Guangqing Zhang

Effect of preoxidation and sintering on properties of ilmenite concentrates

Abstract The paper examines the effects of preoxidation and sintering on the phase composition, specific surface area, morphology and reducibility of ilmenite concentrates. Samples were preoxidised in air or sintered in argon by temperature-programmed heating to temperatures of 600–1400°C at a ramping rate of 300°C/h. In the concentrates preoxidised at temperatures up to 800°C, ilmenite formed an intermediate product, Fe 2 O 3 ·2TiO 2 , which decomposed into Fe 2 O 3 and TiO 2 . At temperatures above 800°C, pseudorutile was transformed into ferric pseudobrookite and rutile. Haematite recombined with rutile to form pseudobrookite at temperatures above 1000°C. When samples were heated in an argon atmosphere, ferric–ferrous pseudobrookite solid solution was formed from ilmenite and pseudorutile. Preoxidation and sintering at temperatures above 600°C caused a sharp decrease in the specific surface area of samples. The specific surface area decreased by more than 97% when samples were heated to 1200°C. Preoxidation enhanced while sintering retarded the reduction of iron oxides in ilmenite concentrates by methane–hydrogen gas mixtures in the temperature range of 550–800°C. Both preoxidation and sintering increased the temperature required to reduce titanium oxides. At high temperatures, such as 1200°C, the effects of preoxidation and sintering on isothermal reduction of ilmenites were negligible.

Transformation of methane to synthesis gas over metal oxides without using catalyst

This article reviews a new developing method in the field of metal oxide reduction in chemical and metallurgical processes, which uses methane as a reducing agent. Commonly, coal is used as the reducing agent in the reduction of metal oxide and other inorganic materials; Metal producing factories are among the most intensive and concentrated source of greenhouse gases and other pollutants such as heavy metals, sulfur dioxide and fly ash. Thermodynamically, methane has a great reducing capability and can be activated to produce synthesis gas over a metal oxide as an oxygen donor. Metal oxide reduction and methane activation, two concurrent thermochemical processes, can be combined as an efficient and energy-saving process; nowadays this kind of technologies is of great importance. This new reduction process could improve energy efficiencies and significantly decrease greenhouse gas emission compared to the conventional process; furthermore, the produced gases are synthesis gas that is more valuable than methane. In this paper, thermodynamic studies and advantages of this promising method were discussed. The major aim of this article is to introduce methane as a best and environmentally friendly reducing agent at low temperature.

Bacterial community diversity in a low-permeability oil reservoir and its potential for enhancing oil recovery

The diversity of indigenous bacterial community and the functional species in the water samples from three production wells of a low permeability oil reservoir was investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology. The potential of application of indigenous bacteria for enhancing oil recovery was evaluated by examination of the effect of bacterial stimulation on the formation water-oil-rock surface interactions and micromodel test. The results showed that production well 88-122 had the most diverse bacterial community and functional species. The broth of indigenous bacteria stimulated by an organic nutrient activator at aerobic condition changed the wettability of the rock surface from oil-wet to water-wet. Micromodel test results showed that flooding using stimulated indigenous bacteria following water flooding improved oil recovery by 6.9% and 7.7% in fractured and unfractured micromodels, respectively. Therefore, the zone of low permeability reservoir has a great potential for indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery.

Effect of Gas Atmosphere on Carbothermal Reduction and Nitridation of Titanium Dioxide

This article examined the reduction/nitridation of rutile in the He-N2, Ar-N2, and He (Ar)-H2-N2 gas mixtures, as well as pure nitrogen, in the temperature-programmed and isothermal experiments in a fixed-bed reactor. The extents of reduction and nitridation were determined from the off gas composition and LECO analysis. The off-gas composition was monitored using the infrared sensor (CO, CO2, and CH4) and dew point analyzer (H2O). The phase composition of the reduced samples was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The temperature and gas composition had a strong effect on the rutile reduction. The reduction was the fastest in the H2-N2 gas mixture, followed by a reduction in nitrogen; the rate of reduction/nitridation in the He-N2 gas mixture was marginally higher than in the Ar-N2 gas. The rate of titania reduction/nitridation in the He (Ar)-H2-N2 gas increased with the replacement of He (Ar) with hydrogen. The article also discusses the mechanisms of reduction/nitridation in different gas atmospheres.

Combined hydrolysis acidification and bio-contact oxidation system with air-lift tubes and activated carbon bioreactor for oilfield wastewater treatment

This paper investigated the enhancement of the COD reduction of an oilfield wastewater treatment process by installing air-lift tubes and adding an activated carbon bioreactor (ACB) to form a combined hydrolysis acidification and bio-contact oxidation system with air-lift tubes (HA/air-lift BCO) and an ACB. Three heat-resistant bacterial strains were cultivated and subsequently applied in above pilot plant test. Installing air-lift tubes in aerobic tanks reduced the necessary air to water ratio from 20 to 5. Continuous operation of the HA/air-lift BCO system for 2 months with a hydraulic retention time of 36 h, a volumetric load of 0.14 kg COD/(m(3)d) (hydrolysis-acidification or anaerobic tank), and 0.06 kg COD/(m(3)d) (aerobic tanks) achieved an average reduction of COD by 60%, oil and grease by 62%, total suspended solids by 75%, and sulfides by 77%. With a COD load of 0.56 kg/(m(3)d), the average COD in the ACB effluent was 58 mg/L.

