Liquid Fossil Fuels Research Articles

Hybridization of Isogeometric Finite Element Method and Evolutionary Multi-agent System as a Tool-set for Multiobjective Optimization of Liquid Fossil Fuel Reserves Exploitation with Minimizing Groundwater Contamination

In the paper we consider the approach for solving the problem of extracting liquid fossil fuels respecting not only economical aspects but also the impact on natural environment. We model the process of extracting of the oil/gas by pumping the chemical fluid into the formation with the use of IGA-FEM solver as non-stationary flow of the non-linear fluid in heterogeneous media. The problem of extracting liquid fossil fuels is defined as a multiobjective one with two contradictory objectives: maximizing the amount of the oil/gas extracted and minimizing the contamination of the groundwater. The goal of the paper is to check the performance of a hybridized solver for multiobjective optimization of liquid fossil fuel extraction (LFFEP) integrating population-based heuristic (i.e. evolutionary multi-agent system and NSGA-II algorithm for approaching the Pareto frontier) with isogeometric finite element method IGA-FEM. The results of computational experiments illustrate how the considered techniques work for a particular test scenario.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION PROJECTION IN YOGYAKARTA CITY

Availability of energy is an important aspect for the success of regional development. Yogyakarta city does not have any non-renewable energy sources such as liquid fossil fuels, coal and natural gas. Consequently,these energy must be supplied from other provinces. The renewable energy potential in Yogyakarta city is not being utilized yet. Final energy consumption continues to rise along with population and economic growth.Energy planning and development need be done carefully in order to ensure the energy sustainability. This study aim to provide long-term projections in 2012-2025 periods on energy balance, energy demand andsupply based on energy reserves and current condition in order to meet energy elasticity to less than 1. Energy demand projection is calculated based on trend forecasting analysis by LEAP (Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System).This result shows that the highest energy user sector in Yogyakarta city period 2012-2025 is transportation sector and the highest of energy demand by type is electricity and gasoline. Renewable energypotential such as biogas, solar energy, biomass and biodiesel (from using vegetable oil waste) could be developed in Yogyakarta city. Using biodiesel and solar energy could decrease diesel fuel and electricity.According to the baseline scenario, CO2 emission reached 2,176,182 tons, the first alternative scenario reached 1,925,089 tons and the second alternative scenario reached 1,877,839. Investment cost to build renewable energy in the baseline scenario reached USD 42,045 – USD 546,585. Investment cost to build renewable energy in the first alternative scenario reached USD 10,470,775 – USD 31,002,775. Investment cost to build renewable energy in the second alternative scenario reached USD 31,641,925 - USD 52,173,925.

Comparison of Physicochemical Properties of Simarouba Glauca, Dairy Scum and Karanja Biodiesel of Various Blends with Diesel

Day by day depletion of liquid fossil fuels creates necessity to find out an alternative liquid fuel like biodiesel. Rapid growth in transportation, industrialization and civilization from time to time causes increase in requirement of fuel and energy. This paper deals with the production of biodiesel from Simarouba Glauca, Dairy scum and Karanja oil by transesterification process using calcium oxide as a heterogeneous catalyst and methanol as the alcohol. Biodiesels are blended with diesel in different proportions and tested the physicochemical properties such as viscosity, flash point and density for each blended biodiesel. The important properties of biodiesel such as cloud point, pour point, ash content and carbon residue are tested and compared with other biodiesels.

High Energy Density Bio-oil via Slow Pyrolysis of Jatropha curcas Shells

Upgraded bio-oil derived from the thermochemical conversion of biomass has the potential to replace liquid fossil fuels. In this work we report the generation of high energy density oil via the slow fixed-bed pyrolysis of Jatropha curcas shells and the subsequent upgradation of the crude bio-oil by means of a simple organic reaction. The optimization for maximum productivity of the bio-oil was carried out at temperatures of 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C. Kinetic study indicated the favorable heating rate to be 5 °C min–1. The maximum bio-oil, with a yield of 31.14%, was obtained at 400 °C with a holding time of 4 h. The bio-oil, containing ca. 40% carbonyl (>C═O) derivatives, was converted into the corresponding methylene (−CH2−) derivative by treatment with hydrazine hydrate/sodium hydroxide. The resultant oil, containing mostly ethylbenzene, had a high calorific value and thus might be suitable to replace fossil diesel or gasoline. The bio-chars obtained at the specific carbonization temperatures were also ...

