Greenhouse Gas Reduction Opportunities for Local Governments: A Quantification and Prioritization Framework

Local governments have steadily increased their initiative to address global climate change, and many present their proposed strategies through climate action plans (CAPs). This study conducts a literature review on current local approaches to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies by assessing CAPs in California and presents common strategies in the transportation sector along with useful tools. One identified limitation of many CAPs is the omission of quantitative economic cost and emissions data for decision-making on the basis of cost-effectiveness. Therefore, this study proposes a framework for comparing strategies based on their life cycle emissions mitigation potential and costs. The results data can be presented in a marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) to allow for side-by-side comparison of considered strategies. Researchers partnered with Yolo and Unincorporated Los Angeles Counties to analyze 7 strategies in the transportation and energy sectors (five and two, respectively). A MACC was subsequently developed for each county. Applying the life cycle approach revealed strategies that had net cost savings over their life cycle, indicating there are opportunities for reducing emissions and costs. The MACC also revealed that some emissions reduction strategies in fact increased emissions on a life cycle basis. Applying the MACC framework to two case study jurisdictions illustrated both the feasibility and challenges of including quantitative analysis in their decision-making process. An additional barrier to using the MACC framework in the context of CAPs, is the mismatch between a life cycle and annual accounting basis for GHG emissions. Future work could explore more efficient data collection, alternative scopes of emissions for reporting, and environmental justice concerns.View the NCST Project Webpag

A Monte-Carlo Assessment Of The Life Cycle Impacts of Geothermal Energy For Power And Transportation

Increasing awareness of environmental issues surrounding power generationand transportation has increased interest in renewable energy sources such as geothermal.Renewable energy extraction is not without environmental cost, however; drillingoperations and construction of the facilities required for utilization can be resource intensive. Complete life cycle analysis (LCA) allows for impactcomparison between competing methods of power generation. The results are modular, allowingfor use in other product life cycles. One such life cycle is that of the transportation vehicle. An analysis of vehicle life cycles involving geothermal energy is performed employingthe The Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model. Geothermal power haslarge variations between plants owing to differences in the hydrothermalreservoir chemistry and thermodynamic conditions. Due to these variations, a stochastic approachwas used to determine the amount of variation that is likely to be seen using this energy source.The results show geothermal power to have low environmental impact relative to othermethods of energy production for use in transportation

Embodied Energy and Carbon footprints in Residential buildings

To satisfy the housing needs of an ever increasing population, the construction of buildings have become a large consumer of a considerably large amount of energy and resources. This human activity as well as other industrial and domestic activities if left unchecked will result in the gradual deterioration of our environment. The term embodied energy has been developed as a means to measure the energy expended during the life cycle of a building material. This life cycle consists of mining and processing of raw materials, production processes which transforms the raw materials to the desired building material, transportation to site, construction and finally demolition. The use of embodied energy as a measurement tool is currently being applied in other industrial sectors such as manufacturing and road construction. This paper aims at calculating the embodied energy and carbon footprint of a 1 bedroom 1 storey flat. Results obtained from this analysis reveal that the embodied energy and carbon of the case study building is 2878.32MJ⁄m^2 and 367.21〖kgCO〗^2/m^2 respectively

Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods to Guide Architectural Decision-Making for Sustainable Prefabricated Modular Buildings

Within this work, life cycle assessment modeling is used to determine top design priorities and quantitatively inform sustainable design decision-making for a prefabricated modular building. A case-study life-cycle assessment was performed for a 5,000 ft2 prefabricated commercial building constructed in San Francisco, California, and scenario analysis was run examining the life cycle environmental impacts of various energy and material design substitutions, and a structural design change. Results show that even for a highly energy-efficient modular building, the top design priority is still minimizing operational energy impacts, since this strongly dominates the building life cycle\u27s environmental impacts. However, as an energy-efficient building approaches net zero energy, manufacturing-phase impacts are dominant, and a new set of design priorities emerges. Transportation and end-of-life disposal impacts were of low to negligible importance in both cases

