Los vínculos del ingeniero Pablo Yver Ballester con la industria del gas británica (1902-1944) / Engineer Pablo Yvern Ballester’s connections with the british gas industry (1902-1944)

A principios del siglo XX, el Reino Unido continuaba siendo un referente para la industria del gas europea. Era el país más adecuado para obtener formación, tecnología y equipos. Pablo Yvern sería un ejemplo de estas afirmaciones. Entre 1902 y 1907, Pablo Yvern Ballester trabajó en la industria británica para completar su formación. Mientras ejerció de ingeniero en la industria del gas española (1907-1944), sus relaciones con la industria británica fueron intensas ya que allí adquirió los equipos más avanzados que necesitaba para sus obras. La principal aportación tecnológica a la industria del gas española de Pablo Yvern fue la patente que registró en 1911, denominada ‘Perfeccionamiento en los recuperadores de calor para hornos calentados por gas’. Sobre esta patente, fundamentó gran parte de su labor como ingeniero. En ella, hay indicios de la influencia de los conocimientos adquiridos durante su actividad en las empresas británicas Gibbons Juniors y Gibbons Bros Ltd. Su obra como ingeniero significó la mayor reforma y modernización de los elementos de producción, en especial los hornos, realizada en España en el primer tercio del siglo XX.(AU)

At the beginning of the 20th century, the United Kingdom kept playing an important role in the European gas industry. The UK was regarded as a place where to seek better technological training in the sector and as a benchmark for equipment acquisition. Pablo Yvern would be an example of these statements. Between 1902 and 1907, Pablo Yvern Ballester worked in the British industry in order to complete his training. While practicing as an engineer in the Spanish gas industry (1907-1944), his connections with his British counterpart intensified and resulted in the acquisition of the most advanced equipment he needed for his work. The main technological contribution made by Pablo Yvern to the Spanish gas industry was his 1911 registered patent ‘Improvement the heat recuperators on gas furnaces’ A considerable part of his work as an engineer was based on it. We can find evidence of that during his employment by the British companies Gibbons Juniors and Gibbons Bros Ltd. His work as an engineer entailed the largest refurbishing and modernization of the production elements, especially furnaces, undergone in the first third of the 20th century.(AU)

Preindustrial 14CH4 indicates greater anthropogenic fossil CH4 emissions.

Atmospheric methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas, and its mole fraction has more than doubled since the preindustrial era1. Fossil fuel extraction and use are among the largest anthropogenic sources of CH4 emissions, but the precise magnitude of these contributions is a subject of debate2,3. Carbon-14 in CH4 (14CH4) can be used to distinguish between fossil (14C-free) CH4 emissions and contemporaneous biogenic sources; however, poorly constrained direct 14CH4 emissions from nuclear reactors have complicated this approach since the middle of the 20th century4,5. Moreover, the partitioning of total fossil CH4 emissions (presently 172 to 195 teragrams CH4 per year)2,3 between anthropogenic and natural geological sources (such as seeps and mud volcanoes) is under debate; emission inventories suggest that the latter account for about 40 to 60 teragrams CH4 per year6,7. Geological emissions were less than 15.4 teragrams CH4 per year at the end of the Pleistocene, about 11,600 years ago8, but that period is an imperfect analogue for present-day emissions owing to the large terrestrial ice sheet cover, lower sea level and extensive permafrost. Here we use preindustrial-era ice core 14CH4 measurements to show that natural geological CH4 emissions to the atmosphere were about 1.6 teragrams CH4 per year, with a maximum of 5.4 teragrams CH4 per year (95 per cent confidence limit)-an order of magnitude lower than the currently used estimates. This result indicates that anthropogenic fossil CH4 emissions are underestimated by about 38 to 58 teragrams CH4 per year, or about 25 to 40 per cent of recent estimates. Our record highlights the human impact on the atmosphere and climate, provides a firm target for inventories of the global CH4 budget, and will help to inform strategies for targeted emission reductions9,10.

Associations among particulate matter, hazardous air pollutants and methane emissions from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility during the 2015 blowout.

In October of 2015, a large underground storage well at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility experienced a massive methane leak (also referred to as "natural gas blowout"), which resulted in the largest ever anthropogenic release of methane from a single point source in the United States. Additional sampling conducted during the event revealed unique gas and particle concentrations in ambient air and a characteristic "fingerprint" of metals in the indoor dust samples similar to samples taken at the blowout site. We further investigated the association between the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site and several measured air pollutants by: (a) conducting additional emission source studies using meteorological data and correlations between particulate matter, methane, and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) collected during the natural gas blowout at distances ranging from 1.2 to 7.3 km due south of well SS25, (b) identifying the unique i/n-pentane ratio signature associated with emissions from the blowout event, and (c) identifying characteristics unique to the homes that tested positive for air pollutants using data collected from extensive indoor environmental assessment surveys. Results of air quality samples collected near Aliso Canyon during the final weeks of the event revealed that elevated levels of several HAP compounds were likely influenced by the active natural gas blowout. Furthermore, the final attempts to plug the well during the days preceding the well kill were associated with particle emissions likely from the well site. Together, this investigation suggests uncontrolled leaks or blowout events at natural gas storage facilities have the potential to release harmful pollutants with adverse health and environmental consequences into proximate communities. With this evidence, our recommendations include facility-specific meteorological and air quality data-collection equipment installed at natural gas storage facilities and support of environmental surveillance after severe off-normal operation events.