Waste-To-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’S Largest Onshore Oilfield

Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 30, No. 6, p. 1311–1325, December 2019 ISSN 1674-487X Printed in China https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0782-0

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield

Besmir Buranaj Hoxha *1, Dael Dervishi2, Kyle Sweeney3 1. PetroFluids LLC, Houston TX 77084, USA 2. McCain Institute, Washington D.C. 20006, USA 3. Fulbright Program & UNDP, Prishtina, The Republic of Kosovo Besmir Buranaj Hoxha: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7482-784X

ABSTRACT: Albania has historically been known to have an active but challenging drilling activity that demands the most innovative technology to develop, predominantly, medium-heavy oil reservoirs. Although recent efforts have been made by the government to stimulate and expand the largest onshore European oilfield, technical and economical obstacles are prevalent. These obstacles make it difficult to fully develop reliable and profitable hydrocarbon bearing zones in a downturn economy, especially since Albanian oil can be costly to produce and refine. Due to these typical issues that affect many local energy sectors, many developed countries diversify their energy production to avoid strict dependency on crude oil. An emblematic and modern option that is extensively gaining popularity in Europe focuses on renewable energy from sophisticated recycling programs. Although Albania is a relatively “green” country when it pertains to its electricity production (97% hydropower and 3% fossil fuels), it has yet to develop energy-recycling programs that it can salvage for self-sustainable energy sources. The past years have seen a conscious revitalization and stimulation in the mentality of green economy in Albania. But, in comparison to the rest of “western Europe” that are leading world examples in efficient recycling, it is significantly lagging with initial strides just now focusing on aligning national legislations with current EU models. Furthermore, two crucial reasons that should motivate Albania to investigate new applications for energy recycling are: (1) alternatives to crude oil and petroleum products that can be supplemental and provide stable access to fossil fuels; (2) industrial and municipal recycling via waste management to reprocess waste and produce industrial raw material-spawning the emergence of a “circular economy” to develop the backbone needed to strengthen the industrial and manufacturing markets for a self-sustaining economy. Accordingly, in this paper, the topic that will be addressed, given the recent decrease in oil & gas prices, focuses on the Albanian energy sector’s capability to sustain and develop a supplementary recycling program via “waste-to-fuel” (WTF) technology (biofuels and/or inorganic waste). With the intent that it could function cooperatively with Albania’s active drilling program to mitigate dependency on a single fuel source and produce enough fossil fuel in an effective and sustainable manner. KEY WORDS: renewable energy, pyrolysis, waste-to-fuel technology, circular economy, plastic-to-fuel, alternative energy.

BACKGROUND unfavorable consequences. Consequently, reducing major risk As world energy consumption is projected to increase by investing in multiple energy resources and thus maximizing from 549 quadrillion Btu in 2012 to 627 quadrillion Btu in energy profits in different areas that would each respond dif- 2020 (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2016), most ferently to the same economic incident. developed countries are striving towards diversifying their The most recent oil & gas fallout experienced in 2015, glob- energy production during a downturn economy and avoid ally affected the whole energy sector. Consequently, the energy focus has focused on new ways to alleviate the burden of volatility *Corresponding author: [email protected] of fossil fuels. Figure 1 shows projection of energy consumption © China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Springer-Verlag worldwide with renewable energy gains the most focus (with a GmbH Germany, Part of Springer Nature 2019 growth of 5% increase), and the consumption of coal is essentially plateauing. Large emphasis and support has been placed in pro- Manuscript received July 10, 2017. duction and development of natural gas (which should surpass Manuscript accepted September 15, 2017. coal by year 2030), and petroleum slightly decreased by 3%,

Hoxha, B. B., Dervishi, D., Sweeney, K., 2019. Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy Sys- tem in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield. Journal of Earth Science, 30(6): 1311–1325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0782-0. http://en.earth-science.net 1312 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney

Figure 1. Projection of energy consumption, worldwide (after U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2016). maintains a general relative range. The major consensus agrees extracting the maximum value whilst recovering and regenerat- on the continual forthcoming necessity for petroleum with cur- ing value through the resource life cycle (see Fig. 2). This cycle rent world reserves are bountiful and surpass any previously is an alternative to linear economy that focuses on manufacturing forecasted projections. It is important to note that, historically, material, consumption, and disposing of material. The ideology energy forecasts have proven to be vague, defective, and some- focuses on exploiting the synergies of the resource life cycle to times imprecise. Nevertheless, this does not impede motivation in overcome barriers and add the highest amount of value to the energy diversification, considering the energy sector needs to circular “chain” of “waste-to-resource” that the hierarchy method adapt to overcome economic challenges influenced by geo- focuses on. political and socio-economic factors. For this sole reason, many In this paper, a review of the most recent oil & gas crisis is countries are developing self-sustaining energy programs that are examined to determine the impact on the fuel sector in Albania. prevalent in all types of circumstances. Material is examined to determine a feasibility study to show As human civilization inevitably multiplies, it will also one of Europe’s most prominent onshore oilfields need to di- surely be forced to modernize and develop. So, two things will versify its fuel production in order to become a regional energy waste generation and need for waste management. Accordingly, powerhouse and become an example for its neighboring coun- the need for energy will also increase, and intuitively, will focus tries in the western Balkans. on renewable energy, as our natural resources will begin to di- minish. Most people consider wind, solar, aero-thermal, geo- WASTE-TO-FUEL TECHNOLOGY thermal, hydrothermal, ocean energy, and hydropower to be re- Waste-to-energy (WTE), waste-to-fuel (WTF) technology is newable energy. However, very few are familiar with waste ma- the process of generating some type of fuel from the primary terial as a renewable energy (as it will continually replenish)- treatment of waste and can be considered a direct form of energy biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas, biogases, recovery. The concept and its implementation have caught the thermoplastics, rubber, and paper can all be considered “waste- interest of international conglomerates and government agencies to-fuel” technology that can use organic and inorganic waste. in the past decade. Many developed nations have begun using the Both recycled and reused/salvaged materials can be considered technology (U.S.A., U.K., Netherlands, Germany, etc.) but even sustainable as they can reflect resource efficiency that can use all products to their full potential. They can decrease landfill waste, reduce air and water pollution, reduce the need for raw materials, and lower environmental impact. For example, when a recycled material is used instead of a new raw material, natural resources and energy can be conserved. This is due to recycled materials having been initially refined and processed, thus manufacturing it once again is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first time. Table 1 depicts typical recycling data for preventing waste. The utilization of waste to fuel technology depends on the collection of recyclable materials and relies on a steady flow of consistent supply generated from recycling programs. Thus, government support and public-private investment into the recycling activity structure (such as door-to-door segregation, collection points, distribution points) is critical in creating a self-sustaining “circular economy”. The European Commission describes circu- Figure 2. Circular economy diagram (modified after the European Commis- lar economy as making use of resources to the maximum extent; sion model, 2015).

