• Title/Summary/Keyword: Oil and gas production

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How to Reflect Sustainable Development in Overseas Investment including Equator Principles (해외투자(海外投資)와 지속가능발전 원칙 - 적도원칙(赤道原則)(Equator Principles)을 중심으로 -)

  • Park, Whon-Il
    • 한국무역상무학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2006.06a
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    • pp.45-72
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    • 2006
  • The Equator Principles are a set of voluntary environmental and social guidelines for ethical project finance. These principles commit banks and other signatories to not finance projects that fail to meet these guidelines. The principles were conceived in 2002 on an initiative of the International Finance Corporation and launched in 2003. Since then, dozens of major banks have adopted the Principles, and with these banks among them accounting for more than three quarters of all project loan market volume the Principles have become the de facto standard for all banks and investors on how to deal with potential social and environmental effects of projects to be financed. While regarding the Principles an important initiative, NGOs have criticised the Principles for not producing real changes in financing activities and for allowing projects to go through that should have been screened out by the Principles, such as the Sakhalin-II oil and gas project in Russia. In early 2006, a process of revision of the principles was begun. The Equator Principles state that endorsing banks will only provide loans directly to projects under the following circumstances: - The risk of the project is categorized in accordance with internal guidelines based upon the environmental and social screening criteria of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). - For all medium or high risk projects (Category A and B projects), sponsors complete an Environmental Assessment, the preparation of which must meet certain requirements and satisfactorily address key environmental and social issues. - The Environmental Assessment report addresses baseline environmental and social conditions, requirements under host country laws and regulations, applicable international treaties and agreements, sustainable development and use of renewable natural resources, protection of human health, cultural properties, and biodiversity, including endangered species and sensitive ecosystems, use of dangerous substances, major hazards, occupational health and safety, fire prevention and life safety, socio-economic impacts, land acquisition and land use, involuntary resettlement, impacts on indigenous peoples and communities, cumulative impacts of existing projects, the proposed project, and anticipated future projects, participation of affected parties in the design, review and implementation of the project, consideration of feasible environmentally and socially preferable alternatives, efficient production, delivery and use of energy, pollution prevention and waste minimization, pollution controls (liquid effluents and air emissions) and solid and chemical waste management. - Based on the Environmental Assessment, Equator banks then make agreements with their clients on how they mitigate, monitor and manage those risks through an 'Environmental Management Plan'. Compliance with the plan is required in the covenant. If the borrower doesn't comply with the agreed terms, the bank will take corrective action, which if unsuccessful, could ultimately result in the bank canceling the loan and demanding immediate repayment. - For risky projects, the borrower consults with stakeholders (NGO's and project affected groups) and provides them with information on the risks of the project. - If necessary, an expert is consulted. The Principles only apply to projects over 50 million US dollars, which, according to the Equator Principles website, represent 97% of the total market. In early 2006, the financial institutions behind the Principles launched stakeholder consultations and negotiations aimed at revising the principles. The draft revised principles were met with criticism from NGO stakeholders, who in a joint position paper argued that the draft fails by ignoring the most serious critiques of the principles: a lack of consistent and rigorous implementation.

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Some Prophylactic Options to Mitigate Methane Emi ssion from Animal Agriculture in Japan

