Browsing by Autor "Ronald Márquez"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Formulation in Surfactant Systems: From-Winsor-to-HLDN
(2022) Jean‐Louis Salager; Ronald Márquez; Johnny Bullón; Ana Forgiarini
Formulation is an ancient concept, although the word has been used only recently. The first formulations made our civilization advance by inventing bronze, steel, and gunpowder; then, it was used in medieval alchemy. When chemistry became a science and with the golden age of organic synthesis, the second formulation period began. This made it possible to create new chemical species and new combinations &ldquo;&agrave; la carte.&rdquo; However, the research and developments were still carried out by trial and error. Finally, the third period of formulation history began after World War II, when the properties of a system were associated with its ingredients and the way they were assembled or combined. Therefore, the formulation and the systems&rsquo; phenomenology were related to the generation of some synergy to obtain a commercial product. Winsor&rsquo;s formulation studies in the 1950s were enlightening for academy and industries that were studying empirically surfactant-oil-water (SOW) systems. One of its key characteristics was how the interfacial interaction of the adsorbed surfactant with oil and water phases could be equal by varying the physicochemical formulation of the system. Then, Hansen&rsquo;s solubility parameter in the 1960s helped to reach a further understanding of the affinity of some substances to make them suitable to oil and water phases. In the 1970s, researchers such as Shinoda and Kunieda, and different groups working in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), among them Schechter and Wade&rsquo;s group at the University of Texas, made formulation become a science by using semiquantitative correlations to attain specific characteristics in a system (e.g., low oil-water interfacial tension, formulation of a stable O/W or W/O emulsion, or high-performance solubilization in a bicontinuous microemulsion system at the so-called optimum formulation). Nowadays, over 40 years of studies with the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation equation (HLD) have made it feasible for formulators to improve products in many different applications using surfactants to attain a target system using HLD in its original or its normalized form, i.e., HLDN. Thus, it can be said that there is still current progress being made towards an interdisciplinary applied science with numerical guidelines. In the present work, the state-of-the-art of formulation in multiphase systems containing two immiscible phases like oil and water, and therefore systems with heterogeneous or micro-heterogeneous interfaces, is discussed. Surfactants, from simple to complex or polymeric, are generally present in such systems to solve a wide variety of problems in many areas. Some significant cases are presented here as examples dealing with petroleum, foods, pharmaceutics, cosmetics, detergency, and other products occurring as dispersions, emulsions, or foams, that we find in our everyday lives.
Formulation in Surfactant Systems: From-Winsor-to-HLDN
(2022) Jean‐Louis Salager; Ronald Márquez; Johnny Bullón; Ana Forgiarini
Formulation is an ancient concept, although the word has been used only recently. The first formulations made our civilization advance by inventing bronze, steel, and gunpowder; then, it was used in medieval alchemy. When chemistry became a science and with the golden age of organic synthesis, the second formulation period began. This made it possible to create new chemical species and new combinations &ldquo;&agrave; la carte.&rdquo; However, the research and developments were still carried out by trial and error. Finally, the third period of formulation history began after World War II, when the properties of a system were associated with its ingredients and the way they were assembled or combined. Therefore, the formulation and the systems&rsquo; phenomenology were related to the generation of some synergy to obtain a commercial product. Winsor&rsquo;s formulation studies in the 1950s were enlightening for academy and industries that were studying empirically surfactant-oil-water (SOW) systems. One of its key characteristics was how the interfacial interaction of the adsorbed surfactant with oil and water phases could be equal by varying the physicochemical formulation of the system. Then, Hansen&rsquo;s solubility parameter in the 1960s helped to reach a further understanding of the affinity of some substances to make them suitable to oil and water phases. In the 1970s, researchers such as Shinoda and Kunieda, and different groups working in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), among them Schechter and Wade&rsquo;s group at the University of Texas, made formulation become a science by using semiquantitative correlations to attain specific characteristics in a system (e.g., low oil-water interfacial tension, formulation of a stable O/W or W/O emulsion, or high-performance solubilization in a bicontinuous microemulsion system at the so-called optimum formulation). Nowadays, over 40 years of studies with the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation equation (HLD) have made it feasible for formulators to improve products in many different applications using surfactants to attain a target system using HLD in its original or its normalized form, i.e., HLDN. Thus, it can be said that there is still current progress being made towards an interdisciplinary applied science with numerical guidelines. In the present work, the state-of-the-art of formulation in multiphase systems containing two immiscible phases like oil and water, and therefore systems with heterogeneous or micro-heterogeneous interfaces, is discussed. Surfactants, from simple to complex or polymeric, are generally present in such systems to solve a wide variety of problems in many areas. Some significant cases are presented here as examples dealing with petroleum, foods, pharmaceutics, cosmetics, detergency, and other products occurring as dispersions, emulsions, or foams, that we find in our everyday lives.
