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Methane could be used to make ethylene, a precursor of polymers, fuels, surfactants and detergents

21/12/2012

Sulphur offers path to chemicals from methane

Could lead to greater exploitation of cheap shale

Helen Tunnicliffe

CATALYSTS based on sulphur could be used to convert methane in natural gas into ethylene, a precursor of many important chemicals, according to US-based chemical engineers.

In the US, shale gas is providing a cheap and readily available source of methane, so finding easy ways of converting it into ethylene, used to make polymers, fuels, surfactants, detergents, and textiles, amongst others, could offer a new source of revenue to chemicals companies. Methane usually requires very high temperatures to activate its chemical bonds and react it, and there have been many attempts to find catalysts to make this process easier. Matthew Neurock, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, thinks that using elemental sulphur and sulphide catalysts could provide the answer.

Neurock and colleagues at Northwestern University used quantum mechanical calculations to prove the theory of their idea, and laboratory experiments to prove the practical aspects.

Previous experiments had attempted to use oxygen as a catalyst, but found that oxygen is too reactive, producing carbon dioxide rather than ethylene. The sulphur reacts with the hydrogen, removing it from the methane. The resulting hydrocarbon fragments can then react on the sulphide catalyst, forming longer chain hydrocarbons, like ethylene. The researchers believe that sulphur has a lower affinity for the hydrogen, which prevents over-reaction. A high methane:sulphur ratio and the availability of a support increases the selectivity to produce ethylene.

“The abundance of natural gas, along with the development of new methods to extract it from hidden reserves, offers unique opportunities for the development of catalytic processes that can convert methane to chemicals,” says Neurock. “Our finding – of using sulphur to catalyse the conversion of methane to ethylene – shows initial promise for the development of new catalytic processes that can potentially take full advantage of these reserves. The research, however, is really just in its infancy.”

Nature Chemistry DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1527

‘Tea Party’ ideas grab attention

LINDA SILMALIS CHIEF REPORTER
The Sunday Telegraph
December 23, 201212:00AM

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JULIA Gillard and Tony Abbott will be asked to allow voters to cancel “bad laws” such as the carbon tax in a series of demands to be put to them by Australia’s rapidly growing “tea party”.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed last week the emergence of political campaign group CANdo, which describes itself as the Australian version of the famous right-wing US political movement.

CANdo chairman Professor David Flint said the group had added “around 500” new members since last weekend.

The group is campaigning for a series of policy changes, ranging from a tough onus-of-proof identity requirement for asylum seekers to greater discipline in schools.

Its first demand to leaders will be to establish a Swiss-style direct demo-cracy system whereby a people’s convention could initiate referendums on big issues.

Under Swiss laws a petition of 50,000 signatures is required for a referendum to take place.

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Recent outcomes of referendums held there include a ban on the building of minarets, a rejection of plans to make it illegal to smoke in enclosed public spaces, and continuing to allow terminally ill foreigners to be assisted in suicide.

Professor Flint said CANdo believed Australian voters needed a greater voice in deciding the future of the country.

He said the group would seek a commitment from both leaders to adopt Swiss-style direct democracy laws, with the establishment of a popularly elected convention to conduct referendums.

The first three referendums the group proposed to be held included whether voters should be given the right to recall a poor-performing government or a member of parliament, he said. Two others would be on whether voters should be given the power by petition to introduce or cancel new laws.

“When the carbon tax was introduced, there could have been a petition on whether that piece of legislation should be cancelled,” he said.

“The more controversial one is whether people could actively propose new legislation, such as no asylum seekers being admitted to Australia from Indonesia unless they can explain why they do not have a passport, or stopping coal seam gas mining.”

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell backs progress over NIMBY-ism

BARCLAY CRAWFORD, STATE POLITICAL REPORTER
The Sunday Telegraph
December 23, 201212:00AM

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Premier Barry O’Farrell wants to establish a legacy of infrastructure projects. Source: The Sunday Telegraph

BARRY O’Farrell wants his legacy to be as an infrastructure premier – and vowed he’s not going to show any sympathy to “noisy interest groups” who try to get in his way.

The Premier’s comments come as the government attempts to move away from any perception it is pandering to the “Not In My Back Yard” minority and back to Sydney’s silent majority who just want to see the cranes in the sky.

