Consumption Of Energy Resources Research Articles

A NOVEL APPROACH TO CHARACTERIZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION

At the macroeconomic level, the consumption of primary energy resources is a deterministic factor of economic development, which justifies the relevance and importance of introducing an appropriate mathematical model.Using the tools of data-driven dynamical systems and Hamiltonian mechanics, we determine the relationship between energy costs and the distance traveled by a particular national economy in the economic space.The basis for the calculations is the time series describing the evolution of a cumulative GDP, recalculated according to the original method from monetary units to linear geometric dimensions, and energy resources consumed over a fixed period of time.The relevance of the mathematic relationships so obtained is verified by comparing the model predictions with the empirical data produced by four national economies, namely those of Canada, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. In all of the four cases the model demonstrated a nearly perfect fit to the actual data.The approach via approximation the evolutions of economic performance and energy consumption by parabolas proposed in the article lies the groundwork for developing a general theory that may be employed to analyze economic performance of a wide spectrum of national economies and world regions.

Analysis of the energy intensity of the galvanic complex of machine-building production

Considered are the problems of energy efficiency of products of a large machine-building enterprise associated with the impossibility of regulating steam consumption and the seasonality of changes in energy consumption. The analysis of the consumption of energy resources by a typical large machine-building enterprise of small-scale and unit-type production is carried out. The reasons for the additional costs of the enterprise with centralized steam supply associated with condensate losses have been identified. It has been established that the most power-consuming is the galvanic complex. The reasons for the increased energy consumption of the galvanic complex are considered. The energy balance of the technological section - the galvanic complex, was compiled, reflecting the calculated thermal loads when heating the electrolyte and maintaining the thermal regime, depending on the operating time of the baths and the mass of the processed parts, taking into account the peculiarities of the operation of technological equipment. The most effective methods of energy supply have been determined depending on the load factor and the fuel and energy resource used for two typical baths of the galvanic complex. Three options of technological power supply are considered, depending on the load factor of the equipment and the technical possibility of its parallel-sequential connection. It was found that with all three schemes for connecting to alternative sources of heat supply, there is an increase in the energy efficiency of the use of fuel and energy resources, as well as a decrease in the cost of energy supply of technological processes in comparison with centralized steam supply. It was revealed that when organizing the operation of technological equipment in a parallel-sequential scheme, uniform efficient loading of steam generators and high energy efficiency of galvanic production are ensured. For the power supply of the galvanic complex, a combined scheme of heat supply by local heat sources from the power grid and gas steam generators is proposed, taking into account their fullest load.

The Effects of Energy Efficiency and Resource Consumption on Environmental Sustainability

Primary energy has become a vital part of society—from mobility, heating, and cooling to refrigeration to preserve food as well as for simple communication methods, such as texting. As such, pollution and environmental concerns regarding the impact of human activities have become mainstream and efforts have been made to reduce solid wastes as well as CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy is almost synonymous with environmentally friendly. While energy conversion from fossil fuels and natural gases is responsible for most of the pollution (CO2, NOx, SO2, particulate matter (PM), etc.) in modern society, these processes also generated 86% of global primary energy in 2019. Furthermore, as humans become more dependent on energy, power demands will only increase with time. Material hunger represents another little perceived dependency of human prosperity. The longevity of products and goods is crucial to limit CO2eq emissions associated with material streams. This paper will focus on two relationships: that of CO2 and friction, and that of sustainability and wear protection.

Особливості впровадження та розвитку циркулярної економіки в Україні

The article is devoted to the study of circular economy, its concept; the main circular business-models, their essence and advantages in the practical application based on the analysis of researches of their introduction and use in the world and domestic companies are analyzed; features of the development of circular economy in Ukraine in disclosure of researches of sources of financing of innovative activity and a share of innovative enterprises in general scale are revealed; the expediency of introduction of energy-efficient and energy-saving technologies at the enterprises within the limits of socially responsible production is substantiated. The results of the study showed that the development of the circular economy in Ukraine is at a much lower level compared to the world, due to negative factors such as ignorance of the population and entrepreneurs the necessity of circular economy transition, lack of full and perfect legislation, the unpreparedness of enterprises change in favor of environmental friendliness. However, it is still an enterprise that is ready to act and change by implementing environmental solutions, such as energy-efficient technologies, thus contributing to its competitive position. In the context of the need to move to a circular economy, scientists, politicians, businesses, consumers, public and international organizations are increasingly studying the basic principles and models, as well as their possible implementation and features of use. In addition, both domestic and international companies are trying to be socially responsible and implement energy-efficient technologies that reduce the consumption of energy resources, economic resources, increase the competitiveness of production. This means that both foreign and domestic companies, at the same time, must clearly understand the methods, ways, and opportunities to achieve the most competitive position as a socially responsible enterprise. Therefore, based on examples of implementation of methods and solutions in the field of circular economy in global companies, as well as using their experience, knowledge and skills, Ukrainian companies will be able to achieve at least the same level of social responsibility. However, it should be understood that these actions should be legally protected, which should serve as a regulatory framework developed by the state. Only with such bilateral work can Ukrainian enterprises and Ukraine in general become an example to follow for other countries.

