Magister Commercii - MCom / In order to comply with the Air Quality Act 2010, Eskom will have to install flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) plants for both new and old power stations. Wet-flue gas desulphurisation (wet-FGD) is adopted world-wide as an effective flue gas treatment technology and therefore will be adopted by Eskom. During the process of desulphurisation, the flue gas is stripped of SO2 but gains a substantial amount of water. Sustaining this process requires a continuous supply of fresh water, a scarce resource in many places where power stations are built. This research investigates the economic feasibility of technologies capable of recovering water from flue gas. The following technologies were considered to capture water vapour from flue gas taking Eskom’s Medupi Power Station as a case study; condensing heat exchanger technology, desiccant drying systems and membrane technology using membrane modules developed by other students in this project. The water vapour selective membrane technology turned out to be superior.

Photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors are widely used to harness a large fraction of the solar spectrum to generate electricity and heat from a single collector. The circulation of the working medium will pass through the collector which cools down the PV cell temperature and also increases the water temperature, which will increase the electrical and thermal performance at the same time. PVT is an emerging technology and is demonstrated for domestic and industrial applications. There has also been a major gap for the techno-economic analysis of PVT system in different climatic conditions and further developing reliable financial models that can be applied in different regions. This thesis paper presents a techno-economic evaluation of a liquid-based PVT collector system developed by Abora Solar, Spain across a wide range of climatic conditions and contexts. The various performance indicators are visualized by digital mapping approach for 86 different locations all over the world. The databank obtained from the analysis is further used to establish a general correlation between collector performance and meteorological parameters such as Global horizontal irradiation and ambient temperature. The collector energetic performance is simulated using a validated and proprietary simulation tool developed by Abora Solar company. The complete energy system consists of a PVT collector, a water storage tank, and the associated DHW demand simulator. The collector energetic performance has reflected following the analysed Global horizontal irradiation and ambient temperature trend. The highest and lowest energy utilization ratio of the collector has been recorded in Reykjavik, Iceland (63%) and Medina, Saudi Arabia (54%) respectively. The highest and lowest exergetic efficiency of the collector has been recorded in Reykjavik, Iceland (23%) and Medina, Saudi Arabia (17%) respectively. The exergetic efficiency collector has shown better performance with the less ambient temperature and less quality of work in high ambient temperatures. Furthermore, the energy utilization ratio and exergetic efficiencies of collector production are analysed. The economic analysis is carried out in realistic approach using two different financial scenarios: mode (1) The total system cost is capital investment in the first year; mode (2) Only 25 % of total system cost is a capital investment and remaining 75 % investment is considered with financing period with certain interest rate. The economic performance of the collector has been decided mainly based on the Net Present Value per unit collector area, whereas it expressed high dependency on thermal energy savings. The average NPV per unit collector area of 86 geographical cities for first financial model 1 and financial model 2 are 1886€ and 2221€ respectively. Besides, the Payback Period has also been estimated for the first financing model in all selected locations. The first financial model (1) has shown better results in locations with a high interest rate and highly recommended for the locations with interest rate. The significant work of understanding of PVT components behaviour at the system level, the collector energetic and economic performance at different climatic conditions across the world have been highlighted which reflects the concrete developments to this research subject area and helps market decision-makers for market penetration.

