Effect of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and Cutting on the Regrowth and Insect Infestation of a Sorghum and Berseem Clover in Egypt

The objective of this study was to determine the minimum quantities of phosphorus and potassium which must be applied with varying amounts of nitrogen in order to maintain maximum hay production and minimum level of insect infestation. This was more pronounced at the higher N rates and caused a significant N x K interaction during each of these years. There was no yield response to applied phosphorus at any N rate. Relation between levels of nitrogen and infestation percentage was positive but infestation rate decreased with the increase of potassium levels while there was no relation between levels of phosphorus fertilization and infestation percentage

Synthesis of green thermo-responsive amphoteric terpolymer functionalized silica nanocomposite derived from waste vegetable oil triglycerides for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

Despite the high efficiency of polymer flooding as a chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) technique, the low thermal stability and poor salt resistance of widely applied partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) limited the application of this technique in oil reservoirs at harsh reservoir conditions of high–temperature and high–salinity (HTHS). These inadequacies of HPAM, result in the urge for an environmentally friendly polymer with good viscosifying properties and a substantial effect on mobility ratio at HTHS reservoir conditions. In this research, a high oleic acid waste vegetable oil (WVO) is utilized to synthesize a novel environmentally benign, thermo-responsive amphoteric nanocomposite for EOR applications at HTHS reservoir conditions. A green route transesterification reaction has been utilized to synthesize a novel thermo-sensitive monomer from WVO. The existence of unsaturated fatty acids isolated double bonds and acryloyl functional groups in the synthesized monomer has been confirmed using different characterization methods. The reactive acryloyl double bond in the synthesized monomer has been copolymerized with acrylamide, acrylacyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, and 2-acrylamide-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid in presence of dimethylphenylvinylsilane via free radical emulsion polymerization. The synthesized nanocomposite has been characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, SEM, EDX, TEM, and DLS. The thermal stability of the nanocomposite has been evaluated by TGA and DTA analysis. The results indicated that nanocomposite solution exhibited a pouncing thermo-thickening behaviour and superior viscosifying properties even at an ultra-low polymer concentration of 0.04 wt.% as the temperature increased from 25 to 100 °C, with increasing salinity from 10,000 to 230,000 ppm as well as salt-free solutions. Flooding experiments demonstrated that the oil recovery factor reached 15.4 ± 0.1% using low nanocomposite concentrations of 0.04 wt.%, 22.6 ± 0.3% using nanocomposite concentrations of 0.06 wt.% and 25 ± 0.2% using 0.1 wt.% nanocomposite concentrations evaluated under hostile conditions of 100 °C and salinity of about 230,000 ppm. This research offers a new direction for the synthesis of a novel green, high molecular weight thermo-responsive nanocomposite for EOR application at extremely harsh reservoir conditions via WVO valorization

Synthesis and characterization of a novel amphoteric terpolymer nanocomposite for enhanced oil recovery applications

Water-soluble polymers are highly applied to increase the recovery from oil reservoirs. The application of these polymers in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has some limitations regarding chemical, thermal and mechanical degradation at harsh reservoir condition. In this research, a novel stable terpolymer has been synthesised by preparing and grafting vinylbenzyl starch with poly (acrylamide/ acrylic acid/ acrylacyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride) in the presence of silica nanoparticles via free radical emulsion polymerization. Different stability investigations have been applied for the synthesised polymer including temperature, salinity and shear stability analyses at harsh conditions. The chemical structure of the novel polymer has been characterized using numerous methods including proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM). Thermal properties have been evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The rheological properties have been studied at harsh reservoir conditions in terms of formation water salinity, temperature, and shear rate. The results have shown that the introduction of vinylbenzyl starch has significantly enhanced the thermal and chemical stability of the prepared polymer. Moreover, flooding experiments conducted on sandstone core have shown that the synthesised terpolymer can enhance the oil recovery up to 43% at polymer concentration of 3 g/L

DREAM II. The spin-orbit angle distribution of close-in exoplanets under the lens of tides

