Sharif Digital Repository

A new dibenzothiophene (DBT) desulfurizing bacterium was isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Iran. HPLC analysis and PCR-based detection of the presence of the DBT desulfurization genes (dszA, dszB and dszC) indicate that this strain converts DBT to 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP) via the 4S pathway. The strain, identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis SHT87, can utilize DBT, dibenzothiophene sulfone, thiophene, 2-methylthiophene and dimethylsulfoxide as a sole sulfur source for growth at 30 °C. The maximum specific desulfurization activity of strain SHT87 resting cells in aqueous and biphasic organic-aqueous systems at 30 °C was determined to be 0.36 and 0.47 μmol 2-HBP min-1 (g dry cell)-1,... 

Background and objective: The human lungs exchange air with the external environment via the conducting airways. The application of an anatomically accurate model of the conducting airways can be helpful for simulating gas exchange and fluid distribution throughout the bronchial tree in the lung. Methods: In the current study, Lindenmayer system (L-system) has been formulated to generate the bronchial tree structure in a human lung. It has been considered that the structure of the bronchial tree is divided into two main segments: 1) The central airways (from the trachea to segmental bronchi) and 2) the dichotomous structure (from segmental bronchi to terminal bronchioles). Two sets of... 

An algorithm has been developed to investigate the effect of asphaltene precipitation on calculation of minimum miscibility pressure (MMP), which is one of the key design parameters of any gas injection projects. In fact, this algorithm is the extension of procedure suggested by Jaubert et al. for prediction of MMP whatever the displacement mechanism. The vapor-liquid equilibrium calculation and then liquid-liquid equilibrium calculation are required to be taken account to estimate the amount of asphaltene precipitation. The association equation of state (AEOS) has been applied to determine the phase behavior of asphaltene. The algorithm has been used for the MMP prediction of Weyburn... 

Asphaltene precipitation is a major assurance problem posing significant technical and economic loss on petroleum industry. To tackle this issue, various treatments have been proposed and applied by industry. Amongst, inhibiting or retarding the asphaltene precipitation has been understood as the most efficient approach. In this regard, blending crude oil with chemical additives could appreciably heighten its stability. Surfactants, owing to amphiphilic nature, could keep asphaltene dissolved in crude oil by precluding self-tendency of those particles to making agglomerates. Despite importance of this subject, there is still lack of sufficient experimental data to evaluate effectiveness of... 

Nanoemulsion is a novel type of emulsified solutions holding great promises for utilizing in industrial applications. Although microemulsions have been the subject of numerous studies in past decades, however, nanoemulsions are quite virgin and merit detailed investigation to scrutinize their characteristics specific to reservoir engineering, in particular, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). To this end, the present study is an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific nanoemulsion for oil displacement through porous media. In this regard, flooding experiments were designed and Hexa decyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), which is a cationic surfactant, was used as the emulsifying agent.... 

Despite previous researches on ion-engineered waterflooding (IEWF), its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, particularly in presence of additives, like surfactants. This paper concerned with the contribution of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , SO 4 2- and Na + into altering wettability of oil-wet carbonate minerals towards water preferred state. As a mechanistic study, an experiment workflow was conducted to probe the impact of ions' concentrations in SW, either with or without sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) which is an anionic surfactant. At first, contact angle (CA) measurement was carried out to evaluate the degree of wettability reversal upon treating the oil-aged calcite slabs with... 

This paper concerns extending applicability of Dehaghani association equation of state (in short DA-EOS) to model non-ideality in phase behavior caused by hydrogen bonding. Advantageously, this equation only needs two and one parameters to treat self- and cross association, respectively, which were determined for methanol/water and ethanol/water mixture in this study. In this respect, DA was coupled with PR and SRK EOS to account for physical interaction between molecules. Notably, DA-PR persistently provides more accurate prediction than DA-SRK for both aqueous methanol and ethanol solutions  

The present study examined the effects of auxetic shoes on the biomechanics of the spine, as compared to barefoot and conventional shoe conditions, during gait and drop vertical jump (DVJ) activities using a combined in vivo and musculoskeletal modeling approach. Motion and force-plate data as well as electromyographic (EMG) activities of select trunk muscles of 11 individuals were collected during foregoing activities. In DVJ activity, two main phases of first landing (FL) and second landing (SL) were studied. In the FL phase of DVJ noticeable alternations were observed when auxetic shoes were used. That is, compared to the conventional footwear condition, smaller EMG activities in extensor... 

In this paper, maximum likelihood step-change point estimators of the location parameter, the out-of-control sample and the out-of-control stage are developed for auto-correlated multistage processes. To do this, the multistage process and the concept of change detection are first discussed. Then, a time-series model of the process is presented. Assuming step changes in the location parameter of the process, next, the likelihood functions of different samples before and after receiving out-of-control signal from an X-bar control chart were derived under different conditions. The maximum likelihood estimators were then obtained by maximizing the likelihood functions. Finally, the accuracy and... 

This paper presents the design and part-load operation of a molten carbonate-micro gas turbine (MCFC/MGT) hybrid system (HS), and proposes a multiloop control strategy for the HS. A mathematical model of the system is introduced. Then, the structure of process is changed and the performance of HSs at part-load operation is studied. The novelty includes utilizing some part of the main fuel instead of auxiliary fuel in the combustion stage. The results show that the new configuration has more efficiency (about 63%). In order to keep the operating system within safe limits, variables of the control system are determined. Those controlled variables are as follows: stack temperature, fuel... 

Introduction: Antimicrobial peptides are potential therapeutics as anti-bacteria, anti-viruses, anti-fungi, or anticancers. However, they suffer from a short half-life and drug resistance which limit their long-term clinical usage. Methods: Herein, we captured the encapsulation of antimicrobial peptide HA-FD-13 into boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) (20,20) and its release due to subsequent insertion of BNNT (14,14) with molecular dynamics simulation. Results: The peptide-BNNT (20,20) van der Waals (vdW) interaction energy decreased to −270 kcal·mol−1 at the end of the simulation (15 ns). However, during the period of 0.2–1.8 ns, when half of the peptide was inside the nanotube, the... 

Due to several advantages, three-phase Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converter is widely used in numerous applications nowadays. On the other hand, this converter is very vulnerable to Transistor Open-Circuit Fault (TOCF). Therefore, a fault-tolerant (FT) scheme has been proposed in this paper to solve the problem. First, normal and faulty conditions are investigated, and according to the results, a fault-diagnosis (FD) approach is introduced. Using the outcomes of FD unit, a new post-fault strategy is proposed for the converter. The FD method is based on the DC component of transformer phase currents, and the basis of FT technique is shedding the faulty phase. Some benefits of the proposed... 

This research aims to present asphaltene fraction of oil by FTIR spectrum technique. For this purpose, three different oil samples with various SARA contents and almost identical API degrees were utilized in this research. Two asphaltenic oil samples were referred to as ‘A’ and ‘B’, and the aliphatic oil sample was named as ‘C’. First of all, the asphaltene fraction was extracted through the IP-143 test. The possible chemical bonds and functional groups were identified through NMR tests. Then, the FTIR spectrums of the oil samples and the extracted corresponding asphaltene fractions were taken. The interpretations were used to find the functional groups in the FTIR of the oil samples that...