Práce hodnotí možnosti, které mají firmy na českém trhu v oblasti ochrany životního prostředí. Je zaměřena především na dobrovolné nástroje, které mohou společnosti zavést nad rámec plnění legislativních norem. Mimo to vysvětluje proč firmy na českém trhu zavádějí normy řady ISO 14000, jejich spokojenost s nimi a problémy, se kterými se setkali při jejich implementaci.

A Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) se destaca como uma ferramenta de grande relevância na identificação dos impactos ambientais potenciais de um processo ou produto. Apesar disso, a ACV apresenta grandes limitações na avaliação de processos de manufatura discreta, devido à falta ou à incerteza nos dados adquiridos na fase de Inventário de Ciclo de Vida (ICV). O objetivo do presente trabalho foi propor e implementar um modelo dinâmico de execução da fase de ICV para uma unidade de processamento de manufatura discreta (ou processo unitário discreto de manufatura), com o intuito de reduzir as limitações referentes à falta e à incerteza dos dados de ICV. O modelo proposto baseou-se na metodologia Unit Process Life Cycle Inventory (UPLCI) e usou um sistema de monitoramento em tempo real compatível com o protocolo de comunicação MTConnect®. A implementação do modelo proposto foi feita em uma unidade de processamento de retificação cilíndrica externa, na qual os fluxos de energia elétrica, ar comprimido e emissão de ruído sonoro foram monitorados em tempo real. Além disso, seis modos de operação de corte foram definidos e testados. Três destes modos usaram rebolo de Al2O3 e trabalharam com taxas específicas de remoção (Q\'w) iguais a 10, 50 e 100 mm/mm3.min. Outros três modos de operação usaram rebolo de cBN e tiveram valores de Q\'w iguais a 50, 100 e 150 mm/mm3.min. Cada modo de operação de corte foi testado duas vezes, totalizando 12 testes. Cada teste consistia na remoção de 3000 mm3 de material de peças cilíndricas feitas com a liga de níquel e cromo, o Inconel 751. A partir dos dados encontrados na fase de ICV, um estudo de ACV com abordagem gate-to-gate foi realizado para a avaliação do desempenho ambiental dos seis modos de operação de corte. Além disso, itens de desempenho de produção (como tempo de processo, relação G, rugosidade e circularidade) também foram avaliados para os seis modos de operação de corte. Os dados obtidos na fase de ICV mostraram que os modos de operação com o rebolo de cBN apresentaram valores de potência até 30% superiores aos modos de operação com rebolo de Al2O3 com as mesmas taxas específicas de remoção (Q\'w). A avaliação de desempenho de produção mostrou grande superioridade do rebolo de cBN, que atingiu o menor de tempo de processo (com Q\'w = 150 mm/mm3.min), valores de relação G até 40 vezes superiores aos encontrados para o rebolo de Al2O3, além de maior estabilidade e resultados melhores nos quesitos de rugosidade e circularidade. Na avaliação de desempenho ambiental, o modo de operação com rebolo de cBN e Q\'w = 150 mm/mm3.min apresentou os melhores resultados em todos os indicadores de impactos ambientais avaliados. A partir da aplicação do modelo proposto pelo presente trabalho, foi possível criar um banco de dados de ICV organizado e em tempo real, fundamental para a realização das avaliações de desempenho ambiental e de produção. Além disso, foi possível determinar que o modo de operação com rebolo de cBN e Q\'w = 150 mm/mm3.min apresentou a melhor relação entre desempenho de produção e desempenho ambiental dentre os seis modos testados. / Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the most prominent tools to identify the potential environmental impacts of a process or product. The LCA, however, has great limitations on the assessment of discrete manufacturing processes, due the lack or the uncertainty of the data acquired during its Life Cycle Inventory phase (LCI). The objective of this work was to propose and to implement a dynamic model to perform the LCI phase for a discrete manufacturing unit process, in order to minimize the limitations associated with the lack and uncertainty of the LCI data. The proposed model was based on the Unit Process Life Cycle Inventory (UPLCI) methodology and used a real time MTConnect® compliant monitoring system. The implementation of the proposed model was executed on an external cylindrical grinding unit process, which had its energy, compressed air and noise emission flows monitored in a real time basis. Besides that, six cutting operational modes were defined and tested. Three of the cutting modes used a corundum grinding wheel and worked with specific removal rates Q\'w equals to 10, 50 and 100 mm/mm3.min. The other three modes used a cBN grinding wheel and worked with Q\'w equals to 50, 100 and 150 mm/mm3.min. Each cutting mode was tested twice, resulting in 12 tests. Each test consisted on the volume of removed material of 3000 mm3 from nickel-chrome alloy, the Inconel 751, cylindrical workpieces. From the LCI results, a LCA study was performed, using a gate-to-gate approach, to evaluate the environmental performance of the six cutting modes. Production performance items (process time, G-ratio, roughness and roundness) were also evaluated for the six cutting modes. The LCI data showed that the cBN wheel cutting modes presented power values 30% higher that the corundum wheel cutting modes with the same Q\'w specifications. The production performance evaluation showed the superiority of the cBN grinding wheel, which achieved the lowest process time (with Q\'w = 150 mm/mm3.min), presented G-ratio values 40 times higher than the corundum wheel cutting modes and higher stability and best results for roughness and roundness. On the environmental performance evaluation, the cutting mode using cBN grinding wheel and Q\'w = 150 mm/mm3.min presented the best results for all the potential environmental impacts indicators. From the application of the model proposed by this work, it was possible the creation of an organized and real time LCI database, used to perform both environmental and production performance evaluations. Besides, it was possible to decide that the cBN wheel cutting mode with Q\'w = 150 mm/mm3.min presented the best tradeoff between environmental and production performances among the six tested cutting modes.

