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To promote higher air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Californian government is investing heavily in developing public charging infrastructure to meet its electric vehicle adoption goal of five million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030. This thesis investigates the effect of public charging infrastructure availability on electric vehicle adoption at the zip code level in California. The analysis considers other factors that may influence electric vehicle adoption such as education level, income, commute time, gas prices, and public transportation rate. The findings suggest that public charging infrastructure availability does significantly positively correlate with electric vehicle registrations. Linear regressions were run using data from the U.S Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center, IHS Markit vehicle registration data, and the US Census Bureau. The findings support continued investment in public charging infrastructure as a means of promoting electric vehicle adoption.

Abstract Background: Sustainability practices have become a crucial factor for firms since there are external and internal pressures that expect firms to act environmentally friendly. Especially within organizations that are owned by family, being sustainable enables them to pass their firm in a good condition to the next generation. One way firms can be sustainable is through adopting clean technology strategy as it can provide both environmental and economic benefits to firms. Being sustainable and having the ability to implement clean technology requires a long-term vision or long-term orientation (LTO); a characteristic often associated with family-controlled businesses (FCBs). Purpose: The purpose is to examine the adoption of clean technology within family-controlled firms (FCBs) and non-family-controlled firms (Non-FCBs). The aim is to explore if there are certain characteristics of FCBs that facilitate implementation of clean technologies. Method: This research is based on qualitative research method with an abductive approach and interpretivism philosophy. The primary data is collected through semi-structured interviews with four companies of which three are family-controlled businesses and one is a non-family- controlled business. Conclusion: FCBs are more inclined to invest in clean technologies. The extent to which a company does or does not implement clean technologies depends not only on the institutional values of an organization but also how deeply one or more of the three LTO dimensions are implanted in those values.

Addressing the low power generation of anodic biocatalysts is pertinent to the advancement of microbial fuel cell technology. While Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii has shown potential as a biocatalyst, its incomplete consumption of the anodic substrate is a persistent issue. This research aims to optimize substrate consumption to increase power generation using Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii as a biocatalyst. The effect of coculturing Geobacter sulfurreducens with Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii was investigated. The cocatalyst and pure culture performance was tested in an air-cathode microbial fuel cell. Geobacter sulfurreducens produced the highest maximum power density among the experimental cases. Power density produced by Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii was improved in the air-cathode design compared to previous experiments performed in an H-type design. The novel cocatalyst was shown to produce electricity, however a full characterization to elucidate the contribution to power generation by each microbe would be desirable to investigate.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:53:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RosangelaLRS.pdf: 1607437 bytes, checksum: c3288cd109c72956dad50f3ce4abe494 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-19 / The objective of this work was to investigate the factors that inhibit the use of Environmental Techniques in the Gas Station of the city of Natal/RN. For this, a survey with the aid of a questionnaire was used like research instrument. It s used a sample for convenience, not probabilistic. For collection of the data, it was used directly application of the questionnaire to the Managers or Assistant managers of the gas station, in accordance with its availability or presence. The data was collected in all the regions of Natal (North, South, East and West). The population in accordance with the data of the ANP of September 2005 is of 111 ranks and the collected sample was of 86. To carry through the analysis of the data of this research had been used softwares Excel and Statistic version 5.0, for Windows. The analysis of data is divided in two parts; descriptive analysis and analysis of groupings (clusters). The results showed that bigger part of the interviewed ones has between 30 and 39 years of age; they have second grade completed; they had declared to have little between and reasonable knowledge how much to the use of Clean Technology (CT) in gas station; and a small part of the interviewed ones had informed to have much knowledge how much the resolutions of the CONAMA established for the Gas Station. Of the searched ranks, the majority is national(76.7%); the most accurate practice environmental used in the gas station are: it collects selective of oil used or contaminated and ecological tanks - coated with strengthened fibre glass; great part of the interviewed ones (33.8%) informed that never the TL makes planning of referring future action; about of the half of the interviewed ones (84.9%) they had more declared that its employees have of none to a reasonable level of training for deal with problems that compromise the environment; the majority of the ranks (72.1%) functions has for more then six years. It is observed that almost all the interviewed ones (96.5%) evaluate as being important or very important the implantation of CT in Gas Station and the great majority (82.1%) evaluates the difficulty in if implanting these technologies in Gas Station as being easy or very easy. In the analysis of cluster, it was verified existence of two groupings (as much in the variable of the barriers and benefits), being that inside of each clusters exists homogeneity and between clusters exists heterogeneity. In reality, everything is important or very important in the opinion of the interviewed ones. There only exists a small significant difference that separates them in clusters / O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar os fatores que inibem o uso de T?cnicas Ambientais nos Postos de Combust?veis da cidade de Natal/RN. Para isso, foi utilizado um procedimento de pesquisa do tipo Survey (levantamento) com o aux?lio de um question?rio, identificado como sendo o instrumento de pesquisa. Utilizou-se a amostra por conveni?ncia, n?o probabil?stico. Para coleta dos dados, utilizou-se a aplica??o do question?rio diretamente aos Gerentes ou Sub-gerentes dos Postos, de acordo com a sua disponibilidade ou presen?a. Os dados foram coletados em todas as regi?es de Natal (Norte, Sul, Leste e Oeste). A popula??o de acordo com os dados da ANP de Setembro 2005 ? de 111 postos (atualizados) e a amostra coletada foi de 86. Para realizar a an?lise dos dados desta pesquisa foram utilizados os softwares Excel e Statistica vers?o 5.0, para Windows. A an?lise de dados ? dividida em duas partes: an?lise descritiva e an?lise de agrupamentos (clusters). Os resultados mostraram que maior parte dos entrevistados t?m entre 30 e 39 anos de idade; t?m 2? grau completo; declararam ter entre pouco e razo?vel conhecimento quanto ao uso de TL em postos de combust?vel; e uma pequena parte dos entrevistados informaram ter muito conhecimento quanto as resolu??es do CONAMA estabelecidas para os Postos de combust?vel. Dos postos pesquisados, a maioria ? nacional (76,7%); as pr?ticas ambientalmente corretas mais usadas nos postos s?o: coleta seletiva de ?leo usado ou contaminado e tanques ecol?gicos - revestidos com fibra de vidro refor?ada; grande parte dos entrevistados (33,8%) informou que nunca fazem planejamento de a??o futura referente a TL; cerca de mais da metade dos entrevistados (84,9%) declararam que os seus funcion?rios t?m de nenhum a um razo?vel n?vel de treinamento para lidarem com problemas que comprometem o meio ambiente; a maioria dos postos (72,1%) funcionam h? mais de 6 anos. Observa-se que quase todos os entrevistados (96,5%) avaliam como sendo importante ou muito importante a implanta??o de TL em Postos de combust?vel e a grande maioria (82,1%) avalia a dificuldade em se implantar essas tecnologias em postos como sendo f?cil ou muito f?cil. Na an?lise de cluster, verificou-se a exist?ncia de dois agrupamentos (tantos nas vari?veis das barreiras e benef?cios), sendo que dentro de cada clusters existe homogeneidade e entre clusters existe heterogeneidade. Na verdade, tudo ? importante ou muito importante na opini?o dos entrevistados. Existe apenas uma pequena diferen?a significativa que os separa em clusters

