Improving oil recovery in the CO2 flooding process by utilizing nonpolar chemical modifiers

By means of experiments of C02 miscibility with crude oil, four nonpolar chemicals were evaluated in order to enhance the miscibility of C02 with crude oil. Through pre-slug injection and joint injection of toluene in CO2, crude oil displacement experiments in the slim-tube were conducted to investigate effects of the toluene- enhanced C02 flooding under simulated subterranean reservoir conditions. Experimental results showed that toluene can enhance extraction of oil into C02 and dissolution of C02 into oil with the increment of 251% and 64% respectively. Addition of toluene can obviously improve the oil recovery in either pre-slug injection or joint injection, and the crude oil recovery increased with the increase of the toluene concentration. The oil recov- ery can increase by 22.5% in pre-slug injection with the high toluene concentration. Pre-slug injection was recom- mended because it can consume less toluene than joint injection. This work could be useful to development and application of the CO） flooding in the oil recoverv as well as CO2 emission reduction.

CO_2 Emissions Embodied in China-U.S.Trade

After the Kyoto Protocol was implemented,carbon leakage exerts great influences on international trade and economy.Trade creates a mechanism for consumers to shift environmental pollution associated with their consumption to other countries.China has overtaken the U.S.as the world's biggest CO2 emitter since 2006.As China's second largest trade partner,the U.S.has the biggest trade deficit with China which has aroused a lot of disputes between the two parties.But so far the assessments of the trade imbalance of China-U.S.have paid little attention to environmental impacts associated with the trade imbalance.Applied an input-output approach,the article estimates the amount of CO2 embodied in China-U.S.trade during 1997-2007.It was found that through trade with China,the U.S.reduced its CO2 emissions compared with a non-trade scenario.Due to the greater carbon-intensity and relatively less efficient production processes of Chinese industry,China-U.S.trade resulted in more CO2 emissions in China and the world.In the end,the article gives some suggestions:it is equal and sustainable that the international accounting methodologies should be improved,for CO2 emissions responsibility must be designed to account for the dynamic nature of international trade.

Carbon dioxide emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

Carbon dioxide(CO_2) emission from the rivertype reservoir is an hotspot of carbon cycle within inland waters. However, related studies on the different types of reservoirs are still inadequate. Therefore, we sampled the Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR), a typical river-type reservoir having both river and lake characteristics, using an online system(HydroCTM/CO_2) and YSI-6600v2 meter to determine the partial pressure of carbon dioxide(pCO_2)and physical chemical parameters in 2013. The results showed that the CO_2 flux from the mainstream ranged from 26.1 to 92.2 mg CO_2/m^2h with average CO_2 fluxes of 50.0 mg/m^2h. The CO_2 fluxes from the tributary ranged from-10.91 to 53.95 mg CO_22/mh with area-weighted average CO_2 fluxes of 11.4 mg/m^2h. The main stream emits CO_2 to the atmosphere the whole year; however, the surface water of the tributary can sometimes act as a sink of CO_2 for the atmosphere. As the operation of the TGR, the tributary became more favorable to photosynthetic uptake of CO_2 especially in summer. The total CO_2 flux was estimated to be 0.34 and 0.03 Tg CO_2/year from the mainstream and the tributaries, respectively. Our emission rates are lower than previous estimates, but they are in agreement with the average CO_2 flux from temperate reservoirs estimated by Barros et al.(Nat Geosci 4(9):593–596, 2011).

Estimation of the Aircraft CO_2 Emissions of China's Civil Aviation during 1960-2009

Based on data collected by Chinese Civil Aviation Statistic Center, the annual CO2 emissions of aircrafts during 1960-2009 were calculated, and the emission intensity and its dynamic characteristics were analyzed. The results show that the total CO2 emissions of aircrafts in China increased from 120×10^3 t in 1960 to 41.44×10^6 t in 2009. The CO2 emission intensity decreased from 2.9 kg （converted t kra）-1 in 1960 to 0.96 kg （converted t km）-1 in 2009 at an average rate of 0.04 kg （converted t km）-I per year. The average share of CO2 emissions of aircrafts on the total CO2 emissions from the sector of transportation, storage and post was 6.6% during 1980-2005, and 0.25% on the total emissions from fossil fuel combustion during 1971-2008.

