Water-based Extraction Process Research Articles

Preparation of Rice Bran Protein Solutions Using a Water-Based Extraction Process

Preparation of Rice Bran Protein Solutions Using a Water-Based Extraction Process

Synergistic anticorrosion effect of Brassica Hirta phytoconstituents and cerium ions on mild steel in saline media: Surface and electrochemical evaluations

Among all the issues that industries will encounter, corrosion is the most concerning. Up to now, corrosion left notable problems in industrial processes and that is why the researchers proposed various methods for limiting its drawbacks. The present work aim is to analyze the impact of Brassica Hirta extract, which is popularly called Mustard, on steel corrosion mitigation and its synergistic effect in mixture with cerium (Ce) cations by using electrochemical and morphological methods. One of the advantages of this inhibitor is its low cost, which is caused by the two factors of the water-based extraction process and the initial cost of the plant purchasing. Moreover, due to the mentioned extraction process, the ME can be considered an eco-friendly inhibitor. In addition, the ME is accessible in most parts of the world. The film composition screening was done by EDS, mapping, and GIXRD techniques, and by FE-SEM and AFM technics, both surface morphology investigation and topographical explorations were done.The findings confirm that the Mustard extract (ME) inhibition impact was boosted in the presence of Ce cations and the mixture performance was optimized at 200:600 ppm ME:Ce mixture concentration. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization records illustrated that the mixture could retard the corrosion by 94% and 92% of steel corrosion after 48 h of steel immersion, respectively. Also, the synergistic index value of 200:600 ppm ME:Ce ascended steadily from 2.50 until reaching 7.44. The morphology of the film deposited on the surface and its microstructure including ME:Ce complex was demonstrated. The GIXRD analysis outcomes besides EDS and mapping detections confirmed that the protective layer formed includes ME phytochemicals and Ce oxide/hydroxides.

Dewatering of Naphthenic Bitumen Froth

Bitumen froth is a water-in-bitumen emulsion (~ 30 wt% water, 60 wt% bitumen, and 10 wt% of solids) stream obtained during the water-based extraction process of mined oil sands. The separation of w...

Research on Treatment of Oily Sludge from the Tank Bottom by Ball Milling Combined with Ozone-Catalyzed Oxidation.

Difficult separation of oil–solid phase and high fine content of the recovered oil were two problems in the treatment of oily sludge from the tank bottom by the hot water-based extraction process. To solve the problems, one technology with “ball milling + ozone-catalyzed oxidation” as the core was studied, and the process parameters of ball milling and ozone-catalyzed oxidation were respectively optimized. After ball milling treatment, the oil content of dry oily sludge decreased from 33.9 to 10.2%. Then, an ozone catalytic oxidation treatment technology with aluminum ore as the catalyst was developed to further treat this stubborn oily sludge. Under the optimal conditions, the oil content of oily sludge could be further reduced to 0.28%, which met the treatment and disposal requirements stipulated in GB4284-2018. For further research on the contribution of the catalyst to the ozone catalytic oxidation system, the reaction activation energy and reaction rates of ozone oxidation and ozone catalytic oxidation were compared from the perspective of kinetics. The results showed that, with the catalyst addition, the reaction rate constants increased about three times and the reaction activation energy reduced 82.26%, which showed the effectiveness of the catalyst on the kinetics quantitatively. The combined process with “ball milling + ozone-catalyzed oxidation” as the core can solve the two problems in the treatment of oily sludge from the tank bottom by hot water-based extraction and provides a reference for the harmless and resourceful treatment of oily sludge from the tank bottom.

Optimization of the Influencing Variables on the Corrosion Property of Steel Alloy 4130 in 3.5 wt.% NaCl Solution

In this work, the aqueous Lawsonia inermis extract (LI) is investigated as an economic and green deterioration inhibitive formula for steel alloy 4130 in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions. The water-based extraction process is considered as one of the cheapest techniques for preparation of active ingredients of natural products. These ingredients play an important role in corrosion mitigation of steel alloy 4130 in saline media. This extract was subjected to three different parameters: inhibitor concentration, rotation speed, and temperature in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions. The electrochemical techniques are used to perceive the corrosion behavior, and the obtained results were dedicated to theoretical explorations to assess the features of corrosion inhibition and the adsorption over the steel substrate in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions. Affording to the electrochemical techniques of LI showed very promising results against corrosion depending on the inhibitor concentrations. The inhibition efficiency of LI was additionally appraised at three diverse temperatures, and the results disclosed that the inhibition efficiency is decreased. Additionally, the theoretical aspects illuminated that the main active ingredients of LI have a proclivity to coagulate on the steel substrates allowing these areas to paradigm a protecting layer on the steel surfaces. This behavior is in provision of investigational results. Statistical studies were used to examine the consequence of chief constraints (i.e., inhibitor concentration, temperature, and rotation speed) on the inhibition efficiency and the rate of corrosion of steel alloy 4130. The inhibitive effect of LI in contradiction of the corrosion of steel alloy 4130 surfaces is considered by resources of DFT/6-31G(d) calculations. The quantum chemical parameters interrelated to the inhibition efficiency are considered.

