Environmental Impact Of Emissions Research Articles

Calculation Method of the Carbon Footprint of Products of Animal Origin Integrated with the Physiological Absorption of Carbon Dioxide: Calculation Example of the CFP of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DPO

The environmental impact of emissions appears to be increasingly important for food, particularly those of animal origin. The LCA (Life-Cycle Assessment) method, an internationally standardized method used to calculate the environmental impact of goods or services, in the carbon footprint, does not take into account the carbon set and consequently the subtraction of carbon dioxide by the plant biomass whether or not aimed at the production of food of animal origin. This methodology could overestimate the carbon dioxide generated to obtain plant and animal products that require their use. For the production of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DPO, in this specific case, the masses of the various forage and cereal species used were quantified starting from the food rations of the different categories divided by age and production phase (dry, lactation, young livestock and heifers). The population includes all the animals reared in the areas covered by the DPO specification and with a milk production orientation. The carbon fixed in the forage and consequently the carbon dioxide subtracted from the atmosphere was calculated on the food mass, through the various harvesting speeds and the percentages of dry matter. The purpose of this contribution was to calculate the number of greenhouse gases emitted during the digestive and fermentative processes as well as that produced by the manure and the CO<sub>2</sub> emitted with respiration by comparing it with the sequestration of carbon, and therefore of carbon dioxide, in all plants and all vegetable raw materials, grown in Italy and abroad, used to feed the buffaloes destined for the production of buffalo mozzarella from Campania (Mozzarella MBC) in the DPO area. The amount of greenhouse gases converted into equivalent carbon dioxide emitted during production is lower than the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. For every kg of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DPO, a total of about 52 kg of CO<sub>2</sub>eq is subtracted. Therefore, if this factor were taken into account for agricultural and animal products, the environmental impacts in terms of emissions would be reset.

Studies on the Performance of Engines Powered with Hydrogen-Enriched Biogas

Sustainability of energy supply has become a prime concern for energy producers and consumers alike. There is heightened awareness in the global community about the decreasing supply of conventional fossil fuels along with increasing fuel and energy demand and the consequent rise in unit energy cost. In addition to the sustainability aspect, the environmental impact of emissions from fossil fuel combustion is the focus of global targets for emissions reduction. In this context, the research and application of sustainable and non-polluting fuels become significant. Internal combustion (IC) engines are part of a significant energy-consuming sector, and the application of sustainable and non-polluting fuels within IC engines would be impactful. Biogas and hydrogen are viewed as sustainable and non-polluting alternatives to conventional fossil fuels. However, either of these used individually offer certain disadvantages. Experimental results and analysis of the performance and emissions characteristics of an IC engine fueled with biogas blended with 5, 10, and 15% hydrogen volume fractions are studied. An increase in hydrogen content increases the engine’s performance and power and reduces carbon monoxide (CO) and total hydrocarbons (THCs). However, nitrogen oxides (NOx) are found to increase due to higher combustion temperatures attributed to hydrogen. A 17.5% increase in brake power is observed for 15% hydrogen-enriched biogas, compared to plain biogas, at an equivalence ratio of 0.6. Similarly, a 17% increase in BTE, a 50% decrease in CO, a 68% decrease in UHC, but a 71% increase in NOx are observed for 15% hydrogen-enriched biogas.

SMO Algorithm to Unravel CEED Problem using Wind and Solar

This research proposes a more advanced way to address Combined Economic Emission Dispatch (CEED) concerns. Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) and Economic Emission Dispatch (EED) have been implemented to reduce generating unit fuel costs and emissions. When both economics and emission targets are taken into account, the dispatch of an aggregate cost-effective emission challenge emerges. This research affords a mathematical modeling-based analytical technique for solving economic, emission, and collaborative economic and emission dispatch problems with only one goal. This study takes into account both the fuel cost target and the environmental impact of emissions. This bi-intention CEED problem is converted to a solitary goal function using a price penalty factor technique. In this case, a metaheuristic and an environment-inspired, intelligent Spider Monkey Optimization technique (SMO) are used to address the CEED dilemma. By following the generator’s scheduling process, the SMO method is used to regulate the output from the power generation system in terms of pollution and fuel cost. The Fission-Fusion social (FFS) structure of spider monkeys promotes them to utilize a global optimization method known as SMO during foraging behaviour. The emphasis is mostly on lowering the cost of generation and pollution in order to improve the efficiency of the power system and handle dispatch problems with constraints. The economic dispatch has been remedied, and the improved result demonstrates that the system’s performance is stable and flexible in real time. Finally, the system’s output demonstrates that the system has improved in resolving CEED difficulties. When compared to earlier investigations, the proposed model’s findings have improved. As the generating units, wind and solar are used to explore the CEED crisis in the IEEE 30 bus system.

