scholarly journals Assessment of Cold Ironing and LNG as Mitigation Tools of Short Sea Shipping Emissions in Port: A Spanish Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2050
Author(s):  
Alba Martínez-López ◽  
Alejandro Romero ◽  
José A. Orosa
Keyword(s):  
Calculation Method ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
Short Sea Shipping ◽  
Fuel Burning ◽  
Electricity Grids ◽  
Lag Times

By the end of 2025 European ports are required to provide (Directive 2014/94/EU) facilities to ensure the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) use and on-shore electricity supply for vessels (Cold Ironing—CI). Even though this involves considerable port investment, many uncertainties about CI and LNG performance exist because their application depends on vessel operators’ willingness. Additionally, lag times for CI connection/disconnection along with methane emissions from LNG undermine their feasibility for Short Sea Shipping (SSS). Since, among the SSS aims are the reduction in berthing times and its effectiveness for inter-islands’ traffic where, land electricity grids are frequently dependent on the fuel burning generation by penalizing the CI performance. This paper introduces a calculation method to evaluate the pollution savings in monetary terms by CI and LNG use in SSS. The method is applied to three European routes by testing the environmental performance of two fleets: feeder and Ro-Pax vessels. The results show that feeders reach higher environmental improvements by using port mitigation than Ro-Pax vessels. Additionally, the need for ensuring the sustainability of on-shore grids before the CI implementation was evinced, especially in insularity frameworks, where the environmental benefits from LNG use proved to be more effective.

scholarly journals Modelling Sustainable Industrial Symbiosis

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1172
Author(s):  
Hafiz Haq ◽  
Petri Välisuo ◽  
Seppo Niemi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Industrial Symbiosis ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Network Connections

Industrial symbiosis networks conventionally provide economic and environmental benefits to participating industries. However, most studies have failed to quantify waste management solutions and identify network connections in addition to methodological variation of assessments. This study provides a comprehensive model to conduct sustainable study of industrial symbiosis, which includes identification of network connections, life cycle assessment of materials, economic assessment, and environmental performance using standard guidelines from the literature. Additionally, a case study of industrial symbiosis network from Sodankylä region of Finland is implemented. Results projected an estimated life cycle cost of €115.20 million. The symbiotic environment would save €6.42 million in waste management cost to the business participants in addition to the projected environmental impact of 0.95 million tonne of CO2, 339.80 tonne of CH4, and 18.20 tonne of N2O. The potential of further cost saving with presented optimal assessment in the current architecture is forecast at €0.63 million every year.

scholarly journals Assessing the Effect of Modifying Milking Routines on Dairy Farm Economic and Environmental Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-277
Author(s):  
Michael Breen ◽  
Michael D. Murphy ◽  
John Upton
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Net Profit ◽  
Labor Utilization ◽  
Renewable Technology

The objective of this paper was to quantify the economic and environmental effects of changing a dairy farm’s milking start times. Changing morning and evening milking start times could reduce both electricity costs and farm electricity related CO2 emissions. However, this may also involve altering farmer routines which are based on practical considerations. Hence, these changes need to be quantified both in terms of profit/emissions and in terms of how far these milking start times deviate from normal operations. The method presented in this paper optimized the combination of dairy farm infrastructure setup and morning and evening milking start times, based on a weighting variable (α) which assigned relative importance to labor utilization, farm net profit and farm electricity related CO2 emissions. Multi-objective optimization was utilized to assess trade-offs between labor utilization and net profit, as well as labor utilization and electricity related CO2 emissions. For a case study involving a 195 cow Irish dairy farm, when the relative importance of maximizing farm net profit or minimizing farm electricity related CO2 emissions was high, the least common milking start times (06:00 and 20:00) were selected. When the relative importance of labor utilization was high, the most common milking start times (07:00 and 17:00) were selected. The 195 cow farm saved €137 per annum when milking start times were changed from the most common to the least common. Reductions in electricity related CO2 emissions were also seen when the milking start times were changed from most common to least common. However, this reduction in emissions was primarily due to the addition of efficient and renewable technology to the farm. It was deduced that the monetary and environmental benefits of altering farmer milking routines were unlikely to change normal farm operating procedures.

scholarly journals Reducing Pollution Levels Generated by Short Sea Shipping. Use of Bayesian Networks to Analyse the Utilization of Liquefied Natural Gas as an Alternative Fuel

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-158
Author(s):  
Beatriz Molina Serrano ◽  
Nicoleta González Cancelas ◽  
Francisco Soler Flores
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Short Sea Shipping ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Pollution adjacent to the continent's shores has increased in the last decades, so it has been necessary to establish an energy policy to improve environmental conditions. One of the proposed solution was the search of alternative fuels to the commonly used in Short Sea Shipping to reduce pollution levels in Europe. Studies and researches show that liquefied natural gas could meet the European Union environmental requirements. Even environmental benefits are important; currently there is not significant number of vessels using it as fuel. Moreover, main target of this article is exposing result of a research in which a methodology to establish the most relevant variables in the decision to implement liquefied natural gas in Short Sea Shipping has been development using data mining. A Bayesian network was constructed because this kind of network allows to get graphically the relationships between variables and to determine posteriori values that quantify their contributions to decision-making. Bayesian model has been done using data from some European countries (European Union, Norway and Iceland) and database was generated by 35 variables classified in 5 categories. Main obtained conclusion in this analysis is that variables of transport and international trade and economy and finance are the most relevant in the decision-making process when implementing liquefied natural gas. Even more, it can be stablish that capacity of liquefied natural gas regasification terminals under construction and modal distribution of water cargo transportation continental as the most decisive variables because they are the root nodes in the obtained network.

