Research and experimental testing of a new kind electrokinetic logging tool

We designed a new downhole electrokinetic logging tool based on numericalsimulations and petrophysical experiments. Acoustic and electric receivers cannot be arrangedat the same depth, and the proposed composite electrokinetic logging tool offers a solutionto this problem. The sound field characteristics of the detectors were tested in a water tank inthe laboratory. Then, we calculated the sound pressure of the radiated acoustic field and thetransmitting voltage response of the transmitting transducers; in addition, we analyzed thedirectivity and application of the acoustic transmitting probe based on linear phased array.The results suggest that the sound pressure generated at 1500 mm spacing reaches up to 47.2k Pa and decreases with increasing acoustic source frequency. When the excitation signalsdelay time of adjacent acoustic transmitting subarrays increases, the radiation beam of themain lobe is deflected and its energy gradually increases, which presumably enhances theacoustoelectric conversion efficiency.

Improvement in electrokinetic remediation of Pb-contaminated soil near lead acid battery factory

To improve the conventional electrokinetic remediation of Pb-contaminated soil,the Pb-contaminated soil near a lead acid battery factory in the Pearl River Delta region of China was electrokinetically remedied with polarity exchange technique.The variations in Pb removal efficiency and the soil p H value with the treatment time and the exchange polarity interval were determined.It is found that the removal efficiency of Pb reaches a maximum of 87.7% when the voltage gradient is 1 V/cm and the exchange polarity interval is 48 h.This value is far higher than that obtained with conventional electrokinetic remediation（61.8%）.Additionally,the ＂focusing effect＂ which appears in the conventional electrokinetic remediation can be avoided,and thus additional chemicals are not needed for the polarity exchange technique.The mechanism of Pb electromigration behavior in soil during the treatment with the polarity exchange technique was described.

Separation of Biphenyl Nitrile Compounds by Microemulsion Electrokinetic Chromatography with Mixed Surfactants

A mixture of nine biphenyl nitrile compounds with high hydrophobicity and similar structures was successfully separated by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) within 30 min. The buffer system contained 100 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 80 mmol/L sodium cholate (SC), 0.81% heptane, 7.5% n-butanol, 10% acetonitrile and 10 mmol/L borate. The addition of SC, organic modifiers, sample preparation and temperature all showed remarkable effect on the separation. Meanwhile, the MEEKC method was briefly compared with micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method.

Optimized Separation of Nine Xanthones by Microemulsion Electrokinetic Chromatography

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography method has been firstly used for the separation of the therapeutically important xanthones from Securidaca inappendiculata. The separation of the nine xanthones was systematically optimized with respect to pH, composition of microemulsion, addition of cyclodextrins, applied voltage and column temperature. Baseline separation was successfully achieved for the nine xanthones, which was also compared with that by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

Electrokinetic flow and energy conversion in a curved microtube

Curved channels are ubiquitous in microfluidic systems.The pressure-driven electrokinetic flow and energy conversion in a curved microtube are investigated analytically by using a perturbation analysis method under the assumptions of the small curvature ratio and the Reynolds number.The results indicate that the curvature of the microtube leads to a skewed pattern in the distribution of the electrical double layer(EDL)potential.The EDL potential at the outer side of the bend is larger than that at the inner side of the bend.The curvature shows an inhibitory effect on the magnitude of the streaming potential field induced by the pressure-driven flow.Since the spanwise pressure gradient is dominant over the inertial force,the resulting axial velocity profile is skewed into the inner region of the curved channel.Furthermore,the flow rate in a curved microtube could be larger than that in a straight one with the same pressure gradient and shape of cross section.The asymptotic solutions of the axial velocity and flow rate in the absence of the electrokinetic effect are in agreement with the classical results for low Reynolds number flows.Remarkably,the curved geometry could be beneficial to improving the electrokinetic energy conversion(EKEC)efficiency.