The industrial sector is one of the largest emitters of CO2 and a great potential for retrofitting with carbon capture systems. In this work the performance of a palladium-based membrane reactor at 400°C and operating pressures between 100-400 kPa have been studied in terms of methane conversion, hydrogen recovery, hydrogen purity, and CO2 emission. It is found that the MR has the potential to produce high purity hydrogen while the methane conversion values could be as high as 40% at very moderate operating conditions and without using any sweep gases. The H2 permeation and separation properties of two Pd-based composite membranes were evaluated and compared at 400 °C and at a pressure range of 150 kPa to 600 kPa. One membrane was characterized by an approximately 8 μm-thick palladium (Pd)-gold (Au) layer deposited on an asymmetric microporous Al2O3 substrate; the other membrane consisted of an approximately 11 μm-thick pure palladium layer deposited on a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) support. At 400 °C and with a trans-membrane pressure of 50 kPa, the membranes showed a H2 permeance of 8.42 × 10−4 mol/m2·s·Pa0.5 and 2.54 × 10−5 mol/m2·s·Pa0.7 for Pd-Au and Pd membranes, respectively. Pd-Au membrane showed infinite ideal selectivity to H2 with respect to He and Ar at 400 °C and a trans-membrane pressure of 50 kPa, while the ideal selectivities for the Pd membrane under the same operating conditions were much lower. Furthermore, the permeation tests for ternary and quaternary mixtures of H2, CO, CO2, CH4, and H2O were conducted on the Pd/YSZ membrane. The H2 permeating flux decreased at the conclusion of the permeation tests for all mixtures. This decline however, was not permanent, i.e., H2 permeation was restored to its initial value after treating the membrane with H2 for a maximum of 7 h. The effects of gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and the steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratio on H2 permeation were also investigated using simulated steam methane reforming mixtures. It was found that H2 permeation is highest at the greatest GHSV, due to a decline in the concentration polarization effect. Variations in S/C ratio however, showed no significant effect on the H2 permeation. The permeation characteristics for the Pd/YSZ membrane were also investigated at temperatures ranging from 350 to 400 °C. The pre-exponential factor and apparent activation energy were found to be 5.66 × 10−4 mol/m2·s·Pa0.7 and 12.8 kJ/mol, respectively. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were performed on both pristine and used membranes, and no strong evidence of the formation of Pd-O or any other undesirable phases was observed. The permeation tests with pure hydrogen and inert gases indicate that the MR is highly selective toward hydrogen and the produced hydrogen is an ultrahigh purity grade. The carbon capture experiments in the work consists of dehydrating the retentate stream and redirecting it to a 13X packed bed before analyzing the stream via mass spectrometry. The carbon capture studies reveal that approximately 5.96 mmole CO2 (or 262.25 mg of CO2)can be captured per g of 13X. In this study, SEM-EDS, and XRD technics have been used to characterize the crystallography and morphology of the membrane surface. These material characterization techniques reveal that the surface of the membrane has gone through significant oxidation during the steam methane reforming reaction, although this oxidation is only limited to the few nanometers of depth through the surface of the palladium membrane.

Awareness of the climate situation and greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels has focused attention on hydrogen as a renewable and sustainable energy resource. In this work an economic analysis of hydrogen production by a photovoltaic electrolysis system was conducted. Equations and solution methods from previous works [1, 2] have been used to compile the results. In order to run the electrolysis of water, electricity from the photovoltaic system was used. The photovoltaic electrolysis system for this analysis has been sized with data from previous works [3, 4] to satisfy the hydrogen consumption for a fuel cell bus. Annual savings, payback time and production costs of hydrogen and electricity were compared to analyses conducted by Paolo Laranci [1] and Lucia Bollini Braga [2]. CO2 emissions from steam reforming of natural gas and sugar cane bagasse ethanol have been calculated. In addition ethics for using natural gas and sugar cane bagasse for fuel production was studied to determine the advantages and disadvantages for respective hydrogen production processes. The estimated production cost for photovoltaic electricity calculated in this thesis was higher than the result achieved in Larancis [1] work. In addition the production cost was higher than for electricity from hydropower and photovoltaic-systems in Latin America [2] and also than for the electricity tariff in Brazil [1]. Payback time and annual savings calculated in this thesis was found to be higher than for Larancis photovoltaic system. To reduce the production cost solar cells with higher efficiency should be used, investments costs for the system reduced and governmental subsidies raised. The estimated production cost for photovoltaic electrolysis hydrogen calculated in this thesis was higher compared to Lucia Bollini Braga's. The production cost for hydrogen by steam reforming of natural gas and sugar cane bagasse ethanol was also an economically