Environmental impacts of distributed energy systems—The case of micro cogeneration

Distributed generation in micro cogeneration systems, e.g. reciprocating or Stirling engines and fuel cells, is of increasing interest in the energy market. This paper investigates environmental impacts of micro cogeneration by carrying out a detailed life cycle assessment and an analysis of local air quality impacts of micro cogeneration systems.Most micro cogeneration systems are superior, as far as the reduction of GHG emissions is concerned, not only to average electricity and heat supply, but also to state-of-the art separate production of electricity in gas power plants and heat in condensing boilers. The GHG advantages of micro cogeneration plants are comparable to district heating with CHP. Under the assumption that gas condensing boilers are the competing heat-supply technology, all technologies are within a very narrow range. Looking at the GHG reduction potential on the level of a supply object (e.g. a single-family house) by modeling the operation with a CHP optimization tool, the achievable mitigation potential is somewhat lower, because the micro cogeneration systems do not supply the whole energy demand. Here, fuel cells offer the advantage of a higher power-to-heat ratio.Environmental impacts other than those related to climate and resource protection relate more specifically to technology. In addition to investigating the emissions side, analysis of the air quality situation of a residential area supplied by reciprocating engines was carried out. The analysis shows that for the selected conditions, the additional emission of NO_x due to the engines do not create severe additional environmental impacts.     

A life cycle comparison of greenhouse emissions for power generation from coal mining and underground coal gasification

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an advancing technology that is receiving considerable global attention as an economic and environmentally friendly alternative for exploitation of coal deposits. UCG has the potential to decrease greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) during the development and utilization of coal resources. In this paper, the life cycle of UCG from in situ coal gasification to utilization for electricity generation is analyzed and compared with coal extraction through conventional coal mining and utilization in power plants. Four life cycle assessment models have been developed and analyzed to compare (greenhouse gas) GHG emissions of coal mining, coal gasification and power generation through conventional pulverized coal fired power plants (PCC), supercritical coal fired (SCPC) power plants, integrated gasification combined cycle plants for coal (Coal-IGCC), and combined cycle gas turbine plants for UCG (UCG-CCGT). The analysis shows that UCG is comparable to these latest technologies and in fact, the GHG emissions from UCG are about 28 % less than the conventional PCC plant. When combined with the economic superiority, UCG has a clear advantage over competing technologies. The comparison also shows that there is considerable reduction in the GHG emissions with the development of technology and improvements in generation efficiencies.     

中国核电能源链的生命周期温室气体排放研究

应用全能源链分析(PCA)和生命周期分析(LCA)方法,采用第一手调查数据和一些新的参数,对我国核电能源链的生命周期温室气体排放进行评价计算.结果表明,现阶段我国核电能源链(包括核燃料循环前段、核电站)的实际温室气体排放量为6.2g CO2,eq/(k W·h),若考虑核燃料循环后段(乏燃料后处理与废物处置)则总的温室气体排放量为11.9g CO2,eq/(k W·h).核电是低碳能源,发展核电代替一定规模的煤电提供一次能源,每1k W·h电力生产能够减排大约1kg二氧化碳.推进核电产业链的技术升级和持续节能降耗,鼓励材料再循环再利用,核电能源链的温室气体排放仍有进一步降低的空间.     

Forest carbon accounting methods and the consequences of forest bioenergy for national greenhouse gas emissions inventories

