Essential Oils and Fatty Acids Composition of Dry Fruits of Tetrapleura tetraptera

The composition of essential oil and fatty acids of dry fruits of Tetrapleura tetraptera were analyzed by GC/MS. Forty-four compounds representing 98.5% of the essential oil were characterized. The essential oil was dominated by acetic acid (34.59%), 2-hydroxy-3-butanone (18.25%), butanoic acid (8.35%), 2-methyl butanoic acid (7.58%), 2-methyl butanol (7.45%), butanol (4.30%), 2-methyl butenoic acid (3.65%) and Nerol (3.25%). The fatty acid was dominated by palmitic acid (49.44%), linoleic acid (26.81%), oleic acid (19.72%) and stearic acid (3.20%). The fatty acid was about 54% saturated and 46% unsaturated with omega-6 and omega-3 constituting 27% and omega-9 (20%). The effectiveness of T.tetraptera to the treatment of variety of ailments does not depend largely on the essential oils composition of the plant since the oil is dominated by acetic acid. Any essential oil that is dominated by acid is not a true essential oil. © JASE

The Effect of Compositional Changes of Binary Mixtures of n-alkane solvents on the Precipitation of Heavy Organics from a Solution of Crude Oil Residue

The effect of precipitant compositional changes on the precipitation of heavy organics (HO) from a solution of crude oil residue using binary mixtures of n-alkane solvents was studied. Heavy organic precipitates were generated using different ratios of C5:C6, C6:C7 and C5:C7 n-alkane solvents. The result obtained showed that for binary mixtures at 1:0, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 0:1 ratios, the weight percentage precipitates of C5:C6 were 11.19±0.45, 8.56±0.80, 5.62±0.58, 8.53±0.80, 5.83±1.29, 5.45±0.57 and 5.24±0.32; C5:C7 were 11.19±0.90, 5.63±0.52, 2.12±0.25, 4.51±0.65, 2.11±0.37, 1.67±0.40 and 0.97±0.05; and C6:C7 were 5.24±0.32, 3.37±0.08, 1.94±0.03, 3.39±0.60, 1.48±0.03, 1.43±0.03 and 0.97±0.05 respectively. The results have shown that the quantity of HO precipitate decreases with increasing quantity of higher carbon number of n-alkane solvent to a minimum value at 2:1 ratio. From the minimum value, it rises to a maximum at 1:1 ratio as the proportion of Cn+x to Cn (where C is carbon atom, n and x represent the number of carbon atom) increases. The quantity of HO precipitate decreases again to a minimum at 1:2 ratio as the proportion of Cn+x increases further, and finally to the lowest value at pure Cn+x. The conclusion is that the components of the crude oil residue undergo a three-stage phase transition as the volume ratios of the n-alkane solvents vary. This study can lead to a better  understanding of the phase behavior of heavy organics under compositional changes and hence the prediction of heavy organic precipitation.Keywords: Heavy Organics, Precipitates, crude oil, binary mixtures, n-alkane