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Cloud computing and sustainability have become part of a core strategy in organizations globally and locally, since their characteristics assist both businesses and individuals to become unique and exclusive in their work and study. Businesses and individuals should integrate sustainability in their strategy and to include cloud computing technology as a tool for sustainable work, especially in the Information Technology (IT) departments to cut costs and increase efficiencies and productivity. This paper examines European organizations' awareness of cloud computing and sustainability opportunities and risks, via an online survey targeting 56 Information Technology managers in Europe. A Cloud Computing Conceptual model was developed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the survey results. The study results confirmed that cloud computing technology opportunities, including sustainability in the organization's strategy, will enhance their job performance and job satisfaction, use and awareness; however, security, privacy and risks are still a major concern.

Estimation of methane adsorption capacity is crucial for the characterization of shale gas reservoirs. The methane adsorption capacity in shales is measured using high-pressure methane adsorption to obtain the adsorption isotherms, which can be fitted by Langmuir model. The determined Langmuir parameters can provide the methane adsorption capacity under actual reservoir conditions. In this study, a prediction model for the methane adsorption in shales was constructed based on 66 samples from 6 basins in China and Western Australia. The model was established in four steps: a model of Langmuir volume at experimental temperature, the temperature dependence of Langmuir volume, a model of Langmuir pressure, the temperature dependence of Langmuir pressure. In the model of Langmuir volume at experimental temperature, total organic carbon (TOC) and clay content (Vsh) were considered. A positive relationship was observed between the TOC and the temperature effect on the Langmuir volume. As the Langmuir pressure is sensitive to various factors, the Langmuir pressure at experimental temperature shows no trend with the TOC, clay content and thermal maturity, but a positive trend with the Langmuir volume. The results of this study can help log analysts to quantify adsorbed gas from well-log data since TOC and Vsh, which are the measure inputs of the introduced models, can be obtained from well-log data as well.

Abstract Recent publications on the successful mineralisation of carbon dioxide in basalts in Iceland and Washington State, USA, have shown that mineral storage can be a serious alternative to more mainstream geologic carbon storage efforts to lock away permanently carbon dioxide. In this study we look at the pore solution chemistry and mineralogy of basaltic glass and crystalline basalt under post-injection conditions, i.e. after rise of the pH via matrix dissolution and the first phase of carbonate formation. Experimental findings indicate that further precipitation of carbonates under more alkaline conditions is highly dependent on the availability of divalent cations. If the pore water is deficient in divalent cations, smectites and/or zeolites will dominate the secondary mineralogy of the pore space, depending on the basalt matrix. At low carbonate alkalinity no additional secondary carbonates are expected to form meaning the remaining pore space is lost to secondary silicates, irrespective of the basalt matrix. At high carbonate alkalinity, some of this limited storage volume may additionally be occupied by dawsonite −if the Na concentration in the percolating groundwater (brine) is high. Using synthetic seawater as a proxy for the groundwater composition and thus furnishing considerable amounts of divalent cations to the carbonated solution, results in massive precipitation of calcite, magnesite, and other Ca/Mg-carbonates under already moderate carbonate alkalinity. More efficient use of the basaltic storage volume can thus be attained by promoting formation of secondary carbonates compared to the inevitable formation of secondary silicate phases at higher pH. This can be done by ensuring that the pore water does not become depleted in divalent cations, even after carbonate formation. Using seawater as carbonating fluid or injection of CO2 into the basaltic oceanic crust, where saline fluids percolate, can reach this goal. However, such an approach needs sophisticated reactive transport modelling to adjust CO2 injection rates in order to avoid too rapid carbonate deposition and clogging of the pore space too close to the injection well.

