Effects of Sodium Salts Organic Acids Modification on the Microstructure and Dispersion Behavior of Palygorskite Nano-Powder via High-Pressure Homogenization Process

High-pressure homogenization could disaggregate the crystal bundles of palygorskite and favor the adsorption of electrolyte ions onto its surface through the produced cavitation, shear, and turbulence forces, and has evident influences on the micromorphologies and properties of clay. In this work, a series of palygorskite samples modified with sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, sodium lactate, sodium acetate, and sodium propionate were obtained under the condition of high-pressure homogenization. The effects of type and concentration of sodium salts organic acids on the microstructure, morphology, surface charge, and physicochemical property of palygorskite were studied through x-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherm, field emission scanning electron microscopy, zeta potential, rotational viscosity, and rheological measurements. XRD results confirmed that the crystal structure of homogenized palygorskite was not changed after introduction of sodium salts organic acids, but the aggregates were effectively disaggregated. Modification of palygorskite with sodium citrate made the surface more negatively charged, and the samples exhibited higher specific surface area and rheological properties. This work provided a method to improve the rheological properties of palygorskite suspension through dispersion of clay in sodium citrate solution followed by homogenization at 30 MPa.      

Spectrochemical Properties of Cobalt(II) Complex with Bidentate Schiff Base in Various Solvents

As a continuation of our previous studies on copper(II) complexes with a bidentate Schiff base derived from 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and -aminopyridine, we have investigated the electronic spectra of the cobalt(II) complex with this ligand. The complex is a red crystalline compound soluble in common solvents, such as chloroform, dioxane, dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and methanol. The time-elapsed spectral measurements of the complex and ligand, as well as conductivities of the complex in chloroform and dioxane solutions, are presented and discussed. Molar conductivities indicate that the complex exists as a nonelectrolyte in nonpolar solvents and as a 1:1 or 1:2 electrolyte in polar solvents. The ligand-field parameters (CFM/AOM) for the complex in chloroform solution are estimated and discussed.     

Preparation and Evaluation of Carboxymethylated Lignin as Dispersant for Aqueous Graphite Suspension Using Turbiscan Lab Analyzer

Carboxymethylated lignin (CML) was prepared from wheat straw alkali lignin (WAL) via carboxymethylation modification. The characterizations using FTIR, ¹³C NMR, and ¹H–¹³C HSQC NMR suggest that carboxyl groups are introduced into WAL structure successfully and there are two different active sites substituted by carboxymethyl groups. Moreover, the dispersion efficiency of CML was evaluated using the Turbiscan Lab analyzer. Effects of CML dosage and suspension pH on the dispersion stability of aqueous graphite suspension were investigated. The result shows that the dispersion stability of aqueous graphite suspension prepared with CML of 1.0% dosage at suspension pH 6.7 is obviously improved.      

19F Dynamic Nuclear Polarization and SEM in Suspensions Consisting of Fluorobenzene Derivatives and Asphaltene Extracted from MC-800 Liquid Asphalt

A variety of analytical techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy and ¹⁹F dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) methods, are applied to characterize asphaltene extracted from MC-800 liquid asphalt in fluorobenzene derivatives at 1.53 mT and at room temperature. Different solvents show variable affinities for the asphaltene surface. The low field EPR spectrum of the asphaltene/hexafluorobenzene sample was recorded. The DNP parameters were determined. Additionally, the interactions between the nuclei of the solvent and the electrons delocalized on the asphaltene are interpreted. Not only dipolar but also scalar interactions between the nuclear spin and the electron spin were found.     

Similarities and Differences of Low Salinity Polymer and Low Salinity LPS (Linked Polymer Solutions) for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Linked polymer solution (LPS) is nano-size particles made of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) cross-linked with aluminum citrate. The propagation of LPS has been compared to non-cross-linked polymers at low brine salinity condition. The possible differences in properties and potentials for oil recovery have been investigated using water-wet and intermediate-wet cores. The target oil for polymer flooding (PF) is assumed to be the portion of the reservoir that has been bypassed by water during waterflooding and not the residual oil saturation in flooded zones. Our recent studies have shown that a positive synergy can be obtained by combining low salinity and PF. It has been claimed in the literature that cross-linking polymer such as colloidal dispersion gels (colloidal dispersion gels (CDG), micron-size aggregates) or LPS (nano-size particles) would extend the application of polymers to also include change in residual oil saturation. The results of this study indicated higher pressure buildup when low salinity LPS was propagated through brine saturated cores compared to low salinity polymer solution. The pressure buildup was even stronger for high salinity LPS injection. In two phase flow experiments, both polymer and LPS under low salinity condition, showed approximately similar propagation and oil recovery potential when injected into water-wet and intermediate-wet cores.     