An LCA study of an electricity coal supply chain

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to provide methods to find the emission source and estimate the amount of waste gas emissions in the electricity coal supply chain, establish the model of the environmental impact (burden) in the electricity coal supply chain, detect the critical factor which causes significant environmental impact, and then identify the key control direction and reduce amount of environmental pollution in the electricity coal supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: In this context, life cycle inventory and life cycle assessment of China’s electricity coal were established in three difference stages: coal mining, coal transportation, and coal burning. Then the outcomes were analyzed with the aim to reduce waste gases emissions’ environmental impact in the electricity coal supply chain from the perspective of sensitivity analysis. Findings: The results and conclusion are as follow: (1) In terms of total waste gas emissions in electricity coal supply chain, CO2 is emitted in the greatest quantity, accounting for 98-99 wt% of the total waste gas emissions. The vast majority of the CO2, greater than 93%, is emitted from the power plant when the coal is combusted. (2) Other than CO2, the main waste gas is CH4, SO2 and so on. CH4 is mainly emitted from Coal Bed Methane (CBM), so the option is to consider capturing some of the CH4 from underground mines for an alternative use. SO2 is mainly emitted from power plant when the coal is combusted. (3) The environmental burden of coal burning subsystem is greatest, followed by the coal mining subsystem, and finally the coal transportation subsystem. Improving the coal-burning efficiency of coal-fired power plant in electricity coal supply chain is the most effective way to reduce the environmental impact of waste gas emissions. (4) Of the three subsystems examined (coal mining, coal transportation, and coal burning), transportation requires the fewest resources and has the lowest waste gas emissions. However, the energy consumption for this subsystem is significant (excluding the mine mouth case), and transportation distance is found to have a substantial effect on the oil consumption and non-coal energy consumption. (5) In electricity coal supply chain, the biggest environmental impact of waste gas emissions is GWP, followed by EP, AP, POCP and ODP, and regional impact is greater than the global impact. Practical implications: The model and methodology established in this paper could be used for environmental impact assessment of waste gas emissions in electricity coal supply chain and sensitivity analysis in China, and it could supply reference and example for similar researches. The data information on life cycle inventory, impact assessment and sensitivity analysis could supply theory and data reference for waste gas emissions control in electricity coal supply chain. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to study the environmental influence of electricity coal supply chain by employing a LCA approach from life cycle of electricity coalPeer Reviewe

Hydrogen Energy For Indian Transport Sector - A Well-To-Wheel Techno-Economic and Environmental Feasibility Analysis

With the alarming rate of growth in vehicle population and travel demand, the energy consumption has increased significantly contributing to the rise of GHG emissions. Therefore, the development of a viable environmentally benign technology/fuel, which minimises both global and local environmental impacts, is the need of the hour. There are four interconnected reasons for propagating a shift towards alternative fuels/technologies : (i) Energy Supply : world oil reserves are rapidly diminishing, (ii) Environment : local pollution from vehicles is creating an atmosphere that is increasingly damaging public health and environment, (iii) Economic competitiveness : the cost of producing oil and regulating the by-products of oil consumption continues to increase, and (iv) Energy security : the military and political costs of maintaining energy security in international markets are becoming untenable. Hydrogen energy has been demonstrated as a viable alternative automotive fuel in three technological modes : internal combustion engines connected mechanically to conventional vehicles; fuel cells that produce electricity to power electric vehicles; and hybrids that involve combinations of engines or fuel cells with electrical storage systems, such as batteries The present study provides a well-to-wheel analysis of the economic and environmental implications of technologies to deliver the hydrogen energy to the vehicles. The main objectives of the study are : (i) prioritization of technologies of hydrogen production, transportation, storage and refueling, (ii) economic analysis of prioritized technology alternatives to estimate the delivered cost of hydrogen at the end-use point, and (iii) estimating the environmental impacts. To achieve the desired objectives, various quantitative life-cycle-cost analyses have been carried out for numerous pathways (i.e. technologies and processes) for hydrogen production, storage, transportation/distribution and dispensing. The total cost implications are arrived at by combining the costs of hydrogen (at end-use point) and the estimated demand for hydrogen for transport. The environmental benefits (potential to abate GHG emissions) of alternative hydrogen energy technology pathways have been worked out by using the standard emission factors. Finally, the GHG emission levels of hydrogen supply pathways are compared with those of diesel and petrol pathways. The application of this systematic methodology will simulate a realistic decision-making process.Hydrogen Energy, Indian Transport Sector, Feasibility Analysis