A produção de energia elétrica é intimamente vinculada ao seu consumo. Ela acompanha o consumo, pois os processos de produção não armazenam energia e o ponto ótimo se dá quando não se tem nem excesso nem falta da quantidade de energia produzida em relação à consumida. Por sua vez, o consumo de energia elétrica está relacionado ao padrão de crescimento e desenvolvimento da nação. Inúmeras evidências, associando o consumo de energia elétrica ao produto interno bruto e outros índices de desenvolvimento, são encontrados na literatura, os quais mostram claramente esta justa correlação. Por outro lado, o total de energia elétrica produzida é o resultado da soma das produções individuais das diversas fontes de recursos, tais como: gás natural, carvão vapor, hídricas, produtos de cana, eólica e urânio. Este é um cenário típico de produtores e consumidores, em que os produtores concorrem, entre si, para suprir a demanda. Qualquer variação na produção de um é compensada pela produção dos outros, a fim de se manter a demanda atendida na exata medida de suas necessidades. Neste trabalho foram desenvolvidas uma metodologia original e uma ferramenta de simulação, no aplicativo MATLAB®, e estabelecidos parâmetros e indicadores ambientais para auxiliar a tomada de decisões quanto ao direcionamento de investimentos na área de produção de energia elétrica, mostrando como minimizar os efeitos nocivos ao meio ambiente e acompanhar o crescimento da demanda simultaneamente. São utilizadas técnicas e metodologias consagradas, tais como a Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida, a Contabilidade Emergética, a Análise Estatística, a Teoria de Sistemas sobre a base de dados oficial do governo brasileiro, isto é, a matriz 27x47 do relatório anual Boletim Energético Nacional (BEN) do Ministério das Minas e Energia (MME), fornecendo uma visão holística e otimizada do setor energético nacional e em particular da área de energia elétrica. Alguns temas polêmicos como o efeito da utilização da área florestal para a produção de energia elétrica e o esgotamento de reservas energéticas são discutidos no final deste trabalho. / The production of electricity is closely linked to its consumption. It follows the consumption, because the production processes do not stock up energy and the optimum point is when it does not have over or less quantity of energy produced according to its consumption. In turn, energy consumption is related to the level of growth and development of the nation. A lot of evidence associating energy consumption to gross domestic product and other development indicators are found in the literature, which clearly shows this correlation. On the other side, there are several sources of resources from which is produced electric power, such as: natural gas, steam coal, hydro, sugarcane waste, wind and uranium in amounts that together supply the need consumption required all the time and could supply more than the required amount. This presented scenario is a typical example of producers and consumers, where producers compete to supply demand, and any variation in one of them is offset by the production of others, in order to get demand attended in the exact extent of their needs. In this work were developed a methodology and a tool, and also parameters were set to help decision making regarding guidelines for investments in the production of electricity, directing to minimize harm to the environment and at the same time meet the growing of the demand. Techniques and traditional methods were used, such as Life Cycle Assessment, Emergy Accounting, Statistical Analysis, the System Theory on the official database of the Brazilian government, that is, the 27x47 matrix of the Annual Report National Energy Bulletin (BEN) of Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), providing an holistic and optimized overview in the energy national sector and in particular the electric power sector. Some controversial issues as the effect of using the forest for the production of electricity and the depletion of energetic reserves are discussed at the end of this work.

