Energy Consumption Gas Research Articles

Life cycle assessment of methanol vehicles from energy, environmental and economic perspectives

As a new alternative fuel vehicle for energy reserve strategy, the development of methanol vehicles in China has been at the forefront. Completed pilot projects have demonstrated that methanol vehicles can effectively reduce fuel costs and pollutant emissions during driving. In addition to methanol vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vehicles and compressed natural gas vehicles also maintain a sound development momentum in China. It is essential to understand which one has more advantages from sustainable development. This paper uses the Energy, Environment, and Economy (3E) evaluation method to analyze the energy consumption, environmental emission, and economy of methanol, electric, gas, and gasoline vehicles from the whole life cycle perspective. A comprehensive index evaluation model was constructed, and the development potential of the three alternative fuel vehicles was ranked under four different scenarios (energy-oriented, environment-oriented, economic-oriented, and equilibrium scenarios). This research shows that methanol vehicles have higher total energy consumption than gasoline vehicles in the whole life cycle. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, compared with gasoline vehicles, methanol, and compressed natural gas vehicles decreased by 8.79 tons and 12.45 tons, respectively. At the same time, methanol vehicles have a better economic benefit than gasoline vehicles (37%), which is the same as the completed pilot projects. In addition, results also show that due to the advantages of low renovation cost and fuel price, the user’s cost of methanol vehicles is more down than blade electric vehicles, which makes them have better development potential compared with electric and compressed natural gas vehicles in the economic-oriented and equilibrium scenario. Therefore, methanol vehicles can be used as alternative fuel vehicles for long-term development in China.

Graphical approach for estimating and minimizing boil-off gas and compression energy consumption in LNG regasification terminals

Liquefied natural gas regasification terminal operations are energy-intensive where compression of boil-off-gas consumes most of the energy. Improving such a terminal's economic performance demands effective boil-off-gas management that depends on its accurate and early prediction. Boil-off-gas processing and management systems are available, but they tend to incorporate boil-off-gas estimations that are either in the context of computationally expensive models or involve full-scale dynamic simulation models that require process data and expertise. To simplify boil-off-gas estimation, this study proposes a generalized graph that provides a correct estimation of boil-off-gas and the minimum compression power required to handle that estimated quantity of boil-off-gas generated. The method can be applied to a wide range of the liquefied natural gas regasification terminals currently in operation. This graphical approach renders the estimates of boil-off-gas generated and associated compression energy requirements without recourse to simulation. It can also provide early estimates of a terminal's energy requirements before any detailed analysis.

Analysis of Energy Consumption and Its Influencing Factors in Hydrogen Metallurgy Process

Hydrogen metallurgy is an effective way for the high carbon emission steel industry to achieve low‐carbon green transformation and upgrading. According to energy conservation law, the article establishes gas utilization rate and thermal balance calculation models, discusses the influence of key factors such as reducing gas composition, reducing the temperature, and metallization rate on the gas utilization rate and energy consumption, and theoretically calculates the change of energy consumption in the process of steel industry production caused by using hydrogen. The optimal reduction temperature range is 1250–1350 K, which has theoretical minimum energy consumption, about 3.14 GJ, and maximum gas utilization rate, about 45%. The results show that when using 100% hydrogen reduction, increasing the reduction temperature properly lower theoretical energy consumption can be achieved and raise gas utilization rate and further achieve the goal of energy saving and consumption reduction, which is expected to provide beneficial help for hydrogen metallurgy developing in the steel industry.

Bank Employee Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: Evidence from Egypt

This study examined bank employee perceptions regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Egypt as a developing country. In particular, it explored bank employee perceptions towards the CSR aspects on which banks should focus. It also investigated whether factors such as bank type (i.e., public or private), employee age, experience, job position, and number of CSR training programs undertaken can affect this perception. Data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed to both public and private bank employees. The final sample consisted of 127 employees. SPSS was used to analyse the data. We found that bank employees placed different importance on the CSR aspects on which banks should focus. In particular, they prioritized employment and workplace-related aspects such as operational efficiency, financial literacy, equal employment opportunities, and workplace safety. In contrast, they placed less emphasis on environment-related aspects such as greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption. We also found that bank type, age, employee experience, job position, and number of CSR training programs undertaken could affect the perceptions of bank employees regarding the CSR aspects on which banks should focus. While there is a growing stream of research on CSR, prior research lacks CSR practices in developing markets, especially in the banking sector. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to look at the importance and priorities of CSR aspects in Egypt—one of the fastest-growing economies in the developing world. Based on the findings of this study, policymakers and regulators in Egypt such as the Central Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian Banking Institute are advised to request banks to pay more attention to environmental-related aspects of CSR to keep pace with Egypt 2030 vision and develop an action plan that helps increase bank employee awareness regarding the importance of CSR practices and engage employees further in developing their banks’ sustainability strategy.

