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Flaring practices allow more methane into the atmosphere than thought; simple fixes can have big impact

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Oil and gas producers rely on flaring to limit the venting of natural gas from their facilities. New research led by the University of Michigan shows that in the real world, this practice is far less effective than estimated, releasing five times more methane in the US than previously thought. Genevieve Plant, Eric A.

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Pitt engineers using membrane distillation to recycle water used in fracking and drilling

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Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are using membrane distillation technology to enable drillers to filter and reuse the produced water in the oil and gas industry, in agriculture, and other beneficial uses. Shamlou, Elmira & Vidic, Radisav & Khanna, Vikas. Desalination. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2021.115513.

Water 303
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As states continue to use less coal for electricity, driving electric vehicles becomes even cleaner

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Natural gas. North Dakota. North Dakota. North Dakota. Michael Sivak is the managing director of Sivak Applied Research and the former director of Sustainable Worldwide Transportation at the University of Michigan. Energy source. Proportional amount of emissions relative to hydro. Geothermal.

Coal 334
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Study finds air pollution and GHG costs of crude-by-rail nearly 2x pipeline costs; much larger than spill and accidents costs

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Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have found that the air pollution and greenhouse gas costs of shipping crude by rail are nearly twice as large as those for oil pipelines. Air pollution and greenhouse gas damages for transportation by railroad and pipelines to the gulf coast.

Pollution 230
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EERC working with Fuel Cell Energy on $3.5M ARPA-E project for electrochemical cell to convert natural gas to methanol

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The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is working with FuelCell Energy, Inc., FuelCell Energy’s cell would create liquid fuel from natural gas. The ability to monetize natural gas in cost-effective smaller-scale plants could be a value-added prospect in various industries.

Convert 150
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DOE Awarding More Than $3.3M to 7 Universities To Conduct Advanced Turbine Technology Studies for Advanced Coal-Based Power Generation

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million to 7 universities to conduct advanced turbine technology studies under the Office of Fossil Energy’s (FE) University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) Program. The selected projects, each 36 months in duration, include: Georgia Tech Research Corporation , Atlanta, Ga. Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas.

Coal 210
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Argonne analysis shows greenhouse gas emissions similar for shale, conventional oil

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Shale oil production generates greenhouse gas emissions at levels similar to conventional crude oil production, according to a pair of new studies released by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. These are shale formations with low permeability and must be hydraulically fractured to produce oil and gas.

Oil 150