Understanding electrokinetic thermodynamics in nanochannels

Understanding the electrokinetic conversion efficiency in a nanochannel is vital for designing energy storage and conversion devices.In this paper,an analytical electrokinetic energy conversion efficiency in a nanochannel is obtained based on the linear electrokinetic response.The analytical result shows that the conversion efficiency has a maximum with the increasing of the nanochannel pore radius.Numerical solutions based on the Poisson-Nernst-Planck(PNP)and Navier-Stokes(NS)equations are used to confirm the analytical expressions.Besides,the influences of the pore radius and surface roughness on the conversion efficiency in nanochannels are also studied by the numerical calculations.In particular,the influences of the surface roughness on the fluid flow,streaming current and streaming potential are examined.The results show that the large bumps and grooves representing the roughness can hinder the fluid flows and ion transports in the nanochannels.The maximum efficiency in a smooth nanochannel is higher than that in a rough channel.However,the small bumps and grooves can increase the surface area of the channel,which is beneficial to improving the conversion efficiency in some cases.This research can provide theoretical guidance to design electrokinetic energy conversion devices.

Electrokinetic removal of chromium and copper from contaminated soils by lactic acid enhancement in the catholyte

The electrokinetic removal of chromium and copper from contaminated soils by adding lactic acid in cathode chamber as an enhancing reagent was evaluated. Two sets of duplicate experiments with chromium contaminated kaolinite and with a silty soil sampled from a superfund site in California of USA and polluted by Cr and Cu, were carried out in a constant current mode. Changes of soil water content and soil pH before and after the electrokinetic experiments, and variations of voltage drop and electroosmosis flow during the treatments were examined. The results indicated that Cr, spiked as Cr(Ⅵ) in the kaolinite, was accumulated mainly in the anode chamber, and some of Cr and metal hydroxides precipitated in the soil sections in contact with the cathode, which significantly increased electrical energy consumption. Treatment of the soil collected from the site showed accumulation of large amounts of Cr and Cu in the anode chamber while none was detected in the cathode one. The results suggested that the two metals either complexed with the injected lactic acid at the cathode or existed as negatively charged complex, and electromigrated toward the anode under a voltage gradient.

Coagulation enhanced electrokinetic settling of mature fine oil sands tailings

The mature fine oil sand tailings(MFT) remain as slurry in the tailings pond for long time. The dewatering and consolidation of MFT for sustainable management is an important task for the mining industry. The objective of this study is to accelerate electrokinetic settling of MFT solids in suspensions in presence of optimal coagulant. In the first phase, optimal coagulant and coagulant dosage for settling of suspension are identified, i.e., ferric chloride at 350 mg/L. It is found that the chemical treatment is not much effective; the final solid content of the sediment is only 6.48% from an initial of 5%. In the second phase,combined coagulation and electrokinetic treatment is carried out to enhance the settling effect. The direct electric current is applied in continuous and intermittent modes on MFT suspensions placed in electrokinetic cell. The results show the final solid content reaches 23.74% under the combined application of350 mg/L ferric chloride and 218.75 V/m applied voltage gradient in the continuous mode. The intermittent current mode with 40% save in power consumption produces a settled sediment having 20.84% final solid content.

Effect of Specific Adsorption of Ions on Electrokinetic Properties of Variable Charge Soils

Studies were carried out by using electrophoretic method on the effects of the specific adsorption of the anions,such as SO4^2-,PO4^3-,and F^- ions,the cations,such as Ca^2+,Mn^2+,Zn^2+,and Cu^2+,ions,and the anions and cations coexisting,such as Zn^2+ and SO4^2= ions,on electrokinetic properties of the red soils as typical variable charge soils in China concerning variation in the specific ion species and concentrations,with an emphasis on the interaction between soil colloid surfaces and the ions in soil solutions.The results showed that the adsorption of specific ions led to a very pronounced decrease in zeta potentials of the soil colloids and a shift of the IEPs to lower values for specific anions,and an obvious increase in zeta potentials of the soil colloids and a shift of the IEPs to higher values for specific cations.Under circumstances of the specific anions and cations coexisting,for instance,Zn^2+ and SO4^2- ions,the zeta potentials changed with values higher than the value for SO4^2- alone and lower than that for Zn^2+ alone,and the IEP was between that for Zn^2+ and that for SO4^2-.The adsorption of Zn^2+ and Cu^2+ ions resulted in a reversal of the zeta potentials,and appearance of two IEPs for Zn^2+ and no IEP for Cu^2+,exhibiting interesting special effects of these kinds of metal ions.The higher the concentrations of the ions,the greater the change of the electrokinetic properties.

