The Energy Efficiency Gap in Maritime Transport

There is evidence that the shipping industry could achieve energy efficiency gains through the implementation of new technologies, with considerable reductions of fuel costs and emissions to air in the sector. Although the cost reducing effects of some new technologies are well established, companies appear reluctant to innovate despite the financial and societal benefits, as a result of what is referred to as the energy efficiency gap. The global emission impacts of the shipping industry, most notably of greenhouse gases, sulphur and nitrogen oxides are increasingly attracting the attention of regulators, non-governmental organisations and the media, and shipping companies are under pressure to find new ways to reduce their emission footprint. Understanding the determinants of the energy efficiency gap in shipping is then critical in improving the environmental profile of the industry. This paper presents the results of a survey among Norwegian shipping companies aimed at gaining a better understanding of the barriers to implementation of new cost saving technologies. The paper assesses the technical barriers that have traditionally been indicated as the main cause of the energy efficiency gap in shipping. The paper results indicate that next to technical factors, important barriers are constituted also by managerial practices and legal constraints.

Strong self-flushing technique for heat exchanger of sewage source heat pump system

To better remove the contamination on the surface of a heat-exchanger in urban sewage source heat pump system （USSHPS）, this paper analyzes the feasibility of strong self-flushing on the basis of experiments and presents a new on-line self-flushing technique, which alternately flushes part of heat transfer tubes. In addition, operation principles and the structure of the new heat-exchanger are introduced and the feasible economi- cal and technological cleaning plans are given by design calculation and scheme comparison. The result shows that keeping each tube washed for one minute with 5 m/s, the operating cost is lower than ￥5 and when one flushing pump ahemately flushes 10-20 heat exchangers, the saved costs of flushing 10 tubes alternately are over 4 times of the increased costs.

Older Migrants： Finding Strategies for Sustaining Family Relationships

Issues specific to older migrants moving country are not yet fully understood as there are few studies on this age group. These migrants are most likely to be caught in attending to the needs of their children or their elderly parents, both requiring support. Over a period of two years, 35 older Polish migrants were interviewed and they told their stories of the migration experience. It was found that they had to make choices and were faced with quite difficult decisions on whether they were going to leave children or parents in Poland while they were forced into a position where they had to find work outside their own country due to age discrimination. Both men and women expressed feelings of guilt at leaving sick parents, and at not being able to afford to travel back to Poland more regularly to be with their families. Without effective cost or free digital technology, these families would not be able to sustain communication channels and relationships would break down. Consequently both the economic and emotional costs to these families and the communities in which they live could be very high.