Extracted Jatropha oil was analyzed for their chemical and physical properties such as density, acid value, % FFA, saponification value as well as viscosities at 40 and 100 o C and viscosity index. The result of the analyses of the Jatropha oil reveals that it has a very high %FFA (14.6%). Reduction was achieved by esterification with methanol (to 0.44%). The method employed for the production of biolubricant involved two stages transesterification process, the first stage produced methyl ester of the oil and in the second stage; the methyl ester was transesterified with ethylene glycol to produce the biolubricant. Major lubricating properties of the product such as pour point, viscosities at 40°C and at 100°C, and the viscosity index were analyzed and found to have value of -7°C, 55.22 cSt, 10.96 cSt and 195.22 respectively. It was found that the biolubricant produced is comparable to the ISO VG-46 commercial standards for light and industrial gears applications and other plant based biolubricant.

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This research focused on identifying the morphological features and molecular interactions of the Nigerian Bentonitic clays using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) characterisation technique. The SEM microstructure images indicated that the bentonite samples are generally moderately dispersive to dispersive with some large flocs which were apparently separate and dispersed from one another rather than located on the totality of the image. This property is more pronounced on the sodium (Na) activated and the treated samples than in the raw samples, which could be due to quartz removal and Na activation on the raw Bentonitic samples. Dispersive sample surfaces consist of loose flakes with no definitive mass structures observed on the treated samples due to added poly anionic cellulose (PAC) to the samples

This research focused on beneficiation and characterization of raw Garin Hamza Futuk (GHF) Bentonite for oil and gas drilling fluid formulation. The FTIR results confirmed that GHF bentonitic clay is rich in montmorillonite mineral noticed at approximately 3620-3630cm-1 stretching band in the higher frequency level. In the lower frequency region, montmorillonite had a strong band at 1024.24 and 1028.09 cm-1 for Sivibration of layered silicates.The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) results showed slight reduction in free silica (Quartz) by about 1%. The SEM images of the beneficiated samples were more dispersed than the raw sample with some large flocs structure confirming their montmorillonitic nature. The optimum amount of poly anionic cellulose (PAC)used for instant drilling fluid formulation was found to be at 2.0 g, while the aged formulation was achieved at 0.8g PAC when compared with the API grade. Hence, GHF bentonite can be used for drilling fluid formulation.

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