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Sample records for producing volatile crude

  1. Forecasting volatility of crude oil markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Sang Hoon; Kang, Sang-Mok; Yoon, Seong-Min

    2009-01-01

    This article investigates the efficacy of a volatility model for three crude oil markets - Brent, Dubai, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - with regard to its ability to forecast and identify volatility stylized facts, in particular volatility persistence or long memory. In this context, we assess persistence in the volatility of the three crude oil prices using conditional volatility models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models are better equipped to capture persistence than are the GARCH and IGARCH models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models also provide superior performance in out-of-sample volatility forecasts. We conclude that the CGARCH and FIGARCH models are useful for modeling and forecasting persistence in the volatility of crude oil prices. (author)

  2. Forecasting volatility of crude oil markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Sang Hoon [Department of Business Administration, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, 660-701 (Korea); Kang, Sang-Mok; Yoon, Seong-Min [Department of Economics, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735 (Korea)

    2009-01-15

    This article investigates the efficacy of a volatility model for three crude oil markets - Brent, Dubai, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - with regard to its ability to forecast and identify volatility stylized facts, in particular volatility persistence or long memory. In this context, we assess persistence in the volatility of the three crude oil prices using conditional volatility models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models are better equipped to capture persistence than are the GARCH and IGARCH models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models also provide superior performance in out-of-sample volatility forecasts. We conclude that the CGARCH and FIGARCH models are useful for modeling and forecasting persistence in the volatility of crude oil prices. (author)

  3. Volatility persistence in crude oil markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charles, Amélie; Darné, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    Financial market participants and policy-makers can benefit from a better understanding of how shocks can affect volatility over time. This study assesses the impact of structural changes and outliers on volatility persistence of three crude oil markets – Brent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – between January 2, 1985 and June 17, 2011. We identify outliers using a new semi-parametric test based on conditional heteroscedasticity models. These large shocks can be associated with particular event patterns, such as the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the Operation Desert Storm, the Operation Desert Fox, and the Global Financial Crisis as well as OPEC announcements on production reduction or US announcements on crude inventories. We show that outliers can bias (i) the estimates of the parameters of the equation governing volatility dynamics; (ii) the regularity and non-negativity conditions of GARCH-type models (GARCH, IGARCH, FIGARCH and HYGARCH); and (iii) the detection of structural breaks in volatility, and thus the estimation of the persistence of the volatility. Therefore, taking into account the outliers on the volatility modelling process may improve the understanding of volatility in crude oil markets. - Highlights: • We study the impact of outliers on volatility persistence of crude oil markets. • We identify outliers and patches of outliers due to specific events. • We show that outliers can bias (i) the estimates of the parameters of GARCH models, (ii) the regularity and non-negativity conditions of GARCH-type models, (iii) the detection of structural breaks in volatility of crude oil markets

  4. Speculation and volatility spillover in the crude oil and agricultural commodity markets: A Bayesian analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Xiaodong; Yu, Cindy L.; Hayes, Dermot J.

    2011-01-01

    This paper assesses factors that potentially influence the volatility of crude oil prices and the possible linkage between this volatility and agricultural commodity markets. Stochastic volatility models are applied to weekly crude oil, corn, and wheat futures prices from November 1998 to January 2009. Model parameters are estimated using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. Speculation, scalping, and petroleum inventories are found to be important in explaining the volatility of crude oil prices. Several properties of crude oil price dynamics are established, including mean-reversion, an asymmetry between returns and volatility, volatility clustering, and infrequent compound jumps. We find evidence of volatility spillover among crude oil, corn, and wheat markets after the fall of 2006. This can be largely explained by tightened interdependence between crude oil and these commodity markets induced by ethanol production.

  5. Humps in the volatility structure of the crude oil futures market: New evidence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiarella, Carl; Kang, Boda; Nikitopoulos, Christina Sklibosios; Tô, Thuy-Duong

    2013-01-01

    This paper analyses the volatility structure of commodity derivatives markets. The model encompasses hump-shaped, unspanned stochastic volatility, which entails a finite-dimensional affine model for the commodity futures curve and quasi-analytical prices for options on commodity futures. Using an extensive database of crude oil futures and futures options spanning 21 years, we find the presence of hump-shaped, partially spanned stochastic volatility in the crude oil market. The hump shaped feature is more pronounced when the market is more volatile, and delivers better pricing as well as hedging performance under various dynamic factor hedging schemes. - Highlights: • This paper analyses the volatility structure of commodity derivatives markets. • 21-years of data on crude oil futures and futures options is used. • The crude oil futures market has hump-shaped, unspanned stochastic volatility. • The hump shaped feature is more pronounced when the market is more volatile. • Hump shape delivers better pricing and hedging compared to exponential decay

  6. Leadership Strategies for Maintaining Profitability in a Volatile Crude Oil Market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braimoh, Lucky Anderson

    Volatile crude oil prices significantly affect the profitability of crude oil firms. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies some crude oil and gas business leaders used to remain profitable during periods of crude oil price volatility. The target population comprised 8 crude oil and gas business leaders located in Calgary, Canada, whose company remained profitable despite crude oil price volatility. The transformational leadership theory formed the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through the use of semistructured face-to-face interviews, company reports, and field notes. Data analysis involved a modified Van Kamm method, which included descriptive coding, a sequential review of the interview transcripts, and member checking. Based on methodological triangulation and thematic analysis, 5 themes emerged from the study, including communication and engagement; motivation and empowerment; measurement, monitoring, and control; self-awareness and humility; and efficiency and optimization. The implications for social change include the potential for crude oil and gas companies in Calgary, Canada to manage production costs, ensure earnings and profitability, and thus improve the socioeconomic well-being of Calgary indigenes through improved employment opportunities.

  7. Price volatility, hedging and variable risk premium in the crude oil market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad Jalali-Naini; Maryam Kazemi Manesh

    2006-01-01

    The crude oil price exhibits a high degree of volatility which varies significantly over time. Such characteristics imply that the oil market is a promising area for testing volatility models. Testing and predicting volatility using ARCH and GARCH models have grown in the literature. A useful application of the volatility models is in the formulation of hedging strategies. In this paper we compare the optimal hedge ratio for the crude oil using the classical minimum risk approach and use ARCH to incorporate the effect of heteroskedasticity in the residuals on the hedge ratio. In addition, we test for the existence of a variable risk premium in the crude oil market. We find that, assuming rational expectations, there is a non-zero risk premium. We test for the variability of the risk premia and find evidence in its support when we employed a multivariate GARCH model. (author)

  8. The predictive content of CBOE crude oil volatility index

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hongtao; Liu, Li; Li, Xiaolei

    2018-02-01

    Volatility forecasting is an important issue in the area of econophysics. The information content of implied volatility for financial return volatility has been well documented in the literature but very few studies focus on oil volatility. In this paper, we show that the CBOE crude oil volatility index (OVX) has predictive ability for spot volatility of WTI and Brent oil returns, from both in-sample and out-of-sample perspectives. Including OVX-based implied volatility in GARCH-type volatility models can improve forecasting accuracy most of time. The predictability from OVX to spot volatility is also found for longer forecasting horizons of 5 days and 20 days. The simple GARCH(1,1) and fractionally integrated GARCH with OVX performs significantly better than the other OVX models and all 6 univariate GARCH-type models without OVX. Robustness test results suggest that OVX provides different information from as short-term interest rate.

  9. Crude glycerol combustion: Particulate, acrolein, and other volatile organic emissions

    KAUST Repository

    Steinmetz, Scott

    2013-01-01

    Crude glycerol is an abundant by-product of biodiesel production. As volumes of this potential waste grow, there is increasing interest in developing new value added uses. One possible use, as a boiler fuel for process heating, offers added advantages of energy integration and fossil fuel substitution. However, challenges to the use of crude glycerol as a boiler fuel include its low energy density, high viscosity, and high autoignition temperature. We have previously shown that a refractory-lined, high swirl burner can overcome challenges related to flame ignition and stability. However, critical issues related to ash behavior and the possible formation of acrolein remained. The work presented here indicates that the presence of dissolved catalysts used during the esterification and transesterification processes results in extremely large amounts of inorganic species in the crude glycerol. For the fuels examined here, the result is a submicron fly ash comprised primarily of sodium carbonates, phosphates, and sulfates. These particles report to a well-developed accumulation mode (0.3-0.7 μm diameter), indicating extensive ash vaporization and particle formation via nucleation, condensation, and coagulation. Particle mass emissions were between 2 and 4 g/m3. These results indicate that glycerol containing soluble catalyst is not suitable as a boiler fuel. Fortunately, process improvements are currently addressing this issue. Additionally, acrolein is of concern due to its toxicity, and is known to be formed from the low temperature thermal decomposition of glycerol. Currently, there is no known reliable method for measuring acrolein in sources. Acrolein and emissions of other volatile organic compounds were characterized through the use of a SUMMA canister-based sampling method followed by GC-MS analysis designed for ambient measurements. Results indicate crude glycerol combustion produces relatively small amounts of acrolein (∼15 ppbv) and other volatile organic

  10. Forecasting volatility and spillovers in crude oil spot, forward and future markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); R. Tansuchat (Roengchai)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractCrude oil price volatility has been analyzed extensively for organized spot, forward and futures markets for well over a decade, and is crucial for forecasting volatility and Value-at-Risk (VaR). There are four major benchmarks in the international oil market, namely West Texas

  11. The impact of crude oil price volatility on agricultural employment in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uri, N.D.

    1996-01-01

    This study addresses the question of whether fluctuations in the price of crude oil have affected agricultural employment in the United States. After reviewing previous assessments of the issue, the existence of an empirical relationship between agricultural employment and crude oil price volatility is established using cointegration tests. Subsequently, the nature of the relationship is estimated with the results suggesting that at least three full years are required before the measurable impacts of a percentage change in the real price of crude oil on the change in agricultural employment are exhausted. Finally, the structural stability of the functional relationship between the change in agricultural employment and the volatility of the price of crude oil, the percentage changes in expected net farm income, realized technological innovation, and the wage rate is examined. (author)

  12. Regime-switching stochastic volatility. Evidence from the crude oil market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vo, Minh T.

    2009-01-01

    This paper incorporates regime-switching into the stochastic volatility (SV) framework in an attempt to explain the behavior of crude oil prices in order to forecast their volatility. More specifically, it models the volatility of oil return as a stochastic volatility process whose mean is subject to shifts in regime. The shift is governed by a two-state first-order Markov process. The Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is used to estimate the models. The main findings are: first, there is clear evidence of regime-switching in the oil market. Ignoring it will lead to a false impression that the volatility is highly persistent and therefore highly predictable. Second, incorporating regime-switching into the SV framework significantly enhances the forecasting power of the SV model. Third, the regime-switching stochastic volatility model does a good job in capturing major events affecting the oil market. (author)

  13. "Forecasting Volatility and Spillovers in Crude Oil Spot, Forward and Futures Markets"

    OpenAIRE

    Chia-Lin Chang; Michael McAleer; Roengchai Tansuchat

    2009-01-01

    Crude oil price volatility has been analyzed extensively for organized spot, forward and futures markets for well over a decade, and is crucial for forecasting volatility and Value-at- Risk (VaR). There are four major benchmarks in the international oil market, namely West Texas Intermediate (USA), Brent (North Sea), Dubai/Oman (Middle East), and Tapis (Asia- Pacific), which are likely to be highly correlated. This paper analyses the volatility spillover effects across and within the four mar...

  14. Volatility spillovers in China’s crude oil, corn and fuel ethanol markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haixia, Wu; Shiping, Li

    2013-01-01

    Price volatility spillovers among China’s crude oil, corn and fuel ethanol markets are analyzed based on weekly price data from September 5, 2003 to August 31, 2012, employing the univariate EGARCH model and the BEKK-MVGARCH model, respectively. The empirical results indicate a higher interaction among crude oil, corn and fuel ethanol markets after September, 2008. In the overall sample period, the results simultaneously provide strong evidence that there exist unidirectional spillover effects from the crude oil market to the corn and fuel ethanol markets, and double-directional spillovers between the corn market and the fuel ethanol market. However, the spillover effects from the corn and fuel ethanol markets to the crude oil market are not significant. -- Highlights: •Employing univariate EGARCH model and BEKK-MVGARCH model, respectively. Unidirectional spillover effects from crude oil market to corn and fuel ethanol markets. •Double-directional spillovers between corn market and fuel ethanol market. •The spillover effects from corn and fuel ethanol markets to crude oil market are not significant. •The empirical results indicate a higher interaction among crude oil, corn and fuel ethanol markets after September, 2008

  15. An analysis of price and volatility transmission in butter, palm oil and crude oil markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dennis Bergmann

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Recent changes to the common agricultural policy (CAP saw a shift to greater market orientation for the EU dairy industry. Given this reorientation, the volatility of EU dairy commodity prices has sharply increased, creating the need to develop proper risk management tools to protect farmers’ income and to ensure stable prices for processors and consumers. In addition, there is a perceived threat that these commodities may be replaced by cheaper substitutes, such as palm oil, as dairy commodity prices become more volatile. Global production of palm oil almost doubled over the last decade while butter production remained relatively flat. Palm oil also serves as a feedstock for biodiesel production, thus establishing a new link between agricultural commodities and crude oil. Price and volatility transmission effects between EU and World butter prices, as well as between butter, palm oil and crude oil prices, before and after the Luxembourg agreement, are analysed. Vector autoregression (VAR models are applied to capture price transmission effects between these markets. These are combined with a multivariate GARCH model to account for potential volatility transmission. Results indicate strong price and volatility transmission effects between EU and World butter prices. EU butter shocks further spillover to palm oil volatility. In addition, there is evidence that oil prices spillover to World butter prices and World butter volatility.

  16. Analyzing and Forecasting Volatility Spillovers and Asymmetries in Major Crude Oil Spot, Forward and Futures Markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); R. Tansuchat (Roengchai)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractCrude oil price volatility has been analyzed extensively for organized spot, forward and futures markets for well over a decade, and is crucial for forecasting volatility and Value-at-Risk (VaR). There are four major benchmarks in the international oil market, namely West Texas

  17. Volatile oils of Chinese crude medicines exhibit antiparasitic activity against human Demodex with no adverse effects in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ji-Xin; Sun, Yan-Hong; Li, Chao-Pin

    2015-04-01

    Demodex is a type of permanent obligatory parasite, which can be found on the human body surface. Currently, drugs targeting Demodex usually result in adverse effects and have a poor therapeutic effect. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the use of Chinese crude medicine volatile oils for targeting and inhibiting Demodex in vitro . The volatile oils of six Chinese crude medicines were investigated, including clove, orange fruit, Manchurian wildginger, cinnamon bark, Rhizome Alpiniae Officinarum and pricklyash peel, which were extracted using a distillation method. The exercise status of Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis and the antiparasitic effects of the volatile oils against the two species were observed using microscopy. A skin irritation test was used to examine the irritation intensity of the volatile oils. In addition, an acute toxicity test was utilized to observe the toxicity effects of the volatile oils on the skin. Xin Fumanling ointment was employed as a positive control to identify the therapeutic effects of the volatile oils. The results indicated that all six volatile oils were able to kill Demodex efficiently. In particular, the clove volatile oil was effective in inducing optimized anti- Demodex activity. The lethal times of the volatile oils were significantly decreased compared with the Xin Fumanling ointment (Poil did not trigger any irritation (0.2 and 0.3 points for intact and scratched skin, respectively), and had a safety equal to that of distilled water. There were not any adverse effects observed following application of the clove volatile oil on the intact or scratched skin. In conclusion, the volatile oils of Chinese crude medicines, particularly that of clove, demonstrated an evident anti- Demodex activity and were able to kill Demodex effectively and safely in vivo .

  18. Volatile oils of Chinese crude medicines exhibit antiparasitic activity against human Demodex with no adverse effects in vivo

    OpenAIRE

    LIU, JI-XIN; SUN, YAN-HONG; LI, CHAO-PIN

    2015-01-01

    Demodex is a type of permanent obligatory parasite, which can be found on the human body surface. Currently, drugs targeting Demodex usually result in adverse effects and have a poor therapeutic effect. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the use of Chinese crude medicine volatile oils for targeting and inhibiting Demodex in vitro. The volatile oils of six Chinese crude medicines were investigated, including clove, orange fruit, Manchurian wildginger, cinnamon bark, Rhizome ...

  19. A Markov switching model of the conditional volatility of crude oil futures prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, Wai Mun; See, Kim Hock

    2002-01-01

    This paper examines the temporal behaviour of volatility of daily returns on crude oil futures using a generalised regime switching model that allows for abrupt changes in mean and variance, GARCH dynamics, basis-driven time-varying transition probabilities and conditional leptokurtosis. This flexible model enables us to capture many complex features of conditional volatility within a relatively parsimonious set-up. We show that regime shifts are clearly present in the data and dominate GARCH effects. Within the high volatility state, a negative basis is more likely to increase regime persistence than a positive basis, a finding which is consistent with previous empirical research on the theory of storage. The volatility regimes identified by our model correlate well with major events affecting supply and demand for oil. Out-of-sample tests indicate that the regime switching model performs noticeably better than non-switching models regardless of evaluation criteria. We conclude that regime switching models provide a useful framework for the financial historian interested in studying factors behind the evolution of volatility and to oil futures traders interested short-term volatility forecasts

  20. Crude ethanolic extract from spent coffee grounds: Volatile and functional properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, Julio C; Arruda, Neusa P; Freitas, Suely P

    2017-11-01

    Espresso capsule consumption and spent coffee ground (SCG) generation have increased, and the present study was undertaken to evaluate the volatile profile (VP), the antioxidant activity (AA) and the sun protection factor (SPF) of the Crude ethanolic extract obtained from the SCG in capsules. The extract yield was superior to the ether yield because a higher unsaponifiable matter (U.M.) amount was recovered by ethanol. The obtained VP (70 compounds) was typical of roasted coffee oil. Furthermore, chemometric analysis using principal components (PCA) discriminated the extracts and grouped the replicates for each sample, which showed the repeatability of the extraction process. The AA ranged from 18.4 to 23.6 (mg extract mg DPPH -1 ) and the SPF from 2.27 to 2.76. The combination of the coffee VP, AA and SPF gave the espresso SCG's crude ethanolicextract, desirable properties that can be used in cosmetic and food industries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. World market of crude oil - review of possible scenarios of forecasting for the crude oil price movement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janevski, Risto

    2003-01-01

    Throughout most of 2002, crude oil prices were solidly within the range preferred by producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), $22 to $28 per barrel for the OPEC 'basket price' (Fig. 1). OPEC producers have been demonstrating disciplined adherence to announced cutbacks in production. Early in 2003, a dramatic upward turn in crude oil prices was brought about by a combination of two factors. First, a general strike against the Chavez regime resulted in a sudden drop in Venezuela's oil exports. Although other OPEC producers agreed to increase production to make up for the lost Venezuelan output, the obvious strain on worldwide spare capacity kept prices high. Second, price volatility was exacerbated by fears of war in Iraq. (Original)

  2. The impact of energy derivatives on the crude oil market

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fleming, J.; Ostdiek, B. [Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, MS 531, P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX (United States)

    1999-04-01

    We examine the effects of energy derivatives trading on the crude oil market. There is a common public and regulatory perception that derivative securities increase volatility and can have a destabilizing effect on the underlying market. Consistent with this view, we find an abnormal increase in volatility for three consecutive weeks following the introduction of NYMEX crude oil futures. While there is also evidence of a longer-term volatility increase, this is likely due to exogenous factors, such as the continuing deregulation of the energy markets. Subsequent introductions of crude oil options and derivatives on other energy commodities have no effect on crude oil volatility. We also examine the effects of derivatives trading on the depth and liquidity of the crude oil market. This analysis reveals a strong inverse relation between the open interest in crude oil futures and spot market volatility. Specifically, when open interest is greater, the volatility shock associated with a given unexpected increase in volume is much smaller. (Copyright (c) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

  3. The impact of energy derivatives on the crude oil market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleming, J.; Ostdiek, B.

    1999-01-01

    We examine the effects of energy derivatives trading on the crude oil market. There is a common public and regulatory perception that derivative securities increase volatility and can have a destabilizing effect on the underlying market. Consistent with this view, we find an abnormal increase in volatility for three consecutive weeks following the introduction of NYMEX crude oil futures. While there is also evidence of a longer-term volatility increase, this is likely due to exogenous factors, such as the continuing deregulation of the energy markets. Subsequent introductions of crude oil options and derivatives on other energy commodities have no effect on crude oil volatility. We also examine the effects of derivatives trading on the depth and liquidity of the crude oil market. This analysis reveals a strong inverse relation between the open interest in crude oil futures and spot market volatility. Specifically, when open interest is greater, the volatility shock associated with a given unexpected increase in volume is much smaller. (Copyright (c) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

  4. Application of Markov Model in Crude Oil Price Forecasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuhu Isah

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Crude oil is an important energy commodity to mankind. Several causes have made crude oil prices to be volatile. The fluctuation of crude oil prices has affected many related sectors and stock market indices. Hence, forecasting the crude oil prices is essential to avoid the future prices of the non-renewable natural resources to rise. In this study, daily crude oil prices data was obtained from WTI dated 2 January to 29 May 2015. We used Markov Model (MM approach in forecasting the crude oil prices. In this study, the analyses were done using EViews and Maple software where the potential of this software in forecasting daily crude oil prices time series data was explored. Based on the study, we concluded that MM model is able to produce accurate forecast based on a description of history patterns in crude oil prices.

  5. Forecasting the volatility of crude oil futures using intra-day data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sevi, Benoit

    2013-01-01

    We use the information in intra-day data to forecast the volatility of crude oil at a horizon of 1 to 66 days using a variety of models relying on the decomposition of realized variance in its positive or negative (semi-variances) part and its continuous or discontinuous part (jumps). We show the importance of these decompositions in predictive regressions using a number of specifications. Nevertheless, an important empirical finding comes from an out-of-sample analysis which unambiguously shows the limited interest of considering these components. Overall, our results indicates that a simple autoregressive specification mimicking long memory and using past realized variances as predictors does not perform significantly worse than more sophisticated models which include the various components of realized variance. (author)

  6. Measuring Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall of crude oil portfolio using extreme value theory and vine copula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wenhua; Yang, Kun; Wei, Yu; Lei, Likun

    2018-01-01

    Volatilities of crude oil price have important impacts on the steady and sustainable development of world real economy. Thus it is of great academic and practical significance to model and measure the volatility and risk of crude oil markets accurately. This paper aims to measure the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of a portfolio consists of four crude oil assets by using GARCH-type models, extreme value theory (EVT) and vine copulas. The backtesting results show that the combination of GARCH-type-EVT models and vine copula methods can produce accurate risk measures of the oil portfolio. Mixed R-vine copula is more flexible and superior to other vine copulas. Different GARCH-type models, which can depict the long-memory and/or leverage effect of oil price volatilities, however offer similar marginal distributions of the oil returns.

  7. Volatile compounds of Aspergillus strains with different abilities to produce ochratoxin A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeleń, Henryk H; Grabarkiewicz-Szczesna, Jadwiga

    2005-03-09

    Volatile compounds emitted by Aspergillus strains having different abilities to produce ochratoxin A were investigated. Thirteen strains of Aspergillus ochraceus, three belonging to the A. ochraceus group, and eight other species of Aspergillus were examined for their abilities to produce volatile compounds and ochratoxin A on a wheat grain medium. The profiles of volatile compounds, analyzed using SPME, in all A. ochraceus strains, regardless of their toxeginicity, were similar and comprised mainly of 1-octen-3-ol, 3-octanone, 3-octanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-octene, and limonene. The prevailing compound was always 1-octen-3-ol. Mellein, which forms part of the ochratoxin A molecule, was found in both toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains. Volatile compounds produced by other Aspergillus strains were similar to those of A. ochraceus. Incubation temperatures (20, 24, and 27 degrees C) and water content in the medium (20, 30, and 40%) influenced both volatile compounds formation and ochratoxin A biosynthesis efficiency, although conditions providing the maximum amount of volatiles were different from those providing the maximum amount of ochratoxin A. The pattern of volatiles produced by toxigenic A. ochraceus strains does not facilitate their differentiation from nontoxigenic strains.

  8. Volatility in energy prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duffie, D.

    1999-01-01

    This chapter with 58 references reviews the modelling and empirical behaviour of volatility in energy prices. Constant volatility and stochastic volatility are discussed. Markovian models of stochastic volatility are described and the different classes of Markovian stochastic volatility model are examined including auto-regressive volatility, option implied and forecasted volatility, Garch volatility, Egarch volatility, multivariate Garch volatility, and stochastic volatility and dynamic hedging policies. Other volatility models and option hedging are considered. The performance of several stochastic volatility models as applied to heating oil, light oil, natural gas, electricity and light crude oil are compared

  9. Volatile compounds in samples of cork and also produced by selected fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barreto, M C; Vilas Boas, L; Carneiro, L C; San Romão, M V

    2011-06-22

    The production of volatile compounds by microbial communities of cork samples taken during the cork manufacturing process was investigated. The majority of volatiles were found in samples collected at two stages: resting after the first boiling and nontreated cork disks. Volatile profiles produced by microbiota in both stages are similar. The releasable volatile compounds and 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) produced in cork-based culture medium by five isolated fungal species in pure and mixed cultures were also analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS).The results showed that 1-octen-3-ol and esters of fatty acids (medium chain length C8-C20) were the main volatile compounds produced by either pure fungal species or their mixture. Apparently, Penicillium glabrum is the main contributor to the overall volatile composition observed in the mixed culture. The production of releasable TCA on cork cannot be attributed to any of the assayed fungal isolates.

  10. Process for producing volatile hydrocarbons from hydrocarbonaceous solids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1949-02-03

    In a process for producing volatile hydrocarbons from hydrocarbonaceous solids, a hydrocarbonaceus solid is passed in subdivided state and in the form of a bed downwardly through an externally unheated distilling retort wherein the evolution of volatiles from the bed is effected while solid material comprising combustible heavy residue is discharged from the lower portion of the bed and retort, combustibles are burned from the discharged solid material. The admixture resultant combustion gases with the vapours evolved in the retort is prevented, and a stream of hydrocarbon fluid is heated by indirect heat exchange with hot combustion gases produced by burning to a high temperature and is introduced into the distilling retort and direct contact with bed, supplying heat to the latter for effecting the evolution of volatiles from the hydrocarbonaceous solid. The improvement consists of subjecting the volatile distillation products evolved and removed from the bed to a fractionation and separating selected relatively light and heavy hydrocarbon fractions from the distillation products, withdrawing at least one of the selected fractions from the prcess as a product heating at least one other of the selected fractions to high temperature by the indirect heat exchange with hot combustion gases, and introducing the thus heated hydrocarbon fraction into direct contact with the bed.

  11. Application of Biosurfactants Produced by Pseudomonas putida using Crude Palm Oil (CPO) as Substrate for Crude Oil Recovery using Batch Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryanti, V.; Handayani, D. S.; Masykur, A.; Septyaningsih, I.

    2018-03-01

    The application of biosurfactants which have been produced by Pseudomonas putida in nutrient broth medium supplemented with NaCl and crude palm oil (CPO) for oil recovery has been evaluated. The crude and purified biosurfactants have been examined for oil recovery from a laboratory oil-contaminated sand in agitated flask (batch method). Two synthetic surfactants and water as control was also performed for oil recovery as comparisons. Using batch method, the results showed that removing ability of crude oil from the oil-contaminated sand by purified and crude biosurfactants were 79.40±3.10 and 46.84±2.23 %, respectively. On other hand, the recoveries obtained with the SDS, Triton X-100 and water were 94.33±0.47, 74.84±7.39 and 34.42±1.21%respectively.

  12. Rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa USM-AR2 facilitates crude oil distillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asshifa Md Noh, Nur; Al-Ashraf Abdullah, Amirul; Nasir Mohamad Ibrahim, Mohamad; Ramli Mohd Yahya, Ahmad

    2012-01-01

    A biosurfactant-producing and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa USM-AR2, was used to assist conventional distillation. Batch cultivation in a bioreactor gave a biomass of 9.4 g L(-1) and rhamnolipid concentration of 2.4 g L(-1) achieved after 72 h. Biosurfactant activity (rhamnolipid) was detected by the orcinol assay, emulsification index and drop collapse test. Pretreatment of crude oil TK-1 and AG-2 with a culture of P. aeruginosa USM-AR2 that contains rhamnolipid was proven to facilitate the distillation process by reducing the duration without reducing the quality of petroleum distillate. It showed a potential in reducing the duration of the distillation process, with at least 2- to 3-fold decreases in distillation time. This is supported by GC-MS analysis of the distillate where there was no difference between compounds detected in distillate obtained from treated or untreated crude oil. Calorimetric tests showed the calorie value of the distillate remained the same with or without treatment. These two factors confirmed that the quality of the distillate was not compromised and the incubation process by the microbial culture did not over-degrade the oil. The rhamnolipid produced by this culture was the main factor that enhanced the distillation performance, which is related to the emulsification of hydrocarbon chains in the crude oil. This biotreatment may play an important role to improve the existing conventional refinery and distillation process. Reducing the distillation times by pretreating the crude oil with a natural biosynthetic product translates to energy and cost savings in producing petroleum products.

  13. Characterization of Biosurfactant Produced during Degradation of Hydrocarbons Using Crude Oil As Sole Source of Carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patowary, Kaustuvmani; Patowary, Rupshikha; Kalita, Mohan C; Deka, Suresh

    2017-01-01

    Production and spillage of petroleum hydrocarbons which is the most versatile energy resource causes disastrous environmental pollution. Elevated oil degrading performance from microorganisms is demanded for successful microbial remediation of those toxic pollutants. The employment of biosurfactant-producing and hydrocarbon-utilizing microbes enhances the effectiveness of bioremediation as biosurfactant plays a key role by making hydrocarbons bio-available for degradation. The present study aimed the isolation of a potent biosurfactant producing indigenous bacteria which can be employed for crude oil remediation, along with the characterization of the biosurfactant produced during crude oil biodegradation. A potent bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa PG1 (identified by 16s rDNA sequencing) was isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated soil that could efficiently produce biosurfactant by utilizing crude oil components as the carbon source, thereby leading to the enhanced degradation of the petroleum hydrocarbons. Strain PG1 could degrade 81.8% of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) after 5 weeks of culture when grown in mineral salt media (MSM) supplemented with 2% (v/v) crude oil as the sole carbon source. GCMS analysis of the treated crude oil samples revealed that P. aeruginosa PG1 could potentially degrade various hydrocarbon contents including various PAHs present in the crude oil. Biosurfactant produced by strain PG1 in the course of crude oil degradation, promotes the reduction of surface tension (ST) of the culture medium from 51.8 to 29.6 mN m -1 , with the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 56 mg L -1 . FTIR, LC-MS, and SEM-EDS studies revealed that the biosurfactant is a rhamnolipid comprising of both mono and di rhamnolipid congeners. The biosurfactant did not exhibit any cytotoxic effect to mouse L292 fibroblastic cell line, however, strong antibiotic activity against some pathogenic bacteria and fungus was observed.

  14. Characterization of Biosurfactant Produced during Degradation of Hydrocarbons Using Crude Oil As Sole Source of Carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patowary, Kaustuvmani; Patowary, Rupshikha; Kalita, Mohan C.; Deka, Suresh

    2017-01-01

    Production and spillage of petroleum hydrocarbons which is the most versatile energy resource causes disastrous environmental pollution. Elevated oil degrading performance from microorganisms is demanded for successful microbial remediation of those toxic pollutants. The employment of biosurfactant-producing and hydrocarbon-utilizing microbes enhances the effectiveness of bioremediation as biosurfactant plays a key role by making hydrocarbons bio-available for degradation. The present study aimed the isolation of a potent biosurfactant producing indigenous bacteria which can be employed for crude oil remediation, along with the characterization of the biosurfactant produced during crude oil biodegradation. A potent bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa PG1 (identified by 16s rDNA sequencing) was isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated soil that could efficiently produce biosurfactant by utilizing crude oil components as the carbon source, thereby leading to the enhanced degradation of the petroleum hydrocarbons. Strain PG1 could degrade 81.8% of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) after 5 weeks of culture when grown in mineral salt media (MSM) supplemented with 2% (v/v) crude oil as the sole carbon source. GCMS analysis of the treated crude oil samples revealed that P. aeruginosa PG1 could potentially degrade various hydrocarbon contents including various PAHs present in the crude oil. Biosurfactant produced by strain PG1 in the course of crude oil degradation, promotes the reduction of surface tension (ST) of the culture medium from 51.8 to 29.6 mN m−1, with the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 56 mg L−1. FTIR, LC-MS, and SEM-EDS studies revealed that the biosurfactant is a rhamnolipid comprising of both mono and di rhamnolipid congeners. The biosurfactant did not exhibit any cytotoxic effect to mouse L292 fibroblastic cell line, however, strong antibiotic activity against some pathogenic bacteria and fungus was observed. PMID:28275373

  15. Effects of crude humin and compost produced from selected waste ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Waste from oil palm plantations, paddy fields, sawn timber and poultries are substantial. Inappropriate disposal of these wastes can cause environmental problems such as air and land pollutions. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of crude humin and compost produced from rice straw, rice husk, sawdust, ...

  16. Level shift two-components autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity modelling for WTI crude oil market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sin, Kuek Jia; Cheong, Chin Wen; Hooi, Tan Siow

    2017-04-01

    This study aims to investigate the crude oil volatility using a two components autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) model with the inclusion of abrupt jump feature. The model is able to capture abrupt jumps, news impact, clustering volatility, long persistence volatility and heavy-tailed distributed error which are commonly observed in the crude oil time series. For the empirical study, we have selected the WTI crude oil index from year 2000 to 2016. The results found that by including the multiple-abrupt jumps in ARCH model, there are significant improvements of estimation evaluations as compared with the standard ARCH models. The outcomes of this study can provide useful information for risk management and portfolio analysis in the crude oil markets.

  17. Crude oil–corn–ethanol – nexus: A contextual approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Natanelov, Valeri; McKenzie, Andrew M.; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido

    2013-01-01

    This paper offers a holistic study on the complex relationships between crude oil, corn and ethanol during a turbulent period between 2006 and end of 2011. Through a holistic mapping of the current market situation and a contextual analytical design we show that there exists a strong relationship between crude oil and corn markets on one side, and crude oil and ethanol on the other. However, the price relationship between corn and ethanol was revealed to be less straightforward, and is driven by the US government fuel policy. Furthermore the study indicates that corn markets have became more prone to volatility due to ethanol production, especially when the demand for corn is high and/or the crude oil prices are high enough to create a competitive market for ethanol. - Highlights: • Strong relationship between crude oil–corn and crude oil–ethanol. • Corn–ethanol connected through a by-pass of crude oil markets. • Ethanol market has no direct impact on the price levels of corn. • Corn markets became more prone to volatility due to ethanol production

  18. Dynamic Correlation between Stock Market Returns and Crude Oil Prices: Evidence from a Developing Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emenike O. Kalu

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Modeling the correlation of assets returns volatilities across different markets or segments of a market has practical value for portfolio selection and diversification, market regulation, and risk management. This paper therefore evaluates the nature of time-varying correlation between volatilities of stock market and crude oil returns in Nigeria using Dynamic Conditional Correlation-Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (DCC-GARCH model. Results from DCC-GARCH (1,1 model show evidence of volatility clustering and persistence in Nigeria stock market and crude oil returns. The results also show that there is no dynamic conditional correlation in ARCH effects between stock market returns and crude oil prices in Nigeria. The results further show that there is strong evidence of time-varying volatility correlation between stock market and crude oil returns volatility. The findings will help shape policy-making in risk management and market regulation in Nigeria.

  19. The applicability of fluoride volatility process to producing UF6 from yellow cake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xia Dechang

    2005-01-01

    The schematic diagrams producing UF 6 from yellow cake are showed in this paper. The characteristics and process improvements of the fluoride volatility process are explained. The applicability of the fluoride volatility process to producing UF 6 from yellow cake is discussed. (authors)

  20. World crude oil and natural gas. A demand and supply model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krichene, Noureddine

    2002-01-01

    This paper examines world markets for crude oil and natural gas over the period 1918-1999; it analyzes the time-series properties of output and prices and estimates demand and supply elasticities during 1918-1973 and 1973-1999. Oil and gas prices were stable during the first period; they became volatile afterwards, reflecting deep changes in the market structure following the oil shock in 1973. Demand price elasticities were too low; however, demand income elasticities were high. Supply price elasticities were also too low. The elasticity estimates help to explain the market power of the oil producers and price volatility in response to shocks, and corroborate elasticity estimates in energy studies

  1. Volatiles produced by Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus carnosus during growth in sausage minces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stahnke, Marie Louise Heller

    1999-01-01

    Aseptic model minces were inoculated with commercial samples of either Staphylococcus xylosus or Staphylococcus carnosus. Volatiles produced by the cultures were collected during growth by diffusive sampling onto adsorbent traps, identified by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry...... and quantified by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-flame ionisation. The data were analysed by principal component analysis. The study showed that both starter cultures produced a large number of volatiles in concentrations of sensory importance. Almost all of the major volatiles resulted from amino acid...... degradation, suggesting that the effect of Staphylococcus starter cultures on flavour quality is much related to their ability of catabolizing amino acids. With the exception of diacetyl, acetoin and 2-methyl-1-butanol, both cultures formed the same volatiles. Diacetyl and acetoin were not produced...

  2. Characteristics of gas-liquid dynamics in operation of oil fields producing non-Newtonian crude oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mirzadzhanzade, A Kh; Khasaev, A M; Gurbanov, R S; Akhmedov, Z M

    1968-08-01

    Experimental studies have shown that crude oils from Azerbaidzhan, Uzbekistan, Tataria, Kazakhstan and other areas have anomalous properties under reservoir conditions. Such crude oils are non-Newtonian and (1) obey Darcys Law at low velocities; (2) obey an exponential law at higher velocities; and (3) obey a modified Darcys Law at most velocities. A discussion is given of (1) flow of non-Newtonian crude oils together with gas or water; (2) flow of non-Newtonian crude oils in well tubing; (3) behavior of wells producing non-Newtonian crude oils; and (4) pumping of non-Newtonian oils in wells. Experiments have shown that a visco-plastic liquid does not fill pump inlets completely; as the diameter of the pump inlet decreases so also does the degree of liquid filling. A statistical analysis of production data from 160 fields with Newtonian oil and 129 fields with non- Newtonian oil has shown that much higher production is obtained from fields with Newtonian crude oils.

  3. Characterization of dioxygenases and biosurfactants produced by crude oil degrading soil bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santhakumar Muthukamalam

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Role of microbes in bioremediation of oil spills has become inevitable owing to their eco friendly nature. This study focused on the isolation and characterization of bacterial strains with superior oil degrading potential from crude-oil contaminated soil. Three such bacterial strains were selected and subsequently identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis as Corynebacterium aurimucosum, Acinetobacter baumannii and Microbacterium hydrocarbonoxydans respectively. The specific activity of catechol 1,2 dioxygenase (C12O and catechol 2,3 dioxygenase (C23O was determined in these three strains wherein the activity of C12O was more than that of C23O. Among the three strains, Microbacterium hydrocarbonoxydans exhibited superior crude oil degrading ability as evidenced by its superior growth rate in crude oil enriched medium and enhanced activity of dioxygenases. Also degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH in crude oil was higher with Microbacterium hydrocarbonoxydans. The three strains also produced biosurfactants of glycolipid nature as indicated d by biochemical, FTIR and GCMS analysis. These findings emphasize that such bacterial strains with superior oil degrading capacity may find their potential application in bioremediation of oil spills and conservation of marine and soil ecosystem.

  4. Modeling and forecasting crude oil markets using ARCH-type models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheong, Chin Wen

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates the time-varying volatility of two major crude oil markets, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Europe Brent. A flexible autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) model is used to take into account the stylized volatility facts such as clustering volatility, asymmetric news impact and long memory volatility among others. The empirical results indicate that the intensity of long-persistence volatility in the WTI is greater than in the Brent. It is also found that for the WTI, the appreciation and depreciation shocks of the WTI have similar impact on the resulting volatility. However, a leverage effect is found in Brent. Although both the estimation and diagnostic evaluations are in favor of an asymmetric long memory ARCH model, only the WTI models provide superior in the out-of-sample forecasts. On the other hand, from the empirical out-of-sample forecasts, it appears that the simplest parsimonious generalized ARCH provides the best forecasted evaluations for the Brent crude oil data.

  5. Modeling and forecasting crude oil markets using ARCH-type models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheong, Chin Wen [Research Centre of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Information Technology, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2009-06-15

    This study investigates the time-varying volatility of two major crude oil markets, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Europe Brent. A flexible autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) model is used to take into account the stylized volatility facts such as clustering volatility, asymmetric news impact and long memory volatility among others. The empirical results indicate that the intensity of long-persistence volatility in the WTI is greater than in the Brent. It is also found that for the WTI, the appreciation and depreciation shocks of the WTI have similar impact on the resulting volatility. However, a leverage effect is found in Brent. Although both the estimation and diagnostic evaluations are in favor of an asymmetric long memory ARCH model, only the WTI models provide superior in the out-of-sample forecasts. On the other hand, from the empirical out-of-sample forecasts, it appears that the simplest parsimonious generalized ARCH provides the best forecasted evaluations for the Brent crude oil data. (author)

  6. Streptopyridines, volatile pyridine alkaloids produced by Streptomyces sp. FORM5

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrike Groenhagen

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Streptomyces sp. FORM5 is a bacterium that is known to produce the antibiotic streptazolin and related compounds. We investigated the strain for the production of volatiles using the CLSA (closed-loop stripping analysis method. Liquid and agar plate cultures revealed the formation of new 2-alkylpyridines (streptopyridines, structurally closely related to the already known 2-pentadienylpiperidines. The structures of the streptopyridines A to E were confirmed by total synthesis. The analysis of the liquid phase by solvent extraction or extraction with an Oasis adsorbent showed that streptazolin and 2-pentadienylpiperidine are the major compounds, while the streptopyridines are only minor components. In the gas phase, only the streptopyridines could be detected. Therefore, an orthogonal set of analysis is needed to assess the metabolic profile of bacteria, because volatile compounds are obviously overlooked by traditional analytical methods. The streptopyridines are strain specific volatiles that are accompanied by a broad range of headspace constituents that occur in many actinomycetes. Volatiles might be of ecological importance for the producing organism, and, as biosynthetic intermediates or shunt products, they can be useful as indicators of antibiotic production in a bacterium.

  7. Current perspectives on the volatile-producing fungal endophytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhi-Lin, Yuan; Yi-Cun, Chen; Bai-Ge, Xu; Chu-Long, Zhang

    2012-12-01

    Microbial-derived volatiles are ubiquitous in the environment and actively engaged in bio-communication with other organisms. Recently, some volatile-producing endophytes (VPEs), cryptic fungal symbionts persisting in healthy plant tissues, have attracted great attention due to their strong antibiotic activity or production of carbon chains that are identical to many of those found in petroleum, while other fragrant volatiles can be used in the flavoring industries. From an application-oriented and biotechnological point of view, these findings show significant promise for sustainable development of agriculture, forestry, and industry, especially in the control of fruit postharvest diseases, soil-borne pathogen management, and bio-fuel production. In comparison, the ecological importance of VPEs has only rarely been addressed and warrants further exploration. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge and future directions in this fascinating research field, and also highlight the constraints and progresses towards commercialization of VPEs products.

  8. Feasibility Process for Remediation of the Crude Oil Contaminated Soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keum, H.; Choi, H.; Heo, H.; Lee, S.; Kang, G.

    2015-12-01

    More than 600 oil wells were destroyed in Kuwait by Iraqi in 1991. During the war, over 300 oil lakes with depth of up to 2m at more than 500 different locations which has been over 49km2. Therefore, approximately 22 million m3was crude oil contaminated. As exposure of more than 20 years under atmospheric conditions of Kuwait, the crude oil has volatile hydrocarbons and covered heavy oily sludge under the crude oil lake. One of crude oil contaminated soil which located Burgan Oilfield area was collected by Kuwait Oil Company and got by H-plus Company. This contaminated soil has about 42% crude oil and could not biodegraded itself due to the extremely high toxicity. This contaminated soil was separated by 2mm sieve for removal oil sludge ball. Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) was analysis by GC FID and initial TPH concentration was average 48,783 mg/kg. Ten grams of the contaminated soil replaced in two micro reactors with 20mL of bio surfactant produce microorganism. Reactor 1 was added 0.1g powder hemoglobin and other reactor was not added hemoglobin at time 0 day. Those reactors shake 120 rpm on the shaker for 7 days and CO2 produced about 150mg/L per day. After 7 days under the slurry systems, the rest days operated by hemoglobin as primary carbon source for enhanced biodegradation. The crude oil contaminated soil was degraded from 48,783mg/kg to 20,234mg/kg by slurry process and final TPH concentration degraded 11,324mg/kg for 21days. Therefore, highly contaminated soil by crude oil will be combined bio slurry process and biodegradation process with hemoglobin as bio catalytic source. Keywords: crude-oil contaminated soil, bio slurry, biodegradation, hemoglobin ACKOWLEDGEMENTS This project was supported by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) GAIA Program

  9. Hedging effectiveness and volatility models for crude oil market: a dynamic approach; Modelos de volatilidade e a efetividade do hedge no mercado de petroleo: um abordagem dinamica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salles, Andre Assis de [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil)

    2012-07-01

    The hedge strategies allow negotiators that have short and long positions in the market protection against price fluctuations. This paper examines the performance of bivariate volatility models for the crude oil spot and future returns of the Western Texas Intermediate - WTI type barrel prices. Besides the volatility of spot and future crude oil barrel returns time series, the hedge ratio strategy is examined through the hedge effectiveness. Thus this study shows hedge strategies built using methodologies applied in the variance modeling of returns of crude oil prices in the spot and future markets, and covariance between these two market returns, which correspond to the inputs of the hedge strategy shown in this work. From the studied models the bivariate GARCH in a Diagonal VECH and BEKK representations was chosen, using three different models for the mean: a bivariate autoregressive, a vector autoregressive and a vector error correction. The methodologies used here take into consideration the denial of assumptions of homoscedasticity and normality for the return distributions. The data used is logarithm returns of daily prices quoted in dollars per barrel from November 2008 to May 2010 for spot and future contracts, in particular the June contract. (author)

  10. World crude oil and natural gas: a demand and supply model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krichene, N.

    2002-01-01

    This paper examines world markets for crude oil and natural gas over the period 1918-1999; it analyzes the time-series properties of output and prices and estimates demand and supply elasticities during 1918-1973 and 1973-1999. Oil and gas prices were stable during the first period; they became volatile afterwards, reflecting deep changes in the market structure following the oil shock in 1973. Demand price elasticities were too low; however, demand income elasticities were high. Supply price elasticities were also too low. The elasticity estimates help to explain the market power of the oil producers and price volatility in response to shocks, and corroborate elasticity estimates in energy studies. (author)

  11. 40 CFR 180.1260 - Muscodor albus QST 20799 and the volatiles produced on rehydration; exemption from the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... volatiles produced on rehydration; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. 180.1260 Section 180.1260... 20799 and the volatiles produced on rehydration; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. An... Muscodor albus QST 20799, and the volatiles produced on its rehydration, when the pesticide is used for all...

  12. Generation of biogas using crude glycerin from biodiesel production as a supplement to cattle slurry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robra, S.; Neto, J. A. Almeida [Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rod. Ilheus/Itabuna km 16 s/n, CEP 45662-000 Ilheus, Bahia (Brazil); Serpa da Cruz, R.; de Oliveira, A.M.; Santos, J.V. [Departamento de Ciencias Exatas e Tecnologicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rod. Ilheus/Itabuna km 16 s/n, CEP 45662-000 Ilheus, Bahia (Brazil)

    2010-09-15

    The influence of crude glycerin on biogas production and methane content of the produced biogas was studied, when added to cattle slurry. The experimental design consisted of 5% wt (Gli 5), 10% wt (Gli 10), and 15% wt (Gli 15) of crude glycerin added to cattle slurry, and one control digester without addition of crude glycerin. Anaerobic digestion was carried out in 4 laboratory size CSTR-type biogas digesters with a working volume of 3 L, in semi-continuous regime at mesophilic conditions, over a period of 10 weeks. The highest biogas yields (825.3 mL g{sup -1} and 825.7 mL g{sup -1}, respectively) relative to mass of volatile compounds added, were produced by the treatments Gli 5 and Gli 10. The control treatment produced 268.6 mL g{sup -1}, whereas the treatment Gli 15 produced 387.9 mL g{sup -1}. This low value was due to the breakdown of the process. Compared to the control, methane contents was increased by 9.5%, 14.3%, and 14.6%, respectively, for the treatments Gli 5, Gli 10, and Gli 15. (author)

  13. Marine Vibrio Species Produce the Volatile Organic Compound Acetone

    OpenAIRE

    Nemecek-Marshall, M.; Wojciechowski, C.; Kuzma, J.; Silver, G. M.; Fall, R.

    1995-01-01

    While screening aerobic, heterotrophic marine bacteria for production of volatile organic compounds, we found that a group of isolates produced substantial amounts of acetone. Acetone production was confirmed by gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The major acetone producers were identified as nonclinical Vibrio species. Acetone production was maximal in the stationary phase of growth and was stimulated by addition of l-leucine...

  14. A reexamination of the crude oil price-unemployment relationship in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uri, N.D.; Boyd, R.

    1996-01-01

    This study begins by asking whether fluctuations in the price of crude oil have affected employment and the rate of unemployment in the US. After reviewing previous assessments of the issue, the existence of an empirical relationship between the rate of unemployment and crude oil price volatility is established using Granger causality. Subsequently, the nature of the relationship is estimated with the results suggesting that at least three full years are required before the measurable impact of a percentage change in the real price of crude oil on the change in unemployment is exhausted. Finally, the structural stability of the functional relationship between the change in unemployment and the volatility of the price of crude oil and the percentage change in gross national product is examined

  15. Characterization of Volatile Compounds of Bulgur (Antep Type Produced from Durum Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saad Ibrahim Yousif

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Bulgur is enjoyed and rediscovered by many people as a stable food because of its color, flavor, aroma, texture, and nutritional and economical values. There is more than one type of bulgur overall the world according to production techniques and raw materials. The volatile compounds of bulgur have not been explored yet. In this study, Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy (GS-MS methods were used to determine the volatile flavor compounds of bulgur (Antep type, produced from Durum wheat. Approaching studies were used and the results were optimized to determine the ideal conditions for the extraction and distinguish the compounds responsible for the flavor of bulgur. Approximately, 47 and 37 important volatile compounds were determined for Durum wheat and bulgur, respectively. The study showed that there was a great diversity of volatiles in bulgur produced using Durum wheat and Antep type production method. These can lead to a better understanding of the combination of compounds that give a unique flavor with more researches.

  16. The role of global economic policy uncertainty in long-run volatilities and correlations of U.S. industry-level stock returns and crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Honghai; Fang, Libing; Sun, Boyang

    2018-01-01

    We investigate how Global Economic Policy Uncertainty (GEPU) drives the long-run components of volatilities and correlations in crude oil and U.S. industry-level stock markets. Using the modified generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity mixed data sampling (GARCH-MIDAS) and dynamic conditional correlation mixed data sampling (DCC-MIDAS) specifications, we find that GEPU is positively related to the long-run volatility of Financials and Consumer Discretionary industries; however, it is negatively related to Information Technology, Materials, Telecommunication Services and Energy. Unlike the mixed role of GEPU in the long-run volatilities, the long-run correlations are all positively related to GEPU across the industries. Additionally, the rankings of the correlations of Energy and Materials are time-invariant and classified as high, with the little exception of the latter. The Consumer Staples industry is time-invariant in the low-ranking group. Our results are helpful to policy makers and investors with long-term concerns.

  17. Measurement of volatiles, semi-volatiles and heavy metals in an oil burn test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, K.; Caron, T.; Landriault, M.; Pare, J.R.J.; Fingas, M.

    1992-01-01

    Tests involving meso-scale burning of Louisiana crude oil were conducted, and during each burn, extensive samples were taken from the oil, residue, and the smoke plume. The detailed analytical work employed to obtain and analyze the burn samples is outlined and discussed. The analytical parameters included volatiles and semi-volatiles of environmental interests as well as heavy metals typically contained in the starting crude oil. Because the smoke plume did not always impinge on the samplers, the ground samplers did not collect sufficient samples for a definitive analysis. Crude/residue analyses showed the burn resulted in a significant reduction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the original oil. Most of the reduction was thought to be simply evaporation or destruction from combustion. The residue did not have the degree of enrichment of the higher molecular weight PAHs as was the case in bench-scale burn experiments. Volatile organic compound and dioxin/furan measurements likewise did not show high levels of contamination from the burn itself. Most of the elevated levels of contaminants could probably be due to evaporation of the oil itself. Insufficient sampling was conducted to investigate the background levels from the weathering process. A novel means of sampling using a small remote controlled helicopter was attempted and sufficiently interesting results were obtained to indicate the potential of this passive sampling device for future work. 5 refs., 4 figs

  18. A process for producing lignin and volatile compounds from hydrolysis liquor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khazraie, Tooran; Zhang, Yiqian; Tarasov, Dmitry; Gao, Weijue; Price, Jacquelyn; DeMartini, Nikolai; Hupa, Leena; Fatehi, Pedram

    2017-01-01

    Hot water hydrolysis process is commercially applied for treating wood chips prior to pulping or wood pellet production, while it produces hydrolysis liquor as a by-product. Since the hydrolysis liquor is dilute, the production of value-added materials from it would be challenging. In this study, acidification was proposed as a viable method to extract (1) furfural and acetic acid from hot water hydrolysis liquor and (2) lignin compounds from the liquor. The thermal properties of the precipitates made from the acidification of hydrolysis liquor confirmed the volatile characteristics of precipitates. Membrane dialysis was effective in removing inorganic salts associated with lignin compounds. The purified lignin compounds had a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 180-190 °C, and were thermally stable. The results confirmed that lignin compounds present in hot water hydrolysis liquor had different characteristics. The acidification of hydrolysis liquor primarily removed the volatile compounds from hydrolysis liquor. Based on these results, a process for producing purified lignin and precipitates of volatile compounds was proposed.

  19. EVALUATING THE SHORT RUN EFFECTS OF U.S. CRUDE OIL INVENTORY LEVELS ON WTI CRUDE OIL PRICE FROM 1993 - 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobi Olasojiand

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The focus of this research was to investigate the short-term influence of U.S. crude oil inventories on WTI crude oil prices from 1993 to 2013. This study is important for policy makers who wish to reduce the persistent and growing price volatility of crude oil and its related products as well as businesses such as airline companies who wish to make annual budgetary sales decisions. Using OLS multiple regression, cointegration, VECM and Ex-post forecast techniques; we provide evidence of an inelastic relationship in which a 1% increase in U.S. crude oil inventories is associated with 0.46% decrease in WTI crude oil prices; however this was only valid for 22% of WTI crude oil price variation. We also find that past data on U.S. crude oil inventories could be used to predict future WTI crude oil prices movement. Contrary to literature, the results of the VECM analysis indicate there is no short-run relationship between both variables over the trajectory.

  20. Can producer currency pricing models generate volatile real exchange rates?

    OpenAIRE

    Povoledo, L.

    2012-01-01

    If the elasticities of substitution between traded and nontraded and between Home and Foreign traded goods are sufficiently low, then the real exchange rate generated by a model with full producer currency pricing is as volatile as in the data.

  1. PRELIMINARY STUDIES FOR PRODUCING CRUDE LIPASE FROM TEMPE’S MOULD CULTIVATED IN RICE-HUSK-BASED SOLID MEDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teuku Beuna Bardant

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The goal of these preliminary studies is to support Indonesian program for increasing palm oil added value through independent production technology based on Indonesian natural resources. Various palm oil derivatives could be synthesized enzymatically using lipase from microbes that available in Indonesia. Tempe's mould is available in abundance in Indonesia and had already been proved for producing lipase. This paper provides information about producing crude lipase from Tempe's mould cultivated in rice-husk-based solid media using palm oil as carbon source. Observed variables include solid media composition, optimum fermentation time, extraction and enriching process of crude lipase. The crude lipase was analyzed its hydrolysis activity on coconut oil and palm oil. The result of these preliminary studies shows that this production process is a simple and tough process and very potential to be developed.   Keywords: lipase, Tempe's mould, palm oil, solid fermentation, rice husk

  2. Heavy crude oil and synthetic crude market outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crandall, G.R.

    1997-01-01

    This presentation included an outline of the international heavy crude supply and demand versus Canadian heavy crude supply and disposition, and pricing outlook for synthetic crudes. Differences among crude oils such as light sweet, light sour, heavy and bitumen were described and illustrated with respect to their gravity, API, percentage of sulphur, metals and nitrogen. Internationally, heavy and sour crude supplies are forecast to increase significantly over the next four years. Discoveries of light sour crude in offshore Gulf of Mexico will provide a major new source of sour crude to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. Venezuela's supplies of heavy and sour crude are also expected to increase over the next few years. Mexico and Canada have plans to increase their heavy crude production. All of the crudes will be aimed at the U.S. Gulf Coast and Midwest markets. Pentanes and condensates are also expected to increase based on the growing Canadian natural gas production. Diluent demand will also grow to match Canadian heavy crude/bitumen production. U.S. midwest refiners are proposing expansions to allow them to process more Canadian heavy crude oil. At present, only a few refineries are equipped to process significant amounts of synthetic crude. It was suggested that to absorb available heavy and synthetic production, increased penetration into both Canadian and U.S. markets will be required. Some refineries may have to be modified to process heavy and synthetic oil supplies. Heavy oil and synthetic producers may need to develop relationships with refiners such as joint ventures and term supply agreements to secure markets. 2 tabs., 12 figs

  3. Analyzing and forecasting volatility spillovers, asymmetries and hedging in major oil markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Chia-Lin; McAleer, Michael; Tansuchat, Roengchai

    2010-01-01

    Crude oil price volatility has been analyzed extensively for organized spot, forward and futures markets for well over a decade, and is crucial for forecasting volatility and Value-at-Risk (VaR). There are four major benchmarks in the international oil market, namely West Texas Intermediate (USA), Brent (North Sea), Dubai/Oman (Middle East), and Tapis (Asia-Pacific), which are likely to be highly correlated. This paper analyses the volatility spillover and asymmetric effects across and within the four markets, using three multivariate GARCH models, namely the constant conditional correlation (CCC), vector ARMA-GARCH (VARMA-GARCH) and vector ARMA-asymmetric GARCH (VARMA-AGARCH) models. A rolling window approach is used to forecast the 1-day ahead conditional correlations. The paper presents evidence of volatility spillovers and asymmetric effects on the conditional variances for most pairs of series. In addition, the forecast conditional correlations between pairs of crude oil returns have both positive and negative trends. Moreover, the optimal hedge ratios and optimal portfolio weights of crude oil across different assets and market portfolios are evaluated in order to provide important policy implications for risk management in crude oil markets. (author)

  4. Analyzing and forecasting volatility spillovers, asymmetries and hedging in major oil markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Chia-Lin [Department of Applied Economics National Chung Hsing University Taichung, 250 Kuo Kuang Road, National Chung Hsing University Taichung 402 (China); McAleer, Michael [Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands); Tinbergen Institute (Netherlands); Tansuchat, Roengchai [Faculty of Economics, Maejo University (Thailand)

    2010-11-15

    Crude oil price volatility has been analyzed extensively for organized spot, forward and futures markets for well over a decade, and is crucial for forecasting volatility and Value-at-Risk (VaR). There are four major benchmarks in the international oil market, namely West Texas Intermediate (USA), Brent (North Sea), Dubai/Oman (Middle East), and Tapis (Asia-Pacific), which are likely to be highly correlated. This paper analyses the volatility spillover and asymmetric effects across and within the four markets, using three multivariate GARCH models, namely the constant conditional correlation (CCC), vector ARMA-GARCH (VARMA-GARCH) and vector ARMA-asymmetric GARCH (VARMA-AGARCH) models. A rolling window approach is used to forecast the 1-day ahead conditional correlations. The paper presents evidence of volatility spillovers and asymmetric effects on the conditional variances for most pairs of series. In addition, the forecast conditional correlations between pairs of crude oil returns have both positive and negative trends. Moreover, the optimal hedge ratios and optimal portfolio weights of crude oil across different assets and market portfolios are evaluated in order to provide important policy implications for risk management in crude oil markets. (author)

  5. Vaporization order and burning efficiency of crude oils during in-situ burning on water

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Gelderen, Laurens; Malmquist, Linus M.V.; Jomaas, Grunde

    2017-01-01

    furthermore showed that the vaporization was diffusion-limited. Analysis of the heat transfer balance for the crude oils indicated that the energy available for evaporation decreased over time due to increasing heat losses, which were caused by the volatility controlled vaporization order. Presumably, larger......In order to improve the understanding of the burning efficiency and its observed size dependency of in-situ burning of crude oil on water, the vaporization order of the components in crude oils was studied. The vaporization order of such multicomponent fuels was assessed by studying the surface...... these results. The crude oils did not show any steady state behavior, but instead had an increasing surface temperature and decreasing burning rate and flame height, indicating a volatility controlled vaporization order. An increasing concentration gradient from the medium to heavy fraction in the burn residues...

  6. Efficient way of importing crude oil from oil producing countries - A review on diversification policy of crude oil import

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Dal Sok [Korea Energy Economics Institute, Euiwang (Korea)

    1999-03-01

    Since the second oil crisis, the government has operated the import diversification support program to reduce the risk of crude oil import from Middle-East region and to raise the ability of dealing with the risk. This study tried to seek policy trends in future through reviewing the market environment related to the crude oil import diversification policy and the goal, instrument and effect of the policy. The supply and demand of crude oil and the price are influenced by market system in the world oil market and there are various types of crude oil trading available to both sellers and buyers. There is a probability that the suspension of supply in a certain area could be led to the price issue rather than the physical use of crude oil. In addition, the advantage of price with long-term contract of crude oil was abolished since the price of crude oil imported by term contract has been linked to spot prices. As a result, it is shown that the potential benefit from crude oil import diversification policy is reduced although political and social insecurity still exists in Middle-East region. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the existing support program until the amount of stored oil reaches the optimum level and to help private enterprises determine the import considering economical efficiency and risk. (author). 36 refs., 5 figs., 23 tabs.

