S.E. UWADIAE

The global petroleum industry faces continuous and costly challenges in resolving stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions, a process that traditionally relies on expensive, non-biodegradable synthetic demulsifiers. This study investigated the development and optimization of a sustainable, bio-based demulsifier derived from a synergistic blend of extracts from Citrus sinensis (orange) and Musa spp. (banana) peels, aiming to provide an environmentally responsible alternative. The demulsifier was prepared via solvent extraction of the agricultural waste. Characterization showed the blended formulation possessed an optimal pH of 5.8 and a density of 998.0 kg/m³. Chemical analysis using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of non-ionic, amphiphilic functional groups (O-H, C-H, and C-O), indicative of a surfactant-type demulsifier system4. The demulsification performance was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), analyzing the interactive effects of demulsifier dosage, temperature, and demulsification time to maximize the final water cut percentage. The resulting quadratic model demonstrated a strong correlation and predictive power, indicated by an excellent Coefficient of Determination (R²) of 0.9768. The synergistic blend achieved a peak demulsification efficiency under the tested conditions, with the maximum recorded water cut being 20 v/v%. This efficiency is attributed to the complementary action of the constituent compounds: the lipophilic D-limonene (C. sinensis) acts as a solvent to weaken the interfacial film, while the hydrophilic saponins and phenolic compounds (Musa spp.) competitively adsorb at the interface to promote rapid droplet coalescence.

Heavy metals are classified as hazardous chemical substances. They are major environmental pollutants and these pollutants affects the welfare of the environment, reduces the quality of life and eventually causes death. They are a collection of metal sand metalloids that have an atomic density larger than 4 g/cm3. A major source of Pb(II) pollutant is the automobile battery waste in automobile worship. This study was done to investigate the transport of Pb (II) in soil using response surface methodology. This investigation was carried out using a packed bed, which is a cylindrical vessel filled with uncontaminated sand. The bulk density, porosity, moisture content and pH of the soil were determined using standard procedures. The soil was then contaminated with stock solutions of Pb (II). A two - level, two - factor central composite design (CCD) was used for the design of the study. The factors considered for this study were depth and time while the concentration of Pb (II) was the response. The concentration level of Pb (II) at each point was determined using the atomic adsorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results showed that the transport of heavy metals in soil is greatly influenced by the physico – chemical properties of the soil. The time factor had only a marginal
effect on the concentration level of Pb (II) while an increase in depth showed a significant decrease in Pb (II) concentration. The optimum concentration level was found to be at 30cm deep, after 36hrs of contamination. The findings from this investigation shows that time and depth of the soil is the predominant factor in the transport of Pb (II) on packed bed

Background Of Study
Traditional chemical-based demulsifiers in the oil and gas industry has several major issues that can affect their effectiveness and environmental sustainability. Chemical-based demulsifiers can contaminate water sources and harm aquatic life, as well as contribute to the formation of microplastics and other pollutants (Deshpande et al., 2015; Esmaeili et al., 2018). These chemicals can corrode equipment and infrastructure, leading to high cost of maintenance and replacement, and every possibility of reacting with other materials used in oil and gas processing (Abdel-Raouf, 2012; Pereira et al., 2017).