Examining the Viability of Corporate Recycling Initiatives and Their Overall Environmental Impact: The Case of Nike Grind and the Reuse-A-Shoe Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Alexander Curtis ◽  
Amanda Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Closed Loop System ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Sustainability Initiatives

The Reuse-A-Shoe program and Nike Grind are sustainability initiatives run by Nike to improve their environmental performance through the recycling of worn out shoes and surplus manufacturing materials into various surface materials. However, the positive environmental benefits associated with recycling may be offset by the negative impacts caused by the extensive logistics associated with these programs. This case study provides an overview and breakdown of both Nike and its recycling programs. It addresses the positive and negative environmental impacts of these programs, such as reduced waste to landfill and increased greenhouse gas emissions from increased transportation. The analysis concludes that these programs have limited potential in achieving any significant positive environmental impact and that Nike should investigate alternative models focusing more on biodegradable materials or a closed-loop system where materials are upcycled rather than downcycled, and where both material use and greenhouse gas emissions are considered.

scholarly journals Product-Service Systems and Sustainability: Analysing the Environmental Impacts of Rental Clothing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2118
Author(s):  
Emma Johnson ◽  
Andrius Plepys
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service Systems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Environmental Savings ◽  
Product Service Systems

Business models like product-service systems (PSSs) often recognise different sustainability goals and are seen as solutions for the impacts of consumption and fast fashion, but there is a lack of evidence supporting the environmental claims of such business models for clothing. The research aimed to understand if rental clothing business models such as PSSs have the environmental benefits often purported by quantifying the environmental impacts of rental formal dresses in a life-cycle assessment (LCA) in a case study in Stockholm, Sweden. The effects of varying consumer behaviour on the potential impact of a PSS vs. linear business model are explored through three functional units and 14 consumption scenarios. How users decide to engage with clothing PSSs dictates the environmental savings potential that a PSS can have, as shown in how many times consumers wear garments, how they use rental to substitute their purchasing or use needs, as well as how consumers travel to rental store locations.

scholarly journals Operational and Safety Management at Intersections: Can the Turbo-Roundabout Be an Effective Alternative to Conventional Solutions?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5103
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Gallelli ◽  
Giusi Perri ◽  
Rosolino Vaiana
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Policy ◽  
Union Policy

The European Union policy strategies on the sustainability of the transport system pursue the goals of maximizing safety and environmental benefits and reducing the severity and frequency of crashes, congestion, and pollutant emission rates. A common issue is the planning of the most effective solution for operational and safety management at intersections. In this study, an egg turbo roundabout is proposed as the alternative solution to a conventional roundabout in Southern Italy which suffers from traffic congestion. A comparative analysis is carried out using microsimulation techniques to investigate the safety effects and operational improvements of converting a traditional priority intersection into standard roundabout or turbo roundabout layout. In particular, the VISSIM software is used to explore the most relevant operational performance measures: queue length, travel times and delays. The lowest values of these measurements are recorded for the simulated turbo roundabout, thus making this scheme more appropriate in terms of operational performances. With regard to safety analysis, the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) is used to collect information on the predicted number of conflicts, the probability, and severity of the potential collisions. The results suggest that, for the specific case study, the safety levels of the standard roundabout and the turbo roundabout are approximately comparable.

scholarly journals Characterisation and Life Cycle Assessment of Pervious Concrete with Recycled Concrete Aggregates

Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Adilson C. Paula Junior ◽  
Cláudia Jacinto ◽  
Thaís M. Oliveira ◽  
Antonio E. Polisseni ◽  
Fabio M. Brum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Recycled Concrete ◽  
Pervious Concrete ◽  
Recycled Aggregate ◽  
Recycled Aggregates ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Concrete Aggregates ◽  
Recycled Concrete Aggregates

The search for environmental preservation and conservation of natural resources gives rise to new concepts and viable technical solutions on the path to sustainable development. In this context, this study’s main objective is to analyse the influence of recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) on the development of pervious concrete, whose use as a floor covering represents an excellent device to mitigate the urban soil sealing phenomena. For this, mechanical and hydraulic tests were carried out, in addition to microstructural analyses and the assessment of its environmental performance. The results obtained were compared to reference studies also involving the incorporation of recycled aggregates. A pilot-scale case study was conducted, involving a parking space lined with pervious concrete moulded “in situ”. In laboratory tests, permeability coefficients and mechanical strengths compatible with the literature and above the normative limit for light traffic were found. The case study demonstrated higher permeability than in the laboratory, but the flexural strength was lower, being indicated only for pedestrian traffic. The environmental assessment showed that the RCA represents a positive contribution to the environmental performance of pervious concrete. Still, attention should be given to the recycled aggregate transport distance between the concrete plant and the RCA treatment plant.

scholarly journals Passive Solar Solutions for Buildings: Criteria and Guidelines for a Synergistic Design

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 376
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cillari ◽  
Fabio Fantozzi ◽  
Alessandro Franco
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Passive Systems ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Solar Systems ◽  
Final Performance ◽  
Passive Solar ◽  
Energy Simulations

Passive solar system design is an essential asset in a zero-energy building perspective to reduce heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation loads. The integration of passive systems in building leads to a reduction of plant operation with considerable environmental benefits. The design can be related to intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence the final performance in a synergistic way. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive view of the elements that influence passive solar systems by means of an analysis of the theoretical background and the synergistic design of various solutions available. The paper quantifies the potential impact of influencing factors on the final performance and then investigates a case study of an existing public building, analyzing the effects of the integration of different passive systems through energy simulations. General investigation has highlighted that latitude and orientation impact energy saving on average by 3–13 and 6–11 percentage points, respectively. The case study showed that almost 20% of the building energy demand can be saved by means of passive solar systems. A higher contribution is given by mixing direct and indirect solutions, as half of the heating and around 25% of the cooling energy demand can be cut off.

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