Review on the environmental impact of emissions from space launches: a case study for areas affected by the Russian space programme.

In this paper, we summarised the main field-based approaches and a large volume of data on the territories affected by the Russian space programme conducted at Plesetsk, Baikonur, and Vostochny cosmodromes. Influence of space transportation on the ozone layer depletion, as well as on environmental and human health, is negligible. The environmental consequences of rocket and space activities within launch pads and the terrestrial drop zones of jettisoned first stages of launch vehicles are allowable. Moreover, it is negligible in the second stage drop zones. Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine pollution is local and does not result in the formation of ecological disaster zones because ecosystems restore by themselves. Influence of rocket launches on the mesospheric cloud formation is short-time or/and insignificant. The environmental impact of space transportation by the Russian space programme on the terrestrial ecosystems is well-studied. To approve or to disprove these findings similar researches should be carried out in other terrestrial and aquatic drop zones affected due to the space programmes of other countries.

The Feasibility Assessment of Power System Dispatch with Carbon Tax Considerations

Traditional economic dispatch methods, which are used to minimize fuel costs, have become inadequate because they do not consider the environmental impact of emissions in the optimization process. By taking into account the horizon year load and carbon taxes, this paper examines the operation and dispatch of power units in a power system. The objective function, including the cost of fuels and the cost of carbon taxes, is solved by the modified particle swarm optimization with time-varying acceleration coefficient (MPSO-TVAC) method under operational constraints. Based on different load scenarios, the influences of various carbon taxes for the dispatch of units are simulated and analyzed. The efficiency and ability of the proposed MPSO-TVAC method are demonstrated using a real 345KV system. Simulation results indicate that the average annual CO2 emissions are 0.36 kg/kwh, 0.41 kg/kwh, and 0.44 kg/kwh in 2012, 2017 and 2022, respectively. As the capacity of gas-fired plants was increased in 2017 and 2022, the average cost in 2017 and 2022 doubled or tripled compared with the average cost in 2012. Reasonable solutions provide a practical and flexible framework for power sectors to perform feasibility assessments of power system dispatch. They can also be used to assist decision-makers in reaching minimal operation cost goals under the policies for desired emissions.

Bi-objective Optimization of a Combined Cycle Power Plant with Economic and Life Cycle Assessment Considerations

The demand for electricity has increased worldwide and concerns about cost and environmental impact regarding electric power generation have increased as well. Combined cycle power plants are used worldwide to meet that demand. In this paper, a methodology for the cost and environmental impact bi-objective optimization of a combined cycle power plant using a life cycle assessment indicator is proposed. Eco-indicator 99 is used, but other indicators can be used as well. A genetic algorithm is used to solve the formulated optimization problem. A sensitivity analysis is done regarding the key parameters of the plant. The novelty of this paper is the application of a life cycle assessment of fuel, equipment and emissions, and a cost estimate in the formulation of the optimization problem. This methodology can be applied for preliminary feasibility studies of combined cycle power plants in light of both cost and environmental impact simultaneously. Results show that, according to the Pareto front, the levelized cost of electricity ranges from $ 41.1 to 46.2 per MWh, and the environmental impact of electricity ranges from 27.5 to 28.8 mPts per kWh. In addition, one must consider the environmental impact of the fuel in modeling; i.e., the environmental impact of emissions only is insufficient to model and assess the plant fairly. Moreover, the levelized cost of electricity is sensitive to the fuel cost and the environmental impact of electricity is sensitive to the fuel’s environmental impact.

Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Noxious Emissions by Energy Enterprises into the Atmosphere of the Mining Region

The article addresses the impact of harmful emissions on the environment from the activities of energy companies. Thepurpose of the study is to assess the environmental impact of emissions of harmful substances by energy enterprises into the atmosphere of the mining region. The analysis of the harmful impact on the environment of noxious emissions by energy enterprises into the atmosphere of the mining region is carried out. The main result of the work is the generalized SWOT-analysis of the assessment of the negative impact on the environment by noxious emissions from power plants into the atmosphere of the mining region of theKemerovo Region; and the system of measures aimed at solving environmental problems.

Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions from Different Stages of Liquid Manure Management Chains: Abatement Options and Emission Interactions.

Farm livestock manure is an important source of ammonia and greenhouse gases. Concerns over the environmental impact of emissions from manure management have resulted in research efforts focusing on emission abatement. However, questions regarding the successful abatement of manure-related emissions remain. This study uses a meta-analytical approach comprising 89 peer-reviewed studies to quantify emission reduction potentials of abatement options for liquid manure management chains from cattle and pigs. Analyses of emission reductions highlight the importance of accounting for interactions between emissions. Only three out of the eight abatement options considered (frequent removal of manure, anaerobic digesters, and manure acidification) reduced ammonia (3-60%), nitrous oxide (21-55%), and methane (29-74%) emissions simultaneously, whereas in all other cases, tradeoffs were identified. The results demonstrate that a shift from single-stage emission abatement options towards a whole-chain perspective is vital in reducing overall emissions along the manure management chain. The study also identifies some key elements like proper clustering, reporting of influencing factors, and explicitly describing assumptions associated with abatement options that can reduce variability in emission reduction estimates. Prioritization of abatement options according to their functioning can help to determine low-risk emission reduction options, specifically options that alter manure characteristics (e.g., reduced protein diets, anaerobic digestion, or slurry acidification). These insights supported by comprehensive emission measurement studies can help improve the effectiveness of emission abatement and harmonize strategies aimed at reducing air pollution and climate change simultaneously.

Environmental impact of emissions from incineration plants in comparison to typical heating systems

In recent years, five modern municipal waste incineration plants have been built in Poland. Next ones are being constructed and at the same time building of several others is being considered. Despite positive experience with the operation of the existing installations, each project of building a new incinerator raises a lot of emotions and social protests. The main argument against construction of an incineration plant is the emission of pollutants. The work compares emissions from municipal waste incineration plants with those from typical heating plants: in the first part, for comparison large heating plants equipped with pulverized coal-fired boilers (OP-140), stoker-fired boilers (three OR-32 boilers) or gas blocks with heat output of about 100 MW have been selected, while the second part compares WR-10 and WR-25 stoker-fired boilers most popular in our heating industry with thermal treatment systems for municipal waste or refuse-derived-fuel (RDF) with similar heat output. Both absolute emission and impact - immission of pollutants in vicinity of the plant were analyzed.

Environmental Impact Analysis of the Emission from Petroleum Refineries in Nigeria

Health and environmental hazards, a thing of global concern have been the major characteristics of the petroleum refinery areas worldwide, Nigeria inclusive. This is as a result of the emissions from petroleum refineries which resulted into air quality degradation of the host environment. This problem which has equally affected the climatic conditions of the petroleum producing areas is more pronounced in Nigeria due to lack of implementing adequate policies to protect the host environment. This study is carried out to investigate the atmospheric conditions of the petroleum refineries and identify the environmental impact of emissions of criteria pollutants from the proposed project in the area of influence. Emission inventory of criteria pollutants was carried out on the four existing and twenty-three proposed petroleum refineries in Nigeria. Using no control-measure option, the estimated annual criteria air pollutants emissions from point sources in the existing refineries are 1,217 tons/annum for PM10, 45,124 tons/annum for SO2, 167,570 tons/annum for NOx, 3,842 tons/annum for VOC and 242,469 tons/annum for CO. An additional 1,082 tons/annum of PM10, 168,944 tons/annum of SO2, 688,687 tons/annum of NOx, 9,122 tons/annum of VOC and 569,975 tons/annum of CO were predicted to be added into the Nigeria airshed by the proposed petroleum refineries. The highest pollutant emitting state was predicted to be Rivers State with the highest number of refineries while the least pollutant emitting states were predicted to be Kaduna, Edo, Lagos and Anambra States with only one refinery in each of the state. The ability to adopt appropriate control measures will determine the rate of emission of criteria pollutants released into the country’s airshed.

Industrial growth and anthropogenic pollutants in arid and hyper-arid environments

Industrial development is greatly increasing in arid environments, in particular Asia and the Middle East. This note addresses the development of the aluminum industry as a case study in the Middle East. Our current understanding of the environmental impact of emissions from the smelting process is derived largely from models based on the plant communities and climates of the temperate Americas and Europe. Ultimately, these models depend on rainfall for plant protection and, therefore, may not be applicable to the arid environments.

