scholarly journals On Reduced Consumption of Fossil Fuels in 2020 and Its Consequences in Global Environment and Exergy Demand

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 6048
Author(s):  
A. Rashedi ◽  
Taslima Khanam ◽  
Mirjam Jonkman
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Global Environment ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Terrestrial Ecotoxicity ◽  
The World

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden and abrupt change in global energy landscape. Traditional fossil fuels that serve as the linchpin of modern civilization have found their consumption has rapidly fallen across most categories due to strict lockdown and stringent measures that have been adopted to suppress the disease. These changes consequently steered various environmental benefits across the world in recent time. The present article is an attempt to investigate these environmental benefits and reversals that have been materialized in this unfolding situation due to reduced consumption of fossil fuels. The life cycle assessment tool was used hereby to evaluate nine environmental impacts and one energy based impact. These impacts include ozone formation (terrestrial ecosystems), terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, land use, mineral resources scarcity, and cumulative exergy demand. Outcomes from the study demonstrate that COVID-19 has delivered impressive changes in global environment and life cycle exergy demand, with about 11–25% curtailment in all the above-mentioned impacts in 2020 in comparison to their corresponding readings in 2019.

scholarly journals On Reduced Consumption of Fossil Fuels in 2020 and Its Consequences in Global Environment and Exergy Demand

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rashedi ◽  
Taslima Khanam ◽  
Mirjam Jonkman
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Global Environment ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Terrestrial Ecotoxicity ◽  
The World

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden and abrupt change in global energy landscape. Traditional fossil fuels that serve as the linchpin of the modern civilization have found their consumption rapidly fell across the most categories due to strict lockdown and stringent measures that have been adopted to suppress the disease. These changes consequently steered various environmental benefits across the world in recent time. The present article is an attempt to investigate these environmental benefits and reversals that have been materialized in this unfolding situation due to reduced consumption of fossil fuels. Life cycle assessment tool has been used hereby to evaluate nine environmental impacts and one energy based impact. These impacts include: ozone formation (terrestrial ecosystems), terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, land use, mineral resources scarcity and cumulative exergy demand. Outcomes from the study demonstrate that COVID-19 has delivered impressive changes in global environment and life cycle exergy demand with about 11-25% curtailment in all above-mentioned impacts in 2020 in comparison to their corresponding readings in 2019.

Introduction to an Approach to Performing Sustainability Quantification of Concrete Structures

2018 ◽  
Vol 272 ◽  
pp. 273-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Břetislav Teplý ◽  
Tomáš Vymazal ◽  
Pavla Rovnaníková
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Load Bearing Capacity ◽  
Sustainability Management ◽  
The World ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

Efficient sustainability management requires the use of tools that enable the quantification, measurement or comparison of material, technological and construction variants. Tools of this kind which have been developed around the world in recent years include various indicators, indexes, etc. Generally, technical, economic, ecological and socio-cultural areas must all be included. Such a tool can be used as a powerful marketing aid and as support for the transition to the “circular economy”. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) procedures are also used, alongside other approaches. LCA is a method that evaluates the life cycle of a structure from the point of view of its effect on the environment. Processes starting with the mining of mineral resources and including their transport, production and use up to their final processing as waste (recycling) are all taken into account. In addition, consideration is given to energy and raw material costs, and to environmental impact throughout the whole life cycle – e.g. through emissions. The presented contribution focuses on the quantification of sustainability connected with the use of various types of concrete with regard to their resistance against the effect of degrading influences. Sustainability factors are also determined using information regarding service life and “eco-costs”. The aim is to present a suitable methodology which can simplify decision-making concerning the design and choice of concrete mixes from a wider perspective, i.e. not only from the aspects of load-bearing capacity or durability.

Life Cycle Assessment of Modern Wind Power Plants

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes M. Hapke ◽  
Karl R. Haapala ◽  
Zhaohui Wu ◽  
Ted K. A. Brekken
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Wind Power Plants

Power generation for the existing electrical grid is largely based on the combustion of fossil fuels. Global concerns have been raised regarding the environmental sustainability of the system due to life cycle impacts, including land losses from fuel extraction and impacts of combustion emissions. An approach to reduce carbon emissions of fossil fuel-based energy employs the conversion of wind energy to electrical energy. The work presented describes modern wind power plants and provides an environmental assessment of a representative wind park from a life cycle perspective. The empirical analysis uses commercially available data, as well as information from an existing wind power plant. The life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a modern wind farm in the northwestern U.S. found that environmental benefits of avoiding typical electricity production greatly outweigh the impacts due to wind turbine construction and maintenance. Effects of component reliability, varying capacity factors, and energy portfolio are explored.

scholarly journals A Multi-Objective Life Cycle Optimization Model of an Integrated Algal Biorefinery toward a Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy Considering Resource Recirculation

