A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, Johannesburg 2018 / This research aims to assess the factors surrounding the emergence of markets with the greatest potential for rechargeable lithium battery adoption. The implications of the rise of electric vehicles and electrical energy storage are measured against lithium supply and market pricing. This was resolved by reviewing all available information and comparing it with the intricacies of resources, production and recycling. An analysis of price formation is also undertaken before making assumptions to enable a forecast of future market dynamics until 2030. Electric vehicles will require almost threefold the lithium produced in 2015 by the end of the period considered, with grid storage predicted to follow suit. No geological supply constraints were found, but economic scarcity is a strong possibility. Production is highly vulnerable to disruption due to concentration and the situation is exacerbated by inelastic demand. Recycling may be the most critical means of diversifying and improving supplies. / XL2019

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "May 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-136). Also available online.

xii, 91 p. :ill. (some col.), maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The ability to provide an adequate supply ofrenewable energy necessary to offset the emissions of"zero emission" vehicles is of importance for Oregon's planners and policy makers. An increase in electricity generation caused by the electricity required for zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions ifrenewable energy is not installed to meet hydrogen fuel cell needs. What are the renewable energy implications for Oregon planners to consider for meeting future fuel cell zero emission vehicle (ZEV) needs? Work done in Iceland can serve as an example for Oregon's need for renewable energy to meet ZEV needs. Icelandic data about hydrogen generation and the renewable energy requirements necessary for ZEVs at the Gtj6thaIs hydrogen fueling station set a benchmark for Oregon planners to consider when figuring the impact of ZEVs. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Robert F. Young, Chair; Dr. Greg Bothun; Mr. Roger Ebbage

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Architecture in the field of Sustainable and Energy Efficient Cities Johannesburg May 2018 / Based on the Sol Plaatje Municipality case study, this study focuses on how an innovative municipal business and funding approach could serve as a tool for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy (solar) for the benefit of both indigent households and the municipality. Primary data from the municipality and indigent households in Galeshewe settlement indicates that in its current form, the 50kWh free basic electricity that indigent households receive monthly from the municipality is insufficient for their basic energy needs, while purchasing additional electricity is becoming increasingly unaffordable. This results in suppressed demand for the households and ongoing risk to the municipality due to escalating costs. In mitigation of the two fundamental challenges, findings from primary and secondary data have guided the study to the Renewable Energy for Low Income Earners (RELIE) model. The Equitable Share Grant and Integrated National Electrification Programme Grant (as currently allocated to municipalities by National Treasury and the Department of Energy for free basic electricity and electricity infrastructure provision for low income households) are highlighted as the initial funding channels under the proposed model based on a backcasting approach. Municipal energy plans and policies as well as integrated human settlements’ spatial plans also emerge as critical tools for transitioning to inclusionary RE. Other funding sources in the RELIE model include existing government funds such as the Green Fund and the Central Energy Fund from the Department of Environmental Affairs, as well as supplementary funds from relevant agencies such as climate funding entities and philanthropic socially responsive investments. The model also envisages end-user contribution through affordable payments for service. In conclusion, the study recommends that the RELIE model findings could be adapted for other municipalities in South Africa faced with the escalating indigent household energy crisis. / MT 2018

Worldwide energy consumption is estimated to double between 2008 and 2035. Over-dependence on energy imports from a few, often politically unstable countries, and unpredictable oil and gas prices, pushes energy to a critical agenda. While there is an agreement that we need to change the production and consumption of energy, there is still disagreement about the specific changes that are needed and how they can be achieved. The conventional energy plans relying primarily on fossil fuels and nuclear technologies, which are in need of transformation due to limited resources and carbon dioxide emissions. Energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy should play a leading role in the America's energy future. Energy and environmental organizations believe that renewable energy and energy efficiency can meet half of the world's energy needs by 2050. This thesis describes a model that predicts renewable energy portfolios for the Southern portion of the United States, by evaluating multiple renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal. The Southern US is divided into three regions: Southwest, South Central, and Southeast, which are chosen given their location and the level of abundance of renewable resources, thereby minimizing inefficiencies and losses associated to the present generation system. A mathematical predictor takes into account variables such as supply/demand, non-renewable/renewable sources, and time. From the results, the Southwest and South Central regions confirm an surplus of renewable electricity by 2050, but the Southeast region does not have enough renewable resources to detach itself from the use of fossil fuels. The South Central region begins producing a surplus of renewable energy in 2014 and reaches an excess amount of 14,552 billion KWh by 2050. This means there will be no need to transfer electricity over long distances, which will increase the overall efficiency of electrical generation.

