the models. Using the ridge analysis, the optimal conditions reaction time found for the production of glucose was 76 hours and 30 min, whereas the optimum amount of enzyme and cellulose was 0.5 mL and 0.9 g, respectively. Under these optimal conditions, the corresponding response value predicted for glucose concentration was 169.34 g/L, which was confirmed by validation experiments.

Some technological aspects for functioning of crude oil pipeline Solun-OKTA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zikovski, Toni

2005-01-01

Crude oil pipeline Solun-Okta was built according to international technical, ecological and safety standards and enables quick, optimal and continuity supply of OKTA Refinery with crude oil. The building of the pipeline began in 1999 and finished in 2002 with official start-up operation by pumping of first quantity crude oil. After the activation, human environment protection has an important place. A lot of instructions and procedures are prepared specially for this purpose. With a total length about 212 km, pipeline enables transport of crude oil from ECO Refinery to OKTA with a capacity of 2.5 million tons per year. The pipeline is designed for transport of few types crude oil and their mixtures. The pipeline system has been equipped with sophisticated and modern equipment, which will enable quality of the work by controlling and monitoring of the system. (Author)

Some technological aspects for functioning of crude oil pipeline Solun-Okta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zikovski, Toni

2005-01-01

Crude oil pipeline Solun-Okta was built according to international technical, ecological and safety standards and enables quick, optimal and continuity supply of OKTA Refinery with crude oil. The building of the pipeline began in 1999 and finished in 2002 with official start-up operation by pumping of first quantity crude oil. After the activation, human environment protection has an important place. A lot of instructions and procedures are prepared specially for this purpose. With a total length about 212 km, pipeline enables transport of crude oil from ECO Refinery to OKTA with a capacity of 2.5 million tons per year. The pipeline is designed for transport of few types crude oil and their mixtures. The pipeline system has been equipped with sophisticated and modern equipment, which will enable quality of the work by controlling and monitoring of the system. (Author)

Combustion performance of pyrolysis oil/ethanol blends in a residential-scale oil-fired boiler

Science.gov (United States)

A 40 kWth oil-fired commercial boiler was fueled with blends of biomass pyrolysis oil (py-oil) and ethanol to determine the feasibility of using these blends as a replacement for fuel oil in home heating applications. An optimal set of test parameters was determined for the combustion of these blend...

Process optimization and kinetics of biodiesel production from neem oil using copper doped zinc oxide heterogeneous nanocatalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurunathan, Baskar; Ravi, Aiswarya

2015-08-01

Heterogeneous nanocatalyst has become the choice of researchers for better transesterification of vegetable oils to biodiesel. In the present study, transesterification reaction was optimized and kinetics was studied for biodiesel production from neem oil using CZO nanocatalyst. The highly porous and non-uniform surface of the CZO nanocatalyst was confirmed by AFM analysis, which leads to the aggregation of CZO nanoparticles in the form of multi layered nanostructures. The 97.18% biodiesel yield was obtained in 60min reaction time at 55°C using 10% (w/w) CZO nanocatalyst and 1:10 (v:v) oil:methanol ratio. Biodiesel yield of 73.95% was obtained using recycled nanocatalyst in sixth cycle. The obtained biodiesel was confirmed using GC-MS and (1)H NMR analysis. Reaction kinetic models were tested on biodiesel production, first order kinetic model was found fit with experimental data (R(2)=0.9452). The activation energy of 233.88kJ/mol was required for transesterification of neem oil into biodiesel using CZO nanocatalyst. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling and optimization of sunflower oil methanolysis over quicklime bits in a packed bed tubular reactor using the response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miladinović, Marija R.; Stamenković, Olivera S.; Banković, Predrag T.; Milutinović-Nikolić, Aleksandra D.; Jovanović, Dušan M.; Veljković, Vlada B.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Sunflower oil methanolysis in a continuous packed bed reactor was optimized. • Thermally-activated, low-cost quicklime bits were used as a catalyst. • Process was optimized by 3"3 full factorial design and Box-Behnken design. • Box-Behnken design is recommended for optimizing biodiesel production processes. • FAME content in the ester phase obtained under the optimum conditions was >98%. - Abstract: The effect of the residence time (i.e. liquid flow rate through the reactor), methanol-to-oil molar ratio and reaction temperature on the fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) content at the output of a continuous packed bed tubular reactor was modeled by the response surface methodology (RSM) combined with the 3"3 full factorial design (FFD) with replication or the Box-Behnken design (BBD) with five center points. The methanolysis of sunflower oil was carried out at the residence time of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 h, the methanol-to-oil molar ratios of 6:1, 12:1 and 18:1 and the reaction temperature of 40, 50 and 60 °C under the atmospheric pressure. Based on the used experimental designs, the model equations containing only linear and two-factor interaction terms were developed for predicting the FAME content, which were validated through the use of the unseen data. Applying the analysis of variance (ANOVA), all three factors were shown to have a significant influence on the FAME content. Acceptable statistical predictability and accuracy resulted from both designs since the values of the coefficient of determination were close to unity while the values of the mean relative percentage deviation were relatively low (<±10%). In addition, both designs predicted the maximum FAME content of above 99%, which agreed closely with the actual FAME content (98.8%). The same optimal reaction temperature (60 °C) and residence time (2.0 h) were determined by both designs while the BBD model suggested a slightly lower methanol-to-oil molar ratio (12.2:1) than the 3"3 FFD

Optimization of ultrasonic circulating extraction of samara oil from Acer saccharum using combination of Plackett-Burman design and Box-Behnken design.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fengli; Zhang, Qiang; Fei, Shimin; Gu, Huiyan; Yang, Lei

2017-03-01

In this study, ultrasonic circulating extraction (UCE) technique was firstly and successfully applied for extraction of samara oil from Acer saccharum. The extraction kinetics were fitted and described, and the extraction mechanism was discussed. Through comparison, n-hexane was selected as the extraction solvent, the influence of solvent type on the responses was detailedly interpreted based on the influence of their properties on the occurrence and intensity of cavitation. Seven parameters potentially influencing the extraction yield of samara oil and content of nervonic acid, including ultrasound irradiation time, ultrasound irradiation power, ultrasound temperature, liquid-solid ratio, soaking time, particle size and stirring rate, were screened through Plackett-Burman design to determine the significant variables. Then, three parameters performed statistically significant, including liquid-solid ratio, ultrasound irradiation time and ultrasound irradiation power, were further optimized using Box-Behnken design to predict optimum extraction conditions. Satisfactory yield of samara oil (11.72±0.38%) and content of nervonic acid (5.28±0.18%) were achieved using the optimal conditions. 1% proportion of ethanol in extraction solvent, 120°C of drying temperature and 6.4% moisture were selected and applied for effective extraction. There were no distinct differences in the physicochemical properties of samara oil obtained by UCE and Soxhlet extraction, and the samara oil obtained by UCE exhibited better antioxidant activities. Therefore, UCE method has enormous potential for efficient extraction of edible oil with high quality from plant materials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A study on the total phenols content and antioxidant activity of essential oil and different solvent extracts of endemic plant Merremia borneensis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Amzad Hossain

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study is planned to determine the antioxidant activity and total phenols content of the essential oil and different solvent extracts of the endemic plant Merremia borneensis. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were examined by three different methods, DPPH, β-carotene and reducing power assays. In all methods, aqueous ethanol extract exhibited a higher activity potential than that of other extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol and the essential oil. As assumed, the amount of total phenolics was very high in this extract. Chloroform extract has been found to be rich in flavonoids. A positive result was observed between the antioxidant activity potential and total flavonoid levels of the extracts.

Exploration of process parameters for continuous hydrolysis of canola oil, camelina oil and algal oil

KAUST Repository

Wang, Weicheng

2012-07-01

Thermal hydrolysis of triglycerides to form free fatty acid (FFA) is a well-established industry practice. Recently, this process has been employed as a first step in the production of biofuels from lipids. To that end, batch and continuous hydrolysis of various feedstocks has been examined at the laboratory scale. Canola, the primary feedstock in this paper, camelina and algal oils were converted to high quality FFA. For the different reaction temperatures, the continuous hydrolysis system was found to provide better yields than the laboratory batch system. In addition, CFD simulation with ANSYS-CFX was used to model the performance and reactant/product separation in the continuous, counter-flow reactor. The effects of reaction temperature, water-to-oil ratio (ratio of water and oil volumetric inflow rate), and preheating of the reactants were examined experimentally. Optimization of these parameters has resulted in an improved, continuous process with high mass yields (89-93%, for reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1) and energy efficiency (76%, for reactor temperature of 250°C and water-to-oil ratio of 2:1). Based on the product quality and energy efficiency considerations, the reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1 have provided the optimal condition for the lab scale continuous hydrolysis reaction. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Exploration of process parameters for continuous hydrolysis of canola oil, camelina oil and algal oil

KAUST Repository

Wang, Weicheng; Turner, Timothy L.; Stikeleather, Larry F.; Roberts, William L.

2012-01-01

Thermal hydrolysis of triglycerides to form free fatty acid (FFA) is a well-established industry practice. Recently, this process has been employed as a first step in the production of biofuels from lipids. To that end, batch and continuous hydrolysis of various feedstocks has been examined at the laboratory scale. Canola, the primary feedstock in this paper, camelina and algal oils were converted to high quality FFA. For the different reaction temperatures, the continuous hydrolysis system was found to provide better yields than the laboratory batch system. In addition, CFD simulation with ANSYS-CFX was used to model the performance and reactant/product separation in the continuous, counter-flow reactor. The effects of reaction temperature, water-to-oil ratio (ratio of water and oil volumetric inflow rate), and preheating of the reactants were examined experimentally. Optimization of these parameters has resulted in an improved, continuous process with high mass yields (89-93%, for reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1) and energy efficiency (76%, for reactor temperature of 250°C and water-to-oil ratio of 2:1). Based on the product quality and energy efficiency considerations, the reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1 have provided the optimal condition for the lab scale continuous hydrolysis reaction. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

A Comparative Study on Formation of Polar Components, Fatty Acids and Sterols during Frying of Refined Olive Pomace Oil Pure and Its Blend Coconut Oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Hammouda, Ibtissem; Triki, Mehdi; Matthäus, Bertrand; Bouaziz, Mohamed

2018-04-04

The frying performance of pure refined olive-pomace oil (ROPO) and blended with refined coconut oil (RCO) (80:20) was compared during a frying operation of French fries at 180 °C. Blending polyunsaturated oils with highly saturated or monounsaturated oils has been studied extensively, however in literature there is no study has been reported so far on blending ROPO (rich in monounsaturated fatty acids) with RCO (rich in saturated fatty acids) to formulate new frying oils. At the end of the frying process, the blend of ROPO/RCO exhibited a higher chemical stability than the pure ROPO based on total polar compounds (TPC), and polymers. The rate of TPC formation was achieved 23.3% and 30.6% for the blend and the pure oil, respectively. Trans and free fatty acids content, as well as anisidine value were also observed to be the highest in the pure ROPO. This study evaluated the frying performance in the search for appropriate frying oils to deliver healthy fried products with optimized nutritional qualities.

Conversion of solid organic wastes into oil via Boettcherisca peregrine (Diptera: Sarcophagidae larvae and optimization of parameters for biodiesel production.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sen Yang

Full Text Available The feedstocks for biodiesel production are predominantly from edible oils and the high cost of the feedstocks prevents its large scale application. In this study, we evaluated the oil extracted from Boettcherisca peregrine larvae (BPL grown on solid organic wastes for biodiesel production. The oil contents detected in the BPL converted from swine manure, fermentation residue and the degreased food waste, were 21.7%, 19.5% and 31.1%, respectively. The acid value of the oil is 19.02 mg KOH/g requiring a two-step transesterification process. The optimized process of 12∶1 methanol/oil (mol/mol with 1.5% H(2SO(4 reacted at 70°C for 120 min resulted in a 90.8% conversion rate of free fatty acid (FFA by esterification, and a 92.3% conversion rate of triglycerides into esters by alkaline transesterification. Properties of the BPL oil-based biodiesel are within the specifications of ASTM D6751, suggesting that the solid organic waste-grown BPL could be a feasible non-food feedstock for biodiesel production.

Conversion of solid organic wastes into oil via Boettcherisca peregrine (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) larvae and optimization of parameters for biodiesel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Sen; Li, Qing; Zeng, Qinglan; Zhang, Jibin; Yu, Ziniu; Liu, Ziduo

2012-01-01

The feedstocks for biodiesel production are predominantly from edible oils and the high cost of the feedstocks prevents its large scale application. In this study, we evaluated the oil extracted from Boettcherisca peregrine larvae (BPL) grown on solid organic wastes for biodiesel production. The oil contents detected in the BPL converted from swine manure, fermentation residue and the degreased food waste, were 21.7%, 19.5% and 31.1%, respectively. The acid value of the oil is 19.02 mg KOH/g requiring a two-step transesterification process. The optimized process of 12∶1 methanol/oil (mol/mol) with 1.5% H(2)SO(4) reacted at 70°C for 120 min resulted in a 90.8% conversion rate of free fatty acid (FFA) by esterification, and a 92.3% conversion rate of triglycerides into esters by alkaline transesterification. Properties of the BPL oil-based biodiesel are within the specifications of ASTM D6751, suggesting that the solid organic waste-grown BPL could be a feasible non-food feedstock for biodiesel production.

Recovery of Oil with Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Polyphenols from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin Koehne: Process Optimization of Pilot-Scale Subcritical Fluid Assisted Extraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenzhou Zhu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The potential effects of three modern extraction technologies (cold-pressing, microwaves and subcritical fluids on the recovery of oil from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin Koehne seeds have been evaluated and compared to those of conventional chemical extraction methods (Soxhlet extraction. This oil contains unsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols. Subcritical fluid extraction (SbFE provided the highest yield—25.79 g oil/100 g dry seeds—of the three methods. Moreover, the fatty acid composition in the oil samples was analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. This analysis showed that the percentages of monounsaturated (46.61%, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (42.14%, after applying SbFE were higher than those obtained by Soxhlet, cold-pressing or microwave-assisted extraction. In addition, the oil obtained under optimized SbFE conditions (35 min extraction at 35 °C with four extraction cycles, showed significant polyphenol (527.36 mg GAE/kg oil, and flavonoid (15.32 mg RE/kg oil, content, had a good appearance and was of high quality.

Recovery of Oil with Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Polyphenols from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin) Koehne: Process Optimization of Pilot-Scale Subcritical Fluid Assisted Extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhenzhou; Zhang, Rui; Zhan, Shaoying; He, Jingren; Barba, Francisco J; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Wu, Weizhong; Li, Shuyi

2017-10-22

The potential effects of three modern extraction technologies (cold-pressing, microwaves and subcritical fluids) on the recovery of oil from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin) Koehne seeds have been evaluated and compared to those of conventional chemical extraction methods (Soxhlet extraction). This oil contains unsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols. Subcritical fluid extraction (SbFE) provided the highest yield-25.79 g oil/100 g dry seeds-of the three methods. Moreover, the fatty acid composition in the oil samples was analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This analysis showed that the percentages of monounsaturated (46.61%), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (42.14%), after applying SbFE were higher than those obtained by Soxhlet, cold-pressing or microwave-assisted extraction. In addition, the oil obtained under optimized SbFE conditions (35 min extraction at 35 °C with four extraction cycles), showed significant polyphenol (527.36 mg GAE/kg oil), and flavonoid (15.32 mg RE/kg oil), content, had a good appearance and was of high quality.

