Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons^™

Land Use And Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Effects Of Biofuel Policies, Madhu Khanna, Xiaoguang Chen, Haixiao Huang, Hayri Önal

Xiaoguang Chen

Concerns about energy security, reduced dependence on exhaustible fossil fuels, and climate change have led to significant policy support for biofuels, particularly for cellulosic biofuels. The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and volumetric tax credits for biofuels seek to supplement the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and provide incentives for producing and blending cellulosic biofuels. This Article examines the effects of these policies on the mix of biofuels produced, food and fuel prices, and consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as compared to the RFS alone. It also examines the effects of two performance-based policies that target incentives based on the …

Supply Of Cellulosic Biofuel Feedstocks And Regional Production Pattern, Madhu Khanna, Xiaoguang Chen, Haixiao Huang, Hayri Önal

Xiaoguang Chen

none

Applications Of A 3-D Cfb Model On Oxycombustion, Gasification And Calcinator In Calcium Looping, Kari Myöhänen, Timo Hyppänen, Markku Nikku, Matti Koski, Jarno Parkkinen

Kari Myöhänen

No abstract provided.

Termodynamika Procesowa (Dla Me Aparatura Procesowa) Ćw., Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.

The Analysis Of Heat Transfer In A Gas-Gas Heat Exchanger Operated Under A Heat-Recirculating Mode, Mariusz Salaniec, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

The present paper presents the analysis of heat transfer in a gas-gas heat exchanger operated in a heat-recirculating mode.

An Overview Of Technologies For Upgrading Of Biogas To Biomethane, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

The present contribution presents an overview of technologies available for upgrading of biogas to biomethane. Technologies under study include pressure swing adsorption (PSA), high-pressure water wash (HPWW), reactive absorption (RA), physical absorption (PA), membrane separation (MS) and cryogenic separation (CS).

Influence Of Energy Policy On The Rate Of Implementation Of Biogas Power Plants In Germany During The 2001-2010 Decade, Izabela Chasiak, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

The current article describes energy policy tools, which caused intensive development of biogas-based power generation in Germany during the 2001-2010 decade. The German system of financial support to biogas power plants is presented in details. It is shown that in Germany, i.e. in a country characterised by similar climate and potentials to renewable energy to Poland, biogas power plants cover 10,7% of electricity demands in 2010, while all renewable energy sources cover only 5,4% of electricity demands. It is emphasised that under favourable Polish energy policy, the development of biogas energy can be very rapid.

Evaluation Of Trajectory Modeling In Different Dynamic Regions Using Normalized Cumulative Lagrangian Separation, Yonggang Liu, Robert H. Weisberg

Yonggang Liu

The Lagrangian separation distance between the endpoints of simulated and observed drifter trajectories is often used to assess the performance of numerical particle trajectory models. However, the separation distance fails to indicate relative model performance in weak and strong current regions, such as a continental shelf and its adjacent deep ocean. A new skill score is proposed based on the cumulative Lagrangian separation distances normalized by the associated cumulative trajectory lengths. This skill score is used to evaluate surface trajectories implied by Global HYCOM hindcast surface currents as gauged against actual satellite-tracked drifter trajectories in the eastern Gulf of Mexico …

Evolution Of The Loop Current System During The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Event As Observed With Drifters And Satellites, Yonggang Liu, Robert H. Weisberg, Charles Kovach, Rolf Riethmüller

Yonggang Liu

The ocean circulation patterns of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Loop Current (LC) system and their effects on the advection of the oil discharged during the Deepwater Horizon incident are described using in situ surface drifter trajectories and satellite observations from May to August 2010. These observations include altimetry-derived surface geostrophic velocities, sea surface temperature, ocean color, and surface oil locations. The elongated, northwestward penetrating LC retreated back from its northernmost position in late April 2010 and stayed farther away from the surface oil in the north during May 2010. Although the main body of the surface oil slick remained …

