Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption Research Articles

Multicriteria Aided Design of Integrated Heating-Cooling Energy Systems in Buildings

This paper presents an analysis of the possible application of integrated heating-cooling systems in buildings. The general algorithm of integrated heating-cooling system design aid was formulated. The evaluation criteria of technically acceptable variants were defined. Fossil fuel energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission, investment, and total exploitation cost were identified as the most important factors describing the considered decision problem. The multicriteria decision aid method ELECTRE III was proposed as the decision tool for the choice of the most compromised variant. The proposed method was used for a case study calculation—the choice of an integrated heating-cooling system for an office building.

An Analysis of Energy Consumption in an Adelaide Suburb with Different Retrofitting and Redevelopment Scenarios

Improving energy efficiency of the existing dwelling stock of towns and cities will increasingly be part of the effort to moderate fossil fuel energy consumption in the decades to come. At the same time, residential areas may be subject to densification to better utilise the existing urban infrastructure whilst accommodating a larger population. The analysis of energy consumption arising from these trends offers the potential for optimising built forms and assisting in development decisions for urban renewal to encourage lower energy outcomes. This article describes the application of a model which uses a life cycle approach to the analysis of energy consumption in a residential suburb. The results indicate that the inclusion of embodied energy expended during redevelopment can be substantial and should be considered when modelling future energy consumption scenarios.

Environmental and Economic Impacts of Integrating Photovoltaic and Wind-Turbine Energy Systems in the Canadian Residential Sector

The Canadian residential sector contributes approximately 80 megatons of GHGs to the environment yearly. With the ratification of Kyoto Protocol, Canada has committed to reduce its 1990 GHG emission levels by at least 5% between 2008 and 2012. To meet this target, Canada must evaluate and exploit all feasible means to reduce fossil fuel energy consumption and GHG emissions. Test-case Canadian houses were modeled in the building-energy simulation software ESP-r. Requisite housing stock data were extracted from Canada's residential end-use energy surveys. Photovoltaic and wind-turbine energy systems were assessed for their contribution to electricity generation and GHG savings. Typical household electrical consumption versus renewable electricity generation was assessed to estimate the GHG reduction, cost saving in electricity, and the impact of these technologies on single detached houses. With the use of net-metering, 100% of electricity requirements can be met by these technologies in certain cases, resulting in significant reductions in GHG emissions.

Sustainable utilisation of forest biomass for energy—Possibilities and problems: Policy, legislation, certification, and recommendations and guidelines in the Nordic, Baltic, and other European countries

Abstract The substitution of biomass for fossil fuels in energy consumption is a measure to mitigate global warming, as well as having other advantages. Political action plans for increased use exist at both European and national levels. This paper briefly reviews the contents of recommendations, guidelines, and other synthesis publications on sustainable use of forest biomass for energy. Topics are listed and an overview of advantages, disadvantages, and trade-offs between them is given, from the viewpoint of society in general and the forestry and energy sectors in particular. For the Nordic and Baltic countries, the paper also identifies the extent to which wood for energy is included in forest legislation and forest certification standards under the “Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification” (PEFC) and the “Forest Stewardship Council” (FSC) schemes. Energy and forest policies at EU and national levels, and European PEFC forest standards are analysed. With respect to energy policies, the utilisation of wood for energy is generally supported in forest policies, but forest legislation is seldom used as a direct tool to encourage the utilisation of wood for energy. Regulations sometimes restrict use for environmental reasons. Forest certification standards include indicators directly related to the utilisation of wood for energy under several criteria, with most occurrences found under environmental criteria. Roles and problems in relation to policy, legislation, certification standards, recommendations and guidelines, and science are discussed.

