Iraqi Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

This study aimed to comprehensively characterize and identify microalgae inhabiting the biocathode compartment of a photosynthetic microbial desalination cell (PMDC). Also, modeling of microalgae growth in the biocathode was considered as well as the interrelation between the growth of microalgae and dissolved oxygen (DO) generation within the biocathode. The general performance of the PMDC was evaluated based on; (1) organic content removal from the real domestic wastewater fed to the anode compartment, (2) salinity removal from actual seawater in the desalination compartment, and (3) power generation in the PMDC. The results unveiled the presence of two distinct microalgae species, specifically Coelastrella sp. and Mariniradius saccharolyticus, which were thoroughly characterized using 16S rRNA and ITS gene sequencing within the cathodic chamber of the PMDC. Following sequence editing and trimming, the resulting sequences were meticulously submitted to the NCBI GenBank and
juxtaposed with other sequences utilizing the GenBank online BLAST software. Importantly, the obtained data demonstrated a good correlation with coefficients of determination (R²) reaching 0.83, as per the employed kinetic models. Complete removal of up to 99.11% of organic content from the real domestic wastewater was obtained in the PMDC system with maximum efficiency of desalination elimination of 80.95% associated with a maximum power output of 420 mW/m3 in the system.

This study investigates the well named X (for confidential reasons) of the field called Y which initially was productive with the natural energy of the reservoir of the oil in the absence of water. After a few years of production, water began to overflow excessively in the well. The goal of this paper is to maximize the oil production in an oil well X by reducing water ingress. The Pressure Volume Temperature (PVT) data, completion data, and reservoir data are analyzed via PIPESIM and Excel software by using the nodal analysis method to get the well performance and decline curve for predictions. Two scenarios are considered: firstly, to install an electric submersible pump (ESP) to activate the X well and secondly to make a new perforation. The ESP is installed at 11300 ft where the water production flow rate is 5586.264 STB/d and the oil production flow rate is 1396.566 STB/d. The new perforation is installed at 12038 ft where the water production flow rate is 277.1693 STB/d and the oil production flow rate is 5543.387 STB/d. To have the optimal parameters, the sensitivity analysis is applied to the flowline diameter and the wellhead pressure. The optimal parameter values obtained are 308.6128 STB/d for the water production flow rate and 5863.643 STB/d for the oil production flow rate. The new perforation is appropriate because this scenario allows water reduction, oil production maximization, profitability of 98086854 $, and a return on investment in 5 months during 16 years of production.

The scarcity of fresh water and its essential role in sustaining life on Earth have motivated researchers to seek new, low-cost, scalable technologies for water desalination. Therefore, the osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) membrane process presents an innovative approach to achieve moderate water recoveries from high salinity water without undergoing a phase change. This work aims to investigate the performance of hybrid RO-OARO systems with various designs and operational parameters on recovery and R%. The hybrid systems were evaluated for 60 minutes at feed concentrations of 3.98-5.54 g/l, applied pressures ranging from 3 to 7 bars, and different membrane types. The results showed that the flux of the hybrid system increased by increasing the pressure and decreased by increasing the feed concentration. The highest recovery value was obtained for the RO-OARO system at an RO pressure of 7 bar and an OARO unit at 3 bar for a 3.98 g/l feed concentration. In contrast, when the reverse osmosis pressure was fixed at 5 bar, and the pressure of the OARO unit increased by 2 bar, the recovery value exceeded by about 6%. Furthermore, the FilmTech membrane showed the highest recovery at 31.7%, while the highest R% was 94.55% for the AquaTec membrane. The RO-OARO-OARO system contributed to increasing both the recovery and rejection values by 11.4 and 2.1%, respectively, compared with the RO-OARO system. The experiments in this study revealed a slight increase in the feed concentration of the reverse osmosis unit, indicating the efficiency of the hybrid systems compared to traditional RO systems.

