Quantitative Policy Analysis for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Technologies

This paper quantifies the impact of different policy options on the economic viability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production technologies. The pathways considered include isobutanol to jet from corn grain, hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) from inedible fats and oils, HEFA from palm fatty acid distillate, synthesized iso-paraffins from sugarcane, Fischer-Tropsch (FT) gasification and synthesis from municipal solid waste, and micro FT from wood residues. The policies considered include feedstock subsidies, capital grants, output based incentives, and two policies intended to reduce project risk. Stochastic techno-economic analysis models are used to quantify the policies’ impact on project net present value and minimum selling price of the middle distillate fuel products. None of the technology pathways studied are found to be financially viable without policy aid. The median total policy costs required for economic viability range from 35 to 337 million USD per production facility, or 0.07–0.71 USD/liter. Our results indicate that the cumulative impact of multiple policies, similar in magnitude to analogous real-world fuel policies, could result in economically viable SAF production.

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Gas to Liquids Techno-Economics of Associated Natural Gas, Bio Gas, and Landfill Gas

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr9091568 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1568

Author(s):

Federico Galli ◽

Jun-Jie Lai ◽

Jacopo De Tommaso ◽

Gianluca Pauletto ◽

Gregory S. Patience

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Landfill Gas ◽

Labor Cost ◽

Variable Cost ◽

Selling Price ◽

Present Value ◽

Fischer Tropsch ◽

Gas To Liquids ◽

The Impact

Methane is the second highest contributor to the greenhouse effect. Its global warming potential is 37 times that of CO2. Flaring-associated natural gas from remote oil reservoirs is currently the only economical alternative. Gas-to-liquid (GtL) technologies first convert natural gas into syngas, then it into liquids such as methanol, Fischer–Tropsch fuels or dimethyl ether. However, studies on the influence of feedstock composition are sparse, which also poses technical design challenges. Here, we examine the techno-economic analysis of a micro-refinery unit (MRU) that partially oxidizes methane-rich feedstocks and polymerizes the syngas formed via Fischer–Tropsch reaction. We consider three methane-containing waste gases: natural gas, biogas, and landfill gas. The FT fuel selling price is critical for the economy of the unit. A Monte Carlo simulation assesses the influence of the composition on the final product quantity as well as on the capital and operative expenses. The Aspen Plus simulation and Python calculate the net present value and payback time of the MRU for different price scenarios. The CO2 content in biogas and landfill gas limit the CO/H2 ratio to 1.3 and 0.9, respectively, which increases the olefins content of the final product. Compressors are the main source of capital cost while the labor cost represents 20–25% of the variable cost. An analysis of the impact of the plant dimension demonstrated that the higher number represents a favorable business model for this unit. A minimal production of 7,300,000 kg y−1 is required for MRU to have a positive net present value after 10 years when natural gas is the feedstock.

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Lifecycle greenhouse gas footprint and minimum selling price of renewable diesel and jet fuel from fermentation and advanced fermentation production technologies

Energy & Environmental Science ◽

10.1039/c3ee43655a ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 1545-1554 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Mark D. Staples ◽

Robert Malina ◽

Hakan Olcay ◽

Matthew N. Pearlson ◽

James I. Hileman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Economic Analysis ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Jet Fuel ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Selling Price ◽

Fuel Production ◽

Middle Distillate ◽

Middle Distillate Fuel ◽

Production Technologies ◽

Distillate Fuel

A techno-economic analysis of the environmental and economic feasibility of middle distillate fuel productionviafermentation and advanced fermentation technologies.

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VIABILIDADE DE PROJETOS FLORESTAIS EM TRÊS REGIMES DE MANEJO NA MESORREGIÃO CENTRO-ORIENTAL DO PARANÁ

FLORESTA ◽

10.5380/rf.v44i1.30096 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 153 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

William Tomaz Folmann ◽

Gabriel de Magalhães Miranda ◽

Andrea Nogueira Dias ◽

Fernando de Camargo Moro ◽

Maria Laura Quevedo Fernandez

Keyword(s):

