Energy Efficiency for the Current Use of Fossil Fuels

2021 ◽  
pp. 149-179
Author(s):  
Carlos I. Rivera-Solorio ◽  
Alejandro J. García-Cuéllar ◽  
José L. López-Salinas ◽  
José I. Huertas
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Fossil Fuels

scholarly journals Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1011
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Bajan ◽  
Joanna Łukasiewicz ◽  
Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda ◽  
Walenty Poczta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Energy Return On Investment

The projected increase in the world’s population requires an increase in the production of edible energy that would meet the associated increased demand for food. However, food production is strongly dependent on the use of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, the extraction of which requires increasing input due to the depletion of the most easily accessible deposits. According to numerous estimations, the world’s energy production will be dependent on fossil fuels at least to 2050. Therefore, it is vital to increase the energy efficiency of production, including food production. One method to measure energy efficiency is the energy return on investment (EROI), which is the ratio of the amount of energy produced to the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The literature lacks comparable EROI calculations concerning global food production and the existing studies only include crop production. The aim of this study was to calculate the EROI of edible crop and animal production in the long term worldwide and to indicate the relationships resulting from its changes. The research takes into account edible crop and animal production in agriculture and the direct consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. The analysis showed that although the most underdeveloped regions have the highest EROI, the production of edible energy there is usually insufficient to meet the food needs of the population. On the other hand, the lowest EROI was observed in highly developed regions, where production ensures food self-sufficiency. However, the changes that have taken place in Europe since the 1990s indicate an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the direct use of energy in agriculture and increase the production of edible energy, thus improving the EROI.

Riqualificazione energetica e bioedilizia in Italia: lo stato dell'arte

2012 ◽  
pp. 74-88
Author(s):  
Livio de Santoli
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Water Heaters

Building sustainability, in term of energy efficiency, low-impact building materials, renewable energy, has experienced significant growth during the past years. In response to the growing dependence on fossil fuels and importations, due in part to the increase of energy consumption in the residential sector (in 2009 46,9 Mtep, 3% more than 2008) and the recent European directives (i.e. EU 2009/28/CE) requiring CO2 emissions cut of up to 13% in 2020, there is interest in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, which are suitable for residential applications. In this paper we present an overview on actions related to minimization of buildings energy consumption in Italy. Prevalent line of action is to improve the energy performances of building envelope (Dlgs 192/05) using insulated frames, walls and roofs and replacing heat generators with condensing boilers. In addition to national directives, ONRE Report 2011 (National Observatory on building regulations) shows that 831 Municipalities (10% more than 2010) establish mandatory targets for insulation, photovoltaic solar panels, solar water heaters, heat pumps use, correct buildings orientation, saving of water resource and local materials use. In addiction an efficient energy rating of the buildings could promote the spread of energy efficiency measurement and consequently facilitate their implementation. The new energy rating system should meet international standards, regarding environment and energy aspects, and respect territorial needs.

scholarly journals Impact of Simulated Biogas Compositions (CH4 and CO2) on Vibration, Sound Pressure and Performance of a Spark Ignition Engine

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 7037
Author(s):  
Donatas Kriaučiūnas ◽  
Tadas Žvirblis ◽  
Kristina Kilikevičienė ◽  
Artūras Kilikevičius ◽  
Jonas Matijošius ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Internal Combustion Engines ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Spark Ignition ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
Positive Correlation

Biogas has increasingly been used as an alternative to fossil fuels in the world due to a number of factors, including the availability of raw materials, extensive resources, relatively cheap production and sufficient energy efficiency in internal combustion engines. Tightening environmental and renewable energy requirements create excellent prospects for biogas (BG) as a fuel. A study was conducted on a 1.6-L spark ignition (SI) engine (HR16DE), testing simulated biogas with different methane and carbon dioxide contents (100CH4, 80CH4_20CO2, 60CH4_40CO2, and 50CH4_50CO2) as fuel. The rate of heat release (ROHR) was calculated for each fuel. Vibration acceleration time, sound pressure and spectrum characteristics were also analyzed. The results of the study revealed which vibration of the engine correlates with combustion intensity, which is directly related to the main measure of engine energy efficiency—break thermal efficiency (BTE). Increasing vibrations have a negative correlation with carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, but a positive correlation with nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Sound pressure also relates to the combustion process, but, in contrast to vibration, had a negative correlation with BTE and NOx, and a positive correlation with emissions of incomplete combustion products (CO, HC).

