Search Results (658)

The current model of agricultural development, largely focused on the intensification of production, causes increased pressure on the natural environment and, at the same time, does not guarantee sufficient food supplies in the era of global demographic expansion. In light of current environmental changes and the escalating food shortage, the modern agricultural paradigm must strive to achieve a balance between productivity and the quality of agricultural products produced within an environmentally responsible production system. A promising and sustainable tool for future agriculture is a biorational model of agricultural production based, among other things, on the biological protection of agricultural products. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of biological control agents containing entomopathogenic nematodes in controlling pests from the class Gastropoda. The tests showed that these preparations inhibited the feeding intensity of the analyzed pests. Among the insecticidal nematodes, the biological product containing S. carpocapsae at doses of 2000 and 4000 LJ/m² demonstrated the highest effectiveness (mass loss: A. distinctus: 0.61 g, 0.58 g; D. reticulatum: 0.60, 0.71 g). The research conducted indicates that preparations containing entomopathogenic nematodes have the potential to reduce damage caused by slugs in crops. Full article

This study systematically investigated flow boiling characteristics within a novel three-layer microchannel heat sink with 3/4 open-ring pin fin arrays, designed for high-heat-flux thermal management of low-carbon metallurgical reactors. Two-phase flow regimes, pressure drop, and wall temperature responses were analyzed. To evaluate the impact of functional surface material properties on thermo-hydraulic behavior, a hydrophilic nano-coating modification was applied to the inner copper channel walls for comparison. Increasing the flow rate triggered a transition from a vapor-dominated confined slug flow to a liquid-dominated dispersed bubble flow, which effectively improved the thermo-hydraulic stability. Hydrophilic surface modification resulted in an average pressure drop reduction of 33% and significantly diminished the sensitivity of flow resistance to velocity variations. Through hydrophilic treatment, the localized vapor film effect at high velocities was suppressed, and temperature field homogenization was promoted, yielding a maximum convective heat transfer coefficient of 7760 W/(m²·°C), i.e., 72.9% enhancement over the baseline heat sink. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the formation of a stable near-wall thin liquid film and the promotion of high-frequency nucleate boiling. These results will be of high relevance for developing efficient cooling solutions for power electronics, thereby supporting the advancement of low-carbon metallurgical reactors. Full article

To address the scientific challenges associated with complex microscopic pore structures and the unclear mechanisms of miscible gas injection in typical low-permeability carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East, online nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging experiments were conducted during water-alternating-CO₂ miscible flooding. The microscopic oil mobilization mechanisms were quantitatively investigated for different pore structure types and at various displacement stages. The results indicate that water-alternating-CO₂ miscible flooding achieves a relatively high degree of oil mobilization in large and medium pore–throat structures. This behavior is likely associated with Jamin-type flow resistance effects and flow regulation induced by gas–water alternating slugs. Differences in microscopic oil mobilization are mainly observed in mesopores (0.3–1.5 μm). The recovery degrees of mesopores in Cores 1, 2, and 3 reach 89%, 94.2%, and 78%, respectively, contributing 93.7%, 80.6%, and 50.9% to the total oil recovery. The degree of microscopic heterogeneity controls the distribution of remaining oil in core slices after breakthrough of the displacement front. In Core 1, the signal amplitude exhibits a gradual and uniform decline, indicating that gas–water alternating injection suppresses gas channeling and improves mobility control. In Core 2, the signal amplitude decreases more rapidly with increasing heterogeneity. In Core 3, the signal disparity continues to intensify, leading to the formation of dominant gas–water channeling pathways, while low-permeability pore–throat structures evolve into typical bypassed oil zones. As the CO₂–oil contact front progressively advances toward the outlet end, the swept volume gradually decreases due to the development of preferential flow channels. Consequently, significant remaining oil accumulation occurs near the outlet region. Full article

Uncontrolled scrap tire fires represent high-intensity episodic emission events that pose severe toxicological threats to urban environments. This study employs atmospheric dispersion modelling to quantify the impact of a tire stockpile fire on a distal educational receptor, evaluating two distinct dynamic stages of the event: an initial high-intensity open flame scenario (E1, 4 h) and a prolonged smouldering/suppression scenario (E2, 6 h), induced by firefighting interventions. Results reveal extreme pollutant loading at the receptor site during E1, with PM₁₀ and SO₂ concentrations peaking at 23,766 ${\displaystyle \frac{\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{g}}{{\mathrm{m}}^3}}$ and 7821 ${\displaystyle \frac{\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{g}}{{\mathrm{m}}^3}}$ respectively, indicating an immediate risk of acute respiratory distress. The organic fraction was dominated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (8691 ${\displaystyle \frac{\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{g}}{{\mathrm{m}}^3}}$) and a ∑16 PAHs flux of 313.9 ${\displaystyle \frac{\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{g}}{{\mathrm{m}}^3}}$. Toxicological assessment identified Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) as the primary driver of health hazards, contributing approximately 70% to the carcinogenic risk profile. A critical disparity was observed between Mutagenic Equivalency (MEQ) of 18.32 and Toxic Equivalency (TEQ) of 15.37, suggesting that standard monitoring significantly underestimates the biological threat to sensitive paediatric populations. These findings demonstrate that acute, oxygen-limited tire combustion creates a concentrated toxic slug of high-molecular-weight PAHs. The study underscores the necessity of integrating mutagenicity-based models into emergency response protocols to accurately safeguard vulnerable communities against the long-term toxicological legacy of elastomer thermolysis. Full article