Optimization Models for Petroleum Field Exploitation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonsbraaten, Tore Wiig

1998-12-31

This thesis presents and discusses various models for optimal development of a petroleum field. The objective of these optimization models is to maximize, under many uncertain parameters, the project`s expected net present value. First, an overview of petroleum field optimization is given from the point of view of operations research. Reservoir equations for a simple reservoir system are derived and discretized and included in optimization models. Linear programming models for optimizing production decisions are discussed and extended to mixed integer programming models where decisions concerning platform, wells and production strategy are optimized. Then, optimal development decisions under uncertain oil prices are discussed. The uncertain oil price is estimated by a finite set of price scenarios with associated probabilities. The problem is one of stochastic mixed integer programming, and the solution approach is to use a scenario and policy aggregation technique developed by Rockafellar and Wets although this technique was developed for continuous variables. Stochastic optimization problems with focus on problems with decision dependent information discoveries are also discussed. A class of ``manageable`` problems is identified and an implicit enumeration algorithm for finding optimal decision policy is proposed. Problems involving uncertain reservoir properties but with a known initial probability distribution over possible reservoir realizations are discussed. Finally, a section on Nash-equilibrium and bargaining in an oil reservoir management game discusses the pool problem arising when two lease owners have access to the same underlying oil reservoir. Because the oil tends to migrate, both lease owners have incentive to drain oil from the competitors part of the reservoir. The discussion is based on a numerical example. 107 refs., 31 figs., 14 tabs.

Extractions of Oil from Descurainia sophia Seed Using Supercritical CO2, Chemical Compositions by GC-MS and Evaluation of the Anti-Tussive, Expectorant and Anti-Asthmatic Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian-Hong Gong

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Descurainia sophia is widely distributed in China and is one of the most troublesome annual weeds. It has diverse medicinal usage. D. sophia has abundant oil, making it an important oil plant in China. The main goal of this study was to obtain the maximum yield of the oil by an optimal selection of supercritical fluid extraction parameters. According to the central composite design and response surface methodology for supercritical fluid extraction method, a quadratic polynomial model was used to predict the yield of D. sophia seed oil. A series of runs was performed to assess the optimal extraction conditions. The results indicated that the extraction pressure had the greatest impact on oil yield within the range of the operating conditions studied. A total of approximately 67 compounds were separated in D. sophia seed oil by GC-MS, of which 51 compounds represented 98.21% of the total oils, for the first time. This study was also aimed at evaluating the anti-asthmatic, anti-tussive and expectorant activities in vivo of D. sophia seed oil which supplied for further research on bioactive constituents and pharmacological mechanisms.

Some technological aspects of the functioning of the Thessalonica-OKTA oil pipeline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zikovski, Toni

2004-01-01

Crude oil pipeline Solun-Okta was built according to international technical, ecological and safety standards and enables quick, optimal and continuity supply of OKTA Refinery with crude oil. The building of the pipeline began in 1999, and finished in 2002 with official start-up operation by pumping of first quantity crude oil. After the activation, human environment protection has an important place. A lot of instructions and procedures are prepared especial for this purpose. With a total length about 212 km, pipeline enables transport of crude oil from ECO Refinery to OKTA with a capacity of 2.5 million tons per year. Pipeline is designed for a transport of few types crude oil and their mixtures. Pipeline system has been equipped with sophistic and modern equipment, which will enable quality of the work by controlling and monitoring of the system. (Author)

An improved Harmony Search algorithm for optimal scheduling of the diesel generators in oil rig platforms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yadav, Parikshit; Kumar, Rajesh; Panda, S.K.; Chang, C.S. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

2011-02-15

Harmony Search (HS) algorithm is music based meta-heuristic optimization method which is analogous with the music improvisation process where musician continue to polish the pitches in order to obtain better harmony. The paper focuses on the optimal scheduling of the generators to reduce the fuel consumption in the oil rig platform. The accurate modeling of the specific fuel consumption is significant in this optimization. The specific fuel consumption has been modeled using cubic spline interpolation. The SFC curve is non-linear and discrete in nature, hence conventional methods fail to give optimal solution. HS algorithm has been used for optimal scheduling of the generators of both equal and unequal rating. Furthermore an Improved Harmony Search (IHS) method for generating new solution vectors that enhances accuracy and convergence rate of HS has been employed. The paper also focuses on the impacts of constant parameters on Harmony Search algorithm. Numerical results show that the IHS method has good convergence property. Moreover, the fuel consumption for IHS algorithm is lower when compared to HS and other heuristic or deterministic methods and is a powerful search algorithm for various engineering optimization problems. (author)

An Improved Harmony Search algorithm for optimal scheduling of the diesel generators in oil rig platforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, Parikshit; Kumar, Rajesh; Panda, S.K.; Chang, C.S.

2011-01-01

Harmony Search (HS) algorithm is music based meta-heuristic optimization method which is analogous with the music improvisation process where musician continue to polish the pitches in order to obtain better harmony. The paper focuses on the optimal scheduling of the generators to reduce the fuel consumption in the oil rig platform. The accurate modeling of the specific fuel consumption is significant in this optimization. The specific fuel consumption has been modeled using cubic spline interpolation. The SFC curve is non-linear and discrete in nature, hence conventional methods fail to give optimal solution. HS algorithm has been used for optimal scheduling of the generators of both equal and unequal rating. Furthermore an Improved Harmony Search (IHS) method for generating new solution vectors that enhances accuracy and convergence rate of HS has been employed. The paper also focuses on the impacts of constant parameters on Harmony Search algorithm. Numerical results show that the IHS method has good convergence property. Moreover, the fuel consumption for IHS algorithm is lower when compared to HS and other heuristic or deterministic methods and is a powerful search algorithm for various engineering optimization problems.

Bioremediation of oil contaminated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beeson, D.L.; Hogue, J.I.; Peterson, J.C.; Guerra, G.W.

1994-01-01

The Baldwin Waste Oil Site was an abandoned waste oil recycling facility located in Robstown, Nueces County, Texas. As part of their site assessment activities, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested that the Ecology and Environment, Inc., Technical Assistance Team (TAT) investigate the feasibility of using in-situ bioremediation to remediate soils contaminated with oil and grease components, petroleum hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. Bioremediation based on the land treatment concept was tested. The land treatment concept uses techniques to optimize indigenous microbial populations and bring them in contact with the contaminants. The study was designed to collect data upon which to base conclusions on the effectiveness of bioremediation, to demonstrate the effectiveness of bioremediation under field conditions, and to identify potential problems in implementing a full-scale project. Bioremediation effectiveness was monitored through total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and Oil and Grease (O and G) analyses. Site specific treatment goals for the pilot project were concentrations of less than 1% for O and G and less than 10,000 mg/kg for TPH. Based on the reduction of TPH and O and G concentrations and the cost effectiveness of bioremediation based on the land treatment concept, full-scale in-situ bioremediation was initiated by the EPA at the Baldwin Waste Oil Site in February of 1993

Stockpile strategy for China's emergency oil reserve: A dynamic programming approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Y.; Dahl, C.A.; Zhou, D.Q.; Zhou, P.

2014-01-01

China is currently accelerating construction of its strategic petroleum reserves. How should China fill the SPR in a cost-effective manner in the short-run? How might this affect world oil prices? Using a dynamic programming model to answer these questions, the objective of this paper is to minimize the stockpiling costs, including consumer surplus as well as crude acquisition and holding costs. The crude oil acquisition price in the model is determined by global equilibrium between supply and demand. Demand, in turn, depends on world market conditions including China's stockpile filling rate. Our empirical study under different market conditions shows that China's optimal stockpile acquisition rate varies from 9 to 19 million barrels per month, and the optimal stockpiling drives up the world oil price by 3–7%. The endogenous price increase accounts for 52% of total stockpiling costs in the base case. When the market is tighter or the demand function is more inelastic, the stockpiling affects the market more significantly and pushes prices even higher. Alternatively, in a disruption, drawdown from the stockpile can effectively dampen soaring prices, though the shortage is likely to leave the price higher than before the disruption. - Highlights: • China's SPR policies are examined by dynamic programming. • The optimal stockpile acquisition rate varies from 9 to 19 million barrels per month. • The optimal stockpiling drives up world oil price by 3–7%

Mitigation of naphthenate related production upsets in high TAN (Total Acid Number) crude oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ostojic, Nik [Maersk Oil, Copenhagen (Denmark); Vijn, Pieter; Reiners, Robert [Champion Technologies Europe BV, Delden (Netherlands)

2012-07-01

This paper describes a strategy for prediction, evaluation and mitigation of calcium naphthenate related production problems. Developing fields with acidic crude in the North Sea, West Africa, Bohai Bay (China) and Brazil is becoming more common in recent years. The high acid crude contains a considerable amount of naphthenic acids, typically having a Total Acid Number (TAN) higher than 0.5 mg KOH/g. Formation of either hard type 'calcium naphthenate precipitates' or soft type 'sodium carboxylate/emulsions' during crude oil production can lead to severe flow assurance and separation problems. In severe cases this may lead to production shutdowns to clean-up the equipment. A number of different naphthenate mitigation approaches have been published but no one particular approach is considered to be the most efficient as it depends significantly on the particular field conditions. Initially, this problem was addressed by deploying large volumes of (usually organic) acid, but more recently high efficiency low dose naphthenate inhibitors have been introduced. For predicting naphthenate scaling potential, methods were developed to determine the concentration of 1230 Dalton naphthenic tetra acid (ARN acids) in either deposit or crude oil and this information can be used to locate and potentially isolate the problem to a certain reservoir. Also, methods were developed to design suitable low dose naphthenate inhibitors. As these inhibitors are field tested, monitoring is required to ensure the product is performing most efficiently. In cases of tight emulsions however, this is less difficult as the oil dehydration and water quality is affected instantly. Methods were developed to allow monitoring of the calcium naphthenate deposition in field trails, thus allow trending and evaluation of the chemicals performance. After detailed analyses and discussions of the developed methods, a North Sea case history is presented reviewing several years of treating

Study on optimal fat content in total parenteral nutrition in partially hepatectomized rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Abe, S; Sakabe, S; Hirata, M; Kamuro, H; Asahara, N; Watanabe, M

1997-04-01

In order to investigate the optimal fat content for total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solutions, male Wistar rats were subjected to 70% hepatectomy and then placed, for five days, on one of five TPN regimens in which fat represented 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively, of the total calorie content. As serum triglyceride levels in the fat-treated groups were lower than those in the non-treated normal rats, it was concluded that the administered fat was sufficiently hydrolyzed. The greater the fat content, the higher the regeneration rate of the remnant liver. Significant differences were found between the 0%-fat group and 20%-plus fat groups. Hepatic triglyceride level was significantly lower in the 20%-fat group. Hepatic protein level was significantly elevated in all fat-treated groups. Serum phospholipids and total cholesterol due to the lecithin contained in fat emulsion were significantly elevated in the 30 and 40%-fat groups, indicating that fat content of 30 and 40% was excessive. The results suggest that TPN containing fat is superior to fat-free TPN for liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, and that optimal fat content is estimated to be about 20% of total calorie content in the case of this fat emulsion.

Optimization and Modeling of Process Variables of Biodiesel Production from Marula Oil using Response Surface Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enweremadu, C. C.; Rutto, H. L.

2015-01-01

This paper presents an optimization study in the production of biodiesel production from Marula oil. The study was carried out using a central composite design of experiments under response surface methodology. A mathematical model was developed to correlate the transesterification process variables to biodiesel yield. The transesterification reaction variables were methanol to oil ratio, x /sub 1/ (10-50 wt percentage), reaction time, x /sub 2/ (30-90 min), reaction temperature, x /sub 3/ (30-90 Degree C) stirring speed, x /sub 4/ (100-400 rpm) and amount of catalyst, x /sub 5/ (0.5-1.5 g). The optimum conditions for the production of the biodiesel were found to be methanol to oil ratio (29.43 wt percentage), reaction time (59.17 minutes), reaction temperature (58.80 Degree C), stirring speed (325 rpm) and amount of catalyst (1.02 g). The optimum yield of biodiesel that can be produced was 95 percentage. The results revealed that the crucial fuel properties of the biodiesel produced at the optimum conditions met the ASTM biodiesel specifications. (author)

Hedging Effectiveness and Optimal Hedge Ratios: An Analysis of Malaysian Crude Palm Oil Futures Market

OpenAIRE

OH, STELLA JIA XIN

2015-01-01

This paper deals with the estimation of hedge ratios and hedging effectiveness of crude palm oil futures market in Malaysia for the period from January 2000 to August 2015. To measure hedging performances of optimal hedge ratio, different measures have been employed such as the static hedge ratio estimation models of conventional Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), while the time-varying model is presented by the Diagonal Vech Multivariate Generalized A...

Oil vulnerability index of oil-importing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Eshita

2008-01-01

This paper assesses the relative oil vulnerability of 26 net oil-importing countries for the year 2004 on the basis of various indicators - the ratio of value of oil imports to gross domestic product (GDP), oil consumption per unit of GDP, GDP per capita and oil share in total energy supply, ratio of domestic reserves to oil consumption, exposure to geopolitical oil market concentration risks as measured by net oil import dependence, diversification of supply sources, political risk in oil-supplying countries, and market liquidity. The approach using the principal component technique has been adopted to combine these individual indicators into a composite index of oil vulnerability. Such an index captures the relative sensitivity of various economies towards developments of the international oil market, with a higher index indicating higher vulnerability. The results show that there are considerable differences in the values of individual indicators of oil vulnerability and overall oil vulnerability index among the countries (both inter and intraregional). (author)

Oil vulnerability index of oil-importing countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Eshita [The Energy and Resources Institute, Darbari Seth Block, Habitat Place, New Delhi 110 003 (India)

2008-03-15

This paper assesses the relative oil vulnerability of 26 net oil-importing countries for the year 2004 on the basis of various indicators - the ratio of value of oil imports to gross domestic product (GDP), oil consumption per unit of GDP, GDP per capita and oil share in total energy supply, ratio of domestic reserves to oil consumption, exposure to geopolitical oil market concentration risks as measured by net oil import dependence, diversification of supply sources, political risk in oil-supplying countries, and market liquidity. The approach using the principal component technique has been adopted to combine these individual indicators into a composite index of oil vulnerability. Such an index captures the relative sensitivity of various economies towards developments of the international oil market, with a higher index indicating higher vulnerability. The results show that there are considerable differences in the values of individual indicators of oil vulnerability and overall oil vulnerability index among the countries (both inter and intraregional). (author)

Process parameters optimization for synthesis of methyl ester from sunflower oil using Taguchi technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Senthilkumar

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this work, transesterification of sunflower oil for obtaining biodiesel was studied. Taguchi’s methodology (L9 orthogonal array was selected to optimize the most significant variables (methanol, catalyst concentration and stirrer speed in transesterification process. Experiments have conducted based on development of L9 orthogonal array by using Taguchi technique. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA and the regression equations were used to find the optimum yield of sunflower methyl ester under the influence of methanol, catalyst & stirrer speed. The study resulted in a maximum yield of sun flower methyl ester as 96% with the optimal conditions of methanol 110 ml with 0.5% by wt. of sodium hydroxide (NaOH stirred at 1200 rpm. The yield was analyzed on the basis of “larger is better”. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to verify the experimental results.

