The applicability of natural gas in Brazil—An analysis from an environmental and economic point of view

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-228
Author(s):  
Mariana Sarmanho de Oliveira Lima ◽  
Daisy Aparecida do Nascimento Rebelatto
Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063
Author(s):  
Catalina Hernández Moris ◽  
Maria Teresa Cerda Guevara ◽  
Alois Salmon ◽  
Alvaro Lorca

The energy sector in Chile demands a significant increase in renewable energy sources in the near future, and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies are becoming increasingly competitive as compared to natural gas plants. Motivated by this, this paper presents a comparison between solar technologies such as hybrid plants and natural gas-based thermal technologies, as both technologies share several characteristics that are comparable and beneficial for the power grid. This comparison is made from an economic point of view using the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) metric and in terms of the systemic benefits related to flexibility, which is very much required due to the current decarbonization scenario of Chile’s energy matrix. The results show that the LCOE of the four hybrid plant models studied is lower than the LCOE of the gas plant. A solar hybrid plant configuration composed of a photovoltaic and solar tower plant (STP) with 13 h of storage and without generation restrictions has an LCOE 53 USD/MWh, while the natural gas technology evaluated with an 85% plant factor and a variable fuel cost of 2.0 USD/MMBtu has an LCOE of 86 USD/MWh. Thus, solar hybrid plants under a particular set of conditions are shown to be more cost-effective than their closest competitor for the Chilean grid while still providing significant dispatchability and flexibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Lili Zuo ◽  
Sirui Zhao ◽  
Yaxin Ma ◽  
Fangmei Jiang ◽  
Yue Zu

During the process of distributing natural gas to urban users through city gate stations, hydrate is easy to form due to the existence of throttling effect which causes safety risks. To handle this problem, a program to quickly calculate hydrate prediction and prevention methods for city gate stations is developed. The hydrate formation temperature is calculated through the Chen–Guo model, and the Peng–Robinson equation of state combined with the balance criterion is used to analyze the water condensation in the throttling process. The Wilson activity coefficient model is used to calculate the mass fraction in the liquid phase of thermodynamic inhibitors for preventing hydrates. Considering the volatility of inhibitors, the principle of isothermal flash has been utilized to calculate the total injection volume of the inhibitor. Moreover, the effects of commonly used methanol and ethylene glycol inhibitors are discussed. In terms of safety and sustainability, the ethanol inhibitor, which is considered for the first time, exhibited better prevention and control effects under conditions with relatively high temperature and low pressure after throttling. Combined with the actual working conditions of a gate station, methanol has the best inhibitory effect, followed by ethylene glycol. From an economic point of view, the benefits of the gas phase of the inhibitor during the delivery of natural gas are obvious; therefore, the method of methanol injection is recommended for hydrate prevention. If the gas phase benefits of the inhibitor are not considered, the ethylene glycol injection method becomes more economical.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3723-3731

It is known that the price of natural gas liquids (NGL) is higher than that of natural gas from which it is derived, so more modifications needed for existing plants to derive more NGL is economically accepted point of view. The main objective of the present work is to present the method applied on Trans gulf (T/G) gas plant to overcome its performance decrease happened after the plant feed gases becoming leaner than its design margin and hence it led to a great decrease in the plant NGL recovery. This achieved by introducing a new simple modification to the existing process scheme obtained by using a condensate stream to enrich the reflux of the de-ethanizer tower so more recovery is obtained. In order to accomplish that goal, some changes in the existing process operating conditions were needed. A simulation is used in this study to examine the existing and the introduced modification utilizing ASPEN-HYSYS software version 8.4 using Peng-Robinson equation of state (EOS). The simulation of the existing plant results in a better understanding of the plant behavior in the different iterations to reach the maximum benefits. The plant after suffering from low butane recovery from its feed gas and which considered as a figure to the plant efficiency, it increased by this method from 38 % to reach 86-90 % butane recovery and its LPG production increased by 170% to be ≈ 122 tonne/day instead of ≈ 44 tonne/day while only losing ≈ 16 tonne/day of condensate production. An optimization to the new method is done in this paper so that it doesn't intercept with the existing plant equipment performance for the process safety triggers. Also, the last section of the study describes the economic point of view and the return on investment (ROI) how it was paid back only in 7 days. This modification can be taken as a guideline for both new and existing LPG plants which use only propane refrigeration systems for LPG recovery to increase their profits with the lowest cost possible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 286 ◽  
pp. 02014
Author(s):  
Gheorghe Lăzăroiu ◽  
Lucian Mihăescu ◽  
Dana-Alexandra Ciupăgeanu ◽  
Rodica-Manuela Grigoriu ◽  
Dana-Andreya Bondrea

