Desplazarse a pie es una actividad física moderada, rutinaria e integrada en la vida diaria que podría convertirse en una herramienta para disminuir la tendencia creciente del sedentarismo de la población. El objetivo de esta tesis es valorar el potencial en salud de la movilidad a pie como fuente de actividad física, y estudiar los factores individuales y contextuales que influyen en caminar como transporte. Para ello, se han llevado a cabo tres estudios. En el primero, utilizando la Encuesta de salud de Barcelona (ESB2011), se ha estudiado la relación entre la movilidad diaria y el sobrepeso o la obesidad; En el segundo, a partir de la Encuesta de Movilidad de Cataluña (EMQ2006) se ha estimado el beneficio económico derivado de la reducción de mortalidad resultante de sustituir desplazamientos motorizados cortos por caminar. Por último, también a partir de la Encuesta de Movilidad de Cataluña (EMQ2006) se ha estudiado la influencia de factores del entorno del barrio sobre la movilidad a pie. El cuerpo de esta tesis consta de 3 artículos científicos y otro artículo original en anexos que analiza específicamente la relación del género y la movilidad. Los estudios incluidos en esta tesis señalan como cambios concretos en la movilidad de poblaciones inactivas tienen efectos beneficiosos en salud, y podrían derivar en elevados beneficios económicos. Se han podido además identificar grupos poblacionales y factores del entorno susceptibles de intervención. / Walking for transportation is a moderate, routinely and daily integrated physical activity that could became a tool to decrease the current sedentarism of the population. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the potential in health of walking for transportation as a source of physical activity, and to study the individual and contextual factors that influence on the decision of walking for transport. Three studies were carried out. The first used the Barcelona Health Survey (ESB2011) to study the relationship between daily mobility and overweight or obesity; the second used the Cataluña Mobility Survey (EMQ2006) to estimate the economical benefits derived from the substitution of short duration motorized trips by walking. The third study, using again the Cataluña Mobility Survey (EMQ2006), looked at the influence of environmental factors on walking behavior. This thesis consists of three scientific papers included in the main section, and another original paper, included in the annex section, which analyzes the specific relationship between gender and mobility. The studies included in this thesis suggest that concrete behavioral changes on mobility in inactive populations could lead to several health benefits, and could also derive on economical benefits. In addition, population groups and environmental factors susceptible to intervention have been identified.

No description available.

Hydrogen can be produced from biomass; this hydrogen is called biohydrogen. Biohydrogen produced in Western Canada can partially contribute to meeting the demand for hydrogen needed for bitumen upgrading. Gasification and pyrolysis are two promising pathways for producing biohydrogen in a large-scale plant. Syngas, produced from the gasification of biomass, and bio-oil, produced from fast pyrolysis of biomass, can be steam reformed to produce biohydrogen. The cost of biohydrogen delivered by pipeline to a distance of 500 km is $2.20 per kg of H2, assuming that a plant utilizes 2000 dry tonnes of whole-tree biomass per day processing it in a Battelle Columbus Laboratory (BCL) gasifier. For forest residue- and straw-based biohydrogen plants the values are similar: $2.19 and $2.31 per kg of H2, respectively. Maximum economy of scale benefits are realized for biohydrogen production plants capable of processing 2000 and 3000 dry tonnes per day using BCL and GTI (Gas Technology Institute) gasification technology, respectively. The cost of biohydrogen from fast pyrolysis ($2.47 per kg of H2 from a 2000 dry tonne per day plant), using forest residue as the feedstock, is higher than the cost of biohydrogen produced by gasification. Carbon credits of about $120-$140 per tonne of CO2 are required to make biohydrogen competitive with natural-gas-based hydrogen.