Life cycle assessment of hydrogen fuel cell and gasoline vehicles

A life cycle assessment of hydrogen and gasoline vehicles, including fuel production and utilization in vehicles powered by fuel cells and internal combustion engines, is conducted to evaluate and compare their efficiencies and environmental impacts. Fossil fuel and renewable technologies are investigated, and the assessment is divided into various stages. Energy efficiencies and greenhouse gas emissions are evaluated in each step for crude oil and natural gas pipeline transportation, crude oil distillation and natural gas reformation, wind and solar electricity generation, hydrogen production through water electrolysis, and gasoline and hydrogen distribution and utilization. The results indicate that, when taking into account fossil fuel energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the efficiency of a fuel cell vehicle employing hydrogen from natural gas should be at least 25–30% higher than the gasoline one to be competitive. Wind electricity generation to produce hydrogen via electrolysis, and its application in a PEMFC vehicle, has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel energy consumption. However, the economic attractiveness of renewable wind technology is shown to depend significantly on the ratio in costs between hydrogen and natural gas; when this ratio is 2:1, a financial investment to produce hydrogen via natural gas is about five times more profitable than to do so via wind energy.

Inventory of SO2, PM and toxic metals emissions from industrial sources in Greater Mumbai, India

Abstract A comprehensive and spatial emission inventory was carried out for sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and toxic metals from industrial sources in Greater Mumbai, India. Fuel consumption database was developed for industrial sources. Emission factors for various pollutants were compiled from the literature, scrutinized and used appropriately as applicable under Indian conditions. Emissions of SO2, PM and toxic metals were estimated for 2001–02 and extrapolated to 2010. SO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion covering 215 point sources for 2001–02 were computed as 55.591 Gg y−1 whereas those for PM were calculated as 9.794 Gg y−1. The total metal emissions from industrial sources were computed as 0.375 Gg y−1. Total fossil fuel energy consumption in industrial sector during 2001–02 was 145 PJ, which included fuel consumption (29%) in power plants. Amongst the industries, thermal power plants (TPP) were the major source of emissions in the region contributing 27% share towards SO2, 19% PM and 62% metals. Projected scenario for 2010 indicates that there would be substantial reduction in PM and metal emission load while the gaseous pollutant concentration would show a decreasing trend.

Assessing the educational opportunities from a solar powered cultivator at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

The need to develop alternatives for fossil fuel energy consumption is mandated by the limit of world oil reserves and the environmental costs associated with their continued use. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate to local farmers the environmental benefits provided by a modified farm implement and to enhance interest in alternative energy systems. The investigators wanted also to evaluate the attitudes among students and the general public in studying energy in lower power applications at Slippery Rock University. This was accomplished through the administration of a purposefully designed survey to 72 subjects who were introduced to alternative energy systems by the investigators at the farmers' fairs. Presents a discussion about every indicator proposed by the research instrument with implications for colleges and universities in gearing curricula toward sustainability. The acquisition of solar powered equipment remains inaccessible for a majority of Pennsylvania farmers. However, this initial evaluation study demonstrates a sincere interest toward solar energy, in an attempt to pursue sustainability a step further, at an institution of higher education, in this prominent agrarian region of the USA.

An environmental assessment of food supply chains: a case study on dessert apples.

The contemporary food system provides consumers with convenience, extensive choice, and the year-round availability of fresh produce. In this paper these achievements are recognized within the context of the associated environmental impacts. While many analyses have considered the energy and material efficiency of various options for food production and packaging, very few studies have investigated the environmental impacts of the transport components of food supply chains. This is surprising, given that the global sourcing of food produce, centralized distribution systems, and shopping by car have become prevalent in recent decades and have contributed to an increase in the distance between producer and consumer or "food miles." In a case study the transport energy consumption is calculated for all possible ways in which dessert apples can be supplied to the UK consumer. The aim is to assess the environmental performance of the predominant fresh produce supply chains and to investigate claims that localized systems are more environmentally efficient. The main criteria used to compare the environmental efficiency in alternative food supply chains are the transport-related fossil-fuel energy consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions. Analysis of the empirical data shows that transportation is now responsible for a considerable fraction of the total energy consumption in the life cycle of fresh apples, and in most cases exceeds the energy consumed in commercial apple cultivation. By developing local production and marketing systems for fresh products, transport demand can be reduced and many of the environmental impacts associated with existing supply chains can be avoided. The results of the study are then discussed in relation to the wider issues of transport policy, international trade, food security, and product-related environmental information for consumers.