The comments also follow a week of vocal protests by wealthy harbourfront residents, including Mr O’Farrell’s federal Liberal colleague Malcolm Turnbull, over the government’s decision to allow the construction of a helipad in Sydney Harbour.

And the Premier blames the former Labor government for fuelling NIMBY-ism in Sydney.

He said they spent 16 years in power forgetting to remind the electorate that without economic growth “people in NSW will not continue to enjoy the living standards they’ve come to expect”.

“I’m unusually unsympathetic to people who complain about the impact of construction projects we have started because I see it as delivering on what people want, which is progress on things that should have been delivered years ago,” Mr O’Farrell said.

He also pointed to criticism of the unsolicited proposal by Jamie Packer’s Crown group to build a six-star hotel and high rollers’ casino at Barangaroo.

The Premier said he had “frustration” about the “false claims” put around by Lord Mayor Clover Moore and others that “this is a second casino for Sydney”.

“This is a VIP, invitation-only high rollers’ room aimed at the Asian gambling market,” he said. “So that’s the frustration I have and of course it will also be handled by a process that’s at arm’s length.”

But Mr O’Farrell said he “shared the public’s scepticism” about the long list of plans which in the past had never happened.

This is why he would salute projects such as the $13 billion WestConnex tollway between Parramatta, the CBD and airport once they were finished.

“People don’t want to see the start of projects, they want to see the end of them, the ribbon cutting, or whatever it is we do to open a road,” he said.

Mr O’Farrell said his government would continue to support major events, which recently saw NSW secure a match involving the world’s biggest football club, Manchester United, in Sydney in July.

“The reason Victoria got into major events 20 years ago was because it drove economic growth,” he said. “One third of the tickets sold for Manchester United’s visit are coming from interstate or overseas. They take cabs, eat in restaurants and stay in hotels.”

Mr O’Farrell said the achievement he was most proud of in 2012 was the fact NSW was the first state to sign up to the Federal Government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme.

“The best thing that this city and this state offers is opportunities, so giving proper care and support to people with disabilities enables them to realise their potential,” he said.

He also singled out Minister for Ageing and Disability Services Andrew Constance and Community Services Minister Pru Goward for special praise.

“Anyone who has a cold heart towards the people who interact with government during times of crisis doesn’t deserve to be in politics,” he said. “How you treat the less fortunate is the mark of any person in any government and I think Pru and Andrew are doing a great job for us.”

Mr O’Farrell again ruled out a reshuffle of his ministers until after the 2015 election.

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Dissension in ranks as the Coalition sticks to its guns

Date December 23, 2012 Category Opinion Read later

Heath Aston

Sun-Herald state political editor

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TO UNDERSTAND just how close the relationship between the O’Farrell government and the balance-of-power parties has become, look no further than the final parliamentary speech of the year by the Roads Minister, Duncan Gay.

”I thank all honourable members … On behalf of the Christian Democratic Party and the Shooters and Fishers Party, who make up our team in the House, I wish you all the best for Christmas.”

Yes, you read correctly – a senior government minister who counts the Shooters and Fred Nile’s Christian Democrats as ”part of the team”.

The Shooters cop a lot of flak for pursuing their gun-loving agenda.

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But you cannot blame them for the way they operate.

They are an unashamed single-issue outfit. By a quirk of the Westminster system, they just happen to have been landed with the balance of power in Parliament and hence the opportunity to deliver for that constituency.

The more surprising aspect of their growing clout is just how accommodating the government has been to them.

Not even Robert Brown and Robert Borsak, the Shooters MPs, could have believed that two years after the election, when they pledged to respect the mandate Barry O’Farrell had been handed by the electorate, they would have achieved so many things on their wish list.

Hunting in national parks and a resumption of duck shooting top that list but as Fairfax Media reported last week, they have also been instrumental in shaping the government’s new firearms laws and watering down its plan to restrict the sale of ammunition.

What goes largely unremarked is that much of the Shooters’ agenda is exactly the same agenda as O’Farrell’s Coalition partners, the Nationals.

The Nats were instrumental in breathing life into the firearms consultative committee that has done its best to stymie the police on tightening gun controls and succeeded in sparing rifle and shotgun owners (read farmers) from the ammunition law.

In Parliament, Gay is the government’s senior upper house negotiator with the Shooters and Nile.

He is passionately and vociferously anti-Green and has been saying publicly since 1995 that hunters should be allowed back into national parks.

