The oil and gas well completion method of hydraulic fracturing faces several environmental challenges: the process is highly water-intensive; it generates a significant volume of wastewater; and it is associated with widespread flaring of co-produced natural gas. One possible solution to simultaneously mitigate these challenges is to use the energy from flared natural gas to power on-site wastewater treatment, thereby reducing 1) flared gas without application, 2) the volumes of wastewater, and 3) the volumes of freshwater that need to be procured for subsequent shale production, as the treated wastewater could be reused. In regions with minimal flaring a potential solution is to couple renewable electricity (generated from solar and wind energy) with on-site wastewater treatment, thereby 1) reducing the volumes of wastewater, 2) reducing the volumes of freshwater that need to be procured for subsequent shale production, and 3) displacing fossil fuel energy for treatment. This study builds an analytical framework for assessing the technical potential of these approaches. In this research, the hydraulic fracturing wastewater characteristics (such as quality, quantity, and flow rates) were considered along with various treatment technologies best suited to utilizing natural gas and renewable electricity, using the Permian Basin in west Texas as a geographic test bed for analysis. For the analysis looking at using flared natural gas energy for on-site treatment, the required volume of gas to meet the thermal energy requirements for treatment was calculated on a per-well basis. Additionally, the volume of product water (defined here as the treated water that can be reused) based on the technology type was determined. Finally, the theoretical maximum volume of product water that could be generated using the total volume of natural gas that was flared in Texas in 2012 as a benchmark was calculated. It was concluded that the thermal energy required to treat wastewater that returns to the surface over the first ten days after a well is completed is 140–820 Million British Thermal Units (MMBTU) and would generate 750–6,800 cubic meters of product water depending on the treatment technology. Additionally, based on the thermal technologies assessed in this study, the theoretical maximum volume of product water that can be generated statewide using the energy from the flared gas in 2012 is 180–540 million cubic meters, representing approximately 3–9% of the state’s annual water demand for municipal purposes or 1–2.4% of total statewide water demand for all purposes. This is enough gas to treat more water than was projected would be used for the entire mining sector in 2010 in Texas. For the analysis coupling renewable electricity with on-site treatment, the necessary energy for water management upstream and downstream of a well site was calculated and compared with the current energy requirements and those of a proposed strategy where a portion of the wastewater is treated on-site and reused on a subsequent well. Through this analysis, it was determined that implementing on-site treatment using renewable electricity could reduce freshwater requirements by 11–26%. Finally, it was calculated that this approach could displace approximately 16% of the fossil fuel energy requirements for pumping freshwater, trucking that water to the well site, and trucking wastewater to a disposal well. / text

The town of Millerton, Pa., has always been a small, rural farming community. Settled atop of the famed Marcellus Shale in the foothills of the Appalachians, there have always been rumors of natural gas in the hills around town. In 2008, natural gas companies arrived and began drilling. For a select few lucky enough to have property around the gas wells, their arrival means big money. But not all residents will get so lucky. For many folks in Millerton, the arrival of the gas companies means more traffic, more pollution, more crime and more inconvenience without a monthly royalty check to buffer the pain. The sheer amount of natural gas scientists predict is in the Marcellus Shale will forever change how the U.S. and the rest of the world use energy. Politicians tout it as liberation from foreign oil. Scientists see it as an alternative to “dirty” coal. For this small town, natural gas means change. The money the natural gas companies are pumping into this local economy will change the lives of the townsfolk- and the town itself- forever. / text

As hydraulic fracturing gains popularity in the energy industry, the state of Texas finds itself in a very advantageous position. With multiple regions which could have great potential for oil and natural gas extractable via the production technique, Texas has assumed a new importance for the energy industry. However, in order to fully utilize its advantages, the state of Texas should revise its oil and gas regulations, particularly with regard to groundwater use and contamination, air emissions, and discretion for municipal regulation of oil and gas operations, insofar as they may apply to hydraulic fracturing. This course of action only will this allow the state to efficiently utilize the production method while better balancing against the technique's risks. / text

Extensive research has been conducted in numerous coalbed methane (CBM) basins; however, the Williston Basin (WB) remains largely unexamined due to the absence of CBM production despite large coal reserves. CBM in WB coalbeds has been reported, but there has been no systematic study on gas origin and distribution, or hydrogeochemical controls on gas generation to date. This study aims to determine differences in chemistry between groundwaters with and without the presence of CH₄ to better understand factors affecting CBM generation. Results reveal that shallow gas accumulations in WB coalbeds are microbial in origin and formed via CO₂ reduction. CBM is associated with Na-HCO₃ type groundwater with SO₄ concentrations<1 mmole/L due to cation exchange and sulfate reduction, respectively. These groundwaters occur in deeper units of the Fort Union Formation, underlying multiple coalbeds, suggesting that CH₄ is present in waters that have reacted extensively with formations containing low-rank (lignite) coals.

