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Data and statistical analysis scripts for manuscript on pennycress roots & response to nitrate using 3Dgel system: A temporal analysis and response to nitrate availability of 3D root system architecture in diverse pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) accessions [https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1145389].
Abstract not provided.
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APS March Meeting 2022, Virtual, March 13-18, 2022
A combination seal connects a filter or an equipment component to a base. The combination seal includes a seal material and flecks or particles made of intumescent material interspersed within the seal material. The flecks or particles of intumescent material undergo a chemical change when exposed to flames or heat and expand to maintain seal effectiveness and longevity without compromise.
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Summary Gel treatment is an effective way to attack excessive water production during oil development. The transport behavior of gel materials in reservoirs is of crucial importance to the effectiveness of gel treatments. The aim of this paper is investigating the transport behavior of swellable micrometer-sized preformed particle gels (PPGs, or microgels) through superpermeable (super-K) channels. Sandpacks with permeabilities ranging from 27 to 221 darcies were used to mimic the super-K channels. Multiple pressure sensors were applied along the sandpack models to monitor the propagation behavior of the microgels. The tested microgel particles could transport through the super-K channels, and a higher driving pressure gradient was required when the particle/pore size ratio was larger. The pressure gradient distribution along the super-K channels was relatively uniform when the particle/pore ratio was low (less than 1.3). However, the inlet section would show increasingly higher pressure gradients as the particle/pore ratio was increased, indicating increased difficulty in propagation. The propagation of the gel particles was significantly slower compared with the carrying fluid. The delayed propagation behavior was more pronounced when the particle/pore ratio was higher. The injection pressure was much less sensitive to the injection flow rate compared with a Newtonian fluid. The gel dispersion exhibited an apparent shear thinning (pseudoplastic) behavior when transporting through the porous channels. Breakage of the gel particles was observed especially at high superficial velocities. The particle breakage was partially responsible for the apparent shear thinning behavior. The breakage phenomenon was in favor of deep placement of the gel particles. The channel permeabilities were significantly reduced by the microgels, bringing sufficient resistance to subsequent waterflooding (more than 99.5%). At given matching size conditions, softer gels were more likely to establish in-depth placement and uniform water blocking capacity in the channels. The microgel particles exhibited salinity-responsive behavior to the post-brine flush. The gel particles could shrink and reswell according to the salinity of the injected water. Possibilities were discussed to use this salinity-responsive behavior. Also, the microgels exhibited a particular disproportionate permeability reduction (DPR) effect. After gel injection, the channel permeability to water flow was reduced by more than 20 to 92 times of the permeability to oil flow. This work provides important support to understand the transport behavior of gel particles in super-K channels. The achievements are helpful for gel product selection and gel treatment design.
Gel treatment is an effective way to attack excessive water production in many mature oilfields around the world. Selective penetration is desired for successful gel treatments. That is, gel materials should easily penetrate the target zones (i.e., channeling features such as superpermeable channels) without entering/damaging the nontarget zones (i.e., reservoir matrices or oil zones). This study revealed that presence of threshold penetration pressure (ΔP th ) was responsible for selective penetration behavior of tested microgels. The concept of ΔP th was utilized to figure out favorable working conditions for effective gel treatments. Microgel dispersions were injected into superpermeable (super-k) sandpacks (mimicking super-k channels in reservoirs, 60–221 darcies), heterogeneous models with super-k channels (79–230 darcies), and sandstone cores (mimicking reservoir matrices, 50–5000 md). The results demonstrated that a minimum differential driving pressure (i.e., threshold penetration pressure, ΔP th ) was required to push microgel particles to penetrate channels or matrices. The critical penetration behavior was closely related to the particle/pore size ratio. Low ΔP th at smaller particle/pore ratios was beneficial to allow easy penetration of gel materials into the channeling zones. On the contrary, high ΔPth at larger particle/pore ratios was desirable to prevent gel materials from massively invading and damaging the matrices. Instead, the gel particles accumulated at the inlet surface, and a gel cake was gradually formed. The cake further prevented the invasion of the gels. The cake could be removed by chemical breakers to resume the injectivity/productivity of the matrices. Correlations were developed to describe the relationship between ΔP th and particle/pore ratio. A distinct transition was identified at the particle/pore ratio of about 3. This research could help identify the favorable conditions to achieve successful gel treatments. In an effective conformance treatment, the particle/pore ratio in the channel should be sufficiently low to allow easy penetration of gel materials into the channel (e.g., particle/pore ratio<2 in this study). Meanwhile, the particle/pore ratio in the matrix should be large enough to support a high ΔP th and thus prevent massive gel invasion into the matrix. This study advances the current pore scale studies (a single particle passing through a single channel) to Darcy-scale characterization.