Characterization of Colloidal Gas Aphron-Fluids Produced from a New Plant-Based Surfactant

Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) are gas bubbles with diameters ranging from 10 to 100 microns, generated by intense stirring of a surfactant solution at high speed. The surface activity and aggregation behavior of the surfactant affects the size/size distribution, stability, and other physicochemical properties of generated aphrons. Therefore, selection of a suitable surfactant is important for the generation of microbubbles with the desired properties. The goal of this articleis to investigate the potential use of a new plant-derived surfactant as an aphronizer surfactant in preparation of CGA-based drilling fluids for accomplishing desirable rheological and filtration properties. For this purpose, natural surfactant obtained from leaves of special tree, namely, Zizyphusspina Christi and used for preparation of aphron-based fluids. To achieve the research objectives, laboratory tests of suspension generation, microscopic visualization, initial yield, filtration loss, and rheological characterization with varying concentrations of surfactant and polymer were performed. Experimental results demonstrate that newly proposed biosurfactant has a great potential for application in preparation of CGA-based drilling fluids for implementation in petroleum drilling industry.      

Prediction of Rheological Properties of Multi-Component Dispersions by Using Artificial Neural Networks

This article shows the ability of artificial neural network (ANN) technology for predicting the correlation between rheological properties of multi-component food model systems and their chemical compositions. Multi-component food model systems were made of whey protein isolate (WPI) (2, 4 wt%), Iranian tragacanth gum (TG) (Astragalus gossypinus) (0.5, 1 wt%) and oleic acid (5, 10% v/v). The input parameters of the neural networks (NN) were these chemical compositions, namely WPI and TG concentrations, and oleic acid volume fractions. The output parameters of the NN models were rheological properties of multi-component food model systems (flow and consistency indices, viscosity, loss and storage moduli). Results showed that, ANN with training algorithm of back propagation (BP) was the best one for the creation of nonlinear mapping between input and output parameters. The best topology was 3-10-5. The ANN model predicted the rheological properties of multi-component food model systems with average RMSE 4.529 and average MAE 3.018. These results show that the ANN can potentially be used to estimate rheological parameters of multi-component food model systems from chemical composition. This development may have significant potential to improve product quality control and reduce time and costs by minimizing the rheological experiments.     

An Experimental Study of Influence of Salt Concentration,Mixing Time,and pH on the Rheological Properties of Pre-Hydrated Bentonite Slurries Treated by Polymers

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of pH between 8.5 and 12.5, mixing time, and of NaCl, KCl, and CaCl₂ concentration over the range of 0% to 20% on the rheological properties of pre-hydrated bentonite slurry following by treatments with different polymers. Viscometric data gathered by viscometer described well by the Herschel-Bulkley rheological model for all fluids tested. Increasing salt concentration and pH led to some significant changes in the rheological properties. Moreover, adding saturated salt to pre-hydrated slurry resulted in increasing shear stress and plastic viscosity for all fluids.     

Effect of Colloidal Dispersion of Clay on Some Properties of Wool Fiber

This work was carried out to characterize the changes induced on wool fiber by clay treatment. Technical measurements were studied including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal degradation analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), moisture regain measurement (MRM), and tensile strength test (TST). The intensity of major peaks in FTIR spectra of the clay treated sample is in favor of chemical changes of the polypeptide functional groups. DSC results indicated that clay treatment of wool enhances heat and thermal barrier properties of fiber. TGA results stated lower thermal degradation of clay treated wool compared with untreated one. One of the main advantages of clay application on wool could be its positive effect on the moisture absorption of wool.     

Rheology and Structure of Cornstarch Suspensions in Water-Poly(propylene glycol) Mixtures

Concentrated aqueous cornstarch (CS) suspensions are often used to demonstrate an extreme example of shear thickening rheological behavior. Here, we describe the increased rheological complexity that occurs on the addition of poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) to an aqueous CS suspension. The appearance of shear thickening/jamming, shear thinning, yield stress and near-Newtonian behaviors is dependent on the PPG:water ratio. Rheological measurements have been complemented by dielectric measurements and optical microscopy. The complex behavior is interpreted in terms of reduced electrostatic stabilization of the CS particles with increased poly(propylene glycol) concentration. The analysis also suggests why cornstarch suspensions in water exhibit particularly good shear thickening characteristics.     

Investigation of Oil–Asphaltene Slurry Rheological Behavior

The presence of asphaltene means additional difficulties related to transport and processing due to the increased crude oil viscosity caused by the asphaltene. For a better knowledge of the flow properties of asphaltene containing crude oils, it is necessary to understand how asphaltene affects the rheological properties. The aim of this article is to provide information on such rheological properties of oil–asphaltene slurry systems. The results of rheological experiments show that the non-Newtonian flow curves can be approximated by the Bingham plastic model to determine the apparent viscosity and the yield stress as a function of asphaltene concentration and temperature. An explanation is also provided for the observed behavior.     

