Impact of Different Parameters on Life Cycle Analysis, Embodied Energy and Environmental Emissions for Wind Turbine System

Due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves and increasing concern for climate change as a result of greenhouse gas effect, every country is looking for ways to develop eco-friendly renewable energy sources. Wind energy has become a good option due to its comparative economic advantages and environment friendly aspects. But there is always an ongoing debate if wind energy is as green as it seems to appear. Wind turbines once installed do not produce any greenhouse gases during operation, but it can and may produce significant emissions during manufacture, transport, installation and disposal stages. To determine the exact amount of emissions, it is necessary to consider all the stages for a wind turbine from manufacture to disposal. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a technique that determines the energy consumption, emission of greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts of a product or system throughout the life cycle stages. The various approaches that have been used in the literature for the LCA of wind turbines have many discrepancies among the results, the main reason(s) being different investigators used different parameters and boundary conditions, and thus comparisons are difficult. In this paper, the influence of different parameters such as turbine size, technology (geared or gearbox less), recycling, medium of transport, different locations, orientation of the blade (horizontal or vertical), blade material, positioning of wind turbine (land, coastal or offshore), etc. on greenhouse gas emissions and embodied energy is studied using the available data from exhaustive search of literature. This provides tools to find better solutions for power production in an environmental friendly manner by selecting a proper blade orientation technique, with suitable blade material, technology, recycling techniques and suitable location.

Importance of Life Cycle Analysis of the Printed Circuit Board Computer

It is estimated that there is a generation of 307,224 ton/year [1] of waste from electronic and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Mexico, of which 10% is recycled, 40% remains stored and 50% reaches landfills or uncontrolled dumps. In the practice, even the regulatory instruments are not consolidated and the adequate management of the use of WEEE management, so the aim of this study is an analysis of life cycle of printed circuit boards (TCI) to identify the management alternatives that represent the least impact to the environment. This assessment was carried out using software SIMAPRO to determine the environmental impact of each scenario, through the comparison of impacts and the proposed improvements to reduce it, following phases of this methodology by applying standards, ISO 14040/ISO 14044 [2], using data from the INE official reports since 2006 until 2010 which concentrate the information of the WEEE problem in Mexico. These data were pooled to carry out inventories according to the availability in the information, identifying the environmental impacts generated by processing. The conclusions of the LCA will serve to identify the stage with greater environmental impact, and thus propose ideas for improvement in order to minimize this impact.

Life cycle analysis of palm kernel shell gasification for supplying heat to an asphalt mixing plant

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia states that the thermal energy for hot-mixed asphalt production shall be supplied by the direct combustion of fossil fuels in the form of diesel oil,natural gas,or fuel gas from coal gasification which may generate GHG emission.Biomasses are able to substitute the fossil fuels through gasification technology.Gasification converts the biomass using limited air into gaseous fuel containing mainly CO and H_(2) that are subsequently combusted to produce heat,carbon dioxide,and water.It is obvious that the CO_(2) is then absorbed by the plants for photosynthesis,main-taining a balanced closed cycle.This study examines the level of global warming potential of this system for supplying heat based on the openLCA v1.9 software.The analysis used a gate-to-gate approach to evaluate scenarios of shell gasification to produce 1 metric tonne of hot-mixed asphalt.The scope covers raw material supply and transportation,palm kernel shell gasification,and products.The evaluation concludes that gasification could potentially reduce CO_(2) emissions.Environmental impact analysis and interpretation of the results using the openLCA database of Traci 2.1 recommend that greater CO_(2) emis-sion reduction is possible using palm kernel shell gasification,not only for supplying heat but also for electricity generation to operate all electrical equipments.

