Flare Research Articles

Relationship between Inflation and Other Macro Economics Factors: Comparative Study of Germany, Japan and New Zealand

One of the major concerns in different countries today is to manage inflation and to manage the resources according to it. Even though there are many factors that affect economic growth that can affect inflation, the concern of this research is regarding Consumer Price Index. The first objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the consumer price index and Agricultural Land, Urban Population, Trade, Military Expenditure, Primary Energy Consumption, Natural Gas Flaring, and Oil–Refining Capacity. This study includes time series data from 1980 to 2020. Johansen's cointegration method is used to find cointegration, and the significance of long-run and short-term variables is tested. The findings of this study conclude that in the case of Germany, normalized coefficients show consumer price index, Agricultural Land, Military Expenditure, Oil Refining Capacity, and Primary Energy Consumption have a positive and significant impact, Whereas Trade, Natural Gas Flaring, and Urban Population has a negative and significant impact on consumer price index. On the other hand, Japan normalized coefficients show that consumer price index, Agricultural Land, and Primary Energy Consumption have a negative and significant impact. Whereas Military Expenditure, Oil Refining Capacity, Trade, Natural Gas Flaring, and Urban Population have a positive and significant impact on the consumer price index, if we talk about New Zealand, their long run coefficient shows that the normalized coefficients show that consumer price index, Oil Refining Capacity, Trade, and Urban Population has negative and significant impact Whereas Military Expenditure, Primary Energy Consumption, and Natural Gas Flaring has a positive and significant impact on consumer price index. Similarly, the results of the Germany-adjusted coefficients show that Military Expenditure and Urban Population have a positive significant, while primary consumption and trade have a negative relationship with the consumer price index. According to Japan and New Zealand, Oil Refining Capacity has a significant and positive relationship with the consumer price index in the short run. The study, therefore, recommends that the governments of New Zealand, Germany, and Japan should take more initiatives to increase their urban population and trade because these activities help to decrease the inflation in New Zealand, Germany, and Japan.

"Simulation of Flare Gas Recovery System of a Refinery Plant in Nigeria"

"Simulation of Flare Gas Recovery System of a Refinery Plant in Nigeria"

Impact of Gas Flare on Human Life and Wellbeing of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State

This paper reviews the impact of gas flares on human life and wellbeing of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area. Historically, it is said that gas flaring is the burning off excess natural gases in the course of exploration and exploitation of petroleum products as a way of removing dangerous gases with lower harm to human health and the environment, but the monitoring of gas flare is a challenge in Nigeria today. It is difficult to quantify the gases release during exploration and exploitation of petroleum products because of inadequate reports of gas flare volumes through financial, commercial reputational favour rather than the ultrasonic meter suitable type of meter for flare volume measurement proposed for use in Nigeria. The negative effect of excess natural gases in the atmosphere is a factor of the inability of government to setup standard environmental preventive policies, programmes and schemes to minimize environmental gas flare needed to achievement set of environmental goals. Some of the toxic pollutants from gas flare activities are: carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxide (NOx), Hydrogen sulphide (H2¬SO¬4), Sulphur dioxide, particulate matters (PMC) and photochemical oxidants has devastating consequences to human life and wellbeing since the continuous exposure detrimental to people’s linked to health. A case study approach adopted for the study with a descriptive survey design and a sample technique which involves simple random sampling which allows strong statistical inference about the whole group. The findings demonstrated that proximity of residence to gas flare stack are linked to a range of adverse health impact identified risks of gas toxic pollutants and the non-compliance with environmental laws. It is recommended that the compliance to environmental protection laws would protect human life and wellbeing and enhance ecological development, financial viability of gas flaring communities in Nigeria.