Vykstant intensyviai pasaulio ekonomikos plėtrai, nuolat auga ir energijos vartojimo mastai. Labiausiai naudojamų energijos šaltinių, ypač naftos bei dujų, atsargos yra ribotos ir nuolat senka. Ekonominė priklausomybė nuo energijos išteklių tiekėjų – energijos išteklių stokojančių šalių problema. Dar viena problema – neigiama organinio kuro deginimo įtaka klimato kaitai. Vienas iš ilgalaikių Lietuvos darnaus vystymosi strategijos uždavinių – skatinti, kad atsinaujinančiųjų energijos išteklių naudojimas energetikoje ir transporte nuolat didėtų ir iki 2020 metų sudarytų ne mažiau kaip 15 procentų bendro pirminės energijos balanso. Darbo tikslas – atskleisti alternatyvių energijos šaltinių panaudojimo skatinimo galimybes Lietuvoje. Uždaviniai: 1) išnagrinėti alternatyvių energijos šaltinių panaudojimo skatinimo teorinius aspektus; 2) išanalizuoti Lietuvoje bei užsienyje atliktus tyrimus bei empirinius duomenis atsinaujinančių energijos išteklių panaudojimo skatinimo srityje; 3) parengti empirinio tyrimo, įvertinančio alternatyvių energijos išteklių skatinimo priemonių efektyvumą Lietuvoje, metodologiją; 4) pritaikyti parengtą tyrimo metodologiją ir įvertinti alternatyvių energijos išteklių panaudojimo skatinimo priemonių efektyvumą; 5) pateikti alternatyvių energijos išteklių skatinimo Lietuvoje rekomendacijas. Buvo vykdoma ekspertų apklausa ir rezultatai parodė, kad atsinaujinančių energijos šaltinių skatinimas nėra pakankamas Lietuvoje. Supirkimo tarifai, ES struktūrinių fondų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / As world economy intensively develops, there is also seen a constant growth of energy consumption. Mostly used sources of energy, especially oil and gas resources are limited and constantly wasting. Economic dependence on energy suppliers is the problem of countries lacking in energy resources. Another problem is the negative impact of burning biogas on climate change. One of the long-term sustainable development strategies for Lithuania tasks is to promote the use of renewable energy resources in energetics and transport. The aim of work is to disclose the opportunities of alternative energy sources promotion for Lithuania. The objectives of work are: 1) to explore the theoretical aspects of alternative energy sources promotion; 2) to analyze Lithuanian and abroad studies and empirical data for renewable energy promotion; 3) to prepare the methodology of empirical study evaluating the efficiency of alternative energy resources promoting measures in Lithuania; 4) to adapt the methodology and assess the efficiency of alternative energy resources promoting measures; 5) to provide the recommendations how to promote alternative energy sources in Lithuania. It was conducted the survey of experts and the results showed that the promotion of renewables in Lithuania is not sufficient enough. Feed-in-tariffs, the promotion of the EU Structural Funds and tradable pollution permits can be identified as the best currently existing promotional measures. Currently operating tax incentives... [to full text]

