This portfolio of published research contains nine papers and assesses the life cycle environmental burdens of energy technologies and buildings. Several analytical tools were used but these all fall under the umbrella of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), and include energy analysis, carbon appraisal and the consideration of other environmental issues. The life cycle of all products starts with an assessment of embodied impacts. The current author has completed significant research on the embodied carbon of materials. This includes the creation of a leading embodied carbon database (the ICE database) for materials which has been downloaded by over 10,000 professionals and has made a significant contribution to knowledge. This portfolio of work includes analysis on methods for recycling in embodied impact assessment and LCA. This is an influential topic and therefore appears in two of the publications. The ICE database was applied by the current author to over 40 domestic building case studies and an embodied carbon model for buildings was created from these. The latter was used to provide benchmark values for six types of new houses in the UK.The portfolio of work then progresses to full LCA of energy systems. LCA is used to assess the embodied impacts versus operational impacts of 11 kV electrical cables. In this case embodied impacts were not significant and preference should be given to reducing electrical losses in the cables. The tool of LCA was then applied to a national electricity network. It revealed that Lebanon had a particularly poor centralised electricity network that was both unreliable and unsustainable with high impacts in all environmental categories. The final paper in this portfolio is on Building Integrated PV (BIPV) and brings together all aspects of the current author’s work and knowledge. It considers embodied burdens, electricity generation and BIPV can replace roofing materials.

Energy use and the environment are inextricably linked and form a key role in concerns over sustainability. All methods of energy production involve resource uncertainties and environmental impacts. A clear example of this is the use of fossil fuels which present three main problems, being: finite resources; significant contribution to environmental pollution; and reliance on imports. Hence there is a clear need to reduce the use of fossil fuels for energy. Bioenergy has the potential to both displace fossil fuels, and reduce the effect of climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide during the production of biomass. It is also possible that bioenergy can reduce the UK’s dependence on energy imports and boost the rural economy. This thesis provides an interdisciplinary assessment of bioenergy production in the UK. Due to the complexities of bioenergy systems several appraisal methods have been used. An initial study examined the barriers to and drivers for UK bioenergy development as a whole. It was found that for projects to be successful, bioenergy schemes need to be both economically attractive and environmentally sustainable. A biomass resource assessment was then completed using the South West of England as a case study. This demonstrates that bioenergy can make a useful contribution to the UK’s energy supply, due to the diverse range of biomass feedstocks currently available. However a range of barriers and constraints will need to be overcome if the UK is to reach its bioenergy potential. To assess the potential environmental impacts of bioenergy production different case studies were selected. Life cycle assessment is widely regarded as one of the best methodologies for the evaluation of burdens associated with bioenergy production. This was applied, alongside net energy analysis, to a small-scale biomass gasification plant which uses wood waste as a feedstock. As an alternative biomass source, the perennial energy crops Miscanthus and Willow were also assessed. Several different scenarios of biomass cultivation, transportation, and energy conversion were then compared, to assess the potential environmental impacts. Biomass gasification offers good potential for reducing fossil fuel use and climate change impacts. Nonetheless embodied energy in the construction phase can be high and other impacts such as particulate emissions, ecotoxicity and land use can be important. Therefore environmental benefits are maximised when both electricity and heat are utilised together, and when waste is used as feedstock. The ultimate applicability of biomass gasification is restricted by the quantity of feedstocks that can be made available for conversion. Perennial energy crops offer several advantages over annual crops including more positive energy balances and reduced agro-chemical inputs. However their cultivation needs to be carefully sited to avoid issues of land use change and the displacement of food crops. This study shows that each bioenergy production pathway needs to be assessed using a range of appraisal techniques, which include: biomass resource assessment, technical and economic feasibility, life cycle assessment and net energy analysis. It concludes that biomass gasification CHP offers an alternative to fossil fuel generation but more technical knowledge is required in the UK if it is to become widely used for biomass energy.