International environmental agreements under uncertainty: does the 'veil of uncertainty' help?

Na and Shin showed that the ‘veil of uncertainty’ can be conducive to the success of self-enforcing international environmental agreements. Later papers confirmed this conclusion about the negative impact of learning. In the light of intensified research efforts worldwide to reduce uncertainty about the environmental impact of emissions and the cost of reducing them, this conclusion is intriguing. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we analyse whether the result carries over to a more general setting without restriction on the number of players and which considers not only ‘no’ and ‘full learning’ but also ‘partial learning’. Second, we test whether the conclusion also holds if there is uncertainty about abatement costs instead of uncertainty about the benefits from global abatement. Third, we propose a transfer scheme that mitigates the possible negative effect of learning and which may even transform it into a positive effect.

Emergy analysis of an industrial park: The case of Dalian, China

With the rapid development of eco-industrial park projects in China, evaluating their overall eco-efficiency is becoming an important need and a big challenge academically. Developing ecologically conscious industrial park management requires analysis of both industrial and ecological systems. Traditional evaluation methods based on neoclassical economics and embodied energy and exergy analyses have certain limitations due to their focus with environmental issues considered secondary to the maximization of economic and technical objectives. Such methods focus primarily on the environmental impact of emissions and their economic consequences. These approaches ignore the contribution of ecological products and services as well as the load placed on environmental systems and related problems of carrying capacity of economic and industrial development. This paper presents a new method, based upon emergy analysis and synthesis. Such a method links economic and ecological systems together, highlighting the internal relations among the different subsystems and components. The emergy-based method provides insight into the environmental performance and sustainability of an industrial park. This paper depicts the methodology of emergy analysis at the industrial park level and provides a series of emergy-based indices. A case study is investigated and discussed in order to show the emergy method's practical potential. Results from DEDZ (Dalian Economic Development Zone) case show us the potential of emergy synthesis method at the industrial park level for environmental policy making. Its advantages and limitations are also discussed with avenues for future research identified.

Estimate of the environmental impact of emissions of the constructed Taishet aluminium factory

Foreward-looking estimates are made for the fluo rine mass deposited in the region of the constructed aluminum factory as a fraction of the entire emitted fluorine mass. We obtained prognostic map schemes that illustrate the future influence of emissions from the constructed Taishet aluminum factory on the underlying surface of the region. It is shown that when the Taishet aluminum factory achieves its planned production capacity, its emission products may reach Bratsk.

International Environmental Agreements Under Uncertainty: Does the Veil of Uncertainty Help?

Na and Shin (1998) showed that the veil of uncertainty can be conducive to the success of self-enforcing international environmental agreements. Later papers confirmed this negative conclusion about the role of learning. In the light of intensified research efforts worldwide to reduce uncertainty about the environmental impact of emissions and the cost of reducing them, this conclusion is intriguing. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we analyze whether the result carries over to a more general setting without restriction on the number of players and which considers not only no and full learning but also partial learning. Second, we test whether the conclusion also holds if there is uncertainty about abatement costs instead of uncertainty about the benefits from global abatement. Third, we propose a transfer scheme that mitigates the possible negative effect of learning and which may even transform it into a positive effect.

Critical Review of Exergy-Based Indicators for the Environmental Impact of Emissions

Exergy-based indicators for the environmental impact of emissions are critically reviewed, in part by comparing them with other indicators for the environmental impact of emissions. The work highlights the potential for exergy to be, or provide the basis for, an effective indicator of the potential of an emitted substance to impact the environment. Relations examined between environmental impact and exergy in general and the chemical exergy of waste emissions in particular support the use of exergy as such an indicator. The measure provided by exergy of disequilibrium with respect to a reference environment is considered, along with the consequence that the exergy of unrestricted waste emissions has the potential to impact on the environment. Exergy is observed to exhibit many of the characteristics of other indicators of environmental impact, which are mainly empirical in nature. An exergy-based indicator could contribute to the development of rational and objective procedures for assessing harmful effects on the environment and predicting environmental impact potential for a substance. The potential usefulness of exergy in addressing environmental problems, although significant, requires further investigation before widely accepted exergy-based indicators of the environmental impact potential of a substance are developed.

