<p> A team at the University of Colorado at Boulder is working with the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a novel technical solution for 2.5 billion people in the developing world with no access to basic sanitation. The university's Sol-Char toilet uses concentrated sunlight to convert human fecal sludge into biochar, which has potential as a value-added product. The feasibility of using feces-derived biochar as a solid fuel for heating and cooking is assessed, considering energy content and elemental analysis of biochars made under different reactor conditions, ease of briquetting, and durability of biochar briquettes. Fecal biochars made at 300&deg;C were similar in energy content to wood biochars and bituminous coal, possessing a higher heating value of 25.6 MJ/kg, while fecal chars made at 750&deg;C were significantly lower in energy content at 13.8 MJ/kg. Chars derived from simulant feces favored by other Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation sanitation research projects were found to differ significantly from fecal char in their energy content and briquetting characteristics. A frequently used correlation between elemental composition of chars and their higher heating values was adapted to be more applicable to feces-derived chars based on a review of fecal char literature and experimental results. Fecal chars made at low temperatures and briquetted with molasses and lime binders yielded briquettes of comparable strength and energy content to commercial charcoal briquettes, suggesting that briquettes made from human feces could be a significant contribution to the sanitation value chain.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-111). Also available online.

No description available.

How sustainable is Australia’s pattern of energy supply and use? What are the major factors explaining Australia’s sustainable energy performance relative to other countries? This thesis explores energy supply and use in Australia during the 1990s and 2000s and examines major drivers such as policy decisions, economic structure and trade profile. Performance and drivers in Australia are compared with other OECD countries. / To address the questions posed above, it is first necessary to explore the concepts of ‘sustainable development’ and ‘sustainable energy’ and consider how best to measure sustainable energy performance. Alternative sustainability frameworks and models are examined, with the ‘strong sustainability’ model adopted for this thesis being distinguished from other models in three principal ways: i) it places biophysical constraints on economic activity; ii) it regards certain critical natural capital is being non-substitutable; and iii) it places roughly equal emphasis on intra- and intergenerational equity. The strong sustainability model is operationalised into a series of principles and objectives for energy sustainability, which in turn are used as a basis for systematically developing a suite of sustainable energy indicators. This approach is preferred over other approaches to assessing sustainable energy performance given the study’s focus on measurable objectives and outcomes. / The second part of the thesis is devoted to measuring the sustainable energy performance of Australia and other OECD countries against twelve indicators. Some of the indicators selected are ‘standard’, being quite commonly used in other contexts. A number of the indicators though, are unique or have unique features that increase their validity as measures of strong sustainability. Initial results of the performance assessment suggest that Australia is amongst the weakest performing OECD countries, ranking last of all OECD countries against two of the twelve sustainable energy indicators and in the lower quartile of OECD countries against a further six indicators. Further analysis, combining and weighting indicator scores and country rankings across the 12 indicators confirms Australia’s poor performance. Australia ranks 28th of 30 OECD countries by two different ranking methods and 15th of 16 OECD countries by another two methods. Only the USA ranks consistently lower than Australia. Denmark consistently ranks highest of all countries by all methods. / The third and final part of the thesis examines drivers of sustainable energy performance by Australia and a subset of four OECD countries: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden (OECD 4). The primary basis for OECD 4 selection was strong performance against the sustainable energy indicators, although other criteria including economic structure, trade and demography were also considered. A range of techniques, including factorisation, ‘what if’ analysis and linear regression are used to diagnose the underlying factors driving the performance of Australia and the OECD 4 against the sustainable energy indicators. The analysis is extended to include a qualitative assessment of policy drivers including strategic and institutional settings, energy pricing, electricity market policies, R & D and regulation. / A major conclusion of the thesis based on the analysis is that Australia’s weak sustainable energy performance since 1990, relative to other OECD countries, has been substantially shaped by domestic policy decisions, decisions that were not inevitable given Australia’s economic structure, trade profile, demography, and geography.

