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We will be adding exciting case studies on ecosystems topics soon.
Tags: Case Study
In order to identify approaches for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant optimization it is necessary to analyse where and why the losses in the process occur. Therefore a structured exergy analysis of an IGCC with carbon capture was performed to identify losses on a plant, subsystem and individual component level. The investigation of the IGCC base case revealed an exergetic efficiency of 40%. Thus, 60% of the whole fuel exergy is lost in the process. On the subsystem level it was found that the major loss contributor is the combined cycle followed by the gas treatment section and the gasification island. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the significance of the losses is higher in upstream processes...
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The Forest Service is applying ecosystem services concepts to planning and implementation processes at three national forests in the Pacific Southwest Region: Inyo, Sierra, and Sequoia. Services are assessed in three ways: a bio-regional assessment, forest assessment, and science synthesis. These evaluations produce a comprehensive appraisal of the ecosystem services provided by the land in and around ten Sierra Nevada national forests.
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This research links watershed-marine models with ecosystem service outputs to evaluate management strategies in three cases: Puget Sound, Galveston Bay, and Chesapeake Bay. Integrated ecosystem approaches to marine and coastal management can greatly improve our ability to understand management outcomes, and can promote cooperation among local, state, and federal land management agencies.
Due to its compatibility with the current energy infrastructures and the potential to reduce CO2 emissions significantly, CO2 capture and geological storage is recognised as one of the main options in the portfolio of greenhouse gas mitigation technologies being developed worldwide. The CO2 capture technologies offer a number of alternatives, which involve different energy consumption rates and subsequent environmental impacts While the main objective of this technology is to minimise the atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions, it is also important to ensure that CO2 capture and storage does not aggravate other environmental concerns This requires a holistic and system-wide environmental assessment rather than focusing...
Reliance on oil as an energy source for private transportation produces increasingly unfavorable social, political and environmental conditions including climate change, dependence on foreign oil, and the need for difficult choices between oil production and protection of biological systems. At the same time, the population is increasingly sedentary due largely to our reliance on the automobile for transportation. Adoption and maintenance of healthy weights and healthier lifestyles by substituting walking or biking for short trips currently taken by car could simultaneously improve health and reduce oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. We calculate the reduction in oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions...
In 1990 a sovereign wealth fund was founded in Norway in which the country invests surpluses from oil and gas industry sales. The fund is designed to secure the state's ability to act in a post-petroleum era. At the end of the 1990's the voice of Norwegian civil society insisted that the sovereign wealth fund should not only ensure intergenerational justice, but should also contribute to the implementation of values and norms of the present country. At the end of 2004 the parliament finally agreed upon ethical regulations for the investment of the sovereign wealth fund. Now the second largest sovereign wealth fund in the world only invests in businesses that adhere to those ethical regulations. In the present paper,...
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The Solar Energy Program was established by the Department of Interior in 2012 for the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development. Geographically, the Solar Energy Program covers approximately 100 million acres across six states across the southwestern U.S. The Solar Energy Program provides a framework for including ecosystem services into both large, regional scale assessments and localized project-level scopes. The program defines how utility-scale solar energy would be considered and developed on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, and also establishes solar energy right-of-way authorization policies and environmental impact minimization measures for...
Based on the need to reduce CO2 emissions and minimize energy dependency, the EU Member States have set ambitious energy policies goals and have developed respective, specific regulations, in order to improve the energy performance of the building sector. Thus, specific measures regarding the buildings’ envelope, the use of efficient HVAC technologies and the integration of renewable energy systems are being constantly studied and promoted. The effective combination of these three main aspects will consequently result in maximum energy efficiency. Germany has played a key role in this development, with intensive work focusing in the improvement of the energy behaviour of the residential building stock. In this paper,...
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We will be adding exciting case studies on ecosystems topics soon.
Civilization’s advances during the twentieth century are closely bound with an unprecedented rise of energy consumption in general, and of hydrocarbons and electricity in particular. Substantial improvements of all key nineteenth-century energy techniques and introduction of new extraction and transportation means and new prime movers resulted in widespread diffusion of labor-saving and comfort-providing conversions and in substantially declining energy prices. Although modern societies could not exist without large and incessant flows of energy, there are no simple linear relationships between the inputs of fossil fuels and electricity and a nation’s economic performance and social accomplishments. International...
