Kemper County Research Articles

Characterization of a marine mudstone confining unit at a proposed CO2 storage hub: Kemper county energy facility, Mississippi, USA

Cretaceous and Tertiary strata across Mississippi, Alabama, and the adjacent continental shelf constitute a widespread succession of sandstone, mudstone, and carbonate that have proven to be important objectives for deployment of geologic CO2 storage technology in saline formations. Analyses of stratigraphy, sedimentology, and reservoir properties indicate that the Cretaceous-age Paluxy Formation, Washita–Fredericksburg interval, and lower Tuscaloosa Group may provide a 1.4 gigatonne storage opportunity at the Kemper County Energy Facility in east-central Mississippi. The marine Tuscaloosa shale is a widespread reservoir seal in the deep subsurface of Mississippi and Alabama, and detailed geologic investigation of the shale includes integrated analysis of geophysical well logs and core that have yielded a multiscale analysis of the confining strata. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD), and permeability analyses from core were used to interpret microfabric, pore types, mineralogy and fluid properties within mudstone of the east-central Mississippi Embayment. This study has importance for identifying potential migration of fugitive CO2 into or across the shale. Results indicate that mudstone in the marine Tuscaloosa shale is an effective confining unit that is a key component of the storage complex in Kemper County. Water saturation in the marine Tuscaloosa shale units promotes rock ductility and contributes to low permeability, which is on the order of 10–100 nanodarcies (nD) as determined by pressure-decay permeametry. Accordingly, the marine Tuscaloosa shale is interpreted to prevent significant cross-stratal migration of injected CO2 from deeper sandstone reservoirs.

Elastic properties of unconsolidated sandstones of interest for carbon storage

AbstractUnconsolidated sandstones are attractive targets for underground storage of carbon due to their high porosity and permeability. Monitoring of injection and movement of CO2 in such formations using elastic waves requires an understanding of the acoustic properties of the sandstone. Current approaches often use the so‐called soft‐sand model in which a Hertz–Mindlin model of the acoustic properties at high porosity is mixed with the acoustic properties of the mineral phase to predict the acoustic properties over the entire porosity range. Using well‐log data from two unconsolidated sand formations of interest for CO2 storage, we discuss the limitations of this model and provide an alternative approach in which the mechanical properties of grain contacts are obtained by inversion, and the properties of infill material lying within the pore space are estimated. The formations considered are the Paluxy Formation in Kemper County, Mississippi, and the Frio Formation near Houston, Texas. The ratio of the normal to shear compliance of the grain contacts is found to be significantly less than unity for both formations. This implies that the grain contacts are more compliant in shear than in compression. However, the grain contact compliance is higher and the ratio of the normal to shear compliance is lower for the Frio example than for the Paluxy case, and this may lead to sliding at grain contacts with low shear compliance and transport of grains during fluid flow, particularly if CO2 acts to weaken any cement that may be present at the grain contacts. Such transport was suggested by Al Hosni et al. in explaining why the magnitude of the time‐lapse effect due to the injection of CO2 at the Frio CO2 injection site is greater than predicted using conventional rock physics models. A simple model of the mechanical properties of infill material lying within the pore space suggests that the bulk and shear moduli of infill material in the Paluxy case are significantly higher than the Frio case, consistent with the lower grain contact compliance in the Paluxy case.

