Cellulosic Biofuels Analysis: Economic Analysis of Alternative Technologies

The passage of U.S. laws mandating and subsidizing advanced cellulosic biofuels may spur the development of a commercial cellulosic biofuels industry. However, a cellulosic industry will only develop if the overall economics including government incentives render investment in the sector attractive to private investors.This study compares the profitability of three biofuel production types: grain based ethanol, cellulosic biochemical ethanol, and cellulosic thermochemical biofuels. In order to compare the current profitability of each of the production types, the Biofuels Comparison Model (BCM) was developed. The BCM is a spreadsheet model that estimates the net present value (NPV) for each production type given input and output prices, technical, and financial assumptions. The BCM can be updated to reflect the current profitability through embedded web price links. The study finds that grain, biochemical, and thermochemical production types are all currently unprofitable when subsidies and mandates are ignored. However, the grain based ethanol process is predicted to be the most profitable (lowest loss) compared to the cellulosic biofuels. When the 2008 Farm Bill subsidies are added to the BCM, all three production types are projected to be profitable. With the addition of the different subsidies, the cellulosic biofuels are estimated to have higher NPV’s than grain based ethanol. When compared on an energy equivalent basis, the estimated cost of producing grain ethanol is $114/bbl. crude oil equivalent, biochemical ethanol$141/bbl., and thermochemical gasoline $108/bbl.biofuels, cellulosic biofuels, corn ethanol, biofuel economics

Transformative Learning Abroad for Honors Students: Leveraging High-Impact Practices at Global Partner Institutions

The substantial increase in student participation in learning abroad and the proliferation of program types have greatly changed the international education landscape in the United States and beyond, providing new opportunities for global outreach and collaboration. Creative global partnerships can help students overcome longstanding barriers to studying abroad and provide students with opportunities to enhance their undergraduate education by stacking the high-impact practice of study abroad with other transformative high-impact practices, such as undergraduate research and service learning, which are defining elements of an honors experience. Given the potential for transformation as a result of learning abroad, honors educators and institutions are challenged to ensure that these opportunities are of high quality and made accessible to as many students as possible. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Monash University is one of a select number of universities around the world that prioritizes developing international partnerships that strengthen the connections between its curricula and learning abroad. This chapter discusses initiatives at Monash and offers practical recommendations for enhancing the honors undergraduate experience through increased access to high-impact practices at global partner institutions. Monash University is the leading Australian institution for outbound learning abroad participation among undergraduate students, sending over 4,100 students on overseas experiences in 2016 (“AUIDF”). Monash has become a leader in learning abroad by implementing robust mechanisms to remove barriers for students, diversify offerings, and promote global opportunities effectively. At Monash, developing and leveraging international partnerships are key mechanisms for increasing access to learning abroad opportunities. In this chapter, I will contextualize research about access to learning abroad programming, discuss Monash’s most extensive global partnership, and highlight the benefits for students and institutions of developing trusted partnerships with international universities. Because of the global differences in honors education, my intent here is to highlight diverse program offerings from an Australian perspective, especially those that can remove barriers to learning abroad and honors program completion and enhance students’ opportunities to participate in multiple high-impact practices during their undergraduate careers

The water cycle in a changing climate

Millions of people across the globe are already affected by natural variability in the water cycle. A multidisciplinary team of experts from the University of East Anglia and the University of Nottingham, led by Timothy Osborn, Professor of Climate Science at the world-renowned Climatic Research Unit, set out the empirical evidence - and argue the need for implementation of measured adaptation mechanisms that take into account uncertainties in the projection of future precipitation patterns

Comparison of land-ocean warming ratios in updated observed records and CMIP5 climate models

A well-known feature of observed and simulated climate is enhanced land surface warming compared to the ocean. This difference in warming, frequently expressed as a ratio, is often contrasted between the observed record and climate model output as both an evaluation metric for climate models and as a global index used for climate change detection and attribution. Latest simulated estimates of the ratio use full global coverage and marine surface air temperature, making genuine comparisons with observations difficult, since global observed datasets typically use sea surface temperatures and have limited spatial coverage. We show that re-calculating simulated ratios when using sea surface temperatures and limited spatial coverage (to resemble the observations) raises the ratio by ~0.25. We also update the observed ratio using latest observations and we find a close convergence of observed and simulated ratios towards ~1.6 for the 2000-2016 period accompanied by a decline in temporal variability. If we revise estimates of the likely range of ratios from climate models to account for the above factors, then our new observed ratio estimate is slightly less than the median of the GCM ensemble range (1.54 to 1.81)

Current research in oxidation-resistant carbon-carbon composites at NASA. Langley Research Center

