ABSTRACT
Objectives/Scope: Kuwait Energy is exploring, developing, and operating four concessions located in the Western Desert and the Gulf of Suez in Egypt;the company implemented many projects that had a significant impact on saving operating expenses and reducing greenhouse emissions to preserve the environment. One of these recent executed projects was replacing scattered diesel generators with a Central gas-driven electric power grid in Al- Jahraa field in East Abu-Sennan concession. In this , we present the challenges we faced during the planning phase and execution strategy applied to overcome these challenges. Methods: Al-Jahraa Field includes 13 running wells, a waterflood station, and a main oil and gas production plant. The field electricity is supplied by 15 scattered diesel generators for wells and facilities, consuming 100,000 liters of diesel per month. During the feasibility study phase of the project, many challenges were faced which had a negative impact on the project's economical assessment and that would result in cancelling the project, the challenges were summarized as following;the existence of wells at long distances from the site of the proposed main power station, which would require extending long lengths of electric power cables at a high cost, also the expected delay in the implementation and commissioning of the project resulting from the long delivery time of materials, especially copper cables and main switchgear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several scenarios were studied for connecting the wells to the power station: The first scenario was to connect all wells and field facilities directly to the main power station. In this case, the estimated power cable lengths required to be extended were 25,000 Mt, in addition to using two 1 MW generators, one in service and the other would be a standby generator to provide backup power during a repair or maintenance service. This option economic model showed negative NPV due to the high cost of cables and extended execution time. Therefore, this option was cancelled. The second alternative was to connect each group of wells to three power stations to be operated using three diesel generators of 500 kVA for each station, with three backup generators. But the implementation of this option would lead to saving the cost of copper cables by 50%, but the cost of purchasing generators would increase due to the increase in the number of stations accordingly, in addition to the increase in operating expenses resulting from the increase in fuel consumption and maintenance cost compared to the first option. The third alternative, in which the economics of the project proved to be the best, is to divide the wells into three groups. Each of the two remote groups of wells are connected to an electric distribution panel, and then the two panels are connected by a main cable to the main power station. Moreover, the project cost was reduced by 50% due to the implementation of the following innovative optimization approach: • Re-using ESP cables instead of copper cables optimized both cost and delivery time as these materials are pulled from ESP wells. • These cables are designed for harsh downhole conditions increases its durability and extends its lifetime. • Using step-up and step-down transformers enabled us to reduce cable sizing, which also reflected on the lower cost of the project and, accordingly, increased its feasibility to be constructed. • An Incremental development approach, was followed in the management and implementation of the project, led to the speed of project delivery, and reduced the project risks and uncertainties. Results: The project was completed and commissioned within the allocated budget and time frame, leading to: ◦ 100% reduction of diesel fuel consumption levels. ◦ +68% reduction in total emissions;emissions are reduced by 2.5tons per year on average. ◦ reduced operational costs for each kilowatt hour generated due to using associated gas as fuel and releasing 13 rental generators. ◦ With the replacement of 1 rental generators with just one, the amount of maintenance waste, such as batteries, used oil, oil filters, fuel filters, and so on, is significantly reduced. ◦ These projects showed positive economic indicators (+NPV), with less than 1 years of payback. Conclusion: From this project's planning, execution, and results, we can claim that if risk assessments, detailed scope of work, good resource and time management, and cost-effective choices were addressed carefully, shall result in outstanding performance. The design of a high-efficiency electrical power supply system and use of associated gas in power generation reduces levels of fuel consumption, GHG emissions, and operational costs. Power generation project is a repeated case performed in one of our own assets in Egypt due to positive results and are easily transferable to sister IOCs & NOCs. Copyright © 2023, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
ABSTRACT
The current study aims to investigate and compare the effects of waste plastic oil blended with n-butanol on the characteristics of diesel engines and exhaust gas emissions. Waste plastic oil produced by the pyrolysis process was blended with n-butanol at 5%, 10%, and 15% by volume. Experiments were conducted on a four-stroke, four-cylinder, water-cooled, direct injection diesel engine with a variation of five engine loads, while the engine's speed was fixed at 2500 rpm. The experimental results showed that the main hydrocarbons present in WPO were within the range of diesel fuel (C13–C18, approximately 74.39%), while its specific gravity and flash point were out of the limit prescribed by the diesel fuel specification. The addition of n-butanol to WPO was found to reduce the engine's thermal efficiency and increase HC and CO emissions, especially when the engine operated at low-load conditions. In order to find the suitable ratio of n-butanol blends when the engine operated at the tested engine load, the optimization process was carried out by considering the engine's load and ratio of the n-butanol blend as input factors and the engine's performance and emissions as output factors. It was found that the multi-objective function produced by the general regression neural network (GRNN) can be modeled as the multi-objective function with high predictive performances. The coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and root mean square error (RSME) of the optimization model proposed in the study were 0.999, 2.606%, and 0.663, respectively, when brake thermal efficiency was considered, while nitrogen oxide values were 0.998, 6.915%, and 0.600, respectively. As for the results of the optimization using NSGA-II, a single optimum value may not be attained as with the other methods, but the optimization's boundary was obtained, which was established by making a trade-off between brake thermal efficiency and nitrogen oxide emissions. According to the Pareto frontier, the engine load and ratio of the n-butanol blend that caused the trade-off between maximum brake thermal efficiency and minimum nitrogen oxides are within the approximate range of 37 N.m to 104 N.m and 9% to 14%, respectively.
