Syncrude Stability Study. Final Report, June 9, 1980-March 31, 1983
Syncrude Stability Study. Final Report, June 9, 1980-March 31, 1983

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1983

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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This program was initiated to investigate the storage stability of syncrudes derived from coal and oil shale, and upgraded syncrudes, by procedures utilized for petroleum-derived fuels. Initially, the syncrudes were placed in storage at 43°C. After 4, 8, 16 and 24 weeks, aliquots were removed from storage for analysis of filterable precipitates, adherent gum, and soluble gum. Due to the high viscosity and boiling range of many of the syncrudes, special techniques were utilized to filter some of these samples for their measurements, which included heat and pressure. Investigation of other techniques for development of a test protocol that would successfully differentiate between various degrees of storage stability of syncrudes became a second objective of this program. To this end, solvent separations, accelerated stability tests at 80°C, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were investigated. Results of this work indicate that for the particular samples studied, the shale syncrudes are more stable than coal-derived syncrudes, and hydrotreatment of the shale syncrudes for upgrading tends to improve their stability. Thermal analysis by SC and/or TGA appears to show promise in evaluating syncrude stability, although finalized standard procedures still need to be developed. 10 references, 18 figures, 29 tables.

Climate Change and Water
Climate Change and Water

Author: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Working Group Technical Support Unit

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9789291691234

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The Technical Paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species. -- page vii.

Silent Violence
Silent Violence

Author: Michael J. Watts

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 815

ISBN-13: 0820344451

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Why do famines occur and how have their effects changed through time? Why are those who produce food so often the casualties of famines? Looking at the food crisis that struck the West African Sahel during the 1970s, Michael J. Watts examines the relationships between famine, climate, and political economy. Through a longue durée history and a detailed village study Watts argues that famines are socially produced and that the market is as fickle and incalculable as the weather. Droughts are natural occurrences, matters of climatic change, but famines expose the inner workings of society, politics, and markets. His analysis moves from household and individual farming practices in the face of climatic variability to the incorporation of African peasants into the global circuits of capitalism in the colonial and postcolonial periods. Silent Violence powerfully combines a case study of food crises in Africa with an analysis of the way capitalism developed in northern Nigeria and how peasants struggle to maintain rural livelihoods. As the West African Sahel confronts another food crisis and continuing food insecurity for millions of peasants, Silent Violence speaks in a compelling way to contemporary agrarian dynamics, food provisioning systems, and the plight of the African poor.