Equilibrium study and kinetics of Cu removal from water by zeolite prepared from oil shale ash

Engineered zeolite was produced from oil shale ash by reaction with sodium hydroxide in a closed vessel reactor. This adsorbent was used for removal of copper ions from aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity was 504.6 mg Cu²⁺/g zeolite. Kinetic studies showed that the rate of adsorption of copper is increased with increasing the solution pH and temperature, quantity of the zeolite and agitation speed. The kinetic data were fitted to homogeneous micropore model and found that the mass transfer coefficient and diffusivity of the Cu²⁺ are directly affected by the kinetic parameters. The increase in solution concentration will decrease the mass transfer coefficient while diffusivity is increased.     

Estimation of the impact of prevailing weather conditions on the occurrence of oil-contaminated dead birds on the German North Sea coast

Chronic oil pollution by illegal oil dumping in the North Sea is difficult to quantify. Beached, oil-contaminated sea birds, however, may be used as an indirect indicator. Reconstructing the drift of oil slicks and sea bird corpses in the southern North Sea for the period 1992-2003 by means of a two-dimensional numerical transport model driven by re-analysed weather data, we show with an example of two common sea bird species that the variability observed within the number of corpses registered during beached bird surveys for the German coast primarily reflects the inter-annual variability of prevailing weather conditions. This should be taken into account when interpreting the data. We propose normalisation of beached bird survey data based on numerical drift simulations to improve the recognition of trends in the level of chronic oil pollution.     

Evidence of hydrocarbon contamination from the Burgan oil field, Kuwait: interpretations from thermal remote sensing data

The paper presents the application of thermal remote sensing for mapping hydrocarbon polluted sites. This has been achieved by mono-window algorithm for land surface temperature (LST) measurements, using multi-date band 6 data of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM). The emissivity, transmittance and mean atmospheric temperature were used as critical factors to estimate LST. The changes in the surface emissivity due to oil pollution alter the apparent temperature, which was used as a recognition element to map out oil polluted surfaces. The LST contrast was successfully used to map spatial distribution of hydrocarbon pollution in the Burgan Oil field area of Kuwait. The methodology can be positively used to detect waste dumping, oil spills in oceans and ports, besides environmental management of oil pollution at or near the land surface.     

Feeding of western gray whales during a seismic survey near Sakhalin Island, Russia

Exxon Neftegas Limited, as operator of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, is developing oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf off northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia. DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG) on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 consortium conducted a 3-D seismic survey of the Odoptu license area during 17 August–9 September 2001. A portion of the primary feeding area of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is located in the vicinity of the seismic survey. This paper presents data to assess whether western gray whale bottom feeding activity, as indicated by visible mud plumes, was affected by seismic operations. The mitigation and monitoring program associated with the seismic survey included aerial surveys during 19 July–19 November 2001. These aerial surveys documented the local and regional distribution, abundance, and bottom feeding activity of western gray whales. Data on gray whale feeding activity before, during and after the seismic survey were collected, with the whales assumed to be feeding on the benthos if mud plumes were observed on the surface. The data were used to assess the influence of seismic survey and other factors (including environmental) on feeding activity of western gray whales. A stepwise multiple regression analysis failed to find a statistically significant effect (α = 0.05) of the seismic survey on frequency of occurrence of mud plumes of western gray whales used as a proxy to evaluate bottom feeding activity in Piltun feeding area. The regression indicated that transect number (a proxy for water depth, related to distance from shore) and swell height (a proxy for sea state) were the only variables that had a significant effect on frequency of whale mud plumes. It is concluded that the 2001 seismic survey had no measurable effect (α = 0.05) on bottom feeding activity of western gray whales off Sakhalin Island. M.W. Newcomer, deceased     

Distribution and abundance of western gray whales during a seismic survey near Sakhalin Island, Russia