Content: Leather manufacturing is classified as water, energy and waste intensive by the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU). Tannery effluents, if not properly treated, cause significant damage to soil and water bodies. Over 85% of world leather production involves the traditional chrome tanning process (TCTP). The use of chrome (Cr) in the industrial processing of animal hides poses serious environmental and health problems due to the use of hazardous chemicals, the production of solid/liquid waste and air emissions. LIFE GOAST aims at demonstrating the benefits of a new tanning technology on a semi-industrial scale; the project started on July 2017 and is an ongoing investigation, and involves the competences of three direct actors in the leather industry such as GSC Group spa as chemical supplier, Conceria Pasubio as tannery and Mediochiampo as waste-water treatment agency, in conjunction with the expertise of Università di Venezia, thus forming together a model of leather industry. The technical feasibility of LIFE GOAST implementation, as well as its social and economic impact, have been monitored and compared with the TCTP in order to demonstrate the reduced environmental impacts of the new process, while producing comparable or better quality leather. The LIFE GOAST team demonstrated that it was possible to treat collagen with the GOAST technology to give stabilised collagen to be used in the leather industry. A series of leather swatches were realised in accordance with the new protocol in order to obtain preliminary information on chemical oxygen demand COD of the effluents and technical feasibility of the process. The results were remarkable: COD values were lower than TCTP and it was possible to obtain soft and firm grain leather despite a shrinkage temperature lower than chromium process. However, these preliminary results allowed to process bigger pieces of leather (quarter, half and entire) to demonstrate that the technology was reproducible and in line with the small trials. The investigation is still ongoing and the team is fully committed to focus on the objectives of the project. Take-Away: Novel and alternative tanning systems to traditional chrome tanning.