Effects of Hot Water-Based Extraction Process on the Removal of Petroleum Hydrocarbons from the Oil-Contaminated Soil

The properties including oil content, density, high viscosity, and corresponding components were analyzed in the samples of the oil-contaminated soil from one country in the Middle East; also, chem...

Impact of a hybrid bitumen extraction process on the destabilization of resulting bitumen froth emulsion diluted with heptane

Hybrid bitumen extraction (HBE) at reduced temperature (e.g. 20 °C) is a potential option for retrofitting the commercial Clark hot water-based extraction (CHWE) process for mineable oil sands. In this work, the impact of solvent addition during HBE on the effectiveness of paraffinic froth treatment is evaluated. Bitumen froth samples generated from pilot scale runs of HBE, during which either diesel or cyclohexane were added to presoak the oil sand ore, and from standard CHWE were studied. The settling behavior of aggregates in heptane-diluted bitumen froth was monitored by tracking interface positions with time in an autoclave or in a column. In addition, water, ash, and asphaltene contents of diluted bitumen were measured, as well as density and viscosity. Results suggest that, 10 wt% (based on bitumen content) of added petroleum diesel in HBE gave a slightly lower emulsion settling velocity but similar water/ash contents in diluted bitumen, compared to values for baseline froth samples from CHWE. However, addition of 10 wt% cyclohexane in HBE had a negligible effect on emulsion settling velocity and bitumen product quality. Interestingly, only a small amount of asphaltene precipitation was critical to the establishment of zone settling behavior and, hence, the yield of clean bitumen. The correlation between settling velocity and de-asphalting percentage is also discussed.

A detailed electrochemical/theoretical exploration of the aqueous Chinese gooseberry fruit shell extract as a green and cheap corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in acidic solution

The aqueous extract of Chinese gooseberry fruit shell is a green source of various biologically active compounds like sucrose, maltose and folate, which are highly soluble in water and act as inhibiting molecules for carbon steel. The other components like methyl hexanoate, phytosterol and octadecadienoic acid are insoluble or less soluble in water and cannot be extracted from the Chinese gooseberry fruit shell through water-based extraction process. With corrosion inhibitory action in acidic environments. In the present work, the Chinese gooseberry fruit shell was used as a cheap waste material for extraction of green corrosion inhibitors for mild steel corrosion mitigation in subjection to HCl solution. Detailed explorations based on electronic-level density functional theory (DFT) and atomic-level molecular simulations (molecular dynamics and Mote Carlo) combined with electrochemical methods were applied to assess the Chinese gooseberry fruit shell corrosion inhibition characteristics, electronic properties, and interactions over the steel substrate in HCl solution. AFM, SEM, and contact angle test were performed to assess the morphology of the unexposed and exposed metal surfaces. According to EIS results, 92% efficiency was derived using 1000 ppm extract after 2.5 h metal immersion in inhibited HCl solution. The polarization test results clarified a prominent cathodic inhibition activity for this inhibitor with slight impact on the mechanism of hydrogen evolution reaction. The inhibition efficiency of Chinese gooseberry fruit shell extract was additionally evaluated by weight loss experiments at different temperatures and the results disclosed that during 5 h steel immersion at 25 °C the efficiency raised to 94% for 1000 ppm sample. Furthermore, the molecular simulation results clarified that the major active organic compounds of Chinese gooseberry fruit shell extract have a propensity to adsorb on the metal substrate enabling them to construct a corrosion preventing film over the surface, which is in support of experimental findings. The electronic-structure DFT studies evidenced the donor-acceptor interactions of reactive sites of inhibitor molecules. It is noteworthy that among different water-soluble ingredients of the Chinese gooseberry fruit shell extract the N-containing compounds including folate structure can supply more inhibiting activity than sucrose and maltose due to the presence of different polar oxygenated centers (i.e., hydroxyl and carbonyl) and importantly nitrogenous moieties (e.g., imine -N and amine -NH and -NH2). The stronger folate inhibition potentiality was computationally affirmed by DFT-evidenced strongest protonation affinity leading to its possible strongest physisorption and strongest MC/MD-proposed adsorption energies.

