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Energy Efficiency: Comparison of Different Systems and Technologies
The Diffusion of Residential Energy Efficient (EE) Technologies has been studied for many years. Finding ways to bridge the energy efficiency gap and increase the diffusion of these technologies have been of much interest to researchers and practitioners alike. However, in most studies, diffusion is equated to adoption of EE technologies by consumers. The present study tries to break this mindset and develops a model to assess the diffusion of residential EE technologies from the market's perspective. The model assesses diffusion of an EE technology based on the market's ability to provide benefits to customers that are identified to be most important.
The research contributes in several ways to the existing knowledge bank of residential EE technology diffusion. It provides an elaborate literature review on market attributes with associated components that help to develop the market attributes. The model allows to identify low rating attributes and helps to improve Market Diffusion Potential (MDP) MDP of technology cases by taking appropriate actions. Also, sensitivity analysis provides a snapshot of hypothetical situations that help decision makers to realize what to expect in case of extreme market situations and improve MDP of residential EE technologies by selecting appropriate business inclination strategy for excelling.
The model can have several practical applications. The results of MDP assessment would aid in market transformation, utility program selection, as well as feed in information for R & D on prospective EE technologies and a wide array of other organizations with diversified interests in energy savings, climate change and sustainability.
Responding to the sustained interest in and controversial discussion of the prospects of hydrogen, this book strives to reflect critically on the perspectives of a hydrogen economy in light of the global energy challenge, in particular the question how to meet the growing demand for transport energy in the long term and how to secure sustainable energy for transportation. This book stands out from other publications by its emphasis on setting the scene for hydrogen and the comprehensive coverage of all aspects related to the hydrogen subject, that is technical, environmental and socio-economic, and with a global geographic scope. The aim is to provide a reference book and compendium about hydrogen that should be of interest to anyone who wants to catch up on the status of the hydrogen discussion, look up a specific aspect related to hydrogen, or understand how hydrogen comes off compared to other mobility solutions. The book should appeal to a fairly broad readership: academia, policy makers and industry.
One of the major barriers to the sustainable growth of India is the energy crisis. Despite of continuous efforts and investment of Government in the energy sector, in 2011, 300 million of Indian population was deprived of electricity. The segment of population which has access to electricity faces the problem of intermittent and unreliable power supply. This is because India faces transmission losses of more than 32% (in 2010) as compared to global average of 15% because of inefficient transmission network and location of power generation sites at very far distances from the end use sites. Also, the rapidly growing building sector is responsible for at least 30-40% of energy usage and this demand is growing annually at 11-12%, which is almost twice global average of 5-6%.These are serious matters of concern for India and calls for a viable solution [1].
In voltage stability analysis, it is useful to assess voltage stability of power systems by means of scalar magnitudes, or indices. Operators can use voltage stability indices to know how close the system to voltage collapse. The voltage stability indices are a powerful tool to identify the weakest bus and critical line. This identification can be used to gain control over devices for voltage stability up to certain level and load shedding is possible if the load keeps on increasing. This paper presents a computationally simple index based load shedding algorithm using weighted sum genetic algorithm where an AC power flow solution cannot be found for the stressed conditions. Minimization of total load shed and sum of New Voltage Stability Index (NVSI) at the selected buses are considered as two objectives of this algorithm to restore the power flow solvability. This is validated in both IEEE 30 bus system and a practical system Tamil Nadu Electricity board (TNEB) 69 bus system in India for considering both heavy loading and (N − 1) contingency.
Thermochemical conversion processes, including mainly pyrolysis and liquefaction, were applied noncatalytically and catalytically to obtain the maximum fuels from olive husk wastes. Alkali catalysts, such as NaOH, KOH, Na2CO3, K2CO2 , and Na2C2O4, were used in catalytic liquefaction experiments. The pyrolysis was applied within 600-850 K and the liquefaction experiments were performed within the range 425-625 K. The maximum yields of liquid products were 40.4% from pyrolysis and 85% from KOH catalytic (1 / 1, w / w) liquefaction runs at 575 K.
