Synthesis of heterobifunctional poly(ethy1ene glycol) containing an acryloyl group at one end and an isocyanate group at the other end

Summary A New heterobifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) having a polymerizable acryloyl group at one end and an isocyanate group at the other end was prepared in three efficient steps from commercially available t–Boc–PEG–NH₂. The end groups were characterized by ¹H NMR and MALDI–TOF–MS spectroscopy. Conjugation of the resulting PEG onto dextran via stable urethane linkage gave the PEG graft polymer with an acryloyl group at the free end of the graft chain.     

Optimized Microemulsion Systems for Detergency of Vegetable Oils at Low Surfactant Concentration and Bath Temperature

Triglycerides and vegetable oils are amongst the most difficult oils to remove from fabrics due to their highly hydrophobic nature; this is all the more challenging as cold water detergency is pursued in the interest of energy efficiency. Recently, extended surfactants have produced very encouraging detergency performance at ambient temperature, especially at low surfactant concentration. However, the salinity requirement for extended surfactants was excessive (4–14%) and there is limited research on extended‐surfactant‐based microemulsions for cold water detergency (below 25 °C). Therefore, extended‐surfactant‐based microemulsions are introduced in this study for cold temperature detergency of vegetable oils with promising salinity and surfactant concentration. The overall goal of this study is to explore the optimized microemulsion formulations with low surfactant and salt concentration using extended surfactant for canola oil detergency at both 25 and 10 °C. It was found that microemulsion systems achieved good performances (higher than those of commercial detergents) corresponding to IFT value 0.1–1 mN/m with the surfactant concentration as low as 10 ppm and 4% NaCl at 25 °C, and as low as 250 ppm and 0.1% (1000 ppm) NaCl at 10 °C. In addition, microemulsion systems were investigated with a different salt (CaCl₂, or water hardness, versus NaCl) at 10 °C, demonstrating that 0.025% CaCl₂ (250 ppm) can produce good detergency; this is in the hardness range of natural water. These results provide qualitative guidance for microemulsion formulations of vegetable oil detergency and for future design of energy‐efficient microemulsion systems.     

Effect of Narrow Oxirane Adduct Distribution on the Adsorption of Disodium Alcohol Ethoxylates Sulfosuccinate at Air–Aqueous Solution Interface

Adsorption behaviors at the air–water interface were presented for disodium alcohol ethoxylate sulfosuccinates (AESS) with narrow and broad oxirane adduct distribution. The CMC and equilibrium surface tension γ_eq of broad‐range distributed (BRD) and narrow‐range distributed (NRD) AESS₂ (with average degrees of ethoxylation of 2) were measured by the Wilhelmy plate method, while the adsorption and thermodynamic parameters were calculated. The effect of temperature and inorganic electrolyte on adsorption behaviors of these two surfactants was also investigated. The results show that NRD AESS₂ displays a lower CMC and higher γ_eq compared with BRD AESS₂. At the same time, the maximum surface excess concentration Γ_max of NRD AESS₂ was lower than that of BRD AESS₂ because of its larger steric hindrance, leading to the different adsorption and thermodynamic parameters. The adsorption of NRD AESS₂ and BRD AESS₂ was weakened with increasing temperature and enhanced in the presence of inorganic electrolyte.     

Effect of Thermal Stability of Alkanolamide on Oil/Water Interfacial Tensions

In order to investigate the effect of thermal stability of alkanolamide on oil/water interfacial tensions (IFT), lauric diethanolamide (LDEA) was synthesized. The effects of temperature and standing time on the composition and oil/water IFT was studied in detail. The results showed that the changes in composition and oil/water IFT at the same conditions were essentially in agreement. The best standing temperature range was from 30 to 60 °C with a standing time of more than 10 days. The inherent cause of thermal stability on oil/water IFT was revealed through structure characterization and composition analysis with FTIR spectrometry and GC–MS spectrometry. It was found that the composition's change of mixed LDEA systems disturbed the hydrophilic‐lipophilic balance, which influenced the ability to reduce the interfacial tension.     

Stearic Acid Modified Stearyl Alcohol Oleogel: Analysis of the Thermal,Mechanical and Drug Release Properties

The present study delineates the effect of stearic acid on the properties of stearyl alcohol oleogel. Herein, a series of oleogels were prepared by mixing different proportions of fatty alcohol (Stearyl alcohol; gelator) and fatty acid (stearic acid; co‐gelator). The characterization of the oleogels was done by thermal, macro‐scale stress relaxation, drug release, and antimicrobial studies. The oleogels were formed by the self‐assembly of stearyl alcohol/stearic acid. Thermal studies indicated that the stearic acid alters the crystal morphology, polymorphic transition and rate of crystallization of stearyl alcohol. The firmness of the oleogels with higher stearic proportion was better, which was due to the formation of a rigid network structure of stearyl alcohol in the presence of stearic acid. The release of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, model drug, from the oleogels was better from the oleogels with higher stearic acid content. The release of the drug from the oleogels was Fickian diffusion‐mediated; except the oleogel with the highest stearic acid proportion. The antimicrobial study showed that the drug loaded oleogels were able to resist the growth of Escherichia coli, model microbe.     

