Kaolin intercalates were prepared by employing derivatives of oleochemicals namely rubber seed oil (SRSO) and tea seed oil (STSO) and characterized by employing powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nitrogen adsorption–desorption (NAD) techniques. Intercalation was achieved in the presence of hydrazine hydrate as co-intercalate. The PXRD patterns showed an increase in the interlayer basal spacing d-001 for the SRSO treated and STSO treated kaolins confirming intercalation process. The FTIR studies indicated that the fatty acid salts of rubber seed oil and tea seed oil were effectively intercalated in the kaolinite layers as per the bands at 1564cm−1 and 1553cm−1 for SRSO treated and STSO treated kaolinites, respectively. The SEM revealed intercalation of organic materials in the kaolinite layers. The NAD results showed that intercalation of kaolin resulted in an overall decrease in the specific surface area as well as pore volume. Specific surface area decreased in the following order: untreated (pristine) kaolin>STSO treated kaolin>SRSO treated kaolin and pore size in the order: untreated (pristine) kaolin>SRSO treated kaolin>STSO treated kaolin

Electric Power generation crisis in Nigeria: A Review of causes and solutions

This research aims at producing and characterizing a low-wear friction lining material using a hybrid mixture of burnt vehicle tyres, pulverized palm kernel shell (PKS), pulverized coconut shell (CS), iron and brass filings obtained from the machine shop floor. The Taguchi method was used to determine the optimum parameter settings to obtain a friction lining with a low wear rate by exploring the signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) of the smaller-the-better. The developed friction lining was subjected to the scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to ascertain the functional groups present in the friction lining, their elemental composition and finally the morphology. The control factors used in the Taguchi analysis are the moulding temperature, cure time and heat treatment. The optimum parameter settings for a low wear rate were obtained as follows: moulding temperature of 175 °C, cure time of 8 min and heat treatment time of 3 h. The XRF spectroscopy indicated that the developed friction lining materials contained the following compounds in large proportions: CaO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃. The SEM-EDX results for the two image scans reported show that carbon and oxygen were the predominant elements observed in the micrograph.

Gas Lift operation involves the injection of compressed gas into a low producing or non-performing well to maximize oil production. The oil produced from a gas lift well is a function of the gas injection rate. The optimal gas injection rate is achieved by optimization. However, the gas lift, which is an artificial lift process, has some drawbacks such as the deterioration of the oil well, incorrect production metering, instability of the gas compressor, and over injection of gas. This paper discusses the various optimization techniques for the gas lift in the Oil and Gas production process. A systematic literature search was conducted on four databases, namely Google Scholar, Scopus, IEE Explore and DOAJ, to identify papers that focused on Gas lift optimizations. The materials for this review were collected primarily via database searches. The major challenges associated with gas lift were identified, and the different optimization strategies available in the literature reviewed. The strategies reviewed were found to be based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The implementation of any of the optimization strategies for the gas lift will enhance profitability, reduce operational cost, and extend the life of the wells.

This paper is on the modeling and prediction of limit stresses of Natural Rubber/Organomodified kaolin composites oleochemically derived from Tea Seed Oils (Camellia sinensis).The stress-strain data reports of Natural Rubber/Tea Seed Oil modified (NR/TSO) kaolin were used to develop hyperelastic models using ANSYS 14.0 work bench. Arruda-Boyce, Mooney-Rivlin 9 Parameter, Polynomial 3^rd Order and Yeoh 3^rd Order models were found to give perfect fit for NR/TSO modified kaolin composites. The energy absorption capabilities were measured on the functions derived from stress-strain data to establish the toughness of Natural Rubber/Unmodified Kaolin (NR/UMK) and NR/TSO modified Kaolin. The NR/UMK has its approximate strain energy as 29.12MJ/m³ at 2 parts per hundred rubber (phr) while the NR/TSO kaolin composite has its approximate strain energy as 31.12MJ/m³. The orthogonal stresses, the principal stresses and yield stresses are found to be lower than the ultimate tensile strength of 0.7875MPa hence the material is safe within load range of its ultimate strength. Plane stress analysis with ANSYS APDL 14.0 gave limit stresses distribution in terms of von-Mises stresses in the range 0.781869MPa-0.792847MPa. The maximum principal stress is found to be higher than the ultimate tensile strength of 0.7875MPa hence the material is safely specified with load range of von Mises, 0.781869MPa-0.7875MPa. Finally it was observed that organomodification of kaolin with tea seed oil (TSO) increases the strength of Natural Rubber composites.