Search results for "Cost Analysis"
showing 10 items of 86 documents
PET/CT and contrast enhanced CT in single vs. two separate sessions: a cost analysis study
2012
AIM: Aim of the study was to quantify the economic impact of PET/CT and contrast enhanced (c.e.) CT performed in a single session examination vs. stand-alone modalities in oncological patients. METHODS: One-hundred-forty-five cancer patients referred to both PET/CT and c.e. CT, to either stage (N.=46) or re-stage (N.=99) the disease, were included. Seventy-two/145 performed both studies in a single session (innovative method) and 73/145 in two different sessions (traditional method). The cost-minimization analysis was performed by evaluating: 1) institutional costs, data obtained by hospital accountability (staff, medical materials, equipment maintenance and depreciation, departments utilit…
STRATEGIE PER LA RIQUALIFICAZIONE ENERGETICA DELL’EDILIZIA SCOLASTICA IN CLIMA MEDITERRANEO
2018
Il patrimonio edilizio italiano è composto principalmente da costruzioni realizzate nel secondo dopoguerra, quando la speculazione economica e l’urbanizzazione hanno prodotto edifici con caratteristiche di scarsa qualità architettonica ed energetica. Agire sul rendimento energetico degli edifici esistenti, adattandoli alle caratteristiche richieste dalla normativa, a parità di condizioni di comfort, rappresenta una strategia importante per la riduzione dei consumi energetici e per la tutela dell’ambiente. Attraverso l’applicazione di tecnologie e metodologie innovative e la scelta di investimenti adeguati, il retrofit energetico può rappresentare, oggi, la principale opportunità di crescita…
Cost analysis of the facilities deterioration in wastewater treatment plants: A dynamic approach
2019
Abstract The implementation of the Directive 91/271 / CEE resulted in the proliferation of new Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) all around Europe. These facilities, which are compound by a wide range of assets (civil works, electromechanical equipment, pipelines, etc.), are ageing and deteriorating having an impact on the efficiency of the process. It is founded that repairs and corrective maintenance costs have increased in the last years, due to the deterioration process. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to focus on the cost effects of the deterioration process of the facilities in different wastewater treatment technologies. The analysis of these impacts will allow the opera…
Sustainability evaluation of Sicily's lemon and orange production: An energy, economic and environmental analysis
2013
The island of Sicily has a long standing tradition in citrus growing. We evaluated the sustainability of orange and lemon orchards, under organic and conventional farming, using an energy, environmental and economic analysis of the whole production cycle by using a life cycle assessment approach. These orchard systems differ only in terms of a few of the inputs used and the duration of the various agricultural operations. The quantity of energy consumption in the production cycle was calculated by multiplying the quantity of inputs used by the energy conversion factors drawn from the literature. The production costs were calculated considering all internal costs, including equipment, materi…
Cost-effectiveness analysis of sewer mining versus centralized wastewater treatment: Case study of the Arga river basin, Spain
2015
ABSTRACT:In the context of the EU Water Framework Directive, a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) was performed to compare centralized and decentralized wastewater treatment strategies aimed to improve the ecological status of a Spanish river. The implementation of several hybrid membrane bioreactors within the urban framework for sewer mining (SM) was compared with the more common wastewater treatment plant enlargement option. The assessment ranked 6 alternatives based on 12 potential scenarios, aimed at narrowing the uncertainty of the CEA. The cost analysis illustrated that SM is the most expensive option regarding both investment and operation and maintenance costs. However, the effectiv…
Cost and safety issues of emerging technologies against conventional techniques
2015
Abstract The industrialization of recovery processes is governed by several factors such as scale-up boundaries, product safety, and overall cost. Thereby, improved process efficiency is considered in terms of cost minimization via reducing processing steps and restricting overall energy consumption. The emerging nonthermal technologies promise to overcome the obstacles of conventional techniques with regard to energy requirements, but in some cases this has not yet been achievable. In this chapter, an attempt to clarify cost issues of conventional and emerging technologies is conducted. Moreover, other aspects such as safety issues are discussed, as the facilitation of healthy food additiv…
The cost of green roofs disposal in a life cycle perspective: covering the gap.
2012
Abstract This study is aimed at providing a contribution in overcoming the current gap, especially in Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Benefit – Cost (BCA) analyses, due to the lack concerning the green roof disposal costs. Therefore, we have applied to an actual extensive green roof the LCC methodology suggested by D. G. Woodward (that appears like one of the most formalized and generalizable), but we have extended the analysis to the disposal phase. This will allow a complete and proper application of the LCC methodology in order of achieving an economic accounting of this component through its life cycle. In this way, it is possible to achieve the complete evaluation of the “green roof” perf…
The relevance of the design characteristics to the optimal operation of wastewater treatment plants: Energy cost assessment
2018
Operational parameters of the wastewater treatment process do not always fit the design ones for several reasons, such as the seasonality or an inaccurate estimation of the population connected. This fact has an effect on the performance of the Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) and their energy costs. The aim of this paper is to develop a cost function for the energy cost that takes into account the mismatching between the design and the operational inflow. For this purpose, a performance index is constructed in order to represent how far the operational inflow is from the design one, and will be included in the cost model. Moreover, three cost functions, depending on the size of the plan…
Low cost-sensors as a real alternative to on-line nitrogen analysers in continuous systems.
2009
This paper is focused on the evaluation of the applicability of low-cost sensors (pH and ORP) versus nutrient analysers for controlling biological nitrogen removal in WWTPs. A nutrient removal pilot plant located in Carraixet WWTP (Valencia, Spain) that is equipped with a significant number of nutrient analysers and low-cost sensors was used. The relations between reliable, cheap on-line sensors such as pH and ORP (located in anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones) and the nitrification/denitrification processes are provided. The nitrification process can be evaluated by measuring the pH difference between the first and last aerobic zones. The denitrification process can be evaluated by measur…
Biological nitrogen removal from municipal landfill leachate: low-cost nitrification in biofilters and laboratory scale in-situ denitrification.
2002
The slow leaching of nitrogen from solid waste in landfills, resulting in high concentrations of ammonia in the landfill leachate, may last for several decades. The removal of nitrogen from leachate is desirable as nitrogen can trigger eutrophication in lakes and rivers. In the present study, a low-cost nitrification-denitrification process was developed to reduce nitrogen load especially in leachates from small landfills. Nitrification was studied in laboratory and on-site pilot aerobic biofilters with waste materials as filter media (crushed brick in upflow filters and bulking agent of compost in a downflow filter) while denitrification was studied in a laboratory anoxic/anaerobic column …