Sulphur stable isotope systematics in diagenetic pyrite from the North Sea hydrocarbon reservoirs revealed by laser combustion analysis

Our study focuses on pyrite nodules developed in the Brent Group sandstones, which host the Brent Oilfield, one of the North Sea's greatest oil and gas producers. Timing of nodule formation is equivocal, but due to the forceful, penetrative textures that abound, it is considered late. This pyrite offers a research opportunity because it records the development of the supply of H(2)S in a hydrocarbon reservoir and its sulphur isotopic composition. Laser-based analysis of δ(34)S reveals an extraordinary diversity in values and patterns. The values range from-27 to+72‰, covering half the terrestrial range, with large variations at the submillimetre scale. Isotopically heavy (δ(34)S ～+30‰ or higher) sulphide is endemic, but low δ(34)S pyrite is also present and appears to represent a temporally though not spatially (on the ～cm scale) distinct pyritisation event. The distribution of δ(34)S values within individual concretions can be normal (Gaussian), but in some cases may reflect progressive isotope fractionation process(es), conceivably of Rayleigh type. The source of the sulphur and the identity of the isotope fractionation process(es) remain enigmatic.     

SYNTHESIS OF 1,3-THIAZANE-2,4-DIONE AND 2-THIO-5,6-DIHYDROURACIL AND THEIR DERIVATIVES

Abstract

1,3-Thiazane-2,4-diones and 2-thio-5,6-dihydrouracils belong to biologically interesting groups of compounds. The 5-ethyl-6-phenyl derivative (Dolitrone) of the former has shown marked activity as an intravenous general anaesthetic. Several derivatives of 2-thio-5,6-dihydrouracil have been reported to possess antitubercular and antithyroid activity. In the present study these two groups of compounds have been synthesised from common starting materials, namely, different α,β-unsaturated acids and thiourea.     

Crystal plasticity simulations of microstructure-induced uncertainty in strain concentration near voids in brass

The uncertainty in mechanical response near a cylindrical hole in polycrystalline alpha brass was simulated as a function of variations in the crystallographic orientations of the grains near the hole. A total of 4 hole sizes were examined, including the case of a microstructure without a hole, and 45 simulations were performed for each case (yielding 180 simulations total) to acquire statistical data. For a hole larger than the grain size, the deformation resembles the homogenous solution but with perturbations due to the local microstructural environment. For a hole approximately equal to or smaller than the grain size, the deformation deviates substantially from the continuum behaviour, and depends strongly on the local microstructural environment surrounding the hole. Each population of simulations was analysed statistically to determine the effect of micro structural variability on strain localization near each of the four defect sizes. The coefficient of variation in the maximum plastic strain around microstructure-scale holes is about 37%, and the largest values of plastic strain are about twice those in the absence of microstructure. These results have significant implications for analyses of the margin of failure due to defects of this class (e.g. voids or small bolt holes).     

Geometric multigrid for an implicit-time immersed boundary method

The immersed boundary (IB) method is an approach to fluid-structure interaction that uses Lagrangian variables to describe the deformations and resulting forces of the structure and Eulerian variables to describe the motion and forces of the fluid. Explicit time stepping schemes for the IB method require solvers only for Eulerian equations, for which fast Cartesian grid solution methods are available. Such methods are relatively straightforward to develop and are widely used in practice but often require very small time steps to maintain stability. Implicit-time IB methods permit the stable use of large time steps, but efficient implementations of such methods require significantly more complex solvers that effectively treat both Lagrangian and Eulerian variables simultaneously. Several different approaches to solving the coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian equations have been proposed, but a complete understanding of this problem is still emerging. This paper presents a geometric multigrid method for an implicit-time discretization of the IB equations. This multigrid scheme uses a generalization of box relaxation that is shown to handle problems in which the physical stiffness of the structure is very large. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the algorithms described herein. These tests show that using multigrid as a preconditioner for a Krylov method yields improvements in both robustness and efficiency as compared to using multigrid as a solver. They also demonstrate that with a time step 100–1000 times larger than that permitted by an explicit IB method, the multigrid-preconditioned implicit IB method is approximately 50–200 times more efficient than the explicit method.     

A regioselective etherification of pyridoxine via an ortho-pyridinone methide intermediate

The catalyst-free, regioselective synthesis of 4′-O-substituted pyridoxine derivatives under solventless conditions is described. The methodology relies on the highly regioselective formation of the ortho-pyridinone methide from pyridoxine and subsequent oxa-Michael addition of alcohol nucleophiles. This methodology provides good to excellent yields for primary and secondary alcohols and moderate yields for tertiary alcohols.     