Disclosed here is a method for making a three-dimensional micro-architected aerogel, comprising: (a) curing a reaction mixture comprising a co-sol-gel material (e.g., graphene oxide (GO)) and at least one catalyst to obtain a crosslinked co-sol-gel (e.g., GO hydrogel); (b) providing a photoresin comprising a solvent, a photoinitiator, a crosslinkable polymer precursor, and a dispersion of the crosslinked co-sol-gel (e.g., GO hydrogel); (c) curing the photoresin using projection microstereolithography layer-by-layer to produce a wet gel having a pre-designed three-dimensional structure; (d) drying the wet gel to produce a dry gel; and (e) pyrolyzing the dry gel to produce a three-dimensional micro-architected aerogel (e.g., graphene aerogel). Also disclosed is a photoresin for projection microstereolithography, comprising a solvent, a photoinitiator, a crosslinkable polymer precursor, and a dispersion of a crosslinked co-sol-gel.
Hydrogels from plant proteins commonly exhibit inferior gel strength compared to those from dairy proteins partially due to their distinct gel networks. How protein aggregates to form such networks in response to heat remains largely unknown. In this work, pea (PPI) and whey (WPI) protein isolate gels were produced at the same protein content and similar heating/cooling rate. The process was monitored using rheology, microscopy and in situ ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering (USAXS). Rheology showed an initial decrease in G' and G'' in PPI followed by a steady increase when the temperature surpassed ~60 °C whereas a much higher temperature (~80 °C) was required for WPI, both using 2 °C/min heating rate. Microscopy showed a coarse and heterogenous network in PPI, whereas for WPI, the network was finer and more continuous. In both gels, nano-sized spherical or ellipsoidal particles were present as the basic constituents. USAXS found individual protein was dominant in PPI or WPI solution at temperature below 57 °C. Their proportions decreased together with appearance of aggregates with an average R g of 9–10 nm in PPI and 6–7 nm in WPI at higher temperature. The size of the aggregates changed slightly during further heating and cooling, but their proportions increased. Power law exponents revealed the aggregates were mass fractals for WPI and PPI gels, and they became more compact during heating. Our findings suggested formation of primary aggregates in protein gel networks is a more organized process and provided theoretical guidance for production of high protein food gels with desirable texture.
Loaded polymer gels are prevalent materials in the controlled release community and, fairly recently, have been formulated to include nanocarrier domains such as micelles and vesicles. One mechanism used to establish the solid-like characteristic of gels is block copolymer self-assembly, which can result in a system-spanning, physically-crosslinked network. Additionally, the combination of nanocarrier and crosslink domain presence offers gels with a rich nanoscale phase space capable of intricate macroscopic property tuning. The current manuscript provides an overview of nanocarrier-loaded block copolymer organogels wherein nanocarriers are reverse micelles formed by sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (AOT), the block copolymer is a styrenic ABA triblock copolymer, and the gel solvent is aliphatic mineral oil. This introductory overview starts by identifying the envelope in ternary phase space wherein nanocarrier-loaded block copolymer organogels form (2-49 wt% triblock copolymer and 8x10 -3 -1 wt% AOT). Next, a detailed nanostructural description of gels varying in AOT and triblock copolymer concentration is presented. The manuscript concludes with demonstration of AOT reverse micelle release and gel uniaxial tensile response for gels containing 0-1 wt% AOT and 5-40 wt% styrenic triblock copolymer.
