Prediction of Density,Surface Tension,and Viscosity of Quaternary Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquids ([N222(n)]Tf2N) by Means of Artificial Intelligence Techniques

In this work, thermophysical properties of quaternary ammonium-based ionic liquids (ILs) including density, surface tension, and viscosity are produced by two powerful artificial intelligence techniques: genetic function approximation (GFA) and artificial neural network (ANN). In proposed GFA and ANN models, the critical temperature and water content of studied ILs ([N_222(n)]Tf₂N with n = 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12) as well as operation temperature were given as the input parameters and the density, surface tension, and viscosity were predicted as the output results. The obtained results reveal that the selected input parameters are appropriate for prediction of thermophysical properties of quaternary ammonium-based ILs. In addition, the high statistical quality represented by various criteria and the low prediction errors of the presented models indicate that they can accurately predict the density, surface tension, and viscosity of new ILs without recourse to experimental data.     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Photocatalytic Properties of Ag/TiO2 Composite Nanofibers Prepared by Electrospinning

Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) embedded titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanofibers were fabricated by colloidal sol process, electrospinning, and calcination technique. Calcination of the electrospun nanofibers were heat treated at 600°C for 180 minutes in air atmosphere. X-ray diffraction patterns exhibited that the anatase phase and silver coexisted in the resulted Ag NPs/TiO₂ nanofibers; transmission electron microscopy demonstrated Ag NPs well spread in the porous microstructure of composite fibers. The prepared nanofibers were utilized as photocatalyst for degradation of methyl orange. The degradation rate of methyl orange dye solution containing Ag/TiO₂ composite nanofibers is 99% only after irradiation for 3 hours. It is proposed that these new Ag NPs/TiO₂ composite nanofibers will have potential application in water pollution treatment.      

Determination of Minimum Miscibility Pressure of CO2–Oil System: A Molecular Dynamics Study

CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) has become significantly crucial to the petroleum industry, in particular, CO₂ miscible flooding can greatly improve the efficiency of EOR. Minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) is a vital factor affecting CO₂ flooding, which determines the yield and economic benefit of oil recovery. Therefore, it is important to predict this property for a successful field development plan. In this study, a novel model based on molecular dynamics to determine MMP was developed. The model characterized a miscible state by calculating the ratio of CO₂ and crude oil atoms that pass through the initial interface. The whole process was not affected by other external objective factors. We compared our model with several famous empirical correlations, and obtained satisfactory results—the relative errors were 8.53% and 13.71% for the two equations derived from our model. Furthermore, we found the MMPs predicted by different reference materials (i.e., CO₂/crude oil) were approximately linear (R² = 0.955). We also confirmed the linear relationship between MMP and reservoir temperature (T_R). The correlation coefficient was about 0.15 MPa/K in the present study.     

Foaming Properties of CO2-Triggered Surfactants for Switchable Foam Control

Switchable surfactants, particularly those triggered by CO₂ used for switchable foam control, are relatively less documented. In this article, the foaming performance of 2-alkyl-1-hydroxyethylimidazolinium bicarbonate cationic surfactants (HEAIBs) was investigated for the first time. The foaming properties of these surfactants demonstrate that HEAIBs can generate foam with moderate stability, on demand, can be rapidly yet reversibly dissipated upon exposure to air. The results illustrated such a facile trigger, and the foam on/off transition would have huge potential to form a new class of stimuli-response foaming agents.      

Synthesis of N-TiO2: Stability and Visible Light Activity for Aqueous Styrene Degradation

Nitrogen-doped TiO₂ (N-TiO₂) were prepared by the impregnation method using urea as a nitrogen source and TiO₂-P25 as precursor. N-TiO₂ was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffusion reflectance spectra (UV–vis DRS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. XPS analysis indicates the incorporation of nitrogen in TiO₂ lattice as O–Ti–N linkage. DRS spectra reveal the extended absorption to the visible range. Photocatalytic performance of the N-TiO₂ was studied by testing the degradation rate of aqueous styrene under visible light. Also, the degradation kinetics of aqueous styrene and possibility of cyclic usage of N-TiO₂ were investigated.     