Urbanization,economic growth,and carbon dioxide emissions in China:A panel cointegration and causality analysis

Elucidating the complex mechanism between urbanization, economic growth, car- bon dioxide emissions is fundamental necessary to inform effective strategies on energy saving and emission reduction in China. Based on a balanced panel data of 31 provinces in China over the period 1997-2010, this study empirically examines the relationships among urbanization, economic growth and carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions at the national and re- gional levels using panel cointegration and vector error correction model and Granger cau- sality tests. Results showed that urbanization, economic growth and CO2 emissions are inte- grated of order one. Urbanization contributes to economic growth, both of which increase CO2 emissions in China and its eastern, central and western regions. The impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions in the western region was larger than that in the eastern and central re- gions. But economic growth had a larger impact on CO2 emissions in the eastern region than that in the central and western regions. Panel causality analysis revealed a bidirectional long-run causal relationship among urbanization, economic growth and CO2 emissions, in- dicating that in the long run, urbanization does have a causal effect on economic growth in China, both of which have causal effect on CO2 emissions. At the regional level, we also found a bidirectional long-run causality between land urbanization and economic growth in eastern and central China. These results demonstrated that it might be difficult for China to pursue carbon emissions reduction policy and to control urban expansion without impeding economic growth in the long run. In the short-run, we observed a unidirectional causation running from land urbanization to CO2 emissions and from economic growth to CO2 emissions in the eastern and central regions. Further investigations revealed an inverted N-shaped re- lationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth in China, not supporting the envi- ronmental Kuznets curve （EKC） hypothesis. Our empirical findings have an important refer- ence value for policy-makers in formulating effective energy saving and emission reduction strategies for China.

Regional Simulation of Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics for Dry Farmland in East China by Coupling a 1:500000 Soil Database with the Century Model

Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils influence soil quality and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Dry farmland covers more than 70% of the whole cropland area in China and plays an important role in mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In this study, 4109 dry farmland soil polygons were extracted using spatial overlay analysis of the soil layer (1:500000) and the land use layer (1:500000) to support Century model simulations of SOC dynamics for dry farmland in Anhui Province, East China from 1980 to 2008. Considering two field-validation sites, the Century model performed relatively well in modeling SOC dynamics for dry farmland in the province. The simulated results showed that the area-weighted mean soil organic carbon density (SOCD) of dry farmland increased from 18.77 Mg C ha1 in 1980 to 23.99 Mg C ha1 in 2008 with an average sequestration rate of 0.18 Mg C ha1 year?1. Approximately 94.9% of the total dry farmland area sequestered carbon while 5.1% had carbon lost. Over the past 29 years, the net SOC gain in dry farmland soils of the province was 19.37 Tg, with an average sequestration rate of 0.67 Tg C year1. Augmentation of SOC was primarily due to increased consumption of nitrogen fertilizer and farmyard manure. Moreover, SOC dynamics were highly differentiated among dry farmland soil groups. The integration of the Century model with a fine-scale soil database approach could be conveniently utilized as a tool for the accurate simulation of SOC dynamics at the regional scale.

