Analysis Of Environmental Performance Research Articles

Analysis of environmental performance of a turbocharged diesel engine operating on natural gas

In the process of fuel oxidation, various harmful substances are formed in the compression ignition engine (CIE) cylinder, including nitrogen compounds and soot. The presence of these components, and especially soot, has a decisive role in the processes of thermal radiation of the flame, local heat transfer in the CC, the degree of blackness of the flame, the thermal stress of the piston and cylinder cover. Under the conditions of non-stationary processes, it is necessary to solve local problems by determining the concentration of these substances, taking into account the uneven distribution of fuel, the non-stationary local thermal conditions and the various state of aggregation of the components of the medium. The presence of soot leads to the formation of soot, which leads to disruption of heat transfer processes between the functioning fluid and the cylinder cover and the piston bottom, that is, the conditions in the boundary layer. The concentrations of these substances depending on the operating parameters of the CIE are considered, recommendations are made on the practical use of compressed natural gas in a tractor CIE.

Sustainability materiality matrices in doubt: may prioritizations of aspects overestimate environmental performance?

This study builds on the research gap that arises from the consistency analysis of the GRI-materiality approach with other prioritization approaches. The main objective is to explore to what extent corporate environmental performance is consistent using two different prioritization approaches. This study employs a novel quantitative approach to assess environmental performance through the prioritization of environmental aspects by using companies’ materiality analysis and independent expert knowledge. The empirical analysis focuses on the environmental performance analysis of wearing apparel companies. The main findings reveal that companies with better environmental performance could be using materiality analysis to further embellish the positive performance or for greenwashing purposes. This study could serve as a starting point to improve understanding of how companies could identify, from an objective and comparable basis, those environmental aspects that are essential to their business strategy and that are necessary to help stakeholders to make fully informed decisions.

A joint analysis of environmental and economic performances of closed-loop supply chains under carbon tax regulation

Under carbon tax regulation, we jointly measure the environmental and economic performances of three closed-loop supply chains, where remanufacturing is implemented through the reverse channels of retailer collection, manufacture collection, and a third-party collection. The equilibrium results for each supply chain are derived and the impacts of emission-related factors are characterized. Through numerical study, we explore the impacts of the emission intensities of both new and remanufactured products on the entire emissions. Also, the government’s policy concerning environmental protection is discussed. The results show that the collection rate and the first-period product quantity are piecewise monotonous related to the tax price and emission intensities. Either the manufacturer collection or the retailer collection can be the most eco-efficient revers channel while the third-party collection is the least-preferred. The retailer collection can be both environmentally and economically better off to achieve a Pareto-improvement. Otherwise, when the manufacturer collection is the most eco-efficient reverse channel, it can be motivated by the government through subsidizing. Interestingly, the numerical studies show that reducing the emission intensity of remanufactured products can be eco-efficient, while lowering the emission intensity of new products may do harm to the environment. Besides, with one subsidy, two tax prices can be set by the government, among which the higher tax price leads to better environmental sustainability.

Data on the environmental performance analysis of a dual-source heat pump system.

This data article reports supplementary input and output data related to the research article “Environmental performance analysis of a dual-source heat pump system” on the life cycle assessment evaluation of an heat pump prototype, able to use alternatively the air and the ground as external heat sources. Primarily, the present article shows the life cycle inventory input data of the system under study and of the conventional air and ground heat pump systems, which were used for comparison. Secondly, complete numerical results are exposed, which are showed only graphically and in an aggregated form in the main article. Data include normalised and unaggregated environmental impacts of each investigated life cycle phase. The article also reports the complete results of the sensitivity analysis conducted using different assumptions on the energy mix and on the energy use.

Analysis of resource allocation and environmental performance in China's three major urban agglomerations.

This study focuses on the analysis of optimal energy allocation and environmental performance of China's three major urban agglomerations. Specifically, this paper first uses a fixed-input DEA model to obtain the optimal allocation of energy input. Then, an evaluation model based on the optimal allocation of energy input is proposed to evaluate environmental performance. Finally, these models are applied to the empirical analysis of the three major urban agglomerations in China. This article mainly draws the following conclusions. First, energy is wasted in most cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Second, from 2012 to 2016, the environmental performance of each urban agglomeration showed a downward trend and then an upward trend. Third, the overall environmental performance of the three major urban agglomerations is not high. Some specific regions, such as Handan, Anyang, Xingtai, and Baoding, behave not well in protecting the environment.

