Petroleum products play a major role in fueling the economy of the world but the pollution they create has become a critical issue. Understanding the diversity present in pipeline muck will help with the exploration of new microbial strains with better hydrocarbon degrading capacities for bioremediation of polluted sites. This study provides an analysis of petroleum muck using next generation s...

The world energy paradigm is changing from one based on petroleum to one based on a mixture of energy platforms. This change is precipitated by a finite petroleum supply, an expanding global demand, and political instability in areas with major petroleum reserves. The mixed energy platform will include an array of renewable energy sources. The agricultural and forestry sectors have the potentia...

Forecasting of oil prices has always been a matter of great importance due to its influence in driving a country’s economy. As a matter of fact, the petroleum industry is considered to be the biggest contributor in the industrial sector in terms of providing raw materials to the other industries and generating revenues. Due to the non-linear and unpredictable nature of the oil prices, a lot of ...

Until the middle of this century, fats and oils are the major raw material source for paints, coating and lubricating applications. These markets are completely taken over by petroleum based stocks due to their abundance and versatility. However, recent public awareness to use environmentally acceptable products that minimize pollution, are compatible to human health and readily biodegradable c...

The plants, grown in the soils around a Fuel Holding Depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria have been investigated in this research in terms of their density and species composition so that the impact of contamination by petroleum products on soil seed banks could be determined. The study has used designated plots (25m by 25m) in a site, contaminated by...

This paper presents empirical evidence which indicates that the introduction of petroleum based products on the American markets was a significant factor in reducing the demand for whale oil. As a result, the whaling industry, America’s 5th largest industry at the time, soon collapsed. A counterfactual study is then presented which suggests that if the introduction of petroleum based products h...

Xylenes (mixtures of ortho-, meta-, and para-isomers) are used as industrial solvents, synthetic intermediates, and solvents in commercial products such as paints, coatings, adhesive removers, and paint thinners; they are also a component of gasoline. Xylenes are released to the atmosphere primarily as fugitive emissions from industrial sources (e.g., petroleum refineries, chemical plants), in ...

Although mass spectrometry has been studied extensively in the past 50 years for analysis of petroleum and other fossil fuels, comprehensive characterization of total petroleum composition across a wide boiling range remains a challenge. In this work, we report our efforts in combining GC separation, field Ionization, and time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-FI-TOF HRMS) for det...