Pre-concentration and determination of trace uranium (VI) in environments using ion-imprinted chitosan resin via solid phase extraction

The uranyl-ion-imprinted and non-imprinted cross-linked chitosan resins possessing quinoline-8-ol moiety have been prepared. In all the cases, a significant imprinting effect was noticed on comparing percent extraction of uranium (VI). The resulting ion-imprinted resin was used for solid phase extractive preconcentration of uranium (VI) prior to its determination by spectrophotometry. Experimental variables that influence the quantitative extraction of uranium (VI) were optimized by both static and column methods. The retention capacity found for uranium (VI) was 218 mg g-1 of resin which is higher than the corresponding non-imprinted resins and other solid phase extraction sorbents possessing quinoline-8-ol moiety. The optimum pH range was 4.5-7.0. Uranium adsorbed was easily and quantitatively eluted with 1 mol L-1 HCl (10 mL) at a flow rate of 2 mL min-1. Interference studies showed a high tolerance of diverse ions and electrolyte species. The limit of detection was 2 µg L-1 and the dynamic linear range was 5-100 µg L-1. The accuracy of the developed method was tested with one uranium ore standard reference material. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of uranium in contaminated soil and sediment samples

Proteomic Analysis of Rhesus Macaque Brain Explants Treated With Borrelia burgdorferi Identifies Host GAP-43 as a Potential Factor Associated With Lyme Neuroborreliosis

BackgroundLyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) is one of the most dangerous manifestations of Lyme disease, but the pathogenesis and inflammatory mechanisms are not fully understood.MethodsCultured explants from the frontal cortex of rhesus monkey brain (n=3) were treated with live Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 6, 12, and 24 h. Total protein was collected for sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. In addition, changes in protein expression in the explants over time following Bb treatment were screened.ResultsWe identified 1237 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs; fold change ≥1.5 or ≤0.67, P-value ≤0.05). One of these, growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43), was highly expressed at all time points in the explants. The results of the protein-protein interaction network analysis of DEPs suggested that GAP-43 plays a role in the neuroinflammation associated with LNB. In HMC3 cells incubated with live Bb or PBS for 6, 12, and 24 h, real-time PCR and western blot analyses confirmed the increase of GAP-43 mRNA and protein, respectively.ConclusionsElevated GAP-43 expression is a potential marker for LNB that may be useful for diagnosis or treatment

Effect of Epoxy Resin Emulsion on the Mechanical Properties of Oil Well Cement-Based Composites

Oil well cement is a brittle material, which can not ensure the long-term sealing integrity of oil and gas wells when used in cementing operations directly. As a kind of polymer emulsion material, epoxy resin emulsion has a bright future for improving the properties of the cement slurry. Epoxy resin emulsion was added to oil well cement and its workability and mechanical properties were studied, the stress-strain behavior of cement samples was evaluated, and the microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show the epoxy resin emulsion used in oil well cement will affect the fluidity, but the rheological property of cement slurry with different content of resin meets the construction requirements. The resin reduces the water loss of cement paste and has no adverse effect on the thickening time. The compressive strength of cement stone decreases with the increase in resin content. When the content of resin is 6%, the flexural strength and impact strength of the cement sample are the largest, and 50.7% and 20.2% higher than that of the specimen without resin, respectively, after curing for 28 days. Further comparison shows that epoxy resin emulsion can improve the mechanical properties of oil well cement better than styrene-butadiene rubber latex. Meanwhile, the resin obviously improves the deformability and decreases the elastic modulus of cement stone. Compared with pure cement, resin cement slurry has no extra hydration products, but the formation of hydrated calcium silicate is inhibited. The microstructure shows that the resin forms a polymer film in the cement matrix and interweaves with cement hydration products, thus improving the flexibility of cement paste

Composite Hydration Process of Clay Minerals Simulating Mineral Clay Components and Influence Mechanism of Cations

Clay minerals are an important part of the mud shale reservoir, and their type of content has a great impact on the hydration of the formation. The hydration of clay minerals causes a decrease in drilling fluid performance, an increase in pore pressure, and a decrease in rock strength, leading to wellbore wall collapse. Therefore, it is important to study the influence of clay mineral hydration on well-wall stability. In this paper, we analyze the hydration process of clay minerals qualitatively and quantitatively by simulating the mineral clay fraction and the effect of the change in cations on their hydration and clarify the difference in the hydration of different clay minerals. The results show the following: (1) montmorillonite has the most obvious hydration and swelling effect, while the hydration of illite is mainly based on hydration and dispersion, which easily produce exfoliations and fall off in the stratum; kaolinite has poor hydration performance, while chlorite shows certain hydration but low hydration degree. (2) Cations have a certain inhibitory effect on the hydration of clay minerals, and the degree of hydration inhibition is different for different types. (3) Different clay minerals also differ in the form of state after water exposure, as montmorillonite shows swelling, while illite has no swelling, but its dispersion is stronger

Composite Hydration Process of Clay Minerals Simulating Mineral Clay Components and Influence Mechanism of Cations