Greenland Ice Sheet over the next 5000 years

The two‐dimensional climate model developed by Gallée et al. [1991, 1992] in Louvain‐la‐Neuve (2‐D‐LLN climate model) has been used to test the long‐term response of the climate system to carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration changes induced by fossil fuel energy consumption. Three scenarios of future atmospheric CO2 concentration have been designed : in the first two, the concentration is kept constant over the next 5000 years (5 ka), first to the pre‐industrial value (280 parts per million volume, 280 ppmv) and second, to the double of the present‐day value (710 ppmv). In a third scenario, it has been assumed that the pre‐industrial CO2 concentration will rise from 280 to 710 ppmv within the next 500 years and then decrease progressively to reach 450 ppmv and 350 ppmv, respectively 1000 years and 1500 years from now. In such a scenario, the mean annual and hemispheric temperature is shown to increase by about 3°C due to the increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration from 280 ppmv to 710 ppmv. High latitudes are more sensitive than low latitudes, this being related to important albedo changes over these regions. While the Greenland ice sheet does not change significantly if the pre‐industrial CO2 concentration is assumed to remain constant, it rapidly collapses with a CO2 concentration of 710 ppmv kept constant over the next 5 ka. Even in the third scenario where the CO2 concentration progressively returns to the present‐day value at the end of the simulation (5 ka after present (5 ka AP)), the Greenland ice sheet disappears also.

Mass extinctions: what can the past tell us about the present and the future?

The biosphere is undergoing a series of environmental perturbations whose impacts are collectively exceeding all but the greatest geologic upheavals of the prehistoric past. Among these current impacts is a mass extinction that portends the elimination of a large proportion, perhaps as many as half, of all species now extant. The predominant driving force behind the present-day perturbations is made up of two factors: growth in human numbers and growth in human consumerism. Since the start of this century human numbers have increased threefold, growth in human consumption of fossil-fuel energy has increased 12-fold, and growth in the global economy has increased 29-fold (Brown et al., 1989; World Resources Institute, 1989). The most rapid growth has occurred in just the past few decades. Of this century's economic growth, four-fifths has taken place since 1950; and the expansion of the global economy in 1988 and 1989, $600 billion, has been as great as was the entire economy in the year 1900. As a result of these various forms of growth in the human enterprise, along with inappropriate technologies and deficient economic policies, the biosphere now suffers from a lengthening list of environmental assaults: widespread pollution such as acid rain, soil erosion, tropical deforestation, spread of deserts and decline of water supplies, to name but the main forms of environmental degradation and biospheric impoverishment. Also underway are depletion of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. To comprehend the scope of our overburdening of the biosphere, consider the capacity of humankind to feed its present total of over 5 billion people. If we all lived off a basically vegetarian diet and shared our food supplies equally around the world, the biosphere could support roughly 6 billion people. If the diet were upgraded until 15% of calories were derived from animal products, making it the equivalent of what many South Americans consume today, the global total would be only 4 billion. Were the diet to be further improved to a full but healthy level with 25% of calories derived from animal products, being the equivalent of what many people in southern Europe consume today, the total would fall to 3 billion; and if the level included 35% of calories from animal products, or the equivalent of today's average North American diet, the total would be a mere 2.5 billion (Kates et al., 1989). Of course we can hope that better agro-technologies will improve the prospect. But despite the exceptional technological feats of the past few decades, the 1988 harvest worldwide was about 5% smaller than the 1985 harvest--while the global population was 5% percent larger (Ornstein and Ehrlich, 1989). Hence the present throngs of humankind press ever-harder upon the planetary ecosystem. To summarize the situation through an alternative analysis, humankind now co-opts some 40% of