Building an EPA Class VI Permit Application

Summary To accelerate the commercialization of carbon capture and storage (CCS), the US Department of Energy (US DOE) is building on decades of characterization efforts and pilot-scale projects through their CarbonSAFE program. Administered through their National Energy Technology Laboratory, this program seeks to bring fully integrated projects to the sector that can store more than 50 million tonnes of CO2 over a 30-year period. The program, which was enacted before the enhancement of Internal Revenue Code Section 45Q, is in the capture assessment, characterization, and permitting phase. The objectives of this paper are to discuss (a) the injection permitting requirements of the CarbonSAFE projects; (b) information gathering in support of the permit; (c) the timelines of field development and permit-related activities; (d) the major technical components of the field development plan; and (e) early feedback from the regulators toward acceptance of the permit. In Mississippi, more than 30,000 acres have been characterized by six deep characterization wells, a deep groundwater well, and 92 line miles of 2D seismic as part of the CarbonSAFE Project ECO2S. During the acquisition of seismic data, all receiver lines were live, which resulted in the generation of a pseudo-3D seismic design. The incorporation of a 3D seismic survey was not included as part of this project due to logistical difficulties presented by the undulating, wooded surface terrain. A suite of openhole geophysical logs was taken from each well, allowing for a detailed interpretation of prospective storage reservoirs and confining intervals to complement the analysis carried out on the 290 ft of a whole core that was cut through the prospective confining zone and storage reservoir. The detailed geologic and reservoir data were assembled and entered into a 3D model to assess the injection capacity and the area of review (AoR). This information fed into the detailed corrective action, monitoring, testing, and postinjection site care (PISC) modeling. The results have been exceptional. The geologic assessment has revealed three primary storage targets, ranging in depth from 3,500 ft to 6,000 ft. These storage reservoirs net 1,300 ft of sandstone, with mean porosity and permeability of 29% and 3.6 darcies, respectively. Together, these reservoirs have storage capacities that may exceed 20 million tonnes per square mile, making this a gigatonne prospect. Forward modeling of the project resulted in an AoR of 16 sq miles, injecting about 8000 t/d, for 30 years, via two deep injection wells. The excellent confining characteristics of the caprock, relatively simple geologic structure, and lack of historical well drilling activity in this area provide excellent containment of the injected CO2. Based on this work, the project has proposed 20 years of PISC. To date, only two US CO2 injection permits have been granted. These projects relied on a singular capture point feeding a singular sequestration point (source to sink), and considerations have not been made to garner CO2 emissions from other industrial sources. The Kemper County Storage Complex is a first-of-its-kind storage hub concept that looks to develop an area capable of storing significant quantities of CO2 from the region. Also, this work will show how characterization efforts, geological and numerical modeling efforts, and plan development were constructed in support of permit and incentives acceptance.

Mudstone Baffles and Barriers in Lower Cretaceous Strata at a Proposed CO2 Storage Hub in Kemper County, Mississippi, United States

The Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits in Mississippi, Alabama, and the adjacent continental shelf constitute a widespread succession of sandstone, mudstone, and carbonate that has proven to be an important target for geologic CO2storage in the onshore Gulf of Mexico basin. Integrated analysis of stratigraphy, sedimentology, and reservoir properties based on cores and geophysical well logs indicates that the Paluxy Formation and Washita- Fredericksburg interval present gigatonne-class storage opportunities. The distribution, geometry, and composition of the area is a direct reflection of the original depositional environments, and understanding these factors is essential for understanding the geologic storage potential of the Paluxy Formation and Washita-Fredericksburg interval at the Kemper County energy facility in Mississippi. Geologic characterization of the Mississippi Embayment at the energy facility focused primarily on characterizing the confinement potential of the storage complex. Integration of core analyses and geophysical well logs has yielded a high-resolution stratigraphic analysis of storage reservoirs, baffles, barriers, and seals. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize microfabric, pore types, and mineralogy within mudstone of the east-central Mississippi Embayment at the Kemper County energy facility. Mudstone beds in the Paluxy Formation and Washita-Fredericksburg interval have variable thickness and continuity. High water saturation in the Cretaceous mudstone units influences swelling smectite clay and mudrock permeability based on pulse decay analysis is 1–96 nD. These low permeability values indicate that the mudstone units are effective baffles, barriers, and confining intervals that make significant migration of injected CO2out of the storage complex unlikely. The numerous baffles and barriers within the target reservoir intervals, moreover, favor the retention of multiple CO2in plumes within the abundant stacked sandstone bodies.

