scholarly journals Research on Prediction Model for Durability of Straw Bale Walls in Warm (Humid) Continental Climate—A Case Study in Northeast China

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunzhi Yin ◽  
Qi Dong ◽  
Mike Lawrence ◽  
Daniel Maskell ◽  
Jiaqi Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Carbon ◽  
Isothermal Model ◽  
Hygrothermal Environment ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
Straw Bale Walls ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Straw Bale ◽  
Continental Climate

This research analyses straw degradation inside straw bale walls in the region and develops the prediction of degradation inside straw bale walls. The results show that the straw inside straw bale walls have no serious concerns of degradation in the high hygrothermal environment in the region with only moderate concerns of degradation in the area 2–3 cm deep behind the lime render. The onsite investigations indicate that the degradation isopleth model can only predict straw conditions behind the rendering layer, whereas the isothermal model fits the complete situation inside straw bale walls. This research develops the models for predicting straw degradation levels inside a straw bale building in a warm (humid) continental climate. The impact of this research will help the growth of low carbon energy efficient straw bale construction with confidence pertaining to its long-term durability characteristics both in the region and regions sharing similar climatic features globally.

scholarly journals Exploring the Impact of a District Sharing Strategy on Application Capacity and Carbon Emissions for Heating and Cooling with GSHP Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 5543
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
He Qi ◽  
Yu Zhou ◽  
Zhonghua Zhang ◽  
Xi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Ground Source ◽  
Sharing Strategy ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
The Impact

To meet long-term climate change targets, the way that heating and cooling are generated and distributed has to be changed to achieve a supply of affordable, secure and low-carbon energy for all buildings and infrastructures. Among the possible renewable sources of energy, ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems can be an effective low-carbon solution that is compatible with district heating and cooling in urban areas. There are no location restrictions for this technology, and underground energy sources are stable for long-term use. According to a previous study, buildings in urban areas have demonstrated significant spatial heterogeneity in terms of their capacity to demand (C/D) ratio under the application of GSHP due to variations in heating demand and available space. If a spatial sharing strategy can be developed to allow the surplus geothermal capacity to be shared with neighbors, the heating and cooling demands of a greater number of buildings in an area can be satisfied, thus achieving a city with lower carbon emissions. In this study, a GSHP district system model was developed with a specific embedding sharing strategy for the application of GSHP. Two sharing strategies were proposed in this study: (i) Strategy 1 involved individual systems with borehole sharing, and (ii) Strategy 2 was a central district system. Three districts in London were selected to compare the performance of the developed models on the C/D ratio, required borehole number and carbon emissions. According to the comparison analysis, both strategies were able to enhance the GSHP application capacity and increase the savings of carbon emissions. However, the improvement levels were shown to be different. A greater number of building types and a higher variety in building types with larger differentiation in heating and cooling demands can contribute to a better district sharing performance. In addition, it was found that these two sharing strategies were applicable to different kinds of districts.

scholarly journals Benefits of the multi-modality formulation in hydrogen supply chain modelling

2022 ◽  
Vol 334 ◽  
pp. 02003
Author(s):  
Federico Parolin ◽  
Paolo Colbertaldo ◽  
Stefano Campanari
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Gas Network ◽  
Hydrogen Supply ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Hydrogen Supply Chain ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Hydrogen is recognized as a key element of future low-carbon energy systems. For proper integration, an adequate delivery infrastructure will be required, to be deployed in parallel to the electric grid and the gas network. This work adopts an optimization model to support the design of a future hydrogen delivery infrastructure, considering production, storage, and transport up to demand points. The model includes two production technologies, i.e., steam reforming with carbon capture and PV-fed electrolysis systems, and three transport modalities, i.e., pipelines, compressed hydrogen trucks, and liquid hydrogen trucks. This study compares a multi-modality formulation, in which the different transport technologies are simultaneously employed and their selection is optimized, with a mono-modality formulation, in which a single transport technology is considered. The assessment looks at the regional case study of Lombardy in Italy, considering a long-term scenario in which an extensive hydrogen supply chain is developed to supply hydrogen for clean mobility. Results show that the multi-modality infrastructure provides significant cost benefits, yielding an average cost of hydrogen that is up to 11% lower than a mono-modality configuration.