Semi-Solid o/w Emulsions Based on Sucrose Stearates: Influence of Oil and Surfactant Type on Morphology and Rheological Properties

Sucrose stearate blends of intermediate lipophilicity are mild surfactants with thermosensitive gelling behavior. Binary systems and emulsions with sucrose stearate S-970 or S-1170 were developed and investigated by thermoanalytical and rheological measurements. The presence of an oil phase promoted the gelling potential of the esters especially at higher production temperatures. Semi-solid emulsions with viscoelastic properties comparable to weak gels were obtained with different dermatologically acceptable oils. The complex internal structure as visualized by fluorescence microscopy exhibited changes during storage in dependence of oil and surfactant type. A combination of S-970 with cetearyl ethylhexanoate-based oil phases led to superior physical stability.     

Minimum Evaporation Model of Dermatological Delivery Systems. Lamellar Liquid Crystal Formulations Containing Brazilian Nut (Bertholletia excelsa HBK) Vegetable Oil and Guarana Glycolic Extract

Formulations with lyotropic liquid crystals were prepared from a Brazilian nut vegetable oil, guarana extract and combination of sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) and sorbitan monolaurate ethoxylate EO 20 (Tween 20) in the ratio 1:3 (surfactant component) and their physical–chemical aspects and rheological properties were determined. Compositions with liquid crystals were found in the pseudoternary diagram in a surfactant range of 70–90% and polarized light microscopy, small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) showed them to be lamellar. The preparations were furthermore characterized rheologically by shear stress shear rate sweeps finding plastic and pseudoplastic behavior without thixotropy. Electric conductivity and pH measurements demonstrated a potential for future application as dermatological delivery system of the active compounds in the Bertholletia excelsa and Paullinia cupana.      

Micronization of Iron Oxide Particles Using Gas Antisolvent Process

Iron oxide particles were micronized by supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) as an antisolvent in a batch gas antisolvent (GAS) process. In the present study, the feasibility of GAS process to micronize the iron oxide particles using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent was investigated. In this direction, particle size and morphology changes were investigated with changing solution pressure (80–150 bar), temperature (308.15–328.15 K), and concentration (1.5–6 g/l). Based on the different experimental conditions, the particle size of the original iron oxide was decreased in the range of 17.25 to 4.23 µm, which shows a the success of the GAS process to reduce the particle size of the intact iron oxide particles. Simultaneously, morphology changes were observed starting from the irregular morphology for synthesized particles to more regular shapes that included fused and spherical-fused particles.     

Physical and Rheological Characteristics of Emulsion Model Structures Containing Iranian Tragacanth Gum and Oleic Acid

The physical and rheological properties of oil in water model emulsion systems containing Iranian tragacanth gum (TG) (0.5, 1 g/100 ml emulsions), whey protein isolate (WPI) (2, 4 g/100 ml emulsions), and oleic acid (5, 10 ml/100 ml emulsions) were investigated for droplet-size distribution, creaming index, and rheological properties of emulsions. The shear-thinning behavior of all dispersions was modeled using power law, Cross, and Ellis models. The power law model described the flow behavior of dispersions for its lowest standard error (0.29) and highest determination coefficient (R²) (0.99). Rheological investigation showed that both loss (G″) and storage (G′) modules increased as gum and oil content increased. Delta degree was 0.1 and increased as frequency increased, indicating that liquid-like viscose behavior dominated solid-like elastic behavior. Droplet-size distribution was measured by light scattering and microscopic observations revealed a flocculated system. Gum, WPI, and oil contents decreased the emulsion creaming index with gum concentration having the greatest effect.     

Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Formed in Oleyl Polyoxyethylene Solutions by Adding Different Additives: NaDC,Tween 80, Alkyl Esters

Lyotropic liquid crystalline of oleylpolyoxyethylene(20)(AEO₂₀)/oil/water system was investigated at 25°C. The phase behavior, microstructure, and rheological properties of liquid crystalline were investigated by rheological techniques and polarizingoptical microscopy in the presence of various additives including Tween 80, sodium deoxycholate (NaDC), isoamylacetate, butyl acetate, isopropyl myristate. Diagrams show that cubic phase transforms to hexagonal phase when a shorter chain length oil is applied or NaDC or Tween 80 is added to the system.Flow experiments indicate the shear-thinning properties and a plastic behavior. The turning points of flow curves of the system AEO₂₀ and system AEO₂₀/NaDC were found. The dynamic modulus increase with increase in water content however the tendency is weaken by adding NaDC. Frequency dependence of experimental G ′ and G ′ were fitted using the multiple Maxwell model the cubic LLCs described by three relaxation times while hexagonal LLCs described by 5–8 elements. When AEO₂₀ mixes with Tween 80, the hexagonal have a monotonic decrease distribution of relaxation times without valleys.