Surfactant adsorption in porous media is one of the major criteria which decide the economic viability of surfactant flooding in chemical enhance oil recovery applications (CEOR). In this study, the static adsorption of a novel in-house synthesized anionic surfactant was investigated onto crushed Berea sandstone. The point of zero (PZC) charge for Berea sandstone and critical micelle concentration (CMC) of anionic surfactant are also reported in this paper. The investigated PZC for Berea core was at pH 8.0 and the maximum adsorption of anionic surfactant was 0.96 mg/g. Furthermore, the effects of alkali, salinity and temperature on static adsorption of anionic surfactant were investigated at variable conditions. It was concluded that the anionic surfactant performs better at higher pH, higher temperature and lower salt concentration. An effective control of all these parameters can lead to the situation which helps in minimizing the surfactant loss and improved economic efficiency of CEOR process.

Melamine formaldehyde (MF) resins have been synthesized at different reaction temperature and pH values. Different molar ratios of melamine and formaldehyde were used to synthesize the corresponding resins. The prepared resin samples were characterized by using molecular weight determination viscometry and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The maximum percentage of solid content (69.7%) was obtained at pH 8.5 and 75°C temperature. The molecular weight of MF resin was increased with an increase of melamine monomer concentration. The highest residual weight 14.125 wt.% was obtained with sample 10.

No abstract

In view of the growing demand for vegetable oils and fats, currently exploration of some under-utilized and non-conventional oil seed crops is of great concern. This work presents data on the detailed physicochemical and antioxidant attributes of kapok (Ceiba pentandra Gaertn.) seed oil. The kapok seeds contained an appreciable amount of oil (27.5 %), protein (35.0 %) and fiber (19.0 %). The extracted kapok seed oil (KSO) had an iodine value of 101.8 g of I 2 /100 g of oil, a saponification value of 187 mg of KOH/g of oil), and unsaponifiable matter 0.83 %. KSO also showed a good oxidation state as indicated by the measurements of the peroxide value, conjugated dienes, conjugated trienes, para-anisidine and the induction period (Rancimat method). The tested oil showed a considerable amount of total phenolics (2.50 mg/ 100 g) and an appreciable free radical scavenging capacity. Gas liquid chromatographic analysis of fatty acids (FA) reveals that KSO mainly has linoleic acid (33.6 %) followed by oleic acid (23.4 %) and palmitic acid (22.4 %). Besides, a notable amount of cyclopropenoid fatty acids such as malvalic acid (9.1 %) and sterculic acid (2.8 %) was also detected. The FA composition of the tested oil was further verified by recording FTIR and NMR spectra. Among the oil phytosterols, analyzed by GC/GC-MS, bsitosterol was found to be the principal component whereas RP-HPLC analysis showed the occurrence of c-tocopherol (550 mg/kg) as the major tocopherol along with considerable amount of a-tocopherol (91 mg/kg) and d-tocopherol (5.52 mg/kg). It can be concluded from the results of this comprehensive study that under-utilized kapok seeds are a potential feed stock for the production of a useful oil for edible and/or oleochemical applications.

No abstract