Pinus Taeda ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Market Price ◽

Economic Viability ◽

Selling Price ◽

Multiple Use ◽

Oriental Region ◽

Management Regime ◽

Planning Department ◽

Pinus Taeda L

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi analisar a viabilidade econômica de projetos florestais de Pinus taeda L. com base em dados de uma empresa florestal localizada no estado do Paraná. A análise de rentabilidade foi feita contemplando oito projetos, subdivididos em três diferentes regimes de manejo, localizados na mesorregião centro-oriental do Paraná. A viabilidade econômica foi avaliada por meio de Valor Presente Líquido (VPL), Taxa Interna de Retorno (TIR), Valor Periódico Equivalente (VPE) e Valor Esperado da Terra (VET), calculados com base no fluxo de caixa de cada projeto, utilizando-se a taxa de juros real de 6,75% ao ano. Os volumes utilizados foram obtidos de acordo com os sortimentos adotados para a espécie no Paraná, e os custos foram obtidos junto ao setor de planejamento da empresa. Os preços de venda da madeira em pé utilizados na análise foram oriundos do preço médio de mercado no estado, de acordo com o sortimento. O regime de manejo que apresentou melhores resultados foi o multiple use, com VPL de R$ 2.606,32; TIR de 10,2%; VPE de R$ 241,26 e VET de R$ 4.193,39.Palavras-chave: Rentabilidade; economia florestal; indicadores de viabilidade econômica. AbstractViability of forest projects in three management regime in the center-oriental region of Parana State. The objective of this research was to analyze the economic viability of the forest projects of Pinus taeda based on data from a forest enterprise located on the Parana State. The profit analyze was developed contemplating eight projects, subdivided in three different management regime, located in the Center-Oriental region of the Parana State. The economic viability was evaluated based on the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Return Rate (IRR), Periodic Equivalent Value (PEV) and the Soil Expected Value (SEV), determined by cash flow, with a real interest rate of 6.75% per year. The volumes used were described based on assortment used for the species in Paraná, and the costs were from the planning department of the enterprise. The selling price of the stand-up wood used in the analyze was obtained by the average market price in the state, according to the assortment. The management regime that presented the best results was the multiple use, with NPV of R$2,606.32; IRR of 10.2%; PEV of R$241.26 and SEV of R$4,193.39.Keywords: Profit; forest economy; economic viability indicators.

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ACOUSTIC PANEL CHICKEN FEATHER WASTE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

10.31224/osf.io/ge89b ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ansarullah ◽

Ramli Rahim ◽

Baharuddin Hamzah ◽

Asniawaty Kusno ◽

Muhammad Tayeb

Keyword(s):

Animal Feed ◽

Environmentally Friendly ◽

Selling Price ◽

Chicken Feather ◽

Chicken Feathers ◽

The Road ◽

Feather Waste ◽

Chicken Feather Waste ◽

Almost All ◽

The Impact

Chicken feathers are the result of waste from slaughterhouses and billions ofkilograms of waste produced by various kinds of poultry processing. This hal is a veryserious problem for the environment because it causes the impact of pollution. Hasmany utilization of chicken feather waste such as making komocen, accessories,upholstery materials, making brackets to the manufacture of animal feed but from theresults of this activity cannot reduce the production of chicken feathers that hiscontinuously increase every year. This is due to the fact that the selling price of chickenmeat has been reached by consumers with middle to upper economic levels. This caneasily be a chicken menu in almost all restaurants and restaurants to the food stalls onthe side of the road. An alternative way of utilizing chicken feathers is to makecomposite materials in the form of panels. Recent studies have shown that the pvacmaterial can be utilized as a mixing and adhesive material with mashed or groundfeathered composites to form a panel that can later be used as an acoustic material.The test results show that the absorption of chicken feathers and pvac glue into panelscan absorb sound well with an absorption coefficient of 0.59, light. This result is veryeconomical so it is worth to be recommended as an acoustic material. Apart from theresults of research methods carried out is one of the environmentally friendly activitiesin particular the handling of waste problems

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Market buoyancy, information transparency and pricing strategy in the Scottish housing market

Urban Studies ◽

10.1177/0042098021991784 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 004209802199178

Author(s):

Nan Liu

Keyword(s):

Pricing Strategy ◽

Selling Price ◽

Trade Off ◽

Information Transparency ◽

North East ◽

Sealed Bid ◽

Strategy Changes ◽

The Impact ◽

Role Of Information

In housing markets there is a trade-off between selling time and selling price, with pricing strategy being the balancing act between the two. Motivated by the Home Report scheme in Scotland, this paper investigates the role of information symmetry played in such a trade-off. Empirically, this study tests if sellers’ pricing strategy changes when more information becomes available and whether this, in turn, affects the trade-off between the selling price and selling time. Using housing transaction data of North-East Scotland between 1998Q2 and 2018Q2, the findings show that asking price has converged to the predicted price of the property since the introduction of the Home Report. While information transparency reduces the effect of ‘overpricing’ on selling time, there is little evidence to show that it reduces the impact of pricing strategy on the final selling price in the sealed-bid context.

