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Ocean gradient energy: OTEC, DOWA and osmotic power
Published in John Twidell, Renewable Energy Resources, 2021
A dominant harmful threat is local onshore, near-shore and offshore pollution from leaks of working fluids. The mixing of nutrient-rich deep water with surface water has ecological impacts, which may be beneficial for fisheries but not otherwise. The thermal mixing of water is not considered harmful from developmental or single isolated OTEC plant; even the hypothetical location of about 1000 stations of 200 MWe each in the Gulf of Mexico has been calculated to reduce surface sea temperature by only 0.3°C, which is not considered significant. Large deployment of OTEC plant, say, 100 stations at 10 km separation, would cause the upwelling of nitrate to a concentration found naturally off Peru, where fish populations are much increased. The prospect of enriching fisheries with deep-water nutrients is generally favored.
Evaluation of the downhole hydraulic fracturing using single-well shear wave scattering imaging -modeling and field applications
Published in Waves in Random and Complex Media, 2023
Single-well acoustic wave reflection imaging technology, especially dipole shear wave reflection imaging technology has greatly improved the detection range of acoustic logging, and the measurement range has been extended to tens of meters outside the well [11]. At present, the research of this technology mainly focuses on the reflection wave imaging of large-scale heterogeneous bodies (such as interfaces, cracks, and faults), but the scattering waves generated through small-scale heterogeneous bodies (such as fracturing cracks) are often treated as a noise in the conventional data processing of acoustic logging [12–14]. When the scale of the heterogeneous body is equivalent to the wavelength of the acoustic wave, a strong scattered wave will be generated [15,16]. Therefore, the fracturing effect can be evaluated by using scattered waves. Given this, the current research uses the difference of scattered wave imaging before and after fracturing, proposing a method to evaluate the fracturing effect of tens of meters around the borehole. This method can realize the imaging of fracturing crack within tens of meters of well circumference. It is of great significance for the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon tight reservoirs, both onshore and offshore.
The Contamination of the Earth. A History of Pollutions in the Industrial Age
Published in Ambix, 2023
The third part covers the twentieth century, which the authors call the “toxic age.” If thus far the focus has been on countries of the industrial north, this part includes many Asian and African countries, with the exception of Japan. In the form of chemical weapons, pollution was deliberately deployed in both world wars, in Morocco, and in Vietnam. This military application, the authors argue, created a matrix for new polluting trajectories for chemical products (insecticides, herbicides, DDT), aluminium for aeronautics, and, above all, nuclear weapons, which would eventually become a source of energy. As petroleum joined coal in the energy sector, oil companies became new sources of pollution, from their onshore and offshore wells and in transport and processing. Behind all this, according to the authors, is the motorisation of the entire planet, “the smell of gasoline” (p. 219) and the “plastification of the world” (p. 239). In the face of this, weak regulation emerged in the twentieth century, along with some national laws to protect clean air. But there also appeared the creators of uncertainty and doubt, experts who served to divert attention from pollution. From the 1960s onwards, books and researchers gave impetus to a nascent environmental movement, as well as environmental justice movements. A new militant world emerged around pollution issues; many new organisations operated on a scale that reached well beyond local concerns, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth (1971), and new political parties. All this led to an increasing concern over pollution.
A refined analytical strain analysis method for offshore pipeline under strike-slip fault movement considering strain hardening effect of steel
Published in Ships and Offshore Structures, 2020
Xiaoben Liu, Hong Zhang, Kai Wu, Mengying Xia, Qian Zheng, Yong Li, Onyekachi Ndubuaku, Samer Adeeb
Offshore pipelines are necessary equipment for transporting raw hydrocarbon fluids from offshore oil and gas reserves to onshore processing plants or floating platforms, and for distributing processed hydrocarbon products to consumer locations. Recently, there has been rapid development of offshore oil and gas resources due to ever-increasing world energy demand, and with the characteristic severe and significant consequences associated with offshore pipeline failure, the assurance of safety and integrity of offshore pipelines has become much more imperative. The subsea environment is inherently complex and comprises various extreme conditions and dynamic loads which may impact the integrity of pipelines installed on the seabed. An active fault is regarded as one of the extreme loading conditions that pose significant risks to subsea pipeline integrity (O'Rourke and Liu 2012). When a subsea pipeline is subjected to active fault displacement, large stresses and strains are generated in the pipe which may lead to rupture failure with catastrophic economic and environmental consequences (Duan et al. 2011).