In 2008, the UK Government enforced the target to reduce the UK carbon account for the year 2050 to at least 80% less than the 1990 baseline. In order to meet this ambitious target it is widely thought that the UK energy future should be ‘electrified’ as a suite of low carbon generation technologies provide ever increasing proportions of electricity supply. This work has identified and investigated two technologies that could make significant contributions to low carbon power supply in the UK; that of industrial combined heat and power, CHP, and tidal power. Life cycle case studies were completed on an existing UK CHP plant and the Severn Barrage scheme as it was proposed until 2010. The Severn Barrage assessment has shown that the lifetime environmental impact is dominated by the operation stage. This is contrary to previously published studies, which have underestimated (Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd; Black and Veatch Ltd; 2010)(Roberts 1982)(Spevack, Jones and Hammond 2011) or even ignored (Black & Veatch 2007)(Woollcombe-Adams, Watson and Shaw 2009)the contribution from this life stage. Furthermore, the results have demonstrated that the impact intensity of power from the Barrage is almost entirely reliant on that of the National Grid mix which provides the operational power required. It has been shown a large improvement to the impact of the operation stage can be made by removing the electricity demand for ‘flood pumping’. However, even without ‘flood pumping’, the impact of the power demand for plant operation will dominate. Hence the greatest improvements to the schemes lifetime impact can be made via the National Grid mix itself. The industrial CHP assessment has shown that there are large impact savings available from widespread implementation against the current and the baseline National Grid mixes. However, even if it is assumed that units are exclusively bio-gas fuelled, the carbon intensity of the power generated is very likely to exceed that of the low carbon Grid mix by 2050. The discussion shows that the interactive roles that these two technologies could play, with each other and the evolving Grid mix, on the pathway to 2050 is, however, more complex than simply considering the isolated impact intensity. The commissioning of the Severn Barrage could mark the point at which the carbon intensity of the National Grid falls below that of CHP. However because the carbon intensity of the plant is reliant on the national power supply, it is argued that further CHP implementation should only be stopped if there is a suitable low carbon and low impact alternative that can fill the capacity gap. This thesis concludes that to fear that today’s CHP schemes could represent a technology ‘lock-in’ in the long term future is to underestimate the role the technology has in the current and more short term future Grid mix. The work presented demonstrates the importance of life cycle thinking in the development of a low impact energy strategy. The discussion has also shown the importance of scenarios in assessing the requirements for such an ambitious change. The pursuit of change implies that the future is necessarily dynamic. The work has illustrated that scenario thinking allows exploration of potential strategy decisions and hence, is essential to having confidence in the decisions made.

The work focuses on the life cycle of a product (software) in the company since its development, debugging, through its distribution and subsequent maintenance. The work defined by the individual processes within the life cycle occur, are described and analyzed. Compares the practice, as the software is developed, debugged, distributed and managed in the company where I worked and theory, which is drawn from theoretical studies. In the practical part of the work is focused on software maintenance, especially on the comparison of theory and practical applications. For this purpose I used the experience of JKR, Ltd. In conclusion I devote a section for evaluation of lessons learned and suggestions for improving the life cycle so that in case of their use, could this process work efficiently.

The parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of human African trypanosomiasis. The parasite undergoes a complex life cycle involving stages within the mammalian bloodstream and its tsetse fly vector. The fundamental differences between energy metabolism in the procyclic insect form (PCF) and long slender bloodstream form (BSF) T. brucei involve a switch in the directionality of the F1Fo- ATPase. In PCF, the need for oxidative phosphorylation in low glucose conditions requires the enzyme to generate ATP. In the slender BSF, the enzyme uses ATP from glycolysis to drive proton pumping to maintain the essential mitochondrial membrane potential. Fo-ATPase subunit 6 (A6) is critical for proton translocation in either direction and is encoded in the mitochondrial DNA (kDNA). The parasite’s kDNA is therefore essential in the slender BSF, and also in PCF where it encodes multiple subunits of the respiratory chain complexes that constitute the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. Specific point mutations in the nuclearly encoded γ subunit of the mitochondrial F1Fo-ATPase allow survival in the absence of kDNA in the slender BSF T. brucei (Dean et al., 2013). These mutations, even in the heterozygous genotype, cause an increase in resistance to multiple drugs in vitro (Gould and Schnaufer, 2014). This thesis investigates two questions: (1) What is the molecular mechanism of compensation for kDNA loss? (2) Are kDNA and a functional FoF1-ATPase required for life cycle progression? Slender BSF T. brucei were generated expressing ATPase L262Pγ. The effects of this γ mutation and kDNA loss, respectively, on structure/function of the F1Fo- ATPase were probed. Cells expressing L262Pγ show decreased sensitivity to Fo inhibitor oligomycin compared to WT cells, suggesting that the L262Pγ mutation functionally uncouples the enzyme. The impact of the L262Pγ mutation on the structure of the enzyme was probed by high resolution clear native electrophoresis. This shows there are dramatic consequences to F1Fo structure in the presence of the L262Pγ mutation. The apparent selection for cells that no longer express intact F1Fo suggests that L262Pγ uncouples the enzyme, resulting in a lethal proton leak. Pleomorphic T. brucei with and without kDNA were also generated by expressing mutant γ in strain AnTat1.1 90:13. Differentiation studies demonstrate kDNA0 cells can differentiate to insect-transmissible stumpy forms. These cells show a decreased lifespan, suggesting a critical role for a kDNA-encoded product in the stumpy form. Tsetse fly infections show kDNA is indispensable for progression to the PCF. Unexpectedly, parasites homozygous for L262Pγ can establish a midgut infection, while they do not infect the salivary glands. Heterozygous parasites, on the other hand, can form animal-transmissible metacyclics in the salivary glands, providing a potential mechanism for spreading decreased sensitivity to multiple drugs.

A life cycle study was undertaken to assess the economic impact arising from internalised embodied greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) costs for a commercial office building. A limited range of design and materials re-cycling strategies were investigated for their abatement potential. GGE quantities were determined by a hybrid process analysis where input-output data was supplemented with national average data to increase completeness whereby all upstream emissions arising from material inputs to the point of extraction, as well as non-material inputs (e.g. goods and services) into the design and construction process are accounted for. The hypothesis proposed abatement potential of 30%, as measured against the Benchmark Design (BM) would be economically viable in absence of the benefit of early-action credits. The hypothesis was disproved with 15% abatement shown at zero additional capital cost. A Stretch Technology (ST) scenario was investigated which showed 32% abatement potential however the associated marginal capital cost could not be determined. The GGE intensity per meter square of Net Lettable Area (m2 NLA) for the case study building was found to be 5,258 kg CO2-e. The theoretical value of abatement credits was determined at $12 to $1,031 / m2 NLA (depending on price) and is shown to present a reasonable economic and market transformation opportunity at medium range values. The results demonstrate that the cost-push inflation risk posed to commercial office construction is large where the price of embodied GGE is internalised in the economic system. Gross Construction Cost (GCC) increase per square meter is shown to be between 1.5% and 61% (with associated negative IRR impacts between -0.1 to -7%) depending on the GGE price level. An unsustainable cost impact is demonstrated at GGE prices greater than AUD$50 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (AUD$50/ tonne CO2-e). Internalised GGE studies have been largely limited to the operational cost impact arising from GGE of direct end-use rather than from the perspective of total embodied final demand. The results demonstrate the critical nature of embodied abatement strategies for commercial buildings if the internationally accepted 60% global GGE abatement is to be achieved within the relevant timeframe. An average kg CO2-e intensity per dollar of GCC is proposed for the three building models that may be applied to general scenario planning. The scale of economic benefit available for embodied credits is significant and the determination of viable credit mechanisms worthy of further research.

It is a conventional wisdom that since the start of the Chinese economic reform in 1978, the domestic saving structure in China has changed significantly. Previous studies of household saving in China (for example: Qian, 1988, Feltenstein et al, 1990, and Wakabayashi and Mackellar, 1999) have usually relied upon the Keynesian absolute-income hypothesis, Duesenberry’s relative-income hypothesis, and Friedman’s permanent-income hypothesis. This thesis uses the Modigliani-Brumberg life-cycle hypothesis to examine the determinants of household saving behavior in the Peoples’ Republic of China during the period 1978 to 2003. The research uses modern cointegration techniques to examine the impact on saving rates of economic growth, age dependency, wealth, the real interest rate, social security payments and unemployment (as a proxy for income uncertainty). Autoregressive distributed lag models are constructed and tested. The results find that economic growth, the real interest rate and social security payments have the expected effect with significant parameters; age dependency has the expected sign but in one model is not statistically significant; and that unemployment is not significant. The most surprising result is that increases in household wealth are associated with increased saving rates, which may help explain very high economic growth rates in China post 1978.