Environmental performance analysis of a dual-source heat pump system

Using all phases of a life cycle assessment (LCA), this paper analyses the environmental impact of a dual-source heat pump (DSHP) system that uses either the air or the ground as external heat sources. Data on the production were provided by the manufacturer of the heat pump prototype. The use phase was considered by evaluating the seasonal and annual energy performance of the system, using dynamic simulations. The system maintenance and end-of-life were modelled in accordance with the current regulations and statistical data in this sector. The Ecoinvent database was used as a reference for background data. The ReCiPe, CED and IPCC 100a impact methods were used to assess the environmental impact categories. The results were compared with those of conventional air and ground source heat pump systems. A sensitivity study on the influence of the energy in the use phase was carried out in terms of a variation in energy use and for different energy mixes, including photovoltaic energy. The results demonstrated the environmental validity of the technology in comparison with the two conventional heat pumps used for residential applications in different conditions. The results could be used by heat pump manufacturers to improve the design and performance of their products, by designers in the selection of thermal technologies, and by researchers involved in the study of similar emerging renewable energy technologies.

Environmental efficiency and the role of energy innovation in emissions reduction.

Environmental problems, including extreme weather phenomena, unprecedented global warming, and environmental disasters caused by increasing levels of CO2 and other toxic emissions, along with rapidly increasing economic development and energy consumption, require global development and policies to meet sustainable development goals. The traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) model has limited practical applicability for measuring environmental performance, as it lacks the computational capacity to deal with undesirable outputs. The current study employs "radial" and "non-radial" DEA technology, and acknowledges the associations of a mathematical foundation to increase the analytical capability of the environmental performance of DEA. Results show that in the measurement of environmental performance analysis, the non-radial DEA model has a higher discriminating power compared to radial DEA. Results show that the average values of radial and non-radial environmental performance are highest for Latin America and the Caribbean, at 0.99 and 0.96, respectively, while the former USSR has the lowest values of 0.22 and 0.32, respectively. The South Asian region shows relatively stable values of about 0.58 to 0.65, and Latin America & Caribbean countries and sub-Saharan Africa also show a stable radial environmental performance ranging from 0.82 to 1.00. These results indicate a considerable difference among the eight world regions.

Energy and environmental performance analysis of grid-connected photovoltaic systems under similar outdoor conditions in the Saharan environment

Energy and environmental performance analysis of grid-connected photovoltaic systems under similar outdoor conditions in the Saharan environment

Environmental performance analysis on resource multiple-life-cycle recycling system: Evidence from waste pet bottles in China

Resource multiple-life-cycle (MLC) recycling process is a complex system with closed-loop and open-loop recycling interwoven with each other, which has recieved vast attention in recent years. Resource MLC recycling has a cascading effect, one recycling process will have an impact on the next cycle, and ultimately affect the overall environmental performance of the social system. Policies will affect the flow of resource MLC recycling. How to maximize the emission reduction effect of resource MLC recycling through policy design is still under exploration. Employing MLC recycling of China's waste PET bottles as an example, this paper constructs an environmental performance accounting method based on MLCA, and simulates the overall impact of various policies such as implementing deposit system, promoting recycled materials, strenghtening environmental regulation and enhancing regeneration technology on the recycling system of PET bottles. The combined policy scenario is constructed by selecting advantageous strategies that can effectively give full play to the strengths of each policy scenario. From 2020 to 2040, the environmental performance loss value of the combined policy scenario will be 52.52% of the baseline scenario without policy support, and the cumulative emission reductions of wastewater, waste gas and solid waste will be 0.98, 3.61 and 341.39 million tonnes respectively, which can help China to achieve emission reduction targets set out in each five-year plan. In order to realize the combined policy scenario, it is suggested that the life cycle assessment (LCA) should be replaced by multiple life cycle assessment (MLCA), the effect of resource saving and environmental emission reduction in the recycling process should be accounted as accurately as possible, a top-level management organization of natural resources across multiple departments should be established as soon as possible, with the goal of maximizing the comprehensive environmental and economic benefits of MLC processes.

