Explore the vast range of titles available.

While energy efficiency projects could partly meet new energy demand more cheaply than new supplies, weak economic institutions in developing and transitional economies impede developing and financing energy efficiency retrofits. This book analyzes these difficulties, suggests a 3-part model for projectizing and financing energy efficiency retrofits, and presents thirteen case studies to illustrate the issues and principles involved.

Purpose To support the data requirements of stakeholders, the Nickel Institute (NI) conducted a global life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to show, with indicators, the potential environmental impacts of the production of nickel and ferronickel from mine to refinery gate. A metal industry wide agreed approach on by-products and allocation was applied. Methods Nine companies, comprising 19 operations, contributed data, representing 52 % of global nickel metal production and 40 % of global ferronickel production. All relevant pyro- and hydrometallurgical production routes were considered, across most major nickel-producing regions. Data from Russia, the biggest nickel-producing nation, was included; the Chinese industry did not participate. 2011 was chosen as reference year for data collection. The LCIA applied allocation of impacts of by-products using both economic and mass allocations. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to further understand the relevance and impact of the different allocation approaches. Results and discussion The primary extraction and refining steps are the main contributors to primary energy demand (PED) and global warming potential (GWP), contributing 60 and 70 % to the PED for the production of 1 kg class I nickel and 1 kg nickel in ferronickel, respectively, and over 55 % of the GWP for both nickel products. The PED for 1 kg class 1 nickel was calculated to be 147 MJ, whilst the PED for 1 kg nickel in ferronickel was calculated to be three times higher at 485 MJ. The main factors influencing energy demand in the metallurgical processes are ore grade and ore mineralogy. Sulphidic ore is less energy intensive to process than oxidic ore. Eighty-six percent of the production volume from class 1 nickel producers, in this study, is from sulphidic ore. All ferronickel was produced from oxidic ore. The LCIA results, including a sensitivity analysis of the impact of producers with higher and lower PED, reflect the influence of the production route on energy demand and on environmental impact categories. Conclusions Conformant to relevant ISO standards, and backed-up with a technical and critical review, this LCIA quantifies the environmental impacts associated with the production of the main nickel products. With this study, a sound background dataset for downstream users of nickel has been provided. The Nickel Institute aims to update their data in the coming years to reflect upon changes in technology, energy efficiency, and raw material input.

Bangladesh faced a substantial growth in primary energy demand in the last few years. According to several studies, energy generation is not the only means to address energy demand; efficient energy management practices are also very critical. A pertinent contribution in the energy management at the industrial sector ensures the proper utilization of energy. Energy management and its efficiency in the textile industries of Bangladesh are studied in this paper. The outcomes demonstrate several barriers to energy management practices which are inadequate technical cost-effective measures, inadequate capital expenditure, and poor research and development. However, this study also demonstrates that the risk of high energy prices in the future, assistance from energy professionals, and an energy management scheme constitute the important drivers for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the studied textile mills. The studied textile industries seem unaccustomed to the dedicated energy service company concept, and insufficient information regarding energy service companies (ESCOs) and the shortage of trained professionals in energy management seem to be the reasons behind this. This paper likewise finds that 3–4% energy efficiency improvements can be gained with the help of energy management practices in these industries.

