This paper critically analyzes the implementation of compressed natural gas and the ways in which it creates discourse in urban Bolivia. The rapidly developing nation is keen on making ubiquitous use of compressed natural gas a reality by issuing subsidies, citing increased mobility, savings, and environmental stewardship as the primary motives. Currently, eight out of every 10 public vehicles in Bolivia are powered by compressed natural gas. Through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and secondary data collection, this paper elucidates the transitional process of building a natural gas-based transport network through discursive governance. This work draws on the critical discourse analysis literature to dissect disaggregated modal preference data, government documents, and news articles collected in Santa Cruz, Latin America's second fastest growing city. Moreover, this paper identifies and examines the ways in which the counter-discourse impacts the transformation of the country’s energy matrix. Results show that Bolivian automobile owners are reluctant to convert their automobiles, despite reduced transportation costs, stating that minimal compressed natural gas infrastructure exists outside of urban areas, and the conversion damages their vehicles’ motor. Additionally, the research reveals that automobile owners are currently the main beneficiaries, though respondents who do not posses an automobile speak more favorably of natural gas. Finally, this research illustrates that the compressed natural gas-oriented policies encourage personal automobile use that continues to drive socio-spatial segregation of Santa Cruz’s residents. Thus, the compressed natural gas discourse helps shape the urban landscape by persuading the public to consume domestically extracted and manufactured natural gas.

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Call number: LD2668 .T4 1959 A34

Electricity generation has significant environmental impacts, including on regional air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and water availability. Modeling the overall environmental impact of electricity generation requires linked simulations of power generation, air pollution physics and chemistry, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. Tools for performing these analyses in an integrated manner are just beginning to emerge. This work expands on the development of linked models for electricity generation, air quality, and water use that have provided single-day snapshots of these environmental impacts. The original model used a non-linear optimization model for power generation, a regional photochemical model for air quality impacts, and self-contained modules for greenhouse gas emissions and water usage at power plants in Texas. The new model includes life cycle scenarios for the power sector (including changes in both the fuel production and electricity generation stages) and expands the temporal scale of the modeling framework to include impacts on monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales instead of on single days. In addition, the air quality framework has been expanded to include atmospheric particulate matter as an air quality impact. This modeling framework will be used to assess the air quality impacts of new natural gas developments in the Barnett and Eagle Ford shale regions in Texas, the consumptive water impact of new natural gas development in Texas, the impact of seasonal versus ozone forecast-based pricing for power plant NOx emissions in the state of Texas, and the potential cost and air quality impacts of drought-based operation of the power grid in Texas. / text

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The Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest user of energy in the nation. DoD utilizes the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) to procure a large portion of its natural gas. In this study it will be determined if the current buying approach utilized by DESC or an alternative approach present a better method to reduce the pricing risks associated with market timing and volatility. In order to determine how market timing and volatility affect purchasing, historical data for actual monthly prices of the current program and data from market pricing indices for a statistical model were analyzed. The data for the current model and the statistical model were compared using averages prices and standard deviation to determine which model provided better overall results. The analysis proved that by entering the market to purchase natural gas more frequently and using firm fixed price contracts results in an overall lower average price with less variability than using the current method of purchasing. This study recommends that DESC consider a pilot program, beginning in the northeast region, where the current purchasing model produces the most volatility in pricing, to develop a procurement program which will support stabilized pricing for its DoD customers.

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering – Chemical Engineering Johannesburg, 2017 / In this research, the C, H and O bond equivalent diagram was used to design processes for DME synthesis using natural gas as a feed. This research proposes alternative ways of producing DME using natural gas (a cleaner gas) compared to the traditional routes. The different feed combinations were assessed for the production of syngas. The crucial step is the H2:CO ratio in each feed which determines the DME synthesis process route and yield. The syngas process was developed under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions (assuming 100% methane conversion). The region of operation on the ternary bond diagram was limited by mass and energy balance and carbon deposition boundaries. The feed composition was as follows, (1) Feed 1: methane, steam and oxygen (2) Feed 2: methane, oxygen and carbon dioxide (3) Feed 3: methane, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water. Feed (2) had the highest DME yield. The most optimal reaction route produced DME via the JFE reaction route (H2:CO =1). The yield of DME was 0.67 moles of DME per mole methane processed under non-equilibrium conditions. The proposed route does not emit CO2, excess CO2 is recycled back to the reforming reactor. Under equilibrium, the yield of DME was 0.25 mole DME per mole methane processed. The results indicate that a combination of partial oxidation and dry reforming produces a syngas composition which results in a high DME yield compared to (1) and (3). / MT2017

Thesis advisor: Philip E. Strahan / The first essay of this dissertation measures the real effect of increases in local deposit supply on local economic outcomes. To identify this effect, I use exogenous variation in local deposit supply from oil and natural gas shale discoveries. A change in deposit supply should have its largest effect on areas where credit supply frictions are the strongest. I find that the effect is strongest in areas dominated by small banks. The second essay analyzes the investment policies of public and private natural gas firms, and is joint work with Jérôme Taillard. We find that privately held firms are 60% less responsive to natural gas price changes than publicly traded firms. Additionally, we find that private firms do not respond to new shale investment opportunities, whereas public firms do. We believe these results are consistent with private firms having a higher cost of external capital. The third essay empirically tests whether firms increase risk taking activity when they are close to distress due to the risk taking incentives of equity-holders. I find that firms actually reduce risk taking when they are close to distress, and in the years prior to bankruptcy. This evidence suggests that risk reduction incentives may be more important for the average firm as it gets close to distress. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.