Assessment of Life Cycle Emissions of Bio-SPKs for Jet Engines

Author(s):  
Kadambari Lokesh ◽  
Atma Prakash ◽  
Vishal Sethi ◽  
Eric Goodger ◽  
Pericles Pilidis

Bio-Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK) is one of the most anticipated renewable energy to conventional Jet kerosene (CJK). Bio-SPK is plant lipid which is thermo-chemically converted to kerosene like compositions to serve as “Drop-in” biojet fuel. The environmental impact of Bio-SPK is to be understood to determine its potential as a carbon neutral / negative fuel. Assessment of Life Cycle Emissions of Bio-SPKs (ALCEmB) aims to deliver a quantitative, life cycle centered emissions (LCE) model, reporting the process related-carbon footprint of Bio-SPKs. This study also encompasses the key emission-suppressing feature associated with biofuels, termed as “Biomass Credit”. The Bio-SPKs chosen for this analysis and ranked based on their “Well-to-Wake” emissions are Camelina SPK, Microalgae SPK and Jatropha SPK. The Greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted at each stage of their life cycles have been represented in the form of CO2 equivalents and the LCE of each of the Bio-SPKs were weighed against that of a reference fuel, the CJK. Camelina SPK among the three Bio-SPKs analyzed, was determined to have a relatively lower carbon footprint with a <70% carbon reduction relative to CJK followed by Jatropha SPK and Microalgae SPK respectively. In general, Bio-SPKs were able to reduce their overall LCE by 60–70%, at baseline scenario, relative to its fossil derived counterpart.

Author(s):  
Michaela R. Appleby ◽  
Chris G. Lambert ◽  
Allan E. W. Rennie ◽  
Adam B. Buckley

The effects of climate change and government legislation has changed the way in which manufacturers can dispose of their waste, encouraging SMEs to source alternative disposal methods such as those indicated in the waste hierarchy. It is economically and environmentally beneficial to use product recovery methods to divert waste from landfill. The environmental impact of two product recovery methods, remanufacturing and repairing, has been compared via a carbon footprint calculation for a UK-based SME. The calculation has identified that repairing has a lower carbon footprint than remanufacturing, however this only extends the original life-cycle of the product, whereas remanufacturing provides a new life-cycle and warranty, and therefore seen as the most preferable method of product recovery to support sustainable manufacturing.


Author(s):  
Michaela R. Appleby ◽  
Chris G. Lambert ◽  
Allan E. W. Rennie ◽  
Adam B. Buckley

The effects of climate change and government legislation has changed the way in which manufacturers can dispose of their waste, encouraging SMEs to source alternative disposal methods such as those indicated in the waste hierarchy. It is economically and environmentally beneficial to use product recovery methods to divert waste from landfill. The environmental impact of two product recovery methods, remanufacturing and repairing, has been compared via a carbon footprint calculation for a UK-based SME. The calculation has identified that repairing has a lower carbon footprint than remanufacturing, however this only extends the original life-cycle of the product, whereas remanufacturing provides a new life-cycle and warranty, and therefore seen as the most preferable method of product recovery to support sustainable manufacturing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 773 ◽  
pp. 145573
Author(s):  
Ricardo González-Quintero ◽  
Diana María Bolívar-Vergara ◽  
Ngonidzashe Chirinda ◽  
Jacobo Arango ◽  
Heiber Pantevez ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Norasikin Ahmad Ludin ◽  
Nurfarhana Alyssa Ahmad Affandi ◽  
Kathleen Purvis-Roberts ◽  
Azah Ahmad ◽  
Mohd Adib Ibrahim ◽  
...  

