Petroleum, degradable materials from

FIGURE 21 Commercial bio-based polymers (a) starch copolymer based biodegradable carry bag, (b) 50-50 film blend of poly lactic acid and petroleum-based materials for packaging cheese snacks, (c) packaging blister made from cellulose acetate, (d) biodegradable bottle on sale in Britain, (e) PLA yoghurt cup, and (f) 100% degradable sandwich box. 

Humic earth results from the decomposition of organic matter, particularly cellulose from dead plants. The organic phase contains humic acids, allomelanins with complex phenolic macro-molecular structure. Humic substances fall between plants and geological materials (coals and petroleum). Degraded organic matter when released into the environment will form relatively soluble fulvic acids which will condense to form humic acids and then humins with lower solubilties. Humic earths are transitional between the low grade coal lignite (. v.) and peaty soils. 

Other components in the feed gas may react with and degrade the amine solution. Many of these latter reactions can be reversed by appHcation of heat, as in a reclaimer. Some reaction products cannot be reclaimed, however. Thus to keep the concentration of these materials at an acceptable level, the solution must be purged and fresh amine added periodically. The principal sources of degradation products are the reactions with carbon dioxide, carbonyl sulfide, and carbon disulfide. In refineries, sour gas streams from vacuum distillation or from fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) units can contain oxygen or sulfur dioxide which form heat-stable salts with the amine solution (see Fluidization Petroleum). 

At the request of an international petroleum company, a major manufacturer and supplier of down-hole equipment performed tests of the various elastomers commonly used in the construction of packers and other oil field tools. Seven of the nine most commonly used thermoplastic materials were found to be completely inert to TKPP solutions. The test included continual immersion in saturated TKPP for 21 days at 280°F. Only two elastomers, Vi-ton and Fluorel, showed any adverse reaction. O-rings made from these two elastomers showed minor cracking at the termination of the test. A listing of the elastomers that tested inert to TKPP solutions include nitrile, saturated nitrile (HNBR), Aflas, Kalrez, PEEK, Glass-filled Teflon, and Ryton. Several of these elastomers are attacked or degraded by conventional clear completion fluids containing calcium and zinc halides. The inertness of commonly employed elastomers to TKPP is an important advantage for TKPP fluids in normal operations. 

The increased importance of renewable resources for raw materials and recyclability or biodegradability of the material at the end of its useful life is demanding a shift from petroleum-based synthetics to agro-based materials in industrial applications. Increased social awareness of environmental problems posed by the non-degradable, non-recyclable content of their products is forcing manufacturers to enhance the biodegradable content, which in turn favors a switch to biomaterials [1]. 

Anaerobic conditions often develop in hydrocarbon-contaminated subsurface sites due to rapid aerobic biodegradation rates and limited supply of oxygen. In the absence of O, oxidized forms or natural organic materials, such as humic substances, are used by microorganisms as electron acceptors. Because many sites polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons are depleted of oxygen, alternative degradation pathways under anaerobic conditions tend to develop. Cervantes et al. (2001) tested the possibility of microbially mediated mineralization of toluene by quinones and humus as terminal electron acceptors. Anaerobic microbial oxidation of toluene to CO, coupled to humus respiration, was demonstrated by use of enriched anaerobic sediments (e.g., from the Amsterdam petroleum harbor). Natural humic acids and... 

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