Investors increasingly need to account for concerns about non-financial performance and to consider the environmental impact of fossil fuel investment. We analyze how financial investors appreciate induced seismicity in oil and gas fields in the US and the Netherlands. We employ an event study to investigate the stock market reaction of investors in two fossil fuel majors, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. We establish that stock market participants’ response is positively but weakly related to induced seismicity with ExxonMobil. This suggests that markets might interpret this seismicity as a signal of future productivity. With Royal Dutch Shell, there is no significant association, suggesting that their investors do not specifically appreciate its externalities. We conclude that the externality of induced seismicity goes unpriced.

Strategic selection of glazing, its window-to-wall ratio, and wall thickness of building reduce the energy consumption in the built environment. This paper presents the experimental results of solar optical properties of five glasses: clear, tinted bronze, tinted green, bronze reflective, and polymer dispersed liquid crystal glasses. Laterite room models were modeled with four different thicknesses and four different glasses using Design Builder, and thermal simulation tests were carried out using Energy Plus. The energy savings and carbon emission mitigation prospective of a building’s glazing variety, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), and wall thickness were investigated. The results revealed that among the five window glasses studied, the polymer dispersed liquid crystal glazing window (PDLCGW) was found to be the most energy-efficient for low heat gain in laterite rooms. The laterite room with 0.23 m wall thickness and 40% PDLCGW WWR reduced 18.9% heat gain in comparison with the laterit... [more]

With the requirement of reduced carbon emissions and air pollution, it has become much more important to monitor the oil quality used in heavy-duty vehicles, which have more than 2/3 transportation emissions. Some gas stations may provide unqualified fuel, resulting in uncontrollable emissions, which is a big challenge for environmental protection. Based on this focus, a gas station recognition method is proposed in this paper. Combining the CART algorithm with the DBSCAN clustering algorithm, the locations of gas stations were detected and recognized. Then, the oil quality analysis of these gas stations could be effectively evaluated from oil stability and vehicle emissions. Massive real-world data operating in Tangshan, China, collected from the Heavy-duty Vehicle Remote Emission Service and Management Platform, were used to verify the accuracy and robustness of the proposed model. The results illustrated that the proposed model can not only accurately detect both the time and locati... [more]

One of the most important elements during photogrammetric studies is the appropriate lighting of the object or area under investigation. Nevertheless, the concept of “adequate lighting” is relative. Therefore, we have attempted, based on experimental proof of concept (technology readiness level—TRL3), to verify the impact of various types of lighting emitted by LED light sources for scene illumination and their direct influence on the quality of the photogrammetric study of a 3D urban mock-up. An important issue in this study was the measurement and evaluation of the artificial light sources used, based on illuminance (E), correlated colour temperature (CCT), colour rendering index (CRI) and Spectral power distribution (SPD) and the evaluation of the obtained point clouds (seven photogrammetric products of the same object, developed for seven different lighting conditions). The general values of the quality of the photogrammetric studies were compared. Additionally, we determined seven... [more]

Practitioners of economic geography recognize innovation as the key factor in sustainable economic development and urging a city to evolve. Urban development evolves from manufacturing-based development to knowledge-based development. Identifying the future benefits of urban development is a research issue. This work analyzes development performance based on quantitative indices of critical knowledge and innovation that enhance economic growth and influence society and competitiveness. The research further identifies the possibility of knowledge dissemination and innovation. This work investigates the key factors encouraging the development of a knowledge-based city for Helsinki, Melbourne, and Hsinchu in terms of economy, society, environment, and management, and observes that the progressive and positive circular stimulation for a city requires not only the cultivation of human capital, but also the construction of social environment and internal relations to form a high-density know... [more]

This work has developed and evaluated a microemulsion-based drilling fluid formulation with characteristics to be applied in oil wells. The microemulsion was formulated with a solution of water/glycerol, pine oil, and Tween 80, a nonionic and biodegradable surfactant. The physical and chemical properties of the drilling fluid obtained in this work were investigated through rheology and filtration analysis, solids content, aging, lubricity, toxicity, and thermal degradation. A non-toxic microemulsion-based drilling fluid oil-in-water (O/W) with high lubricity (0.07638) and thermal stability was obtained with suitable viscosity, gel strength and low fluid loss (4.0 mL), low solids content (6%), stability in a wide range of salinity conditions, and the possibility of high water content (above 85% in mass fraction). The fluid presented a pseudoplastic behavior, and statistically significant Herschel−Bulkley parameters were obtained.

