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The transport industry is in the middle of a conceptual shift driven by delivering the targets set by the Paris Agreement. Proactive heavy-duty vehicle companies seek to further gather knowledge in a structured way on environmental impacts of its products and services. The method to be implemented is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). For implementation of LCA certain organisational and operational factors pre-requirements need to be addressed. The study takes key factors of Life Cycle Management (LCM) as a framework for assessing the readiness of Scania CV AB to implement LCA. Said key factors of LCM are analysed through company-based case study observations and literature review. The results indicate the company is in the process of introducing majority of the key factors of LCM. The case study tested the possibilities of the company for LCA, and attempted second phase of LCA, Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). The greatest challenge to LCA is low availability and format of data for LCA. However, the case study deeply tested the data limits and offers good insight in actions to be taken.

Buildings account for up to a third of total world greenhouse gas GHG emissions, and this pattern is expected to persist. By 2050, cities will be home to 70 % of the world's population, demanding a significant number of buildings to be constructed. Efforts to reduce these emissions in the past had varied performance. However, several examples indicate that well thought and adequately executed mix of building technology coupled with environmental policies may reduce emissions. Therefore, cities worldwide are joining the race to decarbonize their buildings to become net-zero carbon and support green economies through a diversified bundle of policies. However, designing and selecting the appropriate mix of building technology and environmental policies is challenging to generate the most outlast net-zero carbon impacts. This research aims to uncover the intersection between science and policy's role in achieving a global net-zero energy building sector. First, an urban comparative analysis for ten environment-leading cities has been made to understand the latest progress in the building sector and draw on future recommendations. The findings are thematically grouped into five themes a) Building's energy efficiency (energy demand sector). (b) Electrified renewable grids (energy supply sector). (c) Green fiscal incentives (d) Education and capacity building. (e) Governance and collaboration. Second, the University of Ottawa has been utilized as a part of the campus as a living lab initiative to examine installing photovoltaic panels over the campus buildings as part of the university expansion program to achieve net-zero operations by 2040. The following parameters have been considered to address the PV systems viability, 1) the expected electricity output. 2) the initial and operational costs. 3) the GHG reductions in operational energy. 4) the PV system embodied carbons. RETScreen Expert software has been used to perform the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to assess PV system output and financial viability. One Click-LCA software to carry-out Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess embodied carbons. The results indicate from analyzing 31 buildings that 20% - 107% of electricity can be offset depending on each building's energy use and solar collector area. Additionally, the 31 buildings analyzed for electricity generation collectively have the potential to save around 23% of the total campus electricity consumption with a production capacity of 18 million units (kWh) annually, including 21,108 solar panels. Also, the project shows financial viability only if the PV systems are installed as part of the whole campus with a Net Present Value (NPV) of $4,985,89 and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 11.4%. The analysis shows 24% and 18% maximum sensitivity to increased initial cost and decreased electricity generation/rate. Finally, the GHG estimated reductions over 25 years from generated electricity are 14,445 tCO2, and the estimated increased embodied carbons from the Life Cycle Assessment are set to be 1,023 tCO2. Additionally, drawing upon urban analysis and the case study, the research highlights the dynamic nature of the building sector emissions reduction and city initiatives. Thirdly, a detailed analysis was carried out in the System Advisor Model (SAM) software to integrate the solar system with energy storage in the Advanced Research Complex (ARC) Building at the University of Ottawa. The study assesses the system viability and helps the university to reduce its monthly electricity bill and help Ontario to maintain its grid reliability by keeping the electricity demand low at peak times. The findings show that using an integrated solar system with an energy storage system by mitigating 100%, 90%, 75%, and 50% of the building electricity demand during the Ontario gird peak could lead to a Net Present Value of $2,01, $1.70, $1.30, and $0.864 million over 25 years the lifetime of the project through the Ontario Global Adjustment Program. The study also shows that with the absence of the Ontario Global Adjustment Program as a fiscal reform tool and relying only on the time of use electricity rates, the solar panels with an energy storage system could lead to a negative Net Present Value of $-550 thousand.

