• Energy Research
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Abstract The Sleipner CO 2 injection project was the world's first industrial offshore CO 2 Capture and Storage (CCS) project with more than 16 Mt CO 2 injected since 1996. Key monitoring insights from Sleipner are the dual interpretation of seismic and gravimetric monitoring surveys to quantify the free CO 2 mass changes and plume geometry development as a function of time. The learnings from Sleipner have contributed to making guidelines for monitoring future CCS injection projects, showing that selection of monitoring technology and the timing and extent of monitoring surveys should be case specific and risk based, while also taking into account the long term nature of CCS projects.

AbstractEight hundreds and eighty nine yeast strains were isolated from soils and wastes of palm oil mill and biodiesel plant in southern region of Thailand using glucose or glycerol as carbon source and at acidic condition (pH 4.0) or neutral condition (pH 6.0) with 0.0001% chloramphenicol. By applying Sudan Black B tests, 23 strains were identified as potential lipid producer or oleaginous yeast. The lipid contents of these 23 strains were compared in crude glycerol based medium. It was found that BY4-523 accumulated highest lipid content up to 53.28% while JU4-57 grew fastest and gave comparable high lipid content 41.50%. They were identified as Kodamaea ohmeri and Trichosporonoides spathulata, respectively. Among organic nitrogen sources tested, a mixture of yeast extract and peptone (1:1) gave the best biomass (17.05g/L for T. spathulata and 11.1g/L for K. ohmeri) and the maximum lipid production (10.43g/L for T. spathulata and 4.53g/L for K. ohmeri). In the view point of economic strategy, the cheaper inorganic nitrogen sources were also tested. Among inorganic nitrogen sources tested, ammonium sulfate was selected as a suitable nitrogen source. It gave the best biomass (9.17g/L for T. spathulata and 10.45g/L for K. ohmeri) and the maximum lipid production (3.85g/L for T. spathulata and 3.17g/L for K. ohmeri). The results showed that the newly isolated yeasts could grow and accumulate high lipid content in crude glycerol based medium supplemented with only ammonium sulfate. The optimal medium composition for both strains was 0.5% ammonium sulfate and 10% crude glycerol (C/N ratio of 17). Under this condition, the maximum biomass of 10.40g/L and lipid production of 4.45g/L were achieved for T. spathulata. Similarly, K. ohmeri also reached the maximum biomass of 10.50g/L and lipid production of 3.22g/L.

AbstractThe development and implementation of effective policies for promoting energy efficiency in the household sector has been an emerging target of the EU. A recent analysis of Latvian households included in a smart metering pilot, shows this type of housing as the most statistically significant variable to impact electricity savings. This study deals with the statistical analysis of residential buildings to find simplified correlations for the assessment of factors affecting changes in electricity consumption, in particular, taking into account selected building characteristics, as well as the personal, socio-economic, socio-demographic characteristics of households. Multiple linear regression analysis is used to present and compare results between two groups – the target group with smart meters and control group without smart meters by differentiating among typical heating types as determined in a field study.

AbstractThe Controlled Freeze Zone™ technology removes CO2 and H2S from natural gas in a single step cryogenic distillation process. Removal and management of acid gas impurities from natural gas pose significant challenges in developing sour gas fields. In many cases CFZ™ is capable of processing sour gases with a wide range of CO2 and H2S compositions at a lower cost than conventional technologies. The acidic components are removed as a high pressure liquid that can be injected into reservoirs for geosequestration or, when of suitable composition, to improve oil recovery. In either case, sulfur production from H2S and release of CO2 to the atmosphere can be eliminated.CFZ™ technology was successfully demonstrated through earlier pilot plant operations. Currently, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company is advancing CFZ™ to large scale commercial readiness through a commercial demonstration plant in Wyoming, USA. By building the commercial demonstration plant at ExxonMobil’s world-class Shute Creek gas treating and acid gas injection facility, integration of CFZ™ with acid gas injection, will also be demonstrated when the unit is operated in 2010–2011.

Abstract The impact of CO 2 leakage from underground storage formations on shallow water resources is a concerning aspect in CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) risk assessment. In Campo de Calatrava region (Spain), natural CO 2 fluxes from the Earth’s mantle interact with shallow aquifers, resulting in significant changes in their physical and chemical properties. The resultant water is slightly acidic (pH 5.9-6.4), oxidizing, and enriched in iron (up to 6.1×10 -4 mol·L -1 ) and other metals usually found at trace concentrations. Thermodynamic calculations reveal that aqueous Fe(III) carbonate complexes play an important role in the persistence of this high concentration of iron and trace metals in solution.

Abstract One characteristic of railway stations in China is that the entrance hall, ticket office, integrated waiting hall and auxiliary space are all concentrated in a large span of space, forming a unified whole space. However, the multi-function fusion in such a large space results in a series of acoustic problems, such as long reverberation time, high environmental noise and poor language articulation. Therefore, it is necessary to study the acoustic environment of railway stations in China. In this study, the sound field characteristics of the typical railway station are studied to reveal its law of sound propagation. Next, subjective evaluation and objective experiments are carried out to study the acoustic environment and comfort in the waiting hall. Finally, based on the comparative analysis of various influential factors, such as sound source and sound field, this paper advances some suggestions for the acoustical design of high-speed railway stations.

AbstractWith the net zero energy balance for heating, domestic hot water, ventilation and auxiliary energy, the Swiss MINERGIE-A Standard is a major step towards standardized, economically feasible net zero energy buildings. Not only the zero energy balance but also the requirement for limited embodied energy is a new challenge for architects and designers. In the two years since the launching of the Standard and the writing of this paper, approx. 240 buildings have been certified or pre certified. The new standard is widely accepted and its challenges are appreciated in the building sector. A cross analysis shows that a wide range of different energy concepts and embodied energy strategies are possible in the scope of the Standard. The wide variety of options is one of the main findings of the rollout of this new zero-balanced standard.

AbstractMany countries foresee the ability of offshore geologic settings to meet anticipated long-term national CO2 storage needs. Although the costs of operating offshore are significant, they may be offset by reduced issues of risk, property ownership and long-term liability. Continued interest in offshore CCS (e.g., EU, Australia, Japan, and U.S.A.) has focused on aspects familiar to onshore work: storage capacity, risk, monitoring, and containment assurance. Over the last decade, the Gulf Coast Carbon Center at the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology conducted numerous studies of storage potential along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Much of the work focused on regional geologic characterization, capacity assessment, and identification of potential risks and migration pathways. In general, capacity estimates indicate that the offshore storage resource has been under- appreciated as a national resource in the United States, but is receiving more attention. Current research efforts focus on the offshore northwestern GOM where the bulk of potential storage capacity resides. The work has also focused attention on the significant role of regional structural compartmentalization on storage capacity, pressure evolution, potential migration pathways, and long-term containment.