Nonequilibrium Features of N2 and Oil System

Nonequilibrium state is a universal phenomenon in gas injection development. However, in previous researches and applications, it tends to be regarded as quasi-equilibrium state, or even equilibrium state. Based on research work by pioneers, a simple model for measuring diffusivity of N₂ in oil has been developed. In addition, laboratory experiments were performed in this study. Results indicate that an infinitely thin layer exists between N₂ zone and oil zone in the pressure-volume-temperaturacelda (PVT) cell. Gas and oil molecules will slowly diffuse into one another across the sharp interface by convection, dispersion, and diffusion. Viscosity and gas oil ratio (GOR) are two important parameters representing the phase behavior features of the N₂ and oil system. These dependent variables are related to parameters like pressure, temperature, and oil viscosity.     

Comparative Studies of Removal of Methyl Green and Basic Fuchsin from Wastewater by a Novel Magnetic Nanoparticles Mg-Ferrites

Adsorptions of methyl green (MG) and basic fuchsin (BF) by magnetic MgFe₂O₄ were compared in this study. Adsorption mechanism studies indicated that electrostatic interaction may play a main role for MG, but for BF, hydrogen-bond interaction may be more predominant. Kinetics data of both dyes conformed to the pseudo-second order model. The overall rate process was mainly governed by intraparticle diffusion. Comparative isotherm studies indicated that MG followed the Langmuir isotherm and BF followed the Freundlich isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters revealed that the adsorption process was endothermic (ΔH ⁰ > 0) for MG, but it was exothermic (ΔH ⁰ < 0) for BF.     

Extended Cauchy Model for Tunable Refractive Index of Titania Nanoparticles at Visible Region

The extended Cauchy model is derived based on the experimental data for describing the mass fraction-, crystallite size-, and calcination-dependent refractive index of anatase and rutile TiO₂ nanoparticles. This model fits the experimental data of TiO₂ nanoparticles well in the visible spectral region. There is a tunable correlation between the refractive index of TiO₂ nanoparticle and the anatase nanoparticle size at visible region. Moreover, there is a near correlation between experimental and calculated Abbe number at 588 nm.     

Photocatalytic Degradation of Styrene in Aqueous Solution: Central Composite Design Optimization

In this study, the response surface methodology was first applied to optimize the photocatalytic degradation of styrene in aqueous phase under UV/TiO₂ system. Twenty experiments were done by adjusting three parameters (styrene concentration, TiO₂ dose, and pH) at five levels. Optimal experimental conditions for arbitrary aqueous styrene concentration (115 mg L^?1) were found: initial pH 7 and TiO₂ loading 2 g L^?1 with photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 79.2%. Furthermore, the main degradation intermediate produced was identified by GC/MS. The total organic carbon results revealed that the photocatalysis process could be effectively mineralized. Kinetics of the photocatalytic reaction followed a pseudo-first-order model.     

Application of CO2-Triggered Switchable Surfactants to Form Emulsion with Xinjiang Heavy Oil

Owing to the high acid number of Xinjiang heavy oil and incomplete demulsification after pipelining, this article discusses the application of CO₂-triggered switchable surfactants to the emulsified transport of several Xinjiang heavy oils in the pipeline. Results show that CO₂-triggered switchable surfactants promote the formation and stabilization of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion in the absence of CO₂ as a base. The property parameters of heavy oils fundamentally influence the indigenous emulsifying agents. The emulsion is stable when the heavy oil has a high acid number and low asphaltene content, which is also affected by some physical factors.     

Mechanism of Produced Gas Reinjection During CO2 Flooding by Chromatographic Analysis

CO₂ flooding process has been a proven valuable method that could not only enhance oil recovery but also store greenhouse gas. However, CO₂ source greatly restrict its application in China. In this article, based on the produced oil and gas of Jilin oilfield, slim tube tests were conducted to study the feasibility of the produced gas reinjection without separation. In addition, according to the phenomenon of the experiment, displacement process was divided into three stages. Chromatographic analysis was conducted to study the mechanism of production gas reinjection during CO₂. Results indicate that components of the produced oil change along with CO₂ content, displacement pressure and production stages.