Source Apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Central European Soils with Compound-Specific Triple Isotopes (δ(13)C, Δ(14)C, and δ(2)H).

This paper reports the first study applying a triple-isotope approach for source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The (13)C/(12)C, (14)C/(12)C, and (2)H/(1)H isotope ratios of PAHs were determined in forest soils from mountainous areas of the Czech Republic, European Union. Statistical modeling applying a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework to the environmental triple isotope PAH data and an end-member PAH isotope database allowed comprehensive accounting of uncertainties and quantitative constraints on the PAH sources among biomass combustion, liquid fossil fuel combustion, and coal combustion at low and high temperatures. The results suggest that PAHs in this central European region had a clear predominance of coal combustion sources (75 ± 6%; uncertainties represent 1 SD), mainly coal pyrolysis at low temperature (∼650 °C; 61 ± 8%). Combustion of liquid fossil fuels and biomass represented 16 ± 3 and 9 ± 3% of the total PAH burden (∑PAH14), respectively. Although some soils were located close to potential PAH point sources, the source distribution was within a narrow range throughout the region. These observation-based top-down constraints on sources of environmental PAHs provide a reference for both improved bottom-up emission inventories and guidance for efforts to mitigate PAH emissions.

Energy Crop-Based Biogas as Vehicle Fuel—The Impact of Crop Selection on Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Performance

The production of biogas from six agricultural crops was analysed regarding energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) performance for vehicle fuel from a field-to-tank perspective, with focus on critical parameters and on calculation methods. The energy efficiency varied from 35% to 44%, expressed as primary energy input per energy unit vehicle gas produced. The GHG reduction varied from 70% to 120%, compared with fossil liquid fuels, when the GHG credit of the digestate produced was included through system expansion according to the calculation methodology in the ISO 14044 standard of life cycle assessment. Ley crop-based biogas systems led to the highest GHG reduction, due to the significant soil carbon accumulation, followed by maize, wheat, hemp, triticale and sugar beet. Critical parameters are biogenic nitrous oxide emissions from crop cultivation, for which specific emission factors for digestate are missing today, and methane leakage from biogas production. The GHG benefits were reduced and the interrelation between the crops changed, when the GHG calculations were instead based on the methodology stated in the EU Renewable Energy Directive, where crop contribution to soil carbon accumulation is disregarded. All systems could still reach a 60% GHG reduction, due to the improved agricultural management when digestate replaces mineral fertilisers.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the dagang oilfield (china): distribution, sources, and risk assessment.

The levels of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in 27 upper layer (0–25 cm) soil samples collected from the Dagang Oilfield (China) in April 2013 to estimate their distribution, possible sources, and potential risks posed. The total concentrations of PAHs (∑PAHs) varied between 103.6 µg·kg−1 and 5872 µg·kg−1, with a mean concentration of 919.8 µg·kg−1; increased concentrations were noted along a gradient from arable desert soil (mean 343.5 µg·kg−1), to oil well areas (mean of 627.3 µg·kg−1), to urban and residential zones (mean of 1856 µg·kg−1). Diagnostic ratios showed diverse source of PAHs, including petroleum, liquid fossil fuels, and biomass combustion sources. Combustion sources were most significant for PAHs in arable desert soils and residential zones, while petroleum sources were a significant source of PAHs in oilfield areas. Based ontheir carcinogenity, PAHs were classified as carcinogenic (B) or not classified/non-carcinogenic (NB). The total concentrations of carcinogenic PAHs (∑BPAHs) varied from 13.3 µg·kg−1 to 4397 µg·kg−1 across all samples, with a mean concentration of 594.4 µg·kg−1. The results suggest that oilfield soil is subject to a certain level of ecological environment risk.

Mechanism of algal aggregation by Bacillus sp. strain RP1137.

Alga-derived biofuels are one of the best alternatives for economically replacing liquid fossil fuels with a fungible renewable energy source. Production of fuel from algae is technically feasible but not yet economically viable. Harvest of dilute algal biomass from the surrounding water remains one of the largest barriers to economic production of algal biofuel. We identified Bacillus sp. strain RP1137 in a previous study and showed that this strain can rapidly aggregate several biofuel-producing algae in a pH- and divalent-cation-dependent manner. In this study, we further characterized the mechanism of algal aggregation by RP1137. We show that aggregation of both algae and bacteria is optimal in the exponential phase of growth and that the density of ionizable residues on the RP1137 cell surface changes with growth stage. Aggregation likely occurs via charge neutralization with calcium ions at the cell surface of both algae and bacteria. We show that charge neutralization occurs at least in part through binding of calcium to negatively charged teichoic acid residues. The addition of calcium also renders both algae and bacteria more able to bind to hydrophobic beads, suggesting that aggregation may occur through hydrophobic interactions. Knowledge of the aggregation mechanism may enable engineering of RP1137 to obtain more efficient algal harvesting.

