Energy evaluation together with greenhouse gas mitigation goes a long way in sustaining the growth and economy of a nation. Various evaluation methods have been adopted by researchers, academia and various country wise energy department ministries to achieve this aim. The most effective method is the hybrid evaluation method. This takes into consideration strength of a particular method to overcome the weakness of another method. This chapter focuses on a recently proven integrated method on energy and greenhouse gas studies—integrated IDA‐ANN‐DEA (index decomposition analysis—artificial neural network—data envelopment analysis). Case studies were exemplified using this approach in evaluating possible energy potential that could be saved in the manufacturing industries in Canada and South Africa as well as a particular food and beverage industry. Another case study focused on the amount of possible greenhouse gas that could be mitigated in the Canadian industry. The hybrid model proved very useful in its analysis.
Part of the book: Research and Development Evolving Trends and Practices
The concern for environmental related impacts of the cement industry is fast growing in recent times. The industry is challenged with high environmental impact which spans through the entire production process. Life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact of product or process throughout the cycle of production. This can be done using either or both midpoint (process-oriented) and endpoint (damage-oriented) approaches of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). This study assessed the environmental impact of 1 kg Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) using both approaches of LCIA. This analysis was carried out using a data modeled after the rest of the world other than China, India, Europe, US and Switzerland. The dataset was taken from Ecoinvent database incorporated in the SimaPro 9.0.49 software. The result of the analysis showed that clinker production phase produced the highest impact and CO2 is the highest pollutant emitter at both endpoint and midpoint approaches. This is responsible for global warming known to affect both human health and the ecosystem. Also, toxicity in form of emission of high copper affects the ecosystem as well as humans. In addition, high fossil resources (crude oil) are consumed and pose the possibility for scarcity.
Part of the book: Product Life Cycle
Biomethane production generally involves the cleaning to remove minor unwanted components of biogases such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and moisture (H2O) and upgrading in a process that involves the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) to increase the concentration of CH4 to 95–99% and reduce CO2 concentration to 1–5%, with little or no hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Biomethane gas is a flexible and easy to store fuel having similar properties and applications as natural gas with no need to modify the settings for natural gas devices and equipment. Biomethane can be used for industrial and domestic applications ranging from thermal and power generation and feedstock for processes like the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) for fuel manufacturer and direct power generation in hydrogen or biogas fuel cells like production of green hydrogen. Therefore, biomethane promises to play a leading role in the energy transition through hydrogen, electricity, and other renewable fuels production. Biomethane production by biogas upgrading methods include the pressure swing adsorption, which has an option of temperature swing adsorption, absorption technics based on amine, membrane separation, cryogenic separation, and biological separation. The technology adopted may depend on factors such as costs, quality of products, location, and technology maturity and requirements.
Part of the book: Anaerobic Digestion
Natural gas is a growing energy source worldwide, with its market share increasing steadily. It is one of the primary fuels used in electricity production. Its high thermodynamic quality and low environmental impact make it the fastest growing energy source in the global energy sector. Natural gas is a relatively clean and efficient fuel, making it a good choice for electricity production and heating. Using natural gas in gas power plants and industrial thermal applications will reduce harmful pollutants. Despite its significance, it is crucial to understand its potential impact on the electricity supply. The objective of this study is to conduct a life cycle assessment from cradle-to-gate of a natural gas power plant to understand the impact on the global warming (GWP) potential, freshwater eutrophication potential (FEP) and terrestrial acidification potential (TAP) categories when producing 1 kWh of electricity. Using the SimaPro (version 9.2) software package and Rest of the World data to model the cradle-to-gate scenario, the study found that the processing of natural gas is the most crucial stage in all three impact categories, making it the hotspot (37-95%) for GWP, FEP and TAP, with CO2 contributing the most at the GWP, PO4 at FEP and NOx at TAP.
Part of the book: Climate Smart Greenhouses
This work presents an analysis of the impact of nationally determined contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement on global temperature rise. With the use of a climate simulation tool based on the concept of system dynamics, the study constructs a framework to project global temperature changes under other policy scenarios. The hypothesis is formulated based on the analysis of current, announced and best-case global/national policy scenarios. The research aims to address critical questions regarding the effectiveness of the ongoing NDC commitments in limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C, in alignment with the Paris Agreement’s goals. The simulation results offer a roadmap by presenting possible grey areas for optimising the current NDCs in global and national energy policies and treaties, fostering international collaboration and reinforcing the global commitment to combating climate change. In addition, this study also presents other potential strategies for decarbonisation associated with facilitating the implementation of just and fair NDCs.
Part of the book: Global Warming - A Concerning Component of Climate Change [Working title]
The cement industry is among the growing industries globally that negatively impact human health and global warming due to various substances released into the water, air and soil. This impact and potential damage have been studied in several ways to understand their effects, but more details are still needed. This study examines the damage done by producing 1 kg of cement in South Africa using the Recipe 2016 endpoint method. It also conducted an uncertainty analysis using the Monte Carlo method to confirm and establish its credibility. The results showed that the clinkering stage causes the most damage to human health (49%) and ecosystems 60% due to large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. The result showed high uncertainty in Water consumption, Human health, Water consumption, Terrestrial ecosystem, Aquatic ecosystems, Human carcinogenic toxicity and Ionizing radiation. These results align with existing literature but highlight the specific contributions of clinkering.
Part of the book: Global Warming - A Concerning Component of Climate Change [Working title]