Strategies for reuse of components are important in order to create a closed loop manufacturing system. Over decades, the notion has been gaining ground due to environmental and legislative reasons. Reuse of components is desirable and in many cases might be economically beneficial. However, the implementation of reuse strategies has been hindered by the requirement of reliable methodologies to assess the remaining life and reuse potential of used components. The estimation of the remaining life is problematic as the useful life of a component is affected by several causes of obsolescence. The common causes are due to physical and technological issues. So far, little research has attempted to address these issues simultaneously, and integrating them. This thesis seeks to develop methodologies that aid in predicting the integrated remaining lifetime of used components. There are three core parts of this research. First, the methodology determines the remaining life of used components from the physical lifetime perspective. This was derived from the estimation of physical failure using failure rate data, and the statistical analysis of usage intensity age as obtained from customers survey. Second, the research presents the use of the technological forecasting technique to predict the remaining technological life. As it is influenced by the technology progress, the forecast was developed on the basis of product technology clusters and market trend extrapolation analysis. Finally, the resulting estimations from the two aspects were combined to obtain an integrated assessment for estimating the remaining life of components. The potential for components in a product to be reused is justified when the remaining life is greater than the average expected lifespan of the product. Two cases of domestic appliances – televisions and washing machines were used to highlight and demonstrate the validity of the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed method provides the practitioners with a promising tool for end-of-life decision making. This is in particularly attractive when used as a preliminary decision support tool prior to the time consuming and costly processes such as disassembly and quality testing.

This thesis analyzes the differences in monetary return when saving in stocks using Individual Pension Saving (IPS) or saving directly on the stock exchange (OMX). An individual is assumed to have the same portfolio of stocks whether he or she uses IPS or OMX. Different length of saving years, payment years, real rates of return, saving amounts and different tax rates are compared to each other between the systems. The results indicate a clear benefit using IPS in the long run, when tax rates are higher during the saving period compared to when retrieving the payment. It also indicates an uncertain usefulness of IPS compared to OMX when individuals have only income tax when saving and retrieving payment. In some cases using IPS can generate a monetary loss compared to OMX. Individuals that are low-income earners and prefers a low risk in their investments should not use IPS, while high-income earners that prefer high risk investments should use IPS instead of directly investing on the OMX. / Den här uppsatsen analyserar skillnaderna i avkastning om man sparar i aktier när man använder sig av Individuellt pensionssparande (IPS) eller sparar direkt på börsen (OMX). En individ antas inneha samma aktieportfölj vare sig han eller hon nyttjar IPS eller OMX. Olika längd av sparande, utbetalning, olika realavkastningar, olika sparnivåer och olika skattesatser jämförs med varandra i de olika systemen. Resultaten indikerar en klar fördel för användandet av IPS på lång sikt, när skattesatsen vid sparandet överskrider skattesatsen vid erhållandet av betalningen. Det finns också indikationer på osäkerhet vad gäller nyttan av att använda IPS jämfört med OMX när individer endast har inkomstskatt både vid sparandet och vid erhållandet av betalningen. I vissa fall kan individen förlora på att nyttja IPS jämfört med OMX. Individer som är låginkomsttagare och föredrar låg risk på sina investeringar skall ej använda sig av IPS, medan höginkomsttagare som föredrar högrisk på sina investeringar skall använda IPS istället för OMX.

This study was initiated by the authors in order to evaluate the Twister™ method’s environmental pros and cons in relation to other traditional floor care methods using polish and wax. This has been ascertained through a Life Cycle Assessment which was conducted within the study. The study has been in co-operation with HTC Sweden AB, the developer of the Twister™ method. The results show that the elements of the Twister™ method with the greatest environmental impact are the scrubbing machine that is used and the low energy consumption that the Twister™ method requires. The results also show that the Twister™ method has a significantly lower environmental impact than floor care methods using polish or wax. The parts of the Twister™ pad that have the greatest environmental impact are the industrial diamonds and the material that makes up the pad.