Dr. Balachandra Rajan: From India to Canada, Fragments in Search of a Narrative - In Memoriam

A heartfelt memorial piece for Dr. Balachandra Rajan, an Indian diplomat and poetic scholar, written by Teresa Hubel. Introduction: While preparing to write this tribute to Dr. Balachandra Rajan, I found myself wondering what in his eminent life I should be recalling for your benefit. Which events or personal preferences, habits, gestures, or even political commitments and publications can be tallied up to create some kind of coherent narrative that conveys the gist of him? The dilemma is that, when it comes to Dr. Rajan (who in my memory can never be remembered as anyone other than Dr. Rajan, not Balachandra or Dal, as he was known by his friends here), the details I could cobble together to create the gist that he was to me arc, I expect, different from what others might gather, others who have also known him, respected him, and loved him, as I did, and who, like me, found their lives changed by him. I suspect that his colleagues in Milton scholarship and in his department at the University of Western Ontario are better able to describe his public side: his many professional achievements, for instance, and all his theoretically diverse and numerous publications. It seems to me that, because I spent so much time apparently idly talking with Dr. Rajan in the last twenty years or so, mostly about his life and the people whose lives mattered to him and about India, a country that partially defined him and also often annoyed him and the fascination for which brought us together initially and then many, many times afterward it would make sense for me to linger awhile over the decisions he made that brought him, finally, to London, Ontario, Canada. The man who impressed me was somewhere in those decisions

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

Commercialisation of Sustainable Energy Technologies

Commercialization efforts to diffuse sustainable energy technologies (SETs) need to be sustainable in terms of replication, spread and longevity, and should promote goal of sustainable development. Limited success of diffusion through government driven pathways illustrates the need for market-based approaches to SET commercialization. This paper presents a detailed treatment of the pre-requisites for adopting a private sector driven business model approach for successful diffusion of SETs. This is expected to integrate the processes of market transformation and entrepreneurship development with innovative regulatory, marketing, financing, incentive and intermediary mechanisms. Further, it envisages a public-private partnership driven-mechanism as a framework for diffusion leading to technology commercialization.Commercialisation, Energy, Financing, technology, Sustainable

Technology portfolio analysis for residential lighting

Electricity consumption in India is increasing rapidly over the years. The increased demand for electricity forces the electricity utilities to increase their generating capacity. The huge investments on generation, transmission and distribution (at the cost of alternative development projects) adversely affect India's scarce capital resources. Also, internal energy resources like coal are utilised with a great risk to the environment. This paper attempts to show analytically the benefits of shift in the focus from supply augmentation to demand management through a case study of replacement of inefficient devices with efficient ones for residential lighting. This is being done by analyzing the economics of various alternatives and developing an optimal portfolio for meeting the lighting requirement of a typical household in Maharashtra State in India. A mixed integer-programming model has been used for developing the optimal portfolio and a comparison of annual returns is made. Finally, the results for the typical household have been extended to the state of Maharashtra and the cost and benefits are estimated. The results show that the optimal lighting portfolio provides a far higher return at a lower risk compared to other investment alternatives like the stock market while providing substantial savings both in terms of energy and peak demand.Demand management, electricity consumption, energy resources, mixed integer-programming model, rate of return

Technology portfolio analysis for residential lighting

electricity forces the electricity utilities to increase their generating capacity. The huge investments on generation, transmission and distribution (at the cost of alternative development projects) adversely affect India's scarce capital resources. Also, internal energy resources like coal are utilised with a great risk to the environment. This paper attempts to show analytically the benefits of shift in the focus from supply augmentation to demand management through a case study of replacement of inefficient devices with efficient ones for residential lighting. This is being done by analyzing the economics of various alternatives and developing an optimal portfolio for meeting the lighting requirement of a typical household in Maharashtra State in India. A mixed integer-programming model has been used for developing the optimal portfolio and a comparison of annual returns is made. Finally, the results for the typical household have been extended to the state of Maharashtra and the cost and benefits are estimated. The results show that the optimal lighting portfolio provides a far higher return at a lower risk compared to other investment alternatives like the stock market while providing substantial savings both in terms of energy and peak demand.Demand management, electricity consumption, energy resources, mixed integer-programming model, rate of return

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.

Whole Genome Sequencing And Characterization Of Three Novel Mangrovimonas-Like Strains Isolated From Mangrove Forests Sediment In Perak, Malaysia

Strain TPBH4 (= LMG 28913, = JCM 30882), ST2L12 (= LMG 28914, = JCM 30880) dan ST2L15 (= LMG 28915, = JCM 30881) telah dipencilkan daripada sedimen muara di Perak, Malaysia Strains TPBH4 (=LMG 28913,=JCM 30882), ST2L12 (=LMG 28914,=JCM 30880) and ST2L15 (=LMG 28915,=JCM 30881) were isolated from estuarine sediments in Perak, Malaysi