Synthesis of Modified Nano-Hydrotalcite Clay by Micellar Method and Its Application as Gel-like Crude Oil Flow Improver.

The network formed by wax precipitation at low temperature and colloid asphaltene at high temperature leads to poor fluidity of heavy oil, and the gelling characteristics of crude oil lead to pipeline blockage, which affects the exploitation, transportation and refining of crude oil. This work prepares a series of cationic surfactant-modified nano hydrotalcite (CSNH) to weaken the network structure and enhance the fluidity of the crude oil by the interaction of organic and inorganic functional groups on the CSNH surface and the components of the crude oil. The results show that CSNHs can all reduce the viscosity of crude oil from different oilfields, among which BTNH can reduce the viscosity of Yanglou (YL) crude oil by 98.

Pilot-scale field studies on activated microbial remediation of petroleum-contaminated soil.

Soil contamination by petroleum, including crude oil from various sources, is increasingly becoming a pressing global environmental concern, necessitating the exploration of innovative and sustainable remediation strategies. The present field-scale study developed a simple, cost-effective microbial remediation process for treating petroleum-contaminated soil. The soil treatment involves adding microbial activators to stimulate indigenous petroleum-degrading microorganisms, thereby enhancing the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) degradation rate.

In-situ noncovalent interaction of ammonium ion enabled C-H bond functionalization of polyethylene glycols.

The noncovalent interactions of ammonium ion with multidentate oxygen-based host has never been reported as a reacting center in catalytic reactions. In this work, we report a reactivity enhancement process enabled by non-covalent interaction of ammonium ion, achieving the C-H functionalization of polyethylene glycols with acrylates by utilizing photoinduced co-catalysis of iridium and quinuclidine. A broad scope of alkenes can be tolerated without observing significant degradation.

Photoinduced [3 + 2] Cycloadditions of Aryl Cyclopropyl Ketones with Alkynes and Alkenes.

The five-membered ring skeleton is one of the most pivotal in the area of pharmaceutical and natural products. [3 + 2] cycloadditions of cyclopropyl and unsaturated compounds are a highly efficient and atom-economical way to build a five-member compound. The previous works about the kind of [3 + 2] cycloadditions usually utilized metal or organic small molecule catalysts.

Iron-Catalyzed Csp-Csp Cross-Coupling via Double Decarboxylation: One Step Synthesis of Remote Polar Alkenes.

Herein, we report an efficient photoinduced iron-catalyzed strategy for cross-couplings of alkyl carboxylic and acrylic acids, which provides a powerful tool for the synthesis of a variety of alkenes with polar functional groups. This novel synthetic methodology can also be applied to the preparation of ketones by using α-keto acids. Mechanistic experiments revealed preliminary mechanistic details.

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR): recent development and future perspectives.

After conventional oil recovery operations, more than half of the crude oil still remains in a form, which is difficult to extract. Therefore, exploring and developing new enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies have always been priority research in oilfield development. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a promising tertiary oil recovery technology that has received widespread attention from the global oil industry in recent years due to its environmental friendliness, simplicity of operation, and cost-effectiveness.

Characterization and Production of a Biosurfactant Viscosin from Pseudomonas sp. HN11 and its Application on Enhanced oil Recovery During oily Sludge Cleaning.

Biosurfactants are renewable resources with versatile applications on environmental bioremediation and industrial processes. Pseudomonas species are one of the promising biosurfactant producers. However, besides rhamnolipids, little is known about Pseudomonas-derived biosurfactants on solubilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oily sludge treatment.

Ligand-free copper-catalyzed C(sp)-H imidation of aromatic and aliphatic methyl sulfides with -fluorobenzenesulfonimide.

A novel and efficient process has been developed for copper-catalyzed C(sp)-H direct imidation of methyl sulfides with -fluorobenzenesulfonimide(NFSI). Without using any ligands, various methyl sulfides including aromatic and aliphatic methyl sulfides, can be transformed to the corresponding -((phenylthio)methyl)-benzenesulfonamide derivatives in good to excellent yields.

Bioremediation of oily sludge by solid complex bacterial agent with a combined two-step process.

In the present research, a bioremediation process was developed using solid complex bacterial agents (SCBA) through a combined two-step biodegradation process. Four isolated strains showed high efficiency for the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and the reduction of COD of the oily sludge, at 96.6% and 92.

A 3D Cu(ii) tetrazolate coordination polymer based on pentanuclear units with a large coercive field.

A novel 3D coordination polymer {[Cu4.5 (BTZE)1.5 (μ3-OH)3(μ-OH)(SO4)(H2O)1.