The physicochemical mechanisms and numerical characterization of amine-ether gemini surfactant emulsion flooding remain insufficient, limiting its field application in low-permeability reservoirs. This study developed a refined numerical simulation method that integrates full-process emulsion kinetics, including generation, coalescence, dispersion-assisted oil displacement, and demulsification, with graded emulsion characterization using the differentiated inaccessible pore volume (IPV) and residual resistance factor (RRF). Core-flooding validation demonstrated that the model accurately reproduced the key dynamic responses of water cut reduction and oil production increase, with a relative error of about 3.0%. Mechanistic analysis showed that the enhanced oil recovery performance arose from the combined effects of ultralow interfacial tension and emulsion-induced profile control. Relative to conventional surfactant flooding, emulsion flooding increased oil recovery by an additional 4.8–5.0% and lowered water cut by about 12 percentage points. For the Shengli Oilfield pilot block, the optimized injection design involved a surfactant concentration of 1.2 wt.%, an injection rate of 60 m³/d, a slug size of 0.01 PV, an injection–production ratio of 0.95, and a stepwise concentration-decline strategy. The field pilot further confirmed the applicability of the method: daily oil production of the well group increased by 46.5%, while comprehensive water cut decreased by 8.6 percentage points. These results demonstrate the value of the proposed method for both mechanistic characterization and field design of amine-ether gemini surfactant emulsion flooding in heterogeneous low-permeability reservoirs. Full article

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by mushrooms may influence interactions with animal consumers, yet the roles of individual compounds and their mixtures remain poorly understood. This study examined odor-mediated behavioral responses of a mycophagous slug and three drosophilid species to mushroom-derived VOCs. Slug feeding avoidances were tested using 43 mushroom species, and tolerance to α-amanitin was evaluated to assess whether avoidance of toxic mushrooms was related to toxin sensitivity. Headspace volatiles from 22 mushroom species (48 samples) were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and behavioral assays were conducted to test responses of slugs and flies to selected VOCs and their mixtures. The slug showed complete avoidance only of Amanita pallidorosea and Russula subnigricans, and all individuals survived within the tested α-amanitin dose range, indicating that avoidance was not explained by toxin sensitivity. GC/MS detected 65 VOCs, and fragmented Amanita samples formed a distinct group characterized by sulfide-containing compounds. Dimethyl trisulfide induced strong avoidance in slugs, and repellency increased when compounds were combined. Among flies, avoidance responses were most pronounced in Drosophila melanogaster. These findings indicate that mushroom VOCs can function as chemical repellents and that behavioral sensitivity varies among consumers. Full article

Low-permeability reservoirs at the high-water-cut stage commonly suffer from dominant water channel development, poor sweep of weakly connected zones, and inefficient mobilization of remaining oil. Existing profile control or oil displacement agents can improve either flow diversion or microscopic oil displacement, but their single-agent evaluation does not fully explain the coupled process of sweep expansion and remaining oil mobilization. To address this issue, this study focuses on a previously optimized HK-0417/ALT-603 composite system and investigates its synergistic behavior at pore, core, and well group scales. Microscopic visualization displacement experiments were used to identify streamline redistribution and remaining oil evolution. Natural core experiments were conducted to evaluate injectivity adaptability and plugging persistence. Under slug injection conditions, the Box–Behnken design was employed to optimize the injection parameters. Finally, the field pilot response was analyzed based on production data from test wells in the Changqing Oilfield. The results show that the combination system simultaneously achieves streamline expansion and residual oil reduction: the injected fluid is redistributed toward weakly swept zones, large continuous oil bodies are fragmented and dispersed, and both sweep efficiency and oil displacement efficiency are superior to those of individual agents. Natural core experiments indicate that the injection pressure difference is generally controllable in cores with permeabilities ranging from 1.76 to 7.02 mD, and the plugging rate during subsequent water flooding reaches 75.47–80.54%. Response surface optimization yields the following optimal parameter combination: profile control slug volume = 0.41 pore volume (PV), oil displacement slug volume = 0.61 PV, injection rate = 0.19 mL/min, with a corresponding predicted enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of 18.52%. In the field pilot, the cumulative injection volumes of the two injectors are 41,898 kg and 61,472 kg, respectively. The injection pressure in the well group increases from 5.8 MPa to 7.0 MPa, the comprehensive water cut decreases from 90.6% to 85.3%, and the monthly decline rate is reduced from 0.5% to 0.2%. The proposed system mainly acts by increasing flow resistance and redirecting flow in high-water-cut channels, while it enhances oil detachment through interfacial tension reduction in oil-bearing pores. After optimizing the slug parameters, the field pilot exhibits a clear phased response and promising application potential. Full article