The paper presents an investigation on the conditions for implementing a methanation membrane decarbonator coupled to an energy installation that generates flue gases. The retention of the carbon dioxide content in the flue gases and its conversion to methane is envisaged. For start, low thermal power installations, employing natural gas as main fuel supply, are considered. Internal combustion engines (also working with natural gas fuel) are taken into account for the testing of the carbon dioxide retention process. For this, a classification of the flue gas composition by fuel categories is initially carried out. The decarbonation efficiency is defined and clarifications are made withal regarding the connection between the decarbonation installation and the energy plant. The first practical achievements are also presented, resulting from a decarbonator with a volume of 940 cm3 (having the inner diameter of 12 cm and a height of 50 cm). The results prove that the proposed solution has great potential for practical applications, further research being however necessary. In terms of operating costs (including hydrogen consumption), it is remarked that they can be reduced by exploiting the methane production and eliminating the carbon tax, extending the integration perspective form economic point of view.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1093
Author(s):  
Ignacio Martín Nieto ◽  
David Borge-Diez ◽  
Cristina Sáez Blázquez ◽  
Arturo Farfán Martín ◽  
Diego González-Aguilera

This research work aims at a multinational study in Europe of the emissions and energy costs generated by the operation of low enthalpy geothermal systems, with heat pumps fed by different energy sources. From an economic point of view, natural gas and biogas prices are, usually, lower than electricity ones. So it may be advantageous to use these energy sources to feed the heat pumps instead of electricity. From the environmental point of view, it is intended to highlight the fact that under certain conditions of electricity production (electricity mix), more CO2 emissions are produced by electricity consumption than using other a priori less “clean” energy sources such as natural gas. To establish the countries where each of the different heat pumps may be more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly, data from multi-source geospatial databases have been collected and analyzed. The results show that in the majority of cases, the electric heat pump is the most recommendable solution. However, there are some geographic locations (such as Poland and Estonia), where the gas engine heat pump may be a better alternative.


Author(s):  
Nesrin Ozalp

Among all fossil fuels, natural gas is probably the most attractive one because of its higher heating value, and approximately 97% methane content, which creates less hazardous emissions during power generation. Considering these important facts and the demand for natural gas in the world market, it would be unlikely to think of converting natural gas. However, if we want to utilize our planet’s limited natural gas resources better, then we need to explore alternative ways. A way to achieve that goal is direct cracking of natural gas via solar thermal processing. This paper describes advantages of solar cracking of natural gas from energy, environment and economic point of view. Results show that products of natural gas decomposition contain 8% more energy per mole compared to natural gas itself, while the decomposition process does not emit any hazardous emissions to the environment. As for the economics, once the decomposition products of natural gas, namely hydrogen and carbon black, are sold separately, it is possible to make up to three times more revenue than the selling of natural gas. The products of natural gas decomposition have a very wide use in chemical and petroleum industries. For example, hydrogen is a crucial commodity to refine crude oil, while carbon black is the fundamental component in car tire, battery, conveyer belt, and printer ink manufacturing industries. Currently, petroleum industry produces hydrogen via steam reforming of methane and the chemical industry produces carbon black from coal or natural gas combustion in furnace, which are both highly toxic and global warming emissive processes. With solar cracking of natural gas, these two important commodities can be produced without any emissions to the environment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Blerina Muskaj

At the beginning of my paper I will explain the concept of "Geopolitics of Energy", this will be done for a quite simple reason, because I want everyone who can sit to read this article to understand more clearly what is at stake, therefore allow them the comprehension of what is being elaborated bellow at first sight. Geopolitics of energy is a concept that relates to policies choosing exporters to implement on importers, is the policy that has an impact on energy consumption, which includes consumer’s choice in the geopolitical context, taking into account the economy, foreign policy, the safety of energy, environmental consequences and priorities that carries the energy exporter. This concept permits the understanding of how works the politics that undertakes this initiative taking into account natural resources such as: natural gas and oil. Natural gas and oil are two main resources that produce energy but also two main elements on which arises all the topic in the energetics game. For this paper is used qualitative methodology, through which we were able to accomplish this work. I focused on scientific literature, official publications and reports on energy geopolitics. The main aim has been to show how in this decade, energy security is at the center of geopolitical agenda and has become the focus of numerous political debates. Regarding this point of view, Europe is taking the initiative to create a common energy market within the continent by creating projects, in which Albania appears as a new regional energy potential. Russia, which is aiming to play a role in the international arena, is seeking to position itself geopolitically in "its political weapon", hydrocarbon resources, in particular natural gas resources.


2003 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-172
Author(s):  
Mir Annice Mahmood

To implement any successful policy, research about the subject-matter is essential. Lack of knowledge would result in failure and, from an economic point of view, it would lead to a waste of scarce resources. The book under review is essentially a manual which highlights the use of research for development. The book is divided into two parts. Part One informs the reader about concepts and some theory, and Part Two deals with the issue of undertaking research for development. Both parts have 11 chapters each. Chapter 1 asks the basic question: Is research important in development work? The answer is that it is. Research has many dimensions: from the basic asking of questions to the more sophisticated broad-based analysis of policy issues. The chapter, in short, stresses the usefulness of research which development workers ignore at their own peril.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document