Large Volume CO2 Storage and Plume Management in the Southeastern U.S.; Reservoir Characterization and Simulation

This paper summarizes a reservoir simulation study to evaluate the potential storage of 675 million metric tons of CO2 over 30 years at the Project ECO2S storage site—a 12,000-hectare storage complex adjacent to Mississippi Power Company’s (MPC) Plant Ratcliffe facility in Kemper County, Mississippi, USA. The project team studied the storage capacity of the target formations, estimated the CO2 plume size, performed a sensitivity analysis to examine the influence of reservoir and fluid properties, and tested the impact of active plume management—a process that includes extracting water from down-dip water production wells and re-injecting it through up-dip water injection wells within the storage formation—on CO2 plume migration and its extent. The ECO2S site appears to be capable of storing captured CO2 emissions from multiple Southern Company operated power sources, which together emit 22.5 million metric tons per year (675 million metric tons over 30 years). To investigate field development strategies for large volume CO2 injection and storage at ECO2S, the project team developed a base model using the latest geological interpretation. Thirty years of CO2 injection is simulated through seven injection pads with each pad hosting three injection wells, positioned in the center of the potential storage site, followed by 30 years of CO2 plume monitoring. The simulation results show that the 675 million metric tons of CO2 can be injected into the storage formations, safely and securely. The largest CO2 plume, which occurs in the shallowest reservoir, covers a 202-square kilometer area. Active plume management shows a small impact on controlling the plume size and its migration due to extremely high vertical permeability minimizing the impact of the water curtain. Project ECO2S is part of the CarbonSAFE Program and is financially supported by the USDOE-NETL and Mississippi Power Company. The project is managed by the Southern States Energy Board. Technical Support is provided by Southern Company Research and Development.

CO2 storage in the Paluxy formation at the Kemper County CO2 storage complex: Pore network properties and simulated reactive permeability evolution

The Paluxy formation is being considered as a prospective CO2 reservoir at the Kemper County CO2 Storage Complex. Here, the pore and pore-throat size distributions and connectivity of the Paluxy formation is evaluated through analysis of 3D X-ray Computed Tomography images. In spite of resolution limitations that constrain the pore-throat sizes detectable by imaging, the permeability contributing pore-throats are successfully characterized through 3D imaging analysis. Image-obtained pore and pore-throat size distributions and pore connectivity are then utilized to construct pore network models and simulate permeability. After CO2 is injected, it will dissolve into formation brine and create conditions favorable for dissolution of primary minerals and precipitation of secondary minerals. These reactions will alter the porosity and permeability of the system to varying degrees depending on the spatial location of reactions. Here, the possible porosity-permeability evolution is simulated using pore network models considering mineral reactions occurring uniformly and non-uniformly throughout the network. For a given change in porosity, there is a large range of possible permeability outcomes. Depending on the extent and spatial location of mineral reactions, permeability may decrease by more than one order of magnitude as minerals precipitate. During dissolution, simulated permeability increases as much as 500%.

Particulate control devices in Kemper County IGCC Project

Southern Company has commissioned a 2 × 1 Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) facility in Kemper County, Mississippi. The plant demonstrated the Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIGTM) technology developed by Southern Company, KBR, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). With a capability of generating up to 524 MW net, the plant also captures CO2 from syngas produced from locally mined Mississippi lignite. Particulate Control Devices (PCDs), designed by Pall Corporation, are a critical component of the TRIGTM gasification process. The PCDs use dry filtration technology to remove essentially all the fine particulates from the syngas before it is sent to downstream processes for further gas clean-up, CO2 capture, and, finally for use in combustion turbines to generate power.The Kemper PCDs are designed to accommodate different types of filter elements for future optimization. The initial installation features the 2.5-meter long iron aluminide (FEAL) filter elements based on the extensive testing experience gained at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF). The PCD back-pulse system is equipped with the Coupled Pressure Pulse (CPPTM) blowback technology developed jointly by Pall’s Schumacher Division and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for online filter element cleaning. It is the first CPPTM application of this scale used for high-pressure, high-temperature filtration in a gasification process. The Kemper facility has achieved integrated operation with production of electricity, CO2, and other by-products from syngas per design specifications. This paper describes the operations, performance, and technical issues of both the PCD and the fines cooling and handling system that were encountered during the installation, unit commissioning, and extended operation with lignite.

