Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons^™

Development Of Analytical Equations For Optimum Tilt Of Two-Axis And Single-Axis Rotating Solar Panels For Clear-Atmosphere Condition, Gaurav Subhash Gugale

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Solar Energy is a renewable energy source which is used widely in recent times. Photovoltaic panels collect the sun’s energy and convert it to electricity. Photovoltaic panels are being widely used in both domestic applications, commercial applications, and small-scale power generation applications. Photovoltaic panels are easy to install, they generate most of their power when electrical demands peak, prices of photovoltaic panels are dropping rapidly, photovoltaic panels require low maintenance, their operating costs are minimal, and they are highly suitable for remote applications. The amount of electricity produced by photovoltaic panels depends on the amount of sunlight the panel captures. …

Evaluating The Biogeochemical Functioning Of A Constructed Fen On The Post-Mining Landscape Of Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Fort Mcmurray, Alberta, Canada, Felix C. Nwaishi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Peatlands have a unique biogeochemical function, characterized by an imbalance between the rates of biomass accumulation and decomposition. These characteristics facilitate the ability of peatlands to support the sequestration of nutrients and carbon. In disturbed peatlands, these functions are compromised. Thus, reclamation targets amongst other key functions, the recovery of biogeochemical functioning. These functions could serve as a measure of recovery to conditions that are present in natural analogues. This thesis examines the recovery of microbially-mediated nutrient transformation processes in a fen peatland that was constructed on a post-mining landscape in the Athabasca oil sands region, Fort McMurray, Alberta. The …

Oxidative Dehydrogenation Of Light Alkanes With Carbon Dioxide, Marktus A. Atanga

Masters Theses

”Most experts studying the global ecosystem and climate suggest that rising anthropogenic CO₂ emissions have contributed to significant global climate change in the last half-century. The development of effective strategies that convert CO₂ into energy, fuels, and chemicals are greatly preferable to oceanic or geologic sequestration options because they offer the potential to create new commercially-viable products from renewable carbon feedstock. On the other hand, the selective oxidative dehydrogenation of light alkanes (C₂-C₄) to corresponding olefins, methane reforming, and methane coupling are the major challenges for producing valuable and versatile feedstocks. The oxidative dehydrogenation …

Thermoelectric Transport And Energy Conversion Using Novel 2d Materials, Luke J. Wirth

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials hold great promise for applications in thermal management and thermoelectric power generation. Defects in these are important as they are generally inevitably introduced during fabrication or intentionally engineered to control the properties of the nanomaterials. Here, we investigate how phonon-contributed thermal conductance in narrow graphene, boron nitride (BN), and silicene nanoribbons (NRs), responds to the presence of a vacancy defect and the corresponding geometric distortion, from first principles using the non-equilibrium Green's function method. Analyses are made of the geometries, phonon conductance coefficients, and local densities of states (LDOS) of pristine and defected nanoribbons. It is found that hydrogen …

The Role Of Microbial Exopolymers In Determining The Fate Of Oil And Chemical Dispersants In The Ocean, Antonietta Quigg, Uta Passow, Wei-Chun Chin, Chen Xu, Shawn Doyle, Laura Bretherton, Manoj Kamalanathan, Alicia K. Williams, Jason B. Sylvan, Zoe V. Finkel, Anthony H. Knap, Kathleen A. Schwehr, Saijin Zhang, Luni Sun, Terry L. Wade, Wassim Obeid, Patrick G. Hatcher, Peter H. Santschi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by planktonic microbes can influence the fate of oil and chemical dispersants in the ocean through emulsification, degradation, dispersion, aggregation, and/or sedimentation. In turn, microbial community structure and function, including the production and character of EPS, is influenced by the concentration and chemical composition of oil and chemical dispersants. For example, the production of marine oil snow and its sedimentation and flocculent accumulation to the seafloor were observed on an expansive scale after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in 2010, but little is known about the underlying …

Higher Ed's Carbon Addiction, Mary Finley-Brook, Alex Krass

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Each year higher education produces millions of metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHG). As research and study abroad programs span the globe, faculty and staff travel regularly to professional meetings. Colleges compete for prospective students and offer state-of-the-art technology, entertainment, food services, and other high-impact facilities. Universities that market a comfortable, stimulating campus in order to attract and retain talent may resist carbon budgeting, as combustion of dirty fossil fuels currently remains vital to the operation of most campus buildings, sport fields, and labs.

