Iraqi Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

Nanomaterials have an excellent potential for improving the rheological and tribological properties of lubricating oil. In this study, oleic acid was used to surface-modify nanoparticles to enhance the dispersion and stability of Nanofluid. The surface modification was conducted for inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) TiO₂ and CuO with oleic acid (OA) surfactant, where oleic acid could render the surface of TiO2-CuO hydrophobic. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the surface modification of NPs. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of adding modified TiO₂-CuO NPs with weight ratio 1:1 on thermal-physical properties such as kinematic viscosity, viscosity index (VI), pour point, and flash point of Iraqi base oil (40 stock) and nano-lubricating oil. The kinematic viscosity of base oil at 40 °C and 100°C increased with high concentrations of modified TiO₂-CuO NPs. The highest value of VI of base oil 40 stock at 0.8 wt. % of modified TiO₂-CuO NPs was 108.5. The results showed that the flashpoint value increased with the increased concentration of modified TiO₂-CuO NPs of base oil 40, where the highest value was 220 °C. The pour point of nano lubricating oil base with 0.8 wt. % of modified TiO₂-CuO NPs showed decreasing from -12 °C to -15 °C of base oil 40.

The behavior of AC conductivity (σac), loss tangent (tan δ), and relative permittivity (ε′) for composites of PVC-P/graphite electrode waste (GEW) was investigated, and a qualitative explanation was provided as a function of PVC-P weight fractions (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25) wt. percent, temperature (30-90) °C, and frequency (100Hz-2MHz). The behaviors of the composites' ac. conductivity and impedance as a frequency function and temperature have been examined. The permittivity was shown to rise with increasing temperature (Tg). The relative permittivity increased as the GEW filler concentration increased and was highest in the low-frequency range; nevertheless decreased as the frequency increased.

This study investigated the application of the crystallization process for oilfield produced water from the East Baghdad oilfield affiliated to the Midland Oil Company (Iraq). Zero liquid discharge system (ZLD) consists of several parts such as oil skimming, coagulation/flocculation, forward osmosis, and crystallization, the crystallization process is a final part of a zero liquid discharge system. The laboratory-scale simple evaporation system was used to evaluate the performance of the crystallization process. In this work, sodium chloride solution and East Baghdad oilfield produced water were used as a feed solution with a concentration of 177 and 220 g/l. The impact of temperature (70, 80, and 90 °C), mixing speed (300, 400, and 500 rpm), feed concentration (177 and 220 g/l), and time (0.5-9.5 h) on the crystallization performance for oilfield produced water treatment were investigated on evaporation rate and recovery. The recovery increased with increasing temperature and mixing speed while decreasing with an increase in feed concentration. Pure water and salts were recovered from the concentrated produced water, the recovery of pure water at 80 °C, 400 rpm, and 220 g/l feed concentration was 82.22 and 81.35% after 5.5 h for NaCl solution (i.e., simulated oilfield produced water) and oilfield produced water, respectively.

Biomass is a popular renewable carbon source because it has a lot of potential as a substitute for scarce fossil fuels and has been used to make essential compounds like 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). One of the main components of biomass, glucose, has been extensively studied as a precursor for the production of HMF. Several efforts have been made to find efficient and repeatable procedures for the synthesis of HMF, a chemical platform used in the manufacturing of fuels and other high-value compounds. Sulfonated graphite (SG) was produced from spent dry batteries and utilized as a catalyst to convert glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Temperature, reaction time, and catalyst loading were the variables studied. When dimethyl sulfoxide was utilized as the solvent at 180°C after 3 hours of reaction time, the greatest HMF yield, glucose conversion, and selectivity were attained, with 56.53 %, 97.5 %, and 57.979 %, respectively. This study demonstrates how to manufacture sulfonated graphite with increased catalytic activity for converting glucose to key biobased platform chemicals in a long-term sustainable manner.

In this study, successive electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) processes were used to minimize some of the major pollutants in real wastewater, such as organics (detected by chemical oxygen demand (COD)), and turbidity. The wastewater utilized in the present study was collected from the Midland Refinery Company in Baghdad-Iraq. The performance of the successive batch EC-EO processes was studied by utilizing Graphite and Aluminum (Al) as monopolar anode electrodes and stainless steel (st.st.) as the cathode. The Taguchi experimental design approach was used to attain the best experimental conditions for COD reduction as a major response. Starting from chemical oxygen demand COD of (600 ppm), the effects of current density (C.D.) (10- 20 mA/cm2), pH (4- 10), time (2– 4 h), and NaCl concentration (1.5- 2.5 g/l) on the efficiency of COD reduction were examined. The results indicated that COD reduction increased with increasing C.D., NaCl conc., and electrolysis time and increased exponentially at pH (4). The best conditions for the treatment of this wastewater were: C.D. (20 mA/cm2), pH (4), time (4 h), and NaCl conc. (2.5 g/l). At these conditions, approximately 98.12 % of COD reduction was achieved with electrical energy consumption (ENC) of about 62.04 kWh/m3. The result of analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the C.D. and pH have a higher influence on the performance of organics removal, while the time and NaCl conc. have a minor impact on COD Re%.

This study investigates the treatment of used lubricating oils from AL-Mussaib Gas Power Station Company-Iraq, which was treated with different extractive solvents (heptane and 2-propanol). The performance activity of these solvents in the extraction process was examined and evaluated experimentally. Operating parameters were solvent to oil ratios of (1:2, 1:4, 1:6, and 1:8), mixing time (20, 35, 50, and 65 min), temperatures (30, 40, 50, and 60 ºC), and mixing speed (500 rpm). These parameters were studied and analyzed. The quality is determined by the measuring and assessment of important characteristics specially viscosity, viscosity index, specific gravity, pour point, flash point, and ash content. The results confirm that the solvent 2-Propanol gave great proficiency with the most elevated percent of sludge removal compared with heptane. The greatest percentage of waste removal is enhanced when the solvent/oil ratio increases with optimal economic aspects. The significant characteristics of the reused lubricating oil were estimated. The outcome of the results indicates that the adjustment of the characteristics of reused oil has great effectiveness and the best working conditions for 2-Propanol (35 min, 1:6 S/O ratio, 40 ºC), and heptane (50 min, 1:6 S/O ratio, 50 ºC).