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

A framework for determining optimal petroleum leasing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, D.R.

1991-01-01

The techniques of auction theory and option theory are combined to allow valuation under both geologic and oil price uncertainty. The primary motivation for developing this framework is to understand the prevalence of leasing in transferring ownership of oil properties. Under a standard oil lease, the landowner sells an oil company the right to explore and develop a tract of land for a fixed period of time. If oil is found, a fraction of the revenues is reserved for the landowner. Compared to the outright sale of the minerals, leasing has the disadvantages of: (1) lowering total oil field value through alteration of investment incentives; (2) providing the seller with a more risk cash flow; and (3) increasing legal and administrative costs. It is demonstrated here that in lease sales as compared to full mineral interest sales, the relative disadvantages are offset by more effective value transfer to the seller. For the base-case parameters, the optimal lease in a bonus auction gives the seller 28% more value than the sale of the full mineral interest. There is a loss in the leasing process from distortion of development timing incentives

Classification of pumpkin seed oils according to their species and genetic variety by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Saucedo-Hernández, Yanelis; Lerma-García, María Jesús; Herrero-Martínez, José Manuel; Ramis-Ramos, Guillermo; Jorge-Rodríguez, Elisa; Simí-Alfonso, Ernesto F

2011-04-27

Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), followed by multivariate treatment of the spectral data, was used to classify seed oils of the genus Cucurbita (pumpkins) according to their species as C. maxima, C. pepo, and C. moschata. Also, C. moschata seed oils were classified according to their genetic variety as RG, Inivit C-88, and Inivit C-2000. Up to 23 wavelength regions were selected on the spectra, each region corresponding to a peak or shoulder. The normalized absorbance peak areas within these regions were used as predictors. Using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), an excellent resolution among all categories concerning both Cucurbita species and C. moschata varieties was achieved. The proposed method was straightforward and quick and can be easily implemented. Quality control of pumpkin seed oils is important because Cucurbita species and genetic variety are both related to the pharmaceutical properties of the oils.

Measuring the importance of oil-related revenues in total fiscal income for Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reyes-Loya, Manuel Lorenzo; Blanco, Lorenzo [Facultad de Economia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Loma Redonda 1515 Pte., Col. Loma Larga, C.P. 64710, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon (Mexico)

2008-09-15

Revenues from oil exports are an important part of government budgets in Mexico. A time-series analysis is conducted using monthly data from 1990 to 2005 examining three different specifications to determine how international oil price fluctuations and government income generated from oil exports influence fiscal policy in Mexico. The behavior of government spending and taxation is consistent with the spend-tax hypothesis. The results show that there is an inverse relationship between oil-related revenues and tax revenue from non-oil sources. Fiscal policy reform is urgently needed in order to improve tax collection as oil reserves in Mexico become more and more depleted. (author)

Measuring the importance of oil-related revenues in total fiscal income for Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes-Loya, Manuel Lorenzo; Blanco, Lorenzo

2008-01-01

Revenues from oil exports are an important part of government budgets in Mexico. A time-series analysis is conducted using monthly data from 1990 to 2005 examining three different specifications to determine how international oil price fluctuations and government income generated from oil exports influence fiscal policy in Mexico. The behavior of government spending and taxation is consistent with the spend-tax hypothesis. The results show that there is an inverse relationship between oil-related revenues and tax revenue from non-oil sources. Fiscal policy reform is urgently needed in order to improve tax collection as oil reserves in Mexico become more and more depleted. (author)

Analysis of total oil and fatty acids composition by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy in edible nuts

Science.gov (United States)

Kandala, Chari V.; Sundaram, Jaya

2014-10-01

Near Infrared (NIR) Reflectance spectroscopy has established itself as an important tool in quantifying water and oil present in various food materials. It is rapid and nondestructive, easier to use, and does not require processing the samples with corrosive chemicals that would render them non-edible. Earlier, the samples had to be ground into powder form before making any measurements. With the development of new soft ware packages, NIR techniques could now be used in the analysis of intact grain and nuts. While most of the commercial instruments presently available work well with small grain size materials such as wheat and corn, the method present here is suitable for large kernel size products such as shelled or in-shell peanuts. Absorbance spectra were collected from 400 nm to 2500 nm using a NIR instrument. Average values of total oil contents (TOC) of peanut samples were determined by standard extraction methods, and fatty acids were determined using gas chromatography. Partial least square (PLS) analysis was performed on the calibration set of absorption spectra, and models were developed for prediction of total oil and fatty acids. The best model was selected based on the coefficient of determination (R2), Standard error of prediction (SEP) and residual percent deviation (RPD) values. Peanut samples analyzed showed RPD values greater than 5.0 for both absorbance and reflectance models and thus could be used for quality control and analysis. Ability to rapidly and nondestructively measure the TOC, and analyze the fatty acid composition, will be immensely useful in peanut varietal improvement as well as in the grading process of grain and nuts.

Outlook for Saskatchewan heavy oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Youzwa, P.

1993-01-01

Some of the opportunities and challenges currently facing the heavy oil industry in Saskatchewan are discussed from a government perspective. By the end of September 1993, 220 heavy oil wells were drilled in the province, and 26% of the land sales in 1993 were in heavy oil areas. About 41% of the wells drilled in heavy oil areas were horizontal oil wells. Of the total horizontal wells drilled in Saskatchewan, 48% are for heavy oil, and horizontal well production averages 85 bbl/d. Initial trends suggest that horizontal wells both accelerate production and contribute to ultimate recovery. Total heavy oil production in 1992 reached 28.9 million bbl and recoverable reserves in 1991 were 262.3 million bbl, or 1.5% of total oil in place. The low recovery is not only due to technical factors such as high viscosity but also to low investment in the heavy oil sector due to poor economics. It is hoped that lower interest and exchange rates, the success of horizontal wells and the provincial royalty structure will maintain the recent increase in heavy oil activity. The provincial government recently launched a comprehensive energy strategy in which development of a heavy oil strategy is an important component. Total heavy oil reserves exceed those of light and medium oil and have significant development potential. The Saskatchewan government wishes to adopt a cooperative and partnership approach in its dealings with the heavy oil industry to help realize this potential. 9 figs

Response surface optimization for the transesterification of karanja oil using immobilized whole cells of Rhizopus oryzae in n-hexane system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ganesan, Devanesan; Rajendran, Aravindan; Thangavelu, Viruthagiri [Annamalai University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu (India)

2012-03-15

Non-edible oils represent one of the most viable alternative feed stocks for the production of large volumes of biodiesel at cheaper cost in tropical countries. The objective of the present study is to investigate the ability of the immobilized whole cells of Rhizopus oryzae MTCC 262 to catalyze the biodiesel production from karanja oil in n-hexane system. Response surface methodology was employed to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters, such as molar ratio of oil to alcohol, reaction temperature and reaction time on percentage biodiesel (methyl esters) yield. Transesterification was performed in shake flasks containing immobilized cells in the reaction mixture with 10% oil weight of n-hexane. The quadratic effects of molar ratio of oil to alcohol and reaction time proved to be the significant at 1% and 5% levels, respectively. The optimum synthesis conditions were found to be: molar ratio of oil to alcohol 1:2.73, reaction temperature 41.39 C and reaction time 73.97 h. Biodiesel yield (methyl ester) was 75.98 (wt.%) under the optimal conditions and the subsequent verification experiments with biodiesel yield of 78.0 (wt.%) confirmed the validity of the proposed model. (orig.)

Response surface methodology based optimization of diesel–n-butanol –cotton oil ternary blend ratios to improve engine performance and exhaust emission characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atmanlı, Alpaslan; Yüksel, Bedri; İleri, Erol; Deniz Karaoglan, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • RSM based optimization for optimum blend ratio of diesel fuel, n-butanol and cotton oil was done. • 65.5 vol.% diesel fuel, 23.1 vol.% n-butanol and 11.4 vol.% cotton oil (DnBC) was determined. • DnBC decreased brake torque, brake power, BTE and BMEP, while increased BSFC. • DnBC decreased NO x , CO and HC emissions. - Abstract: Many studies declare that 20% biodiesel is the optimum concentration for biodiesel–diesel fuel blends to improve performance. The present work focuses on finding diesel fuel, n-butanol, and cotton oil optimum blend ratios for diesel engine applications by using the response surface method (RSM). Experimental test fuels were prepared by choosing 7 different concentrations, where phase decomposition did not occur in the phase diagram of −10 °C. Experiments were carried out at full load conditions and the constant speed (2200 rpm) of maximum brake torque to determine engine performance and emission parameters. According to the test results of the engine, optimization was done by using RSM considering engine performance and exhaust emissions parameters, to identify the rates of concentrations of components in the optimum blend of three. Confirmation tests were employed to compare the output values of concentrations that were identified by optimization. The real experiment results and the R 2 actual values that show the relation between the outputs from the optimizations and real experiments were determined in high accordance. The optimum component concentration was determined as 65.5 vol.% diesel, 23.1 vol.% n-butanol and 11.4 vol.% cotton oil (DnBC). According to engine performance tests brake torque, brake power, BTE and BMEP of DnBC decreased while BSFC increased compared to those of diesel fuel. NO x , CO and HC emissions of DnBC drastically decreased as 11.33%, 45.17% and 81.45%, respectively

Evaluation of garlic oil in nano-emulsified form: Optimization and its efficacy in high-fat diet induced dyslipidemia in Wistar rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Ragavan, Gokulakannan; Muralidaran, Yuvashree; Sridharan, Badrinathan; Nachiappa Ganesh, Rajesh; Viswanathan, Pragasam

2017-07-01

Garlic oil nanoemulsion was formulated using ultrasonic emulsification and the optimized garlic oil nanoemulsion ratio (1:2) of oil: surfactant showed spherical, with tiny droplet size 24.9 ± 1.11 nm. It was observed that the prepared nanoemulsion has the zeta potential of -42.63 ± 1.58 mV and a low polydispersity index of 0.2 ± 0.09 with excellent stability. The formulation was subjected to in vivo acute and sub-acute toxicity. In acute toxicity study, single oral administration of 18.63 ml of garlic oil nanoemulsion/kg resulted in immediate mortality. However, garlic oil nanoemulsion (0.46 ml/kg) and tween 80 (0.5 ml/kg) administered rats did not exhibit any toxicity and showed no changes in hematological and histological parameters. Further, both preventive and curative studies of garlic oil nanoemulsion were evaluated in high-fat diet fed dyslipidemic Wistar rats. Garlic oil nanoemulsion administered groups showed a significant effect in reducing the levels of lipid profiles (p garlic oil. Evaluation of lipid deposits in hepatic tissues was analyzed by Oil Red O staining, which revealed that garlic oil nanoemulsion administered rats markedly reduced the fat depots. Our findings suggest that garlic oil nano-emulsified form reduced toxicity and improved efficacy in preventing and treating dyslipidemia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni; Wagirin Ruiz Paidin; Thaer N. N. Mahmoud; Daryl S. Sequeira; Amit P. Sharma

2006-09-30

This is the final report describing the evolution of the project ''Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' from its conceptual stage in 2002 to the field implementation of the developed technology in 2006. This comprehensive report includes all the experimental research, models developments, analyses of results, salient conclusions and the technology transfer efforts. As planned in the original proposal, the project has been conducted in three separate and concurrent tasks: Task 1 involved a physical model study of the new GAGD process, Task 2 was aimed at further developing the vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for gas-oil miscibility determination, and Task 3 was directed at determining multiphase gas-oil drainage and displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks at realistic pressures and temperatures. The project started with the task of recruiting well-qualified graduate research assistants. After collecting and reviewing the literature on different aspects of the project such gas injection EOR, gravity drainage, miscibility characterization, and gas-oil displacement characteristics in porous media, research plans were developed for the experimental work to be conducted under each of the three tasks. Based on the literature review and dimensional analysis, preliminary criteria were developed for the design of the partially-scaled physical model. Additionally, the need for a separate transparent model for visual observation and verification of the displacement and drainage behavior under gas-assisted gravity drainage was identified. Various materials and methods (ceramic porous material, Stucco, Portland cement, sintered glass beads) were attempted in order to fabricate a satisfactory visual model. In addition to proving the effectiveness of the GAGD process (through measured oil recoveries in the range of 65 to 87% IOIP), the visual models demonstrated

Oil sands development update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

A detailed review and update of oil sands development in Alberta are provided covering every aspect of the production and economic aspects of the industry. It is pointed out that at present oil sands account for 28 per cent of Canadian crude oil production, expected to reach 50 per cent by 2005. Based on recent announcements, a total of 26 billion dollars worth of projects are in progress or planned; 20 billion dollars worth of this development is in the Athabasca area, the remainder in Cold Lake and other areas. The current update envisages up to 1,800,000 barrels per day by 2008, creating 47,000 new jobs and total government revenues through direct and indirect taxes of 118 billion dollars. Provinces other than Alberta also benefit from these development, since 60 per cent of all employment and income created by oil sands production is in other parts of Canada. Up to 60 per cent of the expansion is for goods and services and of this, 50 to 55 per cent will be purchased from Canadian sources. The remaining 40 per cent of the new investment is for engineering and construction of which 95 per cent is Canadian content. Aboriginal workforce by common consent of existing operators matches regional representation (about 13 per cent), and new developers are expected to match these standards. Planned or ongoing development in environmental protection through improved technologies and optimization, energy efficiency and improved tailings management, and active support of flexibility mechanisms such as emission credits trading, joint implementation and carbon sinks are very high on the industry's agenda. The importance of offsets are discussed extensively along with key considerations for international negotiations, as well as further research of other options such as sequestration, environmentally benign disposal of waste, and enhanced voluntary action

[Optimization of dissolution process for superfine grinding technology on total saponins of Panax ginseng fibrous root by response surface methodology].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ya; Lai, Xiao-Pin; Yao, Hai-Yan; Zhao, Ran; Wu, Yi-Na; Li, Geng

2014-03-01

To investigate the effects of superfine comminution extraction technology of ginseng total saponins from Panax ginseng fibrous root, and to make sure the optimal extraction condition. Optimal condition of ginseng total saponins from Panax ginseng fibrous root was based on single factor experiment to study the effects of crushing degree, extraction time, alcohol concentration and extraction temperature on extraction rate. Response surface method was used to investigate three main factors such as superfine comminution time, extraction time and alcohol concentration. The relationship between content of ginseng total saponins in Panax ginseng fibrous root and three factors fitted second degree polynomial models. The optimal extraction condition was 9 min of superfine comminution time, 70% of alcohol, 50 degrees C of extraction temperature and 70 min of extraction time. Under the optimal condition, ginseng total saponins from Panax ginseng fibrous root was average 94. 81%, which was consistent with the predicted value. The optimization of technology is rapid, efficient, simple and stable.

