Even at 3.3 ppb, seawater contains a uranium supply large enough to power the world’s nuclear fleet for 13,000 years. This large supply has prompted interest in technologies for recovering uranium from seawater. Since the 1960’s, economic models of such technologies have failed to produce an economically competitive strategy when compared to conventional uranium recovery from terrestrial mining. Thus, uranium from seawater is researched as a potential price ceiling because of the large supply but high recovery cost. Such an upper bound is still valuable research because it allows for more certainty in uranium prices for planning, research, development and deployment of nuclear power systems. This thesis explores past cost estimates for uranium recovery from seawater and adds a new cost estimate to the pool of literature. The past estimates showed a development from systems that actively moved seawater to systems that allowed adsorbent to sit passively in seawater. The adsorbent material changed from hydrous titanium oxide to the higher-capacity amidoxime ligand. Capacity was the strongest driver of cost. Early models with the amidoxime ligand used an acrylic substrate or backbone. This substrate was later replaced by polyethylene because of its increased durability and lower cost. However, each of those materials could contribute to the problem of plastics in the ocean. The new technology assessed for cost in this paper attempts to address the plastics concern by replacing the plastic with a high molecular weight chitin nanomat as the substrate for the amidoxime ligand. The cost assessment showed the technology is presently cost prohibitive largely due to the adsorption capacity and chitin nanomat production costs. To increase capacity, the grafting efficiency onto the chitin substrate must be improved in order to achieve capacities comparable to those observed for the amidoxime-polyethylene adsorbent. To reduce chitin nanomat production costs, the ionic liquid (IL) consumption must be reduced and the recyclability of IL must be achieved. / text

Due to a lack of knowledge and experience the best approach to deal with wind farm decommissioning has yet to be determined. To fill this void, this paper analyzed the current status in terms of regulations and cost, regarding the decommissioning in Italy and Sweden.   In order to make a comparison between these two countries, the available research papers and reports on the decommissioning cost assessment, removal methods and regulations were thoroughly investigated. Moreover, detailed estimated dismantling cost data was obtained from a wind farm in Italy.   The Italian cost data were compared with data collected in Sweden and along with them, the regulations and legislations related to how these costs have to be assessed as well as what developers are required to do regarding the decommissioning in the permit issuance were included.   The results of this research show that in decommissioning cost assessment both countries does not allow developers to include the possible revenues due to the scraps and to the recycling of components, although totally different methods are pursued.   Some kind of security to ensure that decommissioning occurs is required, normally a bond. The bond amount is a debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (corporate or governmental) that borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. In Italy the bond requirements are generally high and it has to be paid completely for the permit issuance. In order to develop significant projects, this kind of approach leads to discourage small investors.   On the contrary, in Sweden the current amount of 300.000 SEK per turbine according to the court precedent, the most widespread during the approval of the permit, is definitely low and represent a level playing field for every investor. Swedish regulations are also more flexible and only in the 28% of the cases studied between the years 2009 and 2012, the entire amount of the bond had to be assured before the installation. However, the malleability with regard to wind farms that do not need to provide any security, together with the low bond amount might endanger the decommissioning accomplishment.

This thesis takes EV from the late 90’s as a baseline, assess the capability of today’s EV technology, and establishes its near-term and long-term prospects. Simulations are performed to evaluate EVs with different combinations of new electric machines and battery chemistries. Cost assessment is also presented to address the major challenge of EV commercialization. This assessment is based on two popular vehicle classes: subcompact and mid-size. Fuel, electricity and battery costs are taken into consideration for this study. Despite remaining challenges and concerns, this study shows that with production level increases and battery price-drops, full function EVs could dominate the market in the longer term. The modeling shows that from a technical and performance standpoint both range and recharge times already fall into a window of practicality, with few if any compromises relative to conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles are the most sustainable alternative personal transportation technology available to-date. With continuing breakthroughs, minimal change to the power grid, and optimal GHG reductions, emerging electric vehicle performance is unexpectedly high.