Cette thèse propose des apports méthodologiques, techniques et macroéconomiques sur la transition énergétique pour atténuer les changements climatiques. La première partie apporte un éclairage théorique sur modèles empiriques du système énergie-économie-environnement. Ces modèles présentent des incertitudes autour des valeurs de paramètres, des mécanismes structurels et de la pertinence des échelles du modèle. L'étude du rôle de l'analyse prospective et de ses outils montre un traitement insuffisant de l'incertitude structurelle contenue dans les modèles. Par conséquent, nous étudions en profondeur les outils appliqués d'analyse prospective pour révéler la vision prospective qu'ils incarnent à travers trois axes: les interdépendances qu'ils incorporent, les mécanismes de transformation et la représentation de la transition. Tout d'abord, les interdépendances qu'ils comprennent se manifestent en termes de schémas comptables, boucle de rétroaction entre énergie et croissance économique, et la représentation de la valeur ajoutée et des niveaux d'activité par rapport aux technologies. Puis, les forces de transformation sont discutées: le moteur de la croissance économique ainsi que la source de l'évolution des tendances de la demande et le progrès technique. Enfin, nous commentons la manière habituelle dont la transition est représentée, c'est-à-dire comme une trajectoire à l'équilibre pour la dynamique technologique, les choix économiques ainsi que la représentation des marchés. Nous concluons que cette spécification de la transition est inhérente à la fonction de production traditionnelle pour représenter les choix à la fois techniques et économiques. Cela entraîne une discussion sur le statut de l'équilibre macro-économique dans l'outil Imaclim, qui est un modèle walrasien d'équilibre général avec une transition en déséquilibre. Suite à cette analyse méthodologique, nous donnons des exemples de travaux empiriques menés avec le modèle Imaclim-R. Premièrement, nous examinons à l'échelle mondiale l'inclusion de technologies dans le modèle Imaclim-R Monde pour évaluer le potentiel, les limites et l'impact sur le calendrier de l'action des options pour la bioénergie et des politiques d'efficacité énergétique. Nous expliquons techniquement comment les technologies de la bioénergie sont inclus dans le modèle pour faire la lumière sur la complémentarité entre bioénergie et CCS et évaluer les impacts macroéconomiques temporels de l'atténuation du changement climatique. En outre, nous analysons la représentation de l'efficacité énergétique avec une analyse détaillée des mécanismes par lesquels elle influe sur la croissance et interagit avec le calendrier de l'atténuation climatique. Nous présentons ensuite le rôle du modèle Imaclim-R France pour impliquer les parties prenantes autour de la création de scénarios participatifs. Ensuite, nous discutons des impacts technologiques et macroéconomiques de ces scénarios. En particulier, nous examinons les conséquences pour les besoins d'investissement et de montrer que la taxe carbone peut être réduite avec un signal politique fort / This dissertation discusses methodological, technical and macroeconomic insights on the energy transition for climate mitigation. The first part deals with the theoretical analysis of empirical models of the energy-economy-environment system. Model present uncertainties in terms of parameter values, structural mechanisms and the pertinence of the model scales. The study of the role of forward-looking analysis and its tools show an insufficient treatment of the structural uncertainty contained within the models. Therefore, we study in depth the applied tools of forward-looking analysis to elicit the forward-looking vision they embody through three axes. the interdependences they include, the transformation mechanisms and the transition representation. First, the interdependences they include manifest in terms of accounting schemes, feedback loop between energy and economic growth, value added, and the representation of activity levels in relation to technologies. Then, the transformation drivers are discussed: the economic growth engine as well as the source of the evolution of demand patterns and technical progress. Finally, we comment on the widely spread way of the representation the transition as a pathway in equilibrium for the technology dynamics, the economic choices as well as the markets representation. We conclude that this specification of the transition is inherent to traditional production function to represent both technical and economic choices. This brings about a discussion on the status of the macroeconomic equilibrium in the Imaclim tool, which is Walrasian CGE model with a transition in disequilibrium. The second part regroups empirical studies of the macroeconomic impacts of climate change mitigation. First, we examine at the global level the inclusion of technologies in the Imaclim-R World model to assess the potential, limitations and the impact on the timing of action of bioenergy options and energy efficiency policies. We explain technically how bioenergy technologies are included within the model to shed light on the complementarity of bioenergy and CCS and assess their impact of the temporal macroeconomic impacts of climate mitigation. Also, we present the representation of energy efficiency with a detailed analysis of the mechanisms through which it impacts growth and assess the interplay with the timing of climate mitigation. Second, we present a study to design energy transition scenarios at the French level with stakeholder involvement and discuss the macroeconomic impacts, in particular on investment. We present the role of the Imaclim-R France model to involve stakeholders around participative scenario creation. Then, we discuss the technological and macroeconomic impacts of these scenarios. In particular, we examine the consequences for investment needs and show that the carbon tax can be reduced with a strong political signal