favorable alternative. For hydrogen produced by photovoltaic electrolysis to be an economically advantageous alternative the electrolysis operating hours should increase likewise the electrolyser efficiency. In addition the investment cost for the electrolyser should decrease. By using photovoltaic electrolysis to produce hydrogen fossil CO2-emissions are eliminated and abundant solar energy can be utilized. Brazil is a country that possesses great natural resources of sugar cane bagasse. Steam reforming of ethanol from sugar cane bagasse could be a future option for producing sustainable, economically favorable and ethically acceptable hydrogen in Brazil. / Medvetenheten om klimatsituationen och utsläppen av växthusgaser från fossila bränslen har riktat uppmärksamheten mot vätgas som är en förnybar och hållbar energiresurs. I detta arbete har en ekonomisk analys för produktion av vätgas genom fotovoltaisk elektrolys av vatten genomförts. Ekvationer och lösningsmetoder från tidigare arbeten [1, 2] har använts för att sammanställa resultat. För att driva elektrolysen av vatten används elektricitet från det fotovoltaiska systemet. Systemet för denna analys har dimensionerats med hjälp av data från tidigare arbeten [3, 4] för att satisfiera konsumtionen av vätgas för en bränslecellsbuss. Årliga besparingar, payback och produktionskostnader för vätgas och elektricitet har jämförts med analyser utförda av Paolo Laranci [1] och Lucia Bollini Braga [2]. Koldioxidutsläpp för ångreformering av naturgas och etanol från sockerrörs bagass har beräknats. Utöver detta har en etikstudie för användning av naturgas och etanol (ur sockerrörs bagass) vid bränsleproduktion gjorts för att avgöra fördelar och nackdelar med respektive system för vätgasproduktion. Den i detta arbete beräknade produktionskostnaden för elektricitet från det fotovoltaiska systemet var högre än resultatet som åstadkoms i Larancis [1] arbete. Vidare var den i detta arbete beräknade produktionskostnaden högre än för elektricitet från vattenkraft och fotovoltaisk energi i Latinamerika [2] samt elpriset i Brasilien[1]. Payback-tiden och de årliga besparingarna visade sig vara högre för det fotovoltaiska systemet beräknat i denna analys än för Larancis system. För att minska produktionskostnaderna bör solceller med högre verkningsgrad användas, investeringskostnader av fotovoltaiska system minskas och statliga subventioner för installationen ökas. Den i detta arbete beräknade produktionskostnaden för vätgas genom fotovoltaisk elektrolys var högre jämfört med Lucia Bollini Bragas system. Produktionskostnaden för vätgas genom ångreformering av naturgas och etanol (ur sockerrörs bagass) var likaså ett mer ekonomiskt gynnsamt alternativ än fotovoltaisk elektrolys. För att vätgas producerat genom fotovoltaiskt elektrolys ska vara ekonomiskt fördelaktigt bör elektrolysens drifttimmar ökas, elektrolysen verkningsgrad öka och investeringskostnader för elektrolysen minska. Genom att använda fotovoltaisk elektrolys för att framställa vätgas elimineras fossila CO2-utsläpp och solenergi som finns i stort överskott kan utnyttjas. Brasilien är ett land som besitter stora naturresurser i form av sockerrör. Ångreformering av etanol från sockerrörs bagass kan vara ett framtida alternativ för att framställa hållbar, ekonomiskt gynnsam och etiskt accepterad vätgas i Brasilien.

The development of high capacity factor solar power plants is an interesting topic, especially when considering the climate and economic conditions of a location such as the Chilean Atacama Desert. The hybridisation of solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies for such an application is a promising collaboration. The low cost of PV and dispatchability of CSP, integrated with thermal energy storage (TES), has the promise of delivering baseload electricity at a lower cost than what could be achieved with CSP alone. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate whether or not a hybrid PV-CSP plant is more economically viable, than CSP alone or hybrid PV-diesel, for baseload generation. To analyse this hypothesis, a techno-economic optimisation study of a PV-CSP hybrid plant with battery storage and fossil fuel backup was performed. In doing so, a methodology for the identification of optimum solar hybrid plant configurations, given current technology and costs, to best satisfy specific location weather and economic conditions was developed. Building on existing models, for the PV and CSP components, and developing models for further hybridisation, a complete PV-CSP model was created that could satisfy a baseload demand. Multi-objective optimisations were performed to identify optimal trade-offs between conflicting technical, economic and environmental performance indicators. For the given economic and technical assumptions, CSP hybridised with fossil fuel backup was shown to provide electricity at the lowest cost and have the lowest project capital expenditure. This configuration showed a 42% and 52% reduction in the levelised cost of electricity in comparison to CSP alone and hybrid PV-diesel, respectively. It also provides a 45% reduction in CAPEX in comparison to CSP alone. PV-CSP integration increases capital costs and the cost of electricity, but reduced the use of fossil fuel backup and thereby reduced emissions, when compared to CSP with fossil fuel backup. However PV-CSP showed a 97% reduction in CO2 emissions when compared to hybrid PV-diesel. Furthermore, it showed a 35% and 46% reduction in LCOE in comparison to CSP alone and hybrid PV-diesel.