Appraisal of the Sustainability of Compressed Stabilized Earthen Masonry

Compressed stabilized earthen block (CSEB) masonry presents an environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to conventional residential construction materials such as clay brick masonry or concrete masonry (CMU). Earthen masonry is locally sourced and manufactured on site, thus minimizing costs associated with raw material extraction and transportation. Furthermore, CSEB requires very little use of electricity and water during both the manufacture and construction processes and it has excellent thermal resistivity while in use, allowing for additional cost and energy savings during most phases of its life cycle. Analyzing the life cycle trade-offs in a comparative study between CSEB and clay brick masonry supplements the existing recent research on earthen masonry and encourages a wider adoption of the technology around the world. In this study, a comparative Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is conducted between an exterior residential wall constructed of CSEB and one of clay brick for a proposed single family dwelling on the Winnebago Native American Reservation in Nebraska, USA. The scope of this LCA is narrowed to the impacts associated with choosing one construction material over the other, and the system boundary includes the raw material extraction, manufacturing, and transportation phases of construction. Thermal conductivity is an important aspect of the energy efficiency of a building envelope during the use phase of a building’s life cycle. As part of this study, an experimental program was conducted using a modified hotbox apparatus in order to obtain a thermal conductivity value for the CSEB blocks under investigation. After analysis, the thermal conductivity of the CSEB analyzed in this study is determined to be 0.361 W/(m·K) ± 20.0% compared to 1.024 W/(m·K) for clay brick. The three indicators for measuring the environmental or economic impacts of each material in this study are: 1) Energy, measured in kWh, 2) Global Warming Potential (GWP), measured in kg CO2 eq., and 3) Cost, measured in US Dollars. The results of this Life Cycle analysis indicate that CSEB is the more economic and environmentally sustainable option, with the transportation phase of the life cycle of highest impact on cost. Advisor: Ece Erdogmu

Life cycle assessment of the production of hydrogen and transportation fuels from corn stover via fast pyrolysis

This life cycle assessment evaluates and quantifies the environmental impacts of the production of hydrogen and transportation fuels from the fast pyrolysis and upgrading of corn stover. Input data for this analysis come from Aspen Plus modeling, a GREET (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation) model database and a US Life Cycle Inventory Database. SimaPro 7.3 software is employed to estimate the environmental impacts. The results indicate that the net fossil energy input is 0.25 MJ and 0.23 MJ per km traveled for a light-duty vehicle fueled by gasoline and diesel fuel, respectively. Bio-oil production requires the largest fossil energy input. The net global warming potential (GWP) is 0.037 kg CO2eq and 0.015 kg CO2eq per km traveled for a vehicle fueled by gasoline and diesel fuel, respectively. Vehicle operations contribute up to 33% of the total positive GWP, which is the largest greenhouse gas footprint of all the unit processes. The net GWPs in this study are 88% and 94% lower than for petroleum-based gasoline and diesel fuel (2005 baseline), respectively. Biomass transportation has the largest impact on ozone depletion among all of the unit processes. Sensitivity analysis shows that fuel economy, transportation fuel yield, bio-oil yield, and electricity consumption are the key factors that influence greenhouse gas emissions