Civilization’s advances during the twentieth century are closely bound with an unprecedented rise of energy consumption in general, and of hydrocarbons and electricity in particular. Substantial improvements of all key nineteenth-century energy techniques and introduction of new extraction and transportation means and new prime movers resulted in widespread diffusion of labor-saving and comfort-providing conversions and in substantially declining energy prices. Although modern societies could not exist without large and incessant flows of energy, there are no simple linear relationships between the inputs of fossil fuels and electricity and a nation’s economic performance and social accomplishments. International...
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Eutrophication of landscapes from excessive nitrogen deposition can alter plant communities, and lead to acidification of soils, lakes, and streams. The effects of air pollution on ecosystem functions have been a particular research focus of the National Park Service’s (NPS) Air Resources Division. Links between atmospheric deposition and ecosystem services can inform park managers about how excessive nitrogen and sulfur can affect those who use and depend publicly managed landscapes. By improving upon these linkages, the NPS can enhance park management by better representing the effects from air pollution on ecosystem functions.
Based on the need to reduce CO2 emissions and minimize energy dependency, the EU Member States have set ambitious energy policies goals and have developed respective, specific regulations, in order to improve the energy performance of the building sector. Thus, specific measures regarding the buildings’ envelope, the use of efficient HVAC technologies and the integration of renewable energy systems are being constantly studied and promoted. The effective combination of these three main aspects will consequently result in maximum energy efficiency. Germany has played a key role in this development, with intensive work focusing in the improvement of the energy behaviour of the residential building stock. In this paper,...
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Located in the Willamette National Forest, the Soda Fork Creek is a 10,000-acre drainage that feeds into the upper South Santiam River in Linn County, Oregon. Project planning is designed to: 1) highlight the ecosystem goods and services provided by the forest, 2) encourage outcome-based approaches to resource management, and 3) support collaborative project development and implementation. This study addresses different management opportunities across all ownerships in the planning area and evaluates the sustainability practices in these various ownership groups.
This paper constructs a comprehensive dataset of oil and total energy embedded in world trade of manufacturing goods for 73 countries from 1978 to 2000. Applying the data to debates on the dependency on foreign energy sources makes clear that achieving complete energy independence in the foreseeable future is unlikely to be feasible and may not be desirable. Applying it to the discussion of environmental Kuznets curves (EKCs) highlights an important distinction between production and consumption of energy. Richer countries use relatively less energy in their industrial production yet still consume relatively large amounts of energy indirectly. A further investigation largely excludes structural shifts of production...
Biogas and bio-methane that are based on energy crops are renewable energy carriers and therefore potentially contribute to climate protection. However, significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from agricultural production processes must be considered. Among those, the production and use of fertilizer, and the resulting leaching of nitrous oxide (N2O), are crucial factors. This article provides an integrated life cycle assessment (LCA) of biogas (i.e. bio-methane that has been upgraded and injected into the natural gas grid), taking into account the processes of fermentation, upgrading and injection to the grid for two different types of biogas plants. The analysis is based on different feedstocks from...
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“Blue carbon” is carbon sequestered and stored in marine and coastal habitats, and refers specifically to three habitat types: mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. These coastal habitats sequester large amounts of carbon annually, which can be stored for long periods of time. However, human activities are contributing to the degradation of these habitats worldwide. The benefits of protecting these habitats can be two-fold: 1) by contributing to climate mitigation efforts through the storage of blue carbon, and 2) consequently conserving fisheries habitats, promote storm protection, provide recreation opportunities, and improve coastal water quality.
Current conventional agricultural systems using intensive energy has to be re-vitalized by new integrated approaches relying on renewable energy resources, which can allow farmers to stop depending on fossil resources. The aim of the present study was to compare wheat production in dryland (low input) and irrigated (high input) systems in terms of energy ratio, energy efficiency, benefit/cost ratio and amount of renewable energy use. Data were collected from 50 irrigated and 50 dryland wheat growers by using a face-to-face questionnaire in 2009. The results showed that the total energy requirement under low input was 9354.2 MJ ha-1, whereas under high input systems it was 45367.6 MJ ha-1. Total energy input consumed...
Catalysis is the essential technology for chemical transformation, including production of fuels from the fossil resources petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Typical catalysts for these conversions are robust porous solids incorporating metals, metal oxides, and/or metal sulfides. As efforts are stepping up to replace fossil fuels with biomass, new catalysts for the conversion of the components of biomass will be needed. Although the catalysts for biomass conversion might be substantially different from those used in the conversion of fossil feedstocks, the latter catalysts are a starting point in today’s research. Major challenges lie ahead in the discovery of efficient biomass conversion catalysts, as well as in...