An analysis of flaring and venting activity in the Alberta upstream oil and gas industry

Alberta, Canada, is an important global producer of petroleum resources. In association with this production, large amounts of gas (1.14 billion m3 in 2008) are flared or vented. Although the amount of flaring and venting has been measurably reduced since 2002, data from 2005 reveal sharp increases in venting, which have important implications in terms of resource conservation and greenhouse gas emissions (which exceeded 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2008). With use of extensive monthly production data for 18,203 active batteries spanning the years 2002-2008 obtained in close cooperation with the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, a detailed analysis has been completed to examine activity patterns of flaring and venting and reasons behind these trends in the Alberta upstream oil and gas industry. In any given year, approximately 6000 batteries reported flaring and/or venting, but the distribution of volumes flared and vented at individual sites was highly skewed, such that small numbers of sites handled large fractions of the total gas flaring and venting in the Province. Examination of month-to-month volume variability at individual sites, cast in terms of a nominal turndown ratio that would be required for a compressor to capture that gas and direct it into a pipeline, further revealed that volumes at a majority of sites were reasonably stable and there was no evidence that larger or more stable sites had been preferentially reduced, leaving potential barriers to future mitigation. Through linking of geospatial data with production data coupled with additional statistical analysis, the 31.2% increase in venting volumes since 2005 was revealed to be predominantly associated with increased production of heavier oils and bitumen in the Lloydminster region of the Province. Overall, the data suggest that quite significant reductions in flaring and venting could be realized by seeking mitigation solutions for only the largest batteries in the Province.     

Accumulation of 14C-trinitrotoluene and related nonextractable (bound) residues in Eisenia fetida

To determine if trinitrotoluene (TNT) forms nonextractable residues in earthworms and to measure the relative degree of accumulation as compared to TNT and its deaminated metabolites, Eisenia fetida was exposed to ¹⁴C-TNT using dermal contact to filter paper or exposure to soil. Nonextractable residues made up 32-68% of total body burden depending on exposure media and depuration time. Parent TNT accounted for less than 3% of radioactivity, while ADNTs accounted for 7-38%. Elimination half-lives were 61-120 h for TNT, ADNTs, and DANTs, which was significantly lower than the half-lives found for nonextractable residues, 201-240 h. However, over 80% of the nonextractable residue was solubilized using weak acid (pH 2). Based on our findings that TNT accumulation occurs primarily as nonextractable residues, which have a longer half-life, and that nonextractable residues can be solubilized, we propose that nonextractable residues could be used as a selective biomarker for assessing TNT contamination.     

Community vulnerability and resilience in disaster risk reduction: an example from Phojal Nalla,Himachal Pradesh,India

International Disaster Risk Reduction Frameworks and Indian Plans advocate shared responsibility for reducing disaster risk, in which community vulnerability and resilience conditions are central. This paper presents a case study from the Indian Himalaya (Kullu District) of community vulnerability and resilience conditions following damaging floods, primarily the 1994 Phojal Nalla flood, through the concepts of community heritage and capital. Data were collected in the period 2013–2016, using semi-structured interviews (n?=?129), village reconnaissance and archival/contemporary data searches. The connections between heritage, capital, vulnerability and resilience are complex, but results demonstrate ‘knowledge’ is the principal driver of resilience conditions, via facets of heritage (e.g. religious infrastructure and activities, traditional architectural vernacular, and multi-generational attachments to place) and capital (e.g. income diversification, access to communication technologies, societal welfare measures and positive interactions with water). Persisting vulnerabilities stem from differential access to and implementation of best practice knowledge, governed by social, economic and political conditions. Further improvements in risk reduction require greater consideration of the following: (1) the integration of community local knowledge into the overall disaster management process; (2) the opportunities offered by mobile phone and other technologies for generating and sharing knowledge across society; and (3) the value of under-utilised knowledge of past disaster events, assembled from a systematic evaluation of oral, documentary and landscape evidence, to risk reduction.     

Rhetorical Recommendations Built on Ecological Experience: A Reassessment of the Challenge of Environmental Communication

This article reconsiders the challenge of environmental communication by inquiring into the fundamental rhetorical difficulty of thinking in terms of ecology. We discuss two essential yet bewildering aspects of ecology: its focus on interconnection and its use of multiple scales. On this basis, we distil six rhetorical recommendations: a shift from appealing to pre-existing values to avenues for transforming values; a shift from arguments from authority to addressing legitimate resistances; a shift from a focus on mutual agreement to a mutual bewilderment; a shift from intellectual comprehension to personal experience; a shift from negative effects to positive connections; and, finally, a shift from a focus on political results to local transformations. We experiment with this rhetorical approach through two applications: for critical reassessments of past articulations we consider the Gaia Hypothesis and Deep Ecology, and for current refinements to environmental problems we consider controversies around Marcellus Shale gas development     

Status and trends of circumpolar peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon populations

Ambio - The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) are top avian predators of Arctic ecosystems. Although existing monitoring efforts are well established for both...     