Electrokinetic movement of multiple chlorobenzenes in contaminated soils in the presence of β-cyclodextrin

This study investigated the electrokinetic （EK） behavior of multiple chlorobenzenes, including 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene （TeCB）, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene （i-TeCB）, and 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene （TCB） in contaminated clayed soils. The effect of β-cyclodextrin （β- CD） on the EK removal of the chlorobenzenes was studied. The largest removal was obtained when Na2CO3/NaHCO3 buffer was used as anodic purging solution without β-CD. The removal efficiencies were related to the aqueous solubilities of chlorobenzenes. With the same cumulative electroosmotic flow, greater solubility led to higher removal efficiency. The addition of β-CD inhibited the EK removal efficiency of all chlorobenzenes. The inhibition increased with the increase of β-CD concentration. With the same β-CD concentration, the inhibition increased with the rise of electric potential. It was found that the inclusion compounds between β-CD and chlorobenzenzes were less soluble than chlorobenzenes. The formation of the less soluble inclusion compounds reduced the aqueous solubility of chlorobenzenes and led to the partial immobilization of the chlorobenzenes that desorbed from soil. It was feasible to use the EK technology to remove chlorobenzenes in contaminated soils using water as the anodic flushing solution. The addition of β-CD was not recommended for the EK removal of chlorobenzenes.

Effects of variations of voltage and pH value on the shear strength of soil and durability of different electrodes and piles during electrokinetic phenomenon

Electrokinetic(EK)treatment is an effective method in accelerating the consolidation and improving the geotechnical properties of fine-grained soils.This method stabilizes the soil and increases the bearing capacity of piles by improving the soil shear strength.Changing the soil p H,due to the occurrence of chemical reactions of electrolysis in the soil,can increase its shear strength.However,the electrodes used in this method corrode due to the change in the soil p H,which in turn reduces the electrical potential.Electrode corrosion and loss of electrical potential can significantly reduce the efficiency of the EK method.In addition,when using the EK method to increase the bearing capacity of piles,changing the p H can cause corrosion and damage to the piles.One of the most important factors influencing the change in the p H of soil is the voltage applied during the EK process.It was reported that increasing the voltage affects the intensity of chemical reactions and electroosmotic flow and thus increases the efficiency of EK.However,very limited research has been conducted on the effect of voltage on the performance of EK method.In the present study,the effects of three voltages on soil p H and corrosion resistance of four types of electrodes including iron(Ir),stainless steel(St),copper(Co),and aluminium(Al)were studied.In addition,the effects of p H variations on the corrosion rate of three types of piles including steel pile(SP),reinforced cement concrete pile(RCCP),and reinforced lime-cement concrete pile(RLCCP)were investigated.It was observed that increasing the voltage from a specific limit had no effect on the intensity of electrolysis reactions and the soil p H adjacent to the electrodes did not change more than a specific limit.Moreover,increasing the voltage to higher than 35 V(i.e.45 V)did not increase the volume of drained water from the soil,but caused more electric current than the allowable current for Ir,St,and Al electrodes,and the corrosion intensity of these electrodes increased significantly.RCCP reduced the soil p H to 2.4 within 7 d of curing due to severe corrosion(13%corrosion rate).The soil p H values adjacent to RCCP and RLCCP within 28 d of curing reduced to 3.7 and 3.8,respectively,but the two piles were not damaged.In general,the results of this research showed that selecting an optimized voltage had a significant effect on the efficiency of EK,and increasing the voltage did not always lead to increase in the efficiency of EK process.