This research is concerned with the drivers to utilize Renewable Energy in Gulf Cooperation Council countries with a focus on Kuwait. Such countries show high rates of electricity subsidies with high rate of emissions. At present, there is a continuous need to build new power stations to increase the electrical capacities, in order to cover the high peak loads that occurs in summers to avoid blackouts. The aim of this research is to create a combination of approaches to assess the adoption (economic and environmental) of Photovoltaic for electricity generation in Kuwait, which can be used to assist policy makers to compare various energy mixes and hence determine whether their current and future strategies are appropriate. Kuwait is in this research representative of an exemplar of oil-based economy in Gulf Cooperation Council region since they share similar energy policies and geographic location. The research provides an insight into the adoption of renewables in the region and the impact that particular energy mixes may have. Nine future potential scenarios are created showing different levels of PV deployment within Kuwait. The combination of approaches in this research estimates the economic and environmental impacts using Levelized Cost of Electricity and Life Cycle Assessment respectively of differing RE mixes. The findings show that energy storage increases the cost of electricity and the emissions from the photovoltaic sector. However, for the energy mix (PV and conventional), assuming oil price greater than 10.1$/Bbl. (when no storage required) and 15.2$/Bbl. (when using storage), PV generally lowers the cost of electricity, CO2 and SO2 emissions. Whilst, human toxicity is increased when storage is used. Taking all these factors into account, PV deployment is generally beneficial. However, if different combinations of impacts are considered, environmental and economic impacts may take different patterns. This led to a multi-objective problem to be solved. Using Pareto Front analysis, scenarios without storage requirement (i.e. 13% or less of photovoltaic) are preferable if only cost and human toxicity are considered. The contribution to knowledge from this research is that the deployment of large scale PV technology is beneficial in Kuwait economically and environmentally at least until 30% of the maximum peak load of electricity. The results have implications for other GCC countries with similar geographical, political and energy drivers; the methodology used in this research would be appropriate for these contexts.