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Association of temporary Environmental Protection Agency regulation suspension with industrial economic viability and local air quality in California, United States

Environmental Sciences Europe ◽

10.1186/s12302-021-00489-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Emily Chang ◽

Kenneth Zhang ◽

Margaret Paczkowski ◽

Sara Kohler ◽

Marco Ribeiro

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Air Quality ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

Manufacturing Industry ◽

Economic Viability ◽

Treatment Control ◽

Oil Refineries ◽

Pollution Levels ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background This study seeks to answer two questions about the impacts of the 2020 Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement regulation rollbacks: is this suspension bolstering the economic viability of industries as oil and manufacturing executives claim they will and are these regulations upholding the agency’s mission of protecting the environment? Results To answer the former question, we utilized 6 months of state employment level data from California, United States, as a method of gauging the economic health of agency-regulated industries. We implemented a machine learning model to predict weekly employment data and a t-test to indicate any significant changes in employment. We found that, following California's state-issued stay-at-home order and the agency’s regulation suspension, oil and certain manufacturing industries had statistically significant lower employment values. To answer the latter question, we used 10 years of PM2.5 levels in California, United States, as a metric for local air quality and treatment–control county pairs to isolate the impact of regulation rollbacks from the impacts of the state lockdown. Using the agency’s data, we performed a t-test to determine whether treatment–control county pairs experienced a significant change in PM2.5 levels. Even with the statewide lockdown—a measure we hypothesized would correlate with decreased mobility and pollution levels—in place, counties with oil refineries experienced the same air pollution levels when compared to historical data averaged from the years 2009 to 2019. Conclusions In contrast to the expectation that the suspension would improve the financial health of the oil and manufacturing industry, we can conclude that these industries are not witnessing economic growth with the suspension and state shutdown in place. Additionally, counties with oil refineries could be taking advantage of these rollbacks to continue emitting the same amount of PM2.5, in spite of state lockdowns. For these reasons, we ask international policymakers to reconsider the suspension of enforcement regulations as these actions do not fulfill their initial expectations. We recommend the creation and maintenance of pollution control and prevention programs that develop emission baselines, mandate the construction of pollution databases, and update records of pollution emissions.

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A Hybrid Energy System Workflow for Energy Portfolio Optimization

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14154392 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (15) ◽

pp. 4392

Author(s):

Jia Zhou ◽

Hany Abdel-Khalik ◽

Paul Talbot ◽

Cristian Rabiti

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Gaussian Process ◽

Electricity Market ◽

Process Model ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Historical Data ◽

Energy System ◽

Initial Guess ◽

Reduced Order ◽

The Impact

This manuscript develops a workflow, driven by data analytics algorithms, to support the optimization of the economic performance of an Integrated Energy System. The goal is to determine the optimum mix of capacities from a set of different energy producers (e.g., nuclear, gas, wind and solar). A stochastic-based optimizer is employed, based on Gaussian Process Modeling, which requires numerous samples for its training. Each sample represents a time series describing the demand, load, or other operational and economic profiles for various types of energy producers. These samples are synthetically generated using a reduced order modeling algorithm that reads a limited set of historical data, such as demand and load data from past years. Numerous data analysis methods are employed to construct the reduced order models, including, for example, the Auto Regressive Moving Average, Fourier series decomposition, and the peak detection algorithm. All these algorithms are designed to detrend the data and extract features that can be employed to generate synthetic time histories that preserve the statistical properties of the original limited historical data. The optimization cost function is based on an economic model that assesses the effective cost of energy based on two figures of merit: the specific cash flow stream for each energy producer and the total Net Present Value. An initial guess for the optimal capacities is obtained using the screening curve method. The results of the Gaussian Process model-based optimization are assessed using an exhaustive Monte Carlo search, with the results indicating reasonable optimization results. The workflow has been implemented inside the Idaho National Laboratory’s Risk Analysis and Virtual Environment (RAVEN) framework. The main contribution of this study addresses several challenges in the current optimization methods of the energy portfolios in IES: First, the feasibility of generating the synthetic time series of the periodic peak data; Second, the computational burden of the conventional stochastic optimization of the energy portfolio, associated with the need for repeated executions of system models; Third, the inadequacies of previous studies in terms of the comparisons of the impact of the economic parameters. The proposed workflow can provide a scientifically defendable strategy to support decision-making in the electricity market and to help energy distributors develop a better understanding of the performance of integrated energy systems.