Experiments were conducted to compare mixing and combustion of natural gas jets from round and elliptical nozzle holes in an optically accessible combustion bomb. A flame ionization detector was used to measure the concentration fields of the two jet types. Pressure data, combustion imaging, and hydrocarbon measurements of exhaust gas were used to compare the ignition delay, heat release, and combustion efficiency of the two nozzles. Concentration measurements indicated that the elliptical nozzle produced jets with smaller rich core regions and lower peak concentrations at all conditions. Firing tests indicated that the two nozzles produced equivalent ignition delays. Peak heat release rates were higher for the round nozzle, while the elliptical nozzle produced smoother transitions from premixed to diffusion burning. Combustion efficiency was slightly higher for the round nozzle. Results indicate that elliptical nozzles could potentially lower NOx and particulate emissions, but further experiments are required to test this hypothesis.

Experiments were conducted to compare mixing and combustion of natural gas jets from round and elliptical nozzle holes in an optically accessible combustion bomb. A flame ionization detector was used to measure the concentration fields of the two jet types. Pressure data, combustion imaging, and hydrocarbon measurements of exhaust gas were used to compare the ignition delay, heat release, and combustion efficiency of the two nozzles. Concentration measurements indicated that the elliptical nozzle produced jets with smaller rich core regions and lower peak concentrations at all conditions. Firing tests indicated that the two nozzles produced equivalent ignition delays. Peak heat release rates were higher for the round nozzle, while the elliptical nozzle produced smoother transitions from premixed to diffusion burning. Combustion efficiency was slightly higher for the round nozzle. Results indicate that elliptical nozzles could potentially lower NOx and particulate emissions, but further experiments are required to test this hypothesis.

CIVINS / Due to environmental regulations, waste water disposal for US Navy ships has become a requirement which impacts both operations and the US Navy's budget. In 2006, the cost for waste water disposal Navy-wide was 54 million dollars. There are many advanced waste water treatment technologies in the research and development stage at academic institutions, private corporations, and government labs. Additionally, considerable progress has been made in installing and operating unique waste water treatment systems onboard merchant and commercial vessels, showing that waste water treatment technologies are near the maturity level required for installation on US Navy ships. Installation and operations costs can be estimated from data collected from merchant ships, but the accompanying life cycle liquid disposal costs savings can be difficult to estimate. A cost estimator is presented which allows variations in ship's operational schedule and aids in determining the total life cycle savings, and the time for return on investment, when waste destruction technologies are installed in a class of ship. Additionally, the properties of one waste water destruction medium, supercritical water, are reviewed and its use in efficient and environmentally safe chemical processes are discussed. In particular, supercritical water is the medium of choice for the performance of a biomass to synthetic natural gas conversion process. The supercritical water is utilized to aid in a vital salt separation process which allows for efficient 4 hydrothermal gasification. Numerical simulations of the salt separation process are completed which help in understanding the flow properties. The results will aid in yielding an optimized salt separation process, improving the efficiency and viability of the conversion process. / CIVINS

Despite the importance of coalbed methane (CBM) as a natural gas resource, little is known about the microbial communities responsible for production of biogenic CBM (~20% of all CBM gas). It is thought that coal-associated microbial communities are limited by nutrients, such as nitrogen or phosphate and a of suite trace elements, but it's not clear whether these nutrients are sourced from in-situ biodegradation of the coal or transported in with groundwater recharge. To address this knowledge gap, we examined the nitrogen and phosphorous species and trace metal geochemistry of the solid coal and overlying siliciclastic sediment and associated groundwater from monitoring wells across the Powder River Basin (PRB). Four Groups were identified that represent the geochemical evolution of groundwater from shallow unconsolidated siliciclastic aquifers, to recharge-associated coal waters, to sulfate-reducing coal waters, and finally, methanogenic coal waters, along a hydrologic gradient within single coal seams. The highest nutrient concentrations were found in the first two water types, and the lowest in the last two, suggesting that essential nutrients are mobilized at the surface and transported downgradient into the coal and overlying unconsolidated siliciclastic sediment. However, by the time groundwater reaches sulfate-reducing or methanogenic conditions, the nutrients are either utilized in reactions or precipitated under changing redox conditions. Sequential chemical extraction experiments of coal and siliciclastic core materials revealed that all essential nutrients for microbial methanogenesis are present and easily leachable into groundwater. Therefore, under anoxic conditions, microbial communities are unlikely to be limited by the presence of essential elements; rather, they are likely limited by the slow rates of coal biodegradation and liberation of essential nutrients.

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"Natural Gas Consumption and Economic Growth in European Union" by Sergey Balitskiy Abstract: The objective of this Master thesis is an evaluation of relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth in Europe. The sample includes panel time series data over the period from 1997 to 2011 for 26 EU member states (countries of the Euro zone). Based on neoclassical growth model, a multivariate model including gross fixed capital formation and total labor forces of a country as additional explanatory variables was created. Using recent econometric techniques: panel cointegration tests and error correction modeling, it was found that there existed long-run relationship between economic growth, natural gas consumption, labor and capital. In addition, it was investigated that in the short-run there existed bidirectional causality between natural gas consumption and economic growth. It appears that the causality between economic growth and the natural gas consumption is positive. On the other hand, the reverse causality (a relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth) appears to be negative.