Corrosion Inhibition of Carbon Steel in a Sour (H2S) Environment by an Acryloyl-Based Polymer.

Corrosion poses safety and operational challenges in the oil and gas field, particularly in a sour environment. Corrosion inhibitors (CIs) are thus employed to protect the integrity of industrial assets. However, CIs have the potential to dramatically impair the effectiveness of other co-additives, such as kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs). Here, we propose an acryloyl-based copolymer, previously used as a KHI, as an effective CI. The copolymer formulation provided a corrosion inhibition efficiency of up to 90% in a gas production environment, implying that it can reduce or even eliminate the need for an additional dedicated CI in the system. It also demonstrated a corrosion inhibition efficiency of up to 60% under field-simulated conditions for a wet sour crude processing environment. Molecular modeling suggests that the enhanced corrosion protection is imparted by the favorable interaction of the heteroatoms of the copolymer with the steel surface, potentially displacing adhered water molecules. All in all, we show that an acryloyl-based copolymer with dual functionalities can potentially overcome issues caused by incompatibilities in a sour environment, resulting in significant cost savings and operational ease.

Metallic Active Sites on MoO2(110) Surface to Catalyze Advanced Oxidation Processes for Efficient Pollutant Removal.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on sulfate radicals (SO4⋅-) suffer from low conversion rate of Fe(III) to Fe(II) and produce a large amount of iron sludge as waste. Herein, we show that by using MoO2 as a cocatalyst, the rate of Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling in PMS system accelerated significantly, with a reaction rate constant 50 times that of PMS/Fe(II) system. Our results showed outstanding removal efficiency (96%) of L-RhB in 10 min with extremely low concentration of Fe(II) (0.036 mM), outperforming most reported SO4⋅--based AOPs systems. Surface chemical analysis combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculation demonstrated that both Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling and PMS activation occurred on the (110) crystal plane of MoO2, whereas the exposed active sites of Mo(IV) on MoO2 surface were responsible for accelerating PMS activation. Considering its performance, and non-toxicity, using MoO2 as a cocatalyst is a promising technique for large-scale practical environmental remediation.

Surface-bound sacrificial electron donors in promoting photocatalytic reduction on titania nanocrystals.

Titania nanocrystals have been investigated for fast color switching through photocatalytic reduction of dyes and hexacyanometalate pigments. Here we reveal that direct binding of sacrificial electron donors (SEDs) to the surface of titania nanocrystals can significantly promote the charge transfer rate by more efficiently scavenging photogenerated holes and releasing more photogenerated electrons for reduction reactions. Using diethylene glycol (DEG) as an example, we show that its binding to the nanoparticle surface, which can be achieved either during or after the nanoparticle formation, greatly enhances the photocatalytic reduction in comparison with the case where free DEG molecules are simply added as external SEDs.

An in-situ electropolymerization based sensor for measuring salt content in crude oil.

Determining salt content is a vital procedure in the petroleum industry during the process of crude oil transportation, refining and production. Monitoring the salinity value using a fast and direct technique can substantially lower the cost of crude oil in its processing and its production stages. In the present work, a novel analytical method was developed to detect the amount of salt present in crude oil in a quick and reliable manner. The measurement is based on the rate of in-situ electropolymerization of a monomer such as aniline in association with the salt content in the crude oil. The salt dispersed in the hydrocarbon matrix is used as an electrolyte in the electrolytic system to induce an electropolymerization reaction upon the induction of voltages, in which the salt content is measured corresponding to the polymeric film formation on the working electrode surface. Acetonitrile and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) were used in the electrochemical cell as solvents, and cyclic voltammetry tests were performed for Arabian crude oil solutions in the presence of aniline. The method has shown an excellent detection response for very low concentrations of salt. Four Arabian crude oils with salt concentrations of 34.2, 28.5, 14.3 and 5.71 mg L(-1) have produced current intensity of 180.1, 172.6, 148.1 and 134.2 µA at an applied current potential of 1.75 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), respectively. A Calibration curve was obtained in the range of 5-35 mg L(-1), giving limits of detection and quantitation at 1.98 and 5.95 mg L(-1), respectively. The in-situ electropolymerization based sensor has significant advantages over the existing techniques of salt monitoring in crude oil such as fast response, temperature independency, electrode stability, and minimum sample preparation.