Biodegradation of crude oil by Chelatococcus daeguensis HB-4 and its potential for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) in heavy oil reservoirs.

Biodegradation of crude heavy oil was investigated with Chelatococcus daeguensis HB-4 that was isolated from the produced fluid of Baolige Oilfield in China. Batch growth characterization and crude oil degradation tests confirmed HB-4 to be facultative anaerobic and able to degrade heavy oil. The oil degradation was found to occur through degrading long hydrocarbons chains to shorter ones, resulting in oil viscosity reduction.

High efficiency and fast separation of active proteins by HIC chromatographic pie with sub-2 μm polymer packings.

This paper reports the development of hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) by synthesizing sub-2 μm polymer packings which was packed into a chromatographic pie for fast separation of native proteins at low pressures demonstrating high efficiency. Using styrene as monomer and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA)as swelling agent, the polystyrene seeds with an average particle size of 0.8 μm and monodisperse polymeric microspheres with a particle size of 1.

Luteimonas huabeiensis sp. nov., isolated from stratum water.

A yellow-coloured bacterial strain, designated HB2(T), isolated from stratum water was investigated using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-flagellated and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain was a member of the genus Luteimonas, its three closest neighbours being Luteimonas aquatica BCRC 17731(T) (97.

Refolding of urea-denatured α-chymotrypsin by protein-folding liquid chromatography.

An approach for re-folding denatured proteins during proteome research by protein folding liquid chromatography (PFLC) is presented. Standard protein, α-chymotrypsin (α-Chy), was selected as a model protein and hydrophobic interaction chromatography was performed as a typical PFLC; the three different α-Chy states - urea-denatured (U state), its folded intermediates (M state) and nature state (N state) - were studied during protein folding. Based on the test by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry and bioactivity, only one stable M state of the α-Chy was identified and then it was prepared for further investigation.

A new approach for characterizing the intermediate feature of α-chymotrypsin refolding by hydrophobic interaction chromatography.

A new approach for characterizing the intermediate of urea-denatured alpha-chymotrypsin (alpha-Chy) by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is presented. The contact surface region (Z, S), affinity (logI), and the character of interaction force (j) of the alpha-Chy to the stationary phase of HIC (STHIC) between the intermediate (M) and native (N) states were found to be quite different as urea concentration (C(urea)) changes. With the changes in C(urea), a linear relationship between logI and Z was found to exist only for its N state, not for M state, indicating the interaction force between alpha-Chy in N state to the STHIC to be non-selective, but selective one for its M state.

On-line separation of native proteins by two-dimensional liquid chromatography using a single column.

This paper reports the on-line separation of native (N) proteins by two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) using a single column with one phase (called 2D column). The 2D column exhibits excellent resolution, selectivity, and retention of proteins in the N state and functions in two retention modes--hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) and weak-cation exchange chromatography (WCX). We describe a new approach to on-line buffer exchange and collection of fractions from the first retention mode and their quantitative re-injection into the same column, followed by re-separation in the second retention mode.

A fast method for preparation of cytochrome-C of high purity from pig heart by hydrophobic interaction chromatography.

A fast method for the preparation of cytochrome C (Cyt-C) of high purity from pig heart is presented. A simple-type column of hydrophobic interaction chromatography packed with big particles was employed for the fast purification in laboratory scale. The purity of the purified Cyt-C was verified by reversed-phase liquid chromatography, UV spectroscopy, and iron content in it.

Design and resolution of a simple-type column for renaturation with simultaneous purification of proteins and its application to lysozyme refolding.

A new kind of column called simple-type chromatographic column using the packings of large particles, which resembles columns used in traditional low pressure liquid chromatography in both shape and operation but has resolution of biopolymers similar to high performance liquid chromatography, was designed and investigated. In addition, so long as a suitable stationary phase, such as hydrophobic interaction chromatographic stationary phase, is packed, the column can be employed for the purification with simultaneous renaturation of proteins. The structure, operation and characteristics of the designed column including pressure drop, column life, and resolution were investigated.

Preparation of weak cation exchange packings based on monodisperse poly(glycidyl methacrylate- co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads and their chromatographic properties.

The monodisperse, macroporous poly(glycidyl methacrylate- co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads were synthesized by a single-step swelling and polymerization method. Based on this media, a weak cation exchange (WCX) stationary phase for HPLC was synthesized by a new chemically modified method. The prepared resin has advantages for biopolymer separation, high column efficiency, low column backpressure, high protein mass recovery, and good resolution for proteins.