Study on the Comparison of Three Typical Gas Flow Standards for Calibrating Low Gas Flowmeter

A gas flowmeter for measuring low flow rate has been widely used in the field of medical, health, environmental protection, energy industry, aerospace, etc. To against Covid-2019, the requirement on the low flow rate has been increasing dramatically. At present, the typical standard devices for calibrating low gas flowmeter mainly include standard bell provers of gas flow, standard piston provers of low gas flow and standard laminar of low gas flow. Different measuring principles are adopted among these typical standard devices. To ensure the consistency of these typical standard devices, a comparison test is performed. The standard devices used in the comparison are of the same accuracy grade, with an extended uncertainty of 0.2%(k=2). The piston-type gas flow calibrator of grade 1.0 is selected as the transfer standard, and three flow points with high flow rate, medium flow rate and low flow rate are selected for test. The consistency of measurement results is evaluated by normalized deviation En. The comparison results are acceptable which show that three typical standard devices are accurate and reliable. © FLOMEKO 2022.All rights reserved

A Novel Multi-Parameter Calibrator for Ventilator Tester Based on Reciprocating Plunger

Ventilators are widely needed when the COVID-19 is a global outbreak, and they are used to provide mechanical ventilation for patients who are physically unable to breathe, or breathe insufficiently. A ventilator tester is an instrument used to verify and calibrate ventilation parameters of ventilators like gas flow, tidal volume, frequency. As a measuring device, the ventilator tester also needs to be calibrated periodically. And different parameters are usually calibrated with different devices. In order to improve calibration efficiency and accuracy, a novel multi-parameter calibrator for ventilator tester based on reciprocating plunger is proposed in this work. The system composition is introduced and mathematical models are deduced. According to calibrating regulation, different calibrating modes are simulated and realized. © FLOMEKO 2022.All rights reserved

A Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainable Food Consumption: Historical Evolution, Dominant Topics and Trends

The major goal of this study is to trace the emergence of SFC-related research across time, using a thematic map and a list of corresponding publications. In addition, this study aims to determine the author who has made the most significant contribution to this particular field. This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the historical development and current trends in sustainable food consumption research, examining 2265 articles published between 1990 and 2023. Using the bibliometrics package of R Studio software version 4.2.1 and its Biblioshiny package, articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases are examined. In the field of sustainable food consumption, we identify five distinct research phases: initial stagnation, infant growth, post-economic crisis, expanding phase and COVID-19 and post-pandemic. While research on broader sustainability topics can be traced back to the early 20th century, a very limited number of articles on sustainable food consumption was published in the 1990s. However, the number of publications increased incrementally over time, with a notable uptick in interest around 2015, and the subject was still being discussed in 2022. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic marked the beginning of the most recent phase of research, which analyzed the consumption patterns of consumers before and after the pandemic. Our study highlights key authors, documents and sources related to sustainable food consumption. The United States, Italy and the United Kingdom emerged as the most active contributors to the research on sustainable food consumption and were additionally the countries with the largest global market shares for organic products. Major sub-themes including organic food, food waste, sustainable development and food security, together with consumer behavior and organic products appeared as being the most researched sub-themes of recent times. The results of this study suggest that more research is related to sustainable food consumption in countries with a low organic food market share. In addition, the investigation of actual data on food waste, carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from food production and consumption is essential to gain holistic insights.

The evaluation of government subsidy policies on carbon emissions in the port collection and distribution network: a case study of Guangzhou Port

The collection and distribution network of ports is the main cause of carbon emissions. The carbon peak is a basic policy in China, and the subsidy policy is one of the common measures used by the government to incentivize carbon reduction. We analyzed the transportation methods and the flow direction of a port and proposed a carbon emission calculation method based on emission factors. Based on the transportation time and the cost, a generalized transportation utility function was constructed, and the logit model was used to analyze the impacts of subsidy policies on transportation, thus calculating the effects of the subsidies on carbon reduction. We used Guangzhou Port as a case study, and calculated the carbon reduction effects in six different subsidy policy scenarios and concluded that the absolute carbon reduction value was proportional to the subsidy intensity. In addition, we constructed a subsidy carbon reduction efficiency index and found that the Guangzhou Port collection and distribution network had higher subsidy carbon reduction efficiency in low-subsidy scenarios. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted on the subsidy parameters, and scenario 8 was found to have the highest subsidy carbon reduction efficiency. This achievement can provide decision support for the carbon emission strategy of the port collection and distribution network.