An Estimated DSGE Model for Business Cycle Analysis in China

A small-scale, but highly-stylized dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model is estimated by the maximum likelihood method using Chinese quarterly data. Model specifications and parameter equalities between various competing model variants are addressed by formal statistical hypothesis tests, while implications for business cycle fluctuations are evaluated via a variance decomposition experiment, second-moments matching, and some out-of-sample forecast exercises. It is highlighted that the monetary authority takes an aggressive stance to the current inflation pressure （there is a significant lagged response）, while leaving less attention to changes in aggregate output. Variance decomposition reveals that large percentages of variations in real and nominal variables are explained by the highly volatile preference and potential output shock, respectively. When nominal and real frictions as well as additional shocks are included, overall our estimated model can successfully reproduce the stylized facts from actual data of Chinese business cycles and frequently can even outperform those forecasts from an unconstrained VAR.

PROBABILISTIC METHODOLOGY OF LOW CYCLE FATIGUE ANALYSIS

The cyclic stress-strain responses (CSSR), Neuber's rule (NR) and cyclic strain-life relation (CSLR) are treated as probabilistic curves in local stress and strain method of low cycle fatigue analysis. The randomness of loading and the theory of fatigue damage accumulation (TOFDA) are considered. The probabilistic analysis of local stress, local strain and fatigue life are constructed based on the first-order Taylor's series expansions. Through this method proposed fatigue reliability analysis can be accomplished.

Substitution of Aggregates in Concrete and Mortar with Coltan Mining Waste: Mechanical, Environmental, and Economic Impact Case Study

The mining process involves drilling and excavation, resulting in the production of waste rock and tailings. The waste materials are then removed and stored in designated areas. This study aims to evaluate the mechanical strength and the environmental and economic impact of using Coltan Mining Waste (CMW) as a substitute for aggregates in concrete and mortar production. To achieve this, the CMW needs to be characterised. The Dreux Gorisse method was primarily used to produce concrete with a strength of 20 MPa at 28 days. The mortars, on the other hand, were formulated according to the NF P 18-452 standard. The environmental impact of using CMW as substitutes for natural aggregates in the production of concrete and mortar was analysed using SimaPro software. The results showed that mortars and concrete made with CMW have comparable compressive strengths to the reference mortar and concrete;reduce the negative impact on ecosystem quality, human health, resources, and climate change. It has also been shown that the substitution of aggregates by CMW reduces the cost of concrete and mortar as a function of the distance from the aggregate footprint.

Geophysical methods for the study of sedimentary cycles

We present the wavelet depth-frequency analysis and variable-scale frequency cycle analysis methods to study sedimentary cycles. The spectrum analysis, variable-scale frequency cycle analysis, and wavelet depth-frequency analysis methods are mainly discussed to distinguish sedimentary cycles of different levels. The spectrum analysis method established the relationship between the spectrum characteristics and the thickness and number of sedimentary cycles. Both the variable-scale frequency cycle analysis and the wavelet depth-frequency analysis are based on the wavelet transform. The variable-scale frequency cycle analysis is used to obtain the relationship between the periodic changes of frequency in different scales and sedimentary cycles, and the wavelet depth-frequency analysis is used to obtain the relationship between migration changes of frequency energy clusters and sedimentary cycles. We designed a soft-ware system to process actual logging data from the Changqing Oilfield to analyze the sedimentary cycles, which verified the effectiveness of the three methods, and good results were obtained.

Life cycle environmental impact assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production and utilization in Northwestern Ontario,Canada

Biochar-based bioenergy production and sub- sequent land application of biochar can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fixing atmospheric carbon into the soil for a long period of time. A thorough life cycle assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production and biochar land application in Northwestern Ontario is conducted using SimaPro Ver. 8.1. The results of energy consumption and potential environmental impact of biochar-based bioenergy production system are compared with those of conventional coal-based system. Results show that biocbar land application consumes 4847.61 MJ per tonne dry feedstock more energy than conventional system, but reduces the GHG emissions by 68.19 kg CO2e per tonne of dry feed- stock in its life cycle. Biochar land application improves ecosystem quality by 18 %, reduces climate change by 15 %, and resource use by 13 % but may adversely impact on human health by increasing disability adjusted life years by 1.7 % if biomass availability is low to medium. Replacing fossil fuel with woody biomass has a positiveimpact on the environment, as one tonne of dry biomass feedstock when converted to biochar reduces up to 38 kg CO2e with biochar land application despite using more energy. These results will help understand a comprehensive picture of the new interventions in forestry businesses, which are promoting biochar-based bioenergy production.

