Search results for "Impact."
showing 10 items of 1677 documents
Sensitivity analysis to quantify uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment: The case study of an Italian tile
2011
Abstract The results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study can be affected by several uncertainty sources, mainly due to the methodological choices, the initial assumptions, i.e. allocation rules, system boundaries and impact assessment methods, and the quality of the available data. Then, the experts should estimate the extent of the above-mentioned sources of uncertainty for improving the reliability and the representativeness of the obtained eco-profiles. To estimate the uncertainty is necessary to obtain reliable, transparent and representative LCA results and to correctly support decision-makers in the selection of different product or process options. The following paper starts from …
Embedding “substrate” in environmental assessment of green roofs life cycle: evidences from an application to the whole chain in a Mediterranean site
2012
Abstract A classical LCA methodology is here applied to green roofs including in this analysis also the whole life cycle of the substrate, that represented a lack of previous LCA studies on green roofs. This inclusion will allow a complete and proper application of the LCA methodology to achieve an environmental accounting of the “green roof” performance. We have here chosen to approach the problem by analysing a specific substrate, that is used within an actual extensive green roof. Afterwards, we have applied the LCA methodology to the whole actual extensive green roof whose substrate under analysis is part of. In this manner, we achieved an environmental accounting of the “green roof” pe…
Energy and environmental impacts of Energy related products (ErP): a case study of biomass-fuelled systems
2014
Abstract Energy-related Products (ErP) account for a large proportion of European energy and natural resource consumption. In 2007, ErP were responsible for the consumption of about 239 Mtoe of electricity and about 555 Mtoe of fuels. In order to reduce the energy and environmental impacts of these products, the European Commission published the Directive 2009/125/EC on the eco-design of ErP. This Directive represents a key component of European policy for improving the energy and environmental performances of products in the internal market. In this context, it is important to develop scientific research aimed at assessing the energy and environmental impacts of ErP, and at defining their …
The Energy System of Sicilian Region, Italy: 2014 situation and evolutionary trends
2015
The development of reliable energy scenarios are become increasingly more important and crucial due to scientific interest but also because it is essential for the deployment of effective energy policies in the territory. The depletion of Fossil Fuels and the need for the most industrialized countries to achieve the target of a sustainable development have induced important national, European and global initiatives. These actions have led to major changes on each energy system of countries and regions, contributing to the evolution of new local energy systems. In this paper, the Authors have collected, processed and analyzed the data concerning the evolution and changes of the Sicilian ener…
The importance of reliable climatic data in the energy evaluation
2012
Abstract In the last few years, more and more attention has been focused on energy issues, as it is pointed out, for example, by the Directive 2002/91/EC on the Energy Performance of Buildings and Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. However, in order to do that, reliable tools for technicians to design systems for such topics should be provided. Nowadays, several software are available; the weak point is the availability of reliable climatic data and, above all, the ones referring to solar radiation. In this work, after a short overview of the world climatic databases, a description of three statistical methods for the elaboration of a climatic…
ORDINAL MEASUREMENTS WITH INTERVAL CONSTRAINTS IN THE EIA PROCESS FOR SITING A WASTE STORAGE AREA
2009
We describe application of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for siting a waste storage area. The world’s largest biofuel-based combined heat and power (CHP) plant was built in Pietarsaari, Finland. The plant produces certain byproducts, such as flue dust and bottom ash, which need to be processed and stored to prevent releases to the environment. Different storage sites will have different impacts on people, nature, and the economy. Cardinal measurement of the different impacts was considered too costly. Instead, ordinal measurement of all criteria was applied; i.e., experts ranked the alternative storage sites according to each c…
Eletric vehicles impact using renewable energy
2015
In this moment, the principle topics for the modern world are the reduction of environmental pollution and the production of energy from renewable sources (for example photovoltaic system, wind farm, hydroelectric plants, etc.). This particular attention is determined by different reasons, in particular from the Kyoto Protocol, and from different problems as greenhouse effect, acid rain and climate change. The scope of this work is to study, for different years (1997-2013) in Italy, the production of electric energy from renewable and non-renewable. At a later stage, the attention will be on the consumption of the electric energy divided for different sectors. In particular, we study the po…
Application of Monte Carlo technique to evaluate the power injectable on electrical grid by wind farms
2008
This paper is part of a research aimed at assessing the impact of wind generation on the transmission grid of Sicily, second among the Italian regions for wind power installed. To assess the maximum degree of wind generation penetrability in full compliance with the safe operation of the system, it seemed necessary to investigate the reports of contemporary winds and their territorial correlations when load assumes the peak or the minimum. Given the nature of the problem, it has been used a method of analysis based on the application of stochastic simulation techniques type Monte Carlo. In the paper, after describing the current state of wind energy generation in Sicily and development scen…
Energy and CO2 life cycle inventory issues for aluminum based components: The case study of a high speed train window panel
2016
Abstract As materials production and transport are two relevant sectors in terms of global environmental impact, over the last years environmental impact analyses (mainly life cycle based analyses) of material replacing strategies in means of transportation were developed. Life cycle approach allows to consider the light-weighing benefit without neglecting the environmental impact of material production. In the present research energy and CO2 emissions life cycle analysis of a real case study is presented. Industrial data, experimental measurements and literature analysis were used to develop the life cycle analysis of an aluminum window panel to be assembled on an Italian high speed train.…
A knowledge-based master-model approach with application to rotating machinery design
2011
Novel rotating machinery design concepts and architectures are being explored to reduce mass, energy consumption, manufacturing costs, and environmental impact while increasing performance. As component manufacturers supply parts to original equipment manufacturers, it is desirable to design the components using a systems approach so that they are optimized for system-level performance. To accomplish that, suppliers must be able to model and predict the behavior of the whole machinery. Traditional computer-aided design/computer-aided engineering master-modeling approaches enable manual changes to be propagated to linked models. Novel knowledge-based master-modeling approaches enable automa…