This paper presents the experimental results of the tensile, bending, hardness, hydrostatic testing, and microstructural properties of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders from local sources. The burst pressure and fracture sites were also investigated. In addition, know how LPG cylinders are compliant with ISO 4706 requirements as per standard to get approval and acceptance. The tests were performed on three samples (C1, C2, and C3), and all the tests were according to the specification. Tensile testing was carried out at room temperature (23C°) as per ISO 6892-2016. Tensile test specimens with a gauge length of 50 mm were prepared from the sidewall of cylinders. The equipment used is built up around a 250 KN maximum capacity of (Instron Servo-Hydraulic Testing Machine Model 1332). At the same time, micro-hardness testing was carried out as per ASTM A384. Diamond indenter (pyramid) with a face angle of 136° was used. During testing (1kg) load was applied on the sample with a dwell time of 15 seconds. As for bending tests were carried out in accordance with ISO 7438 for all cylinders to evaluate their welding qualities. The results of microstructural characterization show that the carbon content for all samples averaged ~ 0.067 wt.% and manganese ~ 0.46 wt.% and the microstructure was largely ferritic. The tensile strength of the parent metal showed that LPG gas cylinders recorded high tensile strength of ~ 418 MPa on average, yield strength of ~ 291 MPa on average, a % elongation 26.6 (for parent metal), the tensile strength of ~ 449 MPa as average, yield strength of ~ 314 MPa as average, % elongation 32 (for weld metal) and hardness of ~ 143 (kg/mm2) as average by Vickers scale. Moreover, in the hydrostatic pressure test, the computer controlled electro-hydraulic servo pressure test machine was used. The results of the hydrostatic pressure test were as follows, pressure burst (BP) 103 bar, nominal hoop stress 528 MPa, volumetric expansion 25%, hydrostatic extend ratio 3.9%, sites of failure exist out of welding, and finally no fragmentation observed regarding to fracture types. All samples tested exhibited high resilience to crack propagation which showed ductile fracture after burst and tensile tests.

Coffee is the most essential drink today, aside from water, the high consumption of coffee and the byproducts of its soluble industries such as spent coffee grounds can have a negative effect on the environment as a source of toxic organic compounds. Therefore, caffeine removal from the spent coffee ground can be applied as a method to limit the effect of its production on the environment. The aim of this study is to determine the kinetics and thermodynamics parameters and develop models for both processes based on the process parameters by using traditional solid-liquid extraction and Ultrasound-assisted extraction methods. The processes were performed at a temperature range of 25 to 55 C for traditional and ultrasound baths, and experimental time ranged from 5- 60 min. The results demonstrated that under the above conditions, the extraction process applies to the pseudo-first-order reaction, where the rate constant K value increases with temperature. The transition state parameters were also discussed where these parameters indicated that the system of the process exhibited an activated complex formation state resulting in a thermodynamically unfavorable process, and the thermodynamic parameters at the equilibrium state were also evaluated in terms of the obtained yield percentage. The results also showed that the ultrasound-assisted bath process showed a spontaneous behavior at temperatures of 45 C and 55 C with G of -1192.9703 and - 2725.25 J/mole. On the other hand, for the traditional method, the extraction process was approaching a spontaneous behavior with the temperature increasing where at 25 C the G value was 10379.944 J and at a temperature of 55 C it reached 8004.26 J/mole.

The performance of a three-dimensional electrocoagulation process operated at a batch recirculation mode for treating petroleum refinery wastewater using aluminium as a sacrificial anode, stainless steel as a cathode, and granular activated carbon with metal impregnated carbon (GACMI (Al: Fe)) with mass ratio (2:1) as a third particle electrode was investigated. Effects of operating factors such as the applied voltage (15-30 v), flow rate (50-175 mL/min), pH (4-10), and GACMI dosage (5-10) g/L on the chemical oxygen demand removal were investigated. Using Box-Behnken design (BBD), a mathematical model relating the essential operational parameters to chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction was constructed. Results showed that the effect of GACMI dosage on the efficiency of COD removal was the major one, where COD removal increased as GACMI dosage increased. However, increasing applied voltage would enhance the performance of the electrocoagulation reaction. Experimental chemical oxygen demand removal of 96.25 % was attained at the optimized conditions (applied voltage=27.7 v, flow rate=128 mL/min, pH=5.6, GACMI dosage= 8.7 g/L). BET-specific surface area, total pore volume, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed for the characterization of GACMI particle electrodes.

