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The chemical paraffin removal agent QLJ-1 was developed by analyzing the composition of crude oil, the wax content and the point of paraffin removal in the wellbore of an oilfield in northwest China. The orthogonal test was used to determine the formula as follows: mixed organic solvent (70% aromatics, alkane volume ratio of 2:2:1) + mixed surfactant (7% Tween-80, AEO-9, fatty acid salt mass ratio of 1:2:1) +23% pure water. The results of kinetics and emulsion stability study show that the saturated wax dissolution amount of QLJ-1 is 1.62 g, the wax dissolution rate is 0.0263 g/min, the wax dissolution equilibrium time is about 1h, and the emulsion stability time is 6 d. The wax dissolving effect of QLJ-1 is better than that of the current paraffin remover. The research results of this paper can provide technical support for improving the chemical paraffin removal process in an oilfield in Northwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect white wax is a type of biological wax, mainly produced in Jiading Fu (now Leshan, Sichuan province) in southern Sichuan province, also known as Sichuan wax. It is a special export product in China and an important source of income for local wax farmers. From the seventeenth century onward, Westerners who traveled deep into southwestern China studied the wax, including its geographical distribution, biological experiments, and production techniques. They assessed its commercial prospects and strove to introduce it to Europe and the areas it controlled. Based on the reports of the European scholars' expeditions, travelogues, conference proceedings, and correspondence, this paper examines the history of Western research on the insect white wax and aims to investigate the underlying motivations for the exploration activities, proposes the concept of "object colonialism," and discusses the impact of adopting objects from their countries of origin on the world's political and economic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Most of the body and wings of mature adults of most species of dustywings (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae) are covered with a superficial coating of pale waxy particles. This white-to-gray waxy 'dust'—from which the common name of the family derives—is secreted onto the outside of the body by wax glands that open on the head, thorax, and abdomen. Each gland opening produces a pair of tiny, curled wax filaments, which eventually break off as minute wax rings. The rings are subsequently distributed across most of the body and wing surfaces by the insect's legs. Within the order Neuroptera, coniopterygids are unique in this form and use of waxy compounds, and it constitutes a distinctive shared feature of species in the subfamilies Aleurop-teryginae and Coniopteryginae (wax glands are apparently absent in the subfamily Brucheiserinae). Despite the interesting adaptive features that this system implies, wax production and its associated morphological features and behaviors are poorly known and rarely studied. In this paper, we examine the comparative morphology of wax gland head ultrastructure in 2 subfamilies, 9 genera, and 28 species of dustywings—the most diverse sample of dustywing taxa examined to date for this morphological feature. We report similarities and differences among the examined taxa and identify ultrastructural characters useful for taxonomic and phylogenetic differentiation at higher levels within the family. In the largest comparative study of coniopterygid wax gland head morphology to date, we used scanning electron microscopy to illustrate the ultrastructure of gland heads found in 2 subfamilies (Aleuropteryginae and Coniopteryginae), 5 tribes (Aleuropterygini, Coniocompsini, Coniopterygini, Conwentziini, and Fontenelleini), 9 genera (Aleuropteryx, Coniopteryx, Coniocompsa, Conwentzia, Cryptoscenea, Heteroconis, Semidalis, Spiloconis, and Thecosemidalis), and 28 species of Palearctic and Oriental dustywings collected from a variety of sites across China. We propose a new descriptive terminology to concisely characterize the major elements of gland head ultrastructure and then identify similarities and differences among them and provide detailed descriptions of the wax gland heads found in each of the nine genera examined. Based on the range of taxa examined, we propose hypotheses about the functional morphology of some of the ultrastructural elements examined and relate them to wax ring formation in dustywings. An identification key for the examined genera based on gland head morphology is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While books typically dominate in the field of print and publishing history, what happens when we redirect our attention towards ephemeral texts? Employing a widely dispersed material source base, this article focuses on Chinese gazettes: daily publications that recorded official communications and state activities at the provincial and imperial levels during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Gazettes, rarely studied under the auspices of book history and existing on the periphery of xylographic book publishing, offer important revelations about the geography, economics, and procedures of print and scribal publishing in late imperial China. Their producers employed a diverse range of rarely recognized techniques including movable typography, wax stereotype printing, slat printing, and other adaptations. Like other non-book ephemera, publishing practices for gazettes were determined locally in vernacular contexts, and not