MODELLING OF EQUILIBRIUM SOLUBILITY OF CO2 AND H2S IN AQUEOUS AMINO METHYL PROPANOL (AMP) SOLUTIONS

Information on acid gas solubility in solvents utilized is needed for the design of gas plants. A mathematical model for the prediction of equilibrium solubility of CO₂ and H₂S in aqueous 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol (AMP) solutions is presented. The equilibrium constant, K₁ governing the main amine reaction is expressed as a function of not only temperature but also acid gas partial pressure and AMP concentration. Model predictions agree favourably with experimental data.     

Development of an expert system for tackling the public''s perception to climate-change impacts on petroleum industry

Climate change could cause significant impacts on human activities, which is especially true for regions that are of high latitude such as Canada. Petroleum industry is a main economic sector in Canada's prairie, where a number of its production and processing practices are vulnerable to the fluctuations of climatic conditions. In this study, an expert system (ES) for integrated climate-change impact assessment within the prairie's petroleum sector was developed. Interactive relationships among climate change, natural-condition variations, industrial activities, environmental concerns and economic objectives, as well as the related policy implications, were comprehensively examined and incorporated within the ES. A series of questionnaire surveys were conducted for acquiring knowledge about the interrelationships between the climate change and the petroleum-related activities. Processes that were vulnerable to climate change were analyzed, followed by an integrated impact assessment. The results indicated that the impacts of increased temperature and natural hazards would be very significant on most of the petroleum-related processes. Also, the petroleum industry would be quite sensitive to changed precipitation patterns. The developed ES can be used for both acquiring knowledge of climate-change impacts on the petroleum industry and supporting formulation of the relevant adaptation policies.     

A study of gas transport through interfacially formed poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) membranes

Gas transport through interfacially formed poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) membranes was investigated. The membrane performance for the separation of binary CO₂/N₂, CO₂/CH₄ and CO₂/H₂ mixtures was studied, and the coupling effects between the permeating species were evaluated by comparing the permeance of individual components in the mixture with their pure gas permeance. For the permeation of these binary gas mixtures, the presence of CO₂ was shown to influence the permeation of the other components (i.e., N₂, H₂ and CH₄), whereas the permeation of CO₂ was not affected by these components. In consideration that water vapor is often encountered in applications involving CO₂ separation, the presence of water vapor on the membrane permselectivity was also studied. When hydrated, the membrane was shown to be more permeable to CO₂, while the membrane selectivity did not change significantly. Unlike membranes based on size-sieving of penetrant molecules, the present membranes exploit the favorable interactions between the hydrophilic quaternary amines in the membrane and CO₂, especially in the presence of water vapor in the feed.     

OF OTHER UNIVERSITIES: THE CONTESTED SPACE OF THE ANCIENT VIHARAS OF BANGLADESH

Employing Foucault's notion ofheterotopias, this paper maps some of the contested interpretations of the ancient universities of Bangladesh (highlighting particularly the interpretation of the university as cosmos) and allows these interpretations to speak back and question not only the assumptions that ground the current political, cultural and material life of Bangladesh, but also the rationalist foundations of our own Western technologized way of being.     

Flood Vulnerability to Climate Change through Hydrological Modeling

Abstract

Determination of flood vulnerability to climate change is one of the most critical issues for regional water management. Most of the previous studies related to system vulnerabilities to climate change were either a qualitative assessment without the support of hydrological modeling or too complex to apply them to real-world systems. In this study, a modeling and assessment system is proposed to tackle flood vulnerability to the climate change through the incorporation of future climate change scenarios, rainfall-runoff simulation, and vulnerability estimation within an integrated frame. The developed approach is applied to provide decision support for flood management of the Swift Current Creek watershed in Western Canada. The approach not only is useful to determine relative flood vulnerabilities to climate change for supporting flood control planning in the watershed, but also can be extended to estimate vulnerabilities of water quality and water supply to climate change.     

An Integrated Decision Support System for Management of CO2 Geologic Storage in the Weyburn Field

Abstract

Geologic storage of CO₂ in depleted oil reservoirs is considered to be an effective approach for both facilitating GHG sequestration and enhancing oil recovery. However, as a potential problem in the long run, risks associated with geological storage of CO₂, such as leakage to the groundwater and atmosphere, might pose significant threats to local communities and surrounding environment. Identification and evaluation of such risks are essential for the long-term management of CO₂ storage. Doing so requires a set of advanced technologies in order to well understand the long-range transportation of CO₂ and its impact mechanisms. This study developed an integrated decision support framework for the Weyburn Field. This system included modules of data management, inexact hybrid numerical simulation, optimization for CO₂ EOR processes, hybrid fuzzy-stochastic risk assessment, and post-modeling analysis. A user-friendly interface was designed through visual language programming. Such an effort would provide project managers with a collection of measures for analyzing and visualizing operations and development of different applicable technologies. Valuable information can be provided to EOR project operators about what might be required for new projects or project expansions and how to go about gathering and using the data they will need.     

Simulation-based process optimization for surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation at heterogeneous DNAPL-contaminated sites

Widespread use of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) such as TCE and PCE has resulted in contamination of enormous valuable groundwater resources and become high-priority environmental problems. However, experiences from the past decades have demonstrated that DNAPL-contaminated sites were difficult to investigate and challenging to remediate. In this study, a simulation-based process optimization system was developed through integrating a multidimensional simulator, a multivariate statistical tool and an optimization model within a general framework for supporting decisions of surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR). A 3D multiphase and multi-component subsurface model was first provided to simulate SEAR process; dual-response surface models were then established to build a bridge between remediation actions and system performance; a nonlinear optimization model was then formulated for identifying optimal operating conditions for SEAR operations. The results in simulating a typical PCE spill event and the associated SEAR remediation operations in a heterogeneous subsurface indicated that SEAR would be capable of cleaning up the contaminated aquifer with improved efficiencies and cost-effectiveness compared with direct pump-and-treat actions. The regression-analysis results demonstrated that the proposed dual-response surface models were able to predict system responses under given operating conditions. The optimization results demonstrated that the developed simulation-optimization approach was effective in seeking cost-effective SEAR strategies for DNAPL-contaminated sites. With the developed method, optimum operation conditions under various environmental and economic considerations could be compiled into a database that would supports further studies of on-site process-control with injection and extraction rates being the main control variables.     

Effects of Silicon and Organic Manure on Growth,Fruit Yield,and Quality of Grape Tomato Under Water-Deficit Stress

Silicon - Mitigation of deleterious effects of drought stress on the growth and productivity of agronomic and horticultural crops warrants urgent and sustainable actions. Soil application of...