Pathway complexity results in unique materials from the same components according to the assembly conditions. Here a chiral acyl-semicarbazide gelator forms three different gels of contrasting fibre morphology (termed ‘gelmorphs’) as well as lyotropic liquid crystalline droplets depending on the assembly pathway. The gels have morphologies that are either hyperhelical (HH-Gel), tape-fibre (TF-Gel) or thin fibril derived from the liquid crystalline phase (LC-Gels) and exhibit very different rheological properties. The gelator exists as three slowly interconverting conformers in solution. All three gels are comprised of an unsymmetrical, intramolecular hydrogen bonded conformer. The kinetics show that formation of the remarkable HH-Gel is cooperative and is postulated to involve association of the growing fibril with a non-gelling conformer. This single molecule dynamic conformational library shows how very different materials with different morphology and hence very contrasting materials properties can arise from pathway complexity as a result of emergent interactions during the assembly process.
Transient binding between associating macromolecules can cause qualitative changes to chain dynamics, including modes of conformational relaxation and diffusion, through tethering effects imparted by long-range connectivity. Here, in this work, the role of binding on short-time segmental dynamics in associative polymer gels is investigated by neutron spin-echo (NSE) measurements on a class of model artificial coiled-coil proteins with a systematically varied architecture, probing timescales of 0.1–130 ns, and length scales close to the molecular radius of gyration. The results illustrate effects of transient cross-linking on chain dynamics on different timescales, manifested in changes in segmental relaxation behavior with variations in strand length, chain concentration, and sticker distribution (endblock- vs midblock-functionalized). In all gels, a short-time cooperative diffusion mode is seen over all wave vectors, analogous to a semidilute solution, with no transitions seen at any known structural length scale. However, the diffusion coefficients are found to decrease with increasing junction density across all gels, with the strand length and number of stickers per chain in each gel appearing to play a relatively minor role. The slowing of cooperative diffusion with junction density contrasts with classical predictions of a greater restoring force for fluctuation dissipation due to the increased elasticity, suggesting additional effects of the coiled-coil junctions such as an enhancement in local viscosity that slows dynamics. Notably, the relaxation rates for all gels can be rescaled by the interjunction spacing inferred from small-angle neutron scattering, where they collapse onto a master curve suggestive of self-similar dynamics even in networks with different strand lengths and chain architectures. On long timescales (but shorter than the junction exchange time), a slowing of network relaxation is observed, resulting in a nondecaying plateau in the spin-echo amplitude attributed to a freezing of chain dynamics due to tethering. A characteristic length scale corresponding to the extent of dynamic fluctuations is estimated for each gel, which appears to be smaller than the interjunction spacing but similar to the correlation blob size of the overlapping strands. The results indicate an important role of transient binding on molecular-scale dynamics in associative polymer gels, even on timescales shorter than the junction exchange time, in addition to its effects on long-range self-diffusion previously observed.
