Chemical Engineering

Free Fatty Acid (FFA) was removed from waste oil and favorably employed for the production of high quality biodiesel. FFA extraction minimizes the drawbacks encountered with alkaline catalysts in biodiesel production. Three combinations of reagents (methanol-benzene, methanol-toluene and methanol-xylene) were used for extraction purpose and a rapid extraction of FFA has been obtained. The composition of non-polar solvent (benzene, toluene and xylene) in each of the above mentioned reagents was varied from 1% to 10% by weight. An optimal ratio of (0.8:1) reagent and oil by weight was found to reduce the FFA concentration by 43.3% in single step. Equilibrium study for the extraction of FFA was also carried out. The experimental data obtained were presented on the basis of amount of FFA extracted, with respect to time required for extraction (25 to 300 min) and stirrer speed (50 to 300 rpm). The optimum value for the time required for extraction was obtained at 150 min. the optimum value for the stirrer speed required for the extraction of FFA was obtained at 150 rpm.

Clay as a mineral resource remains an important material for most industries. They are varied in composition and as a result serve a multitude of purposes. To ascertain the industrial application of each clay type, knowledge of the elemental contents of the clay is important. For clays with montmorillonitic content, they are used in oil and gas industries mostly as drilling fluid viscosifiers. In this study, five clay samples obtained from clay deposits at Ibiono, Ini, Itu, Ikono and Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were characterized elementally to evaluate their montmorillonite content potential for use as drilling mud viscosifiers. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) coupled with samples dilution method and standard calibration of samples was used. The elemental analyses portray montmorillonite as the dominant clay mineral in the Ini, Itu Ibiono and Uyo clays. Abundance of major elements showed that SiO2 (10.4 - 42.4%) and Al2O3 (4.4 -15.4%) constitute over 70% of the bulk chemical compositions. Other constituents included Fe2O3, K2O, CaO, Na2O, MgO among others. Additionally, notable disparities exist in the SiO2 and Al2O3 contents of the clays, the Itu clay was the most siliceous while the Ikono clay was the least aluminous compared to the others. Furthermore, the XRF analysis of the clays showed that the Al2O3/SiO2 ratio was higher than 0.38; as expected for montmorillonite content of clays. Therefore, the elemental characteristics of the studied clays revealed that they are suitable for use as drilling mud viscosifiers provided appropriate beneficiation is carried out on them to activate their Calcium-based to Sodium-based bentonitic clays.

Granule size is used as a parameter and as a quality specification by manufacturers while designing a cost- effective prilling tower for obtaining a standard granule size. In this study, we obtained a standard 2 mm diameter granule using an alternate prilling method other than those available in the industry.

The aim of the present study is to treat the textile effluent using Continuous Stirred Tank Electrochemical reactor [CSTER]. RuO2 coated Ti and stainless steel were used as an anode and cathode respectively. The influence operating parameter such as effluent flow rate, initial effluent concentration, current density and initial pH of the effluent has been studied for the color removal of the effluent. The maximum color removal has been achieved at lower flow rate, lower initial effluent concentration and higher current density and alkaline pH. An artificial neural network (ANN) model has been developed to predict the performance of percentage color removal by electro oxidation process based on experimental data obtained in a laboratory using Continuous Stirred Tank Electrochemical reactor. A comparison between the predicted results of the designed ANN model and experimental data matches well for the 4-3-1 net work.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the effect of variable suction and radiative heat transfer on unsteady magnetohydrodynamic free convective couette flow of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid in the slip flow regime in presence of variable suction and radiative heat source. The governing equations of the flow field are solved employing perturbation technique and the expressions for the velocity, temperature, skin friction and the rate of heat transfer i.e. the heat flux in terms of Nusselts number Nu are obtained. The effects of the pertinent parameters such as magnetic parameter M, permeability parameter Kp, Grashof number for heat transfer Gr, radiation parameter F, suction parameters ?????; slip flow parameters h1, h2; Prandtl number Pr etc. on the flow field have been studied and the results are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively. The problem has some relevance in geophysical, astrophysical and cosmical studies.

Of the various methods available for providing better and effective treatment of wastewater, the method of using compact liner membrane prepared from bentonite, cement, lime, gypsum etc with clayey soil was explored in the laboratory scale experiments. The primary purpose of the liner membrane was to isolate the wastewater contents and, therefore, to protect the soil and ground water from pollution. Low porosity, slow diffusive transport, high adsorption of cations, and plasticity / swelling is some of the interesting properties of clay which makes it desirable as a liner membrane material. The metal concentration of wastewater passing through the compact liner were found to be below permissible limit and the metal concentration reduced to 87%, 96.33%, 90.4 % and 99% for zinc, copper, cadmium and lead respectively from their original concentration in wastewater. The present findings suggest that compact liner membrane can be used as a potential alternative technology to wastewater treatment.