Antioxidant activity and sensory analysis of murtilla (Ugni molinae Turcz. fruit extracts in an oil model system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. R. Augusto-Obara

2017-03-01

Full Text Available An oil model system was used to analyze the antioxidant activity of Chilean fruit extracts and to determine their odor sensory effect. Hydroalcoholic extracts from wild and 14-4 genotype murtilla (Ugni molinae Turcz. fruit were assessed by the Response Surface Methodology. The optimal conditions for producing high total phenolic-content extracts were 49.5% (v/v ethanol at 30 ºC, which yielded 18.39 and 26.14 mg GAE·g-1 dry matter, respectively. The optimized extracts were added to a lipid model system and evaluated via the Schaal Oven Test. After 96 hours, 150 and 200 mg·kg-1 oil of the wild and 14-4 genotype extracts, respectively, showed an antioxidant capacity similar to TBHQ (200 mg·kg-1 oil in terms of peroxide values and odor. Thus, murtilla fruit extracts are a natural source of antioxidants for protecting lipidic foods, such as soybean oil.

Antioxidant activity and sensory analysis of murtilla (Ugni molinae Turcz.) fruit extracts in an oil model system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Augusto-Obara, T.R.; Pirce, F.; Scheuermann, E.; Spoto, M.H.F.; Vieira, T.M.F.S.

2017-01-01

An oil model system was used to analyze the antioxidant activity of Chilean fruit extracts and to determine their odor sensory effect. Hydroalcoholic extracts from wild and 14-4 genotype murtilla (Ugni molinae Turcz.) fruit were assessed by the Response Surface Methodology. The optimal conditions for producing high total phenolic-content extracts were 49.5% (v/v) ethanol at 30 ºC, which yielded 18.39 and 26.14 mg GAE·g−1 dry matter, respectively. The optimized extracts were added to a lipid model system and evaluated via the Schaal Oven Test. After 96 hours, 150 and 200 mg·kg−1 oil of the wild and 14-4 genotype extracts, respectively, showed an antioxidant capacity similar to TBHQ (200 mg·kg−1 oil) in terms of peroxide values and odor. Thus, murtilla fruit extracts are a natural source of antioxidants for protecting lipidic foods, such as soybean oil. [es

[Optimize preparation of compound licorice microemulsion with D-optimal design].

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Shu-Wei; Wang, Yong-Jie; Chen, Cheng; Qiu, Yue; Wu, Qing

2018-03-01

In order to increase the solubility of essential oil in compound licorice microemulsion and improve the efficacy of the decoction for treating chronic eczema, this experiment intends to prepare the decoction into microemulsion. The essential oil was used as the oil phase of the microemulsion and the extract was used as the water phase. Then the microemulsion area and maximum ratio of water capacity was obtained by plotting pseudo-ternary phase diagram, to determine the appropriate types of surfactant and cosurfactant, and Km value-the mass ratio between surfactant and cosurfactant. With particle size and skin retention of active ingredients as the index, microemulsion prescription was optimized by D-optimal design method, to investigate the in vitro release behavior of the optimized prescription. The results showed that the microemulsion was optimal with tween-80 as the surfactant and anhydrous ethanol as the cosurfactant. When the Km value was 1, the area of the microemulsion region was largest while when the concentration of extract was 0.5 g·mL⁻¹, it had lowest effect on the particle size distribution of microemulsion. The final optimized formulation was as follows: 9.4% tween-80, 9.4% anhydrous ethanol, 1.0% peppermint oil and 80.2% 0.5 g·mL⁻¹ extract. The microemulsion prepared under these conditions had a small viscosity, good stability and high skin retention of drug; in vitro release experiment showed that microemulsion had a sustained-release effect on glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritin, basically achieving the expected purpose of the project. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Geology and oil and gas assessment of the Mancos-Menefee Composite Total Petroleum System: Chapter 4 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Ridgley, J.L.; Condon, S.M.; Hatch, J.R.

2013-01-01

The Mancos-Menefee Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) includes all genetically related hydrocarbons generated from organic-rich shales in the Cretaceous Mancos Shale and from carbonaceous shale, coal beds, and humate in the Cretaceous Menefee Formation of the Mesaverde Group. The system is called a composite total petroleum system because the exact source of the hydrocarbons in some of the reservoirs is not known. Reservoir rocks that contain hydrocarbons generated in Mancos and Menefee source beds are found in the Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone, at the base of the composite TPS, through the lower part of the Cliff House Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group, at the top. Source rocks in both the Mancos Shale and Menefee Formation entered the oil generation window in the late Eocene and continued to generate oil or gas into the late Miocene. Near the end of the Miocene in the San Juan Basin, subsidence ceased, hydrocarbon generation ceased, and the basin was uplifted and differentially eroded. Reservoirs are now underpressured.

Walnut and almond oil screw-press extraction at industrial scale: Effects of process parameters on oil yield and quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. L. Martínez

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Walnut and almond kernels are highly nutritious mainly due to their high oil contents. In this study, 32 factorial experimental designs were used to optimize processes for oil extraction by screw-pressing at industrial scale. Experimental designs included seed moisture content (SMC, and restriction die (RD as the main processing parameters. Theoretical models were scanned against experimental data in order to optimize oil extraction conditions. The response variables analyzed were oil yield (OY, fine solid content (FC in oil, and oil quality parameters. Fitted models for OY indicated maximum predicted values similar to the highest experimental values. Walnut oil extractions showed a maximum OY (84.5 ± 2.3 % at 7.21% SMC, and 10 mm RD. For almond kernels, maximum OY (71.9 ± 3.5% was obtained at 9.42% SMC, and 12 mm RD. Chemical quality parameters from both oils were in the ranges stated in Codex (FAO/WHO standards for virgin (non-refined oils.

Walnut and almond oil screw-press extraction at industrial scale: Effects of process parameters on oil yield and quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martínez, M. L.; Bordón, M.G.; Bodoira, R. M.; Penci, M.C.; Ribotta, P.D.; Maestri, D.M.

2017-01-01

Walnut and almond kernels are highly nutritious mainly due to their high oil contents. In this study, 32 factorial experimental designs were used to optimize processes for oil extraction by screw-pressing at industrial scale. Experimental designs included seed moisture content (SMC), and restriction die (RD) as the main processing parameters. Theoretical models were scanned against experimental data in order to optimize oil extraction conditions. The response variables analyzed were oil yield (OY), fine solid content (FC) in oil, and oil quality parameters. Fitted models for OY indicated maximum predicted values similar to the highest experimental values. Walnut oil extractions showed a maximum OY (84.5 ± 2.3 %) at 7.21% SMC, and 10 mm RD. For almond kernels, maximum OY (71.9 ± 3.5%) was obtained at 9.42% SMC, and 12 mm RD. Chemical quality parameters from both oils were in the ranges stated in Codex (FAO/WHO) standards for virgin (non-refined) oils. [es

Bioremediation of oil%contaminated soil

OpenAIRE

Marchenko1, M.; Shuktueva, M.; Vinokurov, V.; Krasnopolskaya, L.

2011-01-01

Stocks of crude oil remains at a high level, does not stop the construction of new pipelines, increasing the output and at the same time the transportation of oil. At the same time, it gives rise to accidents resulting in oil and oil products fall in different ecosystems: the atmosphere, soil, waters. This paper provides an overview of the mechanical, physical, chemical, and biological methods for the elimination of oil-contaminated soils. Create optimal conditions for growth and development ...

Optimization of Process Parameters for Palm Oil and Rapeseed Oil Hot Pot Soup Stock%棕榈油与菜籽油复合火锅底料关键工艺参数优化

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张丽珠; 唐洁; 车振明; 肖文艳; 黄清吉

2014-01-01

采用响应曲面分析法对棕榈油与菜籽油复合火锅底料关键工艺参数进行了优化。在单因素试验的基础上，以火锅底料的感观综合评分为响应值，进行了棕榈油与菜籽油用油量、油配比、熬制时间3个因素的显著性和交互作用分析，优化得到其最佳工艺参数条件：用油量为52%(m/m)，棕榈油与菜籽油配比为3∶2∶3(5℃棕榈油∶8℃棕榈油∶菜籽油)，熬制时间为26 min。在此条件下对棕榈油与菜籽油复合火锅底料进行感官综合评分，其中组织形态89.16分、浑汤度88.83分、色泽89.02分、香味92.87分、滋味87.29分，感官综合评分为89.65分。%The critical processing parameters of palm oil and rapesee d oil blend hot pot soup stock are optimized by response surface methodology (RSM).Use sensory scores to evaluate the response value,and the significance and interactions of three factors,including content of palm oil and rapeseed oil,oils ra-tio and stewing time.The optimal process parameters are obtained as follows:oil content is 5 2%(m/m),ratio of palm oil and rapeseed oil is 3∶2∶3 (palm oil with melting point of 5 ℃∶palm oil with melting point of 8 ℃∶rapeseed oil),the optimum stewing time established is 26 min.Under such conditions,the sensory evaluation score for palm oil and rapeseed oil hot pot soup stock is 89.16 for appearance,88.83 for turbidity,89.02 for color,92.87 for smell,87.29 for taste,and the overall sensory evaluation score is excellent at 89.65.

Treatment of oil-contaminated drill cuttings using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odusanya, O.O.; Guigard, S.E.

2002-01-01

New treatment technologies are currently being investigated for the treatment of oil-contaminated drill cuttings generated during drilling for oil and gas. Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) is a promising technology that could effectively treat these contaminated drill cuttings. The objectives of this work were therefore to investigate the application of SFE to oil-contaminated drill cuttings treatment and to determine the optimal extraction conditions to remove the oil from these cuttings. Preliminary extractions indicate that SFE with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) can effectively remove oil from oil-contaminated drill cuttings. Extraction efficiencies calculated based on Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) content were greater than 76% for the cuttings and extraction conditions tested in this work. The preliminary results indicate a trend of increasing extraction efficiencies with increasing temperature and pressure although more data is required to confirm this trend. Additional work will focus on performing additional extractions to determine the optimum extraction conditions. (author)

Optimization of biodiesel production in a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor using used frying oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghayal, Dyneshwar; Pandit, Aniruddha B; Rathod, Virendra K

2013-01-01

The present work demonstrates the application of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor for the synthesis of biodiesel with used frying oil as a feedstock. The synthesis involved the transesterification of used frying oil (UFO) with methanol in the presence of potassium hydroxide as a catalyst. The effect of geometry and upstream pressure of a cavitating orifice plate on the rate of transesterification reaction has been studied. It is observed that the micro level turbulence created by hydrodynamic cavitation somewhat overcomes the mass transfer limitations for triphasic transesterification reaction. The significant effects of upstream pressure on the rate of formation of methyl esters have been seen. It has been observed that flow geometry of orifice plate plays a crucial role in process intensification. With an optimized plate geometry of 2mm hole diameter and 25 holes, more than 95% of triglycerides have been converted to methyl esters in 10 min of reaction time with cavitational yield of 1.28 × 10(-3) (Grams of methyl esters produced per Joule of energy supplied). The potential of UFO to produce good quality methyl esters has been demonstrated. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation on chemical composition and optimization of essential oil obtainment from waste Pinus taeda L. using hydrodistillation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sirlei Dias Teixeira

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The extraction of essential oils obtained by the hydrodistillation of needles/twigs waste of Pinus taeda L. was optimized by applying response surface methodology (RSM, with 24 full factorial design, in order to improve oil essential production, and aggregate value to the production chain of pine wood. Through the model it was possible to ascertain the influence of the variables in the average amount of essential oil (0.1032 mL, being the variables analyzed: biomass - Bm (x1, extraction time - ET (x2, Bm:ET (x1x2 and sample size - SS: drying times - DT (x3x4. Only linear terms (biomass and extraction time and your interaction demonstrated significant positive values (0.0344, 0.0206 and 0.0131. The major components of the essential oil identified by GC-MS were: β-phellandrene: (30.39 and 22.44%, tricyclene (26.14 and 20.46%, β-myrcene (14.32 and 11.50%, β-pinene (22.49 and 1.43% and α-pinene (0.25 and 11.26% in the years 2011 and 2012, respectively. Our results show that the essential oil obtained from P. taeda represents a way of using some of the waste generated by the timber industry. The process of obtaining doesn't require treatments such as controlled drying or size reduction of the sample, indicating that it can be used in an industrial scale.

Effects of temperature and fertilization on total vs. active bacterial communities exposed to crude and diesel oil pollution in NW Mediterranean Sea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez-Blanco, Arturo; Antoine, Virginie [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7621, Laboratoire ARAGO, Avenue Fontaule, BP44, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer (France); CNRS, UMR 7621, Laboratoire d' Oceanographie Biologique de Banyuls, Avenue Fontaule, BP44, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer (France); Pelletier, Emilien [Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski (ISMER), Universite du Quebec a Rimouski, 310 allee des Ursulines, Rimouski, Canada G5L 3A1 (Canada); Delille, Daniel [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7621, Laboratoire ARAGO, Avenue Fontaule, BP44, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer (France); CNRS, UMR 7621, Laboratoire d' Oceanographie Biologique de Banyuls, Avenue Fontaule, BP44, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer (France); Ghiglione, Jean-Francois, E-mail: ghiglione@obs-banyuls.f [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7621, Laboratoire ARAGO, Avenue Fontaule, BP44, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer (France); CNRS, UMR 7621, Laboratoire d' Oceanographie Biologique de Banyuls, Avenue Fontaule, BP44, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer (France)

2010-03-15

The dynamics of total and active microbial communities were studied in seawater microcosms amended with crude or diesel oil at different temperatures (25, 10 and 4 deg. C) in the presence/absence of organic fertilization (Inipol EAP 22). Total and hydrocarbon-degrading microbes were enumerated by fluorescence microscopy and Most Probable Number (MPN) method, respectively. Total (16S rDNA-based) vs. active (16S rRNA) bacterial community structure was monitored by Capillary-Electrophoresis Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (CE-SSCP) fingerprinting. Hydrocarbons were analyzed after 12 weeks of incubation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total and hydrocarbon-degrading microbial counts were highly influenced by fertilization while no important differences were observed between temperatures. Higher biodegradation levels were observed in fertilized microcosms. Temperature and fertilization induced changes in structure of total bacterial communities. However, fertilization showed a more important effect on active bacterial structure. The calculation of Simpson's diversity index showed similar trends among temperatures whereas fertilization reduced diversity index of both total and active bacterial communities. - Nutrient availability was the most important factor influencing microbial oil biodegradation in coastal waters of the North-western Mediterranean Sea.

Extraction and analysis of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil | Shivani ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this study, extraction of Jatropha oil from seeds was optimized using organic solvents. The effects of parameters on the oil extraction namely type of organic solvents and different techniques were also investigated to optimize the processing conditions for achieving maximum oil yield. The acid value and antioxidant ...

Location and allocation decision for supply chain network of Cajeput oil (Case in XYZ company)

Science.gov (United States)

Mahardika, F. A.; Hisjam, M.; Widodo, B.; Kurniawan, B.

