High Pressure Field Research Articles

Emergent food proteins - Towards sustainability, health and innovation.

There is an increasing demand for alternative and sustainable protein sources, such as vegetables, insects and microorganisms, that can meet the nutritional and sensory pleasantness needs of consumers. This emergent interest for novel protein sources, allied with "green" and cost-effective processing technologies, such as high hydrostatic pressure, ohmic heating and pulsed electric fields, can be used as strategies to improve the consumption of proteins from sustainable sources without compromising food security. In addition to their nutritional value, these novel proteins present several technological-functional properties that can be used to create various protein systems in different scales (i.e., macro, micro and nano scale), which can be tailored for a specific application in innovative food products. However, in order for these novel protein sources to be broadly used in future food products, their fate in the human gastrointestinal tract (e.g., digestion and bioavailability) must be assessed, as well as their safety for consumers must be clearly demonstrated. In particular, these proteins may become novel allergens triggering adverse reactions and, therefore, a comprehensive allergenicity risk assessment is needed. This review presents an overview of the most promising alternative protein sources, their application in the production of innovative food systems, as well as their potential effects on human health. In addition, new insights on sustainable processing strategies are given.

Identification of equivalent processing conditions for pasteurization of strawberry juice by high pressure, ultrasound, and pulsed electric fields processing

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of high pressure processing (HPP), ultrasound (US) and pulsed electric fields (PEF) for the pasteurization of strawberry juice (SJ). Acid-adapted Escherichia coli was used to inoculate SJ prior to treatment with HPP, US, and PEF. HPP was applied at several pressures (200–400 MPa) up to 2 min while US (120 μm, 24 kHz) was conducted at 25, 40, and 55 °C up to 10 min in continuous pulsing mode. In order to avoid excessive use of SJ, PEF was performed using a model solution (MS) basically composed of citric acid (8 g/L), fructose (35 g/L), glucose (35 g/L), Na2HPO4 (0.2 M) and NaCl (5%) to simulate the SJ electrical conductivity, pH, and total soluble solid (TSS). A face-centered composite design was conducted for PEF processing at different electric field intensities (EFI) (25–35 kV/cm) and treatment times (5–27 μs). Processing conditions were selected that resulted in 5-log CFU/mL inactivation of E. coli. HPP at 300 MPa for 1 min, and US at 55 °C (thermosonication) for 3 min reduced E. coli in SJ by 5.75 ± 0.52 and 5.69 ± 0.61 log CFU/mL, respectively. PEF treatment at 35 kV/cm, 27 μs treatment time, 350 mL/min flow rate, and 2 μs pulse width in monopolar mode resulted in 5.53 ± 0.00 log reduction of E. coli in MS. Likewise, E. coli population in SJ was also reduced by 5.16 ± 0.15 log after applying the same PEF conditions to SJ. No E. coli was detected in SJ subjected to conventional thermal pasteurization at 72 °C for 15 s. All technologies reduced the natural microbiota below 2 log CFU/mL in terms of the total aerobic bacteria and yeast-mold counts. Thus, this study identified the equivalent conditions for the SJ pasteurization by three nonthermal processing technologies. Industrial relevance Consumers have an increasing interest towards fresh-like food products with desirable nutritional and sensorial attributes. High pressure, ultrasound and pulsed electric field are three relevant novel nonthermal technologies as alternatives to conventional thermal treatments. This study identified the processing conditions of these three nonthermal technologies for the pasteurization of strawberry juice based on equivalent inactivation of acid-adapted E. coli. From an industrial point of view, the established processing conditions are useful references for the development of novel berry juices. In addition to microbiological safety, this study on equivalent processing allows direct efficacy and quality comparisons of a given juice pasteurized by the three nonthermal technologies under consideration.