While bioenergy plays a key role in strategies for increasing renewable energy deployment, studies assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forest bioenergy systems have identified a potential trade-off of the system with forest carbon stocks. Of particular importance to national GHG inventories is how trade-offs between forest carbon stocks and bioenergy production are accounted for within the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector under current and future international climate change mitigation agreements. Through a case study of electricity produced using wood pellets from harvested forest stands in Ontario, Canada, this study assesses the implications of forest carbon accounting approaches on net emissions attributable to pellets produced for domestic use or export. Particular emphasis is placed on the forest management reference level (FMRL) method, as it will be employed by most Annex I nations in the next Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period. While bioenergy production is found to reduce forest carbon sequestration, under the FMRL approach this trade-off may not be accounted for and thus not incur an accountable AFOLU-related emission, provided that total forest harvest remains at or below that defined under the FMRL baseline. In contrast, accounting for forest carbon trade-offs associated with harvest for bioenergy results in an increase in net GHG emissions (AFOLU and life cycle emissions) lasting 37 or 90 years (if displacing coal or natural gas combined cycle generation, respectively). AFOLU emissions calculated using the Gross-Net approach are dominated by legacy effects of past management and natural disturbance, indicating near-term net forest carbon increase but longer-term reduction in forest carbon stocks. Export of wood pellets to EU markets does not greatly affect the total life cycle GHG emissions of wood pellets. However, pellet exporting countries risk creating a considerable GHG emissions burden, as they are responsible for AFOLU and bioenergy production emissions but do not receive credit for pellets displacing fossil fuel-related GHG emissions. Countries producing bioenergy from forest biomass, whether for domestic use or for export, should carefully consider potential implications of alternate forest carbon accounting methods to ensure that potential bioenergy pathways can contribute to GHG emissions reduction targets.     

Development of alternative energy sources for GHG emissions reduction in the textile industry by energy recovery from cotton ginning waste

The agricultural sector and primarily its cotton subsector are of great importance for Greece, due to the intensive agricultural activities. The wastes from cotton ginning plants are also considerable and can be valorized for bioenergy production. The substitution of conventional by green fuels, which can be produced from cotton ginning wastes, is a step towards: (a) economic and environmental sustainability for the textile industry and (b) the development of alternative energy supplies, contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions. Furthermore, it consists an especially attractive opportunity to invest in rural areas. The present paper concerns the feasibility study for energy recovery from cotton ginning waste with GHG emissions reduction in a textile plant located in Northern Greece. The aim was to replace part of heavy fuel oil used for the thermal needs of the plant by biomass. The results showed that the most economically interesting energy option for a bioenergy unit in the above textile plant is 5 MW for the coverage of the 52% of the plant's thermal requirements.     

Greenhouse gas balances of molasses based ethanol in Nepal

This paper evaluates life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) balances in production and use of molasses-based ethanol (EtOH) in Nepal. The total life cycle emissions of EtOH is estimated at 432.5 kgCO_2eq m⁻³ ethanol (i.e. 20.4 gCO_2eq MJ⁻¹). Avoided emissions are 76.6% when conventional gasoline is replaced by molasses derived ethanol. A sensitivity analysis was performed to verify the impact of variations in material and energy flows, and allocation ratios in the GHG balances. Market prices of sugar and molasses, amount of nitrogen-fertilizers used in sugarcane production, and sugarcane yield per hectare turn out to be important parameters for the GHG balances estimation. Sales of the surplus electricity derived from bagasse could reduce emissions by replacing electricity produced in diesel power plants. Scenario analysis on two wastewater processes for treatment of effluents obtained from ethanol conversion has also been carried out. If wastewater generated from ethanol conversion unit is treated in pond stabilization (PS) treatment process, GHG emissions alarmingly increase to a level of 4032 kgCO_2eq m⁻³ ethanol. Results also show that the anaerobic digestion process (ADP) and biogas recovery without leakages can significantly avoid GHG emissions, and improve the overall emissions balance of EtOH in Nepal. At a 10% biogas leakage, life cycle emissions is 1038 kgCO_2eq m⁻³ ethanol which corresponds to 44% avoided emissions compared to gasoline. On the other hand, total emissions surpass the level of its counterpart (i.e. gasoline) when the leakage of biogas exceeds 23.4%.     

基于IPCC排放清单的校园温室气体排放研究

以温室气体排放源和吸收汇为基础,构建了大学校园温室气体排放量化研究框架,并以辽宁工业大学为例,通过走访调研、IPCC排放清单等方法综合,核算了该高校温室气体排放情况.结果显示2014年辽宁工业大学校园温室气体净排放量为3.89×107kg CO2 eq.,人均排放量为2.02 ×103 kg CO2 eq.,主要排放源为外购热力、电力消耗及垃圾处理.并与国内外其他大学的研究结果进行了对比分析,寻求校园温室气体减排的潜力,可为低碳校园的创建提供理论依据与实践经验.     