Simultaneous microwave extraction and synthesis of fatty acid methyl ester from the oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula glutinis

Microbial lipids have the potential to substantially reduce the use of liquid fossil fuels, though one obstacle is the energy costs associated with the extraction and subsequent conversion into a biofuel. Here we report a one-step method to produce FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) from Rhodotorula glutinis by combining lipid extraction in a microwave reactor with acid-catalysed transesterification. The microwave did not alter the FAME profile and over 99% of the lipid was esterified when using 25 wt% H2SO4 over 20 min at 120 °C. On using higher loadings of catalyst, similar yields were achieved over 30 s. Equivalent amounts of FAME were recovered in 30 s using this method as with a 4 h Soxhlet extraction, run with the same solvent system. When water was present at less than a 1:1 ratio with methanol, the main product was FAME, above this the major products were FFA (free fatty acids). Under the best conditions, the energy required for the microwave was less than 20% of the energy content of the biodiesel produced. Increasing the temperature did not change the EROI (energy return on investment) substantially; however, longer reaction times used an equivalent amount of energy to the total energy content of the biodiesel.

Electrochemical Determination of Organic Compounds in Automotive Fuels

AbstractThis article critically reviews the electroanalytical methods devoted for the determination of organic compounds in automotive fuels that can range from contaminants to additives typically introduced into liquid biofuels and liquid fossil fuels. Contaminants such as aldehydes and ketones in bioethanol, free fatty acids and glycerol in biodiesel, and sulfur and nitrogen organic compounds in gasoline and diesel fuel, and additives such as colour markers and antioxidants added to fuels were determined by electroanalytical methods. Special focus is given to electrodes, electrochemical techniques, and sample preparation strategies. Future directions of research on electroanalysis of liquid fuels are presented.

Evaluation of the Influence of Fossil Fuel on Corrosion Resistance of Brass

Brass is an excellent material choice for use in most industrial and agricultural application. Brass offers much better thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance than carbon or even stainless steel. Brass is an excellent material for use in both hot and cold water industrial and residential system including those carrying portable water. This study was carried out to investigate and evaluate the influence of fossil fuel like petrol, kerosene and diesel on the corrosion performance of brass. The samples were prepared for the study by cutting brass into 1 cm2 coupons and soaking them in different small plastic containers containing petrol, kerosene and diesel. The corrosion rate of each sample for a specific period of immersion (120, 240, 360, and 480, 600 and 720 hours) was determined on average of three samples exposed under the same condition and test media in different container. The finding showed that brass is resistant to corrosion after long hours of contact in chosen liquid fossil fuels. Brass has the highest corrosion rate in petrol, followed by kerosene and least in diesel. The photomicrographs of the samples after ten days of immersion also confirmed this.

The Hotelling Model with Multiple Demands

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an elementary introduction to the nonrenewable resource model with multiple demand curves. The theoretical literature following Hotelling (1931) assumed that all energy needs are satisfied by one type of resource (e.g. oil), extractable at different per-unit costs. This formulation implicitly assumes that all users are the same distance from each resource pool, that all users are subject to the same regulations, and that motorist users can switch as easily from liquid fossil fuels to coal as electric utilities can. These assumptions imply, as Herndahl (1967) showed, that in competitive equilibrium all users will exhaust a lower cost resource completely before beginning to extract a higher cost resource: simultaneous extraction of different grades of oil or of oil and coal should never occur. In trying to apply the single-demand curve model during the last twenty years, several teams of authors have independently found a need to generalize it to account for users differing in their (1) location, (2) regulatory environment, or (3) resource needs. Each research team found that Herndahl's strong, unrealistic conclusion disappears in the generalized model; in its place, a weaker Herndahl result emerges. Since each research team focused on a different application, however, it has not always been clear that everyone has been describing the same generalized model. Our goal is to integrate the findings of these teams and to exposit the generalized model in a form which is easily accessible.