Search for a ferroelectrically ordered form of ice VII by neutron diffraction under high pressure and high electric field

Neutron diffraction experiments of ice VII at pressures up to 6.2 GPa and 10.2 kV/mm were conducted to investigate the potential ferroelectrically ordered structure of ice VII induced by a high electric field. To accomplish this, we developed a high-pressure cell assembly to allow for powder neutron diffraction to be conducted under both high-pressure and high-electric field conditions. However, the subsequent observed diffraction patterns taken in situ at these conditions do not show sufficient evidence of the proposed ferroelectrically ordered structure of ice VII. We estimate the degree of the hydrogen ordering in ice VII under the applied conditions from high-pressure $P\ensuremath{-}E$ loop measurements, and discuss the future possibilities of detecting the ferroelectrically ordered structure.

Ultrathin Hydrophobic Uhmwpe Membrane for Moisture Sensing and Removal through Water Confinement Effect

Water confinement within the hydrophobic nanopores has attracted intensive research interest recently. Extensive research has been conducted to elucidate the water confinement mechanisms. However, direct measurements of water confinement has been extremely challenging except when high external pressure or electric field were applied. Here we report the unique water confinement effect in a hydrophobic ultrathin and nanoporous ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) membrane. The UHMWPE membrane with thicknesses about 50 nm, consisting of highly aligned interpenetrating fibrous nanoribbons, can rapidly adsorb and confine water molecules when exposed to moist atmosphere of different relative humidity levels. The water confinement effects were characterized systematically using FTIR, TGA-MS and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), respectively. The maximum water uptake can reach upto 13 wt%，and conductivity of the film is as high as 50% of that of pure water, which is more than one billion times of that of dry UHMWPE. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that water molecules specifically adsorb to the steps of the aligned PE films around the nanopores, and the adsorbed water clusters form conductive water chains when subjected to external electrical field strengths greater than 0.2 V/nm. The high moisture sensitivity and water confinement property of the film will be of broad applications particularly in moisture sensitive electrocatalysts where the presence of minute amount of moisture might be detrimental to the stability of the electrocatalyst.

High-pressure field assisted sintering of half-cell for all-solid-state battery

High-pressure field assisted sintering (FAST/SPS) of half-cell for all-solid-state Li batteries was proposed and tested. The half-cell included the layer of lithium lanthanum zirconate (LLZO) electrolyte and the layer of mixed cathode. The mixed cathode consisted of lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) used as energy storage material and LLZO used as ionic conductor. A tool made of TZM molybdenum alloy was used to apply a high pressure of 440 MPa during FAST/SPS at a temperature of 675 °C ensuring stability of materials. An average relative density of sintered half-cell was around of 95%. The half-cell was assembled with a lithium anode and electrochemically tested. The results were compared with the performance of a half-cell sintered in an established graphite tool at the same temperature but under a lower pressure of 50 MPa and with a lower density (around of 78%). The battery with half-cell sintered at high pressure showed two-fold larger surface storage capacity. Further optimization of materials and processing is in progress.

Model Building on Selectivity of Gas Antisolvent Fractionation Method Using the Solubility Parameter

Solubility parameters are widely used in the polymer industry and are often applied in the high pressure field as well as they give the possibility of combining the effects of all operational parameters on solubility in a single term. We demonstrate a statistical methodology to apply solubility parameters in constructing a model to describe antisolvent fractionation based chiral resolution, which is a complex process including a chemical equilibrium, precipitation and extraction as well. The solubility parameter used in this article, is the Hansen parameter. The evaluation of experimental results of resolution and crystallization of ibuprofen with (R)-phenylethylamine based on diastereomeric salt formation by gas antisolvent fractionation method was carried out. Two sets of experiments were performed, one with methanol as organic solvent in an undesigned experiment and one with ethanol in a designed experiment. The utilization of D-optimal design in order to decrease the necessary number of experiments and to overcome the problem of constrained design space was demonstrated. Linear models including dependence of pressure, temperature and the solubility parameter were appropriate to describe the selectivity of the GASF optical resolution method in both sets of experiments.