2017-11-01

Cajeput oil is a very promising business. And now, the fulfillment of Cajeput oil in Indonesia is still lacking. It's because the rate of production Cajeput leaves in Indonesia is still low. In Indonesia, XYZ company manages forests in 7 regions. XYZ currently are developing Cajeput oil business. XYZ is currently doing business productivity improvement of Cajeput by planting Cajeput trees in Location 3, Sragen. Besides the Cajeput trees planting program, XYZ plan to do the construction distillery Cajeput leaves. The purpose of the research in this paper is to minimize the total cost of the supply chain network of Cajeput oil in XYZ and to determine whether the construction of a Cajeput distillery should be done or not. This paper uses mixed integer linear programming to make matemathical models. To minimize the total cost, used IBM® ILOG®CPLEX software. From IBM® ILOG®CPLEX software. From the calculation ILOG®CPLEX IBM® software can be seen that the minimum total cost would be obtained if XYZ opened a new distillery with a capacity of 25000kg and a new factory with a capacity of 10000kg. Besides all the truck owned can be used entirely at optimal capacity. And the total cost from IBM® ILOG®CPLEX is IDR 113,406,250.

Microencapsulation of Epoxidized Linseed Oil Liquid Cross-Linker in Poly(N-vinyl-pyrrolidone): Optimization by a Design-of-Experiments Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Senatore, D.; Laven, J.; Benthem, van R.A.T.M.; La Camera, D.; With, de G.

2010-01-01

A liquid cross-linker, epoxidized linseed oil (ELO), was encapsulated in a plastic with a high glass transition temperature (poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone); PVP). The process parameters of the spray-drying employed were optimized by a Design-of-Experiments (DoE) approach. Three factors concerning both

Uptake of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) by Oryza sativa L. Grown in Soil Contaminated with Crude Oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Patowary, Rupshikha; Patowary, Kaustuvmani; Devi, Arundhuti; Kalita, Mohan Chandra; Deka, Suresh

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in crude oil contaminated sites are transferred to roots, shoots and finally the grains of rice crops (Oryza sativa L.) grown in those sites. Soil was artificially contaminated with crude oil at concentrations of 0, 1000, 5000, 10,000, and 15,000 mg/kg, followed by planting of rice seedlings. After harvest, TPH in plant samples were measured, and it was determined that the uptake of TPH by the plants gradually increased as the concentration of oil in soil increased. Further, from GC-MS analysis, it was observed that PAHs including naphthalene and phenanthrene bioaccumulated in rice plant parts. Vital physico-chemical properties of soil were also altered due to crude oil contamination. Our study revealed that rice plants grown in crude oil polluted sites can uptake TPH including PAHs, thus emphasising the importance of prior investigation of soil condition before cultivation of crops.

Constraining Influence Diagram Structure by Generative Planning: An Application to the Optimization of Oil Spill Response

OpenAIRE

Agosta, John Mark

2013-01-01

This paper works through the optimization of a real world planning problem, with a combination of a generative planning tool and an influence diagram solver. The problem is taken from an existing application in the domain of oil spill emergency response. The planning agent manages constraints that order sets of feasible equipment employment actions. This is mapped at an intermediate level of abstraction onto an influence diagram. In addition, the planner can apply a surveillance operator that...

Optimization of hydrocyclone geometry for ballast water treatment of crude oil ships; Otimizacao da geometria de hidrociclones para o tratamento de aguas de lastro de navios petroleiros

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Andre G.; Medronho, Ricardo A. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Escola de Quimica

2004-07-01

An oil ship when discharge its load, pumps water of the sea for its ballast tanks. This water has the function of maintaining balance, stability and the structural integrity, especially when the oil tank is empty of cargo. Thus, organisms and sediments presents in the water are pumped for the interior of the ballast tanks, being transferred from its natural habitat to another one. This may cause serious ecological unbalances. Hydrocyclone are very efficient and, as they produce high capacities, they seem to be appropriated for ballast water treatment. In this work, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to optimize the geometry of a hydrocyclone, aiming to maximize the separation of the suspended solids present in seawater. A oil ship of 150,000 tons of gross cargo was used as a model. This ship has a ballast capacity of 45,000 m{sup 3} and requires 10 h for filling its ballast tanks. To ballast this ship it would be necessary a battery of 795 hydrocyclones in parallel, having each hydrocyclone a diameter of 8,5 cm. The simulation produced an total efficiency of 99% when treating suspended solids with sizes ranging from 10 to 2500 {mu}m, with a 1.06 g cm-3 density. (author)

Cyber Physical Intelligence for Oil Spills (CPI)

Science.gov (United States)

Lary, D. J.

2015-12-01

The National Academy of Sciences estimate 1.7 to 8.8 million tons of oil are released into global waters every year. The effects of these spills include dead wildlife, oil covered marshlands and contaminated water. Deepwater horizon cost approximately $50 billion and severely challenged response capabilities. In such large spills optimizing a coordinated response is a particular challenge. This challenge can be met in a revolutionary new way by using an objectively optimized Cyber Physical Decision Making System (CPS) for rapid response products and a framework for objectively optimized decision-making in an uncertain environment. The CPS utilizes machine learning for the processing of the massive real-time streams of Big Data from comprehensive hyperspectral remote sensing acquired by a team of low-cost robotic aerial vehicles, providing a real-time aerial view and stream of hyperspectral imagery from the near UV to the thermal infrared, and a characterization of oil thickness, oil type and oil weathering. The objective decision making paradigm is modeled on the human brain and provides the optimal course trajectory for response vessels to achieve the most expeditious cleanup of oil spills using the available resources. In addition, oil spill cleanups often involve surface oil burns that can lead to air quality issues. The aerial vehicles comprehensively characterize air quality in real-time, streaming location, temperature, pressure, humidity, the abundance of 6 criterion pollutants (O3, CO, NO, NO2, SO2, and H2S) and the full size distribution of airborne particulates. This CPS can be readily applied to other systems in agriculture, water conversation, monitoring of stream quality, air quality, diagnosing risk of wild fires, etc..

Increasing CO2 storage in oil recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jessen, K.; Kovscek, A.R.; Orr, F.M. Jr.

2005-01-01

Oil fields offer a significant potential for storing CO 2 and will most likely be the first large scale geological targets for sequestration as the infrastructure, experience and permitting procedures already exist. The problem of co-optimizing oil production and CO 2 storage differs significantly from current gas injection practice due to the cost-benefit imbalance resulting from buying CO 2 for enhanced oil recovery projects. Consequently, operators aim to minimize the amount of CO 2 required to sweep an oil reservoir. For sequestration purposes, where high availability of low cost CO 2 is assumed, the design parameters of enhanced oil recovery processes must be re-defined to optimize the amount of CO 2 left in the reservoir at the time of abandonment. To redefine properly the design parameters, thorough insight into the mechanisms controlling the pore scale displacement efficiency and the overall sweep efficiency is essential. We demonstrate by calculation examples the different mechanisms controlling the displacement behavior of CO 2 sequestration schemes, the interaction between flow and phase equilibrium and how proper design of the injection gas composition and well completion are required to co-optimize oil production and CO 2 storage. [Author

Increasing CO2 storage in oil recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jessen, Kristian; Kovscek, Anthony R.; Orr, Franklin M.

2005-01-01

Oil fields offer a significant potential for storing CO 2 and will most likely be the first large scale geological targets for sequestration as the infrastructure, experience and permitting procedures already exist. The problem of co-optimizing oil production and CO 2 storage differs significantly from current gas injection practice due to the cost-benefit imbalance resulting from buying CO 2 for enhanced oil recovery projects. Consequently, operators aim to minimize the amount of CO 2 required to sweep an oil reservoir. For sequestration purposes, where high availability of low cost CO 2 is assumed, the design parameters of enhanced oil recovery processes must be re-defined to optimize the amount of CO 2 left in the reservoir at the time of abandonment. To redefine properly the design parameters, thorough insight into the mechanisms controlling the pore scale displacement efficiency and the overall sweep efficiency is essential. We demonstrate by calculation examples the different mechanisms controlling the displacement behavior of CO 2 sequestration schemes, the interaction between flow and phase equilibrium and how proper design of the injection gas composition and well completion are required to co-optimize oil production and CO 2 storage

Evaluation of anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activity of various essential oils in fresh chicken sausages.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Heena; Mendiratta, S K; Agarwal, Ravi Kant; Kumar, Sudheer; Soni, Arvind

2017-02-01

The present study was undertaken to evaluate antimicrobial and antioxidant effect of essential oils on the quality of fresh (raw, ready to cook) chicken sausages. Several preliminary trials were carried out to optimize the level of four essential oils viz., clove oil, holybasil oil, thyme oil and cassia oil and these essential oils were incorporated at 0.25, 0.125, 0.25 and 0.125%, respectively in fresh chicken sausages. Quality evaluation and detailed storage stability studies were carried out for fresh chicken sausages for 20 days at refrigeration temperature (4 ± 1 °C). Refrigerated storage studies revealed that TBARS of control was significantly higher than treatment products whereas, total phenolics and DPPH activity was significantly lower in control. Among treatments, clove oil products had significantly lower TBARS but higher total phenolic content and DPPH activity followed by cassia oil, thyme oil and holybasil oil products. Microbial count of essential oil incorporated products were significantly lower than control and remained well below the permissible limit of fresh meat products (log 10 7 cfu/g). Cassia oil products were observed with better anti-microbial characteristics than clove oil products at 0.25% level of incorporation, whereas, thyme oil products were better than holy basil oil products at 0.125% level. Storage studies revealed that clove oil (0.25%), holy basil oil (0.125%), cassia oil (0.25%) and thyme oil (0.125%) incorporated aerobically packaged and refrigerated fresh chicken sausages had approx. 4-5, 2-3, 5-6 and 2-3 days longer shelf life than control, respectively.

Strategic optimization model and area planning for oil spill response; Modelo de otimizacao estrategico e de planejamento de area para resposta a derramamentos de oleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Luiz Rodolfo Tinoco Aboim; Ferreira Filho, Virgilio Jose Martins [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE). Programa de Engenharia de Producao

2004-07-01

This paper deals with strategic aspect of the oil spill response problem, that is, with the problem of deciding where to locate adequate capability to respond to potential oil spills. In addition to locational considerations, the strategic oil spill response problem generally calls for decisions concerning the proper levels and types of equipment to be stockpiled, as well as for policies regarding the allocation of such capability among points of high oil spill potential. The oil spill optimization models can contribute with contingency plans that are prepared by responsible parties . It is described one model that address current legal requirements, in particular, the time-phasing of response, and the use of this model as a decision support by responsible parties. (author)

Managing and Harnessing Volatile Oil Windfalls

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Bremer, T.S.; van der Ploeg, F.

2013-01-01

Three funds are necessary to manage an oil windfall: intergenerational, liquidity, and investment funds. The optimal liquidity fund is bigger if the windfall lasts longer and oil price volatility, prudence, and the GDP share of oil rents are high and productivity growth is low. The paper applies the

Optimization of Total Flavonoids Extraction from Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. by Response Surface Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu, X. F.

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Response surface methodology (RSM was applied to predict optimum conditions for extraction of flavonoid from Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. A central composite design (CCD was used to monitor the effect of extraction temperature, extraction time, and water-to-material ratio on yield of total flavonoids. The optimal extraction conditions were obtained as water-to-material ratio of 55 ml g−1, extraction temperature of 80 °C and extraction time of 70 minutes. Under these conditions, the average total flavonoids yield, according to the mass of raw material, was 9.0 ± 0.6 %, which corresponds to the predicted value of 8.9 %. Thus, the extraction method was applied successfully to extract total flavonoids from C. tinctoria.

Is It Feasible for China to Optimize Oil Import Source Diversification?

OpenAIRE

Xu, Jian; Zhang, Jin-Suo; Yao, Qin; Zhang, Wei

2014-01-01

In 2013, China imported 282 million tons of crude oil with an external dependence of 58.1%, surpassing the USA as the world’s largest net oil importer. An import source diversification strategy has been adopted by China to ensure oil supply security and to prevent oil supply disruption. However, the strategy is restricted by the imbalance of oil reserves. What is the reasonable and clear objective of the diversification strategy under an imbalanced environment? How do we assess the natural i...

Microbial degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons in crude oil: a field-scale study at the low-land rainforest of Ecuador.

Science.gov (United States)

Maddela, Naga Raju; Scalvenzi, Laura; Venkateswarlu, Kadiyala

2017-10-01

A field-level feasibility study was conducted to determine total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)-degrading potential of two bacterial strains, Bacillus thuringiensis B3 and B. cereus B6, and two fungi, Geomyces pannorum HR and Geomyces sp. strain HV, all soil isolates obtained from an oil field located in north-east region of Ecuador. Crude oil-treated soil samples contained in wooden boxes received a mixture of all the four microorganisms and were incubated for 90 days in an open low-land area of Amazon rainforest. The percent removal of TPHs in soil samples that received the mixed microbial inoculum was 87.45, indicating the great potential of the soil isolates in field-scale removal of crude oil. The TPHs-degrading efficiency was verified by determining the toxicity of residues, remained in soil after biodegradation, toward viability of Artemia salina or seed germination and plant growth of cowpea. Our results clearly suggest that the selected soil isolates of bacteria and fungi could be effectively used for large-scale bioremediation of sites contaminated with crude oil.

Effects of fish oil type, lipid antioxidants and presence of rapeseed oil on oxidative flavour stability of fish oil enriched milk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruni Let, Mette; Jacobsen, Charlotte; Meyer, Anne S.

2004-01-01

As a part of our ongoing experiments on optimization of the oxidative stability of fish oils in genuine food systems, this study investigated the oxidative deterioration of fish oil enriched milk emulsions during cold storage. The experimental data showed that addition of rapeseed oil to fish oil...... (1:1) prior to emulsification into milk significantly protected the emulsions against oxidative deterioration. Addition of propyl gallate and a citric acid ester to the fish oil prior to emulsification also protected the fish oil enriched milk during storage. Emulsions containing a rapeseed:fish oil...... mixture were oxidatively stable during 11 d at 2 øC. Thus, no additional inhibitory effect of the added antioxidants was observed. The peroxide value and concentrations of five selected volatiles derived from n- 3 PUFA degradation in rapeseed:fish oil mixture emulsions were not significantly different...

Improving Energy Efficiency In Thermal Oil Recovery Surface Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murthy Nadella, Narayana

2010-09-15

Thermal oil recovery methods such as Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and In-situ Combustion are being used for recovering heavy oil and bitumen. These processes expend energy to recover oil. The process design of the surface facilities requires optimization to improve the efficiency of oil recovery by minimizing the energy consumption per barrel of oil produced. Optimization involves minimizing external energy use by heat integration. This paper discusses the unit processes and design methodology considering thermodynamic energy requirements and heat integration methods to improve energy efficiency in the surface facilities. A design case study is presented.