This thesis analyses buckwheat as a cover crop in Florida. The study was designed to demonstrate: soil enrichment with nutrients, mycorrhizal arbuscular fungi interactions, growth in different soil types, temperature limitations in Florida, and economic benefits for farmers. Buckwheat was planted at the FIU organic garden (Miami, FL) in early November and harvested in middle December. After incorporation of buckwheat residues, soil analyses indicated the ability of buckwheat to enrich soil with major nutrients, in particular, phosphorus. Symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased inorganic phosphorus uptake and plant growth. Regression analysis on aboveground buckwheat biomass weight and soil characteristics showed that high soil pH was the major limiting factor that affected buckwheat growth. Spatial analysis illustrated that buckwheat could be planted in South Florida throughout the year but might not be planted in North and Central Florida in winter. An economic assessment proved buckwheat to be a profitable cover crop.

The diploma thesis focuses on economic situation assessment of the company PULCO, a.s. By the business analysis and financial analysis gauges the health of the company. The analysis is followed by comments and comparison with result for the competitive environment. As a result is suggestions that are applicable in use and may be solutions of the future problems in company.

This diploma thesis focuses on the unconventional method of metal separation, namely on the cutting technology based on the plasma arc. The introductory part deals with studies which focus on the given issue from a theoretical point of view. The core of the work rests in the practical part which is dedicated to the production of samples using a plasma burning machine called Hypertherm HPR 260. The burned samples are monitored and assessed for the surface quality and dimensional accuracy for every created part. The final part of the work is dedicated to the techno-economic assessment of the burned parts. In the end, the evaluation of the attained results is made.

The change in climate as a consequence of anthropogenic activities is a subject ofmajor concerns. In order to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions inthe atmosphere, the utilization of renewable, fossil-free power generationapplications becomes inevitable. Geothermal and solar energy play a major rolein covering the increased demand for renewable energy sources of today’s andfuture’s society. A special focus hereby lies on the Concentrating Solar Powertechnologies and different geothermal concepts. The costs for producingelectricity through Concentrating Solar Power and therefore Parabolic Trough Collectorsas well as geothermal conversion technologies are still comparatively high. Inorder to minimize these expenses and maximize the cycle’s efficiency, thepossible synergies of a hybridization of these two technologies becomeapparent. This thesis therefore investigates the thermodynamic and economicbenefits and drawbacks of this combination from a global perspective. For that,a Parabolic Trough Collector system is combined with the geothermal conversionconcepts of Direct Steam, Single and Double Flash, Organic Rankine as well asKalina Cycles. The solar integrations under investigation are Superheat,Preheat and Superheat & Reheat of the geothermal fluid. The thermodynamicanalysis focuses on the thermal and utilization efficiencies, as well as therequired Parabolic Trough Collector area. The results indicate that in the caseof the Superheat and Superheat & Reheat setup, the thermal efficiency canbe improved for all geothermal concepts in comparison to their correspondinggeothermal stand-alone case. The Preheat cases, with the major contributionfrom solar energy, are not able to improve the cycle’s thermal efficiencyrelative to the reference setup. From an exergy perspective the findings varysignificantly depending on the applied boundary conditions. Still, almost allcases were able to improve the cycle’s performance compared to the referencecase. For the economic evaluation, the capital investment costs and thelevelized costs of electricity are studied. The capital costs increasesignificantly when adding solar energy to the geothermal cycle. The levelizedelectricity costs could not be lowered for any hybridization case compared tothe reference only-geothermal configurations. The prices vary between20.04 €/MWh and 373.42 €/MWh. When conducting a sensitivity analysison the solar system price and the annual mean irradiance, the Kalina Superheatand Superheat & Reheat, as well as the Organic Rankine Preheathybridizations become cost competitive relative to the reference cases.Concluding, it is important to remark, that even if the hybridization of the ParabolicTrough and the different geothermal concepts makes sense from a thermodynamicperspective, the decisive levelized costs of electricity could not be improved.It is, however, possible that these costs can be further reduced under speciallocal conditions, making the addition of Parabolic Trough solar heat tospecific geothermal concepts favorable.

