LCCA and environmental LCA for highway pavement selection in Colorado

The roadway network in the USA earned a grade of D representing poor condition in the latest report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers. To maintain economic and environmental sustainability during the roadway network development and rehabilitation, it is critical to apply sustainable materials and intelligent design. A good estimation on project-level life-cycle costs and environmental impacts is one of the important steps in the highway investment decision-making process. This article examines the current life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) practice employed by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in their pavement investment decision-making process, and proposes a regional environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) model to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with Colorado highway pavements. Both LCCA and LCA are performed for a highway reconstruction project with Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP) and hot-mixed asphalt (HMA) alternatives. The LCCA is 7.4% in favour of HMA. Since the difference is less than 10%, it indicates equivalent designs. However, in the LCA, the GHG emission from PCCP is 26% less than the HMA over the 40-year analysis period. The vehicle fuel consumption will increase due to the deterioration of pavements. But the increased user cost is not included in the current LCCA employed by CDOT as well as user cost due to crashes and nonuser costs. The LCA can be an optional criterion for the selection of the preliminary pavement type.     

Energy and temperature performance analysis of geothermal (ground source) heat pumps integrated with permeable pavement systems for urban run-off reuse

Geothermal (ground source) heat pumps (GHP) and permeable pavement systems (PPS) have demonstrated their effectiveness in both industry and academic research during recent decades. To meet the rising demand for sustainable, recyclable and energy efficient techniques, research has focused on the combination of techniques to enhance existing or develop new applications.

This paper reports on an experimental programme that combined GHP with PPS for nutrient removal and system energy balancing. Experimental data collected over a 3-year period have provided evidence of highly efficient removal rates of up to 99% for ammonia–nitrate and biochemical oxygen demand; and 96% removal rates were obtained for orthophosphate–phosphorus. This paper also contains energy efficiency ratio (EER) and coefficient of performance (COP) calculations. Cyclic heat removal and heat rejection allowed for stable temperature and pump COP and EER sustainability. The results prove that PPS systems are appropriate for GHP installation, delivering high and stable pollutant removal with EER efficiencies between 1.5 and 5.5.

The combination of GHP with PPS has the potential to provide a new sustainable and eco-friendly practice.     

An experimental and a numerical study of horizontal earth-air heat exchanger in a hot climate

Earth-air heat exchangers (EAHE) are devices used in the geothermal technique in order to reduce energy consumption in buildings. In this study, a simulation was conducted through the computational fluid dynamics platform FLUENT 6.3 for the prediction of thermal performance of the EAHE that describes the variation of the air temperature inside the tube. For this, it was necessary to design the heat exchanger while respecting the design and the actual dimensions of the experimental set-up, and stating that the temperature of the wall of the horizontal tube of the exchanger is equal to that of ground at 3 m depth. It should be noted that in assessing the temperature along the two sections vertical (input and output) of the exchanger, opting for a function (UDF) the user define function. Finally, noting a good agreement between both experimental and numerical study, and showing that a significant reduction in temperature at the outlet of the exchanger to a difference of 20 °C, confirming the effectiveness of the heat exchanger.     