Energy and Energy Efficiency

2010 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Nuclear Power Engineering ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The World

Originally, coal was the main source of energy. It remains so throughout the 18th century during the period of the rapid industry development. Later on, oil and naphtha began to be used as energy sources and their usage expanded especially in 19th century. A special feature of the above mentioned fossil fuels is their long creation period – requiring millennia. They are a result of rotting of different plant and animal kinds. In comparison to the period of their formation, the period of their utilization is far shorter. In accordance with a number of existing statistics about 2050 year it may be talked about a depletion of the liquid fossil fuels, also, the world coal supplies are considered to last within the next 200 years. Therefore, the development of nuclear power engineering is considered to be one of the alternatives to generate energy. Recently, the nuclear power energy generation has been denied in many countries because of the risks associated with its generation and because these risks have been confirmed by serious accidents throughout the World. The storage of worked nuclear waste is also a problem and risky. The renewable energy sources are another possibility to generate energy.

scholarly journals Environmental Payback of Renovation Strategies in a Northern Climate—the Impact of Nuclear Power and Fossil Fuels in the Electricity Supply

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Ramírez-Villegas ◽  
Ola Eriksson ◽  
Thomas Olofsson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this study is to assess how the use of fossil and nuclear power in different renovation scenarios affects the environmental impacts of a multi-family dwelling in Sweden, and how changes in the electricity production with different energy carriers affect the environmental impact. In line with the Paris Agreement, the European Union has set an agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by means of energy efficiency in buildings. It is estimated that by the year 2050, 80% of Europe’s population will be living in buildings that already exist. This means it is important for the European Union to renovate buildings to improve energy efficiency. In this study, eight renovation scenarios, using six different Northern European electricity mixes, were analyzed using the standard of the European Committee for Standardization for life cycle assessment of buildings. This study covers all life cycle steps from cradle to grave. The renovation scenarios include combinations of photovoltaics, geothermal heat pumps, heat recovery ventilation, and improvement of the building envelope. The results show that while in some electricity mixes a reduction in the global warming potential can be achieved, it can be at the expense of an increase in radioactive waste production, and, in mixes with a high share of fossil fuels, the global warming potential of the scenarios increases with time, compared with that of the original building. It also shows that in most electricity mixes, scenarios that reduce the active heat demand of the building end up in reducing both the global warming potential and radioactive waste, making them less sensitive to changes in the energy system.

scholarly journals Towards Nearly Zero Energy and Environmentally Sustainable Agritourisms: The Effectiveness of the Application of the European Ecolabel Brand

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 5741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Cirrincione ◽  
Maria La Gennusa ◽  
Giorgia Peri ◽  
Gianfranco Rizzo ◽  
Gianluca Scaccianoce
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Condition ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Energy Behavior ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Eu Ecolabel

Tourism represents an important economic driver in Italy, being responsible for approximately 13.2% of the total GDP (a value higher than the reference European average) and for nearly 10% of the regional GDP. Among the touristic sectors, the agritourist ones show a persistent growth, experiencing in 2019 a 6.7 point percentage improvement compared to the 2017 figures. Given this situation, the transition towards a low-carbon path, affecting the building sector for some time, should also involve agritourist buildings, through the release of EU directives, member state laws, and technical rules. On the other hand, agritourism sites could be awarded the Community EU Ecolabel. Unfortunately, awarding the EU environmental excellence brand implies the availability of several data on building energy behavior that should then be managed by complex evaluation tools. To overcome this issue, the use of the simplified ARERA (Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy Networks and Environment) technical datasheets, issued to assess environmental improvements consequent to energy efficiency interventions in the urban residential building stock, is proposed. The application of this tool totally avoids using building computer-based simulation models, thus facilitating the preparation of the EU Ecolabel request documentation by agritourism owners. Being awarded the Community EU Ecolabel also implies approaching a net zero energy condition because of a lower energy consumption and a minor recourse to fossil fuels. For this purpose, an application of an easy graphical method, previously developed for residential and commercial buildings, which visually represents improvements achievable by a given agritourism when implementing energy efficiency measures, is presented.

scholarly journals Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 5254
Author(s):  
Manuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego ◽  
Juan L. Espinoza ◽  
José Jara-Alvear ◽  
Pablo Arias-Reyes ◽  
Fernando Maldonado-Arias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
National Level ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Increase Energy Efficiency ◽  
High Dependency ◽  
Generation Capacity ◽  
Tropical Climates