Сезонная динамика содержания компонентов антиокислительной системы хвои сосны обыкновенной (Pinus sylvestris L.) в зоне локального теплового воздействия

The seasonal changes in a period of low temperatures and characteristic correlations of some antioxidant system (AOS) components in pine needles influenced by a gas flare are investigated in this study. The parameters taken are total water content (TWC) in needles, peroxidase activity (AP) and selected elements of the antioxidant system of needles, such as content of carotenoids (Car), ascorbic acid (AA), catechins (Cat) and flavanols (Fl). The needles come from Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L.), which grow in a gradient of environmental conditions formed in the zone of thermal field of the gas flare impact (at various distances). The gas flare is situated on the territory of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (UGRA) of Russia. Three hypotheses were subject to verification: 1) the thermal field of the gas flare during the low temperature period affects the water exchange and the AOS state of needles; 2) increase in temperature of the environment in the flare impact zone during the autumn-winter period causes the decrease in amount of moisture in needles, which is a trait of oxidative stress in cells; 3) in the functioning of а needle’s AOS, there are correlations between its components, which values depend on distance from the gas flare and environment created by it. It was found that in the thermal field gradient of the flare, there is neither an additional reduction in TWC in needles compared to the background nor signs of change in the state of AOS corresponding to the oxidative stress in the cells. The greatest impact of the gas flare on characteristics of the physiological state of pine needles is observed in the section closest to the flare. It reveals in the higher values of AP, TWC, Car and decrease in concentration of Fl and AA. The seasonal dynamics of the studied traits values do not correlate with the temperature of the environment. It indicates the indirect effect on the regulation of needle’s AOS activity. The factor and correlation analysis of the data indicate a difference in physiological state of pine needles at different distances from the flare. There is no domination of any processes in the functioning of AOS components. The observed correlations between the studied properties change according to distance to the flare. The most stable is a negative AP relationship with ofter parameters, which rise with the increased distance from the flare. The consistency degree of separate AOS components functioning is maximal in background conditions and decreases when approaching the flare. This fact is explained by the modifying effect of the flare on physiological and biochemical processes of the needle’s adaptation to specific climatic conditions of the environment. For citation: Shavnin S.A., Yusupov I.A., Montile A.A., Golikov D.Yu., Marina N.V. Seasonal Dynamics of Content of Antioxidant System Components in Needles of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Trees Situated in the Local Warming Impact Zone. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 2, pp. 38–57. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-2-38-57

Design and testing of a Multi-Fuel industrial burner suitable for syn-gases, flare gas and pure hydrogen

The complete design and validation procedure of a novel Multi-Fuel heavy-duty burner is illustrated, starting from the conception and CFD analysis, up to an extensive experimental campaign assessing the actual performance of an industrial scale prototype.The need for an innovative burner to be employed in utility boilers comes from the context of energy transition with still increasing steam demand for process/industrial applications. The capability to burn a wide range of fuels, going from natural gas to flare-gases, syn-gases and fuels with even lower heating values, up to pure hydrogen, with high efficiency and low emissions is mandatory: it is shown and explained how all the above tasks are pursued starting from the early stage of conceptual design, leading to the development of a 2.5 MW prototype; then the burner operation is studied more in depth by CFD analysis, with particular attention to the implementation of MILD combustion regime: internal recirculation along with mixing, namely fuel dilution in flue gases leads to distributed volumetric reaction with oxygen, involving low peak temperatures with high conversion efficiency. Furthermore, numerical analysis helps to investigate the effectiveness of a central stabilizing flame, the coupling between furnace and burner in view of the tests, and also helps to evaluate different injection patterns for the fuel jets.As a final step, a 1.5 MW prototype is tested in a refractory lined furnace: the performance is assessed with natural gas, either pure or diluted with nitrogen to mimic a low heating value syn-gas, and with increasing percentage of hydrogen up to 95% as thermal input. Different levels of input to the central stabilizing flame are tested, and excellent flame stability of burner operation is proven. NOx emissions decrease for lower heating value fuels, increase for hydrogen/natural gas mixtures up to 35% H2, and remain almost constant above this threshold. Though, keeping a very low excess of air and almost no carbon monoxide in the exit flue gases, the absolute NOx levels compare very well with state of the art Ultra-Low-NOx industrial burners developed for standard fossil fuels. The presented data set can be relevant both for industrial designers, as a reference for heavy-duty burners operating with a wide range of fuels, up to pure hydrogen, and for academic researchers investigating on combustion, even in MILD regime.