dictated by the imperial state. Attention to ephemeral texts brings less recognized print techniques to the fore, challenging assumptions previously formed from the perspectives of book collecting and bibliographical studies. As digitization and cataloguing efforts reveal non-book texts preserved in private, library, and archival collections, continued attention to the material record is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in oleogel as a promising alternative to traditional hydrogenated vegetable oil has increasingly grown in recent years due to its low content of saturated fatty acids and zero trans fatty acids. This study aimed to develop wax-based margarine to replace traditional commercial margarine. The wax-based margarine was prepared and compared with commercial margarine in texture, rheology, and microscopic morphology. The possibility of preparing margarine at room temperature (non-quenched) was also explored. The results showed that the hardness of oleogel-based margarine increased as the BW concentration increased. Denser droplets and crystal network structure were observed with the increase in BW content. XRD patterns of oleogel-based margarine with different content BW were quite similar and structurally to the β′ form. However, the melting temperature of oleogel-based margarine was over 40 °C at each concentration, which represented a poor mouth-melting characteristic. In addition, the unique, improved physical properties of oleogel-based margarine were obtained with binary mixtures of China lacquer wax (ZLW) and Beeswax (BW), due to the interaction of the ZLW and BW crystal network. The rapid cooling process improved the spreadability of oleogel-based margarine. The margarine prepared by 5% BW50:ZLW50 had similar properties to commercial margarine in texture and melting characteristics (37 °C), which had the potential to replace commercial margarine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dabei deep high-pressure condensate gas field occupies the paramount position in the Tarim Oilfield in China, the exploration and developments of which have been progressing. Since the initial development, the wax deposition and plugging in the wellbore and gathering pipeline have been the most bothering issues, resulting in the reduction or even shutdown of condensate gas well production. Therefore, the wax appearance temperature of Dabei condensate oil was studied using the capillary viscometer, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polarizing microscope observation. The wax content was tested by using the DSC and crystallization separation test method. Finally, the wax appearance temperatures of degassed condensate oil and equilibrium condensate oil under different pressures were tested. Experimental results show that the wax appearance temperature measured by polarizing microscope observation was higher than that measured by the DSC and capillary viscometer, the lag of which can be recorded as the cloud point. The wax appearance temperature measured by polarizing microscope observation is of high accuracy. Secondly, the DSC method is not sufficient for measuring wax precipitation at low temperatures, showing a lower wax content than the crystallization separation test method. Thus, the wax content of Dabei condensate oil can be better measured by using the crystallization separation test method. Additionally, the wax precipitation law of equilibrium condensate oil is opposite to that of degassed condensate oil. The wax appearance temperature of equilibrium condensate oil increases as the pressure decreases. The results of wax appearance temperature of equilibrium condensate oil provide a useful and quick index to judge the potential risk of wax precipitation in the Tarim Oilfield, which can provide an efficient strategy for the development of waxy condensate gas reservoirs and the optimization of wax prevention and treatment technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The phase behavior of condensate gas under wax influence was studied. • The change of phase envelope under wax influence was analyzed. • A thermodynamic model was developed to describe phase behavior under wax influence. The development of ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs has become a trend in recent years. Comprehensive understanding of the complex phase behavior of waxy condensate gas is necessary for the exploitation of ultra-deep gas reservoir. The objective of this work is to study and predict the phase behavior of condensate gas under various wax contents. The condensate gas and wax samples were collected from ultra-deep condensate gas well in northwestern China. The phase behavior tests were performed to determine the dew point pressure, percentage of condensate liquid, and compressibility factor of condensate gas under different wax contents using an ultra-high-pressure Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) setup. It can be found that the dew point increased with the increasing wax content. The percentage of condensate liquid and compressibility factor increased with the increasing wax contents. A thermodynamic model based on an equation of state (EOS) was proposed to describe the phase behavior under different wax content. The average absolute deviations (AAD%) between the calculated compression factor and the experimental values of 0 %, 6.79 %, 10.86 % and 14.18 % wax contained are 3.73 %, 2.43 %, 0.76 % and 0.25 %, respectively. The results show that the thermodynamic model developed in this work exhibits the highest prediction accuracy, which can provide the necessary