Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability最新文献

{"title":"Potential of existing strategies to reduce net anthropogenic inputs of phosphorus to land in the United States","authors":"Mikaela Algren, Tierra Tisby Burke, Z. Chowdhury, C. Costello, A. Landis","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acbabb","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acbabb","url":null,"abstract":"Improving phosphorus (P) management is important for both ecosystem protection and avoiding mineable P scarcity. In order to inform the development of impactful solutions to both of these issues, we assessed the potential of several specific management strategies to reduce demand for new mined P in fertilizers and supplements for livestock, thereby reducing net P inputs to land. The strategies assessed were variable rate fertilizer (VRF) application, improvements to P digestibility for livestock, efficient utilization of manure and wastewater treatment (WWT) P, and elimination of avoidable domestic food waste. The potential of these strategies to reduce net anthropogenic P inputs was assessed at the county level for the coterminous US using the commodity-specific net anthropogenic P and nitrogen inputs (CSNAPNI) model. The largest contributions toward eliminating NAPI in the US can come from efficient manure utilization either at national (30%–50% NAPI reduction) or county-level (21%–30% NAPI reduction). However, widespread adoption of VRF (10%–41% NAPI reduction), and all other strategies considered (5% or greater NAPI reductions each) could make significant contributions. In combinations of strategies that included VRF or P digestibility improvements, negative feedbacks occurred. VRF reduced demand for fertilizer, thereby reducing the potential for efficient manure and WWT P utilization at the county-level. P digestibility improvements in poultry and swine diets reduced the expected production of recoverable manure P by 36%, decreasing the total manure P that could be used to replace mined P fertilizer. However, P digestibility improvements also reduced county-level excess manure P by 25%. Prior studies have focused on quantifying P inputs or the potential of in-situ best management practices to reduce losses to water, but strategies to reduce P inputs are understudied.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129684788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Estimating thermal energy loads in remote and northern communities to facilitate a net-zero transition","authors":"Ian Maynard, Ahmed Abdulla","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acb3f4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acb3f4","url":null,"abstract":"Canada has more than 350 remote and northern communities, most of which rely on diesel for their electric and thermal needs. This reliance is deleterious to climate, health, albedo, and energy security—all diesel must be imported. The government is working to transition these communities to climate-friendly and sustainable alternatives, but assessments of this transition are hampered by limited data availability, especially the absence of hourly thermal load profiles. Here, we develop a method for estimating the thermal load profiles of these communities; apply it to 40 communities that vary across characteristics like population, location, accessibility, and Indigenous identity; and seek to validate these profiles with the few empirical data that exist. We also develop a model to predict the thermal load of a remote and northern community using limited, available information like population and location. This paper represents the first attempt to simulate hourly thermal load profiles for these communities. We find that thermal loads are large—the hourly thermal load can be up to 23 times the hourly electrical load in winter, which has implications for investment planning. Our research helps communities, investors, and analysts develop robust transition plans as they seek to decarbonize northern communities’ energy systems.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130674715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydropower representation in water and energy system models: a review of divergences and call for reconciliation","authors":"D. E. Rheinheimer, Brian Tarroja, A. Rallings, A. Willis, J. Viers","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acb6b0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acb6b0","url":null,"abstract":"Reservoir-based hydropower systems represent key interactions between water and energy systems and are being transformed under policy initiatives driven by increasing water and energy demand, the desire to reduce environmental impacts, and interacting effects of climate change. Such policies are often guided by complex system models, whereby divergence in system representations can potentially translate to incompatible planning outcomes, thereby undermining any planning that may rely on them. We review different approaches and assumptions in hydropower representation in water and energy systems. While the models and issues are relevant globally, the review focuses on applications in California given its extensive development of energy and water models for policy planning, but discusses the extent to which these observations apply to other regions. Structurally, both water-driven and energy-driven management models are similar. However, in energy models, hydropower is often represented as a single-priority output. Water management models typically allocate water for competing priorities, which are generally uninformed by dynamic electricity load demand, and often result in a lower priority for hydropower. In water models, constraints are increasingly resolved for non-energy components (e.g. inflow hydrology and non-energy water demand); few analogues exist for energy models. These limitations may result in inadequate representations of each respective sector, and vastly different planning outcomes for the same facilities between the two different sectors. These divergent modeling approaches manifest themselves in California where poorly reconciled outcomes may affect decisions in hydropower licensing, electricity grid flexibility and decarbonization, and planning for environmental water. Fully integrated water-energy models are computationally intensive and specific to certain regions, but better representation of each domain in respective efforts would help reconcile divergences in planning and management efforts related to hydropower across energy and water systems.