The development of the economy is related not only to its benefits, but also its negative aspects. One of the negative impacts is the impact on the environment and society. Many types of industry and, in a narrower sense, of enterprises, adversely affect their surroundings. It is one of the many factors that has contributed to the growing popularity of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is important to balance business and industry with the environment and community impacts. This study presents selected aspects of corporate social responsibility, such as society, the environment, and corporate governance in relation to the industry responsible for energy production and distribution. This group includes the energy sector (mining oil, gas, consumer fuels, and energy equipment and services), the materials sector (metallurgy and mining), as well as distribution (gas, electricity supply, independent energy producers, and renewable energy). The aim of the article was to... [more]

Energy and the environment are interrelated, and they are critical factors that influence the development of societies [...]

Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) are a new type of general corporate purpose bond in which payments are tied to an issuer’s sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) with respect to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The structure is complementary to green bonds. The Tesco SLBs are linked to the firm’s ability to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. The priority is to reduce its reliance on nonrenewable grid electricity, which contributed 65% of Tesco’s global carbon emissions footprint. Tesco accounts for 1% of electricity demand in the UK. Failure to meet the goals will result in a coupon step-up by 25 basis points on the last three coupons. The aim of our study is to investigate the presence of, how we call it ‘ESG spread’, marked by negative yield difference between SLB and regular bonds. It is something similar to ‘greenium’, that is, a premium paid by bondholders for green bonds when compared to nongreen bonds. We compare the bid and ask yields... [more]

In recent years, numerous studies have explored the opportunities and challenges for emerging decentralized energy systems and business models. However, few studies have focussed specifically on the economic and social value associated with three emerging models: peer-to-peer energy trading (P2P), community self-consumption (CSC) and transactive energy (TE). This article presents the findings of a systematic literature review to address this gap. The paper makes two main contributions to the literature. Firstly, it offers a synthesis of research on the social and economic value of P2P, CSC and TE systems, concluding that there is evidence for a variety of sources of social value (including energy independence, local benefits, social relationships, environmental responsibility and participation and purpose) and economic value (including via self-consumption of renewable electricity, reduced electricity import costs, and improved electricity export prices). Secondly, it identifies factor... [more]

An analysis of the influence of injection well location on CO2 storage efficiency was carried out for three well-known geological structures (traps) in deep aquifers of the Lower Jurassic Polish Lowlands. Geological models of the structures were used to simulate CO2 injection at fifty different injection well locations. A computer simulation showed that the dynamic CO2 storage capacity varies depending on the injection well location. It was found that the CO2 storage efficiency for structures with good reservoir properties increases with increasing distance of the injection well from the top of the structure and with increasing depth difference to the top of the structure. The opposite is true for a structure with poor reservoir properties. As the quality of the petrophysical reservoir parameters (porosity and permeability) improves, the location of the injection well becomes more important when assessing the CO2 storage efficiency. Maps of dynamic CO2 storage capacity and CO2 storage... [more]

The expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) services and the huge amount of data generated by different sensors signify the importance of cloud computing services such as Storage as a Service more than ever. IoT traffic imposes such extra constraints on the cloud storage service as sensor data preprocessing capability and load-balancing between data centers and servers in each data center. Furthermore, service allocation should be allegiant to the quality of service (QoS). In the current work, an algorithm is proposed that addresses the QoS in storage service allocation. The proposed hybrid multi-objective water cycle and grey wolf optimizer (MWG) considers different QoS objectives (e.g., energy, processing time, transmission time, and load balancing) in both the fog and cloud Layers, which were not addressed altogether. The MATLAB script is used to simulate and implement our algorithms, and services of different servers, e.g., Amazon, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc., are considered. The MWG... [more]

Polymer is an insulating substance that has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its benefits. Light density, superior dielectric and thermal properties, and water-resistant or hydrophobic properties are only a few of the benefits. The presence of impurities or pollutants on the insulator’s surface lowers its dielectric capacity, which can lead to current leakage. The influence of seawater and fly ash pollutants on the distribution of the electric field and the current density of the insulator was simulated in this study. The finite element method was used to execute the simulation (FEM). Polymer insulators are subjected to testing in order to gather current leakage statistics. The tested insulator is exposed to seawater pollution, which varies depending on the equivalent salt density deposit value (ESDD). The pollutant insulator for fly ash varies depending on the value of non-soluble deposit density (NSDD). The existence of a layer of pollutants increased the value of t... [more]