guidance for the development of ultra-deep waxy condensate gas reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long chain n- alkanes of leaf waxes are widely used in paleoclimatic reconstructions. The application of these proxies depends on profound understandings gained from studies of the relationship between climatic factors and long chain n- alkanes in living plants. However, a lot of uncertainties still exist in the relationship due to the interactions among climatic factors, geographical and topographical factors, and phylogeny. In addition, unrealistic or inaccurate climatic data also introduce errors. To evaluate the effect of climate with minimized interfering factors, we conducted long-term measurements of leaf wax n- alkanes of the plants growing on Dongling Mountain, north China from 2004 to 2019, where a meterological observatory is located. On the whole, total n- alkane concentration (Σalk) was positively correlated mean annual precipitation (MAP); average chain length (ACL) was negatively related to MAP; carbon preference index (CPI) had poor correlations with all climate factors. Compared with Σalk, ACL is a better indicator that reflects annual precipitation. The coefficient of ACL vs. MAP is 0.0015/mm. However, MAP accounted for only 40% of the variability in the year-averaged ACL of all plants together due to the significant interspecific differences in the response of leaf wax n- alkane distribution to climatic parameters; thus, ACL should be employed in parallel with other proxies to quantitatively reconstruct paleoprecipitation. We conducted a sample reconstruction of paleoprecipitation using ACL records preserved in the annually laminated sediments of Maar Lake Twintaung, Myanmar. The results of reconstruction using ACL are completely consistent with the results of reconstruction using carbon isotope ratios of n- alkanes, and are highly consistent with historical documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent time-series from sediment traps show abnormally high chlorophyll-a concentrations and primary productivity in the oligotrophic central South China Sea (SCS), especially during wintertime. Here we present new insights from compound-specific hydrogen isotopic analysis of leaf wax n-alkanes and Sr-Nd isotope compositions extracted from four basin-wide surface sediment transects. We find that the deepest surface sediments in the central basin contain the most depleted n-alkane hydrogen isotopes, suggesting inputs from higher latitude soils in northern China. This is supported by the Sr-Nd isotope compositions of the same surface sediments. We propose that aeolian dust is transported by the winter monsoon and might fertilize the phytoplankton bloom in the central SCS. This process may have been enhanced in ancient times when the winter monsoon was stronger, driving both vertical mixing and dust transport to the central basin. Plain Language Summary Recent studies observe abnormally high winter primary productivity and nitrate concentrations in the surface waters of the central South China Sea (SCS). However, this is a nutrient limited region of the ocean, so the drivers of this primary productivity are unclear. Here we analyze leaf wax carbon and hydrogen isotopes, and Sr-Nd isotopes, along four shallow-to-deep-water sediment transects to trace the sources of dust and organic matter in the sediments of the central basin. Our results suggest the central basin sediments receive significant terrestrial inputs of dust and nutrients from northern Asia via long-range aeolian transport during the winter monsoon. These results give new insights to terrestrial-marine connections and the carbon cycle of the SCS. This process may provide a new mechanism to understand the glacial-interglacial productivity changes in marginal seas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lotus (Nelumbonucifera), a pernnial aquatic herb has been cultivated for a long time in China for not only ornamental but also medicinal and edible purposes. One unique feature of lotus leaf is the Lotus Leaf Effect (LLE), which is characterized by its perfect water blocking function and self-cleaning function. It is known that LLE stems from the special surface structure of the lotus leaf, while wax compositions and their deposition patterns on the lotus leaf surface form the chemical basis of LLE. Th us, studies elucidating the chemical basis of the LLE has gr eat potential for multiple practical applications. N ever the less, previous studies revealed waxy chemical compositions on the surface of lotus leaves, but hardly mentioned the detailed detection methods, let alone the in-depth analyses of homologs and isomers. In this study, a method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was established for the determination of wax components on lotus leaf surface, which was approved to be effective in the identification of the structure and contents of various wax molecules, homologues and isomers of lotus leaf surface. In total, 18 homologues and isomers each of long-chain straightchain diols and long-chain secondary alcohols, 6 primary alcohols, and several fatty acids and alkanes were identified in the extract of lotus leaf surface. Among them, the homologues and isomers of C27-C35 long-chain straight-chain diols and C27-C38 longchain straight-chain secondary alcohols accounted for 71 % and 20 % of the total wax contents, respectively, while C29 diols accounted for 87 % of the total long-chain straight-chain diols and C29 secondary alcohols accounted for 86 % of long-chain straight-chain secondary alcohols, respectively. Altogether, the