Sustainability has been greatly impacted by the reality of budgets and available resources as a targeted range of carbon emission reduction greatly increases due to climate change. This study analyses the technical and economic feasibility for three types of solar photovoltaic (PV) renewable energy (RE) systems; (i) solar stand-alone, a non-grid-connected building rooftop-mounted structure, (ii) solar rooftop, a grid-connected building rooftop-mounted structure, (iii) solar farm, a grid-connected land-mounted structure in three tropical climate regions. Technical scientific and economic tools, including life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) with an integrated framework from a Malaysian case study were applied to similar climatic regions, Thailand, and Indonesia. The short-term, future scaled-up scenario was defined using a proxy technology and estimated data. Environmental locations for this scenario were identified, the environmental impacts were compared, and the techno-economic output were analysed. The scope of this study is cradle-to-grave. Levelised cost of energy (LCOE) was greatly affected due to PV performance degradation rate, especially the critical shading issues for large-scale installations. Despite the land use impact, increased CO2 emissions accumulate over time with regard to energy mix of the country, which requires the need for long-term procurement of both carbon and investment return. With regards to profitably, grid-connected roof-mounted systems achieve the lowest LCOE as compared to other types of installation, ranging from 0.0491 USD/kWh to 0.0605 USD/kWh under a 6% discounted rate. A simple payback (SPB) time between 7–10 years on average depends on annual power generated by the system with estimated energy payback of 0.40–0.55 years for common polycrystalline photovoltaic technology. Thus, maintaining the whole system by ensuring a low degradation rate of 0.2% over a long period of time is essential to generate benefits for both investors and the environment. Emerging technologies are progressing at an exponential rate in order to fill the gap of establishing renewable energy as an attractive business plan. Life cycle assessment is considered an excellent tool to assess the environmental impact of renewable energy.


Author(s):  
Giulia Borghesi ◽  
Giuseppe Vignali

Agriculture and food manufacturing have a considerable effect on the environment emissions: holdings and farms play an important role about greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. This study aims at evaluating the environmental impact of one of the most important Italian DOP product: organic Parmesan Cheese. Environmental performances of the whole dairy supply chain have been assessed according to the life cycle assessment approach (LCA). In this analysis Parmesan Cheese is made from an organic dairy farm in Emilia Romagna, which uses the milk from three different organic livestock productions. Organic agriculture is different from conventional; the major difference is represented by the avoidance of the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides made in chemical industry process. Organic agriculture uses organic fertilizers to encourage the natural fertility of the soil respecting the environment and the agro-system. In this case, life cycle approach is used to assess the carbon footprint and the water footprint of organic Parmesan Cheese considering the milk and cheese production. The object at this level is investigating the environmental impact considering the situation before some improvement changes. The functional unit is represented by 1 kg of organic Parmesan Cheese; inventory data refer to the situation in year 2017 and system boundaries consider the inputs related to the cattle and dairy farm until the ripening (included). The carbon footprint is investigated using IPCC 2013 Global Warming Potential (GWP) 100a method, developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and reported in kg of CO2eq. Otherwise, water footprint allows to measure the water consumption and in this work it is assessed using AWARE method (Available Water REmaining).


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janusz Adamczyk ◽  
Robert Dylewski

Energy saving is at the heart of sustainable development in the context of climate change. Saving energy is not only the amount of energy that we save, but also reducing emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere, as well as reducing the consumption of energy resources that are used to produce energy. Reducing pollutant emissions and the use of energy resources can be achieved by increasing the use of renewable energy sources, but at present, this method of obtaining energy in the world is not representative. It should be noted that renewable energy devices throughout the life cycle generate environmental impact. Similar to this situation, the building’s thermo-modernization, which is focused on reducing the pressure on the environment of the building’s user, also has an impact on the environment throughout the building’s life cycle. Determining this environmental impact and ecological or economic benefits or costs is the purpose of the following article. Thermo-modernization of the building, for the purposes of the article, is understood as thermal insulation of walls and replacement of the heat source for heating the building and preparation of hot utility water. The need to replace the heat source with a much more ecological one results in Poland from provincial legal regulations announced by virtue of a resolution. In the study, data from the Ecoinvent data library included in the SimaPro computer program was used for the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis. As a result of thermo-modernization of the representative buildings, large ecological benefits were obtained, while economic costs remain at a high level.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5656
Author(s):  
Nurullah Yildiz ◽  
Hassan Hemida ◽  
Charalampos Baniotopoulos