Submitted by Maria Medeiros (maria.dilva1@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-08-28T12:59:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAEL FELIPE RAMOS DE RANGEL MOREIRA CAVALCANTI - DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGRN) 2017.pdf: 1173176 bytes, checksum: ca7a9fdac862db93df07126423b5a58a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-28T12:59:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAEL FELIPE RAMOS DE RANGEL MOREIRA CAVALCANTI - DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGRN) 2017.pdf: 1173176 bytes, checksum: ca7a9fdac862db93df07126423b5a58a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-23 / A civilização do combustível fóssil, iniciada no século XIX, teve seu apogeu no final do século XX, no entanto, as pressões devido aos impactos gerados pela geração da energia convencional fizeram com que surgissem novas políticas públicas para setor energético. Atualmente, a principal política pública do setor energético é o desenvolvimento da energia renovável, que tem sido vista como um fator importante para o desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade energética. No Brasil, a fonte eólica tem tido enorme crescimento desde 2009, sendo uma fonte que tem sido utilizada para desenvolvimento e melhoria da sustentabilidade energética. Contudo, há uma necessidade da aplicação de indicadores de sustentabilidade energética, para que se possa avaliar o impacto que as instalações de parques eólicos trazem aos municípios que têm essa fonte de geração de energia instalada. Portanto objetivo da pesquisa é analisar as contribuições dos empreendimentos eólicos instalados em municípios do litoral norte do Rio Grande do Norte na perspectiva da sustentabilidade energética da atividade econômica e da região. Para que tal objetivo fosse atendido foram escolhidos municípios do estado do Rio Grande do Norte, pois este é maior gerador de energia eólica no Brasil, enquanto que para a realização desta pesquisa, foram selecionados os indicadores de sustentabilidade energética mais compatíveis ao contexto da pesquisa e ato tipo de energia renovável pesquisada, respectivamente os cinco municípios potiguares e o processo de instalação e funcionamento de usinas eólicas nestes municípios. Neste sentido, foram utilizados um conjunto de 14 indicadores divididos em cinco dimensões, sendo estas: Social, Econômica, Ambiental, Tecnológica e Territorial. A partir dos resultados, obtidos através dos índices de sustentabilidade energética, foi possível analisar a contribuição das instalações eólicas para a sustentabilidade energética nos municípios pesquisados. Percebemos que a inserção da energia eólica tem realmente modificado esses munícipios em relação aos empregos, movimentação do comercio e melhoria no acesso à energia. No entanto, essas melhorias, ficam aquém das expectativas, devido à presença de alguns gargalos que necessitam atenção, como a questão da sazonalidade dos empregos, da possível queda de arrecadação dos impostos no futuro, como também a proteção de zonas costeiras com ecossistemas dunares que são extremamente vulneráveis aos desmatamentos ocorridos na implementação dos parques eólicos. Todavia, de forma geral, a energia eólica tem auxiliado no desenvolvimento das localidades, mesmo que atualmente o índices de sustentabilidade energética ainda estejam em uma situação de alerta, há perspectiva de que, em um futuro próximo, essa situação se torne aceitável quanto à sustentabilidade energética. Para tanto, os gargalos citados anteriormente precisam ter o cuidado dos gestores públicos, objetivando que esses índices realmente mudem para um estado aceitável de sustentabilidade energética. / The fossil fuel civilization, begun in the nineteenth century, had its apogee at the end of the twentieth century, but the pressures due to the impacts generated by the generation of conventional energy, led to the emergence of new public policies for the energy sector. Currently the main public policy of the energy sector is the development of renewable energy, which has been an important factor for the development of energy sustainability, in Brazil the wind source has had enormous growth since 2009, being a source that has been used for Development and improvement