A novel integrated solar tri-generation system for cooling, freshwater and electricity production purpose: Energy, economic and environmental performance analysis

This article presents the results of a thermodynamic-economic-environmental analysis of integrating linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) with a tri-generation system. The optimal integrated solar field size has been identified and the pertinent reduction in CO2 emissions due to solar integration is estimated. For the considered tri-generation plant (that is required to produce 110 MWe of electricity from steam turbines, 45461 m3/day of freshwater and 2300 kg/s of chilled water), the study revealed that the optimal configuration is the integration of 83.6 hectares of LFR solar field with the tri-generation plant of 130 MWe, which gives a levelized electricity cost of 6.37 USȻ/kWh with 96.40 k-tonne reduction of the annual CO2 emission. The study also revealed that the integration of LFR technology with a conventional tri-generation system (TGS) in high insolation regions has more economic feasibility compared to equivalent TGS integrated with CO2 capturing technology while achieving the same emissions reduction result.

THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IN UKRAINIAN AIRPORTS

The comparative analysis of the environmental policy and performance of Ukrainian airports was conducted using specially defined parameters. To improve the existing situation we have developed recommendations on the list and content of environmental documents to be developed and implemented at Ukrainian airports, as well as possible regional environmental aspects of airports to be accounted in their policy.

ЕКОНОМІЧНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ЛІСОВИХ РЕСУРСІВ

In the course of the research it was determined that the main task of the activity of forestry enterprises is to establish an effective system of forest resources management in a certain territory. In this regard, there was a need to develop a mechanism for analytical evaluation of logging efficiency. The purpose of the article is to consider the economic analysis of the efficiency of use of forest resources. It is established that the main areas of economic analysis of forest resource efficiency by state forestry enterprises are: economic efficiency and environmental efficiency. The main objects that characterize the economic performance of forestry businesses are revenue and financial results. According to these objects, it is necessary to use analytical procedures that characterize the order of their receipt and attract resources for this purpose. The method of economic analysis of economic efficiency of activity of forestry enterprises was tested in the study. The study of the characteristics of analytical indicators for the assessment of the financial condition of the forestry enterprise was carried out. The characteristic of analytical indicators on the estimation of capital investments is considered. In the course of the research it was found that the mentioned information support allows to evaluate both the dynamics indicators and the structure indicators regarding the operations of profit sharing of the forestry enterprise. It is determined that from the point of view of efficiency it is more expedient to use the indicators of profitability, in particular the profitability of using forest resources from the position of the state as the owner. The structure of the analytical report on the environmental performance of forest management was proposed, in terms of indicators of the financial condition of forestry enterprises: revenues, financial results, total cost; volume of logging in natural meters; the results of the coefficient analysis of environmental performance of the forestry enterprise.

Are large urban areas sustainability champions?: A Double Delinking Analysis of Environmental Performance of Global Cities

The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between both city size and welfare or prosperity on the one hand, and environmental-climatological outcomes on the other hand. This will be done by examining this intriguing relationship for a sample of 40 large cities in our world (with different size categories and located in countries with different welfare levels). Based on detailed statistical data on a multiplicity of relevant characteristics of these cities (stemming from the GPCI metropolitan data base of the Mori Memorial Foundation (2016)), we have used a super-efficient Data Envelopment Analysis (SE- DEA) to analyse the relative economic-environmental efficiency outcomes of distinct classes of global cities, so as to test the above mentioned double proposition, coined here double delinking or the double Kuznets curve phenomenon.

Are global cities sustainability champions? A double delinking analysis of environmental performance of urban agglomerations