Viability of solar photovoltaics as an electricity generation source for Jordan

Viability of solar photovoltaics as an electricity generation source for Jordan was assessed utilising a proposed 5 MW grid‐connected solar photovoltaic power plant. Long‐term (1994–2003) monthly average daily global solar radiation and sunshine duration data for 24 locations – distributed all over the country – were studied and analysed to assess the distribution of radiation and sunshine duration over Jordan, and formed an input to the RetScreen Software for evaluation and analysis of the proposed plant's electricity production and economic feasibility. It was found that depending on the geographical location, the global solar radiation on horizontal surface varied between 1.51 and 2.46 MWh/m²/year with an overall mean value of 2.01 MWh/m²/year for Jordan. The sunshine duration was found to vary, according to the location, between 8.47 and 9.68 hours/day, with a mean value of 9.07 hours/day and about 3311 sunshine hours annually for Jordan. The annual electricity production of the proposed plant varied depending on the location between 6.886 and 11.919 GWh/year, with a mean value of 9.46 GWh/year. The specific yield varied between 340.9 and 196.9 kWh/m², while the mean value was 270.59 kWh/m². Analysis of the annual electricity production of the plant, the specific yield, besides the economic indicators, i.e. internal rate of return, simple payback period, years to positive cash flow, net present value, annual life cycle saving, benefit/cost ratio, and cost of energy – for all sites – showed that Tafila and Karak are the most suitable sites for the solar photovoltaic power plant's development and Wadi Yabis is the worst. The results also showed that an average of 7414.9 tons of greenhouse gases can be avoided annually utilising the proposed plant for electricity generation at any part of Jordan.     

上海近30年人为热变化及与气温的关系研究

为研究上海人为热，根据统计年鉴资料，估算了1978～2008年工业、民用和机动车人为热的排放量及其总和，并从时间变化和空间分布两个方面进行分析。鉴于人为热对温度的影响，根据上海地区11个区县气象观测站近30 a的年平均气温资料，研究城郊气温及其差值与人为热变化的关系。结果表明：(1)近30 a来，上海工业、民用和机动车人为热排放量及其总和呈现逐年上升的趋势。2000年前上海人为热缓慢增长；而2000年后(含2000年)则呈现快速增长的趋势。(2)工业是上海人为热的主要来源，但自1978年以来，工业人为热比重逐年下降。2000年起，机动车人为热比重超过民用人为热。(3)上海工业人为热排放主要分布在以宝钢为主的宝山长江沿岸地区、黄浦江沿岸市区段地区、以吴泾为主的闵行南部地区，以及金山石化地区。而民用和机动车人为热排放主要集中在市区。(4)自20世纪90年代以后,市中心与郊区的气温差加大，城市热岛效应强度日趋增强。同时，上海地区温度的空间分布特征与人为热的空间分布有很好的一致性。人为热的大量排放对气温的增加也是不可忽视的重要因素     

Simulation and analysis of a combined cycle heat and power plant process

The regulations of process efficiency and stricter environmental policies require analysis of large-scale thermal energy systems to produce highly efficient, cost effective and low environmental impact energy. For analysis, it is beneficial to simulate an energy system. In this paper, simulation models are developed for the analysis of a combined cycle heat and power plant located in Göteborg, Sweden. With the help of simulation models, characteristics between district heating (DH) water temperature and key parameters such as overall district heat duty, electrical power and electrical efficiency has been developed. The characteristics are useful to estimate and maximize the key parameters during varying DH water temperature. According to a comparison between the full-load simulation models of 2006 and 2013 for the selected power plant, a loss of 2 MW is noticed for gas turbine and a loss of 2.18 MW of heat flow occurs for heat recovery steam generator in the year 2013. The feasibility analysis of modifying the connection between DH economizer and main DH line provides good performance indicators in a winter scenario. The conclusions in this paper are good references to plan and improve the performance of existing large-scale thermal power plants.     

基于ISO14067的长江上游某水电项目碳足迹分析

以长江上游某大型水电站为案例,根据国际标准化组织碳足迹量化标准(ISO14067)评价流程,对该水电站全生命周期(建设阶段,运行维护阶段,退役阶段)碳足迹进行估算,并着重考虑了蓄水前后水库温室气体通量差异。研究以碳足迹系数和能源回收率作为指标进行评价,结果表明生命周期碳足迹为5 417.0万t CO_(2eq),碳足迹系数为7.0~13.1 g CO_(2eq)/kW·h,中位值为9.4 g CO_(2eq)/kW·h,该水电站项目能源回收率达236.4。与各种能源电站以及国内外同类型水电站相比较,该水电站碳足迹明显较低,且能源回收率显著较高,说明以该水电站为代表的我国西南水电具有显著的优质性,大力开发水电能有效节能减排,明确了生命周期评价方法对于水电站碳足迹评估的适用性。     

Performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic electricity-generating systems: an Indian perspective

The present work seeks to assess the sustainability of different solar photovoltaic (SPV) electricity-generating systems based upon energy, environment and economics. The sustainability indicators evaluated for energy, environment and economics are electrical output, life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and life-cycle cost of electricity generated per kilowatt hour. The selected SPV-based electricity generation technologies for sustainability evaluation are amorphous, monocrystalline and polycrystalline at different locations and tilt angles across India. For SPV systems, most of the emissions are the result of electricity use during manufacturing. In these cases, an average grid mix for the region of manufacture is typically used to calculate energy use and emissions. Based upon these three indicators, a figure of merit (FM) has been proposed. The results proposed that polycrystalline gives the maximum electrical output, minimum GHG emission, minimum cost and maximum FM at a radiation level of 6 kWh/m²/day with latitude and tilt angle of 34° and 35°, respectively. This work will be helpful to users of solar energy, academicians, researchers and other concerned persons, in understanding the importance, severity and benefits obtained by the application and implementation of the SPV electricity-generating systems.     

Comparison of the energetic performance of a binary cycle and a flash evaporation binary cycle,using low-enthalpy geothermal energy

In this article, the comparison of the energetic performance of a binary cycle and a modified binary cycle with flash evaporation is presented, both using a low-enthalpy geothermal resource. The comparative analysis is based on two main discourses: the first one evaluates a conventional binary cycle (CBC) with isopentane as working fluid in order to validate and compare the generated data with those reported in similar studies; the second one uses the same input parameters for both cycles, obtaining the cases in which the modified binary cycle is the most viable choice to use. In addition to the above, several aspects are considered when selecting the most suitable working fluid, and the use of water as working fluid is introduced. When the temperature of the geothermal resource is below 140 °C, and the ambient temperature is 25 °C, the flash evaporation binary cycle, using water as working fluid, shows an improved performance compared to a CBC, with a theoretical output over 1000 kWe. This may encourage new areas of opportunity for power generation, not only with low- and medium-enthalpy geothermal energy, but also with other renewable energy sources such as solar.     

长江源区基于坡面尺度的土壤水热过程模拟研究

长江源多年冻土区土壤水热传输过程机理与模拟,是广泛关系到高原生态环境保护恢复和区域水文过程的关键科学问题。因此,以GEOtop模型为研究平台,以长江源不同植被盖度下（裸地、30%、65%和92%）高寒草甸的观测数据为基础,检验模型对土壤水热迁移过程的描述与模拟精度。总体而言,GEOtop模型需要率定的参数较少,从而减少模型模拟的不确定性,提高了模拟精度。对不同植被盖度下土壤温度、水分和实际蒸散发模拟的NSE 系数基本达到08,表明模型能准确模拟高寒生态系统土壤的水热传输过程,可以作为长江源区土壤水热过程的有效模拟工具     

基于定量遥感技术的重庆市热岛效应

近年来，城市热岛效应不断增强，已经成为一个突出的城市环境问题。重庆市作为长江中上游特大型城市，工业发达，经济快速发展，市区热岛效应明显，但是很少对其研究。以2007年Landsat5 TM影像为数据源，利用单窗算法对重庆市城市地表温度进行反演，并进行城市地面亮温等级划分，在从城市土地利用类型、NDVI等方面对重庆市城市热岛效应强度和空间格局分布及其特征进行了探讨。结果表明：城区热岛现象显著，且分布不均匀；不同土地利用类型对热岛效应影响不同；城市地面亮温与NDVI呈明显的线性负相关关系。最后结合重庆市的特殊地形，提出了以下解决城市热岛效应的对策：加强城市规划，调整城市结构；构建最佳绿化结构，提高城市绿化率；改变能源结构，提高能源利用率，控制工厂废气排放量。     