Effect of geometrical configuration of reactor on a ZrP nano-dispersion process using ultrasonic irradiation

This study investigated the position of ultrasonic irradiation source and reactor geometry on fragmentation rate of a layered compound, α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP). By numerically solving the acoustic pressure distribution using COMSOL Multiphysics®, it is clarified the mechanism whereby the operating factors influenced the α-ZrP dispersion to make a suggestion of guideline of the process design method. Two vessels made of glass with a flat-bottom and a spherical-bottom, respectively, were used. Although the flat-bottom vessel at lower horn position showed the best performance of fragmentation, the region of high acoustic pressure field in the flat bottom vessel sharply narrowed and the transmittance became prominently low. On the other hand, no significant difference of the transmittance value in the spherical bottom vessel between the cases of low and high horn positions could be observed and the spherical bottom vessel was robust for the horn position. These results suggest that not only the magnitude of acoustic pressure but also the size of high acoustic pressure region is also an important factor and a spherical bottom vessel is one of suitable shape which gives large size of high acoustic pressure region regardless of the horn position.

ОЦЕНКА КОНСТРУКТИВНОГО РИСКА ЭЛЕМЕНТОВ КЛАПАННЫХ СИСТЕМ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЭКСТРЕМАЛЬНОЙ ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ

A working order of a pipe fitting is a significant
 aspect in a trouble-free operation of technological objects
 in oil and gas production. It particularly concerns
 a safety valve protecting equipment against overpressure.
 In the field of high pressure, costs and temperatures
 the installation of pulse-safety devices is preferable.
 But, the complexity of their design and a substantial
 impact of a pulse valve sensitive element upon the
 whole correct work of a safety system in extreme conditions
 of operation increase design risks. With the
 purpose of their decrease there are considered possible
 circuits of the sensitive element standby in a pulse
 valve. By means of the method of reliability prediction
 on statistical models there are analyzed dependences of
 sensitive element failure probabilities as a spring and
 metal bellows in extreme conditions of operation. The
 conclusions on the application of a structural standby
 with a non-loaded reserve under definite conditions of
 operation and an optimum choice of structural materials
 for layers in multi-layer metal bellows are drawn.

Characterizing the pore structure of low permeability Eocene Liushagang Formation reservoir rocks from Beibuwan Basin in northern South China Sea

The hydrocarbon exploration from low permeability (<50mD) reservoirs in Beibuwan Basin has been on the agenda because of the production decline of old wells and the growing demand of fossil fuel with the rapid economic development of China. However, these low permeability reservoir rocks usually exhibit strong heterogeneity and the complicated pore structure of these rocks, which significantly affects the reservoir quality, is still unclear. This study attempts to reveal the pore structure of low permeability Eocene Liushagang Formation reservoir rocks from Weixinan and Wushi subbasins in Beibuwan Basin quantitatively and qualitatively using high pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry (HPMIP), N2 adsorption and field emission-scanning electronic microscopy (FE-SEM). Our results show that macropores (>50 nm) mainly contribute to the total pore spaces for most samples with lower shale content; mesopores(2–50 nm) dominate the pore spaces of samples with higher shale content, which leads to the relatively large surface area of these samples; permeability of these low permeability rocks is positively related with average pore-throat radius and negatively related with relative sorting coefficient while no such a close relationship exists between permeability and porosity; fractal dimension has a negative relationship with average pore-throat radius and permeability. In summary, this work comprehensively investigates the pore structure characteristics of low permeability Liushagang Formation reservoir rocks from Beibuwan Basin using multiple complementary approaches, which helps to further understand the hydrocarbon migration and accumulation mechanism of these low permeability reservoirs.