The significant potential of carbon-carbon composites for high-temperature structural applications is well established. For hypersonic vehicle applications, desirable properties include low density, high specific strength and stiffness, low coefficients of thermal expansion, and retention of mechanical properties above 3000 F. A significant problem associated with carbon materials, however, is that they oxidize rapidly in air at temperatures above about 800 F, and therefore must be protected from oxidation. Successful development of effective methods of oxidation protection is key to the eventual utilization of carbon-carbon composites on hypersonic vehicles such as NASP. In this presentation, the basic elements of an oxidation-protection system are described. Results from oxidation-performance evaluations of state-of-the-art ACC-4 type material in simulated airframe vehicle environments (temperature, pressure, and time) conducted at NASA Langley are also presented. NASA Langley has an active research effort to improve the oxidation resistance of carbon-carbon materials for airframe structural and vehicle thermal protection applications. Conversion coating and sealant development research is highlighted

NASA Langley Research Center National Aero-Space Plane Mission simulation profile sets

To provide information on the potential for long life service of oxidation resistant carbon-carbon (ORCC) materials in the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) airframe environment, NASP ascent, entry, and cruise trajectories were analytically flown. Temperature and pressure profiles were generated for 20 vehicle locations. Orbital (ascent and entry) and cruise profile sets from four locations are presented along with the humidity exposure and testing sequences that are being used to evaluate ORCC materials. The four profiles show peak temperatures during the ascent leg of an orbital mission of 2800, 2500, 2000, and 1700 F. These profiles bracket conditions where carbon-carbon might be used on the NASP vehicle

The second subject in the sonata-allegro movements of Joseph Haydn\u27s piano sonatas

Joseph Haydn was born in 1732 and died in 1809, a period spanning the lifetimes of the elder Bach and Beethoven. During his seventy-seven years he wrote at least fifty-two keyboard sonatas, eighty-three string quartets, one hundred-eight symphonies, many masses, divertimenti for instrumental ensembles, operas, cantatas, concert!, oratorios, songs, instrumental trios, and almost as many works in other categories. It was only in 1957, after this present project had begun, that a complete catalogue of Haydn\u27s works began to appear in print. At this writing the first of three volumes by Anthony van Hoboken has been published. Considering that Kochel \u27s comparable work on Mozart has been available for ninety-seven years, it is apparent that research about Haydn\u27s work has been impaired by the lack of such a reference. This paper deals with some of the aspects of one of the major contributions ascribed to Haydn—the Sonata allegro form. For reasons to be explained later, the analysis is concentrated on the so-called second or subordinate subject. A thorough survey of the literature was undertaken, and such materials as were pertinent are quoted at the appropriate points in the thesis. To the writer\u27s knowledge, no other work exists which deals explicitly with the problem of the second subject in Haydn\u27s sonata-allegro form. However, he has drawn upon the studies of scholars who have investigated related problems. The sonata-allegro form is worthy of continuing investigation

Photosynthetic pathway variation in leafy members of two subfamilies of the Cactaceae

Patterns of 24‐h CO2 exchange and diel fluctuations in tissue acid concentrations were measured in leafy and leafless shoots of 10 species in the Pereskioideae and eight species in the Opuntioideae (Cactaceae). The species were selected to represent a range of phylogenetic histories. Leafy shoots of all species in the Pereskioideae exhibited C3 patterns of gas exchange, and net CO2 exchange of leafless stems in all but one species was negative during the day and night. Although nighttime CO2 uptake was not observed in shoots or stems of any of the pereskioid taxa, tissue acidity increased at night to a small degree in leaves of six species and stems of five species, indicative of low levels of CAM‐cycling. In contrast, in leafy shoots of nearly all species in the Opuntioideae, CO2 uptake occurred during the day and the night. Gas‐exchange rates were typically greater during the day. As is typical of CAM, nighttime maximal water use efficiency often greatly exceeded daytime values. Tissue malic acid concentrations increased overnight in leaves and stems of all eight opuntioid species. Examination of the data from a phylogenetic perspective illustrates evidence of low levels of CAM scattered among the primarily C3 members of the more ancestral Pereskioideae. Furthermore, such consideration of the taxa in the more derived Opuntioideae (comparing the genera from most ancestral to most derived, that is, Austrocylindropuntia → Quiabentia → Pereskiopsis → Cylindropuntia) revealed that CAM became increasingly less important in the leaves of the various taxa, whereas this water‐conservative pathway of photosynthesis became increasingly more important in the stems. The results of this study indicate that members of the Pereskioideae should be restricted to moister habitats or must restrict the timing of growth to wet seasons, whereas the observed combinations of the C3 and CAM pathways in the opuntioid taxa should prove beneficial in conserving water in the sporadically arid tropical and subtropical habitats of these plants

Insights into the Strategic Sourcing Decision: Understanding Buyer- Supplier Relationships

The wide range of products and services that are being sourced today has made the company’s procurement organization an increasingly important function. The complexities of managing sourcing options is greater than ever making the procurement function critical for overcoming an increasingly global, complex and uncertain sourcing environment. This paper discusses an overview of relevant sourcing models and their importance for establishing a strategic sourcing decision, how buyer-supplier relationships play a key role in the strategic sourcing decision and key attributes of the various models for strategic sourcing. We illustrate the diversity of the sourcing choices with four strategic procurement scenarios that motivate the development of solid strategic sourcing decisions. The material is presented as a teaching document from a point of view that is integrative of key sourcing paradigms and is written from a context that is readily understandable