of energy sustainability. However, there is a need for the application of energy sustainability indicators, to assess the impact that wind farm facilities bring to municipalities that have this energy source installed. Therefore, the objective of the research is to analyze the contributions of wind farms installed in municipalities of the north coast of Rio Grande do Norte in the perspective of the energy sustainability of the economic activity and the region. For the application of sustainability indicators, municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Norte were chosen because this is the largest wind generator in Brazil. While for the accomplishment of the research, we selected the energy sustainability indicators most compatible with the context of research and type of renewable energy surveyed, respectively, the five municipalities of Potiguar and the process of installation and operation of wind power plants in these municipalities. In this sense, a set of 14 indicators divided into five dimensions were used: Social, Economic, Environmental, Technological and Territorial. From the results obtained through the indices of energy sustainability, it was possible to analyze the contribution of wind power plants to energy sustainability in the cities surveyed, where the introduction of wind energy has modified these municipalities in relation to jobs, And improved access to energy. However, these improvements fall short of expectations. This is due to the presence of bottlenecks that need attention, such as the seasonality of jobs, the possible fall of taxes in the future, as well as the protection of coastal zones with dune ecosystems that Are extremely vulnerable to deforestation occurring in the implementation of wind farms. However, in general, wind energy has helped in the development of localities, even though these indices are still in a state of alert, there is a prospect that soon this situation becomes acceptable about energy sustainability, however the bottlenecks cited Previously need to take care of public managers so that these rates really shift to an acceptable state of energy sustainability.

Information technology plays an increasingly important part in representing, managing, and driving the field of sustainable energy. However, current paradigms for representing much of this information can be fragmented, singular, and extremely domain focused. Linkage with wider concepts, for example between energy supply and demand data, can be minimal. This dissertation investigates ways in which such data linkages can be expanded upon, applying the latest concepts of Semantic Web technology to the area. This dissertation examines the role of the Semantic Web in representing information relevant to sustainable energy, with a particular focus on energy policy, energy supply, and the demands of the built environment. An approach for representing such information is outlined in the dissertation, which introduces new ontologies for representing energy policy and building information data and methodologies for modelling such data. Existing ontologies for representing energy supply are discussed, as are common connections between these areas and a server platform for knowledge storage and presentation. Additionally, some focus is directed towards the usability and accessibility of such data and the implementation of proof of concept applications targeted at specific areas within sustainable energy are presented. Using the outlined approach, energy information can be interlinked to allow multilevel data navigation from international policy data, through energy infrastructure, to individual energy demands, and ultimately to extremely detailed building component levels of granularity. Such data can be interlinked into wider linked data initiatives, increasing usefulness and expanding the scope for increased analysis. The implications of the outlined approach are discussed and evaluated with regard to various identified use cases requiring different levels of data granularity, in addition to impact on the wider domain of information management. This dissertation demonstrates, at a proof of concept level, that Semantic Web technology can be of significant benefit across the domain of sustainable energy.