  7. Separated influence of crude oil prices on regional natural gas import prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji, Qiang; Geng, Jiang-Bo; Fan, Ying

    2014-01-01

    This paper analyses the impact of global economic activity and international crude oil prices on natural gas import prices in three major natural gas markets using the panel cointegration model. It also investigates the shock impacts of the volatility and the increase and decrease of oil prices on regional natural gas import prices. The results show that both global economic activity and international crude oil prices have significant long-term positive effects on regional natural gas import prices. The volatility of international crude oil prices has a negative impact on regional natural gas import prices. The shock impact is weak in North America, lags in Europe and is most significant in Asia, which is mainly determined by different regional policies for price formation. In addition, the response of natural gas import prices to increases and decreases in international crude oil prices shows an asymmetrical mechanism, of which the decrease impact is relatively stronger. - Highlights: • Impacts of world economy and oil prices on regional natural gas prices are analysed • North American natural gas prices are mainly affected by world economy • Asian and European natural gas prices are mainly affected by oil prices • The volatility of oil prices has a negative impact on regional natural gas prices • The response of natural gas import prices to oil prices up and down shows asymmetry

  8. Dynamic Relationship between Crude Oil Price, Exchange Rate and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DrNneka

    Second, since Hamilton (1983) documented the impact of crude oil price volatility .... Hariri,2013) sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). .... is explained by identifying the relative importance of a variable in generating.

  9. Canada's crude oil resources : crude oil in our daily lives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bott, R.

    2001-10-01

    Created in 1975, the Petroleum Communication Foundation is a not-for-profit organization. The objective of the Foundation is to inform Canadians about the petroleum industry in Canada. It produces educational, fact-based publications and programs, employing a multi-stakeholder review process. The first section of this publication is devoted to crude oil and the benefits that are derived from it. It begins by providing a brief definition of crude oil, then moves to the many uses in our daily lives and the environmental impacts like air pollution, spills, and footprint on the land from exploration and production activities. Section 2 details the many uses of crude oil and identifies the major oil producing regions of Canada. A quick mention is made of non-conventional sources of crude oil. The search for crude oil is the topic of section 3 of the document, providing an overview of the exploration activities, the access rights that must be obtained before gaining access to the resource. The drilling of oil is discussed in section 4. Section 5 deals with issues pertaining to reservoirs within rocks, while section 6 covers the feeding of the refineries, discussing topics from the movement of oil to market to the refining of the crude oil, and the pricing issues. In section 7, the uncertain future is examined with a view of balancing the supply and demand, as crude oil is a non-renewable resource. Supplementary information is provided concerning additional publications published by various organizations and agencies. figs

  10. Analysis of crude oil markets with improved multiscale weighted permutation entropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Hongli; Wang, Jun; Liu, Cheng

    2018-03-01

    Entropy measures are recently extensively used to study the complexity property in nonlinear systems. Weighted permutation entropy (WPE) can overcome the ignorance of the amplitude information of time series compared with PE and shows a distinctive ability to extract complexity information from data having abrupt changes in magnitude. Improved (or sometimes called composite) multi-scale (MS) method possesses the advantage of reducing errors and improving the accuracy when applied to evaluate multiscale entropy values of not enough long time series. In this paper, we combine the merits of WPE and improved MS to propose the improved multiscale weighted permutation entropy (IMWPE) method for complexity investigation of a time series. Then it is validated effective through artificial data: white noise and 1 / f noise, and real market data of Brent and Daqing crude oil. Meanwhile, the complexity properties of crude oil markets are explored respectively of return series, volatility series with multiple exponents and EEMD-produced intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) which represent different frequency components of return series. Moreover, the instantaneous amplitude and frequency of Brent and Daqing crude oil are analyzed by the Hilbert transform utilized to each IMF.

  11. Subordinated Levy Processes and Applications to Crude Oil Options

    OpenAIRE

    Noureddine Krichene

    2005-01-01

    One approach to oil markets is to treat oil as an asset, besides its role as a commodity. Speculative and nonspeculative activity by investors in the derivatives markets could be responsible for a sizable increase in oil prices. This paper recognizes both the consumption and investment aspects of crude oil and proposes Levy processes for modeling uncertainty and options pricing. Calibration to crude oil futures' options shows high volatility of oil futures prices, fat-tailed, and right-skewed...

  12. Volatiles produced by Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus carnosus during growth in sausage minces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stahnke, Marie Louise Heller

    1999-01-01

    of air. Volatiles produced by the cultures were collected during growth, identified and quantified. The data were analysed by partial least squares regression. The results showed that oxygen in general had more influence on the aroma producing capacity of Staphylococcus xylosus than of Staphylococcus...

  13. Partitioning of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and heavy metal in terminal crude oil sludge when undergoing thermal treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Fuad, H.A.; Muhd Noor Muhd Yunus; Shamsuddin, A.H.; Sopian, K.

    2000-01-01

    In Malaysia currently more than one hundred oil rigs in operation extracting the crude oil, offshore the state of Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak. Crude oil sludge are generated during the extraction of crude oil from the underground oil reservoir to the oil rigs, the separation process at the oil rigs and its storage at the crude oil terminal. These sludge are considered as Scheduled Waste (contains heavy metals) by Department of Environmental (DOE) and Low Level Radioactive Waste (contain NORM) by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), thus cannot be disposed freely without proper control. The current method of disposal, such as land farming is not recommended and will have long term impact to the environment, whereas storage practices in plastic drums does not warrant an ultimate solution. Due to its organic nature, there is a move to treat this sludge by using thermal treatment technology but prior to this, a study has to be carried out to determine the partitioning of the various elements present in the sludge. Gamma spectroscopy and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) were used to analyze the concentrations of radionuclides whereas NAA as well as ICP-MS techniques were applied for heavy metal analysis in the sludge samples. The samples were then heated at temperature ranging from 100 degree C - 800 degree C for a period of 30 - 150 minutes. The ash produced at that temperature and duration were then analyzed again for the various elemental concentrations using the above mentioned techniques. The percent volatilization was then derived mathematically. From this study, it was found that the percentage of volatilization varies from 2-70%, which is a function of the elements of concerned, temperature and time. Uranium seems to volatilized much more than the rest of radionuclides. Higher temperature (>500 degree C) and longer exposure time (>60 minutes) promoted metal and radionuclide volatilization significantly. Typical to incinerator operating environment i

  14. Assessing refinery capacity and readiness to take Canadian product : is Canadian crude pushing or pulling?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friesner, J.M.

    2005-01-01

    This presentation addressed some of the challenges facing oil sands production in Canada. Refinery products and refining investments were discussed, as was the impact of alternative crude supply on the markets and pricing of oil sands. The oils sands products discussed include various qualities of sweet synthetic crude oil produced via upgraders; virgin and cracked intermediate products from oil sands upgraders; mined or Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) produced bitumen blended products; and synthetic heavy crude produced via hydrocracking. Products were listed in terms of ease of production, and a rationale for generic ranking was provided. A chart of 2003 characteristics of non-Canadian imports to the mid-west United States was provided. Various marketing strategies for different oil sands products were discussed, as well as issues concerning logistics. Strategies for the development of a bigger market include producer investment in refining capability; the acquisition of refining assets; investment in refiners' upgrading capability; and securing a long term supply deal. Core and extended markets for Western Canadian oil sands products were reviewed. A chart of North American refining capacity was presented. Details of a refinery with both coking and cracking capacity were examined. An increase in hydro processing capacity and expanded coking capacity, as well as an upgrade of metallurgy were suggested as possible upgrading options. Various refinery configurations were discussed in relation to lower cost feedstocks and clean fuels specifications. Issues concerning crude supply were examined with reference to pricing parity points and declines in traditional crude production. Specific supply issues concerning oil sands production were discussed, including transportation costs; adequate refining capacity; and availability of supply. Various logistic investments were considered. A map of BP's 5 U.S. refineries was presented. A forecast of expected changes in

  15. Expanding U.S. markets for Canadian crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heath, M.; Angevine, G.; Chan, K.; Renne, G.; Stariha, J.; MacKay, E.

    1993-01-01

    The quantities and types of Canadian, U.S. and competing foreign crudes flowing into U.S. market regions and the potential to retain and/or expand Canadian crude oil sales in each of those markets, was studied. The various pipeline system expansion/construction proposals were reviewed. Findings of the study with respect to prospects for crude oil sales into each of the U.S. market regions were presented. Opportunities and constraints with regard to the potential for incremental crude oil sales into each of the U.S. market regions were detailed. The study concluded that there was a substantial market in the U.S. for incremental sales of Canadian crudes. Most of the refineries in the U.S. market regions were more flexible in terms of their crude diet than they were before the rationalization and restructuring of the industry began. The market for crude oil in the U.S. was shown to be one of the most competitive in the world and the most volatile. The study also revealed that there were risks associated with large additions to the capacity to ship crude oil by pipeline from Western Canada, given the uncertainties surrounding future supply. 4 refs., figs., tabs

  16. Oil Price Volatility and Economic Growth in Nigeria: a Vector Auto-Regression (VAR Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edesiri Godsday Okoro

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The study examined oil price volatility and economic growth in Nigeria linking oil price volatility, crude oil prices, oil revenue and Gross Domestic Product. Using quarterly data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN Statistical Bulletin and World Bank Indicators (various issues spanning 1980-2010, a non‐linear model of oil price volatility and economic growth was estimated using the VAR technique. The study revealed that oil price volatility has significantly influenced the level of economic growth in Nigeria although; the result additionally indicated a negative relationship between the oil price volatility and the level of economic growth. Furthermore, the result also showed that the Nigerian economy survived on crude oil, to such extent that the country‘s budget is tied to particular price of crude oil. This is not a good sign for a developing economy, more so that the country relies almost entirely on revenue of the oil sector as a source of foreign exchange earnings. This therefore portends some dangers for the economic survival of Nigeria. It was recommended amongst others that there should be a strong need for policy makers to focus on policy that will strengthen/stabilize the economy with specific focus on alternative sources of government revenue. Finally, there should be reduction in monetization of crude oil receipts (fiscal discipline, aggressive saving of proceeds from oil booms in future in order to withstand vicissitudes of oil price volatility in future.

  17. The Parameters Controlling the Burning Efficiency of In-Situ Burning of Crude Oil on Water

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Gelderen, Laurens; Jomaas, Grunde

    2017-01-01

    Parameters that control the burning efficiency of in-situ burning of crude oil on water were identified by studying the influence of the initial slick thickness, vaporization order, oil slick diameter, weathering state of the oil, heat losses to the water layer and heat flux to the fuel surface...... on the burning efficiency for light and heavy crude oils. These parameters were studied in several small scale and intermediate scale experimental setups. The results showed that the heat losses to the water layer increase with increasing burning time because the components in a crude oil evaporate from volatile...... to non-volatile. Due to the relatively low heat feedback (reradiation and convection, in kW/m2) to the fuel surface of small scale pool fires, as compared to large scale pool fires, these heat losses were shown to limit the burning efficiency in small scale experiments. By subjecting small scale crude...

  18. Forecasting Value-at-Risk for Crude-Oil Exposures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høg, Esben; Tsiaras, Leonidas

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to forecast and evaluate Value-At-Risk for crude-oil exposures. We examine the performance of a GARCH-type based model with lagged implied volatility entering the variance equation as explanatory variable for the predicted variance. The forecasted Values-at...

  19. Volatility spillover between crude oil and exchange rate: A copula-CARR approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pu, Y. J.; Guo, M. Y.

    2017-11-01

    Oil provides a powerful impetus for modern society's production and life. The influences of oil price fluctuations on socio-economic development are obvious, and it draws more attention from scholars. However, the distribution of oil is highly centralized, which leads to the vast majority of oil trading through foreign trade. As a result, exchange rate plays an important role in the oil business. Study on the relationship between exchange rate and crude oil gradually becomes a hot research topic in recent years. In this paper, we use copula and CARR model to study correlation structure and relationship between crude oil price and exchange rate. We establish CARR models as marginal models and use five copulas which are Gaussian Copula, Student-t Copula, Gumbel Copula, Clayton Copula and Frank Copula to study the correlation structure between NYMEX crude oil price range and U. S. Dollar Index range. Furthermore, we use Copula-CARR model with structural breaks to detect the change points in the correlation structure between NYMEX crude oil price range and U. S. Dollar Index range. Empirical results show that the change points are closely related to the actual economic events.

  20. A metric and topological analysis of determinism in the crude oil spot market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barkoulas, John T.; Chakraborty, Atreya; Ouandlous, Arav

    2012-01-01

    We test whether the spot price of crude oil is determined by stochastic rules or exhibits deterministic endogenous fluctuations. In our analysis, we employ both metric (correlation dimension and Lyapunov exponents) and topological (recurrence plots) diagnostic tools for chaotic dynamics. We find that the underlying system for crude oil spot prices (i) is of high dimensionality (no stabilization of the correlation dimension), (ii) does not exhibit sensitive dependence on initial conditions, and (iii) is not characterized by the recurrence property. Thus, the empirical evidence suggests that stochastic rather than deterministic rules are present in the system dynamics of the crude oil spot market. Recurrent plot analysis indicates that volatility clustering is an adequate, but not complete, explanation of the morphology of oil spot prices. - Highlights: ► We test whether the spot price of crude oil exhibits deterministic chaos. ► We employ both metric and topological diagnostic tools for chaos. ► Stochastic rules appear to govern the temporal evolution of oil prices. ► Volatility clustering explains the morphology of oil prices largely, but not entirely.

  1. Grains colonised by moulds: fungal identification and headspace analysis of produced volatile metabolites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Paola Tampieri

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to verify if the headspace analysis of fungal volatile compounds produced by some species of Fusarium can be used as a marker of mould presence on maize. Eight samples of maize (four yellow maize from North Italy and four white maize from Hungary, naturally contaminated by Fusarium and positive for the presence of fumonisins, were analyzed to detect moisture content, Aw, volatile metabolites and an enumeration of viable moulds was performed by means of a colony count technique. Headspace samples were analysed using a gas-chromatograph equipped with a capillary column TR-WAX to detect volatile metabolites of moulds. Furthermore macro and microscopic examination of the colonies was performed in order to distinguish, according to their morphology, the genera of the prevalent present moulds. Prevalent mould of eight samples was Fusarium, but other fungi, like Aspergillus, Penicillum and Mucoraceae, were observed. The metabolites produced by F.graminearum and F. moniliforme were Isobutyl-acetate, 3-Methyl-1-butanol and, only at 8 days, 3-Octanone. The incubation time can affect off flavour production in consequence of the presence of other moulds. Further studies on maize samples under different conditions are needed in order to establish the presence of moulds using the count technique and through the identification of volatile compounds.

  2. Volatile compounds and some physico-chemical properties of pastırma produced with different nitrate levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Akköse

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of different nitrate levels (150, 300, 450, and 600 ppm KNO3 on the volatile compounds and some other properties of pastırma. Methods Pastırma samples were produced under the controlled condition and analyses of volatile compounds, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS as an indicator of lipid oxidation, non-protein nitrogenous matter content as an indicator of proteolysis, color and residual nitrite were carried out on the final product. The profile of volatile compounds of pastırma samples was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using a solid phase microextraction. Results Nitrate level had a significant effect on pH value (p<0.05 and a very significant effect on TBARS value (p<0.01. No significant differences were determined in terms of aw value, non-protein nitrogenous substance content, color and residual nitrite between pastırma groups produced by using different nitrate levels. Nitrate level had a significant (p<0.05 or a very significant (p<0.01 effect on some volatile compounds. It was determined that the amounts and counts of volatile compounds were lower in the 450 and especially 600 ppm nitrate levels than 150 and 300 ppm nitrate levels (p<0.05. While the use of 600 ppm nitrate did not cause an increase in residual nitrite levels, the use of 150 ppm nitrate did not negatively affect the color of pastırma. However, the levels of volatile compounds decreased with an increasing level of nitrate. Conclusion The use of 600 ppm nitrate is not a risk in terms of residual nitrite in pastırma produced under controlled condition, however, this level is not suitable due to decrease in the amount of volatile compounds.

  3. Hedging strategy for crude oil trading and the factors influencing hedging effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Won-Cheol; Jae Kim, Hyun

    2010-01-01

    This study analyzes the hedging effectiveness of different hedge type and period by Korean oil traders. Both crude oil price and exchange rate risks are considered. Theoretical models are formulated to estimate the hedge ratios by separate and complex hedge types. The hedging period covers 1-12 months. This study also performs some statistical works to investigate the relationship between the hedging effectiveness and the crude oil price sensitivity to exchange rate. In addition, the relationship between the hedging effectiveness and the volatilities of crude oil price and exchange rate is analyzed. (author)

  4. Isolation and Identification of Crude Oil Degrading and Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria from the Oil-Contaminated Soils of Gachsaran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyyedeh Zahra Hashemi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Petroleum hydrocarbons are harmful to the environment, human health, and all other living creatures. Oil and its byproducts in contact with water block sunshine to phytoplanktons and thus break the food chain and damage the marine food source. This study aims to isolate the crude oil degrading and biosurfactant producing bacteria from the oil contaminated soils of Gachsaran, Iran. Materials and Methods: Isolation was performed in peptone-water medium with yeast extract. Oil displacement area, emulsification index and bacterial phylogeny using 16S rRNA analysis were studied. Results and Conclusion: Three isolates were able to degrade the crude oil. In the first day, there were two phases in the medium; after a few days, these three bacteria degraded the crude oil until there was only one phase left in the medium. One strain was selected as a superior strain by homogenizing until the medium became clear and transparent. This method confirmed that the strain produces biosurfactant. According to the morphological and biochemical tests, the strain isolated from the oil contaminated soils is a member of Bacillus subtilis, so to study the bacterial phylogeny and taxonomy of the strain, an analysis of 16S rRNA was carried out, and the phylogenic tree confirmed them. The results verified that oil contaminated soils are good source for isolation of the biosurfactant producing bacteria.

  5. Crude glycerol combustion: particulate, acrolein, and other volatile organic emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crude glycerol is an abundant by-product of biodiesel production. As volumes of this potential waste grow, there is increasing interest in developing new value added uses. One possible use, as a boiler fuel for process heating, offers added advantages of energy integration and ...

  6. PRELIMINARY STUDIES FOR PRODUCING CRUDE LIPASE FROM TEMPE’S MOULD CULTIVATED IN RICE-HUSK-BASED SOLID MEDIA

    OpenAIRE

    Bardant, Teuku Beuna; Sembiring, Kiky Corneliasari; Setiawan, Achmad Hanafi

    2010-01-01

    The goal of these preliminary studies is to support Indonesian program for increasing palm oil added value through independent production technology based on Indonesian natural resources. Various palm oil derivatives could be synthesized enzymatically using lipase from microbes that available in Indonesia. Tempe's mould is available in abundance in Indonesia and had already been proved for producing lipase. This paper provides information about producing crude lipase from Tempe's mould cultiv...

  7. Crude oil pipeline expansion summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-02-01

    The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has been working with producers to address issues associated with the development of new pipeline capacity from western Canada. This document presents an assessment of the need for additional oil pipeline capacity given the changing mix of crude oil types and forecasted supply growth. It is of particular interest to crude oil producers and contributes to current available information for market participants. While detailed, the underlying analysis does not account for all the factors that may come into play when individual market participants make choices about which expansions they may support. The key focus is on the importance of timely expansion. It was emphasized that if pipeline expansions lags the crude supply growth, then the consequences would be both significant and unacceptable. Obstacles to timely expansion are also discussed. The report reviews the production and supply forecasts, the existing crude oil pipeline infrastructure, opportunities for new market development, requirements for new pipeline capacity and tolling options for pipeline development. tabs., figs., 1 appendix

  8. A predictive method for crude oil volatile organic compounds emission from soil: evaporation and diffusion behavior investigation of binary gas mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Haijing; Fischer, Thomas; Wieprecht, Wolfgang; Möller, Detlev

    2015-05-01

    Due to their mobility and toxicity, crude oil volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are representative components for oil pipeline contaminated sites detection. Therefore, contaminated location risk assessment, with airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) survey, in particular, requires ground-based determinative methods for oil VOCs, the interaction between oil VOCs and soil, and information on how they diffuse from underground into atmosphere. First, we developed a method for determination of crude oil VOC binary mixtures (take n-pentane and n-hexane as examples), taking synergistic effects of VOC mixtures on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers into consideration. Using this method, we further aim to extract VOCs from small volumes, for example, from soil pores, using a custom-made sampling device for nondestructive SPME fiber intrusion, and to study VOC transport through heterogeneous porous media. Second, specific surface Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis was conducted and used for estimation of VOC isotherm parameters in soil. Finally, two models were fitted for VOC emission prediction, and the results were compared to the experimental emission results. It was found that free diffusion mode worked well, and an empirical correction factor seems to be needed for the other model to adapt to our condition for single and binary systems.

  9. Producing methane, methanol and electricity from organic waste of fermentation reaction using novel microbes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhiman, Saurabh Sudha; Shrestha, Namita; David, Aditi; Basotra, Neha; Johnson, Glenn R; Chadha, Bhupinder S; Gadhamshetty, Venkataramana; Sani, Rajesh K

    2018-06-01

    Residual solid and liquid streams from the one-pot CRUDE (Conversion of Raw and Untreated Disposal into Ethanol) process were treated with two separate biochemical routes for renewable energy transformation. The solid residual stream was subjected to thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD), which produced 95 ± 7 L methane kg -1 volatile solid with an overall energy efficiency of 12.9 ± 1.7%. A methanotroph, Methyloferula sp., was deployed for oxidation of mixed TAD biogas into methanol. The residual liquid stream from CRUDE process was used in a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) to produce electricity. Material balance calculations confirmed the integration of biochemical routes (i.e. CRUDE, TAD, and MFC) for developing a sustainable approach of energy regeneration. The current work demonstrates the utilization of different residual streams originated after food waste processing to release minimal organic load to the environment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Crude value management through pipeline systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Segato, R. [Suncor Energy Marketing Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2009-07-01

    This presentation reviewed Suncor's integrated oil flow operations with particular focus on the best practices in crude oil quality management from source rocks to refineries. Suncor produces synthetic crude at its operations in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The crude reaches destinations across North America. The quality of injected and delivered crude varies because of pipeline and terminal logistics, which implies changes in valuation. Refinery planners, engineers and crude traders are faced with the challenge of maximizing profitability while minimizing risk. Refiners face a continuously changing landscape in terms of crude classifications, new commodity developments, batch interferences, shared tank bottoms and sampling limitations. tabs., figs.

  11. Characterization of volatile compounds produced by Lactobacillus helveticus strains in a hard cheese model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuffia, Facundo; Bergamini, Carina V; Wolf, Irma V; Hynes, Erica R; Perotti, María C

    2018-01-01

    Starter cultures of Lactobacillus helveticus used in hard cooked cheeses play an important role in flavor development. In this work, we studied the capacity of three strains of L. helveticus, two autochthonous (Lh138 and Lh209) and one commercial (LhB02), to grow and to produce volatile compounds in a hard cheese extract. Bacterial counts, pH, profiles of organic acids, carbohydrates, and volatile compounds were analyzed during incubation of extracts for 14 days at 37 ℃. Lactobacilli populations were maintained at 10 6 CFU ml -1 for Lh138, while decreases of approx. 2 log orders were found for LhB02 and Lh209. Both Lh209 and LhB02 slightly increased the acetic acid content whereas mild increase in lactic acid was produced by Lh138. The patterns of volatiles were dependent on the strain which reflect their distinct enzymatic machineries: LhB02 and Lh209 produced a greater diversity of compounds, while Lh138 was the least producer strain. Extracts inoculated with LhB02 and Lh 209 were characterized by ketones, esters, alcohols, aldehydes, and acids, whereas in the extracts with Lh138 the main compounds belonged to aromatic, aldehydes, and ketones groups. Therefore, Lh209 and LhB02 could represent the best cheese starters to improve and intensify the flavor, and even a starter composed by combinations of LhB02 or Lh209 with Lh138 could also be a strategy to diversify cheese flavor.

  12. Volatile Flavor Compounds Produced by Molds of Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fungi imperfecti.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaminski, E; Stawicki, S; Wasowicz, E

    1974-06-01

    Strains of molds Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus, A. oryzae, A. parasiticus, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. citrinum, P. funiculosum, P. raistrickii, P. viridicatum, Alternaria, Cephalosporium, and Fusarium sp. were grown on sterile coarse wheat meal at 26 to 28 C for 120 h. The volatiles from mature cultures were distilled at low temperature under reduced pressure. The distillates from traps -40 and -78 C were extracted with methylene chloride and subsequently concentrated. All the concentrates thus obtained were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, chemical reactions of functional groups, and olfactory evaluation. Six components detected in the culture distillates were identified positively: 3-methylbutanol, 3-octanone, 3-octanol, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-octanol, and 2-octen-1-ol. They represented 67 to 97% of all the volatiles occurring in the concentrated distillate. The following 14 components were identified tentatively: octane, isobutyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, butyl acetate, amyl acetate, octyl acetate, pyridine, hexanol, nonanone, dimethylpyrazine, tetramethylpyrazine, benzaldehyde, propylbenzene, and phenethyl alcohol. Among the volatiles produced by molds, 1-octen-3-ol yielding a characteristic fungal odor was found predominant.

  13. Forecasting volatility for options valuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belaifa, M.; Morimune, K.

    2006-01-01

    The petroleum sector plays a neuralgic role in the basement of world economies, and market actors (producers, intermediates, as well as consumers) are continuously subjected to the dynamics of unstable oil market. Huge amounts are being invested along the production chain to make one barrel of crude oil available to the end user. Adding to that are the effect of geopolitical dynamics as well as geological risks as expressed in terms of low chances of successful discoveries. In addition, fiscal regimes and regulations, technology and environmental concerns are also among some of the major factors that contribute to the substantial risk in the oil industry and render the market structure vulnerable to crises. The management of these vulnerabilities require modern tools to reduce risk to a certain level, which unfortunately is a non-zero value. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to provide a modern technique to capture the oil price stochastic volatility that can be implemented to value the exposure of an investor, a company, a corporate or a Government. The paper first analyses the regional dependence on oil prices, through a historical perspective and then looks at the evolution of pricing environment since the large price jumps of the 1970s. The main causes of oil prices volatility are treated in the third part of the paper. The rest of the article deals with volatility models and forecasts used in risk management, with an implication for pricing derivatives. (author)

  14. Dating breaks for global crude oil prices and their volatility : a possible price band for global crude prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao, H.C.; Suen, Y.B.

    2006-01-01

    Global oil prices are among the most visible of all historical commodity records. This paper presented and applied the multiple structural change method developed by Baie and Perron (BP) to investigate daily West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot prices from January 2, 1986 to December 30, 2004 as collected by the United States Department of Energy. In particular, the BP statistical method was used to estimate the number and location of structural breaks in global oil price series and their volatility. The objective was to precisely determine the exact structural break in the global oil market. The breaks for both the price of oil and its volatility were successfully located and dated. It was shown that the break for the structural change in oil prices occurred on November 12, 1999, where the average oil price was U$19.02 per barrel previously, and U$30.90 afterwards. Two breaks for oil price volatility were also found, the first in March 1991 and the other in December 1995. The volatility was measured in 3 regimes by dividing these 2 breaks. It was suggested that since oil prices increased more rapidly during the second half of 2004 and 2005, it is possible that another structural break may be found during this period. However, it wa cautioned that it is difficult to find another significant break until more data becomes available, particularly for periods characterized by a rapid increase in price. 24 refs., 5 tabs., 2 figs

  15. Crude oil market report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1985-01-01

    Falling demand for refined products and an excess of production capacity are driving world oil prices down further. Competitive price cutting, notably by Mexico, Britain, and the Soviet Union, has left Saudi Arabia the only guardian of a costly pricing discipline in terms of crude oil sales. The current crisis is limited to the producers of crude oil. Refineries are now deciding what, where, and how to buy crude in order to meet the requirements of a slack market place. Saudi Arabia could precipitate a price collapse below $20 per barrel by increasing production volume, but that seems unlikely. 1 figure, 2 tables.

  16. Volatiles produced by the mycophagous soil bacterium Collimonas

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Garbeva, P.; Hordijk, C.; Gerards, S.; Boer, de W.

    2014-01-01

    It is increasingly recognized that volatile organic compounds play an import role during interactions between soil microorganisms. Here, we examined the possible involvement of volatiles in the interaction of Collimonas bacteria with soil fungi. The genus Collimonas is known for its ability to grow

  17. DOE/DOT Crude Oil Characterization Research Study, Task 2 Test Report on Evaluating Crude Oil Sampling and Analysis Methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lord, David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Allen, Ray [Allen Energy Services, Inc., Longview, TX (United States); Rudeen, David [GRAM, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-11-01

    The Crude Oil Characterization Research Study is designed to evaluate whether crude oils currently transported in North America, including those produced from "tight" formations, exhibit physical or chemical properties that are distinct from conventional crudes, and how these properties associate with combustion hazards with may be realized during transportation and handling.

  18. Caryolan-1-ol, an antifungal volatile produced by Streptomyces spp., inhibits the endomembrane system of fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Gyeongjun; Kim, Junheon; Park, Chung Gyoo; Nislow, Corey; Weller, David M; Kwak, Youn-Sig

    2017-07-01

    Streptomyces spp. have the ability to produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites that interact with the environment. This study aimed to discover antifungal volatiles from the genus Streptomyces and to determine the mechanisms of inhibition. Volatiles identified from Streptomyces spp. included three major terpenes, geosmin, caryolan-1-ol and an unknown sesquiterpene. antiSMASH and KEGG predicted that the volatile terpene synthase gene clusters occur in the Streptomyces genome. Growth inhibition was observed when fungi were exposed to the volatiles. Biological activity of caryolan-1-ol has previously not been investigated. Fungal growth was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by a mixture of the main volatiles, caryolan-1-ol and the unknown sesquiterpene, from Streptomyces sp. S4-7. Furthermore, synthesized caryolan-1-ol showed similar antifungal activity. Results of chemical-genomics profiling assays showed that caryolan-1-ol affected the endomembrane system by disrupting sphingolipid synthesis and normal vesicle trafficking in the fungi. © 2017 The Authors.

  19. International evidence on crude oil price dynamics. Applications of ARIMA-GARCH models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammadi, Hassan; Su, Lixian

    2010-01-01

    We examine the usefulness of several ARIMA-GARCH models for modeling and forecasting the conditional mean and volatility of weekly crude oil spot prices in eleven international markets over the 1/2/1997-10/3/2009 period. In particular, we investigate the out-of-sample forecasting performance of four volatility models - GARCH, EGARCH and APARCH and FIGARCH over January 2009 to October 2009. Forecasting results are somewhat mixed, but in most cases, the APARCH model outperforms the others. Also, conditional standard deviation captures the volatility in oil returns better than the traditional conditional variance. Finally, shocks to conditional volatility dissipate at an exponential rate, which is consistent with the covariance-stationary GARCH models than the slow hyperbolic rate implied by the FIGARCH alternative. (author)

  20. Improving Lowland Rice (O. sativa L. cv. MR219 Plant Growth Variables, Nutrients Uptake, and Nutrients Recovery Using Crude Humic Substances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perumal Palanivell

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available High cation exchange capacity and organic matter content of crude humic substances from compost could be exploited to reduce ammonia loss from urea and to as well improve rice growth and soil chemical properties for efficient nutrients utilization in lowland rice cultivation. Close-dynamic air flow system was used to determine the effects of crude humic substances on ammonia volatilization. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of crude humic substances on rice plant growth, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties using an acid soil mixed with three rates of crude humic substances (20, 40, and 60 g pot−1. Standard procedures were used to evaluate rice plant dry matter production, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties. Application of crude humic substances increased ammonia volatilization. However, the lowest rate of crude humic substances (20 g pot−1 significantly improved total dry matter, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil nutrients availability compared with crude humic substances (40 and 60 g pot−1 and the normal fertilization. Apart from improving growth of rice plants, crude humic substances can be used to ameliorate acid soils in rice cultivation. The findings of this study are being validated in our ongoing field trials.

  1. Improving Lowland Rice (O. sativa L. cv. MR219) Plant Growth Variables, Nutrients Uptake, and Nutrients Recovery Using Crude Humic Substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palanivell, Perumal; Ahmed, Osumanu Haruna; Ab Majid, Nik Muhamad; Jalloh, Mohamadu Boyie; Susilawati, Kasim

    2015-01-01

    High cation exchange capacity and organic matter content of crude humic substances from compost could be exploited to reduce ammonia loss from urea and to as well improve rice growth and soil chemical properties for efficient nutrients utilization in lowland rice cultivation. Close-dynamic air flow system was used to determine the effects of crude humic substances on ammonia volatilization. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of crude humic substances on rice plant growth, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties using an acid soil mixed with three rates of crude humic substances (20, 40, and 60 g pot(-1)). Standard procedures were used to evaluate rice plant dry matter production, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties. Application of crude humic substances increased ammonia volatilization. However, the lowest rate of crude humic substances (20 g pot(-1)) significantly improved total dry matter, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil nutrients availability compared with crude humic substances (40 and 60 g pot(-1)) and the normal fertilization. Apart from improving growth of rice plants, crude humic substances can be used to ameliorate acid soils in rice cultivation. The findings of this study are being validated in our ongoing field trials.

  2. A laboratory study of particulate and gaseous emissions from crude oil and crude oil-dispersant contaminated seawater due to breaking waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afshar-Mohajer, Nima; Li, Cheng; Rule, Ana M.; Katz, Joseph; Koehler, Kirsten

    2018-04-01

    Crude oil spill incidents occur frequently causing a verity of occupational, ecological and environmental problems. Dispersants are applied to enhance the dispersion rate of crude oil slicks into the water column. In this study, the aerosol size distribution from 10 nm to 20 μm, total particle-bound aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAH) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are measured in a 6 x 0.3 x 0.6 m tank as plunging breaking waves entrain oil slicks. The experiments are performed for seawater with slicks of crude oil, crude oil-dispersant mixture and dispersant only. The measurements investigate the effects of wave energy and slick properties on the temporal evolution of the emissions. The total number concentrations of particles originating from the oil-dispersant mixture are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those of crude oil across the entire nano-scale range, reaching 100x for 20 nm particles. Conversely, the differences in concentration are small in the micron range. The average concentrations of pPAH are variable but similar (150-270 ng/m3). The VOC concentrations for crude oil-dispersant mixtures are 2-3 times lower than those of crude oil, presumably due to the surfactant effect on mass diffusion. The drastic increase in ultrafine particle concentrations may raise concerns about effects of inhalation by cleanup workers and downstream communities though VOC emissions reduce. Findings through this study provide insight into how the spray of dispersant may change the ratio of airborne particulate matter and VOC emissions from seawater due to natural processes.

  3. Crude glycerol combustion: Particulate, acrolein, and other volatile organic emissions

    KAUST Repository

    Steinmetz, Scott; Herrington, Jason S.; Winterrowd, Chris K.; Roberts, William L.; Wendt, Jost O L; Linak, William P.

    2013-01-01

    to be formed from the low temperature thermal decomposition of glycerol. Currently, there is no known reliable method for measuring acrolein in sources. Acrolein and emissions of other volatile organic compounds were characterized through the use of a SUMMA

  4. Inhibitory effect of betel quid on the volatility of methyl mercaptan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, C K; Chen, S L; Wu, M G

    2001-04-01

    Betel quid, a popular natural masticatory in Taiwan, is mainly composed of fresh areca fruit, Piper betle (leaf or inflorescence), and slaked lime paste. People say that halitosis disappears during betel quid chewing. In this study, the removal of mouth odor during betel quid chewing was discussed by using a model system which measured its inhibition on the volatility of methyl mercaptan. Results showed that crude extracts of betel quid (the mixture of areca fruit, Piper betle, and slaked lime paste) and extracts of the mixture of areca fruit and slaked lime paste exhibited marked effects on the volatility of methyl mercaptan, and the inhibition function increased when increasing amounts of slaked lime paste were added. The same condition (increased inhibition) was also found by replacing the slaked lime paste with alkaline salts (calcium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or sodium hydroxide). Areca fruit, the major ingredient of betel quid, contained abundant phenolics. However, the crude phenolic extract of areca fruit did not show any inhibitory activity on the volatility of methyl mercaptan. Great inhibitory activity occurred only when the crude phenolic extract of areca fruit was treated with alkali. Further studies by using gel filtration determined that the effect probably came from the oxidative polymerization of phenolics of areca fruit after alkaline treatment.

  5. Modelling and Testing Volatility Spillovers in Oil and Financial Markets for USA, UK and China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); J. Tian (Jiarong)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractThe primary purpose of the paper is to analyze the conditional correlations, conditional covariances, and co-volatility spillovers between international crude oil and associated financial markets. The paper investigates co-volatility spillovers (namely, the delayed effect of a returns

  6. Characterization and Catalytic Upgrading of Crude Bio-oil Produced by Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Swine Manure and Pyrolysis of Biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Dan

    The distillation curve of crude bio-oil from glycerol-assisted hydrothermal liquefaction of swine manure was measured using an advanced distillation apparatus. The crude bio-oil had much higher distillation temperatures than diesel and gasoline and was more distillable than the bio-oil produced by the traditional liquefaction of swine manure and the pyrolysis of corn stover. Each 10% volumetric fraction was analyzed from aspects of its chemical compositions, chemical and physical properties. The appearance of hydrocarbons in the distillates collected at the temperature of 410.9°C and above indicated that the thermal cracking at a temperature from 410°C to 500°C may be a proper approach to upgrade the crude bio-oil produced from the glycerol-assisted liquefaction of swine manure. The effects of thermal cracking conditions including reaction temperature (350-425°C), retention time (15-60 min) and catalyst loadings (0-10 wt%) on the yield and quality of the upgraded oil were analyzed. Under the optimum thermal cracking conditions at 400°C, a catalyst loading of 5% by mass and the reaction time of 30 min, the yield of bio-oil was 46.14% of the mass of the crude bio-oil and 62.5% of the energy stored in the crude bio-oil was recovered in the upgraded bio-oil. The upgraded bio-oil with a heating value of 41.4 MJ/kg and viscosity of 3.6 cP was comparable to commercial diesel. In upgrading crude bio-oil from fast pyrolysis, converting organic acids into neutral esters is significant and can be achieved by sulfonated activated carbon/bio-char developed from fermentation residues. Acitivated carbon and bio-char were sulfonated by concentrated sulfuric acid at 150°C for 18 h. Sulfonation helped activated carbon/bio-char develop acid functional groups. Sulfonated activated carbon with BET surface area of 349.8 m2/g, was effective in converting acetic acid. Acetic acid can be effectively esterified by sulfonated activated carbon (5 wt%) at 78°C for 60 min with the

  7. Testing the evolution of crude oil market efficiency: Data have the conn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Bing; Li, Xiao-Ming; He, Fei

    2014-01-01

    Utilising a time-varying GAR (1)-TGARCH (1,1) model with different frequency data, we investigate the weak-form efficiency of major global crude oil spot markets in Europe, the US, the UAE and China for the period from December 2001 to August 2013. Our empirical results with weekly data indicate that all four markets have reached efficiency with few brief inefficient periods during the past decade, whereas the daily crude oil returns series suggest intermittent and inconsistent efficiency. We argue that the weekly Friday series fit the data better than the average series in autocorrelation tests. The evidence suggests that all four markets exhibit asymmetries in return-volatility reactions to different information shocks and that they react more strongly to bad news than to good news. The 2008 financial crisis has significantly affected the efficiency of oil markets. Furthermore, a comovement phenomenon and volatility spillover effects exist among the oil markets. Policy recommendations consistent with our empirical results are proposed, which address three issues: implementing prudential regulations, establishing an Asian pricing centre and improving transparency in crude oil spot markets. - Highlights: • We adopt a time-varying model to test the weak-form efficiency of crude oil markets. • Weekly oil returns series have been extremely efficient during the past decade. • Daily oil returns series have presented intermittent and inconsistent efficiency. • Oil markets react asymmetrically to different information shocks. • Policy recommendations are proposed according to the degree of efficiency

  8. Study on the hydrodeoxygenative upgrading of crude bio-oil produced from woody biomass by fast pyrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Tae-Seung; Oh, Shinyoung; Kim, Jae-Young; Choi, In-Gyu; Choi, Joon Weon

    2014-01-01

    Crude bio-oil produced from fast pyrolysis of yellow poplar wood was subjected to HDO (hydrodeoxygenation) for the purpose of reducing water content as well as increasing heating value. HDO was performed in an autoclave reactor at three different reaction factors: temperature (250–370 °C), reaction time (40–120 min), and Pd/C catalyst loading (0–6 wt%) under hydrogen atmosphere. After completion of HDO, gas, char, and two immiscible liquid products (light oil and heavy oil) were obtained. Liquid products were less acidic and contained less water than crude bio-oil. Water content of heavy oil was ranged between 0.4 wt% and 1.9 wt%. Heating values of heavy oil were estimated between 28.7 and 37.4 MJ/kg, which was about twice higher than that of crude bio-oil. Elemental analysis revealed that heavy oil had a lower O/C ratio (0.17–0.36) than crude bio-oil (0.71). H/C ratio of heavy oil decreased from 1.50 to 1.32 with an increase of temperature from 250 °C to 350 °C, respectively. - Highlights: • Bio-oil was subjected to hydrodeoxygenation with Pd/C catalyst in supercritical ethanol. • Gas, char and two immiscible liquids (light/heavy oil) were obtained as final products. • Ethanol addition reduced the char formation during hydrodeoxygenation. • The heavy oil was characteristic to less acidic and less water content than bio-oil. • Higher heating value of the heavy oil was measured to 28.7–37.4 MJ/kg

  9. Modeling and forecasting petroleum futures volatility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadorsky, Perry

    2006-01-01

    Forecasts of oil price volatility are important inputs into macroeconometric models, financial market risk assessment calculations like value at risk, and option pricing formulas for futures contracts. This paper uses several different univariate and multivariate statistical models to estimate forecasts of daily volatility in petroleum futures price returns. The out-of-sample forecasts are evaluated using forecast accuracy tests and market timing tests. The TGARCH model fits well for heating oil and natural gas volatility and the GARCH model fits well for crude oil and unleaded gasoline volatility. Simple moving average models seem to fit well in some cases provided the correct order is chosen. Despite the increased complexity, models like state space, vector autoregression and bivariate GARCH do not perform as well as the single equation GARCH model. Most models out perform a random walk and there is evidence of market timing. Parametric and non-parametric value at risk measures are calculated and compared. Non-parametric models outperform the parametric models in terms of number of exceedences in backtests. These results are useful for anyone needing forecasts of petroleum futures volatility. (author)

  10. Modelling and testing volatility spillovers in oil and financial markets for USA, UK and China

    OpenAIRE

    Chang, Chia-Lin; McAleer, Michael; Tian, Jiarong

    2016-01-01

    textabstractThe primary purpose of the paper is to analyze the conditional correlations, conditional covariances, and co-volatility spillovers between international crude oil and associated financial markets. The paper investigates co-volatility spillovers (namely, the delayed effect of a returns shock in one physical or financial asset on the subsequent volatility or co-volatility in another physical or financial asset) between the oil and financial markets. The oil industry has four major r...

  11. Measurement of the volatility and glass transition temperatures of glasses produced during the DWPF startup test program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marra, J.C.; Harbour, J.R.

    1995-01-01

    The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) will immobilize high-level radioactive waste currently stored in underground tanks at the Savannah River Site by incorporating the waste into a glass matrix. The molten waste glass will be poured into stainless steel canisters which will be welded shut to produce the final waste form. One specification requires that any volatiles produced as a result of accidentally heating the waste glass to the glass transition temperature be identified. Glass samples from five melter campaigns, run as part of the DWPF Startup Test Program, were analyzed to determine glass transition temperatures and to examine the volatilization (by weight loss). Glass transition temperatures (T g ) for the glasses, determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), ranged between 445 C and 474 C. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) scans showed that no overall weight loss occurred in any of the glass samples when heated to 500 C. Therefore, no volatility will occur in the final glass product when heated up to 500 C

  12. Volatility Spillovers and Causality of Carbon Emissions, Oil and Coal Spot and Futures for the EU and USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Lin Chang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Recent research shows that the efforts to limit climate change should focus on reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide over other greenhouse gases or air pollutants. Many countries are paying substantial attention to carbon emissions to improve air quality and public health. The largest source of carbon emissions from human activities in some countries in Europe and elsewhere is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation. The prices of fuel and carbon emissions can influence each other. Owing to the importance of carbon emissions and their connection to fossil fuels, and the possibility of [1] Granger (1980 causality in spot and futures prices, returns, and volatility of carbon emissions, crude oil and coal have recently become very important research topics. For the USA, daily spot and futures prices are available for crude oil and coal, but there are no daily futures prices for carbon emissions. For the European Union (EU, there are no daily spot prices for coal or carbon emissions, but there are daily futures prices for crude oil, coal and carbon emissions. For this reason, daily prices will be used to analyse Granger causality and volatility spillovers in spot and futures prices of carbon emissions, crude oil, and coal. As the estimators are based on quasi-maximum likelihood estimators (QMLE under the incorrect assumption of a normal distribution, we modify the likelihood ratio (LR test to a quasi-likelihood ratio test (QLR to test the multivariate conditional volatility Diagonal BEKK model, which estimates and tests volatility spillovers, and has valid regularity conditions and asymptotic properties, against the alternative Full BEKK model, which also estimates volatility spillovers, but has valid regularity conditions and asymptotic properties only under the null hypothesis of zero off-diagonal elements. Dynamic hedging strategies by using optimal hedge ratios are suggested to analyse market fluctuations in the

  13. Crude oil price dynamics: A study on effects of market expectation and strategic supply on price movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Xin

    Recent years have seen dramatic fluctuations in crude oil prices. This dissertation attempts to better understand price behavior. The first chapter studies the behavior of crude oil spot and futures prices. Oil prices, particularly spot and short-term futures prices, appear to have switched from I(0) to I(1) in early 2000s. To better understand this apparent change in persistence, a factor model of oil prices is proposed, where the prices are decomposed into long-term and short-term components. The change in the persistence behavior can be explained by changes in the relative volatility of the underlying components. Fitting the model to weekly data on WTI prices, the volatility of the persistent shocks increased substantially relative to other shocks. In addition, the risk premiums in futures prices have changed their signs and become more volatile. The estimated net marginal convenience yield using the model also shows changes in its behavior. These observations suggest that a dramatic fundamental change occurred in the period from 2002 to 2004 in the dynamics of the crude oil market. The second chapter explores the short-run price-inventory dynamics in the presence of different shocks. Classical competitive storage model states that inventory decision considers both current and future market condition, and thus interacts with spot and expected future spot prices. We study competitive storage holding in an equilibrium framework, focusing on the dynamic response of price and inventory to different shocks. We show that news shock generates response profile different from traditional contemporaneous shocks in price and inventory. The model is applied to world crude oil market, where the market expectation is estimated to experience a sharp change in early 2000s, together with a persisting constrained supply relative to demand. The expectation change has limited effect on crude oil spot price though. The world oil market structure has been studied extensively but no

  14. 10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary incentive crude oil. Annual prepaid expenses report. By January 31 of each year after 1980, the project...

  15. Oil and stock market volatility: A multivariate stochastic volatility perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vo, Minh

    2011-01-01

    This paper models the volatility of stock and oil futures markets using the multivariate stochastic volatility structure in an attempt to extract information intertwined in both markets for risk prediction. It offers four major findings. First, the stock and oil futures prices are inter-related. Their correlation follows a time-varying dynamic process and tends to increase when the markets are more volatile. Second, conditioned on the past information, the volatility in each market is very persistent, i.e., it varies in a predictable manner. Third, there is inter-market dependence in volatility. Innovations that hit either market can affect the volatility in the other market. In other words, conditioned on the persistence and the past volatility in their respective markets, the past volatility of the stock (oil futures) market also has predictive power over the future volatility of the oil futures (stock) market. Finally, the model produces more accurate Value-at-Risk estimates than other benchmarks commonly used in the financial industry. - Research Highlights: → This paper models the volatility of stock and oil futures markets using the multivariate stochastic volatility model. → The correlation between the two markets follows a time-varying dynamic process which tends to increase when the markets are more volatile. → The volatility in each market is very persistent. → Innovations that hit either market can affect the volatility in the other market. → The model produces more accurate Value-at-Risk estimates than other benchmarks commonly used in the financial industry.

  16. Geographical provenance of palm oil by fatty acid and volatile compound fingerprinting techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tres, A; Ruiz-Samblas, C; van der Veer, G; van Ruth, S M

    2013-04-15

    Analytical methods are required in addition to administrative controls to verify the geographical origin of vegetable oils such as palm oil in an objective manner. In this study the application of fatty acid and volatile organic compound fingerprinting in combination with chemometrics have been applied to verify the geographical origin of crude palm oil (continental scale). For this purpose 94 crude palm oil samples were collected from South East Asia (55), South America (11) and Africa (28). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to develop a hierarchical classification model by combining two consecutive binary PLS-DA models. First, a PLS-DA model was built to distinguish South East Asian from non-South East Asian palm oil samples. Then a second model was developed, only for the non-Asian samples, to discriminate African from South American crude palm oil. Models were externally validated by using them to predict the identity of new authentic samples. The fatty acid fingerprinting model revealed three misclassified samples. The volatile compound fingerprinting models showed an 88%, 100% and 100% accuracy for the South East Asian, African and American class, respectively. The verification of the geographical origin of crude palm oil is feasible by fatty acid and volatile compound fingerprinting. Further research is required to further validate the approach and to increase its spatial specificity to country/province scale. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Agricultural Commodities and Crude Oil Prices: An Empirical Investigation of Their Relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleni Zafeiriou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Within the last few decades, the extended use of biodiesel and bioethanol has established interlinkages between energy markets and agricultural commodity markets. The present work examines the bivariate relationships of crude oil–corn and crude oil–soybean futures prices with the assistance of the ARDL cointegration approach. Our findings confirm that crude oil prices affect the prices of agricultural products used in the production of biodiesel, as well as of ethanol, validating the interaction of energy and agricultural commodity markets. The practical value of the present work is that the findings provide policy makers with insight into the interlinkages between agricultural and energy markets to promote biodiesel or bioethanol by affecting crude oil prices. The novelty of the present work stands on the use of futures prices that incorporate all available information and thus are more appropriate to identify supply and demand shocks and price spillovers than real prices. Finally, the period of study includes extremely low, as well as extremely high, crude oil prices and the results illustrate that biofuels cannot be substituted for crude oil and protect economies from energy volatility.

  18. Determination of volatiles produced during radiation processing in Laurus cinnamomum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salum, D.C.; Araujo, M.M.; Fanaro, G.B. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Cidade Universitaria, Av. Professor Lineu Prestes 2242, Zip code: 05508-000 Butanta, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Purgatto, E. [Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas, FCF/USP, Departamento de Alimentos e Nutricao Experimental. Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 580 Bloco 14. CEP: 05508-900 Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: epurgatt@usp.br; Villavicencio, A.L.C.H. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Cidade Universitaria, Av. Professor Lineu Prestes 2242, Zip code: 05508-000 Butanta, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: villavic@ipen.br

    2009-07-15

    In order to protect food from pathogenic microorganisms as well as increase its shelf-life, while keeping sensorial properties (e.g., odor and taste), which are important properties required by spice buyers, it is necessary to analyze volatile formation from irradiation of medicinal and food herbs. Possible changes in the odor of these herbs are evaluated by characterizing different radiation doses and effects on sensorial properties, in order to allow better application of the irradiation technology. The aim of the present study was to analyze volatile formation on cinnamon (Laurus cinnamomum) samples after gamma irradiation. These samples were irradiated into plastic packages using a {sup 60}Co facility. Radiation doses applied were 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 kGy. For the analysis of the samples, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was applied, while for the analysis of volatile compounds, CG/MS. Spice irradiation showed the highest decrease in volatile compounds. For L. cinnamomum, the irradiation decreased volatile compounds by nearly 56% and 89.5%, respectively, comparing to volatile from a sample which had not been previously irradiated.

  19. An Improved CO2-Crude Oil Minimum Miscibility Pressure Correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Minimum miscibility pressure (MMP, which plays an important role in miscible flooding, is a key parameter in determining whether crude oil and gas are completely miscible. On the basis of 210 groups of CO2-crude oil system minimum miscibility pressure data, an improved CO2-crude oil system minimum miscibility pressure correlation was built by modified conjugate gradient method and global optimizing method. The new correlation is a uniform empirical correlation to calculate the MMP for both thin oil and heavy oil and is expressed as a function of reservoir temperature, C7+ molecular weight of crude oil, and mole fractions of volatile components (CH4 and N2 and intermediate components (CO2, H2S, and C2~C6 of crude oil. Compared to the eleven most popular and relatively high-accuracy CO2-oil system MMP correlations in the previous literature by other nine groups of CO2-oil MMP experimental data, which have not been used to develop the new correlation, it is found that the new empirical correlation provides the best reproduction of the nine groups of CO2-oil MMP experimental data with a percentage average absolute relative error (%AARE of 8% and a percentage maximum absolute relative error (%MARE of 21%, respectively.

  20. New evidence on the asymmetry in gasoline price: volatility versus margin?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abosedra, S.; Radchenko, S.

    2006-01-01

    This paper examines recent evidence on the role that gasoline margins and volatility play in the asymmetric response of gasoline prices to changes in oil prices at different stages of distribution process. In a regression model with margins, we find that margins are statistically significant in explaining asymmetry between crude oil and spot gasoline prices, spot gasoline prices and wholesale gasoline prices, and wholesale gasoline prices and retail prices. In a regression model with input volatility, we find evidence that volatility is responsible for asymmetry between wholesale gasoline prices and retail gasoline prices. When both, gasoline margins and gasoline volatility are included in the regression, we find evidence supporting margins, the search theory, volatility, the oligopolistic coordination theory and an explanation of asymmetry. (author)

  1. Does China factor matter? An econometric analysis of international crude oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Gang; Zhang, Yue-Jun

    2014-01-01

    Whether China’s crude oil imports are the culprit of oil price volatility these years has not been quantitatively confirmed. Therefore, this paper empirically investigates the role of China’s crude oil net imports in Brent price changes from October 2005 to November 2013 based on an econometric analysis. The results indicate that, during the sample period, China’s crude oil imports do not significantly affect Brent price changes, no matter in the long run or short run. Therefore, the blame for China’s crude oil imports to cause the dramatic fluctuations of international oil price has no solid evidence. Also, there exists significant uni-directional causality running from the Brent price to China's crude oil imports at the 5% level. Besides, the response of the Brent price to China's crude oil imports is found positive but slight, and the Brent price responds more significantly to US dollar exchange rate and OECD commercial inventory than to China’s crude oil imports in the short run. Finally, the contribution of China's crude oil imports to Brent price movement is about 10%, which is less than that of US dollar exchange rate but larger than that of Indian crude oil imports or OECD commercial inventory. - Highlights: • The paper detects the role of China’s crude oil imports in Brent oil price changes. • China’s crude imports do not matter for oil prices in the long run or short run. • The blame for China’s crude imports on oil price changes has no solid evidence. • Significant causality runs from Brent prices to China's crude oil net imports. • China's crude imports contribute less to Brent prices than US dollar exchange rate

  2. Cross-correlations between crude oil and exchange markets for selected oil rich economies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jianfeng; Lu, Xinsheng; Zhou, Ying

    2016-07-01

    Using multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA), this paper studies the cross-correlation behavior between crude oil market and five selected exchange rate markets. The dataset covers the period of January 1,1996-December 31,2014, and contains 4,633 observations for each of the series, including daily closing prices of crude oil, Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Mexican Pesos, Russian Rubles, and South African Rand. Our empirical results obtained from cross-correlation statistic and cross-correlation coefficient have confirmed the existence of cross-correlations, and the MF-DCCA results have demonstrated a strong multifractality between cross-correlated crude oil market and exchange rate markets in both short term and long term. Using rolling window analysis, we have also found the persistent cross-correlations between the exchange rates and crude oil returns, and the cross-correlation scaling exponents exhibit volatility during some time periods due to its sensitivity to sudden events.

  3. Implications of globalization on pricing for Canadian crudes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Black, R. [Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    1998-05-01

    The effects of globalization on Canadian crude oil prices was discussed. Since deregulation in October 1985, Canadian crude oil has competed directly against international crude oil through the use of the NYMEX contract price for light sweet crude oil as the base for establishing the price for Canadian crudes. Prior to that date, Alberta crude was marketed by the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission using the old block matrix which was loosely tied to the world market price. In addition to world crude oil prices other factors that affect the price of Canadian crude oil include technology impacts and global integration. Also, when the Sarnia to Montreal pipeline (Line 9) is reversed to bring offshore crude oil into the Ontario refining community, Canadian producers can expect some adverse effects on the price they are paid for their products leading up to the reversal as refiners start to swing over to their alternate suppliers. The offshore supply is expected to be about 140,000 barrels/day of light sweet crude oil, but all grades of Canadian crude oil will be affected.

  4. Jump dynamics with structural breaks for crude oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Yen-Hsien; Hu, Hsu-Ning; Chiou, Jer-Shiou

    2010-01-01

    This study investigates the joint phenomena of permanent and transitory components in conditional variance and jump intensity along with verification of structural breaks for crude oil prices. We adopt a Component-ARJI model with structural break analysis, utilizing daily data on West Texas Intermediate crude oil spot and futures contracts. The analytical results verify the existence of permanent and transitory components in conditional variance, with the permanent component of conditional variance increasing with the occurrence of a sudden major event (such as the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm and the war between the US and Iraq), and a relatively greater increase in the transitory component over the same period. Notably, jump intensity fluctuates with an increase in the transitory component of conditional variance in response to abnormal events. It is the transitory component which serves as the primary influential factor for jumps in returns; therefore, speculators are willing to take large risks, particularly with respect to anticipating future price movements, or gambling, in the hopes of rapidly making substantial gains; thus, speculators prefer the temporary volatility component and engage in trade activities. However, investors prefer the permanent volatility component, because they may well be better off relocating their assets into more stable portfolios to outperform the market portfolio over the long run. (author)

  5. Jump dynamics with structural breaks for crude oil prices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Yen-Hsien [Department of Finance, Chung Yuan Christian University (China); Hu, Hsu-Ning [Department of Money, Banking and Finance, TamKang University (China); Chiou, Jer-Shiou [Department of Finance and Banking, Shih Chien University, 70 Ta-Chih Street, Taipei 104 (China)

    2010-03-15

    This study investigates the joint phenomena of permanent and transitory components in conditional variance and jump intensity along with verification of structural breaks for crude oil prices. We adopt a Component-ARJI model with structural break analysis, utilizing daily data on West Texas Intermediate crude oil spot and futures contracts. The analytical results verify the existence of permanent and transitory components in conditional variance, with the permanent component of conditional variance increasing with the occurrence of a sudden major event (such as the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm and the war between the US and Iraq), and a relatively greater increase in the transitory component over the same period. Notably, jump intensity fluctuates with an increase in the transitory component of conditional variance in response to abnormal events. It is the transitory component which serves as the primary influential factor for jumps in returns; therefore, speculators are willing to take large risks, particularly with respect to anticipating future price movements, or gambling, in the hopes of rapidly making substantial gains; thus, speculators prefer the temporary volatility component and engage in trade activities. However, investors prefer the permanent volatility component, because they may well be better off relocating their assets into more stable portfolios to outperform the market portfolio over the long run. (author)

  6. Prediction of compatibility of crude oils with condensate (C5+); Previsao de compatibilidade de petroleos e condensado (C5+)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zilio, Evaldo Lopez; Santos, Maria de Fatima Pereira dos [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Ramos, Antonio Carlos da Silva; Rolemberg, Marlus Pinheiro [Universidade Federal do Maranhao (UFMA), Sao Luis, MA (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Due to the recent raise of the national natural gas demand and to the need of flowing the condensates (C5+) produced from the NGPP (Natural Gas Processing Plant) by adding them to the streams of the crude oil, there was the need to carry out the compatibility prediction of one condensate with two onshore crude oils from Espirito Santo. The model to predict the compatibility among crude oils and among crude oils and oil products is based on the use of the solubility parameter of the oils. To apply it, the solubility parameter of each crude oil or oil product is measured and the parameter of their blend is calculated. If this value is beneath the asphaltenes flocculation parameter, the blend is incompatible; if it is above, the blend is compatible. In this article, the compatibility predictions were done according to the Solubility Parameter Model to two blends: the condensate C with the crude oil X and with the crude oil Y. The model predictions are that both blends are incompatible at given proportions. To check the predictions, the same two blends were experimentally carried out. It must be emphasized that the compatibility tests were done at atmospheric pressure and at the temperature of 15 deg C. These tests consist in adding the condensate to the crude oil with a titrater and visualizing the asphaltenes precipitation at an optical microscope. The experimental results were equivalent to the values predicted by the model. It is worth mentioning that there were several practical difficulties, as the high volatility of the condensate and the fact that the temperatures to determine the parameters and to carry out the tests were very lower than the operation temperature. Therefore, a security factor was applied on the predictions (less 20%). (author)

  7. Electronic trading system and returns volatility in the oil futures market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao, Huei-Chu; Lee, Yi-Huey; Suen, Yu-Bo

    2008-01-01

    This paper uses daily Brent crude prices to investigate the employment of electronic trading on the returns conditional volatility in the oil futures market. After a suitable GARCH model is established, the conditional volatility series are found. The Bai and Perron model is then used to find two significant structural breaks for these conditional volatility series around two implementation dates of electronic trading. This result indicates that the change in the trading system has significant impacts on the returns volatility since our estimated second break date is very close to the all-electronic trade implementation date. Moreover, the conditional volatility in the all-electronic trading period is found to be more dominated by the temporal persistence rather than the volatility clustering effect. All these evidence can shed some light for explaining the high relationship between more volatile world oil price and the more popular electronic trade. (author)

  8. Sensory and volatile profiles of monofloral honeys produced by native stingless bees of the brazilian semiarid region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Ana Caroliny Vieira da; Sousa, Janaína Maria Batista; da Silva, Maria Aparecida Azevedo Pereira; Garruti, Deborah Dos Santos; Madruga, Marta Suely

    2018-03-01

    Monofloral honeys produced by stingless bees M. subnitida Ducke and M. scutellaris Latrelle in typical flowering of the Brazilian semi-arid Ziziphus juazeiro Mart (juazeiro), Croton heliotropiifolius Kunth (velame branco) and Mimosa arenosa willd Poir (jurema branca) were characterized in relation to volatile and sensorial profile. It identified 11 sensory descriptors and 96 volatile compounds. It was noticed a strong effect of flowering in sensorial profile and volatile of honeys. Juazeiro honey stood out with a higher characteristic aroma, taste sweet, caramel flavor and levels of aromatic aldehydes; jurema honey has been described with herb and beeswax aroma and the presence of sulfur compounds and ketones; volatile acids associated with acid taste, medicinal taste and clove aroma characterized the velame branco honey. These results demonstrate that the knowledge of the sensory and aroma profile of these honeys can contribute to characterization of its floral and geographical identity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Financial instruments help producers hedge gas deals in volatile market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lawnin, J.N.; Kupiec, S.L.