Impact of image resolution on quantification of mineral abundances and accessible surface areas

Imaging has emerged as a valuable means of geological sample characterization and parameterizing reactive transport simulations where image analysis can provide porosity, mineral composition and mineral accessible surface area data, for example. Images can be collected using a variety of techniques and at a range of resolutions, yet the impact of image resolution on measured properties is largely unknown. In this work, the impact of 2D image resolution on the calculated mineral abundances, accessibilities and effective surface areas are examined for a sample from the Paluxy formation, Kemper County, Mississippi. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) backscatter electron (BSE) images of thin sections were captured at resolutions ranging from 0.3 μm to 6 μm. Images were segmented into pores and discrete mineral phases using ImageJ and algorithms developed in MATLAB. Porosity, mineral abundances and mineral accessibilities were calculated by counting pore and mineral pixels in the segmented image where accessible minerals were deemed as those adjacent to the pore space. A 3D X-ray computed tomography (CT) image of a core sample was collected, segmented, and analyzed to evaluate the 3D connected porosity. Cuboids with the same total area as the 2D image were randomly sampled and used to calculate the 3D connected surface area. This was then multiplied by mineral accessibility to calculate accessible mineral surface areas for non-clay minerals. Minimum variations were observed for mineral abundances calculated from images with varying resolutions. For high resolution images, 0.3 μm to 1 μm, mineral accessibilities agreed relatively well. For images with resolutions from 1 μm to 6 μm, the calculated accessibility of smectite/illite decreased with decreasing resolution while quartz accessibility increased. This in turn resulted in higher effective surface areas for quartz with decreasing resolution. No significant variations were observed for calcite, siderite and K-feldspar.

Carbon Capture at the Kemper IGCC Power Plant

The Kemper County Project demonstrated Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG™) technology at a 2 x 1 Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) facility in Kemper County, Mississippi. Capable of generating up to 582 MW during syngas operations, the facility represents the largest IGCC project undertaken, the first to use lignite as fuel, the first to capture and sell CO2, and the first to produce multiple byproducts from initial startup. Featuring UOP’s SELEXOL™ (also known as SeparALL™) process, the acid gas removal (AGR) system at the plant captured carbon dioxide from the syngas and diverted it for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), making the Kemper facility’s carbon emissions comparable to those of a similarly sized natural-gas-fired combined cycle power plant. In addition to producing carbon dioxide, the plant also generated other saleable byproducts, including ammonia and sulfuric acid. The UOP SELEXOL process uses a physical solvent to remove acid gases from synthetic gas for the selective removal of H2S and COS and/or CO2 to very low levels in the treated gas. Very low sulfur levels of below 1 ppmv can be achieved with variable and optimized CO2 capture levels. The AGR at Kemper was the first and the largest carbon capture facility for IGCC in the world and also removed sulfur from the syngas. The process H2S absorbers remove over 99% of the sulfur. The captured H2S is later stripped from the solvent using steam heat, producing a concentrated H2S acid gas for producing sulfuric acid, while the purified solvent is refrigerated and recycled to the absorption units. Following sulfur removal, the syngas flows into CO2 absorbers, where a large portion of the CO2 in the syngas is removed. The CO2-laden solvent is regenerated by lowering the pressure of the solvent, allowing the CO2 to evolve. The removed CO2 stream was dehydrated and compressed and sold as a byproduct for EOR. The plant successfully produced electricity and all associated byproducts, while maintaining excellent safety records both during construction and plant operation. The AGR operated for over 3000 hours, processing around 1 million metric tons of syngas before the project was suspended, primarily due to the dramatic decrease in the long-term price forecast for natural gas since the time that the project was approved. Despite changes in project economics, the plant operated as intended, and just under 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide was delivered to the pipeline and used for enhanced oil recovery. The AGR system performed well, even at turndown conditions, processing the air-blown syngas without difficulty and making Kemper the first SELEXOL facility to process syngas produced from air-blown gasification. Syngas processing rates in the AGR were as high as 90% of full load syngas capacity, and the plant achieved the nominal design carbon capture rate of 65%, while maintaining stringent CO2 product quality requirements. The AGR sulfur capture rates were also excellent, with syngas sulfur content consistently below 0.5 ppmv, allowing the plant to easily meet its sulfur emission requirements. Commissioning on the byproduct processing systems also saw great success. The CO2 compressors, the largest two in the world with a rated power consumption of 21 MW each, performed well at supplying the CO2 to the pipeline at pressures of up to 122 barg. This paper provides a description of the process technology deployed at the Kemper Facility and discusses plant operational experience, including some of the challenges associated with commissioning a facility of this size and novelty, as well as the extended operation of the Acid Gas Removal system and CO2 compression unit.