Levellised electricity cost for wind and PV–diesel hybrid system in Oman at selected sites

Solar and wind energy data available for Oman indicate that these two resources are likely to play an important role in the future energy generation in this country. In this paper, a model is designed to assess wind and solar power cost per kWh of energy produced using different sizes of wind machines and photovoltaic (PV) panels at two sites in Oman, which then can be generalised for other locations in Oman. Hourly values of wind speed and solar radiation recorded for several years are used for these locations. The wind profiles from Thumrait and Masirah island are modelled using the Weibull distribution. The cost of wind-based energy is calculated for both locations using different sizes of turbines. Furthermore, this paper presents a study carried out to investigate the economics of using PV only and PV with battery as an energy fuel saver in two villages. The results show that the PV energy utilisation is an attractive option with an energy cost of the selected PV ranges between 0.128 and 0.144 $/kWh at 7.55% discount rate compared to an operating cost of 0.128–0.558 $\kWh for diesel generation, considering the capital cost of diesel units as sunk.     

Mortality attributable to extreme temperatures in Spain: A comparative analysis by city

BackgroundThe Low Temperature Days (LTD) have attracted far less attention than that of High Temperature Days (HTD), though its impact on mortality is at least comparable. This lower degree of attention may perhaps be due to the fact that its influence on mortality is less pronounced and longer-term, and that there are other concomitant infectious winters factors. In a climate-change scenario, the studies undertaken to date report differing results. The aim of this study was to analyse mortality attributable to both thermal extremes in Spain's 52 provinces across the period 2000–2009, and estimate the related economic cost to show the benefit or “profitability” of implementing prevention plans against LTD.MethodsPrevious studies enabled us: to obtain the maximum daily temperature above which HTD occurred and the minimum daily temperature below which LTD occurred in the 52 provincial capitals analysed across the same study period; and to calculate the relative and attributable risks (%) associated with daily mortality in each capital. These measures of association were then used to make different calculations to obtain the daily mean mortality attributable to both thermal extremes. To this end, we obtained a summary of the number of degrees whereby the temperature exceeded (excess °C) or fell short (deficit °C) of the threshold temperature for each capital, and calculated the respective number of extreme temperatures days. The economic estimates rated the prevention plans as being 68% effective.ResultsOver the period considered, the number of HTD (4373) was higher than the number of LTD (3006) for Spain as a whole. Notwithstanding this, in every provincial capital the mean daily mortality attributable to heat was lower (3 deaths/day) than that attributable to cold (3.48 deaths/day). In terms of the economic impact of the activation of prevention plans against LTD, these could be assumed to avoid 2.37 deaths on each LTD, which translated as a saving of €0.29M. Similarly, in the case of heat, 2.04 deaths could be assumed to be avoided each day on which the prevention plan against HTD was activated, amounting to a saving of €0.25M. While the economic cost of cold-related mortality across the ten-year period 2000–2009 was €871.7M, that attributable to heat could be put at €1093.2M.ConclusionThe effect of extreme temperatures on daily mortality was similar across the study period for Spain overall. The lower number of days with LTD meant, however, that daily cold-related mortality was higher than daily heat-related mortality, thereby making prevention plans against LTD more “profitable” prevention plans against HTD in terms of avoidable mortality.     