results provide not only a future study direction on regulatory mechanisms of lotus leaf wax, but also a technical support for the potential application of LLE such as in hydrophobic, bionic and textile materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall feeds a vast majority of the densely populated Asian continent. A deep understanding of the ISM rainfall variations and the underlying driving mechanisms during the Holocene is essential to predict its future behaviors and formulate improved mitigating strategies under the context of global warming. It has been widely recognized that the ISM intensity declined from the early to late Holocene, with a mid-to late Holocene transition. However, the nature of hydrological changes during this critical transition still remains vague. In this study, hydrological changes in Southwest China during the mid-to late Holocene transition are reconstructed based on the molecular and compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of leaf waxes (δ13C and δD of n -alkanes) from the Yanjiang peat deposit in western Yunnan. Results reveal two-phase changes of hydroclimate during the mid-to late Holocene transition in Southwest China. During the first phase (5.5–4.2 cal kyr BP), Southwest China experienced an abrupt drying as indicated by the pronounced increases in both δ13C and δD values of the C 29 n -alkane (δ13C C29 and δD C29) by 2.2% and 26‰, respectively. The second phase (4.2–2.6 cal kyr BP) witnessed shortening in the duration of the ISM season without further aridification, as demonstrated by an increase up to 35‰ in the δD C29 values and moderate oscillations in the δ13C C29 values. Such a two-phase hydrological transition is likely to have been triggered by the changes in the summer solar insolation and amplified by the ocean-atmosphere interactions. The first phase is primarily modulated by the positive Indian Ocean Dipole mean state, while the second phase is mainly linked with a more El Niño-like mean state over the Pacific Ocean. • Two-phase hydroclimate changes during the mid-late Holocene transition in SW China. • Abrupt drying during the first phase from 5.5 to 4.2 cal kyr BP. • Shortened ISM season during the second phase from 4.2 to 2.6 cal kyr BP. • An important control of IOD and ENSO mean state on the regional hydroclimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new whitefly species, Aleuroclava schimae Wang, sp. nov. infesting leaves of Schima superba (Parietales, Theaceae) is described and illustrated from Zhejiang, China. Puparia of the new species are elliptical, broad at the transverse molting suture region and broadly truncate posteriorly. Thoracic and caudal tracheal pores are discernible. In life, the puparia are covered by a thin layer of white wax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidermal leaf waxes of terrestrial higher plants have been widely utilized for the reconstructions of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate in peat deposits. In this study, specimens of four plant species growing in both peatland and non-peatland habitats were retrieved to compare their molecular, carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotopic compositions of leaf wax n-alkanes from a closed subalpine basin in Central China. Three of the four species show quite higher total concentrations of n-alkanes in the relatively dry non-peatland setting than in the peatland. In addition, the δ2H values of long-chain n-alkanes are generally less depleted in the peatland and are comparable among different plant species, which is interpreted as the influence of inundation condition and the possible limited supply of photosynthetic products. This study reveals different patterns of plant wax molecular and isotopic compositions between peatland and the surrounding non-peatland conditions, and confirms the paleoenvironmental potential of leaf wax ratios on the peat sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the influence of microbial wax removal and viscosity reduction technologies on the fluidity of waxy crude oil, this study took the waxy crude oil from China's Daqing Oilfield as the experimental object for microbial wax removal and viscosity reduction experiment. First, utilizing standard strain screening and culture protocols, a high-efficiency microbial strain H-1 (Ochrobactrum intermedium) was proposed from in situ soil. The single factor experiment and multi-factor response surface analysis were then utilized to optimize the temperature, initial pH value of the medium, and NaCl mass concentration needed for the strain's growth. Oil displaced activity and emulsification tests were used to evaluate the biosurfactants produced by the metabolism of strain H-1, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to identify the types of biosurfactants. Finally, the application effect of strain H-1 on wax removal and viscosity reduction of waxy crude oil were clarified through the wax crystal morphology, wax content, and viscosity of waxy crude oil. The research findings indicated that strain H-1 produced best at a temperature of 38.5 °C, pH value was 7.1 and the mass fraction of NaCl was 0.64%. The lipopeptide biosurfactant produced by strain H-1 can displace oil. Additionally, strain H-1 has a high emulsifying capacity, with a 61.25% emulsifying coefficient. After 7 days of treatment with the strain H-1, the wax crystal morphology of the waxy crude oil changed from a large-sized aggregated to a small-sized sparse condition, and the wax content of the waxy crude oil fell by 38.67%. The viscosity reduction rate