Orientador: Maria Regina Wolf Maciel / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T20:40:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Santana_GeanClaudiodeSouza_D.pdf: 1545290 bytes, checksum: 862062d0f5617f5ba97cc823dfce4e44 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O presente trabalho obteve, a partir de outros autores, dados da cinética de reações de transesterificação para os óleos de soja, dendê, mamona e pinhão manso que foram utilizados nas simulações realizadas nesta tese. Com esses dados cinéticos, verificou-se que o óleo de mamona apresentou velocidade de reação de transesterificação mais rápida que os outros óleos, sendo sugerido, então, uma explicação para este fato. Além disso, este trabalho realizou levantamento dos dados termodinâmicos existentes para o equilíbrio líquidolíquido dos componentes presentes no processo de produção de biodiesel. Para os dados encontrades foram realizadas a regressão e o ajuste dos parâmetros de interação binária para os modelos de coeficiente de atividade NRTL e UNIQUAC. Os parâmetros ajustados foram utilizados na simulação. A partir dos resultados da simulação, foram obtidos os custos de produção do biodiesel, sendo constatado que custos de produção para o óleo de soja, dendê e mamona ficaram, respectivamente, em, R$ 3,25, R$ 4,66 e R$ 5,78. Por outro lado, foi analisado o impacto do custo de produção do biodiesel no preço do diesel e constatou-se que o custo de produção causou um impacto no preço do diesel entre 1 ,28 e 10 ,57% / Abstract: Previous works on kinetic data of transesterification reactions of soy, palm, castor, and jatropha curcas oils were used as starting point for the simulation studies carried out in this thesis. It was found that the velocity of the castor bean oil transesterification reaction was higher than for the other oils analyzed, and an explanation for this fact was suggested. The study also obtained existing thermodynamic data for the liquid-liquid equilibria of the components present in the biodiesel production processo These experimental data were used for performing a regression of the results of the liquid-liquid equilibrium, and an adjustment was made for the binary interaction parameters for the NRTL and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models. These parameters were used in the simulations. The simulation results were used to calculate the costs of biodiesel production, with the costs for soy, palm and castor bean oils being, respectively, R$ 3.25/L, R$ 4.66/L and R$ 5.78/L. These costs increased between 1.28 and 10.57% on the price of diesel fuel / Doutorado / Desenvolvimento de Processos Químicos / Doutor em Engenharia Química

Layout optimization of offshore wind farms seeks to automate the design of the wind farm and the placement of wind turbines such that the proposed wind farm maximizes its potential. The optimization of an offshore wind farm layout therefore seeks to minimize the costs of the wind farm while maximizing the energy extraction while considering the effects of wakes on the resource; the electrical infrastructure required to collect the energy generated; the cost variation across the site; and all technical and consenting constraints that the wind farm developer must adhere to. As wakes, electrical losses, and costs are non-linear, this produces a complex optimization problem. This thesis describes the design, development, validation, and initial application of a new framework for the optimization of offshore wind farm layouts using either a genetic algorithm or a particle swarm optimizer. The developed methodology and analysis tool have been developed such that individual components can either be used to analyze a particular wind farm layout or used in conjunction with the optimization algorithms to design and optimize wind farm layouts. To accomplish this, separate modules have been developed and validated for the design and optimization of the necessary electrical infrastructure, the assessment of the energy production considering energy losses, and the estimation of the project costs. By including site-dependent parameters and project specific constraints, the framework is capable of exploring the influence the wind farm layout has on the levelized cost of energy of the project. Deploying the integrated framework using two common engineering metaheuristic algorithms to hypothetical, existing, and future wind farms highlights the advantages of this holistic layout optimization framework over the industry standard approaches commonly deployed in offshore wind farm design leading to a reduction in LCOE. Application of the tool to a UK Round 3 site recently under development has also highlighted how the use of this tool can aid in the development of future regulations by considering various constraints on the placement of wind turbines within the site and exploring how these impact the levelized cost of energy.