Synergistic effect of water layer and divalent metal ions in a model oil sand on bitumen liberation from solids surface

In this work, we offer a direct evidence to illustrate the synergistic effect of water layer and divalent metal ions in oil sands on bitumen liberation from solids surface. A model oil sand was constructed by coating bitumen on the glass surface with a water layer containing divalent metal ions inserted between them. The bitumen liberation behaviors were investigated by placing the model oil sands in various pH solutions. It was found that the water layer facilitated the bitumen liberation, while the presence of Ca2+ or Mg2+ in the water layer played a different role on the bitumen liberation depending on the solution pH. It was believed that the variation of the bitumen liberation was attributed to the changes of surface wettability arising from the adsorption of natural surfactants on the solids and bitumen surfaces. The preferential adsorption of Ca2+ or Mg2+ on the solids and bitumen surfaces acted as either a barrier to disturb the cationic surfactants adsorbing or a bridge to anchor the anionic surfactants. The findings in this work are important for understanding the bitumen liberation behaviors and give a guideline of how controlling the water chemistry when processing the oil sands by water-based bitumen extraction processes.

Profiling of individual naphthenic acids at a composite tailings reclamation fen by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are naturally occurring in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) and accumulate in tailings as a result of water-based extraction processes. NAs exist as a complex mixture, so the development of an analytical technique to characterize them has been an on-going challenge. The aim of this study was to use comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry to monitor individual NAs within a wetland reclamation site in the AOSR. Samples were collected from four monitoring wells at the site and the extracts were found to contain numerous resolved isomers of classical (monocyclic-, bicyclic-, adamantane-, indane-, and tetralin-type carboxylic acids) and sulfur-containing NAs (thiamonocyclic- and thiophene-type carboxylic acids). The absolute abundances of the monitored NAs were compared between four monitoring wells and unique profiles were observed at each well. Few significant changes in absolute abundances were observed over the sampling period, with the exception of one well (Well 6A). In addition, isomeric percent compositions were calculated for each set of structural isomers, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and two-dimensional hierarchical cluster analysis revealed high spatial variation at the site. However, consistent distributions were observed at each of the monitoring wells for some sets of NA isomers (such as: adamantane NAs), which may be useful for forensic applications, such as identifying sources of contamination or demonstrating biodegradation. The methods and results presented in this study demonstrate the utility of monitoring individual NAs, since both changes in absolute abundances of individual NAs and the distribution of NA isomers have the ability to provide insight into their sources and the processes controlling their concentrations that are not only of relevance to the Alberta Oil Sands, but also to other petroleum deposits and environmental systems.

Probing Bitumen Liberation by a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation

The detachment of bitumen from sand grains in oil sands processing is known as bitumen liberation. In this study, a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) was applied to study the bitumen liberation process under various process conditions. Bitumen was coated on the surface of silica sensors to simulate the oil sands ore. By recording the change of frequency and dissipation of the coated sensor, QCM-D allows for a real-time quantitative analysis of the bitumen detachment process. The effects of solid wettability, solution pH, and operation temperature on bitumen liberation were investigated using QCM-D. The effects of different solution pH values and temperatures on bitumen liberation were conducted with untreated hydrophilic silica sensors. It was found that the degree of bitumen liberation (DBL) was improved from 32 to 98% when the solution pH was increased from 7.8 to 11, indicating the importance of solution pH in the water-based bitumen extraction process. An increasing temperature enha...

Biodiesel-Assisted Ambient Aqueous Bitumen Extraction (BA3BE) from Athabasca Oil Sands

The water-based extraction process has been almost exclusively used in the current industry for Athabasca oil sands extraction to produce bitumen and heavy oil. However, the current method is facing various challenges, primarily including high energy intensity, poor processability with poor-quality ores, large consumption of fresh water, and concerns on considerable volume of tailings. Although the technology of using nonaqueous solvent as extraction medium has numerous advantages, problems such as solvent loss to tailings and high capital/operating costs are difficult to address. A biodiesel-assisted ambient aqueous bitumen extraction (BA3BE) process has been herein proposed as an alternative to water-based and solvent-based extraction processes. The results showed a significant improvement in both froth quality and bitumen recovery (increased from ∼10% to ∼80% with biodiesel addition) for processing poor-quality ores at ambient temperature (25 °C), which is much lower than the temperatures used in the c...