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1313

Table 1 Recycling statistics for prevention of municipal waste. A ton of recycled product material can prevent the following listed items (Stanford Recycling Research Institute, 2016)

Energy (kWh) Oil (bbls) BTU (million) Landfill (yd3) Air pollution (lbs) Water (gallons) Aluminum 14 000 40 238 10 - - Paper 4 100 9.0 54 3.3 60 7 000 Plastic 5 774 16.3 98 30 - - Steel 642 1.8 10.9 4 - - Glass 42 0.12 0.714 2 7.5 -

into an economical benefit. In fact, the ideology has drawn major interests from reputable agencies such as the American Chemical Society & American Chemistry Council. Important milestones have been reached when pertaining the advance- ments in the technology, especially in the topic of pyrolysis processing that focuses on using cheap, inorganic material such as plastic and rubber waste that are robust and non-degradable. Pyrolysis is a specialized classification of WTF technology that is based on thermal degradation (or thermal chemical processing) of the raw material (recyclable material) by introducing heat at extreme temperatures in the absence of oxygen. Due to lack of oxygen during the procedure, the material itself does not combust but the chemical compounds that make up the material would thermally decompose into combustible gases and vapors. The combustible gases can then be cooled and con- densed into a combustible liquids by-product called pyrolysis oil. Pyrolysis can be performed on biomass (organic material) Figure 3. Diagram of pyrolysis breakdown (Pyrocrat, 2016). or on inorganic waste (plastic, rubber etc.) as previously mentioned. The process decomposes the material into three frac- more surprisingly, large scale utilization has come from China and tions: one liquid (pyrolysis oil), one solid (char) and one gase- India; where plastic waste is rampant and problematic, thus turn- ous (syngas). It is important to declare that not all pyrolysis oils ing their waste problem to a profitable industry. (fuel oils) are created equally. Those derived from biomass are A report from the American Chemical Society (April less useful than those derived from plastics and rubber (see 2017), describes various types of WTF technologies, all fo- Tables 2, 3, 4, S1, and S2) in comparison with the standard cused on specific waste sectors or specific fuel applications. specs for pyrolysis oil and various other fuel oils (see reference The predominant efforts are on recycling biomass that converts ASTM D7544-12, 2017). organics (food, wood, paper, textiles) to biofuels (bioethanol, The yield of the oil (pyrolysis oil & industrial diesel oil) is biodiesel), and in the industrial scale are generated from corn, highly dependent on the conversion parameters such as the sugar cane, and grain. The second focuses on reprocessing of quality of the material, purity, methods (catalyst or non- waste material such as plastics and rubber (via gasification, catalyst), and process undertaken to condense/distill/refine the pyrolysis, etc.) in order to generate a “synthetic diesel” (indus- products. After pyrolysis oil is obtained, it can be further re- trial diesel oil) or “synthetic gas” (i.e., syngas can also be an fined to produce different types of diesels or can be blended. intermediate in creating synthetic petroleum to use as a lubri- cant or fuel). The technique involves breaking down plastic Oil & Gas Industry in Albania and/or rubber (mainly composed of hydrocarbons) into a mo- The history of oil in Albania can be dated back to 2 000 years lecular level from their original components (hydrogen and ago as several Roman writers account Illyrian tribes exploiting carbon), rearrange them and convert into readily usable fuel bitumen as a warfare tool during the Roman-Illyrian wars. In like that of diesel via various refining techniques (see Fig. 3). modern times, one of the first wells was drilled by Italian geolo- gist Leo Madalena near Drashovice (Vlorë) in 1918. Since then, PYROLYSIS OIL & INDUSTRIAL DIESEL OIL Albania currently has 19 known oil fields and 5–6 natural gas As the rate of population growth increases exponentially deposits with the deepest drilled well to date, the “Ardenica 18” at worldwide (doubled in the past 50 years), so does the need for 6 700 m (22 000 ft). manufactured goods. Specifically, the manufacturing of ther- The geo-tectonic map (see Figs. 5 and S1) and the geological moplastics that are in use in our everyday lives have signifi- structure of Albania depicting the external Albanides, include the cantly increased in parallel to population increase, and with this fractured Ionian carbonates and the Miocene sandstones. Most increase so has its disposal as waste (see Fig. 4a). Recent ad- geologists agree that there are currently two petroleum systems vances in chemical engineering technology have focused on with 3 types of plays in Albania (Barbullushi, 2013; Bega, 2013a, turning this unfavorable and detrimental environmental hazard 2010; Graham Wall et al., 2006; Ballauri et al., 2002; Meço et al.,

1314 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney

(a) (b)

Figure 4. (a) Global plastic processing in 2013. Estimates of plastic global production has significantly increased in 2015 being over 300 million tons of ther- moplastic production with only 10% to 15% being recycled, 60 million tons being produced in Europe and 45% being produced in Asia—135 million tons/year (OECD, 2016). (b) Diagram of PTF technology flow.