Nowadays, every large enterprise is concerned about reducing CO2 emissions. Along with legislation, management, packaging, and transportation decisions, optimising the operation of automated systems in the industry is important. Overheating processes or large cooling systems of one machine during product assembly may seem minor but at the industry level it is quite significant. Either an optimisation of cooling systems or an intelligent machine control which will prevent heat strokes and allow the transition to passive cooling of the whole system is an important issue for improving machine tools efficiency and contributing therefore to CO2 reduction in the industry sector. This research is a transitional phase from the creation of a control system to solve the problems of resonance in the control of systems with parallel piezo kinematics, which were designed to automate the iterative process of non-circular drilling with a precise shape and the subsequent research on the implementation... [more]

This scientific publication is dedicated to the development of scientific methodological and practical recommendations about the formation of ecologistics approaches towards usage of the energetical potential of wooden biomass as a promising trend of economic activity subject development. The hierarchy of ecological chain build-up is established, which will allow one to effectively organize the logistics of supply of biomass to the place of energy production. The methodological approaches to modeling of economic and ecological evaluation of wooden mass supply chain were improved. It is aimed to the calculation of expanses and harmful emissions that depend on specific logistics processes in implementation of perspective actions of collection and recycling of wooden biomass and substitution of non-renewable energy sources by it, which, on the one hand, analyzes the actual state of affairs of knowledge in the field of ecological processes evaluation, and on the other hand, however, identi... [more]

In the international movement to combat the threat of climate change, the timely implementation of residential energy-saving practises is becoming an urgent issue. Because the number of apartments is increasing, we analysed data from home energy management systems (HEMSs) and data from questionnaire surveys of 309 households in a condominium. We focused on the seasonal variation in air-conditioning (AC) use in living-dining rooms to determine the tendency of energy use for heating/cooling related to the characteristics of flats, the profiles of residents, and energy-saving behaviours. In winter, 80% of residents mainly used gas floor heating rather than AC and 24% did not use AC in winter. In households where someone stays home for long hours, they prefer gas floor heating rather than AC in winter. These households also tend to engage in energy-saving behaviours to adjust the indoor thermal environment. There are several types of energy-saving lifestyles; therefore, effective energy-sa... [more]

Schools play an important role in achieving climate protection goals, because they lay the foundation of knowledge for a responsible next generation. Therefore, schools as institutions have a special role model function. Enabling schools to become aware of their own carbon footprint (CF) is an important prerequisite for being able to tap the substantial CO2 reduction potential. Aiming at the direct involvement of students in the assessment process, a new assessment tool was developed within the Schools4Future project that gives students the opportunity to determine their own school’s CF. With this instrument the CO2 emissions caused by mobility, heating and electricity consumption as well as for food in the school canteen and for consumables (paper) can be recorded. It also takes into account existing renewable energy sources. Through the development of the tool, not only a monitoring instrument was established but also a concrete starting point from which students could take actions t... [more]

Reducing harmful emissions from exhaust gases and increasing energy efficiency are urgent tasks when designing reciprocating internal combustion engines. In this experimental work, the fuel system of a diesel locomotive engine operating on the Miller cycle is improved. The purpose of the study is to improve the environmental and economic indicators of diesel engines at minimal financial cost. The article provides an overview of the main research on improving fuel supply, mixing and combustion. The features of engine operation are also briefly described. Numerical simulation of the diesel engine operating cycle was performed before the bench tests. The experiments were performed on a full-size diesel engine with a power of 1200 kW. The measuring equipment and experimental technique are described in the article. The technical solutions that made it possible to improve the fuel supply are described. A new design for the high-pressure fuel pump drive is proposed. The optimal fuel injection... [more]

This paper presents research on the development of pyrotechnic compositions producing an acoustic effect. These types of compositions are used in firecrackers to imitate a cannon shot—they are most frequently used during military exercises. The research was based on a mathematical model of an experiment. For environmental reasons, the replacement of the harmful oxidant Ba(NO3)2 by KClO4 and NH4ClO4 was modelled. The compositions were tested for reliability and evaluated in terms of friction sensitivity and burning rate. This allowed for the verification of the effectiveness of the modelling carried out. Optimum compositions were selected for further research.