    1993-01-01

    The Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) of 1978 and more recently the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order 636 have changed gas marketing from a totally regulated industry to one that responds to free-market forces. The stable but controlled market in which producers once sold gas has become highly competitive and more efficient. Consequently, prices have become more volatile; they respond more quickly than they did before to changes in supply of and demand for natural gas. Prior to deregulation of the natural gas industry, producers had fewer marketing options than they do today. Under a typical gas sales contract, producers sold gas to the nearest pipeline at regulated prices, which remained relatively stable along the interstate distribution chain. The system, however, failed to generate adequate supply of gas. In an effort to realign supply and demand, Congress initiated the deregulation of natural gas with NGPA, which phased out most wellhead price controls. A series of FERC actions culminating in Order 636 extended the process. Now, independent producers can sell gas directly to end users. Under Order 636, interstate pipelines no longer offer merchant services to gas customers. The paper discusses the change in risk profiles, price protection, futures and options, hedged exposure, setting price floors, off-exchange contracts, risk considerations, types of risks, business controls, back office controls, and credit monitoring

  10. The Impact of United States Monetary Policy in the Crude Oil futures market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padilla-Padilla, Fernando M.

    This research examines the empirical impact the United States monetary policy, through the federal fund interest rate, has on the volatility in the crude oil price in the futures market. Prior research has shown how macroeconomic events and variables have impacted different financial markets within short and long--term movements. After testing and decomposing the variables, the two stationary time series were analyzed using a Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR). The empirical evidence shows, with statistical significance, a direct relationship when explaining crude oil prices as function of fed fund rates (t-1) and an indirect relationship when explained as a function of fed fund rates (t-2). These results partially address the literature review lacunas within the topic of the existing implication monetary policy has within the crude oil futures market.

  11. Volatile profiles and chromatic characteristics of red wines produced with Starmerella bacillaris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Englezos, Vasileios; Rantsiou, Kalliopi; Cravero, Francesco; Torchio, Fabrizio; Giacosa, Simone; Ortiz-Julien, Anne; Gerbi, Vincenzo; Rolle, Luca; Cocolin, Luca

    2018-07-01

    The use of mixed fermentations with Starmerella bacillaris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae is gaining attention in recent years due to their ability to modulate the metabolites production of enological interest. In the present study, four of the most popular planted red grape varieties (Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir and Shiraz) were fermented using the aforementioned species and two different inoculation protocols (inoculation of S. cerevisiae after 24 and 48 h from the Starm. bacillaris inoculation), in order to evaluate their impact on the volatile composition and chromatic characteristics of wines. Analysis from chemical composition showed that titratable acidity and glycerol content exhibited marked differences among wines after fermentation. For volatile compounds, mixed fermented wines using an inoculation delay of 48 h led to reduction of volatile compounds (mainly esters). A shorter 24 h delay produced wines with higher values of color intensity than pure fermented wines. The differences observed between the inoculation protocols can be explained by the growth dynamics of both species during fermentation. These findings suggest that mixed fermentations posed a great potential in reducing metabolites which are considered negative for wine quality (mainly ethyl acetate and volatile fatty acids) and with an improvement of the chromatic profile of the wines. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Evidence for volatile male-produced pheromone in banana weevilCosmopolites sordidus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budenberg, W J; Ndiege, I O; Karago, F W

    1993-09-01

    Females of the banana weevil,Cosmopolites sordidus, were attracted to and made longer visits to live conspecific males, trapped volatiles from males, and dissected male hindguts in a still-air olfactometer. Male weevils were attracted to volatiles trapped from males and made longer visits to live males and volatiles from males. Live females, collected volatiles from females and female hindguts, elicited small or no behavioral responses from either sex. Electroantennogram (EAG) responses from both male and female antennae were elicited by collected volatiles from males and by dichloromethane extracts of male hindguts and bodies but not by surface washes of males. No significant EAG responses were given to equivalent material from females. It is therefore suggested that male banana weevils release an aggregation pheromone via their hindgut.

  13. How is the international price of a particular crude determined?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagen, Ronald

    1994-01-01

    If crude oil or oil products are not the final item of consumption, then oil is not bought or sold on any basis other than its contribution to the final product. The markets of oil products are thus 'derived' from more basic demands, and prices are determined by what they contribute to the costs of producing final products or commodities. Similarly, the value of a crude oil is derived from the value of the petroleum products it yields. This paper attempts to show how differences in crude oil prices seem to occur. The results should be of interest to producers of crude oil, since they will demonstrate how the marketability of their products might vary. (author)

  14. Volatile Fuel Hydrocarbons and MTBE in the Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cozzarelli, I. M.; Baehr, A. L.

    2003-12-01

    Petroleum hydrocarbons (hydrocarbons that result from petroleum products such as oil, gasoline, or diesel fuel) are among the most commonly occurring and widely distributed contaminants in the environment. Volatile hydrocarbons are the lighter fraction of the petroleum hydrocarbons and, together with fuel oxygenates, are most often released from crude oil and liquid petroleum products produced from crude oil. The demand for crude oil stems from the world's ever-growing energy need. From 1970 to 1999, primary energy production of the world grew by 76% (Energy Information Administration, 2001), with fossil fuels (crude oil, natural gas, and coal) accounting for ˜85% of all energy produced worldwide (Figure 1). World crude oil production reached a record 68 million barrels (bbl) per day (1.08×1010 L d-1) in 2000. The world's dependence on oil as an energy source clearly is identified as contributing to global warming and worsening air and water quality. (7K)Figure 1. World primary energy production by source from 1970 to 1999 (Energy Information Administration, 2001). Petroleum products are present in Earth's subsurface as solids, liquids, or gases. This chapter presents a summary of the environmental problems and issues related to the use of liquid petroleum, or oil. The focus is on the sources of volatile hydrocarbons and fuel oxygenates and the geochemical behavior of these compounds when they are released into the environment. Although oxygenates currently in commercial use include compounds other than methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE), such as ethanol (ETOH), most of the information presented here focuses on MTBE because of its widespread occurrence. The environmental impact of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons that also originate from petroleum products is described in (Chapter 9.13, Abrajano et al.).Crude oil occurs within the Earth and is a complex mixture of natural compounds composed largely of hydrocarbons containing only hydrogen and carbon atoms. The minor

  15. Estimation of evaporative losses during storage of crude oil and petroleum products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihajlović Marina A.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Storage of crude oil and petroleum products inevitably leads to evaporative losses. Those losses are important for the industrial plants mass balances, as well as for the environmental protection. In this paper, estimation of evaporative losses was performed using software program TANKS 409d which was developed by the Agency for Environmental Protection of the United States - US EPA. Emissions were estimated for the following types of storage tanks: fixed conical roof tank, fixed dome roof tank, external floating roof tank, internal floating roof tank and domed external floating roof tank. Obtained results show quantities of evaporated losses per tone of stored liquid. Crude oil fixed roof storage tank losses are cca 0.5 kg per tone of crude oil. For floating roof, crude oil losses are 0.001 kg/t. Fuel oil (diesel fuel and heating oil have the smallest evaporation losses, which are in order of magnitude 10-3 kg/tone. Liquids with higher Reid Vapour Pressure have very high evaporative losses for tanks with fixed roof, up to 2.07 kg/tone. In case of external floating roof tank, losses are 0.32 kg/tone. The smallest losses are for internal floating roof tank and domed external floating roof tank: 0.072 and 0.044, respectively. Finally, it can be concluded that the liquid with low volatility of low BTEX amount can be stored in tanks with fixed roof. In this case, the prevailing economic aspect, because the total amount of evaporative loss does not significantly affect the environment. On the other hand, storage of volatile derivatives with high levels of BTEX is not justified from the economic point of view or from the standpoint of the environment protection.

  16. Carotenoid-cleavage activities of crude enzymes from Pandanous amryllifolius.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ningrum, Andriati; Schreiner, Matthias

    2014-11-01

    Carotenoid degradation products, known as norisoprenoids, are aroma-impact compounds in several plants. Pandan wangi is a common name of the shrub Pandanus amaryllifolius. The genus name 'Pandanus' is derived from the Indonesian name of the tree, pandan. In Indonesia, the leaves from the plant are used for several purposes, e.g., as natural colorants and flavor, and as traditional treatments. The aim of this study was to determine the cleavage of β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal by carotenoid-cleavage enzymes isolated from pandan leaves, to investigate dependencies of the enzymatic activities on temperature and pH, to determine the enzymatic reaction products by using Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrophotometry (HS-SPME GC/MS), and to investigate the influence of heat treatment and addition of crude enzyme on formation of norisoprenoids. Crude enzymes from pandan leaves showed higher activity against β-carotene than β-apo-8'-carotenal. The optimum temperature of crude enzymes was 70°, while the optimum pH value was 6. We identified β-ionone as the major volatile reaction product from the incubations of two different carotenoid substrates, β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal. Several treatments, e.g., heat treatment and addition of crude enzymes in pandan leaves contributed to the norisoprenoid content. Our findings revealed that the crude enzymes from pandan leaves with carotenoid-cleavage activity might provide a potential application, especially for biocatalysis, in natural-flavor industry. Copyright © 2014 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

  17. Conversion of yellow crude sugar into alcohol. Conversion of yellow crude sugar in a mixture with sugar beet molasses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krishtul, F B; Malchenko, A L; Poluyanova, M T; Gromovich, V F; Maskimova, E A; Golodovskaya, A I; Pal' gova, L S

    1963-01-01

    Crude sugar (96.5 to 98.4% sucrose) in a mixture with molasses can be converted into alcohol by either batchwise or continuous fermentation processes with good process characteristics. Best yields are obtained when the amount of crude sugar is not more than 50% of the total weight of fermenting material. The bakers' yeast and alcohol produced are of good quality.

  18. Lifting the US crude oil export ban: A numerical partial equilibrium analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langer, Lissy; Huppmann, Daniel; Holz, Franziska

    2016-01-01

    The upheaval in global crude oil markets and the boom in shale oil production in North America brought scrutiny on the US export ban for crude oil from 1975. The ban was eventually lifted in early 2016. This paper examines the shifts of global trade flows and strategic refinery investments in a spatial, game-theoretic partial equilibrium model. We consider detailed oil supply chain infrastructure with multiple crude oil types, distinct oil products, as well as specific refinery configurations and modes of transport. Prices, quantities produced and consumed, as well as infrastructure and refining capacity investments are endogenous to the model. We compare two scenarios: an insulated US crude oil market, and a counter-factual with lifted export restrictions. We find a significant expansion of US sweet crude exports with the lift of the export ban. In the US refinery sector, more (imported) heavy sour crude is transformed. Countries importing US sweet crude gain from higher product output, while avoiding costly refinery investments. Producers of heavy sour crude (e.g. the Middle East) are incentivised to climb up the value chain to defend their market share and maintain their dominant position. - Highlights: • We study the impacts of lifting the US crude ban on global oil flows and investments. • We find massive expansion of US sweet crude oil exports. • We analyze the resulting welfare effects for US producers, refiners and consumers. • We indicate the changes on global trade patterns. • We conclude that lifting the ban is the right policy for the US and the global economy.

  19. On the volatility-volume relationship in energy futures markets using intra-day data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chevallier, Julien; Sevi, Benoit

    2011-01-01

    This paper investigates the relationship between trading volume and price volatility in the crude oil and natural gas futures markets when using high-frequency data. By regressing various realized volatility measures (with/without jumps) on trading volume and trading frequency, our results feature a contemporaneous and largely positive relationship. Furthermore, we test whether the volatility-volume relationship is symmetric for energy futures by considering positive and negative realized semi-variance. We show that (i) an asymmetric volatility-volume relationship indeed exists, (ii) trading volume and trading frequency significantly affect negative and positive realized semi-variance, and (iii) the information content of negative realized semi-variance is higher than for positive realized semi-variance. (authors)

  20. Identification of crude-oil components and microorganisms that cause souring under anaerobic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasegawa, R; Toyama, K; Miyanaga, K; Tanji, Y

    2014-02-01

    Oil souring has important implications with respect to energy resources. Understanding the physiology of the microorganisms that play a role and the biological mechanisms are both important for the maintenance of infrastructure and mitigation of corrosion processes. The objective of this study was to identify crude-oil components and microorganisms in oil-field water that contribute to crude-oil souring. To identify the crude-oil components and microorganisms that are responsible for anaerobic souring in oil reservoirs, biological conversion of crude-oil components under anaerobic conditions was investigated. Microorganisms in oil field water in Akita, Japan degraded alkanes and aromatics to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) under anaerobic conditions, and fermenting bacteria such as Fusibacter sp. were involved in VFA production. Aromatics such as toluene and ethylbenzene were degraded by sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfotignum sp.) via the fumarate-addition pathway and not only degradation of VFA but also degradation of aromatics by sulfate-reducing bacteria was the cause of souring. Naphthenic acid and 2,4-xylenol were not converted.

  1. Bacterial consortia for crude oil spill remediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chhatre, S.; Purohit, H.; Shanker, R.; Khanna, P.

    1996-01-01

    Oil spills generate enormous public concern and highlight the need for cost effective ad environmentally acceptable mitigation technologies. Physico-chemical methods are not completely effective after a spill. Hence, there is a need for improved and alternative technologies. Bioremediation is the most environmentally sound technology for clean up. This report intends to determine the potential of a bacterial consortium for degradation of Gulf and Bombay High crude oil. A four membered consortium was designed that could degrade 70% of the crude oil. A member of consortium produced a biosurfactant, rhamnolipid, that emulsified crude oil efficiently for effective degradation by the other members of consortium. The wide range of hydrocarbonoclastic capabilities of the selected members of bacterial consortium leads to the degradation of both aromatic and aliphatic fractions of crude oil in 72 hours. (Author)

  2. Portfolio Value at Risk Estimate for Crude Oil Markets: A Multivariate Wavelet Denoising Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kin Keung Lai

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available In the increasingly globalized economy these days, the major crude oil markets worldwide are seeing higher level of integration, which results in higher level of dependency and transmission of risks among different markets. Thus the risk of the typical multi-asset crude oil portfolio is influenced by dynamic correlation among different assets, which has both normal and transient behaviors. This paper proposes a novel multivariate wavelet denoising based approach for estimating Portfolio Value at Risk (PVaR. The multivariate wavelet analysis is introduced to analyze the multi-scale behaviors of the correlation among different markets and the portfolio volatility behavior in the higher dimensional time scale domain. The heterogeneous data and noise behavior are addressed in the proposed multi-scale denoising based PVaR estimation algorithm, which also incorporatesthe mainstream time series to address other well known data features such as autocorrelation and volatility clustering. Empirical studies suggest that the proposed algorithm outperforms the benchmark ExponentialWeighted Moving Average (EWMA and DCC-GARCH model, in terms of conventional performance evaluation criteria for the model reliability.

  3. The crude petroleum and natural gas industry, 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    A compilation of data regarding the crude petroleum and natural gas industry was presented. This industry includes establishments engaged in exploration for, or production of petroleum or natural gas from wells or tar sands. Data presented in this publication include: the supply and disposition of crude oil and natural gas, operating and capital expenditures of approximately 500 companies of the oil and natural gas industry, drilling completions, and crude oil and natural gas reserves. Data about the oil sands industry is reported in another volume. Much of the data was obtained from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Overall, in 1995 Canadian natural gas production rose 6.7%; exports of crude oil rose 7.7%. 8 tabs., 2 figs

  4. Long Run Dynamic Volatilities between OPEC and non-OPEC Crude Oil Prices

    OpenAIRE

    Ghassan, Hassan B.; Alhajhoj, Hassan R.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the long-run dynamics of OPEC and non-OPEC crude oil prices is important in an era of increased financialization of petroleum markets. Utilizing an ECM within a threshold cointegration and CGARCH errors framework, we provide evidence on the cointegrating relationship and estimate how and to what extent the respective prices adjust to eliminate disequilibrium. Our findings suggest that the adjustment process of OPEC prices to the positive discrepancies is slow which implies that ...

  5. Reducing the cadmium content of crude phosphates and mineral fertilizers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plessen, H von; Schimmel, G

    1987-10-01

    Crude sedimentary phosphates generally contain cadmium together with traces of other heavy metals. These Cd traces generally end up in fertilizers produced from the crude phosphates. Processes have therefore been developed to separate the Cd from the crude phosphate or from the crude phosphoric acids arising therefrom as intermediates. In this way, the Cd content of the crude phosphate can be reduced to less the 10% of its original value, and to 50% thereof by extractive treatment with acidic calcium nitrate solution. Older calcination processes for crude phosphate have been improved to give residual Cd contents of 10 to 50% at temperatures of 800 to 1000/sup 0/C. Cadmium can be removed almost quantitatively from crude phosphate by means of dialkyl dithiophosphoric acid esters by extraction, binding to adsorbents, or ion flotation. Cadmium can be extracted from crude acids in high yield by long-chained amines. After partial neutralization of the crude acids, precipitation as cadmium sulphide is also possible.

  6. Oil prices and financial stress: A volatility spillover analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nazlioglu, Saban; Soytas, Ugur; Gupta, Rangan

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines whether there is a volatility transmission between oil prices and financial stress by means of the volatility spillover test. We employ WTI crude oil prices and Cleveland financial stress index for the period 1991–2014 and divide the sample into pre-crisis, in-crisis, and post-crisis periods due to the downward trend in oil price in 2008. The volatility model estimations indicate that oil prices and financial stress index are dominated by long-run volatility. The volatility spillover causality test supports evidence on risk transfer from oil prices to financial stress before the crisis and from financial stress to oil prices after the crisis. The impulse response analysis shows that the volatility transmission pattern has similar dynamics before and after the crisis and is characterized by higher and long-lived effects during the crisis. Our results have implications for both policy makers and investors, and for future work. -- Highlights: •Volatility spillover between oil prices and financial stress index is examined. •Analysis is conducted for sub-periods: pre-crisis, in-crisis, and post-crisis •Oil prices spill on financial stress before the crisis, but spillover reversed after the crisis. •Volatility transmission pattern has similar dynamics before and after the crisis. •Implications for investors and policy makers are discussed

  7. Not on behalf of the crude oil; No en nombre del petroleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maugeri, Leonardo [Empresa Energetica, ENI (Italy)

    2003-07-15

    There are two major myths linked to the current concept of the crude oil: the lack of crude oil and the security related to energy. The government authorities should realize that it is necessary to expect some oil price volatility. They should also focus on boosting better supply habits and on having more realistic public expectations and healthier policies for Middle East. [Spanish] En el pensamiento actual sobre el petroleo se destacan dos mitos: la escasez del petroleo y la seguridad en materia de energeticos. Los gobernantes deben darse cuenta de que hay que esperar cierta volatilidad en los precios del petroleo y concentrarse en promover mejores habitos de consumo, expectativas publicas mas realistas y politicas mas sanas para Medio Oriente.

  8. Catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL of biomass for bio-crude production using Ni/HZSM-5 catalysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shouyun Cheng

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL is an effective method that can convert biomass into bio-crude, but direct use of bio-crude derived from biomass HTL remains a challenge due to the lower quality. In this study, bifunctional Ni/HZSM-5 catalysts and zinc hydrolysis were combined to produce upgraded bio-crude in an in-situ HTL process. The K2CO3 and HZSM-5 catalysts with different Ni loading ratios were tested. The effects of different catalysts on the yield and quality of bio-crude and gas were investigated. The results indicated that the catalysts improved bio-crude and gas yields, compared to pine sawdust liquefaction without catalyst. The catalysts reduced the contents of undesirable oxygenated compounds such as acids, ketones, phenols, alcohols and esters in bio-crude products while increased desirable hydrocarbons content. K2CO3 produced highest bio-crude yield and lowest solid residue yield among all catalysts. Compared to parent HZSM-5 catalyst, bifunctional Ni/HZSM-5 catalysts exhibited higher catalyst activity to improve quality of upgraded bio-crude due to its integration of cracking and hydrodeoxygenation reactions. 6%Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst produced the bio-crude with the highest hydrocarbons content at 11.02%. This catalyst can be a candidate for bio-crude production from biomass HTL.

  9. Volatility behavior of oil, industrial commodity and stock markets in a regime-switching environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Kyongwook; Hammoudeh, Shawkat

    2010-01-01

    This study supplements previous regime-switching studies on WTI crude oil and finds two possible volatility regimes for the strategic commodity prices of Brent oil, WTI oil, copper, gold and silver, and the S and P 500 index, but with varying high-to-low volatility ratios. The dynamic conditional correlations (DCCs) indicate increasing correlations among all the commodities since the 2003 Iraq war but decreasing correlations with the S and P 500 index. The commodities also show different volatility persistence responses to financial and geopolitical crises, while the S and P 500 index responds to both financial and geopolitical crises. Implications are discussed.

  10. Determination of volatiles produced during radiation processing in food and medicinal herbs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salum, Debora Christina

    2008-01-01

    In order to protect food from pathogenic microorganisms as well as to increase its shelf life while keeping sensorial properties (e.g. odor and taste), once the latter are one of the main properties required by spice buyers, it is necessary to analyze volatile formation from irradiation of medicinal and food herbs. The aim of the present study was to analyze volatile formation from Co irradiation of Laurus Cinnamomum, Piper Nigrum, Origanum Vulgare and Myristica Fragans. Possible changes on the odor of these herbs are evaluated by characterizing different radiation doses and effects on sensorial properties in order to allow better application of irradiation technology. l he samples have been irradiated in plastic packages by making use of a 60 Co Gamma irradiator. Irradiation doses of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25kGy have been tested. For the analysis of the samples, SPME has been applied, while for the analysis of volatile compounds, CG/MS. Spice irradiation has promoted mostly decrease in volatile compounds when doses of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25kGy were used. For Laurus cinnamomum, the irradiation decreased volatile by nearly 56% and 89.5% respectively, comparing to volatile from a sample which has not been previously irradiated. Differently from other spices analyzed, irradiation on Myristica Fragans has increased volatile compounds except for 4-terpineol. The miristicine (toxic substance when in large quantities, commonly mentioned as narcotic) has increased by nearly 80%. For Origanum Vulgare and Piper Nigrum, significant decrease in volatile compounds have been found, mainly when it comes to 25 kGy irradiation. In general, results indicate loss of sensorial quality of spices. (author)

  11. Crude Glycerol as Cost-Effective Fuel for Combined Heat and Power to Replace Fossil Fuels, Final Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roberts, William L

    2012-10-31

    The primary objectives of this work can be summed into two major categories. Firstly, the fundamentals of the combustion of glycerol (in both a refined and unrefined form) were to be investigated, with emphasis of the development of a system capable of reliably and repeatedly combusting glycerol as well as an analysis of the emissions produced during glycerol combustion. Focus was placed on quantifying common emissions in comparison to more traditional fuels and this work showed that the burner developed was able to completely combust glycerol within a relatively wide range of operating conditions. Additionally, focus was placed on examining specific emissions in more detail, namely interesting NOx emissions observed in initial trials, acrolein and other volatile organic emissions, and particulate and ash emissions. This work showed that the combustion of crude glycerol could result in significantly reduced NOx emissions as a function of the high fuel bound oxygen content within the glycerol fuel. It also showed that when burned properly, the combustion of crude glycerol did not result in excessive emissions of acrolein or any other VOC compared to the combustion from more traditional fuels. Lastly however, this work has shown that in any practical application in which glycerol is being burned, it will be necessary to explore ash mitigation techniques due to the very high particulate matter concentrations produced during glycerol combustion. These emissions are comparable to unfiltered coal combustion and are directly tied to the biodiesel production method. The second focus of this work was directed to developing a commercialization strategy for the use of glycerol as a fuel replacement. This strategy has identified a 30 month plan for the scaling up of the laboratory scale burner into a pre-pilot scale system. Additionally, financing options were explored and an assessment was made of the economics of replacing a traditional fuel (namely natural gas) with crude

  12. Record prices [crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon

    2006-01-01

    Crude oil prices climbed to new record levels on fears of a future loss of supplies from Iran as Washington stepped up its efforts to persuade Tehran to abandon its programme to produce nuclear fuel. IPE's December Brent contract set a new record for the exchange by trading at $75.80/bbl on 21st April. On the same day October WTI reached an all-time high of $77.30/bbl on Nymex. US product prices gained as refiners struggled to produce sufficient middle distillate. Alarmed by the rising retail price of gasoline, the US Senate debated a reduction in the already low US tax rate on motor spirit. The House of Representatives passed a measure to prohibit overcharging for petrol, diesel and heating oil, but Democrats rejected a Republican proposal to speed-up the process for approving new refineries. President George W Bush announced a temporary easing of new gasoline and diesel specifications (see 'Focus', March 2006) to allow more fuel to be produced. He also agreed to delay the repayment of some 2.1 mn bbl of crude oil lent to companies after last year's hurricanes from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. California announced an inquiry into alleged overcharging for fuel by oil companies operating in the state. (author)

  13. Jumps and stochastic volatility in oil prices: Time series evidence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larsson, Karl; Nossman, Marcus

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we examine the empirical performance of affine jump diffusion models with stochastic volatility in a time series study of crude oil prices. We compare four different models and estimate them using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. The support for a stochastic volatility model including jumps in both prices and volatility is strong and the model clearly outperforms the others in terms of a superior fit to data. Our estimation method allows us to obtain a detailed study of oil prices during two periods of extreme market stress included in our sample; the Gulf war and the recent financial crisis. We also address the economic significance of model choice in two option pricing applications. The implied volatilities generated by the different estimated models are compared and we price a real option to develop an oil field. Our findings indicate that model choice can have a material effect on the option values.

  14. Assessment of the hydrolytic performance of locally sourced crude ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    amylases increased with increase in substrate concentration up to a maximum substrate concentration of 10%. The crude alpha amylase exhibited a dextrinization time of 2.5h, 2.75h and 3.0h for maize, cassava and potato starches and produced 13%, 12% and 11.8% glucose respectively. The crude gluco-amylase had ...

  15. Implications of lifting the ban on the export of Alaskan crude oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-03-26

    Present legislation effectively bans the export of crude oil produced in the United States. The ban has been in effect for years and is particularly stringent with respect to crude oil produced in Alaska, particularly on the North Slope. The Alaska crude export ban is specifically provided for in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973 and in other legislation. It was imposed for two reasons. The first was to reduce US dependence on imported crude oil. The Arab oil embargo had been imposed shortly before the Act was passed and a greater measure of energy independence was considered imperative at that time. The second reason was to assure that funds expended in building an Alaskan pipeline would benefit domestic users rather than simply employed to facilitate shipments to other countries. The main objective of this report is to estimate the potential impacts on crude oil prices that would result from lifting the export ban Alaskan crude oil. The report focuses on the Japanese market and the US West Coast market. Japan is the principal potential export market for Alaskan crude oil. Exports to that market would also affect the price of Alaskan crude oil as well as crude oil and product prices on the West Coast and the volume of petroleum imported in that area. 3 figs., 8 tabs.

  16. Western Canadian crude oil supply and markets 2002-2010 : Executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-08-01

    The forecast of crude supply developed by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) indicates that additional pipeline capacity from western Canada to existing new markets will be required. A crude market study was undertaken to investigate and assess the potential development of the North American crude markets along with expected western Canadian crude supply growth. The results revealed that additional crude export capacity from Alberta will be required by 2006 or 2007. An analysis of three export pipeline scenarios was carried out: (1) Hardisty to Chicago, with a further extension to Cushing, Oklahoma, (2) Edmonton to the west coast of British Columbia, Prince Rupert, and (3) Hardisty to California. The most attractive aggregate benefits to heavy crude producers would result from a western export pipeline to British Columbia or California. A superior alternative is a pipeline to a deepwater tanker terminal on the coast of British Columbia. The Chicago pipeline option would become more attractive if Midwestern refiners were to expand their capacity to process heavy oil. Declining netbacks associated with sustained growth that is introduced into the market place are reflected in all scenarios over the forecast period until 2010. 1 tab., 23 figs

  17. Irradiation of spices produced in Argentina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kairiyama, E.; Narvaiz, P.; Lescano, G.; Kaupert, N.L.

    1988-01-01

    Some spices produced in Argentina ground red pepper, anise, fennel, laurel, paprika, Cayenne pepper, cumin (seed), and mayoram (leaves and flowers), were irradiated to inactivate microbial lead, without causing significant chemical or sensory alterations. They were packed in polyethylene bags of 100 m thickness, and irradiated at the 60 Co semi-industrial facility of the Ezeiza Atomic Center, with doses of 7 and 10 kGy, and dose rate of 93.87 Gy/min. Dosimetric data were evaluated with potassium nitrate. Control and irradiated samples were stored at room temperature. Chemical analysis were performed to verify the Argentine Alimentary Codex specifications: water content; essence; total ash; ash insoluble in acid; alcoholic, volatile ether and non-volatile ether extracts; starch; and crude fiber. Besides, colour and volatile substances were analyzed. No differences were found between control and irradiated samples, with the exception of an increase in the total amount of volatiles released by irradiated spices, and a slight colour loss in mayoram. Microbiological determinations consisted of aerobic plate count, yeasts and moulds, coliform bacteria, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, mesophilic and thermophilic sporeformers, enterococci and Clostridium perfringens. Microbial load in control samples oscillated between 10 3 and 10 6 microorganisms per gram, and was inhibited with 10 kGy to undetectable level. With 7 kGy, survivors were still detected in: cumin, anise, laurel, red pepper, fennel and paprika. So, the purpose of this work was accomplished with the dose of 10 kGy. Great improvement on the quality of those products which being stored at room temperature are consumed in the raw state, would be attained. (Author) [es

  18. DOES VOLATILITY IN CRUDE OIL PRICE PRECIPITATE MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Ayoola Omojolaibi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the effects of crude oil price changes on economic activity in an oil dependent economy-Nigeria. A small open economy structural vector autoregressive (SVAR technique is employed to study the macroeconomic dynamics of domestic price level, economic output, money supply and oil price in Nigeria. The sample covers the data from 1985:q1 to 2010:q4. The Impulse Response Functions (IRFs and the Forecast Error Variance Decompositions (FEVDs results suggest that domestic policies, instead of oil-boom should be blamed for inflation. Also, oil price variations are driven mostly by oil shocks, however, domestic shocks are responsible for a reasonable portion of oil price variations.

  19. Rheology and FTIR studies of model waxy crude oils with relevance to gelled pipeline restart

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Magda, J.J.; Guimeraes, K.; Deo, M.D. [Utah Univ., Salt Lake City, UT (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Venkatesan, R.; Montesi, A. [Chevron Energy Technology Co., Houston, TX (United States)

    2008-07-01

    Gels composed of wax crystals may sometimes form when crude oils are transported in pipelines when ambient temperatures are low. The gels may stop the pipe flow, making it difficult or even impossible to restart the flow without breaking the pipe. Rheology and FTIR techniques were used to study the problem and to characterize transparent model waxy crude oils in pipeline flow experiments. These model oils were formulated without any highly volatile components to enhance the reproducibility of the rheology tests. Results were presented for the time- and temperature-dependent rheology of the model waxy crude oils as obtained in linear oscillatory shear and in creep-recovery experiments. The model oils were shown to exhibit many of the rheological features reported for real crude oils, such as 3 distinct apparent yield stresses, notably static yield stress, dynamic yield stress, and elastic-limit yield stress. It was concluded that of the 3, the static yield stress value, particularly its time dependence, can best be used to predict the restart behaviour observed for the same gel in model pipelines.

  20. Effect of incubation time of sago (metroxylon sago) waste by local microorganism ″ginta″ on ph, crude protein, and crude fiber content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginting, Nurzainah; Pase, E.

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to examine the effect of incubation times of sago waste by local microorganism (MOL) “Ginta” to the crude protein and crude fiber content in relation to finding a cheap and good quality ruminants feed alternative. Incubation times were 0 hours to 144 hours. The data obtained were analyzed using Completely Randomize Design consisting of seven treatments and three replications. The result showed that the duration of incubation of sago waste by local microorganism (MOL) “Ginta” caused pH reduction, improved crude protein and crude fiber content. pH reduction was from 7.03 at 0 hour to 4.05 at 144 hours incubation. The highest increased in crude protein was H6U3 (5.58%) : 144 hours incubation and the lowest was H0U2 (3.22%) : 0 hour incubation while the highest crude fiber was H0U1 (19.99%) : 0 hour incubation and the lowest was H6U3 (18.23%) : 144 hours incubation. It can be concluded that incubation of sago waste triggered lower pH, higher crude protein and lower crude fiber than uninoculated. A recommendation could be given on using MOL ‘Ginta” in order to produce a cheap and good quality ruminans feed alternative.

  1. Crude oil price shocks and stock returns. Evidence from Turkish stock market under global liquidity conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berk, Istemi [Koeln Univ. (Germany). Energiewirtschaftliches Inst.; Aydogan, Berna [Izmir Univ. of Economics (Turkey). Dept. of International Trade and Finance

    2012-09-15

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of crude oil price variations on the Turkish stock market returns. We have employed vector autoregression (V AR) model using daily observations of Brent crude oil prices and Istanbul Stock Exchange National Index (ISE- 1 00) returns for the period between January 2, 1990 and November 1, 2011. We have also tested the relationship between oil prices and stock market returns under global liquidity conditions by incorporating a liquidity proxy variable, Chicago Board of Exchange's (CBOE) S and P 500 market volatility index (VIX), into the model. Variance decomposition test results suggest little empirical evidence that crude oil price shocks have been rationally evaluated in the Turkish stock market. Rather, it was global liquidity conditions that were found to account for the greatest amount of variation in stock market returns.

  2. Trends and volatility in sub Saharan Africa’s key primary commodity exports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Ocran

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Using a GARCH model the paper sought to test the hypothesis that price volatility of key Sub Saharan Africa primary commodity exports, have not changed over the past four decades. Whilst crude oil, aluminium, cocoa and six others have not experienced significant change in price volatility over the period, nine other major commodities recorded changes. Efforts need to be made to extensively diversify the portfolio of agricultural commodity exports by including new products of which price volatilities in the past decades have been reduced. This is crucial for countries that depend on up to three primary commodities for the bulk of their foreign exchange earnings. Other measures such as value addition can also help in reducing impacts of unfavourable price movements.

  3. On the effects of world stock market and oil price shocks on food prices: An empirical investigation based on TVP-VAR models with stochastic volatility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jebabli, Ikram; Arouri, Mohamed; Teulon, Frédéric

    2014-01-01

    Transmission of price shocks from one market to another one has long been investigated in the economic literature. However, studies have namely dealt with the relationship between financial and energy markets. With the recent changes in market conditions, investors, policy-makers and interest groups are giving special attention to food market. This paper aims at analyzing shock transmission between international food, energy and financial markets and to provide some insights into the volatility behavior during the past years and discuss its implications for portfolio management. To do this, we present a new time varying parameter VAR (TVP-VAR) model with stochastic volatility approach which provides extreme flexibility with a parsimonious specification. We resort also to a generalized vector autoregressive framework in which forecast-error variance decompositions are invariant to the variable ordering for the assessment of total and directional volatility spillovers. Our main findings suggest that volatility spillovers increase considerably during crisis and, namely after mid-2008, when stock markets become net transmitter of volatility shocks while crude oil becomes a net receiver. Shocks to crude oil or MSCI markets have immediate and short-term impacts on food markets which are emphasized during the financial crisis period. Moreover, we show that augmenting a diversified portfolio of food commodities with crude oil or stocks significantly increases its risk-adjusted performance. - Highlights: • We study shock transmission between food, energy and financial markets. • We use a new time-varying parameter VAR model with stochastic volatility. • There is volatility spillover from oil and stock markets to food. • Volatility spillovers increase considerably during crisis, namely after mid-2008. • Augmenting a portfolio of foods with oil or stocks increases its performance

  4. Perception of volatiles produced by UVC-irradiated plants alters the response to viral infection in naïve neighboring plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Youli; Danna, Cristian H; Ausubel, Frederick M; Kovalchuk, Igor

    2012-07-01

    Interplant communication of stress via volatile signals is a well-known phenomenon. It has been shown that plants undergoing stress caused by pathogenic bacteria or insects generate volatile signals that elicit defense response in neighboring naïve plants. Similarly, we have recently shown that naïve plants sharing the same gaseous environment with UVC-exposed plants exhibit similar changes in genome instability as UVC-exposed plants. We found that methyl salicylate (MeSA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) serve as volatile signals communicating genome instability (as measured by an increase in the homologous recombination frequency). UVC-exposed plants produce high levels of MeSA and MeJA, a response that is missing in an npr1 mutant. Concomitantly, npr1 mutants are impaired in communicating the signal leading to genome instability, presumably because this mutant does not develop new necrotic lesion after UVC irradiation as observed in wt plants. To analyze the potential biological significance of such plant-plant communication, we have now determined whether bystander plants that receive volatile signals from UVC-irradiated plants, become more resistant to UVC irradiation or infection with oilseed rape mosaic virus (ORMV). Specifically, we analyzed the number of UVC-elicited necrotic lesions, the level of anthocyanin pigments, and the mRNA levels corresponding to ORMV coat protein and the NPR1-regulated pathogenesis-related protein PR1 in the irradiated or virus-infected bystander plants that have been previously exposed to volatiles produced by UVC-irradiated plants. These experiments showed that the bystander plants responded similarly to control plants following UVC irradiation. Interestingly, however, the bystander plants appeared to be more susceptible to ORMV infection, even though PR1 mRNA levels in systemic tissue were significantly higher than in the control plants, which indicates that bystander plants could be primed to strongly respond to bacterial

  5. Crude incompatibility problems at heavy crude unit desalter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirmani, Z.; Khurshid, A.; Alam, N.; Gul, S.; Ahmed, N.

    2009-01-01

    Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) is based at Rawalpindi, Pakistan and operates a 40,000 Barrels per Stream Day (BPSD) refinery. The Heavy Crude Unit (HCU) of ARL is a fully integrated two-stage 10,000 BPSD Atmospheric and 5,700 BPSD Vacuum Distillation Unit. A 3-stage desalter designed to reduce salt and BS and W content from 2,000 parts per thousand barrels (PTB) and 2% to less than 5 PTB and 0.1% respectively, is part of HCU. The feedstock is a composite blend of 14 local Heavy Crudes received at the Refinery. Although in the past this desalter had been giving good performance, over the last one year, period since August 2005, at least nine shutdowns of the unit took place due to salt slippage and consequential tube leakages at the overhead Crude-Naphtha vapor Heat Exchanger where partial condensation of naphtha takes place. Final condensation is achieved in trim condenser. High salted water carry-over with the crude caused increased hydrolysis, formation of Hydrochloric acid and increase of tail water chlorides. Salt contents at the outlet of third desalter at times increased up to 400 PTB with 3.2% BS and W during the above mentioned upsets, as compared to normal 5-10 PTB. Fallout from this loss of desalter control was the creation of large quantities of slop due to draining of strong water oil emulsion from the desalters. Individual crudes of the blend were analyzed for affinity of water and emulsion stability. It was observed that 3 of the 14 crudes formed very strong while the remaining crudes formed weak oil water emulsion, which easily separated water from oil in desalter without any operational problem. Study was further narrowed down to one crude evaluation. Alkaline earth metallic naphthenate surfactants were detected and isolated as responsible for the strong water oil and sediments emulsion. The isolated crude was next withdrawn from the Heavy Crude blend. As soon as it was isolated and its ratio in heavy crude tank came down to 0.7 %, the problem began

  6. DEVELOPMENT OF TIGHT OIL RESOURCES IN USA: PROFITABILITY OF EXPLOITATION AND EFFECT OF MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS IN VOLATILE OIL PRICE ENVIRONMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristina Strpić

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Large scale development of tight oil resources in US started after 2010. with following five-year period of favorable steady increase in crude oil price. During this relatively short expansion cycle, operating and capital expenses changed drastically for main tight oil plays due to technological improvements in both well drilling and completion, expansion of service sector as well as loose government monetary policy which allowed favorable financing. This paper analyzed trends in costs during expansion period, as well as correlation of oil price to number of operating rigs and production quotas. After 2008/2009. world financial crisis economy recovery in US was somewhat sluggish and it caused extreme volatile environment in both equity and commodity markets. In such volatile environment intra-day crude oil prices, as well as other commodities and equities, show significant reaction to monthly published macroeconomic indicator reports, which give better overviews of trends in economic recovery. Prior to announcement, these reports always have forecasted value determined by consensus among market analysts. Therefore, any positive or negative surprise in real value tends to influence price of oil. This paper investigated influence of such macroeconomic reports to closing intraday oil price, as well as effect of other important daily market indices. Analysis showed that only Producer Price Index (PPI, among other indicators, has statistical significance of affecting intraday closing oil price.

  7. The Impact of Crude Oil Price on Macroeconomic Variables: New Evidence from Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Abdullah, Ahmad Monir; Masih, Abul Mansur M.

    2014-01-01

    An understanding of how volatilities of and correlations between crude oil and macroeconomic variables change over time including their directions and size is of crucial importance for both the domestic and international investors with a view to diversifying their portfolios for hedging against unforeseen risks. This paper is a humble attempt to add value to the existing literature by empirically testing for the ‘time-varying’ and ‘scale dependent’ correlations between selected commodities an...

  8. Crude petroleum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    Crude petroleum statistics by country of production, export values and import values from 1983 to 1988 are given. Table A.1 of the Annex includes free market prices and price indices for crude petroleum based on average of Dubai, United Kingdom Brent and Alaska N Slope crude prices (price expressed in dollars/barrel). The data sources are: Crude petroleum United Nations Statistical Office; OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin, and Petroleum Economist. For trade the sources of data are: National trade statistics; United Nations international trade statistics; International Moneytary Fund (IMF); Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); UNCTAD secretariat estimates. Tabs

  9. The impacts of oil price shocks on stock market volatility: Evidence from the G7 countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bastianin, Andrea; Conti, Francesca; Manera, Matteo

    2016-01-01

    We study the effects of crude oil price shocks on the stock market volatility of the G7 countries. We identify the causes underlying oil price shocks and gauge the impacts that oil supply and oil demand innovations have on financial volatility. We show that stock market volatility does not respond to oil supply shocks. On the contrary, demand shocks impact significantly on the volatility of the G7 stock markets. Our results suggest that economic policies and financial regulation activities designed to mitigate the adverse effects of unexpected oil price movements should be designed by looking at the source of the oil price shocks. - Highlights: • Effects of oil price shocks on the stock market volatility of the G7 countries. • Econometric identification of the different causes of oil shocks. • Stock market volatility does not respond to oil supply shocks. • Demand shocks impact significantly on stock market volatility. • Policy measures should be designed by considering the source of oil shocks.

  10. Malic acid production by chemically induced Aspergillus niger MTCC 281 mutant from crude glycerol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyyappan, J; Bharathiraja, B; Baskar, G; Jayamuthunagai, J; Barathkumar, S; Anna Shiny, R

    2018-03-01

    In the present investigation, crude glycerol derived from transesterification process was utilized to produce the commercially-valuable malic acid. A combined resistant on methanol and malic acid strain of Aspergillus niger MTCC 281 mutant was generated in solid medium containing methanol (1-5%) and malic acid (40-80 g/L) by the adaptation process for 22 weeks. The ability of induced Aspergillus niger MTCC 281 mutant to utilize crude glycerol and pure glycerol to produce malic acid was studied. The yield of malic acid was increased with 4.45 folds compared with that of parent strain from crude glycerol. The highest concentration of malic acid from crude glycerol by using beneficial mutant was found to be 77.38 ± 0.51 g/L after 192 h at 25 °C. This present study specified that crude glycerol by-product from biodiesel production could be used for producing high amount of malic acid without any pretreatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Potential of volatile compounds produced by fungi to influence sensory quality of coffee beverage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iamanaka, B. T.; Teixeira, A. A.; Teixeira, A. R. R.

    2014-01-01

    Fungi are known producers of a large number of volatile compounds (VCs). Several VCs such as 2,4,6 trichloroanisole (TCA), geosmin and terpenes have been found in coffee beverages, and these compounds can be responsible for off-flavor development. However, few studies have related the fungal...... contamination of coffee with the sensory characteristics of the beverage. The aim of this research was to investigate the production of VCs by fungi isolated from coffee and their potential as modifiers of the sensory coffee beverage quality. Three species were isolated from coffee from the southwest of São...... Paulo state and selected for the study: Penicillium brevicompactum, Aspergillus luchuensis (belonging to section Nigri) and Penicillium sp. nov. (related to Penicillium crustosum). VCs produced by the fungal inoculated in raw coffee beans were extracted and tentatively identified by SPME...

  12. How much crude oil can zooplankton ingest? Estimating the quantity of dispersed crude oil defecated by planktonic copepods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Connelly, Tara L.; Buskey, Edward J.

    2016-01-01

    We investigated and quantified defecation rates of crude oil by 3 species of marine planktonic copepods (Temora turbinata, Acartia tonsa, and Parvocalanus crassirostris) and a natural copepod assemblage after exposure to mechanically or chemically dispersed crude oil. Between 88 and 100% of the analyzed fecal pellets from three species of copepods and a natural copepod assemblage exposed for 48 h to physically or chemically dispersed light crude oil contained crude oil droplets. Crude oil droplets inside fecal pellets were smaller (median diameter: 2.4–3.5 μm) than droplets in the physically and chemically dispersed oil emulsions (median diameter: 6.6 and 8.0 μm, respectively). This suggests that copepods can reject large crude oil droplets or that crude oil droplets are broken into smaller oil droplets before or during ingestion. Depending on the species and experimental treatments, crude oil defecation rates ranged from 5.3 to 245 ng-oil copepod"−"1 d"−"1, which represent a mean weight-specific defecation rate of 0.026 μg-oil μg-C_c_o_p_e_p_o_d"1 d"−"1. Considering a dispersed crude oil concentration commonly found in the water column after oil spills (1 μl L"−"1) and copepod abundances in high productive coastal areas, copepods may defecate ∼1.3–2.6 mg-oil m"−"3 d"−"1, which would represent ∼0.15%–0.30% of the total dispersed oil per day. Our results indicate that ingestion and subsequent defecation of crude oil by planktonic copepods has a small influence on the overall mass of oil spills in the short term, but may be quantitatively important in the flux of oil from surface water to sediments and in the transfer of low-solubility, toxic petroleum hydrocarbons into food webs after crude oil spills in the sea. - Highlights: • Copepods exposed to dispersed crude oil produced fecal pellets contained numerous small oil droplets (2.4 to 3.5 µm). • Copepods could reject large oil droplets or oil droplets are broken into

  13. Co-digestion of swine excreta associated with increasing levels of crude glycerin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Antonio Previdelli Orrico Junior

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of anaerobic co-digestion of swine excreta associated with increasing doses of crude glycerin and different hydraulic retention times (HRT. A completely randomized design was adopted in a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement composed of three HRT (10, 17, and 24 days and four crude glycerin doses (0, 5, 10, and 15 g/100 g of total solids [TS], with four replications per treatment. The assessed parameters were: biogas production potential, reductions of volatile solids (VS, chemical oxygen demand (COD, and most probable number of total and thermotolerant coliforms. The biogas production per added VS presented quadratic effect at 17 and 24 days of HRT, with ideal doses of 5.5 and 5.9 g of crude glycerin/100 g TS, respectively. There was no difference among glycerin doses at 10-day HRT for VS reductions; however, at HRT of 17 and 24 days, there were differences, with greater reduction of 61.1% for 5 g of crude glycerin/100 g TS at 24-day HRT. The COD reduction values showed an effect among retention times, in which the 24-day HRT provided the best results. Reductions in coliforms were greater than 99%, with no difference among treatments. Addition of 5 to 6 g of crude glycerin/100 g TS with a 24-day HRT is more effective in biogas production and reduction of VS, COD, and coliforms from co-digestion of swine excreta.

  14. Testing market efficiency of crude palm oil futures to European participants

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Xing

    2009-01-01

    Palm oil is the most consumed and traded vegetable oils in the EU and the world. Increasing non-food uses for vegetable oils in especially feedstock of biofuels in recent years have caused the price volatility to rise in both EU and global market. The most efficient pricing of crude palm oil (CPO) is to found on Bursa Malaysia (BMD), and it provides by far the world’s most liquid palm oil contract. The goal of this study is to investigate CPO futures market efficiency of BMD for the European ...

  15. Estimating the impact of extreme events on crude oil price. An EMD-based event analysis method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xun; Wang, Shouyang [Institute of Systems Science, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); School of Mathematical Sciences, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Yu, Lean [Institute of Systems Science, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Lai, Kin Keung [Department of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon (China)

    2009-09-15

    The impact of extreme events on crude oil markets is of great importance in crude oil price analysis due to the fact that those events generally exert strong impact on crude oil markets. For better estimation of the impact of events on crude oil price volatility, this study attempts to use an EMD-based event analysis approach for this task. In the proposed method, the time series to be analyzed is first decomposed into several intrinsic modes with different time scales from fine-to-coarse and an average trend. The decomposed modes respectively capture the fluctuations caused by the extreme event or other factors during the analyzed period. It is found that the total impact of an extreme event is included in only one or several dominant modes, but the secondary modes provide valuable information on subsequent factors. For overlapping events with influences lasting for different periods, their impacts are separated and located in different modes. For illustration and verification purposes, two extreme events, the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the Iraq War in 2003, are analyzed step by step. The empirical results reveal that the EMD-based event analysis method provides a feasible solution to estimating the impact of extreme events on crude oil prices variation. (author)

  16. Estimating the impact of extreme events on crude oil price. An EMD-based event analysis method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2009-01-01

    The impact of extreme events on crude oil markets is of great importance in crude oil price analysis due to the fact that those events generally exert strong impact on crude oil markets. For better estimation of the impact of events on crude oil price volatility, this study attempts to use an EMD-based event analysis approach for this task. In the proposed method, the time series to be analyzed is first decomposed into several intrinsic modes with different time scales from fine-to-coarse and an average trend. The decomposed modes respectively capture the fluctuations caused by the extreme event or other factors during the analyzed period. It is found that the total impact of an extreme event is included in only one or several dominant modes, but the secondary modes provide valuable information on subsequent factors. For overlapping events with influences lasting for different periods, their impacts are separated and located in different modes. For illustration and verification purposes, two extreme events, the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the Iraq War in 2003, are analyzed step by step. The empirical results reveal that the EMD-based event analysis method provides a feasible solution to estimating the impact of extreme events on crude oil prices variation. (author)

  17. Modeling energy price dynamics: GARCH versus stochastic volatility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Joshua C.C.; Grant, Angelia L.

    2016-01-01

    We compare a number of GARCH and stochastic volatility (SV) models using nine series of oil, petroleum product and natural gas prices in a formal Bayesian model comparison exercise. The competing models include the standard models of GARCH(1,1) and SV with an AR(1) log-volatility process, as well as more flexible models with jumps, volatility in mean, leverage effects, and t distributed and moving average innovations. We find that: (1) SV models generally compare favorably to their GARCH counterparts; (2) the jump component and t distributed innovations substantially improve the performance of the standard GARCH, but are unimportant for the SV model; (3) the volatility feedback channel seems to be superfluous; (4) the moving average component markedly improves the fit of both GARCH and SV models; and (5) the leverage effect is important for modeling crude oil prices—West Texas Intermediate and Brent—but not for other energy prices. Overall, the SV model with moving average innovations is the best model for all nine series. - Highlights: • We compare a variety of GARCH and SV models for fitting nine series of energy prices. • We find that SV models generally compare favorably to their GARCH counterparts. • The SV model with moving average innovations is the best model for all nine series.

  18. Oil price and food price volatility dynamics: The case of Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ijeoma C. Nwoko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the long and short run relationships between oil price and food price volatility as well as the causal link between them. The study used annual food price volatility index from FAO from 2000 to 2013 and crude oil price from U.S. Energy Information and Administration (EIA from 2000 to 2013. The Johansen and Jesulius co-integration test revealed that there is a long run relationship between oil price and domestic food price volatility. The vector error correction model indicated a positive and significant short run relationship between oil price and food price volatility. The Granger causality test revealed a unidirectional causality with causality running from oil price to food price volatility but not vice versa. It is recommended that policies and interventions that will help reduce uncertainty about food prices such as improved market information, trade policies and investment in research and development among others should be encouraged. Also to reduce the effect of oil price shock, it is recommended that government should subsidise pump price of refined oil, seek alternative sources of energy and there should be less dependence on oil for fertilizer production.

  19. Effect of oil price on Nigeria’s food price volatility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ijeoma C. Nwoko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the effect of oil price on the volatility of food price in Nigeria. It specifically considers the long-run, short-run, and causal relationship between these variables. Annual data on oil price and individual prices of maize, rice, sorghum, soya beans, and wheat spanning from 2000 to 2013 were used. The price volatility for each crop was obtained using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedascity (GARCH (1, 1 model. Our measure of oil price is the Refiner acquisition cost of imported crude oil. The Augmented Dickey–Fuller and Phillip–Perron unit root tests show that all the variables are integrated of order one, I (1. Therefore, we use the Johansen co-integration test to examine the long-run relationship. Our results show that there is no long-run relationship between oil price and any of the individual food price volatility. Thus, we implement a VAR instead of a VECM to investigate the short-run relationship. The VAR model result revealed a positive and significant short-run relationship between oil price and each of the selected food price volatility with exception of that of rice and wheat price volatility. These results were further confirmed by the impulse response functions. The Granger causality test result indicates a unidirectional causality from oil price to maize, soya bean, and sorghum price volatilities but does not show such relationship for rice and wheat price volatilities. We draw some policy implications of these findings.

  20. Kurdistan crude oils as feedstock for production of aromatics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulsalam R. Karim

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Crude oils from various locations in Iraqi Kurdistan were fully evaluated, so that enables refiners to improve their operation by selecting the best crude oil that yields high naphtha content to be used as a catalytic reforming feedstock after determination of total sulfur content and then de sulfurizing them, then cyclizing or reforming these sweet naphtha cuts to produce aromatic fractions which can be split into benzene, toluene, and xylenes.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2006-07-01

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

  2. Effect of oral nitroethane and 2-nitropropanol administration on methane-producing activity and volatile fatty acid production in the ovine rumen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, R.C.; Callaway, T.R.; Schultz, C.L.; Edrington, T.S.; Harvey, R.B.; Nisbet, D.J. [United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, College Station, TX (United States); Carstens, G.E.; Miller, R.K. [Texas A and M University, College Station, TX (United States). Department of Animal Science

    2006-12-15

    Strategies are sought to reduce economic and environmental costs associated with ruminant methane emissions. The effect of oral nitroethane or 2-nitropropanol administration on ruminal methane-producing activity and volatile fatty acid production was evaluated in mature ewes. Daily administration of 24 and 72 mg nitroethane/kg body weight reduced (P < 0.05) methane-producing activity by as much as 45% and 69% respectively, when compared to control animals given no nitroethane. A daily odes of 120 mg 2-nitropropanol/kg body weight was needed to reduce (P < 0.05) methane-producing activity by 37% from that of untreated control animals. Reductions in methane-producing activity may have been diminished by the last day (day 5) of treatment, presumably due to ruminal adaptation. Oral administration of nitroethane or 2-nitropropanol had little or no effect on accumulations or molar proportions of volatile fatty acids in ruminal contents collected from the sheep. These results demonstrate that nitroethane was superior to 2-nitropropanol as a methane inhibitor and that both nitrocompounds reduced ruminal methanogenesis in vivo without redirecting the flow of reductant generated during fermentation to propionate and butyrate. (author)

  3. Diffusible and Volatile Antifungal Compounds Produced by an Antagonistic Bacillus velezensis G341 against Various Phytopathogenic Fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seong Mi Lim

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to identify volatile and agar-diffusible antifungal metabolites produced by Bacillus sp. G341 with strong antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi. Strain G341 isolated from four-year-old roots of Korean ginseng with rot symptoms was identified as Bacillus velezensis based on 16S rDNA and gyrA sequences. Strain G341 inhibited mycelial growth of all phytopathogenic fungi tested. In vivo experiment results revealed that n-butanol extract of fermentation broth effectively controlled the development of rice sheath blight, tomato gray mold, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust, barley powdery mildew, and red pepper anthracnose. Two antifungal compounds were isolated from strain G341 and identified as bacillomycin L and fengycin A by MS/MS analysis. Moreover, volatile compounds emitted from strain G341 were found to be able to inhibit mycelial growth of various phytopathogenic fungi. Based on volatile compound profiles of strain G341 obtained through headspace collection and analysis on GC-MS, dimethylsulfoxide, 1-butanol, and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (acetoin were identified. Taken together, these results suggest that B. valezensis G341 can be used as a biocontrol agent for various plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi.

  4. Diffusible and Volatile Antifungal Compounds Produced by an Antagonistic Bacillus velezensis G341 against Various Phytopathogenic Fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Seong Mi; Yoon, Mi-Young; Choi, Gyung Ja; Choi, Yong Ho; Jang, Kyoung Soo; Shin, Teak Soo; Park, Hae Woong; Yu, Nan Hee; Kim, Young Ho; Kim, Jin-Cheol

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to identify volatile and agar-diffusible antifungal metabolites produced by Bacillus sp. G341 with strong antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi. Strain G341 isolated from four-year-old roots of Korean ginseng with rot symptoms was identified as Bacillus velezensis based on 16S rDNA and gyrA sequences. Strain G341 inhibited mycelial growth of all phytopathogenic fungi tested. In vivo experiment results revealed that n -butanol extract of fermentation broth effectively controlled the development of rice sheath blight, tomato gray mold, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust, barley powdery mildew, and red pepper anthracnose. Two antifungal compounds were isolated from strain G341 and identified as bacillomycin L and fengycin A by MS/MS analysis. Moreover, volatile compounds emitted from strain G341 were found to be able to inhibit mycelial growth of various phytopathogenic fungi. Based on volatile compound profiles of strain G341 obtained through headspace collection and analysis on GC-MS, dimethylsulfoxide, 1-butanol, and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (acetoin) were identified. Taken together, these results suggest that B. valezensis G341 can be used as a biocontrol agent for various plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi.

  5. Ethanol production from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol by newly isolated Kluyvera cryocrescens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Won Jae; Hartono, Maria Regina; Chan, Weng Heng; Yeo, Suan Siong [Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Jurong Island (Singapore). Inst. of Chemical and Engineering Sciences

    2011-02-15

    The rapidly expanding market for biodiesel has increased the supply and reduced the cost of glycerol, making it an attractive sustainable feed stock for the fuel and chemical industry. Glycerol-based biorefinery is the microbial fermentation of crude glycerol to produce fuels and chemicals. A major challenge is to obtain microbes tolerant to inhibitors such as salts and organic solvents present in crude glycerol. Microbial screening was attempted to isolate novel strain capable of growing on crude glycerol as a sole carbon source. The newly isolated bacteria, identified as nonpathogenic Kluyvera cryocrescens S26 could convert biodiesel-derived crude glycerol to ethanol with high yield and productivity. The supplementation of nutrients such as yeast extract resulted in distinguished enhancement in cell growth as well as ethanol productivity under anaerobic condition. When glycerol fermentation is performed under microaerobic condition, there is also a remarkable improvement in cell growth, ethanol productivity and yield, compared with those under strict anaerobic condition. In batch fermentation under microaerobic condition, K. cryocrescens S26 produced 27 g/l of ethanol from crude glycerol with high molar yield of 80% and productivity of 0.61 g/l/h. (orig.)

  6. Volatile-mediated interactions between phylogenetically different soil bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolina eGarbeva

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available There is increasing evidence that organic volatiles play an important role in interactions between micro-organisms in the porous soil matrix. Here we report that volatile compounds emitted by different soil bacteria can affect the growth, antibiotic production and gene expression of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1. We applied a novel cultivation approach that mimics the natural nutritional heterogeneity in soil in which P. fluorescens grown on nutrient-limited agar was exposed to volatiles produced by 4 phylogenetically different bacterial isolates (Collimonas pratensis, Serratia plymuthica, Paenibacillus sp. and Pedobacter sp. growing in sand containing artificial root exudates. Contrary to our expectation, the produced volatiles stimulated rather than inhibited the growth of P. fluorescens. A genome-wide, microarray-based analysis revealed that volatiles of all 4 bacterial strains affected gene expression of P. fluorescens, but with a different pattern of gene expression for each strain. Based on the annotation of the differently expressed genes, bacterial volatiles appear to induce a chemotactic motility response in P. fluorescens, but also an oxidative stress response. A more detailed study revealed that volatiles produced by C. pratensis triggered, antimicrobial secondary metabolite production in P. fluorescens. Our results indicate that bacterial volatiles can have an important role in communication, trophic - and antagonistic interactions within the soil bacterial community.