The spin-orbit angle, or obliquity, is a powerful observational marker that allows us to access the dynamical history of exoplanetary systems. Here, we have examined the distribution of spin-orbit angles for close-in exoplanets and put it in a statistical context of tidal interactions between planets and their stars. We confirm the observed trends between the obliquity and physical quantities directly connected to tides, namely the stellar effective temperature, the planet-to-star mass ratio, and the scaled orbital distance. We further devised a tidal efficiency factor combining critical parameters that control the strength of tidal effects and used it to corroborate the strong link between the spin-orbit angle distribution and tidal interactions. In particular, we developed a readily usable formula to estimate the probability that a system is misaligned, which will prove useful in global population studies. By building a robust statistical framework, we reconstructed the distribution of the three-dimensional spin-orbit angles, allowing for a sample of nearly 200 true obliquities to be analyzed for the first time. This realistic distribution maintains the sky-projected trends, and additionally hints toward a striking pileup of truly aligned systems. The comparison between the full population and a pristine subsample unaffected by tidal interactions suggests that perpendicular architectures are resilient toward tidal realignment, providing evidence that orbital misalignments are sculpted by disruptive dynamical processes that preferentially lead to polar orbits. On the other hand, star-planet interactions seem to efficiently realign or quench the formation of any tilted configuration other than for polar orbits, and in particular for antialigned orbits.Comment: Accepted in A&

Sodium-metal chloride batteries

It was concluded that rapid development in the technology of sodium metal chloride batteries has been achieved in the last decade mainly due to the: expertise available with sodium sulfur system; safety; and flexibility in design and fabrication. Long cycle lives of over 1000 and high energy densities of approx. 100 Wh/kg have been demonstrated in both Na/FeCl2 and Na/NiCl2 cells. Optimization of porous cathode and solid electrolyte geometries are essential for further enhancing the battery performance. Fundamental studies confirm the capabilities of these systems. Nickel dichloride emerges as the candidate cathode material for high power density applications such as electric vehicle and space

Spatiotemporally heterogeneous deformation, indirect tectonomagmatic links, and lithospheric evolution during orogenic activity coeval with an arc flare-up

Broad overlap between deformation and magmatism in active margins has spurred the development of a conceptual framework of direct tectonomagmatic links in both active and ancient arcs. Although widespread and highly influential, such models have only rarely been critically evaluated. Rigorously linking tectonism, geodynamics, lithospheric evolution, and arc activity requires detailed reconstructions of the spatiotemporal patterns of magmatism and deformation across both a sufficiently wide area and a range of observational scales. Herein, new constraints on the timing, extent, and characteristics of deformation during mid-Cretaceous tectonism in the central Sierra Nevada (eastern California, USA) are synthesized with published geologic mapping, structural studies, and geochronology to create an updated reconstruction of one of the type examples of a hot, magma-rich orogen. Tilted strata, tectonic fabrics, and shear zones with variable geometries, kinematics, intensity, and timing reveal a significantly revised record of ~25 m.y. of heterogeneous deformation ca. 105–80 Ma. Deformation and magmatism show distinct and unrelated spatiotemporal patterns throughout this orogenic episode. Contrary to previous models of direct tectonomagmatic links, many of which were developed in the central Sierra Nevada, arc activity did not control the location, intensity, or kinematics of intra-arc deformation, nor did shear zones control the location of magmatism. Furthermore, arc lithosphere appears to have strengthened, rather than weakened, as the arc-orogenic flare-up proceeded. In addition to changing plate-scale boundary conditions, lithospheric-scale rheological evolution likely played a key role in the patterns of Late Cretaceous deformation observed across strike of the entire Cordilleran margin

A review on polymer flooding in enhanced oil recovery under harsh conditions

Polymer flooding is a commercially verified technology to enhance the recovery of residual oil from oil reservoirs. Polymers are used to increase the viscosity of the displacing phase. Accordingly, they resulted in a significant reduction in the mobility ratio between the water and oil. Due to the decrease in the mobility ratio, the sweep efficiency will significantly increase compared to water flooding. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on thermal and chemical stability and the rheological properties of various water-soluble polymers used in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. The properties of conventional and novel water-soluble polymers applied in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are discussed along with their limitations. Moreover, field and laboratory core flooding data of different water-soluble polymers are presented. This review covers current research studies on the application of polymer flooding to high-temperature and high-salinity reservoirs. It also provides recommendations for future work on synthesis of novel polymers with higher stability under harsh reservoir conditions