Role of Ethyl Cellulose in Bitumen Extraction from Oil Sands Ores Using an Aqueous–Nonaqueous Hybrid Process

A major drawback associated with current hot or warm water-based bitumen extraction processes is the high consumption of energy. To address this issue, an aqueous–nonaqueous hybrid bitumen extraction process (HBEP), in which a portion of the diluent (solvent) was added upfront to soak mined oil sands prior to its water-based extraction, was proposed and demonstrated to be feasible to process mineable oil sands at ambient temperatures. This study investigates the effect of adding ethyl cellulose (EC) as a promising demulsifier to the solvent on bitumen recovery and froth quality in the ambient HBEP. The laboratory flotation results clearly showed a significant improvement in froth quality with a negligible setback on bitumen recovery by 100–200 ppm EC addition to the HBEP. Determined by an online visualization method, the addition of EC in solvent to the HBEP was found to further enhance separation kinetics of bitumen from sand grains of real oil sands ores. The addition of EC in solvent also increased the...

Improving Bitumen Recovery from Poor Processing Oil Sands Using Microbial Pretreatment

Low bitumen recovery and poor froth quality are always encountered when processing poor oil sands using water-based extraction processes. Application of microbial treatment of the ore prior to bitumen extraction was proposed to resolve the challenges and develop a more versatile and effective extraction process. Microbial treatment was carried out by placing a poor processing ore in the culture solution with strain of Bacillus subtilis for a restricted period of time. Flotation tests showed that an improved bitumen recovery of 97% was obtained after the poor ore was microbially treated. The wettability of solids was found to be changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, leading to a great decrease of the long-range attractive force and adhesion between bitumen and solids. Saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene (SARA) fraction analysis indicated that the content of heavy components of asphaltenes and resins was decreased with an increase in saturate and aromatic fractions after the microbial treatment of the ore. This was well-correlated with the rheological characterization of bitumen. The improved processability was attributed to the biosurfactant production in the culture solutions, alteration of solids wettability, and decrease in bitumen viscosity, which collectively promoted the liberation of bitumen from the solids surface, and gives a better oil quality.

Identification of individual thiophene-, indane-, tetralin-, cyclohexane-, and adamantane-type carboxylic acids in composite tailings pore water from Alberta oil sands.

Naphthenic acids (NAs) accumulate in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) as a result of the water-based extraction processes, and represent one of the toxic fractions in OSPW. They exist as a complex mixture and so the development of an analytical method to characterize and quantify individual acids has been an on-going challenge. The multidimensional separation technique of two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) has the potential to provide a fingerprint of the sources of NAs and can potentially resolve individual analytes for target analysis. However, the identity and toxicity of a large proportion of the acids present in tailing waters are still unknown. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/TOFMS) was used to characterize NAs in a pore water sample from a Syncrude composite tailings (CT) deposit in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The extractable organic acid fraction was derivatized with diazomethane and the structures of selected resolved esters were elucidated through interpretation of their electron ionization (EI) mass spectra and, if available, confirmed by comparison with the spectra of reference standards. The high resolving power of the GC × GC/TOFMS technique allowed for the structural elucidation of numerous as yet unidentified acids in the CT pore water sample such as carboxylic acids containing a thiophene, indane, tetralin or cyclohexane moiety. Seventeen members of the previously reported class of adamantane-type carboxylic acids in oil sands process water could also be identified in the sample. This study underlines the complexity of naphthenic acid isomer distributions in composite tailings and provides a useful inventory of individual acids.

Application of microbial enhanced oil recovery technology in water‐based bitumen extraction from weathered oil sands

When using the water‐based extraction processes (WBEPs) to recover bitumen from the weathered oil sands, very low bitumen recovery arisen from the poor liberation of bitumen from sand grains is always obtained. Application of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology in WBEPs to solve the poor processability of the weathered ore was proposed. It was found that processability of the microbial‐treated weathered ore was greatly improved. The improved processability was attributed to the biosurfactants production in the culture solution, alteration of the solids wettability, degradation of the asphaltene component, and the decrease of the bitumen viscosity, which collectively contributed to the bitumen liberation from the surface of sand grains. Although it still has many issues to be solved for an industrial application of the MEOR technology in oil sands separation, it is believed that the findings in this work promote the solution to the poor processability of the weathered ore. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2985–2993, 2014