Table 2 Typical properties of various fuel oils

Parameter Gasoline Diesel Kerosene (K1) Density (g/mL) 0.71–0.74 0.83 0.78–0.81 Specific gravity 0.70 0.85 0.78 API gravity 65 23–30 39–42 Viscosity (cP) 0.77–0.84 2.0–4.5 0.9–1.5 Kinematic viscosity (mm2/s) 5.0 3.7–5.0 2.2 Aniline point (ºC) 101 107 98 Flash point (ºC) 73–74 54–60 50–54 Freezing point (ºC) -58 -54 -40 Diesel index 83 54 60 Gross calorific (MJ/kg) 47–56 43–56 43–46 Sulfur (wt.%) 0.05–0.15 0.7 0.04

The typical preferred proprieties of pyrolysis oil are octane index, density, flash point, sulfur content, and kinematic viscosity. Detailed, scientific explanation in regard to pyrolysis has been well accounted by Kunwar et al. (2015), and Wongkhorsub (2015).

Table 3 Standards and specifications for various grades of bio-oils (biomass)

Properties Light (~ASTM #2) Light–Med. (~ASTM #4) Medium (~PORL 100) Heavy (~CAN #6) Density (g/mL) See ASTM See ASTM See ASTM See ASTM Kinematic viscosity (cSt) 1.9–3.4 (FO) 5.5–24 @ 40 ºC 17–100 @ 50 ºC 100–638 @ 50 ºC 1.9–4.1 (D, GT) @ 40 ºC Ash content (wt.%) 0.05 (FO) 0.05 (FO) 0.10 (FO) 0.10 (FO) 0.01 (GT) 0.01 (D) Water cont. (wt.%), max 32 32 32 32 LHV (MJ/L min), wet oil 18 18 18 - Phase stability @ 20 ºC after Single Single Single Single 8 hr @ 90 ºC Flash point (ºC) 52 55 60 60 C (wt.%) - - - - H (wt.%) - - - - O (wt.%) - - - - S (wt.%) Max Max 0.2 max 0.4 max N (wt.%) Max Max 0.3 max 0.4 max K+Na (ppm) 0.5 (GT) - - -

Phase separation occurs when water content is higher than 30%–45%, which is higher with pyrolysis oil being derived from biomass in comparison to oil derived from plastics and rubber (referenced ASTM D7544-12, 2017).

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1315

Table 4 Approximate oil yield from raw materials (Pyrocrat, 2016)

Polyethylene (PE) 95% Rubber cable 35% Polystyrene (PS) 90% Small tires 35%–40% ABS resin 40% Polyvinylchloride (PVC) Not suitable Leftover paper Wet 15%–20%, dry 60% PET Not suitable Plastic 75%–80% Polyurethane (PUR) Not suitable Sole 30% Fiber rnfd. plastics (FRP) ~50% Plastic bag 50% Organic/biodegradable 35%–50%

(a)

Figure 5. Geo-tectonic map of external Albanides (Bega, 2013a).

2000; Marko and Moci, 1995; Sejdini et al., 1994; Curi, 1993; Shehu and Johnston, 1991). The most famous and most developed of the Albanian oilfields is the Patos-Marinza, projected to be the largest oilfield in continental Europe. It is comprised of three oil-bearing sandstones, Driza, Marinza, Gorani (see Fig. 6). Addi- tionally, Patos-Marinza has mainly shallow sands with heavy oil approaching tar and bitumen (Hallman, 2015; Kotenev, 2014; Weatherill et al., 2005; Bennion et al., 2003). It is estimated to have roughly 2 billion barrels of crude oil OOIP, the country total is estimated (according to AKBN, (b) Dervishi, 2016) roughly 3.2 billion barrels, and total natural gas 3 reserves at approximately 4–5 billion Nm gas (see Table 6). Figure 6. (a) Primary oil blocks in Albania; (b) depiction of oil-sands layers Medium to heavy oil accounts for more than half of the oil in Patos-Marinza (Source—Bankers Report, 2015) . production in Albania and most of the production comes from the Patos-Marinza Oilfield. In contrast, the Shipragu, Mollaj In comparison to other major oilfields in the world, Figs. 8 (see Table 5) oil is predominantly light oil. and 9 illustrate main Albanian oilfields and compares them Production of oil in Albania was significant prior to 1990’s head-to-head with other leading oilfields in the world, consid- with maximum production reaching up to 75 000 bbls/day in ering API gravity (petroleum liquid’s density relative to that of 1983 (see Fig. 7). After the fall of communism, the total produc- water) and sulfur content (impurities in the crude oil that dic- tion of oil decreased significantly due to instable politics as well tates quality) of the oil. Albanian crude oil does show to have as depletion of shallow wells. In modern times, the highest pro- equivalent quality compared to other major producing countries ducing field is Patos-Marinza with an estimated 12 000 to 13 000 with medium-heavy crude oil reserves. bbls/day whereas the typical total country production is approxi- Nevertheless, Albania still has predominant medium-heavy mately 22 000–27 000 bbls/day, ranking 60/100 countries right crude oil reserves that is not comparable to other benchmark behind Syria in 2016 and exporting roughly 85% of the total crude oil such as WTI (West Texas), Brent (North Sea), Ural crude oil it produces (see Table 6). (Russian)––all light sweet crude oil that are extremely profitable.

1316 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney

Table 5 Data on oil & gas fields in Albania

Field Discovery API gravity Sulphur (%) EOIP (mill. bbls) EGIP (109 cu ft) Production (bbl/day) Type Drashovice 1918 <10 <5.0 Oil Patos-Marinza 1927 12–25 2.5–6.0 2 000 - 12 000 Oil Kucove 1928 13–16 4.0 532 - 400–500 Oil Visoke 1963 5–16 5.0–6.0 170 34 <500 O & G Divjake 1963 N/A N/A Gas Gorisht-Kocul 1965 <17 6.0 256 51 925 O & G Frakulla 1965 N/A N/A Gas Ballsh-Hekal 1966 12–24 5.7–8.4 135 35 5 600 O & G Finiq-Krane 1973 <10 3.7–4.3 Oil Arrez 1975 32.7 6.5 O & G Zharrez 1977 21.3 3.2 O & G Cakran-Mollaj 1977 14–37 0.9 192 530 650 O & G Amonice 1980 20 5 100 O & G Ballaj-Kryevidh 1983 N/A N/A Gas Poveice 1987 N/A N/A Gas Panja 1988 N/A N/A Gas Delvine 1989 30–31 0.7 O & G Sqepuri 2001 37 2.3 Oil Shpiragu 2013 35–37 <3 2 200+ O & G Mollisht 2016 O & G Durres Block* 2005 <40 <3 1 960 960 O & G

Note that most global crude oil is somewhat, generally, sour (higher % sulphur) and at 5 ppm is enough H2S to kill a man. Also note that water has an API gravity of 10, API gravity 10–20 is considered heavy crude oil, 20–35 medium crude oil, and 35 and above is considered light crude oil (AKBN, report, 2015, unpublished data).