His style has alienated large sections of the Liberal Party.

A Liberal MP told me: ”The Shooters call the shots with Duncan Gay – who delivers the Nationals party room, which delivers the cabinet and that locks in the whole party room. Duncan has been the tail wagging the dog.”

It is largely overlooked that federal Labor’s minor resurrection in the polls came after it went to war with the Greens – once considered ”part of the team”.

At some point, O’Farrell’s own party – but more likely the public – will demand he take a tougher line with the Shooters.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/dissension-in-ranks-as-the-coalition-sticks-to-its-guns-20121222-2bsg2.html#ixzz2FpKsgXtd

Park visitors could be in line of fire

Date December 23, 2012 53 reading now
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Heath Aston

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EXCLUSIVE

New risk … Keith Muir at Blackheath. Photo: Rick Stevens

Barry O’Farrell has been warned of a ”major risk” that bushwalkers and parks staff will be killed or seriously injured if the state government goes ahead with its plan to allow amateur hunters into national parks.

A briefing document produced by the Premier’s department has laid bare the lethal threat posed to the public when recreational shooting of feral animals begins in March.

It also warns of reduced visitor numbers to national parks ”because people don’t like the idea of shooting”, and damage to the National Parks and Wildlife Service brand.

Waterways, especially those in areas that supply drinking water, will be threatened by rotting animal carcasses and there will be increased risk of diseases and weeds being introduced to the 79 NSW parks due to be opened to guns. The report also raises the need for parks staff to wear high-visibility clothing to avoid being accidentally shot by hunters.

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In New Zealand, where hunting is allowed in national parks, a school teacher, Rosemary Ives, was shot dead at a camp site in 2010 after a hunter ”mistook her for a deer”.

The Draft Risk Assessment, produced by the Office of Environment and Heritage and dated December 10, 2012, lists groups at risk from ”projectiles causing death and serious injury to people” as parks workers and visitors, including ”families, special user groups, remote visitors”. Hunters, whether shooting by permit or illegally, are also at risk, as well as ”neighbours” with properties that border the 2 million hectares of parkland to be opened to hunters.

The 59-page document said the risks to these groups was ”major and the likelihood as possible … giving a risk rating of high”.

Sections of Environment and Heritage – which answers to Environment Minister Robyn Parker but operates inside the Department of Premier and Cabinet – are understood to be fiercely opposed to hunting.

The risk assessment was leaked to the Labor opposition and the Greens last week and passed to Fairfax Media on Friday. It has emerged just days before the December 27 deadline when changes to the Feral Animal Control Act become law.

Mr O’Farrell personally negotiated a deal in May that resulted in the Shooters and Fishers Party supporting the government’s $3 billion electricity generator privatisation in return for access to national parks for amateur hunters.

Bushwalkers, representatives of parks staff, environmental groups and opposition parties called for a rethink from the government. Opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley said: ”If something goes wrong in one of the national parks, Barry O’Farrell will not be able to say he was not warned. For the government to proceed after receiving this warning, it would be abandoning its duty to community safety.”

Mr O’Farrell’s office declined to comment but a spokesman for Ms Parker said a risk assessment was ”good operational practice”. ”Workshops with NPWS staff and experts in pest management, safety, environmental protection and risk management are identifying the possible risks to be managed and the appropriate controls.

”The risk assessment will allow the NPWS to tailor strict controls to suit circumstances in each park.” The draft risk assessment predicts confrontations between the public and hunters and parks officers and hunters as ”high to medium”.

Representatives of the state’s biggest 54 bushwalking clubs said confrontation was inevitable. Keith Muir, director of the Colong Wilderness Foundation for protecting national parks, said some bushwalkers will be incensed their freedom has been taken, while others will be put off by the perceived dangers.

”They will be discouraged by this. It’s very sad because we’re supposed to be encouraging people to get outside and exercise and to get visitors into our national parks,” he said.

Under the heading ”post-incident controls”, the risk assessment calls for clear emergency procedures in the event that someone is shot, including training for first responders and first aid.

In terms of high-visibility clothing for hunters and parks workers, it said: ”This may reduce the probability of failing to see people who are inconspicuous against the natural landscape. This is particularly in a context where some park users deliberately use inconspicuous clothing to reduce their visibility and disturbance to wildlife.”

