Vol. 4, No. 3 (2016): Regular Issue

As one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emission in the short to medium terms, CO2 sequestration and storage has attracted much attention in many countries across the world. Due to the high potential capacity globally, geological storage of CO2 is considered as an applicable technology to a wide spectrum of geological sites. In this complex process, many economic, technical, political, and environmental factors are involved, causing conflicts among multiple objectives. Management of CO2 capture and storage is thus essential for analyzing tradeoffs among these objective, and reducing the associated risks to local communities. Although great efforts have been made, effective design and management of various CO2 storage systems, as well as analysis of associated risks are still challenging to practitioners. In recent years, simulation and optimization methods have been used for addressing important management problems of CO2 capture and storage. The combined simulation-optimization approaches can account for the complex behaviours of the storage process and can help identify the best management strategies under consideration of the management objectives and constraints, as well as the associated risks. During the past decades, a large number of studies were conducted to simulate CO2 flow and transport in the geological substrate, and seek cost-effective storage schemes. This paper presented a comprehensive review on recent developments, advancements, challenges, and barriers associated with simulation and optimization modeling approaches in supporting CO2 capture and geological storage. A number of methodologies and applications were examined. Perspectives of effective management schemes were investigated, demonstrating many demanding areas for enhanced research efforts, which included issues of data availability and reliability, concerns in uncertainty, necessity of post-modeling analysis, and usefulness of development of process control techniques.

As one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emission in the short to medium terms, CO2 sequestration and storage has attracted much attention in many countries across the world. Due to the high potential capacity globally, geological storage of CO2 is considered as an applicable technology to a wide spectrum of geological sites. In this complex process, many economic, technical, political, and environmental factors are involved, causing conflicts among multiple objectives. Management of CO2 capture and storage is thus essential for analyzing tradeoffs among these objective, and reducing the associated risks to local communities. Although great efforts have been made, effective design and management of various CO2 storage systems, as well as analysis of associated risks are still challenging to practitioners. In recent years, simulation and optimization methods have been used for addressing important management problems of CO2 capture and storage. The combined simulation-optimization approaches can account for the complex behaviours of the storage process and can help identify the best management strategies under consideration of the management objectives and constraints, as well as the associated risks. During the past decades, a large number of studies were conducted to simulate CO2 flow and transport in the geological substrate, and seek cost-effective storage schemes. This paper presented a comprehensive review on recent developments, advancements, challenges, and barriers associated with simulation and optimization modeling approaches in supporting CO2 capture and geological storage. A number of methodologies and applications were examined. Perspectives of effective management schemes were investigated, demonstrating many demanding areas for enhanced research efforts, which included issues of data availability and reliability, concerns in uncertainty, necessity of post-modeling analysis, and usefulness of development of process control techniques.

Articulating all actors and activities of supply chain having an impact on sustainability is a complex task especially for a limited domestic market production sector. This complexity is the result of several factors, such as the quality of the product, the degree of competitiveness and the high costs of transactions, which arise from a small economic scale. This paper proposes a sustainability analysis using emergy accounting and the Cleaner Production approach applied to the case study of a mango pulp supply chain on a local level in Santiago de Cuba. The results obtained show that the current agricultural economy model is characterized by i) the use of chemical fertilizers, II) a large presence of labor and iii) a small use of natural resources. The cleaner production strategy applied to the local fruit supply chain increased the benefits for ecosystems and society. Emergy indices pointed towards higher efficiency, lower energy appropriation for production, lesser pressure on the environment, and a greater contribution to the local economy. The assessment method used proved to be helpful in evaluating the agricultural chains dynamics, especially, after the introduction of Cleaner Production practices.

Articulating all actors and activities of supply chain having an impact on sustainability is a complex task especially for a limited domestic market production sector. This complexity is the result of several factors, such as the quality of the product, the degree of competitiveness and the high costs of transactions, which arise from a small economic scale. This paper proposes a sustainability analysis using emergy accounting and the Cleaner Production approach applied to the case study of a mango pulp supply chain on a local level in Santiago de Cuba. The results obtained show that the current agricultural economy model is characterized by i) the use of chemical fertilizers, II) a large presence of labor and iii) a small use of natural resources. The cleaner production strategy applied to the local fruit supply chain increased the benefits for ecosystems and society. Emergy indices pointed towards higher efficiency, lower energy appropriation for production, lesser pressure on the environment, and a greater contribution to the local economy. The assessment method used proved to be helpful in evaluating the agricultural chains dynamics, especially, after the introduction of Cleaner Production practices.