The water huff-n-puff imbibition oil recovery technique has been recognized as an important approach to supplementing formation energy and recovering the remaining oil, attracting increasing attention. To further improve imbibition efficiency, a surfactant-aided huff-n-puff imbibition technique under high pressure was proposed. However, the imbibition mechanisms under high pressure, particularly under variable pressurization modes, remain insufficiently understood. In this study, the effects of different pressurization methods (constant vs. variable pressure) and surfactant types on imbibition behavior were systematically investigated. The results show that, compared with spontaneous imbibition, high-pressure imbibition increases oil recovery by 7–10% and the imbibition rate by 1–2 times, with the variable pressurization mode demonstrating a more pronounced enhancement. Surfactant selection should not pursue ultra-low interfacial tension (IFT) alone; instead, the wettability alteration ability is more critical. An optimal IFT–wettability synergy window is identified, through which the best imbibition performance is achieved when the IFT ranges from 10⁻² to 10⁻¹ mN/m and the contact angle ranges from 30° to 60°. Furthermore, the slug injection mode provides a synergistic effect with high-pressure variable pressurization and surfactant action. Compared with high-pressure formation water imbibition, surfactant-aided imbibition increases oil recovery by 10.44% and the imbibition rate by three times. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the key factors governing imbibition behavior and support the application of surfactant-aided huff-n-puff imbibition under high pressure in tight sandstone reservoirs. Full article

The use of surfactants as drag-reducing agents (DRAs) has received significant attention in oil–gas transportation due to their ability to enhance liquid drainage efficiency and reduce operational costs. This work experimentally examines the performance of an anionic sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) surfactant as a DRA in horizontal two-phase flow through experimental studies focusing on three key aspects, (1) changes in flow patterns, (2) drag reduction (DR%), and (3) liquid holdup reduction (HLR%), with the aim of identifying optimal SLS concentrations for achieving stable and efficient multiphase pipeline flow. The results illustrate that adding SLS shifts the slug flow toward more stable stratified wavy and plug flow patterns, as well as a newly emerging bubbly flow pattern. This in turn significantly decreases the pressure gradient (PG), achieving a maximum DR% of 71% and 83% at 100 and 200 ppm, respectively. In addition, as the SLS concentration increases, the liquid draining efficiency increases, achieving maximum holdup reductions of 69% and 85% at 100 and 200 ppm, respectively. Full article

As the heat flux of electronic devices continues to increase, conventional air cooling and single-phase liquid cooling technologies are increasingly constrained by heat transfer limits and pumping power consumption. However, systematic investigations on the coupling between microchannel evaporators and the overall dynamic response of MPTL systems remain limited. To address this issue, a visualization experimental platform for the microchannel MPTL was developed, and flow boiling experiments were conducted under varying heat fluxes and circulating flow rates. Key parameters including wall temperature, fluid temperature, pressure drop, and flow patterns were measured to characterize the thermal–hydraulic behavior of the system. The results show that the wall temperature increases stepwise with increasing heat flux, reaching a critical heat flux of 814.2 W/cm² at a mass flux of 105.6 kg/(m²·s), where heat transfer deterioration occurs. During this transition, inlet temperature oscillations with an average amplitude of 8 °C were observed due to vapor backflow. With decreasing circulating flow rate, the flow pattern evolved sequentially from single-phase flow to bubbly, slug, churn, annular, and reverse annular flow, accompanied by a shift in the dominant heat transfer mechanism from forced convection to nucleate boiling and convective evaporation. The best heat transfer performance occurred under annular flow conditions at an outlet vapor quality of 0.4–0.5. These findings provide useful guidance for the design and operation optimization of microchannel MPTL systems in high-heat-flux electronic cooling applications. Full article