Biofuel production using food

Most of the transport systems of the developed world run on liquid fuels produced from petroleum. Global shortages of these liquid fuels, both current and anticipated, have led corporate and political leaders throughout the developed world to investigate and develop liquid fuels from food crops, mainly corn, palm oil, soybean, canola and sugarcane. Liquid fuels made from these foods, heavily subsidized by national governments, are being promoted to partially replace liquid fossil fuels. The United States has legislatively mandated (the Renewable Fuels Standards legislation enacted in 2007) that a certain portion of the overall corn and soybean crops annually be used to produce liquid biofuels. Emissions mandates and subsidies have been enacted by European countries as well to promote the production of liquid biofuels. These European emission standards and subsidies have in turn caused corporations involved in biodiesel production from palm oil to encourage the conversion of ‘‘unproductive forestlands’’ by governments of several tropical developing countries into plantations of oil palms to produce biodiesel stock for primarily European countries while reducing biodiversity, sustainable subsistence farming and increasing unemployment, and reducing the variety of foods available to most people in these regions. These governmental actions have raised commodity prices for all the food crops being used to make liquid biofuels as well as raising commodity prices of crops that can replace these biofuel stock commodities, which raises food prices for rich and poor alike. On top of which the energy inputs necessary to produce biodiesel from palm oil are 8 % more than the energy obtained from palm oil biodiesel, which means at present, biodiesel production from palm oil is simply unsustainable in the absence of fossil fuels. Rapeseed and canola are the other two cultivated sources of oil for biodiesel production in Europe but the energy yield of the biodiesel obtained from these two oil seeds is 58 % less than the energy, almost always from fossil fuels, needed to produce, transport, process these crops, and distribute the biodiesel. While rapeseed is not a food crop, growing rapeseed on land that could support crops makes its cultivation for biofuels a waste of good agricultural land while growing rapeseed on marginal land has been found by at least one

DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR NATURAL GAS AND BIOGAS UTILIZATION IN TRANSPORT / APSKATS PAR TRANSPORTA SEKTORĀ IZMANTOJAMĀM DABASGĀZES UN BIOGĀZES TEHNOLOĢIJĀM

Abstract Popularity of methane-containing gaseous fuels has slowly been growing since their appearance, especially in the last decades. Occasional non-availability of liquid fossil fuels, the necessity to reduce the transportation costs and to improve the air quality are the basic factors which stimulated development of gas utilization technologies - from accumulation, compression and deflation of gas to its usage in internal combustion engines. Since then different solutions have been offered, and the authors are reviewing them - from the first use of natural gas to nowadays.

Estimation of the water footprint of sugarcane in Mexico: is ethanol production an environmentally feasible fuel option?

Energy policies are taken throughout the world to reduce fossil fuel emissions from transportation sources. Agriculturally based biofuels are currently the only alternatives to liquid fossil fuels. However, as biofuel production spreads, so too do its cascading impacts on environment and food security. This paper analyzes the impact of Mexican ethanol-sugarcane policy on water resources. The water footprint of sugarcane (WFsc) was quantified for an agricultural region in Jalisco, Mexico, and used to estimate anthropologic water demand and stress index. This analysis was performed using historical climate data, and for projected changes under scenarios A2 and B1, using ECHAM and GFDL models. The average historical water footprint of sugarcane was estimated as 104.9 m3/ton, total average water demand as 152.3 Mm3/year and a historical water scarcity index as 59%. Under climate change, the footprint might increase 2% by 2020 and 3–4% by 2050. The available water is predicted to fall 4–7% by 2020, and 6–8% by 2050, with negative effects on water stress. Due to the strong influence of local factors on water footprint and stress, additional research is needed for all Mexican sugarcane regions, in order to evaluate the feasibility of the policy regarding the use of ethanol for transportation.

The feasibility and implications for conventional liquid fossil fuel of the Indonesian biofuel target in 2025

This paper identifies conventional liquid fossil fuels that can be replaced or blended with biofuel and quantifies the biofuels required to meet the Indonesian biofuel target of at least 5% of the total primary energy mix in 2025. The analysis was conducted using the Long range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system with an energy elasticity of 1 and maximum allowable biofuel blending ratios according to the current best practices. The results show that the target could be achieved with the maximum blending alternative based on constant energy demand growth of 6%. The target requires a total contribution from biofuel of about 8–27GL in 2025 depending on blending ratios. In energy terms, these are equivalent to 232–782PJ or about 40–135 million barrels crude oil, which constitute roughly around 3.3–11.0% of the estimated liquid fossil fuel oil annual consumption in that year. The results imply that it may have detrimental environmental impact, as it requires 5.2millionha of palm oil and sugar cane plantations. On the positive side, achieving the target offers potential new employment opportunities of about 3.4 million jobs, particularly in the agricultural sector relevant to liquid biofuel production.