The critical micelle concentration of lecithin in bulk oils and medium chain triacylglycerol is influenced by moisture content and total polar materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, JiSu; Kim, Mi-Ja; Lee, JaeHwan

2018-09-30

Effects of different moisture contents and oxidised compounds on the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of lecithin were determined in bulk oils and in medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCT). CMC of lecithin in MCT was significantly higher than that in other vegetable oils including olive, soybean, corn, and rapeseed oils (p < 0.05). Presence of moisture significantly affected the CMC of lecithin in MCT (p < 0.05). CMC of lecithin was high when the moisture content was below 900 ppm, whereas at a moisture content of 1000 ppm, CMC of lecithin decreased significantly (p < 0.05), and then started to increase. Addition of total polar materials (TPM), which are oxidation products, at 3 and 5% concentrations, decreased CMC of lecithin significantly (p < 0.05) in MCT, compared to when 0, 1, and 1.5% of TPM was added to MCT. As the degree of oxidation increased in corn oil, CMC of lecithin gradually decreased. Additionally, under different moisture contents, corn oils showed a similar pattern of CMC of lecithin in MCT, whereas oxidised corn oil had a little lower CMC of lecithin than unoxidised corn oil. The results clearly showed that the concentration of lecithin for the formation of micelles is greatly influenced by the presence of oxidation products and the moisture content in bulk oils. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of the ethanolysis of Raphanus sativus (L. Var.) crude oil applying the response surface methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Domingos, Anderson Kurunczi; Saad, Emir Bolzani; Wilhelm, Helena Maria; Ramos, Luiz Pereira

2008-04-01

Raphanus sativus (L. Var) is a perennial plant of the Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae) family whose oil has not been investigated in detail for biodiesel production, particularly when ethanol is used as the alcoholysis agent. In this work, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum condition for the ethanolysis of R. sativus crude oil. Three process variables were evaluated at two levels (2(3) experimental design): the ethanol:oil molar ratio (6:1 and 12:1), the catalyst concentration in relation to oil mass (0.4 and 0.8 wt% NaOH) and the alcoholysis temperature (45 and 65 degrees C). When the experimental results were tentatively adjusted by linear regression, only 58.15% of its total variance was explained. Therefore, a quadratic model was investigated to improve the poor predictability of the linear model. To apply the quadratic model, the 2(3) experimental design had to be expanded to a circumscribed central composite design. This allowed the development of a response surface that was able to predict 97.75% of the total variance of the system. Validation was obtained by performing one ethanolysis experiment at the conditions predicted by the model (38 degrees C, ethanol:oil molar ratio of 11.7:1 and 0.6 wt% NaOH). The resulting ester yield (104.10 wt% or 99.10% of the theoretical yield of 105.04 wt%) was shown to be the highest among all conditions tested in this study. The second ethanolysis stage of the best RSM product required 50% less ethanol and 90% less catalyst consumption. The amount of ethyl esters obtained after this procedure reached 94.5% of the theoretical yield. The resulting ethyl esters were shown to comply with most of the Brazilian biodiesel specification parameters except for oxidation stability. Addition of 500 ppm of BHT to the esters, however, complied with the specification target of 6h. The application of 2 wt% Magnesol after the second ethanolysis stage eliminated the need for water washing and helped generate a

Production, optimization and quality assessment of biodiesel from Ricinus communis L. oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Ijaz

2016-04-01

Full Text Available At present, biodiesel is gaining tremendous attention due to its eco-friendly nature and is possible substitute for diesel fuel. Biodiesel as renewable energy source can be produced from edible and non-edible feedstock. Non-edible resources are preferred to circumvent for food competition. In the present study FAME was produced from Ricinus communis L. oil by transesterification with methanol and ethanol in the presence of potassium hydroxide. The practical optimal condition for the production of biodiesel from castor bean was found to be: methanol/oil molar ratio, 6:1; temperature, 60 °C; time, 45 min; catalyst concentration 0.32 g. Quality assessment of biodiesel showed comparable results with ASTM standards. The values of specific gravity (SG were 0.5, kinematic viscosity 2.45 cSt, acid values 0.13 mg KOH/g, carbon residue 0.03%, flash point 119 °C, fire point 125 °C, cloud point −10 °C and pour point −20 °C of Ricinus FAME, respectively. Based on our data, it is suggested that to overcome prevailing energy crisis this non-edible plant is useful for production of biodiesel, which is an alternate to fossil fuel and may be used alone or in blend with HSD in engine combustion.

Reactivation of an Idle Lease to Increase Heavy Oil Recovery through Application of Conventional Steam Drive Technology in a Low-Dip Slope and Reservoir in the Midway-Sunset Field, San Jaoquin Basin, California, Class III

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schamel, Steven; Deo, Milind; Deets, Mike

2002-02-21

The objective of the project is not just to commercially produce oil from the Pru Fee property, but rather to test which operational strategies best optimize total oil recovery at economically acceptable rates of production volumes and costs.

Increasing oil recovery from heavy oil waterfloods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brice, B.W. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Canadian Section, Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[BP Exploration, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2008-10-15

In an effort to optimize waterflood strategies in Alaska, the authors examined the results of up to 50 years of waterflooding on 166 western Canadian waterfloods recovering oil of less than 30 degrees API. The study determined the best operating practices for heavy oil waterflooding by investigating the difference between waterflooding of heavy oil and lighter oil counterparts. Operators of light oil waterflooding are advised to begin waterflooding early and maintain the voidage replacement ratio (VRR) at 1. However, this study showed that it is beneficial to delay the start of waterflooding until a certain fraction of the original oil in place was recovered. Varying the VRR was also shown to correlate with increased ultimate recovery. This statistical study of 166 western Canadian waterfloods also examined the effect of injection strategy and the effect of primary production before waterflooding. Some pre-waterflood production and under injection time is advantageous for ultimate recovery by waterfloods. Specific recommendations were presented for waterfloods in reservoirs with both high and low API gravity ranges. Each range showed a narrow sweet spot window where improved recovery occurred. 27 refs., 13 figs.

Modeling and Forecasting of Depletion of Additives in Car Engine Oils Using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fast Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald Nguele

2014-11-01

Full Text Available On average, additives make up to 7% of a typical lubricant base. Commonly, they are blended with lube oils to enhance specific features thereby improving their qualities. Ultimately, additives participate in the performance of car engine oils. Using an analytical tool, attenuated total reflectance fast transform infrared spectroscopy, various grades of car engine oils, at different mileages, were analyzed. Sulfate oxidation and wear were found to trigger chemical processes which, in the long run, cause lubricant degradation while carbonyl oxidation was observed to occur only at a slow rate. Based upon data obtained from infrared spectra and using a curve fitting technique, mathematical equations predicting the theoretical rates of chemical change due to the aforementioned processes were examined. Additive depletions were found to obey exponential regression rather than polynomial. Moreover, breakpoint (breakpoint is used here to denote the initiation of deterioration of additives and critical mileage (critical mileage defines the distance at which the lubricant is chemically unusable of both samples were determined.

Formulating an optimal long-term energy supply strategy for Syria using MESSAGE model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hainoun, A.; Seif Aldin, M.; Almoustafa, S.

2010-01-01

An optimal long-term energy supply strategy has been formulated based on minimizing the total system costs for the entire study period 2003-2030. The national energy chain was modelled covering all energy levels and conversion technologies. The results indicate that the primary energy will grow at annual average rate of 4.8% arriving 68 Mtoe in 2030. The total installed electric capacity will be optimally expanded from 6885 to 19500 MW in 2030. Furthermore, to ensure supply security the future national energy system will rely mainly upon oil and natural gas (NG) with limited contribution of renewables and nuclear to the end of study period. The share of NG will increase gradually up to 2020 and then retreat. Owing to the continuous decrease of oil production, oil export is expected to vanish in 2012 and the country will import about 63% of its primary energy demand in 2030. Thus, the expected long-term development of national energy sector indicates a hard challenge for the future national economy. The employing of sensitivity analysis clarifies the importance of wind turbines operation time and discount rate. The analysis proves that nuclear option is insensitive to overnight cost increase up to 85% of the reference case value.

Analysis of Optimal Transport Route Determination of Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunches from Plantation to Processing Factory

Science.gov (United States)

Tarigan, U.; Sidabutar, R. F.; Tarigan, U. P. P.; Chen, A.

2018-04-01

Manufacturers engaged in the business, producing CPO and kernels whose raw materials are oil palm fresh fruit bunches taken from their own plantation, generally face problems of transporting from plantation to factory where there is often a change of distance traveled by the truck the carrier of FFB is due to non-specific transport instructions. The research was conducted to determine the optimal transportation route in terms of distance, time and route number. The determination of this transportation route is solved using Nearest Neighbours and Clarke & Wright Savings methods. Based on the calculations performed then found in area I with method Nearest Neighbours has a distance of 200.78 Km while Clarke & Wright Savings as with a result of 214.09 Km. As for the harvest area, II obtained results with Nearest Neighbours method of 264.37 Km and Clarke & Wright Savings method with a total distance of 264.33 Km. Based on the calculation of the time to do all the activities of transporting FFB juxtaposed with the work time of the driver got the reduction of conveyance from 8 units to 5 units. There is also improvement of fuel efficiency by 0.8%.

Extraction and the Fatty Acid Profile of Rosa acicularis Seed Oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Huanan; Zhang, Xu; Zhang, Ruchun; Zhang, Lu; Yu, Dianyu; Jiang, Lianzhou

2017-12-01

Rosa acicularis seed oil was extracted from Rosa acicularis seeds by the ultrasonic-assisted aqueous enzymatic method using cellulase and protease. Based on a single experiment, Plackett-Burman design was applied to ultrasonic-assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction of wild rose seed oil. The effects of enzyme amount, hydrolysis temperature and initial pH on total extraction rate of wild rose seed oil was studied by using Box-Behnken optimize methodology. Chemical characteristics of a sample of Rosa acicularis seeds and Rosa acicularis seed oil were characterized in this work. The tocopherol content was 200.6±0.3 mg/100 g oil. The Rosa acicularis seed oil was rich in linoleic acid (56.5%) and oleic acid (34.2%). The saturated fatty acids included palmitic acid (4%) and stearic acid (2.9%). The major fatty acids in the sn-2 position of triacylglycerol in Rosa acicularis oil were linoleic acid (60.6%), oleic acid (33.6%) and linolenic acid (3.2%). According to the 1,3-random-2-random hypothesis, the dominant triacylglycerols were LLL (18%), LLnL (1%), LLP (2%), LOL (10%), LLSt (1.2%), PLP (0.2%), LLnP (0.1%), LLnO (0.6%) and LOP (1.1%). This work could be useful for developing applications for Rosa acicularis seed oil.

Physical refining of edible oils using nitrogen as stripping gas. Process optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graciani Constante, E.

1994-06-01

Full Text Available The use of nitrogen as a stripping gas in physical refining of edible oils represents a technological improvement with potential advantages such as the possibilities of recovering high quality deodorized distillates and eliminating pollution.
The objectives of the present paper are to study, evaluate and optimize, as far as possible, independent variables involved in the process (nitrogen flow, operating temperature and the height of the oil layer inside the deodorizer in reference to the quality of the obtained oils as well as the manufacturing requirements.
All the experiments were carried out with sunflower oil in a discontinuous deodorizer with a 200 Kg capacity. A 4x4 latin square experimental design was used, consisting of three factors, each of which had four different levels.
The results led to the establishment of charts that allow to determine the most suitable conditions in which to carry out the processing in accord with the desired quality of the finished oil and the functional objectives of the factory. These charts are presented in the paper. The results were checked by another set of experiments.

La utilización de nitrógeno como gas de arrastre en la refinación física de aceites comestibles representa un avance tecnológico con ventajas potenciales, como la posibilidad tanto de recoger destilados de desodorización de alta calidad como de eliminar polución.
Los objetivos del presente trabajo son estudiar, evaluar y optimizar, tanto como sea posible, las variables que intervienen en el proceso (flujo de nitrógeno, temperatura de operación y altura de la capa de aceite en el desodorizador en función de la calidad de los aceites obtenidos así como de los requerimientos de producción.
Los ensayos se han realizado con aceite de girasol en un desodorizador discontinuo de 200 kg de capacidad. Se ha utilizado un diseño de experimento en cuadrado latino de 4x4, constituido por tres

Olive Oil Total Phenolic Contents and Sensory Sensations Trends during Oven and Microwave Heating Processes and Their Discrimination Using an Electronic Tongue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafaela Prata

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Olive oil has unique organoleptic attributes and its consumption is associated with nutritional and health benefits, which are mainly related to its rich composition in phenolic and volatile compounds. The use of olive oil in heat-induced cooking leads to deep reduction of phenolic and volatile concentrations and to changes of the sensory profiles. This work confirmed that oven and microwave heating significantly reduced total phenolic contents (P value < 0.0001, one-way ANOVA, more pronounced in the latter, together with a significant reduction of the intensity of fruity, sweet, bitter, pungent, and green attributes (P value < 0.0001, Kruskal-Wallis test, particularly for fruity and green sensations. Besides, bitter, fruity, green, and pungent intensities showed a linear dependency with the total phenolic contents (0.8075≤R-Pearson ≤ 0.9694. Finally, the potentiometric electronic tongue together with linear discriminant analysis-simulated annealing algorithm allowed satisfactory discrimination (sensitivities of 94±4%, for repeated K-fold cross-validation of olive oils subjected to intense microwave heating (5–10 min, 160–205°C from those processed under usual cooking conditions (oven heating during 15–60 min or microwave heating during 1.5–3 min, 72–165°C. This could be due to the different responses of the electronic tongue towards olive oils with diverse phenolic and sensory profiles.

Butter increased total and LDL cholesterol compared with olive oil but resulted in higher HDL cholesterol compared with a habitual diet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engel, Sara; Tholstrup, Tine

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Butter is known to have a cholesterol-raising effect and, therefore, has often been included as a negative control in dietary studies, whereas the effect of moderate butter intake has not been elucidated to our knowledge. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of moderate butter intake...... their habitual diets. The study included 47 healthy men and women (mean ± SD total cholesterol: 5.22 ± 0.90 mmol/L) who substituted a part of their habitual diets with 4.5% of energy from butter or refined olive oil. RESULTS: Study subjects were 70% women with a mean age and body mass index (in kg/m(2)) of 40.......4 y and 23.5, respectively. Butter intake increased total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol more than did olive oil intake (P cholesterol compared with the run-in period (P

Comparison of geometrical isomerization of unsaturated fatty acids in selected commercially refined oils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tasan, M.

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Four different commercially refined vegetable oils were analyzed by capillary gas-liquid chromatography for their trans fatty acid contents. The results obtained showed that the total trans FA contents in refined sunflower, corn, soybean, and hazelnut oils were 0.68 ± 0.41, 0.51 ± 0.24, 1.27 ± 0.57, and 0.26 ± 0.07% of total FA, respectively. The total trans FA comprised isomers of the C18:1, C18:2 and C18:3 FA. Meanwhile, five brands of the refined sunflower oil and two brands of hazelnut oil contained no measurable amounts of total trans C18:3 acids. The total trans C18:2 acid was the predominant trans FA found in the refined sunflower and corn oils, while trans polyunsaturated FAs for the refined soybean oils were found at high levels. However, total trans C18:1 acid was the major trans FA for refined hazelnut oils. The commercially refined vegetable oils with a relatively high total polyunsaturated FA contained considerable amounts of trans polyunsaturated isomers. This study indicates that it is necessary to optimize industrial deodorization, especially the time and temperature, for each different FA composition of oil used.