Emissions Background, Climate, and Season Determine the Impacts of Past and Future Pandemic Lockdowns on Atmospheric Composition and Climate

COVID-19 pandemic responses affected atmospheric composition and climate. These effects depend on the background emissions, climate, and season in which they occur. Although using multiple scenarios is common in explorations of long-term climate change, they are rarely used to explore atmospheric composition or climate changes in response to transient emission perturbations on the scale of COVID-19 lockdowns. We used the ModelE Earth system model to evaluate how atmospheric and climate impacts depend on the decade and season in which lockdowns occurred. Global COVID-19-related anomalies in aerosols and trace gases differed by up to an order of magnitude or more when comparing lockdowns in 1980, 2008, 2020, and 2051. Regional atmospheric composition anomalies tended to be largest when emissions were near a historical peak: 1980 in Europe and temperate North America, 2008 or 2020 in eastern Asia, and 2051 in south Asia. Regional aerosol direct effect anomalies were almost always less than 0.1 W m( -2) during the first pandemic year, but over 0.1 W m (-2) in Europe and exceeded 0.2 W m(-2) in Europe and temperate North America in 1980, generally changing in tandem with regional emissions. In contrast, direct effect anomalies in Asia were positive in 1980 and negative in 2008, suggesting they may be primarily determined by exogenous emission anomalies. Shifting COVID-19 onset in 2020 by 3, 6, or 9 months also altered atmospheric composition on the order of 2%-25% globally. In all scenarios, changes in surface temperature or precipitation appeared unrelated to local atmospheric compositional changes.

A Faculty-Informed Framework for Responsible and Equitable Academic Travel

Introduction Academic medical faculty, who devote their lives to improving human health, are often frequent travelers. Given the significant contribution of transportation and travel activities to local and global environmental degradation, faculty must grapple with the impact of their work on patients and the public. During the COVID-19 pandemic, academicians were forced to develop innovative communication and business strategies, which also spawned new perspectives on the role of travel in academic life. We sought to learn more about these adaptations and perspectives, and to consider whether insights gained might inform a more deliberate and conscientious culture of academic travel. Materials and Methods We conducted faculty focus groups with participants from different academic levels and four different health graduate programs at an academic medical center, and inquired about motivations for and perspectives on past, present and future travel practices. Results Faculty provided extensive observations about their travel histories and how, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were responding to abrupt challenges to their personal and professional responsibilities. They addressed the cognitive dissonance generated by flying frequently during a time of global warming, and they offered multiple recommendations for changes to the status quo. Conclusion Building on the rich qualitative data gathered during our focus groups, we propose a unique framework for academicians to advance the culture of travel in the 21st century. This framework proposes specific steps to mitigate planetary degradation and its associated inequities, and it suggests creative mechanisms for simultaneously enhancing the personal and professional quality of faculty life.

Soft Ionization: Improving Indoor Air Quality

In this paper we report two applications of a subcategory of air cleaning devices based on soft ionization that do not cause molecular fragmentation. A system that includes two unipolar ionizing modules has been used to simultaneously produce positive and negative ions in the air. In one set of experiments a large chamber (28 m3) was used to study the effect of ions on reducing PM1.0 particles produced by a research grade calibrated cigarette. The data presented in this paper were obtained using a carbon-brush-based bipolar ionizer and a MERV 10 filter with electret media in a recirculating HVAC system. Significant improvement in removal rate of fine and ultrafine particles was achieved when using the bipolar ionizer in conjunction with the MERV 10 filter. The second set of experiments were conducted using a 36 m3 chamber, following BSL-3 standards, to study the effect of ions on aerosolized SARS-CoV-2. Results of these investigations reveal the inactivation rate of SARS-CoV-2 are enhanced when ions are introduced in the air;inactivation rates were increased by more than 60%and 90%for ion densities of 10,000/cc and 18,000/cc. IEEE