Remanufacturing is an industrial process in which a core – a used, discarded, or broken product – is transformed into a product whose specification and condition are new-like. However, to this date, remanufacturing activities on the market are few in comparison to manufacturing. There are several types of remanufacturers; the least common type is the original equipment remanufacturer, an original equipment manufacturer that not only manufactures new products but also remanufactures cores of its own products. The potential for remanufacturing to become a more widely used industrial process for original equipment manufacturers is therefore high. Increased remanufacturing activities can positively contribute to the environment by transforming cores into a new-like condition instead of manufacturing new ones. The contribution comes from a reduction of raw material and energy consumption compared to manufacturing. Therefore, remanufacturing has the potential to decouple environmental impact from economic growth, thus contributing to more sustainable societies. However, assessing the benefits of remanufacturing does not directly correlate to growth within the remanufacturing industry. To encapsulate the environmental, social, and economic benefits of remanufacturing, manufacturers need to be aware of how remanufacturing can be initiated and implemented in practice with positive economic effects. The aim of this licentiate thesis, therefore is, to explore how original equipment manufacturers can initiate profitable remanufacturing.  This research takes a stand in a single case study where the prospect of profitable remanufacturing is studied at an original equipment manufacturer. The applied case study developed knowledge of how remanufacturing could be incorporated into existing operations at an original equipment manufacturer. In parallel, analytical economic assessment models based on cost-benefit analysis were built to measure how well the case company could perform remanufacturing. There were seven primary remanufacturing scenarios developed, ranging from centralised remanufacturing performed by the original equipment manufacturer to decentralised performed at multiple locations using a retail network. Which scenario is preferable depends on, for example, risk-consciousness, cooperation between actors, and volume targets. However, given ideal circumstances, remanufacturing in-house in a centralised scenario was the most beneficial for the original equipment manufacturer since the fewer middle hands and economies of scale also enable lower costs.  The modelled remanufacturing scenarios were based on a set of eight prerequisite factors for original equipment manufacturer remanufacturing that were derived during this research. These factors are divided into essential and supporting prerequisite factors and are illustrated through a framework called the remanufacturing rocket. The essential factors highlight fundamental requirements to perform remanufacturing. Should one of the four factors be missing, remanufacturing cannot be successfully initiated. The supporting factors can be neglected to a larger extent but are valuable to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the process, such as by streamlined operations, organisational change, or information exchange. Hence, to reach the fullest potential of remanufacturing, both the essential and the supporting factors are needed.  Conclusively, as an answer to the thesis aim, it is proposed to apply the prerequisite factors together with an economic assessment in an iterative manner to investigate the profitability of initiating remanufacturing at original equipment manufacturers. The essential prerequisite factors influence the first iteration of the economic assessment, which then contributes to refinements of how the essential factors should be aligned in an economically preferable way. Once satisfactory, another iterative process could be initiated between the supporting prerequisite factors and the economic assessment. By using the proposed approach, the prospects of profitable remanufacturing could be thoroughly investigated before attempting to initiate a process in practice, thus reducing the number of resources spent in vain. Additionally, the iterative process was integrated into a five-step approach for initiating remanufacturing (5AFIR) to guide original equipment manufacturers towards initiating profitable remanufacturing. Through applying this approach, it was shown that the case company could initiate profitable remanufacturing. / Återtillverkning är en industriell process där en stomme – en använd, uttjänt, eller trasig produkt – omformas till en produkt vars specifikation och kvalitet motsvarar nyskick. Men återtillverkning utgör endast en liten del av den totala tillverkningsindustrin. Inom återtillverkning finns det flera typer av återtillverkare; den ovanligaste är originaltillverkande återtillverkare, det vill säga, ett tillverkande företag som även återtillverkar sina egna produkter. Genom att det idag är en låg grad av återtillverkning bland originaltillverkare finns det utrymme för att verka för en ökning. Ökade återtillverkningsaktiviteter