Increasing oil production from a reservoir can be achieved by decreasing the distance between the injector and the producer through a process known as infill drilling, which involves a pattern water flood. The main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the optimal infill well location and the research and applications available to enhance the oil recovery factor, leading to increased economic profits. one effective empirical approach used in this study is based on decline curve analysis, which analyzes the production history of the well to determine the final economic recovery. Additionally, a numerical method that combines numerical simulation and optimization techniques has been proven to be successful in determining optimal infill drilling locations. The research results show that the volumetric computation of oil in place is a useful method for estimating the number of infill wells needed, but it does not consider heterogeneity and continuity. On the other hand, the numerical simulation and optimization techniques can quantify the remaining mobile oil post-infill drilling and establish optimal pattern configurations for maximum recovery at their centers.

This study used the adsorption method to remove sulfur compounds from light naphtha fuel by using calcite and modified calcite as adsorbents. The calcite was prepared from chicken eggshells by heating and activation methods. It was modified by mixing it with commercial activated carbon as a new adsorbent. XRD and FTIR were used to characterize the adsorbents. Light naphtha fuel from the Al-Diwaniyah refinery, with a sulfur concentration of 776 ppm, was used in batch adsorption studies. Various operation conditions that affect the adsorption process were studied such as temperature (20–40 °C), weight of the adsorbent (1-3 g), and contact time (15–45 min) at constant mixing speed (300 rpm). In this study, the Minitab Program-Box-Behnken design was used to design experiments in batch adsorption studies of light naphtha, which is considered more straightforward and accurate because it shows the effect of each dependent factor on the adsorption efficiency and removal ratio. Results and analysis showed that the increase in temperature, the amount of adsorbent, and contact time would increase the removal efficiency. The analysis of adsorption equilibrium isotherms shows that the experimental data follows the Freundlich isotherm model for adsorbents. According to the results of the study, the highest removal percentages of sulfur content of light naphtha using calcite and modified calcite were 61% and 79%, respectively.

The removal of phenol from wastewater has become a significant environmental concern because of its toxicity, even at low concentrations. This research focuses on the removal of phenol using spent tea leaves (STLs) as an adsorbent. SEM and FTIR tests were used to evaluate the surface characterization of the STLs. The effect of the parameters such as initial phenol concentration (20 - 80 mg. L-1), pH (3 - 12), temperature (25 - 55 °C), contact period (30-330 min), and dose (0.25 - 2.5) on the removal of phenol was studied. The highest removal of phenol of 82% was obtained at 20 mg. L-1 of initial phenol concentration, 4 h of the contact period, pH of 3, adsorbent dose of 2 g, and temperature of 55 °C. The results of the kinetic study fitted the pseudo-second-order model. The obtained data for phenol adsorption isotherm fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models. The Temkin isotherm model presented the best fitting with phenol adsorption isotherm experimental data based on the correlation coefficients. According to the findings, the STLs can effectively remove phenol from wastewater.

An optimization study was conducted to determine the optimal operating pressure for the oil and gas separation vessels in the West Qurna 1 oil field. The ASPEN HYSYS software was employed as an effective tool to analyze the optimal pressure for the second and third-stage separators while maintaining a constant operating pressure for the first stage. The analysis involved 10 cases for each separation stage, revealing that the operating pressure of 3.0 Kg/cm2 and 0.7 Kg/cm2 for the second and third stages, respectively, yielded the optimum oil recovery to the flow tank. These pressure set points were selected based on serval factors including API gravity, oil formation volume factor, and gas-oil ratio from the flow tank.
To improve the optimization process for separator sizes, a Python code was developed, combining the Newton Raphson Method (NRM), and Lang Cost Method (LCM), with Retention time calculations. In this process, total purchase cost was the objective function. Two design scenarios were examined, corresponding to throughput of 105,000 KBPD and 52,500 KBPD respectively. In the first scenario, the NRM, LCM, and Retention time methods within the Python code were employed, resulting in a three-stage separation train with costs of $1,534,630 for the first stage, $1,438,239 for the second stage and $1,025,978 for the third stage. The Total purchase cost for the separation train was $3,988,847. In the second scenario, utilizing two separators for each stage to process the same throughput resulted in lower costs, totaling $823,851.5 per stage and a total purchase cost of $2,471,553. These costs were calculated using the Lang Cost method, which included the material cost and utilized a Lang factor of 3.1 to determine the total purchase cost after adding shipping, installation, commissioning, and start-up expenses.
The first scenario resulted in larger separators and higher costs, while the second scenario showed lower costs, although it required two vessels per stage to process the same throughput. It was observed that the separator efficiencies were influenced by retention time, with increased retention time leading to improved separator efficiency