Engineering Design of a Health Service Station Sewage Treatment Station under COVID-19 Epidemic

Health service station is a place in which close contacts with the COVID-19 and other key populations are centralized quarantined for medical observation.A newly built health service station is equipped with 4 700 beds and a supporting sewage treatment station with a designed treatment scale of2 200 m~3/d.The treatment process consists of enhanced biological treatment system,sewage virus disinfection and sterilization system,aerosol disinfection and sterilization system and sludge disinfection and sterilization system.After treatment,the effluent and waste gas can meet the limit specified in Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Medical Organization （GB 18466-2005）.The average COD,NH3-N and SS in effluent are 14.53 mg/L,1.26 mg/L and 9.11 mg/L,respectively,and the average concentrations of H2S,NH3 and odor at the outlet are 0.01 mg/L,0.8 mg/L and 6.3,respectively.The sludge is disinfected regularly and then transported outside for disposal.This project can provide reference for sewage treatment design of emergency medical temporary isolation and observation facility and cabin hospital.

Meteorological-Data-Based Modeling for PV Performance Optimization

Developing a sustainable and reliable photovoltaic (PV) energy system requires a comprehensive analysis of solar profiles and an accurate prediction of solar energy performance at the study site. Installing the PV modules with optimal tilt and azimuth angles has a significant impact on the total irradiance delivered to the PV modules. This paper proposes a comprehensive optimization model to integrate total irradiance models with the PV temperature model to find the optimal year-round installation parameters of PV modules. A novel integration between installation parameters and the annual average solar energy is presented, to produce the maximum energy output. The results suggest an increase in energy yields of 4% compared to the conventional scheme, where tilt angle is equal to the latitude and the PV modules are facing south. This paper uses a real-time dataset for the NEOM region in Saudi Arabia to validate the superiority of the proposed model compared to the conventional scheme, but it can be implemented as a scheme wherever real-time data are available.

[Changes in Secondary Inorganic Ions in PM2.5 at Different Pollution Stages Before and After COVID-19 Control].

To investigate the change characteristics of secondary inorganic ions in PM2.5 at different pollution stages before and after COVID-19, the online monitoring of winter meteorological and atmospheric pollutant concentrations in Zhengzhou from December 15, 2019 to February 15, 2020 was conducted using a high-resolution (1 h) online instrument. This study analyzed the causes of the haze process of COVID-19, the diurnal variation characteristics of air pollutants, and the distribution characteristics of air pollutants at different stages of haze.The results showed that Zhengzhou was mainly controlled by the high-pressure ridge during the haze process, and the weather situation was stable, which was conducive to the accumulation of air pollutants. SNA was the main component of water-soluble ions, accounting for more than 90%. Home isolation measures during COVID-19 had different impacts on the distribution characteristics of air pollutants in different haze stages. After COVID-19, the concentration of PM2.5 in the clean, occurrence, and dissipation stages increased compared with that before COVID-19 but significantly decreased in the development stage. The home isolation policy significantly reduced the high value of PM2.5. The concentrations of NO2, SO2, NH3, and CO were the highest in the haze development stage, showing a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The concentration of O3 was lowest in the pre-COVID-19 development stage but highest in the post-COVID-19 development stage. The linear correlation between[NH4+]/[SO42-] and[NO3-]/[SO42-] at different time periods before and after COVID-19 was strong, indicating that the home isolation policy of COVID-19 did not change the generation mode of NO3-, and the corresponding reaction was always the main generation mode of NO3-. The correlation between[excess-NH4+] and[NO3-] was high in different periods before COVID-19, and NO3- generation was related to the increase in NH3 or NH4+ in the process of PM2.5 pollution in Zhengzhou.