Zinc (Zn)–manganese dioxide (MnO2) rechargeable batteries have attracted research interest because of high specific theoretical capacity as well as being environmentally friendly, intrinsically safe and low-cost. Liquid electrolytes, such as potassium hydroxide, are historically used in these batteries; however, many failure mechanisms of the Zn–MnO2 battery chemistry result from the use of liquid electrolytes, including the formation of electrochemically inert phases such as hetaerolite (ZnMn2O4) and the promotion of shape change of the Zn electrode. This manuscript reports on the fundamental and commercial results of gel electrolytes for use in rechargeable Zn–MnO2 batteries as an alternative to liquid electrolytes. The manuscript also reports on novel properties of the gelled electrolyte such as limiting the overdischarge of Zn anodes, which is a problem in liquid electrolyte, and finally its use in solar microgrid applications, which is a first in academic literature. Potentiostatic and galvanostatic tests with the optimized gel electrolyte showed higher capacity retention compared to the tests with the liquid electrolyte, suggesting that gel electrolyte helps reduce Mn3+ dissolution and zincate ion migration from the Zn anode, improving reversibility. Cycling tests for commercially sized prismatic cells showed the gel electrolyte had exceptional cycle life, showing 100% capacity retention for >700 cycles at 9.5 Ah and for >300 cycles at 19 Ah, while the 19 Ah prismatic cell with a liquid electrolyte showed discharge capacity degradation at 100th cycle. We also performed overdischarge protection tests, in which a commercialized prismatic cell with the gel electrolyte was discharged to 0 V and achieved stable discharge capacities, while the liquid electrolyte cell showed discharge capacity fade in the first few cycles. Finally, the gel electrolyte batteries were tested under IEC solar off-grid protocol. It was noted that the gelled Zn–MnO2 batteries outperformed the Pb–acid batteries. Additionally, a designed system nameplated at 2 kWh with a 12 V system with 72 prismatic cells was tested with the same protocol, and it has entered its third year of cycling. This suggests that Zn–MnO2 rechargeable batteries with the gel electrolyte will be an ideal candidate for solar microgrid systems and grid storage in general.
“Heavy oil resources account for a large portion of the total oil reserves around the world. The target heavy oil reservoir is located on Alaska’s North Slope (ANS). Advantages of low-salinity HPAM polymer (LSP) over high-salinity polymer (HSP) were demonstrated. LSP could recover more oil with 40% less polymer consumption. No additional oil was recovered by HSP after LSP flood. The first-ever polymer flood pilot on ANS showed remarkable success regarding water cut reduction, oil production increase, delayed breakthrough, and projected oil recovery improvement. Polymer alone was insufficient to achieve satisfactory recovery as the reservoirs were highly heterogeneous. Microgels could improve the effectiveness of polymer flood by reducing water cut and increasing oil recovery. Favorable working conditions were identified. Microgel transport behavior was studied using superpermeable sandpacks (27-221 darcies) with multiple pressure sensors. The particle-to-pore matching size ratio significantly impacted the effectiveness of the gels. A threshold differential pressure (ΔPth) and critical pressure gradient (∇Pcr) were required to push the gels to penetrate and propagate through the channels. The ΔPth and ∇Pcr revealed the underlying mechanisms of selective penetration/placement behavior of microgels in heterogeneous reservoirs. Diagrams were developed to estimate the maximum propagation distance of the gels in channels in conceptual field applications. Sandwich-like channel models and methodologies were developed to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of gel materials. Gel retention in the channels was quantified. Results also indicated that the retained gels were dehydrated. Fluid diversion and sweep improvement after gel treatments were evaluated by tracer tests”--Abstract, page iv.
Chemical compatibility with a wide range of materials is among the features that has driven the use of alkoxysilanes as consolidants in built structures. Such compatibility is particularly important in cementitious materials where the reaction with portlandite may generate C-S-H gel, one of the main hydration phases of OPC. The cementitious matrix is a complex system, however, and the reaction of its many phases with alkoxysilanes, while poorly understood, may determine treatment efficacy. This article describes a detailed study of the individual interactions between an oligomeric alkoxysilane-based impregnation treatment previously shown to interact with the portlandite present in cement paste and the cementitious phases generated in ordinary portland cement hydration. The findings show that both portlandite and C-S-H gel interact with the silicon oligomers in the hydrolysed impregnation treatment to generate a C-S-H gel (in the case of portlandite) and a rise in C-S-H gel mean chain length (MCL). Ettringite is also altered in the presence of alkoxysilanes, transforming to gypsum and AH{sub 3}. Its transformation generates a tetrahedral aluminium that is taken up into a high silicon gel sourced from the treatment to form an amorphous aluminosilicate gel. Monocarboaluminate and katoite also partially decompose in the interaction with the product, whereas gibbsite remains unaffected.