Formulation of a eugenol-based O/W emulsion for application as a topical and oral anesthetic by low-energy emulsification
(2021) Yleana Cedeño; Rafael Dávila; Albany Pérez; Johnny Bullón; Leonardo Rennola; Ronald Márquez; Ronald Márquez
Emulsions are systems formed by two immiscible liquids, one of which is dispersed in the other as droplets with relative stability. These have multiple applications, among them, in the formulation of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Its preparation requires generating a large interfacial area, which is usually attained by using the physicochemical formulation know-how on surfactant-oil-water (SOW) systems. Among the applications in the pharmaceutical industry, topical creams, and emulsions for intravenous and for oral administration can be found. Eugenol can be extracted from cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) by various methods, including steam distillation, hydrodistillation and Soxhlet extraction. Furthermore, emul-sions based on eugenol can be obtained for a variety of applications, including as topical and oral anesthetic. Nanoemulsions can be formulated with a mixture of nonionic surfactants Span 20/Tween 80 at an HLB of 11 to 13 and a total surfactant concentration of 4%, using the dilution phase transition method (so-called spontaneous emulsification) to attain stable O/W eugenol-based emulsions. Paraffin oil/eugenol ratio of 4/1 can be used to reach a final emulsion internal oil phase content of 10% with 4% surfactant and 86% aqueous phase. Different polymers are used as viscosifying agents, including carbox-ymethylcellulose. Under these conditions, eugenol-based emulsions with an average droplet size of less than 2 µm can be attained, with topical and oral anesthetic characteristics.
Performance Evaluation of Demulsifier Using the Optimum Formulation HLD Concept: A Practical Case Using Heavy Crude Oil Diluted in Naphtha or in Synthetic Aromatic Oil
(Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2022) Luz Meza; José G. Alvarado; Ronald Márquez; Ana Forgiarini
Summary Asphaltene-stabilized water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions can cause severe problems during oil production and transportation. These emulsions are broken by adding a demulsifying agent at a suitable concentration (CD*) to obtain the optimal formulation, with minimal emulsion stability (stability*). Herein, we studied, from a phenomenological point of view, the performance of two demulsifiers on W/O emulsion breaking with high asphaltene content. A very simple polyethoxylated nonylphenol demulsifier (6EO) and a complex commercial demulsifier (COD) were studied. The influence of the chemical nature of the oil phase on the performance of the demulsifiers was evaluated. The emulsion stability* and CD* values of W/O systems of heavy crude oil diluted in cyclohexane (Systems A and B) were compared to W/O emulsions composed by a heavy crude oil diluted in heavy naphtha or in an aromatic synthetic crude oil as the oil phase (Systems C and D). The results show that demulsifier performance improves significantly when the crude oil is diluted in heavy naphtha and in aromatic synthetic crude oil, obtaining unstable W/O emulsions (rupture time of 10−2–10−1 minutes). In the latter cases, the CD* value is significantly lower and with a wide area of low emulsion stability compared to systems formulated with crude oil diluted in cyclohexane. The mechanisms that generate this type of behavior are discussed and strategies to increase performance and robustness analyzed.