New Eastern Geographic Distribution Records ofReithrodontomys fulvescens(Fulvous Harvest Mouse)

The current documented Reithrodontomys fulvescens (Fulvous Harvest Mouse) distribution includes western Mississippi. Here, we report new geographic distribution records in east-central Mississippi. We conducted live-trapping in Kemper County, MS, during the summers of 2011–2015, and captured both Fulvous Harvest Mice and Reithrodontomys humulis (Eastern Harvest Mouse). We compared measurements from captured Fulvous and Eastern Harvest Mice to verify presence of both species. Our results showed 2 separate clusters of measurements, independent of our species assignment in the field, and the clusters were significantly different (P < 0.01). It is unclear whether these new records represent a range expansion or new information about the species' historical distribution.

CCS AS ONE OF the CO2 EMISSION REDUCTION METHODS

Information presented in the article allows us to introduce one of the ways of reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions responsible for the temperature increase and climate change. This is the technology of capture and underground storage of carbon dioxide in geologic structures (Carbon Capture and Storage/Sequestration – CCS). Most of the large-scale CCS projects (i.e. capture and storage of an order of magnitude of 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year) operate in the United States and Canada. Many of them are associated with the use of CO2 captured from the industrial processes for the enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The presented examples of projects are: Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Sequestration Demonstration Project (Canada), Great Plains Synfuels and Weyburn-Midale Project (Canada), and Kemper County IGCC Project (United States). CCS projects are crucial for demonstrating the technological readiness and reduce the cost of wider commercial implementation of capture and geological storage of CO2. The status of the projects on geological storage of CO2 in 2015 is 15 large-scale CCS projects operating around the world, and 7 projects in execution.

White‐tailed deer carrying capacity, intercropping switchgrass, and pine plantations

ABSTRACTSwitchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a cellulosic feedstock for alternative energy production that can be grown between rows of planted pines (Pinus spp.) within intensively managed forests. Southeastern planted pine occupies 15.8 million ha and thus, switchgrass intercropping could have far‐ranging effects on plant communities and biomass production within these forests if broadly implemented. Such intercropping could lead to alterations to plant communities that may cause bottom‐up ecological changes affecting ecologically, economically, and socially important wildlife, such as white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; deer). Therefore, we tested whether intercropping switchgrass in loblolly pine (P. taeda) plantations would cause switchgrass to dominate vegetative biomass thereby decreasing biomass of forages and reducing white‐tailed deer nutritional carrying capacity (NCC), or whether disturbance associated with establishment and harvest of switchgrass would facilitate ruderal forbs, and thereby increase biomass of preferred deer forages and increase NCC. In a randomized complete block design, we assigned 2 treatments (intercropped switchgrass and a standard pine management control) to 4 replicates of 10‐ha experimental units in Kemper County, Mississippi during summers of 2011−2015. We detected 323 plant species. Intercropping switchgrass had little effect on plant biomass production, and did not affect white‐tailed deer NCC at a maintenance diet of 6% crude protein. Intercropping provided additional disturbance allowing high‐protein content ruderal plants to colonize, and temporarily increased (3 yr) deer NCC at the 14% crude protein diet considered necessary to support lactation. However, concomitant with a sharp increase in switchgrass biomass in the third year of the study, NCC dropped to levels similar to traditionally managed pine stands. Switchgrass intercropping is not a reliable means of increasing deer NCC as a management strategy but does not appear to reduce carrying capacity in the short‐term relative to standard intensive pine management. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Do nest size and shape characteristics affect nest parasitism rates?