This thesis focuses on determining the potential of bio-energy crops to contribute to Europe’s future energy needs and to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions. This requires an end-to-end (seed to exhaust gas) analysis of the crop production and enabling technology in terms of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The starting point of this research was to consider which energy crops had the potential to grow in future European climate scenarios and to determine those for which models did not exist to make this prediction. <i>Miscanthus</i> was identified as a relatively new crop with 15 years of European growing experience but with limited previous model development.  MISCANMOD, a simple model of <i>Miscanthus</i> crop growth, was improved and rewritten in FORTRAN so that it could be interfaced to use climate scenario, soil property and land use data bases to predict energy yields for current and future climate scenarios. A greenhouse gas emissions and energy balance model was added to investigate the sustainability of <i>Miscanthus</i> as a bio-energy crop. This model was combined with data from other energy crop predictions to determine the energy yields and GHG mitigation of different crops for the various scenarios of future climate, each considering the soil conditions, land available and climatic conditions. We conclude that <i>Miscanthus</i> is the crop with the highest energy yield and largest carbon mitigation potential of all the available energy crops, and that the maximum amount of primary energy that could be produced by bio-energy crops in Europe would represent only 12% of EU 25’s primary energy needs. The carbon intensity of such energy is estimated to be 24% of that for gas. To achieve this level of energy production we show that it is necessary to develop drought and frost resistant hybrids to increase the range of the <i>Miscanthus</i> crop for current and future climate scenarios. This demonstrates that bio-energy is not a panacea but must be considered as part of the strategy to achieve sustainable energy whilst mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg 10th of October 2016 / Thermal pyrolysis is one of the viable technologies suitable for the management of organic solid waste, which has become a global challenge over the years. This is due to the non-biodegradability of these materials and their continuous usage across all segments of man’s daily activities. Effectiveness of the method is in converting these materials under controlled process conditions, that enable the optimization of the fraction of interest, such as the liquid fraction also referred to as pyrolytic oil with a near zero pollution effect on the environment. The main setback in the production of the liquid fraction include low yield, presence of sulphur and other aromatic compounds which have been linked to environmental pollution and health complications. This study focuses on improving the liquid fraction yield and composition obtainable from pyrolysis process. Latex natural rubber (obtained from Hevea Brasiliensis) was pyrolysed and its products compared with that of the used tyres. The production of pyrolytic oil from used tyres and natural rubber was performed using thermal and catalytic pyrolysis processes. The operating temperature range of 375 to 750 oC (at an interval of 75 oC) at a heating rate of 15oC/min and feed material particle sizes of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 mm were used. In addition, Zeolite NaY was synthesized from Lawani Benin River Kaolin (LBK) at a synthesis time and temperature of 9 h and 100 oC respectively, using hydrothermal synthesis method, and used for catalytic pyrolysis. The chemical characterisation revealed pyrolytic oil composition to be a complex mixture of aliphatic, aromatics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and chlorinated compounds in small proportions. The non-catalysed and catalysed pyrolysis using natural rubber resulted in pyrolytic oil with 80 and 66% of aliphatic, 12 and 15% aromatic (with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentration of 2 and 1%). The non-catalysed and catalysed pyrolysis using used tyres yielded pyrolytic oil with 42 and 32% of aliphatic, 34 and 39% aromatic (with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations of 18 and 23%). The kinetics of the thermal degradation with the aid of a thermogravimetry and differential thermogravimetry analyzer was performed over a temperature range of 30 to 800 oC at a heating rate of 15, 20 and 30oC/min. Results showed that natural rubber displayed higher activation energy than used tyres, with respect to the heating rates. This is an indication that natural rubber is more difficult to thermally decompose than used tyres. The distillation temperature of the distillates was within the temperature range of the conventional petrol and diesel. The composition of the distillates revealed carbon chain length of C5-C30 with majority being C8 – C10. A spark ignition generator engine was used to perform the combustion tests for the various pyrolytic oil distillates and petrol blended in the ratio 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% successfully without engine modification. For the fuel consumption with respect to generator run time, it was observed that an optimum of 20% natural rubber pyrolytic oil distillates (NRPD)-Petrol blend gave comparative fuel consumption behavior with that of commercial petrol. Furthermore, the 20% NRPD distillates gave optimum fuel consumption and power. Hence, a significant yield improvement and combustion performance were observed for the pyrolytic oil derived from natural rubber than that of used tyres. Further treatment of the pyrolytic oil distillates could pave the way for effective use of the oil as chemical feedstock for industries, or as substitutes for fossil fuel. It was also requisite to develop a mathematical model which adopts thermogravimetry analyser (TGA) as a dynamic apparatus to predict weight change of a material as it degrades with time at a fixed temperature. The proposed models were in three consecutive phases which were classified into three time zones 0 ≤ t ≤ t1, t1 ≤ t ≤ t2 and t ≤ t2. The general model equation for the first phase of degradation was 2 0 1 2 0 ( ) t T w t w e   , while the second phase model was and at the third phase, it is assumed that the limit of weight loss (in the second phase equation) as t tends to ∞ gives a value k , at which change in weight loss with time is negligible. The proposed model was used to plot graph of weight loss versus time at different fixed temperature which fitted well with the experimental TGA and had a characteristic pattern fitted closely to the second phase degradation of the fixed bed reactor. / MT2017

Growing energy demands are expected to exceed the supply from current energy resources. Therefore, renewable energy and energy management systems will become more crucial for increasing supply and efficiency of energy usage. The novelty of this research is an energy management system (EMS) based on fuzzy logic for a solar house to ensure the maximum utilisation of renewable sources, protect components from being damaged due to overloading, and manage energy storage devices to increase stability in the power system. There is no published analysis of hybrid energy storage between battery and supercapacitor using fuzzy logic as EMS. The energy management system is implemented in a solar cabin system developed by IBC Solar to mimic a typical rural house. The solar cabin is equipped with solar photovoltaic panels, solar charger, battery and inverter. Supercapacitors and a custom made DC to DC converter were added to the system to support the batteries during high current load demand and manage energy flow. Three sets of experiments were conducted in the solar cabin system with the new energy management system. Power consumption usage of a typical rural household was studied to create two load profiles that were used as load for the experiments. The results show an efficiency of 95.9% by using the new energy management system and supercapacitors to the solar cabin, which is higher than recent research (95.2% and 84.4%). The result is on par with the Malaysian and International Standard in energy efficiency of around 95%. The energy management system controlled the charging and discharging of the battery and supercapacitor using fuzzy logic. The novelty of this thesis is use of supercapacitors to reduce stress on the battery and an energy management system to control and manage the system for efficient energy usage.