Investigation On Flame Characteristics Of Oxy-Fuel Combustion, Md R. Islam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Oxy-fuel combustion is currently being considered by the U.S Department of Energy as a promising technology for efficient carbon capture. This technology could substantially reduce NOx and CO2 emissions. In addition, the implementation of oxy-fuel combustion technology in a power generation system could potentially reduce negative environmental impacts of fossil fuel use. It also encourages the use of reliable and domestic energy sources. The U.S. Department of Energy has made efforts to investigate the performance of a CO2 and H2O diluted oxy-fuel combustion system in a high-pressure combustor. In an effort to better understand and characterize the fundamental flame characteristics …

Wind Powering America Initiative: The Wind And Water Power Program (Wwpp), Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Information Center

Publications (E)

The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America initiative engages in technology market acceptance, barrier reduction, and technology deployment support activities. This fact sheet outlines ways in which the Wind Powering America team works to reduce barriers to appropriate wind energy deployment, primarily by focusing on six program areas: workforce development, communications and outreach, stakeholder analysis and resource assessment, wind technology technical support, wind power for Native Americans, and federal sector support and collaboration.

Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide For Local Governments, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Publications (E)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed this guide "Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments" to assist local government officials and stakeholders in designing and implementing strategic local solar plans. The 2011 edition contains the most recent lessons and successes from the 25 Solar America Cities and other communities promoting solar energy. Because DOE recognizes that there is no one path to solar market development, this guide introduces a range of policy and program options that can help a community build a local solar infrastructure.

State Of The States 2010: The Role Of Policy In Clean Energy Market Transformation, Elizabeth Doris, Rachel Gelman

Publications (E)

This report builds on the emerging body of literature seeking to identify quantitative connections between clean energy policy and renewable energy. The methods presented test the relationships between a broad set of policies and clean energy resources (energy efficiency, biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind). Energy efficiency findings are an initial foray into this type of analysis and indicate significant connections between reduced energy use and buildings codes, energy efficiency resource standards (in some cases), and electricity price. Renewable energy findings specify that there is most often a relationship between state policies and solar and wind development, indicating that while policies …

Guide To Community Solar: Utility, Private, And Non-Profit Project Development, Jason Coughlin, Jennifer Grove, Linda Irvine, Janet F. Jacobs, Sarah Johnson Phillips, Leslie Moynihan, Joseph Wiedman

Publications (E)

This guide is designed as a resource for those who want to develop community solar projects, from community organizers or solar energy advocates to government officials or utility managers.

Using Renewable Energy Purchases To Achieve Institutional Carbon Goals: A Review Of Current Practices And Considerations, Lori Bird, Jenny Sumner

Publications (E)

With organizations and individuals increasingly interested in accounting for their carbon emissions, greater attention is being placed on how to account for the benefits of various carbon mitigation actions available to consumers and businesses. Generally, organizations can address their own carbon emissions through energy efficiency, fuel switching, on-site renewable energy systems, renewable energy purchased from utilities or in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs), and carbon offsets. This paper explores the role of green power and carbon offsets in carbon footprinting and the distinctions between the two products. It reviews how leading greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting programs treat green …

The Water-Energy Nexus In The American West, Douglas S. Kenney, Robert Wilkinson

Books, Reports, and Studies

This digital resource contains only an abstract, cover image and table of contents information from the published book.

Print copy of book is available in the University of Colorado’s Wise Law Library: http://lawpac.colorado.edu/record=b613233~S0

Contents: PART I : INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW: The water-energy nexus : methodologies, challenges and opportunities / Robert Wilkinson -- Energy, water and the natural environment / Melinda Kassen, Jack E. Williams -- PART IIA : WATER FOR ENERGY : FOSSIL FUELS: The coal conundrum / Kristen Averyt -- Oil shale and water / Bart Miller -- Managing produced water from coalbed methane production / Lawrence J. MacDonnell, …

Baselines Newsletter, No. 7, Winter/Spring 2011, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Baselines: The Natural Resources Law Center Newsletter (2007-2011)

No abstract provided.