Oxygen Enriched Air (OEA) is already used for numerous chemical, medical and industrial applications (e.g. combustion enhancement for natural gas furnaces, coal gasification) and more recently attracted attention for hybrid carbon capture processes. Membrane separation has shown growing interest for OEA production, providing an alternative to conventional air separation processes such as cryogenic distillation and pressure swing adsorption. Nevertheless, based on the current polymeric materials performances, membranes are usually considered to be competitive only for medium O2 purity (25–40%) and small scale plants (10–25 tons/day).
Improvement in membrane materials permeability and permselectivity (O2 over N2) is often reported to be a critical issue in order to increase the attainable O2 purity and to make the process more energy efficient. Recently, several membrane materials have been reported to show performances far above the permeability/selectivity trade-off of dense polymers. In this study, the potential of current and prospective membrane materials to achieve OEA production thanks to a single stage process is analysed through a rigorous simulation approach. The two processes (membrane and cryogenic distillation) are finally critically compared in terms of energy efficiency (kW h/ton O2), depending on O2 purity and on membrane material selectivity levels.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a goal that one billion gallons of renewable jet fuel is consumed by the US aviation industry each year from 2018. We examine the economic and emissions impacts of this goal using renewable fuel produced from a Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) process from renewable oils. Our approach employs an economy-wide model of economic activity and energy systems and a detailed partial equilibrium model of the aviation industry. If soybean oil is used as a feedstock, we find that meeting the aviation biofuel goal in 2020 will require an implicit subsidy from airlines to biofuel producers of $2.69 per gallon of renewable jet fuel. If the aviation goal can be met by fuel from oilseed rotation crops grown on otherwise fallow land, the implicit subsidy is $0.35 per gallon of renewable jet fuel. As commercial aviation biofuel consumption represents less than 2% of total fuel used by this industry, the goal has a small impact on the average price of jet fuel and carbon dioxide emissions. We also find that, under the pathways we examine, the cost per tonne of CO2 abated due to aviation biofuels is between $50 and $400.
This paper examines the feasibility of adopting LED lamp in replacing the conventional fluorescent lamp. Analysis and comparison have been carried out on the two lighting systems in terms of electrical and photometrical performance. A case study on UTeM's building has also been presented, which focuses on the economic evaluation. In addition, various lighting energy saving strategies have been proposed. The economic benefits of the respective energy saving measures have been successfully quantified. The study suggests that LED tubes has great potential to replace fluorescent lamps, mainly driven by the cost savings.
The Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook has been the standard for engineers involved in the design, selection, and operation of gas turbines. This revision includes new case histories, the latest techniques, and new designs to comply with recently passed legislation. By keeping the book up to date with new, emerging topics, Boyce ensures that this book will remain the standard and most widely used book in this field.The new Third Edition of the Gas Turbine Engineering Hand Book updates the book to cover the new generation of Advanced gas Turbines. It examines the benefit and some of the major problems that have been encountered by these new turbines. The book keeps abreast of the environmental changes and the industries answer to these new regulations. A new chapter on case histories has been added to enable the engineer in the field to keep abreast of problems that are being encountered and the solutions that have resulted in solving them.
The Fertilizer Industry offers a most exciting, challenging, and rewarding opportunity for adopting Bankable Energy Efficient and Cleaner Production Technologies to support minimization of greenhouse gas emissions. Cleaner production technology has cut down energy consumption from 9 G. calories/Mt to around 7 G. calories/Mt in ammonia plants where capacity utilization has also improved from 74% to 84%. In addition, the fertilizer Industry has initiated measures on waste heat recovery, reuse of heat in the plant system, and steam network system optimization through computer programming. Pneumatic controls have largely been replaced by distributed control systems mainly operated by electrical drives and recently, naphtha-based power stations have adopted the latest DCS systems resulting in 3-5% energy savings besides realizing 2-3% raw material saving and 2-2.5% enhancement in yield. Energy efficient technologies relevant to the Fertilizer Industry include fuel switching (exchanging fossil fuel based energy generation system with those that use renewable fuels like biomass, solar energy etc). This has resulted in zero greenhouse gas emissions and very low cost/unit of generation of power and steam. Efficient electric motors have replaced old designs of sets and an overall effort has been made to reduce heat and power losses, which finally results in less use of fuel, thereby minimizing emissions. Waste incineration has also become a source of energy recovery. The chapter illustrates case studies to demonstrate substantial reduction in fuel consumption and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of cleaner technologies in the fertilizer Industry.
