Impact and costs of proposed scenarios for power sector decarbonisation: An Italian case study

In the face of ever more ambitious global energy challenges, the European Union has set striving climate targets for 2030, planning to increase renewable energy penetration in the electricity generation as a key measure towards a clean energy transition. To respond to the challenge of keeping the increase in power sector costs, that inevitably arises when a profound reconfiguration of the electricity generation sector is expected, to the lowest possible, this paper aims to quantify the economic burden associated with the reduction of direct CO2 emissions through a comparative assessment of various alternatives proposed for 2030 ranked in terms of their cost-effectiveness. A sensitivity analysis is also applied to the main economic and energy parameters that make up CO2 mitigation costs to include those uncertainties that characterise future projections. The impact of electricity generation shares on CO2 mitigation costs is assessed thus providing a basis for the definition of alternative configurations for the Italian electricity sector capable to achieve the desired environmental performance with a limited economic impact. Finally, results reveal that those scenarios based largely on natural gas and solar source are characterized by high mitigation costs, while energy efficiency is essential for a virtuous and clean electricity sector along with the use of all available sources in appropriate shares, both renewable and non-renewable, to pursue the highest environmental objectives in a cost-effective manner. Although related to the Italian case, the methodology provided in this study can be applied to any other electricity sector to ultimately evaluate the economic burden arising from possible different configurations

El sello de calidad en las verduras frescas y su aceptación por parte de los consumidores

El nivel de incertidumbre de los consumidores disminuye al comunicar efectivamente las características de calidad de un alimento. La presencia de un sello de calidad constituye la forma visible de demostrar que dichas características han sido fehacientemente verificadas. En este sentido, la etiqueta constituye un elemento de protección del consumidor y de mejora de su bienestar.Fil: Vellini, Nicolás Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, Elsa Mirta M. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Lupín, Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina

Percepción de los consumidores acerca de un sello de calidad para verduras frescas producidas sustentablemente en Mar del Plata, Argentina

Desde hace unos años, ha crecido la preocupación de los consumidores por seguir una dieta sana y equilibrada y adoptar hábitos saludables, exigiendo inocuidad y mayor transparencia en la cadena agroalimentaria. En tal sentido, los sellos son atributos extrínsecos que brindan señales a los consumidores, informándoles acerca de la calidad de los alimentos y de los controles a los que fueron sometidos. El objetivo de la investigación es analizar las percepciones de los consumidores de Mar del Plata con relación a un sello de calidad que diferencie a las verduras frescas producidas con bajo impacto ambiental.Fil: Vellini, Nicolás Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, Elsa Mirta M. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Lupín, Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina

Sex- and age-related differences in the management and outcomes of chronic heart failure: an analysis of patients from the ESC HFA EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry

Aims: This study aimed to assess age- and sex-related differences in management and 1-year risk for all-cause mortality and hospitalization in chronic heart failure (HF) patients. Methods and results: Of 16 354 patients included in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Long-Term Registry, 9428 chronic HF patients were analysed [median age: 66 years; 28.5% women; mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 37%]. Rates of use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) were high (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: 85.7%, 88.7% and 58.8%, respectively). Crude GDMT utilization rates were lower in women than in men (all differences: P\ua0 64 0.001), and GDMT use became lower with ageing in both sexes, at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT prescription; however, age >75 years was a significant predictor of GDMT underutilization. Rates of all-cause mortality were lower in women than in men (7.1% vs. 8.7%; P\ua0=\ua00.015), as were rates of all-cause hospitalization (21.9% vs. 27.3%; P\ua075 years. Conclusions: There was a decline in GDMT use with advanced age in both sexes. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT or adverse outcomes. However, age >75 years independently predicted lower GDMT use and higher all-cause mortality in patients with LVEF 6445%

Hydrogen use in an urban district: environmental impacts in a possible scenario based on coal

Hydrogen technology is becoming ever more relevant because hydrogen use can help containing greenhouse gas emission if CO2 capture and storage techniques are implemented in the hydrogen production technology (when hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels). For this reason this work aims at carrying out a comparative analysis of possible energy scenarios in urban districts: a medium-small Italian city is taken into consideration, and its energy consumptions, both for domestic and industrial use, are evaluated. The current situation, in which conventional technologies meet the energy needs, is compared to a hypothetical scenario where clean energy vectors, namely hydrogen and electricity, are utilized together with traditional primary energy supply. Hydrogen production by means of coal decarbonization is investigated, as well as hydrogen use in advanced energy systems for transport and for electric and thermal energy generation

CO2 capture in advanced power plants fed by coal and equipped with OTM

Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities contribute greatly towards climate change. In the power generation sector, where fossil fuels are extensively used, these emissions could be reduced by capturing and storing the CO2 emitted. Between the different fossil fuels, coal is very interesting from an economic point of view (coal reservoirs are abundant and distributed homogenously on the earth) even if it produces a lot of carbon dioxide emissions.In this paper we have studied energy and economic performance of an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant (IGCC power plant equipped with an oxygen-blown gasifier) with CO2 capture based on the pre-combustion process and an advanced supercritical steam cycle (SSC) power plant with CO2 capture based on oxy-fuel combustion process. In these power plants great oxygen flow rates are necessary and so we have chosen an innovative technology for oxygen production based on oxygen transport membranes. The goal of this paper is the discussion of the main characteristics and performance of these membranes and the analysis of their integration in advanced coal-fired power plants. For each power plant, a full plant heat and mass balance is calculated in order to compare energy and environmental performance (net efficiency and CO2 specific emissions) and to evaluate the economic impacts of such CO2 emission abatement technologies