Aerially guided leak detection and repair: A pilot field study for evaluating the potential of methane emission detection and cost-effectiveness.

Novel aerial methane (CH) detection technologies were used in this study to identify anomalously high-emitting oil and gas (O&G) facilities and to guide ground-based "leak detection and repair" (LDAR) teams. This approach has the potential to enable a rapid and effective inspection of O&G facilities under voluntary or regulatory LDAR programs to identify and mitigate anomalously large CH emissions from a disproportionately small number of facilities. This is the first study of which the authors are aware to deploy, evaluate, and compare the CH detection volumes and cost-effectiveness of aerially guided and purely ground-based LDAR techniques.

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater consumption of Marcellus shale gas.

We present results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) of Marcellus shale gas used for power generation. The analysis employs the most extensive data set of any LCA of shale gas to date, encompassing data from actual gas production and power generation operations. Results indicate that a typical Marcellus gas life cycle yields 466 kg CO2eq/MWh (80% confidence interval: 450-567 kg CO2eq/MWh) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 224 gal/MWh (80% CI: 185-305 gal/MWh) of freshwater consumption.

Environmental performance of algal biofuel technology options.

Considerable research and development is underway to produce fuels from microalgae, one of several options being explored for increasing transportation fuel supplies and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This work models life-cycle GHG and on-site freshwater consumption for algal biofuels over a wide technology space, spanning both near- and long-term options. The environmental performance of algal biofuel production can vary considerably and is influenced by engineering, biological, siting, and land-use considerations.