Carbothermal reduction of ilmenite concentrates and synthetic rutile in different gas atmospheres

Abstract Carbothermal reduction of ilmenite concentrates and synthetic rutile was studied in isothermal experiments in hydrogen, argon and helium in a tube reactor. Concentrations of CO, CO2 and CH4 in the off gas were measured online using an infrared gas analyser. The reaction products were analysed by X-ray diffraction. Pseudorutile and ilmenite were the main phases in ilmenite concentrates. Reduction of ilmenite concentrates and synthetic rutile in hydrogen was significantly faster than that in inert atmosphere. The effect of gas atmosphere became stronger for lower grade ilmenite containing more iron oxides. The conversion rate of titania to titanium oxycarbide in hydrogen decreased with increasing grade of ilmenite concentrate. In inert gas, the reduction rates of secondary ilmenite and HYTI70 were close to that of primary ilmenite. Reduction of synthetic rutile was faster in comparison with ilmenite concentrates.

Analysis of bacterial diversity in two oil blocks from two low-permeability reservoirs with high salinities

The community diversities of two oil reservoirs with low permeability of 1.81 × 10−3 and 2.29 × 10−3 μm2 in Changqing, China, were investigated using a high throughput sequencing technique to analyze the influence of biostimulation with a nutrient activator on the bacterial communities. These two blocks differed significantly in salinity (average 17,500 vs 40,900 mg/L). A core simulation test was used to evaluate the effectiveness of indigenous microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The results indicated that in the two high salinity oil reservoirs, one reservoir having relatively lower salinity level and a narrow salinity range had higher bacterial and phylogenetic diversity. The addition of the nutrient activator increased the diversity of the bacterial community structure and the diversity differences between the two blocks. The results of the core simulation test showed that the bacterial community in the reservoir with a salinity level of 17,500 mg/L did not show significant higher MEOR efficiency compared with the reservoir with 40,900 mg/L i.e. MEOR efficiency of 8.12% vs 6.56% (test p = 0.291 > 0.05). Therefore, salinity levels affected the bacterial diversities in the two low permeability oil blocks remarkably. But the influence of salinity for the MEOR recovery was slightly.

Phase development in carbothermal reduction and nitridation of ilmenite concentrates

Abstract The phase development in the course of carbothermal reduction and nitridation of ilmentie concentrates and synthetic rutile was studied in temperature programmed reduction (623–1873 K) and isothermal reduction experiments. Ilmenites and synthetic rutile were reduced in a tube reactor with continuously flowing hydrogen-nitrogen mixture or pure nitrogen. The rate and extent of reduction were monitored by online off-gas analysis. Samples reduced to different extent were subjected to XRD and SEM/BSE analyses. Pseudorutile and ilmenite were the main phases in ilmenite concentrates; rutile was the main phase in synthetic rutile. Pseudorutile was first converted to ilmenite and titania which occurred at temperatures below 623 K; iron oxides in ilmenite were quickly reduced to metallic iron. Titania was reduced to titanium suboxides and further to titanium oxycarbonitride. Reduction of ilmenites and synthetic rutile in hydrogen-nitrogen mixture was much faster than in pure nitrogen. The rate of conversion of titanium oxides to oxycarbonitride was affected by iron content in the ilmenites. The rate of reduction increased with increasing iron content in ilmenite (decreasing grade) when ilmenites were reduced in the hydrogen-nitrogen gas mixture, but decreased with decreasing ilmenite grade in reduction experiments in nitrogen; reduction in nitrogen was the fastest for synthetic rutile. The difference in the reduction behaviour was attributed to different chemical compositions and morphologies of ilmenites of different grades.

A high-efficiency denitrification bioreactor for the treatment of acrylonitrile wastewater using waterborne polyurethane immobilized activated sludge

The performance of a laboratory-scale, high-efficiency denitrification bioreactor (15L) using activated sludge immobilized by waterborne polyurethane in treating acrylonitrile wastewater with high concentration of nitrate nitrogen (249mg/L) was investigated. The bioreactor was operated at 30°C for 220days. Batch denitrification experiments showed that the optimal operation parameters were C/NO3--N molar ratio of 2.0 using sodium acetate as electron donor and carrier filling rate of 20% (V/V) in the bioreactor. Stable performance of denitrification was observed with a hydraulic retention time of 30 to 38h. A volumetric removal rate up to 2.1kgN/m3·d was achieved with a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 95%. Pyrosequencing results showed that Rhodocyclaceae and Pseudomonadaceae were the dominant bacterial families in the immobilized carrier and bioreactor effluent. The overall microbial diversity declined as denitrifiers gradually dominated and the relative abundance of other bacteria decreased along with testing time.

Biostimulation of biogas producing microcosm for enhancing oil recovery in low-permeability oil reservoir

Indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) has been successfully applied in conventional oil reservoirs, however the mechanism in low-permeability oil reservoirs is still misunderstood. In order to profile the role of indigenous microcosms in oil recovery, the phylogenetic diversity of the microbial community inhibited in the reservoir by stimulation with optimized nutrients in vitro were investigated by MiSeq platforms sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Results showed that the microbial community after stimulation was dramatically changed and an increasing abundance of functional microorganisms with the ability to producing biogas, biosolvent and biosurfactant was clearly detected under anaerobic conditions: such as the genus of Clostridium, Bacillaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Oleomonas, Marinobacter, Pseudomonas, Marinobacterium and Dietzia. Core flooding tests within sandstone were implemented and indicate that these enriched microorganisms were closely related to incremental oil recovery. In particular, biogas-producing bacteria made the most significant contribution with obvious evidence of a pressure increase during the core flooding test with no observation of decreasing surface tension and emulsification. These results suggest that the stimulation of indigenous biogas producers is a promising strategy for improving oil recovery in low-permeability oil reservoirs.