Sustainable use and production of energy in the 21st century

It is foreseen that oil and gas will continue to be the key energy sources in the 21st century. Therefore, it is important that oil and gas be produced in a sustainable way during the next decades. This requires technology development to ensure that the environmental impact and pollution from these activities are minimal. The following aspects are being highlighted in this paper: • Development of projects with the minimum of impact on the environment and problems for local populations. • Sustainable drilling without the use of oil-based mud, and collection of all drilling waste during offshore drilling operations in the most environmentally sensitive areas. • Treatment of produced water, sand and minerals from the well stream to avoid pollution. • Limitation of flaring to be performed only when required for safety reasons. • Continuous checking of pipelines to ensure that gas pipelines are run within their actual pressure capacity and that oil pipelines are not leaking into rivers and lakes. • Provision of sufficient storage capacity for gas to ensure timely delivery of gas during high demand peaks. • Injection of CO2 into sealed underground formations where large quantities are produced, such as at LNG factories. • Optimization of production from existing fields to avoid huge amounts of oil and gas being left in place, following a ‘hit and run’ recovery plan. Furthermore, all primary energy sources need to be converted into end-user energy services known as mechanical work, electricity, heating and cooling. In the process of conversion, only a portion of the primary energy is transformed into the new form, while the rest remains unaltered and is lost. The various forms of energy services produced represent different values or qualities, e.g. heat holds an energy quality ranging from 0 and upwards, depending on the temperature difference which is utilized, as defined by the second law of thermodynamics. Energy efficiency in this context may also be defined as the ratio between energy quality output and input. Practically, all fossil fuels are converted into energy services via combustion and heat, i.e. the conversion efficiency is solely determined by temperatures, meaning that high-energy efficiency can only be obtained at large temperature differences, such as in power generation, while ordinary domestic heating will yield a very low efficiency. Given that some 30–40 % of all fossil fuels today are used for domestic heating, representing an end-user energy quality of (say) 1/10 of what is obtained in modern power generation, there is a large potential globally for energy efficiency improvements, not to mention the associated emission reductions. The obvious solution is to pay more attention to the second law of thermodynamics, i.e. to shift from direct combustion heating to thermodynamic principles, e.g. by the use of electrical-driven heat pumps and/or combined heat and power as another alternative. The objectives of this paper are to highlight how energy production could become more effective, thus leading to a reduction in pollution to land, sea and atmosphere and also to identify how energy production should be carried out to minimize the polluting effects. The goal is to provide a reminder that much can be gained with respect to the reduction of pollution by focusing on cleaner energy production

Analysis of Russian UGS capacity in Europe

Gas is the fuel of choice in Europe for heating, and many expect that gas consumption will continue to increase in the future. On the contrary, European indigenous production decreases, yielding needs to import natural gas primarily from Russia. Travelling long distances from production sites, gas deliveries come by pipelines. Most of them, having operated for decades, have almost depleted their design lifetime, and before long will tend (or have already implemented) to reduce nominal flow pressure and thus flow capacities. To compensate sufficiently for gas peak demands avoiding long, costly and sometimes not practical procedures of changing out pipes, it is suggested to examine the effect of gas storage at European strategic locations to ensure the balance between gas demand and supply. Along with storing gas in a liquid form as LNG, stipulated by need in spacious plants and infrastructure, Underground Gas Storages (UGS) near to the customers are studied and are seen as the most practical way of natural gas preservation in a gaseous form. Conditions provided, pressurized gas is held in underground facilities at key locations, so that it can rapidly be transported to desired regions. Depending on a number of factors, and to suit the different gas supply needs, various types of UGSs are distinguished as follows: • Gas storage in depleted fields. • Gas storages in a water-bearing structures. • Gas storages in salt dome formations. The paper outlooks UGSs across Western and Eastern Europe with focus on the available capacity of the biggest gas supplier to EU- Gazprom Group Company and its storage capacities. An investigation is done to demonstrate the recent change in storage volumes rented and owned, and change in the geography of storages involved. Applying technical and economic criteria, the study shows a need of Russian gas to urope and a need of European UGS facilities for Russian gas

Lincoln\u27s Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America

Lincoln the Lawyer and the Future of American Transportation On May 6, 1856, the Effie Afton steamed north from Rock Island, Illinois. Another steamboat had started just ahead of the Afton, and the captain of the latter boat decided to show off his vessel’s speed. As the A...

