The exploitation of new hydrocarbon discoveries in meeting the present global energy demand is a function of the availability and application of new technologies. The relevance of new technologies is borne out of the complex subsurface architecture and conditions of offshore petroleum plays. Conventional techniques, from drilling to production, for exploiting these discoveries may require adaption for such subsurface conditions as they fail under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. The oil and gas industry over the past decades has witnessed increased research into the use of nanotechnology with great promise for drilling operations, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir characterization, production, etc. The prospect for a paradigm shift towards the application of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry is constrained by evolving challenges with its progression. This paper gave a review of developments from nano-research in the oil and gas industry, challenges and recommendations.

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A concern over the toxicity of chemicals used during the activation stage in the preparation of activated carbon is beginning to gain attention. The study therefore looked into the possibility of using bio-activators (lemon juice and potash leached from the peel of unripe plantain) as activating chemicals, for environmentally friendly activated carbon. Coconut shell and the peel from unripe plantain were used as feedstock and pyrolyzed at 400 and 450 °c. An impregnation ratio of 0.25:1 was used while laboratory grade potassium hydroxide was used as a base activating agent as a control setup. Characterization of the activated carbon was carried out using parameters like bulk density and yield which were obtained using standard procedures. Results showed that activating carbon using bio-activators as activating agents had very good characteristics when compared with the control. Bio-activators are therefore recommended for the production of bio based activated carbon especially in the fields of medicine, food and pharmaceuticals. The effect of carbonization temperature on adsorption efficiency and pore structure were investigated using methylene blue as adsorbate and SEM respectively

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This paper presents dataset on the beneficiation of a Nigerian clay mineral for drilling mud application. The experimental design applied used a Response Surface Design (RSM), which involved 24 (2-Level, 4-Factors) to generate statistical models, and analyze the dataset. The independent variables were (Bentonite; X1), (Polymer; X2), (Sodium Carbonate, X3) and (Aging Time; X4). The rheological properties of interest, which forms the response variables, were selected based on the API specification 13-A for drilling grade bentonite. The outcomes show that the second-order statistical models derived from responses fitted well with the experimental results. Predictive models obtained from the statistical characterization of the beneficiation process would allow for the design and cost-effective planning of the procedure. The beneficiation of the clay using sodium carbonate and Kelzan® XCD polymer ensued in an improvement in the rheological properties of the formulated drilling mud. These properties were comparable with the API specification 13-A for drilling fluid materials.

Water borne diseases have continued to linger and has remained a major challenge facing most developing nations today. This has been caused mainly by lack of access to clean water. The rapid industrialization has led to the discharge of effluents loaded with pollutants into our water bodies that have greatly affected humans, aquatic life and the environment. This work looks into the possibility of improving the quality water through the elimination of (i) inherent contaminants in water using filters made from cheap locally available red clay and biomass (300 microns sawdust) materials and (ii) chemical treatment of industrial and domestic effluents which in itself is a source of environmental pollution. The sawdust-clay materials were first thoroughly dry mixed in four different weight ratios, 6/80 (sample A), 5/80 (sample B) 4/80 (sample C) and 2/80 (sample D) before water was then added gradually and mixed until the clay clumped together completely, softened and workable. It was then wedged by pressing firmly in order to remove bubbles from the inside of the clay and molded into cup--like shape. It was first sun dried then oven dried at 110 °C and then fired in a Muffle furnace at 850 °C to burnout the sawdust biomass and thus create fine pores within the clay matrix. Performance of the sawdust-clay filters for the purification of waste water obtained from two different sources, industrial and kitchen effluents, was investigated. Results obtained from the study showed that the four filters (A, B, C and D) proved to be moderately effective for the treatment of the two effluents. All the filters reduced the total dissolved solids (TDS) to 120 and 110 mg/L of the industrial and kitchen waste water respectively, to acceptable levels which is less than 500mg/L, set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Conductivity values obtained after the treatment of the water samples were lower than the 1000 µs/cm limit set by WHO. And with the exception of filter D, others greatly reduced the turbidity of water samples as values less than 5 NTU as set by WHO were obtained. The pH values or acidity reduced for the industrial waste water from 4.5 to 7.02 and for kitchen waste water from 5.1 to 7.02 which met the specification set by WHO. Some of the heavy metals detected in the water samples were effectively reduced to acceptable levels. The filtration rates were 140, 100, 50 and 20 ml/min for filters B, A, C and D respectively. The rates rapidly reduced to about 2.7, 1.7, 1.0 and 0.7 ml/min for A, B, C and D respectively after 30 minutes of filtration. This implies that the filters were effective and should thus be developed for industrial and domestic waste water treatment applications.

Background:Napier grass is a naturally abundant waste material that can be cultivated over a vast area of land which makes it a viable source for sugar and bioethanol production.Introduction:The presence of lignin in the biomass makes cellulose inaccessible for conversion to useful products, however, in order to provide for efficient utilization of the waste material, reagent and energy, a study on the kinetics of lignin removal from Napier grass was carried out in this work using 1 and 3 w/w % NaOH at temperatures between 80 and 120°C.Materials & Methods:Based on the investigation, there was increased lignin removal for increased NaOH concentration. Kinetic parameters were also determined and it was observed that, the reaction of lignin in Napier grass with NaOH obeys a pseudo-zero or pseudo-fractional order kinetics. Furthermore, the orders of the reaction for the pretreatment conditions of 3 w/w% NaOH at 100°C and those of 3 and 1 w/w NaOH at 120°C gave close reaction orders of 0.2, 0.22 and 0.24 respectively after 110 minutes, which implies that, for the three cases, the residual lignin in the extract was almost the same at the pretreatment conditions while slight differences are evident in their pseudo rate constants. Also, it was observed that, the activation energy of the reaction reduced significantly as the concentration of NaOH increased from 1w/w - 3 w/w%.Conclusion:Based on the AIL and the total lignin (i.e.AIL + ASL) in the Napier grass, the recorded delignification efficiencies at the optimum pretreatment time of 17.5 h are 90 and 76% respectively. In addition, the adopted Differential Technique (DT) combined with the Ostwald Method of Isolation (OMI) can be accurately used to study the kinetics of lignin removal from Napier grass.

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