Life Cycle Assessment of Recycling High-Density Polyethylene Plastic Waste

Increasing production and use of various novel plastics products,a low recycling rate,and lack of effective recycling/disposal methods have resulted in an exponential growth in plastic waste accumulation in landfills and in the environment.To better understand the effects of plastic waste,Life Cycle Analysis(LCA)was done to compare the effects of various production and disposal methods.LCA shows the specific effects of the cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-cradle scenarios for landfill,incineration,and mechanical recycling.The analysis clearly indicates that increasing recycling of plastics can significantly save energy and eliminate harmful emissions of various carcinogens and GHGs into the environment.As recycling increases,the need for virgin-plastic production can be greatly reduced.Furthermore,the results of this study may help improve current mechanical recycling processes as well as potential future recycling methods,such as chemical recycling.Concerns about the current recycling/disposal methods for plastics have brought increasing attention to the waste accumulation problem.However,with the current COVID-19 pandemic,plastic accumulation is expected to increase significantly in the near future.A better understanding of the quantitative effects of the various disposal methods can help guide policies and future research toward effective solutions of the plastic waste problem.

Performance of Concrete Subjected to Severe Multiple Actions of Composite Salts Solution under Wet-Dry Cycles and Flexural Loading in Lab

Several action regimes were employed, namely, those exposed to solutions containing single and/or composite chloride and sulfate salts, and under wet-dry cycles and/or flexural loading. The variations in dynamic modulus of elasticity（Erd values） were monitored, as well as the key factor impacting on the chloride ingress when concrete subjected to multiple action regimes was identified by the method of Grey Relation Analysis（GRA）. The changes in micro-structures and mineral products of interior concrete after different action regimes were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD）, mercury intrusion technique（MIP）, and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. The test results showed that the cyclic wet-dry accelerated the deterioration of OPC concrete more than the action of 35% flexural loading based on the results of Erd values and the GEA. The analyses from micro-structures could give certain explanations to the change in Erd values under different action regimes.

Carbon and Water Footprint Evaluation of 120Wp Rural Household Photovoltaic System: Case Study

This study uses the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to evaluate the magnitude of the environmental impact, in terms of global warming potential, and water footprint throughout the 20 years of useful life of a rural electrical energy concession comprised of 120Wp Households photovoltaic systems (HPS) in the isolated communities of San Martin, in the Peruvian Amazon region. On the other hand, due to the particular conditions of the system (installation, operation, maintenance, monthly tariff collection), it is necessary to know its real impact and sustainability;not only through the aforementioned environmental impact indicators, but also by energy intensity values required by the system throughout its life cycle. Therefore, this paper used the Cumulative energy demand (CED) method to determine the amount of energy taken from natural resources for each process involved in the LCA and calculated with this, i.e., the Energy Payback Time (EPBT) of the whole system. Likewise, the HPS has been environmentally compared to other case studies and the Peruvian Energy Mix, revealing a lower impact in the latter case and results within the range for stand-alone systems. Besides, the HPS shows a strong relation between energy production and O&M condition. Additionally, this study allows a further promotion of the use of this type of system in isolated areas, as well as the diversification of electricity generation in Peru.

Real drive cycles analysis by ordered power methodology applied to fuel consumption,C0_(2),NO_(x) and PM emissions estimation