Interaction of planar shock wave with three-dimensional heavy cylindrical bubble

Interactions of a planar shock wave with two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D) concave, and 3D convex SF6 cylindrical bubbles surrounded by air are studied both experimentally and numerically. The effects of initial interface curvature on the bubble deformation and wave propagation are highlighted. The cylindrical bubbles are generated by a wire-restriction method based on the soap-film technique, and their shapes are well controlled by adjusting the pressure difference across the interface. The high-speed schlieren results demonstrate that the evolving interfaces develop more symmetrically than previous studies as they are free of holder and fewer disturbance waves are generated. Typical evolution processes of the 2D bubble such as the jet formation and vortex pair formation are clearly captured. Compared with the 2D case, the oppositely (identically) signed principal curvatures of the concave (convex) boundary produce more complicated high pressure fields and 3D additional baroclinic vorticity. For 3D cases, the numerical results show that the wave patterns in the symmetry or boundary slice are distinct from the 2D case owing to the 3D movement of the generated waves, and the jet structure presents an evident three dimensionality. In particular, for the concave bubble, a certain slice between the boundary and symmetry slices presents the fastest-developing jet, while for the convex case the fastest jet emerges at the boundary slice. The upstream interface along the symmetry slice of the concave (convex) bubble moves faster (slower) than that of the 2D case, which is reasonably predicted by a 3D theoretical model.

Effect of high pressure and magnetic field treatments on stability of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) and lysozyme from chicken egg

The aim of this study was to treat enzymes with high pressure or magnetic field, and to evaluate their storage stability after treatment. The application of a magnetic field of 1.34 T increased the lysozyme activity about 55%, while a treatment with 0.7 T increased 80% the Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) activity. After the magnetic treatment, the residual activity was maintained above 140% for lysozyme and CALB at 4 °C, showing good stability after treatment. Furthermore, lysozyme treated with supercritical CO2 had lower decrease on activity during storage, compared to others gases, maintaining residual activity over 100%.

Relationship between acoustic cavitation bubble behavior and output signal from tough hydrophone using high-speed camera in high-frequency and low-frequency acoustic fields

In previous works, our developed tough hydrophone was resistant to high-pressure fields (15 MPa). During the experiment, acoustic cavitation bubbles were generated around the tough hydrophone tip, because the tip was slightly larger than the wavelength and was flat. In this study, the influence of the tough hydrophone on high-intensity 1 MHz and 22 kHz acoustic fields was investigated by visualizing bubbles around the hydrophone and recording the waveform from the hydrophone at the same time. As a result, the hydrophone with a flat tip can be used for measurements in 1 MHz and 22 kHz high-intensity acoustic fields under certain conditions where acoustic bubble cloud generation on the hydrophone tip is avoided. The change in output waveforms from the hydrophone was negligibly small, even when collision and sticking of the acoustic bubble to the hydrophone tip occurred.

Reliability-Based Casing Design Unlocks Reserves in a High-Pressure Gas Field

This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper IADC/SPE 189669, “Unlocking Reserves in a BP-Operated High-Pressure Gas Field Through Reliability-Based Casing Design,” by Richard A. Miller, SPE, Rishi Ramtahal, SPE, and Oladele O. Owoeye, BP, prepared for the 2018 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 6–8 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Increasing recovery was considered by lowering the reservoir-abandonment pressure below the initial design value. Design assumptions and equipment ratings were reviewed systematically to determine which aspects factored into the decision to change reservoir management. Collapse loading of the 10-in. production liner was identified as a key variable. This paper presents work performed to characterize the probability of collapse as a function of reservoir-abandonment pressure using reliability-based design (RBD). Introduction For the high-pressure gas field under consideration, future-field-development studies were conducted alongside execution of the development. One such study investigated the potential application of gas compression to the field. Gas compression reduces the pressures downstream of the wellhead to allow depleted reservoirs to flow at lower pressures. The potential benefit is increased reserves recovery with effectively no increase in well cost. The reservoir design and operating limit (RDOL) defines the lower allowable pressure from a reservoir perspective. Engineering studies have shown that this limit is set by the well design and operating limit (WDOL). If compression options are pursued, proposed depletion pressures should be checked for consistency with the limits prescribed by the RDOL and WDOL. With compression, when the wellhead pressure is reduced, the wellbore pressures may approach the lower end of the WDOL. This increases the pressure differential across the 10-in. liner section, which can result in a collapse failure, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The section of the 10-in. liner acts as a barrier to high-pressure water-bearing sands below and possibly above the production packer. If a well is put on compression, the wellbore pressure will be reduced, thereby increasing the differential pressure across that section of the 10-in. liner. This induced high pressure differential can result in a collapse failure of the liner, and, subsequently, high-pressure water may enter the well, compromising well integrity and the ability to produce from the well. The field basis of design stated that the wells should be able to withstand a minimum bottomhole pressure of 2,500 psi. This limit reflected collapse ratings for the 10-in. liner. At this downhole pressure, the feasibility of a compression project is marginal, with the incremental recovery insufficient to support the capital investment. Reservoir-management studies indicate that, if the WDOL can be reduced to 1,000 psi, the compression phase of the project could be economical, with recovery potentially increasing by several hundred million BOE. The challenge was to find a way to lower the WDOL while maintaining well integrity and reliability, considering that many of the wells had already been drilled.