Characterizing the reservoir accurately and understanding its rock’s composition is essential in predicting performance and determining reservoir designs. In this study, the carbonate Khasib formation from the late Cretaceous period for x oil field- southern Iraq has been examined characterizing. To achieve this, different characterization techniques were utilized. Firstly, using the flow zone indicator method revealed five hydraulic flow units (HFUs) of the Khasib formation. Every HFU represents a particular quality of reservoir rock. HFU1 is the one that refers to poor quality, while bad-quality reservoir rock is displayed as HFU2. HFU3 and HFU4 signify the intermediate and good reservoir rock quality respectively. The last hydraulic flow unit was of the highest quality reservoir rock which is denoted as HFU5. Additionally, we utilized cluster analysis to identify five distinct rock types within the Khasib formation. These rock types were labeled as RT-1 (the best reservoir rock type), RT-2 (good reservoir rock type), RT-3 (intermediate reservoir rock type), RT-4 (poor rock type), and RT-5 (very poor rock type). In addition, the recognition of five different HFUs that reflected the physical characteristics unique to each reservoir rock was achieved using Winland’s approach. Rock properties inside the reservoir are classified to HFU1 for best rocks, then HFU2 denotes good rock qualities through a medium one labeled as HFU3 while later HFU4 indicates poor quality, and the poorest quality is marked as HFU5. Finally, Lucia's classification for carbonate rock was employed as another analyzing rock quality method. Utilizing this technique reveals three distinct rock types within the Khasib formation. RC1 is the microfacies of grain stone, RC2 is the representative of pack-stone microfabrics and RC3 denotes muddy materials. The final rock types (facies) for Khasib formation can be identified according to the incorporation of the different characterization methods which can be utilized to create a realistic three-dimensional rock type model and distribute the properties based on the rock type.

This study presents a significant advancement in addressing the utilization of environmental additives to improve the properties of drilling mud. The current materials added to drilling fluids could cause a harmful effect on the environment and safety of individuals, highlighting the necessity for alternative additives. In this study, the potential use of orange peel powder (OPP) and Sidr leaf powder (SLP) as environmentally friendly additives to drilling fluid is evaluated. Laboratory tests were conducted to identify the impact of OPP and SLP on the drilling fluid properties. Different weights (1-20) % of OPP and SLP were utilized to prepare the drilling fluid. The results demonstrated that both OPP and SLP affected the rheological properties and filtration of the drilling mud. Notably, the density of the drilling fluid decreased significantly with the addition of crushed Sidr. Attributed to the composition of flavonoids and jujubogenin glycoside in the leaves, and citric acid in the orange peel. The specific weight of SLP and OPP (1.5 and 1.7 respectively) is considerably lower than that of bentonite (2.5), leading to a reduction in density. Sider leaves exhibited a high performance compared to orange peel, with the highest value of yield point, 10 min gel, pH observed at 20 gm of addition. The experimental findings demonstrate the impact of both materials, filtration, viscosity, and alkalinity, with Side leaves proving to be more in enhancing drilling fluid properties.

The Pb2+ ions biosorption removal onto dead biomass of Chlorophyta algae is optimized by employing response surface methodology (RSM). Central composite design (CCD)-based experiments were carried out, and RSM was used to evaluate the results. The effects of contact time (15-120min), with pH solution (2-7), initial lead concentration (25-100 mg/L), biomass dose (0.01-1 g/100 mL), agitation speed (100-300 rpm) on the biosorption process were investigated. The optimal conditions of the experimental, data were pH (5), metal concentration (50mg/L), dosage (0.2g/100mL), agitation speed (200 rpm), and contact time of 120 min with constant particle size (63 m), which gave 98.88% removal efficiency. All the variables and reactions in the biosorption experiments were evaluated using the desirability function to determine the optimal point at which the desired parameters may be attained. The promising results obtained indicate the potential use of Chlorphyta green macroalgae to treat industrial wastewater polluted with toxic metals.

