Mark C. Thurber

Temperature imaging with single- and dual-wavelength acetone planar laser-induced fluorescence.

Two sensitive techniques for temperature imaging by use of acetone planar laser-induced fluorescence, applicable at temperatures up to 1000 K, are introduced and demonstrated. Photophysics data on the wavelength-dependent temperature variation of acetone fluorescence permit the implementation of a single-wavelength technique in environments with constant pressure and constant acetone mole fraction, and a dual-wavelength method can be applied in flows with mixing and (or) chemical reaction. Preliminary imaging results are presented for acetone-air flow over a heated cylinder (single-wavelength strategy) and for a heated laminar jet (dual-wavelength strategy).

PESD Carbon Storage Project Database

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is among the technologies with greatest potential leverage to combat climate change. According to the PRISM analysis, a technology assessment performed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), wide deployment of CCS after 2020 in the US power sector alone could reduce emissions by approximately 350 million tonnes of CO2 per year (Mt CO2/yr) by 2030, a conclusion echoed by the McKinsey U.S. Mid-range Greenhouse Gas Abatement Curve 2030. But building CCS into such a formidable climate change mitigation “wedge” will require more than technological feasibility; it will also require the development of policies and business models that can enable wide adoption. Such business models, and the regulatory environments to support them, have as yet been largely undemonstrated. This, among other factors, has caused the gap between the technological potential and the actual pace of CCS development to remain large.The purpose of the present work is to quantify actual progress in developing carbon storage projects (here defined as any projects that store carbon underground at any stage of their operation or development, for example through injection into oil fields for enhanced recovery or in saline aquifers or other geological formations). In this way, the real development ramp may be compared in scale and timing against the perceived need for and potential of the technology. Some very useful lists of carbon storage projects already exist – see, for example, the IPCC CCS database, the JP Morgan CCS project list, the MIT CCS database, and the IEA list. We seek to maintain an up-to-date database of all publicly-announced current and planned projects from which we can project a trajectory of carbon stored underground as a function of time. To do this, we estimate for each project the probability of completion as well as the potential volume of CO2 that can be stored as of a given year.

Australia's black coal industry: past achievements and future challenges

This paper reviews the technical, economic, political, and regulatory factors that have shaped the black coal industries of Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) over the post-WWII period. It also assesses the factors which are expected to shape the black coal industries of Queensland and NSW over the next 20 years. Its purpose is to document the critical challenges facing the black coal industries of Queensland and NSW and describe the likely futures that might emerge from the resolution of those challenges over time. 1 1 The author would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in preparing this paper: Richard Morse of PESD for conducting multiple reviews of earlier drafts of this paper and offering very insightful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the quality of this paper; Mark Thurber also of PESD for the very detailed comments that he provided to an early draft of this paper; Mike Friederich, a consulting coal geologist from Brisbane, Australia, who provided many insights into the coal mining industries of both Queensland and NSW; Pat Markey, chief operating officer for globalCOAL for his very helpful review of earlier drafts of the paper; Cliff Mallett of Carbon Energy for arranging a visit to Carbon Energy‘s Bloodworth UCG demonstration site in Queensland; and Rhonda Dublewicz, Carol Mische, Peter Thurgood and James Belov at Coal Services Pty. Ltd. for providing information on coal production, exports and domestic consumption, labor productivity and other measures of performance for Australia‘s black coal industry for the period 1947 through 2008.

The Global Coal Market : supplying the major fuel for emerging economies

Coal has been the worlds fastest-growing energy source in absolute terms for over a decade. Coal also emits more CO2 than any other fossil fuel and contributes to serious air pollution problems in many regions of the world. If we hope to satisfy the demand for affordable energy in emerging economies while protecting the environment we need to develop a keen understanding of the market that supplies coal. This book offers an in-depth analysis of the key producers and consumers that will most influence coal production, transport, and use in the future. By exploring how countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa have developed their respective coal industries - and how these industries link together through the international coal trade - experts shed light on how the global coal market may evolve, and the economic and environmental implications. This book is the most comprehensive treatment of these topics to date and will appeal to a wide readership, including scholars and practitioners working on energy economics and policy.

Recent Advances in Laser-based Diagnostics for Gaseous Flows

Laser-based diagnostic techniques offer unique capabilities for experimentation on gaseous flows. In this paper, we overview recent progress of two concepts: spectrally resolved absorption and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging. The absorption measurements utilize tunable diode lasers (TDLs) as light sources. Recent TDL applications include a wavelength-multiplexed system for rapid temperature sensing for use in combustion control, and absorption probes for time-resolved measurements of temperature, velocity and species concentrations in a hypersonic shock tunnel. Recent PLIF work includes applications to supersonic, exothermic flowfields relevant to ram accelerators, and development of a method for imaging temperature in air flows using acetone seeding.

Promoting Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies Through Consumer Education: Results From a Field Experiment in Mexico

We undertake a field experiment that delivers information on electricity pricing to randomlyselected households in Puebla, Mexico. The 20-minute, in-person intervention educated households on how their electricity use translates into pesos on their electricity bill. Households receiving the treatment reduced electricity use, especially those that paid the highest marginal prices. The estimated impacts were durable, with no observed rebound for at least a year. In addition, those with less educational attainment reduced electricity use the most, suggesting that it was newly-acquired knowledge that led to this behavior. Our intervention was tailored for an emerging economy setting and had high acceptance rates. We also find that it is a cost-effective approach to overcoming information barriers that are likely to exist in developing countries that are restructuring their energy sectors. ∗Stojanovski, Thurber: Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD), Stanford University, ognen@stanford.edu, mthurber@stanford.edu. Leslie, Department of Economics, Monash University, gordon.leslie@monash.edu. Wolak: Department of Economics and PESD, Stanford University, wolak@stanford.edu. Huerta Wong: Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), juan.huerta@upaep.mx. The study protocol was approved by the Stanford IRB (protocol number 34234).