Assessing the environmental performance of plastic-based and felt-based green wall systems in a life-cycle perspective

With the remarkable growth of cities and the increase of built-up areas, mitigation of urban heat island effects has become one of the most crucial challenges in social and environmental sustainability with significant impacts on public health. This has led to an increasing development of urban green infrastructure. Among those nature-based solutions, green wall systems have been receiving a growing attention, being a passive technology with their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change, improve air quality and reduce the heat island effect in urban environments. Despite that growing interest in studying the functions and features of such green systems, and the various types of living walls nowadays available, most studies evaluate their energy efficiency and performance only during the use phase. This study aimed to assess the overall environmental performances of two types of green walls in a life cycle perspective, considering the embodied energy, greenhouse gas emissions, materials and energy consumption, and embodied carbon. After collecting inventory data related to all components and processes of each system, a life cycle assessment with cradle to gate approach has been performed to compare the performances of a felt-based system without organic growth medium and a system based on plastic modules with organic growth medium. The main impacts have been detected in the production stage and materials used in systems structure. By comparing the results achieved in the 16 impact categories analyzed, the felt-based system showed the highest overall impact, with the use of fertilizers and aluminum components playing a crucial part. Polypropylene used to produce the panels, water used for plant irrigation and potting soil composition are the main environmental impact contributors in the plastic-based system. The results pointed out the importance of accurate choice of materials for the design and production of green walls.

Life Cycle Assessment studies on lightweight materials for automotive applications - An overview

Lightweight materials have the potential to reduce vehicle fuel consumption and emissions. This study critically reviews Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies focused on lightweight materials (Advanced and High-Strength Steels (A/HSS), Aluminium (Al), Magnesium (Mg), and composites) for automotive chassis and body-in-white components, to identify the materials with the lowest environmental impacts, trends and improvement opportunities. Since most impacts are associated with the vehicle use-stage (due to fossil fuel consumption), lightweight materials have environmental benefits in a cradle-to-grave approach. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption are the most reported impact categories. Several studies simplify their inventory and overuse assumptions, which lead to higher results uncertainty. In addition, the primary and secondary mass reductions, recycling rates and driven distances have been identified as crucial hotspots. A/HSS is identified as the most preferable lightweight material, followed by Al. However, there is a lack of scientific consensus. To formulate sound conclusions, this review recommends that future studies should present clearer inventory data, GHG break-even driving distances, uncertainty and/or sensitivity analysis, as well as consider secondary mass reductions and assess other impact categories to unveil more hotspots for improvements. When substantial technology change is assumed, consequential LCA should be used to assess the predictive market uptake.

Engineering properties and lifecycle impacts of Pervious All-Road All-weather Multilayered pavement

Conversion of pervious natural ground into impermeable pavement systems has caused severe environmental impacts such as urban heat islands, increased infrastructure-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption, and runoff generation / flashfloods during rainfall events. These phenomena can be addressed with the use of pervious concrete pavement (PCP) systems, which have gained acceptance as sustainable alternatives to conventional materials. However, implementation of PCP technology is limited to low-volume roads, sidewalks, and parking lots attributed to low strength and the need for high quality control during construction compared to traditional pavements along with limited understanding on the end-of-life significance due to the green PCP product. Therefore, the major objective of this research was to develop a pavement system with superior structural and hydrological performance characteristics over traditional PCP, while also quantifying the energy consumed, amount of GHG produced, and costs associated with its design and construction. Thus, a Pervious All-Road All-weather Multilayered pavement (PARAMpave) was conceptualized and designed that comprised a 300 mm square paver block created with a 60 mm lower structural layer overlaid with a 30 mm water-draining surface wearing course pervious concrete layer. The major properties of PARAMpave products included porosity ranging from 17% to 24%, permeability varying from 0.77 cm/s to 1.33 cm/s, and flexural strength between 4.83 MPa and 6.13 MPa, indicating their improved structural and hydrological performance compared to traditional designs. Further, a cradle-to-gate lifecycle approach was utilized to perform a comparative evaluation between PARAMpave and Portland cement concrete (PCC) paver blocks. The PARAMpave products consumed lower energy (8.22% to 8.51%) and emitted lower GHGs (8.23% to 8.43%) compared to PCC blocks of similar dimensions. Additionally, PARAMpave blocks were about 10% cheaper and almost 10% lighter than a PCC paver block. The reduction in GHG emissions, energy consumption, and capital costs indicate that PARAMpave blocks are a sustainable class of roadway products. Also, the strength and permeability magnitudes of PARAMpave indicate that they have high potential for applications in different road classes and diversified weather conditions.