Decreasing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is a globally agreed goal for mitigating climate change. Considering previous disputes between countries and the negative emotions subconsciously injected into those responsible for the management of the problem, it is useful to reconsider how to ensure that more countries actively contribute to climate change mitigation. Here, we propose a new concept of ‘embodied services of GHG emissions’ to express the underlying services associated with GHG emissions. Based on a developed assessment framework and indicators, we rank the 28 EU member countries in terms of embodied services of GHG emissions. Analyzing these countries’ results geospatially presented an archaeopteryx pattern, where countries on the two wings have the highest levels of embodied services while those on the back and tail have the lowest. The results are also analyzed for each country over time allowing efforts made by those countries to be displayed in different aspects. We believe that the proposed concept has effective resolution for both spatial and temporal scales. We anticipate that countries’ willingness to engage in climate change mitigation will be stimulated by targeting improvement of embodied services of GHG emissions as an additional, beneficial goal, which also embodies equality and incentivizing aspects.

Decreasing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is a globally agreed goal for mitigating climate change. Considering previous disputes between countries and the negative emotions subconsciously injected into those responsible for the management of the problem, it is useful to reconsider how to ensure that more countries actively contribute to climate change mitigation. Here, we propose a new concept of ‘embodied services of GHG emissions’ to express the underlying services associated with GHG emissions. Based on a developed assessment framework and indicators, we rank the 28 EU member countries in terms of embodied services of GHG emissions. Analyzing these countries’ results geospatially presented an archaeopteryx pattern, where countries on the two wings have the highest levels of embodied services while those on the back and tail have the lowest. The results are also analyzed for each country over time allowing efforts made by those countries to be displayed in different aspects. We believe that the proposed concept has effective resolution for both spatial and temporal scales. We anticipate that countries’ willingness to engage in climate change mitigation will be stimulated by targeting improvement of embodied services of GHG emissions as an additional, beneficial goal, which also embodies equality and incentivizing aspects.

The use of biomass, among the various forms of renewable energy, has assumed a key role in the current European Union agenda. In 2005 the European Commission launched a “biomass action plan” in order to promote the development of biomass energy from wood, waste and agricultural crops and stimulate economic activities in rural areas. Among the various types of biomass, agroforestry residues are the prevalent amount in the country and the most readily available. However their use, in the production of electricity or in a cogeneration form, has not taken off for small plants. The main problems are related to the local availability of the resource, to logistics problems, to the purchase price and to the reliability of conversion technologies. This paper aims to analyze the residual agroforestry biomass (herbaceous and woody) in the administrative province of the city of Enna (Italy) and to evaluate the financial viability of a small gasification plant (<1 MWe) with and without cogeneration. The support of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to identify the suitable areas for biomass exploitation and optimal localization of the conversion plants using a multi-criteria analysis based on different measures. The financial viability was evaluated for different scenarios based on investment costs, management costs and revenues from the selling of electricity for different plant sizes and number of yearly operational hours.

The use of biomass, among the various forms of renewable energy, has assumed a key role in the current European Union agenda. In 2005 the European Commission launched a “biomass action plan” in order to promote the development of biomass energy from wood, waste and agricultural crops and stimulate economic activities in rural areas. Among the various types of biomass, agroforestry residues are the prevalent amount in the country and the most readily available. However their use, in the production of electricity or in a cogeneration form, has not taken off for small plants. The main problems are related to the local availability of the resource, to logistics problems, to the purchase price and to the reliability of conversion technologies. This paper aims to analyze the residual agroforestry biomass (herbaceous and woody) in the administrative province of the city of Enna (Italy) and to evaluate the financial viability of a small gasification plant (<1 MWe) with and without cogeneration. The support of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to identify the suitable areas for biomass exploitation and optimal localization of the conversion plants using a multi-criteria analysis based on different measures. The financial viability was evaluated for different scenarios based on investment costs, management costs and revenues from the selling of electricity for different plant sizes and number of yearly operational hours.

Hydropower resources are priority areas of energy construction in various countries throughout the world, and are also important measures for China by which to ensure the energy supply and achieve the development goal of non-fossil energy. Developed countries, in particular the United States, have rich experience in the development and construction of hydropower resources. Therefore, understanding the experience of the United States in the development of hydropower resources bears important enlightenment to the development of hydropower resources in China. This paper gives a systematic review of the survey data previously and newly released by the US Department of Energy; based on this, analyzes the development status of hydropower resources of all watersheds in the United States and the development potential of newly increased hydropower resources; and recounts the development level of hydropower resources at American watershed. At the same time, in consideration to the implementation of efficiency increase and capacity expansion planning in the United States in the future, this paper further predicts the development level of hydropower resources at all watersheds in the United States after this planning has been implemented. Finally, the paper summarizes the experience of the United States in the development of hydropower resources, along with its enlightenment to the development of hydropower resources of China. This study shows that electric construction strategies for the priority development of hydropower, introduction of key constraints to assess the development potential of hydropower resources, and efficiency increase and capacity expansion transformation to intensify the hydropower development are powerful guarantees of hydropower development in the United States, and these also provide important reference value for developing the hydropower resources of China.