  7. Eastern Canadian crude oil supply and its implications for regional energy security

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, Larry

    2010-01-01

    Canada has been blessed with immense energy resources; however, their distribution is not uniform. One such example is crude oil, which is found primarily in western Canada. Eastern Canada, consisting of the six eastern-most provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec), produce limited quantities of crude oil, most of which is exported to the United States. Ideally, western Canadian crude oil would meet the demands of eastern Canada; however, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the absence of oil pipelines means that eastern Canada increasingly relies on supplies of crude oil from a small number of oil exporting countries, many with declining production. This paper examines crude oil production, supply, and its refining in eastern Canada. It shows that crude production in the region has reached its peak and that increasing global competition for crude oil will affect energy security in eastern Canada, either through price increases or supply shortages, or both. (author)

  8. Head Space Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (HS - SPME of volatile organic compounds produced by Sporidiobolus salmonicolor (CBS 2636

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eunice Valduga

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was the assessment of volatile organic compounds produced by Sporidiobolus salmonicolor (CBS 2636 using methyl and ethyl ricinoleate, ricinoleic acid and castor oil as precursors. The analysis of the volatile organic compounds was carried out using Head Space Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (HS - SPME. Factorial experimental design was used for investigating extraction conditions, verifying stirring rate (0-400 rpm, temperature (25-60 ºC, extraction time (10-30 minutes, and sample volume (2-3 mL. The identification of volatile organic compounds was carried out by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrum Detector (GC/MSD. The conditions that resulted in maximum extraction were: 60 ºC, 10 minutes extraction, no stirring, sample volume of 2.0 mL, and addition of saturated KCl (1:10 v/v. In the bio-production of volatile organic compounds the effect of stirring rate (120-200 rpm, temperature (23-33 ºC, pH (4.0-8.0, precursor concentration (0.02-0.1%, mannitol (0-6%, and asparagine concentration (0-0.2% was investigated. The bio-production at 28 ºC, 160 rpm, pH 6,0 and with the addition of 0.02% ricinoleic acid to the medium yielded the highest production of VOCs, identified as 1,4-butanediol, 1,2,2-trimethylciclopropilamine, beta-ionone; 2,3-butanodione, pentanal, tetradecane, 2-isononenal, 4-octen-3-one, propanoic acid, and octadecane.

  9. Gas chromatographic sulphur speciation in heavy crude oil using a modified standard D5623 method and microfluidic Deans switching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heshka, Nicole E; Choy, Joanne M; Chen, Jinwen

    2017-12-29

    A modification to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) method D5623 is proposed to enable successful and repeatable analysis of heavy crude oil samples. A two-dimensional gas chromatography configuration was implemented, with separation of sulphur compounds occurring on two columns. A Deans switch is used to enable heart-cutting of volatile sulphur compounds onto a DB-Sulfur stationary phase, and separation occurs concurrently with the backflushing of the primary column. The use of a sulphur-selective detector increases selectivity, and 22 volatile sulphur species are quantified in less than 15min, which is almost half the time of the original ASTM method. Samples ranging from light distillation cuts to whole crudes (boiling from 100°C to >750°C) were analyzed with minimal sample preparation. The calculated limit of detection was 0.7mg/kg, repeatability was 3% relative standard deviation (RSD), and a linear range of 1-250mg/kg was obtained, with an R 2 value of 0.994 or better, depending on the compound. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Heavy crude and tar sands - the long-term oil reserve

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnea, J

    1984-10-01

    It appears that heavy crude and tar sands occur in many sedimentary areas, and estimates of known world-wide quantities exceed those known for conventional light crude resources. Although there are not precise figures available, production could be as high as three million barrels per day, with Venezuela, the US, and Canada the largest producers. There are different scales to measure the costs of production because of differences in the quality of various types of heavy crude and tar sands. Economic development of these resources should banish fears of oil scarcity in the foreseeable future. A center for information exchange through international meetings and publications is under development.

  11. Fuel properties of biodiesel produced from the crude fish oil from the soapstock of marine fish

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Cherng-Yuan; Li, Rong-Ji [Department of Marine Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean, University, Keelung 20224 (China)

    2009-01-15

    The soapstock of a mixture of marine fish was used as the raw material to produce the biodiesel in this study. The soapstock was collected from discarded fish products. Crude fish oil was squeezed from the soapstock of the fish and refined by a series of processes. The refined fish oil was transesterified to produce biodiesel. The fuel properties of the biodiesel were analyzed. The experimental results showed that oleic acid (C18:1) and palmitic acid (C16:0) were the two major components of the marine fish-oil biodiesel. The biodiesel from the mixed marine fish oil contained a significantly greater amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids than did the biodiesel from waste cooking oil. In addition, the marine fish-oil biodiesel contained as high as 37.07 wt.% saturated fatty acids and 37.3 wt.% long chain fatty acids in the range between C20 and C22. Moreover, the marine fish-oil biodiesel appeared to have a larger acid number, a greater increase in the rate of peroxidization with the increase in the time that it was stored, greater kinematic viscosity, higher heating value, higher cetane index, more carbon residue, and a lower peroxide value, flash point, and distillation temperature than those of waste cooking-oil biodiesel. (author)

  12. Polyurethane Foams for Thermal Insulation Uses Produced from Castor Oil and Crude Glycerol Biopolyols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carriço, Camila S; Fraga, Thaís; Carvalho, Vagner E; Pasa, Vânya M D

    2017-07-02

    Rigid polyurethane foams were synthesized using a renewable polyol from the simple physical mixture of castor oil and crude glycerol. The effect of the catalyst (DBTDL) content and blowing agents in the foams' properties were evaluated. The use of physical blowing agents (cyclopentane and n-pentane) allowed foams with smaller cells to be obtained in comparison with the foams produced with a chemical blowing agent (water). The increase of the water content caused a decrease in density, thermal conductivity, compressive strength, and Young's modulus, which indicates that the increment of CO₂ production contributes to the formation of larger cells. Higher amounts of catalyst in the foam formulations caused a slight density decrease and a small increase of thermal conductivity, compressive strength, and Young's modulus values. These green foams presented properties that indicate a great potential to be used as thermal insulation: density (23-41 kg·m -3 ), thermal conductivity (0.0128-0.0207 W·m -1 ·K -1 ), compressive strength (45-188 kPa), and Young's modulus (3-28 kPa). These biofoams are also environmentally friendly polymers and can aggregate revenue to the biodiesel industry, contributing to a reduction in fuel prices.

  13. Boom times : Canada's crude petroleum industry : analysis in brief

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rowat, M.R.

    2006-01-01

    This document examined the trends in crude oil prices, the production and exports of Canada's crude petroleum industry, and Canada's imports of crude petroleum. As an exporter and importer of crude oil, Canada's petroleum industry is currently experiencing economic prosperity as a result of high oil prices combined with high global demand for oil. This document reviewed industry activity for 2005 and addressed the reasons for the first decline in Canadian crude oil production in 6 years. A quick review of soaring crude oil prices, supply and shortages was also presented. A review of exports revealed that since 1995, the United States has received 99 per cent of Canadian exports. Although production activity is occurring in 7 provinces, the biggest participant is Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan. In 2005, Canada produced 136.4 million cubic metres of crude petroleum, of which two-thirds came from Alberta. Saskatchewan contributed 18 per cent of total Canadian crude oil production, while offshore oil rigs in Newfoundland and Labrador contributed 13 per cent. The vast oil sands resource accounted for 42 per cent of the province's total production. Alberta oil export is piped entirely into the United States. In 2005, even with a slight drop in exports, Canadian oil exporters received $30 billion for their products, up from $25 billion the year before. Canada also supplied nearly 10 per cent of the American crude oil needs. According to the National Energy Board, Canadian refineries are approaching capacity. Canada's 19 refineries, which have a capacity of 320,000 cubic metres per day, operated at 92 per cent of capacity in 2005 to meet the needs of the domestic market. More imported petroleum was refined than Canadian sourced petroleum. In 2005, the gas and oil industry saw historically high profits, taxes paid and investments. 6 refs., 5 figs

  14. Conventional and Islamic indices in Indonesia: A Comparison on Performance, Volatility, and the Determinants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nika Pranata

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to evaluate performance and volatility of Islamic andconventional stock indices along with their determinant factor variables in Indonesia. The study adopts: (1 Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM to compare the performance of the Jakarta Islamic Index (JII to represent Islamic indexandLQ45 to represent the conventional, (2 beta calculation to measure volatility, and (3 Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL to capture the determinants and the reason behind the outperformance. The data coverage is from January 2006 to November 2015. The study finds that: (1 There is no significant differenceon performance between JII and LQ45, (2 JII is less volatile than LQ45, except in 2010, and (3JII performance is less affected by external factorsexcept for crude oil price. Moreover, the result implies challenge for the authorities to educate society, particularly whom concern to shari’ah principles, with information that Islamic index performance is not much difference from conventional index and less volatile.

  15. Market-oriented ethanol and corn-trade policies can reduce climate-induced US corn price volatility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verma, Monika; Diffenbaugh, Noah; Hertel, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    Agriculture is closely affected by climate. Over the past decade, biofuels have emerged as another important factor shaping the agricultural sector. We ask whether the presence of the US ethanol sector can play a role in moderating increases in US corn price variability, projected to occur in response to near-term global warming. Our findings suggest that the answer to this question depends heavily on the underlying forces shaping the ethanol industry. If mandate-driven, there is little doubt that the presence of the corn-ethanol sector will exacerbate price volatility. However, if market-driven, then the emergence of the corn-ethanol sector can be a double-edged sword for corn price volatility, possibly cushioning the impact of increased climate driven supply volatility, but also inheriting volatility from the newly integrated energy markets via crude oil price fluctuations. We find that empirically the former effect dominates, reducing price volatility by 27%. In contrast, mandates on ethanol production increase future price volatility by 54% in under future climate after 2020. We also consider the potential for liberalized international corn trade to cushion corn price volatility in the US. Our results suggest that allowing corn to move freely internationally serves to reduce the impact of near-term climate change on US corn price volatility by 8%. (letter)

  16. Market-oriented ethanol and corn-trade policies can reduce climate-induced US corn price volatility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Monika; Hertel, Thomas; Diffenbaugh, Noah

    2014-05-01

    Agriculture is closely affected by climate. Over the past decade, biofuels have emerged as another important factor shaping the agricultural sector. We ask whether the presence of the US ethanol sector can play a role in moderating increases in US corn price variability, projected to occur in response to near-term global warming. Our findings suggest that the answer to this question depends heavily on the underlying forces shaping the ethanol industry. If mandate-driven, there is little doubt that the presence of the corn-ethanol sector will exacerbate price volatility. However, if market-driven, then the emergence of the corn-ethanol sector can be a double-edged sword for corn price volatility, possibly cushioning the impact of increased climate driven supply volatility, but also inheriting volatility from the newly integrated energy markets via crude oil price fluctuations. We find that empirically the former effect dominates, reducing price volatility by 27%. In contrast, mandates on ethanol production increase future price volatility by 54% in under future climate after 2020. We also consider the potential for liberalized international corn trade to cushion corn price volatility in the US. Our results suggest that allowing corn to move freely internationally serves to reduce the impact of near-term climate change on US corn price volatility by 8%.

  17. Production of jet fuel using heavy crude oil; Producao de combustiveis de aviacao a partir de petroleos pesados

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Om, Neyda [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Escola de Quimica; Cavado, Alberto; Reyes, Yordanka [Centro de Pesquisas do Petroleo, Cidade de Havana (Cuba); Dominguez, Zulema [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE)

    2004-07-01

    The production of heavy crude oils increased in the last years in the world. Crude oils with high density, viscosity, acidity and sulfur, nitrogen, metals and asphaltenes contents, by the others hand, low stability and low product quality. The challenger of many refiners is find solutions to refine the heavy crude oils, and produce fuels with certify quality, such as Jet Fuel. The principal aviation technique on the world work with gas turbines engines feted for jet fuel (JET A1). The quality specifications of this fuel are establish by International Norms: ASTM-1655, DEF STAN 91-91-3 (DERD 2494) and joint Fuelling System Check List. The world technologies to obtain jet fuel from mixtures of heavy crude oil with middle crude oils are: Atmospheric distillation, with a posterior hydrogenation and finally the additivation. Studies carried out have demonstrates that the Cubans heavy crude oils is characterized for having API less than 10, raised viscosity, high sulfur content (>6%) and asphaltenes content (more than 15%). These properties provide to its derivatives of low quality. This paper define the characteristic of Cuban heavy crude oil, the technology and operational conditions to produce jet fuel (Jet A1) and the quality of fuel produced. (author)

  18. Significance of volatile compounds produced by spoilage bacteria in vacuum-packed cold-smoked salmon ( Salmo salar ) analyzed by GC-MS and multivariate regression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Lasse Vigel; Huss, Hans Henrik; Dalgaard, Paw

    2001-01-01

    alcohols, which were produced by microbial activity. Partial least- squares regression of volatile compounds and sensory results allowed for a multiple compound quality index to be developed. This index was based on volatile bacterial metabolites, 1- propanol and 2-butanone, and 2-furan......, 1- penten-3-ol, and 1-propanol. The potency and importance of these compounds was confirmed by gas chromatography- olfactometry. The present study provides valuable information on the bacterial reactions responsible for spoilage off-flavors of cold-smoked salmon, which can be used to develop...

  19. Life cycle water demand coefficients for crude oil production from five North American locations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Babkir; Kumar, Amit

    2017-10-15

    The production of liquid fuels from crude oil requires water. There has been limited focus on the assessment of life cycle water demand footprints for crude oil production and refining. The overall aim of this paper is address this gap. The objective of this research is to develop water demand coefficients over the life cycle of fuels produced from crude oil pathways. Five crude oil fields were selected in the three North American countries to reflect the impact of different spatial locations and technologies on water demand. These include the Alaska North Slope, California's Kern County heavy oil, and Mars in the U.S.; Maya in Mexico; and Bow River heavy oil in Alberta, Canada. A boundary for an assessment of the life cycle water footprint was set to cover the unit operations related to exploration, drilling, extraction, and refining. The recovery technology used to extract crude oil is one of the key determining factors for water demand. The amount of produced water that is re-injected to recover the oil is essential in determining the amount of fresh water that will be required. During the complete life cycle of one barrel of conventional crude oil, 1.71-8.25 barrels of fresh water are consumed and 2.4-9.51 barrels of fresh water are withdrawn. The lowest coefficients are for Bow River heavy oil and the highest coefficients are for Maya crude oil. Of all the unit operations, exploration and drilling require the least fresh water (less than 0.015 barrel of water per barrel of oil produced). A sensitivity analysis was conducted and uncertainty in the estimates was determined. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Cost and benefits for using NYMEX [New York Mercantile Exchange] crude oil futures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deaves, R.; Krinsky, I.

    1991-01-01

    The crisis in the Persian Gulf in 1990-91 has illustrated how important it is for end users of petroleum products to be able to reduce the risk of unexpected price changes. Transferring the risk of price changes, or hedging, is most desirable when the costs of doing so are low relative to the benefits. The nature of these benefits and costs are discussed, and a related analysis of data from the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil futures market is reported. It is shown that likely risk reduction is directly related to the degree to which the crude oil futures market can be characterized as efficient. Using data from the highly volatile period of 1983-90, evidence is presented to support the proposition that the crude oil market is efficient. There is no evidence for the existence of risk premiums, which constitute an additional cost to hedging. This is good news for hedgers, as it implies that risk transfer is free in the sense that hedgers need pay no premium to speculators. Although the market appears to be efficient when past returns and the basis are used as explanatory variables, there is some evidence that futures returns may be predicted using macroeconomic variables. 8 refs., 4 tabs

  1. Comparison of consecutive harvests versus blending treatments to produce lower alcohol wines from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes: Impact on wine volatile composition and sensory properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schelezki, Olaf J; Šuklje, Katja; Boss, Paul K; Jeffery, David W

    2018-09-01

    This study extends previous work on Cabernet Sauvignon wines of lowered alcohol concentrations produced by pre-fermentatively substituting proportions of juice from an overripe crop with "green harvest wine" or water to adjust initial sugar concentrations. Resulting wines were assessed for their volatile compositions and sensory characteristics to evaluate the suitability of this winemaking approach to managing wine alcohol concentrations in warm viticulture regions. Wines from water or green harvest wine substitution were also compared to wines of similar alcohol content produced from earlier harvested grapes. Implementation of water substitution in particular resulted in minor alterations of wine volatile composition compared to the control, and positive aroma and flavour characteristics were preserved. However, overripe sensory attributes such as 'hotness' and 'port wine' were conserved whereas they were absent in wines of similar alcohol level made from earlier harvested grapes, thereby emphasising the relevance of grape (over)maturity when producing lower alcohol wines. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. First crude oil from Chukotka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arenbrister, L.P.; Demidenko, K.A.; Zhmykhova, N.M.

    1986-01-01

    The physicochemical properties of the crude taken from Neogene deposits at a depth of 1486-1443 m are analyzed. The oil is distinguished by low contents of sulfur and resinous-asphaltenic substances, a high content of wax, and a high yield of light cuts distilling below 350 degrees C. The naptha cuts have high contents of naphthenes, and the diesel fuel cuts have high cetane numbers, low sulfur contents, and high contents of straight chain paraffins. The vacuum gasoil has a low density, a low viscosity, a low carbon residue and low contents of sulfur and nitrogen. This gasoil is a good feedstock for catalytic cracking and hydrocracking. The Verkhne-Echin crude is classified as light, low-sulfur, lowresin and high-wax. It can be used to produce jet fuels and summer-grade diesel fuels with low sulfur contents, as well as high-V.I. lube base stocks and liquid and solid paraffins.

  3. Formulation of best-fit hydrophile/lipophile balance-dielectric permittivity demulsifiers for treatment of crude oil emulsions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.M. Ojinnaka

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The commerce of crude oil depends heavily on its water and salt contents usually referred to as Basic Sediments and Water (BS&W, which is co-produced with the crude oil in the form of emulsion. The lower the BS&W, the higher the market value of the crude. The presence of water in crude oil causes corrosion, lowers capacity utilization of production and processing plant parts and pipelines, reduces oil recovery and increases the oil content of the effluent water. The stabilizing factors of crude oil emulsions vary from one oil field to the other and with time in the same well as co-produced water increases, or after a well treatment and Enhanced Oil Recovery Operations (EOR. Periodical assessment and possible change of demulsifiers employed is therefore necessary at certain stages of crude oil productions, but this is not encouraged due to lack of general formulation procedures and the rigorous nature of bottle test method that is currently being used for assessment and selection. In this paper, the factors that affect the stability of crude oil emulsions are presented. Efforts of researchers in formulating demulsifiers based on these factors and their screening methods were reviewed. The context sets the stage for further exploration of possible relationship(s between the physical parameters of the crude oil and the demulsifiers, and exploiting same in the formulation of new demulsifiers capable of resolving crude oil emulsions using chemicals with improved surface activity and crude extracts of indigenous plants.

  4. THE INFLUENCE OF CRUDE SHEABUTTER LEAF-EXTRACTS ON ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AGROSEARCH UIL

    INTRODUCTION ... Sheabutter tree, Vitellaria paradoxa is a tropical plant of numerous domestic and ... adoptable by rural farmers for increased productivity. ... crude protein requirements (NRC, 1981) for maintenance and weight gain in the goat. ... Total faeces and urine produced daily by each goat were collected and ...

  5. Market potential for Canadian crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heath, M.; Fisher, L.; Golosinski, D.; Luthin, A.; Gill, L.; Raggett, C.

    1997-01-01

    Future key markets for Canadian crude were evaluated, and probable flow volumes and prices were identified. Key concerns of market participants such as pricing, alternative crude sources, pipeline tariffs and crude quality, were examined. An overview of the competition faced by Canadian crude supply in global markets was presented. World crude oil supply and demand was discussed. US and Canadian crude oil supply (2000 to 2010), refinery demand for light and heavy crudes, existing future crude oil and refined product pipeline infrastructure, and pricing implications of changing crude oil flows were analyzed. The general conclusion was that the US market will continue to provide growing markets for Canadian crude oil, and that the Canadian supply to fulfill increased export requirements will be available due to the combined effects of increasing heavy crude supply, growing production from the east coast offshore, and recent and ongoing pipeline expansions and additions. 20 refs., 64 tabs., 42 figs

  6. 1999 Crude oil market outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochener, J.

    1998-01-01

    Baseline projection handling of crude oil prices was discussed, based on actual crude oil price trends from 1992 to 1998. Attention was drawn to the lack of correlation between crude oil and natural gas prices. Predictions for crude oil production were extended to the year 2015. As far as the immediate future is concerned the crude oil price for 1999 was predicted to continue to be sluggish due to competitive pressure from refined products at burner tip. tabs., figs

  7. Use of solid phase microextraction (SPME) for profiling the volatile metabolites produced by Glomerella cingulata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyazawa, Mitsuo; Kimura, Minako; Yabe, Yoshito; Tsukamoto, Daisuke; Sakamoto, Masaya; Horibe, Isao; Okuno, Yoshiharu

    2008-01-01

    The profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from Glomerella cingulata using solid phase microextraction (SPME) with different fibers, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Polydimethylsiloxane/Divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) and Divinylbenzene/Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS), was investigated. C4-C6 aliphatic alcohols were the predominant fraction of VOCs isolated by CAR/PDMS fiber. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons represented 20.3% of VOCs isolated by PDMS fiber. During the growth phase, Ochracin was produced in the large majority of VOCs. 3-Methylbutanol and phenylethyl alcohol were found in the log phase of it. Alcohols were found in cultures of higher age, while sesquiterpenes were found to be characteristic of initial growth stage of G. cingulata.

  8. Cracking of crude oil in the molten metals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marat A. Glikin

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper is investigated the process of crude oil and its individual fractions cracking in the molten metals medium to produce light petroleum products. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate the possibility of using lead and tin including alloys thereof as the melt. The cracking of West Siberian crude oil is studied at temperatures 400-600 °C. It is detected that as the temperature increases there is increase of aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins content in gasoline while naphthenes, n- and i-paraffins content reduces. Optimal temperature for cracking in molten metals is ~500 °C. The use of a submerged nozzle increases the yield of light petroleum products by ~2%. The research octane number of gasoline produced is 82-87 points. It is determined that the yield of light petroleum products depending on the experimental conditions is increased from 46.9 to 55.1-61.3% wt.   

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuang Gao

    2017-01-01

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

  10. The role of Canadian heavy crude oil in the North American market

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mink, F J; Antonia, H A

    1977-01-01

    Canadian reserves of heavy gravity crude oil are vast and the potential producibility from those reserves is expected to be surplus to Canadian requirements into the 1990s. This study focuses on the impact that market constraints may have on the future supply of heavy gravity crude oils from the W. Canadian basin. It observes that severe export restrictions will not only limit the orderly development of available reserves in the area but also will impair the prospects of additional enhanced recovery of conventional heavy crude reserves and restrict future experimental applications of oil sands recovery in the Cold Lake deposit of Alberta. Since it is expected that export restrictions for heavy gravity crude oil will be lifted in the future, the outlook for expanded development of indigenous reserves is promising.

  11. Thermostable crude endoglucanase produced by Aspergillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cellulases are used in many industries worldwide and there is an ever increasing need to isolate, produce or develop thermostable cellulases. Manipulation of fermentation techniques in order to obtain desirable product(s) can be one line of action. In this study Aspergillus fumigatus was grown on chopped wheat straw in a ...

  12. Nitrogen Trifluoride-Based Fluoride- Volatility Separations Process: Initial Studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McNamara, Bruce K.; Scheele, Randall D.; Casella, Andrew M.; Kozelisky, Anne E.

    2011-09-28

    This document describes the results of our investigations on the potential use of nitrogen trifluoride as the fluorinating and oxidizing agent in fluoride volatility-based used nuclear fuel reprocessing. The conceptual process uses differences in reaction temperatures between nitrogen trifluoride and fuel constituents that produce volatile fluorides to achieve separations and recover valuable constituents. We provide results from our thermodynamic evaluations, thermo-analytical experiments, kinetic models, and provide a preliminary process flowsheet. The evaluations found that nitrogen trifluoride can effectively produce volatile fluorides at different temperatures dependent on the fuel constituent.

  13. Ingestive behavior of grazing heifers receiving crude glycerin supplementation during the dry-rainy season transition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitor Visintin Silva de Almeida

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The search to find food alternatives for corn and feeding alternatives that reduce the cost of production has been constant. The use of oleaginous grains to produce ethanol and biodiesel has produced an excess of byproducts, especially biodiesel which produces crude glycerin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of including crude glycerin on the ingestive behavior of crossbred heifers supplemented with pasture. Thirty-six crossbred heifers with an initial mean weight of 301.5 ± 31 kg were distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments and nine replicates per treatment. The animals were kept in a Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich. Stapf 'Marandu' pasture in a rotational-grazing system. The treatments tested were 0.0%, 3.33%, 6.66%, and 9.99% crude glycerin included in total DM to replace corn (Tea mays L. Including crude glycerin reduced the time for grazing and eating at the trough and increased idle time. Rumination was quadratically influenced. Eating time (min kg-1 DM and neutral detergent fiber [NDF] was reduced, while rumination time (min kg-1 DM and NDF was quadratically affected by adding glycerin. The variables, time spent per ruminated bolus and the number of chews per day, were not affected. The number of boluses per day showed a quadratic effect. The number of grazing, idle, ruminating, and eating at the trough periods were not affected by including crude glycerin; means were 15.1, 24.9, and 13.3 and 3.71 periods d-1, respectively. Feed and rumination efficiency (kg h-1 DM and NDF increased when crude glycerin was included in the diet. Including crude glycerin promotes feed and rumination efficiency in grazing heifers.

  14. Using crude glycerol and thin stillage for the production of microbial lipids through the cultivation of Rhodotorula glutinis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, Hong-Wei; Yang, Ya-Chun; Yu, Yi-Huan

    2012-10-01

    Single cell oils (SCO) produced from oleaginous microorganisms are a potential alternative oil feedstock for biodiesel production. The worldwide production of glycerol, a 10% (w/w) byproduct produced in the transesterfication process of oils converted to biodiesel, is increasing as more biodiesel is being produced. For the purposes of cost reduction, crude glycerol was regarded as a suitable carbon source for the cultivation of Rhodotorula glutinis. In addition to using renewable crude glycerol, waste solution collected from the brewing company (called thin stillage) was adopted as a substitute to replace a costly nitrogen source used in the medium. The results of using mixture of crude glycerol and thin stillage indicated about a 27% increase in total biomass as compared to that of using crude glycerol with a standard medium. Using glycerol instead of glucose as the carbon source could also alter the lipid profile, resulting in an increase in linolenic acid (C18:2) to comprise over 20% of the total lipid. Successfully using renewable crude glycerol and thin stillage for the cultivation of oleaginous microorganisms could greatly enhance the economic competition of biodiesel produced from SCO. Copyright © 2012 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. A Canadian refiner's perspective of synthetic crudes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halford, T.L.; McIntosh, A.P.; Rasmussen

    1997-01-01

    Some of the factors affecting a refiner's choice of crude oil include refinery hardware, particularly gas oil crackers, products slate and product specifications, crude availability, relative crude price and crude quality. An overview of synthetic crude, the use of synthetic crude combined with other crudes and a comparison of synthetic crude with conventional crude oil was given. The two main users of synthetic crude are basically two groups of refiners, those large groups who use synthetic crude combined with other crudes, and a smaller group who run synthetic crude on specially designed units as a sole feed. The effects of changes in fuel legislation were reviewed. It was predicted that the changes will have a mixed impact on the value of synthetic crude, but low sulphur diesel regulations and gasoline sulphur regulations will make current synthetic crudes attractive. The big future change with a negative impact will be diesel cetane increases to reduce engine emissions. This will reduce synthetic crude attractiveness due to distillate yields and quality and high gas oil yields. Similarly, any legislation limiting aromatics in diesel fuel will also make synthetic crudes less attractive. Problems experienced by refiners with hardware dedicated to synthetic crude (salt, naphthenic acid, fouling, quality variations) were also reviewed. 3 tabs

  16. Solids precipitation in crude oils, gas-to-liquids and their blends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramanathan, Karthik

    Gas-to-liquids (GTL) liquids are obtained from syngas by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The blending of GTL liquids produced from natural gas/coal reserves and crude oils is a possibility in the near future for multiple reasons. Solids precipitation is a major problem in pipelines and refineries leading to significant additional operating costs. The effect of the addition of a paraffinic GTL liquid to crude oils on solids precipitation was investigated in this study. A Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic technique was used to obtain solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) data for the various samples. The SLE of multiple systems of model oils composed of n-alkanes was investigated preliminarily. Blends of a model oil simulating a GTL liquid composition and a crude oil showed that the wax precipitation temperature (WPT) decreased upon blending. Three crude oils from different geographic regions (Alaskan North Slope, Colorado and Venezuela) and a laboratory-produced GTL liquid were used in the preparation of blends with five different concentrations of the GTL liquid. The wax precipitation temperatures of the blends were found to decrease with the increasing addition of the GTL liquid for all the oils. This effect was attributed to the solvent effect of the low molecular weight-paraffinic GTL liquid on the crude oils. The weight percent solid precipitated that was estimated as a function of temperature did not show a uniform trend for the set of crude oils. The asphaltene onset studies done on the blends with near-infrared spectroscopy indicated that the addition of GTL liquid could have a stabilizing effect on the asphaltenes in some oils. Analytical techniques such as distillation, solvent separation, HPLC, GC, and GPC were used to obtain detailed composition data on the samples. Two sets of compositional data with 49 and 86 pseudo-components were used to describe the three crude oils used in the blending work. The wax precipitation was calculated using a

  17. Detection of simulated pitting corrosion and noises in crude oil storage tank by acoustic emission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukri Mohd; Latif, N.A.; Azhar Mohd Sinin; Mohamad Daud; Abd Nasir Ibrahim

    2008-01-01

    The damage mechanisms associated with crude oil storage tanks can be complex and varied and include pitting corrosion due to presence of species such as sulphate reducing bacteria. Acoustic Emission (AE) could be used to characterise the pitting corrosion signal in crude oil storage tanks but it is extremely difficult to simulate the pitting corrosion in the laboratory using crude oil as electrolyte because crude oil is considered as non corrosive medium. In this study, induced current have been introduced onto a surface ASTM 516 steel as an electrical source to simulate the electrical noise produced during pitting corrosion process and AE sensor have been used to detect this current. It is found that AE system could detect AE signal release during current induction this current and is expected that if the exact simulation of the current magnitude produced during pitting corrosion process is made available, AE characterisation of pitting corrosion in such tank could be made possible. (Author)

  18. Optimizing Microwave-assisted Crude Butter Extraction from Carabao Mango (Mangifera indica Kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edgardo V. Casas

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Carabao mangoes are among the highly produced fruit crops in the Philippines. The processing and consumption of carabao mangoes leave a significant amount of waste seeds. Mango kernel butter extracted from waste seed kernels is a potential additive to cosmetic products or as a cocoa butter substitute. This study determined the pretreatment conditions that produce optimum yield prior to the mechanical extraction of the crude butter. Moreover, this study provided a general sensory evaluation of the finished product. Microwave power (160, 500, and 850 W, microwave exposure time (2.0, 3.5, and 5.0 min, and size levels (1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 mm were tested for their effects on the yield of the mechanically extracted crude butter in wet basis percentage. The optimization procedures resulted to optimum pretreatment conditions of 160 W, 4.25 min, and 1.5 mm. Size level was the most significant factor in the crude butter yield. Sensory evaluation of the crude butter extracted at optimum pretreatment conditions through acceptance test by a test panel resulted to below neutral scores in visual appearance and odor, and above neutral score in texture, indicating the potential of mango butter as a good substitute to cocoa butter in cosmetic products.

  19. A Review of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Bio-Crude Properties and Prospects for Upgrading to Transportation Fuels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerome A. Ramirez

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL presents a viable route for converting a vast range of materials into liquid fuel, without the need for pre-drying. Currently, HTL studies produce bio-crude with properties that fall short of diesel or biodiesel standards. Upgrading bio-crude improves the physical and chemical properties to produce a fuel corresponding to diesel or biodiesel. Properties such as viscosity, density, heating value, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur content, and chemical composition can be modified towards meeting fuel standards using strategies such as solvent extraction, distillation, hydrodeoxygenation and catalytic cracking. This article presents a review of the upgrading technologies available, and how they might be used to make HTL bio-crude into a transportation fuel that meets current fuel property standards.

  20. Literature Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lord, David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Luketa, Anay [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Wocken, Chad [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Schlasner, Steve [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Aulich, Ted [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Allen, Ray [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Rudeen, David Keith [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-03-01

    Several fiery rail accidents in 2013-2015 in the U.S. and Canada carrying crude oil produced from the Bakken region of North Dakota have raised questions at many levels on the safety of transporting this, and other types of crude oil, by rail. Sandia National Laboratories was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the material properties of crude oils, and in particular the so-called "tight oils" like Bakken that comprise the majority of crude oil rail shipments in the U.S. at the current time. The current report is a literature survey of public sources of information on crude oil properties that have some bearing on the likelihood or severity of combustion events that may occur around spills associated with rail transport. The report also contains background information including a review of the notional "tight oil" field operating environment, as well a basic description of crude oils and potential combustion events in rail transport. This page intentionally blank

  1. Investigation on trace elements in crude oil and organic matter extracted from rocks with instrumental neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding Zuguo; Chai Zhifang

    1990-01-01

    Solvent extraction, column chromatography and instrumental neutron activation analysis(INAA) have been used to investigate the trace elements in crude oil, organic matter extracted from rocks and their related fractions. With these methods, about 70 crude oil samples from eight different oil fields in China and 6 extracted asphaltene samples of the lower paleozoic from the upper Yangtze region have been analyzed, and about 40 elements of interest have been determined. Those elements include Al, As, Au, Ba, Br, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Hf, I, Ir, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Rb, Re, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Th, Zn, V and parts of REE. The experimental results show that the method possesses several advantages, i.e. non-destructive, multi-elements, sensitive, precise and accurate. Without ashing samples, the loss of volatile elements such as Cl, S, Se and Sb are avoided. The column chromatography makes it possible to study the distributions of trace elements in different fractions of crude oil and organic matter extracted. Meanwhile, the characters of trace elements in them have also been discussed

  2. Stochastic volatility of volatility in continuous time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barndorff-Nielsen, Ole; Veraart, Almut

    This paper introduces the concept of stochastic volatility of volatility in continuous time and, hence, extends standard stochastic volatility (SV) models to allow for an additional source of randomness associated with greater variability in the data. We discuss how stochastic volatility...... of volatility can be defined both non-parametrically, where we link it to the quadratic variation of the stochastic variance process, and parametrically, where we propose two new SV models which allow for stochastic volatility of volatility. In addition, we show that volatility of volatility can be estimated...

  3. 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.

  4. Characteristics of oil sludge from crude oil terminal and behaviors of the naturally occurring radioactive materials and heavy metals on combustion of the sludge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohamad Puad Abu

    2001-01-01

    The study on the characteristics and behaviors of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) and heavy metals (HM) in the oil sludge from the crude oil terminal were performed using Gamma Spectroscopy (GM), Neutron Activation Analysis Instrumental (NAAI) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). GM and NAAI were used to analyze the concentrations of radionuclides whereas NAAI as well as ICP-MS techniques were applied for HM. The samples were then combusted at temperature ranging from 100 degree Celsius - 800 degree Celsius for a period of 30-150 minutes. The ashes produced were then analyzed again for the various elemental concentrations by the above techniques. The percentage of volatilization was then derived mathematically. The concentration of Ra-226 (123 Bq/ kg) and Ra-228 (117 Bq/ kg) in the oil sludge are higher compared with their parent U-238 (32.12 Bq/ kg) and Th-232 (35.36 Bq/ kg). The concentration of HM such as As (13.30 ppm), Cr (46 ppm) and Zn (4287 ppm) in the oil sludge are also higher compared with As (7.5 ppm), Cr (43 ppm) and Zn (36 ppm) contain in the Malaysian normal soil. The heating value for crude oil sludge is 9000 kJ/ kg which is below the value for self-sustaining combustion (11000 kJ/ kg). The percentage of volatilization varies from 2-70 % depends on the elements, temperature and period of combustion. Uranium was found to volatile more than other elements. Higher temperatures (>500 degree Celsius) and longer exposure time (>90 minutes) promoted metal and radionuclide volatilization significantly more than 20 %. Based on the first order kinetic reaction, a new global mathematical model was developed (Q e =1-e -k e t ). This model can predict the percentage of volatilization for the various elements contain in the sludge if the temperature and time of combustion are known. With this known percentage of volatilization, the concentration of various elements present in the bottom and fly ashes can be deduced. From

  5. Silo-stored pistachios at varying humidity levels produce distinct volatile biomarkers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aflatoxin contamination in California tree nuts results in millions of dollars of lost product annually. The current method for detection of aflatoxin is destructive, expensive and time-intensive. Previous studies have demonstrated that volatile profiles of fungal-contaminated tissues are different ...

  6. Biosurfactant and enzyme mediated crude oil degradation by Pseudomonas stutzeri NA3 and Acinetobacter baumannii MN3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parthipan, Punniyakotti; Elumalai, Punniyakotti; Sathishkumar, Kuppusamy; Sabarinathan, Devaraj; Murugan, Kadarkarai; Benelli, Giovanni; Rajasekar, Aruliah

    2017-10-01

    The present study focuses on the optimization of biosurfactant (BS) production using two potential biosurfactant producer Pseudomonas stutzeri NA3 and Acinetobacter baumannii MN3 and role of enzymes in the biodegradation of crude oil. The optimal conditions for P. stutzeri NA3 and A. baumannii MN3 for biodegradation were pH of 8 and 7; temperature of 30 and 40 °C, respectively. P. stutzeri NA3 and A. baumannii MN3 produced 3.81 and 4.68 g/L of BS, respectively. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry confirmed that BS was mainly composed of fatty acids. Furthermore, the role of the degradative enzymes, alkane hydroxylase, alcohol dehydrogenase and laccase on biodegradation of crude oil are explained. Maximum biodegradation efficiency (BE) was recorded for mixed consortia (86%) followed by strain P. stutzeri NA3 (84%). Both bacterial strains were found to be vigorous biodegraders of crude oil than other biosurfactant-producing bacteria due to their enzyme production capabilities and our results suggests that the bacterial isolates can be used for effective degradation of crude oil within short time periods.

  7. Study on influence of flow rates on voids in waxy crude oil subjected to dynamic and static cooling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Girma T. Chala

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The assumption of constant yield stress in the conventional restart pressure equation neglects the effects of thermal shrinkage and gas voids formation, which in turn resulted in an over-designed production piping systems. This paper presents a study on the effects of flow rates on the formation of voids in gelled waxy crude oil. A flow loop rig simulating offshore waxy crude oil transportation was used to produce a gel. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI was used to scan the gelled crude oil over the three planes. Waxy crude oil underwent both dynamic and static cooling to observe the effects of volume flow rates on the voids formed in wax-oil gel. Volume flow rate was found to have different influences on the intra-gel voids in the pipeline. A volume flow rate of 5 L/min resulted in a maximum total voids volume of 6.98% while 20 L/min produced a minimum total voids volume of 5.67% in the entire pipe. Slow flow rates resulted in a larger voids volume near the pipe wall. In contrast, faster flow rates produced insignificantly higher voids volume around pipe core. Generally, slower flow rates favoured the formation of higher total voids volume following sufficient steady time of wax crystal formation, producing larger voids areas in gelled waxy crude oil.

  8. Well-to-refinery emissions and net-energy analysis of China's crude-oil supply

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masnadi, Mohammad S.; El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Schunack, Dominik; Li, Yunpo; Roberts, Samori O.; Przesmitzki, Steven; Brandt, Adam R.; Wang, Michael

    2018-03-01

    Oil is China's second-largest energy source, so it is essential to understand the country's greenhouse gas emissions from crude-oil production. Chinese crude supply is sourced from numerous major global petroleum producers. Here, we use a per-barrel well-to-refinery life-cycle analysis model with data derived from hundreds of public and commercial sources to model the Chinese crude mix and the upstream carbon intensities and energetic productivity of China's crude supply. We generate a carbon-denominated supply curve representing Chinese crude-oil supply from 146 oilfields in 20 countries. The selected fields are estimated to emit between 1.5 and 46.9 g CO2eq MJ-1 of oil, with volume-weighted average emissions of 8.4 g CO2eq MJ-1. These estimates are higher than some existing databases, illustrating the importance of bottom-up models to support life-cycle analysis databases. This study provides quantitative insight into China's energy policy and the economic and environmental implications of China's oil consumption.

  9. Impact of impurities in biodiesel-derived crude glycerol on the fermentation by Clostridium pasteurianum ATCC 6013

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venkataramanan, Keerthi P.; Boatman, Judy J.; Taconi, Katherine A. [Alabama Univ., Huntsville, AL (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Materials Engineering; Kurniawan, Yogi; Bothun, Geoffrey D. [Rhode Island Univ., Kingston, RI (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Scholz, Carmen [Alabama Univ., Huntsville, AL (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

    2012-02-15

    During the production of biodiesel, crude glycerol is produced as a byproduct at 10% (w/w). Clostridium pasteurianum has the inherent potential to grow on glycerol and produce 1,3-propanediol and butanol as the major products. Growth and product yields on crude glycerol were reported to be slower and lower, respectively, in comparison to the results obtained from pure glycerol. In this study, we analyzed the effect of each impurity present in the biodiesel-derived crude glycerol on the growth and metabolism of glycerol by C. pasteurianum. The crude glycerol contains methanol, salts (in the form of potassium chloride or sulfate), and fatty acids that were not transesterified. Salt and methanol were found to have no negative effects on the growth and metabolism of the bacteria on glycerol. The fatty acid with a higher degree of unsaturation, linoleic acid, was found to have strong inhibitory effect on the utilization of glycerol by the bacteria. The fatty acid with lower or no degrees of unsaturation such as stearic and oleic acid were found to be less detrimental to substrate utilization. The removal of fatty acids from crude glycerol by acid precipitation resulted in a fermentation behavior that is comparable to the one on pure glycerol. These results show that the fatty acids in the crude glycerol have a negative effect by directly affecting the utilization of glycerol as the carbon source, and hence their removal from crude glycerol is an essential step towards the utilization of crude glycerol. (orig.)

  10. Comparison of the Chemical Composition of “Cystoseira sedoides (Desfontaines C. Agardh” Volatile Compounds Obtained by Different Extraction Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naima Bouzidi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The volatile fraction of the brown alga Cystoseira sedoides (Desfontaines C.Agardh is prepared from the crude extract through the following three extraction methods: Hydrodistillation (HD, focused microwave assisted hydrodistillation (FMAHD and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE. The volatile fractions are analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector-mass spectrometry (GC-FID-MS, the chemical components are identified on the basis of the comparison of their retention indices with literature and their mass spectra with those reported in commercial databases. The chemical composition of the volatile fractions obtained by different extraction techniques fall into three major chemical classes: fatty acids and derivatives, sesquiterpenes, and hydrocarbons and derivatives. Others Compounds belonging to different chemical classes are found in that chemical composition.

  11. Identification of the predominant volatile compounds produced by Aspergillus flavus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamiński, E; Libbey, L M; Stawicki, S; Wasowicz, E

    1972-11-01

    A culture of Aspergillus flavus grown on moistened wheat meal was homogenized with a blendor, and the resulting slurry was vacuum-distilled at 5 mm of Hg and 35 C. The aqueous distillate was collected in traps cooled to -10 to -80 C. The culture volatiles were extracted from the distillate with CH(2)Cl(2), and, after removal of the bulk of the solvent, the concentrated volatiles were examined by packed-column gas chromatography. Nineteen peaks were observed, and coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to identify the larger components. The compounds identified were: 3-methyl-butanol, 3-octanone, 3-octanol, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-octanol, and cis-2-octen-1-ol. The two octenols were the predominant compounds, and sufficient sample was trapped from the gas chromatograph for infrared analyses; this confirmed the mass spectral identifications and permitted the assignment of the cis designation to 2-octen-1-ol. Both oct-1-en-3-ol and cis-2-octen-1-ol are thought to be responsible for the characteristic musty-fungal odor of certain fungi; the latter compound may be a useful chemical index of fungal growth.

  12. Exploring crude oil production and export capacity of the OPEC Middle East countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Ken'ichi; Voudouris, Vlasios; Stasinopoulos, Dimitrios; Rigby, Robert; Di Maio, Carlo

    2012-01-01

    As the world economy highly depends on crude oil, it is important to understand the dynamics of crude oil production and export capacity of major oil-exporting countries. Since crude oil resources are predominately located in the OPEC Middle East, these countries are expected to have significant leverage in the world crude oil markets by taking into account a range of uncertainties. In this study, we develop a scenario for crude oil export and production using the ACEGES model considering uncertainties in the resource limits, demand growth, production growth, and peak/decline point. The results indicate that the country-specific peak of both crude oil export and production comes in the early this century in the OPEC Middle East countries. On the other hand, they occupy most of the world export and production before and after the peak points. Consequently, these countries are expected to be the key group in the world crude oil markets. We also find that the gap between the world crude oil demand and production broadens over time, meaning that the acceleration of the development of ultra-deep-water oil, oil sands, and extra-heavy oil will be required if the world continuous to heavily rely on oil products. - Highlights: ► We simulate the future scenario of crude oil export and production using ACEGES. ► The simulated results are analyzed using the GAMLSS framework. ► The peak points of oil export and production will come early in this century. ► The OPCE Middle East will produce most of the world crude oil in the near future. ► These countries will continuously be the key players in the crude oil markets.

  13. Crude oil pricing in Asia and future problems; Asia no gen`yu pricing to kongo no kadai

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kato, T. [The Institute of Energy Economics, Tokyo (Japan)

    1997-01-30

    This paper describes pricing factors of crude oil for Asia and future problems. Price of the Middle East crude oil for Asia is determined by linking the spot price of Dubayy crude oil using as a marker. Factors affecting the pricing of marker crude oil include the information dispatching functions for prices of spot market and paper market of marker crude oil, the presence of competitive crude oil, and the correlation between market of oil products and price of crude oil. The paper market of Dubayy crude oil with a small scale of trading provides poor impact and transparency. In Asia, there is no strong competitive crude oil except the Middle East crude oil. There is only a weak price linking between crude oil and products. These are the background that the price of Middle East crude oil stays at the high level and the price adjusting functions are hard to work. The marker crude oil should be changed to another except Dubayy crude oil, and information should be dispatched from purchasers based on the stable standard crude oil. The real paper market should be created, and the force of speaking to oil producing countries should be enhanced by concentrating forces of major oil consuming countries in Asia. It is necessary to find out competitive crude oils. 5 figs., 6 tabs.

  14. Acidogenic fermentation characteristics of different types of protein-rich substrates in food waste to produce volatile fatty acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Dongsheng; Yin, Jun; Yu, Xiaoqin; Wang, Meizhen; Long, Yuyang; Shentu, Jiali; Chen, Ting

    2017-03-01

    In this study, tofu and egg white, representing typical protein-rich substrates in food waste based on vegetable and animal protein, respectively, were investigated for producing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) by acidogenic fermentation. VFA production, composition, conversion pathways and microbial communities in acidogenesis from tofu and egg white with and without hydrothermal (HT) pretreatment were compared. The results showed HT pretreatment could improve the VFA production of tofu but not for egg white. The optimum VFA yields were 0.46g/gVS (tofu with HT) and 0.26g/gVS (egg white without HT), respectively. Tofu could directly produce VFAs through the Stickland reaction, while egg white was converted to lactate and VFAs simultaneously. About 30-40% of total protein remained in all groups after fermentation. Up to 50% of the unconverted soluble protein in the HT groups was protease. More lactate-producing bacteria, mainly Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus, were present during egg white fermentation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Stochastic volatility models and Kelvin waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipton, Alex; Sepp, Artur

    2008-08-01

    We use stochastic volatility models to describe the evolution of an asset price, its instantaneous volatility and its realized volatility. In particular, we concentrate on the Stein and Stein model (SSM) (1991) for the stochastic asset volatility and the Heston model (HM) (1993) for the stochastic asset variance. By construction, the volatility is not sign definite in SSM and is non-negative in HM. It is well known that both models produce closed-form expressions for the prices of vanilla option via the Lewis-Lipton formula. However, the numerical pricing of exotic options by means of the finite difference and Monte Carlo methods is much more complex for HM than for SSM. Until now, this complexity was considered to be an acceptable price to pay for ensuring that the asset volatility is non-negative. We argue that having negative stochastic volatility is a psychological rather than financial or mathematical problem, and advocate using SSM rather than HM in most applications. We extend SSM by adding volatility jumps and obtain a closed-form expression for the density of the asset price and its realized volatility. We also show that the current method of choice for solving pricing problems with stochastic volatility (via the affine ansatz for the Fourier-transformed density function) can be traced back to the Kelvin method designed in the 19th century for studying wave motion problems arising in fluid dynamics.

  16. Stochastic volatility models and Kelvin waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lipton, Alex; Sepp, Artur

    2008-01-01

    We use stochastic volatility models to describe the evolution of an asset price, its instantaneous volatility and its realized volatility. In particular, we concentrate on the Stein and Stein model (SSM) (1991) for the stochastic asset volatility and the Heston model (HM) (1993) for the stochastic asset variance. By construction, the volatility is not sign definite in SSM and is non-negative in HM. It is well known that both models produce closed-form expressions for the prices of vanilla option via the Lewis-Lipton formula. However, the numerical pricing of exotic options by means of the finite difference and Monte Carlo methods is much more complex for HM than for SSM. Until now, this complexity was considered to be an acceptable price to pay for ensuring that the asset volatility is non-negative. We argue that having negative stochastic volatility is a psychological rather than financial or mathematical problem, and advocate using SSM rather than HM in most applications. We extend SSM by adding volatility jumps and obtain a closed-form expression for the density of the asset price and its realized volatility. We also show that the current method of choice for solving pricing problems with stochastic volatility (via the affine ansatz for the Fourier-transformed density function) can be traced back to the Kelvin method designed in the 19th century for studying wave motion problems arising in fluid dynamics

  17. Stochastic volatility models and Kelvin waves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lipton, Alex [Merrill Lynch, Mlfc Main, 2 King Edward Street, London EC1A 1HQ (United Kingdom); Sepp, Artur [Merrill Lynch, 4 World Financial Center, New York, NY 10080 (United States)], E-mail: Alex_Lipton@ml.com, E-mail: Artur_Sepp@ml.com

    2008-08-29

    We use stochastic volatility models to describe the evolution of an asset price, its instantaneous volatility and its realized volatility. In particular, we concentrate on the Stein and Stein model (SSM) (1991) for the stochastic asset volatility and the Heston model (HM) (1993) for the stochastic asset variance. By construction, the volatility is not sign definite in SSM and is non-negative in HM. It is well known that both models produce closed-form expressions for the prices of vanilla option via the Lewis-Lipton formula. However, the numerical pricing of exotic options by means of the finite difference and Monte Carlo methods is much more complex for HM than for SSM. Until now, this complexity was considered to be an acceptable price to pay for ensuring that the asset volatility is non-negative. We argue that having negative stochastic volatility is a psychological rather than financial or mathematical problem, and advocate using SSM rather than HM in most applications. We extend SSM by adding volatility jumps and obtain a closed-form expression for the density of the asset price and its realized volatility. We also show that the current method of choice for solving pricing problems with stochastic volatility (via the affine ansatz for the Fourier-transformed density function) can be traced back to the Kelvin method designed in the 19th century for studying wave motion problems arising in fluid dynamics.

  18. Refinery plugging by residual oil gellant chemicals in crude : understanding and preventing the problem through new oil gellant chemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2004-07-01

    Phosphate ester oil gellants are the most prevalent oil gellant technology in use by service companies. However, in 1995, they were found to be responsible for plugging distillation trays at 3 refineries across Canada including Imperial Oil's Strathcona refinery in Edmonton, Petro-Canada's refinery in Oakville, Ontario and Chevron's refinery in Burnaby, British Columbia. Since 1998, additional fouling has occurred in Canada, and in 2002, fouling was detected at a refinery in Pennsylvania while processing Canadian sweet, light crude. Since refiners pay a high cost for unscheduled refinery shutdowns, much effort has gone into solving this problem and to maintain the value of Canadian sweet, light crude. Studies by the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association (CCQTA) have shown that phosphate esters begin to decompose through hydrolysis of the ester linkage at approximately 240 degrees. Gases cool as they move up the tower through distillation trays. Trays in the temperature range of 230 to 290 degrees C produce most of the volatile phosphorous compounds that condense out of the gas phase and cause plugging, thereby reducing the efficiency of distillation. Phosphate esters are often used with a metal crosslinker such as ferric iron or aluminium to gel hydrocarbons for use as a fracturing fluid. This paper described the advantages of existing ferric iron-crosslinked phosphate ester oil gels over the older, alternative oil gellant chemistries. Carbon dioxide-miscible, gelled hydrocarbon fracturing fluids provide better well stimulation by avoiding capillary pressure effects associated with water-based fluids. The fluid properties of the new phosphonate ester system were compared to those of a conventional phosphate ester system. Field tests from two fracturing treatments were also presented. Plugging did not occur with the new phosphonate ester treatment. 6 refs., 1 tab., 12 figs.

  19. Biodegradation of crude oil by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the presence of rhamnolipids*

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Guo-liang; Wu, Yue-ting; Qian, Xin-ping; Meng, Qin

    2005-01-01

    The potential biodegradation of crude oil was assessed based on the development of a fermentative process with a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa which produced 15.4 g/L rhamnolipids when cultured in a basal mineral medium using glycerol as a sole carbon source. However, neither cell growth nor rhamnolipid production was observed in the comparative culture system using crude oil as the sole carbon source instead. As rhamnolipid, an effective biosurfactant, has been reported to stimulate the b...

  20. Crude oil burning mechanisms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Gelderen, Laurens; Malmquist, L.M.V.; Jomaas, Grunde

    2015-01-01

    In order to improve predictions for the burning efficiency and the residue composition of in-situ burning of crude oil, the burning mechanism of crude oil was studied in relation to the composition of its hydrocarbon mixture, before, during and after the burning. The surface temperature, flame...... height, mass loss rate and residues of three hydrocarbon liquids (n-octane, dodecane and hexadecane), two crude oils (DUC and REBCO) and one hydrocarbon liquid mixture of the aforementioned hydrocarbon liquids were studied using the Crude Oil Flammability Apparatus. The experimental results were compared...... on the highest achievable oil slick temperature. Based on this mechanism, predictions can then be made depending on the hydrocarbon composition of the fuel and the measured surface temperature....

  1. Methods of analyzing crude oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooks, Robert Graham; Jjunju, Fred Paul Mark; Li, Anyin; Rogan, Iman S.

    2017-08-15

    The invention generally relates to methods of analyzing crude oil. In certain embodiments, methods of the invention involve obtaining a crude oil sample, and subjecting the crude oil sample to mass spectrometry analysis. In certain embodiments, the method is performed without any sample pre-purification steps.

  2. 7 CFR 29.3015 - Crude.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Crude. A subdegree of maturity. Crude leaves are usually hard and slick as a result of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from sunburn or sunscald. Any leaf which is crude to the extent of...

  3. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude assayed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodes, A.K.

    1994-01-01

    The paper gives an assay of West Texas Intermediate, one of the world's market crudes. The price of this crude, known as WTI, is followed by market analysts, investors, traders, and industry managers around the world. WTI price is used as a benchmark for pricing all other US crude oils. The 41 degree API < 0.34 wt % sulfur crude is gathered in West Texas and moved to Cushing, Okla., for distribution. The WTI posted prices is the price paid for the crude at the wellhead in West Texas and is the true benchmark on which other US crudes are priced. The spot price is the negotiated price for short-term trades of the crude. And the New York Mercantile Exchange, or Nymex, price is a futures price for barrels delivered at Cushing

  4. Crude protein changes on grassland along a degradation gradient ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim with this investigation was to quantify the impact of different veld condition classes, viz. poor, moderate and good on soil-water utilization (SWU: crude protein produced per unit of evapotranspiration), during four growing seasons (2000/01 – 2003/2004). Evapotranspiration was determined by quantifying the ...

  5. In vitro antimicrobial and phytochemical properties of crude extract ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-10-20

    Oct 20, 2008 ... University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa. 2Department of Microbiology, Obafemi Awolowo .... Thus improvement on such extract by pharmaceutical industry to produce antimicrobial drug of ... Table 1. Antimicrobial activity profile of the crude extract of stem bark of A. africana. Zones of inhibition (mm)*.

  6. Dynamic linkages among the gold market, US dollar and crude oil market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mo, Bin; Nie, He; Jiang, Yonghong

    2018-02-01

    This paper aims to examine the dynamic linkages among the gold market, US dollar and crude oil market. The analysis also delves more deeply into the effect of the global financial crisis on the short-term relationship. We use fractional cointegration to analyze the long-term memory feature of these volatility processes to investigate whether they are tied through a common long-term equilibrium. The DCC-MGARCH model is employed to investigate the time-varying long-term linkages among these markets. The Krystou-Labys non-linear asymmetric Granger causality method is used to examine the effect of the financial crisis. We find that (i) there is clearly a long-term dependence among these markets; (ii) the dynamic gold-oil relationship is always positive and the oil-dollar relationship is always negative; and (iii) after the crisis, we can observe evidence of a positive non-linear causal relationship from gold to US dollar and US dollar to crude oil, and a negative non-linear causal relationship from US dollar to gold. Investors who want to construct their optimal portfolios and policymakers who aim to make effective macroeconomic policies should take these findings into account.

  7. 15 CFR 754.2 - Crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... processed through a crude oil distillation tower. Included are reconstituted crude petroleum, and lease... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude oil. 754.2 Section 754.2....2 Crude oil. (a) License requirement. As indicated by the SS notation in the “License Requirements...

  8. Analysis of volatiles from irradiated yeast extract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao Tao; Li Xin; Zu Xiaoyan; Chen Yuxia; Geng Shengrong

    2013-01-01

    The method for determination volatiles from irradiated yeast extract (YE) using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed in this paper. The extraction conditions were optimized with reference to the peak area and number of volatiles as aldehyde, ketone, alcohol, acid, ester and sulfur compounds. The optimized conditions of HS-SPME for volatiles in irradiated YE were: divinyl benzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber, extration time 40 min, extraction temperature 40℃. The volatiles from YE irradiated by 0-19.8 kGy were detected using HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS. The results showed that only 15 volatiles were detected from no irradiated YE and main compounds were acetic acid, 2, 3-butanediol and 1-hexanol, 2-ethyl-. There were 40 volatiles detected from irradiated YE and the main compounds were acetic acid, phenylethyl alcohol, heptanal and nonanal. Compare to no irradiated yeast extract, the aldehyde, ketone, alkene and disulfide, dimethyl were produced by irradiating process. (authors)

  9. Enhanced biodegradation of alkane hydrocarbons and crude oil by mixed strains and bacterial community analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu; Li, Chen; Zhou, Zhengxi; Wen, Jianping; You, Xueyi; Mao, Youzhi; Lu, Chunzhe; Huo, Guangxin; Jia, Xiaoqiang

    2014-04-01

    In this study, two strains, Acinetobacter sp. XM-02 and Pseudomonas sp. XM-01, were isolated from soil samples polluted by crude oil at Bohai offshore. The former one could degrade alkane hydrocarbons (crude oil and diesel, 1:4 (v/v)) and crude oil efficiently; the latter one failed to grow on alkane hydrocarbons but could produce rhamnolipid (a biosurfactant) with glycerol as sole carbon source. Compared with pure culture, mixed culture of the two strains showed higher capability in degrading alkane hydrocarbons and crude oil of which degradation rate were increased from 89.35 and 74.32 ± 4.09 to 97.41 and 87.29 ± 2.41 %, respectively. In the mixed culture, Acinetobacter sp. XM-02 grew fast with sufficient carbon source and produced intermediates which were subsequently utilized for the growth of Pseudomonas sp. XM-01 and then, rhamnolipid was produced by Pseudomonas sp. XM-01. Till the end of the process, Acinetobacter sp. XM-02 was inhibited by the rapid growth of Pseudomonas sp. XM-01. In addition, alkane hydrocarbon degradation rate of the mixed culture increased by 8.06 to 97.41 % compared with 87.29 % of the pure culture. The surface tension of medium dropping from 73.2 × 10(-3) to 28.6 × 10(-3) N/m. Based on newly found cooperation between the degrader and the coworking strain, rational investigations and optimal strategies to alkane hydrocarbons biodegradation were utilized for enhancing crude oil biodegradation.

  10. Dry matter digestibility and metabolizable energy of crude glycerines originated from palm oil using fed rooster assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astiari Tia Legawa

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted to determine the dry matter digestibility, gross energy (GE, the nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn, and the nitrogen-corrected true metabolizable energy (TMEn of two crude glycerine from two different sources. The first crude glycerine (CG1 was from a large scale biodiesel producer with high content of glycerol (89.49% and low content of crude fat (1.73%, meanwhile the second crude glycerine (CG2 was from a medium scale biodiesel producer with lower content of glycerol than CG1 (38.36% and high content of crude fat (23.63%. Fed rooster assay based on Sibbald (1976 was used in the experiment. The experimental feed consisted of ground corn and three levels of crude glycerine (0, 10, and 20%. Twenty four Hisex brown roosters were housed in metabolic cages. Roosters were force fed with 30 g experimental feed, after 24 hours of fasting. Excreta collection was performed for two days while the roosters were fasting again. The content values of GE, AMEn, and TMEn of CG1 were 4065.18, 2926.59, and 3068.73 kcal kg-1 and for CG2 were 5928.09, 4010.11, and 4054.52 kcal kg, respectively.

  11. An analysis of factors affecting price volatility of the US oil market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, C.W.; Hwang, M.J.; Huang, B.N.

    2002-01-01

    This paper studies the price volatility of the crude oil market by examining the market structure of OPEC, the stable and unstable demand structure, and related elasticity of demand. In particular, the impacts of prosperity and recession of the world economy and the resulting demand shift on crude oil price are investigated. The error correction model is used to estimate the demand relations and related elasticity. The income effect on demand functions is evaluated to shed light on future prices. A simulation of potential oil prices under different scenarios on a cut of one million barrels per day by OPEC is evaluated. From our simulation, given the 4% cut in OPEC production, the oil price is expected to increase unless the recession is severe. The magnitude and scope of a price hike would be diminished if non-OPEC or domestic production were greatly expanded

  12. Comparison of crude oil interfacial behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beetge, J.H.; Panchev, N. [Champion Technologies Inc., Fresno, TX (United States)

    2008-07-01

    The bulk properties of crude oil are used to predict its behaviour with regards to treatment, transport and processing. Surface active components, such as asphaltenes, are often used to study or explain critical interfacial behaviour of crude oil. This study investigated the differences and similarities in the interfacial behaviour of the collective surface active component in various crude oils from different sources. The properties of interfaces between crude oil and water were compared using a Teclis drop shape tensiometer. A portion of a crude oil sample was diluted in toluene and contacted with water in a rising drop configuration. Dynamic surface tension and interfacial rheology was examined as a function of time from the early stages of interface formation. Sinusoidal oscillation of the drop volume allowed for the evaluation of visco-elastic behaviour of the crude oil/water interface as it developed with time. The Gibbs elastic modulus, as well as its elastic and viscose components were calculated from the drop shape. The interfacial behaviour was expressed in terms of concentration, oscillation frequency and interface age. It was concluded that knowledge of crude oil interfacial character could be of value in the treatment, transport and processing of crude oils because the its behaviour may play a significant role in crude oil production and processing.