Reconstruction ofthepower supply system based onanalternative energy source

The article presents a solution for the reconstruction of an oil refinery using gas piston power plants. The oil refinery is a structural subdivision of Kogalymneftegaz. The work of the plant is intended for the production of high-quality petroleum products for technological transport of the divisions of Lukoil — Western Siberia LLC in Kogalym, Langepas, Pokachi; in addition, the plant’s products are in demand at other enterprises of the Khanty-Mansiysk region. In the course of the study, the goal was to offer an alternative source of energy for the trouble-free operation of an oil refinery, to ensure the reliability of objects belonging to the first category. Based on the analysis of the existing power supply system of the plant, it was found that the power receivers of the ELOU-AVT-Bitumen plant are provided from two sources of power supply from the Tyumenenergo network, which does not guarantee uninterrupted and trouble-free operation of the plant. The power supply of the refinery is provided with a voltage of 6 kV from Substation No. 7 35/6 kV. Substation No. 7 is powered by 110/35/10 kV Substation Druzhnaya from the medium voltage side via two power feeders Druzhnaya-1 and Druzhnaya-3. In the study, the calculation of loads, short circuit currents was carried out, the necessary power equipment was selected, and a method was proposed for transferring the refinery to power supply from a stationary power plant operated on hydrocarbon gas utilized from the production process. The proposed solution allows: to eliminate the occurrence of emergencies at the refinery due to a power outage; reduce the cost of purchasing electricity and thereby reduce the cost of commercial petroleum products; increase the percentage of hydrocarbon gas utilization by reducing the amount of gas flared.

Saudi Arabia Case Study Illustrates Road to Zero Routine Gas Flaring

_ This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper IPTC 21182, “The Road to Zero Routine Gas Flaring: A Case Study From Saudi Arabia,” by Majed Alsuwailem, KAPSARC. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2021 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. _ The complete paper discusses Saudi Arabia’s progress in gas flaring, the measures the government has taken, and how operators have adapted. It also identifies many lessons learned and technological solutions that could be scaled up on a national or a corporate level to reduce gas flaring to achieve zero routine flaring targets, especially in cases where the state owns hydrocarbon assets and leases them to private operators. History of Gas Flaring in Saudi Arabia Following the discovery in 1948 of Ghawar, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil field, oil production in the country increased and more associated gas was produced and flared. The national oil company, Saudi Aramco, had no interest in capturing gas produced from its oil operations. No local or regional market for it existed, and exporting the gas would have required substantial infrastructure investments. This coincided with periods of low crude oil prices that made gas projects uneconomical. However, as the 1960s and ’70s passed, gas came to be increasingly regarded as an essential part of a broader attempt to diversify the Saudi economy. This, in return, allowed the creation of jobs in new frontiers, including the refining and petrochemical industries. In the early 1970s, the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals contracted the Texas Eastern Corporation to conduct a technical and economic feasibility study. It evaluated the benefits of establishing a massive refining and petrochemical industry in the city of Jubail on the Arabian Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea, with gas as an important feedstock. The study required major capital expenditures on midstream oil operations. Saudi Aramco, on the other hand, proposed exploiting associated gas to generate electricity. Because the price of oil did not exceed $3/bbl before the 1970s, the Saudi government opted for the first option. Saudi Aramco, however, only foresaw an opportunity in this development if the government contributed major capital to the midstream, resulting in a positive outcome for both the stakeholders and the operator, which turned out to be the case. Master Gas System (MGS) The government gave Saudi Aramco a contract to establish the $12 billion MGS to capture, process, and use gas as fuel and feedstock for the petrochemical plants. Most of this project was paid for by the government. By the fall of 1982, the key components of the MGS (gas-gathering and -processing facilities and pipelines) were fully operational. The MGS saved 4.2 billion scf of gas from being flared, which prevented 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere annually. Over time, the MGS has been expanded as more oil and nonassociated gas fields have been placed onstream and as demand has risen for dry gas in the power sector. By 2018, the MGS had gathered almost 3.5 trillion ft3/yr and is one of the world’s largest single hydrocarbon networks. It includes 4,000 km of pipelines, 50 gas/oil separation plants (GOSPs), seven gas plants, and two natural gas/liquid units.