Targeting Energy Efficiency through Air Conditioning Operational Modes for Residential Buildings in Tropical Climates, Assisted by Solar Energy and Thermal Energy Storage. Case Study Brazil

Economy and parsimony in the consumption of energy resources are becoming a part of common sense in practically all countries, although the effective implementation of energy efficiency policies still has a long way to go. The energy demand for residential buildings is one of the most significant energy sinks. We focus our analysis on one of the most energy-consuming systems of residential buildings located in regions of tropical climate, which are cooling systems. We evaluate to which degree the integration of thermal energy storage (TES) and photovoltaic (PV) systems helps to approach an annual net zero energy building (NZEB) configuration, aiming to find a feasible solution in the direction of energy efficiency in buildings. To conduct the simulations, an Energy Efficiency Analysis Framework (EEAF) is proposed. A literature review unveiled a potential knowledge gap about the optimization of the ASHRAE operational modes (full storage load, load leveled, and demand limiting) for air conditioning/TES sets using PV connected to the grid. A hypothetical building was configured with detailed loads and occupation profiles to simulate different configurations of air conditioning associated with TES and a PV array. Using TRNSYS software, a set of scenarios was simulated, and their outputs are analyzed in a life cycle perspective using life cycle costing (LCC). The modeling and simulation of different scenarios allowed for identifying the most economic configurations from a life cycle perspective, within a safe range of operability considering the energy efficiency and consequently the sustainability aspects of the buildings. The EEAF also supports other profiles, such as those in which the occupancy of residential buildings during the day is increased due to significant changes in people’s habits, when working and studying in home office mode, for example. These changes in habits should bring a growing interest in the adoption of solar energy for real-time use in residential buildings. The results can be used as premises for the initial design or planning retrofits of buildings, aiming at the annual net zero energy balance.

Methodology for Ensuring a Comfortable Microclimate State in a Smart Home Using an Ensemble of Fuzzy Artificial Neural Networks

Analysis of the application of smart home technology indicates an insufficient level of controllability of its infrastructure, which leads to excessive consumption of energy and information resources. The problem of managing the digital infrastructure of human living space, is associated with a large number of highly specialized solutions for home automation, which complicate the management process. Smart home is considered as a set of independent cyber-physical devices aimed at achieving its goal. For coordinated work of cyber-physical devices it is proposed to provide their joint work through a single information center. Simulation of device operation modes in a digital environment preserves the resource of physical devices by making a virtual calculation for all possible variants of interaction of devices between themselves and the physical environment. A methodology for controlling the microclimate of a smart home using an ensemble of fuzzy artificial neural networks is developed, with the example of joint use of air conditioning, ventilation and heating. The neural network algorithm allows you to monitor the parameters of the physical environment, predict the modes of cyber-physical devices and generate control signals for each of them, ensuring the joint operation of devices with minimal resource consumption and information traffic. A variant of practical implementation of a smart home climate control system on the example of a multifunctional educational computer class is proposed. Hybrid neural networks of air conditioning, ventilation and heating systems were developed. The testing of the microclimate control system of a multifunctional university classroom using hybrid neural networks was carried out, a programmable logic controller of domestic production was used as a control device. The goal of management based on cooperating cyber-physical devices is to achieve a minimum of power and information traffic when they work together.

Monitoring Illegal Tree Cutting through Ultra-Low-Power Smart IoT Devices.