  13. Biodegradation of crude oil and n-alkanes by fungi isolated from Oman

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elshafie, Abdulkadir [Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman)], E-mail: Elshafie@squ.edu.om; AlKindi, Abdulaziz Yahya [Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman); Al-Busaidi, Sultan [Oman Refinery Company Laboratories, LLC, P.O. Box 3568 Ruwi PC112 (Oman); Bakheit, Charles [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman); Albahry, S.N. [Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman)

    2007-11-15

    Ten fungal species isolated from tar balls collected from the beaches of Oman were tested for their abilities to grow and degrade n-alkanes and crude oil. The abilities of Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus and Penicillium chrysogenum to degrade n-alkanes (C13-C18), crude oil were compared and their mycelial biomass was measured. Significant differences were found in the utilization of C15, C16, C17 and C18 by the three fungi. Similarly, significant differences we found in the amount of biomass produced by the three fungi growing on C13, C17, C18 and crude oil. The correlation coefficient of biomass and oil utilization was not statistically significant for Aspergillus niger, significant for Aspergillus terreus and highly significant for P. chrysogenum.

  14. Biodegradation of crude oil and n-alkanes by fungi isolated from Oman

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elshafie, Abdulkadir; AlKindi, Abdulaziz Yahya; Al-Busaidi, Sultan; Bakheit, Charles; Albahry, S.N.

    2007-01-01

    Ten fungal species isolated from tar balls collected from the beaches of Oman were tested for their abilities to grow and degrade n-alkanes and crude oil. The abilities of Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus and Penicillium chrysogenum to degrade n-alkanes (C13-C18), crude oil were compared and their mycelial biomass was measured. Significant differences were found in the utilization of C15, C16, C17 and C18 by the three fungi. Similarly, significant differences we found in the amount of biomass produced by the three fungi growing on C13, C17, C18 and crude oil. The correlation coefficient of biomass and oil utilization was not statistically significant for Aspergillus niger, significant for Aspergillus terreus and highly significant for P. chrysogenum

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2013-07-01

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

  16. The Shewanella algae strain YM8 produces volatiles with strong inhibition activity against Aspergillus pathogens and aflatoxins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andong eGong

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus fungi and associated aflatoxins are ubiquitous in the production and storage of food/feed commodities. Controlling these pests is a challenge. In this study, the Shewanella algae strain YM8 was found to produce volatiles that have strong antifungal activity against Aspergillus pathogens. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling revealed 15 volatile organic compounds (VOCs emitted from YM8, of which dimethyl trisulfide was the most abundant. We obtained authentic reference standards for six of the VOCs; these all significantly reduced mycelial growth and conidial germination in Aspergillus; dimethyl trisulfide and 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl-phenol showed the strongest inhibitory activity. YM8 completely inhibited Aspergillus growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis in maize and peanut samples stored at different water activity levels, and scanning electron microscopy revealed severely damaged conidia and a complete lack of mycelium development and conidiogenesis. YM8 also completely inhibited the growth of eight other agronomically important species of phytopathogenic fungi: A. parasiticus, A. niger, Alternaria alternate, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, Monilinia fructicola, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. This study demonstrates the susceptibility of Aspergillus and other fungi to VOCs from marine bacteria and indicates a new strategy for effectively controlling these pathogens and the associated mycotoxin production in the field and during storage.

  17. Exports of crude oil, 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-06-01

    Effective June 1, 1985, licensing and charging of oil exports ended. The Board now issues export orders specifying neither volumes nor prices and covering an exportation period of up to 1 year for light crude oil and up to 2 years for heavy crude oil, available on request to both Canadian and foreign companies. The Board has assumed a monitoring role, and export prices and volumes are reported monthly by exporters. This annual report provides a review of the volumes and prices associated with the supply and disposition of Canadian crude oil during 1988. Highlights are given with detailed information on prices, both internationally, in Canada, and the Chicago posted price by light or heavy crude, and on volumes including capacity and disposition in both domestic and export markets. A short description of the import market is included. Comparisons are made with the previous year. Export volumes of light crude oil in 1988 increased by 13% to average 50,200 m 3 /d. Export volumes of heavy crude also increased by ca 13% to 62,600 m 3 /d. 15 figs., 2 tabs

  18. Volatility and mixing states of ultrafine particles from biomass burning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maruf Hossain, A.M.M.; Park, Seungho; Kim, Jae-Seok; Park, Kihong

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Size distribution, volatility, and mixing states of ultrafine particles emitted from rice straw, oak, and pine burning under different burning conditions were investigated. ► Smoldering combustion emitted larger mode particles in higher numbers than smaller mode particles, while the converse was true for flaming combustion. ► While the flaming combustion and open burning results imply there is internal mixing of OC and BC, smoldering combustion in rice straw produced ultrafine particles devoid of BC. ► Mixing state of ultrafine particles from biomass burning can alter the single scattering albedo, and might even change the sign of radiative forcing. - Abstract: Fine and ultrafine carbonaceous aerosols produced from burning biomasses hold enormous importance in terms of assessing radiation balance and public health hazards. As such, volatility and mixing states of size-selected ultrafine particles (UFP) emitted from rice straw, oak, and pine burning were investigated by using volatility tandem differential mobility analyzer (VTDMA) technique in this study. Rice straw combustion produced unimodal size distributions of emitted aerosols, while bimodal size distributions from combustions of oak (hardwood) and pine (softwood) were obtained. A nearness of flue gas temperatures and a lower CO ratio of flaming combustion (FC) to smoldering combustion (SC) were characteristic differences found between softwood and hardwood. SC emitted larger mode particles in higher numbers than smaller mode particles, while the converse was true for FC. Rice straw open burning UFPs exhibited a volatilization behavior similar to that between FC and SC. In addition, internal mixing states were observed for size-selected UFPs in all biomasses for all combustion conditions, while external mixing states were only observed for rice straw combustion. Results for FC and open burning suggested there was an internal mixing of volatile organic carbon (OC) and non-volatile core (e

  19. The US gasoline situation and crude oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2004-01-01

    Before and during the United States' summer driving season, concern over the country's gasoline supply can potentially influence the direction of the petroleum market. There are three causes of concern: a persistent lack of gasoline-producing capacity; a patchwork of as many as 18 different kinds of gasoline specifications; and the introduction of stringent new specifications for reformulated gasoline. However, gasoline stocks should be able to meet the needs of this year's driving season, at a time of ample crude oil availability, with strong imports. But, unplanned outages in the US logistics system and refining centres, or major disruptions in external gasoline supplies, could trigger price spikes that would, in turn, lead to frequently stronger crude oil prices, especially with the observed robust oil demand growth in China. (Author)

  20. Mineralization of a Malaysian crude oil by Pseudomonas sp. and Achromabacter sp. isolated from coastal waters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmad, J.; Ahmad, M.F.

    1995-12-31

    Regarded as being a potentially effective tool to combat oil pollution, bioremediation involves mineralization, i.e., the conversion of complex hydrocarbons into harmless CO{sub 2} and water by action of microorganisms. Therefore, in achieving optimum effectiveness from the application of these products on crude oil in local environments, the capability of the bacteria to mineralize hydrocarbons was evaluated. The microbial laboratory testing of mineralization on local oil degraders involved, first, isolation of bacteria found at a port located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Subsequently, these bacteria were identified by means of Biomereux`s API 20E and 20 NE systems and later screened by their growth on a Malaysian crude oil. Selected strains of Pseudomonas sp. and Achromabacter sp. were then exposed individually to a similar crude oil in a mineralization unit and monitored for 16 days for release of CO{sub 2}. Pseudomonas paucimobilis was found to produce more CO{sub 2} than Achromobacter sp. When tested under similar conditions, mixed populations of these two taxa produced more CO{sub 2} than that produced by any individual strain. Effective bioremediation of local crude in Malaysian waters can therefore be achieved from biochemically developed Pseudomonas sp. strains.

  1. True or spurious long memory in volatility: Further evidence on the energy futures markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charfeddine, Lanouar

    2014-01-01

    The main goal of this paper is to investigate whether the long memory behavior observed in many volatility energy futures markets series is a spurious behavior or not. For this purpose, we employ a wide variety of advanced volatility models that allow for long memory and/or structural changes: the GARCH(1,1), the FIGARCH(1,d,1), the Adaptative-GARCH(1,1,k), and the Adaptative-FIGARCH(1,d,1,k) models. To compare forecasting ability of these models, we use out-of-sample forecasting performance. Using the crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and propane volatility futures energy time series with 1-month and 3-month maturities, we found that five out of the eight time series are characterized by both long memory and structural breaks. For these series, dates of breaks coincide with some major economics and financial events. For the three other time series, we found strong evidence of long memory in volatility. - Highlights: • This paper investigates the long memory properties of the futures energy volatility. • We estimate a variety of GARCH-class of models. • The Adaptative-FIGARCH(1,d,1,k) model has been used to account for both long memory and breaks. • 5 out of the 8 futures energy series are characterized by both long memory and structural breaks. • The 3 other series are characterized by only long range dependence in volatility

  2. 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)

  3. Toxicopathology and immunotoxicology of multiple exposures to diesel and crude oils in cattle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dziwenka, M.M.; Coppock, R.W.; Khan, A.A.; Hiltz, M.N.; Nation, P.N.; Field, C.J.

    2002-01-01

    The subchronic toxicology of crude and refined petroleum in cattle was examined during the course of a large study in which 40 cattle were gavaged with potable water, winter diesel fuel and crude oil for a period of up to 48 days. Blood samples for clinicopathologic parameters were collected weekly. The cattle were necropsied 22 days following the last dose. Representative tissues were taken from all organ systems for histopathology. It was shown that repeated oral exposure to petroleum products resulted in significant changes in the clinicopathologic and immunopathologic parameters of the cattle without producing significant macro- or microscopic tissue lesions. The liver was a target organ for subchronic crude and diesel toxicity. 5 refs., 1 tab., 10 figs

  4. 75 FR 74044 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Gasoline Volatility

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-30

    ...; Gasoline Volatility AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In compliance... entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are those who produce or import gasoline containing... Additives: Gasoline Volatility, Reporting Requirements for Parties Which Produce of Import Gasoline...

  5. Russian crude-oil production and export still increasing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purho, P.

    2001-01-01

    Russian crude-oil production is still increasing. In 2000 the annual production 6.48 mb/d was about 6% higher than a year before. In 2001 the production is expected to rise near the level 7 mb/d, so the increase in production volume is fast. However, the production is still far away from the maximum level of the former Soviet Union, 12 mb/d. At the moment Russia is the second largest oil producer right after Saudi Arabia. The increase in production is based on intensified use of old oil fields caused by improved technology. The oil export of Russia far abroad in 2000 was 2.5 mb/d and near abroad into FSU countries only about 180 000 b/d. The recent export of crude-oil has been near the maximum export capacity corresponding to 2.7 mb/d. About 61 million tons of oil products were exported in 2000, and even the export of oil products is increasing. Most of this was gas oil and heavy fuel oil, but also the export of gasoline was significant. The export of oil and oil products is mainly based on shipments, but also the share of train transport is high. Nearly all the crude oil is transported west either by ships or via pipelines. The share of railway transport is only few percents. Russia will continue its own oil pumping policy despite of the appeals of OPEC for reduction of oil production. Opinion in Russia is that if the increase of production and export serves the interests of Russia, it will also be carried out. The target value for crude oil for 2002 is 22 USD per barrel. The Russian crude oil production is estimated to grow up to 7.4 - 8.4 mb/d by the year 2010

  6. Compost and Crude Humic Substances Produced from Selected Wastes and Their Effects on Zea mays L. Nutrient Uptake and Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palanivell, Perumal; Susilawati, Kasim; Ahmed, Osumanu Haruna; Majid, Nik Muhamad

    2013-01-01

    Production of agriculture and timber commodities leads generation of enormous quantity of wastes. Improper disposal of these agroindustrial wastes pollutes the environment. This problem could be reduced by adding value to them. Therefore, a study was carried out to analyse and compare the nutrients content of RS, RH, SD, and EFB of composts and crude humic substances; furthermore, their effect on growth, dry matter production, and nutrient uptake for Zea mays L., and selected soil chemical properties were evaluated. Standard procedures were used to analyze humic acids (HA), crude fulvic acids (CFA), crude humin (CH), soil, dry matter production and nutrient uptake. Sawdust and RS compost matured at 42 and 47 days, respectively, while RH and EFB composts were less matured at 49th day of composting. Rice straw compost had higher ash, N, P, CEC, HA, K, and Fe contents with lower organic matter, total organic carbon, and C/N and C/P ratios. The HA of sawdust compost showed higher carbon, carboxylic, K, and Ca contents compared to those of RS, RH, and EFB. Crude FA of RS compost showed highest pH, total K, Ca, Mg, and Na contents. Crude humin from RS compost had higher contents of ash, N, P, and CEC. Rice straw was superior in compost, CFA, and CH, while sawdust compost was superior in HA. Application of sawdust compost significantly increased maize plants' diameter, height, dry matter production, N, P, and cations uptake. It also reduced N, P, and K based chemical fertilizer use by 90%. Application of CH and the composts evaluated in this study could be used as an alternative for chemical fertilizers in maize cultivation. PMID:24319353

  7. Biosurfactant and Degradative Enzymes Mediated Crude Oil Degradation by Bacterium Bacillus subtilis A1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parthipan, Punniyakotti; Preetham, Elumalai; Machuca, Laura L.; Rahman, Pattanathu K. S. M.; Murugan, Kadarkarai; Rajasekar, Aruliah

    2017-01-01

    In this work, the biodegradation of the crude oil by the potential biosurfactant producing Bacillus subtilis A1 was investigated. The isolate had the ability to synthesize degradative enzymes such as alkane hydroxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase at the time of biodegradation of hydrocarbon. The biosurfactant producing conditions were optimized as pH 7.0, temperature 40°C, 2% sucrose and 3% of yeast extract as best carbon and nitrogen sources for maximum production of biosurfactant (4.85 g l-1). Specifically, the low molecular weight compounds, i.e., C10–C14 were completely degraded, while C15–C19 were degraded up to 97% from the total hydrocarbon pools. Overall crude oil degradation efficiency of the strain A1 was about 87% within a short period of time (7 days). The accumulated biosurfactant from the biodegradation medium was characterized to be lipopeptide in nature. The strain A1 was found to be more robust than other reported biosurfactant producing bacteria in degradation efficiency of crude oil due to their enzyme production capability and therefore can be used to remove the hydrocarbon pollutants from contaminated environment. PMID:28232826

  8. System of extraction of volatiles from soil using microwave processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ethridge, Edwin C. (Inventor); Kaukler, William F. (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    A device for the extraction and collection of volatiles from soil or planetary regolith. The device utilizes core drilled holes to gain access to underlying volatiles below the surface. Microwave energy beamed into the holes penetrates through the soil or regolith to heat it, and thereby produces vapor by sublimation. The device confines and transports volatiles to a cold trap for collection.

  9. Comparing ignitability for in situ burning of oil spills for an asphaltenic, a waxy and a light crude oil as a function of weathering conditions under arctic conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fritt-Rasmussen, Janne; Brandvik, Per Johan; Villumsen, Arne

    2012-01-01

    (asphalthenic), Kobbe (light oil) and Norne (waxy), for ignitability as a function of ice conditions and weathering degree. The crude oils (9 L) were weathered in a laboratory basin (4.8 m3) under simulated arctic conditions (0, 50 and 90% ice cover). The laboratory burning tests show that the ignitability...... is dependent on oil composition, ice conditions and weathering degree. In open water, oil spills rapidly become “not ignitable” due to the weathering e.g. high water content and low content of residual volatile components. The slower weathering of oil spills in ice (50 and 90% ice cover) results in longer time......-windows for the oil to be ignitable. The composition of the oils is important for the window of opportunity. The asphalthenic Grane crude oil had a limited timewindow for in situ burning (9 h or less), while the light Kobbe crude oil and the waxy Norne crude oil had the longest time-windows for in situ burning (from...

  10. PERUBAHAN KOMPONEN VOLATIL SELAMA FERMENTASI KECAP [Change Volatile Components During Soy Sauce Fermentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton Apriyantono1

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available A study has been conducted to investigate changes of volatile components during soy sauce fermentation. During the fermentation, many volatile components produced may contribute to soy sauce flavor. THe volatile identified by GC-MS werw classified into hydrocarbon (15, alcohol (15, aldehyde (14, ester (14, ketone (9, benzene derivative (11, fatty acid (9, furan (5, terpenoid (18, pyrazine (3, thiazole (1, pyridine (1 and sulfur containing compound (2.Concentration of compounds found in almost all fermentation steps, such as hexanal and benzaldehyde did. These compounds may be derived from raw soybean, since they were all present in raw soybean and their concentration did not change during fermentation. Concentration of palmitic acid and benzeneacetaldehyde, in general, increased during all fermentation steps. They are probably derived from lipid degradation or microorganism activities. Concentrations of some fatty acids, esters and hydrocarbons, such as linoleic acid, methyl palmitate and heptadecane increased during salt fermentation only. Concentration of some other compounds, such as 2,4 decadienal decreased or undetected during fermentation.The absence of some volatile compounds, e.g. (E-nerolidol and (E,E-famesol in boiled soybean which were previously present in raw soybean may be due to evaporation of these compounds during boiling. Some volatile compounds such as, methyl heptadecanoate and few aromatic alcohols are likely derived from Aspergillus sojae, since these compounds were identified only in 0 day koji

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2004-07-01

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

  12. Application of backflush and micro-flow techniques to the analysis of C5-C13 hydrocarbons in crude oils and its geochemical significance

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    An Agilent 6890N GC equipped with both FID and Agilent 5975 MSD analyzer has been employed to analyze C5-C13 hydrocarbon fractions of crude oils. A technical combination of program temperature volatilizer injection, backflush and micro-flow controller afforded a fine separation of C5-C13 compounds on a PONA column with the heavy part of crude oils being cut off before entering the analytical column. Both GC-FID chromatogram and GC-MS mass chromatograrns (MID and full scan) could be obtained at the same time. The retension time differences of nC6-nC13 alkanes between GC and TIC were in the range of 0.02-0. 58 minutes. Totally 286 peaks have been assigned group compositions. Results on 8 typical oil samples from CNPC Key Laboratory Crude Oil Library showed that the characteristics of C6-C13 hydrocarbon group composition could be used in oil-oil correlation studies.

  13. Well-to-wheel life cycle assessment of transportation fuels derived from different North American conventional crudes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, Md. Mustafizur; Canter, Christina; Kumar, Amit

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Development of data-intensive bottom-up life cycle assessment model. • Quantification of well-to-wheel GHG emissions for five North American crudes. • Allocation of emissions to transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel). • California’s Kern County heavy oil is the most GHG intensive of the crudes. - Abstract: A life cycle assessment (LCA) is an extremely useful tool to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with all the stages of a crude oil’s life from well-to-wheel (WTW). All of the WTW life cycle stages of crude oil consume energy and produce significant amounts of GHG emissions. The present study attempts to quantify the WTW life cycle GHG emissions for transportation fuels derived from five North American conventional crudes through the development of an LCA model called FUNNEL-GHG-CCO (FUNdamental Engineering PrinciplEs-based ModeL for Estimation of GreenHouse Gases in Conventional Crude Oils). This model estimates GHG emissions from all the life cycle stages from recovery of crude to the combustion of transportation fuels in vehicle engines. The contribution of recovery emissions in the total WTW GHG emissions ranges from 3.12% for Mars crude to 24.25% for California’s Kern County heavy oil. The transportation of crude oil and refined fuel contributes only 0.44–1.73% of the total WTW life cycle GHG emissions, depending on the transportation methods and total distance transported. The GHG emissions for refining were calculated from the amount of energy use in the refining of crude oil to produce transportation fuels. All the upstream GHG emissions were allocated to gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Refining GHG emissions vary from 13.66–18.70 g-CO 2 eq/MJ-gasoline, 9.71–15.33 g-CO 2 eq/MJ-diesel, and 6.38–9.92 g-CO 2 eq/MJ-jet fuel derived from Alaska North Slope and California’s Kern County heavy oil, respectively. The total WTW life cycle GHG emissions range from 97.55 g-CO 2 eq

  14. Inhibition of Serratia marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation by Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lutfi, Zainal; Ahmad, Asmat; Usup, Gires

    2014-01-01

    Serratia marcescens biofilms are formed when they are bound to surfaces in aqueous environments. S. marcescens utilizes N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as its quorum sensing signal molecule. The accumulation of AHL indicates the bacteria to produce matrices to form biofilms. Prodigiosin (2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodigiosin), which causes red pigmentation in the colonies, are also produced when the AHL reaches a certain threshold. The Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract is believed to inhibit quorum sensing in the S. marcescens Smj-11 and, thus, impedes its biofilm formation ability. A. faecalis STN17 was grown in marine broth, and ethyl acetate extraction was carried out. The crude compound of A. faecalis STN17 was diluted at high concentration (0.2-6.4 mg/mL) and was taken to confirm anti-biofilm activity through the crystal violet method in 96-wells plate. Then, the crude extract underwent purification using simple solvents partitioning test to discern the respective compounds that had the anti-biofilm activity under the crystal violet method. The crystal violet test showed that the crude did have anti-biofilm activity on S. marcescens Smj-11, but did not kill the cells. This finding signifies that the suppression of biofilm formation in S. marcescens by A. faecalis STN17 has a strong correlation. The partitioning test showed that A. faecalis STN17 crude extract has several compounds and only the compound(s) in chloroform showed activities. In conclusion, the crude extract of A. faecalis STN17 has the ability to inhibit S. marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation

  15. Inhibition of Serratia marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation by Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lutfi, Zainal; Ahmad, Asmat [School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia); Usup, Gires [School of Environmental and Natural Resources Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2014-09-03

    Serratia marcescens biofilms are formed when they are bound to surfaces in aqueous environments. S. marcescens utilizes N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as its quorum sensing signal molecule. The accumulation of AHL indicates the bacteria to produce matrices to form biofilms. Prodigiosin (2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodigiosin), which causes red pigmentation in the colonies, are also produced when the AHL reaches a certain threshold. The Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract is believed to inhibit quorum sensing in the S. marcescens Smj-11 and, thus, impedes its biofilm formation ability. A. faecalis STN17 was grown in marine broth, and ethyl acetate extraction was carried out. The crude compound of A. faecalis STN17 was diluted at high concentration (0.2-6.4 mg/mL) and was taken to confirm anti-biofilm activity through the crystal violet method in 96-wells plate. Then, the crude extract underwent purification using simple solvents partitioning test to discern the respective compounds that had the anti-biofilm activity under the crystal violet method. The crystal violet test showed that the crude did have anti-biofilm activity on S. marcescens Smj-11, but did not kill the cells. This finding signifies that the suppression of biofilm formation in S. marcescens by A. faecalis STN17 has a strong correlation. The partitioning test showed that A. faecalis STN17 crude extract has several compounds and only the compound(s) in chloroform showed activities. In conclusion, the crude extract of A. faecalis STN17 has the ability to inhibit S. marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation.

  16. Maglev crude oil pipeline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knolle, Ernst G.

    1994-01-01

    This maglev crude oil pipeline consists of two conduits guiding an endless stream of long containers. One conduit carries loaded containers and the other empty returns. The containers are levitated by permanent magnets in repulsion and propelled by stationary linear induction motors. The containers are linked to each other in a manner that allows them, while in continuous motion, to be folded into side by side position at loading and unloading points. This folding causes a speed reduction in proportion to the ratio of container diameter to container length. While in side by side position, containers are opened at their ends to be filled or emptied. Container size and speed are elected to produce a desired carrying capacity.

  17. Natural sparkling guava wine: volatile and physicochemical characterization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana Maria Michelin Bertagnolli

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Although different tropical fruit species have been used in the development of fermented beverages, there are only few references in the literature to the production of natural sparkling wines from fruits other than grapes. In this sense, the objective of the present research was the development and physicochemical and volatile characterization of a natural sparkling guava wine produced by the champenoise method. Volatile compounds were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry using the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME technique on samples. Eighty-nine volatile compounds were detected, of which 51 were identified. Esters were the predominant class of volatile compounds (a total of 26, followed by alcohols (10, terpenes (9, ketones (3, and acids (3. Volatile compounds with possible odoriferous activity were reported in the beverage, including ethyl octanoate, ethyl 5-hexenoate, phenethyl acetate, (E-β-damascenone, (E-ethyl cinnamate, 2-methyl butyl acetate, 3-methylbutanol, ethyl 3-(E-hexenoate, and methyl 5-hexenoate. Natural sparkling guava wine produced showed a complex composition of fruity and floral aromas. Furthermore, the use of the champenoise method, traditionally applied to grapes, enabled the manufacture of a natural sparkling guava wine with physicochemical characteristics equivalent to those of sparkling wines made from grapes.

  18. Volatilization of iodine from soils and plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wildung, R.E.; Cataldo, D.A.; Garland, T.R.

    1985-04-01

    Elevated levels of 129 I, a long-lived fission product, are present in the environment as a result of nuclear weapons testing and fuel reprocessing. To aid in understanding the anomalous behavior of this element, relative to natural I ( 127 I), in the vicinity of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, preliminary laboratory-growth chamber studies were undertaken to examine the possible formation of volatile inorganic and organic I species in soil and plant systems. Inorganic 129 I added to soil was volatilized from both the soil and plant during plant growth, at average ratios of 2 x 10 -3 %/day soil and 9 x 10 -3 %/day foliage, respectively. Volatilization rates from soil were an order of magnitude less in the absence of growing roots. Less than 2% of soil or plant volatiles was subsequently retained by plant canopies. Volatile I, chemically characterized by selective sorption methods, consisted principally of alkyl iodides formed by both soil and plant processes. However, plants and soils containing actively growing roots produced a larger fraction of volatile inorganic I than soil alone. 14 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

  19. Price Relationships in the Petroleum Market: An Analysis of Crude Oil and Refined Product Prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asche, Frank; Gjoelberg, Ole; Voelker, Teresa

    2001-08-01

    In this paper the relationships between crude oil and refined product prices are investigated in a multivariate framework. This allows us to test several (partly competing) assumptions of earlier studies. In particular, we find that the crude oil price is weakly exogenous and that the spread is constant in some but not all relationships. Moreover, the multivariate analysis shows that the link between crude oil prices and several refined product prices implies market integration for these refined products. This is an example of supply driven market integration and producers will change the output mix in response to price changes. (author)

  20. Price relationships in the petroleum market. An analysis of crude oil and refined product prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asche, Frank; Gjoelberg, Ole; Volker, Teresa

    2003-01-01

    In this paper the relationships between crude oil and refined product prices are investigated in a multivariate framework. This allows us to test several (partly competing) assumptions of earlier studies. In particular, we find that the crude oil price is weakly exogenous and that the spread is constant in some but not all relationships. Moreover, the multivariate analysis shows that the link between crude oil prices and several refined product prices implies market integration for these refined products. This is an example of supply driven market integration and producers will change the output mix in response to price changes

  1. Price relationships in the petroleum market: an analysis of crude oil and refined product prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asche, F.; Gjoelberg, O.; Voelker, T.

    2003-01-01

    In this paper the relationships between crude oil and refined product prices are investigated in a multivariate framework. This allows us to test several (partly competing) assumptions of earlier studies. In particular, we find that the crude oil price is weakly exogenous and that the spread is constant in some but not all relationships. Moreover, the multivariate analysis shows that the link between crude oil prices and several refined product prices implies market integration for these refined products. This is an example of supply driven market integration and producers will change the output mix in response to price changes. (author)

  2. Potential impact of environmental requirements on petroleum products derived from synthetic crude

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    Fuel quality proposals regarding gasoline and diesel fuels were discussed. Strict regulations on air emissions will mean changes in transportation fuel specifications which will ultimately impact on the refining industry. As fuel quality requirements become more stringent, refiners will need to look more closely at increasing the use of Canadian synthetic crude as a refinery feed. The fuel quality specifications with the potentially highest impact for the continued use of synthetic crude are those relating to sulphur, aromatics (including benzene), and olefins in gasoline and sulphur, aromatics and cetane in diesel fuel. Synthetic crude has an advantage in terms of gasoline sulphur content. The FCC feed is at a low enough sulphur level to result in gasoline components that would allow refiners to meet final gasoline sulphur levels of less than 100 ppm. In either case, synthetic middle distillate must be upgraded. Options that face the synthetic crude and refining industries are: (1) synthetic crude producers may install the process equipment needed to upgrade the middle distillate portion of their synthetic crude stream, (2) refiners may install equipment to upgrade just the diesel fuel portion of the middle distillate pool and jet fuel, and (3) a joint effort may be made by the two industries. The National Centre for Upgrading Technology (NCUT) and the Western Research Centre of Natural Resources Canada will continue to assist with research into improved catalysts for hydrotreating of middle distillates, and new lower cost processes for upgrading middle distillates from synthetic and conventional crude oils to meet future product requirements. 5 refs., 1 tab

  3. Conversion of Crude Glycerol to 1, 3-Propanediol by Newly Isolated Kluyvera Cryocrescens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loh, S.K.; Stasha Eleanor Rosland Abel

    2016-01-01

    Bio diesel, an environmental-friendly and renewable fuel, has gained market share and popularity as an alternative to fossil fuel. While expanding its production globally to meet the demand, the production of its principal co-product, crude glycerol which is surplus and under utilised, has affected both the economic and environment. Crude glycerol has limited usage due to the impurities present. It cannot be disposed naturally in the environment and its storage and processing are very costly. Glycerol with its triglyceride backbone serves as a natural metabolite susceptible to microbial degradation into high value-added compounds. In this study, a novel 1,3-PD producing bacterial strain isolated from palm oil mill effluent was used in microbial fermentation of crude glycerol. The strain, identified as Kluyvera cryocrescens NBRC 102467 based on its 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequences, was capable of producing 1,3-PD (5.28 g litre -1 ) along with by-products, butanol (0.34 g litre -1 ) and acetone (0.31 g litre -1 ) after an optimum 48 hour of incubation at 30 degree Celsius in agitated medium enriched with crude glycerol at 150 revolutions per minute. Interestingly, its productivity peaked at the 6 hour reaching 0.28 g litre -1 hour -1 and declined thereafter. In future, this strain has potential to be used in the bioprocess of interest. (author)

  4. Arsenic volatilization in model anaerobic biogas digesters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mestrot, Adrien; Xie, Wan-Ying; Xue, Ximei; Zhu, Yong-Guan

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Arsenic is volatilized form all model anaerobic digesters, including the non-treated ones. • Volatile As species can be identified and quantified in all digesters. • Non-arsenic treated digesters volatilization rates are higher than Roxarsone treated ones. - Abstract: Arsenic is a class 1 non-threshold carcinogen which is highly ubiquitous. Arsenic undergoes many different transformations (biotic or abiotic) between and within environmental compartments, leading to a number of different chemical species possessing different properties and toxicities. One specific transformation is As biotic volatilization which is coupled with As biomethylation and has been scarcely studied due to inherent sampling issues. Arsenic methylation/volatilization is also linked with methanogenesis and occurs in anaerobic environments. In China, rice straw and animal manure are very often used to produce biogas and both can contain high amounts of As, especially if the rice is grown in areas with heavy mining or smelting industries and if Roxarsone is fed to the animals. Roxarsone is an As-containing drug which is widely used in China to control coccidian intestinal parasites, to improve feed efficiency and to promote rapid growth. Previous work has shown that this compound degrades to inorganic As under anaerobic conditions. In this study the focus is on biotic transformations of As in small microcosms designed as biogas digester models (BDMs) using recently validated As traps, thus, enabling direct quantification and identification of volatile As species. It is shown that although there was a loss of soluble As in the BDMs, their conditions favored biomethylation. All reactors produced volatile As, especially the monomethylarsonic acid spiked ones with 413 ± 148 ng As (mean ± SD, n = 3) which suggest that the first methylation step, from inorganic As, is a limiting factor. The most abundant species was trimethylarsine, but the toxic arsine was present in the

  5. Crude oil spot market pricing: Pearsonian analysis of crude oil spot market prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akinnusi, Ayo

    1994-01-01

    This paper presents a brief overview of crude oil pricing before describing a study of sets of 1991 spot market prices, and examining Pearson's model. Empirical distribution characteristics for 14 crude oils are tabulated, and skewness-kurtosis relationship and implication are considered. (UK)

  6. Investigating the influence of pressure and temperature on malaysian crude oil density and viscosity for improved recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahoor, M.K.; Derahman, M.N.

    2012-01-01

    Malaysia has great potential as a crude oil or fossil fuel producing country. To increase oil production, behavior of Malaysian Crude Oil has been analyzed with reference to temperature and pressure variations. The effect of these parameters on crude oil density and viscosity has been observed, to select the methodology to be adopted for increases recovery by implementing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project. Based on this study it has been decided to further explore the feasibility of increasing reservoir pressure. (author)

  7. Effect of paraffin saturation in a crude oil on operation of a field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trebin, G F; Kapyrin, Yu V

    1968-11-01

    Both theoretical and practical studies in recent years have shown that in planning operational procedures for an oil field, the paraffin saturation of the crude oil must be considered. If the crude oil is essentially saturated with paraffin at reservoir condition, then paraffin deposition can occur around the well and in the well. Temperature in the reservoir can be lowered by 2 mechanisms: (1) by injection of water below reservoir temperature, and (2) by expansion of produced gas and consequent cooling of the produced oil. Possible application of these principles to several Soviet oil fields is discussed. In the Uzen field, a preliminary investigation is under way to test the feasibility of heating the injection water to prevent paraffin deposition in the reservoir.

  8. Supplying synthetic crude oil from Canadian oil sands: A comparative study of the costs and CO2 emissions of mining and in-situ recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Méjean, Aurélie; Hope, Chris

    2013-01-01

    High crude oil prices and the eventual decline of conventional oil production raise the issue of alternative fuels such as non-conventional oil. The paper describes a simple probabilistic model of the costs of synthetic crude oil produced from Canadian oil sands. Synthetic crude oil is obtained by upgrading bitumen that is first produced through mining or in-situ recovery techniques. This forward-looking analysis quantifies the effects of learning and production constraints on the costs of supplying synthetic crude oil. The sensitivity analysis shows that before 2035, the most influential parameters are the learning parameter in the case of in-situ bitumen and the depletion parameter in the case of mined bitumen. After 2035, depletion dominates in both cases. The results show that the social cost of CO 2 has a large impact on the total costs of synthetic crude oil, in particular in the case of synthetic crude oil from in-situ bitumen, due to the carbon intensity of the recovery techniques: taking into account the social cost of CO 2 adds more than half to the cost of producing synthetic crude oil from mined bitumen in 2050 (mean value), while the cost of producing synthetic crude oil from in-situ bitumen more than doubles. - Highlights: • We model the cost of Canadian synthetic crude oil (SCO) using Monte-Carlo techniques. • We reveal the uncertainty associated with each input parameter. • We quantify the effect of learning, depletion and CO 2 using sensitivity analyses. • Accounting for the social cost of CO 2 doubles the cost of SCO from in-situ bitumen. • CO 2 pricing could have a large effect on the economics of the oil sands

  9. Long Memory in STOCK Market Volatility: the International Evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chunxia; Hu, Sen; Xia, Bingying; Wang, Rui

    2012-08-01

    It is still a hot topic to catch the auto-dependence behavior of volatility. Here, based on the measurement of average volatility, under different observation window size, we investigated the dependence of successive volatility of several main stock indices and their simulated GARCH(1, 1) model, there were obvious linear auto-dependence in the logarithm of volatility under a small observation window size and nonlinear auto-dependence under a big observation. After calculating the correlation and mutual information of the logarithm of volatility for Dow Jones Industrial Average during different periods, we find that some influential events can change the correlation structure and the volatilities of different periods have distinct influence on that of the remote future. Besides, GARCH model could produce similar behavior of dependence as real data and long memory property. But our analyses show that the auto-dependence of volatility in GARCH is different from that in real data, and the long memory is undervalued by GARCH.

  10. Alkyl PAH in crude oil cause chronic toxicity to early life stages of fish

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodson, P.V.; Khan, C.W.; Saravanabhavan, G.; Clarke, L.; Brown, R.S. [Queen' s Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada). School of Environmental Studies; Hollebone, B.; Wang, Z. [Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). ; Short, J. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Juneau, AK (United States). Auke Bay Lab; Lee, K.; King, T. [Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS (Canada). Centre for Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental Research

    2007-07-01

    In order to mitigate the risk to fisheries following an offshore oil spill, it is necessary to know the components of crude oil that are toxic. Chronic exposure of early life stages of fish to crude oil causes Blue Sac Disease, a syndrome characterized by induction of the cytochrome P450 (CYP1A) enzyme. In this study, effects-driven fractionation of Alaska North Slope Crude was used to identify the classes of compounds that cause CYP1A induction in juvenile rainbow trout and chronic toxicity to developing stages of Japanese medaka. Four fractions of compounds were created by low temperature vacuum distillation. This separated the constituents of oil according to their volatility within defined temperature ranges. The fractions were separated according to their boiling points. With a temperature range of 287-481 degrees C, fraction F3 was the only fraction as toxic as whole oil and induced CYPP1A enzymes of fish. Fractions containing specific classes of alkyl PAH were also collected. For all separations, the performance of the method was evaluated by the extent to which PAH were separated from aliphatics, resins and waxes, as well as by the quantitative recovery of mass in fractions and subfractions. The induction of CYP1A enzymes showed that PAH was present in all fractions that were highly toxic, but the toxicity tests indicated that not all fractions containing PAH were toxic. This research provided a scientific basis for comparing the risks of different crude oils based on chemical analyses that show the different proportions or amounts of PAH present. The results indicate which compounds of concern should be used to determine the extent and success of oil spill remediation, and provide a biological interpretation of chemical fingerprinting used to discriminate the sources of oil pollution. 15 refs., 1 tab.

  11. Biodiesel production from lipids in wet microalgae with microwave irradiation and bio-crude production from algal residue through hydrothermal liquefaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Jun; Huang, Rui; Yu, Tao; Li, Tao; Zhou, Junhu; Cen, Kefa

    2014-01-01

    A cogeneration process of biodiesel and bio-crude was proposed to make full use of wet microalgae biomass. High-grade biodiesel was first produced from lipids in wet microalgae through extraction and transesterification with microwave irradiation. Then, low-grade bio-crude was produced from proteins and carbohydrates in the algal residue through hydrothermal liquefaction. The total yield (40.19%) and the total energy recovery (67.73%) of the cogenerated biodiesel and bio-crude were almost equal to those of the bio-oil obtained from raw microalgae through direct hydrothermal liquefaction. Upon microwave irradiation, proteins were partially hydrolyzed and the hydrolysates were apt for deaminization under the hydrothermal condition of the algal residue. Hence, the total remaining nitrogen (16.02%) in the cogenerated biodiesel and bio-crude was lower than that (27.06%) in the bio-oil. The cogeneration process prevented lipids and proteins from reacting to produce low-grade amides and other long-chain nitrogen compounds during the direct hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Pricing of Options on Assets with Stochastic Volatilities.

    OpenAIRE

    Hull, John C; White, Alan D

    1987-01-01

    One option-pricing problem which has hitherto been unsolved is the pricing of European call on an asset which has a stochastic volatility. This paper examines this problem. The option price is determined in series form for the case in which the stochastic volatility is independent of the stock price. Numerical solutions are also produced for the case in which the volatility is correlated with the stock price. It is found that the Black-Scholes price frequently overprices options and that the ...

  13. Intraplate mantle oxidation by volatile-rich silicic magmas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, Audrey M.; Médard, Etienne; Righter, Kevin; Lanzirotti, Antonio

    2017-11-01

    The upper subcontinental lithospheric mantle below the French Massif Central is more oxidized than the average continental lithosphere, although the origin of this anomaly remains unknown. Using iron oxidation analysis in clinopyroxene, oxybarometry, and melt inclusions in mantle xenoliths, we show that widespread infiltration of volatile (HCSO)-rich silicic melts played a major role in this oxidation. We propose the first comprehensive model of magmatism and mantle oxidation at an intraplate setting. Two oxidizing events occurred: (1) a 365–286 Ma old magmatic episode that produced alkaline vaugnerites, potassic lamprophyres, and K-rich calc-alkaline granitoids, related to the N–S Rhenohercynian subduction, and (2) < 30 Ma old magmatism related to W–E extension, producing carbonatites and hydrous potassic trachytes. These melts were capable of locally increasing the subcontinental lithospheric mantle fO2 to FMQ + 2.4. Both events originate from the melting of a metasomatized lithosphere containing carbonate + phlogopite ± amphibole. The persistence of this volatile-rich lithospheric source implies the potential for new episodes of volatile-rich magmatism. Similarities with worldwide magmatism also show that the importance of volatiles and the oxidation of the mantle in intraplate regions is underestimated.

  14. Laboratory Evaluation of the Anti-stain Efficacy of Crude Wood Vinegar for Pinus densiflora

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabiha Salim

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In Korea, Pinus densiflora is one of the most important indigenous tree species in terms of making high-value wood products. Therefore, Korean sawmills exercise extreme caution to prevent fungal discoloration such as that caused by sapstains and molds on the timber. In this study, the effectiveness of using natural crude wood vinegar to inhibit sapstains and molds, especially on Pinus densiflora (Japanese red pine was examined. Pinus densiflora wood samples were dipped in absolute and diluted wood vinegar at different concentrations (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1; deionized water to wood vinegar dilution ratio for 3 minutes and immediately air-dried. In addition, volatile wood vinegar was also used in this study to imitate the condition of wood vinegar when exposed to open air. The degree of discoloration was examined and evaluated every 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks according to the ASTM D4445-91 Standard Method for laboratory test. Crude wood vinegar inhibited sapstains more efficiently than it inhibited molds. Wood vinegar at a 1:1 concentration was found to be the most optimum treatment for inhibiting sapstains for at least 8 weeks.

  15. New insights into oxidation behaviours of crude oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, J.; Mehta, S.A.; Moore, R.G. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada)

    2006-07-01

    Innovative technologies will be needed to develop many of the world's oil reservoirs in an economically sustainable manner. In recent years, air injection for light oil reservoirs has gained recognition as an Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) process. In this process, the oxygen from the injected air reacts with a small fraction of the reservoir oil at high temperature to produce a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The produced gas generated by the reaction mobilizes the oil downstream, thereby sweeping oil towards the production wells. High pressure air injection used in light oil reservoirs differs from the process used in heavy oil reservoirs, despite the fact that various oxidation reaction schemes exist. The key challenge facing the air injection process is the complexity of the oxidation reaction for crude oil and the lack of understanding of the oxidation behavior of light oils. This study identified a range of oxidation behaviors between light oil and heavy oil. The relationship between crude oil composition and its oxidation behaviors was also examined with reference to 3 different oils and their SARA (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes) fractions. This study was carried out at various pressures and temperatures using thermogravimetry and pressurized differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC) as the thermal analysis techniques.

  16. Acid hydrolysis of crude tannins from infructescence of Platycarya strobilacea Sieb. et Zucc to produce ellagic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Liangliang; Wang, Yongmei; Xu, Man

    2014-01-01

    The infructescence of Platycarya strobilacea Sieb. et Zucc is a well-known traditional medicine in China, Japan and Korea. The infructescence of P. strobilacea Sieb. et Zucc is a rich source of ellagitannins that are composed of ellagic acid (EA) and gallic acid, linked to a sugar moiety. The aim of this study was to prepare EA by acid hydrolysis of crude tannins from the infructescence of P. strobilacea Sieb. et Zucc, and establish a new technological processing method for EA. The natural antioxidant EA was prepared by using the water extraction of infructescence of P. strobilacea Sieb. et Zucc, evaporation, condensation, acid hydrolysis and prepared by the process of crystallisation. The yield percentage of EA from crude EA was more than 20% and the purity of the product was more than 98%, as identified by using HPLC. The structure was identified on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with authentic compound.

  17. Flower volatiles, crop varieties and bee responses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Björn K Klatt

    Full Text Available Pollination contributes to an estimated one third of global food production, through both the improvement of the yield and the quality of crops. Volatile compounds emitted by crop flowers mediate plant-pollinator interactions, but differences between crop varieties are still little explored. We investigated whether the visitation of crop flowers is determined by variety-specific flower volatiles using strawberry varieties (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne and how this affects the pollination services of the wild bee Osmia bicornis L. Flower volatile compounds of three strawberry varieties were measured via headspace collection. Gas chromatography showed that the three strawberry varieties produced the same volatile compounds but with quantitative differences of the total amount of volatiles and between distinct compounds. Electroantennographic recordings showed that inexperienced females of Osmia bicornis had higher antennal responses to all volatile compounds than to controls of air and paraffin oil, however responses differed between compounds. The variety Sonata was found to emit a total higher level of volatiles and also higher levels of most of the compounds that evoked antennal responses compared with the other varieties Honeoye and Darselect. Sonata also received more flower visits from Osmia bicornis females under field conditions, compared with Honeoye. Our results suggest that differences in the emission of flower volatile compounds among strawberry varieties mediate their attractiveness to females of Osmia bicornis. Since quality and quantity of marketable fruits depend on optimal pollination, a better understanding of the role of flower volatiles in crop production is required and should be considered more closely in crop-variety breeding.

  18. Volatile-organic molecular characterization of shale-oil produced water from the Permian Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Naima A; Engle, Mark; Dungan, Barry; Holguin, F Omar; Xu, Pei; Carroll, Kenneth C

    2016-04-01

    Growth in unconventional oil and gas has spurred concerns on environmental impact and interest in beneficial uses of produced water (PW), especially in arid regions such as the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. tight-oil producer. To evaluate environmental impact, treatment, and reuse potential, there is a need to characterize the compositional variability of PW. Although hydraulic fracturing has caused a significant increase in shale-oil production, there are no high-resolution organic composition data for the shale-oil PW from the Permian Basin or other shale-oil plays (Eagle Ford, Bakken, etc.). PW was collected from shale-oil wells in the Midland sub-basin of the Permian Basin. Molecular characterization was conducted using high-resolution solid phase micro extraction gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Approximately 1400 compounds were identified, and 327 compounds had a >70% library match. PW contained alkane, cyclohexane, cyclopentane, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), alkyl benzenes, propyl-benzene, and naphthalene. PW also contained heteroatomic compounds containing nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. 3D van Krevelen and double bond equivalence versus carbon number analyses were used to evaluate molecular variability. Source composition, as well as solubility, controlled the distribution of volatile compounds found in shale-oil PW. The salinity also increased with depth, ranging from 105 to 162 g/L total dissolved solids. These data fill a gap for shale-oil PW composition, the associated petroleomics plots provide a fingerprinting framework, and the results for the Permian shale-oil PW suggest that partial treatment of suspended solids and organics would support some beneficial uses such as onsite reuse and bio-energy production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Volatile-organic molecular characterization of shale-oil produced water from the Permian Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Naima A.; Engle, Mark A.; Dungan, Barry; Holguin, F. Omar; Xu, Pei; Carroll, Kenneth C.

    2016-01-01

    Growth in unconventional oil and gas has spurred concerns on environmental impact and interest in beneficial uses of produced water (PW), especially in arid regions such as the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. tight-oil producer. To evaluate environmental impact, treatment, and reuse potential, there is a need to characterize the compositional variability of PW. Although hydraulic fracturing has caused a significant increase in shale-oil production, there are no high-resolution organic composition data for the shale-oil PW from the Permian Basin or other shale-oil plays (Eagle Ford, Bakken, etc.). PW was collected from shale-oil wells in the Midland sub-basin of the Permian Basin. Molecular characterization was conducted using high-resolution solid phase micro extraction gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Approximately 1400 compounds were identified, and 327 compounds had a >70% library match. PW contained alkane, cyclohexane, cyclopentane, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), alkyl benzenes, propyl-benzene, and naphthalene. PW also contained heteroatomic compounds containing nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. 3D van Krevelen and double bond equivalence versus carbon number analyses were used to evaluate molecular variability. Source composition, as well as solubility, controlled the distribution of volatile compounds found in shale-oil PW. The salinity also increased with depth, ranging from 105 to 162 g/L total dissolved solids. These data fill a gap for shale-oil PW composition, the associated petroleomics plots provide a fingerprinting framework, and the results for the Permian shale-oil PW suggest that partial treatment of suspended solids and organics would support some beneficial uses such as onsite reuse and bio-energy production.

  20. Purification of crude glycerol from transesterification reaction of palm oil using direct method and multistep method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasir, N. F.; Mirus, M. F.; Ismail, M.

    2017-09-01

    Crude glycerol which produced from transesterification reaction has limited usage if it does not undergo purification process. It also contains excess methanol, catalyst and soap. Conventionally, purification method of the crude glycerol involves high cost and complex processes. This study aimed to determine the effects of using different purification methods which are direct method (comprises of ion exchange and methanol removal steps) and multistep method (comprises of neutralization, filtration, ion exchange and methanol removal steps). Two crude glycerol samples were investigated; the self-produced sample through the transesterification process of palm oil and the sample obtained from biodiesel plant. Samples were analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The results of this study for both samples after purification have showed that the pure glycerol was successfully produced and fatty acid salts were eliminated. Also, the results indicated the absence of methanol in both samples after purification process. In short, the combination of 4 purification steps has contributed to a higher quality of glycerol. Multistep purification method gave a better result compared to the direct method as neutralization and filtration steps helped in removing most excess salt, fatty acid and catalyst.

  1. Nonvolatile, semivolatile, or volatile: redefining volatile for volatile organic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Võ, Uyên-Uyén T; Morris, Michael P

    2014-06-01

    Although widely used in air quality regulatory frameworks, the term "volatile organic compound" (VOC) is poorly defined. Numerous standardized tests are currently used in regulations to determine VOC content (and thus volatility), but in many cases the tests do not agree with each other, nor do they always accurately represent actual evaporation rates under ambient conditions. The parameters (time, temperature, reference material, column polarity, etc.) used in the definitions and the associated test methods were created without a significant evaluation of volatilization characteristics in real world settings. Not only do these differences lead to varying VOC content results, but occasionally they conflict with one another. An ambient evaporation study of selected compounds and a few formulated products was conducted and the results were compared to several current VOC test methodologies: SCAQMD Method 313 (M313), ASTM Standard Test Method E 1868-10 (E1868), and US. EPA Reference Method 24 (M24). The ambient evaporation study showed a definite distinction between nonvolatile, semivolatile, and volatile compounds. Some low vapor pressure (LVP) solvents, currently considered exempt as VOCs by some methods, volatilize at ambient conditions nearly as rapidly as the traditional high-volatility solvents they are meant to replace. Conversely, bio-based and heavy hydrocarbons did not readily volatilize, though they often are calculated as VOCs in some traditional test methods. The study suggests that regulatory standards should be reevaluated to more accurately reflect real-world emission from the use of VOC containing products. The definition of VOC in current test methods may lead to regulations that exclude otherwise viable alternatives or allow substitutions of chemicals that may limit the environmental benefits sought in the regulation. A study was conducted to examine volatility of several compounds and a few formulated products under several current VOC test

  2. Crude oil growth impact on pipelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devries, O.

    2005-01-01

    This paper provided an outline of crude oil production and supply in Canada. Details of oil sands projects in Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River were presented. A chart of oil sands growth by major project was provided. A list of new emerging oil sands crude types was also presented along with details of a synthetic bitumen blending synergy. Maps of Western Canadian crude oil markets were provided, along with details of refinery and market demand by crude type. Various pipeline alternatives to new markets were examined, with reference to Enbridge Pipeline's supply and capacity. Details of the Hardisty to U.S Gulf Coast Pipeline and the Edmonton to Prince Rupert Pipeline and its terminal and dock facilities were presented. It was concluded that pipeline capacity and seasonal factors will influence market demand, while linefill, crude types and the quality of the product will influence operational strategies. tabs., figs

  3. Global transformation and fate of SOA: Implications of Low Volatility SOA and Gas-Phase Fragmentation Reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shrivastava, ManishKumar B.; Easter, Richard C.; Liu, Xiaohong; Zelenyuk, Alla; Singh, Balwinder; Zhang, Kai; Ma, Po-Lun; Chand, Duli; Ghan, Steven J.; Jiminez, J. L.; Zhang, Qibin; Fast, Jerome D.; Rasch, Philip J.; Tiitta, P.

    2015-05-16

    Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are large contributors to fine particle loadings and radiative forcing, but are often represented crudely in global models. We have implemented three new detailed SOA treatments within the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5) that allow us to compare the semi-volatile versus non-volatile SOA treatments (based on some of the latest experimental findings) and also investigate the effects of gas-phase fragmentation reactions. For semi-volatile SOA treatments, fragmentation reactions decrease simulated SOA burden from 7.5 Tg to 1.8 Tg. For the non-volatile SOA treatment with fragmentation, the burden is 3.1 Tg. Larger differences between non-volatile and semi-volatile SOA (upto a factor of 5) correspond to continental outflow over the oceans. Compared to a global dataset of surface Aerosol Mass Spectrometer measurements and the US IMPROVE network measurements, the non-volatile SOA with fragmentation treatment (FragNVSOA) agrees best at rural locations. Urban SOA is under-predicted but this may be due to the coarse model resolution. All our three revised treatments show much better agreement with aircraft measurements of organic aerosols (OA) over the N. American Arctic and sub-Arctic in spring and summer, compared to the standard CAM5 formulation. This is due to treating SOA precursor gases from biomass burning, and long-range transport of biomass burning OA at elevated levels. The revised model configuration that include fragmentation (both semi-volatile and non-volatile SOA) show much better agreement with MODIS AOD data over regions dominated by biomass burning during the summer, and predict biomass burning as the largest global source of OA followed by biogenic and anthropogenic sources. The non-volatile and semi-volatile configuration predict the direct radiative forcing of SOA as -0.5 W m-2 and -0.26 W m-2 respectively, at top of the atmosphere, which are higher than previously estimated by most models, but in reasonable

  4. Can reserve additions in mature crude oil provinces attenuate peak oil?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Okullo, S.J.; Reynes, F.G.D.

    2011-01-01

    Following the peak in US crude oil production 30 years ago, more and more non-OPEC producers have seen their production decline as a result of resource depletion. OPEC, on the other hand has extracted a comparatively smaller proportion of its reserve base. Given that new non-OPEC discoveries are

  5. Volatile flavor compounds in yogurt: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hefa

    2010-11-01

    Considerable knowledge has been accumulated on the volatile compounds contributing to the aroma and flavor of yogurt. This review outlines the production of the major flavor compounds in yogurt fermentation and the analysis techniques, both instrumental and sensory, for quantifying the volatile compounds in yogurt. The volatile compounds that have been identified in plain yogurt are summarized, with the few key aroma compounds described in detail. Most flavor compounds in yogurt are produced from lipolysis of milkfat and microbiological transformations of lactose and citrate. More than 100 volatiles, including carbonyl compounds, alcohols, acids, esters, hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, sulfur-containing compounds, and heterocyclic compounds, are found in yogurt at low to trace concentrations. Besides lactic acid, acetaldehyde, diacetyl, acetoin, acetone, and 2-butanone contribute most to the typical aroma and flavor of yogurt. Extended storage of yogurt causes off-flavor development, which is mainly attributed to the production of undesired aldehydes and fatty acids during lipid oxidation. Further work on studying the volatile flavor compounds-matrix interactions, flavor release mechanisms, and the synergistic effect of flavor compounds, and on correlating the sensory properties of yogurt with the compositions of volatile flavor compounds are needed to fully elucidate yogurt aroma and flavor.

  6. Naphthenic acid characterization and distribution in crude oils; Caracterizacao e distribuicao de acidos naftenicos em petroleos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guimaraes, Regina C.L.; Gomes, Alexandre de O. [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Naphthenic acid corrosion was observed for the first time during the distillation process of some kind of crude oils in 1920. Recent reports about naphthenic acid corrosion have been found in China, India, Venezuela, Eastern Europe, Russia and the USA. In Brazil, heavy and acid crude oil processing is rising. Some brazilian crude oils have TAN around 3,0 mg KOH/g. The presence of relatively high levels of naphthenic acids in crude oils is a bane of petroleum refiners; and more recently, of producers as well, who have reported problems during production with calcium and sodium naphthenate . Essentially, these acids which are found to greater or lesser extent in virtually all crude oils are corrosive and tend to cause equipment failures, lead to high maintenance costs and may pose environmental disposal problems. In order to give these information to PETROBRAS, The Research and Development Center of PETROBRAS (CENPES) has been working in house and with brazilian universities developing analytical technicians to know better molecular structures and distribution of these acids compounds in crude oils. This work presents the actual methods and some results from these developments. (author)

  7. Phase change events of volatile liquid perfluorocarbon contrast agents produce unique acoustic signatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheeran, Paul S; Dayton, Paul A; Matsunaga, Terry O

    2014-01-01

    Phase-change contrast agents (PCCAs) provide a dynamic platform to approach problems in medical ultrasound (US). Upon US-mediated activation, the liquid core vaporizes and expands to produce a gas bubble ideal for US imaging and therapy. In this study, we demonstrate through high-speed video microscopy and US interrogation that PCCAs composed of highly volatile perfluorocarbons (PFCs) exhibit unique acoustic behavior that can be detected and differentiated from standard microbubble contrast agents. Experimental results show that when activated with short pulses PCCAs will over-expand and undergo unforced radial oscillation while settling to a final bubble diameter. The size-dependent oscillation phenomenon generates a unique acoustic signal that can be passively detected in both time and frequency domain using confocal piston transducers with an ‘activate high’ (8 MHz, 2 cycles), ‘listen low’ (1 MHz) scheme. Results show that the magnitude of the acoustic ‘signature’ increases as PFC boiling point decreases. By using a band-limited spectral processing technique, the droplet signals can be isolated from controls and used to build experimental relationships between concentration and vaporization pressure. The techniques shown here may be useful for physical studies as well as development of droplet-specific imaging techniques. (paper)

  8. 7 CFR 30.20 - Crude.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude. 30.20 Section 30.20 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... unfinished as a result of extreme immaturity. Crude tobacco ordinarily has a characteristic green color. ...

  9. The Economic Value of Predicting Stock Index Returns and Volatility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marquering, W.; Verbeek, M.J.C.M.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper, we analyze the economic value of predicting index returns as well as volatility. On the basis of fairly simple linear models, estimated recursively, we produce genuine out-of-sample forecasts for the return on the S&P 500 index and its volatility. Using monthly data from 1954-1998, we

  10. Reactive flash volatilization of fluid fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Lanny D.; Dauenhauer, Paul J.; Dreyer, Bradon J.; Salge, James R.

    2013-01-08

    The invention provides methods for the production of synthesis gas. More particularly, various embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for volatilizing fluid fuel to produce synthesis gas by using a metal catalyst on a solid support matrix.

  11. Measuring efficiency of international crude oil markets: A multifractality approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niere, H. M.

    2015-01-01

    The three major international crude oil markets are treated as complex systems and their multifractal properties are explored. The study covers daily prices of Brent crude, OPEC reference basket and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude from January 2, 2003 to January 2, 2014. A multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) is employed to extract the generalized Hurst exponents in each of the time series. The generalized Hurst exponent is used to measure the degree of multifractality which in turn is used to quantify the efficiency of the three international crude oil markets. To identify whether the source of multifractality is long-range correlations or broad fat-tail distributions, shuffled data and surrogated data corresponding to each of the time series are generated. Shuffled data are obtained by randomizing the order of the price returns data. This will destroy any long-range correlation of the time series. Surrogated data is produced using the Fourier-Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (F-DFA). This is done by randomizing the phases of the price returns data in Fourier space. This will normalize the distribution of the time series. The study found that for the three crude oil markets, there is a strong dependence of the generalized Hurst exponents with respect to the order of fluctuations. This shows that the daily price time series of the markets under study have signs of multifractality. Using the degree of multifractality as a measure of efficiency, the results show that WTI is the most efficient while OPEC is the least efficient market. This implies that OPEC has the highest likelihood to be manipulated among the three markets. This reflects the fact that Brent and WTI is a very competitive market hence, it has a higher level of complexity compared against OPEC, which has a large monopoly power. Comparing with shuffled data and surrogated data, the findings suggest that for all the three crude oil markets, the multifractality is mainly due to long

  12. Price volatility in wind dominant electricity markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Farashbashi-Astaneh, Seyed-Mostafa; Chen, Zhe

    2013-01-01

    High penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources causes price volatility in future electricity markets. This is specially the case in European countries that plan high penetration levels. This highlights the necessity for revising market regulations and mechanisms in accordance...... to generation combination portfolio. Proposed solutions should be able to tackle with emerging challenges which are mainly due to high variability and unpredictability of intermittent renewable resources. In this paper high price volatility will be introduced as an emerging challenge in wind dominant...... electricity markets. High price volatility is unappreciated because it imposes high financial risk levels to both electricity consumers and producers. Additionally high price variations impede tracking price signals by consumers in future smart grid and jeopardize implementation of demand response concepts...

  13. How much crude oil can zooplankton ingest? Estimating the quantity of dispersed crude oil defecated by planktonic copepods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Connelly, Tara L.; Buskey, Edward J.

    2016-01-01

    % of the analyzed fecal pellets from three species of copepods and a natural copepod assemblage exposed for 48 h to physically or chemically dispersed light crude oil contained crude oil droplets. Crude oil droplets inside fecal pellets were smaller (median diameter: 2.4-3.5 mu m) than droplets in the physically...