Quantitative analysis of the impact factors of conventional energy carbon emissions in Kazakhstan based on LMDI decomposition and STIRPAT model

Quantitative analysis of the impact factors in energy-related CO2 emissions serves as an important guide for reducing carbon emissions and building an environmentally-friendly society. This paper aims to use LMDI method and a modified STIRPAT model to research the conventional energy-related CO_2 emissions in Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The results show that the trajectory of CO2 emissions displayed U-shaped curve from 1992 to 2013. Based on the extended Kaya identity and additive LMDI method, we decomposed total CO2 emissions into four influencing factors. Of those, the economic active effect is the most influential factor driving CO2 emissions, which produced 110.86 Mt CO2 emissions, with a contribution rate of 43.92%. The second driving factor is the population effect, which led to 11.87 Mt CO2 emissions with a contribution rate of 4.7%. On the contrary, the energy intensity effect is the most inhibiting factor, which caused –110.90 Mt CO2 emissions with a contribution rate of –43.94%, followed by the energy carbon structure effect resulting in –18.76 Mt CO2 emissions with a contribution rate of –7.43%. In order to provide an in-depth examination of the change response between energy-related CO2 emissions and each impact factor, we construct a modified STIRPAT model based on ridge regression estimation. The results indicate that for every 1% increase in population size, economic activity, energy intensity and energy carbon structure, there is a subsequent increase in CO_2 emissions of 3.13%, 0.41%, 0.30% and 0.63%, respectively.

Decomposition analysis of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the iron and steel industry in China

This work aims to identify the main factors influencing the energy-related carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions from the iron and steel industry in China during the period of 1995-2007. The logarithmic mean divisia index （LMDI） technique was applied with period-wise analysis and time-series analysis. Changes in energy- related CO2 emissions were decomposed into four factors： emission factor effect, energy structure effect, energy consumption effect, and the steel production effect. The results show that steel production is the major factor responsible for the rise in CO2 emissions during the sampling period; on the other hand the energy consump- tion is the largest contributor to the decrease in C02 emissions. To a lesser extent, the emission factor and energy structure effects have both negative and positive contributions to C02 emissions, respectively. Policy implications are provided regarding the reduction of C02 emissions from the iron and steel industry in China, such as controlling the overgrowth of steel production, improving energy-saving technologies, and introducing low-carbon energy sources into the iron and steel industry.

Estimation of carbon dioxide flux and source partitioning over Beijing, China

The magnitude and partitioning of carbon dioxide emission from the urban area in Beijing, China was estimated based on a statistical approach. Results showed that the urban surface is a net source of CO2 to atmosphere. The main sources of CO2 are vehicles, which accounted for 75.5% and 38.9% of CO2 emission in summer and winter, respectively. At midday in summer, the CO2 uptake of-0.034 mg/（m^2.sec） indicated that vegetation is an important sink of CO2 in summer. Comparison between the annual emission rates of CO2 from the statistical approach and that directly measured by the eddy covariance technique implies that a bottom-up emission approach is a viable means to estimate CO2 emission in an urban area.

Neighborhood form and CO2 emission： evidence from 23 neighborhoods in Jinan, China

To understand the household C02 emission level in China, as well as how much the neighborhoods＇ socio-economic or design factors could influence the CO2 emission, 23 neighborhoods in Jinan were investigated in 2009 and 2010. These neighborhoods fall into four different types： superblock, enclave, grid and traditional. The household CO2 emission includes sources of both in- home energy use and passenger transportation. The average CO2 emission per household is 7.66 t.a^-1, including 6.87 t in-home operational emission and 792 kg transportation emission. The household CO2 emission by neighborhood categories is 10.97, 5.65, 6.49, 5.40 t-household-1. a-1 for superblock, enclave, grid and tradi- tional respectively. Superblock has the highest average emission and also the highest percent （more than 25%） of transportation emission among four different types of neighborhoods. The residential CO2 emission of superb- lock neighborhoods in Jinan has already reached the level in developed countries nearly ten years ago. It is predictable that more superblock neighborhoods would be built in China with the fast urbanization. How to avoid the rapid household CO2 emission growth in the future would be a systematic issue. The study also found that in addition to income and apartment area, household density, land use mix and accessibility to public transportation are three primary factors which have significant impacts on CO2 emission. High density, mixed land use and convenient accessibility to public transportation tend to reduce household CO2 emission.