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We study the optical response of CH3NH3PbI3 layers to light solicitation under different environmental gas and temperature conditions. The measurements were performed in nonreactive (Ar or N-2) and reactive (O-2 or humid air) gas in the range 40-80 degrees C crossing the tetragonal cubic transition (similar to 50 degrees C). With respect to truly inert Ar, the use of N-2, not only assures the reversibility of the optical constants during thermal cycles but also improves the optical response of the material. While in N-2 and Ar atmospheres the optical parameters of the material can be recovered at the end of the cycle, in contrast, the presence of humidity in the air causes the absorption coefficient to.monotonically and inexorably decrease in the whole visible range, especially after the lattice has moved to cubic. The use of N-2 thus represents an effective strategy to improve the absorption under thermal operation conditions.

We report on field effect mobility measurements in methanofullerene [6,6]-phenyl C61C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) films and in blends of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and PCBM, identical to those used in polymer solar cells. Electron mobilities in the order of 10-3cm2/Vs were found in the pure PCBM films, and electron mobilities of 10-4cm2/Vs were found in P3HT:PCBM blends at room temperature. Mobility measurements on the blends yielded electron mobilities of a factor 10 lower than those in the pure films. Temperature dependent measurements were performed to investigate the temperature dependence of the mobility in both films. In order to understand the discrepancy in the electron mobility between pure film and blend, we investigated the parasitic effects of the contacts on the measured value of mobility, but found that losses in the bulk dominate the current.

In 2011 the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) released a set of indicators for sustainable bioenergy. However, two important issues still remain unresolved. One of them is the definition of “sustainability”, and the other is the lack of a holistic assessment tool for drawing conclusions from the indicators. The aim of this paper is to provide clarification on the concept of sustainability in the context of the GBEP indicators, and to develop a holistic assessment tool for assessing the sustainability of bioenergy programmes. The GBEP indicators are diverse in terms of “what to measure”, and some of them are not sufficiently directly related to the concept of sustainability. This makes the indicators ambiguous regarding to sustainability assessment. This study identifies whether the GBEP indicators are concerned with strong or weak sustainability, and develops a tool based on Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) which can be used for assessing sustainability of bioenergy programmes using the GBEP indicators. The tool is demonstrated in an example for assessing the sustainability of biofuel production in a case study of Kyoto. We found that the biodiesel production in Kyoto performs well on the environmental pillar, but badly on the economic pillar, and based on the weights applied in this study the overall sustainability is better than diesel fuel. The holistic assessment tool provides practical information to policymakers on both ex-ante and ex-post policy evaluations.

Abstract Global supply chains require integrated cost optimisation of sourcing, production and distribution through flexible networks of suppliers, manufacturers and logistics operators. The minimisation of environmental impacts of freight flows must be considered for sustainable development and should turn into a competitive advantage. To these aims, the paper presents a model integrating supply, production networks and sustainable freight transportation for strategic and tactical decision-making. Bill-of-Materials constraints are included in the model. The objective function considers sourcing, production and transportation costs as well as carbon dioxide emissions as environmental impacts of transport over a multimodal network. Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the model for cost-emissions analysis.

The increasing trend in the consumption of various materials has also led to a huge increase in the final waste streams especially in the form of municipal solid waste (MSW) and the consequent environmental pollutions in particular greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These have made MSW management a significant environmental issue for governments and policy-makers. To address these challenges, developed countries have implemented sustainable material management (SMM) strategies which have been comprehensively reviewed herein. Moreover, waste generation statistics reported for most of the developed and developing countries as well as the existing gaps in MSW management among these countries have been fully discussed. The present paper was also aimed at comprehensively assessing electricity generation potentials from MSW using an integrated solid waste management system (including three different technologies of anaerobic digestion (AD), incineration, and pyrolysis-gasification) while the consequent GHG emission reduction potentials as a result of their implementation were also explored. To facilitate the understanding of the potential impacts of these treatment strategies, Iran's data were used as a case study. More specifically, the theoretical and technical potentials of electricity generation were calculated and the GHG emission reduction potentials were estimated using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Overall, it was found that 5005.4–5545.8 GW h of electricity could be generated from MSW in Iran annually which could lead to approximately 3561–4844 thousand tons of avoided CO2eq. Such GHG reductions would be translated into approximately 0.5% of Iran's annual GHG emissions and would be considered a promising achievement given Iran's international GHGs reduction commitment, i.e., 4% reduction of anthropogenic GHGs emissions by 2030 below the business as usual scenario. Such findings could also be modeled for the other developing countries around the world where efficient MSW management is yet to be implemented.

Abstract Improving energy supply efficiency and quality is regarded as a key pathway to shifting towards a fully sustainable energy system. To address the low efficiency and high emissions in the downstream oil industry caused by the problem of vertically integrated monopoly, the Chinese government is making an effort to promote a multiproduct pipeline network reform. The fundamental and indispensable step for this goal is the pipeline network interconnectivity. This paper quantifies the energy-environmental impacts of the pipeline network interconnectivity reform on China's downstream oil supply chain to 2030. An integrated framework is developed to obtain the detailed design-scale information required for assessment, introducing demand forecasting and demand reallocation into a pipeline network optimal planning model. The model is formulated as a fuzzy mixed integer linear programming that optimizes the infrastructure development scheme and supply chain operation plan simultaneously while taking into account demand uncertainty. The results show that, compared with the baseline, the pipeline interconnectivity reform could reduce yearly energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 9.7–19.8% and 12.5–17.9%, respectively. It is shown that this reform policy could overcome infrastructure constraints, increase pipeline utilization, and improve both energy and environmental performance. The proposed framework can be a theoretical guideline for policymakers within and beyond China.

For the first time nanocarbon composites with C 70 molecules aligned on the sidewall of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are demonstrated. The C70-SWNT photoelectrochemical devices exhibit efficient photocurrent generation properties that result from selective formation of a single composite film consisting of a SWNT network covered with C70 molecules and high electron mobility through the C 70-SWNT network.

Differences in ash behavior during hydrothermal treatment were identified based on multivariate data analysis of literature information on 29 different feedstock. In addition, the solubility of individual elements was evaluated based on a smaller data set. As a result two different groups were distinguished based on char ash content and ash yield. Virgin terrestrial and aquatic biomass, such as different types of wood and algae, in addition to herbaceous and agricultural biomass, bark, brewer's spent grain, compost and faecal waste showed lower char ash content than municipal solid wastes, anaerobic digestion residues and municipal and industrial sludge. Lower char ash content also correlated with lower ash yield indicating differences in chemical composition and ash solubility. Further evaluation of available data showed that ash in industrial sludge mainly contained anthropogenic Al, Fe and P or Ca and Si with low solubility during hydrothermal treatment. Char from corn stover, miscanthus, switch grass, rice hulls, olive, artichoke and orange wastes and empty fruit bunch had generally higher contents of K, Mg, S and Si than industrial sludge although differences existed within the group. In the future information on ash behavior should be used for enhancing the fuel properties of char based on feedstock type and hydrothermal treatment conditions.