Kylbehovet i fastigheter spås öka i framtiden till följd av en ökad användning av elektroniskutrustning, ökade krav på inomhuskomfort samt en global uppvärmning som enligt forskarekommer att höja medeltemperaturen på jorden. För att möta efterfrågan på kyla genomför BorlängeEnergi tillsammans med teknikkonsultfirman INTEC utredningar om etablering av fjärrkyla iBorlänge.För att etableringen av ett fjärrkylnät ska vara aktuellt krävs att affären blir lönsam för BorlängeEnergi samtidigt som de potentiella kunderna ser erbjudandet som attraktivt. Syftet med studien äratt i samarbete med INTEC och Borlänge Energi göra ett beräkningsprogram i kalkylprogrammetExcel som kan ge underlag för beslutsfattande kring utformningen av ett fjärrkylnät i Framtidsdaleni Borlänge. För att påvisa beräkningsprogrammets användbarhet har lönsamhetsberäkningar och enkänslighetsanalys genomförts på ett förslag till etablering av fjärrkylnätet som tagits fram avuppdragsgivare.Studien utfördes genom att bearbeta litteratur om funktionen för ett fjärrkylnät samt metoder förinvesteringskalkylering. Detta gjordes genom att söka relevant information på databaser samtrekommendationer och riktlinjer från myndigheter. Även annan väsentlig litteratur i bokformanvändes. Beräkningsprogrammet utvecklades i kalkylprogrammet Excel och beräkningar gjordesbaserat på givna förutsättningar.Siffrorna i studien ska inte ses som slutgiltiga och bör betraktas som en indikator för om det finnsanledning att gå vidare med en djupare utredning. Resultaten visar att det nätt och jämnt finnsekonomisk lönsamhet för Borlänge Energi i en investering i ett småskaligt fjärrkylnät utan att tahänsyn till mjuka parametrar i kalkylen. För kunderna blir det mer ekonomiskt lönsamt över enlängre tidshorisont att ansluta sig till fjärrkyla i jämförelse med att investera i en enskild kylcentral.Resultaten förutsätter dock att driftskostnaden för absorptionskylmaskinen hålls låg och är beroendeav en större anslutningsavgift från en av kunderna. Driftskostnaden för absorptionskylmaskinen ären osäkerhetsfaktor då produktionskostnaden i framtiden kan komma att höjas på grund av enminskad tillgång till industriell restvärme. / The cooling demand is projected to grow in the future due to an increase in use of electrical equipment, increased requirements regarding indoor comfort as well as global warming, which according to scientists will raise the average air temperature on earth. To meet the cooling demand, Borlänge Energi, together with the technology consulting firm INTEC, is conducting investigations into the establishment of district cooling in Borlänge.For the establishment of a district cooling network to be relevant, it is required that the deal becomes profitable for Borlänge Energi at the same time as the potential customers see the offer as attractive. The purpose of the study is to, in collaboration with INTEC and Borlänge Energi, make a calculation program in Excel which can provide a basis for decision-making regarding the design of a district cooling network in Framtidsdalen in Borlänge. To demonstrate the usefulness of the calculation program, profitability calculations and a sensitivity analysis have been carried out on a proposal for the expansion of the district cooling network developed by INTEC.The study was carried out by processing literature on the function of a district cooling network and methods for investment calculation. This was done by searching for relevant information in databases as well as recommendations and guidelines from authorities. Other essential books on the given topic were also used. Profitability calculations were performed using the developed calculation tool in Excel and were based on given assumptions.Although the figures in the study should not be seen as definitive and should be regarded as an indicator of whether there is reason to proceed with a deeper investigation, the results show that there is only just economic profitability for Borlänge Energi to invest in a small-scale district cooling network without taking consideration of soft parameters. For customers, it will be more economically profitable over a longer time horizon to join district cooling in comparison with investing in an individual cooling system. The results assume, however, that the operating cost of the absorption cooling machine is kept low and is dependent on a larger connection fee from one of the customers. The operating cost of the absorption cooling machine is an uncertainty factor as the production cost may increase in the future due to a reduced supply of industrial waste heat.

