Sharif Digital Repository

Injecting low salinity brines is regarded as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process through IFT reduction. However, the exact mechanism behind this process is an unsettled and complex issue that has not been well understood yet, especially for heavy crude oil system. Besides, limited information is available regarding the key heavy oil/brine interfacial tension (IFT). The present study aims to investigate the sensitivity of dead heavy crude oil/brine IFT to a wide range of properties/conditions and to reveal the underlying physicochemical mechanisms involved in enhanced oil recovery and IFT reduction by low salinity water injection into heavy oil reservoir. IFT was measured as a function of... 

Injecting low salinity brines is regarded as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process through IFT reduction. However, the exact mechanism behind this process is an unsettled and complex issue that has not been well understood yet, especially for heavy crude oil system. Besides, limited information is available regarding the key heavy oil/brine interfacial tension (IFT). The present study aims to investigate the sensitivity of dead heavy crude oil/brine IFT to a wide range of properties/conditions and to reveal the underlying physicochemical mechanisms involved in enhanced oil recovery and IFT reduction by low salinity water injection into heavy oil reservoir. IFT was measured as a function of... 

Precipitation of strontium sulfate (or SrSO4) has already been distinguished as one of the most costly and critical problems which may occur in process industries and oilfield operations. Costs due to scaling and remedial actions that need to be taken afterward are generally high owing to low solubility of SrSO4 in aqueous solutions. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the SrSO4 thermodynamic behavior under various operating conditions is vital to predict or even avoid the overall damage caused by scaling. The primary aim of this work is to develop a model based on Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) and Coupled Simulated Annealing (CSA) referred to as CSA-LSSVM to predict... 

The rising velocity of air bubbles in surfactant solutions is a sensitive measure for the formation of a dynamic adsorption layer (DAL) at the bubble surface. Due to a certain surface coverage by adsorbed species the bubble surface starts to become immobilized and the rising velocity is retarded. There is a large difference in the retardation effect in presence of the protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG) alone and its mixed solutions with surfactants. In presence of added surfactants BLG forms complexes, which adsorb and retard the bubble rising velocity according to their respective surface activity and adsorption kinetics. While the nonionic surfactant C12DMPO does not show significant increase... 

Precipitation and scaling of calcium sulfate have been known as major problems facing process industries and oilfield operations. Most scale prediction models are based on aqueous thermodynamics and solubility behavior of salts in aqueous electrolyte solutions. There is yet a huge interest in developing reliable, simple, and accurate solubility prediction models. In this study, a comprehensive model based on least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) is presented, which is mainly devoted to calcium sulfate dihydrate (or gypsum) solubility in aqueous solutions of mixed electrolytes covering wide temperature ranges. In this respect, an aggregate of 880 experimental data were gathered from... 

The kinetics of coalescence is studied experimentally using a new technique for tracking the process in the bulk phase. For this aim, aqueous solutions of KSCN (colorless) and FeCl3 (light yellow) are used to make individual W/O emulsions. Any coalescence occurred between drops containing KSCN solution and those containing FeCl3 solution would combine these solutions. This leads to a reddish brown solution due to the formation of iron(III)thiocyanate. The intensity change of this red color with time represents the dynamics of coalescence occurring between drops of different emulsified aqueous droplets. The detector response to any changes in the system is recorded as a function of time. In... 

Removal of zirconium from its dilute aqueous solution using Aspergillus niger as a dried and living biomass was investigated. Through that, the effect of some operational parameters on biosorption, including pH, temperature, contact time, initial concentration of zirconium and dose of biomass, were studied. Based on the results, it was concluded that the uptake of zirconium by both dried and living biomasses is pH dependent, and maximum uptake was observed in pH = 3.1 for both biomasses. The maximum uptake capacity of the living biomass was obtained at 30°C. However, the biosorption of zirconium by dried biomass was not affected by temperature. The maximum uptake capacity for living and... 

The effects of varying operating conditions on metals removal from aqueous solution using a novel platinum nanopartcles/Zeolite-4A adsorbent are reported in this paper. Characterization of the adsorbent showed successful production of platinum nanopartcles on Zeolite-4A using 3 Wt% platinum. The effects of operation conditions on metals removal using this adsorbent were investigated. The optimal metals adsorption was observed at pH 7, 0.1 g/10 mL dosage and 30 min contact time. Sorption data have been interpreted in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms  

Fully supramolecular dendrosomes (FSD) as bi-phase drug delivery systems are reported in this work. For preparation of FSD, amphiphilic linear-dendritic supramolecular systems (ALDSS) have been synthesized by host-guest interactions between hyperbranched polyglycerol having β-cyclodextrin core and bi-chain polycaprolactone (BPCL) with a fluorescine focal point. Self-assembly of ALDSS in aqueous solutions led to FSD. They were able to encapsulate paclitaxel with a high loading capacity. The dendrosome-based drug delivery systems were highly sensitive to pH and temperature. They were stable at 20-37. °C and pH7-8, but dissociated and released drug at temperatures lower than 20. °C or higher... 

