monolayer model, in which statistical physics theory was used. Four physicochemical parameters of the number n N Q of CH molecules per site ( ), the density of receptors ( ), total adsorbed quantity ( ), and energetic 4 m a E S parameter (Δ ) were estimated. The thermodynamic potential functions, including entropy ( ), internal energy a E G of adsorption ( ), and Gibbs free energy ( ), were derived. The results showed multianchorage manner int a occurs during the adsorption process of CH on shale, and the interactions between CH molecule and shales are 4 4 Van der waals forces or hydrophobic bond forces. The adsorption of CH on shale is spontaneous and globally 4 exothermic. Besides, the analysis of site energy distribution theory based on statistical physical model showed methane molecules first occupied the high-energy adsorption sites and then diffused and adsorbed on the low- energy sites on shale, and the higher temperature resulted in the higher heterogeneity.

Dudek, M., Vik, E.A., Aanesen, S.V., Øye, G., 2020. Colloid chemistry and experimental techniques for understanding fundamental behaviour of produced water in oil and gas production. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 276, 102105.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001868619303537 Due to increasing volumes of produced water and environmental concerns related to its discharge, water treatment has become a major challenge during the production of crude oil and natural gas. With continuously stricter regulations for discharging produced water to sea, the operators are obliged to look for ways to improve the treatment processes or re-use the water in a beneficial way, for example as a pressure support during oil recovery (produced water re-injection). To improve the knowledge of the underlying phenomena governing separation processes, detailed information of the composition and interfacial properties of produced water is undoubtedly useful and could provide valuable input for better understanding and improving separation models. This review article summarizes knowledge gained about produced water composition and the most common treatment technologies, which are later used to describe the fundamental phenomena occurring during separation. These colloidal interactions, such as coalescence of oil droplets, bubble-droplet attachment or partitioning of components between oil and water, are of crucial importance for the performance of various technologies and are sometimes overlooked in physical considerations of produced water treatment. The last part of the review deals with the experimental methodologies that are available to study these phenomena, provide data for models and support development of more efficient separation processes.

Editorial, 2020. The life of archaea. Nature 577, 249.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00087-4 Cultivation of Asgard archaea brings us closer to understanding how complex life evolved. Hilaire Belloc's 'The Microbe' opens with the words:

####### The microbe is so very small / You cannot make him out at all.

The poem lists the wonders of microorganisms, and they continue to reveal their secrets to researchers more The Bad Child's Book of Beasts than a century after his book (1896) excited and delighted children. In 2015, researchers published the metagenome of a member of the Asgard group of archaea called et al Nature Lokiarchaeota (A. Spang . 521, 173 - 179; 2015). These are descended from an ancient lineage of archaea, simple cells lacking a nucleus and distinct from bacteria. This discovery was exciting because the genes were found to have similarities with those of eukaryotes - the group of organisms whose cells have nuclei and other structures, and which include plants, fungi, humans and other animals. That suggested a stronger connection between archaea and eukaryotes than had previously been thought. Now, after a heroic effort that took 12 years, researchers led by Hiroyuki Imachi, a microbiologist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, have successfully grown a new Asgard lineage et al. Nature (H. Imachi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1916-6; 2020). This achievement puts to rest