2011 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability, Christian Ryan-Downing

Sustainability Publications and Resources

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. AASHE’s mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. The organization provides resources, professional development and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research. For more information about AASHE, visit www.aashe.org.

In early 2010, Western Kentucky University became a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). STARS® is a …

Green Pricing, Mary Finley-Brook, Charles Kline

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Green pricing is commonly found in energy markets and finances environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional utilities. Interested customers pay an additional fee per kilowatt-hour to purchase clean energy from hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, solar, and biomass sources. Green power markets are still new, and to ensure quality and verify delivery, many utilities apply for certification from independent organizations. Renewable energy credits (RECs) are another method to assist utility companies in financing green energy investments. Although the REC purchaser does not directly buy electricity, REC sales may subsidize renewable energy production.

Establishing Building Recommissioning Priorities And Potential Energy Savings From Utility Energy Data, Kevin P. Hallinan, Philip Brodrick, Jessica Northridge, J. Kelly Kissock, Robert J. Brecha

Physics Faculty Publications

An energy reduction program for commercial buildings is implemented for a SW Ohio natural gas utility. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that historical utility data for individual building customers, along with knowledge of pertinent building information (square footage, year built, number of floors, height of floors, wall construction type, and use type) available in county auditor databases, could be used to identify the best candidate buildings for recommissioning in terms of energy savings and simple payback. A study is completed for all natural gas customers of a utility in Montgomery and Clinton counties in Ohio. A total …

Renewable Energy In The Context Of Sustainable Development, Jayant Sathaye, Oswaldo Lucon, Atiq Rahman, John Christensen, Fatima Denton, Junichi Fujino, Garvin Heath, Monirul Mirza, Hugh Rudnick, August Schlaepfer, Andrey Shmakin, Gerhard Angerer, Christian Bauer, Morgan Bazilian, Robert J. Brecha, Peter Burgherr, Leon Clarke, Felix Creutzig, James Edmonds, Christian Hagelüken, Gerrit Hansen, Nathan Hultman, Michael Jakob, Susanne Kadner, Manfred Lenzen, Jordan Macknick, Eric Masanet, Yu Nagai, Anne Olhoff, Karen Olsen, Michael Pahle, Ari Rabl, Richard Richels, Joyashree Roy, Tormod Schei, Christoph Von Stechow, Jan Christoph Steckel, Ethan Warner, Tom Wilbanks, Yimin Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

Historically, economic development has been strongly correlated with increasing energy use and growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Renewable energy (RE) can help decouple that correlation, contributing to sustainable development (SD). In addition, RE offers the opportunity to improve access to modern energy services for the poorest members of society, which is crucial for the achievement of any single of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

Theoretical concepts of SD can provide useful frameworks to assess the interactions between SD and RE. SD addresses concerns about relationships between human society and nature. Traditionally, SD has been framed in the three-pillar model—Economy, …

Wind Charged Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, John Patten, Nathan Christensen, Steven Srivastava, Gary Nola

Green Manufacturing Research Journal

With the emergence of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid vehicles HVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) from a variety of automotive manufacturers, the electrical grid will need to meet new challenges in supplying the electricity required to charge these vehicles. To help supply the electricity needed by these vehicles, we compared the electricity consumption of a modified Toyota Prius (PHEV) and the output of a small residential wind turbine over the course of one year. Our research seeks to determine whether a small residential wind turbine can supply the necessary electricity demanded by the PHEV annually.

Comparing Media Coverage Of The Gulf Oil Spill In The Us And Uk Implications For Global Crisis Communication, Sarah Crytzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following research is a content analysis of 114 articles written by the American and British news media outlets in the first month following the BP Gulf oil spill in April 2010. The goal of the research was to identify any dominant frames evident in the reports and to compare the two countries to see if there was a difference in the dominant frames used. Positive, negative, and neutral tones were also evaluated to determine if there was a difference between the countries. The results show that both countries reports predominantly used an ecology and action frame, while British media …

