World markets for conventional and advanced biofuels over the next five years

Production of transport biofuels grew by just 2% in 2017. To achieve the 2030 SDS target, use of biofuels needs to triple, driven by cost reductions of advanced biofuels, widespread sustainability governance and more adoption in aviation and marine transport. This presentation provides an overview of the market prospects for conventional biofuels over the next five years. It would analyse the current status of deployment and costs for novel advanced biofuels. It would also draw comparisons with electric cars, the extent of their renewable electricity utilisation and decarbonisation potential. It would include the contribution of renewables to road transport demand over the next 5 years and focus on the main biofuels available to decarbonise road freight, now and in the long term. Finally, it will present a case study from India, focusing on ethanol-based chemicals

DO HIGHLY COMPENSATED PARTICIPANTS INFLUENCE THE MANAGEMENT OF QUALIFIED PENSION PLANS?

This paper presents evidence of favorable management of qualified pension plans with large proportion of highly compensated employees. Defined-benefit pension plans that are dominated by highly compensated employees tend to contribute beyond the minimum amount required under Internal Revenue Code (flow effect) resulting in overfunded plans (stock effect) and then use aggressive actuarial assumptions to disguise the overfunding to avoid visibility costs (reporting effect). This favored treatment is less likely when the sponsoring firm has an active labor union (monitoring effect). These actions contradict the provisions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code, which prohibit favorable treatment for highly compensated employees.Defined-Benefit Pension plans; highly compensated employees; funding; actuarial assumptions

DETERMINANTS OF OUTSIDE DIRECTOR TURNOVER

In this paper we provide evidence that independent director turnover is influenced by a series of economic factors. Directors, both independent and insider, are less likely to leave if they are paid well or if the firm has a director pension plan. They are also more likely to leave when the firm is performing poorly or when they expect it to perform poorly. They are more likely to leave when the firm is riskier, but are less likely to leave when they chair certain committees such as the audit and compensation committee, which may bring them more prestige, or perhaps an additional stipend. Differentially, the association between turnover and firm performance is weaker for inside directors. This is consistent with inside directors’ response to reputation concerns being lower than that of independent directors due to the bonding and compensation effects.Director turnover, economic factors

Tubing specifications selection and its effect on the results of hydraulic fracturing treatment in oil formations

Equipment specification, data collection and design process are critical factors for any hydraulic fracturing treatment success. This paper investigates tubing specifications selection and its effect on the results of hydraulic fracturing treatment in oil formations. Simulations were carried out on well E-45 owned by National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya using two main tools - Pumping Diagnostic Analysis Toolkit (PDAT) and Halliburton proprietary software package (FracPro) for analysing Mini-Frac pumping data. The initial modelling results using 3.5 inch tubing were compared with the experimental results obtained from the actual hydraulic fracturing tests carried out at the E45 by Halliburton as a sub-contractor for NOC. The simulation results showed good agreement with the experiments, validating the model. The model was then extended to explore alternate tubing diameters. This was implemented by introducing the relationship between the tub friction pressures and pumping rate (Friction Pressure vs. Pumping Rate) with the mentioned tube sizes. The results showed that in high stress rock formations, it is worthwhile to minimise the pipe friction by using higher tubing grade (4.5 inches) and burst pressure. A bigger tubing inner diameter can increase the allowable surface pumping rate and pressure

Strategies to Improve Physical Properties in Eco-Friendly Materials through Cation Engineering

Bulk ferro/piezoelectric ceramics are the backbone for several components utilized in communication systems, industrial automation, medical diagnostics, information-technology, energy storage and harvesting. From the application point of view, ferro/piezoelectric materials should have high piezoelectric coefficients, high remnant polarization (Pr), low coercive field (EC), wide temperature stability and good mechanical strength [1]. In most of the high performance piezoelectric applications, the material of choice is ultimately based upon lead based materials such as PZT (i.e., Pb(Zr, Ti)O3). Even though PZT has excellent piezoelectric properties suitable for device applications, the prime concern is about lead (Pb) which is highly toxic and hazardous in nature. Hence, it has become a serious threat for environmental protection during the waste disposal and also it indirectly induces health related issues. In this regard, worldwide environmental considerations are demanding the elimination of lead-based materials from all consumer items [2]

Strategies to Improve Physical Properties in Eco-Friendly Materials through Cation Engineering

Bulk ferro/piezoelectric ceramics are the backbone for several components utilized in communication systems, industrial automation, medical diagnostics, information-technology, energy storage and harvesting. From the application point of view, ferro/piezoelectric materials should have high piezoelectric coefficients, high remnant polarization (Pr), low coercive field (EC), wide temperature stability and good mechanical strength [1]. In most of the high performance piezoelectric applications, the material of choice is ultimately based upon lead based materials such as PZT (i.e., Pb(Zr, Ti)O3). Even though PZT has excellent piezoelectric properties suitable for device applications, the prime concern is about lead (Pb) which is highly toxic and hazardous in nature. Hence, it has become a serious threat for environmental protection during the waste disposal and also it indirectly induces health related issues. In this regard, worldwide environmental considerations are demanding the elimination of lead-based materials from all consumer items [2]