Alfalfa is the most important forage crop in the United States and a crop vital to the livestock industry. It is the ideal to which other hay crops are compared. In terms of total digestable nutrients and as an economical source of these nutrients, it is without equal. Other reagures in which alfalfa excels over other hay crops as a forage are: high yield, palatability, high protein and calcium content, and value as a source of vitamins A and D. Inaddition it has great falue in soil conservation practices for controlling erosion losses and nitrogen depletion. It also fits well in crop rotation plans. In Utah alfalfa is grown on more acres than any other crop except wheat. The objectives of this study are to: (1) determine the cost of producing alfalfa seed in the major producing areas of Utah for 1952; (2) determine the physical inputs necessary in alfalfa seed production; (3) determine the relative efficiencies of the various cultural methods; and (4) attempt to measure relative advantages or disadvantages of producing certified seed as compared to non-certified seed. There is a dearth of information on the economic aspects of alfalfa seed production in Utah and growers have requested the utah Experiment Stateion to compile cost and marketing information on the commodity. The opinion has been expressed that information of this type will aid the growers with their economic problems concerning alfalfa seed.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis firstly surveys and summarizes the state-of-the-art studies from two research areas in Software De fined Networking (SDN) architecture: (i) control plane scalability and (ii) Quality of Service (QoS)-related problems. It also outlines the potential challenges and open problems that need to be addressed further for more scalable SDN control planes and better and complete QoS abilities in SDN networks. The thesis secondly presents a hierarchical SDN design along with an inter-AS QoS-guaranteed routing approach. This design addresses the scalability problems of control plane and privacy concerns of inter-AS QoS routing philosophies in SDN. After exploring the roots of control plane scalability problems in SDN, the thesis then proposes a metric to quantitatively evaluate the control plane scalability in SDN. Later, the thesis presents a general framework for economic analysis of network architectures and designs. To this end, the thesis defines and utilizes two metrics, Unit Service Cost Scalability and Cost-to-Service, to evaluate how SDN architecture performs compared to MPLS architecture in terms of unit cost for a service and cost of introducing a new service along with giving mathematical models to calculate Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) and Operational Expenditures (OPEX) of a network. Moreover, the thesis studies the problem of optimal final pricing for services by proposing an optimal pricing scheme for a service request with QoS in SDN environment while aiming to maximize benefits of both service providers and customers. Finally, the thesis investigates how programmable network architectures, i.e. SDN, affect the network economics compared to traditional network architectures, i.e. MPLS, in case of failures along with exploring the economic impact of failures in different SDN control plane models.

Liberal theory and practice of competition law Abstract The presented thesis focuses on the matter of competition law from the point of view of selected schools of economic thought. The goal of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive insight into the content and nature of legal norms in the field of competition law and offer a comparison of views of specific traditions of economic theory on the selected bodies of legislation in force. The wider objective of the thesis is to explore the application possibilities of the findings of various economic theories to legal phenomena, with the thesis exploring both the anglo-american branch of economic analysis of law and heterodox approaches, that originate from the continental economic theory and jurisprudence. To this end, the thesis picks three distinct schools of economic thought, that are commonly labeled as liberal, these being the Austrian, Chicago and Freiburg school of economics, each having different methodology, theoretical and analytical conclusions and prescriptive suggestions. Bodies of legislation in force selected for the purposes of this thesis are competition law statutes of the Czech Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany and the EU. The Structure of the thesis applies the "from general to specific" method of explanation, i.e. introductory...

The Diploma thesis is focusing on the sphere of financial management of a building company. The first part explains the theoretical background of procedures and methods that are subsequently applied in practice, as described in the second part. The paper focused in particular on the finincial analysis of the company and on determining the company’s financial standing. The financial standing is finally evaluated using indicators which were chosen very carefully and the importance of which is analyzed in the theoretical part of the paper. The financial analysis was done for five successive years that provide at least partial notion of the company development in the past. Having considered total situation the paper goes on with the proposal of a short-term financial plan striving to outline the direction the company should follow in the next year.