An Experimental Study On The Effect Of Particle Geometry On Drag And Flow Behaviors In A Packed Fluidized Bed, Md Mahamudur Rahman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gasification offers a promising solution to producing fuels effectively in the coming years by providing a low-cost energy system, clean environmental performance, and reliability. Feedstock is prepared and fed to a gasifier in either a dry form or as slurry (mixed with water). One application of this technology uses heat, pressure, and steam to convert feedstock into a gaseous mixture, composed primarily of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2), named as syngas. Several technical and commercial issues were identified by the Nation Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in 2006 Multiphase workshop. US Department of Energy (DOE) is now focusing on attaining …

Joint Geophysical Data Analysis For Geothermal Energy Exploration, Antony Munika Wamalwa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Geophysical data modelling often yields non-unique results and hence the interpretation of the resulting models in terms of underlying geological units and structures is not a straightforward problem. However, if multiple datasets are available for a region of study, an integrated interpretation of models for each of the geophysical data may results to a more realistic geological description. This study not only demonstrates the strength of resistivity analysis for geothermal fields but also the gains from interpreting resistivity data together with other geophysical data such as gravity and seismic data. Various geothermal fields have been examined in this study which …

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of The Effect Of Fuel Composition On Flame Stability On A Gas Turbine Combustor, Gilberto Corona

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gas turbines are used for power generation and aviation all over the world. Fossil fuels remain the main source of energy for the operation of gas turbines but the recent increase in environmental awareness has influenced government agencies to impose stringent limits on pollutant emissions from power generation plants. Pollutant emissions control is one of the major challenges for gas turbine designers. In this study, experimental methods and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technologies are used to study the problems that arise when coal derived fuels are used in Gas Turbine Combustors.

Gas turbine designers need both experimental data and combustion …

Targeting Residential Energy Reduction For City Utilities Using Historical Electrical Utility Data And Readily Available Building Data, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell

Physics Faculty Publications

Energy use data for the eight-year period 2003–2010 was analyzed for over 1200 single family residences in Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Electricity, natural gas, residential building, and weather databases are merged to permit determination of the energy intensity of each home in the village. The energy use intensity for each home is disaggregated into weather independent and weather dependent electric and natural gas use. This use is compared to typical baseline, cooling, and heating energy use for the region. From this comparison, priority homes are identified for energy reduction investment. Collective potential low cost energy reduction is estimated for …

Techno-Economic Analysis And Engineering Design Consideration Of Algal Biofuel In Southern Nevada, Jian Ma

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

As the biological and chemical technologies in algae biofuels production, engineering design, siting and resources are playing some dominant role in successfully developing and scaling locally. The southwest region in U.S. has been identified by DoE and the USDA as the most suitable area for developing algal biofuel production due to several merits like the high level of solar radiation, large arid land not good for food production. Among this region, Southern Nevada has unique advantage to grow microalgae biomass, which is the large amount of CO2 emission from about 16 power plants in Clark County to support the world …

The Carbon Footprint Associated With Water Management Policy Options In The Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, Eleeja Shrestha, Sajjad Ahmad, Walter Johnson, Jacimaria R. Batista

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

A system dynamics model was developed to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with conveyance of water from the water source to the distribution laterals of the Las Vegas Valley. In addition, the impact of several water management policies, including water conservation, reuse, and population growth rate change was evaluated. The results show that, at present, nearly 0.53 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions per year are released due to energy use for water conveyance in distribution laterals of the Valley from Lake Mead, located 32.2 km (20 miles) southeast of the Las Vegas at an …

Relative Pricing Of Publicly Traded U.S. Electric Utility Companies, Nicholas Stephen Jewczyn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the financial turmoil of 2008, U.S. firms reported debt-ratios that differed from the debt-ratios calculated from balance sheets. The problem is that investors bought common stock expecting initial investment return and lost money when companies delisted. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine sample securities pricing with the application of synthetic assets and debt accrued. Addressed in the research questions was whether those securities were (a) underpriced compared with return-on-assets (ROA), (b) overpriced compared with ROA, (c) a debt-ratio higher than 60% and also overpriced, (d) underpriced with a synthetic asset added, or (e) related by relative …