Early in the process of developing or upgrading new weapon systems, Department of Defense (DoD) system and technology developers are faced with decisions regarding which technologies are appropriate for inclusion into the conceptual design. To reduce risk and improve decision making, system and technology developers need a capability to assess the impact of technology reliability on the attributable Operating and Support (O&S) cost of the system. Early understanding of the reliability implications of potential technologies on system O&S cost will help make better informed decisions early in the system development timeline, prior to points of design lock-in. Using a Marine Corps case study and a system dynamics simulation model, this thesis examines the nature of the relationship between component reliability and attributable changes in O&S cost. This thesis also develops a potential analysis methodology repeatable for future use. The modeling results indicate that this relationship is best described as exponential decay, meaning that the savings in O&S cost per system mile is proportional for any fixed incremental change in component reliability. We find these results to be insensitive to changes in preventative maintenance policies, maintenance deferment ratios, and component replacement cost. We completed verification and validation using the case study and existing Marine Corps systems, finding good association between the modeling results and the actual system. This analysis is valuable to the system and technology developer by helping to answer the question: "how reliable is reliable enough in terms of O&S cost" when considering technologies with uncertainties in long-term performance. / Master of Science

Le contexte de la gestion de l'environnement a fortement évolué au cours des dernières décennies : les organisations privées, tout comme les pouvoirs publics, cherchent désormais à prendre en compte le plus largement possible les impacts économiques de leurs stratégies environnementales. Les théories et études empiriques visant à décrire et à tester les relations qui existent entre performance environnementale et performance économique prouvent en outre que des situations « win-win », à travers lesquelles ces deux performances sont conjointement améliorées, existent. Les projets de prévention des pollutions illustrent d'ailleurs tout particulièrement ce point. Il reste que les entreprises font face à d'importantes difficultés lorsqu'elles cherchent à identifier, estimer et suivre leurs coûts environnementaux. Ces difficultés peuvent alors induire une incapacité à correctement évaluer les impacts des projets de préservation de l'environnement. Nous nous proposons, dans cette thèse, de tester un système de « comptabilité environnementale », qui nous parait l'approche la plus à même d'orienter la gestion de l'environnement vers la création de valeur. Notre recherche s'appuie tout particulièrement sur les outils suivant : comptabilité des flux de matières et d'énergie, « Activity Based Costing », « Total Cost Assessment » et simulation de Monté Carlo. A travers ces méthodes, nous cherchons à approfondir et à consolider la connaissance des coûts environnementaux, mais également à en élargir le périmètre et à en étendre l'horizon temporel. Nous avons montré pour une activité industrielle spécifique, qu'une comptabilité environnementale correctement dimensionnée et alimentée, permet l'identification et la traduction des enjeux environnementaux stratégiques, la mise en avant et la quantification des opportunités d'améliorations économiques et écologiques et finalement la prise de décision en toute connaissance de cause. L'extension d'un tel système sur la totalité de l'entreprise doit alors permettre d'orienter la gestion de l'environnement vers la création de valeur.

Global energy demand is predicted to rise in the coming decades, necessitating a shift to renewable energy sources to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. However, due to the inability to supply renewable energy around the clock, it is estimated that only by adding an important technology, carbon capture and storage (CCS), it could be possible to reduce 80% of the 1990s greenhouse gas emissions. CCS aims to reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions by capturing CO2 from flue gases, transporting, and permanently storing or reutilizing industrially. The CCS approach includes three technologies: post-combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, and oxyfuel combustion, with the latter being the emphasis of this thesis. Based on the case study of Mälarenergi’s Refused-derived waste-fired CHP plant, this thesis investigates the viability of converting existing non-fossil fueled CHP plants to oxyfuel combustion. A thorough technical investigation based on analyzing the impact of oxyfuel combustion on system performance was conducted through system modeling using a process simulator, Aspen plus. The model in this thesis considers the development of an air separation unit (ASU), a CHP plant, and a cryogenic CO2 purification unit (CPU). All of which are validated through calibration and comparison with real-world data and similar work. To investigate the influence of employing oxyfuel combustion on the generation of both heat and electricity, two different scenarios were comprised, including recirculating flue gas before and after flue gas condensation. In addition, an analysis of the oxygen purity was conducted to assess the most optimal parameters with the least impact on system performance. Moreover, a detailed eco- nomic assessment comprising the costs of integrating oxyfuel combustion was also conducted. The findings of this thesis show that integrating waste incineration CHP plants with oxyfuel combustion for CO2 capture entails promising features under the condition of 97% oxygen purity and a flue gas recirculation system taking place after flue gas condensation. This is owing to (i) modest imposed energy penalty of approximately 8.7%, (ii) high CO2 recovery ratio, around 92.4%, (iii) total investment cost of approximately 554 M$ during a 20-year lifetime, and (iv) cost of captured CO2 of around 76 $/ton. Aside from system modeling, this thesis pre- sents an overview of the current state-of-the-art technology on the different separation and capture mechanisms. It is important to highlight that the goal of this thesis is not to provide a comprehensive review but rather to present an overall picture of the maturity of the different mechanisms. The findings point to the cryogenic separation mechanism as the most mature technology for both oxygen production and capturing of CO2 during oxyfuel combustion.