Study on Electrokinetic Remediation of Cadmium-contaminated Soil

In order to improve electrokinetic remediation efficiency of cadmium-contaminated soil,the effects of electric field intensity,remediation time and electrolyte on removal rate of total Cd in Cd-contaminated soil by electrokinetic remediation were studied through the preparation of Cd-contaminated soil and the construction of electrokinetic remediation equipment. The results showed that under the same condition,with the electric field intensity increasing from 2. 5 to 3 V/cm,the total Cd removal rate increased by 10. 62%,and with the increase of the electric field intensity from 3 to 3. 5 V/cm,the removal rate increased by 1. 87%;when the remediation time was prolonged from 72 to 96 h,the removal rate of total Cd increased by 6. 68%,and with the remediation time prolonged from 96 to120 h,the removal rate of total Cd increased by 8. 75%; and with the remediation time prolonged from 120 to 144 h,the removal rate of total Cd only increased by1. 07%. Compared with citric acid as the electrolyte,the acetic acid group improved the remediation efficiency by 12. 14% and the total energy consumption by62. 13%,while the hydrochloric acid group improved the remediation efficiency by 18. 04% and the total energy consumption by 187. 9%. Comprehensively from total Cd removal rate and energy consumption,the remediation effect was the best under the electric field intensity of 3 V/cm and the electrokinetic time of 120 h with acetic acid as the electrolyte,which achieved a total Cd removal rate of 41. 95%.

Feasibility of using electrokinetics and nanomaterials to stabilize and improve collapsible soils

Loess as a subcategory of collapsible soils is a well-known aeolian deposit generally characterized as a highly-porous medium with relatively low natural density and water content and a high percentage of fine-grained particles.Such collapsible soil sustains large stresses under a dry condition with natural water content.However,it can experience high and relatively sudden decreases in its volume once it reaches a certain water content under a certain load and therefore,the natural condition of the soil might not be suitable for construction if the possibility of the exposure of the soil to excessive water exists during the lifetime of the project.This research presents the utilization of an innovative method for stabilization and improvement of Gorgan loessial soil.This method uses electrokinetics and nanomaterials to instigate additives to move through soil pores,as an in situ remedial measure.To assess the acceptability of this measure,the deformability and strength characteristics of the improved collapsible soil are measured and compared with those of the unimproved soil,implementing several unsaturated oedometer tests under constant vertical stress and varying matric suction.The result emphasizes the importance of the matric suction on the behavior of both improved and unimproved soils.The test results indicate that the resistance of the soil was highly dependent on the water content and matric suction of the soil.The oedometer tests on samples improved by 3%lime and 5%nanomaterials show considerable improvement of the collapse potential.Results also reveal that stabilized samples experience notably lower volume decrease under the same applied stresses.

Three-dimensional forward modeling and response characteristics analysis of foundation pit leakage electric-field considering electrokinetic effect

The traditional ground direct current method is not suitable for leakage detection of underground diaphragm walls in foundation pits because of its low accuracy and poor anti-noise ability.Here,we propose a joint surface-borehole observation device for leakage electric fi eld detection to achieve rapid measurement of the electric fi eld distribution characteristics at ground level in the foundation pit,thus enabling rapid localization of leakage points.We first establish the mechanism and basic equation of the leakage electric field response by combining the electric field formed by electrokinetic effect(EK)and the stable electric fi eld formed by conduction current in a combined leakage channel.Then,the fi nite–infi nite element coupling method is used to solve the electric fi eld equation to simulate the responses of a three-dimensional foundation pit leakage model.Furthermore,we conduct numerical simulations of diff erent pit models to investigate the infl uencing factors of the detection device and response characteristics of the change in the properties of the leakage channel.The results demonstrate that the proposed joint surface-borehole observation device can effi ciently reveal anomalous potential caused by leakage,and the amplitude of the electric fi eld generated by EK can eff ectively strengthen the leakage electric fi eld signal at the leakage,thus improving detection accuracy and effi ciency.

Electrokinetic flow in the U-shaped micro-nanochannels

U-shaped micro-nanochannels can generate significant flow disturbance as well as locally amplified electric field, which gives itself potential to be microfluidic mixers, electrokinetic pumps,and even cell lysis process. Numerical simulation is utilized in this work to study the hidden characteristics of the U-shaped micro-nanochannel system, and the effects of key controlling parameters(the external voltage and pressure) on the device output metrics(current, maximum values of electric field, shear stress and flow velocity) were evaluated. A large portion of current flowing through the whole system goes through the nanochannels, rather than the middle part of the microchannel, with its value increasing linearly with the increase of voltage. Due to the local ion depletion near micro-nanofluidic junction, significantly enhanced electric field(as much as 15 fold at V=1 V and P_0=0) as well as strong shear stress(leading to electrokinetic flow) is generated.With increasing external pressure, both electric field and shear stress can be increased initially(due to shortening of depletion region length), but are suppressed eventually at higher pressure due to the destruction of ion depletion layer. Insights gained from this study could be useful for designing nonlinear electrokinetic pumps and other systems.