of strain H-1 to waxy crude oil was consistently greater than 30% over the temperature range of 30–42 °C, with the greatest rate of 42.38% at 39 °C. The preceding results demonstrate that strain H-1 can degrade the wax components of waxy crude oil, lower the crude oil's low temperature viscosity, and then improve the crude oil's low-temperature fluidity. • Response surface methodology was used to optimize the growth conditions of Ochrobactrum intermedium H-1. • Ochrobactrum intermedium H-1 can effectively remove wax components and improve the fluidity of waxy crude oil. • Ochrobactrum intermedium H-1 may improve the low-temperature fluidity of waxy crude oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo processing is faced with increasing requirements of resource reusability in China. A large amount of waste bamboo green produced in bamboo processing needs to be recycled. Waste bamboo green contains a large number of environmentally friendly wax components. In this study, supercritical CO 2 extraction was used to extract bamboo green waste to obtain natural wax. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the extraction process and the yield of bamboo green wax under pressure of 20–30 MPa, temperature of 318–328 K, and time of 30–90 min. The extracted bamboo green wax was characterized by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). RSM optimization shows that under the conditions of 26 MPa, 328 K, and 56 min, the yield of bamboo green wax was the highest at 2.327%. The compositions of esters, fatty acids, sterols and so on in bamboo green wax were characterized by GC-MS. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) shows that the melting point of bamboo green wax is 334 K. At last, the economic evaluation of bamboo green wax was made to analyze its potential application prospect. It is supposed that bamboo green waste is a resource for natural wax with potential application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Chinese white wax scale, Ericerus pela Chavannes is economically significant for its role in wax production. This insect has been bred in China for over a thousand years. The wax secreted by the male scale insect during the secondinstar larval stage has been widespread used in wax candle production, wax printing, engraving, Chinese medicine, and more recently in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries. However, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for white wax biosynthesis. The characterization of its larval transcriptome may promote better understanding of wax biosynthesis. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, characterization of the transcriptome of E. pela during peak wax secretion was performed using Illumina sequencing technology. Illumina sequencing produced 41,839 unigenes. These unigenes were annotated by blastx alignment against the NCBI Non-Redundant (NR), Swiss-Prot, KEGG, and COG databases. A total of 104 unigenes related to white wax biosynthesis were identified, and 15 of them were selected for quantitative real-time PCR analysis. We evaluated the variations in gene expression across different development stages, including egg, first/second instar larvae, male pupae, and male and female adults. Then we identified five genes involved in white wax biosynthesis. These genes were expressed most strongly during the second-instar larval stage of male E. pela. Conclusion/Significance: The transcriptome analysis of E. pela during peak wax secretion provided an overview of gene expression information at the transcriptional level and a resource for gene mining. Five genes related to white wax biosynthesis were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian monsoon is a key component of the Earth's climate system that directly affects the livelihood of 60% of the world population. Reliable reconstruction of changes in monsoon precipitation during the Holocene is required to better understand the present climate conditions and to predict future climate processes in the Asian monsoon domain. Reconstruction of changes in Holocene monsoon precipitation has been done in various regions of this domain using a variety of paleoclimate proxies. However, different proxies have yielded different paleoclimate records of long-term monsoon rainfall variability. We apply compound-specific stable hydrogen isotope compositions of the plant wax n-alkanes isolated from the Hongyuan peat sequence in eastern Tibet to reevaluate the regional carbonate oxygen isotopic and lake-level records. The D/H ratios of the n-alkanes resolve the apparent discrepancy among the different paleoclimate proxies. Our result indicates that lake-level fluctuation is a reliable recorder of changes in the amount of summer monsoonal precipitation while long-term isotope records largely reflect large-scale changes in the source of water vapor rather than a local precipitation signal. Combining lake-level, biomarker, and carbonate isotopic records, we conclude that the early Holocene monsoon precipitation in southwest China has been greatly influenced by the Indian monsoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The past elevation of the land surface provides a unique constraint on the underlying lithospheric structure during mountain and plateau formation. Development of new paleoaltimetry techniques that can be applied to a wide variety of sample types is therefore of continuing importance. This study evaluates organic substrates that preserve the δD ratio of surface waters as a new approach to reconstruct paleoaltimetry. We measured the hydrogen isotope