Climate impact of transportation A model comparison

Transportation contributes to a significant and rising share of global energy use and GHG emissions. Therefore modeling future travel demand, its fuel use, and resulting CO2 emission is highly relevant for climate change mitigation. In this study we compare the baseline projections for global service demand (passenger-kilometers, ton-kilometers), fuel use, and CO2 emissions of five different global transport models using harmonized input assumptions on income and population. For four models we also evaluate the impact of a carbon tax. All models project a steep increase in service demand over the century. Technology change is important for limiting energy consumption and CO2 emissions, the study also shows that in order to stabilise or even decrease emissions radical changes would be required. While all models project liquid fossil fuels dominating up to 2050, they differ regarding the use of alternative fuels (natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels, and electricity), because of different fuel price projections. The carbon tax of 200 USD/tCO2 in 2050 stabilizes or reverses global emission growth in all models. Besides common findings many differences in the model assumptions and projections indicate room for further understanding long-term trends and uncertainty in future transport systems.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Thermal Power Plants in Cameroon: A Case Study in Dibamba Power Development Company

This paper centres on the estimation of carbon dioxide emissions in a Cameroon thermal power plant called Dibamba Power Development Company, in such a way that they can be included as part of Cameroon energy sector inventory or used by the Dibamba Power Development Company to monitor its policy and technology improvements for mitigating climate change. We have estimated the emissions using national emission factors for the consumption of liquid fossil fuels and simulated a mitigation of these emissions till 2018 using alternative fossil fuels and carbon neutral model. The results show that energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions in 2012 are estimated to be 48.964 ktoe and 164.39 kt CO2 respectively. National emission factors for electricity generation are estimated to be 660.63 g/kWh. From 2012 to 2018, the thermal power plant will emit into the atmosphere 1298.42 kt CO2. These results also show that the use of alternative fuels will reduce 59.22 kt CO2 per year for the same period while the use of the carbon neutral model will reduce a total amount of 8.08 kt CO2. Finally, the total quantity of CO2 emission reduced for the period 2012 to 2018 will be 489.91 kt CO2.

Stimulating learning-by-doing in advanced biofuels: effectiveness of alternative policies

This letter examines the effectiveness of various biofuel and climate policies in reducing future processing costs of cellulosic biofuels due to learning-by-doing. These policies include a biofuel production mandate alone and supplementing the biofuel mandate with other policies, namely a national low carbon fuel standard, a cellulosic biofuel production tax credit or a carbon price policy. We find that the binding biofuel targets considered here can reduce the unit processing cost of cellulosic ethanol by about 30% to 70% between 2015 and 2035 depending on the assumptions about learning rates and initial costs of biofuel production. The cost in 2035 is more sensitive to the speed with which learning occurs and less sensitive to uncertainty in the initial production cost. With learning rates of 5–10%, cellulosic biofuels will still be at least 40% more expensive than liquid fossil fuels in 2035. The addition of supplementary low carbon/tax credit policies to the mandate that enhance incentives for cellulosic biofuels can achieve similar reductions in these costs several years earlier than the mandate alone; the extent of these incentives differs across policies and different kinds of cellulosic biofuels.

Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers as an efficient vector for the transport and storage of renewable energy

Abstract This contribution proposes the usage of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) for the storage and subsequently the transport of renewable energy. It is expected that a significant share of future energy consumption will be satisfied with the import of energy coming from regions with high potential for renewable generation, e.g. the import of solar power from Northern Africa to Europe. In this context the transport of energy in form of chemical carriers is proposed supplementary to electrical transmission. Because of their high storage density and good manageability under ambient conditions Diesel-like LOHC substances could be transported within the infrastructure that already exists for the handling of liquid fossil fuels (e.g. oil tankers, tank trucks, pipelines, etc.). A detailed assessment of energy consumption as well as of transport costs is conducted that confirms the feasibility of the concept.