  14. Canadian crude oil production and supply forecast 2006-2020

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-05-01

    In order to enable members to plan for pipeline capacity requirements for transporting Canadian crude oil to markets, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) 2006-2020 crude oil production and supply forecast provides a long-range outlook of Canadian crude oil production. It provides a forecast of supply and demand for both western and eastern Canada. Because offshore eastern oil production does not rely on pipeline access to reach markets, the analysis primarily focuses on western Canadian production and supply. Over the next fifteen years, Alberta's oil sands provides the main source of growth in the western Canadian production forecast. A survey of CAPP members encompassing all oil sands projects was conducted. Survey responses reflect both planned and envisioned projects over a fifteen year period, although some of the envisioned projects have been risk adjusted by modifying the potential completion schedules for projects which are deemed more uncertain. Detailed tables are provided on forecast data. Three sets of tables are included to show production, two supply scenarios and a high level assessment of the need for incremental pipeline capacity. The report also discusses delays and risk factors that could slow the pace of oil sands development and the corresponding increase in production being forecast in the base case. 16 tabs

  15. Fusarium oxysporum volatiles enhance plant growth via affecting auxin transport and signaling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasileios eBitas

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Volatile organic compounds (VOCs have well-documented roles in plant-plant communication and directing animal behavior. In this study, we examine the less understood roles of VOCs in plant-fungal relationships. Phylogenetically and ecologically diverse strains of Fusarium oxysporum, a fungal species complex that often resides in the rhizosphere of assorted plants, produce volatile compounds that augment shoot and root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco. Growth responses of A. thaliana hormone signaling mutants and expression patterns of a GUS reporter gene under the auxin-responsive DR5 promoter supported the involvement of auxin signaling in F. oxysporum volatile-mediated growth enhancement. In addition, 1-naphthylthalamic acid, an inhibitor of auxin efflux, negated F. oxysporum volatile-mediated growth enhancement in both plants. Comparison of the profiles of volatile compounds produced by F. oxysporum strains that differentially affected plant growth suggests that the relative compositions of both growth inhibitory and stimulatory compounds may determine the degree of plant growth enhancement. Volatile-mediated signaling between fungi and plants may represent a potentially conserved, yet mostly overlooked, mechanism underpinning plant-fungus interactions and fungal niche adaption.

  16. Assay of uranium in crude diuranate cakes and MgF2 slag produced at the natural uranium conversion plants by γ-ray spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalsi, P.C.; Iyer, R.H.

    1993-01-01

    A transmission-corrected γ-ray counting method has been employed for the assay of uranium in crude Na 2 U 2 O 7 cakes produced at the Uranium Conversion Facilities. A 3''*3'' NaI(Tl) detector was used in conjunction with a 400-channel analyzer. The observed count rate of the 1 MeV γ-ray emitted by the 238 U in the sample was corrected for sample self-attenuation, measured with a 65 Zn (γ-energy ≅ 1115 keV) transmission source. A calibration factor determined by measuring a standard of known amount of radioactive material in the same form and geometry as the unknown sample was used to convert the transmission corrected count rate to the amount of uranium in the weighed sample. Another γ-spectrometric method is described for the assay of the U-content in the MgF 2 slag produced during the magnesiothermic reduction of UF 4 to U-metal ingots at the natural U-conversion plant. (author) 8 refs.; 3 figs.; 1 tab

  17. 7 CFR 29.1010 - Crude.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1010 Crude. A subdegree of maturity. Crude leaves are usually hard and slick as a result of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from fire-kill, sunburn, or sunscald. Any leaf...

  18. 7 CFR 29.3512 - Crude.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 95) § 29.3512 Crude. A subdegree of maturity. Crude leaves are usually hard and slick as a result of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from firekill, sunburn, or sunscald. Any leaf...

  19. 7 CFR 29.2261 - Crude.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing.... A subdegree of maturity. Crude leaves are usually hard and slick as a result of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from fire-kill, sunburn, or sunscald. Any leaf which is crude to the...

  20. Can reserve additions in mature crude oil provinces attenuate supply-side peak oil?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okullo, Samuel; Reynes, Frederic

    2010-09-15

    More often, oil supply has been modeled on the basis of resource availability and demand. The impact of strategy between oil producers has largely been ignored or overly simplified. In this paper, we formulate a model that embodies a weak and strong OPEC for varied rates of reserve additions. With this economic equilibrium model which has the capability to generate a supply side peak in oil production, we show that although reserves of conventional crude oil may seem abundant. OPEC has the ability to lead to substantial crude oil reserve depletion in non-OPEC countries by 2050 given likely depletion rates.

  1. Application of alkaline waterflooding to a high acidity crude oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sayyouh, M.H. (King Sand Univ., Riyadh (SA). Petroleum Engineering Dept.); Abdel-Waly, A.; Osman, A. (Cairo Univ. (EG). Petroleum Engineering Dept.); Awara, A.Z. (Geisum Oil Company, Cairo (EG))

    The enhanced recovery of a high acidity crude oil (South Geisum crude) by alkaline solutions is studied. Acidity, interfacial tension, and contact angle, were investigated. Displacement tests were carried out to study the effect of alkaline slug concentration, slug size, oil alkali type, temperature and viscosity on recovery. The interfacial tension between crude oil and formation water decreases with increasing alkaline concentration until a minimum, after which it increases again. Contact angle measurements indicated oil-wetting conditions that increase by the addition of alkaline solutions. At the early stages of displacement, oil recovery increases with increasing alkaline concentration until a maximum at 4% by weight NaOH concentration. Also, at such early stages, an excessive increase in alkaline concentration results in lower oil recovery. On the other hand, after the injection of many pore volumes of water, oil recovery is almost the same regardless of the alkaline concentration. Oil recovery increases with increasing alkaline slug size until a maximum at 15% PV. Sodium hydroxide slugs produce more oil recovery than sodium carbonate slugs. Oil recovery increases with increasing temperature (from 25 to 55{sup 0}C) and decreasing oil viscosity.

  2. Pricing Volatility of Stock Returns with Volatile and Persistent Components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Jie

    In this paper a two-component volatility model based on the component's first moment is introduced to describe the dynamic of speculative return volatility. The two components capture the volatile and persistent part of volatility respectively. Then the model is applied to 10 Asia-Pacific stock m......, a positive or risk-premium effect exists between return and the volatile component, yet the persistent component is not significantly priced for return dynamic process....... markets. Their in-mean effects on return are also tested. The empirical results show that the persistent component accounts much more for volatility dynamic process than the volatile component. However the volatile component is found to be a significant pricing factor of asset returns for most markets...

  3. Associations between the sensory attributes and volatile composition of Cabernet Sauvignon wines and the volatile composition of the grapes used for their production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Ciarán G; Cox, Agnieszka; Williams, Emlyn R; Boss, Paul K

    2011-03-23

    The sensory properties of wine are influenced by the chemical composition of the grapes used to produce them. Identification of grape and wine chemical markers associated with the attributes perceived by the consumer of the wine will enable better prediction of the potential of a parcel of grapes to produce wine of a certain flavor. This study explores the relationships between Cabernet Sauvignon grape volatile composition and wine volatile profiles with the sensory properties of wines. Twenty grape samples were obtained from nine vineyard sites across three vintages and wines vinified from these parcels using controlled winemaking methods. The volatile composition of the grapes were analyzed by SBSE-GCMS, the wines were analyzed by SPME-GCMS, and these data sets were compared to that obtained from the sensory analysis of the wines. Statistical treatment of the data to account for vintage and region effects allowed underlying relationships to be seen between wine sensory attributes and wine or grape volatile components. The observed associations between grape or wine volatile compounds and wine sensory attributes has revealed target compounds and pathways whose levels may reflect the biochemical effects on grape composition by differing growth conditions during berry development and ripening. The compounds identified in this study may be useful grape or wine markers for potential wine sensory characteristics.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-10-01

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

  5. Systemic toxicity of dermally applied crude oils in rats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feuston, M.H.; Mackerer, C.R.; Schreiner, C.A.; Hamilton, C.E. [Stonybrook Labs., Inc., Princeton, NJ (United States)

    1997-12-31

    Two crude oils, differing in viscosity (V) and nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) content, were evaluated for systemic toxicity, In the Crude I (low V, low N, low S) study, the material was applied to the clipped backs of rats at dose levels of 0, 30, 125, and 500 mg/kg. In the Crude II (high V, high N, moderate S) study, the oil was applied similarly at the same dose levels. The crude oils were applied for 13 wk, 5 d/wk. Exposure sites were not occluded. Mean body weight gain (wk 1-14) was significantly reduced in male rats exposed to Crude II; body weight gain of all other animals was not adversely affected by treatment. An increase in absolute (A) and relative (R) liver weights and a decrease in A and R thymus weights were observed in male and female rats exposed to Crude II at 500 mg/kg; only liver weights (A and R) were adversely affected in male and female rats exposed to Crude I. In general, there was no consistent pattern of toxicity for serum chemistry endpoints; however, more parameters were adversely affected in Crude II-exposed female rats than in the other exposed groups. A consistent pattern of toxicity for hematology endpoints was observed among male rats exposed to Crude I and male and female rats exposed to Crude II. Parameters affected included: Crudes I and II, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, Crude II, platelet count. Microscopic evaluation of tissues revealed the following treatment-related findings: Crude I, treated skin, thymus, and thyroid; Crude II, bone marrow, treated skin, thymus, and thyroid. The LOEL (lowest observable effect level) for skin irritation and systemic toxicity (based on marginal effects on the thyroid) for both crude oils was 30 mg/kg; effects were more numerous and more pronounced in animals exposed to Crude II. Systemic effects are probably related to concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) found in crude oil.

  6. Effect of Water Content, Temperature and NaCl on CO2 Corrosion of Carbon Steel (A106B in Iraqi Crude Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saad Ahmed Jafar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available An investigation was carried out to determine the corrosion rate of carbon steel (A 106 GradeB as flow line in crude oil production with CO2 content employing three Iraqi crude oil (Kirkuk crude oil, Halfaya crude oil, and Rumalia crude oil with identical produced water (brine [1%NaCl,2%NaCl, and 3%NaCl]. Experiments were performed in an autoclave test apparatus, crude oilproduced water mixtures, water cuts were (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 100%, and temperature (20, 40, 60°C. For all experiments, CO2 partial pressure was maintained at 4bar and rotational speed 500 rpm. The corrosion rates were determined by the weight loss method. The results revealed that the corrosion rate of carbon steel increased by increasing water cut and temperature, but decreased with increasing salt concentration for all types of crude oil. Rumaila crude oil exhibited the highest corrosion rate and Kirkuk crude oil exhibits the lowest corrosion rate while Halfaya crude oil exhibits a moderate corrosion rate.

  7. Testing for Volatility Co-movement in Bivariate Stochastic Volatility Models

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Jinghui; Kobayashi, Masahito; McAleer, Michael

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractThe paper considers the problem of volatility co-movement, namely as to whether two financial returns have perfectly correlated common volatility process, in the framework of multivariate stochastic volatility models and proposes a test which checks the volatility co-movement. The proposed test is a stochastic volatility version of the co-movement test proposed by Engle and Susmel (1993), who investigated whether international equity markets have volatility co-movement using t...

  8. Endogenous Lunar Volatiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCubbin, F. M.; Liu, Y.; Barnes, J. J.; Boyce, J. W.; Day, J. M. D.; Elardo, S. M.; Hui, H.; Magna, T.; Ni, P.; Tartese, R.; hide

    2017-01-01

    The chapter will begin with an introduction that defines magmatic volatiles (e.g., H, F, Cl, S) versus geochemical volatiles (e.g., K, Rb, Zn). We will discuss our approach of understanding both types of volatiles in lunar samples and lay the ground work for how we will determine the overall volatile budget of the Moon. We will then discuss the importance of endogenous volatiles in shaping the "Newer Views of the Moon", specifically how endogenous volatiles feed forward into processes such as the origin of the Moon, magmatic differentiation, volcanism, and secondary processes during surface and crustal interactions. After the introduction, we will include a re-view/synthesis on the current state of 1) apatite compositions (volatile abundances and isotopic compositions); 2) nominally anhydrous mineral phases (moderately to highly volatile); 3) volatile (moderately to highly volatile) abundances in and isotopic compositions of lunar pyroclastic glass beads; 4) volatile (moderately to highly volatile) abundances in and isotopic compositions of lunar basalts; 5) volatile (moderately to highly volatile) abundances in and isotopic compositions of melt inclusions; and finally 6) experimental constraints on mineral-melt partitioning of moderately to highly volatile elements under lunar conditions. We anticipate that each section will summarize results since 2007 and focus on new results published since the 2015 Am Min review paper on lunar volatiles [9]. The next section will discuss how to use sample abundances of volatiles to understand the source region and potential caveats in estimating source abundances of volatiles. The following section will include our best estimates of volatile abundances and isotopic compositions (where permitted by available data) for each volatile element of interest in a number of important lunar reservoirs, including the crust, mantle, KREEP, and bulk Moon. The final section of the chapter will focus upon future work, outstanding questions

  9. Analyses of volatiles produced by the African fruit fly species complex (Diptera, Tephritidae)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Břízová, Radka; Vaníčková, Lucie; Faťarová, M.; Ekesi, S.; Hoskovec, Michal; Kalinová, Blanka

    -, č. 540 (2015), s. 385-404 ISSN 1313-2989 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : Ceratitis FAR complex * chemotaxonomy * male and female-borne volatiles * GCxGC-TOFMS * GC-EAD Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 0.938, year: 2015 http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6223

  10. Pricing Volatility of Stock Returns with Volatile and Persistent Components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Jie

    2009-01-01

    This paper introduces a two-component volatility model based on first moments of both components to describe the dynamics of speculative return volatility. The two components capture the volatile and the persistent part of volatility, respectively. The model is applied to 10 Asia-Pacific stock ma...... markets. A positive or risk-premium effect exists between the return and the volatile component, yet the persistent component is not significantly priced for the return dynamic process....... markets. Their in-mean effects on returns are tested. The empirical results show that the persistent component is much more important for the volatility dynamic process than is the volatile component. However, the volatile component is found to be a significant pricing factor of asset returns for most...

  11. Alkyl PAH in crude oil cause chronic toxicity to early life stages of fish. Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodson, P.V.; Khan, C.W.; Saravanabhavan, G.; Clarke, L.; Brown, R.S. [Queen' s Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada). School of Environmental Studies; Hollebone, B.; Wang, Z. [Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). ; Short, J. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Juneau, AK (United States). Auke Bay Lab; Lee, K.; King, T. [Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS (Canada). Centre for Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental Research

    2007-07-01

    In order to mitigate the risk to fisheries following an offshore oil spill, it is necessary to know the components of crude oil that are toxic. Chronic exposure of early life stages of fish to crude oil causes Blue Sac Disease, a syndrome characterized by induction of the cytochrome P450 (CYP1A) enzyme. In this study, effects-driven fractionation of Alaska North Slope Crude was used to identify the classes of compounds that cause CYP1A induction in juvenile rainbow trout and chronic toxicity to developing stages of Japanese medaka. Four fractions of compounds were created by low temperature vacuum distillation. This separated the constituents of oil according to their volatility within defined temperature ranges. The fractions were separated according to their boiling points. With a temperature range of 287-481 degrees C, fraction F3 was the only fraction as toxic as whole oil and induced CYPP1A enzymes of fish. Fractions containing specific classes of alkyl PAH were also collected. For all separations, the performance of the method was evaluated by the extent to which PAH were separated from aliphatics, resins and waxes, as well as by the quantitative recovery of mass in fractions and subfractions. The induction of CYP1A enzymes showed that PAH was present in all fractions that were highly toxic, but the toxicity tests indicated that not all fractions containing PAH were toxic. This research provided a scientific basis for comparing the risks of different crude oils based on chemical analyses that show the different proportions or amounts of PAH present. The results indicate which compounds of concern should be used to determine the extent and success of oil spill remediation, and provide a biological interpretation of chemical fingerprinting used to discriminate the sources of oil pollution. 15 refs., 1 tab.

  12. A volatile topic: Parsing out the details of Earth's formation through experimental metal-silicate partitioning of volatile and moderately volatile elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahan, B. M.; Siebert, J.; Blanchard, I.; Badro, J.; Sossi, P.; Moynier, F.

    2017-12-01

    Volatile and moderately volatile elements display different volatilities and siderophilities, as well as varying sensitivity to thermodynamic controls (X, P, T, fO2) during metal-silicate differentiation. The experimental determination of the metal-silicate partitioning of these elements permits us to evaluate processes controlling the distribution of these elements in Earth. In this work, we have combined metal-silicate partitioning data and results for S, Sn, Zn and Cu, and input these characterizations into Earth formation models. Model parameters such as source material, timing of volatile delivery, fO2 path, and degree of impactor equilibration were varied to encompass an array of possible formation scenarios. These models were then assessed to discern plausible sets of conditions that can produce current observed element-to-element ratios (e.g. S/Zn) in the Earth's present-day mantle, while also satisfying current estimates on the S content of the core, at no more than 2 wt%. The results of our models indicate two modes of accretion that can maintain chondritic element-to-element ratios for the bulk Earth and can arrive at present-day mantle abundances of these elements. The first mode requires the late addition of Earth's entire inventory of these elements (assuming a CI-chondritic composition) and late-stage accretion that is marked by partial equilibration of large impactors. The second, possibly more intuitive mode, requires that Earth accreted - at least initially - from volatile poor material preferentially depleted in S relative to Sn, Zn, and Cu. From a chemical standpoint, this source material is most similar to type I chondrule rich (and S poor) materials (Hewins and Herzberg, 1996; Mahan et al., 2017; Amsellem et al., 2017), such as the metal-bearing carbonaceous chondrites.

  13. Multifractal cross-correlations between crude oil and tanker freight rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Feier; Miao, Yuqi; Tian, Kang; Ding, Xiaoxu; Li, Tingyi

    2017-05-01

    Analysis of crude oil price and tanker freight rate volatility attract more attention as the mechanism is not only the basis of industrialization but also a vital role in economics, especially after the year 2008 when financial crisis notably blew the maritime transportation. In this paper, we studied the cross-correlations between the West Texas International crude oil (WTI) and Baltic Exchange Dirty Tanker Index (BDTI) employing the Multifractal Detrended Cross-Correlation Analysis (MF-DCCA). Empirical results show that the degree of short-term cross-correlation is higher than that in the long term and that the strength of multifractality after financial crisis is larger than that before. Moreover, the components of multifractal spectrum are quantified with the finite-size effect taken into consideration and an improved method in terms of constructing the surrogated time series provided. Numerical results show that the multifractality is generated mostly from the nonlinear and the fat-tailed probability distribution (PDF) part. Also, it is apparent that the PDF part changes a lot after the financial crisis. The research is contributory to risk management by providing various instructions for participants in shipping markets. Our main contribution is that we investigated both the multifractal features and the origin of multifractality and provided confirming evidence of multifractality through numerical results while applying quantitative analysis based on MF-DCCA; furthermore, the research is contributory to risk management since it provides instructions in both economic market and stock market simultaneously. However, constructing the surrogated series in order to obtain consistence seems less convincing which requires further discussion and attempts.

  14. A Microfluidic Method to Assess Emulsion Stability in Crude-Oil/Water Separators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krebs, T.; Schroën, C.G.P.H.; Boom, R.M.

    2011-01-01

    The control of emulsion stability and droplet size is of crucial importance for oil production, especially for the processes of crude/oil water separation and cleanup of produced water. To recover pure oil and water, coalescence between droplets needs to take place, the extent of which will depend

  15. Reducing Fuel Volatility. An Additional Benefit From Blending Bio-fuels?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bailis, R. [Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Koebl, B.S. [Utrecht University, Science Technology and Society, Budapestlaan 6, 3584 CD Utrecht (Netherlands); Sanders, M. [Utrecht University, Utrecht School of Economics, Janskerkhof 12, 3512 BL Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2011-02-15

    Oil price volatility harms economic growth. Diversifying into different fuel types can mitigate this effect by reducing volatility in fuel prices. Producing bio-fuels may thus have additional benefits in terms of avoided damage to macro-economic growth. In this study we investigate trends and patterns in the determinants of a volatility gain in order to provide an estimate of the tendency and the size of the volatility gain in the future. The accumulated avoided loss from blending gasoline with 20 percent ethanol-fuel estimated for the US economy amounts to 795 bn. USD between 2010 and 2019 with growing tendency. An amount that should be considered in cost-benefit analysis of bio-fuels.

  16. Atmospheric BTEX concentrations in the vicinity of the crude oil refinery of the Baltic region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltrėnas, Pranas; Baltrėnaitė, Edita; Serevičienė, Vaida; Pereira, Paulo

    2011-11-01

    Among chemical industries, petroleum refineries have been identified as large emitters of a wide variety of pollutants. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) form an important group of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because of their role in the troposphere chemistry and the risk posed to human health. A very large crude oil refinery of the Baltic States (200,000 bbl/day) is situated in the northern, rural part of Lithuania, 10 km from the town of Mažeikiai (Lithuania). The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine of atmospheric levels of BTEX in the region rural and urban parts at the vicinity of the crude oil refinery; and (2) to investigate the effect of meteorological parameters (wind speed, wind direction, temperature, pressure, humidity) on the concentrations measured. The averaged concentration of benzene varied from 2.12 ppbv in the rural areas to 2.75 ppbv in the urban areas where the traffic was determined to be a dominant source of BTEX emissions. Our study showed that concentration of benzene, as strictly regulated air pollutant by EU Directive 2008/50/EC, did not exceed the limit of 5 ppbv in the region in the vicinity of the crude oil refinery during the investigated period. No significant change in air quality in the vicinity of the oil refinery was discovered, however, an impact of the industry on the background air quality was detected. The T/B ratio (0.50-0.81) that was much lower than 2.0, identified other sources of pollution than traffic.

  17. Transesterification of mustard (Brassica nigra) seed oil with ethanol: Purification of the crude ethyl ester with activated carbon produced from de-oiled cake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fadhil, Abdelrahman B.; Abdulahad, Waseem S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Biodiesel ethyl ester has been developed from mustard seed oil. • Variables affect the transesterification were investigated. • Dry washing using the activated carbon produced from the extraction remaining was applied to purify the ethyl esters. • Properties of the produced fuels were measured. • Blending of the produced ethyl ester with petro diesel was also investigated. - Abstract: The present study reports the production of mustard seed oil ethyl esters (MSOEE) through alkali-catalyzed transesterification with ethanol using potassium hydroxide as a catalyst. The influence of the process parameters such as catalyst concentration, ethanol to oil molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction duration and the catalyst type was investigated so as to find out the optimal conditions for the transesterification process. As a result, optimum conditions for production of MSOEE were found to be: 0.90% KOH wt/wt of oil, 8:1 ethanol to oil molar ratio, a reaction temperature of 60 °C, and a reaction time of 60 min. Dry washing method with (2.50% wt.) of the activated carbon that was produced from the de-oiled cake was used to purify the crude ethyl ester from the residual catalyst and glycerol. The transesterification process provided a yield of 94% w/w of ethyl esters with an ester content of 98.22% wt. under the optimum conditions. Properties of the produced ethyl esters satisfied the specifications prescribed by the ASTM standards. Blending MSOEE with petro diesel was also investigated. The results showed that the ethyl esters had a slight influence on the properties of petro diesel

  18. Electrochemical removal of metals from crude oil samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Welter, K.; Salazar, E.; Balladores, Y.; Marquez, O.P.; Marquez, J.; Martinez, Y. (Laboratorio de Electroquimica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Merida 5101-Venezuela)

    2009-02-15

    Removal of vanadium from vanadyl (IV) meso-tetra-phenylporphyrin (VO-MTPP) and vanadyl (IV) octa-ethylporphyrin (VO-OEP) and metals removal from Ayacucho Venezuelan crude oil samples were performed using electrochemical techniques. According to cyclic voltammograms, a potential of - 2.3 V vs. Ag/AgNO{sub 3} (0.1 M), LiClO{sub 4} (0.1 M) in acetonitrile, was chosen for running electrolysis at platinum (Pt), graphite (G) and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes. Qualitative analysis was done by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) while quantification was performed by AAS and inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry (ICP/AES). Three stages (best results) of the study are reported: (a) when using commercial porphyrins; the best conditions for electrolysis were: tetrahydrofuran (THF)/20% methanol (MeOH)/1% perchloric acid (HClO{sub 4}) on GC, producing 84% hydro-demetalation (HDM) for VO-MTPP, and 78% HDM for VO-OEP; (b) when using extracts of crude oil; demetalation percentages, after 90 min of electrolysis, on graphite, and after 120 min of electrolysis on platinum, were 66.44% and 64.10% HDM respectively, no discrimination of metals under these conditions (c) from electrolysis in whole crude oil, quantitative analysis gave: vanadium (V) 31.2 mg/kg, iron (Fe) 65, 0 mg/kg and nickel (Ni) 6, 3 mg/kg, with charge efficiencies of V (7.5%), Fe (79.6%) and Ni (8.2%). (author)

  19. Effects of selected thermophilic microorganisms on crude oils at elevated temperatures and pressures. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Premuzic, E.T.; Lin, M.S.

    1995-07-01

    During the past several years, a considerable amount of work has been carried out showing that microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is promising and the resulting biotechnology may be deliverable. At the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), systematic studies have been conducted which dealt with the effects of thermophilic and thermoadapted bacteria on the chemical and physical properties of selected types of crude oils at elevated temperatures and pressures. Particular attention was paid to heavy crude oils from Venezuela, California, Alabama, Arkansas, Wyoming, Alaska, and other oil producing areas. Current studies indicate that during the biotreatment several chemical and physical properties of crude oils are affected. The oils are (1) emulsified; (2) acidified; (3) there is a qualitative and quantitative change in light and heavy fractions of the crudes; (4) there are chemical changes in fractions containing sulfur compounds; (5) there is an apparent reduction in the concentration of trace metals; (6) the qualitative and quantitative changes appear to be microbial species dependent; and (7) there is a distinction between {open_quotes}biodegraded{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}biotreated{close_quotes} oils. Preliminary results indicate the introduced microorganisms may become the dominant species in the bioconversion of oils. These studies also indicate the biochemical interactions between crude oils and microorganisms follow distinct trends, characterized by a group of chemical markers. Core-flooding experiments have shown significant additional crude oil recoveries are achievable with thermophilic microorganisms at elevated temperatures similar to those found in oil reservoirs. In addition, the biochemical treatment of crude oils has technological applications in downstream processing of crude oils such as in upgrading of low grade oils and the production of hydrocarbon based detergents.

  20. The Volatility of Indonesia Shari’ah Capital Market Stock Price Toward Macro Economics Variable

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helma Malini

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Shari’ah stock market is also affected by many highly interrelated economic, social, political andother factor, same as the conventional stock market, the interaction between macroeconomic variablesand Shari’ah stock market creating volatility in the stock price as a response towards severalshocks. The sensitivity of Shari’ah stock market towards shocks happened related with the futureexpectation of micro and macro factor in one country which can be predict or unpredictable.There are six macroeconomic variables that used in this research; inflation, exchange rate, interestrate, dow jones index, crude oil palm price, and FED rate. Using vector error correction model(VECM, the result shows that domestic macroeconomic variables that significantly affect IndonesiaShari’ah compliance for long term, while for international macroeconomic variables the selectedvariable such as FED rate and Dow Jones Index are not significantly affected Indonesia Shari’ahcompliance both in short term and long term. Keywords: Indonesia Shari’ah compliance, Macro Economic Indicators, Impulse Response Function,Stock Price Volatility

  1. Extra heavy crudes and bitumens in the new EST technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montanari, R.

    2001-01-01

    Strategic and market reasons dictate for the diversification of the supply sources. The huge reserves of extra heavy crudes and oil sands bitumen will provide the answer in this direction, but it is mandatory the availability of a suitable technology to process these poor quality feedstocks. EST Technology, developed by Snamprogetti and EniTecnologie, allows to get full conversion to produce high quality distillates [it

  2. Crude biodiesel refining using membrane ultra-filtration process: An environmentally benign process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I.M. Atadashi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Ceramic membrane separation system was developed to simultaneously remove free glycerol and soap from crude biodiesel. Crude biodiesel produced was ultra-filtered by multi-channel tubular membrane of the pore size of 0.05 μm. The effects of process parameters: transmembrane pressure (TMP, bar, temperature (°C and flow rate (L/min on the membrane system were evaluated. The process parameters were then optimized using Central Composite Design (CCD coupled with Response Surface Methodology (RSM. The best retention coefficients (%R for free glycerol and soap were 97.5% and 96.6% respectively. Further, the physical properties measured were comparable to those obtained in ASTMD6751-03 and EN14214 standards.

  3. Volatility Discovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dias, Gustavo Fruet; Scherrer, Cristina; Papailias, Fotis

    The price discovery literature investigates how homogenous securities traded on different markets incorporate information into prices. We take this literature one step further and investigate how these markets contribute to stochastic volatility (volatility discovery). We formally show...... that the realized measures from homogenous securities share a fractional stochastic trend, which is a combination of the price and volatility discovery measures. Furthermore, we show that volatility discovery is associated with the way that market participants process information arrival (market sensitivity......). Finally, we compute volatility discovery for 30 actively traded stocks in the U.S. and report that Nyse and Arca dominate Nasdaq....

  4. Volatile Compounds in Honey Produced in the Central Valley of Ñuble Province, Chile Compuestos Volatiles en Miel Producida en el Valle Central de la Provincia de Ñuble, Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Pía Gianelli Barra

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME with an 85 µm Carboxen polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS fiber was used to extract volatile compounds, and a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectometry detector (GC-MS was used to identify the volatile compounds in honeys. Thirty-four different volatile compounds from the headspace of honey produced in the central valley of Ñuble Province, Chile, were extracted with fiber coating CAR/PDMS. The identified compounds were: 10 alcohols, 9 acids, 6 ketones, 3 aldehydes, 2 furans, 2 terpenes and 2 lactones. Only four of the volatile compounds had never been reported before as honey compounds; these being: 1,3-propanodiol, 2-methyl butanoic acid, 3,4-dimethyl-3-hexen-2-one, and 6-methyl-5-octen-2-one. These four compounds were found in three of the 10 analyzed samples. The compounds found in the highest percentage of area were ethanol, acetic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-propane, 3-hydroxy-2-butane, and furfural. However, the analyzed samples did not present a distinctive profile.La extracción de compuestos volátiles desde el espacio de cabeza de mieles se realiza mediante microextracción en fase sólida (SPME, utilizando una fibra de 85 µm de Carboxen polidimetilsiloxano (CAR/PDMS, el análisis de los compuestos volátiles se realiza mediante cromatografía de gases con detector de masa (GC-MS. Un total de 34 diferentes compuestos volátiles fueron extraídos desde el espacio de cabeza de mieles provenientes del valle central de la provincia de Ñuble con la fibra de CAR/PDMS. Los compuestos identificados fueron 10 alcoholes, 9 ácidos, 6 cetonas, 3 aldehídos, 2 furanos, 2 terpenos y 2 lactonas. De los compuestos volátiles sólo tres no han sido reportados con anterioridad en mieles, estos compuestos fueron: 1,3-propanodiol, ácido 2-metil butanoico, 3,4-dimetil-3-hexen-2-ona, 6-metil-5-octen-2-ona. Estos cuatro compuestos se encontraron en sólo tres de las 10 muestras analizadas. Los compuestos que se

  5. Influence of asphaltene aggregation and pressure on crude oil emulsion stability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auflem, Inge Harald

    2002-07-01

    Water-in-crude oil emulsions stabilised by various surface-active components are one of the major problems in relation to petroleum production. This thesis presents results from high-pressure separation experiments on ''live'' crude oil and model oil emulsions, as well as studies of Interactions between various indigenous stabilising materials in crude oil. A high-pressure separation rig was used to study the influence of gas and gas bubbles on the separation of water-in-crude oil emulsions. The results were interpreted as a flotation effect from rising gas bubbles, which led to increased separation efficiency. The separation properties of a ''live'' crude oil were compared to crude oil samples recombined with various gases. The results showed that water-in-oil emulsions produced from the ''live'' crude oil samples, generally separated faster and more complete, than emulsions based on recombined samples of the same crude oil. Adsorption of asphaltenes and resins onto a hydrophilic surface from solutions with varying aromatic/aliphatic character was investigated by a quarts crystal microbalance. The results showed that asphaltenes adsorbed to a larger degree than the resins. The resins were unable to desorb pre-adsorbed asphaltenes from the surface, and neither did they adsorb onto the asphaltene-coated surface. In solutions of both of resins and asphaltenes the two constituents associated in bulk liquid and adsorbed to the surface in the form of mixed aggregates. Near infrared spectroscopy and pulsed field gradient spin echo nuclear magnetic resonance were used to study asphaltene aggregation and the influence of various amphiphiles on the asphaltene aggregate size. The results showed Interactions between the asphaltenes and various chemicals, which were proposed to be due to acid-base interactions. Among the chemicals used were various naphthenic acids. Synthesised monodisperse acids gave a reduction of size of the asphaltene aggregates, whereas polydisperse

  6. Influence of asphaltene aggregation and pressure on crude oil emulsion stability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auflem, Inge Harald

    2002-07-01

    Water-in-crude oil emulsions stabilised by various surface-active components are one of the major problems in relation to petroleum production. This thesis presents results from high-pressure separation experiments on ''live'' crude oil and model oil emulsions, as well as studies of Interactions between various indigenous stabilising materials in crude oil. A high-pressure separation rig was used to study the influence of gas and gas bubbles on the separation of water-in-crude oil emulsions. The results were interpreted as a flotation effect from rising gas bubbles, which led to increased separation efficiency. The separation properties of a ''live'' crude oil were compared to crude oil samples recombined with various gases. The results showed that water-in-oil emulsions produced from the ''live'' crude oil samples, generally separated faster and more complete, than emulsions based on recombined samples of the same crude oil. Adsorption of asphaltenes and resins onto a hydrophilic surface from solutions with varying aromatic/aliphatic character was investigated by a quarts crystal microbalance. The results showed that asphaltenes adsorbed to a larger degree than the resins. The resins were unable to desorb pre-adsorbed asphaltenes from the surface, and neither did they adsorb onto the asphaltene-coated surface. In solutions of both of resins and asphaltenes the two constituents associated in bulk liquid and adsorbed to the surface in the form of mixed aggregates. Near infrared spectroscopy and pulsed field gradient spin echo nuclear magnetic resonance were used to study asphaltene aggregation and the influence of various amphiphiles on the asphaltene aggregate size. The results showed Interactions between the asphaltenes and various chemicals, which were proposed to be due to acid-base interactions. Among the chemicals used were various naphthenic acids. Synthesised monodisperse acids gave a reduction of

  7. Isolation and partial characterization of a biosurfactant produced by Streptococcus thermophilus A

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodrigues, Ligia R.; Teixeira, Jose A.; van der Mei, Henny C.; Oliveira, Rosario

    2006-01-01

    Isolation and characterization of the surface active components from the crude biosurfactant produced by Streptococcus thermophilus A was studied. A fraction rich in glycolipids was obtained by the fractionation of crude biosurfactant using hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Molecular (by

  8. “Gold” Pressed Essential Oil: An Essay on the Volatile Fragment from Citrus Juice Industry By-Products Chemistry and Bioactivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. N. Kapsaski-Kanelli

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Present essay explores the potentials of Citrus juice industry’s by-products as alternative bioactive natural products resources. Four crude Cold Pressed Essential Oils (CPEOs, derived from orange, lemon, grapefruit, and mandarin, were studied. All CPEOs were subjected to water distillation, in order to obtain the volatile fragment, which was further fractionated with respect to distillation period in two parts, concluding to eight samples. These samples along with the four original CPEOs were assessed in relation to their phytochemical content and their repellent and larvicidal properties against Asian Tiger Mosquito. The volatiles recovery rates ranged from 74% to 88% of the CPEO. Limonene presented a significant increase in all samples ranging from 8% to 52% of the respective CPEO’s content and peaked in mandarin’s 2nd volatile fragment which comprised 97% of the essential oil. The refinement process presented clear impacts on both bioassays: a significant increase in larvicidal potency was observed, annotated best by the improvement by 1100% and 1300% of the grapefruit volatile fractions; repellence testing provided only one significant result, the decrease of landings by 50% as a response to mandarin’s second volatile fraction. The applied methodology thus may be considered for the improvement of Citrus juice industry’s by-products chemistry and bioactivity.

  9. Level Shifts in Volatility and the Implied-Realized Volatility Relation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Bent Jesper; de Magistris, Paolo Santucci

    We propose a simple model in which realized stock market return volatility and implied volatility backed out of option prices are subject to common level shifts corresponding to movements between bull and bear markets. The model is estimated using the Kalman filter in a generalization to the mult......We propose a simple model in which realized stock market return volatility and implied volatility backed out of option prices are subject to common level shifts corresponding to movements between bull and bear markets. The model is estimated using the Kalman filter in a generalization...... to the multivariate case of the univariate level shift technique by Lu and Perron (2008). An application to the S&P500 index and a simulation experiment show that the recently documented empirical properties of strong persistence in volatility and forecastability of future realized volatility from current implied...... volatility, which have been interpreted as long memory (or fractional integration) in volatility and fractional cointegration between implied and realized volatility, are accounted for by occasional common level shifts....

  10. Testing for Volatility Co-movement in Bivariate Stochastic Volatility Models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Chen (Jinghui); M. Kobayashi (Masahito); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractThe paper considers the problem of volatility co-movement, namely as to whether two financial returns have perfectly correlated common volatility process, in the framework of multivariate stochastic volatility models and proposes a test which checks the volatility co-movement. The

  11. Microbial cycling of isoprene, the most abundantly produced biological volatile organic compound on Earth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGenity, Terry J; Crombie, Andrew T; Murrell, J Colin

    2018-04-01

    Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene), the most abundantly produced biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) on Earth, is highly reactive and can have diverse and often detrimental atmospheric effects, which impact on climate and health. Most isoprene is produced by terrestrial plants, but (micro)algal production is important in aquatic environments, and the relative bacterial contribution remains unknown. Soils are a sink for isoprene, and bacteria that can use isoprene as a carbon and energy source have been cultivated and also identified using cultivation-independent methods from soils, leaves and coastal/marine environments. Bacteria belonging to the Actinobacteria are most frequently isolated and identified, and Proteobacteria have also been shown to degrade isoprene. In the freshwater-sediment isolate, Rhodococcus strain AD45, initial oxidation of isoprene to 1,2-epoxy-isoprene is catalyzed by a multicomponent isoprene monooxygenase encoded by the genes isoABCDEF. The resultant epoxide is converted to a glutathione conjugate by a glutathione S-transferase encoded by isoI, and further degraded by enzymes encoded by isoGHJ. Genome sequence analysis of actinobacterial isolates belonging to the genera Rhodococcus, Mycobacterium and Gordonia has revealed that isoABCDEF and isoGHIJ are linked in an operon, either on a plasmid or the chromosome. In Rhodococcus strain AD45 both isoprene and epoxy-isoprene induce a high level of transcription of 22 contiguous genes, including isoABCDEF and isoGHIJ. Sequence analysis of the isoA gene, encoding the large subunit of the oxygenase component of isoprene monooxygenase, from isolates has facilitated the development of PCR primers that are proving valuable in investigating the ecology of uncultivated isoprene-degrading bacteria.

  12. Performance of Diesel Engine Using Blended Crude Jatropha Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamarudin, Kamarul Azhar; Mohd Sazali, Nor Shahida Akma; Mohd Ali, Mas Fauzi; Alimin, Ahmad Jais; Khir, Saffiah Abdullah

    2010-06-01

    Vegetable oil presents a very promising alternative to diesel oil since it is renewable and has similar properties to the diesel. In view of this, crude jatropha oil is selected and its viscosity is reduced by blending it with diesel. Since jatropha oil has properties which are similar to mineral diesel, it can be used in compression ignition engines without any engine modification. This paper presents the results of investigation carried out on a four-cylinder, four strokes and indirect-injection diesel engine. The engine, operated using composition blends of crude jatropha oil and diesel, were compared with mineral diesel. An experimental investigation has been carried out to analyze the performance characteristics of a compression ignition engine from the blended fuel (5%, 10%, 20% and 30%). A naturally aspirated four-stroke indirect injection diesel engine was tested at full load conditions, speeds between 1000 and 3500 rpm with intervals of 500 rpm. Results obtained from the measures of torque, power, specific fuel consumptions, thermal efficiency and brake mean effective pressure are nearly the same between blended and diesel fuel. An overall graph shows that the performance of relevant parameters from blended fuel is most likely similar to the performance produced from diesel. The experimental results proved that the use of crude jatropha oil in compression ignition engines is a viable alternative to diesel.

  13. Inhibition of Pseudogymnoascus destructans growth from conidia and mycelial extension by bacterially produced volatile organic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornelison, Christopher T; Gabriel, Kyle T; Barlament, Courtney; Crow, Sidney A

    2014-02-01

    The recently identified causative agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has been implicated in the mortality of an estimated 5.5 million North American bats since its initial documentation in 2006 (Frick et al. in Science 329:679-682, 2010). In an effort to identify potential biological and chemical control options for WNS, 6 previously described bacterially produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were screened for anti-P. destructans activity. The compounds include decanal; 2-ethyl-1-hexanol; nonanal; benzothiazole; benzaldehyde; andN,N-dimethyloctylamine. P. destructans conidia and mycelial plugs were exposed to the VOCs in a closed air space at 15 and 4 °C and then evaluated for growth inhibition. All VOCs inhibited growth from conidia as well as inhibiting radial mycelial extension, with the greatest effect at 4 °C. Studies of the ecology of fungistatic soils and the natural abundance of the fungistatic VOCs present in these environments suggest a synergistic activity of select VOCs may occur. The evaluation of formulations of two or three VOCs at equivalent concentrations was supportive of synergistic activity in several cases. The identification of bacterially produced VOCs with anti-P. destructans activity indicates disease-suppressive and fungistatic soils as a potentially significant reservoir of biological and chemical control options for WNS and provides wildlife management personnel with tools to combat this devastating disease.

  14. Silicon isotopes in angrites and volatile loss in planetesimals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moynier, Frédéric; Savage, Paul S.; Badro, James; Barrat, Jean-Alix

    2014-01-01

    Inner solar system bodies, including the Earth, Moon, and asteroids, are depleted in volatile elements relative to chondrites. Hypotheses for this volatile element depletion include incomplete condensation from the solar nebula and volatile loss during energetic impacts. These processes are expected to each produce characteristic stable isotope signatures. However, processes of planetary differentiation may also modify the isotopic composition of geochemical reservoirs. Angrites are rare meteorites that crystallized only a few million years after calcium–aluminum-rich inclusions and exhibit extreme depletions in volatile elements relative to chondrites, making them ideal samples with which to study volatile element depletion in the early solar system. Here we present high-precision Si isotope data that show angrites are enriched in the heavy isotopes of Si relative to chondritic meteorites by 50–100 ppm/amu. Silicon is sufficiently volatile such that it may be isotopically fractionated during incomplete condensation or evaporative mass loss, but theoretical calculations and experimental results also predict isotope fractionation under specific conditions of metal–silicate differentiation. We show that the Si isotope composition of angrites cannot be explained by any plausible core formation scenario, but rather reflects isotope fractionation during impact-induced evaporation. Our results indicate planetesimals initially formed from volatile-rich material and were subsequently depleted in volatile elements during accretion. PMID:25404309

  15. Bacterial contribution to iodine volatilization in the environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amachi, S; Kasahara, M; Fujii, T [Chiba Univ., Dept. of Bioresources Chemistry, Matsudo, Chiba (Japan); Muramatsu, Y [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan)

    2003-09-01

    The roles of microorganisms in iodine volatilization from the environment were studied. More than 100 bacterial strains were isolated from various environments such as soils, seawater and marine sediments, and were examined their capacities for volatilizing iodine. Approximately 40% of these bacteria showed significant capacities for volatilizing iodine. Gas chromatographic determinations revealed that the chemical species of gaseous iodine is methyl iodide (CH{sub 3}I). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S ribosomal DNA showed that these 'iodine-volatilizing bacteria' are widely distributed through the bacterial domain. The iodide-methylating reaction was mediated by an enzyme protein with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as the methyl donor. We then estimated bacterial contribution to iodine volatilization from soils. Iodine in soils was volatilized mainly as CH{sub 3}I. CH{sub 3}I emission was enhanced in the presence of glucose or yeast extract, but was inhibited by autoclaving of soils. Little CH{sub 3}I was produced under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, the addition of streptomycin and tetracycline, antibiotics which inhibit bacterial growth, strongly inhibited CH{sub 3}I emission, while a fungal inhibitor cycloheximide caused little effect. These results suggest that iodine in soils is volatilized as CH{sub 3}I mainly by the action of aerobic soil bacteria. Similar experiment was carried out by using sea water samples. The emission of iodine from sea waters occurred biologically, and bacterial (and also other microbial) contribution was confirmed. Our results suggest that iodine is methylated and volatilized into the atmosphere as a result of bacterial activities. Since bacteria are so abundant and widespread in the environments, they may significantly contribute to global iodine volatilization. This indicates that if {sup 129}I would be released from nuclear facilities, weapons testing or ground storage of nuclear wastes, the pathway of volatilization by

  16. Biosurfactant production from marine hydrocarbon-degrading consortia and pure bacterial strains using crude oil as carbon source

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleftheria eAntoniou

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Biosurfactants (BS are green amphiphilic molecules produced by microorganisms during biodegradation, increasing the bioavailability of organic pollutants. In this work, the BS production yield of marine hydrocarbon degraders isolated from Elefsina bay in Eastern Mediterranean Sea has been investigated. The drop collapse test was used as a preliminary screening test to confirm biosurfactant producing strains or mixed consortia. The community structure of the best consortia based on the drop collapse test was determined by 16S-rDNA pyrotag screening. Subsequently, the effect of incubation time, temperature, substrate and supplementation with inorganic nutrients, on biosurfactant production, was examined. Two types of BS - lipid mixtures were extracted from the culture broth; the low molecular weight BS Rhamnolipids and Sophorolipids. Crude extracts were purified by silica gel column chromatography and then identified by thin layer chromatography (TLC and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR. Results indicate that biosurfactant production yield remains constant and low while it is independent of the total culture biomass, carbon source, and temperature. A constant BS concentration in a culture broth with continuous degradation of crude oil implies that the BS producing microbes generate no more than the required amount of biosurfactants that enables biodegradation of the crude oil. Isolated pure strains were found to have higher specific production yields than the complex microbial marine community-consortia. The heavy oil fraction of crude oil has emerged as a promising substrate for BS production (by marine BS producers with fewer impurities in the final product. Furthermore, a particular strain isolated from sediments, Paracoccus marcusii, may be an optimal choice for bioremediation purposes as its biomass remains trapped in the hydrocarbon phase, not suffering from potential dilution effects by sea currents.

  17. Induction of conidiation by endogenous volatile compounds in Trichoderma spp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemcovic, Marek; Jakubíková, Lucia; Víden, Ivan; Farkas, Vladimír

    2008-07-01

    Light and starvation are two principal environmental stimuli inducing conidiation in the soil micromycete Trichoderma spp. We observed that volatiles produced by conidiating colonies of Trichoderma spp. elicited conidiation in colonies that had not been induced previously by exposure to light. The inducing effect of volatiles was both intra- and interspecific. Chemical profiles of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by the nonconidiated colonies grown in the dark and by the conidiating colonies were compared using solid-phase microextraction of headspace samples followed by tandem GC-MS. The conidiation was accompanied by increased production of eight-carbon compounds 1-octen-3-ol and its analogs 3-octanol and 3-octanone. When vapors of these compounds were applied individually to dark-grown colonies, they elicited their conidiation already at submicromolar concentrations. It is concluded that the eight-carbon VOCs act as signaling molecules regulating development and mediating intercolony communication in Trichoderma.

  18. Correlation in Energy Markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lange, Nina

    In this paper, I study the relationship between volatility of crude oil prices and volatility of the EURUSD rate. If there is a common factor in the volatility of crude oil and the volatility of exchange rates, possible explanations could be that the financial crisis caused a volatility spillover...

  19. A Study on the Determination of the World Crude Oil Price and Methods for Its Forecast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, J.K. [Korea Energy Economics Institute, Euiwang (Korea)

    2001-11-01

    The primary purpose of this report is to provide the groundwork to develop the methods to forecast the world crude oil price. The methodology is used by both literature survey and empirical study. For this purpose, first of all, this report reviewed the present situation and the outlook of the world oil market based on oil demand, supply and prices. This analysis attempted to provide a deeper understanding to support the development of oil forecasting methods. The result of this review, in general, showed that the oil demand will be maintained annually at an average rate of around 2.4% under assumption that oil supply has no problem until 2020. The review showed that crude oil price will be a 3% increasing rate annually in the 1999 real term. This report used the contents of the summary review as reference data in order to link the KEEIOF model. In an effort to further investigate the contents of oil political economy, this report reviewed the articles of political economy about oil industry. It pointed out that the world oil industry is experiencing the change of restructuring oil industry after the Gulf War in 1990. The contents of restructuring oil industry are characterized by the 'open access' to resources not only in the Persian Gulf, but elsewhere in the world as well - especially the Caspian Sea Basin. In addition, the contents showed that the oil industries are shifted from government control to government and industry cooperation after the Gulf War. In order to examine the characters and the problems surrounding oil producing countries, this report described the model of OPEC behavior and strategy of oil management with political and military factors. Among examining the models of OPEC behavior, this report focused on hybrid model to explain OPEC behavior. In reviewing political and religious power structure in the Middle East, the report revealed that US emphasizes the importance of the Middle East for guaranteeing oil security. However, three

  20. Developmental response of Spodoptera litura Fab. to treatments of crude volatile oil from Piper betle L. and evaluation of toxicity to earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae Kinb.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasantha-Srinivasan, Prabhakaran; Senthil-Nathan, Sengottayan; Thanigaivel, Annamalai; Edwin, Edward-Sam; Ponsankar, Athirstam; Selin-Rani, Selvaraj; Pradeepa, Venkatraman; Sakthi-Bhagavathy, Muthiah; Kalaivani, Kandaswamy; Hunter, Wayne B; Duraipandiyan, Veeramuthu; Al-Dhabi, Naif Abdullah

    2016-07-01

    Evaluations of biological effects of (Pb-CVO) the crude volatile oil of Piper betle leaves on the tobacco cutworm Spodoptera litura were conducted. Pb-CVO was subjected to GC-MS analysis and twenty vital compounds were isolated from the betel leaf oil. Pb-CVO was tested at four different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) against S. litura. The treated insects exhibited dose depended mortality. The mortality rate was significantly higher at the 1.0 and 1.5% Pb-CVO. The LC50 (Lethal concentration) were observed at 0.48% Pb-CVO. Larval and pupal durations increased in all treatment concentrations (0.25, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5%) whereas, pupal weight decreased compared to control. Adult longevity of S. litura was reduced in all treatments but predominantly in the 0.4 and 0.5% Pb-CVO. Correspondingly, mean fecundity rate was reduced at all concentrations compared to control. Histological studies of larvae mid-gut profiles of S. litura were severely damaged in 1.0 and 1.5% and showed abnormalities in mid-gut cells with 0.25 and 0.5% Pb-CVO treatments. Earthworm toxicity illustrated that 0.1% of chemical insecticides (monocrotophos and cypermethrin) varied widely in their contact toxicities compared to 0.5 and 1.0% Pb-CVO and control in both contact filter paper and artificial soil test. These findings suggest that twenty essential compounds of betel leaf oil were significant inhibitors of the development and caused behavioral changes of S. litura. Treatment with betel leaf oil at these concentrations had no adverse effect on earthworm populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. The response of Phytoseiulus persimilis to spider mite-induced volatiles from gerbera: influence of starvation and experience

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krips, O.E.; Willems, P.E.I.; Gols, R.; Posthumus, M.A.; Dicke, M.

    1999-01-01

    When leaves of the ornamental crop Gerbera jamesonii are damaged by the spider mite Tetranychus urticae, they produce many volatile compounds in large quantities. Undamaged gerbera leaves produce only a few volatiles in very small quantities. In the headspace of spider mite-damaged gerbera leaves

  2. Exporting Alaskan North Slope crude oil: Benefits and costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-06-01

    The Department of Energy study examines the effects of lifting the current prohibitions against the export of Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude. The study concludes that permitting exports would benefit the US economy. First, lifting the ban would expand the markets in which ANS oil can be sold, thereby increasing its value. ANS oil producers, the States of California and Alaska, and some of their local governments all would benefit from increased revenues. Permitting exports also would generate new economic activity and employment in California and Alaska. The study concludes that these economic benefits would be achieved without increasing gasoline prices (either in California or in the nation as a whole). Lifting the export ban could have important implications for US maritime interests. The Merchant Marine Act of 1970 (known as the Jones Act) requires all inter-coastal shipments to be carried on vessels that are US-owned, US-crewed, and US-built. By limiting the shipment of ANS crude to US ports only, the export ban creates jobs for the seafarers and the builders of Jones Act vessels. Because the Jones Act does not apply to exports, however, lifting the ban without also changing US maritime law would jeopardize the jobs associated with the current fleet of Jones Act tankers. Therefore the report analyzes selected economic impacts of several maritime policy alternatives, including: Maintaining current law, which allows foreign tankers to carry oil where export is allowed; requiring exports of ANS crude to be carried on Jones Act vessels; and requiring exports of ANS crude to be carried on vessels that are US-owned and US-crewed, but not necessarily US-built. Under each of these options, lifting the export ban would generate economic benefits.

  3. Exporting Alaskan North Slope crude oil: Benefits and costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-06-01

    The Department of Energy study examines the effects of lifting the current prohibitions against the export of Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude. The study concludes that permitting exports would benefit the US economy. First, lifting the ban would expand the markets in which ANS oil can be sold, thereby increasing its value. ANS oil producers, the States of California and Alaska, and some of their local governments all would benefit from increased revenues. Permitting exports also would generate new economic activity and employment in California and Alaska. The study concludes that these economic benefits would be achieved without increasing gasoline prices (either in California or in the nation as a whole). Lifting the export ban could have important implications for US maritime interests. The Merchant Marine Act of 1970 (known as the Jones Act) requires all inter-coastal shipments to be carried on vessels that are US-owned, US-crewed, and US-built. By limiting the shipment of ANS crude to US ports only, the export ban creates jobs for the seafarers and the builders of Jones Act vessels. Because the Jones Act does not apply to exports, however, lifting the ban without also changing US maritime law would jeopardize the jobs associated with the current fleet of Jones Act tankers. Therefore the report analyzes selected economic impacts of several maritime policy alternatives, including: Maintaining current law, which allows foreign tankers to carry oil where export is allowed; requiring exports of ANS crude to be carried on Jones Act vessels; and requiring exports of ANS crude to be carried on vessels that are US-owned and US-crewed, but not necessarily US-built. Under each of these options, lifting the export ban would generate economic benefits

  4. Producing Biosurfactants from Purified Microorganisms Obtained from Oil-contaminated Soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nader Mokhtarian

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Contamination of soil by crude oil can pose serious problems to ecosystems. Soil washing by solutions containing biosurfactants is one of the most efficient methods for the remediation of contaminated soil by crude oil because it removes not only the crude oil but also heavy metals. In this study, five soil samples were taken from fields exposed to oil compounds over the years in order to produce biosurfactants from microorganisms that were capable of degrading oil compounds. Sixteen such microorganisms were isolated. After cultivation, their emulsification strength was examined using E24 test. From among the experimental microorganisms, a gram-negative and rod-shape microorganism called A-12 showed the greatest value of the E24 test index (36%. For each liter of the culture medium containing 365 mg of microorganisms, 3 gr of the biosurfactant compound was produced and separated as dried powder. The purified biosurfactant was used in the soil washing process. Also, the insulated microorganisms were capable of degrading crude oil floating on wastewaters.

  5. Carbonaceous Asteroid Volatile Recovery (CAVoR) system, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Carbonaceous Asteroid Volatile Recovery (CAVoR) system produces water and hydrogen-rich syngas for propellant production, life support consumables, and...

  6. Assessment of waste management of volatile radionuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altomare, P.M.; Barbier, M.; Lord, N.; Nainan, D.

    1979-05-01

    This document presents a review of the Technologies for Waste Management of the Volatile Radionuclides of iodine-129, krypton-85, tritium, and carbon-14. The report presents an estimate of the quantities of these volatile radionuclides as are produced in the nuclear power industry. The various technologies as may be used, or which are under investigation, to immobilize these nuclides and to contain them during storage and in disposal are discussed. Also, the alternative disposal options as may be applied to isolate these radioactive wastes from the human environment are presented. The report contains information which was available through approximately January 1978

  7. Biomass loss as an index of pollution in various gradient of a crude ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bauhinia monandra is an agroforestry species in the FABACEAE plant family, an exotic species from Burma, easily available and accessible for ornamental and agro-forestry purposes, and more so abundantly distributed in tropical countries including oil producing areas in Nigeria. Its sensitivity to crude oil pollution has ...

  8. Co-digestion of crude glycerin associated with cattle manure in biogas production in the State of Paraná, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix Augusto Pazuch

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The addition of different concentrations of crude glycerin, associated with cattle manure, on the volumetric production of biogas is analyzed. Different concentrations of crude glycerin (2, 4 and 6% m m-1 were added as supplement in anaerobic co-digestion of dairy cattle waste, in laboratory batch biodigesters (3.5 L usable volume. The biodigesters were operated under mesophilic conditions (30ºC, with 30-day hydraulic retention time (HRT. Total solids (TS, volatile solids (VS and chemical oxygen demand (COD were analyzed to determine the efficiency of the process in the removal of organic matter and its effect on biogas production. The addition of 4% glycerin provided a larger production of biogas, approximately 9.307 mL. The efficiency in COD removal decreased in treatments with glycerin, with highest reduction (68% in the control treatment. There was a 90 and 118% increase respectively for Gli4 and Gli6% treatments. VS reductions Gly 0, Gly 2, Gly 4 and Gly 6% treatments were 18.17, 61.60, 24.36 and 44.83%, for the respective treatments.

  9. Bioconversion of crude glycerol feedstocks into ethanol by Pachysolen tannophilus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Xiaoying; Jensen, Peter Ruhdal; Workman, Mhairi

    2012-01-01

    Glycerol, the by-product of biodiesel production, is considered as a waste by biodiesel producers. This study demonstrated the potential of utilising the glycerol surplus through conversion to ethanol by the yeast Pachysolen tannophilus (CBS4044). This study demonstrates a robust bioprocess which...... was not sensitive to the batch variability in crude glycerol dependent on raw materials used for biodiesel production. The oxygen transfer rate (OTR) was a key factor for ethanol production, with lower OTR having a positive effect on ethanol production. The highest ethanol production was 17.5 g/L on 5% (v/v) crude...... glycerol, corresponding to 56% of the theoretical yield. A staged batch process achieved 28.1 g/L ethanol, the maximum achieved so far for conversion of glycerol to ethanol in a microbial bioprocess. The fermentation physiology has been investigated as a means to designing a competitive bioethanol...

  10. Volatile Compounds and Lactic Acid Bacteria in Spontaneous Fermented Sourdough

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kam, W.Y.; Aida, W.M.W.; Sahilah, A.M.; Maskat, M.Y.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to identify the predominating lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in a spontaneous fermented wheat sourdough. At the same time, an investigation towards volatile compounds that were produced was also carried out. Lactobacillus plantarum has been identified as the dominant species of lactobacilli with characters of a facultative heterofermentative strain. The generated volatile compounds that were produced during spontaneous fermentation were isolated by solvent extraction method, analysed by gas chromatography (GC), and identified by mass spectrophotometer (MS). Butyric acid has been found to be the main volatile compound with relative abundance of 6.75 % and acetic acid at relative abundance of 3.60 %. Esters that were formed at relatively low amount were butyl formate (1.23 %) and cis 3 hexenyl propionate (0.05 %). Butanol was also found at low amount with relative abundance of 0.60 %. The carbohydrate metabolism of Lactobacillus plantarum may contributed to the production of acetic acid in this study via further catabolism activity on lactic acid that was produced. However, butyric acid was not the major product via fermentation by LAB but mostly carried out by the genus Clostridium via carbohydrate metabolism which needs further investigation. (author)

  11. Valorization of crude glycerol from biodiesel production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konstantinović Sandra S.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The increased production of biodiesel as an alternative fuel involves the simultaneous growth in production of crude glycerol as its main by-product. Therefore, the feasibility and sustainability of biodiesel production requires the effective utilization of crude glycerol. This review describes various uses of crude glycerol as a potential green solvent for chemical reactions, a starting raw material for chemical and biochemical conversions into value-added chemicals, a substrate or co-substrate in microbial fermentations for synthesis of valuable chemicals and production of biogas and biohydrogen as well as a feedstuff for animal feed. A special attention is paid to various uses of crude glycerol in biodiesel production. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 45001

  12. Enbridge system : crude types, transportation and handling systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anand, A. [Enbridge Corp., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

    2009-07-01

    The supply of crude oil from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin is expected to increase by approximately 2.1 million barrels per day by 2015. The crudes that Enbridge handles range from 19 API to 40 API and 0.1 per cent sulphur to 4.7 per cent sulphur. The diverse supply of crude oil that the Enbridge system handles includes conventional heavy, synthetic heavy, heavy high tan, heavy low residual, medium, light sour, heavy sour, light sweet, light sweet synthetic, condensate and olefinic crudes. This presentation discussed Enbridge's plans for infrastructure expansion, crude types and quality assurance program. The company's infrastructure plans include the expansion of regional pipelines to bring more supplies to the mainline; expansion of the mainline capacity to existing markets; and providing pipeline access to new markets. Merchant storage terminals will be provided in some locations. The quality of various crude types will be maintained through judicious sequencing and tank bottoms crossings. tabs., figs.

  13. Sodium channels as targets for volatile anesthetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl F. Herold

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The molecular mechanisms of modern inhaled anesthetics although widely used in clinical settings are still poorly understood. Considerable evidence supports effects on membrane proteins such as ligand- and voltage-gated ion channels of excitable cells. Na+ channels are crucial to action potential initiation and propagation, and represent potential targets for volatile anesthetics. Inhibition of presynaptic Na+ channels leads to reduced neurotransmitter release at the synapse and could therefore contribute to the mechanisms by which volatile anesthetics produce their characteristic effects: amnesia, unconsciousness, and immobility. Early studies on crayfish and squid giant axon showed inhibition of Na+ currents by volatile anesthetics. Subsequent studies using native neuronal preparations and heterologous expression systems with various mammalian Na+ channel isoforms implicated inhibition of presynaptic Na+ channels in anesthetic actions. Volatile anesthetics reduce peak Na+ current and shift the voltage of half-maximal steady-state inactivation towards more negative potentials, thus stabilizing the fast-inactivated state. Furthermore recovery from fast-inactivation is slowed together with an enhanced use-dependent block during pulse train protocols. These effects can reduce neurotransmitter release by depressing presynaptic excitability, depolarization and Ca entry, and ultimately transmitter release. This reduction in transmitter release is more portent for glutamatergic vs. GABAergic terminals. Involvement of Na+ channel inhibition in mediating the immobility caused by volatile anesthetics has been demonstrated in animal studies, in which intrathecal infusion of the Na+ channel blocker tetrodotoxin increases volatile anesthetic potency, whereas infusion of the Na+ channels agonist veratridine reduces anesthetic potency. These studies indicate that inhibition of presynaptic Na+ channels by volatile anesthetics is involved in mediating some of

  14. The dynamics of crude oil price differentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fattouh, Bassam

    2010-01-01

    Crude oil price differentials are modelled as a two-regime threshold autoregressive (TAR) process using the method proposed by Caner and Hansen [Caner, M., Hansen, B.E. Threshold autoregression with a unit root. Econometrica 2001; 69; 1555-1596.]. While standard unit root tests suggest that the prices of crude oil of different varieties move closely together such that their price differential is stationary, the TAR results indicate strong evidence of threshold effects in the adjustment process to the long-run equilibrium. These findings suggest that crude oil prices are linked and thus at the very general level, the oil market is 'one great pool' (Adelman, M.A. International oil agreements. The Energy Journal 1984; 5; 1-9.). However, differences in the dynamics of adjustment suggest that within this one pool, oil markets are not necessarily integrated in every time period and hence the dynamics of crude oil price differentials may not follow a stationary process at all times. Although the development of a liquid futures market around the crude oil benchmarks has helped make some distant markets more unified, arbitrage is not costless or risk-free and temporary breakdowns in the benchmarks can lead to decoupling of crude oil prices. (author)

  15. Process development study on production of uranium metal from monazite sourced crude uranium tetra-fluoride

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chowdhury, S; Satpati, S.K.; Hareendran, K.N.; Roy, S.B.

    2014-01-01

    Development of an economic process for recovery, process flow sheet development, purification and further conversion to nuclear grade uranium metal from the crude UF 4 has been a technological challenge and the present paper, discusses the same.The developed flow-sheet is a combination of hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes. Crude UF 4 is converted to uranium di-oxide (UO 2 ) by chemical conversion route and UO 2 produced is made fluoride-free by repeated repulping, followed by solid liquid separation. Uranium di-oxide is then purified by two stages of dissolution and suitable solvent extraction methods to get uranium nitrate pure solution (UNPS). UNPS is then precipitated with air diluted ammonia in a leak tight stirred vessel under controlled operational conditions to obtain ammonium di-uranate (ADU). The ADU is then calcined and reduced to produce metal grade UO 2 followed by hydro-fluorination using anhydrous hydrofluoric acid to obtain metal grade UF 4 with ammonium oxalate insoluble (AOI) content of 4 is essential for critical upstream conversion process. Nuclear grade uranium metal ingot is finally produced by metallothermic reduction process at 650℃ in a closed vessel, called bomb reactor. In the process, metal-slag separation plays an important role for attaining metal purity as well as process yield. Technological as well economic feasibility of indigenously developed process for large scale production of uranium metal from the crude UF 4 has been established in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India

  16. Carbon monoxide production from five volatile anesthetics in dry sodalime in a patient model: halothane and sevoflurane do produce carbon monoxide; temperature is a poor predictor of carbon monoxide production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perez Roberto SGM

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Desflurane and enflurane have been reported to produce substantial amounts of carbon monoxide (CO in desiccated sodalime. Isoflurane is said to produce less CO and sevoflurane and halothane should produce no CO at all. The purpose of this study is to measure the maximum amounts of CO production for all modern volatile anesthetics, with completely dry sodalime. We also tried to establish a relationship between CO production and temperature increase inside the sodalime. Methods A patient model was simulated using a circle anesthesia system connected to an artificial lung. Completely desiccated sodalime (950 grams was used in this system. A low flow anesthesia (500 ml/min was maintained using nitrous oxide with desflurane, enflurane, isoflurane, halothane or sevoflurane. For immediate quantification of CO production a portable gas chromatograph was used. Temperature was measured within the sodalime container. Results Peak concentrations of CO were very high with desflurane and enflurane (14262 and 10654 ppm respectively. It was lower with isoflurane (2512 ppm. We also measured small concentrations of CO for sevoflurane and halothane. No significant temperature increases were detected with high CO productions. Conclusion All modern volatile anesthetics produce CO in desiccated sodalime. Sodalime temperature increase is a poor predictor of CO production.

  17. Pengaruh Penambahan Kosubstrat pada Biodegradasi Crude Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Any Juliani

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Kegiatan penambangan minyak bumi tidak hanya dilakukan oleh perusahaan-perusahaan besar, tetapi juga oleh masyarakat secara tradisional. Potensi pencemaran lingkungan yang ditimbulkan oleh kegiatan penambangan rakyat ini menjadi lebih tinggi karena pengelolaannya yang tradisional. Salah satu jenis pencemaran yang ditimbulkannya misalnya adalah tanah atau perairan yang tercemar oleh minyak bumi (crude oil pada saat berlangsungnya kegiatan penambangan. Salah satu upaya untuk dapat mengatasinya adalah dengan bioremediasi. Bioremediasi merupakan teknologi pengolahan pencemar dengan memanfaatkan aktivitas mikroba, terutama dari golongan bakteri. Bioremediasi tersebut harus melibatkan bakteri yang memiliki kapasitas metabolic untuk melakukan biodegradasi terhadap crude oil tersebut. Crude oil sendiri pada dasarnya merupakan senyawa hidrokarbon yang merupakan sumber karbon yang kaya bagi mikroba. Namun demikian, biodegradasi crude oil relative lebih sulit dilakukan karena karakteristiknya yang merupakan senyawa dengan berat molekul dan ukuran yang besar. Oleh karena itu penambahan kosubstrat yang lebih sederhana dapat dilakukan untuk membantu biodegradasi terutama pada tahap awal proses. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penambahan kosubstrat dalam hal ini glukosa terhadap biodegradasi crude oil. Penelitian dilakukan dalam media cair dengan bioaugmentasi melalui penambahan inoculum bakteri yang diisolasi dari tanah yang dikondisikan terhadap crude oil dalam beberapa variasi reactor. Indikasi terjadinya biodegradasi diperiksa melalui pengukuran terhadap parameter Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH dan Total Plate Count (TPC. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penambahan kosubstrat glukosa memberikan pengaruh positif terhadap penurunan TPH. Penurunan TPH tertinggi setelah 28 hari adalah sebesar 25,3 % yang diberikan oleh reactor dengan penambahan kosubstrat serta konsentrasi crude oil awal sebesar 8.1 %. Sementara itu reactor tanpa

  18. Dispersed catalysts for transforming extra heavy crude oil into transportable upgraded crude: phase identification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martinez, S.; Canizales, E.; Machin, I. [Gerencia Depttal de Investigacion Estrategica en Refinacion PDVSA Intevep (Venezuela); Segovia, X.; Rivas, A.; Lopez, E.; Pena, J.P.; Rojas, J.D.; Sardella, R. [Gerencia Depttal de Infraestructura y Mejoramiento en Faja Petrolifera PDVSA Intevep (Venezuela)

    2011-07-01

    A new technology to convert extra heavy crude oil into transportable upgraded crude has been developed. A water/oil emulsion composed of steam and catalyst precursors is introduced in the feed which then generates unsupported dispersed catalyst in situ under thermal decomposition. The aim of this paper is to characterize the particles. The study was conducted in a laboratory and on a pilot scale on three different vacuum residues using high resolution transmission electron microscopy and a transmission electron microscope. Results showed that the particles were formed by oxides and inorganic sulphur based in transition metals and their sizes ranged between 5 and 120 nm; in addition, good dispersion was observed. This study demonstrated that the process involved in the generation of dispersed catalyst is extremely complex and showed that further work with heavy crude oils and its residua is required to understand the mechanisms involved.

  19. Range-based volatility, expected stock returns, and the low volatility anomaly

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    One of the foundations of financial economics is the idea that rational investors will discount stocks with more risk (volatility), which will result in a positive relation between risk and future returns. However, the empirical evidence is mixed when determining how volatility is related to future returns. In this paper, we examine this relation using a range-based measure of volatility, which is shown to be theoretically, numerically, and empirically superior to other measures of volatility. In a variety of tests, we find that range-based volatility is negatively associated with expected stock returns. These results are robust to time-series multifactor models as well as cross-sectional tests. Our findings contribute to the debate about the direction of the relationship between risk and return and confirm the presence of the low volatility anomaly, or the anomalous finding that low volatility stocks outperform high volatility stocks. In other tests, we find that the lower returns associated with range-based volatility are driven by stocks with lottery-like characteristics. PMID:29190652

  20. Range-based volatility, expected stock returns, and the low volatility anomaly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blau, Benjamin M; Whitby, Ryan J

    2017-01-01

    One of the foundations of financial economics is the idea that rational investors will discount stocks with more risk (volatility), which will result in a positive relation between risk and future returns. However, the empirical evidence is mixed when determining how volatility is related to future returns. In this paper, we examine this relation using a range-based measure of volatility, which is shown to be theoretically, numerically, and empirically superior to other measures of volatility. In a variety of tests, we find that range-based volatility is negatively associated with expected stock returns. These results are robust to time-series multifactor models as well as cross-sectional tests. Our findings contribute to the debate about the direction of the relationship between risk and return and confirm the presence of the low volatility anomaly, or the anomalous finding that low volatility stocks outperform high volatility stocks. In other tests, we find that the lower returns associated with range-based volatility are driven by stocks with lottery-like characteristics.

  1. Range-based volatility, expected stock returns, and the low volatility anomaly.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin M Blau

    Full Text Available One of the foundations of financial economics is the idea that rational investors will discount stocks with more risk (volatility, which will result in a positive relation between risk and future returns. However, the empirical evidence is mixed when determining how volatility is related to future returns. In this paper, we examine this relation using a range-based measure of volatility, which is shown to be theoretically, numerically, and empirically superior to other measures of volatility. In a variety of tests, we find that range-based volatility is negatively associated with expected stock returns. These results are robust to time-series multifactor models as well as cross-sectional tests. Our findings contribute to the debate about the direction of the relationship between risk and return and confirm the presence of the low volatility anomaly, or the anomalous finding that low volatility stocks outperform high volatility stocks. In other tests, we find that the lower returns associated with range-based volatility are driven by stocks with lottery-like characteristics.

  2. The impact of crude oil price on Islamic stock indices of South East Asian countries: Evidence from MGARCH-DCC and wavelet approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Monir Abdullah

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper is the first attempt at testing the ‘time-varying’ and ‘time-scale dependent’ volatilities of and correlations between the selected Islamic stock indices of South East Asian countries and selected commodities for enhancing portfolio diversification benefits. Consistent with the results of our VECM, our analysis based on the application of the recent wavelet technique MODWT, indicates that the Singapore Islamic index is leading the other Islamic indices and the commodities. From the point of view of portfolio diversification benefits, based on the extent of dynamic correlations between variables, our results suggest that an investor should be aware that the Philippine Islamic stock index is less correlated with the crude oil in the short run (as evidenced in the continuous wavelet transform analysis and that an investor holding the crude oil can gain by including the Malaysian Islamic stock index in the portfolio (as evidenced in the Dynamic conditional correlation analysis.

  3. Biosurfactant production by Mucor circinelloides on waste frying oil and possible uses in crude oil remediation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasanizadeh, Parvin; Moghimi, Hamid; Hamedi, Javad

    2017-10-01

    Biosurfactants are biocompatible surface active agents which many microorganisms produce. This study investigated the production of biosurfactants by Mucor circinelloides. The effects of different factors on biosurfactant production, including carbon sources and concentrations, nitrogen sources, and iron (II) concentration, were studied and the optimum condition determined. Finally, the strain's ability to remove the crude oil and its relationship with biosurfactant production was evaluated. The results showed that M. circinelloides could reduce the surface tension of the culture medium to 26.6 mN/m and create a clear zone of 12.9 cm diameter in an oil-spreading test. The maximum surface tension reduction was recorded 3 days after incubation. The optimum condition for biosurfactant production was achieved in the presence of 8% waste frying oil as a carbon source, 2 g/L yeast extract as a nitrogen source, and 0.01 mM FeSO 4 . M. circinelloides could consume 8% waste frying oil in 5 days of incubation, and 87.6% crude oil in 12 days of incubation. A direct correlation was observed between oil degradation and surface tension reduction in the first 3 days of fungal growth. The results showed that the waste frying oil could be recommended as an inexpensive oily waste substance for biosurfactant production, and M. circinelloides could have the potential to treat waste frying oil. According to the results, the produced crude biosurfactant or fungal strain could be directly used for the mycoremediation of crude oil contamination in oil fields.

  4. Potential Signatures of Semi-volatile Compounds Associated With Nuclear Processing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Probasco, Kathleen M.; Birnbaum, Jerome C.; Maughan, A. D.

    2002-06-01

    Semi-volatile chemicals associated with nuclear processes (e.g., the reprocessing of uranium to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, or the separation of actinides from processing waste streams), can provide sticky residues or signatures that will attach to piping, ducting, soil, water, or other surface media. Volatile compounds, that are more suitable for electro-optical sensing, have been well studied. However, the semi-volatile compounds have not been well documented or studied. A majority of these semi-volatile chemicals are more robust than typical gaseous or liquid chemicals and can have lifetimes of several weeks, months, or years in the environment. However, large data gaps exist concerning these potential signature compounds and more research is needed to fill these data gaps so that important signature information is not overlooked or discarded. This report investigates key semi-volatile compounds associated with nuclear separations, identifies available chemical and physical properties, and discusses the degradation products that would result from hydrolysis, radiolysis and oxidation reactions on these compounds.

  5. Pricing Volatility Referenced Assets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alan De Genaro Dario

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Volatility swaps are contingent claims on future realized volatility. Variance swaps are similar instruments on future realized variance, the square of future realized volatility. Unlike a plain vanilla option, whose volatility exposure is contaminated by its asset price dependence, volatility and variance swaps provide a pure exposure to volatility alone. This article discusses the risk-neutral valuation of volatility and variance swaps based on the framework outlined in the Heston (1993 stochastic volatility model. Additionally, the Heston (1993 model is calibrated for foreign currency options traded at BMF and its parameters are used to price swaps on volatility and variance of the BRL / USD exchange rate.

  6. Evaluation of methods for wax determination in crude oil; Avaliacao de metodos de determinacao de parafinas em petroleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dias, Julio Cesar M.; Silva, Maria do Socorro A.J. da; Vasconcellos, Rosa C.U. [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas; Tamanqueira, Juliana B. [Fundacao Gorceix, Ouro Preto, MG (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Determining the wax content of crude oil is of great importance for petroleum industry, especially for production, storage and transportation of crude oils. Many different methodologies of wax determining are available in the technical literature. However, the selection of the most suitable method must be in accordance with the aim of the analysis and observing the specificities of each technique. The purpose of this work was to determine the performance of different techniques of wax determining applied to characterization of precipitation properties of waxy compounds in crude oils. Twelve samples of crude oils proceeding from the main Brazilian oil producing sedimentary basins were selected for this study. These samples were analyzed by three important analytical techniques of wax determining: precipitation by cooled solvent; liquid chromatography with precipitation by cooled solvent; and liquid chromatography followed by gas chromatography. Differential scanning calorimetry data related to the wax crystallization in these oils were used as parameters of validation. The results obtained in this study indicate that the liquid chromatography followed by gas chromatography method has the best performance for wax determining in crude oils. (author)

  7. Conversion of Crude Oil to Methane by a Microbial Consortium Enriched From Oil Reservoir Production Waters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolina eBerdugo-Clavijo

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The methanogenic biodegradation of crude oil is an important process occurring in petroleum reservoirs and other oil-containing environments such as contaminated aquifers. In this process, syntrophic bacteria degrade hydrocarbon substrates to products such as acetate, and/or H2 and CO2 that are then used by methanogens to produce methane in a thermodynamically dependent manner. We enriched a methanogenic crude oil-degrading consortium from production waters sampled from a low temperature heavy oil reservoir. Alkylsuccinates indicative of fumarate addition to C5 and C6 n-alkanes were identified in the culture (above levels found in controls, corresponding to the detection of an alkyl succinate synthase gene (assA in the culture. In addition, the enrichment culture was tested for its ability to produce methane from residual oil in a sandstone-packed column system simulating a mature field. Methane production rates of up 5.8 μmol CH4/g of oil/day were measured in the column system. Amounts of produced methane were in relatively good agreement with hydrocarbon loss showing depletion of more than 50% of saturate and aromatic hydrocarbons. Microbial community analysis revealed that the enrichment culture was dominated by members of the genus Smithella, Methanosaeta, and Methanoculleus. However, a shift in microbial community occurred following incubation of the enrichment in the sandstone columns. Here, Methanobacterium sp. were most abundant, as were bacterial members of the genus Pseudomonas and other known biofilm forming organisms. Our findings show that microorganisms enriched from petroleum reservoir waters can bioconvert crude oil components to methane both planktonically and in sandstone-packed columns as test systems. Further, the results suggest that different organisms may contribute to oil biodegradation within different phases (e.g., planktonic versus sessile within a subsurface crude oil reservoir.

  8. Crude oil pricing report, issue 89, December 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This report is prepared by the Canadian Oil Markets and Emergency Planning Division (COMEP), Energy, Mines and Resources Canada. It provides a reference for domestic and imported crude oil prices in Canadian markets and illustrates the competitive position of Canadian crude in the U.S. market. The information in this report is in part based on the Crude Oil Pricing Survey (COPS), conducted by COMEP, of Canadian refiners' domestic crude oil purchases, refinery receipts, imports and data from trade publications as well as industry pricing bulletins. 8 tabs

  9. Microwave-gamma ray water in crude monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paap, H.J.

    1984-01-01

    A microwave-gamma ray water-in-crude monitoring system measures the percent quantity of fresh water or salt water in crude oil flowing in a pipe line. The system includes a measuring cell arranged with the pipe line so that the crude oil flows through the measuring cell. A microwave transmitter subsystem and a gamma ray source are arranged with the measuring cell so that microwave energy and gamma rays are transmitted through the measuring cell. A microwave receiving subsystem and a gamma ray detector provide signals corresponding to received microwave energy and to the received gamma rays, respectively. Apparatus connected to the microwave receiver and to the gamma ray detector provides an indication of the percentage of water in the crude oil

  10. Crude glycerin in diets for feedlot Nellore cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Haydt Castello Branco van Cleef

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of crude glycerin on feed intake, performance, carcass characteristics, and total digestibility of Nellore bulls. In experiment 1, cattle (n = 30 were fed a control diet without crude glycerin and diets containing 7.5, 15, 22.5, and 30% crude glycerin, for 103 d. Animals were harvested and data of carcass characteristics were collected. In experiment 2, a digestibility trial was performed using indigestible acid detergent fiber (iADF as internal marker, and five rumen-cannulated steers. Both experiments were conducted as a randomized complete block design and data were analyzed using mixed procedures. In experiment 1 no differences were observed among treatments on dry matter intake, and performance variables. Regarding carcass characteristics, no effect was observed, except for carcass fat estimates, which were greater in treatments with crude glycerin. In experiment 2, crude glycerin promoted a decrease in digestibility of fibrous fractions NDF and HEM, and increased digestibility of crude protein by 6%. Although it caused negative effect on digestibility of fibrous fraction of diets, crude glycerin can be a good energy source for Nellore bulls, since no losses are observed on performance and carcass characteristics when animals are fed up to 30% of this by-product.

  11. Volatilization of multicomponent mixtures in soil vapor extraction applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bass, D.H.

    1995-01-01

    In soil vapor extraction (SVE) applications involving multicomponent mixtures, prediction of mass removal by volatilization as a function remediation extent is required to estimate remediation time and to size offgas treatment equipment. SVE is a commonly used remediation technology which volatilizes and enhances aerobic biodegradation of contamination adsorbed to vadose zone soils. SVE is often applied at sites contaminated with petroleum products, which are usually mixtures of many different compounds with vapor pressures spanning several orders of magnitude. The most volatile components are removed first, so the vapor pressure of the remaining contaminant continually decreases over the course of the remediation. A method for assessing how vapor pressure, and hence the rate of volatilization, of a multicomponent mixture changes over the course of a vapor extraction remedy has been developed. Each component is listed, alone, with its mass fraction in the mixture, in decreasing order of pure component vapor pressure (where component analyses are unavailable, model compounds can be used), For most petroleum distillates, the vapor pressure for each component plotted against the cumulative mass fraction of the component in the mixture on semilog coordinates will produce a straight line with a high correlation coefficient. This regression can be integrated to produce an expression for vapor pressure of the overall mixture as a function of extent or remediation

  12. Mercury in Canadian crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollebone, B.P.

    2005-01-01

    Estimates for average mercury concentrations in crude oil range widely from 10 ng/g of oil to 3,500 ng/g of oil. With such a broad range of estimates, it is difficult to determine the contributions of the petroleum sector to the total budget of mercury emissions. In response to concerns that the combustion of petroleum products may be a major source of air-borne mercury pollution, Environment Canada and the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute has undertaken a survey of the average total mercury concentration in crude oil processed in Canadian refineries. In order to calculate the potential upper limit of total mercury in all refined products, samples of more than 30 different types of crude oil collected from refineries were measured for their concentration of mercury as it enters into a refinery before processing. High temperature combustion, cold vapour atomic absorption and cold vapour atomic fluorescence were the techniques used to quantify mercury in the samples. The results of the study provide information on the total mass of mercury present in crude oil processed in Canada each year. Results can be used to determine the impact of vehicle exhaust emissions to the overall Canadian mercury emission budget. 17 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs

  13. Method to upgrade bio-oils to fuel and bio-crude

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steele, Philip H; Pittman, Jr., Charles U; Ingram, Jr., Leonard L; Gajjela, Sanjeev; Zhang, Zhijun; Bhattacharya, Priyanka

    2013-12-10

    This invention relates to a method and device to produce esterified, olefinated/esterified, or thermochemolytic reacted bio-oils as fuels. The olefinated/esterified product may be utilized as a biocrude for input to a refinery, either alone or in combination with petroleum crude oils. The bio-oil esterification reaction is catalyzed by addition of alcohol and acid catalyst. The olefination/esterification reaction is catalyzed by addition of resin acid or other heterogeneous catalyst to catalyze olefins added to previously etherified bio-oil; the olefins and alcohol may also be simultaneously combined and catalyzed by addition of resin acid or other heterogeneous catalyst to produce the olefinated/esterified product.

  14. Characterization of volatile compounds in Fen-Daqu - a traditional Chinese liquor fermentation starter

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van-Diep, L.; Zheng, X.; Chen, J.Y.; Han, B.Z.

    2012-01-01

    Fen-Daqu is a saccharifying agent and fermentation starter for the production of Chinese liquor Fen (alcoholic spirit) and Fen traditional vinegar. The volatile compounds produced at seven incubation steps were analysed by HS-SPME-GC-MS. A total of 83 major volatile compounds were identified,

  15. Improving Aspergillus carbonarius crude enzymes for lignocellulose hydrolysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Gustav Hammerich

    and single enzyme supplementation. Fungal strains were screened in order to determine crude enzyme extracts that could be supplemented as boosters of A. carbonarius own crude enzyme extract, when applied in lignocellulose hydrolysis. The fungi originated from different environmental niches, which all had...... for their potential in hydrolysis of wheat straw both by application of monocultures and by supplementing to crude enzymes of A. carbonarius. For the crude enzymes from solid cultivations there were eight isolates that showed synergistic interaction resulting in doubling and tripling of the glucose release in wheat...... straw hydrolysis. A completely different profile of synergy was observed for crude enzymes from liquid cultivations, as there were only three isolates that enhanced glucose release. Only one of these three isolates had shown synergistic effects when cultivated in a solid medium. The screening...

  16. Volatile and non-volatile/semi-volatile compounds and in vitro bioactive properties of Chilean Ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia Cav.) honey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acevedo, Francisca; Torres, Paulina; Oomah, B Dave; de Alencar, Severino Matias; Massarioli, Adna Prado; Martín-Venegas, Raquel; Albarral-Ávila, Vicenta; Burgos-Díaz, César; Ferrer, Ruth; Rubilar, Mónica

    2017-04-01

    Ulmo honey originating from Eucryphia cordifolia tree, known locally in the Araucania region as the Ulmo tree is a natural product with valuable nutritional and medicinal qualities. It has been used in the Mapuche culture to treat infections. This study aimed to identify the volatile and non-volatile/semi-volatile compounds of Ulmo honey and elucidate its in vitro biological properties by evaluating its antioxidant, antibacterial, antiproliferative and hemolytic properties and cytotoxicity in Caco-2 cells. Headspace volatiles of Ulmo honey were isolated by solid-phase microextraction (SPME); non-volatiles/semi-volatiles were obtained by removing all saccharides with acidified water and the compounds were identified by GC/MS analysis. Ulmo honey volatiles consisted of 50 compounds predominated by 20 flavor components. Two of the volatile compounds, lyrame and anethol have never been reported before as honey compounds. The non-volatile/semi-volatile components of Ulmo honey comprised 27 compounds including 13 benzene derivatives accounting 75% of the total peak area. Ulmo honey exhibited weak antioxidant activity but strong antibacterial activity particularly against gram-negative bacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the main strain involved in wounds and skin infections. At concentrations >0.5%, Ulmo honey reduced Caco-2 cell viability, released lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in a dose dependent manner in the presence of foetal bovine serum (FBS). The wide array of volatile and non-volatile/semi-volatile constituents of Ulmo honey rich in benzene derivatives may partly account for its strong antibacterial and antiproliferative properties important for its therapeutic use. Our results indicate that Ulmo honey can potentially inhibit cancer growth at least partly by modulating oxidative stress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Short-term outlook for Canadian crude oil to 2006 : an energy market assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-09-01

    The National Energy Board monitors the supply of all energy commodities in Canada along with the demand for Canadian energy commodities in domestic and export markets. This report is intended to expand the effectiveness of the Board's monitoring activities by providing an assessment of the current state of the petroleum industry and the potential for growth. It provides an 18-month outlook on international and domestic crude oil prices; drilling and exploration activity; supply projections for Canadian crude oil and petroleum products; Canada's crude oil trade balance and markets for Canadian crude; existing export pipeline networks and project expansion plans; and, the Canadian petroleum products industry and the impact of higher prices. It also identifies the major issues and challenges associated with the development of Canada's crude oil. The 2 major oil producing areas in Canada are the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) including the oil sands, and offshore eastern Canada. While conventional production in the WCSB is declining, development focus has shifted to Alberta's oil sands as well as Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose, the 3 major oil fields offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. High energy prices have resulted in record profits for the Canadian oil and gas industry, and has stimulated billions of dollars in investment, with Alberta's oil sands being the main beneficiary. The 19 refineries in Canada have been operating at about 90 per cent capacity for the last several years due to strong demand for transportation fuels. 10 tabs., 37 figs., 2 appendices

  18. The Role of Shearing Energy and Interfacial Gibbs Free Energy in the Emulsification Mechanism of Waxy Crude Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhihua Wang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Crude oil is generally produced with water, and the water cut produced by oil wells is increasingly common over their lifetime, so it is inevitable to create emulsions during oil production. However, the formation of emulsions presents a costly problem in surface process particularly, both in terms of transportation energy consumption and separation efficiency. To deal with the production and operational problems which are related to crude oil emulsions, especially to ensure the separation and transportation of crude oil-water systems, it is necessary to better understand the emulsification mechanism of crude oil under different conditions from the aspects of bulk and interfacial properties. The concept of shearing energy was introduced in this study to reveal the driving force for emulsification. The relationship between shearing stress in the flow field and interfacial tension (IFT was established, and the correlation between shearing energy and interfacial Gibbs free energy was developed. The potential of the developed correlation model was validated using the experimental and field data on emulsification behavior. It was also shown how droplet deformation could be predicted from a random deformation degree and orientation angle. The results indicated that shearing energy as the energy produced by shearing stress working in the flow field is the driving force activating the emulsification behavior. The deformation degree and orientation angle of dispersed phase droplet are associated with the interfacial properties, rheological properties and the experienced turbulence degree. The correlation between shearing stress and IFT can be quantified if droplet deformation degree vs. droplet orientation angle data is available. When the water cut is close to the inversion point of waxy crude oil emulsion, the interfacial Gibbs free energy change decreased and the shearing energy increased. This feature is also presented in the special regions where

  19. Experimental Study on Characteristics of Oil Particle Distribution in Water-Gelled Crude Oil Two-Phase Flow System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Xiaoyan

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The conventional gathering and transportation mode of heating the produced fluid of oil wells with hot water or steam may result in excessive energy consumption. In order to perform the unheated transportation, the idea of hydraulic suspension transport of the gelled crude oil is proposed based on the actual production of Daqing Oilfield, and the experimental system is established to test characteristics of oil particle distribution which have an important effect on the hydraulic suspension transportation. In the experiment, the image of gelled crude oil particle distribution was obtained in a horizontal pipe with inner diameter of 0.053 m, and then the law of particle distribution was investigated by the theoretical model. The results showed that the gelled crude oil hydraulic suspension transport could be achieved without any chemical reagent when the gelled crude oil was transformed into particles and dispersedly suspended in water. The results also showed that the gelled oil particles of 0–4 mm in size accounted for 92% or more of all particles, and the percentage of gelled crude oil particles of a size of 4 mm gradually increased with the increasing mixed flow rate.

  20. Changes in volatile compound composition of Antrodia camphorata during solid state fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Yongjun; Zhang, Baorong; Li, Weijiang; Xu, Ganrong

    2011-10-01

    Although the volatiles present in mushrooms and fungi have been investigated by many researchers, including Antrodia camphorata in submerged fermentation, there are few data available regarding changes in volatile compounds during fermentation. Our research has revealed that solid state fermentation of A. camphorata is highly odiferous compared with submerged cultures and the odor changed with increasing culture time. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the changes in volatile compound composition of A. camphorata during solid state fermentation. Altogether, 124 major volatile compounds were identified. The volatile compounds produced by A. camphorata during growth in solid state fermentation were quite different. Oct-1-en-3-ol, octan-3-one and methyl 2-phenylacetate were predominant in exponential growth phase production, while the dominant volatiles produced in stationary phase were octan-3-one and methyl 2-phenylacetate. In stationary phase, lactone compounds in A. camphorata, such as 5-butyloxolan-2-one, 5-heptyloxolan-2-one, 6-heptyloxan-2-one, contributed greatly to peach and fruit-like flavor. Terpene and terpene alcohol compounds, such as 1-terpineol, L-linalool, T-cadinol, (E, E)-farnesol, β-elemene, cis-α-bisabolene and α-muurolene, made different contributions to herbal fresh aroma in A. camphorata. Nineteen volatile sesquiterpenes were detected from solid state fermentation of A. camphorata. The compounds 5-n-butyl-5H-furan-2-one, β-ionone, (-)-caryophyllene oxide, aromadendrene oxide, diepi-α-cedrene epoxide, β-elemene, α-selinene, α-muurolene, azulene, germacrene D, γ-cadinene and 2-methylpyrazine have not hitherto been reported in A. camphorata. The preliminary results suggest that the aroma-active compounds produced by A camphorata in solid state fermentation might serve as an important source of natural aroma compounds for the food and cosmetic industries or antibiotic activity compounds. The sesquiterpenes could be

  1. Iodine volatility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beahm, E.C.; Shockley, W.E.

    1984-01-01

    The ultimate aim of this program is to couple experimental aqueous iodine volatilities to a fission product release model. Iodine partition coefficients, for inorganic iodine, have been measured during hydrolysis and radiolysis. The hydrolysis experiments have illustrated the importance of reaction time on iodine volatility. However, radiolysis effects can override hydrolysis in determining iodine volatility. In addition, silver metal in radiolysis samples can react to form silver iodide accompanied by a decrease in iodine volatility. Experimental data are now being coupled to an iodine transport and release model that was developed in the Federal Republic of Germany

  2. Anaerobic co-digestion cassava wastewater and crude glycerin for removal of COD and solid; Co-digestao anaerobica de manipueira e glicerina bruta para remocao de DQO e solidos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Jefferson L.G.; Guerra Junior, Joao B. [Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Parana (UNIOESTE), Cascavel, PR (Brazil)], E-mail: j.lg11@yahoo.com.br; Gomes, Simone D.; Mallmann, Larissa S. [Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Parana (CCET/PGEAGRI/UNIOESTE), Cascavel, PR (Brazil). Dept. de Recursos Hidricos e Saneamento Ambiental

    2012-11-01

    To be discarded into the environment, cassava wastewater, generated during the processing of the cassava root, needs to be dealt with trying to reduce its organic load and total solids, harmful to water bodies. As for crude glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production, need alternatives to its destination, because the cost to its purification is often not feasible, preventing its use by pharmaceutical and food industries. In this study we chose to anaerobic digestion to treat manipueira assessing the behavior of the reactor with the addition of glycerin. The reactor was constructed of PVC with 60cm long, 20cm in diameter and a volume of 8.38 L, and HRT was 5 days. Three treatments were applied: T1, only manipueira, T2 with 0.25% glycerol and T3, with 0.50%. The three treatments showed a great reduction of organic load (above 90%) and higher with the addition of 0.25% crude glycerine. The highest mean removal of solids and total volatile solids occurred in treatment with 0.50% crude glycerine, being 84.18% and 91.41% respectively. (author)

  3. Comets, volcanism, the salt-rich regolith, and cycling of volatiles on Mars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, B.C.

    1987-01-01

    The composition of the Martian surface and its evolution are examined, reviewing the results of recent theoretical models and composition estimates based on Viking-lander analyses. The data are compiled in tables and characterized in detail, and a high degree of variation among the predictions is noted. The discussion centers on the possible roles of comets (as sources of volatiles), the salt-rich regolith (as an important water sink), and volcanic activity (interfering with volatile-recycling processes and eventually producing a volatile-depleted surface layer). 45 references

  4. Forward curves, scarcity and price volatility in oil and natural gas markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geman, Helyette; Ohana, Steve

    2009-01-01

    The role of inventory in explaining the shape of the forward curve and spot price volatility in commodity markets is central in the theory of storage developed by Kaldor [Kaldor, N. (1939) ''Speculation and Economic Stability'', The Review of Economic Studies 7, 1-27] and Working [Working, H. (1949) ''The theory of the price of storage'', American Economic Review, 39, 1254-1262] and has since been documented in a vast body of financial literature, including the reference paper by Fama and French [Fama, E.F. and K.R. French (1987) ''Commodity futures prices: some evidence on forecast power, premiums and the theory of storage'', Journal of Business 60, 55-73] on metals. The goal of this paper is twofold: 1. validate in the case of oil and natural gas the use of the slope of the forward curve as a proxy for inventory (the slope being defined in a way that filters out seasonality); 2. analyze directly for these two major commodities the relationship between inventory and price volatility. In agreement with the theory of storage, we find that: 1. the negative correlation between price volatility and inventory is globally significant for crude oil; 2. this negative correlation prevails only during those periods of scarcity when the inventory is below the historical average and increases importantly during the winter periods for natural gas. Our results are illustrated by the analysis of a 15 year-database of US oil and natural gas prices and inventory. (author)

  5. The response of Scirpus pungens to crude oil contaminated sediments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Longpre, D; Jaouich, A [Quebec Univ., Montreal, PQ (Canada); Jarry, V [Environment Canada, Montreal, PQ (Canada); Venosa, A D [US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States). National Risk Management Research Lab.; Lee, K [Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont Joli, PQ (Canada). Inst. Maurice Lamontagne; Suidan, M T [Cincinnati Univ., Cincinnati, OH (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    1999-01-01

    An exposure study was conducted to determine the impacts of an oil spill on the plant Scirpus pungens and to determine potential recovery rates of the species in the event of an accidental spill within the St. Lawrence River. Scirpus pungens is an important wetland plant which is essential for control of coastal erosion and which provides a unique habitat for a variety of biota. Sediments contaminated with medium-light crude oil were used in this study. Transplants in oiled and unoiled sediments were maintained in greenhouses to monitor changes in plant height, growth and mortality over a 63 day period. Results showed that plants exposed to high concentrations of oiled sediment were much smaller than those exposed to lightly contaminated sediments. Elevated oil concentrations greatly decreased plant biomass. Mortality was highly correlated with oil concentration. Transplants were able to survive, grow and produce new shoots in sediments contaminated with crude oil in a range of concentrations comparable to those associated with oil spills.

  6. The response of Scirpus pungens to crude oil contaminated sediments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longpre, D.; Jaouich, A.; Jarry, V.; Venosa, A.D.; Lee, K.; Suidan, M.T.

    1999-01-01

    An exposure study was conducted to determine the impacts of an oil spill on the plant Scirpus pungens and to determine potential recovery rates of the species in the event of an accidental spill within the St. Lawrence River. Scirpus pungens is an important wetland plant which is essential for control of coastal erosion and which provides a unique habitat for a variety of biota. Sediments contaminated with medium-light crude oil were used in this study. Transplants in oiled and unoiled sediments were maintained in greenhouses to monitor changes in plant height, growth and mortality over a 63 day period. Results showed that plants exposed to high concentrations of oiled sediment were much smaller than those exposed to lightly contaminated sediments. Elevated oil concentrations greatly decreased plant biomass. Mortality was highly correlated with oil concentration. Transplants were able to survive, grow and produce new shoots in sediments contaminated with crude oil in a range of concentrations comparable to those associated with oil spills

  7. Molluscicidal activity of crude water leaf extracts of Alternanthera ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    mortality figures by the use of probit gave LC50 of 40.42 (35.15 – 46.47) for the unevaporated crude water while the evaporated crude water extract had LC50 of 48.07 (42.81 – 54.28) for the dried leaf extract. For the fresh leaves the unevaporated crude water extract had LC50 of 32.57 (27.15 – 39.08) and evaporated crude ...

  8. Biodegradation of chlorobenzene using immobilized crude extracts ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SERVER

    2007-10-04

    Oct 4, 2007 ... immobilized crude extracts were reused for all other experiments and found that immobilization .... India which are of analytical reagent grade. .... 9. 60. 3. 1. Figure 3. Degradation of chlorobenzene by immobilized crude.

  9. Wavelet decomposition and regime shifts. Assessing the effects of crude oil shocks on stock market returns

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jammazi, Rania; Aloui, Chaker [International finance group-Tunisia, Faculty of Management and Economic Sciences of Tunis, Boulevard du 7 novembre, El Manar University, B.P. 248, C.P. 2092, Tunis Cedex (Tunisia)

    2010-03-15

    While there is a large body of empirical studies on the relationship between crude oil price changes and stock market returns, they have failed to achieve a consensus on this subject. In this paper, we combine wavelet analysis and Markov Switching Vector Autoregressive (MS-VAR) approach to explore the impact of the crude oil (CO) shocks on the stock market returns for UK, France and Japan over the period from January 1989 to December 2007. Our procedure involves the estimation of the extended MS-VAR model in order to investigate the importance of the resultant wavelet filtering series (after removing random components) in determining the behavior of the stock market volatilities. We show that CO shocks do not affect the recession stock market phases (except for Japan). However, they significantly reduce moderate and/or expansion stock market phases temporarily. Moreover, this negative relationship appears to be more pronounced during the pre-1999 period. The empirical findings will prove extremely useful to investors who need to understand the exact effect of international oil changes on certain stocks prices as well as for policy managers who need a more thorough evaluation about the efficiency of hedging policies affected by oil price changes. (author)

  10. Wavelet decomposition and regime shifts: Assessing the effects of crude oil shocks on stock market returns

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jammazi, Rania, E-mail: jamrania2@yahoo.f [International finance group-Tunisia, Faculty of Management and Economic Sciences of Tunis, Boulevard du 7 novembre, El Manar University, B.P. 248, C.P. 2092, Tunis Cedex (Tunisia); Aloui, Chaker, E-mail: chaker.aloui@fsegt.rnu.t [International finance group-Tunisia, Faculty of Management and Economic Sciences of Tunis, Boulevard du 7 novembre, El Manar University, B.P. 248, C.P. 2092, Tunis Cedex (Tunisia)

    2010-03-15

    While there is a large body of empirical studies on the relationship between crude oil price changes and stock market returns, they have failed to achieve a consensus on this subject. In this paper, we combine wavelet analysis and Markov Switching Vector Autoregressive (MS-VAR) approach to explore the impact of the crude oil (CO) shocks on the stock market returns for UK, France and Japan over the period from January 1989 to December 2007. Our procedure involves the estimation of the extended MS-VAR model in order to investigate the importance of the resultant wavelet filtering series (after removing random components) in determining the behavior of the stock market volatilities. We show that CO shocks do not affect the recession stock market phases (except for Japan). However, they significantly reduce moderate and/or expansion stock market phases temporarily. Moreover, this negative relationship appears to be more pronounced during the pre-1999 period. The empirical findings will prove extremely useful to investors who need to understand the exact effect of international oil changes on certain stocks prices as well as for policy managers who need a more thorough evaluation about the efficiency of hedging policies affected by oil price changes.

  11. Wavelet decomposition and regime shifts: Assessing the effects of crude oil shocks on stock market returns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jammazi, Rania; Aloui, Chaker

    2010-01-01

    While there is a large body of empirical studies on the relationship between crude oil price changes and stock market returns, they have failed to achieve a consensus on this subject. In this paper, we combine wavelet analysis and Markov Switching Vector Autoregressive (MS-VAR) approach to explore the impact of the crude oil (CO) shocks on the stock market returns for UK, France and Japan over the period from January 1989 to December 2007. Our procedure involves the estimation of the extended MS-VAR model in order to investigate the importance of the resultant wavelet filtering series (after removing random components) in determining the behavior of the stock market volatilities. We show that CO shocks do not affect the recession stock market phases (except for Japan). However, they significantly reduce moderate and/or expansion stock market phases temporarily. Moreover, this negative relationship appears to be more pronounced during the pre-1999 period. The empirical findings will prove extremely useful to investors who need to understand the exact effect of international oil changes on certain stocks prices as well as for policy managers who need a more thorough evaluation about the efficiency of hedging policies affected by oil price changes.

  12. Impact of Expanded North Slope of Alaska Crude Oil Production on Crude Oil Flows in the Contiguous United States

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeRosa, Sean E. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Flanagan, Tatiana Paz [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-05-01

    The National Transportation Fuels Model was used to simulate a hypothetical increase in North Slope of Alaska crude oil production. The results show that the magnitude of production utilized depends in part on the ability of crude oil and refined products infrastructure in the contiguous United States to absorb and adjust to the additional supply. Decisions about expanding North Slope production can use the National Transportation Fuels Model take into account the effects on crude oil flows in the contiguous United States.

  13. DOE turns down all bids for Elk Hills crude

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that the U.S. Department of Energy has rejected all bids submitted in the Mar. 5 semiannual sale of crude oil from Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve (NPR-1) in California. DOE the all 19 bids for the 53,740 b/d of crude were too low. The bids ranged from $11.71 to $14.06/bbl, with the top bids for the highest quality Stevens zone crude averaging $13.25/bbl. California oil companies the they bid what the market would bear, explaining a surplus of Alaskan crude on the West Coast has driven down the price of local crudes, notably heavy crudes. DOE will extend the current oil purchase contracts through April while it issues a new request for bids. It planned to issue the solicitation Mar. 23 and receive bids Apr. 15

  14. Evolution of Volatile Compounds during the Distillation of Cognac Spirit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awad, Pierre; Athès, Violaine; Decloux, Martine Esteban; Ferrari, Gérald; Snakkers, Guillaume; Raguenaud, Patrick; Giampaoli, Pierre

    2017-09-06

    Cognac wine spirit has a complex composition in volatile compounds which contributes to its organoleptic profile. This work focused on the batch distillation process and, in particular, on volatile compounds specifically produced by chemical reactions during the distillation of Cognac wine spirit, traditionally conducted in two steps with charentais pot stills. The aim of this study was to characterize these volatile compounds formed during distillation. Sampling has been performed on the distillates and inside the boiler during a typical Cognac distillation. The analysis of these samples allowed us to perform a mass balance and to point out several types of volatile compounds whose quantities strongly increased during the distillation process. These compounds were distinguished by their chemical family. It has been found that the first distillation step was decisive for the formation of volatile compounds. Moreover, 2 esters, 3 aldehydes, 12 norisoprenoids, and 3 terpenes were shown to be generated during the process. These results suggest that some volatile compounds found in Cognac spirit are formed during distillation due to chemical reactions induced by high temperature. These findings give important indications to professional distillers in order to enhance the product's quality.

  15. Volatile constituents of Trichothecium roseum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhaelen, M; Vanhaelen-Fastre, R; Geeraerts, J

    1978-06-01

    In the course of investigation of Trichothecium roseum (Fungi Imperfecti) for its attractancy against Tyrophagus putrescentiae (cheese mite), the twenty following volatile compounds produced at a very low concentration by the microfungus were identified by gc, gc/ms, gc/c.i.ms and tlc: 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-one, 3-octanol, octa-1,5-dien-3 one, 1-octen-3-ol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol, octa-1,5-dien-3 ol, furfural, linalool, linalyl acetate, terpineol (alpha and beta) citronellyl acetate, nerol, citronellol, phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl alcohol geranyl acetate, 1-phenyl ethanol and nerolidol. Octa-1,5-dien-3-ol and octa-1,5-dien-3-one have not been previously isolated from fungi; octa-1,5-dien-3-ol is the most potent attractant amount the volatile compounds detected by gc.

  16. Bio-crude transcriptomics: Gene discovery and metabolic network reconstruction for the biosynthesis of the terpenome of the hydrocarbon oil-producing green alga, Botryococcus braunii race B (Showa*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molnár István

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Microalgae hold promise for yielding a biofuel feedstock that is sustainable, carbon-neutral, distributed, and only minimally disruptive for the production of food and feed by traditional agriculture. Amongst oleaginous eukaryotic algae, the B race of Botryococcus braunii is unique in that it produces large amounts of liquid hydrocarbons of terpenoid origin. These are comparable to fossil crude oil, and are sequestered outside the cells in a communal extracellular polymeric matrix material. Biosynthetic engineering of terpenoid bio-crude production requires identification of genes and reconstruction of metabolic pathways responsible for production of both hydrocarbons and other metabolites of the alga that compete for photosynthetic carbon and energy. Results A de novo assembly of 1,334,609 next-generation pyrosequencing reads form the Showa strain of the B race of B. braunii yielded a transcriptomic database of 46,422 contigs with an average length of 756 bp. Contigs were annotated with pathway, ontology, and protein domain identifiers. Manual curation allowed the reconstruction of pathways that produce terpenoid liquid hydrocarbons from primary metabolites, and pathways that divert photosynthetic carbon into tetraterpenoid carotenoids, diterpenoids, and the prenyl chains of meroterpenoid quinones and chlorophyll. Inventories of machine-assembled contigs are also presented for reconstructed pathways for the biosynthesis of competing storage compounds including triacylglycerol and starch. Regeneration of S-adenosylmethionine, and the extracellular localization of the hydrocarbon oils by active transport and possibly autophagy are also investigated. Conclusions The construction of an annotated transcriptomic database, publicly available in a web-based data depository and annotation tool, provides a foundation for metabolic pathway and network reconstruction, and facilitates further omics studies in the absence of a genome

  17. Application of microbiological methods for secondary oil recovery from the Carpathian crude oil reservoirs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karaskiewicz, J

    1974-01-01

    The investigation made it possible to isolate from different ecologic environmental (soil, crude oil, formation water, industrial wastes) bacteria cultures of the genus Arthrobacter, Clostridium, Mycobacterium, Peptococcus, and Pseudomonas. These heterotrophic bacteria are characterized by a high metabolic and biogeochemical activity hydrocarbon transformation. Experiments on a technical scale were conducted from 1961 to 1971 in 20 wells; in this study, only the 16 most typical examples are discussed. The experiments were conducted in Carpathian crude oil reservoirs. To each well, a 500:1 mixture of the so-called bacteria vaccine (containing an active biomass of cultures obtained by a specific cultivation method and holding 6 x 10/sup 5/ bacteria cells in 1 ml of fluid, 2,000 kg of molasses, and 50 cu m of water originating from the reservoir submitted to treatment) was injected at 500 to 1,200 m. The intensification of the microbiological processes in the reservoir was observed. This phenomenon occurred not only in the wells to which the bacteria vaccine was injected, but also in the surrounding producing wells. At the same time, an increase in the crude oil production occurred on the average within the range from 20 to 200% and the surpluses of crude oil production continued for 2 to 8 yr. (92 refs.)

  18. Time-Related Changes in Volatile Compounds during Fermentation of Bulk and Fine-Flavor Cocoa (Theobroma cacao Beans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Manuel Cevallos-Cevallos

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Chocolate is one of the most consumed foods worldwide and cacao fermentation contributes to the unique sensory characteristics of chocolate products. However, comparative changes in volatiles occurring during fermentation of Criollo, Forastero, and Nacional cacao—three of the most representative cultivars worldwide—have not been reported. Beans of each cultivar were fermented for five days and samples were taken every 24 hours. Volatiles from each sample were adsorbed into a solid phase microextraction fiber and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Aroma potential of each compound was determined using available databases. Multivariate data analyses showed partial clustering of samples according to cultivars at the start of the fermentation but complete clustering was observed at the end of the fermentation. The Criollo cacao produced floral, fruity, and woody aroma volatiles including linalool, epoxylinalool, benzeneethanol, pentanol acetate, germacrene, α-copaene, aromadendrene, 3,6-heptanedione, butanal, 1-phenyl ethenone, 2-nonanone, and 2-pentanone. Nacional cacao produced fruity, green, and woody aroma volatiles including 2-nonanone, 3-octen-1-ol, 2-octanol acetate, 2-undecanone, valencene, and aromadendrene. The Forastero cacao yielded floral and sweet aroma volatiles such as epoxylinalool, pentanoic acid, benzeneacetaldehyde, and benzaldehyde. This is the first report of volatiles produced during fermentation of Criollo, Forastero, and Nacional cacao from the same origin.

  19. Sulfur volatiles in guava (Psidium guajava L.) leaves: possible defense mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouseff, Russell L; Onagbola, Ebenezer O; Smoot, John M; Stelinski, Lukasz L

    2008-10-08

    Volatiles from crushed and intact guava leaves (Psidium guajava L.) were collected using static headspace SPME and determined using GC-PFPD, pulsed flame photometric detection, and GC-MS. Leaf volatiles from four common citrus culitvars were examined similarly to determine the potential component(s) responsible for guava's protective effect against the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama), which is the insect vector of Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening disease. Seven sulfur volatiles were detected: hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), methional, and dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS). Identifications were based on matching linear retention index values on ZB-5, DB-Wax, and PLOT columns and MS spectra in the case of DMDS and DMS. DMDS is an insect toxic, defensive volatile produced only by wounded guava but not citrus leaves and, thus, may be the component responsible for the protective effect of guava against the HLB vector. DMDS is formed immediately after crushing, becoming the major headspace volatile within 10 min. Forty-seven additional leaf volatiles were identified from LRI and MS data in the crushed guava leaf headspace.

  20. Asymmetric Realized Volatility Risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David E. Allen

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we document that realized variation measures constructed from high-frequency returns reveal a large degree of volatility risk in stock and index returns, where we characterize volatility risk by the extent to which forecasting errors in realized volatility are substantive. Even though returns standardized by ex post quadratic variation measures are nearly Gaussian, this unpredictability brings considerably more uncertainty to the empirically relevant ex ante distribution of returns. Explicitly modeling this volatility risk is fundamental. We propose a dually asymmetric realized volatility model, which incorporates the fact that realized volatility series are systematically more volatile in high volatility periods. Returns in this framework display time varying volatility, skewness and kurtosis. We provide a detailed account of the empirical advantages of the model using data on the S&P 500 index and eight other indexes and stocks.

  1. Rate of biodegradation of crude oil by microorganisms isolated from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The rate of biodegradation of crude oil by micro-organisms isolated from crude oil sludge environment in Eket, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria was studied. Mineral salt medium supplemented with crude oil was used and three most abundant species isolated from a crude oil sludged soil - Micrococcus varians, Bacillus subtilis ...

  2. It’s all about volatility of volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grassi, Stefano; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

    2015-01-01

    The persistent nature of equity volatility is investigated by means of a multi-factor stochastic volatility model with time varying parameters. The parameters are estimated by means of a sequential matching procedure which adopts as auxiliary model a time-varying generalization of the HAR model f...

  3. Production of L-lactic Acid from Biomass Wastes Using Scallop Crude Enzymes and Novel Lactic Acid Bacterium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanagisawa, Mitsunori; Nakamura, Kanami; Nakasaki, Kiyohiko

    In the present study, biomass waste raw materials including paper mill sludge, bamboo, sea lettuce, and shochu residue (from a distiller) and crude enzymes derived from inedible and discarded scallop parts were used to produce L-lactic acid for the raw material of biodegradable plastic poly-lactic acid. The activities of cellulase and amylase in the crude enzymes were 22 and 170units/L, respectively, and L-lactic acid was produced from every of the above mentioned biomass wastes, by the method of liquid-state simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) . The L-lactic acid concentrations produced from sea lettuce and shochu residue, which contain high concentration of starch were 3.6 and 9.3g/L, respectively, and corresponded to greater than 25% of the conversion of glucans contained in these biomass wastes. Furthermore, using the solid state SSF method, concentrations as high as 13g/L of L-lactic acid were obtained from sea lettuce and 26g/L were obtained from shochu residue.

  4. Latent Integrated Stochastic Volatility, Realized Volatility, and Implied Volatility: A State Space Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bach, Christian; Christensen, Bent Jesper

    process is downward biased. Implied volatility performs better than any of the alternative realized measures when forecasting future integrated volatility. The results are largely similar across the stock market (S&P 500), bond market (30-year U.S. T-bond), and foreign currency exchange market ($/£ )....

  5. Muscodor albus Volatiles Control Toxigenic Fungi under Controlled Atmosphere (CA Storage Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gordon Braun

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Muscodor albus, a biofumigant fungus, has the potential to control post-harvest pathogens in storage. It has been shown to produce over 20 volatile compounds with fungicidal, bactericidal and insecticidal properties. However, M. albus is a warm climate endophyte, and its biofumigant activity is significantly inhibited at temperatures below 5 °C. Conidia of seven mycotoxin producing fungi, Aspergillus carbonarius, A. flavus, A. niger, A. ochraceus, Penicillium verrucosum, Fusarium culmorum and F. graminearum, were killed or prevented from germinating by exposure to volatiles from 2 g M. albus-colonized rye grain per L of headspace in sealed glass jars for 24 h at 20 °C. Two major volatiles of M. albus, isobutyric acid (IBA and 2-methyl-1-butanol (2MB at 50 µL/L and 100 µL/L, respectively, gave differential control of the seven fungi when applied individually at 20 °C. When the fungi were exposed to both IBA and 2MB together, an average of 94% of the conidia were killed or suppressed. In a factorial experiment with controlled atmosphere storage (CA at 3 °C and 72 h exposure to four concentrations of IBA and 2MB combinations, 50 µL/L IBA plus 100 µL/L 2MB killed or suppressed germination of the conidia of all seven fungi. Controlled atmosphere had no significant effect on conidial viability or volatile efficacy. Major volatiles of M. albus may have significant potential to control plant pathogens in either ambient air or CA storage at temperatures below 5 °C. However, combinations of volatiles may be required to provide a broader spectrum of control than individual volatiles.

  6. Co-processing potential of HTL bio-crude at petroleum refineries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoffmann, Jessica; Jensen, Claus Uhrenholt; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup

    2016-01-01

    assays, adapted from conventional crude oil assays, have been obtained, including fractionation of the bio-crude through 15:5 vacuum distillation. The bio-crude and its fractions have been analyzed with respect to heating value, elemental composition, density and oxygen-containing functional groups....... Results show a highly promising bio-crude quality, with a higher heating value of 40.4 MJ/kg, elemental oxygen content of 5.3 wt.%, a specific gravity of 0.97 and a distillation recovery of ∼53.4 wt.% at an atmospheric equivalent temperature (AET) of 375 °C, . Results show that only minor upgrading......This study presents detailed chemical and thermophysical analysis of bio-crude from a continuous hydrothermal liquefaction research plant. Current research on bio-crude focuses mainly on specific biomass feedstocks and conversion process conditions and resulting yields rather than on bio-crude...

  7. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, and partial characterization of the crude extract of tannase produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae CCMB 520.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, Lúzia Morgana de Melo; Costa Batista, Larissa Hayannyelly; Gouveia, Marcos Juliano; Leite, Tonny Cley Campos; de Mello, Marcelo Rodrigues Figueira; de Assis, Sandra Aparecida; de Sena, Amanda Reges

    2018-05-01

    Tannase can be used in different industrial sectors such as in food (juices and wine) and pharmaceutical production (trimethoprim) because it catalyses the hydrolysis of hydrolysable tannins. The aim of the current study is to assess the tannase found in the crude extract of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CCMB 520, and to set its catalytic and thermodynamic properties. The enzyme was optimally active at pH 6.0 and temperature 30 °C. Tannase was activated by Na + , Ca 2+ , K + at 5 × 10 -3  mol/L. The half-life at 30 °C was 3465.7 min. The activation energy was 40.32 kJ/mol. The Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy at 30 °C were 85.40, 48.10 and -0.12 kJ/mol K, respectively. Our results suggest that the tannase found in the crude extract of S. cerevisiae is an attractive enzyme for industrial applications, such as for beverage manufacturing and gallic acid production, due its catalytic and thermodynamic properties (heat-stable and resistant to metal ions).

  8. DOES ENERGY CONSUMPTION VOLATILITY AFFECT REAL GDP VOLATILITY? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE UK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Rashid

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper empirically examines the relation between energy consumption volatility and unpredictable variations in real gross domestic product (GDP in the UK. Estimating the Markov switching ARCH model we find a significant regime switching in the behavior of both energy consumption and GDP volatility. The results from the Markov regime-switching model show that the variability of energy consumption has a significant role to play in determining the behavior of GDP volatilities. Moreover, the results suggest that the impacts of unpredictable variations in energy consumption on GDP volatility are asymmetric, depending on the intensity of volatility. In particular, we find that while there is no significant contemporaneous relationship between energy consumption volatility and GDP volatility in the first (low-volatility regime, GDP volatility is significantly positively related to the volatility of energy utilization in the second (high-volatility regime.

  9. Composite reinforced alumina ceramics with titan and lantana for use in coating storage tanks and transport of crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendes, C.E.; Rego, S.A.B.C.; Oliveira, J.C.S.; Ferreira, R.A. Sanguinetti; Yadava, Y.P.

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this work is to use ceramics to improve the performance of the tanks that store and transport crude oil and which use metallic materials for their manufacture. These tanks in contact with crude oil undergo a process of degradation on their surfaces, since crude oil is a highly corrosive substance. And in turn ceramic materials have good stability in hostile environments. However, they are inherently fragile for display little plastic deformation. Therefore, the choice of a ceramic composite alumina-titania-lantana has high mechanical strength and high toughness which were produced by thermo-mechanical processing. These composites were sintered at 1350 ° C for 36 hours, and it was held Vickers hardness testing and microstructural characterization to assess their surfaces before and after the attack by crude to use such material as ceramic coating. These results will be presented at the congress. (author)

  10. Principal volatil components of Txakoli of Bizkaia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Escobal

    1995-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to characterize the Txakoli of Bizkaia, a wine produced in the Basque Country. This note gives account of the volatile content of the wine which has been awarded by the Denominacíon de Origen Bizkaiko Txakolina quality label (BOPV, 1994.

  11. Comparative toxicology of four crude oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clarke, L.M.; Hodson, P.V. [Queen' s Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada). Dept. of Biology; Brown, R.S. [Queen' s Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada). Dept. of Chemistry

    2003-07-01

    Fish that are chronically exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exhibit dioxin-like toxicity characterized by blue sac disease and the induction of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A). This study compared the relative toxicity of four crude oils (Scotian Shelf, MESA, the synthetic Alberta Sweet Mixed Blend, and Alaskan North Slope Crude Oil), in causing the disease in rainbow trout embryos living in simulated spawning beds with hydrocarbon-contaminated gravel. Each oil had different chemical characteristics and PAH concentrations. The study confirmed the assumption that the Alberta Sweet Mixed Blend would be the most toxic due to its high PAH concentration. The results suggest that the main cause of toxicity in crude oil is due to the presence, concentration, and conformation of specific PAHs.

  12. Bioactivities by a crude extract from the Greenlandic Pseudomonas sp. In5 involves the nonribosomal peptides, nunamycin and nunapeptin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frydenlund Michelsen, Charlotte; Jensen, Helle; Venditto, Vincent J.

    2015-01-01

    Bioactive microbial metabolites provide a successful source of novel compounds with pharmaceutical potentials. The bacterium Pseudomonas sp. In5 is a biocontrol strain isolated from a plant disease suppressive soil in Greenland, which produces two antimicrobial nonribosomal peptides (NRPs), nunap......), nunapeptin and nunamycin. In this study, we used in vitro antimicrobial and anticancer bioassays to evaluate the potential bioactivities of both a crude extract derived from Pseudomonas sp. In5 and NRPs purified from the crude extract....

  13. Crude oil options market found to be efficient

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that the U.S. crude oil options market operates efficiently and does not overreact. The authors, with the JFK School of Government, studied the crude oil options market under a Department of Energy grant. The current market was created in November 1986 when the New York Mercantile Exchange introduced an options contract for delivery of West Texas intermediate crude futures. it has grown greatly since then

  14. Profiling of volatile organic compounds produced by clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gerritsen, M G; Brinkman, P; Escobar Salazar, Natalia; Bos, L D; de Heer, K; Meijer, M; Janssen, H-G; de Cock, H; Wösten, H A B; Visser, C.E.; van Oers, M H J; Sterk, P J

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath may identify the presence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. We aimed to detect VOC profiles emitted by in vitro cultured, clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Three clinical Aspergillus isolates and a

  15. Profiling of volatile organic compounds produced by clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gerritsen, M. G.; Brinkman, P.; Escobar, N.; Bos, L. D.; de Heer, K.; Meijer, M.; Janssen, H.-G.; de Cock, H.; Wösten, H. A. B.; Visser, C. E.; van Oers, M. H. J.; Sterk, P. J.

    2018-01-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath may identify the presence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. We aimed to detect VOC profiles emitted by in vitro cultured, clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Three clinical Aspergillus isolates and a

  16. North or East. Germany's crude oil and natural gas supply from Norway and Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spies, M.