Steve Turner, of the Public Services Association, representing rangers and parks workers, said national parks would become ”Mickey Mouse playgrounds” if his members were forced into fluorescent gear.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/park-visitors-could-be-in-line-of-fire-20121222-2bsjk.html#ixzz2FpJQqimj

Heavy rain and floods hit roads and rail to spoil Christmas getaway for millions

Homes evacuated and trains disrupted as forecasters warn of fresh downpours bringing more misery
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Lin Jenkins

The Observer, Saturday 22 December 2012 22.37 GMT

A young Christmas shopper gazes at a flooded city centre in York as heavy rain continues to cause flooding and disruption across the UK. Photograph: John Giles/PA

The Christmas getaway was severely hampered for millions of people on Saturday when torrential rain caused widespread flooding, leading to the closure of many roads and railway lines.

Hundreds of homes and shops had to be evacuated as flood waters rose after severe weather warnings were issued for parts of the West Country and North Yorkshire. The Environment Agency (EA) warned of further disruption as more heavy rain was forecast for Sunday.

Rail passengers heading to Devon, Cornwall and parts of Wales were advised by the Arriva and First Great Western train operators not to attempt to travel unless it was absolutely necessary. Trains were terminating at Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon as lines were closed by floods and landslides. Alternative transport by road was laid on to take passengers farther west, but progress was slow because of blocked roads.

Virgin suspended services between Crewe and Chester when the line became impassable and East Midlands Trains ran replacement buses between Uttoxeter and Stoke-on-Trent. Services between Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington were disrupted by a landslide.

Braunton in north Devon was cut off after the river Caen burst its banks, turning the main road into a torrent. Police asked people in more than 200 properties to leave for their own safety.

Liz Spear, chairman of Braunton parish council, said newly built flood defences were overwhelmed by the volume of water. “It’s really bad. We had flooding seven years ago, but it was nothing like this,” she said. “It’s disappointing really, because the EA have just spent over £1m on new flood defence schemes – two this year – but they’ve been totally overwhelmed, absolutely.

“We’ve had rain on and off all summer, so everywhere is saturated and now we’re having our normal heavy rain that we get in the winter and the sponge is already soaked up; it can’t take any more.”

In Cornwall, the county council said 117 properties had been affected by flooding and that the fire service had been pumping 4,500 litres of water per minute to reduce the risk of severe flooding in Helston. A further 195 people were advised to leave their homes in Lostwithiel.

Fire crews in Dorset used an inflatable boat to rescue three people stuck in cars in standing water near Christchurch.

The Environment Agency issued two severe flood warnings – which indicate that there is a risk to life – for Braunton, and one each for Helston and Lostwithiel, both in Cornwall.

The agency has also issued 108 flood warnings – where flooding is expected – and 313 flood alerts, which means that flooding is possible. A spokesman said there was a heightened risk across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West and East Sussex, south Wales, Ceredigion, Gwynedd and North Yorkshire. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued 17 flood warnings and there were warnings of avalanches in the mountains.

Paul Mustow, head of flood incident management at the Enviroment Agency, said: “Flooding has a devastating impact on people’s lives. If you’re going away for the holidays, give yourself extra time to make your journey, check your route before travelling and avoid driving through flood water.

“If you’re leaving your property empty over Christmas, check the risk of flooding before you leave, move valuable items to safety and ask neighbours to keep an eye on your home.”

Tom Tobler, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the Press Association weather division, said heavy and persistent rain would affect almost every part of the UK. “Plymouth has recorded 49mm of rain in the last 12 hours, and across the south-west and south Wales there has been 15mm to 30mm fairly widely,” he said.

“Cornwall may have another 15mm of rain to come, and it wouldn’t take that much to create extra problems. The rain is pretty bad news for that part of the country, but it is going to be a wet day everywhere, really.”

The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: “We urge people travelling through the most affected areas to plan ahead and check the latest travel information. We will continue to ensure everything possible is being done to help people get to where they need to be for Christmas.”

WEATHER WARNINGS

Further risk of severe flooding

Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West and East Sussex, south Wales, Ceredigion, Gwynedd and North Yorkshire, York.

Disruption on the railways

Delays between Rugby and Northampton

Delays between Cambridge and Ely

Delays between Norwich and Ely

Buses replace trains between Derby and Stoke-on-Trent

Major disruption in Brighton area

No service between Exeter and Taunton

No service between Crewe and Chester

Delays between Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington