Integrated Life Cycle Framework for Evaluating the Sustainability of Emerging Drop-In Replacement Biofuels

Mounting concerns over energy independence and security, oil supply volatility and price, and anthropogenic-derived climate destabilization are driving the strategic development of low-carbon biofuels. Recently, second generation biofuels—fuels derived from non-food biofeedstocks including: perennial grasses, short rotation woody crops (SRWCs), and microalgae have gained significant interest from scientific and political actors due to their potential for reduced life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to baseline petroleum fuels, and fungibility with existing transportation infrastructure and vehicles fleets. However, the environmental sustainability of these second generation biofuels and their capacity to meet U.S. regulatory biofuel mandates remains uncertain, and a point of scientific inquiry. This work investigates the sustainability of emerging second-generation drop-in replacement hydrocarbon biofuels, utilizing sustainability metrics and methodologies derived from multiple disciplines including life cycle assessment, industrial ecology, statistics, thermodynamics, and process modeling. This novel interdisciplinary life cycle framework is applied to study the environmental sustainability of several distinct emerging drop-in replacement biofuel platforms including: (1) cultivation of microalgae in open raceways ponds and hydro-processing of algal-oil to renewable diesel, (2) fast pyrolysis of perennial grasses and hydro-upgrading of bio-oil to green gasoline, and (3) multistage torrefaction of SRWCs and catalytic upgrading to hydrocarbon biofuels. Traditional process-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and hybrid Ecologically-based Life Cycle Assessment (EcoLCA) models are developed to assess the degradation of ecological good and services, environmental impacts, and resource intensity of producing drop-in replacement biofuels. Rigorous process modeling and statistical analysis is performed to quantify key sustainability metrics including energy return on investment and life cycle GHG emissions for producing hydrocarbon biofuels under different combinations of biofeedstocks, fuel upgrading pathways, and coproduct scenarios, and to determine if renewable fuel(s) meet compliance with life cycle GHG emissions reductions thresholds set by U.S. federal regulatory programs. This interdisciplinary approach captures broader environmental externalities and unintended consequences of biofuel production that are outside the purview of traditional process design, and allows for holistic understanding of the potential tradeoffs, challenges, and broad-based impacts of emerging biofuels prior to their widespread commercialization—information that is pivotal for guiding the sustainable development of the nascent biofuels industry

Whole Life Sustainability Assessment at the Building Industry and Constructed Assets, through the Whole Life Costing Assessment and Life Cycle Costing Assessment evaluating the economic and financial aspects

Els edificis d’energia neta poden ser entesos com a edificis, que durant un temps determinat generen tanta energia com consumeixen. Ja sigui des del punt de vista de l’oferta o el consum, la disponibilitat d’energia està relacionada amb alguns aspectes bàsics, com ara la font (s), la conversió, la distribució, l’ús, el malbaratament, l’optimització, l’eficiència i l’autonomia. Aquests temes revelen la complexitat del tema de l'energia i justifiquen l'atenció especial que li dóna la comunitat acadèmica. Per obtenir resultats tangibles en l'anàlisi d'aquests sistemes, en el nostre estudi ens centrem en la modelització i optimització de solucions energètiques aplicades a edificis o sistemes similars. D'altra banda, el període de temps dels objectes analitzats es va estendre fins al seu període de cicle de vida previst. Es van establir els objectius principals com: - Verificar i analitzar l’estat de la tecnologia de les energies renovables per a edificis i actius construïts i l’aplicabilitat de l’anàlisi de costos del cicle de vida a aquests temes; - Configurar models reproductibles d’edificis i les seves principals càrregues elèctriques, mitjançant eines d’enginyeria de processos assistits per ordinador, per procedir a simulacions i optimització, considerant-se com a font d’energia primària l’energia solar; - Quantificar, utilitzant estudis de casos reals i hipotètics, els beneficis de les solucions proposades, amb l'objectiu de realitzar tota l'avaluació de la sostenibilitat de la vida mitjançant la reducció de tot el cost del cicle de vida;Los edificios de energía de red cero pueden entenderse como edificios, que durante un tiempo dado generan tanta energía como consumen. O bien, desde el punto de vista del suministro o el consumo, la disponibilidad de energía está relacionada con algunos problemas básicos, como las fuentes, la conversión, la distribución, la utilización, el desperdicio, la optimización, la eficiencia y la autonomía. Estos problemas revelan la complejidad del tema de la energía y justifican la atención especial que le presta la comunidad académica. Para obtener resultados tangibles en el análisis de estos sistemas, en nuestro estudio nos centramos en el modelado y la optimización de soluciones energéticas aplicadas a edificios o sistemas similares. Por otro lado, el período de tiempo de los objetos analizados se extendió a su período de ciclo de vida esperado. Los objetivos principales se establecieron como: - Verificar y analizar el estado de la técnica de las soluciones de energía renovable para edificios y activos construidos y la aplicabilidad del análisis de costos de ciclo de vida a estas cuestiones; - Configure modelos reproducibles de edificios y sus principales cargas eléctricas, a través de herramientas de Ingeniería de Procesos Asistidos por Computadora, para proceder a simulaciones y optimización, considerando como fuente de energía primaria la energía solar;Net-zero energy buildings can be understood as buildings, that for a given time, generate as much energy as they consume. Either, from the point of view of supply or consumption, energy availability is related to some basic issues such as source (s), conversion, distribution, utilization, waste, optimization, efficiency and autonomy. These issues reveal the complexity of the subject of energy and justify the special attention given to it by the academic community. To obtain tangible results in the analysis of these systems, in our study we focus on the modelling and optimization of energy solutions applied to buildings or similar systems. On the other hand, the time frame of the analysed objects was extended to their expected life cycle period. The main objectives were stablished as: - Verify and analyse the state-of-the-art of renewable energy solutions for buildings and constructed assets and the applicability of life cycle costing analysis to these issues; - Configure reproducible models of buildings and their main electrical loads, via Computer Aided Process Engineering tools, to proceed simulations and optimization, considering as primary energy source solar energy; - Quantify, using real-life and hypothetical case studies, the benefits of the proposed solutions, aiming the whole life sustainability assessment through the reduction of the whole life cycle costing; and - Guarantee the reproducibility of the models and main general results of this study and make them public, to contribute with their applicability and further researches

Sustainable Aviation Fuel in a Scandinavian Context - A Systems Perspective on Sustainable Transitions within the Aviation Industry

The aviation sector is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for approximately 2.5% of total global emissions. The main contributor to these emissions is the production and consumption of aviation fuel, hence, transitioning to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a critical step towards reducing the industry’s carbon footprint. However, the adoption of SAF presents complex challenges that extend beyond environmental considerations and include industrial as well as business aspects. This paper focuses on the demand for SAF in the Scandinavian aviation industry and explores different pathways for its adoption. A system dynamics model is developed and simulated under varying parameters and scenarios to examine the transition to SAF. The results for each Scandinavian country are presented and discussed, along with potential policies to aid the transition. The overview is that biofuel is the first to be adopted, followed by e-fuel, and lastly hydrogen but the timing is varied with Sweden being the first to start adopting SAFs. The paper then identifies mechanisms that are better targets for intervention and can inform decision-making in the adoption of SAFs in the aviation industry. The study offers insights into the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to SAF and highlights the importance of a coordinated effort involving multiple stakeholders, including airlines, fuel producers, policymakers, and consumers.Master's Thesis in System DynamicsGEO-SD351MASV-SYSDYINTL-MNINTL-SVINTL-KMDINTL-JUSINTL-MEDINTL-PSYKINTL-H

Systems Analysis for Sustainable Wellbeing. 50 years of IIASA research, 40 years after the Brundtland Commission, contributing to the post-2030 Global Agenda

This report chronicles the half-century-long history of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), established in 1972 in Laxenburg, Austria, to address common social, economic, and environmental challenges at a time when the world was politically dominated by the Cold War. The report shows IIASA’s transition from its original raison d’être as a cooperative scientific venture between East and West to its position today as a global institute engaged in exploring solutions to some of the world’s most intractable problems—the interconnected problems of population, climate change, biodiversity loss, land, energy, and water use, among others. It provides a concise overview of IIASA’s key contributions to science over the last 50 years and of the advances it has made not only in analyzing existing and emerging trends but also in developing enhanced scientific tools to address them. The report also shows how IIASA is currently working with distinguished partners worldwide to establish the scientific basis for a successful transition to sustainable development. The global mandate, to achieve the 2030 Agenda, its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and 169 specific targets, features prominently in the institute’s work and in the report at hand: the pathways needed to achieve the SDGs have been the basis of many scientific studies by IIASA and its partners. The predominantly “bottom-up” nature of tackling the SDGs has required optimal responses to the very diverse and overlapping issues they involve, including judicious tradeoffs among the solutions that can be applied. Now, at the mid-term review point of the 2030 Agenda, this report focuses on the big picture and clarifies why, after years of scientific endeavor, the ultimate goal of this difficult global mandate should be sustainable wellbeing for all. The report is in six parts that summarize past and current IIASA research highlights and point toward future challenges and solutions: i) Systems analysis for a challenged world; ii) Population and human capital; iii) Food security, ecosystems, and biodiversity; iv) Energy, technology, and climate change; v) Global systems analysis for understanding the drivers of sustainable wellbeing; and vi) Moving into the future: Three critical policy messages. The three critical policy messages, necessary to trigger discussions about a post-2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are: (1) Suboptimization is suboptimal: Mainstream a systems-analysis approach into policymaking at all levels. (2) Enhance individual agency: Prioritize women’s empowerment through universal female education; and (3) Strengthen collective action and governance: Global cooperation and representation for the global common

Congress UPV Proceedings of the 21ST International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators

This is the book of proceedings of the 21st Science and Technology Indicators Conference that took place in València (Spain) from 14th to 16th of September 2016. The conference theme for this year, ‘Peripheries, frontiers and beyond’ aimed to study the development and use of Science, Technology and Innovation indicators in spaces that have not been the focus of current indicator development, for example, in the Global South, or the Social Sciences and Humanities. The exploration to the margins and beyond proposed by the theme has brought to the STI Conference an interesting array of new contributors from a variety of fields and geographies. This year’s conference had a record 382 registered participants from 40 different countries, including 23 European, 9 American, 4 Asia-Pacific, 4 Africa and Near East. About 26% of participants came from outside of Europe. There were also many participants (17%) from organisations outside academia including governments (8%), businesses (5%), foundations (2%) and international organisations (2%). This is particularly important in a field that is practice-oriented. The chapters of the proceedings attest to the breadth of issues discussed. Infrastructure, benchmarking and use of innovation indicators, societal impact and mission oriented-research, mobility and careers, social sciences and the humanities, participation and culture, gender, and altmetrics, among others. We hope that the diversity of this Conference has fostered productive dialogues and synergistic ideas and made a contribution, small as it may be, to the development and use of indicators that, being more inclusive, will foster a more inclusive and fair world

The influence of management practices on the greenhouse gas balance of Mediterranean cropping systems : identifying the climate change mitigation potential through quantitative review and life cycle assessment

Programa de Doctorado en Estudios MedioambientalesResource depletion and global change trends require urgent action in order to mitigate the change and adapt to them. In particular, agricultural GHG emissions are significant contributors to climate change. Mediterranean cropping systems are highly vulnerable to climate change and, at the same time, they are an important source of GHG emissions. The scientific information on GHG emissions in Mediterranean systems is growing, but there is need to systematize and integrate the knowledge. In this PhD dissertation, the two main soil processes responsible for the GHG balance, N2O emissions and C sequestration, are studied through qualitative review and meta-analysis of published information under Mediterranean climate conditions (Studies 1 and 2). In studies 3 and 4, a life cycle assessment (LCA) of 80 organic and 80 conventional farms was performed, including all processes involved in the GHG emission balance, and employing climate-specific coefficients derived from the previous meta-analyses for the calculation of N2O emissions and C sequestration. The results show distinct GHG emission patterns in Mediterranean cropping systems. Study 1 shows that N2O emissions from rainfed systems are much lower than the global IPCC value, while drip irrigation systems seem a promising N2O mitigation strategy under irrigation. Solid organic fertilizers are related to lower N2O emissions than synthetic fertilizers. Study 2 shows that carbon sequestration is highly responsive to management changes. Best performing practices are those associated to the highest C input application rates, including organic farming practices. It is possible to achieve relatively high C sequestration rates using internal C inputs such as crop residues and cover crops. Studies 3 and 4 showed that the organic farming systems were generally associated to lower total GHG emissions both on a surface and on a yield-scaled basis, mainly due to the non-use of synthetic fertilizers and to carbon sequestration enhanced by the application of organic fertilizers. In some cases, carbon sequestration under organic farming was enough to offset all other GHG emissions, leading to carbon-neutral cropping systems, while in others, lower yield affected the performance of organic systems. The GHG balance of most studied systems is dominated by energy use (including indirect energy from fertilizer manufacture in conventional systems) and C sequestration, which indicates that these are the two processes in which most mitigation efforts should be focused.Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Geografía, Historia y Filosofí