Editorial: the March 2022 cover paper

Journal of Materials Science -     

Resource management in UAV-assisted MEC: state-of-the-art and open challenges

Wireless Networks - Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been widely used in various fields because of their high mobility and portability. At the same time, due to the rapid development of...     

Laboratory Studies to Determine Suitable Chemicals to Improve Oil Recovery from Garzan Oil Field

Garzan oil field is located at the south east of Turkey. It is a mature oil field and the reservoir is fractured carbonate reservoir. After producing about 1% original oil in place (OOIP) reservoir pressure started to decline. Waterflooding was started in order to support reservoir pressure and also to enhance oil production in 1960. Waterflooding improved the oil recovery but after years of flooding water breakthrough at the production wells was observed. This increased the water/oil ratio at the production wells. In order to enhance oil recovery again different techniques were investigated. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are gaining attention all over the world for oil recovery. Surfactant injection is an effective way for interfacial tension (IFT) reduction and wettability reversal. In this study, 31 different types of chemicals were studied to specify the effects on oil production. This paper presents solubility of surfactants in brine, IFT and contact angle measurements, imbibition tests, and lastly core flooding experiments. Most of the chemicals were incompatible with Garzan formation water, which has high divalent ion concentration. In this case, the usage of 2-propanol as co-surfactant yielded successful results for stability of the selected chemical solutions. The results of the wettability test indicated that both tested cationic and anionic surfactants altered the wettability of the carbonate rock from oil-wet to intermediate-wet. The maximum oil recovery by imbibition test was reached when core was exposed 1-ethly ionic liquid after imbibition in formation water. Also, after core flooding test, it is concluded that considerable amount of oil can be recovered from Garzan reservoir by waterflooding alone if adverse effects of natural fractures could be eliminated.     

A comparison of emulsifiers for the formation of oil-in-water emulsions: stability of the emulsions within 9 h after production and MR signal properties

Objective

To provide a basis for the selection of suitable emulsifiers in oil-in-water emulsions used as tissue analogs for MRI experiments. Three different emulsifiers were investigated with regard to their ability to stabilize tissue-like oil-in-water emulsions. Furthermore, MR signal properties of the emulsifiers themselves and influences on relaxation times and ADC values of the aqueous phase were investigated.

Materials and methods

Polysorbate 60, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and soy lecithin were used as emulsifiers. MR characteristics of emulsifiers were assessed in aqueous solutions and their function as a stabilizer was examined in oil-in-water emulsions of varying fat content (10, 20, 30, 40, 50%). Stability and homogeneity of the oil-in-water emulsions were evaluated with a delay of 3 h and 9 h after preparation using T₁ mapping and visual control. Signal properties of the emulsifiers were investigated by ¹H-MRS in aqueous emulsifier solutions. Relaxometry and diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) were performed to investigate the effect of various emulsifier concentrations on relaxation times (T₁ and T₂) and ADC values of aqueous solutions.

Results

Emulsions stabilized by polysorbate 60 or soy lecithin were stable and homogeneous across all tested fat fractions. In contrast, emulsions with SDS showed a significantly lower stability and homogeneity. Recorded T₁ maps revealed marked creaming of oil droplets in almost all of the emulsions with SDS. The spectral analysis showed several additional signals for polysorbate and SDS. However, lecithin remained invisible in ¹H-MRS. Relaxometry and DWI revealed different influences of the emulsifiers on water: Polysorbate and SDS showed only minor effects on relaxation times and ADC values of aqueous solutions, whereas lecithin showed a strong decrease in both relaxation times (r_1,lecithin = 0.11 wt.%⁻¹ s⁻¹, r_2,lecithin = 0.57 wt.%⁻¹ s⁻¹) and ADC value (Δ(ADC)_lecithin =  − 0.18 × 10^–3 mm²/s⋅wt.%) with increasing concentration.

Conclusion

Lecithin is suggested as the preferred emulsifier of oil-in-water emulsions in MRI as it shows a high stabilizing ability and remains invisible in MRI experiments. In addition, lecithin is suitable as an alternative means of adjusting relaxation times and ADC values of water.

     

Bewertung alternativer Arbeitsmittel für Wärmepumpen im Gebäudesektor

Forschung im Ingenieurwesen - Das Arbeitsmittel in Wärmepumpen unterliegt einer Vielzahl von Anforderungen, welche für einen effizienten und sicheren Betrieb eingehalten werden...     

Organofluorine Hydrazone Derivatives as Multifunctional Anti-Alzheimer's Agents with CK2 Inhibitory and Antioxidant Features

A set of novel hydrazone derivatives were synthesized and analyzed for their biological activities. The compounds were tested for their inhibitory effect on the phosphorylating activity of the protein kinase CK2, and their antioxidant activity was also determined in three commonly used assays. The hydrazones were evaluated for their radical scavenging against the DPPH, ABTS and peroxyl radicals. Several compounds have been identified as good antioxidants as well as potent protein kinase CK2 inhibitors. Most hydrazones containing a 4-N(CH₃)₂ residue or perfluorinated phenyl rings showed high activity in the radical-scavenging assays and possess nanomolar IC₅₀ values in the kinase assays.     

Dysprosium doped copper oxide (Cu1-xDyxO) nanoparticles enabled bifunctional electrode for overall water splitting

The production of hydrogen, a favourable alternative to an unsustainable fossil fuel remains as a significant hurdle with the pertaining challenge in the design of proficient, highly productive and sustainable electrocatalyst for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, the dysprosium (Dy) doped copper oxide (Cu_1-xDy_xO) nanoparticles were synthesized via solution combustion technique and utilized as a non-noble metal based bi-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. Due to the improved surface to volume ratio and conductivity, the optimized Cu_1-xDy_xO (x = 0.01, 0.02) electrocatalysts exhibited impressive HER and OER performance respectively in 1 M KOH delivering a current density of 10 mAcm^?2 at a potential of ?0.18 V vs RHE for HER and 1.53 V vs RHE for OER. Moreover, the Dy doped CuO electrocatalyst used as a bi-functional catalyst for overall water splitting achieved a potential of 1.56 V at a current density 10 mAcm^?2 and relatively high current density of 66 mAcm^?2 at a peak potential of 2 V. A long term stability of 24 h was achieved for a cell voltage of 2.2 V at a constant current density of 30 mAcm^?2 with only 10% of the initial current loss. This showcases the accumulative opportunity of dysprosium as a dopant in CuO nanoparticles for fabricating a highly effective and low-cost bi-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.