• Energy Research
• 11. Sustainability close
• CN close
• AU close
• IN close
• BE close

Abstract Industrial sustainability has gained huge attention in the scientific community owing to the concern of global warming. Establishing sustainability indicators by the application of exergy analysis can guide and motivate industrial sustainability. In this context, an attempt is made to establish sustainability indicators for the industrial sector. Different measures to improve the sustainability of the industrial sector of Bangladesh are also discussed. Based on the energy consumption data from the year 2000–2015, energy, exergy, and sustainability analyses are performed. It is found that the energy efficiency varies from 55.01% to 59.67% and exergy efficiency varies from 53.11% to 56.97%. Exergy efficiency is found to be at lower side due to the accounting of irreversibility. Various sustainability indicators such as sustainability index, depletion number, exergetic renewable share, cumulative exergy loss, and non-renewable exergetic share have been studied as well. It is observed that depletion numbers vary from 43% to 45% and the sustainability index varies from 2.21 to 2.32. Non-renewable exergetic share is as high as 98% and maximum cumulative exergy loss is found to be 217.3 PJ in 2015. Improvement potential shows a continuous increase from 22.75% in 2000 to 101.89% in 2015. Waste heat recovery, energy audit, waste minimization, and adopting renewable energy sources are recommended to increase the efficiency and sustainability of this sector. The outcome of this study reveals that exergy analysis is an effective technique to develop energy conservation policies for this sector.

The present experimental study describes the characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted with PM2.5 particles during wood and rice straw burning as well as impacts of photochemical ageing on the half lives of particulate PAHs and their diagnostic ratio values. The photochemical degradation kinetics experiments were carried out by exposing the PM2.5 to light and synthetic air flow. Pseudo first order rate constants were calculated based on PAH loss as a function of exposure time. Relatively quick degradation of lighter PAHs (3-rings) [(0.2-0.5)h-1] than heavier PAHs (4-6 rings) [(0.0005-0.03)h-1] indicates substantial impact of PAH-substrate interaction through π-π stacking with the carbonaceous substrates. Moreover, our results showed distinct PAH diagnostic ratios (DR) for wood and rice straw burnings which, however, change with time due to photochemical degradation. The later may add uncertainties in the applications of DR values for source apportionment. Furthermore, considerably large half lives (100-3000 h) of the carcinogenic PAHs as estimated under ambient solar radiation may cause poor and adverse air quality in long range and therefore demands immediate regulations against uncontrolled biomass burning.

The emission characteristics of particulate matters from a full-scale biomass-fired power plant equipped with bag filters were investigated. Results show that particle size distribution at the inlet of bag filter from the combustion of blended feedstocks is bimodal, while that of dry bark feedstocks is essentially unimodal with negligible emission of coarse particles with diameter in the range of 1.0–10 μm. The combustion of blended fuels generates higher yields of submicro particles than that of dry bark feedstocks. Elemental analysis shows that submicro particles in all cases mainly consist of potassium, chlorine, and sulfur. Higher chlorine but lower sulfur contents are observed in submicro particles from blended fuels compared with that from dry bark feedstocks. The vibrating operation of grate furnace reduces submicro particles emission as well as the sulfur content in all particles. Ion chromatography results show that sulfate ion and chloridion are the two most abundant water-soluble anions in particulate matters, while water-soluble cations are richest in potassium with considerable content of calcium, magnesium, sodium and ammonia. The contribution of organic and element carbon in particulate matters is in the range of 1–3%, indicating high combustion efficiencies and low organic and element carbon emissions of biomass-fired grate furnaces.

In the last two centuries, land-use change (LUC) has been the most important direct change driver for terrestrial ecosystems. In contrast with the consequent ecosystem degradation, forward-looking spatial policies and target landscape and land-use planning processes are needed from a sustainability perspective. The present paper proposes a framework of action, including different landscape-planning and ecological approaches: from spatial modelling to recognize LUC and build different scenarios, to ecosystem service (ES) assessment to evaluate possible environmental impacts. Three different scenarios were explored: Trend, No Tillage, and Energy crops. The sediment delivery ratio and carbon storage and sequestration ESs were assessed and compared for each scenario. The results show that regional development in line with past trends could lead to further land degradation (with ES value losses, in a decade, greater than 5%). Instead, the two scenarios proposed in compliance with EU policies could bring benefits, if only those related to moderate LUCs and respecting the naturally grass-vegetated land. The aim of the paper is to support decision makers and local communities in the landscape planning landscape planning process. From the local to global scale, guided and shared LUC management allows us to implement sustainable development, based not only on a deep knowledge of the physical environment but also of social and economic issues.