To solve the problems of high injection pressure and low water injection in an ultra-low-permeability reservoir, nanoemulsion was injected to reduce the surface interfacial tension, change the wettability, and achieve the purpose of depressurization. In this paper, the surface and interfacial tension, wettability properties, and particle size distribution characterization of nanoemulsion were determined, and the performance of nanoemulsion was evaluated by laboratory experiments such as core displacement. At the same time, the depressurize and augmented injection mechanism of the nanoemulsion was studied through a scanning electron microscope. The experiment shows that the nanoemulsion system has good compatibility with brine. With the increase in temperature, the surface and interfacial tension does not change, and there is no precipitation. And the system can reduce the oil–water interfacial tension to about 1 mN·m⁻¹ under the best conditions. By measuring the wettability angle of nanoemulsion at the concentration of 0.1% to 0.5%, which can adjust the wettability of the rock surface, the hydrophilicity is weakened. The depressurization performance of nanoemulsion under different injection rates, concentrations, and slug sizes was also compared through core displacement experiments, to provide reasonable experimental support for field operations. In the most reasonable case, the depressurization rate after using nanoemulsion can reach 16.78%. Full article

The hydrophilicity of the porous transport layer (PTL) critically influences the mass transport overpotential and overall efficiency of a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE). In this study, titanium felts with three distinct levels of hydrophilicity are systematically characterized and evaluated electrochemically. A novel bilayer gradient hydrophilic titanium felt structure is designed, resulting in notable performance improvements: the average cell voltage decreases by 12.92%, and the overpotential is reduced by 9.94–18.03% across a current density range of 0.1–1.6 A·cm⁻². High-speed imaging reveals that the gradient hydrophilic structure effectively regulates bubble dynamics, nearly eliminating annular flow bubbles, reducing the proportion of slug flow bubbles by 40.78%, decreasing the bubble detachment diameter by 28.26%, and enhancing bubble displacement by 51.03% compared to that of untreated titanium felt. These results demonstrate that gradient hydrophilic structures can significantly enhance PEMWE performance, offering a promising strategy and a theoretical foundation for optimizing mass transfer in electrolytic systems. Full article

Ustica is a Sicilian island for which most of the information available on the informal group of sea slugs comes from old and non-specific studies. Consequently, the aim of this study is to provide an updated list of the sea slugs of the Ustica Island Marine Protected Area (MPA). This study, carried out using the “photographic capture technique” in two surveys (early autumn and late spring), led to the finding of 32 species and 14 families of sea slugs. Overall, considering both the literature and current data, a total of 77 species and 33 families of sea slugs have been documented on this island. While these numbers might indicate high species richness compared to other previously investigated Sicilian islands, they might also reflect the fact that Ustica Island is the only one for which numerous malacological studies have been performed. Full article

To address early water breakthrough and poor residual-oil mobilization in low-permeability reservoirs, a core–shell nanosphere/surfactant composite system was developed for profile control and enhanced oil recovery. The core–shell nanospheres were prepared by a semi-continuous seed-growth method, and a target particle-size window of 100–200 nm was selected based on pore-throat/particle matching. The representative sample, HK-0417, had an average particle size of about 120 nm and showed good dispersion stability in formation brine at 45 °C. After blending with the surfactant ALT-603, the system achieved an ultralow oil–water interfacial tension on the order of 10⁻³ mN/m and reduced the water contact angle of the oil-aged surface from 125° to 70°, indicating a shift toward near-neutral wettability. Core-flooding tests further showed that, under the same chemical dosage, slug injection (HK-0417 followed by ALT-603) demonstrated better performance than co-injection, with higher incremental oil recovery (15.49% vs. 13.17%) and higher plugging efficiency during subsequent water flooding (81.25% vs. 78.46%). The novelty of this work lies in integrating particle-size-window design, controllable preparation of core–shell nanospheres, and direct comparison of injection strategies within one system. The results provide practical guidance for formulation design and injection-mode selection for enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs. Full article

Sol–gel-based optical functional sensor coatings were developed for real-time monitoring of multiphase saponification reactions in microreactors. Various pH-sensitive indicator mixtures, including bromocresol green and bromocresol purple (BCG and BCP) and methyl red–methyl orange, were incorporated into sol–gel coatings and evaluated on test plates across pH range of 2–12. Coatings with BCG and BCP 1:3 demonstrated the most pronounced color change at high pH (11–12), with distinct hue (H) transitions providing a reliable measure of local pH. These optimized coatings were integrated into microreactor channels to track the passage of oil and NaOH slugs under varying flow rates. Hue analysis produced reproducible plateaus corresponding to NaOH-rich (H = 50°) and oil-rich (H = 41°) phases, enabling droplet-level resolution of slug flow and detection of flow-regime transitions. The sensor response was fully reversible, highlighting the robustness and reusability of the coatings. Unlike previous high-resolution fluorescence-based systems, this approach relies on simple visible-light imaging and low-cost data extraction, leaving the reaction chemistry unaltered. The results demonstrate that sol–gel coatings coupled with hue-based analysis provide a practical, noninvasive, and real-time monitoring strategy for multiphase reactions in microreactors, with potential for implementation in industrial or IoT-enabled process control systems. Full article