Risk-assessment V1.0: A new interactive software to develop risk assessment using MATLAB®

This article presents the use of an interactive computer tool developed in MATLAB® called RISKASSESSMENT v1.0, to perform market risk analysis of commercial products, through the development of cash flow, sensitivity analysis, and SpiderPlot graphics, which allow the identification of the economic-financial equilibrium point of a company. The tool facilitates the reduction of the uncertainty produced in the return on investment due to changes in the economic environment of the sector in which the company operates, through statistical techniques and tools that involve parameters such as the annual effective rate in the Colombian national currency, net present value, internal rate of return, period of recovery of capital, through a sensitivity analysis. To validate the effectiveness of using software in the development of risk analysis, a case study was conducted for an alcohol beverage sales business, where, based on the portfolio containing the product quantity, unit variable cost, sales price, percentage of sales growth and annual sales volume, in addition to detailed information on the initial investment, the cash flow with a 5-year horizon, the net present value, the internal rate of return, the period of capital recovery and the average accounting profitability are calculated. The tool also performs sensitivity analysis and SpiderPlot for each of the products. Finally, the program presented allows to calculate the annual cash flows in a fast and didactic way, which normally requires time and specialized training in a traditional exercise

Risk-assessment V1.0: A new interactive software to develop risk assessment using MATLAB®

This article presents the use of an interactive computer tool developed in MATLAB® called RISKASSESSMENT v1.0, to perform market risk analysis of commercial products, through the development of cash flow, sensitivity analysis, and SpiderPlot graphics, which allow the identification of the economic-financial equilibrium point of a company. The tool facilitates the reduction of the uncertainty produced in the return on investment due to changes in the economic environment of the sector in which the company operates, through statistical techniques and tools that involve parameters such as the annual effective rate in the Colombian national currency, net present value, internal rate of return, period of recovery of capital, through a sensitivity analysis. To validate the effectiveness of using software in the development of risk analysis, a case study was conducted for an alcohol beverage sales business, where, based on the portfolio containing the product quantity, unit variable cost, sales price, percentage of sales growth and annual sales volume, in addition to detailed information on the initial investment, the cash flow with a 5-year horizon, the net present value, the internal rate of return, the period of capital recovery and the average accounting profitability are calculated. The tool also performs sensitivity analysis and SpiderPlot for each of the products. Finally, the program presented allows to calculate the annual cash flows in a fast and didactic way, which normally requires time and specialized training in a traditional exercise

Advanced exergy and exergoeconomic analysis of a gas power system with steam injection and air cooling with a compression refrigeration machine

Gas turbine power plants have been widely studied, and as a result the negative effects on their output power and thermal efficiency have been known when operating in atmospheric conditions exceeding ISO conditions. For this reason, different technologies and methodologies have been implemented, aiming to increase the output power and improve the thermal efficiency. Unfortunately, the lack of operational parameters for this system limited its characterization and implementation of strategies to improve its performance. Advanced exergetic and exergoeconomic analyses have been applied to improve energy and economic performance in steam injection gas turbine (STIG) cycle power plants with air cooling with a compression refrigeration machine. Results shows that the main sources of irreversibilities and higher costs are in the Combustion Chamber (CC), Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and Gas Turbine (GT). From these components, the components of the HRSG and GT have the greatest potential for improvement, and this can be achieved by improving the overall configuration of the system, due to the fact that the destruction of exogenous exergy is in more significant measure avoidable. While the higher costs of investment can be reduced in the Combustion Chamber and Gas Turbine

A scientometric analysis of the investigation of biomass gasification environmental impacts from 2001 to 2017

To reduce the effects of climate change due to massive CO 2 emissions, renewable energy sources have been implemented; among them biomass through gasification. An important aspect of studying are the environmental impacts of this process. Therefore, a search was made in the database of the science website using keywords gasification environmental impact in the period from 2001 to 2017. When analyzing the 238 articles, an increasing tendency was observed in the publication of studies related to the ecological effects of the biomass gasification process. The United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and the People’s Republic of China are the countries that have the most studies on the subject. The indicator total local citation score is used in order to identify the items that are the most cited, which indicates the degree of development they have in the study of the impacts of gasification

Application of equivalent occupation method as a tool for energy management in hotel sector