Knowledge Transfer in Support of the Development of Oxygen Concentrators in Emergency Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously disrupted supply chains and generated an urgent demand in medical infrastructure. Among personal protective equipment and ventilators, there was also an urgent demand for chemical oxygen. As devices to purify oxygen could not be manufactured and shipped rapidly enough, a simple and accessible oxygen concentrator based on pressure swing adsorption was developed at ETH Zurich in spring 2020. Instead of building devices locally and shipping them, it was decided to educate others in need of oxygen. The implementation encompassed education on process chemistry, material choice, and assembly and optimization of the concentrator and was realized using synchronous teaching tools, such as video call, and asynchronous ones, such as a website and video streaming. The project gained traction and interaction with engineering teams from universities and non-Governmental Organizations (Red Cross and the UN Development Program) in developing countries and emerging market economies, including Ecuador, Mexico, Somalia, and Peru. At the end of the project, the teams were surveyed regarding their experience in the educative knowledge transfer. It was reported that the learning experience prepared these groups well to build the device and to teach others as well. Major challenges were accessing some parts of the device and optimizing its performance. While synchronous communication is expected to be a very effective teaching method, the survey results showed that explanations via a website and video streaming have contributed the most to the implementation of the oxygen concentrator and thereby provide autonomous and sustainable education tools.

Performance of in-duct bipolar ionization devices on pollutant removal and potential byproduct formation in indoor environments

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) since SARS-CoV-2 may be transmitted through virus-laden aerosols in poorly ventilated spaces. Multiple air cleaning technologies have been developed to mitigate airborne transmission risk and improve IAQ. In-duct bipolar ionization technology is an air cleaning technology that can generate ions for inactivating airborne pathogens and increasing particle deposition and removal while without significant byproducts generated. Many commercial in-duct ionization systems have been developed but their practical performance on pollutant removal and potential formation of byproducts have not been investigated comprehensively. The results in this study showed that the in-duct bipolar ionization technology can significantly improve the particle removal efficiency of the regular filter, while no significant ozone and ion were released to the indoor air. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.

A call for food system change

[...]the UK meets more of its food needs, the country risks having potentially counterfeit food imports and disrupted supply chains. The book describes relevant aspects of British food history, defines terms, lists foods imported and exported, measures freight shipped through UK airports, defines greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and crop production, documents food price trends, gives feed conversion rates for food animals, lists advertising spending by major food companies, explains water rights, and states how much land is owned by the British aristocracy, corporations, and Crown. Lang was a member of the EAT-Lancet Commission and he calls on the UK Government to adopt the Commission's Great Food Transformation recommendations to improve public health, the environment, food citizenship, wage scales, and democratic accountability, and to redistribute power in the food system.

Towards a green hospital approach in Oman: A case study of quantifying an environmental impact.

INTRODUCTION: The environmental impact of hospitals and healthcare providers practices is substantial, although often unnoticed and infrequently tracked. A green and healthy hospital is one that promotes public health by continuously monitoring and reducing its environmental impact. METHODS: We adopted a descriptive case study design with a multi-dimensional evaluation and monitoring of carbon emission equivalence (CO2e) using two examples from a tertiary care hospital practice in Oman. One example (1) was related to inhalation anaesthetic gases (IAG) consumption and the second example (2) was related to estimation of telemedicine clinics (TMCs) CO2e travel-related savings. RESULTS: The cumulative consumption of three different (1) IAG over three years (2019, 2020, 2021) was generated with estimated CO2e for each year for sevoflurane, isoflurane and desflurane. Desflurane had the lowest consumption with a yearly cumulative consumption of 6000 mL, 1500 mL, and 3000 mL for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. The (2) TMCs during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic travel related CO2e savings were in the range of 12.65-3483.1 tonnes. In the second year of launching this service it doubled to a range of 24-6610.5 tonnes of CO2e savings. CONCLUSION: A green and healthy hospital approach of tracking and monitoring environmental impact of healthcare providers practices is critical for health planning and management of the environmental policy. This case study illustrated the importance of closely tracking hospital-based practices from an environmental perspective towards a green hospital approach.

