HYDROCARBONS

Design traffic volumes, vehicle emission factors and meterological data are used to assess the impact of a suburban limited-access highway segment. Mesoscale effects are determined by emission inventory techniques. Microscale effects are determined using a pollutant dispersion model developed by the California Division of Highways. The air pollution impact of the highway segment is small, and should not be considered a significant criteria for decisions concerning construction of the highway.

SYNOPSIS. An age-autolyzed culture of Chroomonas salina, grown under cool-white light with glycerol, produced waxy lipid constituting about 44% of total matter harvested. This lipid was composed of 87% wax ester, 9% triglyceride, 3% polar lipid and 1% hydrocarbon. The major wax ester species were identified by total carbon number as C26(28%), C28(35%), C30(15%). The main fatty acid components of the wax esters were 12:0 (39%), 14:0 (30%), 16:0 (14%), while the main alcohols were 14:0 (53%) and 16:0 (40%). The hydrocarbon fraction showed saturated paraffins ranging from C17 to C33, with odd-numbered chain components predominating. No polyunsaturated components were detected in the wax ester or hydrocarbon fractions. This is the first record of wax ester production by a cryptomonad or a marine phytoplankter.

The influence of temperature, light, salinity and nutrient availability on the release of volatile halogenated hydrocarbons was investigated in the Antarctic red macroalgal species Gymnogongrus antarcticus Skottsberg. Compared to standard culture condition, an increase in the release rates of iodocompounds was generally found for the exposure of the alga to altered environmental conditions. Macroalgae exhibited higher release rates after adaptation for two months to the changed factors, than after short-term exposure. Monitoring the release rates during a 24 h incubation period (8.25 h light, 15.75 h darkness) showed that changes between light and dark periods had no influence on the release of volatile halocarbons. Compounds like bromoform and 1-iodobutane exhibited constant release rates during the 24 h period. The formation mechanisms and biological role of volatile organohalogens are discussed. Although marine macroalgae are not considered to be the major source of biogenically-...

The processing of seismic profiles recorded in 1990 and the reprocessing of older seismic data was the main work undertaken in 1991. The intensive interpretation of these profiles influenced by well-data provided the basis for independant reviews carried out by BEB, swisspetrol and the evaluation of new plays. In the form of special projects, two review studies of the whole of Switzerland werer carried out (gas geochemistry, reservoir properties). In a third project the potential of coal bed methane in Switzerland was evaluated

Water wells (n = 116) overlying the Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, and Haynesville Shale hydrocarbon production areas were sampled for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers to investigate the occurrence and sources of selected hydrocarbons in groundwater. Methane isotopes and hydrocarbon gas compositions indicate most of the methane in the wells was biogenic and produced by the CO2 reduction pathway, not from thermogenic shale gas. Two samples contained methane from the fermentation pathway that could be associated with hydrocarbon degradation based on their co-occurrence with hydrocarbons such as ethylbenzene and butane. Benzene was detected at low concentrations (<0.15 μg/L), but relatively high frequencies (2.4-13.3% of samples), in the study areas. Eight of nine samples containing benzene had groundwater ages >2500 years, indicating the benzene was from subsurface sources such as natural hydrocarbon migration or leaking hydrocarbon wells. One sample contained benzene ...

We have synthesized inorganic micron-sized filaments, whose microstucture consists of silica-coated nanometer-sized carbonate crystals, arranged with strong orientational order. They exhibit noncrystallographic, curved, helical morphologies, reminiscent of biological forms. The filaments are similar to supposed cyanobacterial microfossils from the Precambrian Warrawoona chert formation in Western Australia, reputed to be the oldest terrestrial microfossils. Simple organic hydrocarbons, whose sources may also be abiotic and indeed inorganic, readily condense onto these filaments and subsequently polymerize under gentle heating to yield kerogenous products. Our results demonstrate that abiotic and morphologically complex microstructures that are identical to currently accepted biogenic materials can be synthesized inorganically.

