Nanoparticles have gained considerable interest in recent times for oil recovery purposes owing to significant capabilities in wettability alteration of reservoir rocks. Wettability is a key factor controlling displacement efficiency and ultimate recovery of oil. The present study investigates the influence of zirconium (IV) oxide (ZrO2) and nickel (II) oxide (NiO) nanoparticles on the wetting preference of fractured (oil-wet) limestone formations. Wettability was assessed through SEM, AFM and contact angle. The potentials of the nanoparticles to alter oil-wet calcite substrates water wet, was experimentally tested at low nanoparticle concentrations (0.004–0.05 wt%). Quite similar behaviour was observed for both nanoparticles at the same particle concentration; while ZrO2 demonstrated a better efficiency by altering strongly oil-wet (water contact angle θ=152°) calcite substrates into a strongly water-wet (θ=44°) state, NiO changed wettability to an intermediate-wet condition (θ=86°) at 0.05 wt% nanoparticle concentration. We conclude that ZrO2 is very efficient in terms of inducing strong water-wettability; and ZrO2 based nanofluids have a high potential as EOR agents.
Recently the use of nanofluids represents very important materials. They are used in different branches like medicine, engineering, power, heat transfer, etc. The stability of nanofluids is an important factor to improve the performance of nanofluids with good results. In this research two types of nanoparticles, TiO2 (titanium oxide) and γ-Al2O3 (gamma aluminum oxide) were used with base fluid water. Two-step method were used to prepare the nanofluids. One concentration 0.003 vol. %, the nanoparticles were examined. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to accomplish these tests. The stability of the two types of nanofluids is measured by
... Show MoreThe sequence in the upper part of the Balambo Formation is composed mainly of limestone alternating with marly limestones and dark grey shale in the Bosheen section (eastern Sulaymaniyah, northeastern Iraq) and has been studied in terms of its rare earth element (REE) content. The REEs are very low compared to modern marine sediments. They are depletion in LREEs, and enrichment in HREEs and (La/Yb)N in the studied rocks, indicating that these sediments retained the REEs pattern of marine waters. The negative Ce anomaly reflects direct sedimentation from marine waters under anoxic conditions with the contribution of terrigenous clays. The positive correlation of ∑REEs with Al, Ti, and Y, and the negative correlation of ∑REE
... Show MoreStaphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the major globally distributed pathogens, which causes chronic and recalcitrant infections due to their capacity to produce biofilms in large part. Biofilm production represents a survival strategy in these species, allowing them to endure environmental stress by altering their gene expression to match their own survival needs. In this study, we co-cultured different clinical isolates of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa as mono- and mixed-species biofilms in a full-strength Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI) and in a 1000-fold diluted Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI/1000) using Microtiter plate assay and determination of colony-forming units. Furthermore, the effect of starvation stress on the e
... Show MoreSilver nanoparticles synthesized from aqueoes extract for mushroom pleurotus ostreatus. Silver nanoparticles were showing good antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity conducted against different pathogenic bacteria such as Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Listeria, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MARSA), Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The maximum inhibition zone was observed against S. marcesance. However, the lowest inhibition zone was found against P. fluorescens.
In recent years, infectious diseases are increasingly being encountered in clinical settings. Due to the development of antibiotic resistance and the outbreak of these diseases caused by resistant pathogenic bacteria, the pharmaceutical companies and the researchers are now searching for new unconventional antibacterial agents. Recently, in this field, the application of nanoparticles is an emerging area of nanoscience and nanotechnology. For this reason, nanotechnology has a great deal of attention from the scientific community and may provide solutions to technological and environmental challenges. A common feature that these nanoparticles exhibit their antimicrobial behavior against pathogenic bacteria. In this report, we evaluate
... Show MoreIn this work, the photoluminescence spectra (PL) of porous silicon (PS) have been modified by adding gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to PS layer. PS was produced via Photo electro-chemical etching (PECE) method of n-type Si wafer with resistivity of about (10 Ω.cm) and (100) orientation. Laser wavelength of (630 nm) and illumination intensity of about (30 mW/cm2), etching current density of (10mA/cm2), and etching time of (4 min) were used during the etching process. The bare PS before metallic deposition process and porous silicon/gold nanoparticles (PS/AuNPs) structures were investigated by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX). The photoluminescence spectra were investigated as a fu
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Background: Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is the most ‎commonly used mâ€aterial in denture construction. This material is ‎far from ideal in fulfilling the‎ mechanical requirements, like low impact and transverse strength and poor thermal conductivity are present in this material. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of addition a composite which include 1%wt silanized silicone dioxide nano fillers (SiO2) and 1wt% oxygen plasma treated polypropylene fiber (PP) on some properties of heat cured acrylic resin denture base material (PMMA). Materials and methods: One hundâ€red (100) prepared specimens were divided into five groups according to the tests, each group consisted of 20 specimens and t
A field experiment was carried out in Horticulture Department / Collage of Agricultur e/University of Baghdad to study influence of adding ascorbic acid(asa) and bread yeast extract in snap bean cv.primel under irrigation with saline water using sodium chloride salt (NaCl) during spr ing season of 2016 .A factorial experiment using Randomized Complete Block Design( RCBD) with three replications wereconducted . The first factor includes three treatments of salinity which were tap water ( S0), 4ds.m-1(S1) and 8ds.m-1 (S2) . The second factor includes three treatments which were control treatment without any adding (C) ,ascorbic acid 0.3g.l-1( A ) and yeast extract 12g.l -1( Y ). Results showed significant and gradually decreases in all studie
... Show MoreWe have studied the synthesis environment of ambient pressure silica aerogels influence on their resulting morphological and optical properties. Transparent nanoporous silica aerogel was synthesized at ambient pressure using tetraethylorthosilicate precursor via a sol-gel process. Effect of drying control chemical additives and catalyst on physical properties was investigated. Trimethylchlorolsilane was employed as a hydrophobic reagent in the surface modification process. All aerogel samples were prepared utilizing a subcritical procedure under reactant pH fixed at 8.3, using just ammonium hydroxide or together with ammonium fluoride as catalyst. The effects catalyst types as well as drying control chemical additives on the physical pro
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