Visual Disability Among Juvenile Open-angle Glaucoma Patients.

Juvenile onset primary open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) unlike adult onset primary open-angle glaucoma presents with high intraocular pressure and diffuse visual field loss, which if left untreated leads to severe visual disability. The study aimed to evaluate the extent of visual disability among JOAG patients presenting to a tertiary eye care facility. Visual acuity and perimetry records of unrelated JOAG patients presenting to our Glaucoma facility were analyzed. Low vision and blindness was categorized by the WHO criteria and percentage impairment was calculated as per the guidelines provided by the American Medical Association (AMA). Fifty-two (15%) of the 348 JOAG patients were bilaterally blind at presentation and 32 (9%) had low vision according to WHO criteria. Ninety JOAG patients (26%) had a visual impairment of 75% or more. Visual disability at presentation among JOAG patients is high. This entails a huge economic burden, given their young age and associated social responsibilities.

5a-F-19 強磁場、高圧下におけるGaAs/AlAs短周期超格子の励起子発光スペクトルとΓ-XクロスオーバーII

5a-F-19 強磁場、高圧下におけるGaAs/AlAs短周期超格子の励起子発光スペクトルとΓ-XクロスオーバーII

Chemical composition and sources of PM1 and PM2.5 in Beijing in autumn

Beijing, the capital of China, suffers from severe atmospheric aerosol pollution; nevertheless, a comprehensive study of the constituents and sources of PM1 is still lacking, and the differences between PM1 and PM2.5 are still unclear. In this study, an intensive observation was conducted to reveal the pollution characteristics of PM1 and PM2.5 in Beijing in autumn. Positive matrix factorization (PMF), backward trajectories and a potential source contribution function (PSCF) model were used to identify the source categories and source areas of PM1 and PM2.5. The results showed that the average concentrations of PM1 and PM2.5 reached 78.20μg/m3 and 95.47μg/m3 during the study period, respectively. PM1 contributed greatly to PM2.5. The PM1/PM2.5 value increased from 73.6% to 90.1% with PM1 concentration growing from <50μg/m3 to >150μg/m3. Higher secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) proportions (31.3%–70.8%) were found in PM1. The higher fraction of SIA, OC, EC and typical elements in PM1 illustrated that anthropogenic components accumulated more in smaller size particles. Three typical weather patterns causing the heavy pollution in autumn were found as follows: (1) Siberian high and uniform high pressure field, (2) cold front and low-voltage system, and (3) uniform low pressure field. A PMF analysis indicated that secondary aerosols and coal combustion, vehicle, industry, biomass burning, and dust were the important sources of PM, accounting for 53.8%, 8.0%, 13.0%, 13.2% and 12.0% of PM1, respectively, and for 47.5%, 9.9%, 12.4%, 8.4% and 21.8% of PM2.5, respectively. The HYSPLIT and chemical components analysis indicated the potential contribution from biomass burning and fertilization ammonia emissions to PM1 in autumn. The source areas were similar for PM1 and PM1–2.5 under general polluted conditions, but during the heavily polluted periods, the source areas were distributed in farther regions from Beijing for PM1 than for PM1–2.5.