The production of alternative transportation fuels is imperative to meet future energy demands without contributing to global climate change. Advances in alternative processing techniques that have emerged due to interest in microalgae as a feedstock have led to a variety of potential processing pathways for the production of bio-based fuels. A major hurdle in the algal production process is maintaining a fast and stable algae culture. Monocultures, developed for their high lipid content, suffer from low productivity, are susceptible to crashes and require a constant supply of carbon dioxide to maintain productivity. In an effort to circumvent these obstacles, algal turf scrubber systems (ATS) are now being targeted not only for water purification, but as a means of producing algae feedstocks for fuel conversion. The resulting algae are capable of being harvested at a much higher density, requiring less energy for dewatering purposes. ATS systems do present other drawbacks that downstream technologies need to account for to make this system a viable means for fuel conversion. While polyculture algae species display great growth characteristics, they contain high percentages of nitrogen containing proteins and low lipid content. If not removed this nitrogen pollutes any resulting biocrude making it unacceptable for diesel fuel blends. This study investigates a processing method which reduces the nitrogen content of the resulting fuel by fermenting both carbohydrates and proteins into intermediate compounds. By tuning the E. coli fermentation stain it is hoped that the process will yield higher value co-products than those investigated in this study. The research contained herein incorporates laboratory experimentation with engineering systems modeling to assess the economic feasibility and environmental impacts of generating biofuels from ATS cultivated algae. Results show a minimum fuel selling price of $5.93 per gasoline gallon equivalent and greenhouse gas emissions of -0.0185 kg CO2eq per MJ fuel. Discussion points include process optimization in terms of minimum fuel selling price and global warming potential.

This report examines different types of window renovation optionsfrom an environmental and economical standpoint, with the purpose towiden the decision basis of the housing cooperative Utsikten, which’sreal estate is the subject of investigation in this report, and toenable corresponding investigations of similar real estates throughthe creation of a simplified calculation tool. The investigatedscenarios in the report are, apart from the reference case, changingthe windows to three glass windows, installation of an internalinsulation window, and replacing the inner glass of the existingwindow to insulation glass.Two calculation models were constructed, one with energy data fromthe simulation program VIP-energy. The other, simplified version withenergy data calculated from the windows U-value. Environmental datawas collected for installation of the different scenarios, transport,and energy consumption. Economy data was collected for installation,maintenance, and energy prices. All data was put together in thecalculation models and the results got compared.The calculations show that changing the windows to three glasswindows is the most economical alternative. It’s also the mostenvironmentally friendly option when data for Uppsala’s districtheating is used. If data for “district heating with high proportionrenewable“ is used, installation of an internal insulation window isthe most environmentally friendly option. Uncertainties about theresults are discussed in the report.

Assessing the sustainability of nanomanufacturing products and processes has been difficult to achieve using conventional approaches mainly due to an inadequate inventory, large process-to-process variation, and a dearth of relevant toxicology data for nanomaterials. Since these issues are long term in nature, it is required to create hybrid methodologies that can work towards filling the existing gaps. Merging thermodynamic techniques such as the exergy analysis with environmental assessments can help make better, more informed choices while providing an opportunity for process improvement by enabling to correctly quantify efficiency loss through the waste stream, and by locating the exact areas for improvement. A preliminary technique that utilizes environmental assessment feedback during the process design along with an exergy analysis is presented. As a test case, an environmental assessment aided by an exergy analysis was carried out on the electrospinning process for producing polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers. The areas of greatest concern, both from an environmental as well as a thermodynamic point of view, have been found to be the high energy consumption and the complete loss of solvent during the process of electrospinning. Interestingly, exergy consumption is significantly higher for fibers with a smaller (

<p>This paper intends to give the reader a wider knowledge about sustainable construction by taking a closer look at what drivers and goals have been of most importance in Silverdal - a construction project with environmental commitment and focus on energy efficiency. The research is formed by using a compilation of variables, such as regulation, brand building and risk management, which serve as a base for the qualitative research of the case study. The empirical findings have been gathered by interviewing people responsible for the Silverdal project. These findings imply that compliance with regulations has become more important with time and that brand building can still have greater relevance than long-term commitment to environmental related risk management. Also, economic benefits seem to be the most desired ones at the expense of making a contribution to real sustainability.</p>