Orientador: Afonso Lopes / Resumo: Na concepção do projeto e na fabricação de equipamentos, deve-se preocupar com a energia incorporada e com a quantidade de emissão de gases de efeito estufa (GEE), de modo a atender às exigências ambientais, cada vez mais requeridas por organismos internacionais. Este trabalho teve como objetivo calcular a energia incorporada (MJ) e a emissão de GEE (kg CO2e) na fabricação de equipamentos para beneficiamento de algodão, considerando a matéria-prima, a hora trabalhada e a energia elétrica consumida. O trabalho foi realizado na análise de três equipamentos de uma usina de beneficiamento de algodão. Os referidos equipamentos foram fabricados com tecnologia nacional por uma empresa localizada no interior do Estado de São Paulo. O primeiro equipamento, alimentador extrator automático, teve emissão de 6,57 CO2e kg-1 e energia incorporada de, 102,54 MJ kg-1; o segundo equipamento, descaroçador, teve emissão de 6,82 CO2e kg-1 e energia incorporada de 107,64 MJ kg-1; e o terceiro equipamento, prensa hidráulica, teve emissão de 5,05 CO2e kg-1 e energia incorporada de 78,73 MJ kg-1. Verifica-se a relevância dos materiais metálicos, principalmente do aço-carbono e a importância da energia elétrica consumida no cálculo de energia incorporada. O tempo homem/hora não foi relevante nos resultados de emissão de CO2e kg-1 e energia incorporada. / Abstract: In conception of design and manufacturing equipment it must be concerned with the embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), in order to meet the environmental requirements, which are increasingly required by international organizations. This paper aimed to calculate the embodied energy (MJ) and the emission of GHG (kg CO2e) in the manufacture of equipment for cotton processing, considering the raw material, the hour worked and the consumption of electric energy. The study analyzed three equipments of a plant of cotton benefit. These equipments were manufactured with national technology by a company located in the interior of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The first equipment, automatic extractor feeder, had emission of 6.57 CO2e kg-1 and embodied energy of 102.54 MJ kg-1; the second equipment, ginning machine; had emission of 6.82 CO2e kg-1 and embodied energy of 107.64 MJ kg-1, and the third equipment, hydraulic press; had emission of 5.05 CO2e kg-1 and embodied energy of 78.73 MJ kg-1. Then was verified the relevance of metallic materials, mainly carbon steel and the importance of consumption of electric energy in the calculation of embodied energy. The man/hour time was not relevant in the results of CO2e kg-1 emission and embodied energy. / Doutor

Innovation intermediaries provide a range of services to assist firms during the process of innovation. How SMEs perceive innovation intermediaries is an area of investigation that would provide important information on how innovation intermediaries’ assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study focuses on the cleantech industry and explores SMEs’ expectations and perceptions of an established community-based intermediary (CBI) moving into their sector. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to collect data from 15 sample SMEs. In regards to SMEs, the findings show that cleantech companies face financing, partnerships, marketing, sales, regulatory and bureaucratic challenges. In regards to innovation intermediaries, the findings showcase how CBI, a regional intermediary, is not effective in supporting cleantech SMEs with their sector specific needs or challenges.

Chapter 2 considers technology adoption under both technological and subsidy uncertainties. Uncertainty in subsidies for green technologies is considered as an example. Technological progress is exogenous and modeled as a jump process with a drift. The analytical solution is presented for cases when there is no subsidy uncertainty and when the subsidy changes once. The case when the subsidy follows a time invariant Markov process is analyzed numerically. The results show that improving the innovation process raises the investment thresholds. When technological jumps are small or rare, this improvement reduces the expected time before technology adoption. However, when technological jumps are large or abundant, this improvement may raise this expected time. Chapter 3 studies technology adoption in a duopoly where the unbiased technological change improves production efficiency. Technological progress is exogenous and modeled as a jump process with a drift. There is always a Markov perfect equilibrium in which the firm with more efficient technology never preempts its rival. Also, a class of equilibria may exist that lead to a smaller industry surplus. In these equilibria either of the firms may preempt its rival in a set of technology efficiency values. The first investment does not necessarily happen at the boundary of this set due to the discrete nature of the technology progress. The set shrinks and eventually disappears when the difference between firms’ efficiencies increases. Chapter 4 studies the behavior of two firms after a new investment opportunity arises. Firms either invest immediately or wait until market uncertainty is resolved. Two types of separating equilibrium are possible when sunk costs are private information. In the first type the firm with lower cost invests first. In the second type the firm with higher cost invests first leading to a smaller industry surplus. The results indicate that the second type is possible only for strictly negatively correlated sunk costs. Numerical analysis illustrates that when first mover advantage is large, the firm that delays the investment should be almost certain about its rival’s sunk cost. When market risk increases, the equilibria can exist when the firm is less certain. / text

Innovation intermediaries provide a range of services to assist firms during the process of innovation. How SMEs perceive innovation intermediaries is an area of investigation that would provide important information on how innovation intermediaries’ assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study focuses on the cleantech industry and explores SMEs’ expectations and perceptions of an established community-based intermediary (CBI) moving into their sector. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to collect data from 15 sample SMEs. In regards to SMEs, the findings show that cleantech companies face financing, partnerships, marketing, sales, regulatory and bureaucratic challenges. In regards to innovation intermediaries, the findings showcase how CBI, a regional intermediary, is not effective in supporting cleantech SMEs with their sector specific needs or challenges.