Extracted Jatropha oil was analyzed for their chemical and physical properties such as density, acid value, % FFA, saponification value as well as viscosities at 40 and 100 o C and viscosity index. The result of the analyses of the Jatropha oil reveals that it has a very high %FFA (14.6%). Reduction was achieved by esterification with methanol (to 0.44%). The method employed for the production of biolubricant involved two stages transesterification process, the first stage produced methyl ester of the oil and in the second stage; the methyl ester was transesterified with ethylene glycol to produce the biolubricant. Major lubricating properties of the product such as pour point, viscosities at 40°C and at 100°C, and the viscosity index were analyzed and found to have value of -7°C, 55.22 cSt, 10.96 cSt and 195.22 respectively. It was found that the biolubricant produced is comparable to the ISO VG-46 commercial standards for light and industrial gears applications and other plant based biolubricant.
This research focused on identifying the morphological features and molecular interactions of the Nigerian Bentonitic clays using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) characterisation technique. The SEM microstructure images indicated that the bentonite samples are generally moderately dispersive to dispersive with some large flocs which were apparently separate and dispersed from one another rather than located on the totality of the image. This property is more pronounced on the sodium (Na) activated and the treated samples than in the raw samples, which could be due to quartz removal and Na activation on the raw Bentonitic samples. Dispersive sample surfaces consist of loose flakes with no definitive mass structures observed on the treated samples due to added poly anionic cellulose (PAC) to the samples
This research focused on beneficiation and characterization of raw Garin Hamza Futuk (GHF) Bentonite for oil and gas drilling fluid formulation. The FTIR results confirmed that GHF bentonitic clay is rich in montmorillonite mineral noticed at approximately 3620-3630cm-1 stretching band in the higher frequency level. In the lower frequency region, montmorillonite had a strong band at 1024.24 and 1028.09 cm-1 for Sivibration of layered silicates.The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) results showed slight reduction in free silica (Quartz) by about 1%. The SEM images of the beneficiated samples were more dispersed than the raw sample with some large flocs structure confirming their montmorillonitic nature. The optimum amount of poly anionic cellulose (PAC)used for instant drilling fluid formulation was found to be at 2.0 g, while the aged formulation was achieved at 0.8g PAC when compared with the API grade. Hence, GHF bentonite can be used for drilling fluid formulation.
This work focuses on the modification and simulation of asphalt blowing unit- hot oil system of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC). The modification involves an introduction of a 10-inch bye-pass line to the hot oil drum which helps in preventing oil loss and decrease heater duty for better efficiency and cost effective system. While the original and modified units were simulated using ASPEN HYSYS withthe aim of observing the effect of temperature on the heater duty of the units and to determine the volume of hot oil lost from the hot oil drum due to flashing. After successful completion of the simulation, the amount of vapour lost per hour for the operational system was found to be 0.3853 m3, with a heater duty of 32240 kcal/hr while for the modified system is 0.3841 m3 and 11480 kcal/hr for amount of vapour loss and heater duty respectively. Prior to the modification, the oil is replenished at an interval of 48hrs which is totally avoidable. The introduction of bye-pass line helps to prevent oil loss and reduce heater duty by 64.40%.
Crude oil 'micelle' can be dispersed into fuels, oil and resin/asphalthene components using some hydrocarbon solvents. This can be adapted towards influencing/enhancing its product slates during the processing of crude oils. This research was carried out to investigate the effect of polar solvents (ethanol and acetone) in the enhancement of the light-ends in the True Boiling Point (TBP) distillation of Venezuela heavy crude oil. The oil was procured from Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Nigeria Ltd, Kaduna, Nigeria. Different concentrations of ethanol with crude oil blends were prepared using 2.5 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 7.5 wt.%, and 10 wt.%. Their spectro photometric analysis was carried out to determine their micelle diameter. The graphs of the micelle diameter of the blends against the various concentrations of the ethanol were plotted from which the minimum and maximum obtained, were 26.322×10-9 m and 28.312×10-9 m corresponding to 2.5 wt.% and 5 wt.% ethanol concentrations respectively. The same procedure was also repeated for acetone and the values for the minimum and maximum were 24.31×10-9 m and 31.798×10-9 m respectively. These concentrations were blended with 400g of the oil and their TBP distillations were carried out. From the data generated, 2.5% and 5% ethanol were respectively found to enhance the light ends recovery by 6.133% and 9.008% for fractions between IBP-360 o C for ethanol and 9.500% and 11.693 % for 5% and 2.5% acetone concentration. The authors are of the opinion that this work can be adapted to enhance light ends recovery in the atmospheric/vacuum distillation units (ADU/VDU) of the Crude Oil Refineries.
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