Chemistry and long-term decomposition of roots of Douglas-fir grown under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and warming conditions

Elevated atmospheric CO(2) concentrations and warming may affect the quality of litters of forest plants and their subsequent decomposition in ecosystems, thereby potentially affecting the global carbon cycle. However, few data on root tissues are available to test this feedback to the atmosphere. In this study, we used fine (diameter < or = 2 mm) and small (2-10 mm) roots of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings that were grown for 4 yr in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment: ambient or elevated (+ 180 ppm) atmospheric CO(2) concentrations, and ambient or elevated (+3.8 degrees C) atmospheric temperature. Exposure to elevated CO(2) significantly increased water-soluble extractives concentration (%WSE), but had little effect on the concentration of N, cellulose, and lignin of roots. Elevated temperature had no effect on substrate quality except for increasing %WSE and decreasing the %lignin content of fine roots. No significant interaction was found between CO(2) and temperature treatments on substrate quality, except for %WSE of the fine roots. Short-term (< or = 9 mo) root decomposition in the field indicated that the roots from the ambient CO(2) and ambient temperature treatment had the slowest rate. However, over a longer period of incubation (9-36 mo) the influence of initial substrate quality on root decomposition diminished. Instead, the location of the field incubation sites exhibited significant control on decomposition. Roots at the warmer, low elevation site decomposed significantly faster than the ones at the cooler, high elevation site. This study indicates that short-term decomposition and long-term responses are not similar. It also suggests that increasing atmospheric CO(2) had little effect on the carbon storage of Douglas-fir old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.     

Feasibility of water purification technology in rural areas of developing countries

Water scarcity is threatening social and economic growth in rural areas of developing countries. There are potential markets for water purification technologies in these regions. The main focus of this article is to evaluate the social, economic and political feasibilities of providing water purification technologies to rural areas of developing countries. The findings of this research can serve as the basis for private investors interested in entering this market. Four representative regions were selected for the study. Economic, demographic, and environmental variables of each region were collected and analyzed along with domestic markets and political information. Rural areas of the developing world are populated with poor people unable to fulfill the basic needs for clean water and sanitation. These people represent an important group of potential users. Due to economic, social, and political risks in these areas, it is difficult to build a strong case for any business or organization focusing on immediate returns on capital investment. A plausible business strategy would be to approach the water purification market as a corporate responsibility and social investing in the short term. This would allow an organization to be well positioned once the economic ability of individuals, governments, and donor agencies are better aligned.     

Evaporative mass transfer behavior of a complex immiscible liquid

A series of laboratory experiments was conducted with a multiple-component immiscible liquid, collected from the Picillo Farm Superfund Site in Rhode Island, to examine liquid-vapor mass-transfer behavior. The immiscible liquid, which comprises solvents, oils, pesticides, PCBs, paint sludges, explosives, and other compounds, was characterized using gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine mole fractions of selected constituents. Batch experiments were conducted to evaluate equilibrium phase-partitioning behavior. Two sets of air-stripping column studies were conducted to examine the mass-transfer dynamics of five selected target compounds present in the immiscible-liquid mixture. One set of column experiments was designed to represent a system with free-phase immiscible liquid present; the other was designed to represent a system with a residual phase of immiscible liquid. Initial elution behavior of all target components generally appeared to be ideal for both systems, as the initial vapor-phase concentrations were similar to vapor-phase concentrations measured for the batch experiment and those estimated using Raoult's law (incorporating the immiscible-liquid composition data). Later-stage removal of 1,2-dichlorobenzene appeared to be rate limited for the columns containing free-phase immiscible liquid and no porous medium. Conversely, evaporative mass transfer appeared to be ideal throughout the experiment conducted with immiscible liquid distributed relatively uniformly as a residual phase within a sandy porous medium.     

Mercury and other element exposure to tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting on Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota

Elevated mercury concentrations in water were reported in the prairie wetlands at Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, ND. In order to determine whether wildlife associated with these wetlands was exposed to and then accumulated higher mercury concentrations than wildlife living near more permanent wetlands (e.g. lakes), tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs and nestlings were collected from nests near seasonal wetlands, semi-permanent wetlands, and lakes. Mercury concentrations in eggs collected near seasonal wetlands were higher than those collected near semi-permanent wetlands or lakes. In contrast, mercury concentrations in nestling livers did not differ among wetland types. Mercury and other element concentrations in tree swallow eggs and nestlings collected from all wetlands were low. As suspected from these low concentrations, mercury concentrations in sample eggs were not a significant factor explaining the hatching success of the remaining eggs in each clutch.     

Enhanced removal of heavy metals in primary treatment using coagulation and flocculation.

The goal of this study was to determine the removal efficiencies of chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc from raw wastewater by chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) and to attain a total suspended solids removal goal of 80%. Operating parameters and chemical doses were optimized by bench-scale tests. Locally obtained raw wastewater samples were spiked with heavy metal solutions to obtain representative concentrations of metals in wastewater. Jar tests were conducted to compare the metals removal efficiencies of the chemical treatment options using ferric chloride, alum, and anionic polymer. The results obtained were compared with those from other studies. It was concluded that CEPT using ferric chloride and anionic polymer is more effective than CEPT using alum for metals removal. The CEPT dosing of 40 mg/L ferric chloride and 0.5 mg/L polymer enhanced heavy metals removal efficiencies by over 200% for chromium, copper, zinc, and nickel and 475% for lead, compared with traditional primary treatment. Efficient metals capture during CEPT can result in increased allowable headworks loadings or lower metal levels in the outfall.