Production of Karanja oil methyl ester (biodiesel) from non-edible vegetable oils for diesel substitute is particularly important because of the decreasing trend of economical oil reserves, environmental problems caused due to fossil fuel use and the high price of petroleum products in the international market. Present work reports an optimized protocol for the production of methyl ester through alkaline catalyzed transesterification of Karanja Oil Three principal variables, molar ratio of methanol to oil, amount of catalyst, and reaction temperature affecting the yield of alkaline catalyzed production of methyl ester from Karanja oil were investigated. The methyl ester with best yield and quality was produced with karanja methyl ester at 1:9 mole ratio and 1 wt% of catalyst (NaOH) The rate of transesterification in a batch reactor increased with temperature upto 60 °C the yield was 91%. It was noted that greater or lower the concentration of NaOH or methanol than the optimal values, the reaction either fully occur or lead to soap formation. Physical and chemical properties of Karanja methyl ester are compared to that of petroleum diesel. Pongamia pinnata(karanja) oil to methyl ester conversion determined by GC-MS analysis. The produced methyl ester was found to exhibit fuel properties within the limits prescribed by the American Standards for Testing Material (ASTM) and European EN standards.

The rate at which oil is moved from the reservoir to the wellbore is directly proportional to the pressure draw down with other parameters kept constant, hence inflow performance relationship provides a direct relationship between the flowing bottom hole pressure and flow rate. Since the reservoir fluids are usually not single phase but are often accompanied by bottom water aquifers, oil well drilled in such reservoir may produce some water depending on the production practice, hence determining the flow rate of the individual fluids is often difficult, and in this work we have determined the real flow rate of oil in the presence of other fluids for real case in Niger Delta and also determining its IPR using IHS WellTest Simulator 2014 V2 which made use of multirate test data from a Niger Delta well. From this research it can be clearly said that if other constraints in the production tubing are kept constant, the higher the difference between the static reservoir pressure and the flowing bottom hole pressure, the higher the production rate. The idea of this pressure rate behavior will enable the Production Engineers to evaluate various operating scenarios to ascertain the optimum production. Understanding and measuring the variables that control the relationship that exist between oil and other fluids and their effect on inflow rate is the focus of this work. These issues is looked into by modeling the present conditions with the use of a simulator called FAST WELL TEST using production data from a Niger Delta well in Nigeria.

In this article, a report of a study to investigate pertinent citations in the introduction sections of empirical article published in Turkish Journal of Chemistry is presented. It is attempt to proceed with the validation that majority of citation made in the introduction sections of scientific articles are impertinent to the study. In this study, an empirical investigation of pertinence of citations made in Turkish Journal of Chemistry is presented. In this particular study, citations made in the introduction sections in issues published from 1997 to 2004 were analyzed. An empirical scientific article was randomly selected from every issue published, and the pertinence of selected article was determined. Overall, the result showed that less than 20% of the citations were pertinent to the study. This result suggests that over 80% of citations made in the introduction sections may not be applicable in the computation of effective impact of publications.

Pressure monitoring and control using digital gauge as a tool, is one of the economical sources of obtaining valuable information about periodic production tests. It is actually a test to determine relative quantities of oil, gas and water produced under normal producing conditions. They facilitate well and reserves operations and also comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Every individual, in oil and gas well pressure and temperature monitoring and controlling team, require the knowledge of pressure and temperature(PT) behaviours in the annulus and tubing and at the wellhead, periodically, either during or after an operation. One of the most reliable ways through which these parameters (PT) can be monitored and controlled is through the use of one of the digital gauge known as “Keller (LoggerDCX4.11) Gauge”, which is capable of recording and storing PT data. Every operation carried out with this gauge is meant to achieve a specific goal, either to know the pressure build-up or the pressure drawdown, during and after annulus and tubing pressure bleed-off. When this purpose is achieved, effective well development and production is assured.PT, well development and production are closely related in the sense that, they are mutually dependent. For well development and production to succeed, pressure data, among other parameters must be known. This tool is one of the most advantageous gauges for PT well testing data. Its unique features make it easier to monitor and control oil and gas wells’ PT during development, production and maintenance.