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133720836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Torrefaction of almond shell as a renewable reinforcing agent for plastics: techno-economic analyses and comparison to bioethanol process","authors":"Dupeng Liu, Nawa Raj Baral, Ling Liang, C. Scown, N. Sun","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acb5c0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acb5c0","url":null,"abstract":"In 2016, the US state of California alone produced nearly 3.5 billion kilograms of almonds, accounting for approximately 84% of the world’s almond production. This generated about 2.58 million metric tons (MTs) of almond residues. Almond shells are currently either burned to generate power or disposed of in landfill. Valorizing almond shells and hulls provides an opportunity to replace petroleum-derived products and divert organic material from landfill. Here we demonstrate a detailed techno-economic analysis (TEA) of an almond shell torrefaction process capable of utilizing the 520 000 MTs of almond shells produced annually in California. Our process also includes preprocessing the torrefied biomass to exploit it as a reinforcing agent for plastics. We further compared the revenue generated from the torrefied biomass and bioethanol derived from the same quantity of almond shells. We considered three different torrefaction facility scales to evaluate trade-offs between economies of scale at the facility and trucking costs to deliver almond shells. A facility that takes in 200 000 MT yr–1 of almond shells results in lower per-unit-output basis capital and operating cost relative to other smaller-scale torrefaction facilities, including 10 000 MT yr–1 and 50 000 MT yr–1, considered for analysis in this study. The large-sale facility results in a minimum selling price (MSP) of the torrefied biomass of $311.4 MT–1. An analogous TEA on converting almond residues into bioethanol is also investigated. The MSP of almond shell derived ethanol ($1.71 kg−1) is higher than that of corn ($0.48 kg−1) or cellulosic biomass ($0.88 kg−1) derived ethanol. Compared with the bioethanol route, the torrefied almond shells result in three times more revenue if utilized as a reinforcing agent for plastics.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"33 3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125714053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vulnerability of California roadways to post-wildfire debris flows","authors":"Rui Li, M. Chester","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acb3f5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acb3f5","url":null,"abstract":"Post-wildfire debris flows represent a significant hazard for transportation infrastructure. The location and intensity of post-fire debris movements are difficult to predict, and threats can persist for several years until the watershed is restored to pre-fire conditions. This situation might worsen as climate change forecasts predict increasing numbers of wildfire burned areas and extreme precipitation intensity. New insights are needed to improve understanding of how roadways are vulnerable to post-fire flows and how to prioritize protective efforts. Using California as a case study, the vulnerability of transportation infrastructure to post-fire debris flow was assessed considering geologic conditions, vegetation conditions, precipitation, fire risk, and roadway importance under current and future climate scenarios. The results showed significant but uneven statewide increases in the number of vulnerable roadways from the present to future emission scenarios. Under current climate conditions, 0.97% of roadways are highly vulnerable. In the future, the ratio of vulnerable roadways is expected to increase 1.9–2.3 times in the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 emission scenarios, and 3.5–4.2 times in the RCP 8.5 emission scenarios. The threat of post-fire debris flow varies across the state, as precipitation changes are uneven. The vulnerability assessment is positioned to (a) identify, reinforce, and fortify highly vulnerable roadways, (b) prioritize watershed fire mitigation, and (c) guide future infrastructure site selection.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131882262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"City-scale analysis of annual ambient PM2.5 source contributions with the InMAP reduced-complexity air quality model: a case study of Madison, Wisconsin","authors":"Clara M Jackson, T. Holloway, C. Tessum","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acb0fa","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acb0fa","url":null,"abstract":"Air pollution is highly variable, such that source contributions to air pollution can vary even within a single city. However, few tools exist to support city-scale air quality analyses, including impacts of energy system changes. We present a methodology that utilizes regional ground-based monitor measurements to scale speciation data from the Intervention Model for Air Pollution (InMAP), a national-scale reduced-complexity model. InMAP, like all air quality models, has biases in its concentration estimates; these biases may be pronounced when examining a single city. We apply the bias correction methodology to Madison, Wisconsin and estimate the relative contributions of sources to annual-average fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as the impacts of coal power plant retirements and electric vehicle (EV) adoption. We find that the largest contributors to ambient PM2.5 concentrations in Madison are on-road transportation, contributing 21% of total PM2.5; non-point sources, 16%; and electricity generating units, 14%. State-wide coal power plant closures from 2014 to 2020 and planned closures through 2025 were modeled to assess air quality benefits. The largest relative reductions are seen in areas north of Milwaukee (up to 7%), though population-weighted PM2.5 was reduced by only 3.8% across the state. EV adoption scenarios lead to a relative reduction in PM2.5 over Madison of 0.5% to 13.7% or a 9.3% reduction in total PM2.5 from a total replacement of light-duty vehicles (LDVs) with EVs. Similar percent reductions are calculated for population-weighted concentrations over Madison. Replacing 100% of LDVs with EVs reduced CO2 emissions by over 50%, highlighting the potential benefits of EVs to both climate and air quality. This work illustrates the potential of combining data from models and monitors to inform city-scale air quality analyses, supporting local decision-makers working to reduce air pollution and improve public health.