Universities are integral to climate science knowledge production. Nevertheless, policymakers in many academic institutions appear unaware …

Essays On Oil Price Volatility And Irreversible Investment, Daniel Joseph Pastor

Wayne State University Dissertations

In chapter 1, we provide an extensive and systematic evaluation of the relative

forecasting performance of several models for the volatility of daily spot

crude oil prices. Empirical research over the past decades has uncovered

significant gains in forecasting performance of Markov Switching GARCH

models over GARCH models for the volatility of financial assets and crude

oil futures. We find that, for spot oil price returns, non-switching models

perform better in the short run, whereas switching models tend to do better

at longer horizons.

In chapter 2, I investigate the impact of volatility on firms' irreversible investment decisions using real …

Voltage Management Of Distribution Networks With High Penetration Of Distributed Photovoltaic Generation Sources, Saeed Alyami

Wayne State University Dissertations

Installation of photovoltaic (PV) units could lead to great challenges to the existing electrical systems. Issues such as voltage rise, protection coordination, islanding detection, harmonics, increased or changed short-circuit levels, etc., need to be carefully addressed before we can see a wide adoption of this environmentally friendly technology. Voltage rise or overvoltage issues are of particular importance to be addressed for deploying more PV systems to distribution networks. This dissertation proposes a comprehensive solution to deal with the voltage violations in distribution networks, from controlling PV power outputs and electricity consumption of smart appliances in real time to optimal placement …

Exploration And Implementation Of Innovative Efficiencies/Devices In Beet Processing For Energy Production, Patrick Mcinerney

Theses

The imminent depletion of fossil fuels, as well as concerns for energy security and the obligation to respond to climate change has led to expanding worldwide popularity of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of energy crops. Sugar beet is a popular AD feedstock due to its favourable characteristics; however it can be quite labour intensive requiring a range of specialist equipment to process the crop prior to undergoing AD. A crucial stage of this process involves the size reduction of beet by a mechanical chopper unit; this pretreatment breaks open the cellulose structure of the crop and increases the surface area available …

Computer Modeling Of A Solar Thermal System For Space Heating, Dhananjay D. Deshpande

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Most applications of flat plate, low-temperature solar thermal panels are for water heating, such as producing domestic hot water or raising the temperature of swimming pools. This is reasonable given that the large masses of water present in these systems inherently provide built-in thermal energy storage so that a separate energy storage tank does not have to be purchased. For a space heating system, extra thermal energy storage generally has to be purchased and is a detriment to the economics of these systems. Despite the economic drawbacks of solar thermal space heating, this thesis focuses on the size of thermal …

Adaptive Switched Capacitor Voltage Boost For Thermoelectric Generation, Rene A. Brito

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Thermoelectric generators (TEG) and other forms of energy harvesting often provide voltages that are not directly usable by traditional electronics as levels are too low from the TEG. While increasing the number of thermoelectric elements can ultimately increase the power output, there is a tradeoff between size and power. By implementing charge pumps, a proposed circuit technique is described that can boost the TEG output to levels that can be used for energy harvesting applications. Current voltage boost circuits for TEGs simply boost a voltage by a set amount. The proposed circuit consists of an analog chip, to provide several …

A Novel Approach For Evaluating The Impact Of Fixed Variables On Photovoltaic (Pv) Solar Installations Using Enhanced Meta Data Analysis Among Higher Education Institutions In The United States, Diane N. De Hoyos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The global demand for electric energy has continuously increased over the last few decades. Some mature, alternative generation methods are wind, power, photovoltaic panels, biogas and fuel cells. In order to find alternative sources of energy to aid in the reduction of our nation's dependency on non-renewable fuels, energy sources include the use of solar energy panels. The intent of these initiatives is to provide substantial energy savings and reduce dependence on the electrical grid and net metering savings during the peak energy-use hours.

The focus of this study explores and provides a clearer picture of the adoption of solar …

Fabrication And Testing Of Cfrp Composites With Embedded Piezoelectric Particles For Temperature Sensing And Energy Harvesting, Emilio Tarango Valles

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As a part of this world's continuous evolution and technological advancements, smart materials and functional composites have become an attractive topic. In many cases, these new functional composites are replacing the traditional engineering material due to their customizable mechanical properties. This Thesis analyzes and demonstrates the signal response, sensing capabilities and structural properties from Carbon/Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic Composites (CFRP) with embedded Lead Zirconate Titanate Particles (PZT). The added PZT particles function as actuators, giving the composites a functionality. The PZT quantity inside each composite was variated to study better and characterize the mechanical and electrical properties; the variations were …

Reliable And Secure Scada Framework For Residential Microgrid Communications, Goutham Krishna Chalamasetty

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cyber security is one of the major needs for electric power industry like many other industries and organizations. The advancements in technology provide numerous benefits to power industry as well as benefits cyber attackers to perform different cyber-attacks on the industry. Power system is a complex physical entity that deals with power generation, distribution, and transmission. In general, no individual or company or an organization can bear a one hour power cut, which shows the need for reliability in electric power industry.