Cuatro aceites vegetales refinados comerciales diferentes fueron analizados por cromatografía de gases para determinar el contenido en ácidos grasos trans. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que el contenido total de los FA trans de aceites refinados de girasol, maíz, soja y avellana fueron 0.68 ± 0.41, 0.51 ± 0.24, 1.27 ± 0.57, y 0.26 ± 0.07% de FA totales, respetivamente. Los ácidos grasos totales trans comprenden a isómeros de FA C18:1, C18:2 y C18:3. Cinco marcas de aceites de girasol refinado y dos marcas de aceite de avellana contenían cantidades no medibles de ácidos trans C18:3 totales. Los ácidos C18:2 trans totales fueron los FA trans predominantes en el aceite de girasol y ma

A case history of heavy oil separation in northern Alberta : a singular challenge of demulsifier optimization and application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wylde, J.J.; Coscio, S.; Barbu, V. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Canadian Section, Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[Clariant Oil Services, Montreal, PQ (Canada)

2008-10-15

Water-in-oil emulsions are commonly encountered in the oil industry. The type of emulsion formed are determined by the abundance of the two phases. Emulsions can be stabilized by emulsifiers which concentrate themselves at the oil-water interface and form interfacial films that reduce the interfacial tension and promote emulsification and dispersion of droplets. This paper described the continual improvement cycle for the fluid separation process of a heavy oil/oil sands production facility in northern Alberta over a 3 year period. The operator was faced with the challenge of moving away from injection of 2 separate demulsifier formulations to a single product. The different conditions that existed at the two injection locations were described. A newly developed and unique bottle testing method was used to simulate the field conditions. The dilution of the final product blend made a significant difference to the final performance in the field. The field testing and demulsifier optimization exercise showed that the injection of 2 separate demulsifier products before 2007 resulted in trouble free operation. The bottle test procedure required redesign in order to accurately simulate the field use of a single demulsifier product. The general increase in basic sediment and water (BS and W) seen at the Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) site may be due to the increase in gross fluid throughput, mostly water. Residence times were significantly reduced, and plant operability was continually changing allowing the emulsion to pass through its inversion point. 18 refs., 4 figs.

Routing and Scheduling Optimization Model of Sea Transportation

Science.gov (United States)

barus, Mika debora br; asyrafy, Habib; nababan, Esther; mawengkang, Herman

2018-01-01

This paper examines the routing and scheduling optimization model of sea transportation. One of the issues discussed is about the transportation of ships carrying crude oil (tankers) which is distributed to many islands. The consideration is the cost of transportation which consists of travel costs and the cost of layover at the port. Crude oil to be distributed consists of several types. This paper develops routing and scheduling model taking into consideration some objective functions and constraints. The formulation of the mathematical model analyzed is to minimize costs based on the total distance visited by the tanker and minimize the cost of the ports. In order for the model of the problem to be more realistic and the cost calculated to be more appropriate then added a parameter that states the multiplier factor of cost increases as the charge of crude oil is filled.

Using Electromagnetic Algorithm for Total Costs of Sub-contractor Optimization in the Cellular Manufacturing Problem

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Mohammad Reza Shahriari

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a non-linear binary programing for optimizing a specific cost in cellular manufacturing system in a controlled production condition. The system parameters are determined by the continuous distribution functions. The aim of the presented model is to optimize the total cost of imposed sub-contractors to the manufacturing system by determining how to allocate the machines and parts to each seller. In this system, DM could control the occupation level of each machine in the system. For solving the presented model, we used the electromagnetic meta-heuristic algorithm and Taguchi method for determining the optimal algorithm parameters.

Optimal Design of Air Quality Monitoring Network and its Application in an Oil Refinery Plant: An Approach to Keep Health Satus of Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khaled ZoroufchiBenis

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Industrial air pollution is a growing challenge to humane health, especially in developing countries, where there is no systematic monitoring of air pollution. Given the importance of the availabil­ity of valid information on population exposure to air pollutants, it is important to design an optimal Air Quality Monitoring Network (AQMN for assessing population exposure to air pollution and predicting the magnitude of the health risks to the population. Methods: A multi-pollutant method (implemented as a MATLAB program was explored for configur­ing an AQMN to detect the highest level of pollution around an oil refinery plant. The method ranks potential monitoring sites (grids according to their ability to represent the ambient concentra­tion. The term of cluster of contiguous grids that exceed a threshold value was used to calculate the Station Dosage. Selection of the best configuration of AQMN was done based on the ratio of a sta­tion’s dosage to the total dosage in the network. Results: Six monitoring stations were needed to detect the pollutants concentrations around the study area for estimating the level and distribution of exposure in the population with total network effi­ciency of about 99%. An analysis of the design procedure showed that wind regimes have greatest effect on the location of monitoring stations. Conclusion: The optimal AQMN enables authorities to implement an effective program of air quality management for protecting human health.

Rape oil transesterification over heterogeneous catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Encinar, J.M.; Martinez, G. [Dpto. Ingenieria Quimica y Quimica Fisica, UEX, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06071-Badajoz (Spain); Gonzalez, J.F. [Dpto. Fisica Aplicada, UEX, Avda Elvas s/n, 06071-Badajoz (Spain); Pardal, A. [Dpto. Ciencias do Ambiente, ESAB, IPBeja, Rua Pedro Soares s/n, 7800-Beja (Portugal)

2010-11-15

This work studies the application of KNO{sub 3}/CaO catalyst in the transesterification reaction of triglycerides with methanol. The objective of the work was characterizing the methyl esters for its use as biodiesel in compression ignition motors. The variables affecting the methyl ester yield during the transesterification reaction, such as, amount of KNO{sub 3} impregnated in CaO, the total catalyst content, reaction temperature, agitation rate, and the methanol/oil molar ratio, were investigated to optimize the reaction conditions. The evolution of the process was followed by gas chromatography, determining the concentration of the methyl esters at different reaction times. The biodiesel was characterized by its density, viscosity, cetane index, saponification value, iodine value, acidity index, CFPP (cold filter plugging point), flash point and combustion point, according to ISO norms. The results showed that calcium oxide, impregnated with KNO{sub 3}, have a strong basicity and high catalytic activity as a heterogeneous solid base catalyst. The biodiesel with the best properties was obtained using an amount of KNO{sub 3} of 10% impregnated in CaO, a methanol/oil molar ratio of 6:1, a reaction temperature of 65 C, a reaction time of 3.0 h, and a catalyst total content of 1.0%. In these conditions, the oil conversion was 98% and the final product obtained had very similar characteristics to a no. 2 diesel, and therefore, these methyl esters might be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. (author)

Optimization of experimental conditions for composite biodiesel production from transesterification of mixed oils of Jatropha and Pongamia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yogish, H.; Chandrashekara, K.; Pramod Kumar, M.R. [S.J. College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mysore (India)

2012-11-15

India is looking at the renewable alternative sources of energy to reduce its dependence on import of crude oil. As India imports 70 % of the crude oil, the country has been greatly affected by increasing cost and uncertainty. Biodiesel fuel derived by the two step acid transesterification of mixed non-edible oils from Jatropha curcas and Pongamia (karanja) can meet the requirements of diesel fuel in the coming years. In the present study, different proportions of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, variation of Reaction time, Sulfuric acid and Reaction Temperature were adopted in order to optimize the experimental conditions for maximum biodiesel yield. The preliminary studies revealed that biodiesel yield varied widely in the range of 75-95 % using the laboratory scale reactor. The average yield of 95 % was obtained. The fuel and chemical properties of biodiesel, namely kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, density, flash point, fire point, calorific value, pH, acid value, iodine value, sulfur content, water content, glycerin content and sulfated ash values were found to be within the limits suggested by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS 15607: 2005). The optimum combination of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, Sulfuric acid, Reaction Time and Reaction Temperature are established. (orig.)

Optimization of experimental conditions for composite biodiesel production from transesterification of mixed oils of Jatropha and Pongamia

Science.gov (United States)

Yogish, H.; Chandrashekara, K.; Pramod Kumar, M. R.

2012-11-01

India is looking at the renewable alternative sources of energy to reduce its dependence on import of crude oil. As India imports 70 % of the crude oil, the country has been greatly affected by increasing cost and uncertainty. Biodiesel fuel derived by the two step acid transesterification of mixed non-edible oils from Jatropha curcas and Pongamia (karanja) can meet the requirements of diesel fuel in the coming years. In the present study, different proportions of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, variation of Reaction time, Sulfuric acid and Reaction Temperature were adopted in order to optimize the experimental conditions for maximum biodiesel yield. The preliminary studies revealed that biodiesel yield varied widely in the range of 75-95 % using the laboratory scale reactor. The average yield of 95 % was obtained. The fuel and chemical properties of biodiesel, namely kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, density, flash point, fire point, calorific value, pH, acid value, iodine value, sulfur content, water content, glycerin content and sulfated ash values were found to be within the limits suggested by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS 15607: 2005). The optimum combination of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, Sulfuric acid, Reaction Time and Reaction Temperature are established.

Advances in operations research in the oil and gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breton, M.; Zaccour, G.

1991-01-01

Various theories and examples of modelling, forecasting and optimization designing in the different parts of the petroleum and gas industries are presented, stochastic programming for long term planning in the refining industry, stochastic model for gasoline blending, feedstock optimization, location and sizing for offshore platforms, hydrocarbon exploration simulation rapid method, valuation of oil field development leases, economic models for petroleum allocation, models for oil supply market, trade embargo game theory, stochastic programming of gas contract portfolio management, scheduling transportation of oil and gas, strategic planning in an oil pipeline company, simulation of offshore oil terminal systems, hierarchical selection of oil and gas distribution systems

Optimization studies on acid hydrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber for production of xylose.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, S H A; Choudhury, J P; Ahmad, A L; Kamaruddin, A H

2007-02-01

Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber is a lignocellulosic waste from palm oil mills. It is a potential source of xylose which can be used as a raw material for production of xylitol, a high value product. The increasing interest on use of lignocellulosic waste for bioconversion to fuels and chemicals is justifiable as these materials are low cost, renewable and widespread sources of sugars. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of H(2)SO(4) concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time for production of xylose. Batch reactions were carried out under various reaction temperature, reaction time and acid concentrations and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was followed to optimize the hydrolysis process in order to obtain high xylose yield. The optimum reaction temperature, reaction time and acid concentration found were 119 degrees C, 60 min and 2%, respectively. Under these conditions xylose yield and selectivity were found to be 91.27% and 17.97 g/g, respectively.

Triacylglycerols in some underutilised tropical seed oils 1. Systematic studies of ten oils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adebowale, K.O.; Adebowale, Y.A.; Nicholson, G.

2002-05-01

Triacylglycerols composition of ten lesser known and underutilised tropical seed oils have been determined. The seed oils include Monodora tenuifolia, Monodora myristica, Colocynthis citrullus, Cyperus esculentus, Cucumeropsis edulis, Andenopus breviflorus, Telfairia occidentalis, Blighia sapida, Antiaris africana and Sesame indicum. In the Moreaceae family (M. tenuifolia, M. myristica) the dominant triacylglycerol are OPO/POO, LLO, OOL, and OOO. They accounted for over 60% of the total triacylglycerol content in the oils. In the Cyperaceae family (C. esculentus), OPP/POO, POL and OOO accounted for over 80% of the total triacylglycerol content. In the Cucurbitaceae family, SSP was the dominant triacylglycerol specie in A. breviflorus, while OPO/POO and OOO were the dominant species in C. citrullus and C. edulis. Blighia sapida recorded a different distribution of triacylglycerols composition. PLL occurred at the highest concentration, while other high molecular weight triacylglycerols were also identified in the oil. They include, SSA, OSA, LSA, OAA and LLA. Analysis of A. antiaris oil showed a different pattern in the distribution of the triacylglycerols. LaLaM, MMLa and LaLaLa accounted for about 80% of the total triacylglycerols. This result reflected the fatty acid composition of the oil. Lauric acid (C12:0) and Myristic acid (C14:0) accounted for 71.5% of the total fatty acid. The possible use of the oils as cocoa butter equivalents CBEs and cocoa butter substitutes CBSs are discussed. (author)

Too Much Coal, too little Oil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ploeg, F.; Withagen, C.A.A.M.

2012-01-01

Our main message is that it is optimal to use less coal and more oil once one takes account of coal being a backstop which emits much more CO2 than oil. The way of achieving this is to have a steeply rising carbon tax during the initial oil-only phase, a less-steeply rising carbon tax during the

Research on prediction of agricultural machinery total power based on grey model optimized by genetic algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Yan; Li, Mu; Zhou, Jin; Zheng, Chang-zheng

2009-07-01

Agricultural machinery total power is an important index to reflex and evaluate the level of agricultural mechanization. It is the power source of agricultural production, and is the main factors to enhance the comprehensive agricultural production capacity expand production scale and increase the income of the farmers. Its demand is affected by natural, economic, technological and social and other "grey" factors. Therefore, grey system theory can be used to analyze the development of agricultural machinery total power. A method based on genetic algorithm optimizing grey modeling process is introduced in this paper. This method makes full use of the advantages of the grey prediction model and characteristics of genetic algorithm to find global optimization. So the prediction model is more accurate. According to data from a province, the GM (1, 1) model for predicting agricultural machinery total power was given based on the grey system theories and genetic algorithm. The result indicates that the model can be used as agricultural machinery total power an effective tool for prediction.

Yield and characteristics of shale oil from the retorting of oil shale and fine oil-shale ash mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niu, Mengting; Wang, Sha; Han, Xiangxin; Jiang, Xiumin

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The whole formation process of shale oil might be divided into four stages. • Higher ash/shale mass ratio intensified the cracking and coking of shale oil. • Ash/shale ratio of 1:2 was recommended for oil shale fluidized bed retort with fine oil-shale ash as solid heat carrier. - Abstract: For exploring and optimizing the oil shale fluidized bed retort with fine oil-shale ash as a solid heat carrier, retorting experiments of oil shale and fine oil-shale ash mixtures were conducted in a lab-scale retorting reactor to investigate the effects of fine oil-shale ash on shale oil. Oil shale samples were obtained from Dachengzi Mine, China, and mixed with fine oil-shale ash in the ash/shale mass ratios of 0:1, 1:4, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1 and 4:1. The experimental retorting temperature was enhanced from room temperature to 520 °C and the average heating rate was 12 °C min −1 . It was found that, with the increase of the oil-shale ash fraction, the shale oil yield first increased and then decreased obviously, whereas the gas yield appeared conversely. Shale oil was analyzed for the elemental analysis, presenting its atomic H/C ratio of 1.78–1.87. Further, extraction and simulated distillation of shale oil were also conducted to explore the quality of shale oil. As a result, the ash/shale mixing mass ratio of 1:2 was recommended only for the consideration of increasing the yield and quality of shale oil

Aqueous enzymatic extraction of Moringa oleifera oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Mat Yusoff, Masni; Gordon, Michael H; Ezeh, Onyinye; Niranjan, Keshavan

2016-11-15

This paper reports on the extraction of Moringa oleifera (MO) oil by using aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE) method. The effect of different process parameters on the oil recovery was discovered by using statistical optimization, besides the effect of selected parameters on the formation of its oil-in-water cream emulsions. Within the pre-determined ranges, the use of pH 4.5, moisture/kernel ratio of 8:1 (w/w), and 300stroke/min shaking speed at 40°C for 1h incubation time resulted in highest oil recovery of approximately 70% (goil/g solvent-extracted oil). These optimized parameters also result in a very thin emulsion layer, indicating minute amount of emulsion formed. Zero oil recovery with thick emulsion were observed when the used aqueous phase was re-utilized for another AEE process. The findings suggest that the critical selection of AEE parameters is key to high oil recovery with minimum emulsion formation thereby lowering the load on the de-emulsification step. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Batako Quality Optimization with Addition of Palm Oil Stem Fiber from Kampar District and Dumai City

Science.gov (United States)

Zainuri; Yanti, Gusneli; Wahyuni Megasari, Shanti

2017-12-01

The waste of dry palm oil produced by 148 trees per hectare is 3,108 ton/month or 37,296 ton/year as calculated. Riau province has oil palm plantations covering an area of 2.399.172 hectares (BPS Riau Province, 2014). It can be estimated the amount of waste generated. Palm stem waste can be utilized, one of which is the utilization of midrib fiber as an added material in the manufacture of batako. Batako- fiber that is made still must be examined feasibility as building materials. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimization of the quality of batako works by the addition of palm stem fiber originated from the districts of Kampar and Dumai. This research used experimental method with laboratory research. Batako-fiber with the addition of palm fiber stem 1% of the weight of cement can increase the value of compressive strength above the normal batako and a batako with first quality according to SNI 03-0349-1989 standard. The use of palm stem fiber originating from the Kampar district resulted in better batakos with higher average compressive strength values than the dumai-derived fibers, especially in the addition of 1% fiber by weight of cement. The finding of this research is that the batakos originating from Kampar district are better than those from Dumai city. The most optimal addition of palm fiber burrs to batako-fiber products is 1% of the weight of cement.