Table 6 Production & export of oil & gas in Albania. Note that ideal wells have 30%–40% recoverable oil (Puka, 2015)

Crude oil production 2014 2015 2016 Production (tons/yr) 1 368 222 1 279 252 1 004 767 Production (bbls/day) 27 000 25 000 20 000 Export (tons/yr) N/A 961 288 871 951 Crude oil reserves O.O.I.P (bbls-billion) Recoverable (bbls-billion) Recover factor (%) Patos-Marinza (sandstone) 2.0 0.25 13 Kucove (sandstone) 0.53 0.085 16 Limestone/carbonate 0.70 0.27 40 Total 3.23 0.6 - Natural gas 2016 (Nm³) Production 92 066 Total reserves 4–5 billion

One of the most widely known heavy oil fields is the Athabasca planation has to do with high tariffs, complexity, storage/ ca- oil sands in Canada, which contains API gravity of 8º–9º, literally pacity, logistics, and cost of refining heavy oil in a country where heavier than water and has 4%–7% sulphur content—but still has the oil & gas industry is still, relatively, at the infant stages. The become economically viable to sell with careful field develop- reservoirs still need major investments in order to develop and ment whereas in contrast, the Bati Raman oilfield in Turkey also mature. Nevertheless, it should be noted that compared to the rest produce heavy oil (10º–15º API with 450–1 500 cP) but proven of its Balkan neighbors, Albania has clear advantages in the oil & mostly not economical to produce. gas industry but does not yet match other oil & gas producing Producing and refining Albanian crude oil is generally cost- countries. Thus, until it has the ability to parallel and match these ly for this small southeastern European country. So the question countries, it should not only rely on drilling as the primary neces- is, in comparison to other heavy oil producing countries (Vene- sity to produce fuel. zuela & Canada & Turkey), why does Albania with one of the Information regarding the downstream sector in Albania. largest onshore oil and gas reserves (Jacobs, 2015) in Europe ● Advanced operations: with the initiatives of Bankers have high gasoline/diesel prices (see Table 7)? The simplest ex- Petroleum, operations have applied horizontal drilling, hydrau-

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1317 lic fracking, EOR, and advanced artificial lift systems that have made reservoirs in Albania more profitable. ○ Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) was also considered by bankers. ● Refineries: Albania has two refineries in Ballsh and Fier, both privately owned by ARMO, with a refining capacity respectively of 1 million tons and 0.5 million tons annually, the refineries have enough capacity to refine local crude oil as well imported crude oil (Darbord, 2015). Despite some recent tech- nological improvements, most of Albania’s crude oil continues to be exported (see Fig. S3) while Albania imports most of its refined oil products for domestic consumption—thus contrib- Figure 7. Albania crude oil production by year, 1980 to 2016 (Tushaj, 2016). uting to high gasoline/diesel cost. Note: the major reduction in oil production during the fall of communism ○ Elbasan Bitex refinery (3 750 bbl/day) was recently dis- (1991–1992) with maximum production being in 1983 with an astounding assembled and scraped. production of 75 000 bbl/day.

Figure 8. Comparison of Albanian oil to other leading oil producing countries. The fields noted in green are benchmark crude oil widely used in the industry, thus desirable crude oil is preferred to be in the top left corner of the chart, and undesirable in the center-bottom right corner. Source–modified by Hoxha and data obtained from World Oil Report 2016 (International Energy Agency, 2017) & US Energy Information Administration 2016.

○ At the end of 2015, ARMO upgraded their refineries, which gave the country the capability to resume refining of gasoline with developments in the refineries reaching other specialized refining capabilities (bitumen, petroleum coke, virgin naphtha) that are not common in the regional market. ● Pipelines: Currently there is one major pipeline (TAP) still in construction and is expected to finish and operate by 2020. It will source gas from Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz Gas Field in the Caspian Sea) and connect to an existing pipeline in San Felca terminal in Italy. TAP passes through and begins its off- shore/subsurface sector in Albania (see Fig. S2). The length is 878 km (546 mi), 10–20 billion m3 per annum max discharge with a diameter of 48 in (1 219 mm). Albania has recently formed “Albagaz” to handle the transmission and distribution of TAPʼs natural gas in the country and its neighbors. Figure 9. Quality of oil in Albanian oil fields. ○ IAP pipeline (a branch of TAP) received approval