Exxon Neftegas Limited, operator of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, is developing oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf off northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia. DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG), on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, conducted a 3-D seismic survey of the Odoptu license area during 17 August–9 September 2001. A portion of the primary known feeding area of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is located adjacent to the seismic block. The data presented here were collected as part of daily monitoring to determine if there was any measurable effect of the seismic survey on the distribution and abundance of western gray whales. Mitigation and monitoring program included aerial surveys conducted between 19 July and 19 November using the methodology outlined by the Southern California High Energy Seismic Survey team (HESS). These surveys provided documentation of the distribution, abundance and bottom feeding activity of western gray whales in relation to seismic survey sounds. From an operations perspective, the aerial surveys provided near real-time data on the location of whales in and outside the feeding area, and documented whether whales were displaced out of an area normally used as feeding habitat. The objectives of this study were to assess (a) temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of gray whales in relation to seismic survey, and (b) the influence of seismic survey, environmental factors, and other variables on the distribution and abundance of gray whales within their preferred feeding area adjacent to Piltun Bay. Multiple regression analysis revealed a limited redistribution of gray whales southward within the Piltun feeding area when the seismic survey was fully operational. A total of five environmental and other variables unrelated to seismic survey (date and proxies of depth, sea state and visibility) and one seismic survey-related variable (seg3d, i.e., received sound energy accumulated over 3 days) had statistically significant effects on the distribution and abundance of gray whales. The distribution of two to four gray whales observed on the surface (i.e., about five to ten whales in total) has likely been affected by the seismic survey. However, the total number of gray whales observed within the Piltun feeding area remained stable during the seismic survey. M. W. Newcomer, Deceased.     

大庆油田分布式防震减灾信息和辅助决策系统——系统框架研究

简要论述了国内外防震减灾信息和辅助决策系统的发展状况。以大庆油田防震减灾信息和辅助决策系统为基础，详细探讨了分布式防震减灾系统的框架研究，包括ArcIMS的应用、系统框架的二次开发、数据库的远程连接和调用和系统框架的集成等。同时阐述了分布式网络GIS已经成为防震减灾信息和辅助决策系统建设的一个重要发展方向和它的应用价值。     

PNN破乳剂的合成及其乳化液废水处理

由氨,仲胺与伯胺及表卤代醇合成制备了合成制备了高效破乳剂ＰＮＮ,并用以处理乳化油废水,取得了较好的效果。结果表明,在ＰＨ＝６．０－７．５,投量为１．８８‰３．０‰的条件下,用ＰＮＮ处理ＣＯＤｃｒ为７１８４０ｍｇ／Ｌ、ｉｍｇ ｏ １５５３４ｍｇ／Ｌ、油为１５５３４ｍｇ／Ｌ的某乳化油废水,最佳ＣＯＤｃｒ去除率达９２．７％,最佳油去除率达９９．９％。,浊度去除率达到９９．９％,该药剂破乳后固液分离性能较     

The cost of endangered species protection: Evidence from auctions for natural resources

This paper examines the effect that endangered species regulation has on natural resource development. Specifically, we use data from competitive auctions to estimate the effect that land-use regulation protecting endangered caribou in the Canadian province of Alberta has on the price producers pay for the right to extract oil. We exploit a regression discontinuity design to evaluate how prices differ along regulation boundaries that constrain resource development. The auction format and the regulation discontinuity allow us to measure the total cost of the regulation. We find that producers pay 24% less on average for oil leases that are regulated and that the total net present value cost of the regulation exceeds $1.15 billion for leases sold between 2003 and 2012, all of which is borne by the government. In spite of these costs, the populations of endangered caribou remain in widespread decline.     

Application of social network theory to prioritizing Oil & Gas industries protection in a networked critical infrastructure system

As a typical process industry, the Oil & Gas industries play a key role within a networked critical infrastructure system in terms of their interconnection and interdependency. While the tight coupling of infrastructures increases the efficiency of infrastructure operations, interdependency between infrastructures may cause cascading failure of infrastructures. The interdependency between critical infrastructures gives rise to an infrastructure network. In this paper, we apply social network analysis, an analytical tool used by social scientists, to study human interactions and to analyze characteristics of the critical infrastructure network. We identify Oil & Gas, Information & Communication Technologies (ICT), and Electricity as three infrastructures that are most relied upon by other infrastructures, thus these may cause the greatest cascading failure of the infrastructures. Among the three, we further determine that Oil & Gas and Electricity are the more vulnerable infrastructures. As a result, priority toward critical infrastructure protection should be given to the Oil & Gas and Electricity infrastructures since they are most relied upon but at the same time depend more on other infrastructures.