Technology Focus: Natural Gas Processing and Handling (April 2023)

_ Regardless of which side of the aisle you are on, the critical role that natural gas will play in the energy evolution (or energy transition, as some would say) is undeniable. Natural gas as a fuel is an important bridge toward this evolution and doubles as a reliable partner for renewable energy sources in providing support for wind, solar, and hydroelectric generation by helping to match supply and demand. Renewed interest in, and high-level discussions regarding, the expansion in necessary natural gas infrastructure, the growth in energy consumption, and the expansion of liquefied natural gas business are all strong indicators for technical improvements in the handling and processing of natural gas in this new phase of the energy economy. The first of the case-study-oriented papers in this section highlights a coupled geomechanical and dynamic flow simulation work flow that forms an effective decision-making tool for the process optimization of underground natural gas storage operations in southwest China. Such a multidisciplinary approach allows for the optimization of several key variables to develop strategies for increasing withdrawal rates, meeting the needs of future peak gas demands, and supporting clean-energy initiatives. Indeed, the larger context of underground gas storage plays a key role in addressing supply and demand dynamics as natural gas consumption grows in the future in response to the energy evolution and cleaner-energy initiatives. Another key focus of the energy-evolution discussion is the reduction of carbon emissions through the framework of the circular carbon economy. A case study is presented on the mitigation of routine gas flaring as part of strategic initiatives of the Saudi oil and gas industry. The lessons learned from this case study can be scaled up to the broader industry. In the third highlighted paper, the focus is on the management of methane emissions across the natural gas value chain and a case study on the deployment of methane detection and quantification technologies of the national operator of the Malaysian oil and gas industry. Methane-emissions reduction directly affects advocacy for natural gas as a low-carbon fuel for energy-evolution stakeholders. In the paper, specific methods are developed to quantify methane from fugitive leaks, loss of primary containment, venting and flaring of hydrocarbons, stationary combustion, compressor seals, pneumatic control devices, and pumps. Other than the specific papers highlighted, it is quite encouraging to see cost-effective carbon-emission reduction initiatives at the local operator scale in the sphere of natural gas handling and processing. One such standout that rightfully serves as an example for the entire industry is the 100% elimination of natural-gas-powered pneumatic devices of the largest natural gas producer in the United States, EQT. This meaningful milestone sharply reduced this operator’s annual carbon footprint and, in the wider sense, provided a practical example of aggressively addressing methane emissions through exceptional teamwork and strategy implementation. Recommended additional reading SPE 210890 Strategies for Reducing and Monetizing Fugitive Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Infrastructure by Stefan Diezinger, Siemens Energy SPE 210446 What’s the Best Way To Stabilize Oil in the Permian? An Examination of Different Facilities Layouts by Isabel Chan, TechnipFMC, et al. OTC 31891 A New Approach to Future Floating Liquefied Natural Gas for Offshore Gas Monetization by Xiaogang Liu, Wison Offshore and Marine, et al.

Global gas flaring and energy justice: An empirical ethics analysis of stakeholder perspectives