För att kunna uppnå de tuffare materialåtervinningsmålen som börjar gälla i Sverige år 2020 måste utsorteringen av bland annat plast-, papper- och metallförpackningar öka. Hushållsavfall beskrivs som en av de mest miljöpåverkande kategorin av avfall men samtidigt den kategori där det finns mest potential för förbättringar genom bättre hantering. Plockanalyser från 67 procent av Sveriges kommuner mellan åren 2013 och 2016 visar att ett svenskt villahushålls restavfall innehåller 34,5 procent förpackningar och returpapper som skulle kunna sorteras ut för materialåtervinning. Ett sätt att öka utsorteringen av producentansvarsmaterial från restavfallet och då kunna uppnå materialåtervinningsmålen är att kommuner erbjuder enklare samt ökad service i form av källsortering närmare hushållen. Tidigare studier har jämfört systemen optisk sortering och fyrfackskärl, som båda innebär källsortering närmare hushållen, med det vanligaste systemet i Sverige idag, tvåkärl, som inte innebär en ökad service genom kvalitativa metoder. Systemen har inte jämförts med kvantitativa metoder utifrån ekonomi eller miljö och inte heller med ett nytt koncept som heter Kvartersnära insamling. Den här rapporten har därför jämfört de fyra systemen utifrån aspekterna miljö och ekonomi med hjälp av verktygen livscykel- och livscykelkostnadsanalys som applicerades i ett område i Kristinehamns kommun för att på så sätt komma närmare verkligheten. Resultatet visar att systemet kvartersnära insamling har lägst miljöpåverkan i de undersökta miljöpåverkanskategorierna och därefter fyrfackskärl, optisk sortering och högst miljöpåverkan har systemet tvåkärl utifrån förutsättningarna och antagandena som har applicerats i studien. Livscykelanalysen visar att miljönyttan med materialåtervinningen överväger konsekvenserna av ökade transporter. Systemet med lägst livscykelkostnad är tvåkärl och sedan kvartersnära insamling, optisk sortering och dyrast livscykelkostnad har fyrfackskärl utifrån antaganden och de förutsättningar som använts i studien. En slutsats från rapporten är att det är viktigt att även undersöka andra aspekter förutom ekonomi och miljö vid val av insamlingssystem då resultatet till stor del beror på andra aspekter bland annat användarens uppfattning om systemet. / To achieve the stricter material recycling goals in Sweden in 2020 plastic-, metallic- and paper packages need to be better sorted from the household waste. Household waste might have the highest environmental impact compared with other sorts of waste but household waste has the highest potential to lower its impact. Waste pick-up analysis from 67 percent of Sweden's municipalities between 2013 and 2016 show that a Swedish household waste contains 34.5 percent packaging and recycled paper that could be sorted for recycling. The producers of that material have the responsibility to collect it but it does not work as well as planned because of different circumstances. One way to increase the recycling of the material from the household waste and then achieve the material recycling goals is that municipalities offer simpler and increased service in the form of source sorting closer to the households. Previous studies have compared the systems of optical sorting and multi compartment bin, which offer separation at sources closer to the households. Moreover, those systems have been compared with the most common system in Sweden today, two bins, which do not involve increased service. The systems have not been compared with quantitative methods based on economics or the environment, nor with a new concept called district collection. This report has compared the four systems. The aspects that have been compared are the environmental aspects and economical aspects by using the tools lifecycle assessment and lifecycle cost assessment. Moreover, the systems have been fictive studied in an area in the municipality of Kristinehamn, in order to get closer to reality. The results indicate that the collection system district collection had the lowest environmental impact followed by multi compartment bin and then optical sorting. Moreover, the system with two bins has the highest impact in the studied environmental impact categories according to the assumptions that have been applied in the study. The lifecycle assessment indicates that the benefits with material recycling is higher than the environmental impacts of increased transportation. The system with lowest lifecycle cost is the system with two bins and then the district collection. The system with highest lifecycle cost is the system optical sorting and the system with the second highest cost is multi compartment bin according to the assumptions that have been applied in the study. One conclusion from the study is that it is important to investigate more aspects than environmental impact and costs when to decide collection system. It is because the results depends on the other aspects as well like the users experience about the system.

Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur l’analyse des dommages et sur l’évaluation des coûts induits sur les habitations par les submersions marines. L’étude se base sur les données d’assurance de deux évènements récents ayant touché la France et causé des submersions sur les côtes bretonnes et atlantiques : les tempêtes Johanna (mars 2008) et Xynthia (février 2010).Dans un premier temps, l’analyse des données d’expertise et d’indemnisation d’assurance, en lien avec celle des paramètres de l’aléa et des enjeux exposés, a eu pour but la meilleure compréhension des différents types de dommages, et l’explication des coûts observés. En parallèle, un travail de modélisation de l’aléa a été réalisé à une échelle régionale, afin de déterminer des indicateurs des forçages météo-marins, et à une échelle locale, afin de préciser les processus d’endommagement sur les sites étudiés pour les deux tempêtes. La caractérisation de la vulnérabilité et de la valeur des enjeux (coûts de construction) a été menée à l’aide de différents paramètres issus de bases de données nationales (INSEE et IGN) et de campagnes de terrain.Dans un second temps, les informations recueillies ont permis la construction de modèles empiriques de prédiction du coût des dommages aux habitations spécifiques à l’aléa submersion marine, outils aujourd’hui inexistants en France. Les différents types de modèles testés sont basés sur des approches statistiques univariées (fonctions d’endommagement) et multivariées. L’apport des données d’assurance à la réalisation de tels modèles est discuté, et des recommandations ainsi que des perspectives de recherche sont évoquées, afin de rendre ces modèles opérationnels et d’augmenter leur capacité de prédiction des coûts d’évènements catastrophiques futurs. / This PhD work aims at analysing damage and evaluating costs related to coastal flooding on residential buildings. The study is based on insurance data from two recent storm events, which caused coastal flooding in the Brittany and Atlantic regions in France: the storms Johanna (March 2008) and Xynthia (February 2010).At first, the analysis of insurance indemnities and loss adjustment data, in connection with hazard parameters, and exposed assets characteristics, allowed a better understanding of the different types of damage and costs observed. At the same time, hazard models were carried out at a regional level, in order to identify meteorological forcing indicators, and at a local level, in order to link damages to the associated physical flooding processes on the studied sites. The characterization of the asset’s vulnerability and values (construction costs) was conducted using different parameters from national databases (INSEE and IGN) and field survey.In a second step, empirical cost-assessment models were built on the basis of the data analysed, using univariate (damage functions) and multivariate statistical approaches. This study is the first attempt in France to elaborate models for the prediction of damage costs linked to coastal flooding on housing. The contribution of insurance data to the implementation of such models is discussed, and recommendations and research perspectives are expressed, in order to make the models operational and to increase their capacity to predict future catastrophic events costs.