Microplastics, which are plastic debris with a particle diameter of less than 5 mm, have attracted growing attention in recent years. Its widespread distributions in a variety of habitats have urged scientists to understand deeper regarding their potential impact on the marine living resources. Most studies on microplastics hitherto are focused on the marine environment, and research on risk assessment methodology is still limited. To understand the distribution of microplastics in urban rivers, this study investigated river sediments in Shanghai, the largest urban area in China. Seven sites were sampled to ensure maximum coverage of the city's central districts, and a tidal flat was also included to compare with river samples. Density separation, microscopic inspection and μ-FT-IR analysis were conducted to analyze the characteristics of microplastics and the type of polymers. The average abundance of microplastics in six river sediment samples was 802 items per kilogram of dry weight. The abundance in rivers was one to two orders of magnitude higher than in the tidal flat. White microplastic spheres were most commonly distributed in river sediments. Seven types of microplastics were identified, of which polypropylene was the most prevailing polymers presented. The study then conducted risk assessment of microplastics in sediments based on the observed results, and proposed a framework of environmental risk assessment. After reviewing waste disposal related legislation and regulations in China, this study conclude that in situ data and legitimate estimations should be incorporated as part of the practice when developing environmental policies aiming to tackle microplastic pollution.

Microplastics in Freshwater River Sediments in Shanghai, China: A Case Study of Risk Assessment in Mega Cities

https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10172004

Valorization of hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase: pathways towards commercial viability

Conversion and removal strategies for microplastics in wastewater treatment plants and landfills

Oil from plastic via hydrothermal liquefaction: Production and characterization

Enhancement of depolymerization slag gasification in supercritical water and its gasification performance in fluidized bed reactor

In order to solve the problem of marine microplastics and realize the harmless resource utilization of plastics, the gasification experiments of polycarbonate (PC) microplastics were carried out in supercritical water and a novel seawater gasification of microplastic experiment was investigated. In this paper, the effects of different operating conditions (temperature, time, feedstock concentration, pressure) on gasification performance were discussed. The gasification kinetic of microplastics in supercritical water was calculated. The experimental results showed that the increase in gasification temperature and time enhanced the cracking reaction and free radical reaction of the microplastics to increase the gasification efficiency, while the reduction in feedstock concentration improved the gasification efficiency by increasing the gasification level of unit feedstock. The change in pressure had no significant effect on gasification due to the fact that the properties of the supercritical water were not significantly changed. It was found that the valuable results that all alkali metal salts in seawater promote hydrogen conversion, while in terms of carbon conversion, only KCl, CaCl2, NaHCO3 and seawater had a significant catalytic effect on the gasification. Seawater gasification of microplastics was a potential resource utilization method. Finally, it was considered that the PC plastic gasification conformed to the random nucleation and subsequent growth model (n = 3), and the reaction activation energy was 230.45 kJ/mol, which was smaller than that of traditional pyrolysis.

Experimental investigation on gasification characteristics of polycarbonate (PC) microplastics in supercritical water

Progress in Bohai Offshore Heavy Oil Thermal Recovery

Treatment Technology of Steam Breakthrough for Offshore Heavy Oil Reservoirs Developed by Huff and Puff with Multi-Component Thermal Fluid

The utility model discloses a hydraulic sliding sleeve opening and closing tool. The hydraulic sliding sleeve opening and closing tool comprises a central pipe, wherein a liquid inlet channel is arranged inside the central pipe; a plurality of shoulders are arranged outside the central pipe; the end of the central pipe is connected with a lower joint; the central pipe is sleeved with a spring seat; the spring seat is connected with a baffle ring and then sleeves the central pipe; an upper pressing cap, a working block and a lower pressing cap are sequentially arranged between the spring seat and the baffle ring; a radial spring is further arranged between the spring seat and the working block; the upper part of a piston contacts the working block, and the lower part of the piston is connected with the lower joint; a sealing barrel is arranged in the piston; an axial spring is arranged between the piston and the lower joint. The motion of the sliding sleeve opening and closing tool is controlled in a hydraulic mode, so that a destination sliding sleeve can be selectively opened or closed, and the problems about mechanical opening and closing of the sliding sleeve are effectively avoided; the operation efficiency is improved, and the sliding sleeve of a horizontal well is operated by the cooperation of a continuous oil pipe, so that the problems about opening and closing of the sliding sleeve of the horizontal well are solved.

Hydraulic sliding sleeve opening and closing tool

The invention discloses an offshore field polymer dissolution and enforceable uniform-mixing device. The device comprises a conical cylindrical flow distribution device, a volumetric flask shape cut-off filtration screen body, and a flabellum uniform-mixing device. The conical cylindrical flow distribution device is provided with a conical liquid inlet and a semi-circle bottom liquid outlet. The conical liquid inlet is provided with a conical hole. The volumetric flask shape cut-off filtration screen body is provided with a long cylindrical end and a spherical bottom. The cylindrical end is communicated with the spherical bottom. The flabellum uniform-mixing device is placed in the spherical bottom of the volumetric flask shape cut-off filtration screen body. The volumetric flask shape cut-off filtration screen body is placed in the conical cylindrical flow distribution device. The opening of the long cylindrical end of the volumetric flask shape cut-off filtration screen body is placed at a conical opening of the conical cylindrical flow distribution device. The device can effectively and uniformly mix the flocculating constituent/crosslinking constituent structural polymers generated by the insufficient mixing process of the polymer, reduce the viscosity loss of polymer solution to a certain extent, guarantee polymer injection pumping efficiency, and prevent the flocculating constituent from blocking the area near a oil well.

Meng Xianghai

Papers

Experimental investigation on gasification characteristics of polycarbonate (PC) microplastics in supercritical water

Progress in Bohai Offshore Heavy Oil Thermal Recovery

Treatment Technology of Steam Breakthrough for Offshore Heavy Oil Reservoirs Developed by Huff and Puff with Multi-Component Thermal Fluid

Hydraulic sliding sleeve opening and closing tool

Offshore field polymer dissolution and enforceable uniform-mixing device