Forests play a fundamental role in preserving the environment and fighting global warming. Unfortunately, they are continuously reduced by human interventions such as deforestation, fires, etc. This paper proposes and evaluates a framework for automatically detecting illegal tree-cutting activity in forests through audio event classification. We envisage ultra-low-power tiny devices, embedding edge-computing microcontrollers and long-range wireless communication to cover vast areas in the forest. To reduce the energy footprint and resource consumption for effective and pervasive detection of illegal tree cutting, an efficient and accurate audio classification solution based on convolutional neural networks is proposed, designed specifically for resource-constrained wireless edge devices. With respect to previous works, the proposed system allows for recognizing a wider range of threats related to deforestation through a distributed and pervasive edge-computing technique. Different pre-processing techniques have been evaluated, focusing on a trade-off between classification accuracy with respect to computational resources, memory, and energy footprint. Furthermore, experimental long-range communication tests have been conducted in real environments. Data obtained from the experimental results show that the proposed solution can detect and notify tree-cutting events for efficient and cost-effective forest monitoring through smart IoT, with an accuracy of 85%.

Innovative Energy Management System for Mobile Processors Power Consumption with Integration of Predictive Neural Network Models

At the present stage of information technologies development in the field of portable devices implementation one of the perspective direction is the development of software and hardware to optimise the consumption of energy resources in mobile processors. Modern solutions are aimed at continuous improvement of methods to reduce power consumption along with increasing the performance of devices, but the problem of limited time interval of portable devices active use is still relevant. Existing solutions are aimed at using various energy-dependent methods in the kernel configuration – I/O scheduler governors, TCP overload algorithms, as well as additional entropy distribution systems and memory release algorithms. The solutions considered involve a system of aggressive behaviour based on the use of user-driven methods to terminate energy demanding processes in the system. The purpose of this study is to overcome the problems under consideration by developing a cross-platform algorithmic approach, which is based on the tracking of the energy consumption processes in the kernel, taking into account system calls and background activity in the system. A distinctive feature of the proposed solution is the use of a neural network training sample for the processes of tracking user behaviour, which affects the reduction of the CPU load by completing side processes and increasing the time interval of battery performance. To implement the project, root access to the system was also used, assuming full-function access to the system kernel. Another feature of the implemented algorithm is backwards compatibility of the work with mobile processors, which allows to organise work on mobile devices.

Relationship of renewable energy consumption to economic, environmental and institutional factors in Europe

Challenges caused by global climate change arise several environmental, social, and energy production issues. These problems firstly concern interest of resource extraction countries, triggering inter-fuel competition in both directions supply and consumption of energy resources. Moreover, significantly increased green agenda leads countries to foster shifting to green energy production and discovering factors of most influential on the acceleration of RES consumption. The paper focuses on the impact assessment of economic, environmental and institutional factors of the country development on the future consumption of renewable energy sources (RES). To achieve the purpose of the study a panel data analysis method was used. The analysis was conducted for 41 European countries for 1995–2018, with countries being divided into members of Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)/non-OECD and Extractive/non-Extractive. Four hypotheses were tested under the research: (1) Developing countries are characterized by the negative impact of CO2 emissions on RES consumption, while developed countries — the opposite; (2) Non-RES consumption reflects inter-fuel competition, expressed in a negative relationship with the RES; (3) Prices increase for non-RES contributes to growth of RES consumption; (4) Institutional factors reflect the level of ”market freedom and mobility” of the country and contribute to the development of RES. The authors confirmed all hypothesizes and showed that economic, particularly GDP, and institutional factors had the greatest impact on all countries’ RES consumption, while the environmental aspect is weakly significant for non-extractive countries. Consumption of fossil resources had a negative impact and confirmed the presence of inter-fuel competition.

Exergy-Based Life Cycle Assessment Model for Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Bridge: Principle and Case Study

The construction of bridge is a complex process and involves diverse energy emission-intensive materials. The evaluation of environmental impacts on the basis of life cycle assessment (LCA) is a recognised technique to find the scope of impact mitigation and save resources. However, the studies on the LCA of bridges are rare and lack assessment on the impact of public transportation during bridge construction. The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated exergy-based LCA model for assessing the environmental sustainability of bridges by investigating their environmental impacts and exergy footprint. The proposed exergy-based LCA model consists of three principal assessment models, namely, the environmental impact of energy consumption, pollutant discharge, and resource consumption. The proposed model was then exemplified with a highway bridge as a case study. The results found that the environmental impact in the raw material production and processing stage was the largest, followed by the construction stage and the operation and maintenance stage at second and third place, respectively. The findings of this study can contribute to mitigating the environmental impacts of bridge construction, and the assessment approach can be adopted to guide the environmental impact evaluation for other types of civil constructions globally.