Recent Advances in Enhanced Oil Recovery with Low-Salinity Waterflooding and Its Hybrid Methods in Carbonate Reservoirs
(American Chemical Society, 2025) Ronald Márquez; Hongna Ding; Nelson Barrios; Ramón E. Vera; Jean‐Louis Salager; Emad W. Al-Shalabi; Srinivas Mettu
Low-salinity waterflooding (LSWF) has emerged as a promising enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique due to its cost-effectiveness and suitability for complex carbonate reservoirs. This critical and comprehensive review focuses on the latest advancements in LSWF within carbonate reservoirs, which pose unique challenges, such as heterogeneity, mixed-to-oil wettability, high-temperature (over 90 °C), and high-salinity (up to 200 000 ppm) conditions, particularly prevalent in the Middle East region. We provide an in-depth analysis of the physicochemical mechanisms underlying LSWF to advance the development of more effective EOR strategies. Specifically, the review thoroughly examines the roles of specific ions, including sulfate, calcium, and magnesium, in altering wettability and enhancing oil recovery. Sulfate ion concentrations ranging from 2000 to 10 000 ppm have been shown to often increase oil recovery in specific cases by up to 15%. Maintaining a SO42–/Ca2+ ratio greater than 2 has been recommended to enhance wettability alteration and prevent scale precipitation. Additionally, the integration of surfactants and polymers in LSWF is discussed, highlighting potential synergistic effects that can boost recovery rates by an additional 5–10%. Recent studies employing techniques such as zeta potential, contact angle, capillary rise, X-ray computed topography (CT), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are reviewed to elucidate the mechanisms behind wettability alteration. Furthermore, research on shear viscoelasticity related to oil droplet detachment and mobilization is examined to understand its impact on oil recovery processes. Future directions include optimizing the salinity and ionic composition of injection water and developing novel surfactants and polymer formulations to decrease interfacial tension and improve oil recovery, mainly for challenging high-temperature and high-salinity conditions, while leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to utilize predictive modeling and perform informed decisions.
Reproducción de un ambiente de innovación en el salón de clase. Una estrategia para promover la creatividad en la educación en Ingeniería Química
(CIG Media Group, 2016) Ronald Márquez; Laura Tolosa; Rubén Posada‐Gómez; César Izaguirre; Leonardo Rennola; Johnny Bullón; Beatriz E. Sandia
El proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje en la educación universitaria tradicional utiliza estrategias que colocan al estudiante como un receptor de información transmitida por el profesor, la cual es conceptualizada como conocimiento. La realidad en que vivimos requiere generar soluciones de formación que permitan satisfacer las necesidades de los individuos en el desarrollo de competencias o saber-hacer, para dar respuestas a la sociedad, para formar individuos capaces de aprender a aprender y aprender a transferir, preparados para buscar continuamente el conocimiento y capacitados para crear e innovar. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de la aplicación de la estrategia «Reproducción de un Ambiente de Innovación en el Salón de clase» (RAIS) en asignaturas del currículo de Ingeniería Química, de la Universidad de los Andes, Mérida-Venezuela. Esta es una estrategia de enseñanza-aprendizaje y evaluación donde el estudiante es copartícipe de la construcción y generación del conocimiento, desarrollando las competencias propuestas en la asignatura a través de la ejecución de un producto. La estrategia RAIS fue aplicada en las asignaturas Fisicoquímica para Ingenieros Químicos, Química Industrial I y Laboratorio de Química Industrial, donde los estudiantes obtuvieron con éxito un producto, utilizando el saber-hacer en el área de cada curso. Esta estrategia generó un incremento en la motivación con respecto a otros cursos basados en clases magistrales, y el desarrollo de la capacidad de desenvolverse y encontrar soluciones en ambientes de trabajo con grupos multidisciplinarios. Es importante resaltar que más de un 80% de los estudiantes indicó que la estrategia RAIS contribuye a su desarrollo personal y formación para realizar investigación aplicada.