ABSTRACTBrown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are obligate brood parasites that lay eggs in host species’ nests. Studies on effects of host nest characteristics (e.g., nest placement, concealment, nest size) on parasitism rates by brown‐headed cowbirds have yielded ambiguous results. To elucidate potential relationships between nest characteristics and brood parasitism rates, we collected data from indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea; n = 68), prairie warbler (Setophaga discolor; n = 30), and yellow‐breasted chat (Icteria virens; n = 127) nests from early successional, managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands in Kemper County, Mississippi, USA, during 2012–2013. We recorded concealment, percent canopy cover, nest height (m), and nest morphometrics for each nest to test how these parameters related to frequency of brown‐headed cowbird nest parasitism for each species. We predicted that larger, heavier nests would have an increased likelihood of parasitism. We recorded nest parasitism of 3%, 18%, and 24% for yellow‐breasted chat, indigo bunting, and prairie warbler nests, respectively. Model coefficients for nest size did not differ from zero and nest size metrics did not differ between parasitized and unparasitized nests, thus contradicting our hypotheses and findings of previous studies relating nest size to parasitism. Our results suggest that the relationship between host nests and risk of brown‐headed cowbird parasitism likely varies according to species of interest, geographic location, and features of available habitat. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

Effects of habitat modification on cotton rat population dynamics and rodent community structure

Concerns over climate change and finite fossil fuels have generated interest in biofuels. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a biofuel feedstock, was planted in intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands to investigate sustainability of this system for producing an alternative energy source. We hypothesized that changes in understory habitat conditions caused by intercropping switchgrass in pine stands would affect rodent population and community dynamics within three years. Therefore, we assessed effects of three treatments (control pine, switchgrass intercropped in pine, and switchgrass monocrop) on rodent population (abundance, survival, and recruitment) and community (diversity, richness, evenness, and community assemblages) measures. We conducted vegetation surveys and live-trapping during 2013–2015 summers in Kemper County, Mississippi, USA. We conducted 6 trapping sessions each summer (n=14,112 trap nights per year) and captured 1,733 cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), 102 Oryzomys palustris, 31 Mus musculus, 28 Reithrodontomys fulvescens, 22 Reithrodontomys humulis, 20 Peromyscus leucopus, 9 Microtus pinetorum, 9 Peromyscus gossypinus, and 2 Neotoma floridana. We found greater cotton rat abundance and lower recruitment in monocrop versus control plots. Rodent diversity was lower in monocrop than control plots. Intercropped plots had intermediate levels of cotton rat abundance and recruitment, and rodent diversity. More dispersal may have occurred in monocrop plots because of high population abundance and limited habitat availability. Cotton rat survival and rodent community assemblage were similar among treatments but differed among years. Although rodents responded negatively to monocrop plots, our results suggested intercropped plots would be an appropriate management practice in pine plantations to produce biofuel feedstocks while maintaining rodent diversity.

First Report of Kudzu (Pueraria montana) Infections by Tobacco ringspot virus in Mississippi

Virus-like symptoms were observed in several kudzu patches in Mississippi during a survey of viruses infecting soybean carried out in late summer/fall of 2013 as a part of a project funded by the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board. Symptomatology consisted of chlorotic mottle and ringspots, vein-associated feathering, necrosis, and leaf deformation, which were often observed in combination on the same plant. In order to identify the virus(es) involved in the disease, young leaves from a symptomatic kudzu sample collected in Kemper County were crushed in 10 volumes of 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) and mechanically inoculated onto celite-dusted leaves of two soybean varieties (Asgrow AG4605 and AG4730), each represented by 10 plants. Sap from an asymptomatic kudzu sample from Oktibbeha County was used as a control. Both varieties reacted by systemic mottle, stunting, and apical leaf necrosis approximately 2 weeks after inoculation, while no symptoms could be observed in controls. Partially purified preparations from both symptomatic soybean cultivars exhibited the presence of putative intact and empty spherical virus particles ~30 nm in diameter. ELISA tests with antisera to several soybean viruses were performed on the original kudzu sample and inoculated AG4605 and AG4730 soybean plants. These tests revealed the presence of Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) in all symptomatic samples. In order to better understand the incidence of this virus in kudzu in Mississippi, a total of 127 samples from 28 counties were collected during October 2013 and tested using ELISA. A total of 11 samples collected in 8 different counties were positive for TRSV. To further confirm these results, one step RT-PCR test was performed on total nucleic extracts from all ELISA-positive and four negative kudzu samples using TRSV-specific primers (3). A specific PCR product of 766 bp was present in all ELISA-positive samples and positive controls, whereas no visible bands were present in negative samples. PCR products generated from samples, collected in Kemper, Tippah, and Jefferson Davis counties, were cloned and custom sequenced. Pair-wise comparisons indicated conserved nucleotide (95 to 98%) and amino acid (98 to 99%) contents among sequenced products. Kudzu isolates from Mississippi shared 91 to 96% and 98 to 99% conserved nucleotides and amino acids, with TRSV sequences currently available in the NCBI/GenBank database. This is the first report of TRSV infection of kudzu in Mississippi. The possible implications to the soybean industry are yet to be determined since kudzu occupies approximately 202,000 ha in Mississippi and TRSV has historically been reported associated with bud blight in soybean (1). Nonetheless, results of our study, along with the recent report from Louisiana (2), strongly suggest that kudzu, due to its widespread distribution in the region, may represent a major reservoir of TRSV in the southeastern United States.

