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Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in salt caverns is a sustainable energy solution to reduce global warming. Salt rocks provide an exceptional insulator to store natural hydrogen, as they have low porosity and permeability. Nevertheless, the salt creeping nature and hydrogen-induced impact on the operational infrastructure threaten the integrity of the injection/production wells. Furthermore, the scarcity of global UHS initiatives indicates that investigations on well integrity remain insufficient. This study strives to profoundly detect the research gap and imperative considerations for well integrity preservation in UHS projects. The research integrates the salt critical characteristics, the geomechanical and geochemical risks, and the necessary measurements to maintain well integrity. The casing mechanical failure was found as the most challenging threat. Furthermore, the corrosive and erosive effects of hydrogen atoms on cement and casing may critically put the well integrity at risk. The research also indicated that the simultaneous impact of temperature on the salt creep behavior and hydrogen-induced corrosion is an unexplored area that has scope for further research. This inclusive research is an up-to-date source for analysis of the previous advancements, current shortcomings, and future requirements to preserve well integrity in UHS initiatives implemented within salt caverns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, various space agencies have shown great enthusiasm for constructing habitable structures on lunar and Martian surfaces. Consequently, several extraterrestrial structures have been proposed by different researchers. Nevertheless, only a small number of those structures are energy-efficient and cost-effective. In this research, a comprehensive review of the proposed extraterrestrial structures has been conducted. The objective is to evaluate different habitat construction techniques from technical, economic, and energy-consumption perspectives. To carry this out, different proposed structures are elaborated, and their advantages and limitations are discussed. The primary focus is on the 3D printing technique, which has demonstrated significant potential in automated manufacturing tasks. From the conducted research, it was found that the combination of 3D-printed components along with an internal breathable inflatable module is the most promising technique for habitat development on the Moon and Mars. Moreover, the microwave sintering method was identified as the most energy-saving and reliable approach for melting the on-site regolith for use in the 3D printing process. This survey has applied a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate the most energy-saving planetary construction techniques that are economically crucial for different private or government-funded space agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of global conventional oil reservoirs have been dramatically depleted during the last few decades. To increase the oil production rate, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques are commonly utilized. The ratio of the recovered oil volume to the rock volume change is defined as Biot's coefficient. During the EOR operations, Biot's coefficient continuously changes due to the fluid injection and oil production; however, so far, only porosity-dependent or constant values of Biot's coefficient have been incorporated in the EOR calculations, which is not valid since the role of external stress changes is overlooked. In this research, the Biot's coefficient of a sandstone formation was measured through the acoustic wave propagation technique. A stress-dependent equation of Biot's coefficient was achieved for application in the EOR calculations. The findings illustrated that Biot's coefficient decreases logarithmically with the hydrostatic stress. Moreover, the Biot's coefficient varied from 0.52 to 0.60 for an applied hydrostatic stress of 3.50 MPa to 21 MPa. Furthermore, it was found that there was no anisotropy of Biot's coefficient in the sandstone formations. The extracted empirical correlation can be utilized for EOR projects in which the recovered oil volume is of paramount importance economically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Development requires an increase in the use of renewable energy sources as opposed to nonrenewable ones. The paper presents a Life Cycle Analysis of chosen heat sources including information concerning environmental impact. The most popular sources to be considered include as follows: natural gas, coal, culm, heating oil, wood and geothermal heat. Prices are taken from the 2002/2003 heating season in Poland. From an economical standpoint the best choices are coal, culm or wood. The heating pump is a worse solution due to the high investment at the starting point of exploitation. From both an ecological and economical perspective the best heating source is wood. The heating pump is a very promising device but a large decrease in the acquisition cost is necessary for it to become a competitive option.

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