Phenol is one of the aromatic hydrocarbons. Phenol and its derivatives are highly toxic. These pollutants can be observed in the effluents of many industries. This research investigates the removal of phenol by the use of activated sludge in a batch system. The effects of influencing factors on biodegradation efficiency have been evaluated. The main factors considered in this study were the volume of acclimatized activated sludge inoculation, pH, temperature, and initial concentration of phenol. The inoculation volumes of 1, 3, and 5 mL of acclimatized activated sludge were taken into account. Different pH values of 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 were examined. The experiments were conducted for... 

Functionalized magnetic core-zeolitic shell nanocomposites were prepared via hydrothermal and precipitation methods. The products were characterized by vibrating sample magnetometer, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The growth of mordenite nanocrystals on the outer surface of silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles at the presence of organic templates was well approved. The removal performance and the selectivity of mixed metal ions (Pb2+ and Cd2+) in aqueous solution were investigated via the sorption process. The batch method was employed to study the sorption kinetic,... 

An efficient synthesis of novel pentacyclic thiopyrano indole-annulated benzo-δ-sultone derivatives is achieved via intramolecular domino Knoevenagel-hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of 2-formylphenyl (E)-2-phenylethenyl sulfonates and indoline-2-thiones in aqueous medium. The products are formed in good yields with high regio- and stereoselectivity  

A supramolecular linear-dendritic copolymer consisting of a polystyrene backbone and hanging hyperbranched polyglycerols was prepared and characterized. Host-guest interactions between β-cyclodextrin incorporated in the core of polyglycerol as a host and aromatic rings of polystyrene as guests lead to the formation of a supramolecular linear-dendritic copolymer. Supramolecules formed micelles in aqueous solutions which were able to encapsulate and transfer paclitaxel with a high loading capacity  

This work focused on the design of new pH-responsive nanoparticles for controlled delivery of anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox). Nanoparticles of poly(methacrylic acid)-polysorbate 80-grafted starch (PMAA-PS 80-g-St) were synthesized by using a one-pot method that enabled simultaneous grafting of PMAA and PS 80 onto starch and nanoparticle formation in an aqueous medium. The particles were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, TEM, DLS, and potentiometric titration. Dox loading and in vitro release from the nanoparticles were investigated. The FTIR and 1H NMR confirmed the chemical composition of the graft terpolymer. The nanoparticles were relatively spherical with narrow size distribution and... 

In the present investigation, different agricultural solid wastes namely: eggplant hull (EH), almond green hull (AGH), and walnut shell (WS), that are introduced as low cost adsorbents, were used for the removal of heavy metals (cobalt, strontium and mercury ions) from aqueous solutions. Activation process and/or chemical treatments using H 2O 2 and NH 3 were performed on these raw materials to increase their adsorption performances. The effectiveness of these adsorbents was studied in batch adsorption mode under a variety of experimental conditions such as: different chemical treatments, various amounts of adsorbents, initial metal-ion concentrations, pH of solutions, contact times, and... 

A novel solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was fabricated by electrospinning method in which a polymeric solution was converted to nanofibers using high voltages. A thin stainless steel wire was coated by the network of polymeric nanofibers. The polymeric nanofiber coating on the wire was mechanically stable due to the fine and continuous nanofibers formation around the wire with a three dimensional structure. Polyamide (nylon 6), due to its suitable characteristics was used to prepare the unbreakable SPME nanofiber. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of this new coating showed a diameter range of 100-200nm for polyamide nanofibers with a homogeneous and porous surface... 

CeO 2-TiO 2 nanoparticles were prepared by the sol-gel process using 2-hydroxylethylammonium formate as room-temperature ionic liquid and calcined at different temperatures (500-700°C). CeO 2-TiO 2-graphene nanocomposites were prepared by hydrothermal reaction of graphene oxide with CeO 2-TiO 2 nanoparticles in aqueous solution of ethanol. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transformed infrared techniques. The results demonstrate that the room-temperature ionic liquid inhibits the anatase-rutile phase transformation. This effect was promoted by addition of CeO 2 to TiO 2....