    2004-01-01

    This work examines the crude oil and natural gas trade from Norway and Russia to Germany. There is a considerable need for energy import in Germany because only a small part of the national consumption can be met with domestic productions. This applies especially to crude oil and natural gas. Norway and Russia are among the leading crude oil and natural gas producers and exporters in the world. The geographical vicinity of these significant demand and supply potentials leads to extensive energy based relations between Germany and Norway respectively Russia. The focus of this work is on the perception of and attitudes towards Norway and Russia as crude oil and natural gas suppliers for the domestic markets in Germany. Reporting from two leading German newspapers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Sueddeutsche Zeitung, are regarded to be a valid source for detecting these attitudes and perceptions. Relevant articles are analysed with content analysis and further multi- methodological approaches. For this reasons the work provides at the beginning full description of the Norwegian and Russian crude oil and natural gas sector as well as detailed information on the German energy markets and policy. It can be shown that differences in dealing with Norway and Russia in the articles exit. Accordingly, different perceptions and attitudes are detectable as well. This work shows where these differences can be found and examines their quality. It is argued that the reporting and the attitudes are not only based on economical facts but also on 'imagined space'. The need for impartial relations with both supplying countries is stressed. (orig.)

  17. Crude oil prices : how high, how much harm?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levesque, M.; Alexander, C.

    2002-01-01

    This paper discussed the issue of crude oil prices and the economy. Crude oil prices are on the rise due to the recent events in the Middle East. In early April, West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed to nearly US$28 a barrel. Most of the increase reflects the expectation of stronger world oil demand combined with supply constraints on the part of OPEC. Although there has been some concern expressed that rising oil prices may hinder economic recovery, the authors of this report do not see evidence that rising oil prices would throw economic recovery off course, arguing that the current spike will be short-lived. They stated that even under a worse-case scenario where prices remain inflated, there is little reason to fear for the health of the Canadian economy. OPEC is expected to increase its low production quotas in June. In addition, non-OPEC nations (Russia in particular) are expected to increase oil production in the coming months. The authors also indicated that it is unlikely that conflict in the West Bank will disrupt oil supply because Israel is not an oil-exporting nation. However, oil supply could be affected if other Arab nations were drawn into the issue. It was also noted that military action against Iraq would increase oil prices, possibly as high as US$40 a barrel, but the full extent of this hike in price will probably be unsustainable. In addition, the authors emphasized that the increase in energy costs would not be enough to seriously jeopardize the economic recovery in the United States. As for Canada, it is estimated that a US$10 per barrel increase in crude oil prices would have a small, but positive impact on Canadian GDP because in contrast to the United States, Canada produces much more energy than it consumers. In 2001, Canada ran a trade surplus of $2.8 billion. The report ended by stating that although higher oil prices could add a full percentage point to headline inflation by the end of the year, core inflation is likely to remain

  18. Contents of lecithin and choline in crude drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamasaki, K; Kikuoka, M; Nishi, H; Kokusenya, Y; Miyamoto, T; Matsuo, M; Sato, T

    1994-01-01

    The determination of lecithin and choline in crude drugs was established by a combination of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detector (ECD) and enzyme reaction. Lecithin in crude drugs extracted with a mixture of chloroform-methanol (2:1) at room temperature was hydrolyzed by phospholipase D. The hydrolyzate was injected to HPLC, and choline was separated from impurities by reverse phase column. The choline was converted to betaine and hydrogen peroxide by passing through column packed with immobilized choline oxidase. This hydrogen peroxide was detected by ECD. The peak area of hydrogen peroxide derived from lecithin was proportional to the concentration of lecithin from 0.10 to 1.52 microgram/ml. Choline in crude drugs was extracted with ethanol under reflux and determined under the same HPLC conditions as lecithin. The peak area of hydrogen peroxide derived from choline was proportional to the concentration of choline from 0.01 to 0.45 microgram/ml. The contents of lecithin and choline in 31 kinds of crude drugs were determined by these established methods. The results showed that Cervi Parvum Cornu, Kokurozin, Foenigraeci Semen and Psoraleae Semen contained more lecithin than other crude drugs, while Angelicae Radix, Foenigraeci Semen, Psoraleae Semen, and especially Hippocampus were found to contain more choline than other crude drugs.

  19. Antiviral Activity of Crude Hydroethanolic Extract from Schinus terebinthifolia against Herpes simplex Virus Type 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nocchi, Samara Requena; Companhoni, Mychelle Vianna Pereira; de Mello, João Carlos Palazzo; Dias Filho, Benedito Prado; Nakamura, Celso Vataru; Carollo, Carlos Alexandre; Silva, Denise Brentan; Ueda-Nakamura, Tânia

    2017-04-01

    Herpes simplex virus infections persist throughout the lifetime of the host and affect more than 80 % of the humans worldwide. The intensive use of available therapeutic drugs has led to undesirable effects, such as drug-resistant strains, prompting the search for new antiherpetic agents. Although diverse bioactivities have been identified in Schinus terebinthifolia , its antiviral activity has not attracted much attention. The present study evaluated the antiherpetic effects of a crude hydroethanolic extract from the stem bark of S. terebinthifolia against Herpes simplex virus type 1 in vitro and in vivo as well as its genotoxicity in bone marrow in mammals and established the chemical composition of the crude hydroethanolic extract based on liquid chromatography-diode array detector-mass spectrometry and MS/MS. The crude hydroethanolic extract inhibited all of the tested Herpes simplex virus type 1 strains in vitro and was effective in the attachment and penetration stages, and showed virucidal activity, which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The micronucleus test showed that the crude hydroethanolic extract had no genotoxic effect at the concentrations tested. The crude hydroethanolic extract afforded protection against lesions that were caused by Herpes simplex virus type 1 in vivo . Liquid chromatography-diode array detector-mass spectrometry and MS/MS identified 25 substances, which are condensed tannins mainly produced by a B-type linkage and prodelphinidin and procyanidin units. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  20. Realized Volatility Risk

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D.E. Allen (David); M.J. McAleer (Michael); M. Scharth (Marcel)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractIn this paper we document that realized variation measures constructed from highfrequency returns reveal a large degree of volatility risk in stock and index returns, where we characterize volatility risk by the extent to which forecasting errors in realized volatility are substantive.

  1. Volatile-mediated suppression of plant pathogens is related to soil properties and microbial community composition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Agtmaal, M.; Straathof, A.L.; Termorshuizen, Aad J; Lievens, Bart; Hoffland, Ellis; De Boer, W.

    2018-01-01

    There is increasing evidence that the soil microbial community produces a suite of volatile organic compounds that suppress plant pathogens. However, it remains unknown which soil properties and management practices influence volatile-mediated pathogen suppression. The aim of this study was to

  2. Volatile-mediated suppression of plant pathogens is related to soil properties and microbial community composition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Agtmaal, van Maaike; Straathof, Angela L.; Termorshuizen, Aad; Lievens, Bart; Hoffland, Ellis; Boer, de Wietse

    2018-01-01

    There is increasing evidence that the soil microbial community produces a suite of volatile organic compounds that suppress plant pathogens. However, it remains unknown which soil properties and management practices influence volatile-mediated pathogen suppression. The aim of this study was to

  3. Basic properties of crude rubber seed oil and crude palm oil blend as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production with enhanced cold flow characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yusup, Suzana; Khan, Modhar [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

    2010-10-15

    Research and development in the field of biodiesel showed that fatty acid methyl esters synthesized from agriculture or animal oils and fats, which exhibit qualifying properties, can replace diesel fuel used in internal combustion engine. However, the industry had some downfall recently with the fluctuating prices of edible oils and increasing demand for nutritional needs. Crude rubber seed oil (CRSO) and crude palm oil (CPO) were used in this study since both can be extracted and produced locally in Malaysia from their abundant plantations. The benefits of introducing such blend are that CRSO is considered a non-edible feedstock with no major industrial utilizations that has the potential to reduce the usage of CPO in biodiesel industry and was found to enhance the cold flow characteristics when blended with CPO by reducing the saturated fatty acids in the feedstock. The oils and blends were characterized for density, kinematic viscosity, heating value, acid value, free fatty acid content, refractive index, mono-, di- and triglycerides and sulphur content. Fatty acids composition and iodine value were established for an equivolume blend of the oils. (author)

  4. Basic properties of crude rubber seed oil and crude palm oil blend as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production with enhanced cold flow characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yusup, Suzana; Khan, Modhar

    2010-01-01

    Research and development in the field of biodiesel showed that fatty acid methyl esters synthesized from agriculture or animal oils and fats, which exhibit qualifying properties, can replace diesel fuel used in internal combustion engine. However, the industry had some downfall recently with the fluctuating prices of edible oils and increasing demand for nutritional needs. Crude rubber seed oil (CRSO) and crude palm oil (CPO) were used in this study since both can be extracted and produced locally in Malaysia from their abundant plantations. The benefits of introducing such blend are that CRSO is considered a non-edible feedstock with no major industrial utilizations that has the potential to reduce the usage of CPO in biodiesel industry and was found to enhance the cold flow characteristics when blended with CPO by reducing the saturated fatty acids in the feedstock. The oils and blends were characterized for density, kinematic viscosity, heating value, acid value, free fatty acid content, refractive index, mono-, di- and triglycerides and sulphur content. Fatty acids composition and iodine value were established for an equivolume blend of the oils.

  5. When Will Occur the Crude Oil Bubbles?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Chi-Wei; Li, Zheng-Zheng; Chang, Hsu-Ling; Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we apply a recursive unit root test to investigate whether there exist multiple bubbles in crude oil price. The method is best suited for a practical implementation of a time series and delivers a consistent date-stamping strategy for the origination and termination of multiple bubbles. The empirical result indicates that there exist six bubbles during 1986–2016 when the oil price deviate from its intrinsic value based on market fundamentals. Specifically, oil price contains the fundamentals and bubble components. The dates of the bubbles correspond to specific events in the politics and financial markets. The authorities should actively fight speculative bubbles or just observe their evolutions and speculation activities may decrease, which is favour of the stabilisation of the staple commodities including crude oil price. These findings have important economic and policy implications to recognise the cause of bubbles and take corresponding measures to reduce the impact on the real economy cause of the fluctuation of crude oil price. - Highlights: • Investigate multiple bubbles in crude oil price. • Indicate six bubbles deviate from its intrinsic value based on market fundamentals. • The bubbles correspond to specific events in the politics and financial markets. • Reduce the impact on the real economy cause of the fluctuation of crude oil price.

  6. Bioremediation of crude oil contaminated tea plantation soil using ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Crude oil contamination of soil is a major concern for tea industry in Assam, India. Crude oil is a persistent organic contaminant which alters soil physical and biochemical characteristics and makes tea plants more susceptible against crude oil contamination. Therefore, two native bacterial strains designated as AS 03 and ...

  7. Efficient utilization of crude glycerol as fermentation substrate in the synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) biopolymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    One refined and 2 crude glycerol samples were utilized to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) by Pseudomonas oleovorans NRRL B-14682. Fermentation conditions were determined to efficiently utilize glycerol while maintaining PHB yields. A batch culture protocol including 1% glycerol and an aerati...

  8. Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of Glycyrrhiza uralensis root extracts produced using artificial hydroponic and artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akiyama, H; Nose, M; Ohtsuki, N; Hisaka, S; Takiguchi, H; Tada, A; Sugimoto, N; Fuchino, H; Inui, T; Kawano, N; Hayashi, S; Hishida, A; Kudo, T; Sugiyama, K; Abe, Y; Mutsuga, M; Kawahara, N; Yoshimatsu, K

    2017-01-01

    Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots used in this study were produced using novel cultivation systems, including artificial hydroponics and artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation. The equivalency between G. uralensis root extracts produced by hydroponics and/or hybrid cultivation and a commercial Glycyrrhiza crude drug were evaluated for both safety and efficacy, and there were no significant differences in terms of mutagenicity on the Ames tests. The levels of cadmium and mercury in both hydroponic roots and crude drugs were less than the limit of quantitation. Arsenic levels were lower in all hydroponic roots than in the crude drug, whereas mean lead levels in the crude drug were not significantly different from those in the hydroponically cultivated G. uralensis roots. Both hydroponic and hybrid-cultivated root extracts showed antiallergic activities against contact hypersensitivity that were similar to those of the crude drug extracts. These study results suggest that hydroponic and hybrid-cultivated roots are equivalent in safety and efficacy to those of commercial crude drugs. Further studies are necessary before the roots are applicable as replacements for the currently available commercial crude drugs produced from wild plant resources.

  9. Comparison of reduced sugar high quality chocolates sweetened with stevioside and crude stevia 'green' extract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torri, Luisa; Frati, Alessandra; Ninfali, Paolino; Mantegna, Stefano; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Morini, Gabriella

    2017-06-01

    The demand for zero and reduced-sugar food products containing cocoa is expanding continuously. The present study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of producing high-quality chocolate sweetened with a crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) prepared by a green microwave-assisted water-steam extraction procedure. Seven approximately isosweet chocolate formulations were developed, mixing cocoa paste, sucrose, commercial stevioside, crude green extract and maltitol in different proportions. All samples were analyzed for the determination of polyphenol and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, and sensory acceptability. The use of a crude stevia extract allowed low-sugar, high-quality chocolates to be obtained that were also acceptable by consumers and had a significant increased antioxidant activity. Moreover, consumers' segmentation revealed a cluster of consumers showing the same overall liking for the sample with 50% sucrose replaced by the stevia crude extract as that obtained with the commercial stevioside and the control sample (without sucrose replacement). The results provide information that can contribute to promoting the development of sweet food products, with advantages in terms of an improved nutritional value (reduced sugar content and increased antioxidant activity) and a reduced impact of the production process on the environment. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  10. Virtual volatility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, A. Christian; Prange, Richard E.

    2007-03-01

    We introduce the concept of virtual volatility. This simple but new measure shows how to quantify the uncertainty in the forecast of the drift component of a random walk. The virtual volatility also is a useful tool in understanding the stochastic process for a given portfolio. In particular, and as an example, we were able to identify mean reversion effect in our portfolio. Finally, we briefly discuss the potential practical effect of the virtual volatility on an investor asset allocation strategy.

  11. A new approach for crude oil price analysis based on empirical mode decomposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xun; Wang, Shou-Yang; Lai, K.K.

    2008-01-01

    The importance of understanding the underlying characteristics of international crude oil price movements attracts much attention from academic researchers and business practitioners. Due to the intrinsic complexity of the oil market, however, most of them fail to produce consistently good results. Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), recently proposed by Huang et al., appears to be a novel data analysis method for nonlinear and non-stationary time series. By decomposing a time series into a small number of independent and concretely implicational intrinsic modes based on scale separation, EMD explains the generation of time series data from a novel perspective. Ensemble EMD (EEMD) is a substantial improvement of EMD which can better separate the scales naturally by adding white noise series to the original time series and then treating the ensemble averages as the true intrinsic modes. In this paper, we extend EEMD to crude oil price analysis. First, three crude oil price series with different time ranges and frequencies are decomposed into several independent intrinsic modes, from high to low frequency. Second, the intrinsic modes are composed into a fluctuating process, a slowly varying part and a trend based on fine-to-coarse reconstruction. The economic meanings of the three components are identified as short term fluctuations caused by normal supply-demand disequilibrium or some other market activities, the effect of a shock of a significant event, and a long term trend. Finally, the EEMD is shown to be a vital technique for crude oil price analysis. (author)

  12. In-situ burning of crude oil and emulsions in broken ice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guenette, C.C.; Wighus, R.

    1996-01-01

    Large scale burns were conducted in a fjord in Norway, with fresh and emulsified crude oil to determine the feasibility of in-situ burning operations in an ice zone. The objective was to study the flame spreading characteristics of burning oil and emulsions in broken ice. The effect of wind on the flame spreading from one slick area to another was studied. The thermal environment produced by a crude oil fire on the sea surface and the response of a steel construction to the heat exposure from the fire was determined. The studies showed that high burning efficiencies (95 to 99%) could be obtained when burning fresh oil and emulsions contained in broken ice. Flame spreading was observed mostly in the downwind direction, and was dependent on the wind speed and direction. The temperatures and heat fluxes measured in the flames were higher than previously measured in pool fires. 9 refs., 7 figs

  13. Forward curves, scarcity and price volatility in oil and natural gas markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geman, Helyette [Birkbeck, University of London (United Kingdom); ESCP-EAP (France); Ohana, Steve [ESCP-EAP (France)

    2009-07-15

    The role of inventory in explaining the shape of the forward curve and spot price volatility in commodity markets is central in the theory of storage developed by Kaldor [Kaldor, N. (1939) ''Speculation and Economic Stability'', The Review of Economic Studies 7, 1-27] and Working [Working, H. (1949) ''The theory of the price of storage'', American Economic Review, 39, 1254-1262] and has since been documented in a vast body of financial literature, including the reference paper by Fama and French [Fama, E.F. and K.R. French (1987) ''Commodity futures prices: some evidence on forecast power, premiums and the theory of storage'', Journal of Business 60, 55-73] on metals. The goal of this paper is twofold: 1. validate in the case of oil and natural gas the use of the slope of the forward curve as a proxy for inventory (the slope being defined in a way that filters out seasonality); 2. analyze directly for these two major commodities the relationship between inventory and price volatility. In agreement with the theory of storage, we find that: 1. the negative correlation between price volatility and inventory is globally significant for crude oil; 2. this negative correlation prevails only during those periods of scarcity when the inventory is below the historical average and increases importantly during the winter periods for natural gas. Our results are illustrated by the analysis of a 15 year-database of US oil and natural gas prices and inventory. (author)

  14. Monetary Shocks in Models with Inattentive Producers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez, Fernando E; Lippi, Francesco; Paciello, Luigi

    2016-04-01

    We study models where prices respond slowly to shocks because firms are rationally inattentive. Producers must pay a cost to observe the determinants of the current profit maximizing price, and hence observe them infrequently. To generate large real effects of monetary shocks in such a model the time between observations must be long and/or highly volatile. Previous work on rational inattentiveness has allowed for observation intervals that are either constant-but-long ( e.g . Caballero, 1989 or Reis, 2006) or volatile-but-short ( e.g . Reis's, 2006 example where observation costs are negligible), but not both. In these models, the real effects of monetary policy are small for realistic values of the duration between observations. We show that non-negligible observation costs produce both of these effects: intervals between observations are infrequent and volatile. This generates large real effects of monetary policy for realistic values of the average time between observations.

  15. Volatile metabolites profiling of a Chinese mangrove endophytic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Pestalotiopsis JCM2A4, an endophytic fungus originally isolated from leaves of the Chinese mangrove plant Rhizophora mucronata, produces a mixture of volatile metabolites. As determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/GC-MS), 18 compounds representing all of the hexane ...

  16. Standard guide for determining corrosivity of crude oils

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2010-01-01

    1.1 This guide presents some generally accepted laboratory methodologies that are used for determining the corrosivity of crude oil. 1.2 This guide does not cover detailed calculations and methods, but rather a range of approaches that have found application in evaluating the corrosivity of crude oil. 1.3 Only those methodologies that have found wide acceptance in crude oil corrosivity evaluation are considered in this guide. 1.4 This guide does not address the change in oil/water ratio caused by accumulation of water at low points in a pipeline system. 1.5 This guide is intended to assist in the selection of methodologies that can be used for determining the corrosivity of crude oil under conditions in which water is present in the liquid state (typically up to 100°C). These conditions normally occur during oil and gas production, storage, and transportation in the pipelines. 1.6 This guide does not cover the evaluation of corrosivity of crude oil at higher temperatures (typically above 300°C) that oc...

  17. Enhanced crude oil biodegradation in soil via biostimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Saleh, Esmaeil; Hassan, Ali

    2016-08-02

    Research on feasible methods for the enhancement of bioremediation in soil contaminated by crude oil is vital in oil-exporting countries such as Kuwait, where crude oil is a major pollutant and the environment is hostile to biodegradation. This study investigated the possibility of enhancing crude oil bioremediation by supplementing soil with cost-effective organic materials derived from two widespread locally grown trees, Conocarpus and Tamarix. Amendments in soils increased the counts of soil microbiota by up to 98% and enhanced their activity by up to 95.5%. The increase in the biodegradation of crude oil (75%) and high levels of alkB expression substantiated the efficiency of the proposed amendment technology for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. The identification of crude-oil-degrading bacteria revealed the dominance of the genus Microbacterium (39.6%), Sphingopyxis soli (19.3%), and Bordetella petrii (19.6%) in unamended, Conocarpus-amended, and Tamarix-amended contaminated soils, respectively. Although soil amendments favored the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and reduced bacterial diversity, the structures of bacterial communities were not significantly altered.

  18. Molecular plant volatile communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holopainen, Jarmo K; Blande, James D

    2012-01-01

    Plants produce a wide array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which have multiple functions as internal plant hormones (e.g., ethylene, methyl jasmonate and methyl salicylate), in communication with conspecific and heterospecific plants and in communication with organisms of second (herbivores and pollinators) and third (enemies of herbivores) trophic levels. Species specific VOCs normally repel polyphagous herbivores and those specialised on other plant species, but may attract specialist herbivores and their natural enemies, which use VOCs as host location cues. Attraction of predators and parasitoids by VOCs is considered an evolved indirect defence, whereby plants are able to indirectly reduce biotic stress caused by damaging herbivores. In this chapter we review these interactions where VOCs are known to play a crucial role. We then discuss the importance of volatile communication in self and nonself detection. VOCs are suggested to appear in soil ecosystems where distinction of own roots from neighbours roots is essential to optimise root growth, but limited evidence of above-ground plant self-recognition is available.

  19. A refined approach: Saudi Arabia moves beyond crude

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krane, Jim

    2015-01-01

    Saudi Arabia's role in global energy markets is changing. The kingdom is reshaping itself as a supplier of refined petroleum products while moving beyond its long-held role as a simple exporter of crude oil. This change is commensurate with the typical development trajectory of a state progressing to a more advanced stage of global economic integration. Gains from increased refining include reducing fuel imports and capturing margins now bequeathed to competitors. Refining also allows the kingdom to export its heavy crude oil to a wider array of customers, beyond select importers configured to handle heavy crudes. However, the move also presents strategic complications. The world's 'swing supplier' of oil may grow less willing or able to adjust supply to suit market demands. In the process, Saudi Arabia may have to update the old “oil for security” relationship that links it with Washington, augmenting it with a more diverse set of economic and investment ties with individual companies and countries, including China. -- Highlights: •Saudi Arabia is diverting crude oil into an expanding refining sector. •In doing so, the kingdom is moving beyond its role as global “swing supplier” of crude oil. •The kingdom will benefit from increased refining, including enhanced demand for heavy crude. •Strategic complications may force it to seek security partners beyond Washington

  20. Assessment of Antioxidant Indices after incorporating Crude Oil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    Exposure to crude oil pollution leads to the formation ... vitamin/mineral mixture (5 %). The food ..... hepatic antioxidant enzymes against cadmium induced liver ... Interaction of crude oil with alpha-tocopherol: ... Essential oil from Monodora.

  1. Realized volatility and absolute return volatility: a comparison indicating market risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zeyu; Qiao, Zhi; Takaishi, Tetsuya; Stanley, H Eugene; Li, Baowen

    2014-01-01

    Measuring volatility in financial markets is a primary challenge in the theory and practice of risk management and is essential when developing investment strategies. Although the vast literature on the topic describes many different models, two nonparametric measurements have emerged and received wide use over the past decade: realized volatility and absolute return volatility. The former is strongly favored in the financial sector and the latter by econophysicists. We examine the memory and clustering features of these two methods and find that both enable strong predictions. We compare the two in detail and find that although realized volatility has a better short-term effect that allows predictions of near-future market behavior, absolute return volatility is easier to calculate and, as a risk indicator, has approximately the same sensitivity as realized volatility. Our detailed empirical analysis yields valuable guidelines for both researchers and market participants because it provides a significantly clearer comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods.

  2. Realized volatility and absolute return volatility: a comparison indicating market risk.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeyu Zheng

    Full Text Available Measuring volatility in financial markets is a primary challenge in the theory and practice of risk management and is essential when developing investment strategies. Although the vast literature on the topic describes many different models, two nonparametric measurements have emerged and received wide use over the past decade: realized volatility and absolute return volatility. The former is strongly favored in the financial sector and the latter by econophysicists. We examine the memory and clustering features of these two methods and find that both enable strong predictions. We compare the two in detail and find that although realized volatility has a better short-term effect that allows predictions of near-future market behavior, absolute return volatility is easier to calculate and, as a risk indicator, has approximately the same sensitivity as realized volatility. Our detailed empirical analysis yields valuable guidelines for both researchers and market participants because it provides a significantly clearer comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods.

  3. Unstable volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Casas, Isabel; Gijbels, Irène

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to introduce the break-preserving local linear (BPLL) estimator for the estimation of unstable volatility functions for independent and asymptotically independent processes. Breaks in the structure of the conditional mean and/or the volatility functions are common...... in Finance. Nonparametric estimators are well suited for these events due to the flexibility of their functional form and their good asymptotic properties. However, the local polynomial kernel estimators are not consistent at points where the volatility function has a break. The estimator presented...

  4. The Effect of Crude Extract of Turbo coronatus from the Persian Gulf on Serum Biochemical Parameters and Hematiological Parameters of Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Vazirizadeh

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available : Turbotoxins are marine secondary metabolites that produce in Turbinidae family and were isolated from Japanese Turbo marmorata for the first time. A few research has been done on these metabolites so far. Another species, Turbo coronatus exists in Iran. The main aim of the current project was to investigate some biological effects of the crude extract of Turbo coronatus from the Persian Gulf . Materials and methods: In this study, 18 rats were selected in three groups including the control group. The experimental groups received ½ and 1/3 lethal doses intravenously and serum levels of liver and muscle enzymes, electrolytes and complete blood counts (CBC were measured after 24 hours. : The levels of liver and muscle enzymes, amylase, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, ferrous, haptoglobin, albumin and creatinine were significantly increased in experimental group compared with the control group by injection of crude extract of Turbo coronatus; however, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV, red blood cell count, magnesium, and glucose levels were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group. : Intravenous injection of ½ and 1/3 lethal doses of the crude extract of Turbo coronatus to rats produced rhabdomyolysis and hepatocytes injury. In addition, the crude extract injection acted as a haematoxin and decreased hemoglobin and MCV.

  5. Contribution of volatiles to the antifungal effect of Lactobacillus paracasei in defined medium and yogurt

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aunsbjerg, Stina Dissing; Honoré, Anders Hans; Marcussen, J.

    2015-01-01

    produced by L. paracasei DGCC 2132 in CDIM. When the strain was added to a yogurt medium diacetyl as well as other volatiles also increased but the metabolome was more complex. Removal of L. paracasei DGCC 2132 cells from CDIM fermentate resulted in loss of both volatiles, including diacetyl......Lactic acid bacteria with antifungal properties can be used to control spoilage of food and feed. Previously, most of the identified metabolites have been isolated from cell-free fermentate of lactic acid bacteria with methods suboptimal for detecting possible contribution from volatiles...... to the antifungal activity. The role of volatile compounds in the antifungal activity of Lactobacillus paracasei DGCC 2132 in a chemically defined interaction medium (CDIM) and yogurt was therefore investigated with a sampling technique minimizing volatile loss. Diacetyl was identified as the major volatile...

  6. Waxy crude oil flow restart ability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sierra, Andre Gaona; Varges, Priscilla Ribeiro; Mendes, Paulo Roberto de Souza [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], e-mails: prvarges@puc-rio.br, pmendes@puc-rio.br; Ziglio, Claudio [PETROBRAS S.A, R.J., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], e-mail: ziglio@petrobras.com.br

    2010-07-01

    Under the hot reservoir conditions, waxy crudes behave like Newtonian fluids but once they experience very cold temperatures on the sea floor, the heavy paraffin's begin to precipitate from the solution impacting non- Newtonian flow behavior to the crude (Chang 2000, Lee 2009, Davidson 2004) and begin to deposit on the pipe wall leave blocked of pipeline. This gel cannot be broken with the original steady state flow operating pressure applied before gelation (Chang 1998). Restarting waxy crude oil flows in pipelines is a difficult issue because of the complex rheological behavior of the gelled oil. Indeed, below the WAT, the gelled oil exhibits viscoplastic, thixotropic, temperature-dependent, and compressible properties due to the interlocking gel-like structure formed by the crystallized paraffin compounds and the thermal shrinkage of the oil. The main objective of this work is to determine the minimal pressure to restart the flow, and the relationship between the fluid rheology , pipe geometry and the restart pressure of the flow. Experiments will be performed to investigate the displacement of carbopol aqueous solutions (viscoplastic fluid without thixotropic effects) by Newtonian oil flowing through a strait pipe to validate the experimental apparatus. Therefore, tests will be made with different fluids, like Laponite and waxy crude oils. (author)

  7. Chemical composition of essential oils and in vitro antioxidant activity of fresh and dry leaves crude extracts of medicinal plant of Lactuca Sativa L. native to Sultanate of Oman.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Nomaani, Rahma Said Salim; Hossain, Mohammad Amzad; Weli, Afaf Mohammed; Al-Riyami, Qasim; Al-Sabahi, Jamal Nasser

    2013-05-01

    To isolate and analyse the chemical composition in the essential oils and free radical scavenging activity of different crude extracts from the fresh and dry leaves of vegetable plants of Lactuca sativa L. (L. sativa). The essential oils and volatile chemical constituents were isolated from the fresh and dry leaves of L. sativa (lettuce) grown in Sultanate of Oman by hydro distillation method. The antioxidant activity of the crude extracts was carried out by well established free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) method. About 20 chemical compounds of different concentration representing 83.07% and 79.88% respectively were isolated and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy in the essential oils isolated from the fresh and dry leaves as α-pinene (5.11% and 4.05%), γ-cymene (2.07% and 1.92%), thymol (11.55% and 10.73%), durenol (52.00% and 49.79%), α-terpinene (1.66% and 1.34%), thymol acetate (0.99% and 0.67%), caryophyllene (2.11% and 1.98%), spathulenol (3.09% and 2.98%), camphene (4.11% and 3.65%), limonene (1.28% and 1.11%) representing these major chemical compounds. However, some other minor chemical constituents were also isolated and identified from the essential oil of lettuce including β-pinene, α-terpinolene, linalool, 4-terpineol, α-terpineol, o-methylthymol, L-alloaromadendrene and viridiflorene. The chemical constituents in the essential oils from the locally grown lettuce were identified in the following classes or groups of chemical compounds such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes volatile organic compounds and their oxygenated hydrocarbons. Therefore, the essential oils and the crude extracts from Omani vegetable species of lettuce are active candidates which would be used as antioxidant, antifungal or antimicrobial agents in new drugs preparation for therapy of infectious diseases.

  8. Utilization of microbial oil obtained from crude glycerol for the production of polyol and its subsequent conversion to polyurethane foams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uprety, Bijaya K; Reddy, Jayanth Venkatarama; Dalli, Sai Swaroop; Rakshit, Sudip K

    2017-07-01

    We have demonstrated possible use of microbial oil in biopolymer industries. Microbial oil was produced from biodiesel based crude glycerol and subsequently converted into polyol. Fermentation of crude glycerol in a batch bioreactor using Rhodosporidium toruloides ATCC 10788 produced 18.69g/L of lipid at the end of 7days. The microbial oil was then chemically converted to polyol and characterized using FT-IR and 1 H NMR. For comparison, canola oil and palm oil were also converted into their respective polyols. The hydroxyl numbers of polyols from canola, palm and microbial oil were found to be 266.86, 222.32 and 230.30 (mgKOH/g of sample) respectively. All the polyols were further converted into rigid and semi-rigid polyurethanes (maintaining the molar -NCO/-OH ratio of 1.1) to examine their suitability in polymer applications. Conversion of microbial lipid to polyurethane foam also provides a new route for the production of polymers using biodiesel based crude glycerol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A catalogue of crude oil and oil product properties, 1990

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bobra, M.A.; Callaghan, S.

    1990-09-01

    This catalogue is a compilation of available data on crude oils and petroleum products. The emphasis of the catalogue is upon oils which could potentially impact Canada's environment. Other oils which are unlikely to be of direct Canadian concern are also included because they have been well characterized and used in relevant studies. The properties listed for each oil are those which will provide an indication of a spilled oil's environmental behaviour and effects. The properties on which data is provided include API gravity, density, viscosity, interfacial tension, pour point, flash point, vapor pressure, volatility and component distribution, emulsion formation tendency and stability, weathering, dispersability, major hydrocarbon groups, aqueous solubility, toxicity, sulfur content, fire point, and wax content. Most of the chemical-physical properties listed in this catalogue were measured using standard tests. For certain properties, data are given at different temperatures and for different degrees of oil weathering. An oil's degree of weathering is expresed as the volume or weight percent evaporated from the fresh oil. Weathered oils used for testing were artificially weathered by gas stripping following the method of Mackay and Stiver. 109 refs

  10. A catalogue of crude oil and oil product properties, 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whiticar, S.; Bobra, M.; Liuzzo, P.; Callaghan, S.; Fingas, M.; Jokuty, P.; Ackerman, F.; Cao, J.

    1993-02-01

    This catalogue is a compilation of available data on crude oils and petroleum products. The emphasis of the catalogue is upon oils which could potentially impact Canada's environment. Other oils which are unlikely to be of direct Canadian concern are also included because they have been well characterized and used in relevant studies. The properties listed for each oil are those which will provide an indication of a spilled oil's environmental behaviour and effects. The properties on which data is provided include API gravity, density, viscosity, interfacial tension, pour point, flash point, vapor pressure, volatility and component distribution, emulsion formation tendency and stability, weathering, dispersability, major hydrocarbon groups, aqueous solubility, toxicity, sulfur content, fire point, and wax content. Most of the chemical-physical properties listed in this catalogue were measured using standard tests. For certain properties, data are given at different temperatures and for different degrees of oil weathering. An oil's degree of weathering is expresed as the volume or weight percent evaporated from the fresh oil. Weathered oils used for testing were artificially weathered by gas stripping following the method of Mackay and Stiver. 140 refs

  11. Price volatility and banking in green certificate markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amundsen, Eirik Schrøder; Baldursson, Fridrik M.; Mortensen, Jørgen Birk

    2006-01-01

    the paper shows that the introduction of banking of GCs may reduce price volatility considerably and lead to increased social surplus. Banking lowers average prices and is therefore not necessarily to the benefit of 'green producers'. Prooposed price bounds on GC-prices will reduce the importance of banking...

  12. Volatile metabolites profiling of a Chinese mangrove endophytic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ufuoma

    plant Rhizophora mucronata, produces a mixture of volatile metabolites. As determined ... screened using 2,2'-diphenyl-b-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. This is the ... night prior to autoclaving, two flasks) at room temperature under ... stand at room temperature for 30 min in the dark and absorbance.

  13. Pluto's Volatile Transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Leslie

    2012-10-01

    Pluto's varying subsolar latitude and heliocentric distance leads to large variations in the surface volatile distribution and surface pressure. I present results of new volatile transport models (Young 2012a, b). The models include insolation, thermal emission, subsurface conduction, heating of a volatile slab, internal heat flux, latent heat of sublimation, and strict global mass balance. Numeric advances include initial conditions that allow for rapid convergence, efficient computation with matrix arithmetic, and stable Crank-Nicholson timesteps for both bare and volatile-covered areas. Runs of the model show six distinct seasons on Pluto. (1) As Pluto approaches perihelion, the volatiles on the old winter pole (the Rotational North Pole, RNP) becomes more directly illuminated , and the pressure and albedo rise rapidly. (2) When a new ice cap forms on the Rotational South Pole, RSP, volatiles are exchanged between poles. The pressure and albedo change more slowly. (3) When all volatiles have sublimed from the RNP, the albedo and pressure drop rapidly. (4-6) A similar pattern is repeated near aphelion with a reversal of the roles and the poles. I will compare results with earlier Pluto models of Hansen and Paige (1996), show the dependence on parameters such as substrate inertia, and make predictions for the New Horizons flyby of Pluto in 2015. This work was supported, in part, by funding from NASA Planetary Atmospheres Grant NNG06GF32G and the Spitzer project (JPL research support Agreement 1368573). Hansen, C. J. and D. A. Paige 1996. Seasonal Nitrogen Cycles on Pluto. Icarus 120, 247-265. Young, L. A. 2012a. Volatile transport on inhomogeneous surfaces: I - Analytic expressions, with application to Pluto’s day. Icarus, in press Young, L. A. 2012b. Volatile transport on inhomogeneous surfaces: II. Numerical calculations, with application to Pluto's season. In preparation.

  14. Valorisation of crude glycerol through biological conversion into bioplastics and biofuels in the frame of an FP7 project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Varrone, Cristiano; Gavala, Hariklia N.

    a very low value, due to the impurities and contaminants, and the purification of glycerol is not a viable option for the biodiesel industry anymore. In fact, crude glycerol is usually contaminated with water, methanol, soap, oil, and other compounds deriving from the transesterification process....... Therefore, the purification cost is high when converting crude glycerol by traditional chemistry methods. Setting up of biorefineries, that co-produce high-value compounds, has been considered a concrete solution to enhance economic viability of biodiesel production. The project: the overall aim...

  15. Patterns of survival and volatile metabolites of selected Lactobacillus strains during long-term incubation in milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Łaniewska-Trokenheim, Łucja; Olszewska, Magdalena; Miks-Krajnik, Marta; Zadernowska, Anna

    2010-08-01

    The focus of this study was to monitor the survival of populations and the volatile compound profiles of selected Lactobacillus strains during long-term incubation in milk. The enumeration of cells was determined by both the Direct Epifluorescent Filter Technique using carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA) staining and the plate method. Volatile compounds were analysed by the gas-chromatography technique. All strains exhibited good survival in cultured milks, but Lactobacillus crispatus L800 was the only strain with comparable growth and viability in milk, assessed by plate and epifluorescence methods. The significant differences in cell numbers between plate and microscopic counts were obtained for L. acidophilus strains. The investigated strains exhibited different metabolic profiles. Depending on the strain used, 3 to 8 compounds were produced. The strains produced significantly higher concentrations of acetic acid, compared to other volatiles. Lactobacillus strains differed from one another in number and contents of the volatile compounds.

  16. Effect of Sludge Concentration and Crude Glycerol Matrix as a Substrate on the Production of Single-Cell Oil by Oleaginous Yeast Yarrowia lipolytica SKY7

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saurabh Kumar Ram

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The disposal of excess crude glycerol produced by the booming biodiesel industry and wastewater sludge solid waste has become a severe problem, and alternate routes of use and valorization of these waste byproducts are needed. The use of cheaply available wastewater sludge solids in fermentation media is very much desirable to reduce the cost of production. The strains of Yarrowia lipolytica can assimilate a wide array of waste substrates, such as crude glycerol, waste cooking oil, starch wastewater, and cellulosic. This study optimized the concentration of wastewater sludge solids (5–35 g/L to be used with crude glycerol in fermentation media to produce microbial oil as feedstock for biodiesel production. The results indicated that 20 g/L of sludge solids with 40 g/L of crude glycerol resulted in highest lipid content of 29.35% in 96 h. Further, assuming wet extraction of lipids, it was found that at least 11.2% or higher lipid content is required for this process to have an overall positive net solid waste reduction. Insignificant inhibition was observed by the crude glycerol used in this study as compared to pure glycerol, which proves it to be an adequate source of carbon substrate for lipid production.

  17. Sensitivity of salad greens (Lactuca sativa L. and Eruca sativa Mill. exposed to crude extracts of toxic and non-toxic cyanobacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MC. Bittencourt-Oliveira

    Full Text Available We evaluated the effect of crude extracts of the microcystin-producing (MC+ cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa on seed germination and initial development of lettuce and arugula, at concentrations between 0.5 μg.L–1 and 100 μg.L–1 of MC-LR equivalent, and compared it to crude extracts of the same species without the toxin (MC–. Crude extracts of the cyanobacteria with MC (+ and without MC (– caused different effects on seed germination and initial development of the salad green seedlings, lettuce being more sensitive to both extracts when compared to arugula. Crude extracts of M. aeruginosa (MC+ caused more evident effects on seed germination and initial development of both species of salad greens than MC–. Concentrations of 75 μg.L–1 and 100 μg.L–1 of MC–LR equivalent induced a greater occurrence of abnormal seedlings in lettuce, due to necrosis of the radicle and shortening of this organ in normal seedlings, as well as the reduction in total chlorophyll content and increase in the activity of the antioxidant enzyme peroxidase (POD. The MC– extract caused no harmful effects to seed germination and initial development of seedlings of arugula. However, in lettuce, it caused elevation of POD enzyme activity, decrease in seed germination at concentrations of 75 μg.L–1 (MC-75 and 100 μg.L–1 (MC-100, and shortening of the radicle length, suggesting that other compounds present in the cyanobacteria extracts contributed to this result. Crude extracts of M. aeruginosa (MC– may contain other compounds, besides the cyanotoxins, capable of causing inhibitory or stimulatory effects on seed germination and initial development of salad green seedlings. Arugula was more sensitive to the crude extracts of M. aeruginosa (MC+ and (MC– and to other possible compounds produced by the cyanobacteria.

  18. Producing metallurgic coke

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abe, T.; Isida, K.; Vada, Y.

    1982-11-18

    A mixture of power producing coals with coal briquets of varying composition is proposed for coking in horizontal chamber furnaces. The briquets are produced from petroleum coke, coal fines or semicoke, which make up less than 27 percent of the mixture to be briquetted and coals with a standard coking output of volatile substances and coals with high maximal Gizeler fluidity. The ratio of these coals in the mixture is 0.6 to 2.1 or 18 to 32 percent, respectively. Noncaking or poorly caking coals are used as the power producing coals. The hardness of the obtained coke is DJ15-30 = 90.5 to 92.7 percent.

  19. The impacts of the export ban on Alaskan crude oil trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farah, P.G.; Bausell, C.W.; Vogelsang, A.

    1990-01-01

    The authors investigated the petroleum markets impacts of lifting the ban on Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil exports. This paper reports on some aspects of this investigation. The economic analysis relied heavily on the modeling of the ANS crude trade conducted on behalf of GAO by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) using the Transportation and Refining of International Petroleum model (TRIP). In contrast to previous studies, this one suggests that transportation costs may not be the only major factor in the realignment of ANS crude trade in response to lifting the ban. The differences in the yields of ANS crude and various crudes used by refiners in Pacific Rim countries on the one hand, and the product demand slates of the US West Coast and the potential buyers of ANS crude in Pacific Rim may also figure prominently in determining the reallocation of ANS crude if exports are permitted

  20. Crude oil biodegradation aided by biosurfactants from Pseudozyma sp. NII 08165 or its culture broth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajna, Kuttuvan Valappil; Sukumaran, Rajeev Kumar; Gottumukkala, Lalitha Devi; Pandey, Ashok

    2015-09-01

    The aim of this work was to evaluate the biosurfactants produced by the yeast Pseudozyma sp. NII 08165 for enhancing the degradation of crude oil by a model hydrocarbon degrading strain, Pseudomonas putida MTCC 1194. Pseudozyma biosurfactants were supplemented at various concentrations to the P. putida culture medium containing crude oil as sole carbon source. Supplementation of the biosurfactants enhanced the degradation of crude oil by P. putida; the maximum degradation of hydrocarbons was observed with a 2.5 mg L(-1) supplementation of biosurfactants. Growth inhibition constant of the Pseudozyma biosurfactants was 11.07 mg L(-1). It was interesting to note that Pseudozyma sp. NII 08165 alone could also degrade diesel and kerosene. Culture broth of Pseudozyma containing biosurfactants resulted up to ∼46% improvement in degradation of C10-C24 alkanes by P. putida. The enhancement in degradation efficiency of the bacterium with the culture broth supplementation was even more pronounced than that with relatively purer biosurfactants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. E3 analysis for crude and vacuum distillation system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mittal, V; Zhang, J; Yang, X; Xu, Q [Dan F. Smith Department of Chemical Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas (United States)

    2011-11-15

    Crude oil blending is a very common practice in petroleum refineries, where the main focus is to minimize the total purchase cost of crude oils under specified blending oil properties. Crude oil blending actually has significant impacts on energy consumption from heating furnaces during crude oil processing. Conceivably, furnace energy consumption from burning fuels such as natural gas, fuel oil, or propane causes huge amounts of CO{sub 2} emissions. In this paper, a methodology framework for crude oil blending and processing with simultaneous consideration of energy, emission, and economic profit (E3) is developed. It includes four stages of work: steady-state modeling, heating energy consumption calculation, emission model development, and economic evaluation. With Aspen HYSYS simulation, the developed methodology provides a quantitative support for refinery to identify an optimal E3 operating strategy. A case study is implemented to demonstrate the efficacy of this methodology. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  2. Lyondell plans to hike heavy crude runs at Houston

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Land, R.

    1992-01-01

    Lyondell Petrochemical Co. has outlined a venture that would allow increased runs of heavy crude oil at its 265,000 b/cd Houston refiner. Preliminary plans call for Lyondell, Houston, to ally with subsidiaries of Venezuela's Petroleos de Venezuela SA to upgrade heavy crude processing capabilities of the refiner and obtain supplies of heavy crude feedstock. Lyondell proposes to form a jointly owned company with Pdvsa's Citgo Petroleum Corp. subsidiary to take over ownership of the Houston plant. This paper reports that upgrades would not significantly change the plant's crude capacity but would allow the refiner to process as much as 200,000 b/d of heavy crude feedstock, up from 120,000 b/d at present. Following completion of the upgrade, Citgo could increase its interest to 50% with Lyondell retaining remaining venture interest. Upgrade design and engineering are to begin immediately, with regulatory permitting and construction expected to be complete in 3-4 years

  3. Biogenic volatile organic compounds in the Earth system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laothawornkitkul, Jullada; Taylor, Jane E; Paul, Nigel D; Hewitt, C Nicholas

    2009-01-01

    Biogenic volatile organic compounds produced by plants are involved in plant growth, development, reproduction and defence. They also function as communication media within plant communities, between plants and between plants and insects. Because of the high chemical reactivity of many of these compounds, coupled with their large mass emission rates from vegetation into the atmosphere, they have significant effects on the chemical composition and physical characteristics of the atmosphere. Hence, biogenic volatile organic compounds mediate the relationship between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Alteration of this relationship by anthropogenically driven changes to the environment, including global climate change, may perturb these interactions and may lead to adverse and hard-to-predict consequences for the Earth system.

  4. 15 CFR 754.3 - Petroleum products not including crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Petroleum products not including crude... SUPPLY CONTROLS § 754.3 Petroleum products not including crude oil. (a) License requirement. As indicated... required to all destinations, including Canada, for the export of petroleum products, excluding crude oil...

  5. Normalization for Implied Volatility

    OpenAIRE

    Fukasawa, Masaaki

    2010-01-01

    We study specific nonlinear transformations of the Black-Scholes implied volatility to show remarkable properties of the volatility surface. Model-free bounds on the implied volatility skew are given. Pricing formulas for the European options which are written in terms of the implied volatility are given. In particular, we prove elegant formulas for the fair strikes of the variance swap and the gamma swap.

  6. Money growth volatility and the demand for money in Germany: Friedman's volatility hypothesis revisited

    OpenAIRE

    Brüggemann, Imke; Nautz, Dieter

    1997-01-01

    Recently, the Bundesbank claimed that monetary targeting has become considerably more diffcult by the increased volatility of short-term money growth. The present paper investigates the impact of German money growth volatility on income velocity and money demand in view of Friedman's money growth volatility hypothesis. Granger-causality tests provide some evidence for a velocity-volatility linkage. However the estimation of volatility-augmented money demand functions reveals that - in contras...

  7. Emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the combustion of crude oil on water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benner, B.A. Jr.; Bryner, N. P.; Wise, S.A.; Mulholland, G.W.; Evans, D.D.; Fingas, M.F.; Li, K.

    1991-01-01

    A study was conducted to examine some of the factors necessary to assess the environmental impact of an in-situ burn of an oil spill on water. These factors include the fraction of an oil layer which can be burned, the quantity of smoke emitted, and the concentrations of 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the smoke, crude oil, and burn residue. Alberta sweet mixed blend crude in 1, 3, 5, 10, and 30 mm layers on water was burned in the laboratory and smoke samples were collected at elevated and ambient temperatures and analyzed by two independent laboratories. While burning the crude oil produced less total PAHs than was in the original crude, the concentrations of PAHs with 5 or more rings were 10-20 times greater in the smoke than in the oil. The organic carbon fraction of the smoke was in the 14-21% range. As the fuel layer thickness was increased from 2 to 10 mm, the smoke yield increased from 0.035 g smoke/g fuel and the percentage of oil residue decreased from 46% to 17%. By consuming much of the oil spill and reducing the amount of PAHs in the water, and by dispersing the combustion products over a larger area, in-situ burning can mitigate the local environmental impact of an oil spill. There appears to be a range of situations, such as in Arctic ice fields, where in-situ burning might be the most viable cleanup method. 25 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs

  8. Effects of oil drops containing Lactobacillus salivarius WB21 on periodontal health and oral microbiota producing volatile sulfur compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Nao; Tanabe, Kazunari; Takeshita, Toru; Yoneda, Masahiro; Iwamoto, Tomoyuki; Oshiro, Sueko; Yamashita, Yoshihisa; Hirofuji, Takao

    2012-03-01

    The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effects of oil drops containing Lactobacillus salivarius WB21 on periodontal health and oral microbiota producing volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). For this study, 42 subjects were randomly assigned to receive oil samples containing L. salivarius WB21 or a placebo for two weeks. Oral assessment and saliva collection were performed on days 1 and 15. Bacterial analysis was performed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). In both the experimental and placebo groups, the average probing depth, number of periodontal pockets, and the percentage of bleeding on probing (BOP) decreased while stimulated salivary flow increased on day 15. BOP was reduced in the experimental group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.010). In the experimental group, total bacterial numbers decreased, and the number of L. salivarius increased. The number of Prevotella intermedia, which is correlated with hydrogen sulfide concentration in mouth air, increased in the placebo group and did not change in the experimental group. T-RFLP analysis found that the peak area proportions representing Porphyromonas gingivalis, P. intermedia, Tannerella forsythensis, and Fusobacterium nucleatum decreased in the experimental group, although there was no significant change in the bacterial composition. Thus we observed oil drops containing L. salivarius WB21 improved BOP and inhibited the reproduction of total and VSC-producing periodontopathic bacteria compared with the placebo group, but also showed the limit of its efficacy in controlling VSCs producing and periodontal pathogens.

  9. Evidence on the nature and extent of the relationship between oil prices and equity values in the UK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Sharif, Idris; Brown, Dick; Burton, Bruce; Nixon, Bill; Russell, Alex

    2005-01-01

    A number of recent studies have found a link between movements in crude oil prices and equity values. However, the literature concentrates almost exclusively on North American and Australian data and is primarily conducted at a stock market-wide level. The present study therefore investigates the relationship between the price of crude oil and equity values in the oil and gas sector using data relating to the United Kingdom, the largest oil producer in the European Union. The evidence indicates that the relationship is always positive, often highly significant and reflects the direct impact of volatility in the price of crude oil on share values within the sector. (Author)

  10. Heavy crude oils - From Geology to Upgrading - An Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huc, A.Y.

    2010-01-01

    Heavy oils, extra-heavy oils and tar sands are major players for the future of energy. They represent a massive world resource, at least the size of conventional oils. They are found all over the world but Canada and Venezuela together account, by themselves, for more than half of world deposits. They share the same origin as the lighter conventional oils, but their geological fate drove them into thick, viscous tar-like crude oils. Most of them result from alteration processes mediated by microbial degradation. They are characterized by a low content of lighter cuts and a high content of impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen compounds and metals; so, their production is difficult and deployment of specific processes is required in order to enhance their transportability and to upgrade them into valuable products meeting market needs, and honouring environmental requirements. Although these resources are increasingly becoming commercially producible, less than 1% of total heavy crude oil deposits worldwide are under active development. The voluntarily wide scope of this volume encompasses geology, production, transportation, upgrading, economics and environmental issues of heavy oils. It does not pretend to be exhaustive, but to provide an authoritative view of this very important energy resource. Besides presenting the current status of knowledge and technology involved in exploiting heavy oils, the purpose is to provide an insight into technical, economic and environmental challenges that should be taken up in order to increase the efficiency of production and processing, and finally to give a prospective view of the emerging technologies which will contribute to releasing the immense potential reserves of heavy oil and tar deposits. Contents: Part 1. Heavy Crude Oils.1. Heavy Crude Oils in the Perspective of World Oil Demand. 2. Definitions and Specificities. 3. Geological Origin of Heavy Crude Oils. 4. Properties and composition. Part 2. Reservoir Engineering

  11. THE LONG-RUN AND SHORT-RUN EFFECTS OF CRUDE OIL PRICE ON METHANOL MARKET IN IRAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akbar Komijani

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Substituting crude oil exports with value-added petrochemical products is one of the main strategies for policy makers in oil-driven economies to isolating the real sectors of economy from oil price volatility. This policy inclination has led to a body of literature in energy economics in recent decades. As a case study, this paper investigates the short-run and long-run relationship between Iran’s oil price and methanol price which is one of the most important non-oil exports of the oil-exporting country. To do so, the weekly data from 18 Jan. 2009 to 18 Sep. 2011 in a VECM framework is applied. The results show that in the long-run, oil price hikes leads to proportional increase in methanol price while in the short-run, this impact is not significant.

  12. Impact of Expanded North Slope of Alaska Crude Oil Production on Oil Flows in the Contiguous United States (Summary)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeRosa, Sean e. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Flanagan, Tatiana Paz [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-05-01

    Crude oil produced on the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) is primarily transported on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) to in-state refineries and the Valdez Marine Terminal in southern Alaska. From the Terminal, crude oil is loaded onto tankers and is transported to export markets or to three major locations along the U.S. West Coast: Anacortes-Ferndale area (Washington), San Francisco Bay area, and Los Angeles area. North Slope of Alaska production has decreased about 75% since the 1980s, which has reduced utilization of TAPS.

  13. Preliminary study of acoustic emission (ae) noise signal identification for crude oil storage tank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nurul Ain Ahmad Latif; Shukri Mohd

    2008-08-01

    This preliminary work was carried out to simulate the Acoustic Emission (AE) signal contributed by pitting corrosion, and noise signal from environment during crude oil storage tanks monitoring. The purpose of this study is to prove that acoustic emission (AE) could be used to detect the formation of pitting corrosion in the crude oil storage tank and differentiated it from other sources of noise signal. In this study, the pitting corrosion was simulated by inducing low voltage and low amperage current onto the crude oil storage tank material (ASTM 516 G 70). Water drop, air blow and surface rubbing were applied onto the specimen surface. To simulate the noise signal produce by rain fall, wind blow and other sources of noise during AE crude oil storage tanks monitoring. AE sensor was attached onto the other surface of specimen to acquire all of these AE signals which then has send to AE DiSP 24 data acquisition system for signal conditioning. AE win software has been used to analyse this entire signal. It is found that, simulated pitting corrosion could be detected by AE system and differentiated from other sources of noise by using amplitude analysis. From the amplitude analysis is shown that 20-30 dB is the range amplitude for the blow test, 50-60 dB for surface rubbing test and over than 60 dB for water drop test. (Author)

  14. Analisis senyawa volatil dari ekstrak tanaman yang berpotensi sebagai atraktan parasitoid telur wereng batang coklat, Anagrus nilaparvatae (Pang et Wang (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surjani Wonorahardjo

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Plants produce volatiles as communication cues intra- or inter- species. Infested plants by herbivores will produce volatiles as indirect defense mechanism that attracts natural enemies of herbivores. Analysis of volatiles compounds produced by rice plant as result of infested brown plant hopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens Stâl, was done to identify compounds in the volatiles that potentially can be used as attractant for egg parasitoids of BPH, Anagrus nilaparvatae (Pang et Wang (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae. This research was an early stage to develop formulation of parasitoid attractant. The research activities include volatiles extraction of infested rice stem by BPH eggs using acetone, n-hexane as the extraction solvents; analyses of volatile compounds with GC-MS; and bioassay of parasitoid orientation behavior to the volatiles using olfactometer methods. Extraction methods applied were maceration and continuous extraction followed by concentration. Bioassay on the parasitoid orientation behavior was done by using Y-tube olfactometer and every lot of bioassay using 30 parasitoid females with 3 replicates. The results showed that the volatile compounds of extract of infested rice stem by BPH eggs comprise of 16 components. The highest proportion of the components extracted with acetone is 2-Pentanone, 4-hydroxy-4-methyl (19,9%, while those with n-hexane is Hexanedioic acid, dioctyl ester (65%. A. nilaparvatae showed positive response to the volatiles extracted from infested rice plant by N. lugens eggs. Therefore, the volatiles can be used as an attractant for the egg A. nilaparvatae to support rice pest management.

  15. The Application of Neural Networks in Balancing Production of Crude Sunflower Oil and Meal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bojan Ivetic

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the research is to predict specific output characteristics of half finished goods (crude sunflower oil and meal on the basis of specific input variables (quality and composition of sunflower seeds, with the help of artificial neural networks. This is an attempt to predict the amount much more precisely than is the case with technological calculations commonly used in the oil industry. All input variables are representing the data received by the laboratory, and the output variables except category % of oil which is obtained by measuring the physical quantity of produced crude sunflower oil and sunflower consumed quantity of the processing quality. The correct prediction of the output variables contributes to better sales planning, production of sunflower oil, and better use of storage. Also, the correct prediction of technological results of the quality of crude oil and meal provides timely response and also preventing getting rancid and poor-quality oil, timely categorizing meal, which leads to proper planning and sales to the rational utilization of storage space, allows timely response technologists and prevents the growth of microorganisms in the meal.

  16. Chasing volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Caporin, Massimiliano; Rossi, Eduardo; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

    The realized volatility of financial returns is characterized by persistence and occurrence of unpreditable large increments. To capture those features, we introduce the Multiplicative Error Model with jumps (MEM-J). When a jump component is included in the multiplicative specification, the condi......The realized volatility of financial returns is characterized by persistence and occurrence of unpreditable large increments. To capture those features, we introduce the Multiplicative Error Model with jumps (MEM-J). When a jump component is included in the multiplicative specification...... estimate alternative specifications of the model using a set of daily bipower measures for 7 stock indexes and 16 individual NYSE stocks. The estimates of the jump component confirm that the probability of jumps dramatically increases during the financial crisis. Compared to other realized volatility...... models, the introduction of the jump component provides a sensible improvement in the fit, as well as for in-sample and out-of-sample volatility tail forecasts....

  17. Challenges and choices : a U.S. refiner's perspective on Western Canadian crude

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, C.

    2004-01-01

    This presentation included a map depicting refineries, pipelines, terminals, coastal terminals and inland terminals in the eastern United States. Major oil trade movements between the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Central America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific were also illustrated. A graph depicting Western Canada's long range crude supply forecast shows a decrease in conventional heavy oil supply but an increase in supply of diluent bitumen blend and synthetic bitumen blends. The presentation focused on this shift in refining and how product quality is viewed differently by producers and refiners in terms of gravity, sulfur content, boiling range distribution, distillate cetane, total acid number (TAN), asphalt properties, nitrogen and particulates. Refiners are looking for affordability, quality, consistency, yields and unit balance. Canadian marketing connections to PADD 1, 2, 4 and 5 were outlined. It was noted that more than 45 refineries in over 20 regions in the United States use Western Canadian crude oil. 22 figs

  18. Organic metabolites produced by Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Identification and action of several antibacterial metabolites produced by a fish pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain An3 from marine ecosystem of Goa has been demonstrated. Antibacterial activity of the crude cell extract of the test bacterium has been evaluated against indicator pathogenic bacterial strains such as ...

  19. Effect of biosurfactants on crude oil desorption and mobilization in a soil system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuyukina, M.S.; Ivshina, I.B. [Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm (Russian Federation). Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms; Makarov, S.O.; Litvinenko, L.V. [Perm State University, Perm (Russian Federation); Cunningham, C.J. [University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Contaminated Land Assessment and Remediation Research Centre; Philp, J.C. [Napier University, Edinburgh (United Kingdom). School of Life Sciences

    2005-02-01

    Microbially produced biosurfactants were studied to enhance crude oil desorption and mobilization in model soil column systems. The ability of biosurfactants from Rhodococcus ruber to remove the oil from the soil core was 1.4-2.3 times greater than that of a synthetic surfactant of suitable properties, Tween 60. Biosurfactant-enhanced oil mobilization was temperature-related, and it was slower at 15{sup o}C than at 22-28{sup o}C. Mathematical modelling using a one-dimensional filtration model was applied to simulate the process of oil penetration through a soil column in the presence of (bio)surfactants. A strong positive correlation (R{sup 2} = 0.99) was found between surfactant penetration through oil-contaminated soil and oil removal activity. Biosurfactant was less adsorbed to soil components than synthetic surfactant, thus rapidly penetrating through the soil column and effectively removing 65-82% of crude oil. Chemical analysis showed that crude oil removed by biosurfactant contained a lower proportion of high-molecular-weight paraffins and asphaltenes, the most nonbiodegradable compounds, compared to initial oil composition. This result suggests that oil mobilized by biosurfactants could be easily biodegraded by soil bacteria. Rhodococcus biosurfactants can be used for in situ remediation of oil-contaminated soils. (author)

  20. Efficiency of crude oil markets: Evidences from informational entropy analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortiz-Cruz, Alejandro; Rodriguez, Eduardo; Ibarra-Valdez, Carlos; Alvarez-Ramirez, Jose

    2012-01-01

    The role of crude oil as the main energy source for the global economic activity has motivated the discussion about the dynamics and causes of crude oil price changes. An accurate understanding of the issue should provide important guidelines for the design of optimal policies and government budget planning. Using daily data for WTI over the period January 1986–March 2011, we analyze the evolution of the informational complexity and efficiency for the crude oil market through multiscale entropy analysis. The results indicated that the crude oil market is informationally efficient over the scrutinized period except for two periods that correspond to the early 1990s and late 2000s US recessions. Overall, the results showed that deregulation has improved the operation of the market in the sense of making returns less predictable. On the other hand, there is some evidence that the probability of having a severe US economic recession increases as the informational efficiency decreases, which indicates that returns from crude oil markets are less uncertain during economic downturns. - Highlights: ► Entropy concepts are used to characterize crude oil prices. ► An index of market efficiency is introduced. ► Except for periods of economic recession, the crude oil market is informationally efficient.