Sustainable thermal-based desalination with low-cost energy resources and low-carbon footprints

Desalination ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 520 ◽  
pp. 115371
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Li ◽  
Xin Chen ◽  
Yan Xu ◽  
Yuming Zhuo ◽  
Gui Lu

What is not as commonly identified as an optimal life #bestlife is living #frugal, and yet, there is a global electronic hive mind about how to live sparingly based on highly variant local realities. There are blogs about living on a shoestring, stretching funds, cooking in, engaging in a DIY economy (bartering with like-minded others), living off the grid, taking low-cost and simple vacations, maintaining a food garden, raising food animals, and forgoing the more spendy aspects of modern living. The narrative goes that saving up and retiring early enables low-pressure and intentional lifestyles (and an ability to focus on family and friends), low-carbon footprints (with low impacts on the environment), and the embodiment of a frugal virtue. This chapter explores what a #frugal living EHM looks like and how it brings together people around shared values and lifestyle practices for personal peace of mind, social justice, and long-term sustainability.


Author(s):  
Tony Jackson ◽  
William Lynch

Effective climate change actions demand collaborative action from public bodies at all levels, placing local governance at the forefront of delivery. Scottish legislation imposes some of the most demanding legally-binding requirements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions currently to be found anywhere in the world. The new climate change obligations on Scottish local government are reviewed in the context of current Scottish emissions and UK energy policies. Analysis indicates that the pattern of carbon consumption rather than its production must be targeted, and that local government is well-placed to deliver many of the policies to this end. Case studies of Fife and Highland Councils show how Scottish local authorities (SLAs) are planning to discharge their climate change mitigation and adaptation responsibilities. Energy efficiency is driving the mitigation of carbon consumption, while new techniques for measuring carbon footprints are being used to adapt the development process to a low carbon mode. SLAs must pursue low-cost local climate change solutions not just to enhance the resilience of Scottish communities but also to demonstrate the feasibility of such approaches for local governance systems elsewhere in the face of growing financial constraints. Recent changes in Scottish waste management practices indicate the potential in this respect.


Alloy Digest ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  

Abstract Outokumpu Moda 410L/4003 is a weldable, extra low carbon, Cr-Ni, ferritic stainless steel that is best suited for mildly corrosive environments such as indoors, where the material is either not exposed to contact with water or gets regularly wiped dry, or outdoors, where some discoloration and superficial rusting are acceptable. It is a low-cost alternative to low-carbon non-alloy steels in certain applications. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, and joining. Filing Code: SS-1330. Producer or source: Outokumpu Oyj.


2021 ◽  
pp. 074391562110088
Author(s):  
Luca Panzone ◽  
Alistair Ulph ◽  
Denis Hilton ◽  
Ilse Gortemaker ◽  
Ibrahim Tajudeen

The increase in global temperatures requires substantial reductions in the greenhouse emissions from consumer choices. We use an experimental incentive-compatible online supermarket to analyse the effect of a carbon-based choice architecture, which presents commodities to customers in high, medium and low carbon footprint groups, in reducing the carbon footprints of grocery baskets. We relate this choice architecture to two other policy interventions: a bonus-malus carbon tax on all grocery products; and moral goal priming, using an online banner noting the moral importance of reducing one’s carbon footprint. Participants shopped from their home in an online store containing 612 existing food products and 39 existing non-food products for which we had data on carbon footprint, over three successive weeks, with the interventions occurring in the second and third weeks. Choice architecture reduced carbon footprint significantly in the third week by reducing the proportion of choices made in the high-carbon aisle. The carbon tax reduced carbon footprint in both weeks, primarily by reducing overall spend. The goal priming banner led to a small reduction in carbon footprint in the second week only. Thus, the design of the marketplace plays an important role in achieving the policy objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1929
Author(s):  
Yongmao Xiao ◽  
Wei Yan ◽  
Ruping Wang ◽  
Zhigang Jiang ◽  
Ying Liu

The optimization of blank design is the key to the implementation of a green innovation strategy. The process of blank design determines more than 80% of resource consumption and environmental emissions during the blank processing. Unfortunately, the traditional blank design method based on function and quality is not suitable for today’s sustainable development concept. In order to solve this problem, a research method of blank design optimization based on a low-carbon and low-cost process route optimization is proposed. Aiming at the processing characteristics of complex box type blank parts, the concept of the workstep element is proposed to represent the characteristics of machining parts, a low-carbon and low-cost multi-objective optimization model is established, and relevant constraints are set up. In addition, an intelligent generation algorithm of a working step chain is proposed, and combined with a particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the optimization model. Finally, the feasibility and practicability of the method are verified by taking the processing of the blank of an emulsion box as an example. The data comparison shows that the comprehensive performance of the low-carbon and low-cost multi-objective optimization is the best, which meets the requirements of low-carbon processing, low-cost, and sustainable production.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Reusswig

Stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions at a level that prevents a global warming beyond plus two degree celsius is a formidable challenge. The required emission reductions can only be achieved by a series of technological, organizational and social innovations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 62-64 ◽  
pp. 723-727
Author(s):  
C.O. Ilechie ◽  
G.F. Aibangbee ◽  
S.R. Ogblechi ◽  
P.E. Amiolemhen

An alternative source of heat energy to firewood called, palm waste briquette, has been developed from oil palm fruit process wastes. These wastes (sludge, shell, fibre) are compounded in a volumetric ratio of 1:2:3 and moulded into briquettes. The performance evaluation of a low cost women friendly palm waste briquette moulding machine was carried out. The evaluation showed that the machine designed and fabricated using readily available low carbon steel (mild steel) and employing the vertical screw thread mechanism in its operation, produces three different sizes of briquette (industrial sizes, medium sizes and domestic sizes). It requires only two unskilled operators and has a daily throughput of about 1,300kg briquettes (i.e. 400 pieces-industrial size or 800 pieces-medium size or 1,600 pieces-domestic size) unlike a modified brick moulding machine which has a daily throughput of 120 pieces industrial size


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhuo Huang ◽  
Yosuke Shigetomi ◽  
Andrew Chapman ◽  
Ken’ichi Matsumoto

In order to meet climate change mitigation goals, nations such as Japan need to consider strategies to reduce the impact that lifestyles have on overall emission levels. This study analyzes carbon footprints from household consumption (i.e., lifestyles) using index and structural decomposition analysis for the time period from 1990 to 2005. The analysis identified that households in their 40s and 50s had the highest levels of both direct and indirect CO2 emissions, with decomposition identifying consumption patterns as the driving force behind these emissions and advances in CO2 reduction technology having a reducing effect on lifestyle emissions. An additional challenge addressed by this study is the aging, shrinking population phenomenon in Japan. The increase in the number of few-member and elderly households places upward pressure on emissions as the aging population and declining national birth rate continues. The analysis results offer two mitigatory policy suggestions: the focusing of carbon reduction policies on older and smaller households, and the education of consumers toward low-carbon consumption habits. As the aging, shrinking population phenomenon is not unique to Japan, the findings of this research have broad applications globally where these demographic shifts are being experienced.


Author(s):  
Zhang Hang ◽  
Wan Jun

The slow traffic system, which has a series of advantages including low cost of traveling, green environment protection and fewer resource-consuming, indicates its important role in the urban traffic system. This paper, through the research on the slow traffic system and based on current slow traffic system construction, puts forward new urban traffic mode including connection of “BRT (bus rapid transit) and PBFR (public bike free rental), integration of NBT (Normal Bus Transit) and TBB (take bicycle on bus), and planning of SCF (special cycle facilities) and SFW (special foot way) and NBT(normal bus transit).Finally, the paper Prouides a reference for exploring urban green and sustained development.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Benato ◽  
Anna Stoppato

Renewable energy sources are the most useful way to generate clean energy and guide the transition toward green power generation and a low-carbon economy. Among renewables, the best alternative to electricity generation from fossil fuels is solar energy because it is the most abundant and does not release pollutants during conversion processes. Despite the photovoltaic (PV) module ability to produce electricity in an eco-friendly way, PV cells are extremely sensitive to temperature increments. This can result in efficiency drop of 0.25%/ ∘ C to 0.5%/ ∘ C. To overcome this issue, manufacturers and researchers are devoted to the improvement of PV cell efficiency by decreasing operating temperature. For this purpose, the authors have developed a low-cost and high-performance PV cooling system that can drastically reduce module operating temperature. In the present work, the authors present a set of experimental measurements devoted to selecting the PV cooling arrangement that guarantees the best compromise of water-film uniformity, module temperature reduction, water-consumption minimization, and module power production maximization. Results show that a cooling system equipped with 3 nozzles characterized by a spraying angle of 90 ∘ , working with an inlet pressure of 1.5 bar, and which remains active for 30 s and is switched off for 120 s, can reduce module temperature by 28 ∘ C and improve the module efficiency by about 14%. In addition, cost per single module of the cooling system is only 15 €.


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