  • Takahashi, Junichi
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.285-294
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    • 2011
  • The abatement of methane emission from ruminants is an important global issue due to its contribution to greenhouse gas with carbon dioxide. Methane is generated in the rumen by methanogens (archaea) that utilize metabolic hydrogen ($H_2$) to reduce carbon dioxide, and is a significant electron sink in the rumen ecosystem. Therefore, the competition for hydrogen used for methanogenesis with alternative reductions of rumen microbes should be an effective option to reduce rumen methanogenesis. Some methanogens parasitically survive on the surface of ciliate protozoa, so that defaunation or decrease in protozoa number might contribute to abate methanogenesis. The most important issue for mitigation of rumen methanogenesis with manipulators is to secure safety for animals and their products and the environment. In this respect, prophylactic effects of probiotics, prebiotics and miscellaneous compounds to mitigate rumen methanogenesis have been developed instead of antibiotics, ionophores such as monensin, and lasalocid in Japan. Nitrate suppresses rumen methanogenesis by its reducing reaction in the rumen. However, excess intake of nitrate causes intoxication due to nitrite accumulation, which induces methemoglobinemia. The nitrite accumulation is attributed to a relatively higher rate of nitrate reduction to nitrite than nitrite to ammonia via nitroxyl and hydroxylamine. The in vitro and in vivo trials have been conducted to clarify the prophylactic effects of L-cysteine, some strains of lactic acid bacteria and yeast and/or ${\beta}$1-4 galactooligosaccharide on nitrate-nitrite intoxication and methanogenesis. The administration of nitrate with ${\beta}$1-4 galacto-oligosaccharide, Candida kefyr, and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis were suggested to possibly control rumen methanogenesis and prevent nitrite formation in the rumen. For prebiotics, nisin which is a bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis has been demonstrated to abate rumen methanogenesis in the same manner as monensin. A protein resistant anti-microbe (PRA) has been isolated from Lactobacillus plantarum as a manipulator to mitigate rumen methanogenesis. Recently, hydrogen peroxide was identified as a part of the manipulating effect of PRA on rumen methanogenesis. The suppressing effects of secondary metabolites from plants such as saponin and tannin on rumen methanogenesis have been examined. Especially, yucca schidigera extract, sarsaponin (steroidal glycosides), can suppress rumen methanogenesis thereby improving protein utilization efficiency. The cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL), or cashew shell oil, which is a natural resin found in the honeycomb structure of the cashew nutshell has been found to mitigate rumen methanogenesis. In an attempt to seek manipulators in the section on methane belching from ruminants, the arrangement of an inventory of mitigation technologies available for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) in the Kyoto mechanism has been advancing to target ruminant livestock in Asian and Pacific regions.

Assessment of the Structural Collapse Behavior of Between Offshore Supply Vessel and Leg in the Jack-up Drilling Rig (잭업드릴링 리그의 레그와 작업 지원선 충돌에 의한 구조붕괴 거동 평가)

  • Park, Joo-Shin;Seo, Jung-Kwan
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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    • v.28 no.4
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    • pp.601-609
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    • 2022
  • Jack-up drilling rigs are mobile offshore platforms widely used in the offshore oil and gas exploration industry. These are independent, three-legged, self-elevating units with a cantilevered drilling facility for drilling and production. A typical jack-up rig includes a triangular hull, a tower derrick, a cantilever, a jackcase, living quarters and legs which comprise three-chord, open-truss, X-braced structure with a spudcan. Generally, jack-up rigs can only operate in water depths ranging from 130m to 170m. Recently, there has been an increasing demand for jack-up rigs for operating at deeper water levels and harsher environmental conditions such as waves, currents and wind loads. All static and dynamic loads are supported through legs in the jack-up mode. The most important issue by society is to secure the safety of the leg structure against collision that causes large instantaneous impact energy. In this study, nonlinear FE -analysis and verification of the requirement against collision for 35MJ recommended by DNV was performed using LS-Dyna software. The colliding ship used a 7,500ton of shore supply vessel, and five scenarios of collisions were selected. From the results, all conditions do not satisfy the class requirement of 35MJ. The loading conditions associated with chord collision are reasonable collision energy of 15M and brace collisions are 6MJ. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the identical collision criteria by DNV need to be modified based on collision scenarios and colliding members.