PurposeCradle-to-gate life cycle inventories (LCIs) for the production of a series of common surfactants used in European detergents and personal care products have been voluntarily compiled by 14 major companies collaborating within ERASM (www.erasm.org). The study builds on a similar project executed by CEFIC-Franklin (1994) and summarised by Stalmans et al. (Tenside Surf Det 32:84–109, 1995). The data are targeted as an industry-agreed and representative market average for surfactants in Europe for the reference year 2011. The purpose of this paper is to describe how these dataset were generated, to provide some summary results and interpretation, and to indicate where the full datasets and additional technical documentation can be found.MethodsThe methodology followed was an attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, compliant with LCA standards ISO 14040 (2006), ISO 14044 (2006), and ILCD entry level (2010). For each major unit process in the production of surfactants and precursors, a minimum of three companies (a ‘trio’) was identified. When no industry-specific data were available, either literature or recent and reliable process data were used. For worldwide traded precursor materials like palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil, an extensive literature-based LCI study was performed. Two independent external reviewers supported the project from the beginning through completion. In addition, the oil palm and coconut- and tallow-based renewable precursors were reviewed by a third independent expert.Results and discussionIn the study, a good level of representativeness was achieved with 70 primary data collections in 12 companies. To illustrate the outcome of the work, two indicators/impacts were calculated and reported, i.e. primary energy demand (PED) and global warming potential (GWP). The LCIs allow the calculation of additional impact categories, but these were not analysed within the scope of this project.The PED for most of the surfactants and their precursors is in the range of 52 to 77 GJ/tonne. Exceptions are the production of cocamide diethanolamine (CDEA) and C16–C18 triethanolamine esterquat (TEA-quat) with a PED of around 40 GJ/tonne, and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) around 108 GJ/tonne. Petrochemical precursors show an intensive but established and optimised supply chain. Where comparison is possible, their PED does not differ much from the earlier CEFIC-Franklin (1994) data. There are indications that PED for surfactant production has decreased slightly over the last 20 years due to energy efficiency measures.The GWP for the reportable precursors ranges from − 1989 kg CO2e/tonne for Coconut Oil Methyl Ester to 4894 kg CO2e/tonne for DMAPA. For the final surfactants, the range is from − 887 kg CO2e/tonne for CDEA to 2674 kg CO2e/tonne for C12–C15 AE3. There is a significant difference between the cradle-to-gate GWP of the renewable precursors palm oil/palm kernel oil (PO/PKO) and coconut oil (CNO). The CNO products have a calculated net negative cradle-to-gate GWP, while the PO/PKO products have a net positive GWP. The latter is mainly attributable to the land use change (LUC) factor and plantings on peat soils. Beef tallow also has a net negative GWP of − 1529 kg CO2e/tonne. This value is very sensitive to the allocation choice.ConclusionsThe industry average LCI data and linked metadata are made publically available as aggregated datasets in three different formats (EcoSpold v.2, ILCD, and GaBi 6 2013). They benefit from increased methodological standardisation and a more complete background process data versus the CEFIC-Franklin (1994) study, but are therefore only partially comparable. It is recommended that the surfactant LCI data are used and interpreted in a finished product cradle-to-grave context.

Background Aquaculture is a major user of plant-derived feed ingredients, such as vegetable oil. Production of vegetable oil and protein is generally more energy-intensive than production of the marine ingredients they replace, so increasing inclusion of vegetable ingredients increases the energy demand of the feed. Microbial oils, such as yeast oil made by fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysate, have been proposed as a complement to plant oils, but energy assessments of microbial oil production are needed. This study presents a mass and energy balance for a biorefinery producing yeast oil through conversion of wheat straw hydrolysate, with co-production of biomethane and power. Results The results showed that 1 tonne of yeast oil (37 GJ) would require 9.2 tonnes of straw, 14.7 GJ in fossil primary energy demand, 14.6 GJ of process electricity and 13.3 GJ of process heat, while 21.5 GJ of biomethane (430 kg) and 6 GJ of excess power would be generated simultaneously. By applying economic allocation, the fossil primary energy demand was estimated to 11.9 GJ per tonne oil. Conclusions Fossil primary energy demand for yeast oil in the four scenarios studied was estimated to be 10–38% lower than for the commonly used rapeseed oil and process energy demand could be met by parallel combustion of lignin residues. Therefore, feed oil can be produced from existing non-food biomass without causing agricultural expansion.

Effectively forecasting energy demand and energy structure helps energy planning departments formulate energy development plans and react to the opportunities and challenges in changing energy demands. In view of the fact that the rolling grey model (RGM) can weaken the randomness of small samples and better present their characteristics, as well as support vector regression (SVR) having good generalization, we propose an ensemble model based on RGM and SVR. Then, the inertia weight of particle swarm optimization (PSO) is adjusted to improve the global search ability of PSO, and the improved PSO algorithm (APSO) is used to assign the adaptive weight to the ensemble model. Finally, in order to solve the problem of accurately predicting the time-series of primary energy consumption, an adaptive inertial weight ensemble model (APSO-RGM-SVR) based on RGM and SVR is constructed. The proposed model can show higher prediction accuracy and better generalization in theory. Experimental results also revealed outperformance of APSO-RGM-SVR compared to single models and unoptimized ensemble models by about 85% and 32%, respectively. In addition, this paper used this new model to forecast China’s primary energy demand and energy structure.