2023-2027 Capital Project Portfolio: The Strategy and Issues Behind the Challenge to Undertake the New FPSOs Necessary to Fulfill the Company's Pre-Salt Business Plan in Brazil

The ambitious five-year strategic business plan for Petrobras presented a challenge for its Surface Installation Engineering Department. This paper explores the business case behind the strategy, initiatives and identified issues that enabled Petrobras to design, plan, contract, build and deliver more than fifteen new O&G production systems. The company transformation relied on strategic parallel initiatives. Four areas concentrated the efforts: Corporate Integration, Surface Installations, Subsea Systems and Reservoir Wells. This article focuses on the analysis of the technical actions in the Surface Installation department. Nonetheless, it summarizes the related essential efforts, as well. The optimization process started with high level assumptions, for instance to reinforce one company value. That is, to keep and develop a strong in-house technical knowledge. This allowed to continue a previous development initiative to create internal Concept and Basic Design Engineering for Standard FPSO Design. The major challenge occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Petrobras mobilized its longest and largest Organizational Response Structure (EOR) team in its history. It involved all company departments with direct contribution of more than a thousand employees assigned for two years. With deep respect to the lives impacted and lost, there were lessons learned in this process, although Petrobras managed to continue its essential operations. From Corporate Integration perspective, Petrobras actively managed its asset portfolio to reduce the company's debt. Combined with favorable commodity prices, it allowed the company to restore and increase its financial situation to invest in oil production development despite observed volatility in the macroeconomic scenario. Regarding Reservoir and Wells, innovative technology created conditions to reduce the overall completion time. Subsea Systems layout optimizations and a more efficient resource management like the PLSV assigned fleet present significant contribution to the results. standardization process to evolve. Optimization in system machinery design templates saved time while respecting each project unique input design conditions. One of the results was a new series of FPSOs with All Electric concept design. It consequently tends to increase efficiency and overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Another key point identified was the interface among Petrobras, its supply partners, and shipyards. Through a permanent FPSO market monitoring committee, the process of procuring technical qualification was updated and stimulated early engagement of critical equipment suppliers. Furthermore, Petrobras have been continuously improving the drafting of contract terms for each FPSO project to stimulate shared interest. Finally, there were also improvements during FPSO construction and commissioning phase. The above mentioned efforts are expected to increase the chances of Petrobras delivering its strategic plan and sustainable growth. There are lessons learned to undertake fifteen O&G production systems in a synchronous manner. This is a considerable number of offshore projects for any operator company. © 2023, Offshore Technology Conference.

Two years of volatile organic compound online in situ measurements at the Site Instrumental de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique (Paris region, France) using proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have direct influences on air quality and climate. They indeed play a key role in atmospheric chemistry as precursors of secondary pollutants, such as ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosols (SOA). In this respect, long-term datasets of in situ atmospheric measurements are crucial for characterizing the variability of atmospheric chemical composition, its sources, and trends. The ongoing establishment of the Aerosols, Cloud, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure (ACTRIS) allows implementation of the collection and provision of such high-quality datasets. In this context, online and continuous measurements of O3, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and aerosols have been carried out since 2012 at the SIRTA (Site Instrumental de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique) observatory, located in the Paris region, France. Within the last decade, VOC measurements were conducted offline at SIRTA, until the implementation of real-time monitoring which started in January 2020 using a proton-transfer-reaction quadrupole mass spectrometer (PTR-Q-MS).The dataset acquired during the first 2 years of online VOC measurements provides insights into their seasonal and diurnal variabilities. The additional long-term datasets obtained from co-located measurements (NOx, aerosol physical and chemical properties, meteorological parameters) are used to better characterize the atmospheric conditions and to further interpret the obtained results. Results also include insights into VOC main sources and the influence of meteorological conditions and air mass origin on their levels in the Paris region. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 notably saw a quasi-total lockdown in France in spring and a lighter one in autumn. Therefore, the focus is placed on the impact of these lockdowns on the VOC variability and sources. A change in the behaviour of VOC markers for anthropogenic sources was observed during the first lockdown, reflecting a change in human activities. A comparison with gas chromatography data from the Paris city centre consolidates the regional representativity of the SIRTA station for benzene, while differences are observed for shorter-lived compounds with a notable impact of their local sources. This dataset could be further used as input for atmospheric models and can be found at 10.14768/f8c46735-e6c3-45e2-8f6f-26c6d67c4723 (Simon et al., 2022a).