In order to develop a reliable and secure Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) communication network, this Thesis …

Sedimentologic And Stratigraphic Analysis Of Synrift Siliciclastic Fluvial And Lacustrine Strata In The Lower Cretaceous Upper Yucca Formation, Indio Mountains, West Texas, Matthew Robert Fox

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Outcrops of the upper Yucca Formation in the Indio Mountains near Van Horn, Texas provide temporal, tectonic, and climatic similarities to Lower Cretaceous, synrift, greenhouse pre-salt lacustrine strata along in the subsurface of the South Atlantic margin. These "pre-salt" strata hold prolific petroleum reservoirs but despite extensive seismic studies performed for regional scale hydrocarbon exploration in these lacustrine reservoirs, sedimentologic and stratigraphic analyses have rarely been published. The Upper Yucca Formation in the Indio Mountains contain lacustrine reservoir analogs that intertongue with fluvial and deltaic sandstones. Near Squaw Canyon, fluvial-deltaic sandstones are reduced in abundance to lacustrine carbonates by nearly …

Systematic Postsynthetic Modification Of Nanoporous Organic Frameworks And Their Performance Evaluation For Selective Co2 Capture, Timur Islamoglu

Theses and Dissertations

Porous organic polymers (POPs) with high physicochemical stability have attracted significant attention from the scientific community as promising platforms for small gas separation adsorbents. Although POPs have amorphous morphology in general, with the help of organic chemistry toolbox, ultrahigh surface area materials can be synthesized. In particular, nitrogen-rich POPs have been studied intensively due to their enhanced framework-CO₂ interactions. Postsynthetic modification (PSM) of POPs has been instrumental for incorporating different functional groups into the pores of POPs which would increase the CO₂ capture properties. We have shown that functionalizing the surface of POPs with nitro and amine groups …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Properties Of Peroxo-Based Oxygen-Rich Compounds For Potential Use As Greener High Energy Density Materials, Nipuni-Dhanesha Horadugoda Gamage

Wayne State University Dissertations

One main aspect of high energy density material (HEDM) design is to obtain greener alternatives for HEDMs that produce toxic byproducts. Primary explosives lead azide, lead styphnate, and mercury fulminate contain heavy metals that cause heavy metal poisoning. Leaching of the widely used tertiary explosive NH4ClO4 into groundwater has resulted in human exposure to ClO4– ions, which cause disruptions of thyroid related metabolic pathways and even thyroid cancer. Many research efforts to find replacements have gained little success. Thus, there is a need for greener HEDMs. Peroxo-based oxygen-rich compounds are proposed as a potential new class of greener HEDMs due …

The Utility Of Tallgrass Prairie Reconstructions As Bioenergy Feedstocks, Jessica Abernathy, Mark Sherrard

Undergraduate Student Work

Two of the more pressing, yet opposing, ecological challenges that we face at the global-scale are the loss of biodiversity and rising demand for energy. Many ecological experiments have shown the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem services and functions, but the simultaneous demand for energy has led to greater conversion of natural landscapes to low-diversity energy production crops (e.g., corn for ethanol). One potential solution to these seemingly opposing issues would be to grow diverse native vegetation for bioenergy. Native tallgrass prairie produces large amounts of aboveground biomass but also provides great habitat for wildlife and other ecosystem services. In …

Compliance Calendar/Logbook For Bulk Gasoline Plants: Less That 19,999 Gallons/Day Throughput, Iowa Waste Reduction Center

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Book Gallery

EPA has requirements for Gasoline Distribution Bulk Terminals, Bulk Gasoline Plants and Pipeline Facilities under 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart BBBBBB (NESHAP 6B) to reduce air pollution. This calendar has been developed to assist Bulk Gasoline Plants in complying with NESHAP 6B. Additional Iowa specific NESHAP 6B rules are discussed later.

Comparison Of Different Seismic Filtering Techniques On Prestack Inversion For Penobscot Area-Nova Scotia, Omer Emre Uygun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The goal of this study is to compare three different type of seismic filtering according to their inversion results and their quality of data improvements. To do this bandpass filter, Inverse Q, and Radon transform are applied to the original NMO corrected pre-stack data from Nova-Scotia offshore Canada.

The seismic data used was provided as pre-stack data of generally good quality. The test for quality of data improvement comes from the results of inversion based on different types of filtering performed on the pre-stack gathers.

Bandpass filter, Inverse Q, and Radon transform are applied to the migrated prestack data, over …