| Sep 25, 2024 |
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(Nanowerk Information) Within the strategy of oil extraction, laborious mineral buildup contained in the pipes and gear could cause critical operational harm, issues of safety similar to pipe explosion and important financial losses. The present strategies for descaling mineral buildup, nonetheless, can adversely impression the setting.
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Penn State researchers have developed a brand new nanoparticle that may stop scaling and stabilize a generally used emulsion, or liquid combination, probably making the oil extraction processes extra environment friendly and fewer dangerous to the setting, in accordance with the workforce. The fabric can be utilized in different gear dealing with water-oil emulsions.
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Their outcomes have been printed in ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces (“Antiscaling Pickering Emulsions Enabled by Amphiphilic Hairy Cellulose Nanocrystals”). The work was additionally featured on the journal’s supplementary cowl.
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| Penn State researchers have developed a brand new nanoparticle, depicted right here, that may stop mineral buildup in oil extraction gear and stabilize a generally used emulsion, or liquid combination. (Picture: Amir Sheikhi)
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“We aimed to tackle the challenge of calcium carbonate formation, known as scaling, in two-phase oil-water systems, dealt with in numerous water-based industries, such as oil and gas sectors,” mentioned corresponding creator Amir Sheikhi, affiliate professor of chemical engineering and the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Profession Chair in Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering.
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In lots of industries, similar to oil and gasoline, prescribed drugs, cosmetics and meals, water co-exists with an immiscible part — similar to an oil or an natural solvent unable to combine with water — making a two-phase system. If this technique undergoes scaling, it might trigger critical operational and security hazards, in accordance with Sheikhi, because it blocks pipes and destroys gear.
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“Current anti-scaling solutions either have adverse environmental impacts or are limited to working only in single-phase aqueous media,” Sheikhi mentioned.
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To resolve this downside, Sheikhi and his workforce first synthesized a cellulose-based nanoparticle, referred to as anionic furry cellulose nanocrystals (AHCNC), which was able to stopping scale formation however was unable to stabilize water-in-oil emulsions. They then developed a brand new sort of multifunctional, bio-based nanoparticle, referred to as amphiphilic furry cellulose nanocrystals (AmHCNC), with distinctive chemical and structural properties that not solely prevents scale formation but in addition stabilizes water-in-oil emulsions, that are widespread in oil extraction processes, in accordance with the researchers.
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“Our innovation lies in the nanoengineering of a type of nanoparticle — AmHCNC — that simultaneously prevents scaling and stabilizes water-in-oil emulsions via the Pickering mechanism — a combination that hasn’t been achieved,” mentioned Sheikhi, explaining that the Pickering mechanism refers to a course of that stabilizes the interface between two immiscible solvents with small stable particles, similar to nanoparticles. “These anti-scaling particles are bio-based, environmentally safe and cost-effective, offering a sustainable solution to the longstanding industrial problem of scaling.”
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The researchers at the moment are on the lookout for companions to check their know-how in real-world settings, similar to in enhanced oil restoration, to judge its efficiency at a bigger scale. Additionally they plan to discover potential purposes in different industries, similar to cosmetics and meals.
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“This technology may provide new opportunities for sustainable and safer industrial practices,” mentioned Sheikhi, who additionally has a courtesy appointment with the Division of Biomedical Engineering within the School of Engineering, the Division of Chemistry within the Eberly School of Science, and The Division of Neurosurgery within the School of Medication.
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