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Spurred by fall in passenger numbers following the COVID-19 pandemic, railways today have made rapid progress in improving operational efficiency and labor saving measures. DX (digital transformation) technology, which has been applied to automatic train operation, inter alia, is therefore attracting attention. Another focal point for railways is the realization of global decarbonization, illustrated by "2050 Carbon Neutral" goal declared by the Suga Cabinet and "COP26." This paper introduces the outlines of three technologies related to these topics, namely, a "Method for evaluating wheel slide protection (WSP) performance by hybrid simulator," a "Method applying neural networks to detect abnormal noise during train operation," and "High efficiency of diesel electric railcars." © 2022 Ken-yusha Inc.. All rights reserved.
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The transport sector has been identified as one of the main contributors to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution in Ireland. This research develops an enhanced Wind Sector Land Use Regression (WS-LUR) model to estimate NO2 concentrations across Ireland, in areas where air pollution monitoring is not available. The model incorporates details of the vehicle fleet breakdown to weight vehicle type flows based on the emission rates of the vehicle type, differentiating routes with varying proportions of heavier emitting vehicles. In 2008, car taxation underwent a significant change from an engine size based system to a carbon dioxide (CO2) emission rate based system resulting in a significant transition towards diesel fuelled vehicles. A mitigation strategy to remove diesel fuelled vehicles from the public service vehicle fleet was tested achieving predicted NO2 reductions in the range of 0.3 μg/m3 to 1.9 μg/m3. The impact of COVID-19 on NO2 concentration levels was also investigated. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
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Indagation in the sphere of nanoparticle utilisation has provided commendatory upshots in discrete areas of application varying from medicinal use to environmental degradation alleviation. This study incorporates alumina nanoparticles as additives to diesel and biodiesel blends. The prime objective of the present study was the scrutinisation of the denouement of Al2O3 nanoparticle incorporation in diesel–biodiesel blends on a diesel engine’s performance and emission characteristics. Test fuel samples were prepared by blending different proportions of biodiesel and dispersing two concentrations of alumina nanoparticles (25 and 50 ppm) in the diesel. Dispersion was made without the use of a nanoparticle stabiliser to meet real-world feasibility. High-speed shearing was employed to blend the biodiesel and diesel, while nanoparticles were dispersed in the blends by ultrasonication. The blends so devised were tested using a single-cylinder diesel engine at fixed RPM and applied load for three compression ratios. Upshots of brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for fuel samples were measured with LabView-based software, whereas CO emissions and unburnt hydrocarbon (UBHC) emissions were computed using an external gas analyser attached to the exhaust vent of the engine. Investigation revealed that the inclusion of Al2O3 nanoparticles culminates in the amelioration of engine performance along with the alleviation of deleterious exhaust from engine. Furthermore, the incorporation of alumina nanoparticles assisted in the amelioration of dwindled performance attributed to biodiesel blending. More favourable results of nanoparticle inclusion were obtained at higher compression ratios compared to lower ones. Reckoning evinced that the Al2O3 nanoparticle is a lucrative introduction for fuels to boost the performance and dwindle the deleterious exhaust of diesel engines.