1318 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney

(MoU) in summer 2017, which will fork from the gas terminal The above-mentioned oil-dependent states have a common in Fier and will continue north passing Montenegro, Bosnia, factor of fragile politics, internal/external conflicts, high and Croatia (see Fig. S2). Construction is expected to begin after amount of corruption such as oligarchy, no real free trade mar- 2020 and the length of pipeline would be 516 km (321 mi). The ket, manipulation of cost etc. (World Oil Investment Report, pipeline would be bi-directional, and its capacity would be 5 IEA, 2017). Such states have a fragile economy that could billion m3 (180 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year. whirl into a quick downspin impacted by any global factors ○ WBR pipeline is a proposed pipeline that forks of IAP (downturn of 2015–2016). It is mainly because they do not and passes through Macedonia, Kosovo, and ends up in Serbia have any other industries to support their economies as they (see Fig. S2). significantly exacerbate their natural resources. It is important ● Delvina gas field: a proven gas condensate field. It lies on to note Russia and Iran are also large oil-dependent export one of the largest gas structures in southeastern Europe and is countries but are less impacted due to diversity in their econ- comprised of 60 000 net acres. It reserves 182 Mbbl oil and 3 634 omy. Thus, “waste-to-fuel” technology needs to be investigated Mmcf of natural gas and has a net possible reserves of 300 Mbbl in order to alleviate dependency on oil production and export. of oil and 6 090 Mmcf of natural gas in Albania (see Fig. S4). ○ Exploratory wells are being drilled across the border to WASTE PRODUCTION & WASTE MANAGEMENT IN investigate the Janina/Çameria oil & gas field. ALBANIA Besides its prolific and proven oil and gas resources, Al- A comprehensive study was performed that assessed and bania shows promise but yet very under-explored in terms of evaluated the historical and current situation of waste genera- oil and gas exploration and production. Its potential is yet to be tion and its management/recycling at local and federal level. A unleashed especially to benefit the consumer or the industrial 5-prong approach was undertaken to accurately understand the industry (construction, transportation/logistics, and manufac- complex condition, (1) literature review from the scientific turing). communities/universities, (2) government initiatives by both As it can be seen from the Table 7, the high price in gaso- Albania and EU/EC programs, (3) commercial corporations & line and diesel negatively affects the consumer, as well as the environmental service companies, (4) status to date of excising industrial/manufacturing industry, making it costly to maintain recycling companies, and (5) environmental activists. The in- heavy machinery, thus increase the price on practically all other formation obtained and described here-in resonates the poten- sectors. For these reasons and many other reasons, there is a tial in the waste management and recycling initiative is well need for a suitable alternative in order to diversify fuel re- funded and professionally implemented, small countries such as quirements and be less dependent on non-renewable resources. Albania could become greener, more self-sustainable, and more Lessons should be learned from long-suffering conse- economically independent . quences from countries that are highly dependent on crude oil, Renewable energy in Albania ranges from biomass, geo- such as: thermal, hydropower, solar, and wind energy. Albania relies 1. Venezuela––oil accounts for 96% of exports and 40% mainly on hydropower resource and accordingly faces complica- of government revenue. tions during droughts (low rivers levels), which demonstrates the 2. Libya––oil accounts for 65% of GDP and 95% of gov- obvious problem when relying exclusively on hydropower en- ernment revenue. ergy (Karaj et al., 2010; Saraci and Leskoviku, unpublished data). 3. Angola––50% of GDP and 70% of government revenue. Furthermore, the Mediterranean climate in Albania possesses considerable potential for solar energy with roughly 2 100–2 700 Table 7 Diesel and gasoline prices in the Balkans (May 2017) hours of sunshine in a given year (O’Brien, 2014; Xhitoni, 2013; Frasheri, 2005). In fact, the United Nations Development Pro- Country Diesel ($/liter) Gasoline ($/liter) gram began a platform in 2012 support a program to install Saudi Arabia 0.12 0.24 75 000 m2 of solar panels in Albania by the end of 2018. USA 0.66 0.70 The current status of waste management in Albania can be Macedonia 0.90 1.16 best described by a report written by “Green Economy in Alba- Bosnia 1.01 1.03 nia” (Bino, 2012, report for UNDP) that describes the devel- Kosovo 1.18 1.21 opment of waste management infrastructure and institutional Montenegro 1.21 1.38 capacity in Albania being unsatisfactory and not able to keep *Slovenia 1.29 1.40 pace with rapid economic growth and urban expansion. Further *Croatia 1.31 1.38 efforts described in the studies by Alcani et al. (2015), Lico et *Germany 1.31 1.47 al. (2015), Alcani and Dorri (2013) and Dedej (2012) explain *Cyprus 1.32 1.31 the current status of waste management in Albania and all come Albania 1.34 1.37 to a general consensus that waste recycling is substandard and Serbia 1.36 1.32 partial as there is no separated/segregated collection of waste–– *Greece 1.4 1.66 the primary method of waste treatment is dumping and as of recently (2015–2016) incineration technology has been intro- *Switzerland 1.49 1.42 duced. However, it must be noted that recent legislative ad- In August 2016, the price of diesel in Albania was approximately vancement, motivated and assisted by the European Commis- $1.23/liter. *. European Union Country. sion regulatory agencies, Albania has adopted waste manage-