Modernity is incompatible with planetary limits: Developing a PLAN for the future

This age of modernity is characterized by consistent growth in energy use, economic activity, and resource consumption, and a generally increasing standard of living—albeit inequitably distributed. All currently living humans, and most academic disciplines, have developed in this age, which appears normal and indefinite to us. But modernity has been enabled by the rapid and accelerating expenditure of our one-time inheritance of fossil fuels, and by drawing down the resources and ecosystems of our finite Earth—none of which can be sustained as we transition from a resource-rich frontier to a human-dominated planet. Climate change is often singled out as modernity’s existential crisis, but it is only one of a series of interlocking challenges constituting an unprecedented predicament that must be understood and mitigated in order to live within planetary limits. While energetic and technological challenges attract significant attention, arguably the greatest challenges are conceptual or even cultural. In particular, as we review in this Perspective, today’s political economy has been designed to value short-term financial wealth over the real treasure of Earth’s functioning ecosystems, to discount the future at the expense of the present, and to demand infinite exponential growth…which is simply impossible on a finite planet. Given all this, humanity should view its present overshoot-prone trajectory with tremendous suspicion, humility, and concern. We call for the establishment of a transdisciplinary network of scholars from across the entire academic landscape to develop a global understanding of planetary limits and how humanity can adapt to the associated realities. We present a set of foundational principles to serve as a starting point to anchor this network and drive a new area of focused inquiry to develop a shared vision of viable future paths.

Improvement of the method for producing confitures from fruit raw materials

The object of research is the method of production of comfiture from fruit and vegetable raw materials. The production of comfiture using traditional technologies is characterized by the loss of physiologically functional ingredients of raw materials. Such losses can reach up to 60 % of the initial amount, depending on the temperature regime and the duration of heat treatment. A negative factor in the storage of ready-made comfitures is sugar crystallization. Equipment for the implementation of traditional processes of processing fruits and vegetables is characterized by high productivity, low efficiency and operational difficulties. Boiling in the traditional way is carried out at high-temperature conditions, which leads to a decrease in the content of functionally physiological ingredients and the nutritional value of the resulting comfitures. In the production of comfiture on the basis of fruit and vegetable raw materials, the following recipe ratio of components was used: apple – 60 %; Jerusalem artichoke – 25 %; cornelian cherry – 15 %. The improved method is characterized by gentle heat exchange operations, in particular: drying is carried out in an infrared dryer at a temperature of 40–50 °C to a dry matter content of 30–40 %. And also by further boiling of the mass in a vacuum evaporator based on a flexible film resistive radiating electric heater (FFRREH) at 50–60 °C. The use of inverted syrup in the recipe during boiling prevents sugar crystallization during storage of the finished product. Comparative analysis of the heating kinetics of comfiture from fruit and vegetable raw materials confirms the reduction in the duration of reaching the stationary mode (55 °C) when using a vacuum evaporator based on FFRREH by 1.6 times, compared with an analog apparatus. Such a hardware-constructive solution will ensure a decrease in the consumption of energy resources with a simultaneous increase in the quality characteristics of products.

TRAINING OF SPECIALISTS IN ENERGY CERTIFICATION AND INSPECTION OF ENGINEERING SYSTEMS OF BUILDINGS IN THE IGOR SIKORSKY KYIV POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE


 
 
 European integration is a strategic direction for the development of our country's foreign policy. In pursuance of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, a plan for the implementation of the European Parliament Directive on the energy performance of buildings (2010/31/EU) has been developed, which provides for the introduction of energy certification of buildings as a type of energy audit. Given the significant energy consumption in Ukraine compared to other countries, improving the energy efficiency of the buildings is an extremely important objective. The greatest effect in the existing buildings is achieved only in the case of integrated implementation of energy saving measures for fencing structures, utilities and equipment, and such projects require significant funds. To obtain funding from various investment funds and to be able to participate in state or local funding programs, it is necessary to perform an energy audit and justify energy saving measures, to assess the energy efficiency class of the building. The result of the implementation of measures will be a reduction in the total consumption of energy resources, as well as the cost of paying for them, improving the conditions of the microclimate. Institute of Energy Saving and Energy Management of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has many years of successful experience in training specialists in the area of energy and improving the energy efficiency of industry and utilities. On basis of the Training Center for Energy Management, advanced training courses have been introduced for specialists who intend to carry out activities on certification of energy efficiency and inspection of engineering systems of buildings. Energy certificates of buildings are mandatory for new buildings, state-owned buildings, local government buildings and in case of attracting public funds for complex thermal modernization. In this paper highlighted the experience, reveals the content of the curriculum for training, retraining and advanced training of energy auditors and presents the results of the Attestation Commission of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
 
 