Global gas flaring harms human and non-human health and well-being while contributing to climate change. Flaring activity in the global oil and gas sector is a significant matter of energy justice – concerning the distribution of risks, benefits and harms, recognition of rights, and decision-making influence within gas-flaring-affected communities. This mixed method empirical ethical analysis of gas flaring and energy justice combines Q-methodology and stakeholder interviews with representatives of 14 gas-flaring-affected countries (n = 35) to evaluate the context-sensitivity of distributive, procedural, recognition, and cosmopolitan justice principles to gas-flaring governance. Four dominant normative perspectives emerge around this topic. These perspectives concern: a) government-led zero flaring policy; b) multi-scalar economic governance; c) business responsibility and social license; and d) localism and community empowerment. We find that: first, there is strong stakeholder support for zero-flaring globally. Second, coordinated multi-scalar governance from international-national-local regulatory authorities is desired to protect marginalised communities. Third, egalitarian rights-based approaches are prioritised over utilitarian approaches in planning for oil and gas extraction. Fourth, business responsibility necessitates transparent communication of flaring activities and impacts and the Polluter Pays Principle of environmental redress to affected communities. Finally, stakeholder disagreement centres upon the practical mechanisms to achieve just outcomes - including compensation, the role of local authorities, regulatory agencies, Environmental Impact Assessment, and efforts to tackle rent-seeking and corruption. We conclude that further stakeholder engagement is needed on the implementation processes for gas flaring elimination, rather than the goal itself, through carefully facilitated dialogue and negotiation.

Life cycle assessment and process optimization for polypropylene off-gas membrane separation

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on a polypropylene off-gas membrane separation process in China considering environment, energy and economy (3E) aspects. Two coupled indicators, I and SI were constructed based on LCA indicators. Process simulation was introduced to optimize flows and parameters. LCA results revealed that utility consumption and flare gas emission accounted for above 99% of environmental and energy impacts, but when integrating economic impact, the two factors would account for below 50%. Optimization results showed the single-objective optimization led to a trade-off of different indicators and the SI could achieve a more comprehensive optimization for the process.

A realistic analysis of hydrogen production based on flare gas considering life cycle assessment

Among the different methods for flare gas recovery, the comprehensive evaluation of hydrogen production has yet to be studied. The techno-economic evaluation and life cycle assessment of using flare gas to produce hydrogen are performed in this study. The Aspen HYSYS software is used to simulate the different units of hydrogen production, and the economic assessment is performed to calculate the hydrogen production expenditures. The results illustrated that the mass flow rate and the capacity of the hydrogen production plant are 117600 kg/h and 4856.4 MW, respectively. The obtained results demonstrate that the hydrogen production costs can be considered reasonable using flare gas with a low price and large flow rate. In this regard, the breakeven price of hydrogen is US$ 0.27, and the share of Capital expenditure in hydrogen production cost is 55.4%, as well. Moreover, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of hydrogen production has been conducted to evaluate the environmental effects of hydrogen production. Thanks to the novel CO2 capturing process considered in this study, GHG and CO2 productions have been reduced, respectively, by 59 and 63 percent, demonstrating the necessity of using the CO2 capturing process.

Gravity complexes as a focus of seafloor fluid seepage: the Rio Grande Cone, SE Brazil

Seafloor methane emissions can affect Earth’s climate and ocean chemistry. Vast quantities of methane formed by microbial decomposition of organic matter are locked within gas hydrate and free gas on continental slopes, particularly in large areas with high sediment accumulations such as deep-sea fans. The release of methane in slope environments has frequently been associated with dissociation of gas hydrates near the edge of the gas hydrate stability zone on the upper slope, with discharges in greater water depths less understood. Here we show, using data from the Rio Grande Cone (western South Atlantic), that the intrinsic, gravity-induced downslope collapse of thick slope sediment accumulations creates structures that serve as pathways for gas migration, unlocking methane and causing seafloor emissions via giant gas flares in the water column. The observed emissions in the study region (up to 310 Mg year−1) are three times greater than estimates for the entire US North Atlantic margin and reveal the importance of collapsing sediment accumulations for ocean carbon cycling. Similar outgassing systems on the Amazon and Niger fans suggest that gravity tectonics on passive margins is a common yet overlooked mechanism driving massive seafloor methane emissions in sediment-laden continental slopes.