In this work three fuel consumption and exhaust emission models,ADVISOR,VT-MICRO and the European Environmental Agency Emission factors,have been used to obtain fuel consumption(FC)and exhaust emissions.These models have been used at micro-scale,using the two signal treatment methods presented.The manuscript presents:1)a methodology to collect data in real urban driving cycles,2)an estimation of FC and tailpipe emissions using some available models in literature,and 3)a novel analysis of the results based on delivered wheel power.The results include Fuel Consumption(FC),CO_(2),NO_(x) and PM_(10) emissions,which are derived from the three simulators.In the first part of the paper we present a new procedure for incomplete drive cycle data treatment,which is necessary for real drive cycle acquisition in high density cities.Then the models are used to obtain second by second FC and exhaust emissions.Finally,a new methodology named Cycle Analysis by Ordered Power(CAbOP)is presented and used to compare the results.This method consists in the re-ordering of time dependant data,considering the wheel mechanical power domain instead of the standard time domain.This new strategy allows the 5 situations in drive cycles to be clearly visualized:hard breaking zone,slowdowns,idle or stop zone,sustained speed zone and acceleration zone.The complete methodology is applied in two real drive cycles surveyed in Barcelona(Spain)and the results are compared with a standardized WLTC urban cycle.

Development and application of a life cycle energy consumption and CO2emissions analysis model for high-speed railway transport in China

China's high-speed railway(HSR)is booming recently,the HSR's performance of energy conservation and carbon reduction has attractedmuch attention.This study developed a new life cycle model of energy consumption and greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions on China's HSR bylife cycle analysis(LCA),covering the stages of infrastructure,HSR train,and operation,based on the TLCAM(Tsinghua-LCA Model).A caseof the BeijingeShanghai HSR has been studied to show that the full life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of HSR transportationare 0.4 MJ km1per capita and 0.04 kg CO2ekm1per capita,respectively,which are far less than aviation,gasoline vehicles,diesel vehicles,electric vehicles and public vehicles.With the cleaner power structure and the progress of HSR train technology,the energy consumption andcarbon emissions of HSR in 2020 could be reduced by 20%compared to 2015.This study indicates that electricity generation mix structure andfull load rate are important factors influencing the life-cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of HSR transportation.It is recommendedto improve the coverage of HSR network,accelerate train upgrades,improve the full load rate of HSR trains,and promote the low-carbondevelopment of electricity supply to strengthen and realize the low-carbon advantage of HSR transport mode in China.HSR transportationcan be used to achieve the low carbon transformation of China's transportation sector and improve oil supply safety situation.

Stainless steel and sustainability

The paper focus on the life cycle analysis of stainless steels.It describes the system boundaries and gives an evaluation of the CO_2 emissions of Stainless Steels from cradle to gate.It gives as well an evaluation of the recycling rates of stainless steels according to the market applications and an evaluation of the overall cycle of manufacturing and scraps in 2005 on a world wide basis.It concludes with a presentation of some remarkable application focusing on green energy and future growth markets.

Estimating life-cycle energy payback ratio of overhead transmission line toward low carbon development

The energy conservation plays an important role for low carbon development.In order to evaluate the energy conservation in the full life-cycle,a scheme to estimate the energy consumption,or alternatively the energy pay,in constructing an overhead transmission line is proposed in this paper.The analysis of a typical projection is given for demonstration.With new additional overhead transmission lines,the energy consumption,known as the power loss in power network,is expected to be decline,which is defined in this paper as the energy payback.In order to estimate this kind of contribution,the scheme that consisted of load forecast,production simulation for generating systems,load flow simulation and power loss calculation has been proposed.Case studies,based on the IEEE 24-bus test system,are given to demonstrate the efficacy of the schemes.Moreover,several presumptive scenarios are deployed and analysed with the presented schemes for comparison.

NOx emissions of turbofan powered unmanned aerial vehicle for complete flight cycle

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs) have been getting more and more popular in both civil and military arena. Similar to manned aircraft, their propulsion systems or engines emit harmful gases such as nitrogen oxides. Since UAVs have different mission profiles and operational parameters than manned aircraft, it is worthy to investigate their NOx emissions. Therefore, in this study, NOx emissions of a turbofan powered UAV for complete flight cycle was calculated and optimized within a range of altitude and speed parameters. NOx emissions were calculated based on ICAO ground test data and corrected to any speed and altitude during flight legs using both Boeing Fuel Flow Method 2 and DLR Fuel Flow Method. Total NOx emissions were calculated for complete flight cycles for different altitude and speed parameters. Numerical results were presented graphically and additionally optimization studies were conducted. Optimization studies include determination and comparison of speed and altitude for minimum NOx emissions by the two fuel flow methods and maximum loiter time achievable by UAV.