O tema sustentabilidade tem sido mais valorizado à medida que a humanidade começa a perceber as consequências em desprezar as leis de equilíbrio natural dos recursos disponíveis. A partir daí, reorganizar as formas de produção em vistas do melhor aproveitamento de subprodutos, bem como focalizar os esforços e recursos em fontes renováveis de energia, são pontos cada vez mais importantes. A matriz elétrica brasileira é predominantemente de origem hidrelétrica; porém, outras fontes de energia, inclusive geradas a partir de resíduos, também têm recebido maior atenção no Brasil. Nesse contexto, o objetivo geral desta pesquisa é avaliar a viabilidade sócio-ambiental e econômica de alternativas de produção energética a partir de subprodutos do sistema sucroenergético. A presente pesquisa é do tipo qualiquantitativa, aplicada, envolvendo a caracterização e comparação das diversas alternativas, a partir de variáveis de custo, produção, logística, emissões, recolhimento de impostos, eficiência energética, dentre outras. Para a coleta de dados primários foram realizadas entrevistas com gestores e técnicos de usinas do setor sucroenergético, pesquisadores da área, bem como responsáveis por políticas públicas no tema de estudo. Para a coleta de dados quantitativos, foram utilizados formulários, a fim de levantar dados referentes a volume de resíduos produzido, produtividade energética das alternativas, custos de implantação e de outros processos e variáveis relacionados. As análises quantitativas dos dados foram realizadas a partir da aplicação de um modelo de Simulação de Monte Carlo e análises de sensibilidade, dentro do contexto da metodologia RBMCA (Risk-Based Multi Criteria Assessment). Para as análises econômicas de viabilidade do investimento, foram utilizadas técnicas de matemática financeira, como Coeficiente Benefício/Custo (B/C) e Valor Presente Líquido (VPL) das alternativas. Como resultado, a pesquisa permitiu trazer à realidade do setor sucroenergético brasileiro uma metodologia de análise de viabilidade que leva em consideração o risco envolvido nas variáveis consideradas, a RBMCA, aplicada sobre projetos envolvendo o bagaço, a vinhaça e o palhiço. Permitiu ainda verificar o direcionamento das pesquisas realizadas sobre alternativas de aproveitamento dos subprodutos sucroenergéticos e a disponibilidade de informações referentes a aspectos socioambientais dos projetos envolvidos nas análises. Ao final da aplicação da metodologia, foi possível verificar que há uma diferença de viabilidade dos projetos que torna necessário o aprofundamento das pesquisas dedicadas a levantar aspectos socioambientais e de viabilidade técnica de mais projetos que possam ser implantados. / Sustainability has been more valued as humanity begins to realize the consequences for disregarding laws of balance of natural resources. Then, rearranging production ways and processes in view of better utilization of by-products, as well as focusing efforts and resources on renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly important points. The Brazilian energy matrix is predominantly hydroelectric but other energy sources including the ones generated from wastes also have receives increasing attention in Brazil. In this context the objective of this research is to evaluate socioeconomic and environmentalfeasibility of alternativesfor energy production from sugarcane by-products. This type of research is qualitative and quantitative, applied, involving the characterization and comparison of various alternatives, as cost variables, production, logistics, emissions, tax payment, energy efficiency, among others. For primary data collection, interviews were conducted with managers and technicians of sugarcane industry, researchers and policy makers in the field of study. To collect quantitative data forms were used in order to collect data regarding the volume of waste produced, energy productivity of alternatives, implementation costs and other related processes and variables. Quantitative analyzes of data were performed by the application of a model of Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analyzes within the context of the methodology RBMCA (Risk-Based Multi Criteria Assessment). For economic feasibility analysis of investment were applied financial mathematic techniques, such as coefficient Benefit / Cost (B / C) and Net Present Value (NPV) of the alternatives. As a result, the research allowed bringing to Brazilian sugarcane industry reality a methodology of feasibility assessment that takes into account the risk involved in the variables considered, the RBMCA, applied to projects involving bagasse, vinasse and straw. Research also allowed to check the direction of researches dedicatedto analyses alternatives uses of sugar and ethanol byproducts and availability of information regarding the environmental aspects of the projects involved in the analyzes. At the end of methodology application, it was possible to verify that there is a difference in projects feasibility which makes necessary the research development dedicated to raising environmental aspects and technical feasibility of more projects that can be deployed.

