• Energy Research
• 12. Responsible consumption close
• US close
• GB close
• DE close
• UA close

Energy availability in a country is of great importance to its economy and to raising and maintaining its standard of living. In 1994, the United States consumed more than 88 quadrillion Btu (quads) of energy and spent about $500 billion on fuels and electricity. Fortunately, the United States is well endowed with energy sources, notably fossil fuels, and possesses a considerable nuclear power industry. The United States also has significant renewable energy resources and already exploits much of its hydropower resources, which represent 10% of electricity production. Nevertheless, in 1994, the United States imported about 45% of the petroleum products it consumed, equivalent to about 17 quads of energy. This dependence on imported oil puts the country at risk of energy supply disruptions and oil price shocks. Previous oil shocks may have cost the country as much as $4 billion (in 1993 dollars) between 1973 and 1990. Moreover, the production and use of energy from fossil fuels are major sources of environmental damage. The corresponding situation in many parts of the world is more challenging. Developing countries are experiencing rapid growth in population, energy demand, and the environmental degradation that often results from industrial development. The near-term depletion of energy resources in response to this rapid growth runs counter to the concept of ''sustainable development''--development that meets the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Energy research and development (RD (2) protecting the environment by reducing the adverse environmental impacts associated with energy production, distribution, and use; (3) keeping America secure by reducing vulnerabilities to global energy market shocks; and (4) enhancing American competitiveness in a growing world energy market.

Bioenergy is considered a sustainable substitute to fossil-fuel resources and the development of a prudent combination of renewable and innovative conversion technologies are essential for the valorization and effective conversion of biowaste to value-added commodities. Here, a negative pressure-induced carbonization process was proposed for the valorization of lignin-enriched biowaste precursor to bio-oil and environmental materials (biochar) at various temperatures. The high heating values (HHV) of the as-prepared biochars from the lignin enriched precursor under negative pressure (low-medium vacuum) were within 25.9-31.5 MJ/kg, which matched satisfactorily to the commercial charcoal. Whereas, the bio-oils produced from the lignin enriched precursor under vacuum conditions was a blend of complex aromatic and straight-chain hydro-carbons, including aldehyde, ketone, phenol, and furans, exhibiting ability as potential heating-oil with HHV within 21.2-28.2 MJ/kg. Moreover, the biochars produced under vacuum environments at higher temperature showed greater stability (22.5-35.9%) than those produced under N2 atmosphere.

Although the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate, through SDG 4 and SDG 10, equitable quality education and the reduction of inequalities within and between countries, respectively, few studies have examined how inequalities in regional sustainability influence higher education. Therefore, this study aims to examine the relationship between regional sustainability and higher education in China using fixed-effects panel modelling. A systematic force framework showing how regional sustainability drives higher education was constructed from economic, social, and environmental perspectives, and the endogeneity in the process of how regional sustainability affects higher education was explored by introducing one-year lagged values as instrumental variables. Our results show that regional sustainability has a significant impact on higher educational attainment in China, with differing effects in the eastern, central, and western regions, respectively. In central China, economic sustainability plays a significant positive role in higher educational attainment; in the western region, economic and social sustainability have stronger positive effects, while environmental sustainability has significantly negative effects. In terms of policy implications, our findings can be used to support regional development policies to promote regional higher education.

A promising route to transition wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) from energy-consuming to net energy-positive is to retrofit existing facilities with process modifications, residual biosolid upcycling, and effluent thermal energy recovery. This study assesses the economics and life cycle environmental impacts of three proposed retrofits of WWTFs that consider thermochemical conversion technologies, namely, hydrothermal liquefaction, slow pyrolysis, and fast pyrolysis, along with advanced bioreactors. The results are in turn compared to the reference design, showing the retrofitting design with hydrothermal liquefaction, and an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket has the highest net present value (NPV) of $177.36MM over a 20-year plant lifetime despite 15% higher annual production costs than the reference design. According to the ReCiPe method, chlorination is identified as the major contributor for most impact categories in all cases. There are several uncertainties embedded in the techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment, including the discount rate, capital investment, sewer rate, and prices of main products; among which, the price of biochar presents the widest variation from $50 to $1900/t. Sensitivity analyses reveal that the variation of discount rates causes the most significant changes in NPVs. The impact of the biochar price is more pronounced in the slow pyrolysis-based pathway compared to the fast pyrolysis since biochar is the main product of slow pyrolysis.