Ferrous materials have made a major contribution to the development of modern technology. They span a tremendous range of properties and applications. Part A of this book is dedicated to the fundamental relationships between the structure and the properties of ferrous materials. The considerably larger Part B deals with standardised materials, recent developments and industrial applications, which also affect processing aspects. Details are given for general engineering materials, tool and functional materials, as well as high-strength, stainless, creep-resistant and wear-resistant grades. This book closes the gap in the treatment of steel and cast iron. Each chapter takes into account the gradual transitions between the two types of ferrous materials. The authors demonstrate that steel and cast iron are versatile and customisable materials which will continue to play a key role in the future. Hans Berns Born 1935, studied ferrous metallurgy, worked in the specialized steel industry from 1959 to 1979, doctorate TH Aachen 1964, habilitation TU Berlin 1975, held the Chair of Materials Technology at the Ruhr-University Bochum from 1979 to 2000. Werner Theisen Born 1957, studied mechanical engineering, research assistant and chief engineer at the Ruhr-University Bochum up to 1995, doctorate 1988, habilitation 1996, worked in the mechanical-engineering industry until 2000, has held the Chair of Materials Technology of the Ruhr-University Bochum since 2000.
This project was carried out in a Quebec kraft pulp mill. Its objective was to improve the energy efficiency of the mill in order to reduce its steam consumption. The Pinch Analysis® was used for this purpose. A heat exchanger network was developed with the aid of Aspen HX-Net© software and its economic assessment was subsequently performed. Preliminary estimates of the investment costs for the heat exchanger network are 7,9 M$*. In return, the total current steam consumption could be reduced by 16%, which would result in 4,5 M$ of yearly savings in steam generation.
This chapter describes the system and architecture for real-time communication, including two categories of the most important protocols, signaling and transport, respectively. It also addresses the quality-of-service (QoS) issues, especially on minimizing latency, combating losses, adapting to available bandwidth, and synchronizing audio--video. Despite rapid expansion and improvement of the underlying infrastructure, QoS is still one of the major challenges of real-time communication over Internet protocol (IP) networks. The unreliable and stateless nature of today's Internet protocol result in a best-effort service-that is, packets may be delivered with an arbitrary delay or may even be lost. The challenges that the industry faces, in conjunction with the commercial promise of the technology, have attracted considerable effort in research and product development. This chapter describes an architecture for real-time communication and the way to improve the QoS.
Almost every modern manufacturing process relies on industrial gases, and sales of such gases are expected to rise by around 45% over the next five years. Here, experienced and authoritative experts from one of the two world's largest producer of industrial gases impart their knowledge on atmospheric, noble and synthesized gases, carbon dioxide, LNG, acetylene and other fuel gases, as well as special and medical gases. Modern applications, e.g., the use of hydrogen in fuel cells, are included as well. This practical text is rounded off by a section on logistics.
This chapter focuses on the ships equipped with propellers. Any propulsion system interacts with the ship hull. The flow field is changed by thehull that is usually upstream located. The propulsion system changes, the flow field at the ship hull. These effects and the open-water efficiency of the propeller determine the propulsive efficiency.
