Dispersants are important tools in oil spill response. Taking advantage of the energy in even small waves, they disperse floating oil slicks into tiny droplets (<70 μm) that entrain in the water column and drift apart so that they do not re-agglomerate to re-form a floating slick. The dramatically increased surface area allows microbial access to much more of the oil, and diffusion and dilution...

During the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the application of 7 million liters of chemical dispersants aimed to stimulate microbial crude oil degradation by increasing the bioavailability of oil compounds. However, the effects of dispersants on oil biodegradation rates are debated. In laboratory experiments, we simulated environmental conditions comparable to the hydro...

In this research, two series of ultra-low cement high alumina refractory castables containing 0 and 0.4 wt.% of nano-titania were prepared using different amounts of polycarbonic acid (DOLAPIX FF 26) as a dispersant. Several characteristics including microstructure, flowability, mechanical strength, bulk density and apparent porosity of the samples were analyzed. The results showed that the opt...

In the present research, the aqueous suspensions of nano-sized YSZ particles were prepared using a common and available dispersant (Dolapix CE64) at different pH values and their stability were evaluated through the sedimentation height, viscosity measurement, and microstructural observation. Different amounts of dispersant were tested and the optimum percentage was examined by measuring the vi...

In recent years, polymeric/polymerized ionic liquids or poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) were found to take an enabling role in some fields of polymer chemistry and material science. PILs combine the unique properties of ionic liquids with the flexibility and properties of macromolecular architectures and provide novel properties and functions that are of huge potential in a multitude of applications...

Asphaltene precipitation occurs in petroleum fluids under certain unfavorable conditions, but can be controlled by tuning composition. Aromatic solvents in large quantities can prevent precipitation entirely and can dissolve already precipitated asphaltenes. Some polymeric surfactants can dissolve asphaltenes when added at much lower concentrations than required by aromatic solvents. Other disp...

We illustrate in this paper the interest of cryo-field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy (cryo-FEGSEM) to investigate the stability of alumina suspensions. The stability is investigated through viscosity, zeta potential, total organic carbon measurements, and cryo-FEGSEM observations. We focus on two examples: the effect of the quantity of ammonium polyacrylate as dispersant and the eff...

The fabrication of biomaterials with structured surfaces for medical purposes is a topic great interest. Producing topographies certain characteristics can benefit tissue formation and/or reduce the probability developing an infection due to hindrance shown by micro-structures microbial adhesion. This work presents new, economically attractive way fabricate micro-structured patterns on surface ...

Chitosan is the deacetylated form of chitin and used in numerous applications. Because it is a good dispersant for metal and/or oxide nanoparticle synthesis, chitosan and its derivatives have been utilized as coating agents for magnetic nanoparticles synthesis, including superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). Herein, we demonstrate the water-soluble SPIONs encapsulated with a hybr...

BACKGROUND The large quantities of chemical oil dispersants used in the oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC) work following the Deepwater Horizon disaster provide an opportunity to study associations between dispersant exposure (Corexit™ EC9500A or EC9527A) and human health. OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to examine associations between potential exposure to the dispersants and adverse respi...