Abstract In the context of climate change, global industrialised nations are grappling with transforming energy networks to support a low carbon future. Using an energy justice framework this work aims to understand holistic outcomes of one low-carbon energy network intervention: demand-side response enacted on domestic heat pumps. By exploring participants’ lived experience of a pilot project, from recruitment to installation and use, this work reveals how injustices were reduced, introduced and amplified. Choice, consent, cost, comfort, disruption, and control are highlighted as key aspects of interest when considering the distributive, procedural, and recognition implications of this domestic innovation. For a net reduction of energy injustices to be realised, we highlight the need for project designers to work in partnership with end users to optimise the benefits for the household and the electricity system. Whilst this is a UK study, the themes and findings are internationally applicable for interventions that aim to harness the flexibility of heating, the largest global energy end-use.

The increasing depletion of natural resources, combined with a wider set of pressures on the environment, has, in recent years, highlighted the need for a more efficient use of energy and a development process that involves alternative energy sources. Energy efficiency has received much attention as a solution, implying both monetary and emissions savings. However, the latter may be partially offset by the income and demand effects of the former, both in more efficient sectors and in spreading to the wider economy. This is the problem of rebound effects. Taking Spain as a case study, and introducing an energy-related CGE model that develops the inclusion of renewables, this paper evaluates a combination of efficiency initiatives to deliver both reduced energy use by households and a more sustainable supply of energy. Our findings suggest that a package aimed at improving efficiency in household electricity and petroleum use, combined with a more competitive supply of energy from renewable sources, may be the only way to get reductions in all energy use, and thus benefit the economy. Specifically, we consider how this package may lead to positive economic impacts and associated rebound effects, where the latter are focused on a greener energy supply.

Abstract Bamboo has been considered a potential feedstock of energy for the future. It can be subjected to the pyrolysis for biofuels production. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) combined with differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) for bamboo was carried out prior to pyrolysis. The thermal degradation of bamboo was mainly between 230 and 420 °C. The conventional pyrolysis of bamboo was investigated in a bubbling fluidized-bed reactor using silica sand. The product distribution and composition of pyrolysis bio-oil were dependent on biomass component and operating conditions such as pyrolysis temperature, fluidization velocity, and particle size of biomass. The fractional catalytic pyrolysis of bamboo was also studied to upgrade the pyrolysis vapor, using HZSM-5 and red mud. The highest yield of bio-oil was 54.03 wt% compared to 49.14 wt% and 50.34 wt% of HZSM-5 and red mud catalyst, respectively. In the red mud catalytic pyrolysis, the oxygen content was rejected from pyrolysis vapor mostly via decarboxylation to produce more CO2 than CO; in contrast, for the HZSM-5 catalytic pyrolysis, the production of CO through decarbonylation was more favored than CO2. The main composition of catalytic pyrolysis bio-oil was 4-vinylphenol, which was employed as a raw material source to synthesize valuable material for energy storage.

The work described in this report was performed under the direction of the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) at University of Texas at Arlington. The IAC at The University of Texas at Arlington is managed by Rutgers University under agreement with the United States Department of Energy Office of Industrial Technology, which financially supports the program. The objective of the IAC is to identify, evaluate, and recommend, through analysis of an industrial plant’s operations, opportunities to conserve energy and prevent pollution, thereby reducing the associated costs. IAC team members visit and survey the plant. Based upon observations made in the plant, preventive/corrective actions are recommended. At all times we try to offer specific and quantitative recommendations of cost savings, energy conservation, and pollution prevention to the plants we serve.

Due to their unique nature, construction projects are considered one of the world’s most hazardous and incident-prone industrial sectors. The present study aimed to analyze health, safety and environmental (HSE) risks relating to construction projects based on the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) and sustainability approach. This study was conducted with the participation of 30 experts, using the semi-quantitative risk assessment technique, in nine areas of the project management’s body of knowledge, based on the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Risk, in this study, was estimated using a two-dimensional matrix of incident probability and severity, each of which has four sub-parameters. The HSE risks pertaining to each of the nine areas of PMBOK were identified. After that, the two dimensions of risk, including incident probability and severity, were measured. Thirty-seven risk sources associated with nine areas of the PMBOK were identified. Risk analysis revealed that 20 sources were at an unacceptable risk level, and 17 risks were at a tolerable risk level. Identifying HSE-related risk sources in accordance with the nine areas of PMBOK, and using FAHP to assess the risk of these hazards in construction projects, can lead to a more realistic estimate of risk in construction projects. The presented method in the current study can create a novel perspective in terms of the construction industry’s risk management and assessment.

The country’s unique philosophy is expressed by Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) as the guiding principle of development. Bhutan is at a crossroads: It can maintain the current pattern of development—with rising inequality—or develop a vibrant private sector to generate jobs and diversify the economy, building resilience to future external shocks. The overarching priority of this Country Partnership Framework (CPF) is job creation. This CPF presents an integrated framework of WBG support to help Bhutan achieve inclusive and sustainable development through private sector–led job creation.