Urban agglomerations – irrespective of their size or location – may act not only as engines of economic growth, but also as vehicles of environmental and climate sustainability that may stimulate both socio-economic achievements and environmentally-benign outcomes. Clearly, the efficiency of these outcomes may differ for different types of urban agglomeration in the world. This paper aims to present and test an advanced methodology for assessing economic and sustainability-oriented performance strategies for global cities, by developing and applying a super-efficient Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. We compare 40 global cities – included in the Global Power City Index (GPCI) database – in a benchmark study in order to trace the highest-performing urban regions from both an economic and environmental-climatological efficiency perspective, by applying relevant quantitative GPCI indicators to these 40 cities. Our ultimate goal is to test what is termed the ‘delinking’ hypothesis, from the viewpoint of both economic prosperity and urban size externalities.This approach will be applied empirically by examining the GPCI data set comprised of various multi-dimensional and empirically verified indicators on economic performance and climatological-environmental conditions for the 40 global cities concerned. We regard both the size of these agglomerations and their economic welfare position as critical parameters for assessing their economic and environmental efficiency performance. In the framework of our original DEA approach, these urban areas are categorised according to 2x2 dimensions, viz. in terms of both agglomeration size (big or medium-sized) and the economic development level of the area (highly developed or developing/emerging). Our contribution serves to assess – by means of regression techniques – the highest performing agglomerations among the urban sustainability champions on the basis of the two above-mentioned assessment criteria. This approach provides the opportunity to test the so-called Kuznets sustainability curve under two different conditions, viz. agglomeration size and economic development. The study presents and interprets the empirical findings for these four classes of global cities.

Analysis of Environmental Performances of Ferritization Method for the Treatment of Copper-ammonia Wastewater under the Optimized Condition via RSM

Copper-ammonia wastewater from industrial processes is an important form of hazardous waste that can contaminate water resources. The conventional hydroxide precipitation method used to remove copper complexes produces a large volume of unstable precipitates which still require further treatment. Ferritization is a powerful technique to remove bivalent cations from wastewater in the form of metal ferrites. This method is highly efficient in removal of metal complex ions; in addition, sludge resulting from this method is stable. The objective of this study was to investigate optimum conditions for ferritization using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). After optimal conditions were determined, the environmental performance of ferritization compared with hydroxide precipitation was compared using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The IMPACT 2002+ method was used to calculate midpoints and damage levels. The experiment found that the model obtained from RSM was accurate and reliable with R2=98.37, Adj-R2=96.91, Pred-R2= 91.40, S=1.45 and PRESS =110.859. The optimal conditions for the pH, reaction temperature, and reaction time were found to be 10.8, 69 ºC, and 115 min, respectively. In addition, the actual experiment showed that the efficiency of copper-ammonia removal was 98.413.18%. The LCA results indicate that hydroxide precipitation shows more impact at midpoint levels than ferritization, except for aquatic acidification and global warming effects. On the other hand, the endpoint analysis showed that the ferritization has a higher performance in regard to human health, ecosystem quality, and resource consumption. Ferritization had a greater impact on climate change than hydroxide precipitation because the process requires electricity. Without the use of recycling sludge as catalyst, the endpoint of natural resources from ferritization could be higher than for hydroxide precipitation. In conclusion, ferritization demonstrated better performance both in terms of its efficiency of copper-ammonia removal and its environmental performance.

Environmental Performance Test and Analysis of SiC/SiC Composites

SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites were prepared by polymer impregnation pyrolysis (PIP) process with domestic first-generation SiC fibers as reinforced phase and SiC ceramic as matrix phase. The structure and morphology of SiC ceramic matrix and SiC/SiC composites were investigated by means of XRD and SEM method. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of SiC/SiC composites after high temperature gas testing were investigated by flexural strength using three point bending testing. Results showed SiC/SiC composites have excellent mechanical properties at room temperature with bending strength of 330 MPa. However, obvious cracks and serious oxidation appeared after up to 150 hours of high temperature gas testing, and the mechanical properties dropped dramatically with the flexural strength retention rate less than 50%. The decrease of the mechanical properties and the occurrence of cracks of SiC/SiC composites were mainly attributed to the structure evolution and the oxidation intensification which might lead to instability of material properties and component structure.