External or social costs of freight transportation have received increased attention recently in development strategies because of sustainability issues. A widely accepted definition of sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Strategies for sustainable transportation consider economic development, environmental preservation, and social development. But as the negative impacts of freight transportation increase, achieving sustainability goals becomes ever more challenging. Freight transportation is a primary component of all supply-chain and logistics systems. However, the cost of moving commodities between cities and countries is borne not only by direct stakeholders but also by other members of society who may not benefit directly from these movements. In economics literature, this is referred to as the external cost of an activity. Air, noise, and water pollution; vegetation and wildlife destruction; and road accidents are some of the negative impacts of freight transportation. Freight movements and their associated negative impacts have been steadily increasing over the last few decades in most parts of the world. Negative environmental effects of freight transportation are a serious concern, because of the associated long-term direct and indirect impacts such as increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and global warming.
The present drive to develop a hydrogen-based economy poses several technological challenges that must be addressed to provide an ample supply of pure hydrogen to meet future energy demands. The purification of hydrogen to the levels required by certain end-use technologies, particularly fuel cells, is a key issue. Four proven technologies are commercially available, namely membrane separation, cryogenic distillation, solvent extraction, and pressure swing adsorption (PSA). On a small scale, filtration through a hot palladium membrane has been used in the electronic industry to produce ultrapure hydrogen for reducing traces of oxides in semiconductor wafers. The high cost of palladium and the operating condition limit scale-up of this technique. Both cryogenic distillation and solvent extraction are energy intensive, and in the latter method, the disposal of spent solvent is hazardous. By contrast, PSA is very economical for the purification of bulk amounts of hydrogen. Modern PSA plants can handle up to 100 000 N m3 h−1 of hydrogen with a purity close to 99.99%. The large size, capital cost, and sensitivity to both feed composition and flow are some of the issues that still need to be addressed with the PSA technology. Nevertheless, in terms of energy demand and operational cleanliness, the PSA technology is far superior to membrane separation, cryogenic distillation, and solvent extraction technologies. This article describes the current state-of-the-art and future challenges of hydrogen purification by PSA.
All energy transformation processes occurring in reality are irreversible and in many cases these irreversibilities must be included in a realistic description of such processes. Endoreversible thermodynamics is a non-equilibrium approach in this direction by viewing a system as a network of internally reversible (endoreversible) subsystems exchanging energy in an irreversible fashion. All irreversibilities are confined to the interaction between the subsystems. In this review a general framework for the endoreversible description of a system is presented, followed by a discussion of the performance of such systems. Thereafter the scope of the review is narrowed to time-independent stationary or cyclicly operating systems. We present the endoreversible theory of heat engines, and give an overview over the different heat transfer laws used in the entropy interactions between the subsystems. Also engine cycles different from the Carnot cycle and internal irreversibilities as well as the design optimization for such systems are discussed. These aspects are also important in the description of refrigerators and heat pumps which follows. Then combined and staged systems comprising several subsystems and their performance are reviewed and we conclude with a presentation of selected applications of endoreversible thermodynamics.
In a time of growing aviation cost and competition, airlines are seeking merger partners strategically to reduce cost and boost revenue. A merged airline can eliminate network redundancy by reorganizing and consolidating hub networks and operations resulting in improved fuel efficiency from flow economies of scale. Mergers, however, can have a detrimental impact on customers through decreased service. In this study we investigate the potential of mergers to reduce fuel consumption and balance this against their impact on passengers through service level degradation. We find that across two major US airline mergers in the late 2000s – early 2010s, the number of non-stop destinations and flight frequency per connection dropped significantly while the number of passengers increased considerably. We find the fuel savings achieved by both merged airline networks, ranging from 25 to 28 percent, greatly outweighs the value of passenger service degradation. In projecting these results to predict the potential fuel savings from a merger of the remaining two largest US carriers, we define their future hub structure, consolidation of flows, and find a resulting fuel consumption savings of 23–27 percent.
