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The report identifies viable and low-carbon energy sources that would help cement producers satisfy their growing energy demand. For the first time, mapped, quantified, and analyzedco-processing in Egypt. It also identified the current and future appetite for alternative fuels, highlighted impediments to market growth, and recommended potential solutions throughout the supply chain. This study makes that point clear, and encourages producers, officials, and other stakeholders to find greener ways to help Egypt’s cement industry grow. The successful use of alternative fuels for the cement industry brings with it potentially significant public and private benefits. The use of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials (AFR) can reduce landfilling, lower carbon emissions by substituting the use of coal, reduce public costs for waste management, and potentially transform waste from a public nuisance into a privatizedand lucrative solution. The benefits make the investment more than worth the effort.Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials (AFR) are any non-fossil based fuels that can replace part of the raw material needed for the production of cement, whether it is used for thermal energy or material recovery. These alternative fuels are derived from waste material, which is plentiful in Egypt. The main objective of this study will be to examine in detail the financial viability, economic competitiveness, technical feasibility and other benefits of AFR for the cement industry. This report will consider four types of AFR waste streams: a) refuse derived fuel (RDF) from municipal solid waste, b) dried sewage sludge (DSS) from wastewater treatment plants, c) agricultural waste, and d)tire derived fuel (TDF) from scrap tires. These waste streams have been selected since they meet three essential criteria defined after extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders. Those are: 1) suitability for use by the Egyptian cement industry; 2) abundance, relative availability of data, and proximity to cement producers; and 3) current mismanagement of associated waste streams, leading to negative environmental and health impacts. Conclusions can be drawn largely on the price differential between AFR and conventional fuel, which may depend in large part onEgypt’s energy and waste management policies. Expanded use of alternative fuels will be further stimulated by the introduction of an economic framework around waste disposal and recycling.A more detailed analysis of the existing regulatory framework, future policies needed and international best practices will also be elaborated upon. Based on the assessment of the energy situation in Egypt, the cement industry’s thermal energy needs, and the current use of AFR, a realistic energy mix scenario will be developed. This will also involve a comparison of the energetic (calorific) value of the various energy sources, potential volumes available, and the cost structure. This study aims to provide a reference for the cement industry, waste processing companies, and Egyptian authorities, helping them to understand and identify responsible and sustainable approaches tothe selection and use of AFR in the cement industry in a transparent and sustainable manner.

BACKGROUND Saudi Arabia’s oil production and proven reserves play an important role in global energy security. This thesis examines topics in energy security, with a focus on Saudi Arabia and security implications for both the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and regional considerations for the Middle East. Chapter 1 examines the role of Saudi Arabia as a swing producer of oil and the effect this has on U.S. security. Saudi Arabia uses this role as an instrument of state power, allowing it to maintain an influential position in international relations. Chapter 2 examines the impacts of the U.S. shale oil revolution on Saudi Arabia’s stability. Since Saudi Arabia uses oil export funds for internal and external stability, an increased shale oil market share creates a long-term stability vulnerability. Chapter 3 examines how changes to U.S. energy independence may affect the balance of power in the Middle East in the future. In the end, economic interests are more important to the U.S. than the physical supply of oil. AIM This research study identifies Saudi Arabia’s role as a swing producer and assess what it means in the context of U.S. energy security. By examining when Saudi Arabia abandons this very critical role, the aim is of generating a theory related to the area of U.S. energy security. The research also aims to understand Saudi Arabia’s relationship with oil and its implications because of U.S. shale oil revolution. The final aim is to understand how U.S. energy independence is causing Saudi Arabia and other powers with interests in the region to maneuver. METHOD A use case methodology is used to guide data collection, analysis, and reporting. Data was collected from scholarly journals, books, and various newspapers and magazines. Chapter 1 uses congruence procedures to investigate dissimilarities between when Saudi Arabia acted as a swing producer and when it abandoned the role. The data collected and analyzed in Chapter 1 related to the importance of Saudi Arabia’s role is employed in Chapter 2 to understand the ...

DOE's State Energy Program published this case study in conjunction with the California Energy Commission. It describes the growing use of traffic lights employing the technology of light emitting diodes, or LEDs. Such traffic lights use less energy and produce a brighter illumination.

This report summarizes the progress of the Basic Sciences Branch of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) from October 1, 1990, through September 30, 1991. Seven technical sections of the report cover these main areas of NREL's in-house research: Semiconductor Crystal Growth, Amorphous Silicon Research, Polycrystalline Thin Films, III-V High-Efficiency Photovoltaic Cells, Solid-State Theory, Solid-State Spectroscopy, and Superconductivity. Each section explains the purpose and major accomplishments of the work in the context of the US Department of Energy's National Photovoltaic Research Program plans.

"Date originated 06/05/79; date updated 07/21/80." ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; Description based on print resource; title from title page.