In this dissertation we address three different sustainability concepts: [1] modeling of biodiesel production via heterogeneous catalysis, [2] life cycle analysis for pyrolysis of switchgrass for using in power plant, and [3] modeling of pyrolysis of biomass. Thus we deal with Specific Aim 1, 2 and 3. In Specific Aim 1, the models for esterification in biodiesel production via heterogeneous catalysis were developed. The models of the reaction over the catalysts were developed in two parts. First, a kinetic study was performed using a deterministic model to develop a suitable kinetic expression; the related parameters were subsequently estimated by numerical techniques. Second, a stochastic model was developed to further confirm the nature of the reaction at the molecular level. The deterministic and stochastic models were in good agreement. In Specific Aim 2, life cycle analysis and life cycle cost for pyrolysis of switchgrass for using in power plant model were developed. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission for power generation was investigated through life cycle assessment. The process consists of cultivation, harvesting, transportation, storage, pyrolysis, transportation and power generation. Here pyrolysis oil is converted to electric power through co- combustion in conventional fossil fuel power plants. The conventional power plants which are considered in this work are diesel engine power plant, natural gas turbine power plant, coal-fired steam-cycle power plant and oil-fired steam-cycle power plant. Several scenarios are conducted to determine the effect of selected design variables on the production of pyrolysis oil and type of conventional power plants. In Specific Aim 3, pyrolysis of biomass models were developed. Since modeling of pyrolysis of biomass is complex and challenging because of short reaction times, temperatures as high as a thousand degrees Celsius, and biomass of varying or unknown chemical compositions. As such a deterministic model is not capable of representing the pyrolysis reaction system. We propose a new kinetic reaction model, which would account for significant uncertainty. Specifically we have employed fuzzy modeling using the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) in order to describe the pyrolysis of biomass. The resulting model is in better agreement with experimental data than known deterministic models. / Ph. D.

No / This paper argues that the technology life cycle literature is confused and incomplete. This literature is first reviewed with consideration of the related concepts of the life cycles for industries and products. By exploring the inter-relationships between these, an integrated view of the technology life cycle is produced. A new conceptualization of the technology life cycle is then proposed. This is represented as a model that incorporates three different levels for technology application, paradigm and generation. The model shows how separate paradigms emerge over time to achieve a given application. It traces the eras of ferment and incremental change and shows how technology generations evolve within these. It also depicts how the eras are separated by the emergence of a dominant design, and how paradigms are replaced at a technological discontinuity. By adopting this structure, the model can demarcate the evolution of technologies at varying levels of granularity from the specific products in which they may be manifest to the industries in which they are exploited. By taking technology as the unit of analysis the model departs from previous work, which has adopted a product-based perspective predominantly. The paper discusses the managerial and research implications associated with the technology life cycle, and indicates how these inform future research directions. As well as contributing to academic knowledge, the results of this research are of value to those who make decisions about the development, exploitation and use of technology including technology developers, engineers, technologists, R & D managers, and designers.

This research assesses the impacts of developing shale gas in the UK, with the focus of determining whether or not it is possible to develop it sustainably and how it could affect the electricity and gas mix. There is much uncertainty on the impacts of developing shale gas in the UK, as the country is currently in the early stages of exploration drilling and the majority of studies which have been carried out to analyse the effects of shale gas development have been US specific. To address these questions, the environmental, economic and social sustainability have been assessed and the results integrated to evaluate the overall sustainability. The impacts of shale gas electricity have been assessed so that it can be compared with other electricity generation technologies (coal, nuclear, renewables etc.), to ascertain its impacts on the UK electricity mix. Life cycle assessment is used to evaluate the environmental sustainability of shale gas electricity (and other options), while life cycle costing and social sustainability assessment have been used to evaluate the economic and social sustainability. Multi-criteria decision analysis has been used to combine the results of three to evaluate the overall sustainability. The incorporation of shale gas into the UK electricity mix is modelled in two future scenarios for the year 2030. The scenarios compare different levels of shale gas penetration: low and high. The results show that shale gas will have little effect on improving the environmental sustainability and energy security of the UK’s electricity mix, but could help ease energy prices. In comparison with other options, shale gas is not a sustainable option, as it has higher environmental impacts than the non-fossil fuels and conventional gas and liquefied natural gas: 460 g CO2-Eq. is emitted from the shale gas electricity life cycle, while conventional gas emits 420 g CO2-Eq. and wind 12 g CO2-Eq. The power plant and drilling fluid are the main impact hot spots in the life cycle, while hydraulic fracturing contributes a small amount (5%). In addition to this, there are a number of social barriers which need to be addressed, notably: traffic volume and congestion could increase by up to 31%, public support is low and wastewater produced from hydraulic fracturing could put strain on wastewater treatment facilities. However, the results indicate that shale gas is economically viable, as the cost of electricity is cheaper than solar photovoltaic, biomass and hydroelectricity (9.59 p/kWh vs 16.90, 11.90 and 14.40 p/kWh, respectively). The results of this thesis show that there is a trade-off in the impacts, but because of its poor environmental and social ratings shale gas is not the best option for UK electricity. The results also identify areas for improvement which should be targeted, as well as policy recommendations for best practice and regulation if shale gas were to be developed in the UK.