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1416
Author(s):  
Celine Marie A. Solis ◽  
Jayne Lois G. San Juan ◽  
Andres Philip Mayol ◽  
Charlle L. Sy ◽  
Aristotle T. Ubando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Optimization Model ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Process Integration ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Process Unit ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Demand Fluctuations

Biofuel production from microalgae biomass has been considered a viable alternative to harmful fossil fuels; however, challenges are faced regarding its economic sustainability. Process integration to yield various high-value bioproducts is implemented to raise profitability and sustainability. By incorporating a circular economy outlook, recirculation of resource flows is maximized to yield economic and environmental benefits through waste minimization. However, previous modeling studies have not looked into the opportunity of integrating productivity reduction related to the continuous recirculation and reuse of resources until it reaches its end of life. In this work, a novel multi-objective optimization model is developed centered on an algal biorefinery that simultaneously optimizes cost and environmental impact, adopts the principle of resource recovery and recirculation, and incorporates the life cycle assessment methodology to properly account for the environmental impacts of the system. An algal biorefinery involving end-products such as biodiesel, glycerol, biochar, and fertilizer was used for a case study to validate the optimization model. The generated optimal results are assessed and further analyzed through scenario analysis. It was seen that demand fluctuations and process unit efficiencies have significant effect on the optimal results.

scholarly journals Devising Mineral Resource Supply Pathways to a Low-Carbon Electricity Generation by 2100

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Boubault ◽  
Nadia Maïzi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Integrated Assessment Model ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Life Cycle Inventories ◽  
The Impact

Achieving a “carbon neutral” world by 2100 or earlier in a context of economic growth implies a drastic and profound transformation of the way energy is supplied and consumed in our societies. In this paper, we use life-cycle inventories of electricity-generating technologies and an integrated assessment model (TIMES Integrated Assessment Model) to project the global raw material requirements in two scenarios: a second shared socioeconomic pathway baseline, and a 2 °C scenario by 2100. Material usage reported in the life-cycle inventories is distributed into three phases, namely construction, operation, and decommissioning. Material supply dynamics and the impact of the 2 °C warming limit are quantified for three raw fossil fuels and forty-eight metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources. Depending on the time horizon, graphite, sand, sulfur, borates, aluminum, chromium, nickel, silver, gold, rare earth elements or their substitutes could face a sharp increase in usage as a result of a massive installation of low-carbon technologies. Ignoring nonfuel resource availability and value in deep decarbonation, circular economy, or decoupling scenarios can potentially generate misleading, contradictory, or unachievable climate policies.

scholarly journals Life-Cycle Assessment of Sector-Coupled National Energy Systems: Environmental Impacts of Electricity, Heat, and Transportation in Germany Till 2050

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Baumgärtner ◽  
Sarah Deutz ◽  
Christiane Reinert ◽  
Niklas Nolzen ◽  
Lucas Elias Kuepper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Full Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Models ◽  
High Emission

National energy models provide decarbonization strategies. Most national energy models focus on costs and greenhouse gas emissions only. However, this focus carries the risk that burdens shift to other environmental impacts. Energy models have therefore been extended by life-cycle assessment (LCA). Furthermore, deep decarbonization is only possible by targeting all high-emission sectors. Thus, we present a holistic national energy model that includes high-emission sectors and LCA. The model provides detailed environmental impacts for electricity, heat, and transport processes in Germany for meeting the climate targets up to 2050. Our results show that renewable energies and storage are key technologies for decarbonized energy systems. Furthermore, sector coupling is crucial and doubles electricity demand. Our LCA shows that environmental impacts shift from operation to infrastructure highlighting the importance of an impact assessment over the full life cycle. Decarbonization leads to many environmental cobenefits; however, it also increases freshwater ecotoxicity and depletion of metal and mineral resources. Thus, holistic planning of decarbonization strategies should also consider other environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Thai Hom Mali Rice to Support the Policy Decision on Organic Farming Area Expansion

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6003
Author(s):  
Rattanawan Mungkung ◽  
Saruda Sitthikitpanya ◽  
Sarocha Dangsiri ◽  
Shabbir H. Gheewala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Rice Farming ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Organic Rice ◽  
The North ◽  
Terrestrial Ecotoxicity ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

