Influence of Thermal Treatment on Kankara Kaolinite

In this work, the influence of thermal treatment on the structure of Kankara kaolinite was studied for the first time, using X-ray diffractogram (XRD), EDX, NanoSEM, FTIR-Attenuated Total Reflectance, DTA/TGA and BET surface area measurements. The treatment temperatures applied represents the peak of the transformation stages. The results show that surface area decreases with increase in temperature of treatment, while its crystal structure was transformed from the native kaolinite structure via the amorphous metakaolin to the typical mullite/crystobalite structure though with some unidentifiable peaks. The morphological studies showed that Kankara kaolinite is composed of nano-platelets of about 30nm thickness and in bundles of between 1 – 3 µm thicknesses with some marked variations/reductions as the treatment temperatures increases. The DTA/TGA result shows that the kaolinite undergoes dehydroxylation at 528.560C while been converted to metakaolin with a weight loss of about 14.4%. The presence of the characteristic OH, Al-OH, Si-OH and Si-O-Al bands were confirmed with the ATR studies which also showed the disappearance and subsequent appearance of new bands as the treatment temperature increased, this also affected the surface area and pore sizes of the transformation products

Aloe Vera Mucilage as Drag Reducing Agent in Oil-Water Flow

Drag reduction is the deliberate reduction of the frictional pressure drop in flow systems by the addition of heavy molecular weight polymeric materials as well as other means such as pipeline modifications. Environmentally friendly and cheaper heavy molecular weight polymeric drag reducing agents (DRAs) has become a necessity in the transportation of fluids particularly in the oil and gas industry. However, very few reports exist on the potentials of natural polymers such as extracts from the Aloe Vera plant. In this study, the effects of Reynolds number and polymer concentration on the drag reduction effectiveness of Aloe barbadensis miller were tested. An experimental flow facility using unplasticized  Polyvinylchloride (uPVC) pipe of 12 mm ID was constructed with diesel (density = 832 kg/m3, dynamic viscosity = 1.664 mPa.s at 25°C) and water (density = 1000 kg/m3, dynamic viscosity = 0.891 mPa.s at 25°C) as test fluids. Drag reduction as a function of Aloe polymer concentration in the range 50 ppm to 500 ppm and Reynolds number 20000<Re<90000 were investigated by comparing the U-tube manometer pressure drop readings with and without aloe polymer. The pressure drop difference expressed as a percentage of the pressure drop without aloe polymer is termed drag reduction and was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Aloe Vera extracts or polymer as a DRA. In single phase horizontal (water) flow, a maximum drag reduction of 64% (U = 4.67 m/s) was measured, while in multiphase horizontal flow, a maximum drag reduction of 53.80% (α = 25%, Um = 4.67 m/s) was measured. Furthermore, measurements showed that pipe inclination had minimal effect on the drag reduction achieved. It was deduced that Aloe Vera mucilage can be used as a drag reducing agent in oil-water flows for Reynolds number below 63,00

Drag Reduction with Polymer Mixtures in Pipes of Different Diameters

Transporting crude oil and other fluid in pipelines of different sizes over long distances in process industries require high amount of energy which results to high cost of installing pumping stations and maintenance. Addition in part per million (ppm) of high molecular weight polymeric solution reduce such cost. The effect of pipe diameter, oil input volume fraction and flow rate (superficial velocity) on drag reduction (DR) in horizontal oil-waterflows was investigated in unplasticised polyvinylchloride (uPVC) horizontal pipe with two different pipe diameters (0.012 and 0.02 m IDs). The two liquids used were diesel oil (ρ = 832 kg/m3, µ = 1.66 cP) and water (ρ = 1,000 kg/m3, µ = 0.89 cP) as test fluids at ambient conditions (25°C, 1 atm). Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM; magnafloc 1011), polyethylene oxide (PEO) and Aloe Vera Mucilage (AVM) separately, as well as mixture of HPAM-AVM and PEO-AVM at different oil input volume fraction (δo; 0,0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1) and flow rate (Q; 0.65, 1.28, 1.90 and 2.46 m3/hr) were used. The master solution of 2,000 ppm, 2,000 ppm and 20,000 ppm for HPAM, PEO and AVM respectively and their respective mixtures were used to achieve the required concentrations. Mercury U-tube manometer was used to measure the pressure drop. DR of 62%, 65%, 54% for HPAM, PEO and AVM; 69 and 71% for HPAM-AVM and PEO-AVM respectively at mixing ratio of 3:1 and 1:19 in 0.012 m ID. Also, DR of 58%, 62%, 43% for HPAM, PEO and AVM; 67% and 68% for HPAM-AVM and PEO-AVM respectively in 0.02 m ID were obtained at the same condition. The pressure drops observed in the smaller pipe (0.012 m ID) was higher than that of the larger pipe diameter (0.02 m ID). From the experimental results, DR decreased with increase in the pipe diameter at the same conditions. This result implies that, DR in oil-water pipeline flow is a function of oil input volume fraction, superficial velocity and pipe diamete

Initial assessment of reuse of sustainable wastes for fibreboard production : the case of waste paper and water hyacinth

In this early study, new cement-bonded bi-composite fibreboard (FB) was made from water hyacinth (WaHy) and waste paper (WP). Ordinary Portland cement (PdCe) used as a binder was mixed with other two additives: gypsum plasters (GyPl) and wood ash (WdAh), in defined proportions to form bonding matrices. The WP and WaHy were pre-treated and a linked process was developed for the mixing and consolidation steps. The FBs produced were based on different proportions of composites, binder, and additives mixed. The FBs produced were made from different proportions of composites, binders, and additives. Improved tensile strength was observed for bi-composite FB from WaHy mixed with WP. In general, FBs having densities in the range of 0.50–0.57 g cm−3 were compared favourably with the ASTM and ANSI standards (95%), thus making the FBs a potential alternative for building and construction purposes. More elaborate research with advanced analytical techniques is hereby suggested

Effect of polymer and fiber additives on pressure drop in a rectangular channel

The influence of minute amounts of additives on pressure drop is an interesting fundamental phenomenon, potentially with important practical applications. Change of the pressure drop in a quasi-two-dimensional channel flow using various additives is experimentally investigated. Tests were conducted for a wide range of concentrations (100 ppm–500 ppm) and Reynolds numbers (16 000– 36 000) with two polymers and four rigid fibers used as additive. Maximum drag reduction of 22% was observed for xanthan gum. However, xanthan gum loses its drag-reducing property rapidly. It was also seen that drag reduction percentage of xanthan gum remains almost constant for different Reynolds numbers. Guar flour demonstrated good drag reduction property at high Reynolds numbers. Drag reduction of 17.5% at Re =33 200 using 300 ppm solution was observed. However, at low Reynolds numbers guar flour will cause an increase in pressure drop. Fiber fillers (aspect ratio=21) have been tested as well. In contrast to polymers, they increased the drag for the range of examined concentrations and Reynolds numbers. Polyacrylonitrile fiber with three different aspect ratios (106, 200, 400) was also used, which showed an increase in pressure drop at low aspect ratios. Polyacrylonitrile fibers of larger lengths (6 mm) demonstrated minor drag-reducing effects (up to 3%).</p