Synergistic improvement of foam stability with SiO2 nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) and different surfactants

Foam fluids are widely used in petroleum engineering, but long-standing foam stability problems have limited the effectiveness of their use. The study explores the synergistic effects and influencing factors of SiO₂ nanoparticles (SiO₂-NPs) with different wettability properties and three different surfactants. The paper investigates the foaming performance of different types of surfactants and analyzes and compares the stability of foam after adding hydrophilic and hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs from macroscopic as well as microscopic perspectives, and the effects of temperature and inorganic salts on the stability of mixed solutions. The experimental results show that: 1) hydrophilic nanoparticles can significantly enhance the foam stability of amphoteric surfactants, with a small increase in the foam stability of anionic and cationic surfactants; 2) The concentration of nanoparticles did not have a significant effect on the stability of the cationic surfactants and this conclusion was verified in the experimental results of the surface tension measured below;3) The cationic surfactants showed better temperature resistance at temperatures of 50–90 °C. Both amphoteric surfactant solutions with the addition of hydrophilic SiO₂-NPs or hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs significantly improved the temperature resistance of the foam at high temperatures. The anionic surfactant solution with hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs did not enhance the solution temperature resistance; 4) The surface tension of the surfactant solution gradually increases with increasing concentration of hydrophilic or hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs and then levels off; 5) the hydrophilic SiO₂-NPs had a significant effect on the salt tolerance of the anionic and amphoteric surfactant solutions. The salt tolerance of cationic surfactant solutions with hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs was better than that of surfactants with hydrophilic SiO₂-NPs.     

直链型与支链型疏水缔合水凝胶的机械性能与溶胀行为

以丙烯酰胺(AM)为亲水单体,脂肪醇聚氧乙烯醚丙烯酸酯(AEO-AC-n-m,n为疏水端烷基链碳的数目,m为亲水端PEG链的长度,n,m=13,5;10,5;13,10)为疏水单体,十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)为表面活性剂,过硫酸钾(KPS)为引发剂,通过胶束聚合制备了3种聚丙烯酰胺-co-脂肪醇聚氧乙烯醚丙烯酸酯(AM-co-AEO-AC)疏水缔合水凝胶.以疏水烷基链为直链的疏水单体AEO-AC-13-5合成的直链型水凝胶的网络结构均匀且强度高,其形态在水中可维持180 d.而以疏水烷基链为支链的疏水单体AEO-AC-10-5与AEO-AC-13-10合成的支链型水凝胶的机械性能较弱,60 d内即溶解于水中.在相同条件下,直链型水凝胶断裂时的最大应力是支链型水凝胶的4~5倍.利用弹性橡胶理论中的新胡克方程计算了直链型和支链型水凝胶的有效交联密度ν0和有效交联点间的分子量Mc.     

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐grafted hydrophobic charge‐induction agarose resins with 5‐aminobenzimidazole as a functional ligand

Hydrophobic charge‐induction chromatography is a new technology for antibody purification. To improve antibody adsorption capacity of hydrophobic charge‐induction resins, new poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐grafted hydrophobic charge‐induction resins with 5‐aminobenzimidazole as a functional ligand were prepared. Adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and dynamic binding behaviors of the poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐grafted resins prepared were investigated using human immunoglobulin G as a model protein, and the effects of ligand density were discussed. At the moderate ligand density of 330 μmol/g, the saturated adsorption capacity and equilibrium constant reached the maximum of 140 mg/g and 25 mL/mg, respectively, which were both much higher than that of non‐grafted resin with same ligand. In addition, effective pore diffusivity and dynamic binding capacity of human immunoglobulin G onto the poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐grafted resins also reached the maximum at the moderate ligand density of 330 μmol/g. Dynamic binding capacity at 10% breakthrough was as high as 76.3 mg/g when the linear velocity was 300 cm/h. The results indicated that the suitable polymer grafting combined with the control of ligand density would be a powerful tool to improve protein adsorption of resins, and new poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐grafted hydrophobic charge‐induction resins have a promising potential for antibody purification applications.     