Nowadays, the new international market demands challenge the food producing countries to include the measurement of the environmental impact generated along the production process for their products. In order to comply with the environmentally responsible market requests the measurement of the greenhouse gas emissions of Ecuadorian agricultural goods has been promoted employing the carbon footprint concept. Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas in the world. Within this context, this study is a first assessment of the carbon footprint of the Ecuadorian premium export banana (Musa AAA) using a considerable amount of field data. The system boundaries considered from agricultural production to delivery in the European destination port. The data collected over three years permitted identifying the hot spot stages. For the calculation, CCaLC V3.0 software developed by the University of Manchester is used. The carbon footprint of the Ecuadorian export banana ranged from 0.45 to 1.04 kg CO2– equivalent/kg banana depending on the international overseas transport employed. The principal contributors to the carbon footprint are the on farm production and overseas transport stages. Mitigation and reduction strategies were suggested for the main emission sources in order to achieve
sustainable banana production.
Demand fluctuation in electric power systems is undesirable from many points of view; this has sparked an interest in demand-side strategies that try to establish mechanisms that allow for a flatter demand curve. Particularly interesting is load shifting, a strategy that considers the shifting of certain amounts of energy demand from some time periods to other time periods with lower expected demand, typically in response to price signals. In this paper, an optimization-based model is proposed to perform load shifting in the context of smart grids. In our model, we define agents that are responsible for load, generation and storage management; in particular, some of them are electric vehicle aggregators. An important feature of the proposed approach is the inclusion of electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid capabilities; with this possibility, electric vehicles can provide certain services to the power grid, including load shifting and congestion management. Results are reported for a test system based on the IEEE 37-bus distribution grid; the effectiveness of the approach and the effect of the hourly energy prices on flattening the load curve are shown.
The paper presents a life cycle assessment of two lighting technologies based on compact fluorescent (CFL) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) luminaires for the general lighting of the office. The life cycle assessments are carried out considering all the parts of the luminaire: lamp, housing and ballast (or driver for LED). The environmental impact is evaluated considering the whole life cycle of the devices, from manufacturing (including the extraction of raw materials), to use and disposal. An experimental test was conducted to verify the illuminance produced by the two systems.
Alternative end-of-life and electricity production scenarios were assessed and compared in order to evaluate possible variations deriving from these changes.
The life cycle assessments show that the LED luminaire allows the environmental impacts to be significantly reduced (reduction of 41–50% of greenhouse gas emission and cumulative energy demand), mainly due to high energy efficiency in the use stage.
The present paper makes three original contributions: 1) it presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a last generation kind of LED and luminaire built for this technology and compares it with a similar CFL luminaire; 2) it presents one of the first LCAs for lighting luminaires made with International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) 2011 Midpoint; 3) it shows a comparison evaluated with two functional units: 1 lm per 50,000 h and 1 lux per 50,000 h.
The well-to-wheel CO 2 emissions and energy use of internal combustion engines (diesel and gasoline) are compared to fuel cell automotive propulsion systems. The fuel cell technologies investigated are polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), alkaline fuel cell (AFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The fuels are assumed to be produced from either crude oil or natural gas. The comparison is based on driving cycle simulations of a mid-class passenger car with an inertia test weight of 1350 kg. The study shows that the optimized diesel drive train (downsized mated to an integrated starter generator) achieves the best overall energy efficiency. The lowest CO 2 emissions are produced by compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Fuel cell propulsion systems achieve similar or even better CO 2 emission values under hot start conditions but suffer from high energy input required during warm-up.
This study is part of a long-term research work concerning the development of a mechanical ventilation system with low energy demand.
Through use of decentralised fans instead of flat plate dampers pressure drop over dampers can be eliminated. Consequently, the main fan does not need to be dimensioned for the total pressure drop in the entire duct system – but only for the branch with the lowest pressure drop. Hence, the energy demand is reduced.
The methodical procedure for converting a conventional ventilation system with dampers into a system with decentralised fans has been explained in a previous study.