Reputation of Electric Vehicles in the Environment of Carbon Reduction and Accelerated Digitization

The accelerated digitization of the third decade of the twenty-first century poses a challenge both for science and for practice. The study presents partial results of continuous research on online reputation management of entities operating in the environment of low-carbon economy. The aim of the study is the application of a standardized methodology for calculating the Total level of Online Reputation (TOR) to determine the market position of selected Electric Vehicles (EVs) compared to the market position of conventional Vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines (ICEVs) in the online environment. The research sample consists of the ten best-selling Vehicles and the ten best-selling Electric Vehicles in the world by sales in the year 2021. Based on the measurement results and the subsequent analysis of the context, it can be concluded that the EV market shows the parameters of a developing market not only from the point of view of sales but also in terms of the overall level of Online Reputation as such. At the same time, it is possible to point out a high geographical specificity and significant disproportionality of the EV market compared to ICEVs. From the overall market perspective, the future of cars in the EV category is still unclear, as building trust in low-carbon products is limited by historical tradition. The main representatives of the EV industry thus represent the first forays of the onset of the low-carbon era in individual transport. The description of the issue will require the monitoring of status indicators over time. The results of the presented study can thus serve as a baseline and methodological framework for further research of the adoption of low-carbon policies in common practice.

Knowledge Transfer in Support of the Development of Oxygen Concentrators in Emergency Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously disrupted supply chains and generated an urgent demand in medical infrastructure. Among personal protective equipment and ventilators, there was also an urgent demand for chemical oxygen. As devices to purify oxygen could not be manufactured and shipped rapidly enough, a simple and accessible oxygen concentrator based on pressure swing adsorption was developed at ETH Zurich in spring 2020. Instead of building devices locally and shipping them, it was decided to educate others in need of oxygen. The implementation encompassed education on process chemistry, material choice, and assembly and optimization of the concentrator and was realized using synchronous teaching tools, such as video call, and asynchronous ones, such as a website and video streaming. The project gained traction and interaction with engineering teams from universities and non-Governmental Organizations (Red Cross and the UN Development Program) in developing countries and emerging market economies, including Ecuador, Mexico, Somalia, and Peru. At the end of the project, the teams were surveyed regarding their experience in the educative knowledge transfer. It was reported that the learning experience prepared these groups well to build the device and to teach others as well. Major challenges were accessing some parts of the device and optimizing its performance. While synchronous communication is expected to be a very effective teaching method, the survey results showed that explanations via a website and video streaming have contributed the most to the implementation of the oxygen concentrator and thereby provide autonomous and sustainable education tools. © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

International cooperation, production side emissions and environmental sustainability

PurposeRising greenhouse gases have contributed to global warming above the pre-industrial levels with detrimental effects on world climatic patterns. Extreme weather has inflicted drastic impacts, including loss of lives and livelihoods and economic disruption. However, collective international cooperation in adopting greenhouse gas emission mitigating measures can translate into long-run beneficial effects of improving environmental quality. This study examines if international environmental cooperation among the world's top ten polluters can reduce production side emissions.Design/methodology/approachThe panel estimation procedure was applied to data from ten top polluting countries from 2000 to 2019.FindingsThe results revealed a statistically significant inverse association between a nation's commitments to international environmental treaties and carbon dioxide emissions. Other than confirming the environmental Kuznets curve effect, industrial intensification, international trade and law rule are other strong correlations of carbon dioxide emissions.Research limitations/implicationsThe main policy implication is the urgency for the leaders of the world's top ten polluters to actively cooperate in developing and implementing new production-side carbon emission measures as well as the implementation and enforcement of existing international treaties to minimize further environmental damage and let the countries in the lower ranks of carbon emissions to enjoy the long-run benefits of the decarbonized world.Originality/valueThis study makes a new contribution to the environmental research literature by unfolding how collective global cooperation on environmental challenges can help reduce environmental damage in a coherent analytical framework.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2022-0598

Successful Implementation of Gas Driven Electric Power Grid Project for Wells and Facilities Electrification, Yielding GHG Emissions and Cost Benefits

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.