This paper demonstrates how to achieve energy savings in the construction and operation of buildings by promoting the use of life cycle assessment techniques in the design for new buildings and for refurbishment. The paper aims to draw on the application of a specific methodology for low energy consumption, integrated planning, environmental performance evaluation of buildings, and design for sustainability and LCA techniques applied to buildings. The ENergy Saving through promotion of LIfe Cycle assessment in buildings (ENSLIC) methodology based on LCA for use in an integral planning process has been promoted to stakeholders who require a means to optimize the environmental performance of buildings. Feedback from the stakeholders has facilitated the creation of simplified LCA guidelines, a systematic approach guiding the user through the alternative options regarding software choices, their strengths and weaknesses, the databases available, the usefulness of different indicators, aggregation, definition of limits and options for simplifying the process. As a result, this paper presents the applied results of a case study where this methodology is implemented serving as an energy savings evaluation tool for decision makers, end-users, professionals involved in the different stages of construction, etc. Finally, it is demonstrated how LCA can facilitate comparisons between different buildings, showing the influence of all variables on a building’s life cycle environmental impact and showing the potential for energy savings. Removing market barriers to sustainable construction is actually stricter and this is good news for promoting higher energy efficiency in buildings.

Building energy renovation quotas are not currently being met due to unfavorable conditions such as complex building regulations, limited investment incentives, historical preservation priorities, and technical limitations. The traditional strategy has been to incrementally lower the energy consumption of the building stock, instead of raising the efficiency of the energy supply through a broader use of renewable sources. This strategy requires an integral redefinition of the approach to energy building renovations. The joint project SWIVT elaborates on a district redevelopment strategy that combines a reduction in the energy demand of existing buildings and their physical interconnection within a local micro-grid and heating network. The district is equipped with energy generation and distribution technologies as well as hybrid thermal and electrical energy storage systems, steered by an optimizing energy management controller. This strategy is explored through three scenarios designed for an existing residential area in Darmstadt, Germany, and benchmarked against measured data. Presented findings show that a total primary energy balance at least 30% lower than that of a standard building renovation can be achieved by a cluster of buildings with different thermal qualities and connected energy generation, conversion, and storage systems, with only minimal physical intervention to existing buildings.

Adaptive reuse of buildings is considered a superior alternative for the renewal of today’s built environment. However, little research has been done for assessing adaptive reuse building projects in terms of life cycle and Circular Economy. Because of the great impact that the building industry has on the environment, failing to optimize buildings’ useful life can result in their residual life cycle expectancy not being fully exploited, and with it, wasting the resources embedded therein, such as Primary Energy Demand. The aim of this study is to develop and test a methodology to analyze the net environmental impacts as well as the building’s cost performance of an adaptive reuse project. This paper focuses on the analysis of the structural system. Results show that the adaptive reuse of the building structure produces a considerable decrease in the environmental impacts and the construction building cost. Distribution of cost among materials and equipment is different from those for a new building, while the distribution cost for labor remains the similar. This study objectively demonstrates the considerable benefits of the adaptive reuse of the structure of an existing asset. In contrast, the non-structural building subsystems have been identified as an area with high potential for improving the existing inefficiencies during the adaptive reuse process.

PURPOSE: This paper aims to evaluate and quantify the energy consumption and environmental emissions of a refrigeration compressor produced by a Chinese factory throughout the entire compressor life cycle and try to determine the stage with the strongest environmental impact. The study covers all relevant life cycle stages, from raw material production to compressor use and final disposal. The research is conducted in accordance with ISO 14040/14044 standards. METHODS: Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is applied in this study, and Chinese Life Cycle Database is used for the assessment. The evaluation results are presented in terms of individual impact category according to the characterization model (CML 2001) and normalization references (Laurent et al. 16:401–409, 2011). The following seven impact categories are considered: global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, photochemical ozone formation potential, ozone depletion potential, ecotoxicity, and primary energy demand. All necessary energy and material flows are detailed for assessment purposes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: LCA results show that the compressor use stage in the life cycle consumes the most energy and exerts the strongest environmental impact, followed by the stages of raw material production and component manufacturing. Meanwhile, primary energy demand, ecotoxicity, and global warming potential are three predominant impact categories along with the entire life cycle of the refrigeration compressor; which account for 36.2150, 34.4567, and 16.5862 % of total impacts, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the compressor use stage may be improved given that environmental impact is largely influenced by electricity requirement. Further investigation must be conducted to improve compressor service efficiency.