High dependency on fossil fuels, low energy efficiency, poor diversification of energy sources, and a low rate of access to electricity are challenges that need to be solved in many developing countries to make their energy systems more sustainable. Cogeneration has been identified as a key strategy for increasing energy generation capacity, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improving energy efficiency in industry, one of the most energy-demanding sectors worldwide. However, more studies are necessary to define approaches for implementing cogeneration, particularly in countries with tropical climates (such as Ecuador). In Ecuador, the National Plan of Energy Efficiency includes cogeneration as one of the four routes for making energy use more sustainable in the industrial sector. The objective of this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify the potential of cogeneration in the Ecuadorian industry, and (2) to show the positive impacts of cogeneration on power generation capacity, GHG emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and the economy of the country. The study uses methodologies from works in specific types of industrial processes and puts them together to evaluate the potential and analyze the impacts of cogeneration at national level. The potential of cogeneration in Ecuador is ~600 MWel, which is 12% of Ecuador’s electricity generation capacity. This potential could save ~18.6 × 106 L/month of oil-derived fuels, avoiding up to 576,800 tCO2/year, and creating around 2600 direct jobs. Cogeneration could increase energy efficiency in the Ecuadorian industry by up to 40%.

A Fuels Cost Comparison of Gasoline and Electric Powered Vehicles

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Ford ◽  
Paul Yanik
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Comparison ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
Personal Transportation ◽  
Fuel Costs

Per British thermal unit (BTU), in the United States, gasoline currently costs about 7.6 times as much as coal. Due to the prevalence of coal fired electricity generating stations in the country, electrically powered vehicles may provide a fuel cost savings over similar gasoline powered vehicles. Fuel costs for electric vehicles have been reported to cost about $0.045 per mile to operate. Higher efficiency, gasoline operated automobiles such as the Toyota Corolla have reported fuel costs of about $0.093 per mile. This paper provides a first glance examination of electrically powered and gasoline powered vehicles in the United States. While gasoline costs continue to rise, a cheap, environmentally safe transportation alternative is needed to maintain the flexible lifestyle currently enjoyed by Americans. The cycle energy efficiency of coal produced electricity for personal transportation is much lower than the energy efficiency of gasoline, but the large cost differences between these two forms of fossil fuels may provide a temporary fix to a looming transportation crisis in the United States. The long-term environmental effects of an electrically powered, private transportation fleet could prove catastrophic due to increased use of coal and accompanying combustion product air pollution, but clean, renewable, electricity producing technologies may support more prolific long-term use of electrically powered transportation modes.

scholarly journals The adaptable energy platform

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eur Ing A J Blokland ◽  
I P Barendregt ◽  
C J C M Posthumus
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Operational Energy

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued an Operational Energy Strategy (OES) with ambition targets for energy independence and improvement of energy efficiency during the life time of naval platforms. A target is given in 2030 of 20 % reduced dependence on fossil fuels and in 2050 of 70 % reduced dependence on fossil fuels, compared to 2010. More stringent environmental emission (NOx, CO2, etc.) requirements are to be expected as a result from IMO and (local) political regulations. In the last decades the power consumption on board of naval platforms increased substantially as well as the complexity of integrated energy systems. Market surveys shows that the evolution of commercial green technologies are promising but have to be demonstrated in the coming years on low power and energy levels. They will not be de-risked in depth or well proven to be successful in time to be selected for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) new naval projects (2019 – 2025). Furthermore, new technologies as energy resources and carriers (H2, LNG, methanol, power-to-liquid (PTL), etc.) or new system technologies (DC on high voltage level, fuel cell systems, waste energy recovery, etc.) require a new approach for integration aspects like hazard and safety cases and energy efficiency. This is because the energy demand on board of naval platforms in several military operational modes differ from the merchant and off-shore branch. In this paper an approach for an adaptable energy platform is described to design a new naval platform based on nowadays proven technology as fossil fuels that can be transformed during life time that can fulfill the expectations and requirements of the coming decades (non-fossil fuels, zero emission, improved energy efficiency). Aspects as a naval energy index as reference will be discussed as well as an evaluation of new technologies for new naval platform integration design parameters, such as power or energy demands, consequences of energy resources, energy control as well as build in ship construction safety measures.

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