composition of n-alkanes from epicuticular plant waxes preserved in lacustrine deposits to reconstruct the δD of precipitation in Cenozoic basins that have been elevated as part of the Tibetan Plateau. n-Alkane δD- and carbonate δ 18O-inferred water compositions from the Eocene–Miocene Lunpola Basin and Miocene Hoh-Xil Basin plot near or at enriched values relative to the global meteoric water line, as expected for evaporative lakewater and leafwater systems that have the same precipitation source. n-Alkane δD-based water compositions are nearly identical to the minimum carbonate δ 18O-based values, demonstrating that plant-wax δD is minimally affected by evaporation compared to lacustrine calcite δ 18O. This agreement strongly supports the presence of similar precipitation isotopic compositions in both archives despite different isotope systems, source water reservoirs, archive materials, modes of incorporation, and diagenetic processes. Paleoelevations for each basin and time period were calculated from precipitation isotope ratios using the isotope–altitude relationship derived from both a simple thermodynamic model and modern precipitation sampling from the Plateau region. Our new results from the Hoh-Xil Basin suggest 1700 to 2600m of uplift may have occurred some time between the late Eocene and early Miocene. The timing of this uplift is consistent with late-Oligocene compressional deformation of the Hoh-Xil Basin and northward growth of the Tibetan Plateau however, the calculated uplift is not a unique solution from the paleoisotope data because of uncertainties in Eocene and Miocene moisture sources and isotope gradients for the northern plateau. Our results demonstrate the utility of lipid-based estimates of paleoelevation and expand the types of deposits amenable to paleoaltimetry analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses migration styles and primary controls of petroleum migration pathways in heterogeneous carrier beds in the Damintun Depression, Bohai Bay Basin. There are two types of crude oils in the Damintun Depression: a high wax oil (wax hydrocarbon content between 8 and 60%) and a normal oil (wax hydrocarbon content lower than 8%). The high wax oil and normal oil are distinctly different both in biomarker compositions and in distribution patterns of carbon isotopic ratios for individual alkanes, and were confirmed to have been generated from different source rocks. Modeling of secondary migration pathways of both the high wax oil and the normal oil was conducted using a simple three-dimensional model, which assumes that the positions of petroleum migration pathways are controlled by the morphology of the sealing surfaces without taking into consideration the influence of permeability heterogeneity (the morphology-controlled migration model). The modeling results have reasonably well predicted the occurrences of both the high wax oil and the normal oil. All commercial petroleum accumulations are along the predicted preferential petroleum migration pathways (PPMP) formed by focusing of numerous “small petroleum streams” close to the kitchens. The focusing of oils originating from a large area of the generative kitchens is essential for the formation of large oilfields. The strong porosity and permeability heterogeneities of the carrier beds, and the relatively high prediction accuracy of the modeling, suggest that the preferential petroleum migration pathways, although influenced by permeability contrast at local scales, can be effectively predicted at a basin or depression scale under certain circumstances using a model that does not take into consideration the effect of heterogeneity. Most dry holes are not on the predicted petroleum migration pathways, suggesting that the three-dimensional migration pathway modeling may provide a useful tool to reduce exploration risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article offers information regarding the n-alkanes found in the needle waxes of picea omorika in China. It states that variability in concentration of n-alkanes is used in chemotaxonomic investigations of many conifers and flowering plants. Among the processes involved include plant material extraction, isolation and gas chromatography.

To solve the problems of unsustainability and low biodegradability of mineral oil-based lubricants, an agro-waste to biolubricant supply chain was proposed. A plant wax was extracted from the non-medicinal part of Codonopsis pilosula , and its composition, thermal stability, and lubrication behaviours were investigated. The plant wax was composed mainly of the esters of fatty acids and triterpenes. The natural wax showed good thermal stability and lubricity over the wide temperature range of 25–150 °C and load range of 100–250 N. These intriguing properties indicate that this plant wax can be used as a sustainable biolubricant in an open system or in food processing industry. This work simultaneously provides a strategy to realise the utilisation of the abundant non-medicinal parts of medicinal herbs abandoned in China. The agro-waste to biolubricant supply chain conforms to the goal of cleaner production and technical processes. Image 1060 • Natural wax from the non-medicinal part of Codonopsis pilosula has good lubricity. • Natural wax displays good load-carrying capacity and thermal stability. • The lubrication mechanism of the wax is boundary lubrication. • This work provides a new sustainable feedstock for green bio-lubricant. • It provides new strategy to eliminate waste in medicinal plant production in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]