Thailand has a strategic national policy to increase organic rice farming. This study firstly applied Life Cycle Assessment for evaluating the quantitative environmental impacts at the regional and national levels to facilitate the national policy decision on the expansion of organic rice cultivation areas. The impact categories of interest included global warming, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and freshwater ecotoxicity, and the life cycle impact assessment method applied was ReCiPe. The results showed that the life cycle environmental impacts from organic rice cultivation in the nine provinces in the North were lower than those from the 12 provinces in the Northeast, due mainly to the higher yields and lower use of fertilizers in the former. The methane emissions in the North (11,147 kg CO2e/ha) were similar to those in the Northeast (11,378 kg CO2e/ha). However, nitrous oxide emissions in the Northeast were higher than in the North due to the higher amounts of fertilizer used. If Thailand expands the rice farming by 50% in the North and by 50% in the Northeast, the greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced from 11,400 to 11,100 kg CO2e/ha, but the impacts of terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and freshwater ecotoxicity could be increased by 0.0257 kg PO4e (95%), 0.508 kg 1,4-DBe (53%), and 33.1 kg 1,4-DBe (17%), respectively. To reduce the global warming as well as other environmental impacts, Thailand should expand rice farming areas to the North. This information could be useful for supporting the policy decisions on which areas the organic rice farming should be expanded in to minimize the potential life cycle environmental impacts.

scholarly journals A Comparative Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of the Combustion of Ammonia/Methane Fuels in a Tangential Swirl Burner

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis F. Razon ◽  
Agustin Valera-Medina
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Swirl Burner ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Ammonia has been proposed as a replacement for fossil fuels. Like hydrogen, emissions from the combustion of ammonia are carbon-free. Unlike hydrogen, ammonia is more energy dense, less explosive, and there exists extensive experience in its distribution. However, ammonia has a low flame speed and combustion emits nitrogen oxides. Ammonia is produced via the Haber-Bosch process which consumes large amounts of fossil fuels and requires high temperatures and pressures. A life cycle assessment to determine potential environmental advantages and disadvantages of using ammonia is necessary. In this work, emissions data from experiments with generating heat from tangential swirl burners using ammonia cofired with methane employing currently available technologies were utilized to estimate the environmental impacts that may be expected. Seven ammonia sources were combined with two methane sources to create 14 scenarios. The impacts from these 14 scenarios were compared to those expected from using pure methane. The results show that using ammonia from present-day commercial production methods will result in worse global warming potentials than using methane to generate the same amount of heat. Only two scenarios, methane from biogas combined with ammonia from hydrogen from electricity and nuclear power via electrolysis and subsequent ammonia synthesis using nitrogen from the air, showed reductions in global warming potential. Subsequent analysis of other environmental impacts for these two scenarios showed potentially lower impacts for respiratory organics, terrestrial acidification-nutrification and aquatic acidification depending on how the burner is operated. The other eight environmental impacts were worse than the methane scenario because of activities intrinsic to the generation of electricity via wind power and nuclear fission. The results show that generating heat from a tangential swirl burner using ammonia currently available technologies will not necessarily result in improved environmental benefits in all categories. Improvements in renewable energy technologies could change these results positively. Other means of producing ammonia and improved means of converting ammonia to energy must continue to be explored.

scholarly journals Metals in Spent Mobile Phones (SMP) – a new challenge for mineral resources management

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Szamałek ◽  
Krzysztof Galos
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Technical Progress ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Changing Trends ◽  
Valuable Metals ◽  
The World ◽  
New Challenges

Abstract The world sales of mobile phones is growing very dynamically (in 2015 reaching a level of approx. 1.92 billion units). The number of worldwide mobile phones in use is also rapidly increasing (it is estimated that their amount is approx. 7 billion units). The life cycle of a mobile phone is short (commonly approx. 18 months), which is mainly associated with the changing trends, technical progress and competition. This is the reason why a growing number of spent mobile phones (SMP) is stored in homes - the number of SM P worldwide is estimated at approx. 14 billion units. In Poland, estimated number of SMP stored in homes is approx. 100 million units (including approx. 30 million spent smartphones). Mobile phones contain various quantities of valuable metals such as: Cu, Ni, Ag, Au, PMG, Co, Li, Pb, Sn, Zn, REE , Ga, In, Fe, Cr, Nb, Ta, Ti. The concentration of such metals in mobile phones often times exceeds the concentration of these elements in primary deposits. It is estimated that SM Ps stored in Polish homes contain approx. 1,344 Mg Cu, 27 Mg Ag, 2.6 Mg Au, 1 Mg Pd, 4.3 Mg Nd, 0.8 Mg Pr, and 454 Mg Co. Worldwide, SMPs contain at least 196,000 Mg Cu, 70,000 Mg Co, 4,000 Mg Ag, 400 Mg Au, 140 Mg Pd, 630 Mg Nd, 126 Mg Pr. This creates new challenges for mineral resources management, especially regarding introduction of new effective directions of utilization of metals recovered from SMPs. The recovery of metals from SMPs will in fact decrease the extraction of minerals from primary deposits, which will have a positive impact on the environment, and reduce the stream of existing e-wastes. The collection of SMPs in Poland is currently at a very low level, probably not exceeding 1%. It is therefore necessary to introduce new efficient SM P collection systems combined, for example, with the obligation to transfer the spent telephone to the operator while obtaining a new one. The authors suggest the need to begin research on the development of efficient technologies of metal recovery from spent mobile phones.

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