Dear researchers, Geoscience and the progress of technology can be put to the service of the environment for the improvement of human living conditions. In this context, the Laboratory of Geodynamics and Natural Resources (LGRN), Department of Geology, The Second Edition of Doctoral Days (2EJD), to be held on January 14 & 15, 2019 at the Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi University Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco. Research Ph.D. students will then have the opportunity to disseminate their research and share their experiences with other researchers. This edition will cover a wide range of topics in the fields of Geoscience and Natural Resources. Researchers who want to participate in the event Email: lgrn.doctoriales@gmail.com We look forward to meeting you at the Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz.

The author aims to present the broadest possible context of the Baltic Pipe project, including legal, and to some extent, economic considerations, which ought to be scrutinized along with the broader geopolitical considerations surrounding present energy-related race in Baltic Sea. The aim is to juxtapose the long-lasting Russo-German strategic partnership resting on the development of Nord Stream(s) pipeline surpassing Poland on the one side, with a collection of pipe-dream moves ushered by Washington and aimed at upending this partnership, the Baltic Pipe project included, on the other side. Sec 2 looks at the Nord Stream(s) project as the direct competitor of the Baltic Pipe, and at the efforts by both the US government and the EU institutions to undermine Russo-German co-operation, thereby helping the viability of the Baltic Pipe. The discussion of the Nord Stream(s) covers US’ attempts to torpedo the Nord Stream 2 with sanctions imposed in December 2019 (sec 2.1) and the EU’s crusade against the Nord Stream via blocking the full capacity use of the OPAL pipeline since 2009 (sec 2.2). Sec 3 looks at the US’s and Germany’s energy strategies toward the CEE, including the energy dimension of the US-led Three Seas Initiative (sec 3.1), which favour the Baltic Pipe project, and Germany’s Energiewende which is at odds with this project (sec 3.2). Secs 4 and 5 look at drivers for advancing the Baltic Pipe, which stem from the structure Poland’s electricity-generation market (sec 4) combined with Poland’s EU and international climate and emissions-related commitments (sec 5), which all force a country-wide shift to electricity-generation from natural gas. Section 6 looks at the Yamal Contract, which will secure gas supplies to Poland until it tentatively expires in 2022, and those supplies are entirely replaced with gas supplied via the Baltic Pipe. Finally, sec 7 looks at the regulatory issues, including the intergovernmental agreement on the Baltic Pipe (sec 7.1), funding of the project along with granted state aid (sec 7.2), and the permitting process (sec 7.3).

The ability to utilize sterols as a sole source of carbon was studied in 80 strains and consortia of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria. One of the strains, which efficiently transformed both individual sterols and their mixtures, was identified as Mycobacterium neoaurum, based on the analysis of the sequence of the 16S rRNA gene.

The Gulf of Suez in Egypt has a north-northwest–south-southeast
orientation and is located at the junction of the African and Arabian
plates where it separates the northeast African continent from the
Sinai Peninsula. It has excellent hydrocarbon potential, with the
prospective sedimentary basin area measuring approximately
19,000 km2, and it is considered as the most prolific oil province
rift basin in Africa and the Middle East. This basin contains more
than 80 oil fields, with reserves ranging from 1350 to less than 1
million bbl, in reservoirs of Precambrian to Quaternary age. The
lithostratigraphic units in the Gulf of Suez can be subdivided into
three megasequences: a prerift succession (pre-Miocene or Paleozoic–
Eocene), a synrift succession (Oligocene–Miocene), and a
postrift succession (post-Miocene or Pliocene–Holocene). These
units vary in lithology, thickness, areal distribution, depositional
environment, and hydrocarbon importance. Geological and geophysical
data show that the northern and central Gulf of Suez consist
of several narrow, elongated depositional troughs, whereas the
southern part is dominated by a tilt-block terrane, containing numerous
offset linear highs.
Major prerift and synrift source rocks have potential to yield oil
and/or gas and are mature enough in the deep kitchens to generate
hydrocarbons. Geochemical parameters, sterane distribution, and
biomarker correlations are consistent with oils generated from marine
source rocks. Oils in the Gulf of Suez were sourced from potential
source rock intervals in the prerift succession that are typically
oil prone (type I), and in places oil and gas prone (type II), or
are composites of more than one type (multiple types I, II, or III
for oil prone, oil and gas prone, or gas prone, respectively).
The reservoirs can be classified into prerift reservoirs, such as
the Precambrian granitic rocks, Paleozoic–Cretaceous Nubian sandstones,
Upper Cretaceous Nezzazat sandstones and the fractured
Eocene Thebes limestone; and synrift reservoirs, such the Miocene
sandstones and carbonates of the Nukhul, Rudeis, Kareem, and Belayim
formations and the sandstones of South Gharib, Zeit, andpost-Zeit. The majority of oil fields in the region incorporate
multiple productive reservoirs. Miocene
evaporites are the ultimate hydrocarbon seals, whereas
the shale and dense limestones of the prerift and the
synrift stratigraphic units are the primary seals. Structural,
stratigraphic, and combination traps are encountered
in the study area. The Gulf of Suez is the most
prolific and prospective oil province in Egypt, and any
open acreage, or relinquished area, will be of great interest
to the oil industry.