Assessment of RXD Algorithm Capability for Gas Flaring Detection through OLI-SWIR Channels

The environment, the climate and human health are largely exposed to gas flaring (GF) effects, releasing significant dangerous gases into the atmosphere. In the last few decades, remote sensing technology has received great attention in gas flaring investigation. The Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ), located in the south of Iran, hosts many natural oil/gas processing plants and petrochemical industries, making this area one of the most air-polluted zones of Iran. The object of this research is to detect GF-related thermal anomalies in the PSEEZ by applying, for the first time, the Reed-Xiaoli Detector (RXD), distinguished as the benchmark algorithm for spectral anomaly detection. The RXD performances in this research field have been tested and verified using the shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands of OLI-Landsat 8 (L8), acquired in 2018 and 2019 on the study area. Preliminary results of this automatic unsupervised learning algorithm demonstrated an exciting potential of RXD for GF anomaly detection on a monthly scale (75% success rate), with peaks in the months of January and February 2018 (86%) and December 2019 (84%). The lowest detection was recorded in October 2019 (48%). Regarding the spatial distribution of GF anomalies, a qualitatively analysis demonstrated the RXD capability in mapping the areas affected by gas flaring, with some limitations (i.e., false positives) due to possible solar radiation contribution. Further analyses will be dedicated to recalibrate the algorithm to increase its reliability, also coupling L8 and Landsat 9, as well as exploring Sentinel 2 SWIR imagery, to overcome some of the observed RXD drawbacks.

Harmful Impacts of Gas Flares in Niger Delta: Case Study, Oporoma

The term “gas flaring” is referred as a combustion system that burns associated, or liquids and gases that are being released in excess during unplanned or normal operations that are over pressuring in numerous industrial procedures, including landfills, refineries, coal industry, chemical companies, and gas extraction. Gas flaring contributes greatly to greenhouse gas emissions. It generates heat, noise, and makes the environment uninhabitable. Oporoma Community is the administrative center of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (SILGA), Bayelsa State, Niger Delta region. One of the Communities in the region of Niger Delta that produce oil is Oporoma, and its being used as a case study. The primary data was obtained through an interview with about one hundred and fifty (150) persons (both men and women) between the age of 18 - 90 years. 50 persons from the age groups of 18 – 30, 31 – 50, and 51 – 90 years which focused mainly on harmful impact of gas flaring on human health, and its environment. Every investigation and data that were gotten from Oporoma community has negative human health and environmental effect, because of burning of gas. This gas flaring practice has caused poverty to many people in the community with health, environmental, and economic challenges. The government and policy makers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria are also contributing to the negative impacts of gas flaring on local communities and the environment. The challenges faced by people living in areas where gas is being flared, such as air pollution, water contamination, and soil degradation, are strong arguments for ending this practice. Companies that are failing to properly process the gases produced during oil extraction should be heavily fined. Instead of being wasted through flaring, these gases could be used to produce cooking and domestic gas, as well as electricity. It is time for gas flaring to be brought to an end, particularly in the Oporoma community of the Niger Delta.

A PREMONITION OF WAR IN LITHUANIAN MUSIC AND LITERATURE (2021–2022)