A circular economy approach to building heating: The role of exergy in policymaking

Building heating accounts for 17% of the United Kingdom’s (UK) direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the third largest emitter after surface transport and industry. There is a significant potential for building CO2 emission reductions to contribute towards the UK’s 2050 net zero-carbon target.The UK Government’s approach to decarbonising building heating centres on reducing the energy demand of buildings and displacing the use of fossil fuels with low to zero-carbon and renewable energy technologies. While this approach can minimise energy consumption, it continues to quickly downcycle resources through a linear economy approach of take–make–waste. There is no consideration of how effective the technologies are in their efficient use of the primary energy resources (PER), with some technologies being far more wasteful in terms of energy resource consumption than others. This strategy will lead to an increasing, and avoidable burden on the national electricity infrastructure as heat becomes increasingly electrified towards 2050 and that will translate to higher costs for both consumers and the economy. A similar outcome would result from the use of renewable electricity to produce hydrogen for building heating.Larger cities have more local heat sources available in the form of waste heat and environmental heat (in the ground and water) than there is building heat demand. A circular economy approach requiring new regulation and policy can prioritise the reuse of these freely available heat sources enabled by heat networks to realise a more sustainable approach to building heating. This will ultimately result in the decoupling of resource consumption from its depletion, which is a key circular economy principle.Exergy analysis used in city energy planning can identify and prioritise those more resource-efficient system options that utilise local heat sources and better conserve primary energy resources. The implementation of more resource-efficient heat supply systems can reduce energy resource consumption by over two-thirds and avoid the need to reinforce the national electrical infrastructure thus keeping citizens’ heating costs down.

Evaluation of specified and manufactured Colombian commercial cements by performance

Cement is the world’s largest building material and is fundamental to modern socio-economic development. However, its production generates high consumption of energy resources, large emissions of greenhouse gases, and pollutants in the production processes. Due to the above, the standards that formulate the prescription of Portland cements according to the chemical composition have changed in Colombia and established the scope of specifications covering hydraulic cements through performance requirements without compositional restrictions. Therefore, present research characterized the composition of commercial cement for general use in Colombia by fluorescence and X-ray diffraction, along with particle size and morphology by scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, setting times and mechanical compressive strength were evaluated. The results established little compositional variation and relatively similar characteristics to traditional Portland cements; however, there was evidence of an elevation of Felite, due to the possible inclusion of supplementary alternative cementitious agents and a decrease in Celite, which led to an increase in setting times. In addition, a high-quality control was established in its manufacture through the inclusion of elements that reduce the environmental impact and relation of its components that affect the hardening process.

The dynamic thermal energy simulation of historic buildings in Mediterranean climate: knowledge and simplification

The European built heritage is strongly characterized by “historic buildings”. This built heritage represents an important cultural resource, constitutes a public good and testifies the community identity. The current challenge to reduce the consumption of energy resources is aimed at the requalification of this built heritage. To meet this challenge, energy analysis is increasingly being used also for historic buildings through complex building energy simulation program. Although their application to modern buildings leads to significant results, in the modelling of historic buildings there are numerous approximations and uncertainties relating to materials, thermal bridge, geometry and construction techniques which can lead to inaccurate results. Furthermore, the lack of input data and the complex geometries make even more difficult to determine the correct energy performance of the simulated built heritage. To the aim of investigates the validity, accuracy and reliability of Open BIM software, widely used by Architects and Engineers, based on the simple hourly method (EN ISO 52016-1), an energy analysis of historic building was performed. The work is intended to provide a calculation method to evaluate energy performance (heating, cooling, lighting, etc) of historic buildings (load bearing masonry structure with vaults) with the use of simple dynamic models, which comply with Italian energy laws and regulations, and to predict the energy saving potentials related to building retrofit actions.

