Aadil Pathan

This review highlights the recent advancements and challenges in the use of surfactants and nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Novel surfactant formulations, including biosurfactants and hybrid systems, have shown improved recovery efficiency and environmental sustainability. Surfactant-polymer mixtures offer synergistic effects that enhance performance across various reservoir conditions. Concurrently, advancements in nanoparticle technology, such as green nanotechnology and improved formulations, have enhanced the stability, dispersion, and functionality of nanoparticles in EOR processes. Critical factors such as nanoparticle size, concentration, and surface modifications play pivotal roles in optimizing oil recovery efficiency. However, significant challenges persist, particularly surfactant adsorption onto rock surfaces and nanoparticle agglomeration, which reduce the overall effectiveness of these techniques. Addressing these limitations requires strategies such as surface modification and advanced delivery mechanisms. Additionally, economic and environmental concerns remain key barriers to large-scale implementation, underscoring the importance of sustainable and cost-effective solutions. A critical gap in the research is the lack of large-scale field studies and long-term monitoring, which are essential for validating laboratory findings and optimizing these technologies for real-world applications. With increasing focus on sustainability, future research is expected to prioritize eco-friendly materials and methods. Integrating surfactant and nanoparticle-based EOR with other recovery techniques, such as thermal and gas injection, holds potential for maximizing oil recovery. Continued research and development are crucial to overcoming current challenges and advancing the sustainability and efficiency of EOR technologies, contributing to a cleaner and more efficient future for oil recovery.

The increasing demand for energy has prompted scholars to research alternative energy sources. Bamboo is a species of woody perennial grass that belongs to the Gramineae family and the Bambuseae subfamily. It could be considered a possible lignocellulosic substrate for the production of bioethanol due to its favourable environmental effects and increased yearly biomass yield. Non-renewable fossil fuels cannot provide enough energy to meet the needs of contemporary societies. Among the various alternative energy sources, bioethanol has drawn a lot of attention from people all around the world. This paper reviews the cost and process parameters for the synthesis of bioethanol from bamboo. This review aims to increase the effectiveness of the entire ethanol production process by focusing on pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation. The emphasis of this review is on the efficient process for producing bioethanol while maintaining environmental sustainability. When compared to other NaOH pretreatment techniques, bamboo substrates prepared with NaOH and ultra-high-pressure explosion (UHPE) exhibit higher enzymatic hydrolyzability when processed under optimal conditions, such as 100 MPa, 121 °C, and 70 rpm for 2 h, yielding 89.7–95.1% ethanol after 24 h. The article lists the bamboo species responsible for creating each product, making it straightforward for producers to study and select the species based on whatever value-added product they wish to produce bioethanol with different parameters.

It is extremely difficult to clean up accidental oil spills in water since conventional oil sorbents absorb much more water in addition to the oil. Alternatively, cleanup techniques might lead to secondary contamination. This study examines and measures the oil absorption capacities of two hydrophobic natural fibers: water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and lotus (Nelumbo nucifera). At the laboratory scale, the absorption of engine oil, vegetable oil, and diesel oils onto various dry biomass materials, including water hyacinth and lotus with different particle sizes (BSS-44, BSS-60, BSS-100, BSS-120, BSS-160, and BSS-200), was investigated. Water hyacinth shows a higher absorption efficiency for all samples as compared to the lotus.