The objective of this study was to investigate the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with hydrocarbon oil. Three different oil-contaminated wastewaters were examined and compared: (i) a ‘real’ hydrocarbon wastewater collected from an oil refinery (Conoco-Phillips Whitegate refinery, County Cork, Ireland); (ii) a ‘real’ hydrocarbon wastewater collected from a car-wash facility located at a petroleum filling station; and (iii) a ‘synthetic’ hydrocarbon wastewater generated by emulsifying diesel oil and water. The AOPs investigated were Fe2+/H2O2 (Fenton's reagent), Fe2+/H2O2/UV (Photo-Fenton's reagent) which may be used as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, conventional treatment techniques. Laboratory-scale batch and continuous-flow experiments were undertaken. The photo-Fenton parametric concentrations to maximize COD removal were optimized: pH = 3, H2O2 = 400 mg/L, and Fe2+ = 40 mg/L. In the case of the oil-refinery wastewater, photo-Fenton treatment achieved approximately 50% COD removal and, when preceded by physicochemical treatment, the percentage removal increased to approximately 75%.

Environmental contamination caused by leakage of fuels and lubricant oils at gas stations is of great concern due to the presence of carcinogenic compounds in the composition of gasoline, diesel, and mineral lubricant oils. Chromatographic methods or non-selective infrared methods are usually used to assess soil contamination, which makes environmental monitoring costly or not appropriate. In this perspective, the present work proposes a methodology to identify the type of contaminant (gasoline, diesel, or lubricant oil) and, subsequently, to quantify the contaminant concentration using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and multivariate methods. Firstly, gasoline, diesel, and lubricating oil samples were acquired from gas stations and analyzed by gas chromatography to determine the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) fractions (gasoline range organics, diesel range organics, and oil range organics). Then, solutions of these contaminants in ...

Contemporary debates around the ontological turn have pitted efforts to take indigenous ontologies seriously against demands to make visible the forms of dispossession and environmental suffering that characterize the (post)colonial and capitalist present. Meanwhile, a growing array of governmental projects seeks to identify and protect indigenous ontologies in the face of capitalist development processes, including through forms of collective tenure. How can we make sense of such initiatives, and what kind of territories do they encounter and produce? This paper engages this question ethnographically through an examination of everyday life in a legally recognized Native Community Land in the Bolivian Chaco. Drawing on Bolivian Aymara scholar Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui's notion of ch'ixi, I argue that indigenous territories are neither ontologically separate from, nor entirely subsumed by, capitalist development processes. Rather, they are subject to multiple land values, ontologies, and investments. A contested indigenous land titling process, capitalist labor relations, hydrocarbon compensation money, and efforts to maintain relations with spirit beings are all interwoven in the fabric of Guaraní everyday life. Such ch'ixi landscapes emerge at the confluence of capitalist efforts at rendering territories investable, governmental efforts at managing dispossession, and Guaraní efforts to maintain life and exercise territorial sovereignty amidst contradictory processes of (post)colonial governmentality.