The main challenge for concrete industry - and in general for construction materials - is to serve the two major needs of human society, the protection of the environment, on one hand, and the requirements of buildings and infrastructures by the world?s growing population, on the other. In the past concrete industry has satisfied these needs well. However, for a variety of reasons, the situation has changed dramatically in the last years. First of all, the concrete industry is the largest consumer of natural resources. Secondly, Portland cement, the binder of modern concrete mixtures, is not as environmentally friendly. The world's cement production, in fact, contributes to the earth's atmosphere about 7% of the total CO2 emissions, CO2 being one of the primary greenhouse gas (GHG) responsible for global warming and climate change. As a consequence, concrete industry in the future has to face two antithetically needs. In other words, how the concrete industry can feed the growing population needs being - at the same time - sustainable? The answer to this question is represented by the ?3R-Green Strategy? widely discussed in the first chapter of this PhD thesis: Reduction in consumption of gross energy for construction materials production, Reduction in polluting emissions and Reduction in consuming not renewable natural resources. In particular, this thesis is focused on the alternative binders to Portland cement such as alkali-activated slag cements and calcium sulphoaluminate cement-based binders in order to manufacture sustainable mixtures for special applications such as repair mortars, lightweight reinforced plasters and concretes for slabs on ground. The experimental results show the feasibility of manufacturing both EN 1504-3 R3 class mortars and Portland-free concretes for jointless slabs on ground with calcium sulphoaluminate cement, supplementary cementitious materials (fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag) and hydrated lime instead of Portland cement. Moreover, alkali-activated mortars and concretes seem to be a reasonable alternative to natural hydraulic lime-based and/or traditional Portland cement-based mixtures for rehabilitation or restoration of ancient masonry buildings and existing concretes structures. Finally, a new sustainability index was developed taking into account the environmental impact, the performances and the durability of mixtures. In particular, in the environmental impact section, the natural raw materials consumption, the greenhouse gas emissions and the energy consumption have been considered. Furthermore, depending on the applications and the environments, design parameters and properties related to durability have been assigned to each mixture. less

Political uncertainties in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) continue to affect the short term economic prospects in the region, while major developments in the global economy over the past six months have put the region on a two-track growth path for 2012. These developments include a significant rise in crude oil prices on fears of oil supply disruptions and weak economic activity in the Eurozone. Economic growth of MENA's oil exporting countries will be strong as it rebounds from the average of 3.4 percent in 2011 to 5.4 percent in 2012. Overall growth in the region is expected to be 4.8 percent in 2012, surpassing the 3 percent growth achieved in 2011. Improvement in the growth prospects of oil exporters is due to strength in oil markets. The fiscal situation is expected to remain tenuous for oil importing countries, especially those going through transitions. Overall, inflation is expected to remain subdued in 2012, with the notable exceptions of Iran and Egypt. Subsidies are currently dampening currently dampening the effects of increased global food and energy prices in many MENA countries.

This paper reports on the design and implementation of a wireless sensor communication system with a low power consumption that allows it to be integrated with the energy harvesting technology. The system design and implementation focus on reducing the power consumption at three levels: hardware, software and data transmission. The reduction in power consumption, at hardware level in particular, is mainly achieved through the introduction of an energy-aware interface (EAI) that ensures a smart inter-correlated management of the energy flow. The resulted system satisfies the requirements of a wireless sensor structure that possesses the energy autonomous capability.

Acute ethanol administration stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increases (3a,5a)-3-hydroxypregnan-20-one (3a,5a-THP) levels in rat brain and plasma. Increased 3a,5a-THP levels contribute to the anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and pro-aggressive actions of ethanol. We now explored the effects of ethanol on brain and plasma 3a,5a-THP levels in C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) mice, two inbred strains with different sensitivity to behavioral effects of alcohol. Mice were injected with ethanol (2 g/kg, i.p.) or saline and were sacrificed 1 h later. 3a,5a-THP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in cerebral cortex and by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in plasma. Ethanol increased cerebral cortical 3a,5a-THP (+38%, P < 0.005) in D2 but not B6 mice. In contrast, plasma 3a,5a-THP levels were decreased (-27%, P < 0.01) in B6 mice, but did not change in D2 mice. These differential effects of ethanol on 3a,5a-THP levels may be due to the different genetic background of these strains. To further explore this hypothesis, we examined ethanol-induced changes in cerebral cortical 3a,5a-THP levels of some B6xD2 (BXD) recombinant inbred strains. Basal 3a,5a-THP levels across 8 BXD strains range between 1.81 and 3.72 ng/g, equivalent to a 2-fold genetic variation [F(9,79) = 6.27, P < 0.0001] and heritability of 0.40. The ethanol-induced changes in cerebral cortical 3a,5a-THP levels range between +4 and +63% and were negatively correlated (Spearman -0.82, P = 0.02) with behavioral phenotypes of ethanol consumption previously determined in the BXD strains and available in the GeneNetwork database (www.genenetwork.org). Greater ethanol intake was associated with smaller elevation of 3a,5a-THP following ethanol challenge across these BXD mice. This preliminary finding supports the hypothesis that neurosteroid responses to ethanol may be putative biomarkers of excessive alcohol consumption. Future studies will be required to further explore this hypothesis.

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