Performance Comparison and Optimization of PFAD based Drilling Fluid

At present, there exist a shift towards the development of sustainable drilling fluids. Researches in this field have been conducted using non-toxic, edible vegetable grade oils, and plant seed oil as the continuous fluid phase in the development of non-toxic, sustainable and biodegradable oil-based mud systems. This paper addresses the suitability and the usage of palm fatty acid distillate as the continuous phase for the development of bio-based drilling fluid with subsequent comparison of formulation performances and further optimizations. The project is done with the purpose of preparation and characterization of biodiesel to be suitable as continuous phase for drilling fluid based on physical properties comparison with conventional oil. Apart from that, a bio-based drilling fluid formulation is required which is compatible with the required specification, tested with various drilling fluid tests and evaluated based on its plastic viscosity, yield point, low end rheology, gel strength, ES reading, HTHP fluid loss and free water . With reference with the limited time span of the project, the project scope for the first phase is limited to the testing of physical properties for suitability of biodiesel as base fluid and the second phase is a mud formulation of 12.0 ppg density and testing of mud samples at 275F. The project was conducted by mixing 11 different mud formulations with varying lime and primary emulsifier concentrations from to obtain the required data by conducting rheology, Emulsion stability, HTHP filter press and retort test. The most suitable 3 was analyzed and its performance were compared and assessed based on the specification of the data criteria such as plastic viscosity, yield point, low end rheology, ES reading. gel strength, HTHP fluid loss and free water. Based on the findings, mud formulation 1 - PFAD sample with 0 conc. lime and 0 ppb. CONFI-MUL P (primary emulsifier), 2 - PFAD sample with 0 conc. lime and 1 ppb CONFI-MUL P (primary emulsifier) and 3 - PFAD sample with 1 conc. lime and 1 ppb CONFI-MUL P(primary emulsifier must be further optimized to satisfy all the data criteria requirements in terms of reducing the viscosifier concentration or increasing the fluid loss agent concentration and even both. Although mud sample 3 satisfies most of the data analysis, it still cannot be deduced as the best formulation until further optimization are carried out

Performance Comparison and Optimization of PFAD based Drilling Fluid

At present, there exist a shift towards the development of sustainable drilling fluids. Researches in this field have been conducted using non-toxic, edible vegetable grade oils, and plant seed oil as the continuous fluid phase in the development of non-toxic, sustainable and biodegradable oil-based mud systems. This paper addresses the suitability and the usage of palm fatty acid distillate as the continuous phase for the development of bio-based drilling fluid with subsequent comparison of formulation performances and further optimizations. The project is done with the purpose of preparation and characterization of biodiesel to be suitable as continuous phase for drilling fluid based on physical properties comparison with conventional oil. Apart from that, a bio-based drilling fluid formulation is required which is compatible with the required specification, tested with various drilling fluid tests and evaluated based on its plastic viscosity, yield point, low end rheology, gel strength, ES reading, HTHP fluid loss and free water . With reference with the limited time span of the project, the project scope for the first phase is limited to the testing of physical properties for suitability of biodiesel as base fluid and the second phase is a mud formulation of 12.0 ppg density and testing of mud samples at 275F. The project was conducted by mixing 11 different mud formulations with varying lime and primary emulsifier concentrations from to obtain the required data by conducting rheology, Emulsion stability, HTHP filter press and retort test. The most suitable 3 was analyzed and its performance were compared and assessed based on the specification of the data criteria such as plastic viscosity, yield point, low end rheology, ES reading. gel strength, HTHP fluid loss and free water. Based on the findings, mud formulation 1 - PFAD sample with 0 conc. lime and 0 ppb. CONFI-MUL P (primary emulsifier), 2 - PFAD sample with 0 conc. lime and 1 ppb CONFI-MUL P (primary emulsifier) and 3 - PFAD sample with 1 conc. lime and 1 ppb CONFI-MUL P(primary emulsifier must be further optimized to satisfy all the data criteria requirements in terms of reducing the viscosifier concentration or increasing the fluid loss agent concentration and even both. Although mud sample 3 satisfies most of the data analysis, it still cannot be deduced as the best formulation until further optimization are carried out

Seasonal Herbage Accumulation of Different Dairy Pasture Types in Southern Australia

Perennial ryegrass pastures, which are the mainstay of dairy feeding systems in southern Australia, are characterised by strong spring growth, little summer/autumn growth, and poor persistence. These limitations impose costs to farm businesses through the purchase of additional fodder to fill feed gaps, and regular re-sowing of pastures. The objective of the research reported here was to investigate the potential for alternative pasture types with different seasonal growth characteristics to improve the seasonal distribution of feed supply and overcome some of the limitations associated with perennial ryegrass

Growth and development of blackgram (Vigna mungo) under foliar application of Panchagavya as organic source of nutrient

The present study was aimed to improve the growth and development of Blackgram (Vigna mungo) under foliar application of panchagavya as organic nutrient. A pot culture experiment was conducted at the Experimental farm during March-May 2010 season to evaluate the efficacy of Panchagavya foliar spray and NPK on the physiological growth and yield of Blackgram (Vigna mungo) cv. ADT-3. The results of the experiment revealed that foliar application of Panchagavya recorded significant improvement in chlorophyll content, N content of root nodules, plant height, number of branches per plant, leaf area index (LAI) and dry matter production when compared with NPK and control. Yield attributes such as number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, test weight and grain yield were also recorded significantly higher under foliar application of Panchagavya over NPK and control. Three percent Panchagavya foliar spray given at 15th, 25th, 35th and 45th days of interval period recorded significantly higher growth and yield of Blackgram than NPK and untreated control