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1319 ment legislation, standards, and compliances aligned with the ORGANICS EU and in 2016 Albania has attempted to implement these laws Buçpapaj (2012, 2011, 2009), Jaupaj et al. (2011), Jaupaj (Gordani, 2015). Deputy Minister of the Environment of Alba- and Lushaj (2011, 2010, 2009), Lushaj et al. (2012), Lushaj nia, Olijana Ifti, presented a plan at the 24th OSCE forum in (2012a and 2012b) have paved the way for exploring the use of 2016 where the government had proposed a fully integrated biomass to energy (BtE) and renewable energy potentials in strategy monitoring system that focused on plans for education, Albania. Their comprehensive work details, methodically, resourcing, and legislation that focused on tax/fees. With the wide-ranging aspects on how Albania can assess, implement, proposed plan in focus, the projection had forecasted that by and benefit from its own natural and recycled waste (Toromani, 2020, 25% of municipal waste would be prevented from reach- 2010). Buçpapaj (2012) frequently mentions in his studies, Alba- ing landfills and will be recycled and composted. Additionally, nia’s capability to turn biomass residue in to energy is a possibil- by 2025 energy recovery (reclamation) reach 25% from mu- ity with high potential to benefit (see Table 9). For example, from nicipal waste––the present recycling in Albania is declared to the values reported in Table 8, annual municipal waste in 2016 be at approximately 10% (Kodra, 2013). was 1 022 312 tons, which of 66% was biodegradable––therefore Observing Table 8, it can be clearly seen that municipal 674 725 tons can be used to turn biomass into fossil fuels via urban waste has increased as expected. In 2016, it reached up to WTF technology. Table 4, demonstrates that biodegradable 1.02 million tons (note that these physical values are greater products can yield approximately 40% “pyrolysis oil”. According than what was projected by the government in 2009 by about 100 000 tons, Fig. 10) for a population of 3 million (2016 esti- Table 8 Municipal urban waste produced in Albania (tons) mated census). However, considering the lack of control and proper “book-keeping” in rural areas, the actual total is most County 2014 2015 2016 likely inflated higher than the values reported. Furthermore, it Berat 45 070 46 148 47 011 has been reported that approximately 350 000 tons of industrial Dibër 24 189 24 767 25 230 waste annually is produced (estimated from values and figures Durrës 110 283 112 921 115 032 from Kodra (2013); Source: Ministry of Public Works, Trans- Elbasan 42 924 43 951 44 773 port and Telecommunications), totaling an overall waste pro- Fier 121 734 124 647 126 976 duction of approximately 1.37 million tons annually for the Gjirokastër 63 242 64 755 65 965 year of 2016 which of 212 000 tons was inert. The value re- Korçë 56 435 57 785 58 865 ported, realistically speaking, in regards to the amount of waste Kukës 29 921 30 637 31 210 produced, is relatively similar to the waste production of Lezhë 32 622 33 402 34 027 neighboring countries. Shkodër 51 153 52 377 53 356 Tiranë 302 193 309 423 315 206 FEASIBILITY STUDY Vlorë 100 340 102 740 104 661 The feasibility section of this study focuses on the main Total 980 106 1 003 554 1 022 312 question––can Albania sustain WTF technology by means of a Source: Albanian Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure, INSTAT 2013–2016 circular economy model? This question needs to be answered report. Eurostat 2016-municipal waste generated, 2004=192 kg/person & whilst taking in consideration the two major factors, raw mate- 2016=318 kg/person. Note: OECD countries produced 572 million tons of solid rial resource (input) and the output being an industrial and/or waste in 2015 with China producing yearly municipal waste at a soaring 18 564.0 synthetic diesel fuel, thus, being able to fulfill two critical re- million tons (based on 246 cities in China) OECD/EIA Report 2016 (U.S. En- quirements, (1) is there enough supply-waste (municipal and ergy Information Administration, 2016). industrial), (2) is there enough demand-appropriate market to sell the end product? Figure 10 shows the categorized municipal and urban waste that is typically produced in Albania. Particularly, 66% of the waste is biodegradable with roughly 47% being organics that can be easily composted (organic waste, cardboard, paper, wood, and certain textile residues). Conversely, glass and metal, totaling 7%, can easily be recycled and are the primary recycled items in Albania due to the ease of reprocessing the material (recycling in Albania is reported to be roughly 10%, com- paratively in region Serbia has the same percent). As far as reprocessing waste for the application of turning waste into energy (producing pyrolysis oil and eventually industrial synthetic diesel) the overall components are 2% rubber, 14% paper, and the most important element, 15% plastics, totaling 31% overall. Taking in consideration these two primary waste cate- Figure 10. Waste stream composition in Albania. Estimated based on results from gories that constitute the raw materials needed to recycle waste various sources, plastics is projected between 13.5%–15.5% (Lico et al. (2015) into fuel, Albania has multiple viable options present. reported 13%, Lico et al. (2015) reported 13.5%, Dedej (2012) reported 14.4%, whereas Alcani and Dorri (2013) reported 17% plastic waste stream).

1320 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney

Table 9 Recoverable biomass potential in Albania (Buçpapaj, 2012) the second 3 MW plant in Fier by end of 2017. (b) Pyrolysis plants-Most of the current Pyrolysis reactors Type of biomass Energy potential (ktoe) in Albania are outdated, open to the environment and consist of Forestry/wood processing residue 7 937 Tire Pyrolysis (very limited waste source). Packaging-paper, cardboard 6 393 Agriculture residue 1 818 (2) Supply-Demand-Price Animal waste 47.6 (a) Municipal waste has increased since 2014. This is the Total 16 195 evidence of increasing consumer behavior of the population Note: The following value are expected to be larger due to increase waste which inevitably leads to more municipal waste, and if properly production by the populous in the past 5 years; Typical biomass conversion managed could become profitable waste-to-fuel expenditures. technologies can be combustion, co-firing, gasification, pyrolysis, CHP, (b) Markets that require the needs for fuel oils and indus- etherification, fermentation, anaerobic digestion etc. Thus for Albania’s case, trial diesel oils: (i) Shipping industry: Greece, Italy, Croatia, 674 725 tons of biodegradable waste can be converted to 229 406 tons of and northern Africa; (ii) Industrial & Manufacturing & Agri- reprocessed industrial diesel oil. Subsequently, if considering the density of cultural sectors; (iii) For example: Titan Cementing in Albania diesel at 0.83 g/mL (see Table 2), this value can be converted to producing uses a small WtE machine to recycle its own plant waste to roughly 7 000 bbls of industrial diesel oil a day, all depending on the basic power the plants furnaces. components and the purity of the waste. (c) In Europe, since 2014, fuel oil specifically for industry purpose has had consistent, average price at $0.5–$0.6 per liter to industry corporations, Pyrocrat LLC, Jinpeng Industrial, and automotive diesel at $1.5/liter & domestic heating oil Huayin group, and Doing industries, a typical pyrolysis plant can $0.85/liter for May 2017 (International Energy Agency, 2017). process, at a minimum, 10 tons of waste a day. Thus 10 tons of biodegradable/organic waste ×40% pyrolysis oil yields, theoreti- (3) Challenges cally, can produce 4 tons of pyrolysis oil. Considering 85% waste Biomass and other inorganic solid waste (municipal and in- oil distillation plant efficiency to refine the oil, the output to industrial) is a reoccurring and maintainable source stream in every dustrial/synthetic diesel oil, is calculated to be 3.4 tons/day. single country. However, for developing countries with poor environmental administration and infrastructure, the key struggle INORGANICS lies in mass collection of the waste material and segregation from Looking at Fig. 10, it was aforementioned that 15% of the the overall waste stream, especially door-to-door separation. total municipal waste is plastic waste and 2% is rubber waste, Unfortunately, most of the waste material is predominantly found consequently amassing 153 347 tons and 20 447 tons respec- in landfills. Without proper waste management programs, most tively for the year of 2016 (not considering the addition of indus- recycling enterprises will face massive challenges in obtaining trial/construction waste which can be expected to increase the enough material to reprocess into fossil fuels. percentage of the resource allowable to be reprocessed to WTF). According to Table 4, plastics, in general, yield 90%–95% pyro- (4) Options lysis oil and rubber/tires usually yield 40% pyrolysis oil. Per- (a) Development and re-organize waste management pro- forming the same analysis as was performed for the biodegrad- grams: (i) Support the recycling industry via tax incentives. (ii) able waste, plastics can yield 123 828 tons (approximately 800 Such as but not limited to, physical and legal entities, foreign or 000 bbls depending on purity) and rubber/tires can yield 6 952 legal, whose undertaking creates waste, are obligated to pay tons (~50 000 bbls depending on purity) of industrial diesel oil taxes for creating waste and discharging it in the environment. for the year of 2016. Note that this investigation is not taking into (iii) Establish private-public enterprises. consideration the reprocessing of waste oil, which pyrolysis (b) Appropriate and competent regulatory agency: (i) Ob- plants (when properly fitted with the appropriate components) ligation to monitor and enforce waste segregation, and collec- can also convert to diesel oil, nor does it take into consideration tion. (ii) Prevention waste pollution and raise awareness/ the import of waste plastics or plastic packaging material (values educate. (iii) Waste rehabilitation of existing waste disposal sites. of import and export are detailed in Lico et al., 2015). (iv) Processing and elimination of industrial waste. Thus, according to the calculated conservative estimates, (c) Considering the large amount of raw material needed the total production of industrial diesel oil in Albania for the to “feed” an efficient pyrolysis plant, gathering waste/trash that year 2016 is 360 186 tons of industrial diesel oil, roughly 36% has been disposed in landfills, urban developments, and water- of the total oil produced from drilling for the year of 2016. ways is not a practical method to sustain a recycling industry. (i) Waste management should feed the recycling industry and the GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION & DEVELOP- recycling industry needs to enforce waste management. (ii) MENT Trash in the streets/waterways is an environmental issue not a (1) Waste to Energy Plants in Albania recycling nor energy recovery issue. (iii) As per discussion with (a) WtE Incinerators that produce electricity: First waste- “Green-line Albania”, an environmental NGO organization to-energy (WtE) plant in Albania has been inaugurated in the based in Albania, they collected approximately 10 000 tons of city of Elbasan in summer 2017. Owned by Albatek, it is a 2.85 waste from beaches and waterways in 2015–2016. In this sce- MW power plant located in Elbasan, one of the most polluted nario, where collection is informal, but intentional and most towns in Albania. Integrated Technology Services will build ideal with experienced personnel with proper equipment, shows