A disciplinary divide in the framing of urbanization’s environmental impacts

AbstractWe identify a disciplinary divide in how the environmental impacts of urbanization are presented in ecology and urban planning journals. We analyzed the sentiments expressed in 202,900 journal articles and found that articles in ecology journals discuss urbanization three times more negatively relative to urban planning journals. Articles in both disciplines identified the negative local impacts of urban growth on biodiversity, habitat, and other ecological outcomes. However, urban planning research also considered the positive global‐scale benefits of cities in enabling more efficient settlement patterns that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. These diverging perspectives are likely due to the different scales and scopes of the two disciplines, but also because of different counterfactuals: the alternative to urbanization might be car‐dependent exurbs, or simply no new development within the focal study area. Interdisciplinary collaborations may provide a path to reconcile the different perspectives and boost sustainability.

Explaining daily energy demand in British housing using linked smart meter and socio-technical data in a bottom-up statistical model

This paper investigates factors associated with variation in daily total (electricity and gas) energy consumption in domestic buildings using linked pre-COVID-19 smart meter, weather, building thermal characteristics, and socio-technical survey data covering appliance ownership, demographics, behaviours, and attitudes for two nested sub-samples of 1418 and 682 British households selected from the Smart Energy Research Laboratory (SERL) Observatory panel.Linear mixed effects modelling resulted in adjusted R2 between 63% and 80% depending on sample size and combinations of contextual data used. Increased daily energy consumption was significantly associated (p-value < 0.05, VIF < 5) with: households living in buildings with more rooms and bedrooms, that are older, more detached, have air-conditioning, and experience colder (more heating degree days) or less sunny weather; households with more adult occupants, more children, older adult occupants, higher heating temperature setpoints, and that do not try to save energy.The results demonstrate the value of smart meter data linked with contextual data for improving understanding of energy demand in British housing. Accredited UK researchers are invited to apply to access the data, which has recently been updated to include over 13,000 households from across Great Britain. This paper provides guidance on appropriate methods to use when analysing the data.

The role of China's aluminum recycling on sustainable resource and emission pathways

Aluminum is an indispensable metal because of its tremendous industrial demand, which inevitably places pressure on natural reservoirs, and its continuous production intensifies greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption issues. China is the top producer and consumer of aluminum, resulting in substantially negative trajectories in both the global and national anthroposphere compared with other aluminum-producing countries. The rising stock of end-of-life scrap suggests improving more recycling opportunities to acquire sustainable resource use. Here, we use two modelling approaches in accordance with the life cycle thinking to forecast cumulative demand, GHG emission, and energy performance with six different recycling rates. We show that a recycling rate between 40% and 50% can significantly contribute to sustaining resource consumption while convincingly higher rates readily support increasing sustainable use. However, if the recycling increment is subsidized to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and energy use in production processes, then the authorized reduction up to 50% by 2050 (compared to China's 2000 emission level) cannot be reached by only practicing recycling optimization. The required target is still a challenge, but solutions can be obtained mainly through the serious commitment towards emission reduction paths such as the integration of innovative modern technologies with scrap recycling and product substitution.

Mainstreaming passive houses: more gradual reconfiguration than transition

ABSTRACT Buildings are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. A transition to low-carbon housing requires the introduction of very energy-efficient buildings on a global scale and effective policy measures to support such a transformation. In this article, we study one such radical solution for energy-efficient buildings – the passive house – through a national case study in Sweden. We identify three societal domains where passive houses increasingly become embedded in the building sector: Firstly, the framing of passive houses in the public debate shifted from being presented as a radical alternative for a future low-carbon housing sector to being perceived as a specific low-energy building market segment. Secondly, passive houses have become part of a broader regional institutional and political context rather than a niche. Finally, passive houses have become a driving force for stricter building regulations but in a way that rather led to the assimilation of selected passive house features into existing sectoral structures. We conclude that the dynamics of change we find is rather a ‘mainstreaming’ process of gradual adaptation of construction sector structures and passive houses than a radical transformation of the built environment or the diffusion of new building technology.