Spectroscopic profile as pharmacognostic criteria to distinguish the medicinally important Plumbago Species

The root of the Plumbago species were examined phytochemically and their potentials are well studied. The spectrometric and chromatographic screening methods could provide the needed preliminary observations to select crude plant extracts with potentially useful properties for further chemical and pharmacological investigations. Objective: The present study was aimed to reveal the inter-specific similarity and variation among the selected Plumbago species viz., Plumbago zeylanica Linn, Plumbago auriculata Lam, Plumbago rosea Linn. using UV-VIS and FTIR profiles. Methods: To know the various phytoconstituents and functional groups and similarity and variation present in the Plumbago species aerial parts, the UV-VIS spectroscopic analysis and FTIR analysis was carried out using Shimazdu and Perkin Elmer spectrophotometer respectively. Result: The UV-VIS spectroscopic analysis revealed the presence of various functional compounds and groups and similarity and variation in the aerial parts of studied Plumbago species. The FTIR analysis identified various functional groups like alcohols, phenols, alkanes, alkynes, alkyl halides, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, aromatics, nitro compounds and amines presence in the crude powder of Plumbago species aerial parts. Conclusion: The results of the present study paved a way to predict and compare the phytoconstituents presence in all the three selected Plumbago species which can be used for further characterization. In addition it provides the pharmacognostical marker to distinguish the medicinally important Plumbago species using relatively simple, cost-effective spectroscopic profile

Milk Production Potential of Different Dairy Pasture Types in Southern Australia

The growth rate of traditional perennial ryegrass-based pastures commonly fails to meet herd feed requirements through winter and summer in non-irrigated dairy systems in southern Australia. Alternative pasture species can improve seasonal feed supply in this region (Tharmaraj & Chapman, 2005). However, the feeding value and milk production of these pastures must at least match perennial ryegrass if they are to be adopted successfully on dairy farms. This paper reports results of a comparison of the milk production potential of pasture types similar to those investigated by Tharmaraj & Chapman (2005) for their agronomic performance

Influence of vermicompost and vermiwash on physico chemical properties of rice cultivated soil

In this study the effect of vermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties was evaluated during samba rice cultivation studies. The experiments were arranged in a completely randomized block design manner with three replications. The soil sampling and plant growth measurements were carried out for two months, ie., during initial and final stages. The present study has been carried out to study the impact of various vermiproduct such as vemicompost, vermiwash and mixture of vermicompost and vermiwash on soil physico-chemical properties during the pot culture studies of samba rice. The physical properties such as the pH, electrical conductivity (EC), porosity, moisture content, water holding capacity and chemical properties like nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium were found distinctly enhanced in vermicompost treated soil, where as the corresponding physico-chemical values in control were minimum. The soil treated with vermicompost had significantly more electrical conductivity in comparison to unamended pots. The addition of vermicompost in soil resulted in decrease of soil pH. The physical properties such as water holding capacity, moisture content and porosity in soil amended with vermicompost were improved.  The vermiproduct treated plants exhibit faster and higher growth rate and productivity than the control plants.  Among the treated group, the growth rate was high in the mixture of vermicompost and vermiwash treated plants, than the vermicompost and vermiwash un-treated plants. The maximum range of some plant parameter's like number of leaves, leaf length, height of the plants and root length of plant, were recorded in the mixture of vermicompost and vermiwash. The results of this experiment revealed that addition of vemicompost had significant positive effects on the soil physical, chemical properties and plant growth parameters

Synthesis of Co and Cu codoped ZnO nanoparticles by citrate gel combustion method: Photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity

ZnO, single-doped (Co-ZnO, Cu-ZnO), and co-doped ZnO ((Co, Cu)/ZnO) were effectively synthesized by the citrate gel combustion technique. The samples were characterized by UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis-DRS), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The average particle size was 30.33 nm as calculated from XRD patterns for (Co, Cu)/ZnO. UV-Vis absorption spectrum indicates that the co-doped ZnO exhibits increased visible light absorption compared to the undoped one.  The photoluminescence spectroscopy shows that the separation efficiency of photo-induced electrons and hole is enhanced by the co-doping strategy. (Co, Cu)/ZnO nanoparticles demonstrated a strong visible light response and high photocatalytic activity for Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under irradiation by visible light (400-500 nm). The visible-light photocatalytic activity of the prepared  (Co, Cu)/ZnO may come about because of the incorporation of Co, Cu atoms in ZnO, photo-induced electron-hole pairs and extended the spectral response to the visible region. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of ZnO, Co-ZnO, Cu-ZnO, and (Co, Cu)/ZnO were studied respectively with Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) ( bacterial strain) and  Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans (fungal strain). The (Co, Cu)/ZnO enhanced the antimicrobial activity

A novel recyclable magnetic nanostructure for highly sensitive, selective and reversible detection of zinc ions in aqueous solutions

The synthesis and characterisation of a novel dansylated magnetic nanostructure, namely Fe3O4@SiO2-PEG-DnS, is reported here. Investigations of its fluorescent properties showed that the presence of the PEG moiety significantly enhanced the fluorescent intensity of the nanostructure when compared to both the free dansyl fluorophore and a nanostructure that contained no PEG spacer between the core and the attached dansyl group. The addition of zinc (Zn2+) ions to the aqueous suspension of Fe3O4@SiO2-PEG-DnS led to a 12.5-fold decrease in intensity. The quenching was selective to only Zn2+. No interference was observed by other examined metal cations, including cadmium (Cd2+). A very low detection limit of 6.00 nM in relation to zinc ions was demonstrated. In addition, the newly developed magnetic nanostructured chemosensor was found to be highly stable, reusable and recoverable