The analysis of greenhouse gas emissions/reductions in waste sector in Vietnam

The global waste sector produces, on average, 2–5 % of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The amount of GHG emissions has grown steadily and is predicted to increase considerable in the forthcoming decades because of the increases in population and gross domestic product (GDP). However, the GHG mitigation opportunities for the sector are still fully not exploited, in particularly in developing countries. A series of initiatives were highly successful and showed that large reductions in emissions are possible. This study aims to propose a holistic quantification model, which can be used for estimation of waste generation and evaluation of the potential reduction of GHG emissions in waste sector for developing countries with a particular application to Vietnam. The two scenarios set for the study were business as usual (BaU) which waste management is assumed to follow past and current trends and CounterMeasure (CM) which alternative waste treatment and management are assessed. Total emissions in the BaU scenario are projected to increase from 29.47 MtCO₂eq in 2010 to 85.60 MtCO₂eq by 2030 and 176.32 MtCO₂eq by 2050. The highest emissions are due to methane (CH₄) released by disposal sites, accounting for about 60 % of the GHG emissions from waste in Vietnam in 2030. This emission is projected to increase significantly (67 % in 2050), unless more of the methane is captured and used for energy generation. The CM scenario gives emission reductions from 25.7 % (2020), 40.5 % (2030) to 56.6 % (2050) compared to the BaU scenario. The highest GHG reduction is achieved through recycling, followed by methane recovery to optimize the co-benefit for climate change mitigation.     

Co-production of heat and power: an anchor tenant of a regional industrial ecosystem

The resource basis of industrial energy production is still, to a large extent, in non-renewable fossil fuels, the use of which creates emissions that the ecosystem has difficulty in tolerating. The goal of industrial ecology is to substitute the non-renewable stocks with renewable flows. In this paper, a regional industrial ecosystem that relies on a power plant as its key organisation, as an anchor tenant, is considered in the context of energy production and consumption. The co-production method of heat and electricity (CHP, co-production of heat and power) is implemented in the local power plant. This method uses the waste energy from electricity production for district heat and industrial heat/steam. The fuel basis in a CHP plant can include heterogeneous waste fuels. The method has been applied, to a large extent, in only three countries in the world; Denmark, The Netherlands and Finland. Examples of CHP-based industrial ecosystems from Finland are considered. CHP is reflected upon from the viewpoint of industrial ecosystem principles.     

基于投入产出法的北京能源消耗温室气体排放清单分析

城市是一个巨大能源物资消耗体和温室气体排放体,相关研究受到广泛关注.本文以2007年为例基于投入产出法研究北京市能源消耗的温室气体排放量,计算得出CH4和N2O这两种常规温室气体排放量.结果表明,北京市2007年能源消耗温室气体排放量为3531.72万tCO2当量,其中CO2排放量为3514.40万t,CH4排放量为1734.32t,N2O排放量为435.83t.北京市工业部门仍然是主要的温室气体排放部门,其排放的温室气体占CO2总量的98.96%,CH4总量的88.48%和N2O总量的98.99%.不同最终使用部门中,政府部门消费产生的温室气体排放量超过总量的15%,高于城镇消费和农村消费之和;调出和出口部门的碳排放量超过总量的40%,所占比例最大.贸易中,隐含在调出和出口部门中温室气体排放量是隐含在调入和进口部门的十几倍.北京市不同行业的温室气体排放强度略优于全国水平.降低北京市温室气体排放量可从进一步优化产业结构,发挥科技减排的作用,提高不同产业的能源利用率等方面采取措施.     

