Experimental Investigations and MD Simulation on Nanoparticle-Enhanced CO-Responsive Foam (NECRF): Implications on CO-EOR.

CO-responsive foam (CRF) is a highly promising candidate for CO-enhanced oil recovery (CO-EOR) because it displays higher stability than the surfactant-stabilized foam owing to the formation of robust wormlike micelles (WLMs) upon exposure to CO. In this work, the nanoparticle-enhanced CO-responsive foam (NECRF) was properly prepared using lauryl ether sulfate sodium (LES)/diethylenetriamine/nano-SiO, and its interfacial properties and EOR potential were experimentally and numerically assessed, aiming to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of NECRF as a novel CO-EOR technique. It was found that the interfacial expansion elastic modulus increased 6-fold after CO stimulation.

SESAM mode-locked Tm:LuYO ceramic laser generating 54-fs pulses at 2048 nm.

Mode-locked laser operation near 2.05 µm based on a mixed sesquioxide : ceramic is demonstrated. Continuous-wave and wavelength-tunable operation is also investigated.

Direct air capture (DAC) of CO using polyethylenimine (PEI) "snow": a scalable strategy.

We have developed a cross-linked polyethyleneimine non-porous material (PEI "snow") for direct air capture (DAC) of CO. This new hydrogel is green, inexpensive, readily scalable and can be fabricated through simple crosslinking of PEI with triglycidyl trimethylolpropane ether (TTE) in 10 minutes. It demonstrates outstanding DAC performance (overall CO uptake efficiency of approximately 50 mg g of sorbent) at lab scale (sorbent weight roughly 60 g, air flow rate 2000 ml min) and the CO can be desorbed using low-grade waste steam.

Preventing Hydrate Adhesion with Magnetic Slippery Surfaces.

Hydrate formation is a common challenge in the oil and gas industry when natural gas is transported under cold conditions in the presence of water. Coatings are one of the solutions that have shown to be a promising approach to address this challenge. However, this strategy suffers from the intrinsic existence of a solid-liquid interface causing a high rate of hydrate nucleation and high hydrate adhesion strength.

Polyethylenimine "Snow": An Emerging Material for Efficient Carbon Removal.

Amine-functionalized solid adsorbents are one of the most promising alternatives to the conventional "amine scrubbing" for carbon capture with a number of prominent examples being reported. However, their widespread application in industry is unfulfilled due to their overall performance and complex fabrication, which relies on a porous support. In this "proof of concept" study, we report an approach for generating a new type of material called polyethylenimine (PEI) 'snow', which can be prepared for use in under 15 min.

Rational design and fabrication of an alkali-induced O/W emulsion stabilized with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs): implication for eco-friendly and economic oil recovery application.

In this work, an alkali-induced oil in water (O/W) emulsion stabilized with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) was proposed to advance the development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approaches. The reactive species in the crude oil were first determined by FT-ICR MS. Subsequently, direct measurements of emulsion rheology, morphology, drop size distribution, and interfacial tensions (IFTs) were performed.

Scalable synthesis of core-shell microgel particles using a 'dry water' method.

This proof-of-concept study demonstrates a facile and scalable 'dry water' method for producing micrometer-sized microgel particles by use of 'water-in-air' droplets as micro-reactors. Solid microgel particles could be easily produced by this method with no further purification. The microgel particles comprise of porous hydrophobic shells and hydrophilic cores and could absorb both oil and water.

Investigations on the driving forces of the fluorocarbon surfactant-assisted spontaneous imbibition using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

Spontaneous imbibition is crucial for the development of matrix-fractured petroleum reservoirs. To improve the ultimate oil recovery, it is essential to demonstrate the role of the surfactant solution on the imbibition process. In this study, spontaneous imbibition experiments were carried out using self-prepared oil sand that to investigate the dependence of oil recovery on the concentration of a fluorocarbon surfactant (FS-30).

A Highly Tunable Approach to Enhance CO Capture with Liquid Alkali/amines.

A diverse range of alkali/amine infused hydrogels (AIHs) were generated by incorporating the liquids into a hydrogel particle for carbon capture application. As a consequence, the CO uptake was significantly enhanced owing to the increased contact area. This AIHs technique was highly tunable as it could be applicable to varying species of alkali chemicals and it was found that their molecular structure and architectures could impact the CO uptake.