The joint use of LCA and emergy evaluation for the analysis of two Italian wine farms

The aim of this paper is to evaluate two agroindustrial productive processes in their entirety (one organic and one semi-industrial), focusing on the comparison of impacts derived from the inputs and outputs of the system (life cycle assessment, LCA), integrated with a physical evaluation of the resources and natural services, on a common basis (emergy). Methods based on the joint use of LCA and emergy evaluation are useful, as they measure the contribution of environmental services and products to the productive process thus focusing primarily on the environmental impact of emissions and non-renewable energy inputs. The complementarity of the methods used in this paper contributes important elements and information useful for the comprehension of the organization of agriculture within Siena's territory. The results show important elements and useful information: (1) for the comprehension of the two agroecosystems’ organization; (2) for the use of the energy flows that determine their development. Moreover, the combined use of emergy and LCA gives a comparative thermodynamic performance evaluation between organic and semi-industrial farming.

An Evolutionary Based Wavelet Network for Real-Time Power Dispatch

This article presents an evolutionary based wavelet network (EBWN) technique for real-time power dispatch regarding both fuel cost and environmental impact of emissions. The wavelet networks, constructed by an evolutionary computing algorithm, are composed of a three-layer structure that contains the wavelet, weighting, and summing nodes, respectively. To make the computed outputs fit the historical ones, the parameters of translation and dilation in the wavelet nodes and the weighting factors in the weighting nodes are tuned. Taking the advantages of global search abilities of the evolutionary programming (EP) and the multi-resolution as well as localization natures of the wavelets, the evolutionary based wavelet networks can thus construct and identify the inherent characteristics of the nonlinear system. Once the networks are trained properly, they can be applied to the real-time power dispatch environment. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been demonstrated by two examples, the IEEE 30-bus 6-generator system and the Taipower Company (TPC) real system. Comparisons of learning performances are made to the existing artificial neural networks (ANNs) method.

A thermodynamic framework for ecologically conscious process systems engineering

Long term growth and well being of the chemical industry requires economically and ecologically conscious process engineering. Traditional process engineering methods fall short of meeting this need due to their treating the environment as being secondary to economic objectives. Life cycle assessment and design methods broaden the scope of traditional methods, but focus primarily on the environmental impact of emissions while ignoring the contribution of ecological products and services. Taking nature for granted could provide misleading results since natural products and processes are a significant contributor to all industrial products and processes. Methods from systems ecology do account for ecological inputs, but ignore the impact of emissions. This paper presents an original approach for the joint analysis of industrial and ecological systems. This approach considers inputs from both ecological and economic resources, as well as the impact of emissions. It uses thermodynamics to exploit the synergy between methods from process systems engineering, systems ecology, and life cycle assessment to overcome the shortcomings of methods from each field. The approach is based on the fact that growth and sustenance of both industrial and ecological processes are limited by the available energy and its conversion to useful work. Thus, the embodied energy (emergy), that is, the energy used directly or indirectly to make a product or service is a thermodynamic measure of ecological investment or cost, while exergy loss provides a holistic measure of the impact of emissions. Together, emergy and exergy analysis can provide insight into the environmental performance and sustainability of the industrial process or product. The proposed framework is broadly applicable to assist decision making in chemical and other engineering tasks. Challenges and research opportunities for making this framework practical are identified.

A thermodynamic framework for ecologically conscious process systems engineering

Making process systems engineering decisions that are ecologically conscious requires analysis of both industrial and ecological processes. Traditional methods in process engineering usually fall short of meeting this requirement due to considering the environment as secondary to economic objectives. Life cycle assessment and design methods have broadened the scope of traditional methods by considering the environmental impact in the entire life cycle of a product or process. These methods focus primarily on the environmental impact of emissions and ignore the contribution of ecological products and services. This paper presents a thermodynamic approach for including the input from both ecological and economic resources, and for analyzing industrial and ecological processes together. This approach is based on the fact that growth and sustenance of both industrial and ecological processes are limited by the available energy and its conversion to useful work. Thus, the embodied energy (emergy), that is, the energy used directly or indirectly to make a product or service is a measure of ecological cost. Emergy analysis of industrial and ecological processes provides insight into the environmental performance and substainability of the industrial process or product. Emergy-based life cycle assessment is developed to combine the benefits of both methods. The proposed framework is broadly applicable and is illustrated by the emergy based life cycle assessment of soy bean growth.