scholarly journals Overcapacity as a Barrier to Renewable Energy Deployment: The Spanish Case

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo del Río ◽  
Luis Janeiro
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
The Impact

Renewable energy sources (RES) play a critical role in the low-carbon energy transition. Although there is quite an abundant literature on the barriers to RES, the analysis of the electricity generation overcapacity as a barrier to further RES penetration has received scant attention. This paper tries to cover this gap. Its aim is to analyse the causes and consequences of overcapacity, with a special focus on the impact on RES deployment, using Spain as a case study. It also analyses the policies which may mitigate this problem in both the short and the longer terms.

scholarly journals Modeling of Persistence, Non-Acceptance and Sufficiency in Long-Term Energy Scenarios for Germany

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4484
Author(s):  
Christoph Kost ◽  
Julian Brandes ◽  
Charlotte Senkpiel ◽  
Philip Sterchele ◽  
Daniel Wrede ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy System ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy System Model ◽  
Term Energy ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Climate Neutrality ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
Direct Use

Long-term transition pathways to a low-carbon energy system are analysed by applying the energy system model REMod. All in all, the paper contributes to the current research through an innovative scenario approach, using assumptions for societal trends and quantitative results for scenarios, analysing the paths towards climate neutrality and defossilization in 2050. In the case study of Germany, these trends and drivers influence the results and the technology composition in each consumption sector (buildings, transport, and industry). Across all scenarios, it can be observed that the electrification of all sectors is important for the defossilization of the energy system, as the direct use of electricity from renewable energy is more efficient than the consumption of carbon-neutral synthetic energy carriers. However, different consumer behavior (e.g., non-acceptance or resistance against specific technologies) influences not only the efficient use of (green) electricity, it also changes the optimal pathways of the transition to paths with greater efforts. One potential societal trend—sufficiency—could be an important cornerstone for reaching the targets, as the required expansion and exchange of technologies are lower and thus facilitate the transition.

scholarly journals Nutrient retention behind a tropical mega-dam: a case study of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harish Gupta ◽  
S. Kiran Kumar Reddy ◽  
Mounika Chiluka ◽  
Vamshikrishna Gandla
Keyword(s):  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Nutrient Retention ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
N Removal ◽  
Narmada River ◽  
Sardar Sarovar ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this study, we demonstrate the impact of the construction of a mega-dam on the nutrient export regime of a large tropical river into the Arabian Sea. Long-term (11 years) fortnight nutrient parameters, upstream and downstream to Sardar Sarovar (SS) Dam, were examined to determine the periodical change in nutrient fluxes from the Narmada River, India. During this 11-year period, the average discharge of the Narmada River upstream to Rajghat (35.3 km3 year−1) was higher than that of downstream at Garudeshwar (33.9 km3 year−1). However, during the same period, the suspended sediment load was reduced by 21 million tons (MT) from 37.9 MT at Rajghat to 16.7 MT at Garudeshwar. Similarly, mean concentrations of dissolved silica (DSi) reduced from 470 (upstream) to 214 µM (downstream), dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) from 0.84 to 0.38 µM, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) from 43 to 1.5 µM. It means that about 54%, 55%, and 96% flux of DSi, DIP, and DIN retained behind the dam, respectively. The estimated denitrification rate (80,000 kg N km−2 year−1) for the reservoir is significantly higher than N removal by lentic systems, globally. We hypothesize that processes such as biological uptake and denitrification under anoxic conditions could be a key reason for the significant loss of nutrients, particularly of DIN. Finally, we anticipated that a decline in DIN fluxes (by 1.13 × 109 mol year−1) from the Narmada River to the Arabian Sea might reduce the atmospheric CO2 fixation by 7.46 × 109 mol year−1.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Impact of Timber Truck Configuration and Tare Weight on Payload Efficiency: An Australian Case Study

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 855
Author(s):  
Mark W. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Load Management ◽  
Vehicle Design ◽  
Forest Industry ◽  
Post Operation ◽  
Gross Vehicle Weight ◽  
Australian Case ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
The Impact