The article draws attention to the impact of the political situation on the conceptuality of music and the formation of paradigmatic situations of musical language in newly created pieces. Such examples can be found in the new works of three young authors: Mykolas Natalevičius (b. 1985) «Gas Flare», Andrius Šiurys (b. 1991) «Non-finito» and Dominykas Digimas (b. 1993) «Sub-silence» for flute and organ, 2022. Here the music is identified with space — with the emerging connection between space and the universe, with the analogy of burning space and emptiness, consolidating the paradigm of space and its transformations in new music. In other words, the transcendentalism of its visual landscape is linked to the air as a matter via the acoustic sound poetics of air-controlled instruments, flute and organ. It is particularly related to the paradigm of the vanishing and the birth of sound or the rebirth in a hum, a particular analogy of the apocalypse and the creation of an alternative — the other space. In that sense, the works of this new music can be filled with a premonition of war and the annihilation of humanity, what their content speaks about. Natalevičius’s «Gas Flare» talks about the ecological death of the earth, related to the extraction of gas energy from the depths of the earth. About the flame, its overall destructive irrationality and the eclipse of the economy. Šiurys’s «Non-finito» tells about the interaction of timelines leading to a rationally cold aggressive nothingness, the so-called «The Devil’s stairs» (according to G. Ligeti) and the static of eternity. Digimas’s «Sub-silence» is a work of post-apocalyptic hope, where the depths of silence hide the impulses of the light-shadow interaction, the mysterious movement of the regrouping of the layers of nature and the mystifying rebirth — the silent turn of the world. The latter is a characteristic phenomenon of Lithuanian art philosophy, the pulsation of the links between art and nature, which Digimas transforms into the present in his own way, concentrating even more on the paradigmatic situation of a global transformation.
 Meanwhile, the literature opens up a direct historical context connected to the present: Russia versus Europe. It is the latest book, «Peter’s Empress», volumes I and II by Kristina Sabaliauskaitė (b. 1974), the most popular writer in Lithuania at this moment (Vilnius: Baltos lankos, 2019, 2021). Here, the writer exposes the horrific wounds of Russian history, the implied terror and threats to Europe, based on the historical facts of the era of Peter I, told through the perception of his wife Marta Skowronska, who originally came from a Lithuanian-Polish family, living in town and went through all the possible shifts and metamorphosis to become the Empress of Russia. The difficult-to-take-in topicality of Sabaliauskaitė’s book, opening the sick Russian mentality connection between medieval slavery, world domination and being sealed off from foreign influences, a mixture of raging madness and cruelty, was an extremely prophetic literary «blow» in 2021, which shook Lithuania, reminding of terrible experiences before the start of a new war. The writer also became an analyst of the actual today’s situation, presenting translations of «Peter’s Empress» in Europe and at book forums, where her work and thoughts about Russia’s mental identity became a sharp intellectual instrument capable of explaining the «implausibility» of the war to a nurtured European democracy. Thus, she and her literature became direct participants in the defence mission of the hurt nations.It can be stated that Lithuanian music and literature sensed the essential quiet and later a blazing turn of the world and unfolded Baltic Mannerheim’s line on its horizons.

Effect of oil spills and gas flaring on agriculture and environment: A case of crop farmers in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria (2000 – 2022)

Effect of oil spills and gas flaring on agriculture and environment: A case of crop farmers in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria (2000 – 2022)

Optimization of two-phase ejector geometry used in flare gas recovery employing multi-objective genetic algorithm

Flare gas recovery is a procedure that reduces the greenhouse gas emissions. Ejectors play a technically efficient and productive role in the recovery of flare gas. The higher the secondary fluid entrainment rate causes better performance of the ejector. The main purpose of the recent study is increasing the flow of gas in the gas recovery ejectors. A two-phase ejector is examined using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in order to have an optimized performance. The diameter and length of the throat, the nozzle diameter, as well as the converging and diverging angles are the geometrically assigned influence the secondary fluid flux. To achieve the highest entrainment rate, the optimal value of these parameters was determined using the multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) proposed three points as an ejector design candidate. As a result, the rate is improved when a reduction occurred in the length of the throat and the converging angle. It was also increased while reducing the nozzle and throat diameters and the diverging angle. Compared to the basic case, the optimal geometries raised the amount of flow by 25.5, 16.06, and 12.76 times, respectively. Energy efficiency evaluation for the base model and all design points has been made was about 3.5 times higher than the basic case in the second candidate. The first point could also improve the efficiency up to 78%, whereas it was dramatically reduced by the third candidate (47%).