The effects of cis–trans configuration of cyclohexane multi-carboxylic acids on colloidal forces in dispersions: steric, hydrophobic and bridging

The effects of cis- and trans-1,2-, trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, 95% cis-1,3,5-cyclohexane tricarboxylic acid and cis-1,2,3,4,5,6-cyclohexanehexacarboxylic acid on the yield stress–pH behaviour of concentrated ZrO₂ dispersions are reported. Adsorbed cis-1,2,3,4,5,6-cyclohexanehexacarboxylic acid imparts predominantly steric interactions. It forms a steric barrier keeping the interacting particles apart. Adsorbed cis- and trans-1,2 increase the maximum yield stress and this was attributed to a hydrophobic force resulting from the part of the cyclohexane ring sticking out into the solution which is devoid of charged or hydrophilic group. Adsorbed trans-1,4 increases the maximum yield stress by at least threefold and its configuration favours strong bridging interaction with an adjacent particle. Predominantly, cis-1,3,5 also increases the maximum yield stress but only by 60% at the same additive concentration. This was attributed to a smaller degree of bridging.     

“Topohydrophobic positions” as key markers of globular protein folds

The positions of a given fold always occupied by strong hydrophobic amino acids (V, I, L, F, M, Y, W), which we call “topohydrophobic positions”, were detected and their properties demonstrated within 153 non-redundant families of homologous domains, through 3D structural alignments. Sets of divergent sequences possessing at least four to five members appear to be as informative as larger sets, provided that their mean pairwise sequence identity is low. Amino acids in topohydrophobic positions exhibit several interesting features: they are much more buried than their equivalents in non-topohydrophobic positions, their side chains are far less dispersed; and they often constitute a lattice of close contacts in the inner core of globular domains. In most cases, each regular secondary structure possesses one to three topohydrophobic positions, which cluster in the domain core. Moreover, using sensitive alignment processes such as hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA), it is possible to identify topohydrophobic positions from only a small set of divergent sequences. Amino acids in topohydrophobic positions, which can be identified directly from sequences, constitute key markers of protein folds, define long-range structural constraints, which, together with secondary structure predictions, limit the number of possible conformations for a given fold. Received: 24 April 1998 / Accepted: 4 August 1998 / Published online: 16 November 1998     

烷基链长及肽链电荷分布对脂肽双亲分子自组装及水凝胶化的影响

为阐明脂肽分子烷基链长及肽链电荷分布对其自组装及水凝胶化的影响, 设计合成了C_nV₃K₂ (n=12, 14, 16) 和C_mKV₃K (m=14, 16)两个系列的脂肽分子. 原子力显微镜(AFM)和透射电镜(TEM)结果表明, 两个系列的脂肽分子都可以自组装成一维纳米带结构. 圆二色(CD)光谱结果表明, C_nV₃K₂系列自组装体的二级结构为β折叠; C_mKV₃K系列自组装体中包括α螺旋和β折叠两种二级结构, 其中C14KV3K的α螺旋结构较多, C16KV3K的β折叠结构占优. 烷基链疏水作用的增强会抑制β折叠结构侧向堆积, 使纳米带随烷基链的变长而变窄; 电荷分布于肽链部分的两端有利于纳米带结构的侧向生长. 流变性测试结果表明, 在浓度10 mmol·L^-1、pH 8.4下, 脂肽分子可以形成自支撑水凝胶, 相比烷基链长度, 肽链部分的电荷分布对水凝胶性能影响更大.     