POLAND'S ENERGY SECURITY IN THE CONTEXT OF EU ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

The current conditions of global development actualize the need for political actors to form a high level of energy security. It expands the state's ability to ensure the sustainability of economic development and the ability to withstand likely threats. The issue of energy security and sovereignty are key on the agenda of the EU, which seeks to implement a strategy of global leadership. The environmental modernization of the EU energy sector and each member state must comply with the main goal of «The European Green Deal», which is to reduce carbon emissions by 55% before 2030. The subject of the study is the substance and peculiarities of the formation of energy security in Poland. The aim of the study is to analyze the mechanisms of energy security of Poland in the context of EU environmental initiatives. Research methodology: systematic approach, method of analysis and comparison. The issue of energy security is recognized as key in achieving sustainable economic development in Poland. The content and basic principles of state energy security are presented in the National Security Strategy and detailed in the Energy Policy. Among the main directions of ecological modernization of the energy sector the following have been identified: efficient consumption of national energy resources; modernization of the energy sector and infrastructure; diversification of natural gas, oil, liquid fuel supplies; optimization of energy market functioning; construction of nuclear power plants; expansion of alternative energy sources; modernization of heating and co-generation energy systems; increasing energy efficiency. Polish officials have emphasized the need for a three-phase energy transition, involving a reduction in the production and use of coal, a gradual increase in the share of natural gas and the expansion of opportunities to use energy from alternative sources. The modernization of Poland's energy sector correlates with the implementation of «The European Green Deal» and other EU environmental initiatives. Energy sovereignty is secured through domestic and foreign financial assistance. The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management of Poland attracts investments in environmental projects related to the development of geothermal energy and improvement of infrastructure energy efficiency. EU special funds (European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund, Cohesion Fund, Just Transition Fund and Modernization Fund) provide funding for national or regional projects aimed at the comprehensive modernization of the Polish energy sector and the implementation of commitments to achieve climate neutrality. Poland pursues an active policy of cooperation in the energy sphere with other states – Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Projects such as "Baltic Pipe" and "The Baltic Synchronisation Project" are in the active implementation phase. The results of the study: energy security is a key factor in the sustainability of economic development of Poland, the implementation of the modernization of the national energy complex correlates with the EU environmental initiatives, which contributes to the attraction of domestic and foreign investment, as well as the resources of public diplomacy.

The Causality Between Industrial Development and Economic Growth: A Case of Pakistan

Industrial sector is the paramount factor in the development of economic growth. This study has analysed the industrial pantomime in case of Pakistan. Times series data has been used for 40 years, from 1980-2020. Initially the data has been checked for stationarity, by applying ADF, test which proved that, all the indicators are stationary at level. This confirms that, we are allowed to apply OLS regression analysis for the desired results. The study concluded that there has been positive and significant relationship between industrial construction and economy activity of Pakistan. Only factor that, induces negative impact on the economic growth, is the excessive consumption of energy resources; growth of electricity, gas and water supply. Foreign direct investment indicated negative association with the economy, but also gives the insignificant results.

Design of integrated energy-water systems using Pinch Analysis: A nexus study of energy-water-carbon emissions

Severe environmental issues such as excessive energy and water resources consumption and massive carbon emissions are becoming progressively prominent. Energy, water and carbon emissions are also intrinsically linked and have become the critical indicators for sustainable development. Nexus analysis between the three resources has been increasingly emphasised, mainly using mathematical programming approaches. Applications of insight-based approach for nexus study, however, have been directed very few attentions. This paper presents a new framework for the optimal design of integrated energy-water systems based on Pinch Analysis considering the energy-water-carbon emissions nexus. The framework consists of a series of Pinch Analysis methods, specifically Power Cascade Table (PCT), Water Cascade Table (WCT) and Energy Planning Pinch Diagram (EPPD), to obtain the minimum targets for each resource. The established targets provide valuable insights to assess the whole integrated system following any design modifications on certain resource networks. The framework was tested on a small-scale industrial plant case study, where adjustments on the system design were performed to achieve 20% CO2 gas discharge reduction target. The final integrated design gave minimal impacts of up to 12% changes on the energy system, while the water system deviates by less than 1% from the initial design. The outputs from the framework can assist designers in the planning of their integrated energy-water systems while meeting the environmental requirements.

Simulation of Green Building Materials Uses and its Environmental Impacts: Case of Jordan

Construction is one of the most important factors affecting the environment such as global warming and carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, it represents 40% of the consumption of energy resources around the world. Jordan is one of the countries that suffer greatly from this aspect. In this research, a simulation was conducted of a multi-use building located in a university in Jordan using the ArchiCAD program, which helps us to accurately determine the construction location and obtain the results of materials and strategies that were applied to the building. Thermal insulation materials were used to show the effectiveness of their impact on the temperature difference per unit of heat flux needed to sustain one unit of heat flux (R-value) for the building. Shading means were also applied to the building’s glass facades that reduce heat loads and help the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system inside the building. Finally, it was shown the difference in the environmental impact of a building that uses 100% solar energy and emits zero CO2 emissions. While a building that uses 50% solar energy and 50% oil energy emits a high amount of CO2. It becomes clear that the increasing use of green building tools helps greatly in facing the problems of the environment and the consumption of energy resources.