David A. Castelo Branco

Extensive review of shale gas environmental impacts from scientific literature (2010–2015)

Extensive reviews and meta-analyses are essential to summarize emerging developments in a specific field and offering information on the current trends in the scientific literature. Shale gas exploration and exploitation has been extensively debated in literature, but a comprehensive review of recent studies on the environmental impacts has yet to be carried out. Therefore, the goal of this article is to systematically examine scientific articles published between 2010 and 2015 and identify recent advances and existing data gaps. The examined articles were classified into six main categories (water resources, atmospheric emissions, land use, induced seismicity, occupational and public health and safety, and other impacts). These categories are analyzed separately to identify specific challenges, possibly existing consensus and data gaps yet remained in the literature.

Price volatility across the Atlantic: The US and the European natural gas markets

Price volatility in the natural gas markets of the United States of America and the European Union have been the subject of several studies in recent years as these markets experienced important changes. The purpose of this study is to address and discuss market factors that have influenced price behavior. For this, the annualized monthly volatility for the “Henry Hub” (US Market) and the “London Natural Gas Index” (European Market) were calculated based on daily natural gas spot prices, from 2003 to 2014. The results show the different price behaviors and allow the comparison of these two markets.

Potential of diesel electric system for fuel saving in fishing vessels: a case study on a bottom longline fleet of Brazil

ABSTRACT This study concerns a model of the fuel consumption and emissions from the bottom longline fishing fleet at Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil with data comprised vessel and engine characteristics, fuel consumption, landings and fishing trip duration of seventeen longliners operating in Rio de Janeiro between 2015 and 2016. The operational pattern was investigated for this fleet, based on an empirical approach to model the propulsion power requirements of the typical longliner fishing vessel. The current propulsion and power plants of the longliner fishing vessels under consideration are compared with alternative designs by estimating fuel consumption for the different models of propulsion systems. When the operational pattern evaluation is taken into account, it indicates the future potential for diesel-electric propulsion for longliner fishing vessels, as a result of a reduction in fuel consumption.

Is floating photovoltaic better than conventional photovoltaic? Assessing environmental impacts

ABSTRACT Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy installations are growing all over the world as a promising renewable alternative to generate electricity. However, many studies have highlighted some drawbacks associated with the installation and operation of conventional solar energy power plants. Thus, floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems have been emerging as a new concept in solar energy to lessen negative environmental impacts caused by allocation of conventional PV facilities. This paper is an overview of the potential negative and positive environmental impacts caused by photovoltaic systems with particular interest on large-scale conventional and floating photovoltaic. This study addresses and compares the impacts at all phases of project implementation, which covers planning, construction, and operation and decommissioning, focusing on ambient located in the tropics. The overall impacts associated with project allocation such as deforestation (for the project implementation and site accessing), bird mortality, erosion, runoff, and change in microclimate are expected to have higher magnitudes for the implementation of conventional PV facilities. The results highlight advantages of FPV over conventional PV during the operational and decommissioning phases as well. Though, further studies are required to assess both qualitative and quantitative aspects of installations in similar areas.