Quantification of energy related industrial eco-efficiency of China

Improving eco-efficiency is propitious for saving resources and reducing emissions, and has become a popular route to sustainable development. We define two energy-related eco-efficiencies: energy efficiency (ENE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-related eco-efficiency (GEE) using energy consumption and the associated GHG emissions as the environmental impacts. Using statistical data, we analyze China’s energy consumption and GHG emissions by industrial subsystem and sector, and estimate the ENE and GEE values for China in 2007 as 4.871×10⁷ US/PJ and 4.26×10 < sup > 8 < /sup > US/PJ and 4.26×10⁸ US/TgCO₂eq, respectively. Industry is the primary contributing subsystem of China’s economy, contributing 45.2% to the total economic production, using 79.6% of the energy consumed, and generating 91.4% of the total GHG emissions. We distinguish the individual contributions of the 39 industrial sectors to the national economy, overall energy consumption, and GHG emissions, and estimate their energyrelated eco-efficiencies. The results show that although ferrous metal production contributes only 3.5% to the national industrial economy, it consumes the most industrial energy (20% of total), contributes 16% to the total industrial global warming potential (GWP), and ranks third in GHG emissions. The power and heat sector ranks first in GHG emissions and contributes one-third of the total industrial GWP, although it only consumes about 8% of total industrial energy and, like ferrous metal production, contributes 3.5% to the national economy. The ENE of the ferrous metal and power and heat sectors are only 8 and 2.1×10⁷ US/PJ, while the GEE for these two sectors are 9 and 4×10 < sup > 4 < /sup > US/PJ, while the GEE for these two sectors are 9 and 4×10⁴ US/GgCO₂eq, respectively; these are nearly the lowest ENE and GEE values among all 39 industry sectors. Finally, we discuss the possibility of ecoefficiency improvement through a comparison with other countries.     

Reducing the energy penalty of CO2 capture and compression using pinch analysis

Integration of CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) into coal-fired power stations is seen as a way of significantly reducing the carbon emissions from stationary sources. A large proportion of the estimated cost of CCS is because of the additional energy expended to capture the CO₂ and compress it for transport and storage, reducing the energy efficiency of the power plant. This study uses pinch analysis and heat integration to reduce the overall energy penalty and, therefore, the cost of implementing CCS for power plants where the additional heat and power for the CCS plant will be provided by the existing power plant. A combined pinch analysis and linear programming optimisation are applied to determine targets for the energy penalty of existing power plants. Two existing pulverised brown coal power plants with new CCS plants using solvent absorption are used as the basis for the study that show the energy penalty can be reduced by up to 50% by including effective heat integration. The energy penalty can be further reduced by pre-drying the coal.     

广东电力生产的温室气体排放趋势和演变特征

通过文献调研收集广东电力生产最新的能源消费数据和排放因子,采用“自上而下”方法估算1995—2011年广东电力行业的直接和间接GHG(温室气体)排放量,量化直接排放量的不确定性,绘制GHG排放流向图,并且根据GHG排放特征提出减排建议. 结果表明:①虽然受经济、环境和能源政策的影响,与1995年相比,2011年广东电力生产的GHG总排放量仍增长438%,达3.44×108 t,其中直接排放量达2.78×108 t,不确定性为±11%. ②从发电能源结构角度考虑,燃煤发电是电力生产的最大GHG排放源,2011年其排放量占总排放量的76%;而从用电终端考虑,工业用电是最大的GHG排放源,2011年其排放量占电力生产GHG总排放量的66%. ③1995—2011年,用电终端总体电力GHG排放强度下降了16%,居民用电人均GHG排放量上升了260%,单位综合发电量的GHG排放系数微升了1%. ④发电能源结构和终端产业结构的低碳化以及控制居民用电的GHG排放量等措施可减排2011年广东电力生产GHG总排放量的44%.      

Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in European conventional and organic dairy farming

Dairy farming is the largest agricultural source of the greenhouse gases methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) in Europe. A whole-farm modeling approach was used to investigate promising mitigation measures. The effects of potential mitigation measures were modeled to obtain estimates of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from representative dairy model farms in five European regions. The potential to reduce farm GHG emissions was calculated per kg milk to compare organic and conventional production systems and to investigate region and system specific differences. An optimized lifetime efficiency of dairy cows reduced GHG emissions by up to 13% compared to baseline model farms. The evaluation of frequent removal of manure from animal housing into outside covered storage reduced farm GHG emissions by up to 7.1%. Scraping of fouled surfaces per se was not an effective option since the reduction in GHG emissions from animal housing was more than out-weighed by increased emissions from the storage and after field application. Manure application by trail hose and injection, respectively, was found to reduce farm GHG emissions on average by 0.7 and 3.2% compared to broadcasting. The calculated model scenarios for anaerobic digestion demonstrated that biogas production could be a very efficient and cost-effective option to reduce GHG emissions. The efficiency of this mitigation measure depends on the amount and quality of organic matter used for co-digestion, and how much of the thermal energy produced is exploited. A reduction of GHG emissions by up to 96% was observed when all thermal energy produced was used to substitute fossil fuels. Potential measures and strategies were scaled up to the level of European regions to estimate their overall mitigation potential. The mitigation potential of different strategies based on a combination of measures ranged from −25 up to −105% compared to baseline model farms. A full implementation of the most effective strategy could result in a total GHG emission reduction of about 50 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalents per year for conventional dairy farms of EU(15) comparable to the defined model farms.     

Lessons from the French experience with voluntary agreements for greenhouse-gas reduction

The paper analyses the French experience with voluntary agreements (VAs) for the reduction of industrial greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. It is based on evidence from two case studies: the VAs signed by the main aluminium producer and by the packaging glass industry association. The analysis suggests that the considerable reductions in specific GHG emissions can hardly be seen as a direct consequence of the VA commitments. Instead they seem to have been triggered by other environmental regulations, and above all, by industry's heavy investments in technology modernisation and cost reduction efforts. Therefore, the observed reduction in specific emissions appears to correspond to industry's business-as-usual behaviour, suggesting that VA objectives were poorly ambitious. These results appear consistent with other VA evaluations. In the French GHG-related VAs, the failure to achieve more ambitious goals appears to result from the lack of a well-articulated policy-mix involving the VAs for GHG policy and energy efficiency promotion, as well as from policymakers' concerns over the potential competitive impact of GHG policy. The question of how to provide incentives for more ambitious GHG reductions without a high impact on firms' competitiveness remains a challenge for future policy.     

Assessments on emergy and greenhouse gas emissions of internal combustion engine automobiles and electric automobiles in the USA

Increasing energy consumption in the transportation sector results in challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental problems. This paper involved integrated assessments on GHG emissions and emergy of the life cycle for the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric automobiles in the USA over the entire assumed fifteen-year lifetime. The hotspots of GHG emissions as well as emergy indices for the major processes of automobile life cycle within the defined system boundaries have been investigated. The potential strategies for reducing GHG emissions and emergy in the life cycle of both ICE and electric automobiles were further proposed. Based on the current results, the total GHG emissions from the life cycle of ICE automobiles are 4.48E + 07 kg CO₂-e which is 320 times higher than that of the electric automobiles. The hotspot area of the GHG emissions from ICE and electric automobiles are operation phase and manufacturing process, respectively. Interesting results were observed that comparable total emergy of the ICE automobiles and electric automobiles have been calculated which were 1.54E + 17 and 2.20E + 17 sej, respectively. Analysis on emergy index evidenced a better environmental sustainability of electric automobiles than ICE automobiles over the life cycle due to its higher ESI. To the authors’ knowledge, it is the first time to integrate the analysis of GHG emissions together with emergy in industrial area of automobile engineering. It is expected that the integration of emergy and GHG emissions analysis may provide a comprehensive perspective on eco-industrial sustainability of automobile engineering.     

