Nur Hidayati Othman

Photocatalytic degradation of oilfield produced water using graphitic carbon nitride embedded in electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers

Separation and purification of oilfield produced water (OPW) is a major environmental challenge due to the co-production of the OPW during petroleum exploration and production operations. Effective capture of oil contaminant and its in-situ photodegradation is one of the promising methods to purify the OPW. Based on the photocatalytic capability of graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) which was recently rediscovered, photodegradation capability of GCN for OPW was investigated in this study. GCN was synthesized by calcination of urea and further exfoliated into nanosheets. The GCNs were incorporated into polyacrylonitrile nanofibers using electrospinning, which gave a liquid-permeable self-supporting photocatalytic nanofiber mat that can be handled by hand. The photocatalytic nanofiber demonstrated 85.4% degradation of OPW under visible light irradiation, and improved the degradation to 96.6% under UV light. Effective photodegradation of the photocatalytic nanofiber for OPW originates from synergetic effects of oil adsorption by PAN nanofibers and oil photodegradation by GCNs. This study provides an insight for industrial application on purification of OPW through photocatalytic degradation under solar irradiation.

Effects of temperature on the corrosion behavior of coated carbon steel in 1 wt.% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution

Special attention has been paid in the past decade on the use of metal corrosion protection to conserve natural resources and to improve the performance of engine, build structures and other equipment. Coating is considered as one of the promising methods that can be used to protect the metal against corrosion. However, not many attentions have been given on the evaluation of coating mechanism towards corrosion protection. In this work, the performance of zinc-rich paint (ZRP) was investigated under saltwater environment as to simulate the nature of corrosion in seawater. The adhesion of the coated steel was also studied to determine the adherence of the coatings to the metal substrate. Results obtained from the immersion test was then used to determine the corrosion rate of the coatings. The mechanisms and the function of ZRP as a protection layer were also investigated. By using 3 coated system of ZRP, the corrosion rate of the steel was observed to decrease thus provide better protection in seawater en...

Supported graphene oxide hollow fibre membrane for oily wastewater treatment

Oil and gas industry deals with a large amount of undesirable discharges of liquid, solid, and gaseous wastes and the amounts can considerably change during the production phases. Oilfield wastewater or produced water is known to constitute various organic and inorganic components. Discharging the produced water can pollute surface and underground water and therefore the necessity to treat this oily wastewater is an inevitable challenge. The current technologies for the treatment of this metastable oil-in-water are not really effective and very pricey. As a result, there is a great interest from many parties around the world in finding cost-effective technologies. In recent years, membrane processes have been utilized for oily wastewater treatment. In these work, a graphene oxide membrane supported on a highly porous Al2O3 hollow fibre was prepared using vacuum assisted technique and its performance in treating oily wastewater was investigated. Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared using a modified Hummer’s me...

Development of environmental friendly lost circulation material from banana peel

Loss of expensive mud could lead to major financial problem in executing a drilling project and is one of the biggest problems that need to be tackled during drilling. Synthetic Based Mud (SBM) is the most stable state of the art drilling mud used in current drilling technologies. However, the problem with lost circulation is still inevitable. The focus of this project is to develop a new potential waste material from banana peel in order to combat lost circulation in SBM. Standard industrial Lost Circulation Material (LCM) is used to compare the performance of banana peel as LCM in SBM. The effects of different sizing of banana peels (600 micron, 300 micron and 100 micron) were studied on the rheological and filtration properties of SBM and the bridging performance of banana peel as LCM additive. The tests were conducted using viscometer, HTHP filter press and sand bed tester. Thermal analysis of banana peel was also studied using TGA. According to the results obtained, 300 and 100 micron size of banana peel LCM exhibited an improved bridging performance by 65% as compared to industrial LCM. However, banana peel LCM with the size of 600 micron failed to act as LCM due to the total invasion of mud into the sand bed.Loss of expensive mud could lead to major financial problem in executing a drilling project and is one of the biggest problems that need to be tackled during drilling. Synthetic Based Mud (SBM) is the most stable state of the art drilling mud used in current drilling technologies. However, the problem with lost circulation is still inevitable. The focus of this project is to develop a new potential waste material from banana peel in order to combat lost circulation in SBM. Standard industrial Lost Circulation Material (LCM) is used to compare the performance of banana peel as LCM in SBM. The effects of different sizing of banana peels (600 micron, 300 micron and 100 micron) were studied on the rheological and filtration properties of SBM and the bridging performance of banana peel as LCM additive. The tests were conducted using viscometer, HTHP filter press and sand bed tester. Thermal analysis of banana peel was also studied using TGA. According to the results obtained, 300 and 100 micron size of banana ...

Review on effects of hydrazine hydrate and L-ascorbic acid on electrical conductivity of graphene

Graphene is a 2D carbon-based materials that comprises one atom-thick planar sheets of sp2-bonded carbon atoms making it as the thinnest compound in the world. Its application in electronics devices has been widely investigated because of the high electron density on monochrome graphene sheets. Graphene can be synthesized using top down approach, which involves oxidation of graphite to GO using Staudenmaier or Hummer’s methods and subsequently reducing the GO to graphene. The. At the current state of graphene research, the controlled, large scale synthesis of high quality graphene is still remains a challenge. All the methods and raw materials used for graphene synthesis have their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the purpose of this study is to review the effects of reducing agents particularly, hydrazine hydrate (HH) and L-ascorbic acid (L-AA) on the electrical conductivity of graphene. The review was carried out by comparing characteristic properties of graphene after the reduction process using several equipment such as FTIR, XRD and four-point probe for conductivity.Graphene is a 2D carbon-based materials that comprises one atom-thick planar sheets of sp2-bonded carbon atoms making it as the thinnest compound in the world. Its application in electronics devices has been widely investigated because of the high electron density on monochrome graphene sheets. Graphene can be synthesized using top down approach, which involves oxidation of graphite to GO using Staudenmaier or Hummer’s methods and subsequently reducing the GO to graphene. The. At the current state of graphene research, the controlled, large scale synthesis of high quality graphene is still remains a challenge. All the methods and raw materials used for graphene synthesis have their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the purpose of this study is to review the effects of reducing agents particularly, hydrazine hydrate (HH) and L-ascorbic acid (L-AA) on the electrical conductivity of graphene. The review was carried out by comparing characteristic properties of graphene after the reduction process using sev...

Thermal spray coating for corrosion under insulation (CUI) prevention

Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is one of the predominant issues affecting process of Oil and Gas and Petrochemical industries. CUI refers to external corrosion, but it is difficult to be detected as the insulation cover masks the corrosion problem. One of the options to prevent CUI is by utilizing the protective coating systems. Thermal spray coating (TSC) is an advanced coating system and it shows promising performance in harsh environment, which could be used to prevent CUI. However, the application of TSC is not attractive due to the high initial cost. This work evaluates the potential of TSC based on corrosion performance using linear polarization resistance (LPR) method and salt spray test (SST). Prior to the evaluation, the mechanical performance of TSC was first investigated using adhesion test and bend test. Microstructure characterization of the coating was investigated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The LPR test results showed that low corrosion rate of 0.05 mm/years was obtained fo...