The potential for decoupling of energy and resources from economic growth should enable economic development while improving environmental sustainability indicators. Relative decoupling of energy has been a characteristic of developed nations as a consequence of efficiency gains and productivity growth. The trend has strengthened in recent decades as economies have advanced further into the service economy phase. The next phase of development (the so-called ‘Infotronics’ phase) is being enabled by the rapid growth of information and communications technology (ICT), and artificial intelligence. The question explored in this commentary is whether the Infotronics phase will shift energy consumption in absolute rather than relative terms (so-called ‘strong’ vs. ‘weak’ decoupling), using Australia as a case study. In this context, weak decoupling is defined as a relative reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP, whereas strong decoupling is also an absolute reduction in national energy consumption. Historic data on Australian primary energy consumption, gross domestic product, GDP deflator, and industrial sectors have been assembled for the period 1900–2014. A time-series linear regression between energy and real GDP was undertaken to explore the historic relationship between changes in the changing structure of the Australian economy and energy consumption. Despite a significant shift towards a service economy, primary energy consumption has remained strongly connected to GDP, but overlaid with distinct long-run trends in energy intensity. An explanation for the long-run connection is two-fold. The evolution towards greater social and industrial complexity has been underpinned by the ready availability of cheap fuels. The deepening of the service economy towards the infotronics phase should be seen partly as a consequence of available energy supply and productive primary and secondary sectors. Several specific examples of ICT are explored to test the hypothesis, including ICT-enabled remote work, online retail, the ‘sharing economy’, and productivity-enhancing ICT applications. Second, energy consumption is driven by demand for end-use energy services, including transport, buildings and food. Demand for these services is a function of human wants, needs and income, and a changing industrial structure does not alter their underlying demand. The conclusion is that ICT is enabling productivity gains and new business models, but does not significantly weaken the demand for these services, and therefore does not enable strong decoupling.

Uttarakhand is endowed with perennial rivers and large network of both rain fed and ice fed rivers that provide immense scope for development of Hydro Power in the State. Hydro power is the clean energy which generates electricity at zero fuel cost. Regulatory issues, Transmission /Power evacuation issues, Environmental concerns, Inter-state perspectives, Law and order issues, Dearth of good contractors, Natural effects, Political issues, Land acquisition problem, Resettlement and Rehabilitation issues, Locational disadvantages, Budgetary requirements, Private sector involvement and Longer gestation period are some of the obstructions which are hindering the development of hydro power plants. This paper reviews the available literature to identify several barriers affecting the development of Hydro Power in Uttarakhand.

The solid by-product from power plant fueled with municipal solid waste and coal was used as a raw material to synthesize zeolite by fusion-hydrothermal process in order to effectively use this type of waste material. The effects of treatment conditions, including NaOH/ash ratio, operating temperature and hydrothermal reaction time, were investigated, and the product was applied to simulated wastewater treatment. The optimal conditions for zeolite X synthesis were: NaOH/ash ratio=1.2:1, fusion temperature=550 degrees C, crystallization time=6-10 h and crystallization temperature=90 degrees C. In the synthesis process, it was found that zeolite X tended to transform into zeolite HS when NaOH/ash ratio was 1.8 or higher, crystallization time was 14-18 h, operating temperature was 130 degrees C or higher. The CEC value, BET surface area and pore volume for the synthesized product at optimal conditions were 250 cmol kg(-1), 249 m(2) g(-1) and 0.46 cm(3) g(-1) respectively, higher than coal fly ash based zeolite. Furthermore, when applied to Zn(2+) contaminated wastewater treatment, the synthesized product presented larger adsorption capacity and bond energy than coal fly ash based zeolite, and the adsorption isotherm data could be well described by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. These results demonstrated that the special type of co-combustion ash from power plant is suitable for synthesizing high quality zeolite, and the products are suitable for heavy metal removal from wastewater.

Abstract The European Commission Flood Risk Directive review shows that while many nations have embraced the concepts of flood risk management, there is still quite more to do in delineating risk–cost-effective measures and developing cost estimates and financing of those measures. Not mentioned are the necessary changes to existing design standards and protocols which will have to change in order to properly encompass climate change and variability, with associated uncertainties. Adjustments in engineering design standards and changes in hazards are examined, based on trend detection in observational records and projections for the future. Issues of urban and transport (motorways and railways) drainage design are also examined. Furthermore, risk reduction strategies are discussed. Finally, a way of accounting for non-stationarity in determining design precipitation and design floods is tackled. Climate change adjustments in engineering design standards, such as design precipitation and design floods, are reviewed via examples from Europe.