At nowadays, the operational control of energy performance indicators based on the equivalent occupation method plays a fundamental role in the rational use of energy for the hotel sector, since it allows in a competitive way to comply with the quality of the service offered by the company in terms of the thermal comfort of the occupants, minimizing the environmental impact. Within the framework of the energy diagnosis and implementation of the program of efficient energy management under ISO 50001: 2011, based on the method of equivalent occupation for a hotel company on the Colombian Caribbean coast, the line base, target line by 2015, determining performance control indicators such as accumulative trend and base efficiency index 100, to identify potential savings. From the diagnosis, 9.11% of energy savings were obtained by operational control. Through the implementation of corrective action plans, such as the shutdown of unnecessary equipment in the company, installation of LED lighting modules, the configuration of thermostats, in addition to training and sensitization to staff, and reactive energy control in the hotel effective savings were achieved around 8% of primary energy consumption by 2016

Comparison analysis of an energy generation system using diesel, natural gas and biogas as a primal fuel resource

With the aim to study the behavior of biogas versus different types of fossil fuels and determine the optimal fuel resource for an Energy Generation System, an electric generation system and different types of fuels were proposed to supply an energy demand of 2424 kWh/day, which is the scaled annual average of a chemical laboratory facility. This study shows the behavior of different fuels and how they affect the operating cost of the system using HOMER Pro software. The proposed system consists of different electric generators (340kW) for each type of fuel. The results of the simulation showed that the biogas works very efficiently regarding the production of polluting gases compared to the fossil fuels used in the simulation. However, the installation costs for the devices necessary to obtain biogas from a biomass resource are expensive

Multi-Objective analysis of a CHP system using natural gas and biogas on the prime mover

With the aim of reducing operational costs and gas emissions in a Combined Heat and Power System (CHP), a type of biofuel is proposed as a product of a process using a biomass resource to replace other types of fossil fuels, and to be able to cover the average annual scale of power demand of 24 MWh/day from a metallurgical plant, and a thermal energy demand of 60 MWh/day. This study shows the behavior of gas emissions and economic analysis through the use of HOMER Pro software depending on the type of fuel selected. The proposed system consists of a set of electric generators (2MW in total) and a boiler with a cogenerative system connected to the gas outlet of the electric generators. The results of the simulation showed that the system working with natural gas presents a decrease of 5.66% in the annual operating cost concerning the system that works with biogas. However, the biogas system causes a 19.39% decrease in carbon dioxide production compared to the other systems

Computational simulation of the gas emission in a biomass on grid energy system using HOMER pro software

To reach the Sustainable Development Goals and delivering on the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, a Biomass on grid power system is proposed to supply 33,640 kWh/day, which is the average annual energy consumption from a group of office buildings. This study shows the behavior of the gas emission of a Biomass on Grid Energy System Using HOMER Pro Software, composed by two 500 kW biogas-powered electric generator, using different types of biomass resource from the Colombian Caribbean Region like manure obtained from the livestock sector and solid urban organic waste. The simulation results showed some emission decrease when operating on the grid the Biogas generator such as the carbon dioxide, the sulfur dioxide and the nitrogen oxides on 11.6% while the carbon monoxide increased on 8.7% concerning the power supply system through electrical grid coming from thermoelectric power plants and hydroelectric power plants

Monitoring electromagnetic fields and safe operation levels in electrical power transmission lines

Electrical power systems and their elements such as power transformers, transmission lines, capacitors, reactors and other elements, during normal operation generates electromagnetic fields that changes according with design, equipment distribution, current and voltage operation levels. This paper describes the monitoring electromagnetic fields and safe operation levels in electrical power transmission and distribution lines during the last five years in power lines located in warm climate with high salinity, corrosion and pollution level. A literature review was considered during the study. This paper characterizes power lines in order to guarantee safe operation to occupational exposure and general public since planning process. Results will be used in order to characterize power lines and will be used as a tool for utilities with the aim to reduce legal penalties and promote social responsibility. Results also were contrasted with International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) recommendations with the reference levels for occupational exposure to time-varying electric and magnetic fields. Results provide recommendations for electrical grid utilities also the study compare real values with simulated values in order to guarantee an acceptable approach according with ICNIRP and international standards recommendation

Characterization of auto-Ignition phenomena in spark ignition internal combustion engine using gaseous fuels obtained from biomass

Studies have been carried out on the phenomenon of auto-ignition in liquid fuels and natural gas, but research on the application of gaseous fuels obtained from biomass is limited. Existing investigations about autoignition mainly focused on the combustion kinetics to determine the delay time, but not on the prediction of the set of parameters that encourage the presence of the phenomenon. In the present research, a thermodynamic model is developed for the prediction of the auto-ignition in Spark Ignition Internal Combustion Engine operated with gaseous fuels, which are obtained from the process of gasification of biomass. The formulated model can handle variable compositions of gaseous fuels and to optimize the main operational parameters of the engine, to verify its influence on the phenomenon under study. Results show the application of this type of alternative fuels in commercial engines that operated with natural gas, varying engine operational parameters while maximizing the power output of the engin