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The depleting fossil fuel reserves, rising air pollution, technology transformation threat, and most recently, global economic slowdown by the COVID-19 pandemic, led the internal combustion engine-based automotive industries in a critical condition. The development of improved biofuels to meet stringent emission norms is a promising solution. Higher alcohols possess the fuel properties better than lower alcohols to blend with diesel and biodiesel. The miscibility and higher viscosity is the issue. Preheating can help the vaporization and atomization of fuel. The present study investigates the engine characteristics of moderately preheated ternary fuel using 20 to 40% blends of 1-hexanol, waste cooking oil biodiesel, and diesel. The study found that moderately preheated ternary fuel blends showed a drop in brake-specific fuel consumption, HC, CO, and smoke emissions with improvement in peak cylinder pressure, heat release rate, and brake thermal efficiency. A multi-layer neural network model is developed to prognosticate the engine characteristics. Backpropagation algorithm-based neural network with single hidden layers using Levenberg–Marquardt training function gave the best results. The mean square error of the network was 0.00028517 and the correlation coefficient was 0.99944, 0.99945, and 0.99923 for training, validation, and testing respectively. The mean absolute percentage error was found below 4%. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
ABSTRACT
Zero-emission transport is a very important topic that is increasingly taken up by many institutions and research centers around the world. However, the zero-emissivity of the vehicle is quite a complex issue, which should be understood as not only the lack of emissions during the operation of the vehicle, but also the provision of clean energy to the vehicle. In this approach, charging the battery of an electric vehicle from renewable sources—a photovoltaic (PV) farm—and its operation can be considered as a totally zero-emission form of transport. The article presents a PV system containing two micro-installations with a capacity of up to 40 kWp each to supply electricity to two parts of the Lublin Science and Technology Park (LSTP) building. Thanks to the innovative monitoring system, it was possible to analyze the consumption and production as well as the effective use of electricity. Statistical analyses of consumption (charging the electric vehicle battery) and electricity production by the PV installation were carried out. It was found that charging an electric vehicle could be a good way to use the surplus energy production from the farm and thus a faster repayment on investment in the PV farm installation.
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City buses are one of the main means of public transport in cities. As they move in a limited and densely populated area and are intensively exploited, it is particularly important that they are environmentally friendly. There are many ways to reduce emissions from city buses, including the use of hybrid propulsion. Another way is to use low-emission fuels. This article presents the results of the emission tests of an 18 m articulated city bus with a serial hybrid drive fuelled comparatively by conventional diesel fuel and oxygenated fuel containing 10% v/v of triethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME). The emission tests were carried out during the actual operation of the bus on a route in Poznań (Poland) and over the SORT cycles. The obtained test results were compared also with the results obtained for a conventional bus. The reduction in emissions of some exhaust components was found when the hybrid bus was fuelled with oxygenated fuel during its actual operation on the bus route. There was a reduction in CO emissions by ~50% and NOx emissions by ~10%. Almost identical levels of PM and HC emissions and smoke opacity were observed for both fuels. In the SORT cycles, the differences in the emissions obtained for both types of fuel were small. In general, for the hybrid bus, a lower influence of oxygenated fuel on emissions was recorded than for the conventional bus.
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This paper presents HOMER simulation models for optimizing renewable energy system components in Off grid and Grid connected systems for Covid-19 hospitals. Load profiles of 100 bed and 50 bed Covid hospitals are established critically. Two simulation models are built for each load profile. Optimization of energy system components is conducted based on net present cost and cost of energy. In process of optimization, HOMER simulates all possible configurations and ranks feasible combinations according to TNPC, and lists feasible options. Ten combinations are identified for analysis in each model. The critical analysis of results revealed that, grid connected system proves to be most economic and reliable option for hospital loads. The cost of energy obtained in grid connected system is Rs.9/kWh, whereas for diesel generated connected system costing Rs.22/kWh. This difference is appeared mainly due to higher cost of diesel and variation in the solar and wind energy potential with time of the day. Thus it is concluded that, renewable energy sources can be effectively employed for energizing the Covid-19 hospital in association with grid. © 2021 IEEE.