Modelling the radiolysis of RSG-GAS primary cooling water

Water chemistry control for light water coolant reactor required a reliable understanding of radiolysis effect in mitigating corrosion and degradation of reactor structure material. It is known that oxidator products can promote the corrosion, cracking and hydrogen pickup both in the core and in the associated piping components of the reactor. The objective of this work is to provide the radiolysis model of RSG GAS cooling water and further more to predict the oxidator concentration which can lead to corrosion of reactor material. Direct observations or measurements of the chemistry in and around the high-flux core region of a nuclear reactor are difficult due to the extreme conditions of high temperature, pressure, and mixed radiation fields. For this reason, chemical models and computer simulations of the radiolysis of water under these conditions are an important route of investigation. FACSIMILE were used to calculate the concentration of O2 formed at relatively long-time by the pure water γ and neutron irradiation (pH=7) at temperature between 25 and 50 °C. This simulation method is based on a complex chemical reaction kinetic. In this present work, 300 MeV-proton were used to mimic γ-rays radiolysis and 2 MeV fast neutrons. Concentration of O2 were calculated at 10−6 - 106 s time scale.

Experimental Research about Shock Wave in a 1+1/2 Counter-Rotating Turbine

To investigate the internal distribution regularities of shock wave structure in 1+1/2 counter-rotating turbine, numerical simulation and experimental research about the shock wave structure were conducted by using the schlieren apparatus under different working conditions.From the point of the unsteady results, the unsteady effect has few influence on the flow field of high pressure guide vane, but the wake of the high pressure guide leaves periodically sweeps through the front edge of the high pressure blade and there presents strong unsteady effect on flow field of high pressure rotor. Because of periodic influence of external wake and shock wave, the unsteadiness of flow in low pressure rotor is still strong but not that drastic compared to the high pressure rotor. 50% height section of the blade of the three types of blades are extracted respectively to make plane cascades which are conducted blowing experiments in supersonic wind tunnel. The final photograph were analyzed by comparing with the CFD results. Results show that with the increase of expansion ratio, the wave structures in blade channel move toward the exit and the caudal interference between the outer tail wave and is strengthened gradually.

Practice and Cognition of Midway VSP in High Temperature and High Pressure Field of South China Sea

Ying-Qiong Basin is a typical high-temperature and overpressure basin, which is the main battlefield of oil and gas exploration in South China Sea and has made great breakthroughs in recent years. During drilling process in high pressure, the relationship between the deep and the pressure is directly related to the drilling safety and costs. In order to improve prediction accuracy, the VSP operation is carried out through the midway, and three points have been obtained: 1) The VSP has a higher accuracy of the interface depth in certain depth range of the drill bit. 2) When the low-frequency trend prediction is accurate before the drill bit, interval velocity of the VSP inversion is consistent with the formation velocity. 3) The VSP pressure forecast is based on the inversion layer velocity and under-compaction pressure. If the velocity prediction is not accurate, the pressure forecast must be erroneous. If the pressure has other sources, the formation pressure is not accurate even if the inversion velocity is accurate. The application scope and exploration effect of midway VSP operation are summarized and applied to Ledong 10-1 block in Yinggehai basin, which realize the breakthrough in the field of high temperature overpressure and provide the basis for other similar exploration areas to do VSP operation.

Water-molecular emission from cavitation bubbles affected by electric fields

Orange emission was observed during multibubble sonoluminescence at 1 MHz in water saturated with noble gas. The emission arose in the vicinity of the peeled ground electrode of a piezoceramic transducer exposed to water, suggesting that cavitation bubbles were affected by the electric fields that leaked from the transducer. The spectrum of the emission exhibited a broad component whose intensity increased towards the near-infrared region with peaks at 713 and 813 nm. The spectral shape was independent of the saturation gas of He, Ne, or Kr. The broad component was attributed to the superposition of lines due to vibration-rotation transitions of water molecules, each of which was broadened by the high pressure and electric fields at bubble collapse. An emission mechanism based on charge induction by electric fields and the charged droplet model is proposed.