燃煤电厂工业共生模式潜力及政策现状分析

工业共生是循环经济思想实践的重要途径之一,近年来针对国民经济各行业共生模式的理论探讨也越来越多;然而,从实践角度,对各种共生模式在现实中的应用潜力及其现状问题的分析还没有深入展开。文章以燃煤电厂为例,通过现有统计数据分析和政策分析方法,对火电行业及其脱硫产品、热电联产2类共生模式的发展潜力进行了分析。结果发现,全国火电脱硫机组的比例约为80%,然而仅有约50%左右的二氧化硫被去除,其中占脱硫产品90%的脱硫石膏的利用率仅为30%左右,各个环节均有很大的发展空间;此外,热机组仅占全国火电机组装机总容量的18.2%,由于其利用形式多样,发展空间很大;通过梳理2类共生模式相关的政策体系,初步分析了目前可能影响工业共生发展的各种问题。     

基于LCA的北京市公交车节能及温室气体减排潜力分析

新能源公交车是未来城市公交行业节能及温室气体减排的重点发展方向.新能源公交车在行驶阶段具有良好的节能及温室气体减排效果,而汽车制造、能源生产等相关生命周期阶段的能耗及温室气体排放常被忽视,且目前新能源公交车的乘客运载功能相对较弱,可能对节能及温室气体减排的潜力造成较为显著的影响.因此,本文基于北京市公交车的运营特征,采用生命周期评价(LCA)方法,选择客运周转量作为功能单位,核算了天然气公交车、混合动力公交车和纯电动公交车等新能源公交车相对于柴油公交车的节能及温室气体减排效益.结果表明:发展新能源公交车对促进北京市公交行业及城市节能低碳发展具有积极的作用,但相对于基于运营里程的核算结果,本研究新能源公交车节能及温室气体减排潜力均较低,主要原因是新能源公交车的实际载客量相对较低;混合动力公交车和纯电动公交车在空调开启时的节能潜力与温室气体减排潜力均远低于天然气公交车;通过发展情景分析,建议北京市现阶段应优先发展天然气公交车,适当发展纯电动公交车和混合动力公交车,以减少北京市公交车的总体能耗,同时降低温室气体排放强度.     

基于双层规划模型的城市固体废物管理系统优化研究

采用变权重组合模型和情景分析法,对北京市的城市固体废物(MSW)产量进行有效地预测.预测结果表明,北京市垃圾产量增幅不大但处理设施容量存在缺口.在科学预测的基础上,构建以温室气体(GHG)控制为上层目标,系统成本最小化为下层目标的双层规划模型(BLPMGMC).该模型的结果表明,焚烧和堆肥将是北京市MSW的主要处理方式;在3个规划时段内,GHG总排放量达到1.67×106t(以CO2当量计),填埋场的CH4和焚烧厂的N2O是GHG排放的主要贡献者;系统总成本达到7.0×109元,其中,65%的成本来自于焚烧厂和堆肥厂.4种模型结果的对比分析表明,双层规划能提供综合经济和环境因素的管理方案.     

Increasing the application of gas engines to decrease China’s GHG emissions

This paper employs a review of the technical literature to estimate the potential decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that could be achieved by increasing the application of gas engines in China in three sectors: urban public transport vehicle; shipping; and thermal power plants. China’s gas engine development strategies and three types of gas resource are discussed in the study, which indicates that gas engines could decrease GHG emissions by 520 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO_2e) by 2020. This would account for 9.7 % of the government’s target for decreasing GHG emissions and is dominated by methane recovery from the use of coal mine gas (CMG) and landfill gas (LFG) for power generation. In the public urban transport vehicle and shipping sectors the low price of natural gas and the increasing demand for the control of harmful emissions could spur the rapid uptake of gas engine vehicles. However, the development of CMG- and LFG-fuelled power plants has been limited by the unwillingness of local enterprises to invest in high-performance gas engine generators and the associated infrastructure. Therefore, further compulsory policies that promote CMG use and LFG recovery should be implemented. Moreover, strict regulations on limiting methane leakage during the production and distribution of gas fuels are urgently needed in China to prevent leakage causing GHG emissions and largely negating the climate benefits of fuel substitution. Strategies for increasing the application of gas engines, promoting gas resources and recovering methane in China are instrumental in global GHG mitigation strategies.