The properties of algal degradation and gas emission by thermophilic oxic process (고온호기발효장치를 이용한 조류 분해 및 가스 발생특성)

  • Kang, Changmin
    • Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.57-64
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    • 1999
  • The purpose of this study is to establish effective conditions for controlling $CH_4$, $N_2O$ emission from organic Waste / wastewater treatment processes. Continuous and batch experiments were conducted to treat the micro algae from polluted and eutrophicated lakes through the thermophilic oxic process. The microalgae used were mainly Microcystis sp.(collected from eutrophic lake) and Chlorella sp. (cultured in laboratory) Wasted cooking oil was added by aid-heating source. Physico-chemical components of sludges and microalgae were analyzed. In batch experiments, air supply was changed from 50ml/min to 150ml/min. The temperature. water content and drained water were affected by the air flow rate at initial stage. However, there was almost no influence of air flow rate on them in middle and last stages. At air flow rate of 100ml/min, the degradation rate of organic material was higher than that at other air flow rates. $CO_2$ concentration in exhaust was proportional to the strength of aeration, especially at initial stage when degradation was active. $CH_4$ with low concentration was detected only at starting stage when air diffusion was not enough. $N_2O$ production was not affected by variation of air supply. In continuous experiments no matter what the dewatering methods (with PAC and without PAC) and media (wood chip and reed chip) were changed, $N_2O$ was almost not affected by variation of injected air. Result showed that the reed chips using for lake purification could be used as media for thermophilic oxic process in lake and marshes area. $CO_2$ concentration was not so much affected by the change of dewatering methods and media types. $CH_4$ was not detected in the experimental period. So it can be shown that the thermophilic oxic process had been well operated in wide handling conditions regardless of media and dewatering methods.

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Emission Reduction Characteristics of Three-way Catalyst with Engine Operating Condition Change in an Ultra-lean Gasoline Direct Injection Engine (초희박 직접분사식 가솔린 엔진용 삼원촉매의 운전조건에 따른 배기저감 특성)

  • Park, Cheol Woong;Lee, Sun Youp;Yi, Ui Hyung;Lee, Jang Hee
    • Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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    • v.39 no.9
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    • pp.727-734
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    • 2015
  • Recently, because of the increased oil prices globally, there have been studies investigating the improvement of fuel-conversion efficiency in internal combustion engines. The improvements realized in thermal efficiency using lean combustion are essential because they enable us to realize higher thermal efficiency in gasoline engines because lean combustion leads to an increase in the heat-capacity ratio and a reduction of the combustion temperature. Gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines enable lean combustion by injecting fuel directly into the cylinder and controlling the combustion parameters precisely. However, the extension of the flammability limit and the stabilization of lean combustion are required for the commercialization of GDI engines. The reduction characteristics of three-way catalysts (TWC) for lean combustion engines are somewhat limited owing to the high excess air ratio and low exhaust gas temperature. Therefore, in the present study, we assess the reaction of exhaust gases and their production in terms of the development of efficient TWCs for lean-burn GDI engines at 2000 rpm / BMEP 2 bar operating conditions, which are frequently used when evaluating the fuel consumption in passenger vehicles. At the lean-combustion operating point, $NO_2$ was produced during combustion and the ratio of $NO_2$ increased, while that of $N_2O$ decreased as the excess air ratio increased.

Decision Support Process Model for Energy Efficient Remodeling Projects focused on Building Envelope and Renewable-energy Systems (에너지절감형 리모델링을 위한 적정 대안 선정 프로세스 모델 - 건축물 외피 및 신재생에너지 시스템을 중심으로 -)