Waste management is something that affects most people. Thewaste amounts are still increasing, but the waste treatment ischanging towards recycling and integrated solutions. In Swedenproducers’responsibility for different products, a taxand bans on deposition of waste at landfills implicates areorganisation of the municipal solid waste management. Plansare made for new incineration plants, which leads to that wastecombustion comes to play a role in the reorganisation of theSwedish energy system as well. The energy system is supposed toadapt to governmental decisions on decommission of nuclearplants and decreased use of fossil fuels. Waste from private households consists of hazardous waste,scrap waste, waste electronics and wastes that to a largeextent are generated in the kitchen. The latter type has beenstudied in this thesis, except for newsprint, glass- and metalpackages that by source separation haven’t ended up in thewaste bin. Besides the remaining amount of the above mentionedfractions, the waste consists of food waste, paper, cardboard-and plastic packages and inert material. About 80-90 % of thismixed household waste is combustible, and the major part ofthat is also possible to recycle. Several systems analyses of municipalsolid waste managementhave been performed. Deposition at landfill has been comparedto energy recovery, recycling of material (plastic andcardboard) and recycling of nutrients (in food waste).Environmental impact, fuel consumption and costs are calculatedfor the entire lifecycle from the households, until the wasteis treated and the by-products have been taken care of. To stop deposition at landfills is the most importantmeasure to take as to decrease the environmental impact fromlandfills, and instead use the waste as a resource, therebysubstituting production from virgin resources (avoidingresource extraction and emissions). The best alternative tolandfilling is incineration, but also material recycling andbiological treatment are possible. Recycling of plastic has slightly less environmental impactand energy consumption than incineration. The difference issmall due to that plastic is such a small part of the totalwaste amount, and that just a small part of the collectedamount is recycled. Cardboard recycling is comparable toincineration; there are both advantages and disadvantages.Source separation of food waste may lead to higher transportemissions due to intensified collection, but severalenvironmental advantages are observed if the waste is digestedand the produced biogas substitutes diesel in busses.Composting has no environmental advantages compared toincineration, mainly due to lack of energy recovery. Therecycling options are more expensive than incineration. Theincreased cost must be seen in relation to the environmentalbenefits and decreased energy use. If the work with sourceseparation made by the households is included in the analysis,the welfare costs for source separation and recycling becomesnon-profitable. It is however doubted how much time is consumedand how it should be valuated in monetary terms. In systems analyses, several impacts are not measured.Environmental impact has been studied, but not allenvironmental impact. As the parts of the system are underconstant change, the results are not true forever. Recyclingmay not be unambiguously advantageous today, but it can be inthe future. Despite the fact that systems analysis has been developedduring 10 years in Sweden, there are still many decisions takenregarding waste management without support from systemsanalysis and use of computer models. The minority of users ispleased with the results achieved, but the systems analysis isfar from easy to use. The adaptation of tools and models to thedemands from the potential users should consider thatorganisations of different sizes have shifting demands andneeds. The application areas for systems analysis and models arestrategic planning, decisions about larger investments andeducation in universities and within organisations. Systemsanalysis and models may be used in pre-planning procedures. Apotential is a more general application (Technology Assessment)in predominantly waste- and biofuel based energy processes, butalso for assessment of new technical components in a systemsperspective. The methodology and systems approach developedwithin the systems analysis has here been transformed to anassessment of environmental, economic and technical prestandaof technical systems in a broad sense.

This paper intends to give the reader a wider knowledge about sustainable construction by taking a closer look at what drivers and goals have been of most importance in Silverdal - a construction project with environmental commitment and focus on energy efficiency. The research is formed by using a compilation of variables, such as regulation, brand building and risk management, which serve as a base for the qualitative research of the case study. The empirical findings have been gathered by interviewing people responsible for the Silverdal project. These findings imply that compliance with regulations has become more important with time and that brand building can still have greater relevance than long-term commitment to environmental related risk management. Also, economic benefits seem to be the most desired ones at the expense of making a contribution to real sustainability.