Nutritional value of Jack knife clam Solen dactylus in the ripeness and sexual rest stages

In this study, 60 specimens of Jack knife clam Solen dactylus (Von Cosel, 1989) were collected randomly in autumn 2007 and spring 2008 from 5 stations (intertidal pools) in Golshahr coast of Bandar Abbas, Persian Gulf. After sampling, specimens were frozen and transferred to the laboratory for further biometric parameters measurements. The mean (±SD) anterior- posterior length in autumn and spring were 78.92±17.72 and 77.37±16.20mm, respectively. The mean (±SD) total weight was 9.53±4.88g in autumn and 8.43±4.46g in spring. Moisture, ash, protein and total lipid in soft tissues of clams were measured. These parameters in autumn and spring were 80.23 ± 0.70, 3.42±0.02, 11.3±0.10, 0.86±0.01% and 76.16±1.75, 2.3±0.07, 11.79±0.05, 0.55±0.02%, respectively. The values of moisture, ash and total lipid were higher in autumn (ripeness stage) compared to spring; whereas, the value of protein in autumn was slightly lower than spring. There was no significant difference between the mean of moisture before and after the spawning (P>0.05). The mean ash, protein and total lipid showed a significant difference in the two seasons (P<0.05)

Use of construction materials to improve the properties of clay soil

The demolition of old buildings, construction, and rebuilding processes leave a waste called the so-called construction waste. For the save the environment and its aesthetics, as well as for the economic and financial benefit from these wastes, as well as for the removal of all obstacles that may affect the continuity of work, so there was a joint responsibility of several parties, including the municipalities in addition to the party responsible for the construction process, which may be individuals or Construction companies contribute to the disposal and possible utilization of these wastes at the same time, and thus this has led to the joint responsibility of several parties and parties in recycling these wastes. This research paper presents a study in the Use of construction waste to improve the properties of clay soil, by taking samples from the location of a building under construction in the city center of Hilla / Iraq. where we mixed it with ceramic powder

Preliminary study of improving reservoir quality of tight gas sands in the near wellbore region by microwave heating

The formation damages, such as water blocking and clay swelling, in tight gas reservoir have been recognized as severe problems impairing gas production. To remedy these damages, formation heat treatment (FHT) was taken as one of the effective measures by some researchers. In this paper, the effects of microwave heating on the petrophysical properties of sandstone samples has been investigated. A modified commercial microwave oven was used to heat the core plugs and aluminum tubes were used to accommodate tight sandstone samples in order to confine them and reduce their contact with air. After microwave heating, any alterations in the porosity, permeability, texture, structure, mineralogy, and pore size distribution of tight sandstones were investigated by a series of lab experiments. By subjecting tight sandstone samples to microwave, the surface temperature of sandstone can be elevated to approximately 400 °C or more. The intense heat is effective in changing the structure, texture and mineralogy of the sandstone. The shrinkage or decomposition of minerals, which are shown by XRD analysis, and generation of micro-fractures created more spaces in the samples.By employing Automated Permeameter, porosity and permeability are found increased after heating. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and CT numbers of all samples after microwave heating indicate the increase of porosity as well. Moreover, the NMR T2 distribution reveals the smaller pores diminished, so the incremental porosity of short NMR T2 decreased. Micro-fractures generated between grains or in grains due to decomposition of some cement minerals and clay shrinkage, so the amplitude of long NMR T2 increased. The fractures are visible both in X-ray CT images and in Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) images. By comparing with NMR T2 distribution data, it is found that the presence of micro-fractures accounts for the increased population of pores with T2 larger than 10 ms. The numerical simulation of microwave heating in the borehole indicates that the microwave heating is effective to raise the temperature of reservoir rock to approximately 900 °C within 1 day and to remove the water within a distance of 25 cm from the borehole wall. The efficiency of microwave heating can be further improved by optimizing the downhole microwave device