95/06390 Integrated energy optimization model for a cogeneration based energy supply system in the process industry

This chapter presents the 582 MWe lignite-based Kemper County Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant, as a case study of the first commercial application of the air-blown Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG) technology. The Kemper County IGCC plant is a lignite-fueled 2-on-1 IGCC facility incorporating the air-blown TRIG technology jointly developed by the Southern Company; KBR; and the US Department of Energy (DOE) at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) in Wilsonville, Alabama. The plant is owned by the Mississippi Power Company (MPC) and has a calculated nameplate capacity of 830 MWe with a peak net output of 582 MWe. The plant is designed to capture 65% of the entering carbon, which will be sold for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), making the Kemper County plant’s carbon emissions comparable to those of a natural-gas-fired combined cycle power plant.The technical description of the Kemper County Energy Facility will discuss the various technologies used in the plant. Construction activities are essentially complete and commissioning/startup activities are currently underway. Commercial operation is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2016.

Survival Rates of Wild Turkey Hens in Loblolly Pine Plantations in Mississippi

Information on survival rates of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hens in the Southeast is limited particularly on areas dominated by pine (Pinus spp.) plantations. Because wildlife managers are concerned about the effect of increasing pine plantation acreage in the Southeast and the implications of autumn either- sex harvests on turkey populations, we determined annual and seasonal survival rates of 111 transmitter- equipped hens from 1 January 1987 until 31 December 1990 in Kemper County, Mississippi. Annual survival averaged 68.3% and ranged from 49.9 to 81.0%. Seasonal survival averaged 92.5 (SE = 0.24), 81.4 (SE = 0.37), 96.7 (SE = 0.18), and 93.8% (SE = 0.27) for winter (Jan-Mar), spring (Apr-Jun), summer (Jul-Sep), and autumn (Oct-Dec), respectively

Ouachita-Appalachian Juncture: a Paleozoic Transpressional Zone in the Southeastern U.S.A.

The northern margin of Gondwana collided with the southern margin of the North American craton in the late Paleozoic (330-265 Ma). Near-normal compressional stresses, generated where the trend of the North American margin was nearly perpendicular to Gondwana's plate-motion vector (closure direction), caused extensive crustal shortening and decollement thrusting within the sedimentary section. The Appalachian and Ouachita fold belts are the erosional remnants of this collision on the North American margin. Transecting the Ouachita fold belt are several zones of late Paleozoic transcurrent faulting: the Val Verde, Ardmore-Anadarko, and Reelfoot zones. They occur where the precollision margin of the North American craton was oriented oblique or parallel to the closure direct on with Gondwana. Stresses generated within these zones during the collision were transpressional rather than simply compressional, and gave rise to high-angle faulting, high-amplitude vertical displacements, and the emplacement of positive flower structures. In the Val Verde and Ardmore-Anadarko basins, these features have proven to be major structural traps for oil and gas. On the basis of seismic and well data, this study identifies a zone of complex structures, including positive flower structures, in the subsurface Paleozoic section of Kemper County in east-central Mississippi. The region is considered to be another transpressional zone analogous to the Val Verde, Ardmore-Anadarko, and Reelfoot zones. The Kemper County zone separates and truncates the Appalachian Valley and Ridge fo d belt in the subsurface from the Mississippi Ouachita deformed belt to the west and is, therefore, also identified as the juncture between the Ouachita and Appalachian fold-belt systems in the southeastern U.S.A.