Quantifying water–energy links and related carbon emissions in cities

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Kenway ◽  
P. Lant ◽  
T. Priestley
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Average Case ◽  
Related Energy

To date, key water–energy connections have not been systematically quantified. Nor has their potential for contributing to greenhouse gas mitigation been evaluated. Lack of knowledge of these links, particularly within cities, is viewed as a major limitation to energy-sensitive urban water management and integrated urban design. This paper fills part of this void. The key contribution is a new conceptual model coupled with a systematic review of the connections of influence. Drawing on Australian and international data, the results provide a structured estimate of water-related energy use and associated emissions in a hypothetical city of 1,000,000 people. This demonstrates that water-related energy use accounts for 13% of total electricity and 18% of the natural gas used by the population in the average case. This represents 9% of the total primary energy demand within Australia or 8% of total national territorial greenhouse gas emissions. Residential, industrial and commercial water-related energy use constitutes 86% of water-related greenhouse gas emissions. We conclude that urban water is a significant and overlooked lever that could significantly influence urban energy consumption.

Urban water-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions

2014 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. E86-E97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Oppenheimer ◽  
Mohammad Badruzzaman ◽  
Robyn McGuckin ◽  
Joseph G. Jacangelo
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Urban Water Cycle

scholarly journals Impact analysis of energy efficiency measures in the electrolysis process in primary aluminium production

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-184
Author(s):  
Joakim Haraldsson ◽  
Maria Therese Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Energy Efficiency Measures ◽  
Aluminium Industry ◽  
Electrolysis Process ◽  
Efficiency Measures

The Paris Agreement includes the goals of ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels’ and ‘making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions’. Industrial energy efficiency will play an important role in meeting those goals as well as becoming a competitive advantage due to reduced costs for companies. The aluminium industry is energy intensive and uses fossil fuels both for energy purposes and as reaction material. Additionally, the aluminium industry uses significant amounts of electricity. The electrolysis process in the primary production of aluminium is the most energy- and carbon-intensive process within the aluminium industry. The aim of this paper is to study the effects on primary energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and costs when three energy efficiency measures are implemented in the electrolysis process. The effects on the primary energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and costs are calculated by multiplying the savings in final energy use by a primary energy factor, emissions factor and price of electricity, respectively. The results showed significant savings in primary energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and cost from the implementation of the three measures. These results only indicate the size of the potential savings and a site-specific investigation needs to be conducted for each plant. This paper is a part of a research project conducted in close cooperation with the Swedish aluminium industry.

scholarly journals Global Transportation Demand Development with Impacts on the Energy Demand and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in a Climate-Constrained World

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siavash Khalili ◽  
Eetu Rantanen ◽  
Dmitrii Bogdanov ◽  
Christian Breyer
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Synthetic Fuels ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Transportation Demand ◽  
Final Energy Demand

The pivotal target of the Paris Agreement is to keep temperature rise well below 2 °C above the pre-industrial level and pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5 °C. To meet this target, all energy-consuming sectors, including the transport sector, need to be restructured. The transport sector accounted for 19% of the global final energy demand in 2015, of which the vast majority was supplied by fossil fuels (around 31,080 TWh). Fossil-fuel consumption leads to greenhouse gas emissions, which accounted for about 8260 MtCO2eq from the transport sector in 2015. This paper examines the transportation demand that can be expected and how alternative transportation technologies along with new sustainable energy sources can impact the energy demand and emissions trend in the transport sector until 2050. Battery-electric vehicles and fuel-cell electric vehicles are the two most promising technologies for the future on roads. Electric ships and airplanes for shorter distances and hydrogen-based synthetic fuels for longer distances may appear around 2030 onwards to reduce the emissions from the marine and aviation transport modes. The rail mode will remain the least energy-demanding, compared to other transport modes. An ambitious scenario for achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is applied, also demonstrating the very high relevance of direct and indirect electrification of the transport sector. Fossil-fuel demand can be reduced to zero by 2050; however, the electricity demand is projected to rise from 125 TWhel in 2015 to about 51,610 TWhel in 2050, substantially driven by indirect electricity demand for the production of synthetic fuels. While the transportation demand roughly triples from 2015 to 2050, substantial efficiency gains enable an almost stable final energy demand for the transport sector, as a consequence of broad electrification. The overall well-to-wheel efficiency in the transport sector increases from 26% in 2015 to 39% in 2050, resulting in a respective reduction of overall losses from primary energy to mechanical energy in vehicles. Power-to-fuels needed mainly for marine and aviation transport is not a significant burden for overall transport sector efficiency. The primary energy base of the transport sector switches in the next decades from fossil resources to renewable electricity, driven by higher efficiency and sustainability.

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