Reduction of CuO-containing catalysts: CuO/Cox/ZnO

Cu²⁺ in CuO/ZnO reduces more extensively and rapidly than Co²⁺ in CoO_x/ZnO in the presence of CO or H₂. XRD, TPR and thermal analysis of the combined CuO–CoO_x/ZnO catalysts prepared by precipitation suggests that the component CuO and promoter CoO_x phases are in intimate contact. The addition of Co²⁺ to CuO/ZnO catalystsdecreases the reducibility of the Cu²⁺ by CO and this is relevant to Cu–Co catalysts for ethanol synthesis.

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Cu²⁺ CO H₂ CuO/ZnO, Co²⁺ CoO_x/ZnO. , CuO–CoO_x/ZnO, , CuO CoO_x. Co²⁺ CuO/ZnO Cu²⁺ CO Cu–Co .

     

Reduction of CuO-containing catalysts, CuO: I: TPR and TGA

For CuO/ZnO reduction has been shown [M. S. W. Vong et al., Catal. Lett.,4, 15 (1990)] to be faster and more extensive with CO than by H₂ and here this is shown to be the case for CuO itself, this being so then it may be preferable to characterize CuO-containing catalysts by temperature-programmed reduction with CO than with H₂. The activation energies of reduction (57–82 kJ/mol) are those expected for chemical reduction, but it is an important finding that the order with respect to hydrogen partial pressure (0.04) is extremely low and far removed from the value of unity often assumed. Different samples of CuO exhibit different reduction characteristics.

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CuO/ZnO, (Vong, M. S. W. et al., Catal. Lett. (in press)), CO, H₂. , CuO. CO , CuO, . Cu₂O , . . . (57–82 /) , . ,

     

Construction of cyclopentanol derivatives via three-component coupling of silyl glyoxylates, acetylides, and nitroalkenes

The three-component coupling of Mg acetylides, silyl glyoxylates, and nitroalkenes results in a highly diastereoselective Kuwajima-Reich/vinylogous Michael cascade that provides tetrasubstituted silyloxyallene products. The regio- and diastereoselectivity were studied using DFT calculations. These silyloxyallenes were converted to cyclopentenols and cyclopentitols via a unique Lewis acid assisted Henry cyclization. The alkene functionality present in the cyclopentanol products can be elaborated using diastereoselective ketohydroxylation reactions.     

An investigation of the yield and postyield behavior and corresponding structure of poly(methyl methacrylate)

The mechanical behavior of glassy polymers is time and temperature dependent as evidenced by their viscoelastic and viscoplastic response to loading. The behavior is also known to depend strongly on the prior history of the material, changing with time and temperature without chemical intervention. In this investigation, we examine the effects of this process of physical aging on the yield and postyield behavior and corresponding evolution in the structural state of glassy polymers. This has been achieved through a systematic program of uniaxial, isothermal, constant strain–rate tests on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) specimens of different thermal histories and by performing positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) measurements prior to and after mechanical deformation. PALS is an indicator of the free volume content, probing size and density of free volume sites and can be considered to be a measurement of structural state. The results of the mechanical tests show that aging acts to increase both the initial yield stress and the amount of strain softening which occurs subsequent to yield. Moreover, the amount of strain softening was found to be independent of strain rate indicating that softening is related to an evolution in structure as opposed to deformation kinetics. Furthermore, after sufficient inelastic straining, the initial thermal history is completely erased as evidenced by identical values of flow stress following strain softening, for both annealed and quenched polymer. Strong confirmation of the structural state or free volume related nature of the strain softening process is obtained by our companion PALS measurements. PALS detects an increase in the size of free volume sites following inelastic deformation and finds the initially annealed and quenched specimens to posses the same post-deformation distribution. The size of sites is found to evolve steadily with inelastic strain until it attains a steady-state value. This evolution of free volume with strain follows the observed softening of the flow stress to a steady-state value. These results provide experimental evidence that an increase in free volume with inelastic straining accompanies the strain softening phenomenon in glassy polymers and that strain softening is indeed a de-aging process. Based on our experimental results a mechanistically based constitutive model has been formulated to describe the effects of thermal history on the yield and postyield deformation behavior of glassy polymers up to moderate strains. The model is found to successfully capture the effects of physical aging, strain softening, strain rate, and temperature on the inelastic behavior of glassy polymers when compared with experimental results. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.