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Computer Model for Financial, Environmental and Risk Analysis of a Wind–Diesel Hybrid System with Compressed Air Energy Storage

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12214054 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (21) ◽

pp. 4054 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Youssef Benchaabane ◽

Rosa Elvira Silva ◽

Hussein Ibrahim ◽

Adrian Ilinca ◽

Ambrish Chandra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Energy Storage ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Hybrid System ◽

Computer Model ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Compressed Air ◽

Compressed Air Energy Storage ◽

The Impact

Remote and isolated communities in Canada experience gaps in access to stable energy sources and must rely on diesel generators for heat and electricity. However, the cost and environmental impact resulting from the use of fossil fuels, especially in local energy production, heating, industrial processes and transportation are compelling reasons to support the development and deployment of renewable energy hybrid systems. This paper presents a computer model for economic analysis and risk assessment of a wind–diesel hybrid system with compressed air energy storage. The proposed model is developed from the point of view of the project investor and it includes technical, financial, risk and environmental analysis. Robustness is evaluated through sensitivity analysis. The model has been validated by comparing the results of a wind–diesel case study against those obtained using HOMER (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States) and RETScreen (Natural Resources Canada, Government of Canada, Canada) software. The impact on economic performance of adding energy storage system in a wind–diesel hybrid system has been discussed. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of such hybrid system as a suitable power generator in terms of high net present value and internal rate of return, low cost of energy, as well as low risk assessment. In addition, the environmental impact is positive since less fuel is used.

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910. A Comprehensive, One Year, Hospital-Wide Snapshot of All Serious Infectious Complications in People Who Inject Drugs

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofaa439.1098 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S489-S490

Author(s):

John T Henderson ◽

Evelyn Villacorta Cari ◽

Nicole Leedy ◽

Alice Thornton ◽

Donna R Burgess ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Vertebral Osteomyelitis ◽

The United States ◽

Infectious Complications ◽

Data Set ◽

Cumulative Impact ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Icu Admission ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background There has been a dramatic rise in IV drug use (IVDU) and its associated mortality and morbidity, however, the scope of this effect has not been described. Kentucky is at the epicenter of this epidemic and is an ideal place to better understand the health complications of IVDU in order to improve outcomes. Methods All adult in-patient admissions to University of Kentucky hospitals in 2018 with an Infectious Diseases (ID) consult and an ICD 9/10 code associated with IVDU underwent thorough retrospective chart review. Demographic, descriptive, and outcome data were collected and analyzed by standard statistical analysis. Results 390 patients (467 visits) met study criteria. The top illicit substances used were methamphetamine (37.2%), heroin (38.2%), and cocaine (10.3%). While only 4.1% of tested patients were HIV+, 74.2% were HCV antibody positive. Endocarditis (41.1%), vertebral osteomyelitis (20.8%), bacteremia without endocarditis (14.1%), abscess (12.4%), and septic arthritis (10.4%) were the most common infectious complications. The in-patient death rate was 3.0%, and 32.2% of patients were readmitted within the study period. The average length of stay was 26 days. In multivariable analysis, infectious endocarditis was associated with a statistically significant increase in risk of death, ICU admission, and hospital readmission. Although not statistically significant, trends toward mortality and ICU admission were identified for patients with prior endocarditis and methadone was correlated with decreased risk of readmission and ICU stay. FIGURE 1: Reported Substances Used FIGURE 2: Comorbidities FIGURE 3: Types of Severe Infectious Complications Conclusion We report on a novel, comprehensive perspective on the serious infectious complications of IVDU in an attempt to measure its cumulative impact in an unbiased way. This preliminary analysis of a much larger dataset (2008-2019) reveals some sobering statistics about the impact of IVDU in the United States. While it confirms the well accepted mortality and morbidity associated with infective endocarditis and bacteremia, there is a significant unrecognized impact of other infectious etiologies. Additional analysis of this data set will be aimed at identifying key predictive factors in poor outcomes in hopes of mitigating them. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

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The Impact of COVID-19 on the Stock Price of Socially Responsible Enterprises: An Empirical Study in Taiwan Stock Market

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041398 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1398

Author(s):

Kuo-Jung Lee ◽

Su-Lien Lu

Keyword(s):

Stock Market ◽

Stock Prices ◽

Stock Price ◽

Abnormal Returns ◽

Recovery Phase ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Cumulative Impact ◽

Study Approach ◽

Price Performance ◽

The Impact

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Taiwan stock market and investigates whether companies with a commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) were less affected. This study uses a selection of companies provided by CommonWealth magazine to classify the listed companies in Taiwan as CSR and non-CSR companies. The event study approach is applied to examine the change in the stock prices of CSR companies after the first COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. The empirical results indicate that the stock prices of all companies generated significantly negative abnormal returns and negative cumulative abnormal returns after the outbreak. Compared with all companies and with non-CSR companies, CSR companies were less affected by the outbreak; their stock prices were relatively resistant to the fall and they recovered faster. In addition, the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 on the stock prices of CSR companies is smaller than that of non-CSR companies on both short- and long-term bases. However, the stock price performance of non-CSR companies was not weaker than that of CSR companies during times when the impact of the pandemic was lower or during the price recovery phase.

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