Abstract Considerable research and development has been conducted into vary techniques to capture carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), including its safe and economical transportation to the storage sites. The CO 2 will normally be compressed to the supercritical phase where it demonstrates properties of both liquid and the gas. An alternative for transportation involves the operation solely in the liquid phase. Transporting supercritical CO 2 will demand a larger pipe size and consumes more compressor power because its fluid density is lower than the density of liquid CO 2 . A significant amount of thermal insulation is also required to maintain the phase and contributes additional cost. This paper firstly model and explore the basic difference between transporting supercritical and liquid CO 2 , then proposes transporting liquid CO 2 with the complete utilization of heat exchange between the ground and CO 2 fluid. The pipeline will inevitably face heat exchange between the fluid inside and the surrounding environment due to temperature difference and elevation. In order to avoid phase change, it is necessary to take into account factors such as ambient/soil temperature, soil type, thermal conductivity of pipe and elevation of terrain for ensuring a safe, reliable and cost effective transportation. The models developed in this paper aim to contribute to existing knowledge by highlighting the importance of these factors and laying the foundation for future work when the ambient temperature and elevation changes. A commercially available simulator Aspen HYSYS ® V7.2 in steady state mode, the Peng Robinson Equation of State was used for modelling.

Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) release copious amounts of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and so provide a window into the process of black hole formation from the collapse of massive stars. Previous early optical observations of even the most exceptional GRBs (990123 and 030329) lacked both the temporal resolution to probe the optical flash in detail and the accuracy needed to trace the transition from the prompt emission within the outflow to external shocks caused by interaction with the progenitor environment. Here we report observations of the extraordinarily bright prompt optical and gamma-ray emission of GRB 080319B that provide diagnostics within seconds of its formation, followed by broadband observations of the afterglow decay that continued for weeks. We show that the prompt emission stems from a single physical region, implying an extremely relativistic outflow that propagates within the narrow inner core of a two-component jet.

Electric vehicle (EV) numbers are expected to significantly increase in the coming years reflecting their potential to reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Charging such vehicles will impose additional demands on the electricity network but given the pattern of vehicle usage, the possibility exists to discharge the stored energy back to the grid when required, for example when lower than expected wind generation is available. Such vehicle-to-grid operation could see vehicle owners supplying the grid if they are rewarded for providing such services. This paper describes a model of an electric vehicle storage system integrated with a standardized power system (the IEEE 30-node power system model). A decision-making strategy is established for the deployment of the battery energy stored, taking account of the state of charge, time of day, electricity prices and vehicle charging requirements. Applying empirical data, the benefits to the network in terms of load balancing and the energy and cost savings available to the vehicle owner are analyzed. The results show that for the case under study, the EVs have only a minor impact on the network in terms of distribution system losses and voltage regulation but more importantly the vehicle owner's costs are roughly halved.

An extensive number of studies uses trade-to-GDP as a proxy for globalisation in environmental research. Globalisation encompasses much more than just trade in goods. Globalisation is the integration of various countries and includes spillovers of ideas and technology, financial flows, the worldwide movement of labour, and national governments meeting on an international level in a bid to solve social and political problems. This study considers the effect of globalisation on carbon dioxide emissions by using a more flexible and comprehensive measure based on the KOF globalisation index for a panel of 21 OECD nations covering the period 1970–2014. Since the globalisation process is not uniform across countries and time, we use a fully-fledged nonparametric technique to estimate the time-varying coefficient and trend functions. Our results show that the effect of globalization on CO2 emissions is positive up until 2000, then switches to turns negative thereafter.

The productive efficiency of a firm can be decomposed into two parts, one persistent and one transient. This distinction seems to be appealing for regulators. During the last decades, public utilities such as water and electricity have witnessed a wave of regulatory reforms aimed at improving efficiency through incentive regulation. Most of these regulation schemes use benchmarking, namely measuring companies' efficiency and rewarding them accordingly. Focusing on electricity distribution, we sketch a theoretical model to show that an imperfectly informed regulator may not disentangle the two parts of the cost efficiency. Therefore, the regulator may fail to set optimal efficiency targets, which also undermines quality. We then provide evidence on the presence of persistent and transient efficiency using data on 28 New Zealand electricity distribution companies between 2000 and 2011. First, we estimate a total cost function by means of traditional stochastic frontier models for panel data. These come up with an estimation of the persistent part or the transient part of the cost efficiency. Finally, we use the more recent generalized true random effects model that allows for the simultaneous estimation of both transient and persistent efficiency. We also find some evidence that persistent efficiency is associated to higher quality, and wrong efficiency targets are associated to lower quality compliance.