  • Shin, Young-su;Cho, Kyuman;Kim, Jae-youn
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.91-100
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    • 2015
  • An increase in energy such as natural gas, coal, oil, has occurred to a large amounts of environment impact emissions, it is necessary to reduce in the construction industry for the energy consumption. To encourage remodeling project in developed countries of the majority, on the basis of this, remodeling project in the construction industry has grown to a large amount. Results of analysis of the research related to the advanced remodeling, analysis of the economic validity in accordance with the production and process and building elapsed years of selection alternative of remodeling there has been a problem that has not been properly reflected. In this study, a decision support model that can simultaneously choose the most cost-effective and energy-efficiency alternative. Developed process model, generates a "Remodeling Solution" that combines the renewable energy equipment and envelope system, energy performance evaluation of the application of international standards(ISO-13790, DIN V 18599), perform the economic evaluation through LCCA(Life Cycle Cost Analysis) technique, circulated evaluation and configured to output the optimal Remodeling Solution. The results of applying the model developed in the case, it was confirmed that it is possible to select a choice of cost-effective energy-saving alternative. Then, developed model through this study, it is expected to be able to help highly effective remodeling alternative to selecting by decision-makers.

Durability of concrete using sulfur-modified polymer (개질유황 폴리머를 사용한 콘크리트의 내구성 평가)

  • Hong, Chang Woo
    • Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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    • v.25 no.5
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    • pp.205-211
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    • 2015
  • Most of the sulfur is obtained from desulfurization of natural gas and crude oil. In Korea, more than 120 tons of sulfur are produced by refinery, and about 50 % of the produced sulfur is used as a raw material for the production of fertilizer and sulfuric acid. Modified sulfur is manufactured from excessive sulfur that could be used to improve concrete properties, and this study evaluated concrete strength and durability that contains modified sulfur. Flexural and compressive strengths of concrete with sulfur modified polymer were comparable to those of OPC concrete with mixing water at similar temperatures, while the strengths increased a little as mixing water temperature increased. It was also confirmed that the resistance to freeze-thaw damage was more dependent on entrained air characteristics obtained by a proper use of air entraining agent than on the use of sulfur modified polymer. When concrete was immersed in 5 % sulfuric acid, the rate of reduction in compressive strength of OPC concrete was less than 1/4 of the strength reduction of concrete with sulfur modified polymer. Also, the resistance of concrete with sulfur modified polymer to scaling due to the use of de-icing salt was evaluated as Class 1, while that of OPC concrete was evaluated as Class 4, as aggregates were exposed. Accordingly, it is believed that sulfur modified polymer could be effectively used for bridge deck concrete since sulfur modified polymer improves the durability of concrete.

Antioxidant Activity and Main Volatile Flavor Components of Mulberry Wine Fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae B-8 (토종발효미생물을 이용한 오디 발효주의 항산화 활성 및 향기성분 분석)

  • Chae, Kyu Seo;Jung, Ji Hye;Yoon, Hae Hoon;Son, Rak Ho
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.43 no.7
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    • pp.1017-1024
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    • 2014
  • This study was carried out to develop mulberry wines fermented with traditional microorganisms (Saccharomyces cerevisiae B-8). S. cerevisiae B-8 is a traditional fermentation microorganism isolated from domestically grown Rubus occidentalis. Each S. cerevisiae B-8 and Fermivin was inoculated into mulberry up to $1{\times}10^9$ CFU/kg, followed by incubation at $25^{\circ}C$ for 10 days. Mulberry fermented with S. cerevisiae B-8 (MBB) had a high alcohol content (16.47%), and the fermentation rate of MBB was faster than that of mulberry fermented with Fermivin (MBF). The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of MBB were higher than those of MBF. DPPH radical scavenging activity of MBB was as high as that of MBF. ABTS radical scavenging activity of MBF was higher than those of MBB and mulberry juice (MBJ). In addition, reducing power of MBB was much higher than other samples. Flavor constituents of the two fermented wines were analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Twenty-three compounds from the sample were separated and identified as fifteen esters, six alcohols, an aldehyde, and an acetate. Particularly, tetradecanoic acid, ethyl ester of orris and violet flavor were ten times more abundant in MBB than in MBF. Several ester components were two times more abundant in MBB than in MBF. In conclusion, current findings indicate that MBB might have better antioxidant activities with flavor, which contributes to improved wine production with high quality and function.