Bias and Imprecision in the Determination of Free Glycerin in Biodiesel: The Unexpected Role of Limitations in Solubility

Residual free glycerin (FG) is a critical marker of fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) fuel quality. Yet, routine determinations by standard methods display excessive imprecision, and the uncertainties undermine confidence in the data. Various degrees of agitation are used here to evaluate the possibility of heterophase formation as a contributor to imprecision and potential bias. Statistical markers from the analysis of 13 biodiesel samples reveal that seven contain unexpected heterophases, which, due to settling, cause underestimates of 15–68%. Agitation alone re‐suspends heterophases for brief periods, easing potential biases, but also increases imprecision. A promising new sample pretreatment is presented, which reduces the deleterious effects of heterophases. Solubility limitations are explored as possible contributing factors, and measurements made at 23 °C in purified soy FAME reveal an equilibrium solubility which is more than 80% below previously published estimates. Strong interactions of liquid FG with small amounts of moisture reduce solubility to below international quality limits, while interactions of initially dissolved forms of moisture and FG produce bias‐inducing heterophases at 0.02% FG. The unexpected low solubility of FG, exacerbated by interactions with impurities, is seen as an important contributor to underestimates and imprecision, and a strong influencing factor on the fate of residual FG in commercial biodiesel fuels.     

Relationship Between Physicochemical Properties and Moisture Barrier Property of Confectionery Coating Fats

Moisture migration in food causes deleterious effects on food quality such as loss of crispiness in ice cream cones, drying of chocolate with liquid centers, sugar bloom and cracking of compound/chocolate coating. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between physicochemical properties of confectionery coating fats such as fatty acids and triacylglycerol (TAG) composition, solid fat contents, rheological and crystalline properties with their moisture barrier property. Coating fats with high content of trisaturated and desaturated TAG; and high SFC at 25 °C were found to have significant (P < 0.05) positive correlation with its moisture barrier property. These fats were able to crystallize into highly crystalline materials (high SFC) with small crystal size and dense networks. Thus, these fats were able to significantly delay moisture migration. Nevertheless, some of the highly crystalline fats also had high G′ value indicating poor mechanical properties and higher tendency of such fats to crack. In order to have good moisture barrier property, coating fats need to have sufficient solids with small crystal size and dense networks; and also low G′ value. Wafer coated with good moisture barrier fat showed less cracking during storage.     

Functional Characteristics of Oleogel Prepared from Sunflower Oil with β-Sitosterol and Stearic Acid

β‐Sitosterol (Sit) and stearic acid (SA) were combined at varying ratios (w/w) and added to sunflower oil (SFO) at the concentration of 20 g/100 g oil for preparing edible fat‐like oleogel. The oleogel was characterized using an optical microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffractometer (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter, and texture analyzer. The oil‐binding capacity, melting temperature, and firmness of the oleogel increased with the increase in the amount of SA in the gelator combination (Sit:SA, w/w). The microscopic analysis showed that the gel network formed based on the crystallization and self‐organization of gelator molecules, and both gelators showed an independent crystalline behavior in the oleogel. In addition, the FTIR spectra showed that the gel network formed via physical entanglements and was stabilized by non‐covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, XRD diffraction patterns indicated high lateral packing of molecular layers in oleogel prepared with the Sit and SA combination compared with oleogel prepared with a single gelator. On the other hand, for studying the effect of varying concentrations of gelator combinations, the Sit3:SA2 (w/w) combination was added to SFO at concentrations of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 g/100 g oil. Specific characteristics such as the oil‐binding capacity and firmness of the oleogel improved as the concentration of the gelator combination (Sit3:SA2) increased from 10 up to 30 g/100 g oil. Therefore, it can be concluded that the saturated fat alternative oleogel can be prepared from SFO with a specific Sit and SA combination ratio and concentration.     

Optimizing the location of the gas injection well during gas assisted gravity drainage in a fractured carbonate reservoir using artificial intelligence

Gas assisted gravity drainage (GAGD) is a novel subdivision of gas injection method. In this method the injection wells are located in the upper bed of the oil zone, and the production wells are drilled at the bottom bed of the oil zone. Reservoir simulation is among the decision tools for investigating production rate and selecting the best scenarios for developing the oil and gas fields. Selecting the location of the injection wells for reaching the optimized pressure and production rate is one of the most significant challenges during the injection process. Recent experiences have shown that artificial intelligence (AI) is a reliable solution for taking the mentioned decision appropriately and in a least possible time. This study is attributed to the investigation of applying the artificial neural network (ANN) as an artificial intelligence method and a potent predictor for choosing the most proper location for injection in a GAGD process in a fractured carbonate reservoir. The results of this investigation clearly show the efficiency of the ANN as a powerful tool for optimizing the location of the injection wells in a GAGD process. The comparison between the results of ANN and black oil simulator indicated that the predictions obtained from the ANN is highly reliable. In fact the production flow rate and pressure can be obtained in every possible location of the injection well.     

Methods for calculating the evaporation heats of hydrocarbons and their mixtures in a wide temperature range

Studies of liquid–vapor phase transitions allowed us to determine the thermodynamically substantiated scales for constructing a generalized temperature dependence of evaporation heats for individual hydrocarbons and their binary mixtures.