Welcome to Sutton Technical Books. We provide books, ebooks, videos, operational assessments and safety moments for managers, engineers and executives in the process and energy industries — covering chemicals, oil refining, offshore oil and gas and pipelines. Our goal is to provide practical information that will help you design and operate facilities that are safe, efficient and in compliance with rules and regulations. Catalog information is provided here.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at our contact page.

LinkedIn Groups

For the latest information to do with the topics discussed at this site, please check in at the following LinkedIn groups.

Net Zero by 2050

Many organizations and companies have committed to a ‘Net Zero by 2050’ program. Their aim is to have no net emissions of greenhouse gases by the year 2050. This is, to say the least, a challenging target. Meeting the target provides companies in the energy and process industries to provide leadership.

SEMS (Safety and Environmental Management Systems)

This group discusses safety and environmental to do with the offshore oil and gas industries.

The Process Safety Report

Provides information and analysis to do with process safety management.

The Process Industries in a Net Zero World

Companies in the process industries are under pressure to radically reduce their carbon emissions. In response to this pressure management at many of these companies has decided to implement a ‘Net Zero’ program, i.e., they commit to reducing their carbon emissions by a specified year, often the year 2050. (The word ‘Net’ allows these companies to take credit for us of carbon capture technology.) ‘Net Zero’ goals are extraordinarily ambitious. They require that those companies that have made this commitment will need to radically restructure their entire business profile in just a few short years. At this site, in addition to offering information to do with process safety and related activities (see the catalog at the left of this page) we provide information, guidance and discussion as to how the process industries and the people who work in them can make this extraordinary transition, while still maintaining safe and commercially viable operations. Video

Further information on this topic is provided at the following in a series of articles and in the following links.

Wicked Problems

There are many opposing points of view when it comes to climate change and what to do about it. However, one thing that we can all agree on is that it is a very complex topic. There are so many parameters and moving parts that it is impossible to fully understand what is going on or to know how to respond.

One way of addressing this conundrum is through what is known as “Wicked Problem Solving”. We will provide more information on this topic in future articles and posts. A starting point is to consider the difference between complicated problems and complex predicaments, as discussed in Safety Moment #62: From Complicated to Complex.

The Shape of Energy

This article uses the sketch shown below to provide some thoughts as to what the energy grid may look like in a Net Zero world.

Credit: Ian Sutton

The Renewable Energy Paradox

Renewable Energy. M.C. Escher's Waterfall (1961)

If we are to achieve Net Zero goals then it is necessary that we quickly shift from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) to renewable sources of energy — principally solar and wind. Much time and money is being spent on this transition, yet we observe the following paradox.

1. Renewables are growing faster than other sources of energy.
2. The fraction of energy provided by renewals is declining.

Discussion of this dilemma is provided in the article The Renewable Energy Paradox.

A Clunky Yet Memorable Sentence

The report Global Warming of 1.5°C, published in the year 2018 by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), is important for two reasons. The first reason is that it provides a thorough summary of much of the research that had been carried out on climate change up until that time. Hence it has high credibility. The second reason for its importance is that it contains the following memorable sentence.

In model pathways with no or limited overshoot of 1.5°C, global net anthropogenic CO₂ emissions decline by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 (40–60% interquartile range), reaching net zero around2050 (2045–2055 interquartile range). <my emphasis>

Of this statement, the journal Bloomberg Green says,

Like most statements the IPCC sets down, the most important sentence ever written is just terrible—clunky and jargon-filled. What it says, in English, is this: By 2030 the world needs to cut its carbon-dioxide pollution by 45%, and by midcentury reach “net-zero” emissions, meaning that any CO₂ still emitted would have to be drawn down in some way . . . . . . it may turn out to be the grammatical unit that saved the world. If not, it'll be remembered as the last, best warning we ignored before it was too late.

Catalog

We offer a wide range of books and ebooks for purchase. They fall into four broad categories.

• Printed books, published by Elsevier (the price posted for the printed books may vary — the publisher frequently offers substantial discounts);
• Ebooks published directly by Sutton Technical Books (.pdf format);  and
• The chapters of the printed books, made available as ebooks from ScienceDirect (.pdf format).These also may be discounted.

The current catalog is shown below.