Flare exhaust: An underestimated pollution source in municipal solid waste landfills

Flares are commonly used in municipal solid waste landfills, and the pollution from flare exhaust is usually underestimated. This study aimed to reveal the odorants, hazardous pollutants, and greenhouse gas emission characteristics of the flare exhaust. Odorants, hazardous pollutants, and greenhouse gases emitted from air-assisted flares and a diffusion flare were analyzed, the priority monitoring pollutants were identified, and the combustion and odorant removal efficiencies of the flares were estimated. The concentrations of most odorants and the sum of odor activity values decreased significantly after combustion, but the odor concentration could still exceed 2,000. The odorants in the flare exhaust were dominated by oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), while the major odor contributors were OVOCs and sulfur compounds. Hazardous pollutants, including carcinogens, acute toxic pollutants, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and ozone precursors with the total ozone formation potential up to 75 ppmv, as well as greenhouse gases (methane and nitrous oxide with maximum concentrations of 4,000 and 1.9 ppmv, respectively) were emitted from the flares. Additionally, secondary pollutants, such as acetaldehyde and benzene, were formed during combustion. The combustion performance of the flares varied with landfill gas composition and flare design. The combustion and pollutant removal efficiencies could be lower than 90%, especially for the diffusion flare. Acetaldehyde, benzene, toluene, p-cymene, limonene, hydrogen sulfide, and methane could be priority monitoring pollutants for flare emissions in landfills. Flares are useful for odor and greenhouse gas control in landfills, but they are also potential sources of odor, hazardous pollutants, and greenhouse gases.

The evolving centres of gravity in China's oil and gas industry: Evidence from infrared radiation imaging gas flaring data

Traditional macro data distort information on oil and gas exploitation and processing capacities and cannot track the movement of gas combustion. This study proposes a new way to retrieve those capacities and to explore changes in the trajectory of China's oil and gas exploitation and processing centres via gas flaring based on a combination of kernel clustering-kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and spatial methods. We use data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) between 2012 and 2016. Results show that the upstream centre of gravity of oil and gas exploitation and processing in China moved to the southwest and the downstream centre of gravity moved to the southeast. Results of Kernel clustering-KPCA show that production, processing and transportation of oil and gas production moved from inland areas to coastal ports. Results from spatial analysis show existence of the influence of inter-regional externalities on the development of oil and gas exploitation and processing. The new economic geography theory provides a theoretical framework to explain the spatial evolution of oil and gas exploration and processing. Empirical findings of the changing path of the oil and gas exploitation and processing centres of gravity and the kernel clustering-KPCA analysis provide a scientific basis for tracking the effectiveness of government environmental policy and for policymaking on mitigation of combustion gases. This novel application extends the utilisation of the VIIRS and can be applied globally for tracking dynamic changes in the centre of gravity of oil and gas exploration and processing.

Combustion Metamorphism in Mud Volcanic Events: A Case Study of the 6 May 2000 Fire Eruption of Karabetova Gora Mud Volcano

The violent eruption of Karabetova Gora mud volcano on 6 May 2000 (Taman Peninsula, 45°12′16″ N; 36°47′05″ E) triggered gas ignition as a giant straight-flow vertical gas flare. The 400 m high, short-lived (~15 min) gas flare left no thermal halo on the ground surface, but the thermal shock caused melting or annealing of mud masses which became dispersed in ≤2 m3 blocks to distances within 30 m around the volcano conduit. The flare reached the maximum temperatures (~1400–1540 °C) at heights from 75 to 250 m, as estimated by a numerical simulation in SigmaFlow. Bulk melting of dehydrated mud masses was mostly limited to <1.5 cm near the surface of the blocks. Porous paralavas at the site consisted of low- and high-silica K-Al glasses (70%–80%) with residual unmolten grains of detrital quartz and fine (<30 µm) new phases: main intermediate members of the magnetite–ulvöspinel solid solutions and plagioclase (An45-61Ab37-44Or2-11 to An73-90Ab10-27Or0.5-1), minor cordierite (XFe = 26%–46%), pigeonite (XFe = 42%–60%), tridymite, cristobalite, and rare mullite. The metapelitic rocks affected by combustion metamorphism were heterogeneous in terms of phase composition and texture. They failed to attain homogeneity due to the high viscosity of anhydrous silicate melts and brevity of the thermal impact. The revealed features of rocks altered by a giant gas fire may serve as a proxy for phase transformation patterns in highly disequilibrium conditions of a thermal shock, far from the formation conditions of ordinary metamorphic rocks.