Early-Phase Offshore Hydrocarbon Field Planning Considering Environmental Factors and Using Integrated Asset Modeling

This work discusses methods to quantify environmental indicators of development alternatives during the early design phase of offshore fields and how to include them in the selection process. The goal is to develop a decision-support method to: 1) evaluate field development alternatives of reduced environmental impact and 2) dealing with conflicting indicators such as economic value and environmental performance. A value chain model of a synthetic field located in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) was created using an integrated asset modeling tool. The model computes the net present value (NPV) of the project and the amount of CO2 emissions based on the hydrocarbon production profile and the field energy consumption. Several cases and field development power supply alternatives such as open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT), combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT), power from shore and offshore wind farms are analyzed. It has been assumed that the gas turbine generates most of the CO2 and that the amounts of CO2 produced is a function of the field power consumption. The effect of the CO2 tax is included and studied. Results show that there are development alternatives that provide fair economic value while having low CO2 emissions. For the cases studied, the solutions with gas turbines have higher economic value than the solutions with power from shore and offshore wind farms, but emit large amounts of CO2. For solutions using gas turbine, a combined-cycle has less CO2 emission intensity (kgCO2/boe) than open-cycle, however, the energy intensity (kWh/boe) depended mainly on the amount of gas recycled and is highest for 75%. These indicators could allow field planners to evaluate and compare different field development concepts. Breakeven values of CO2 tax were determined for which the economic value of development with the gas turbine is equal to that of development with power from shore or offshore wind farms.

THE NATURE OF THE SOLAR ENERGY SOURCE

In solar physics as a result of studies of solar radiation and solar wind Scientists have raised a number of questions. A modern view of the structure of the Sun according to which its core is reacting thermonuclear fusion and solar luminosity energy from the photosphere, does not provide scientifically based answers to them. The article sets out the preliminary scientific evidence of the hypothesis new solar Luminous Energy Source open cycle low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), entering the photosphere. Based on the physics of nuclear reactions of this cycle answers to questions raised.

MAXIMISING DISCHARGE BURNUP IN AN OPEN CYCLE MOLTEN SALT REACTOR

This paper discusses work done to find an estimate of the maximum achievable discharge burnup in an open cycle molten salt reactor (MSR). An in-development deterministic code (WIMS11) is used to create a model of a simple generic MSR, and the methodology employed is discussed. Some experimentation is done with regards to the internal set-up of the ‘unit cells’ within the core, which shows there is a strong link between this geometry and the achievable burnup. Work is done to quantify the effects of removing volatile fission products and implementing a two-batch refuelling scheme. Finally, an optimization process is carried out whereby the optimal proportion of graphite moderator within the core is found which balances power across the regions while maximising discharge burnup. Two fuels are tested, one which carries only 235U and 238U, and another which also carries 232Th. It is found that the maximum achievable discharge burnup is approximately 155 MWd/kg, which is considerably higher than modern PWRs, despite a lower enrichment and only two batches of fuel being used.

Power Generation Prediction of an Open Cycle Gas Turbine Using Kalman Filter

The motivation for this paper is the enhanced role of power generation prediction in power plants and power systems in the smart grid paradigm. The proposed approach addresses the impact of the ambient temperature on the performance of an open cycle gas turbine when using the Kalman Filter (KF) technique and the power-temperature (P-T) characteristic of the turbine. Several Kalman Filtering techniques are tested to obtain improved temperature forecasts, which are then used to obtain output power predictions. A typical P-T curve of an open-cycle gas turbine is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. Nonlinear and linear discrete process models are studied. Extended Kalman Filters are proposed for the nonlinear model. The Time Varying, Time Invariant, and Steady State Kalman Filters are used with the linearized model. Simulation results show that the power generation prediction obtained using the Extended Kalman Filter with the piecewise linear model yields improved forecasts. The linear formulations, though less accurate, are a promising option when a power generation forecast for a small-term and short-term time window is required.