Study on electrokinetic remediation of cadmium contaminated soils

Kaolinite from a lead-zinc mining district,which was spiked with cadmium,has been treated by electrokinetics to investigate effects of treatment time and applied voltage gradient.The results showed that the increased test duration had induced a higher removal rate of cadmium.Being treated for 7 days,cadmium was removed from kaolinite dramatically.It was also found that higher removal rate happened when a higher voltage gradient was applied and cadmium accumulated near the cathode because pH increased.Increase of pH near the cathode caused accumulation of cadmium.Moreover,it was observed that cation exchange membrane which was placed between kaolinite and cathode could make pH lower than the initial value and avoid the higher pH near the cathode.As a result,the high concentration accumulation of cadmium near the cathode was avoided.

Enantiomeric Separation of Epinephrine and Salbutamol by Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography Using β-Cyclodextrin as Chiral Additive

Enantiomeric separation of epinephrine and salbutamol was investigated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography employing β-cyclodextrin as chiral additive in ammonium chloride-ammonia solution. The analytes were detected by electrochemistry using gold microelectrode at +0.65 V versus SCE reference electrode. The effects of detection potential, concentration of β-cyclodextrin, concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate, pH value of electrolyte and applied voltage were discussed.

Electrokinetic chemical characteristics of humic and dannic acids effecting on the natural water and its coagulation

Taking streaming current(SC)as the electrokinetic parameter,this paper demon- strated the electrokinetic chemical characteristics of humic and dannic acids(HA and DA)in sus- pensions including turbid water,coagulated water and HA or DA contained water.Accordingly, the studies were carried out for determining the relationship between streaming current and zeta po- tential ζ(expressed by eleetrophoretie mobility EM)in above water conditions.In addition,the mechanisms of HA effecting on streaming current within or after coagulant addition and the elec- trokinetic detection principles for HA or DA were also investigated on experiments and theoretical analysis.The results indicated that the change of SC like ζ presented meaningful information con- cerning the degree for destabilization of a particulate suspension,and HA or DA in water could re- markably decrease the effect of inorganic coagulant upon streaming current,which is in accordance with their influence on coagulation.

Simultaneous Determination of Heroin,Amphetamine and their Basic Impurities and Adulterants Using Microemulsion Electrokinetic Chromatography

Simultaneous separation of 17 species of heroin, amphetamine and their basic impurities and adulterants was conducted within 10 minutes by using capillary microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography. The influences of pH and 1-butanol cosurfactant on the separation were investigated, and 1-butanol was found to be a principal factor to improve separation efficiency.

Electrokinetic energy conversion of electro-magneto-hydro-dynamic nanofluids through a microannulus under the time-periodic excitation

In this work,the effects of externally applied axial pressure gradients and transverse magnetic fields on the electrokinetic energy conversion(EKEC)efficiency and the streaming potential of nanofluids through a microannulus are studied.The analytical solution for electro-magneto-hydro-dynamic(EMHD)flow is obtained under the condition of the Debye-Huuckel linearization.Especially,Green’s function method is used to obtain the analytical solutions of the velocity field.The result shows that the velocity distribution is characterized by the dimensionless frequency?,the Hartmann number Ha,the volume fraction of the nanoparticlesφ,the geometric radius ratio a,and the wallζpotential ratio b.Moreover,the effects of three kinds of periodic excitations are compared and discussed.The results also show that the periodic excitation of the square waveform is more effective in increasing the streaming potential and the EKEC efficiency.It is worth noting that adjusting the wallζpotential ratio and the geometric radius ratio can affect the streaming potential and the EKEC efficiency.