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1321 that manual collection of waste is not enough to sustain a py- tries that will not compete with each other but to become si- rolysis plant (and recycling in general) for even one day’s op- multaneously symbiotic, separate, but supportive. This meth- eration. Thus, collecting waste disposed from the environment odology will assist in “buffering” any economic impact that will not sustain a recycling industry. each industry might face. (d) Import raw material, legally and responsibly, to be re- The practice of WTF implementation will indefinably assist processed into fossil fuels: (i) The challenge lies in properly the economy of Albania become a circular economy. An econ- monitoring the raw material waste that is being imported via omy where materials that can be recycled are injected back into advanced scanning equipment to prevent illegal, hazardous, and the economy as recovered secondary raw materials which can toxic waste from entering the country and evading tariffs. (ii) then become tradable and shipped under the same conditions as The policies to enforce these laws are the most difficult ac- primary raw materials, thus increasing the security of supply. It is cording to the EC as it is difficult to monitor all the cargo- significantly important to mention that waste management prac- entering ports. tices have a direct impact on the quantity and quality of these secondary raw materials recovered from the waste stream. This in SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS turn depends directly on the implementation of the waste hierar- From the study incurred, it is evident that Albania does chy, which establishes a structure and prioritizes waste treatments indeed have an abundance of renewable energy sources and so beginning with prevention and moving through preparation for far, much of evaluation in terms of scientific, technical and reuse, recycling and finishing up with energy recovery with the economical has seen minimal implementation. There has been a intention of minimizing disposal. recent effort in 2016 to entice and stimulate this industry, but The “waste hierarchy” schematic (see Fig. 13) created by the lack of transparency and experienced personnel to lead the the EC is designed to demonstrate the grading of importance efforts has proved the topic slow to gain traction. The efforts when it comes to waste management and its recycling. The first for using WTF technology will assist in multiple industries step being to avoid/prevent any actual waste to begin with, bilaterally as waste from agro-industrial; animal and ur- achieving the maximum conservation of the resources. Later in ban/municipal categories will help in creating job opportunities the pyramid focuses on recycling programs that encourages the in the rural sectors. By exploiting available waste and carefully reuse of the products and thus implementing a WTE-WTF utilizing waste management practices, the Albanian populations platform that ensures energy recovery prior to actual disposal can rely on the country’s own renewable resources for bio-fuel of waste (zero conservation of resources). The target aimed by or pyrolysis fuel. This improvement in efficiency and can de- EC are intended to show obvious benefits reducing the amount crease the import of energy and increase the internal production of waste sent to landfills and incineration facilities, conserve of fossil fuels which is impacts harshly the average consumer. natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals, prevent Fossil fuel dependency in Albania can be characterized in pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials and Figs. 11 and 12 (shows Albania’s refined product import as reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global forecasted by HIS CERA consultation for the government of climate change. Albania in 2013). The graph demonstrates fuel oil (similar to Furthermore, the information was reported from a compre- pyrolysis oil) increased from 2000 to 2015 and is expected to hensive description that was written by Herczeg and Seyring be in constant demand until 2030. Additionally, diesel oil (used (2016), where a study was presented by the Copenhagen Re- vastly in the industrial sector) is projected to practically double search Institute in collaboration with a waste management con- in the next 15 years. With this being said, it is important that sultation company, BiPro from Germany, in which they highlight fossil fuels obtained from WTF technology and fossil fuels and map out waste management trends from 28 capitals of the attained from traditional drilling operations remain two indus- European Union. Figures 14 and 15 depict remarkable insight

Figure 11. Refined product demand in Albania (IHS Cera, 2013, unpublished data). Government statistic and IHS consulting projections are based on algorithm/models and are not direct representation to actual physical demand. Recent government results fully reflect the actual consumption for the following categories to be slightly higher given the increase in industrial applications.