Clay minerals are an important part of the mud shale reservoir, and their type of content has a great impact on the hydration of the formation. The hydration of clay minerals causes a decrease in drilling fluid performance, an increase in pore pressure, and a decrease in rock strength, leading to wellbore wall collapse. Therefore, it is important to study the influence of clay mineral hydration on well-wall stability. In this paper, we analyze the hydration process of clay minerals qualitatively and quantitatively by simulating the mineral clay fraction and the effect of the change in cations on their hydration and clarify the difference in the hydration of different clay minerals. The results show the following: (1) montmorillonite has the most obvious hydration and swelling effect, while the hydration of illite is mainly based on hydration and dispersion, which easily produce exfoliations and fall off in the stratum; kaolinite has poor hydration performance, while chlorite shows certain hydration but low hydration degree. (2) Cations have a certain inhibitory effect on the hydration of clay minerals, and the degree of hydration inhibition is different for different types. (3) Different clay minerals also differ in the form of state after water exposure, as montmorillonite shows swelling, while illite has no swelling, but its dispersion is stronger

Effect of Ultrafine Calcium Silicate on the Mechanical Properties of Oil Well Cement-Based Composite at Low Temperature

A low-temperature environment will reduce the hydration rate of oil well cement-based composites, resulting in the slow development of mechanical strength, which cannot meet the requirements of cementing operations. In order to improve the early strength of cement paste under low temperature, the influence of ultrafine calcium silicate powder on the rheological properties, water loss, thickening time and permeability of oil well cement-based composites was evaluated. The compressive strength, flexural strength and impact strength of cement paste with different contents of ultrafine calcium silicate were studied. The hydration process and microstructure of cement paste were analyzed by hydration heat measurement system, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results show that the ultrafine calcium silicate has a certain impact on the rheology and thickening time of cement slurry, and dispersants and retarders are required to adjust these properties when it is used. The ultrafine calcium silicate can improve the stability of cement slurry and reduce water loss and permeability. In addition, under the condition of curing at 20 °C for 24 h, the compressive strength, flexural strength and impact strength of cement paste with 8% ultrafine calcium silicate content increased by 243.0%, 278.5% and 66.3%, respectively, compared with the pure cement paste. The hydration of cement slurry is accelerated by ultrafine calcium silicate, the hydration temperature is enhanced and the heat release of hydration is increased. The ultrafine calcium silicate improves the formation degree of hydration products and makes the structure of cement paste more compact. The research results help to design a low-temperature and early-strength cement slurry system

Hybrid Effect of Wollastonite Fiber and Carbon Fiber on the Mechanical Properties of Oil Well Cement Pastes

Oil well cement is a type of natural brittle material that cannot be used directly in cementing operations. Fiber is a type of material that can effectively improve the strength and toughness of cement stone, and hybrid fiber materials can more effectively improve the performance of a cement sample. To overcome the natural defects of oil well cement, the new mineral fiber, i.e., wollastonite fiber, and common carbon fiber were used in oil well cement, and the micromorphology, mechanical properties, and stress-strain behavior of the cement were evaluated. The experimental results show that carbon fiber and wollastonite fiber are randomly distributed in the cement paste. The mechanical properties of the cement paste are improved by bridging and pulling out. The compressive strength, flexural strength, and impact strength of cement stone containing only carbon fiber or wollastonite fiber are higher than those of the pure cement, but too many fibers are not conducive to the development of mechanical properties. A mixture of 0.3% carbon fiber with 6% wollastonite fiber in oil well cement slurry results in a greater increase in compressive strength, flexural strength, and impact strength. In addition, compared with blank cement stone, the strain of the mixed cement stone increases substantially, and the elastic modulus decreases by 37.8%. The experimental results supply technical support for the design of a high-performance cement slurry system

Synergistic Effect of Latex Powder and Rubber on the Properties of Oil Well Cement-Based Composites

The brittleness and the poor resistance to external load of oil well cement impede the development of oil and gas wells. To overcome these deficiencies, latex powder or rubber and their hybrid combinations were used to modify the oil well cement. The conventional properties, mechanical properties, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the modified cement were analyzed. In comparison with latex powder-incorporated cement and rubber-incorporated cement, a significant improvement of fluid loss, flexural strength, impact strength, and elasticity of the cement slurry was observed when using the hybrid combinations of 3 wt.% latex powder and 2 wt.% rubber, although this synergistic effect was not remarkable on the compressive strength and the thickening time. These evidences arose from the synergism between latex powder and rubber leading to the formation of a three-dimensional network structure and a flexible structure which subsequently improved the elasticity and toughness of cement stone. The improved elastic matrix has a buffering effect on external impact when the cement stone is subjected to an external load

Real-Time Interpretation Model of Reservoir Characteristics While Underbalanced Drilling Based on UKF

This study presents a novel interpretation model for reservoir characteristics while underbalanced drilling (UBD), by incorporating an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithm in a three-phase variable mass flow model of oil, gas, and liquid. In the model, the measurement parameters are simplified to bottomhole pressure and liquid outlet flow, for decreasing the amount of the computation and time. By taking into account real-time measurements, the permeability and reservoir pressure along the well can be continuously updated. Three cases including single-parameter and double-parameter estimations have been simulated, and the performance is tested against the extended Kalman filter (EKF). The results show that single-parameter estimation of reservoir permeability or pressure achieves superior performance. The filtered values of bottomhole pressure and outlet flow trace the measured values in real time. When a new section of a reservoir is opened, the estimated reservoir permeability or pressure can always be quickly and accurately returned to its true value. However, it is not possible for the double-parameter estimation to obtain good results; its interpretation accuracy is low. UKF is superior to EKF in both estimation accuracy and convergence speed, which further illustrates the superiority and accuracy of the novel interpretation model based on UKF. Benefits from this model are seen in accurate bottomhole pressure and reservoir characteristic predictions, which are of major importance for safety and economic reasons during UBD and follow-up completion operations