kan bidra till miljömässiga fördelar genom att nya produkter ersätts med återtillverkade motsvarigheter. Detta bidrag uppstår genom en reduktion av mängden råmaterial och energi som konsumeras i förhållande till nytillverkning. Det finns därför en möjlighet för återtillverkning att bidra till en frikoppling av miljömässig påverkan från ekonomisk tillväxt, vilket i sin tur bidrar till ett mer hållbart samhälle. Fast att endast värdera nyttan av återtillverkning leder inte direkt till en tillväxt inom återtillverkningsindustrin. För att omfamna de miljömässiga, sociala, och ekonomiska nyttor som återtillverkning kan bidra med måste originaltillverkare vara medvetna om hur återtillverkning kan initieras och implementeras i praktiken på ett ekonomiskt lönsamt sätt. Syftet med denna licentiatavhandling är därför att utforska hur originaltillverkare kan initiera lönsam återtillverkning. Denna forskning utgår från en fallstudie vid en originaltillverkare där möjligheterna för lönsam återtillverkning studeras. Den tillämpade fallstudien bidrog till att utveckla kunskap om hur återtillverkning kan integreras i en originaltillverkares befintliga försörjningskedja. Parallellt med fallstudien utvecklades analytiska ekonomiska värderingsmodeller för att tillhandahålla ett mått på hur väl fallföretaget skulle kunna utföra återtillverkning. I samband med detta utvecklades sju återtillverkningsscenarion. Dessa innefattar centraliserad återtillverkning som utförs av originaltillverkaren och decentraliserad återtillverkning som utförs vid flertalet platser inom ett återförsäljarnätverk. Vilket scenario som är mest fördelaktigt beror exempelvis på riskmedvetenhet, samarbete mellan aktörer, och tillverkningsvolym. Men givet ideala förhållanden visades det att centraliserad återtillverkning är mest fördelaktigt för originaltillverkaren, eftersom färre mellanhänder och skalfördelar möjliggör lägre kostnader. De sju återtillverkningsscenariona baserades på åtta förutsättningsfaktorer som utvecklades för att forma krav för hur originaltillverkare kan initiera återtillverkning. Dessa faktorer delas upp i grundläggande och stödjande förutsättningsfaktorer, och de bygger tillsammans upp ett ramverk benämnt återtillverkningsraketen. De grundläggande faktorerna lyfter fram elementära krav vid utförandet av återtillverkning. Om en av de fyra grundläggande faktorerna skulle saknas kan återtillverkning inte utföras på ett framgångsrikt sätt. De stödjande faktorerna kan i större utsträckning utelämnas, men de är av värde för att förbättra återtillverkningseffektiviteten genom exempelvis bekymmersfritt utförande av processer, organisationsförändringar, eller informationsutbyten. Därigenom, för att nå den fulla potentialen av återtillverkning, behövs både de grundläggande och de stödjande förutsättningsfaktorerna. Slutligen, som ett svar på avhandlingens syfte, föreslås det att tillämpa de framtagna förutsättningsfaktorerna tillsammans med en ekonomisk värdering genom att iterativt undersöka möjligheterna för hur återtillverkning kan initieras för originaltillverkare. De grundläggande förutsättningsfaktorerna influerar upplägget för den första iterationen av den ekonomiska värderingen, vilken i sin tur nyttjas för att förfina hur de grundläggande faktorerna kan läggas samman på ett ekonomiskt fördelaktigt sätt. När en godtagbar nivå uppnåtts kan ytterligare en iterativ process utföras mellan de stödjande förutsättningsfaktorerna och den ekonomiska värderingen. Genom att tillämpa det föreslagna tillvägagångssättet kan möjligheterna för återtillverkning undersökas på en detaljerad nivå innan initieringsförsök i praktiken, och således kan mängden resurser reduceras som annars hade konsumerats förgäves. Utöver detta integrerades det iterativa tillvägagångssättet med en femstegsansats för initiering av återtillverkning (5AFIR) för att vägleda originaltillverkare mot lönsam initiering av återtillverkning. Genom att tillämpa denna ansats visades det att fallföretaget skulle kunna initiera lönsam återtillverkning. / <p><strong>Funding agencies:</strong> The VINNOVA Challenge-driven innovation initiative and the project ElevatoRe: Elevate remanufacturing to EEE manufacturers’ strategy towards circular economy (dnr: 2018-00330). </p><p>The Swedish Energy Agency through the “Remometer” project, dnr 2019-021532, within the strategic innovation program RE:Source. </p><p>The Mistra REES (Resource Efficient and Effective Solutions) program (No. 2014/16), funded by Mistra (The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research). </p>

The aim of this work is the explanation of the issue of passive houses and renovation of existing buildings to passive energy standard. Another task of the work is a feasibility study of building renovation of the "Tuzex" for the needs of Center of sustainable construction in Brno. Part of this study is to create a marketing analysis, design of organizational project management, a description of technical solution, impact assessment project on the environment and in particular evaluating the economic efficiency of investment. The result of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of the project under current conditions.