The purpose of the present study was to corroborate experimentally the energy saving potential predicted theoretically. Furthermore, in order to relate to realistic size ventilation systems analyses have been undertaken based on an existing office building intended for 50 occupants.
The findings are that the results of the experimental studies correspond well with the theory for the performance of a ventilation system with decentralised fans and that the expected energy savings are achievable. Analyses of the results of the calculations on the real-size office building show energy savings of about 30% when compared to a conventional ventilation system with dampers.
Being increasingly insulated, new buildings are more and more sensitive to variations of solar and internal gains. Due to an important use of electrical heating systems, especially in housing, France is facing a growing problem of peak load on its electricity grid. Controlling the heating system often constitutes an efficient solution to shift heating loads while maintaining indoor comfort. The proposed energy management is a predictive set of optimal commands issued from a dynamic programming optimization knowing in advance the weather, occupancy and internal gains for the next 7 days. This method is tested on a low energy house situated in France with an annual heating demand of 14 kWh/m2. In this paper, load shifting according to utility rate incentives and carbon emissions are studied. The importance of building models as well as envelope insulation and thermal mass on energy management results is shown.
In order to reduce energy use and cut emissions that contribute to climate change, countries need to radically reinvent their fossil-fuel intensive transportation systems. As a major consumer of energy and contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the U.S. transportation sector faces extraordinary challenges in the twenty-first century. Transportation in the U.S. depends heavily on fossil-fuel dependent cars and planes to the near exclusion of more energy-efficient electric trains. In order to address this concern, some policy makers refer to “technological optimism” which seeks no systemic change but instead focuses on employing technology to reduce the energy demand and environmental impact of the status quo. On the other hand, some researchers suggest a systematic paradigm shift away from cars and planes to intermodal systems that improve the sustainability of the system as a whole. High-speed rail (HSR) is arguably such an investment that can further this shift and help to achieve a more diversified and balanced transportation system. In this respect, by largely examining the role of the U.S. cars and planes “culture” in the economy, this paper elaborates on how building a HSR system may help U.S. advance towards environmental sustainability in transportation, make a break from the status quo, and create a more balanced, multimodal transportation system that will improve the quality and efficiency of travel.
This report is the result of work carried out by the IDAE with the objective of defining the most suitable technique from an energy point of view for desalinating water using movable plants, which can be transferred from one site to another. Since the energy consumed in technologies available for desalinating seawater is electricity alone in reverse osmosis, and heat and electricity in distillation technologies (the proportion of which varies according to whether the VVC or MED process is employed), there is an opportunity to make simultaneous use of the electricity and heat produced in all electricity generation, although they can only be applied in distillation technologies and where the plant is designed to operate with a careful combination of the RO and distillation technologies. This optimization of energy can be achieved in all types of plants (permanent or movable), but it is of particular interest in the case of the movable plants because it makes the plant independent with regard to its energy consumption. In short, the plant does not depend on the national electricity network system. This independence offers advantages which will be studied later on. Indeed, the aim of this report is to describe the movable maximum energy efficiency plant and to analyze the costs of the same in comparison with other alternatives.
In the objective of reaching the “nearly zero-energy buildings” target set by the European Union, municipalities cover a crucial role in advocating and implementing energy-efficient measures on a local scale. Based on a dataset of 322 municipalities in Northern Italy, we carried out a statistical analysis to investigate which factors influence the adoption of energy efficiency in municipal buildings. In particular, the analysis focuses on four categories of factors: (i) capacity building for energy efficiency, (ii) existing structure and competences for energy efficiency, (iii) technical and economic support for energy efficiency, and (iv) spill-over effect caused by adoption of “easier” energy-efficient measures. Our results show that capacity building through training courses and technical support provided by energy audits affect positively the adoption of energy efficiency in municipal buildings. The size of the municipal authority, the setting of local energy policies for residential buildings and funding for energy audits are not correlated with energy efficiency in public buildings, where the “plucking of low hanging fruit” often prevails over more cost-effective but long-term strategies. Finally, our results call for the need to promote an efficient knowledge management and a revision of the Stability and Growth Pact.
