Environmental Challenges Associated with Processing of Heavy Crude Oils

The petroleum industry is one of the largest industries in the world and plays a pivotal part in driving a nation’s economy. However, the exploration and exploitation of heavy crude oil have raised series of environmental challenges and caused increased concern for the communities where the oil refineries are cited. Activities such as gas flaring and oil spillage have led to the release of toxic organic and inorganic pollutants, which has resulted in acid rain, climate change, and contamination of soil, water, and air. These environmental hazards have caused adverse effects directly or indirectly to the ecosystem. This chapter offers a general overview of the processes involved in the processing and some of the potential environmental challenges associated with heavy crude oil processing

Preliminary investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentration, compositional pattern, and ecological risk in crude oil-impacted soil from Niger delta, Nigeria

Crude oil contamination could serve as an important source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment. Determining the concentration and distribution of PAHs and their ecological risk could provide clues for appropriate remediation. The present study investigated the concentrations, composition pattern, and ecological risk of PAHs in crude oil-contaminated soil collected from the Niger Delta, Nigeria. The concentrations of Σ29PAHs and 16 priority US-EPA PAHs (Σ16PAHs) in the soil ranged from 24230.68 to 40845.32 ng/g (average: 29953.47 ng/g) and 7361.66–14141.49 ng/g (average: 9819.96 ng/g), respectively. The concentrations of Σ16PAHs US-EPA in all the studied locations far exceeded the safety value of 1000 ng/g set by the soil quality guidelines of Switzerland and above which is regarded as being highly contaminated for Agricultural soils of Poland. The percentage composition of 2-, 3-,4-, 5-, and 6-ring in the soils were 33.69%, 56.31%, 9.47%, 0.52%, and 0.02% of the total PAHs, respectively, indicating the predominance of low molecular weight PAHs typical of petrogenic origin. Ecological risk assessment indicated a high risk to the soil biota and ecosystem in the studied soil samples as presented by individual PAH and total PAHs. 2-, 3- and 4-ring PAHs in the soil contributed significantly to the ecological risk burden in the soils. This research work provides useful information on the ecological risk associated with crude oil contamination and consequently would assist the government in formulating precise, targeted, and effective remediation measures for soil contaminated with crude oil

A review on the chemistry and pharmacological properties of benzodiazepine motifs in drug design

Benzodiazepines are an important class of heterocyclic compounds in organic chemistry. They are known for their diverse physicochemical and biological properties. Some benzodiazepine derivates are well-known drugs with diverse and strong pharmacophoric moiety. An immense number of pharmacological research on benzodiazepine heterocycles and their derivatives have recently been conducted to explore its numerous pharmacological potentials as better therapeutic candidates for the treatment of various disorders, benzodiazepines, however, are one of the main sources of interest for many medicinal chemists. Researchers are drawn to the benzodiazepine nucleus for the synthesis of new drugs because of its potent pharmacophoric moiety and ring shape. Due to the emergence of new pathogenic strains’ resistance to the presently available drugs, there has been a constant demand for more effective and selective drugs. Benzodiazepine moiety has all the desired qualities for selective drug candidates used as useful therapeutic agents. Given the importance of benzodiazepine moiety, the current review aims to assess benzodiazepine syntheses as well as their pharmacological properties for potential molecular targets in therapeutic development