Role of conductive spreader layer in reducing surface temperature of HMA pavements

Rutting is a common type of shear failure-related deformation in asphalt (hot mix asphalt, HMA) pavements. It occurs over time as a result of slow, repeated heavy loads from vehicles moving along the wheel path. This problem is most noticeable when the pavement is at a high temperature and its stiffness is the lowest. Previous investigations have concluded that flowing water in pipes embedded in the pavement leads to a reduction in surface temperature, and consequently rutting. However, the thermophysical properties of HMA limit the cooling effect to a small region immediately around the pipe. It is proposed that the area of cooling be enhanced by adding a highly conductive spreader layer below the pavement in conjunction with the pipe. A theoretical design optimisation has been carried out by exploring different aspects of the spreader layer–pipe spacing (W), depth of the pipe–spreader (D), spreader thickness (t _s), thermal conductivity (k _s) and variation in the boundary conditions. Finite element modelling predicts that a properly designed, highly conductive spreader layer will lead to a significant reduction in surface temperature with a minimal piping network leading to an extended functional life of the HMA pavement.     

城、郊能量及辐射平衡特征观测分析

城市化发展导致城、郊能量平衡及辐射平衡存在明显差异。利用城、郊夏季涡度相关系统观测数据,分析了南京城、郊在晴天条件下的辐射平衡、能量平衡、反照率以及储热项变化特征。结果表明：（1）夏季晴天条件下,城、郊辐射收支分配有显著不同。城市辐射陷阱作用导致城区向上短波辐射日均值小于郊区,城、郊分别为246 W/m2和395 W/m2,城市辐射陷阱效应导致截留的短波辐射日平均值可达237 W/m2。同时城市地表向上长波辐射日均值大于郊区自然地表,城、郊分别为5051 W/m2和4883 W/m2,这与城、郊地区不同的地表温度直接相关;（2）城、郊能量平衡分配的方式有显著不同,城市地表储热及感热为能量分配的主要方式,感热全天为正,始终处于不稳定层结。郊区潜热为能量分配的主要方式,夜间存在稳定层结条件;（3）城区总体日平均反照率为011,郊区草地日平均反照率为017,城区水泥楼顶日平均反照率为023。城区铁塔上日均反照率代表整体城市下垫面反照率的特征,城市辐射陷阱作用导致其小于郊区反照率。而水泥楼顶的反照率代表水泥板单一下垫面城市特征,因此大于前2者的反照率日均值。另外,郊区日平均反照率的日变化比城区表现出更明显的不对称性;（4）白天城区储热项占净辐射的56%,而郊区仅占净辐射的7%,并与已有试验中夏季白天储热项数据进行了比较,城市储热项特征与观测所处站点的水泥（硬地）面积所占比重以及是否考虑人为热的影响密切相关     

Regional climate sensitivity of wetland environments in Rwanda: the need for a location-specific approach

Wetlands are sustaining large communities of people in Rwanda where 10 % of its land surface consists of many local wetlands. Sustainable future management of these numerous wetlands requires a reliable inventory of their location and a dynamic quantitative characterization that allows assessment of their climate change sensitivity. The aim of this study was to assess the importance of climatic factors for determining wetland location at different regional scales. Wetland locations were analyzed and statistically modeled using their location factors with logistic regression. Wetland location probability was determined using topographic (elevation, slope), hydrological (contributing area) and climatic (temperature and rainfall) location factors. A wetland location probability map was made that demonstrated a calibration accuracy of 87.9 % correct at national level compared to an existing inventory, displaying even better fits at subnational level (reaching up to 98 % correct). A validation accuracy of 86.2 % was obtained using an independently collected dataset. A sensitivity analysis was applied to the threshold values used as cutoff value between wetland/non-wetland, demonstrating a robust performance. The developed models were used in a sensitivity scenario analysis to assess future wetland location probability to changes in temperature and rainfall. In particular, wetlands in the central regions of Rwanda demonstrate a high sensitivity to changes in temperature (1 % increase causes a net probable wetland area decline by 12.4 %) and rainfall (+1 % causes a net increase by 1.6 %). This potentially significant impact on wetland number and location probability indicates that climate-sensitive future planning of wetland use is required in Rwanda.     