Combustion, the process of burning, is defined as a chemical reaction between a combustible reactant (the fuel) and an oxidizing agent (such as air) in order to produce heat and in most cases light while new chemical species (e.g., flue gas components) are formed. This book covers a gap on the market by providing a concise introduction to combustion. Most of the other books currently available are targeted towards the experienced users and contain too many details and/or contain knowledge at a fairly high level. This book provides a brief and clear overview of the combustion basics, suitable for beginners and then focuses on practical aspects, rather than theory, illustrated by a number of industrial applications as examples. The content is aimed to provide a general understanding of the various concepts, techniques and equipment for students at all level as well as practitioners with little or no prior experience in the field. The authors are all international experts in the field of combustion technology and adopt here a clear didactic style with many practical examples to cover the most common solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. The associated environmental impacts are also discussed so that readers can develop an understanding of the major issues and the options available for more sustainable combustion processes.
Each stakeholder in the air transportation system has a different perspective on the performance efficiency metrics, making analysis of system-wide design options very difficult. This paper uses topological structures of service networks to examine trade-offs between efficiency metrics established around the passenger, airline, and air navigation service provider perspectives. The findings indicate that the scale-free type topologies are preferred under most of the metrics. However, with enough density, random topologies become more appealing with its high robustness feature and performance comparable to scale-free.
Nitrogen fertilizer use in agriculture is associated with water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. While practices and programs to reduce nitrogen fertilizer application continue to be developed, inefficient fertilizer use persists and little is known about farmer decision-making regarding application rates. The purpose of this study was to explore farmer decision-making in the context of reducing the application of nitrogen fertilizer as a climate change mitigation strategy and to assess barriers to reduced application and participating in a potential offsets program. Research methods included mail surveys, interviews, and focus groups with corn farmers in Michigan, United States (US). Results indicate that potential barriers to increasing nitrogen use efficiency for climate change mitigation include: perceptions about climate change, limited access to information and technological tools, and constraints imposed by the political economy of US agriculture. Education programs, government subsidies or cost-sharing programs, and including influential market and political actors in discussions about fertilizer use and climate change mitigation may address some of these barriers. Policies and programs focused on nitrogen fertilizer use and climate change mitigation in agriculture should be aware of these barriers and how they might be addressed.
The increasing industrialization and motorization of the world has led to a steep rise for the demand of petroleum-based fuels. Petroleum-based fuels are obtained from limited reserves. These finite reserves are highly concentrated in certain regions of the world. Therefore, those countries not having these resources are facing energy/foreign exchange crisis, mainly due to the import of crude petroleum. Hence, it is necessary to look for alternative fuels which can be produced from resources available locally within the country such as alcohol, biodiesel, vegetable oils etc. This paper reviews the production, characterization and current statuses of vegetable oil and biodiesel as well as the experimental research work carried out in various countries. This paper touches upon well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions, well-to-wheel efficiencies, fuel versatility, infrastructure, availability, economics, engine performance and emissions, effect on wear, lubricating oil etc.