Hydropower resources are priority areas of energy construction in various countries throughout the world, and are also important measures for China by which to ensure the energy supply and achieve the development goal of non-fossil energy. Developed countries, in particular the United States, have rich experience in the development and construction of hydropower resources. Therefore, understanding the experience of the United States in the development of hydropower resources bears important enlightenment to the development of hydropower resources in China. This paper gives a systematic review of the survey data previously and newly released by the US Department of Energy; based on this, analyzes the development status of hydropower resources of all watersheds in the United States and the development potential of newly increased hydropower resources; and recounts the development level of hydropower resources at American watershed. At the same time, in consideration to the implementation of efficiency increase and capacity expansion planning in the United States in the future, this paper further predicts the development level of hydropower resources at all watersheds in the United States after this planning has been implemented. Finally, the paper summarizes the experience of the United States in the development of hydropower resources, along with its enlightenment to the development of hydropower resources of China. This study shows that electric construction strategies for the priority development of hydropower, introduction of key constraints to assess the development potential of hydropower resources, and efficiency increase and capacity expansion transformation to intensify the hydropower development are powerful guarantees of hydropower development in the United States, and these also provide important reference value for developing the hydropower resources of China.

Technologies for domestic wastewater treatment systems can be planned and constructed to use locally available materials lessening the need for resupply materials and to fit the local conditions. However, most plans for wastewater treatment systems do not consider the renewable support required to dilute plants' emissions. Solutions for mitigating environmental impacts and achieve sustainable environments with low carbon depend on the accounting for the available local resources and the environmental services required for diluting emissions. Two example applications of domestic wastewater treatment metabolism are discussed using sustainability indicators and inputs to the greenhouse gas emissions calculation. The analysis compares upstream and downstream environmental investments and may be used to advise public policies for sustainable regional and urban development.

Technologies for domestic wastewater treatment systems can be planned and constructed to use locally available materials lessening the need for resupply materials and to fit the local conditions. However, most plans for wastewater treatment systems do not consider the renewable support required to dilute plants' emissions. Solutions for mitigating environmental impacts and achieve sustainable environments with low carbon depend on the accounting for the available local resources and the environmental services required for diluting emissions. Two example applications of domestic wastewater treatment metabolism are discussed using sustainability indicators and inputs to the greenhouse gas emissions calculation. The analysis compares upstream and downstream environmental investments and may be used to advise public policies for sustainable regional and urban development.

Cities are the main contributors to the global climate change. Accounting for urban carbon sources and sinks is necessary for the development of low-carbon cities. This paper compares and analyses the carbon accounting standards by summarizing the research of urban carbon accounting items and methods, to serve as a reference for future studies of urban carbon accounting. Three carbon accounting standards are compared to analyse the differences in the applied scales and in the accounting emphasis. Carbon accounting items and methods are conducted based on artificial carbon sources, natural carbon sources and natural carbon sinks. Three suggestions are proposed to further develop urban carbon accounting. First, carbon emissions from human and soil respiration should be included in carbon source accounting. Second, because of the frequent interactions between cities and surrounding areas, the embodied carbon emission of goods and services imported to cities should be emphasized. Third, to increase the accuracy of urban carbon accounting, on site measurement should be reinforced to accumulate first-hand data of time series.

Cities are the main contributors to the global climate change. Accounting for urban carbon sources and sinks is necessary for the development of low-carbon cities. This paper compares and analyses the carbon accounting standards by summarizing the research of urban carbon accounting items and methods, to serve as a reference for future studies of urban carbon accounting. Three carbon accounting standards are compared to analyse the differences in the applied scales and in the accounting emphasis. Carbon accounting items and methods are conducted based on artificial carbon sources, natural carbon sources and natural carbon sinks. Three suggestions are proposed to further develop urban carbon accounting. First, carbon emissions from human and soil respiration should be included in carbon source accounting. Second, because of the frequent interactions between cities and surrounding areas, the embodied carbon emission of goods and services imported to cities should be emphasized. Third, to increase the accuracy of urban carbon accounting, on site measurement should be reinforced to accumulate first-hand data of time series.