On limit cycle chattering in sliding mode control systems under the influence of sampling intervals based on describing function approach

In this paper, the influence of sampling intervals on the chattering in sliding mode （SM） control systems is considered. The describing function （DF） approach is employed to analyze the chattering characteristics in the sampling SM control. By the DF calculations and limit cycle existence conditions, an unstable limit cycle and two stable limit cycles are found in the SM control system. The frequencies and amplitudes of the two limit cycles can also be estimated by graphical calculations. The estimation accuracy of chattering parameters is evaluated by the simulations. The results of simulations show that the system could converge to a large and a small limit cycle from different initial conditions.

Development of LC–MS method for analysis of paclitaxel-inhibited growth and enhanced therapeutic response in human glioblastoma cells

Glioma stem cells are considered responsible for drug resistance and glioma relapse resulting in poor prognosis in glioblastoma multiforme. SU3 glioma cell is a highly invasive glioma stem cell line from the patients with glioblastoma multifrome. It is of great significance to study the efficacy and molecular mechanism for anticancer drug effects on SU3 glioma cells. In this work, we develop a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry（LC–MS） method for direct analysis of the role of drugs（paclitaxel）on SU3 glioma cells at the molecular level. We use the specific fluorescence dyes to evaluate cell viability,the levels of ROS and GSH when the cells were treated with drugs. In addition, the LC–MS platform was successfully employed to detect the amount of 6-O-methylguanine, demonstrating that it is effective to induce cell apoptosis and enhance the cytotoxic response of SU3 glioma cells. The analytical linear equals are Y = 9.49 ？ 105 X ＋ 2.42 ？ 104 for 6-O-methylguanine（R2= 0.9998） and Y = 4.72 ？ 104 X ＋ 2.21 ？ 103（R2= 0.9996） for 7-methylguanine. Thus, the combination of cell-specific fluorescence dyes and LC–MS method enables us to reveal the molecular mechanism of paclitaxel-inhibited growth and enhanced therapeutic response in the chemotherapy for glioma multiforme.

Cost of non-renewable energy in production of wood pellets in China

Assessing the extent to which all bio-fuels that are claimed to be renewable are in fact renewable is essential because producing such renewable fuels itself requires some amount of non-renewable energy （NE） and materials. Using hybrid life cycle analysis （LCA）--from raw material collection to delivery of pellets to end users--the energy cost of wood pellet production in China was estimated at 1.35 J/J, of which only 0.09 J was derived from NE, indicating that only 0.09 J of NE is required to deliver 1 J of renewable energy into society and showing that the process is truly renewable. Most of the NE was consumed during the conversion process （46.21%） and delivery of pellets to end users （40.69%）, during which electricity and diesel are the two major forms of NE used, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that the distance over which the pellets are transported affects the cost of NE significantly. Therefore the location of the terminal market and the site where wood resources are available are crucial to saving diesel.

A novel approach for the design of axial flow fan by increasing by-pass ratio in a constantdiameter turbofan

The present study introduces an innovative aerodynamic redesign of an axial flow fan based on constant diffusion factor and radial equilibrium.All input design parameters such as mass flow rate,hub to tip ratio,aspect ratio,tip diameter and angular velocity are taken from NASA Rotor 67 as a conventional axial flow fan.A computer program is developed to extract the three-dimensional geometry of a fan and to estimate the span-wise distribution of parameters.The new designed fan flow field is investigated in detail by CFD tool at both design and off design conditions.Finally,a turbofan cycle analysis is conducted based on thermodynamic and gas dynamic principles to evaluate the fan performance in a turbofan engine in comparison to NASA Rotor 67.Achieving a higher total pressure ratio,meeting the target pressure ratio in lower rotational speed with higher efficiency,delivering more bypass air in a constant diameter and less fuel consumption for the same specific thrust force are the main advantages for the new design strategy in comparison to the conventional designed fans such as Rotor 67.However,efficiency reduction in fan over speed is the main disadvantage.