Energy Efficiency Analysis: Biomass-to-Wheel Efficiency Related with Biofuels Production, Fuel Distribution, and Powertrain Systems

BACKGROUND: Energy efficiency analysis for different biomass-utilization scenarios would help make more informed decisions for developing future biomass-based transportation systems. Diverse biofuels produced from biomass include cellulosic ethanol, butanol, fatty acid ethyl esters, methane, hydrogen, methanol, dimethyether, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and bioelectricity; the respective powertrain systems include internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles based on gasoline or diesel ICEs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, sugar fuel cell vehicles (SFCV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a simple, straightforward, and transparent biomass-to-wheel (BTW) analysis including three separate conversion elements--biomass-to-fuel conversion, fuel transport and distribution, and respective powertrain systems. BTW efficiency is a ratio of the kinetic energy of an automobile's wheels to the chemical energy of delivered biomass just before entering biorefineries. Up to 13 scenarios were analyzed and compared to a base line case--corn ethanol/ICE. This analysis suggests that BEV, whose electricity is generated from stationary fuel cells, and SFCV, based on a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with an on-board sugar-to-hydrogen bioreformer, would have the highest BTW efficiencies, nearly four times that of ethanol-ICE. SIGNIFICANCE: In the long term, a small fraction of the annual US biomass (e.g., 7.1%, or 700 million tons of biomass) would be sufficient to meet 100% of light-duty passenger vehicle fuel needs (i.e., 150 billion gallons of gasoline/ethanol per year), through up to four-fold enhanced BTW efficiencies by using SFCV or BEV. SFCV would have several advantages over BEV: much higher energy storage densities, faster refilling rates, better safety, and less environmental burdens

Impacto de la forma de onda del voltaje en las pérdidas y el rendimiento de los motores de inducción de eficiencia energética

This paper analyzes the effects of voltage harmonic distortion on the losses and efficiency of energy efficient induction motors (EEIM). Preliminary studies show that when fed with distorted voltages the new EEIM have a greater impact on efficiency than standard induction motors. Therefore, in this work a more precise steady state equivalent circuit is used to quantify accurately the impact of the distorted voltage waveform on losses and efficiency of induction motor. The model is validated using two induction motors both of 5.5kW, 50Hz, four poles; one is class IE3 Premium efficiency and the other is class lE1 standard efficiency. The analysis of the results may lead to infer that the EEIM are a good alternative to reduce energy consumption, but the margin is lower under fed with distorted voltages compared with ideal supply conditions.Este artículo analiza los efectos de la distorsión armónica de voltaje en las pérdidas y la eficiencia de los motores de inducción de eficiencia energética (EEIM). Los estudios preliminares muestran que cuando se alimenta con voltajes distorsionados, el nuevo EEIM tiene un mayor impacto en la eficiencia que los motores de inducción estándar. Por lo tanto, en este trabajo se utiliza un circuito equivalente de estado estacionario más preciso para cuantificar con precisión el impacto de la forma de onda de voltaje distorsionado en las pérdidas y la eficiencia del motor de inducción. El modelo se valida utilizando dos motores de inducción de 5.5kW, 50Hz, cuatro polos; una es la eficiencia de clase IE3 Premium y la otra la eficiencia estándar de clase lE1. El análisis de los resultados puede llevar a inferir que los EEIM son una buena alternativa para reducir el consumo de energía, pero el margen es menor si se alimenta con voltajes distorsionados en comparación con las condiciones ideales de suministro

Social Responsibility as a Driver for Local Sustainable Development

The increased interconnection among local and global players induced by globalization, as well as the need for a complete application of the 'subsidiarity principle', calls for a re-thinking of the 'corporate social responsibility' concept. This new concept broadens the perspective of the single company interacting with its own stakeholders in relation to specific social and environmental impacts, to a network of organizations, with different aims and natures, collaborating on relevant sustainability issues. In this paper, the authors will provide a definition of 'Territorial Social Responsibility', sustaining the multi-stakeholder approach as a driver toward local sustainable development. Firstly, theoretical approaches to sustainable development at the territorial level will be examined, identifying the most innovative ideas about governance, network relation and development theories. The idea of development focuses not only on the economic aspects, but on the structural and institutional factors. The existence of cooperative territorial networks is essential to fulfil the creation of tangible and intangible assets at the local level. At the same time, the effectiveness of the decision-making and rules' system can stimulate and empower territorial networks to tackle sustainable development. An analytical framework, scheme-shaped, will be set in order to identify the main aspects, indicators and practices characterizing the territorial social responsibility concept. It will represent a first attempt to create a feasible instrument aimed at understanding how cooperative social responsible actors, operating in the same territory, could direct the path toward sustainable development