Application of i-SDT for safer flare management operation

Utilizing unburn flare streams in a safe way represents one of the key challenges during flare alternatives implementation. Most of the time, process safety is considered on a supplemental basis after accomplishing a detailed plant design and economic analysis. The prime reason is the lack of a systematic design tool that facilitates the incorporation of inherently safer design principles into the early stage of process synthesis and in the absence of an adequate amount of data. It would be therefore advantageous for designers if they were able to assess safety aspects in a continuous manner for retrofitting design purposes as well as appraising innovative alternatives. In this work, a newly developed Inherently Safer Design Tool (i-SDT) has been applied to identify reliable and safer operating conditions while implementing a cogeneration (COGEN) unit as a flare utilization alternative. In the illustrative case study, the COGEN unit has been accompanied by an ethylene process to act as an additional utility provider by using some portion of the unburn hydrocarbon streams. These streams were available from several flaring locations of the plant during different routine/abnormal cases. The objective of this work is to conduct a comprehensive techno-economic and environmental performance analysis by utilizing a multi-objective optimization framework along with the necessary set of process constraints derived from the safety perspective offered by i-SDT. The illustrative case study considered here showed that the proposed i-SDT tool could estimate the limits associated with key safety parameters (flammability, toxicity, explosiveness, and reactivity) by explicitly considering operating conditions. Later, these operating limits are explicitly embedded as safety constraints into the optimization algorithm to assess the techno-economic, environmental and safety performance profiles of the process system under consideration.

Environmental Performance Analysis and Economic Perspectives of Concrete Girders

To reduce the environmental loads of construction projects, a methodology needs to be established that reasonably assesses the environmental impact. Currently, life cycle assessment (LCA) is used as a methodology for evaluation of the environmental impact in various fields. However, this approach is not employed for the assessment of the environmental impact at the planning or design stages of construction projects. The reason is that the features of construction projects cannot entirely provide the full information required for performing LCA until the design has been complete. This study performed LCA of concrete girders and estimated the properties and basic unit quantity of the environmental loads. Our findings support that environmental impact assessment based on LCA should be performed at the planning or design stage when no full information is still available. Moreover, we propose an environmental impact index based on the input cost and the occurrence rate of environmental loads as an environmental performance indicator of concrete girders. This methodology is expected to induce the paradigm to transit from the existing environmental impact assessment methodology based on input resource amounts to the environmental impact assessment methodology in economic perspective considering the characteristics of construction projects.

A comparative energy and environmental analysis of a diesel, hybrid, hydrogen and electric urban bus

In this work, a comparative analysis of energy and environmental performances, on four types of urban passenger buses powertrains was carried out within the well-to-wheel scope in Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The powertrains studied were: internal combustion engine fed with diesel, fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle fed with hydrogen, battery electric vehicle fed with electricity and hybrid electric vehicle fed with diesel. The aim of the study is to understand what the influence of the energy pathway, the electricity mix, the driving conditions and different ranges is, in the current and future deployment of urban passenger vehicles. We found that the electric vehicles are markedly superior in the tank to wheel step, nevertheless actions to improve their energy and environmental performance should focus on how to generate clean energy within the electricity mix and with what technologies. For the fuel cell powered buses to be competitive, the production share of hydrogen from wind or other zero emission technologies should be more than 50%. In Argentina and Chile, the buses with internal combustion engines are still an important alternative in the current scenario only for long ranges, instead Brazil turns out to be ideal the application of full electric buses.

Economic and environmental performance analysis of Polish energy companies

The tightening of the European Union climate and energy policy, directed to raising the resilience and effectiveness of the European Union Emissions Trading System, may influence on companies' economic performance. Polish energy companies, which mainly use coal in the energy production process, are particularly worried about the potential negative consequences associated with the implementation of new CO2 emission reduction targets and their participation in the European Union Emissions Trading System. This paper analyzes the link between economic performance and environmental performance of Polish energy companies, covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System in the years 2013-2017. This analysis may focus the attention of the European Union’s and Polish institutions responsible for developing the climate and energy policies on positive and negative consequences concerning the low-carbon transformation of the Polish energy sector. Two indicators of environmental performance: carbon intensity and the ratio of carbon dioxide emissions over the allowances, as well as chosen financial ratios: return on assets, return on investment, return on sales, asset turnover ratio are calculated for these companies. A Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is used in order to analyze the relationship between these environmental and financial variables. Presented empirical results highlight that the situation of Polish enterprises worsened in the 3rd trading period, as the number of allocated allowances in case of all energy companies was insufficient to cover their own CO2 emission. A negative direction of the correlation dependency can be observed in the years 2013-2017 only between asset turnover ratio and return on assets, and the CO2 emission intensity.