The intensive increase of global warming every year affects our world negatively and severely. The use of renewable energy sources has gained importance in reducing and eliminating the effect of global warming. To this end, new technologies are being developed to facilitate the use of these resources. One of these technological developments is the floating wind turbine. In order to evaluate the respective environmental footprint of these systems, a life cycle assessment (LCA) is herein applied. In this study, the environmental impact of floating wind turbines is investigated using a life cycle assessment approach and the results are compared with the respective ones of onshore and jacket offshore wind turbines of the same power capacity. The studied floating wind turbine has a square foundation that is open at its centre and is connected to the seabed with a synthetic fibre-nylon anchorage system. The environmental impact of all life cycles of such a structure, i.e., the manufacture, the operation, the disposal, and the recycling stages of the wind turbines, has been evaluated. For these floating wind turbines, it has been found that the greatest environmental impact corresponds to the manufacturing stage, whilst the global warming potential and the energy payback time of a 2 MW floating wind turbine of a barge-type platform is higher than that of the onshore, the jacket offshore (2 MW) and the floating (5 MW) wind turbines on a sway floating platform.


Author(s):  
Chantelle Rizan ◽  
Mahmood F. Bhutta

Abstract Background Hybrid surgical instruments contain both single-use and reusable components, potentially bringing together advantages from both approaches. The environmental and financial costs of such instruments have not previously been evaluated. Methods We used Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of hybrid laparoscopic clip appliers, scissors, and ports used for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, comparing these with single-use equivalents. We modelled this using SimaPro and ReCiPe midpoint and endpoint methods to determine 18 midpoint environmental impacts including the carbon footprint, and three aggregated endpoint impacts. We also conducted life cycle cost analysis of products, taking into account unit cost, decontamination, and disposal costs. Results The environmental impact of using hybrid instruments for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy was lower than single-use equivalents across 17 midpoint environmental impacts, with mean average reductions of 60%. The carbon footprint of using hybrid versions of all three instruments was around one-quarter of single-use equivalents (1756 g vs 7194 g CO2e per operation) and saved an estimated 1.13 e−5 DALYs (disability adjusted life years, 74% reduction), 2.37 e−8 species.year (loss of local species per year, 76% reduction), and US $ 0.6 in impact on resource depletion (78% reduction). Scenario modelling indicated that environmental performance of hybrid instruments was better even if there was low number of reuses of instruments, decontamination with separate packaging of certain instruments, decontamination using fossil-fuel-rich energy sources, or changing carbon intensity of instrument transportation. Total financial cost of using a combination of hybrid laparoscopic instruments was less than half that of single-use equivalents (GBP £131 vs £282). Conclusion Adoption of hybrid laparoscopic instruments could play an important role in meeting carbon reduction targets for surgery and also save money.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Effrosyni Giama

Buildings are responsible for approximately 30–40% of energy consumption in Europe, and this is a fact. Along with this fact is also evident the existence of a defined and strict legislation framework regarding energy efficiency, decarbonization, sustainability, and renewable energy systems in building applications. Moreover, information and communication technologies, along with smart metering for efficient monitoring, has come to cooperate with a building’s systems (smart buildings) to aim for more advanced and efficient energy management. Furthermore, the well-being in buildings still remains a crucial issue, especially nowadays that health and air quality are top priority goals for occupants. Taking all the above into consideration, this paper aims to analyze ventilation technologies in relation to energy consumption and environmental impact assessment using the life cycle approach. Based on the review analysis of the existing ventilation technologies, the emphasis is given to parameters related to the efficient technical design of ventilation systems and their adequate maintenance under the defined guidelines and standards of mechanical ventilation operation. These criteria can be the answer to the complicated issue of energy efficiency along with indoor air quality targets. The ventilation systems are presented in cooperation with heating and cooling system operations and renewable energy system applications ensuring an energy upgrade and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, the mechanical ventilation is examined in a non-residential building in Greece. The system is compared with the conventional construction typology of the building and in cooperation with PVs installation in terms of the environmental impact assessment and energy efficiency. The methodology implemented for the environmental evaluation is the Life Cycle Analysis supported by OpenLca software.


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