In empowering the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal, the oil industry is inclined toward organic wax inhibitor applications when combatting the wax deposition issue during crude oil production. This is because synthetic chemical inhibitors are costly and have the potential to create environmental problems when oil spillage or seepage occurs during transportation or operation. This study evaluates the impact of low-cost, natural plant-based inhibitors such as Jatropha seed oil (JSO), crude palm oil, and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) on paraffin inhibition efficiency (PIE, %) and rheological properties of Malaysian waxy crude oil. By using cold finger equipment and a Fann viscometer, the amount of solid wax deposits, apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, yield value, and gel strength were determined. Commercialized ethylene- co -vinyl acetate and triethanolamine compounds were used for a comparative study. For the wax deposition test, the results revealed that the highest average PIE obtained was 86.30% when 5% JSO was blended with Penara crude oil. Meanwhile, the rheological test proved that 5% JSO and 1% CPKO were acting as highest viscosity-reducing agents at 60 °C below the wax appearance temperature (WAT). The discovery of palm-based and Jatropha-based inhibitors from Malaysia’s palm oil plantation and Malaysian JSO as a wax inhibitor was found to be beneficial for the application of wax deposition and rheological studies in crude oil production with a less harmful environment for sustainable energy production.

Lack of regulation in bauxite mining has caused land contamination in Malaysia. Land rehabilitation requires plants with excellent adaptability to adverse conditions. Inedible, economical viable crops with environmental co-benefits, like phytoremediation, are preferred. In this study, Jatropha curcas was evaluated for its growth performance in bauxite mine soil. Topsoil and exposed subsoil were sampled from a bauxite mine at Bukit Goh, Kuantan and used for growing J. curcas for 90 days under greenhouse conditions. The soil physicochemical properties, plant growth parameters (increase in number of leaves, plant height, and basal diameter), and oil yield were determined. The findings showed that the mine soils had lower nutrient status than unmined soil as reflected by the total C, N, P, and K values. Al, Fe, and Pb were relatively high in topsoil and subsoil. Plants grown in both mine soils recorded significantly lower increases in plant height and basal diameter but higher increases in number of leaves than that of nursery soil. Oil yield was significantly different between the plants grown in subsoil (46.54%) and topsoil (41.65%). The study demonstrated that J. curcas has the potential to be cultivated as an alternative crop in bauxite mine soil.

No abstract