Studying bitumen–bubble interactions using atomic force microscopy

Processing of oil sands using water-based extraction processes requires selective aeration of liberated bitumen droplets to facilitate transport of aerated bitumen to the top of the slurry where it is recovered. Colloidal forces between bubble and bitumen or silica control the selective attachment of bitumen to air bubbles as desired. In this study, interaction forces between bubble and bitumen or silica were measured in various aqueous solutions using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The wettability of the silica particles was found to play a significant role in controlling bubble–silica interactions. There exists a long-range repulsive force and zero adhesion between air bubbles and hydrophilic silica spheres, in contrast to strong attractive force and large adhesion force between the air bubble and hydrophobic silica spheres. The results suggest the potential of unwanted aeration of hydrophobic solids, leading to a poor froth quality. Study on bitumen–bubble interaction shows that the types of surfactants have a great effect on the long-range interaction due to their adsorption on the bubble surface, which could cause the bubble surface either positively or negatively charged, leading to different electrostatic forces. In the plant process water or in the anionic surfactant solution, the bitumen-coated silica sphere could penetrate into the bubble to form a three-phase contact (TPC) line when the external loading force exceeds a threshold value.

Froth Treatment in Athabasca Oil Sands Bitumen Recovery Process: A Review

Bitumen froth treatment is an integrated process step in the Athabasca oil sands bitumen recovery operations. Its objective is to separate mineral solids and water from the bitumen froth. The bitumen froth is diluted with naphthenic or paraffinic solvents to lower its viscosity to facilitate the separation; therefore, bitumen froth treatment is the removal of inorganics (mineral particles and water droplets) from a bitumen organic solvent solution. The micrometer sized mineral particles (mainly clays) and water-in-oil emulsion droplets are the most difficult to remove from the bitumen froth. Research has been carried out that has led to an understanding of the formation, stabilization and properties of the water-in-oil emulsions in the bitumen organic solvent solution. It is known that the water-in-oil emulsions are formed by water entrained into the bitumen froth during the water-based extraction process and stabilized by natural surfactants in bitumen (especially asphaltene) and fine mineral particles. ...

Environmental assessment on a soil washing process of a Pb-contaminated shooting range site: a case study

In this study, an environmental assessment on a soil washing process for the remediation of a Pb-contaminated shooting range site was conducted, using a green and sustainable remediation tool, i.e., SiteWise ver. 2, based on data relating specifically to the actual remediation project. The entire soil washing process was classified into four major stages, consisting of soil excavation (stage I), physical separation (stage II), acid-based (0.2 N HCl) chemical extraction (stage III), and wastewater treatment (stage IV). Environmental footprints, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy consumption, water consumption, and critical air pollutant productions such as PM10, NO x , and SO x , were calculated, and the relative contribution of each stage was analyzed in the environmental assessment. In stage I, the relative contribution of the PM10 emissions was 55.3 % because the soil excavation emitted the fine particles. In stage II, the relative contribution of NO x and SO x emissions was 42.5 and 52.5 %, respectively, which resulted from electricity consumption for the operation of the separator. Stage III was the main contributing factor to 63.1 % of the GHG emissions, 67.5 % of total energy used, and 37.4 % of water consumptions. The relatively high contribution of stage III comes from use of consumable chemicals such as HCl and water-based extraction processes. In stage IV, the relative contributions of GHG emissions, total energy used, and NO x and SO x emissions were 23.2, 19.4, 19.5, and 25.3 %, respectively, which were caused by chemical and electricity demands for system operation. In conclusion, consumable chemicals such as HCl and NaOH, electric energy consumption for system operation, and equipment use for soil excavation were determined to be the major sources of environmental pollution to occur during the soil washing process. Especially, the acid-based chemical extraction process should be avoided in order to improve the sustainability of soil washing processes.

Effect of Diluent Addition on Bitumen Liberation from a Glass Surface

Liberation of bitumen from sand grains is a key step on processing oil sands using water-based extraction processes. In this study, effects of diluent addition on bitumen liberation from a solid surface were investigated under various conditions, including the washing temperature, pH value of the water, and washing time. It was found that more effective bitumen liberation could be achieved by adding diluents, such as kerosene and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), in the bitumen. Especially, FAME addition was found more efficient to accelerate bitumen liberation than that of kerosene. Rheological characterization showed that bitumen viscosity was greatly decreased with diluent addition, which was responsible for the improved bitumen liberation. The findings in this study might find their applications in the oil sands processing industry.