This book aims to introduce the reader to the design, development, and evaluation processes of new Green Chemistry methodologies. A comprehensive introductory text, it takes a broad view of the subject and integrates a wide variety of topics. Topics covered include: alternative feedstocks, environmentally benign synthetic methodologies, designing safer chemical products, new reaction conditions, alternative solvents and catalyst development, and the use of biosynthesis and biomimetic principles. The reader is introduced to the new evaluation process that encompasses the health and environmental impact of a synthetic pathway from choice of starting materials through to target molecule. Throughout the text, comparisons and contrasts with classical methodologies are offered as illustrative examples. This accessible text is aimed at all those involved with the design, manufacture, use and disposal of chemicals and their products - especially synthetic chemicals at the graduate and professional level, process development chemists and environmental scientists. From reviews of the hardback: ‘An excellent introduction into the fast growing field and the fascinating science of green chemistry.... Should be consulted by anyone who wants to know about environmentally benign chemistry and, especially, by scientists who contemplate adopting its principles in their own research or teaching efforts.’ Science
In this paper the trade-off, in terms of annual net profit for the mill and global emissions of CO2, between different technology pathways for utilization of excess steam and heat at kraft pulp mills is investigated for a case depicting a typical Scandinavian mill of today. The trade-off is analysed for four future energy market scenarios having different levels of CO2 charge. The technology pathways included in this study are increased electricity production in new turbines, production of district heating, increased sales of biomass in the form of bark and/or lignin, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The results show that the proven pathways, increased electricity production, bark export and district heating production, are economically robust, i.e. they are profitable for all of the studied energy market scenarios. The new and emerging technology pathways, that are CCS and lignin extraction, hold a larger potential for reduction of global CO2 emissions, but their economic profitability is more dependent on the development of the energy market. All in all, it can be concluded that to realize the larger potential of reduction of global CO2 emissions a high carbon cost alone may not be sufficient. Other economic stimulations are required, e.g. technology-specific subsidies.
International comparisons of industrial energy efficiency can be helpful in selecting countries where emission reduction action is most effective. The aim of this paper is to analyse the energy efficiency of two energy-intensive industries in major developing countries. The energy efficiency in the two sectors is compared to that of the US.
The analysis shows that the iron and steel sector is most energy-efficient in South Korea and Brazil and that Mexico, India and China have achieved an energy efficiency level comparable to that of the US in recent years. Among the countries analysed, the specific energy consumption in the iron and steel sector ranges from 25 to 70% above best plant energy consumption in recent years. For cement production, we found that South Korea is the most energy-efficient country analysed, followed by Brazil, Mexico and in recent years India. The US and China are the least efficient countries in our analysis. The specific energy consumption in the cement sector ranges from 2 to 50% above best plant energy consumption. The differences in energy efficiency are largely explained by the differences in the type of clinker kilns used.
Data on energy use are to some extent uncertain and our results should be used with care. However, on the basis of the statistical data available now, we conclude that developing countries are not always the least efficient and that it is not necessarily true that the cheapest greenhouse gas emission mitigation options can be found there.
One of the best ways of preventing accidents is to avoid hazards by inherently safer design. The adoption of such principles is now required by EU legislation. As many processes, particularly those in the chemicals, nuclear and oil industries, involve the production, handling and use of hazardous substances, process intensification (PI) is one way in which the inventory of such substances, and the consequences of a process failure, may be significantly reduced. PI, therefore, has the potential to be a significant factor in the implementation of inherent safety. However, conflict can arise between PI and some inherent safety practices. For example, certain PI technologies require higher energy inputs or to be operated at higher temperatures. The processes may be more complex or call for a more complex control system. For this reason, both the process (including the chemistry, where appropriate) and plant need to be considered together to reach a comprehensive understanding of the safety issues. This paper gives some examples of how process intensification has, or might have, improved safety. Some of the issues that need to be considered are also discussed. In order to promote the benefits of process intensification, and draw attention to safety considerations, HSE is co-sponsoring a process intensification network (PIN) in liaison with industry and the Department of Trade and Industry.
1. Industrial Chlorine Manufacture. 2. Chlorine End Use Processes. 3. Water Disinfection and Metallurgy. 4. PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride). 5. Pulp and Paper Production. 6. Environmental Releases of Organic Chlorine Compounds. 7. Environmental Behaviour of Chlorinated Compounds. 8. Effects of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons. 9. Ozone Depletion. 10. Chlorinated Pesticides. 11. PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls). 12. Polychlorinated Dibenzo-P-Dioxins, Dibenzofurans and Related Compounds. 13. Selected Persistent Organochlorines. 14. International Legal Instruments. 15. The Future for the Chlorine Industry. Appendices. Glossary. Abbreviations. Index.