Communication of Arctic Marine Transportation opportunities

Source at https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1757-899X.In a risk analysis we identify the causes that could lead to unwanted events/ outcomes. We introduce barriers that will reduce the probabilities of such events and also barriers that will mitigate the consequences of such events. Regarding Arctic Marine Transportation Challenges, more attention should be placed on communicating all work that is undertaken to enhance the safety and limit the environmental footprint of sailing along the Northern Sea Route. Training of personnel is, furthermore, undertaken in accordance with the requirements set to obtain Polar Code Certificates, and evacuation, escape and rescue exercises are regularly undertaken by vessel owners having vessels entering the area. Support is available for rescue operations and legal regulations is administrated by the Northern Sea Route Administration. Improved information on ice and ice-flow conditions are made available by an increased number of satellite observations. A steady improvement of all safety related features is ongoing. It is necessary to identify why the problems and the challenges are highlighted by the commercial actors, while the opportunities and savings are not that clearly presented. This paper will discuss a series of challenges for Arctic Marine Transportation and how these are being mitigated. Recommendations will be given regarding prioritizing of additional mitigation measures. Of key concern is the climate impact where the Northern Sea Route could be presented as a Green intercontinental transportation route in case use of heavy fuel oil is not permitted and by highlighting the support of icebreakers to ensure that schedules for all traffic can be kept and that safety during the transit is of key importance. The total climate imprint of using the Northern Sea Route should be compared to the imprint of sailing alternative routes and be communicated as a key opportunity for sustainable intercontinental sea transportation

Modelling of Waves for the Design of Offshore Structures

For the design of structures we need to select design safety levels to ensure structures shall safely operate and not collapse. These levels are given in relevant safety standards. For these levels we need to identify the actions and ensure that we design according to recognized codes. The objective of this technical note is to shed light on the identification of the design action due to waves to ensure that the design action events be incorporated in the design phase of the structures. The approach used in this technical note is to give a description of an actual extreme event, discuss the efforts and research that was undertaken to explain the event, investigate wave conditions which possibly could have been present at the day of the event, and present a challenge and suggestion for wave tanks to ensure that design action events really are identified during wave tank experiments. We will, in particular, discuss the need for modelling of nonlinear waves to ensure that the action effects from waves are properly identified.publishedVersio

The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road: Dreams of Linking North and South

A Railroad That Could Have Been H. Roger Grant has written an interesting book about something that did not happen. Grant, author of thirty books and an expert on railroads in the United States, examines a proposed antebellum railroad that would have connected Charleston with Cincinnati in...

Management of Challenges During the Construction of Offshore Facilities

The construction of offshore facilities for development of oil and gas deposits is preceded by careful Conceptual Studies, Front-End Engineering Design Studies (FEED studies) and a Detailed Engineering phase including accurate construction planning. Still, incidents during the Construction Phase could lead to needs for implementation of physical strengthening of construction details or changes to the construction process. These incidents could emerge from information coming from the construction of other facilities, detection of design errors or aspects which were overseen during the engineering phase. Serious consequences, like loss of assets or fatalities, could occur in case the unexpected information was not assessed and changes were not implemented. In this paper, we report on how the design and construction processes were adjusted during the construction phase of the largest of the North Sea platforms, the Troll offshore gas production facilities, as new information became available while the platform was in the construction phase. The assessment of all incoming information and implementation of mitigating measures led to the successful construction, installation and start-up of gas production from the platform. Of particular importance for the success was the open attitude by the operator of the construction project to allow for voicing of concerns from companies hired to do verification, external reviewers and from project personnel. The lessons learned during the construction of these facilities could be very useful for those involved in the design and construction of large projects, in particular in offshore oil and gas projects where the forces due to waves and currents and the strains due to bending and pressures are not always well known initially. The paper is concluded by a recommendation to listen to those presenting warnings to project management during project execution (including the detailed engineering and construction phases)

Slavery, Emancipation & Freedom: Comparative Perspectives

An Anything but Peculiar Institution Slavery in a World Perspective Few historians have written more about slavery than Stanley Engerman, professor of history at the University of Rochester. Perhaps most closely associated with the landmark Time on the Cross, a quantita...

Freebooters and Smugglers: The Foreign Slave Trade in the United States After 1808

America’s Illicit Foreign Slave Trade Perhaps the long shadow of W.E.B. Du Bois has dissuaded some scholars from engaging in a fresh examination of the illegal slave trade to the United States. Du Bois, in his seminal The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States o...