1322 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney

Figure 12. Albania refined product import as forecasted by IHS CERA consultation for the government of Albania in 2013. As it can be seen, fuel oil (similar to pyrolysis oil prior to refining) has increased from 2000 to 2015 and is expected to be in constant demand until 2030. Additionally, Diesel oil is expected to practically double in the next 15 years.

causation and as such this figures show that each city has its own method for waste collection and separation i.e., Ljubljana, Tallinn, and Dublin have remarkable collection capture rates but does not equate to higher rates in recycling/composting/energy recover. In contrast, Albania needs to avoid incidents such as the environmental disaster of Campania in Napoli, Italy. Slaybaugh (2017) and Livesay (2015) describe in well-accounted detail the crisis that has plagued the area since the late 1980ʼs. The issue has caused a huge problem of illicit/illegal dumping from organ- ized crime syndicates that have turned waste dumping/landfills into an extremely lucrative business. Hazardous and toxic waste from all over Italy and certain parts of Europe has now amassed large volumes that has become difficult to control. The outcome Figure 13. Schematic of municipal waste management. Based on the has been catastrophic causing major issues to the area, such as to recommendations of the European Commission & European Environ- the agriculture (leach of toxins into the soil) and has been nick- mental Agency annual reports, 2008–2016. named (1) “the triangle of death” as the hazardous/toxic waste has increased the cancer rate significantly the past decade, and, (2) into the EU member countries and their capitals regarding data “the land of fire” due to burning waste piles. The Italian senate on waste management and collection strategies. As it can be has passed a bill in 2014 to address the issue, but the problem has seen Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium recycled over become so big that to date, there have been very limited effects 50% and Netherlands leading with over 60% and Romania, from the legislation, and concurrently it will cost the Italian gov- Bulgaria, Greece, and Malta showing less than 10% in 2013 ernment millions of dollars to resolve the issue. The issue has (note this values have recently slightly changed, mostly on the alarmed the OECD and the EU/EC regulatory agencies and has left side of the table where the Scandinavian countries have warned to penalize the Italian state with fines if the issue is not shifted to become top contenders in recycling). The highest contained. It has been recently reported that attempts are being values for incineration for energy recovery at where depicted made to ship the waste to Germany and other Scandinavian coun- by Switzerland (50%), Sweden (55%) and Denmark (57%). In tries in order to properly dispose with minimal consequences. addition, worst results were shown by Romania, Malta and Albania does not need to “reinvent the wheel”, it simply Croatia, with most of its waste, over 90%, ending up in land- needs to duplicate and implement previously working models that fills. Furthermore, Fig. 15 shows capture rate for sum of paper, have been rigorously studied and proposed by the EU/EC for metal, glass, plastic, bio-waste for the EU-28 capitals. It is waste management. However, it should not fall into the “pitfall” surprising that the top cities are not from Germanic or Scandi- of “comparisons” and expect the same results as other countries navian countries, but are sporadic-Ljubljana, Tallinn, and Dub- get. From trial and error, it should reconfigure its own model that lin leading the pack and Zagreb, Sofia, and Bucharest in the tailors best for the MSW needs and recycling in Albania. More- back with significantly low capture rates of waste. Note that at over, these recycling industries at time of need should support the current moment only 11/28 EU capitols meet the require- private WTF industry where pyrolysis plants can be used to pro- ments for capture rate for the five fractions set by the EU stan- duce fossil fuels that could elevate cost, support, and stimulate the dards. It should also be noted that correlation should not equal industrial and manufacture industry.

Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1323

Figure 14. Municipal waste treatment in EU (Herczeg and Seyring, 2016, from European Commission & European Environmental Agency, 2016).

Figure 15. Capture rate for sum of paper, metal, glass, plastic, bio-waste for EU-28 capitals. Note that at the current moment only 11/28 EU capitols meet the requirements for capture rate for the five fractions set by the EU standards (Herczeg and Seyring, 2016).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0782-0. First, Besmir Buranaj Hoxha would like to thank his men- tor, his father Burhan Hoxha, who has been continually suppor- Electronic Supplementary Materials: Supplementary materials tive of his scientific and technical endeavors. Without his wis- (Figs. S1–S4; Tables S1–S2) are available in the online version of dom and guidance, this technical paper would have not been this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0782-0. possible. Secondly, Besmir Buranaj Hoxha would like to thank Marton Herczeg from the European Institute of Innovation & REFERENCES CITED Technology for his direction on waste management implemen- Alcani, M., Dorri, A., 2013. Problems Related to Current Situation of Solid tation into a circular economy model based on the European Waste Management in Albania. International Journal of Ecosystems Commission program. Besmir Buranaj Hoxha would like to and Ecology Science, 3(4): 697–704 thank AKBN, especially Artan Leskoviku and Luan Nikolla, for Alcani, M., Dorri, A., Hoxha, A., 2015. Some Issues of Municipal Solid their recurrent support to provide government data in the Oil & Waste Management in Albania and Especially Tirana City. Interna- Gas sector. We would like to thank personally Ervin Shehaj at tional Journal of Science Technology & Management, 4(1): 16 Green Line Albania for providing waste/littering information. American Chemical Society, 2017. Ridding the Oceans of Plastics by Turn- Furthermore, we would like to thank Q. Sinaj Shpk for providing the Waste into Valuable Fuel. (2017-4-3). https://www.acs.org/ ing environmental data from the Albanian oilfields. Lastly, we content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2017/april/ridding-the-oceans- would like to thank Dr. Zhien Zhang, editorial supervisor for of-plastics-by-turning-the-waste-into-valuable-fuel.html Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering (JNGSE) for ASTM D7544-12, 2017. Standard Specification for Pyrolysis Liquid Biofuel. providing global plastic waste data & China waste management ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA data. The final publication is available at Springer via Ballauri, A., 2002. Exploring in Structurally Complex Thrust Belt: Southwest

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