A presente Dissertação por tema “A sustentabilidade energética e o desenvolvimento econômico: a energia elétrica como fator de desenvolvimento para o Estado de Roraima” possui tópicos importantes de serem observados, pois seu objetivo principal é obter maiores conhecimentos sobre a CERR, analisando a melhoria para a economia local, da mesma forma, visa o prosseguimento da sustentabilidade energética como desenvolvimento econômico para as pessoas físicas e jurídicas desse Estado. Para que esses objetivos se tornassem realidade foi necessária uma metodologia bem evidenciada, pois foi elaborada uma pesquisa bibliográfica e outra descritiva. Foi observado, que o desenvolvimento provindo das empresas de energia foi criado objetivando a diminuição dos desequilíbrios energéticos, visando a diminuição dos gastos com energia elétrica, o que representa perspectivas de crescimento econômico e social para o Estado de Roraima. Essa modificação promove o desenvolvimento das cidades, com a finalidade de integrá-las ao contexto econômico de todo o país, guarnecendo o setor energético e a geração de empregos. Os resultados mais importantes são a respeito: do parecer dos benefícios da energia elétrica; os incentivos, redução de impostos e os meios mais acessíveis para receber a energia; as vantagens e desvantagens das empresas e o que falta para a mesma se tornar um marco de benefícios para a sociedade. Consta também uma fundamentação sobre as Parcerias Público-Privadas que as empresas de energia promovem para que a distribuição seja maximizada. Enfim, conclui-se que as PPP nas empresas de energia elétrica trazem grandes benefícios para toda a sociedade. / To present Dissertation for theme "the energy sustentabilidade and the economical development: the electric power as development factor for the State of Roraima" possesses important topics of they be observed, therefore your main objective is to obtain larger knowledge on CERR, analyzing the improvement for the local economy, in the same way, it seeks the pursuit of the energy sustentabilidade as economical development for the natural persons and juridical of that State. So that those objectives became reality it was well necessary a methodology evidenced, therefore it was elaborated a bibliographical research and other descriptive one. It was observed, that the coming development of the companies of energy was created aiming at the decrease of the energy unbalances, seeking the decrease of the expenses with electric power, what represents perspectives of economical and social growth for the State of Roraima. That modification promotes the development of the cities, with the purpose of integrating them to the economical context of the whole country, providing the energy section and the generation of employments. The results more importântes are to I respect: of the opinion of the benefits of the electric power; the incentives, reduction of taxes and the most accessible ways to receive the energy; the advantages and disadvantages of the companies and what lacks for the same to become a mark of benefits for the society. It also consists a fundamentação on Parceriais Público-Privadas that the companies of energy promote for the distribution it is maximized. Finally, it is ended PPP that the electric power companies bring great benefits for the whole society.

A presente Dissertação por tema “A sustentabilidade energética e o desenvolvimento econômico: a energia elétrica como fator de desenvolvimento para o Estado de Roraima” possui tópicos importantes de serem observados, pois seu objetivo principal é obter maiores conhecimentos sobre a CERR, analisando a melhoria para a economia local, da mesma forma, visa o prosseguimento da sustentabilidade energética como desenvolvimento econômico para as pessoas físicas e jurídicas desse Estado. Para que esses objetivos se tornassem realidade foi necessária uma metodologia bem evidenciada, pois foi elaborada uma pesquisa bibliográfica e outra descritiva. Foi observado, que o desenvolvimento provindo das empresas de energia foi criado objetivando a diminuição dos desequilíbrios energéticos, visando a diminuição dos gastos com energia elétrica, o que representa perspectivas de crescimento econômico e social para o Estado de Roraima. Essa modificação promove o desenvolvimento das cidades, com a finalidade de integrá-las ao contexto econômico de todo o país, guarnecendo o setor energético e a geração de empregos. Os resultados mais importantes são a respeito: do parecer dos benefícios da energia elétrica; os incentivos, redução de impostos e os meios mais acessíveis para receber a energia; as vantagens e desvantagens das empresas e o que falta para a mesma se tornar um marco de benefícios para a sociedade. Consta também uma fundamentação sobre as Parcerias Público-Privadas que as empresas de energia promovem para que a distribuição seja maximizada. Enfim, conclui-se que as PPP nas empresas de energia elétrica trazem grandes benefícios para toda a sociedade. / To present Dissertation for theme "the energy sustentabilidade and the economical development: the electric power as development factor for the State of Roraima" possesses important topics of they be observed, therefore your main objective is to obtain larger knowledge on CERR, analyzing the improvement for the local economy, in the same way, it seeks the pursuit of the energy sustentabilidade as economical development for the natural persons and juridical of that State. So that those objectives became reality it was well necessary a methodology evidenced, therefore it was elaborated a bibliographical research and other descriptive one. It was observed, that the coming development of the companies of energy was created aiming at the decrease of the energy unbalances, seeking the decrease of the expenses with electric power, what represents perspectives of economical and social growth for the State of Roraima. That modification promotes the development of the cities, with the purpose of integrating them to the economical context of the whole country, providing the energy section and the generation of employments. The results more importântes are to I respect: of the opinion of the benefits of the electric power; the incentives, reduction of taxes and the most accessible ways to receive the energy; the advantages and disadvantages of the companies and what lacks for the same to become a mark of benefits for the society. It also consists a fundamentação on Parceriais Público-Privadas that the companies of energy promote for the distribution it is maximized. Finally, it is ended PPP that the electric power companies bring great benefits for the whole society.

