Keka Ojha

Zeolite from fly ash: synthesis and characterization

Coal fly ash was used to synthesize X-type zeolite by alkali fusion followed by hydrothermal treatment. The synthesized zeolite was characterized using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, BET method for surface area measurement etc. The synthesis conditions were optimized to obtain highly crystalline zeolite with maximum BET surface area. The maximum surface area of the product was found to be 383 m2/g with high purity. The crystallinity of the prepared zeolite was found to change with fusion temperature and a maximum value was obtained at 823 K. The cost of synthesized zeolite was estimated to be almost one-fifth of that of commercial 13X zeolite available in the market.

Mobility control and enhanced oil recovery using partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (PHPA)

Polymers are often used as mobility controller for enhanced oil recovery. The present paper deals with the application of partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (PHPA) polymer in enhanced oil recovery after the conventional water flooding. Experimental results show that viscosity of PHPA solution increases significantly on addition of small quantity of polymer, which in turn decreases the mobility ratio. The effect of frontal-advance velocity on the total relative mobility at different concentration of polymer has been discussed. A series of flooding experiments were performed in a flooding apparatus to observe the efficiency of polymer flooding at different concentration of PHPA. The crude oil is collected from Ahmedabad oil-field, India (total acid number of 0.038 mg KOH/g, gravity of 38.86° API and viscosity of 119 mPa.s at 30°C). The additional oil recoveries vary 16% to 20% of original oil in place (OOIP) depending on the polymer concentration.