This study evaluates the effects of pooling heat demands in a district for the purpose of upscaling heat production units by means of energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic, and environmental indicators, as well as the sensitivity to investment and fuel costs. The following production systems to satisfy the heat demands (domestic hot water production and space heating) of a mixed district composed of office (80%), residential (15%), and commercial (5%) buildings are considered: gas- and biomass-fired boilers, electric boilers and heat pumps (grid-powered or photovoltaic -powered), and solar thermal collectors. For comparison, three system sizing approaches are examined: at building scale, at sector scale (residential, office, and commerce), or at district scale. For the configurations studied, the upscaling benefits were up to 5% higher efficiency (energy and exergy), there was lower levelized cost of heat for all systems (between 20% and 54%), up to 55% lower exergy destruction cost... [more]

There are currently trends in the world to transfer and adapt traditional solutions to contemporary needs. This applies, inter alia, to mobile shelters used by nomadic peoples. The article is devoted to the research on the quality of internal air in the yurt and the possibilities of its adaptation to high contemporary quality and environmental requirements, while maintaining its characteristic sustainable values. The tested traditional Mongolian yurt was moved from the dry and cold climate of the Asian steppe to the temperate climate of Central Europe and has been significantly modified. The outer shell materials have been changed, replacing natural materials with modern tight insulating foils. The wood-fired stove has been replaced with an electric heater and the roof opening has been firmly closed. All of these modifications resulted in far-reaching changes in the quality of the internal environment in the yurt. The conducted measurements and simulations of CO2 concentration in the m... [more]

With increasing concerns regarding environmental sustainability, energy transition has emerged as a vital subtopic in transition studies. Such socio-technical transition requires social learning, which, however, is poorly conceptualized and explained in transition research. This paper overviews transition research on social learning. It attempts to portray how social learning has been studied in the context of energy transition and how research could be advanced. Due to the underdevelopment of the field, this paper employs a narrative review method. The review indicates two clusters of studies, which portray both direct and indirect links concerning the phenomena. The overview reveals that social learning is a force in energy transition and may occur at different levels of analysis, i.e., micro, meso, and macro, as well as different orders of learning. The author proposes to develop the academic research on the topic through quantitative and mixed-methods research as well as contributi... [more]

Corn straw, a typical agricultural waste, was directly converted into hydrochar with a yield of 77.56% by hydrothermal carbonization at 140−230 °C for 2 h with a solid−liquid ratio of 1:20. The morphology and surface properties were characterized by elemental analysis, specific surface area and pore size analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that with the increase of hydrothermal reaction temperature, some physical and chemical properties such as the increase of hydrocarbon content, crystallinity, and specific surface area of hydrochar changed significantly. A series of chemical reactions such as dehydration, decarboxylation, and aromatization occurred in the hydrothermal carbonization process so that the prepared hydrochar had rich oxygen-containing functional groups (-HO, C-O-C, C=O) and unique porous structure made the hydrochar prepared at 170 °C had the best removal effect on Cd2+ in solution (5.84 mg/g). These specific conditions could remove Cd... [more]

In the Benxi Formation of the Carboniferous system of the Upper Paleozoic in the Ordos Basin, there are many sets of coal measures dark organic-rich shale, being marine continental transitional facies, with significant unconventional natural gas potential. Previous studies are only limited to the evaluation of tight sandstone reservoir in this set of strata, with no sufficient study on gas bearing and geological characteristics of organic-rich shale, restricting the exploration and evaluation of shale gas resources. In this study, analysis has been conducted on the organic carbon content, the major elements, the trace elements, and the mineral composition of core samples from the Benxi Formation in key drilling sections. In addition, qualitative and quantitative pore observation and characterization of core samples have been conducted. The sedimentary environments and reservoir characteristics of the shale of the Benxi Formation have been analyzed. Combined with the gas content analyzi... [more]

The net migration rate is highly diversified and noticeable chiefly in municipalities directly adjacent to large cities. This trend is still maintained in Poland and is now becoming even more visible than previously. Most of the studies conducted to date have not focused on extracting economic and environmental factors or determining the role of individual factors in those decisions. Furthermore, they have not analysed the issue of differences in motives and directions of migration. Thus, the aim of the research was to establish the factors that determine contemporary migrations from the city to suburban areas and to outline the role of economic and environmental factors. For this purpose, 164 interviews were conducted with individuals who had migrated from the city to the countryside surrounding one of the most important urban centres in Central Europe—Wrocław. In the research, the multiple snowball sampling technique was used. It was found that the factors with the most significant i... [more]