Industrial restructuring, energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from China

Under the downward pressure of the economy, China's extensive economic growth that relies on factor input is difficult to sustain. Scientific analysis of the industrial restructuring and energy consumption has become the key to realizing China's economic growth from high-speed to high-quality. Based on the fully-modified least square method and panel vector error correction model, this paper explores the equilibrium relationship and Granger causality among the industrial restructuring, energy consumption and economic growth at aggregated and disaggregated levels. The results show that: (1) The effect of industrial structure rationalization on economic growth is higher than that of industrial structure upgrading. When emphasizing industrial structure upgrade, the more reliable industrial policy to achieve China's sustainable economic growth is to pay attention to the industrial structure rationalization, especially in western China. (2) The impacts of natural gas and renewable energy consumption on economic growth are much smaller than coal and electricity consumption; more energy policies should be designed to encourage clean energy development.

An innovative digital workflow to design, build and manage bamboo structures

At current rates, the building industry is the major contributor to gas emissions and energy consumption in the world, placing unprecedented pressure to find alternative and sustainable construction materials, particularly in regions where urbanization and population growth are expected to rise. Coincidentally, bamboo culms are a sustainable and abundant resource with the potential to be used as a structural element in those regions, however, their organic nature and inherent incompatibility with modern design and construction procedures have hampered their formal utilization. This article presents the details of an innovative workflow based on the philosophy that the quality and reliability of bamboo structures can be computationally managed through the digitization of individual structural bamboo elements. The workflow relies on reverse-engineering processes that integrate and make bamboo culms compatible with modern data-management platforms such as Building Information Modelling. A case study based on a reconstruction project of bamboo houses in Lombok, Indonesia is presented to illustrate the proposed workflow. This work showed that digitization and management are not just to represent shapes and information regarding bamboo culms through computer software, but can also control the quality, sustainability, and structural behavior of a bamboo structure during its entire service life.

The Effects of Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions on Turkey's Initiatives in Promoting Sustainable Environmental and Economic Development

Turkey has a major concern in managing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Although they ratified the Paris Agreement on October 2021 to tackle climate change, the country would face economic loss due to fossil fuel production and increasing carbon emissions. Multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) analysis indicates that Turkey's energy consumption is affected by population growth, natural gas price, carbon emissions, and loans put into non-renewable energy projects. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions while continue to stabilize the economy, active regulations must be implemented to mitigate the effects of climate change and promote sustainable urban development with proposed strategies.

Retracted] Dynamic Combined Optimal Scheduling of Electric Energy and Natural Gas Energy Consumption in Data Center

Energy consumption is the key factor leading to high operating costs in data center. In this paper, considering the data center service level under the premise of using electricity and gas as energy supply of energy supply and energy consumption from two angles, the data center energy scheduling model is built. The lower model is calculation scheduling model for the data center, and the upper model is data center energy supply scheduling model. Then the particle swarm algorithm is used to simulate the schedule. The results show that using natural gas as supplementary energy supply can effectively reduce the overall energy consumption of data center in considering the service delay level of data center.

Influence of Forced Carbonisation on the Binding Properties of Sludge with a High β-Belite Content.

Alternative binders activated by forced carbonisation are regarded as one of the potential solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water, and energy consumption. Such binders, in particular those based on nepheline sludge (a by-product of alumina production), cured in carbon dioxide with subsequent hydration, are clinkerless building materials. The development of such binders contributes to the involvement of multi-tonnage solid industrial waste in the production cycle. This type of waste is capable of binding man-made CO2 and transforming it into stable insoluble compounds, having binder properties. The optimum technological parameters of the forced carbonisation of the nepheline slime binder was determined by the mathematical planning of the experiment. The novelty of the research is the expansion of the secondary raw material base that can bind the man-made CO2 with obtaining the construction products of appropriate quality. It was revealed that the process of active CO2 absorption by the minerals of nepheline slime is observed in the first 120 min of the forced carbonization. Immediately after carbonisation, the resulting material develops compressive strength up to 57.64 MPa, and at the subsequent hydration within 28 days this figure increases to 68.71 MPa. Calcium carbonate is the main binder that determines the high mechanical properties of the samples. During the subsequent hydration of the uncoated belite, gel-like products are formed, which additionally harden the carbonised matrix. Thus, after the forced carbonisation and the following 28 days of hardening, the material with compressive strength in the range 4.38–68.71 MPa and flexural strength of 3.1–8.9 MPa was obtained. This material was characterised by water absorption by mass in the range of 13.9–23.3% and the average density of 1640–1886 kg/m3. The softening coefficient of the material was 0.51–0.99. The results obtained enables one to consider further prospects for research in this area, in terms of the introduction of additional technological parameters to study the process of forced carbonisation of nepheline slime.