On-chip waste heat-driven absorption cooling system for sustainable data center environment: simulation

Development of waste heat-driven absorption-based cooling system is inspired for the need of removing high heat flux from the sustainable data centre environment. This paper presents a simulation study of single-stage Lithium Bromide–Water (LiBr–H₂O) vapour absorption heat pump for chip cooling. In the present work, a complete thermodynamic analysis of the single-stage LiBr–H₂O vapour absorption-based heat pump for chip cooling without a solution heat exchanger is performed and a user friendly graphical user interface (GUI) package including visual components is developed by using MATlab (2008b). The effect of chip heat flux on COP (Coefficient of Performance), flow rates and conductance is examined using the developed package. The model is verified using the data available in the literature which indicates that there is a greater reduction in the absorber load. The influence of chip heat flux on the performance and thermal loads of individual components are studied, and it is concluded that COP decreases from 0.7121 to 0.68924 with increase in chip heat flux.     

Pre-feasibility study of stand-alone hybrid energy systems for applications in eco-houses

In light of rising cost of fossil fuels and fears of its depletion, coupled with the increase in energy demand and the rise in pollution levels, governments worldwide have had to look at alternative energy resources. Combining renewable energy generation like solar power with superior storage and conversion technology such as hydrogen storage, fuel cells and batteries offers a potential solution for a stand-alone power system. The aim of this paper was to assess the techno-economic feasibility of using a hybrid energy system with hydrogen fuel cell for application in an eco-house that will be built in Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Actual load data for a typical Omani house of a similar size as the eco-house was considered as the stand-alone load with an average energy consumption of 40 kW/day and 5 kW peak power demand. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Hybrid Optimisation Model for Electric Renewable software was used as a sizing and optimisation tool for the system. It was found that the total annual electrical energy production is 42,255 kW and the cost of energy for this hybrid system is 0.582 $/kW. During daylight time, when the solar radiation is high, the photovoltaics (PV) panels supplied most of the load requirements. Moreover, during the evening time the fuel cell mainly serves the house with the help of the batteries. The proposed system is capable of providing the required energy to the eco-house during the whole year using only the solar irradiance as the primary source.     

太湖辐射和能量收支的时间变化特征

湖泊的辐射和能量收支的观测研究对于气象学和水文学研究都具有重要的意义。于2012年采用涡度相关系统和小气候观测系统观测太湖表面的辐射平衡、湖泊与大气之间的感热和潜热通量、水温廓线和常规气象要素数据,分析太湖表面辐射及能量收支的时间变化特征以及环境控制因子。结果表明:(1)太湖2012年辐射收支四分量(向下短波辐射、向上短波辐射、向下长波辐射和向上长波辐射)的年均值分别为146.5、9.4、359.7和405.4 W/m~2,反照率的年均值为0.06,各辐射分量日变化和季节变化特征明显;(2)净辐射和热储量日变化趋势相同,正午最高,午夜最低;湍流能量通量的日变化幅度较小;不同天气条件下能量分配具有一定差别:晴天条件下能量分配以潜热通量为主,阴天净辐射能量主要被水体吸收转换为热储量;(3)通过分析湍流能量通量与环境因子的相关性发现:感热通量变化最主要的相关因子是风速与湖–气界面温度差的乘积;风速与湖-气界面水汽压的乘积是潜热通量的主要驱动因子。本研究结果能为边界层气象学、全球能量和物质循环以及湖泊生态环境治理等研究提供理论基础和数据支持。     

Carbon dioxide and climate: Comparison of one- and three-dimensional models

Calculations indicate that there may be a potential climatic problem due to the release of CO₂ from burning fossil fuels. However there is insufficient scientific evidence to predict the impact because the available models are not well enough understood and do not take into account many feedback mechanisms. Therefore, we have calculated atmospheric temperature changes versus latitude with the simpler Manabe-Wetherald radiative-convective model and compared it to the results of their general circulation model. In addition, we have determined the changes in several physical quantities, such as cloud abundance and surface albedo, required to compensate the temperature rise related to increased CO₂ concentrations.