Hydrophobic surfaces of spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembled polyelectrolyte multilayers doped with copper nanoparticles and modified by fluoroalkylsilane

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) fabricated by spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly technique were used as nanoreactors for in situ synthesis of Cu nanoparticles, allowing generation of Cu nanoparticles doped composite, denoted as Cu-nanoparticles PEMs. Thus chemical reaction within the PEMs was initiated by a series of reaction cycles in which Cu²⁺ was absorbed into the polymer-coated silicon substrate and reduced in NaBH₄ solution. The surface of Cu-nanoparticles PEMs was modified by heptadecafluorodecyl-trimethoxysilane (FAS-17) with low surface energy, generating a hydrophobic film. The adhesion and nano-friction behavior of the hydrophobic film was investigated using an atomic force microscope, while its macro-tribological behavior sliding against stainless steel under dry- and distilled-water-lubricated conditions was investigated using a UMT-2 test rig. It was found that Cu-nanoparticles PEMs modified with FAS-17 has a lower friction and higher adhesion than that without modification. Moreover, the hydrophobic film possesses lower friction coefficient under water-lubrication and higher friction coefficient under dry-sliding than the hydrophilic film under the same conditions, which could be mainly due to the difference in the surface energy. The titled hydrophobic films with low adhesion and friction would have potential application in micro/nano-electro-mechanical systems.     

丙烯酰胺、3-丙烯酰胺-3-甲基丁酸钠和N-烷基丙烯酰胺三元共聚物的溶液特性研究

讨论了丙烯酰胺、3-丙烯酰胺-3-甲基丁酸钠和N-烷基丙烯酰胺三元共聚物(CAANA)的水溶液特性,并与部分水解聚丙烯酰胺(HPAM)水溶液特性相比较。芘荧光光谱分析和激光光散射仪测量结果表明。CAANA由于引入了疏水性单体,在水溶液中形成了分子间的疏水缔合作用,并使得CAANA在水溶液中具有较大的均方旋转半径,相对于HPAM,CAANA具有更好的耐温抗盐性能。在一定范围内,CAANA中引入的疏水性单体形成的缔合作用愈强,愈有利于改善聚合物的耐温抗盐性能。     

Synthesis and characterization of a series of modified polyacrylamide

We present the synthesis and the characterization of a new class of modified polyacrylamides (MPAM) with the unusual trait of strong emulsification ability, viscosity enhancement capacity, and significant salt tolerance. Besides, the synthesized polymers have the peculiar aggregation behaviors in aqueous solution. The synthesis was carried out by polymerizing the monomers such as acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA), unsaturated amphiphilic functional moieties, and high steric hindrance functional units. Their aggregation behaviors were investigated by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The emulsion, formed by 10 ml of MPAM (with the polymer concentration of 1,000 mg/L) and the 10 ml of crude oil, was very stable, which indicates that the synthesized polymers have unique emulsification properties. The strong hydrophobic interaction between molecules and the three-dimensional network formed in aqueous solution were exhibited by the experimental results of steady fluorescence and SEM experiments. It could be concluded that the performance of polymers for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can be remarkably enhanced by introducing functional monomers to polymer backbone, which allows the new class of modified polymers to have more promising application in enhanced oil recovery.     

Mixed retention mechanism of proteins in weak anion-exchange chromatography

Using four commercial weak anion-exchange chromatography (WAX) columns and 11 kinds of different proteins, we experimentally examined the involvement of hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) mechanism in protein retention on the WAX columns. The HIC mechanism was found to operate in all four WAX columns, and each of these columns had a better resolution in the HIC mode than in the corresponding WAX mode. Detailed analysis of the molecular interactions in a chromatographic system indicated that it is impossible to completely eliminate hydrophobic interactions from a WAX column. Based on these results, it may be possible to employ a single WAX column for protein separation by exploiting mixed modes (WAX and HIC) of retention. The stoichiometric displacement theory and two linear plots were used to show that mechanism of the mixed modes of retention in the system was a combination of two kinds of interactions, i.e., nonselective interactions in the HIC mode and selective interactions in the IEC mode. The obtained U-shaped elution curve of proteins could be distinguished into four different ranges of salt concentration, which also represent four retention regions.