Surge and swab pressures are frequently produced during various stages of well construction, including casing running and tripping operations. Managing downhole pressure within the mud window is crucial for mitigating the risks associated with drilling operations including wellbore failure, lost circulation, kicks, and well control issues. The primary objectives of this study are to emphasize the theoretical foundation of surge and swab pressures, forecast the optimum pipe and casing tripping speeds, as well as identify the changes in surge and swab pressures (i.e., equivalent circulating density-ECD) for both open-ended and close-ended drill strings. To achieve these goals, a steady state surge and swab model was used to simulate a case study in the Rumaila oil field, located in Southern Iraq, by utilizing landmark-well plan software. The results of this study support the evidence that the string trip speed plays a substantial role in controlling the swab and surge pressures. It was found that pulling out the 5" drill string from the 12 1/4" open hole section drilled with a 9.51 ppg water-based mud at a speed of 10 sec/stand resulted in a swab ECD below the formation pore pressure against all formations, thus resulting in a kick. Moreover, it was found that the annular clearance had a significant impact on the surge and swab ECD whereas the surge ECD at the bit was bigger than that obtained at the previous hole casing shoe. For example, in our case study pulling speeds ranging from 10-190 sec/stand for the 9 5/8" casing could cause the swab ECD to be below the formation pore pressure gradient at total depth (TD), which is 9.23 ppg. While it was safe to run the same casing through the same interval within 55-190 sec/stand. Furthermore, the results emphasized high trip speeds ranging between 10-30 sec/stand, where for close-ended drill strings, greater surge ECD was observed compared to the open-ended ones. The surge ECD of a 5" close-ended drill string at 30 sec/stand (60 m/min) at bit was 9.92 ppg, while an open-ended string at the same speed was 9.9 ppg.

In the current study, the effect of the nonionic surfactant (span 80) on the emulsification of a mixture of kerosene as a petroleumbased organic solvent and span80 as a green diluent in the ratio 1:1 was investigated. NaOH was used as the internal phase, and the stability of the emulsion was tested. The potential for extracting phenol from aqueous solutions without the use of a carrier agent has been explored using Pickering emulsion liquid membrane. Additionally, the impacts of experimental parameters include homogenizer speed, mixing speed, emulsification time, Fe3O4-Span 80 ratios, NaOH concentration, and internal to membrane volume ratio (I/O) on extraction effectiveness and emulsion stability. The findings demonstrated that after 9 minutes of contact time and a minimum breaking percent of 0.745% under ideal circumstances, more than 96% of phenol could be recovered. In addition thermodynamic analysis reveals that the extraction process was an endothermic and spontaneous in nature and the overall mass transfer coefficient was 1.115× 10−6m/s. Membrane materials and nanoparticles were recycled four time in the extraction of phenol with approximately the same efficiency and no significant breakage percent..

Gas lift is one of the most common artificial lift methods which is effectively utilized in the oil industry for enhancing production. However, proper gas allocation into wells can be challenging due to various limitations such as shortage in injected gas and economic considerations. Therefore, the current research is conducted to address the critical requirement to effectively distribute gas to maximize profits in the Halfaya Oil Field- Mishrif formation. Continuous gas lift is one of the most commonly used artificial lift methods. To enhance production rate, a sufficient amount of gas is injected into the production tubing at specific depths to reduce the liquid column pressure as each well has an optimal point for production in an oil reservoir. On the other hand, constraints of gas availability restrict achieving the optimal state of production. Such restrictions combined with economic limitations including high gas prices and compression costs, emphasized the necessity for optimal methodology to enhance oil production. Aside from the importance of the Halfaya oil field, there are limited relevant studies on artificial lifting methods specifically associated with the gas-lifting method used in this paper. Thus, the purpose of the current investigation is to propose a well-tested gas lifting design for oil production improvement. The approach combines the skill of the fmincon function built in MATLAB as an optimizer and the PIPESIM network model to create gas lift performance curves. This resulted in an oil production rate of 18860 STB/d, with a gas lift rate of 9.42 mmscf/d. Establishing such a systematic optimization process can manage the challenges of gas allocation in the Halfaya Oil Field towards maximizing production rates and ultimately increasing net profits.