Optimization of hydrodynamic cavitations reactor efficiency for biodiesel production by response surface methods (Case study: Sunflower oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H Javadikia

2017-05-01

reaction. Response surface methodology: Three important settings of reactor were considered to optimize reactor performance, which include: inlet flow to reactor, reactor rotational speed and the fluid cycle time in the system. Each set was considered at three levels. The factorial design was used to the analysis without any repeat, there will be 27 situations that because of the cost of analysis per sample by GC, practically not possible to do it. Therefore, response surface methodology was used by Design Expert software. In the other words, after defining the number of variables and their boundaries, software determined the number of necessary tests and the value of the relevant variables. Results and Discussion Three parameters include the inlet flow to reactor, reactor rotational speed and the fluid cycle time in the system were considered as input variables and performance of reactor as outcome in analyzing of extracted data from the reactor and GC by Design Expert software. The results of tests and optimization by software indicated that in 3.51 minutes as retention time of the raw material of biodiesel fuel in the system, the method of transesterification reaction had more than 88% Methyl ester and this represents an improvement in reaction time of biodiesel production. This method has very low retention time rather than biodiesel fuel production in conventional batch reactors that it takes 20 minutes to more than one hour. Conclusions According to the researches, efficiency of biodiesel fuel production in hydrodynamic cavitation reactors is higher than ultrasonic reactors so in this study, the settings of hydrodynamic reactor were investigated so that the settings were optimized in production of biodiesel fuel. Sunflower oil was used in this research. The molar ratio of Methanol to oil was 6 to 1 and sodium hydroxide as a catalyst was used. Three important settings of reactor were considered which include: inlet flow to reactor, reactor rotational speed and the

Mechanical recovery of oil in ice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solsberg, L.B.; McGrath, M.

1992-01-01

A literature review was performed on the mechanical systems used for removing oil in ice. The most promising spill cleanup techniques were identified along with recommendations for future work. Catalogued data in the review focused on skimmers, of which rope mop machines were considered as having the most versatile approach. The performance of the Foxtail VAB 8-14 skimmer was then assessed in North Slope crude oil and diesel fuel at a test site in Alaska. The skimmer operates through a remote power pack and pump, and incorporates eight vertically oriented rope mops. It weighs 900 kg and is suspended from a crane when deployed. Three independent test parameters were measured: oil type, slick thickness, and ice cover. A test strategy was devised to isolate the effects of individual parameters on skimming in order to optimize machine performance. Skimmer performance was based on the percent oil in the recovered oil/water mixture and the net oil collection rate. Skimmer performance was found to be optimal at rope mop speeds of 0.2-0.3 m/s in medium range viscosity oils. The unit tested was significantly less effective in diesel. Overall, the Foxtail skimmer was found to comprise an oil recovery concept that has excellent potential and affords versatility for many oil-in-ice applications. 4 figs., 1 tab

Optimization and validation of Folin-Ciocalteu method for the determination of total polyphenol content of Pu-erh tea.

Science.gov (United States)

Musci, Marilena; Yao, Shicong

2017-12-01

Pu-erh tea is a post-fermented tea that has recently gained popularity worldwide, due to potential health benefits related to the antioxidant activity resulting from its high polyphenolic content. The Folin-Ciocalteu method is a simple, rapid, and inexpensive assay widely applied for the determination of total polyphenol content. Over the past years, it has been subjected to many modifications, often without any systematic optimization or validation. In our study, we sought to optimize the Folin-Ciocalteu method, evaluate quality parameters including linearity, precision and stability, and then apply the optimized model to determine the total polyphenol content of 57 Chinese teas, including green tea, aged and ripened Pu-erh tea. Our optimized Folin-Ciocalteu method reduced analysis time, allowed for the analysis of a large number of samples, to discriminate among the different teas, and to assess the effect of the post-fermentation process on polyphenol content.

Accelerating the three dimensions of E and P clockspeed - A novel strategy for optimizing utility in the Oil and Gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weijermars, Ruud

2009-01-01

As the global Oil and Gas Industry enters its third, late lifecycle stage (outlined in the introduction of this study), new strategies and conceptual tools are needed to postpone - or reverse - the decline of the E and P industry. The problem is this: the late lifecycle is principally heralded by limited supply due to finite hydrocarbon reserves, while energy demand soars as world population and the global economy continue to grow. This study therefore proposes a framework through which an E and P company can critically assess its capability in accelerating lag-time between exploration and production. In the first part of this paper (Sections 1-3), the need for a phase-shift toward faster clockspeeds for the Oil and Gas industry is argued to be an important step to close the energy supply gap. In the second part of this paper (Sections 4-6), the strategy concept of clockspeed acceleration is further elaborated and optimization methods for the three principal dimensions of E and P clockspeed acceleration are discussed. The three Clockspeed Accelerators TM are: workflow speed, improvement rate of Uncertainty Mitigation and accrual speed of portfolio value. The third part of this paper (Sections 7-11) presents the empirical analysis of E and P clockspeed performance for two peer groups (IOC supermajors and public private partnership NOCs) comprising six companies each. The acceleration of E and P clockspeed can help to optimize production levels of conventional and unconventional oil, and includes diversification strategies that replace non-renewables with renewables. In summary, E and P Clockspeed Accelerators provide the gearshift instruments that enable the energy industry to better meet the required demand/supply ratios. The results of this study translate into the following deliverables for practical use by Oil and Gas professionals: -insight into the concept of clockspeed in E and P industry setting, -use of Clockspeed Accelerators TM as gearshift lever tools

RSM based optimization of chemical and enzymatic transesterification of palm oil: biodiesel production and assessment of exhaust emission levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Mumtaz, Muhammad Waseem; Mukhtar, Hamid; Anwar, Farooq; Saari, Nazamid

2014-01-01

Current study presents RSM based optimized production of biodiesel from palm oil using chemical and enzymatic transesterification. The emission behavior of biodiesel and its blends, namely, POB-5, POB-20, POB-40, POB-50, POB-80, and POB-100 was examined using diesel engine (equipped with tube well). Optimized palm oil fatty acid methyl esters (POFAMEs) yields were depicted to be 47.6 ± 1.5, 92.7 ± 2.5, and 95.4 ± 2.0% for chemical transesterification catalyzed by NaOH, KOH, and NaOCH3, respectively, whereas for enzymatic transesterification reactions catalyzed by NOVOZYME-435 and A. n. lipase optimized biodiesel yields were 94.2 ± 3.1 and 62.8 ± 2.4%, respectively. Distinct decrease in particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels was experienced in exhaust emissions from engine operating on biodiesel blends POB-5, POB-20, POB-40, POB-50, POB-80, and POB-100 comparative to conventional petroleum diesel. Percentage change in CO and PM emissions for different biodiesel blends ranged from -2.1 to -68.7% and -6.2 to -58.4%, respectively, relative to conventional diesel, whereas an irregular trend was observed for NOx emissions. Only POB-5 and POB-20 showed notable reductions, whereas all other blends (POB-40 to POB-100) showed slight increase in NOx emission levels from 2.6 to 5.5% comparative to petroleum diesel.

Improved microbial conversion of de-oiled Jatropha waste into biohydrogen via inoculum pretreatment: process optimization by experimental design approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gopalakrishnan Kumar

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this study various pretreatment methods of sewage sludge inoculum and the statistical process optimization of de-oiled jatropha waste have been reported. Peak hydrogen production rate (HPR and hydrogen yield (HY of 0.36 L H2/L-d and 20 mL H2/g Volatile Solid (VS were obtained when heat shock pretreatment (95 oC, 30 min was employed. Afterwards, an experimental design was applied to find the optimal conditions for H2 production using heat-pretreated seed culture. The optimal substrate concentration, pH and temperature were determined by using response surface methodology as 205 g/L, 6.53 and 55.1 oC, respectively. Under these circumstances, the highest HPR of 1.36 L H2/L-d was predicted. Verification tests proved the reliability of the statistical approach. As a result of the heat pretreatment and fermentation optimization, a significant (~ 4 folds increase in HPR was achieved. PCR-DGGE results revealed that Clostridium sp. were majorly present under the optimal conditions.

Optimization of biodiesel production process using recycled vegetable oil

Science.gov (United States)

Lugo, Yarely

Petro diesel toxic emissions and its limited resources have created an interest for the development of new energy resources, such as biodiesel. Biodiesel is traditionally produced by a transesterification reaction between vegetable oil and an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. However, this process is slow and expensive due to the high cost of raw materials. Low costs feedstock oils such as recycled and animal fats are available but they cannot be transesterified with alkaline catalysts due to high content of free fatty acids, which can lead to undesirable reactions such as saponification. In this study, we reduce free fatty acids content by using an acid pre-treatment. We compare sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and ptoluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) to pre-treat recycled vegetable oil. PTSA removes water after 60 minutes of treatment at room temperature or within 15 minutes at 50°C. The pretreatment was followed by a transesterification reaction using alkaline catalyst. To minimize costs and accelerate reaction, the pretreatment and transesterification reaction of recycle vegetable oil was conducted at atmospheric pressure in a microwave oven. Biodiesel was characterized using a GC-MS method.

Optimization of reaction parameters for enzymatic glyceride synthesis from fish oil: Ethyl esters versus free fatty acids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Helle Christine; Damstrup, Marianne L.; Meyer, Anne S.

2012-01-01

Enzymatic conversion of fish oil free fatty acids (FFA) or fatty acid ethyl esters (FAE) into glycerides via esterification or transesterification was examined. The reactions catalyzed by Lipozyme™ 435, a Candida antarctica lipase, were optimized. Influence on conversion yields of fatty acid chain...... length, saturation degree, temperature, enzyme dosage, molar ratio glycerol:fatty acids, acyl source composition (w/w ratio FFA:FAE), and reaction time was evaluated collectively by multiple linear regression. All reaction variables influenced the conversion into glycerides. Transesterification of FAE...

Box-Behnken design for investigation of microwave-assisted extraction of patchouli oil

Science.gov (United States)

Kusuma, Heri Septya; Mahfud, Mahfud

2015-12-01

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique was employed to extract the essential oil from patchouli (Pogostemon cablin). The optimal conditions for microwave-assisted extraction of patchouli oil were determined by response surface methodology. A Box-Behnken design (BBD) was applied to evaluate the effects of three independent variables (microwave power (A: 400-800 W), plant material to solvent ratio (B: 0.10-0.20 g mL-1) and extraction time (C: 20-60 min)) on the extraction yield of patchouli oil. The correlation analysis of the mathematical-regression model indicated that quadratic polynomial model could be employed to optimize the microwave extraction of patchouli oil. The optimal extraction conditions of patchouli oil was microwave power 634.024 W, plant material to solvent ratio 0.147648 g ml-1 and extraction time 51.6174 min. The maximum patchouli oil yield was 2.80516% under these optimal conditions. Under the extraction condition, the experimental values agreed with the predicted results by analysis of variance. It indicated high fitness of the model used and the success of response surface methodology for optimizing and reflect the expected extraction condition.

Optimization of edible coating formulations for improving postharvest quality and shelf life of pear fruit using response surface methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Nandane, A S; Dave, Rudri K; Rao, T V Ramana

2017-01-01

The effect of composite edible films containing soy protein isolate (SPI) in combination with additives like hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and olive oil on 'Babughosha' pear ( Pyrus communis L.) stored at ambient temperature (28 ± 5 °C and 60 ± 10% RH) was evaluated using Response surface methodology (RSM). A total of 30 edible coating formulations comprising of SPI (2-6%, w/v), olive oil (0.7-1.1%, v/v), HPMC (0.1-0.5%, w/v) and potassium sorbate (0-0.4% w/v) were evaluated for optimizing the most suitable combination. Quality parameters like weight loss%, TSS, pH and titrable acidity of the stored pears were selected as response variables for optimization. The optimization procedure was carried out using RSM. It was observed that the response variables were mainly effected by concentration of SPI and olive oil in the formulation. Edible coating comprising of SPI 5%, HPMC 0.40%, olive oil 1% and potassium sorbate 0.22% was found to be most suitable combination for pear fruit with predicted values of response variables indicated as weight loss% 3.50, pH 3.41, TSS 11.13 and TA% 0.513.

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...

Chemometric techniques in oil classification from oil spill fingerprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, Azimah; Toriman, Mohd Ekhwan; Juahir, Hafizan; Kassim, Azlina Md; Zain, Sharifuddin Md; Ahmad, Wan Kamaruzaman Wan; Wong, Kok Fah; Retnam, Ananthy; Zali, Munirah Abdul; Mokhtar, Mazlin; Yusri, Mohd Ayub

2016-10-15

Extended use of GC-FID and GC-MS in oil spill fingerprinting and matching is significantly important for oil classification from the oil spill sources collected from various areas of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah (East Malaysia). Oil spill fingerprinting from GC-FID and GC-MS coupled with chemometric techniques (discriminant analysis and principal component analysis) is used as a diagnostic tool to classify the types of oil polluting the water. Clustering and discrimination of oil spill compounds in the water from the actual site of oil spill events are divided into four groups viz. diesel, Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Mixture Oil containing Light Fuel Oil (MOLFO) and Waste Oil (WO) according to the similarity of their intrinsic chemical properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrates that diesel, HFO, MOLFO and WO are types of oil or oil products from complex oil mixtures with a total variance of 85.34% and are identified with various anthropogenic activities related to either intentional releasing of oil or accidental discharge of oil into the environment. Our results show that the use of chemometric techniques is significant in providing independent validation for classifying the types of spilled oil in the investigation of oil spill pollution in Malaysia. This, in consequence would result in cost and time saving in identification of the oil spill sources. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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