Our research is based on data triangulation methodology by which we are going to answer the question with a combination of two elements: the design and development in combination with life cycle perspective according to ISO 14001:2015 and organization consider the life cycle perspective when they design and develop their products, in a modified form introducing many new aspects of life-cycle thinking. This Master’sthesis aims to discuss the Sustainability approach through the use of Environmental Management Standards (EMS), the results achieved by organizations that implement and certify those EMS, and a special focus on the current process of ISO 14001:2015 revision and the logic behind it. Revisiting the concept of Sustainability, the status of the International Organization for Standardization 14001, requirements that related to that life cycle perspective in ISO 14001:2015, eco-design, circular economy and its expected outcomes are discussed. The ISO 14001:2015 revision will have major impacts on the more than 300,000 worldwide certified organizations and on the many professionals that work with it. Analysis of the development of a sustainability portfolio within a globally-operating manufacturing company, we came different illustrate the kinds of life cycle work involved in dealing with activities and interests, connecting activities and interests into action-nets, performing life cycle practices, and spreading the life cycle idea. Finally, we discuss implications of life cycle work for research in the field of organization and management studies and questions related to the topic with quality engineers within the organization.

Life cycle costing (LCC) is the state-of-the-art method to economically evaluate long-term projects over their life spans. However, uncertainty in long-range planning raises concerns about LCC results. In Part I of this series, we developed a holistic framework of the different types of uncertainty in infrastructure LCCs. We also collected methods to address these uncertainties. The aim of Part II is to evaluate the suitability of methods to cope with uncertainty in LCC. Part I addressed two research gaps. It presented a systematic collection of uncertainties and methods in LCC and, furthermore, provided a holistic categorization of both. However, Part I also raised new issues. First, a combined analysis of sources and methods is still outstanding. Such an investigation would reveal the suitability of different methods to address a certain type of uncertainty. Second, what has not been assessed so far is what types of uncertainty are insufficiently addressed in LCC. This would be a feature to improve accuracy of LCC results within LCC, by suggesting options to better cope with uncertainty. To address these research gaps, we conducted a systematic literature review. Part II analyzed the suitability of methods to address uncertainties. The suitability depends on data availability, type of data (tangible, intangible, random, non-random), screened hotspots, and tested modeling specifications. We identified types of uncertainties and methods that have been insufficiently addressed. The methods include probabilistic modeling such as design of experiment or subset simulation and evolutionary algorithm and Bayesian modeling such as the Bayesian latent Markov decision process. Subsequently, we evaluated learning potential from other life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This analysis revealed 28 possible applications that have not yet been used in LCC. Lastly, we developed best practices for LCC practitioners. This systematic review complements prior research on uncertainty in LCC for infrastructure, as laid out in Part I. Part II concludes that all relevant methods to address uncertainty are currently applied in LCC. Yet, the level of application is different. Moreover, not all methods are equally suited to address different categories of uncertainty. This review offers guidance on what to do for each source and type of uncertainty. It illustrates how methods can address both based on current practice in LCC, LCA, and LCSA. The findings of Part II encourage a dialog between practitioners of LCC, LCA, and LCSA to advance research and practice in uncertainty analysis.

Tsunami action had resulted in negative impacts in many ways, it had resulted in great changes to coastal areas, especially in terms of physical change to the coastal landscape, affected on economy, loss of life and physical damage to property. After the devastation, hotel bookings in the island were dropped, people have lost their jobs and some small-scale tourism businesses have got the hardest time as well. Some lifestyle entrepreneurs felt hopeless and have given up on doing business, which resulted to their businesses had to be closed because they were unable to access financial resources and did not have budget to restart their businesses again. Some might take longer time to rehabilitate their firms due to various limitations and conditions. While some have to fight back and develop their firms by turning crisis into opportunity and taking advantage of the crisis. This research is made in order to study and examine the impacts of and the recovery to the 2004 December tsunami disaster in Phuket, especially to small tourism businesses in Karon beach, which will be described through a disaster management model. The goal of this research is to study how the tsunami has affected on small firms and how they performed in order to rehabilitate their businesses, and even how they have been working and cooperating with the local government to draw back tourists to the destination.