The forest industry tends to plan, and model transportation costs based on the potential payload benefits of increased legal gross vehicle weight (GVW) by deploying different configurations, while payload benefits of a configuration can be significantly influenced by the vehicle design tare weight. Through this research the relative benefit of increased legal GVW of different configurations is compared across Australia over a 13-year period from 2006 to 2019, by examining data collected post operation across multiple operations. This approach is intended to offer realistic insight to real operations not influenced by observation and thus reflect long-term operating behaviour. The inclusion of the three most common configuration classes in Australian forestry over a 13-year period has also allowed the exploration of load management between configurations and potential trends over time. When considering the legal GVW and the tare weight impacts across the fleets, the semi-trailer has an 8 t payload disadvantage compared to B-Doubles and 19.6 t disadvantage compared to road trains.

scholarly journals Storm Driven Migration of the Napatree Barrier, Rhode Island, USA

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Bryan A. Oakley
Keyword(s):  
Rhode Island ◽  
Shoreline Change ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Tropical Storms ◽  
Lower Intensity ◽  
Storm Activity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Washover Fan

Napatree Point, an isolated barrier in southern Rhode Island, provides a case study of barrier spit migration via storm driven overwash and washover fan migration. Documented shoreline changes using historical surveys and vertical aerial photographs show that the barrier had little in the way of net change in position between 1883 and 1939, including the impact of the 1938 hurricane. The barrier retreated rapidly between 1945 and 1975, driven by both tropical and extra-tropical storms. The shoreline position has been largely static since 1975. The removal of the foredune during the 1938 hurricane facilitated landward shoreline migration in subsequent lower intensity storms. Dune recovery following the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm has been allowed due to limited overwash and barrier migration over the last several decades. Shoreline change rates during the period from 1945–1975 were more than double the rate of shoreline change between 1939 and 2014 and triple the rate between 1883 and 2014, exceeding the positional uncertainty of these shoreline pairs. The long-term shoreline change rates used to calculate coastal setbacks in Rhode Island likely underestimate the potential for rapid shoreline retreat over shorter time periods, particularly in a cluster of storm activity. While sea-level rise has increased since 1975, the barrier has not migrated, highlighting the importance of storms in barrier migration.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Hospitality Industry in Greece and Its Treasured Santorini Island

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7906
Author(s):  
Nikola Medová ◽  
Lucie Macková ◽  
Jaromir Harmacek
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
Hospitality Sector ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Further Development

This paper focuses on the dynamic of the recent upheaval in the tourism and hospitality sector due to the COVID-19 epidemic in Greece and Santorini island. It uses the case study of a country one-fourth of whose GDP consists of tourism. We compare the available statistical data showing the change in variables in the previous years with 2020 and look into the new challenges and opportunities posed by the drop in the numbers of visitors and flights. We focus mainly on the economic and social impact on the destination and possible future scenarios for further development in the area. Data show a significant effect of the pandemic on multiple variables, such as the long-term trend of the importance of tourism sector in GDP in Greece, the number of flights and visitors to Greece and Santorini island, and the contribution of tourism and travel to GDP. Based on the available data, we also construct three foresight scenarios that describe the possible futures for Santorini island in terms of the pandemic evolution. These scenarios may help various stakeholders and policymakers to be better prepared for different developments that may appear.

A case study of noise pollution levels during the restrictions period due to COVID-19.

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (6) ◽  
pp. 206-214
Author(s):  
David Montes-González ◽  
Juan Miguel Barrigón-Morillas ◽  
Ana Cristina Bejarano-Quintas ◽  
Manuel Parejo-Pizarro ◽  
Guillermo Rey-Gozalo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Acoustic Measurements ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led to the need for drastic control measures around the world to reduce the impact on the health of the population. The confinement of people in their homes resulted in a significant reduction in human activity at every level (economic, social, industrial, etc.), which was reflected in a decrease in environmental pollution levels. Studying the evolution of parameters, such as the level of environmental noise caused by vehicle traffic in urban environments, makes it possible to assess the impact of this type of measure. This paper presents a case study of the acoustic situation in Cáceres (Spain) during the restriction period by means of long-term acoustic measurements at various points of the city.

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