A presente Dissertação por tema “A sustentabilidade energética e o desenvolvimento econômico: a energia elétrica como fator de desenvolvimento para o Estado de Roraima” possui tópicos importantes de serem observados, pois seu objetivo principal é obter maiores conhecimentos sobre a CERR, analisando a melhoria para a economia local, da mesma forma, visa o prosseguimento da sustentabilidade energética como desenvolvimento econômico para as pessoas físicas e jurídicas desse Estado. Para que esses objetivos se tornassem realidade foi necessária uma metodologia bem evidenciada, pois foi elaborada uma pesquisa bibliográfica e outra descritiva. Foi observado, que o desenvolvimento provindo das empresas de energia foi criado objetivando a diminuição dos desequilíbrios energéticos, visando a diminuição dos gastos com energia elétrica, o que representa perspectivas de crescimento econômico e social para o Estado de Roraima. Essa modificação promove o desenvolvimento das cidades, com a finalidade de integrá-las ao contexto econômico de todo o país, guarnecendo o setor energético e a geração de empregos. Os resultados mais importantes são a respeito: do parecer dos benefícios da energia elétrica; os incentivos, redução de impostos e os meios mais acessíveis para receber a energia; as vantagens e desvantagens das empresas e o que falta para a mesma se tornar um marco de benefícios para a sociedade. Consta também uma fundamentação sobre as Parcerias Público-Privadas que as empresas de energia promovem para que a distribuição seja maximizada. Enfim, conclui-se que as PPP nas empresas de energia elétrica trazem grandes benefícios para toda a sociedade. / To present Dissertation for theme "the energy sustentabilidade and the economical development: the electric power as development factor for the State of Roraima" possesses important topics of they be observed, therefore your main objective is to obtain larger knowledge on CERR, analyzing the improvement for the local economy, in the same way, it seeks the pursuit of the energy sustentabilidade as economical development for the natural persons and juridical of that State. So that those objectives became reality it was well necessary a methodology evidenced, therefore it was elaborated a bibliographical research and other descriptive one. It was observed, that the coming development of the companies of energy was created aiming at the decrease of the energy unbalances, seeking the decrease of the expenses with electric power, what represents perspectives of economical and social growth for the State of Roraima. That modification promotes the development of the cities, with the purpose of integrating them to the economical context of the whole country, providing the energy section and the generation of employments. The results more importântes are to I respect: of the opinion of the benefits of the electric power; the incentives, reduction of taxes and the most accessible ways to receive the energy; the advantages and disadvantages of the companies and what lacks for the same to become a mark of benefits for the society. It also consists a fundamentação on Parceriais Público-Privadas that the companies of energy promote for the distribution it is maximized. Finally, it is ended PPP that the electric power companies bring great benefits for the whole society.