Tool for Assessing Green Initiatives in Library or Green Initiatives in Library: Formulating an Assessment Tool

Amid environmental crisis, the role of built environment sector becomes even more vital as it has a potential to make a significant contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Library specifically, plays a crucial role in supporting the mission of promoting environmental practice. However, limited rating system explicitly for library’s green initiatives makes it challenging for library to implement these initiatives due to lack of proper guidelines. Hence, this study was conducted to examine existing checklists measuring green initiatives in library and to formulate a checklist for assessing green initiatives in library’s facilities. A systematic review was conducted to establish an assessment checklist, in which three existing checklists related to green initiatives in library were compared and referred to. The assessment checklist developed in this study identifies 107 initiatives related to facilities can be implemented by existing libraries in Malaysia. The result of this study serves as a basis for libraries in Malaysia to environmentally improve its facilities.

KAJIAN LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA): ANALISIS CRADLE TO GATE PERTANIAN JAGUNG PAKAN DI KELOMPOK TANI DESA BAJUIN, KABUPATEN TANAH LAUT

The development of field corn farming in Indonesia continues to increase. Along with this, the potential risk, especially in environmental aspects, will be even greater. In this research, a study will be carried out using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to obtain data on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption in field corn farming at the farmer group level. The scope of research is limited to the analysis from land preparation to yielding harvested maize. The purpose of this study was to identify and measure the largest GHG and energy consumption in each process flow of field corn farming in order to design efficient mitigation efforts. The research method used in this research is field research in Bajuin. Data analysis refers to the SNI ISO 14040: 2016 Framework, which consists of 4 stages, namely (a) goal and scope definition, (b) life cycle inventory analysis, (c) life cycle impact assessment, and (d) life cycle interpretation. Life cycle inventory uses energy coefficients, emission factors, and the Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. The results showed that the Total Global Warming Potential (GWP 100) in the production of 1 ton of shelled corn was 52605,277 Kg CO2 eq. The largest GHG emitted was in urea fertilization, with emissions of 81.35% of the total emissions. The amount of energy used in producing 1 ton of shelled corn is 5155 MJ, where the most significant energy recorded was the urea fertilization stage of 3592,600 MJ. A recommended efforts to reduce GHG emissions are the use of organic fertilizer substitutes for urea.

Decoupling Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Economic Growth: A Case Study of Tunisia

The study examined the impact of different factors on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by applying the extended STIRPAT model and decoupling analysis for Tunisia for the period 1990–2018. Furthermore, the study utilizes Tapio decoupling model, and the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test approach to examine the relationship between the variables of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization, innovation, and trade openness. The findings validated an inverted U-shape relationship between GDP and GHG emissions. In addition, we find that the consumption of renewable energy contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions in the long run. The findings call authority for the adaption of the regulatory framework relating to energy management, energy efficiency and the development of renewable energies, as well as to initiate energy market reforms, implement mitigation strategies and encourage investments in clean energies.

Rule of Law, Corruption Control, Governance, and Economic Growth in Managing Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Consumption in South Asia.

Strong governance is vital for developing environmental policies to promote renewable energy consumption and discourage nonrenewable energy sources. The present research explores the effect of economic growth and different governance indicators on renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka using data from 1996 to 2019. For this purpose, the study uses different econometric techniques to find the long-term effects of the rule of law, regulatory quality, corruption control, government effectiveness, political stability, voice and accountability, and economic growth on oil, natural gas, coal, hydroelectricity, and renewable energy consumption. The results show that economic growth has a positive impact on all investigated renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Additionally, regulatory quality measures also increase all types of renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption. Except for natural gas, the impact of the rule of law is negative, and government effectiveness positively affects all energy sources. Control of corruption has a positive effect on natural gas consumption. Political stability has a negative effect on nonrenewable energy sources and a positive impact on renewable energy sources. The magnitudes of the effects of economic growth and most governance indicators are found to be larger on nonrenewable sources than renewable sources. The testing of the energy consumption and governance nexus is scant in global literature and is missing in South Asian literature. Hence, the study results contribute to how South Asian economies can be more sustainable in energy use by enhancing governance indicators in the economies. Particularly, the results imply that these countries should focus on improving the rule of law, corruption control, governance, regulatory quality, political stability, and economic growth to help maintain a sustainable balance of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Moreover, this issue needs further attention in developing countries, as governance indicators would play an effective role in promoting sustainable energy.