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121781950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the carbon footprint of a Philippine university","authors":"Aiza Cortes, Leticia Sarmento dos Muchangos, Krissa Joy Tabornal, Hans Diether Tolabing","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/acaa52","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acaa52","url":null,"abstract":"The Philippines entered its most prolonged lockdown in 2020 when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a pandemic. Additionally, there has been a shift from physical to online classes at all education levels. Against this backdrop, the restrictions imposed on the education sector could have environmental impacts, including on the carbon emission structure. Here, we compare the carbon footprint before and during the pandemic, determine how the pandemic changed the activities that directly affected carbon emissions, and present reduction methods to minimise emissions in the new normal. We calculated emissions before and during the pandemic to achieve these goals, using the data obtained from University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu. The total CO2 emissions of UP Cebu in 2019 were estimated to be 1420.7 tCO2e, which did not significantly differ from the 2018 emissions. In 2020, the total CO2 emissions were estimated to be 555.8 tCO2e, equivalent to a 60.9% decrease from the 2019 emissions. The per capita emissions in UP Cebu for 2019 and 2020 were estimated to be 0.9 tCO2e and 0.3 tCO2e, respectively—both below the national average. The pandemic caused a significant decrease in emissions per activity, except for fuel-related emissions which increased by 305.8%. In the post-COVID-19 world, especially when in-person classes return, UP Cebu must consider concrete strategies to curb its emissions. Specific decarbonisation methods for each activity were simulated and discussed. The results and reduction strategies presented are relevant to UP Cebu and other higher education institutions in the Philippines and Asia with the same characteristics.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131281770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aligning sustainability and regional earthquake hazard mitigation planning: integrating greenhouse gas emissions and vertical equity","authors":"Ioanna Kavvada, S. Moura, A. Horvath","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/aca9f3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/aca9f3","url":null,"abstract":"Concerns about the potential economic consequences of earthquakes have increased in recent years as scientifically based probabilities of future earthquakes in many large urban areas have risen. These hazards disproportionately impact low-income communities as wealth disparities limit their capacity to prepare and recover from potentially disastrous events. In addition to major economic losses, the activities related to building recovery result in significant greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change. This article develops a framework that quantifies the complex relationships between pre-earthquake retrofit activities and their economic, environmental and equity implications to promote informed decision-making, using the city of San Francisco, California as a case study. This research consists of two sections. In the first section, a bi-objective optimization model is proposed to identify optimal earthquake risk mitigation policies to minimize total earthquake-related economic and environmental costs, simultaneously. Decisions entail the seismic retrofit, combined seismic and energy retrofit or complete reconstruction of building-type groups. The benefits of increased energy efficiency of the upgraded buildings are incorporated to evaluate decisions from a holistic perspective. In the second section, the model is extended to address the issue of inequitable budget allocation from a public-sector perspective. Vertical equity considerations are incorporated as an optimization constraint to distribute available resources aiming to limit the discrepancy of expected losses as a fraction of income between households across income groups. The tradeoff between equity and economic efficiency is explored. Results show that life-cycle environmental impacts constitute an informative performance metric to regional risk mitigation decision-makers, in addition to the more customarily used monetary losses. Although construction costs primarily dictate optimal decisions from an economic perspective, energy considerations largely impact optimal decisions from an environmental perspective.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124077934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Practical Solutions for Energy Transition Emerging in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Rebekah Shirley, Haileselassie Medhin","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/aca628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/aca628","url":null,"abstract":"Africa’s role in the global energy transition is undeniable as the least electrified yet fastest-growing continent on the globe, crucially in need of economic development and investment in climate resilience. Africa is on track to become the most populous continent by 2050, housing almost 80% of the world’s poor, almost 90% of those without energy access, and the most climate-vulnerable communities—all while having contributed less than 5% of global carbon emissions. Delivering climate-proofed prosperity to this growing population will require paying major attention to the continent’s energy systems, which remain underdeveloped and severely under-resourced. Africa’s power systems are largely underdeveloped, in part given the historical context in which its power utilities emerged. This presents African countries with a set of circumstances and challenges in achieving universal energy access and energy sector growth which are much different from those faced by their advanced energy market counterparts. At roughly 230 GW of installed generation, the entire continent’s generation capacity is roughly half that of India alone [1]. To truly deliver sustainable economies, dignified jobs, and prosperity for all, power supply must grow significantly—and is expected to quadruple by 2040 [2]. However, this energy system expansion is complex, especially given the immense difficulty of securing investment from the international finance community to further expand renewables on the continent; the very real and practical challenges of delivering mass amounts of reliable power entirely through intermittent renewable resources; the challenge of bringing full sectors such as transportation onto grid, far less weak grids; and the continent’s growing industrialization agenda which involves many non-electricity energy feedstock needs. With the international energy agency (IEA)’s conclusion that no new oil or gas reserves could be explored or developed to stay under the global 1.5 C threshold, Africa’s energy transitions and the role of abundant domestic fuels such as natural gas have now become a timely and polarizing debate. As such, dialogues around Africa’s future energy systems are intensifying. There is a risk that some positions are hardening, and that the space for fact-based discussion on key topics, including as the role of fossil fuels, is narrowing. In a vacuum of comprehensive and digestible data, and spaces that prioritize local voice, there is a grave risk of predetermining Africa’s options, rather than co-developing ambitious, credible new pathways based on perspective sharing and the pledge of support. This is an urgent risk to mitigate against. Energy transition decisions and policy determined now will carry tremendous weight, with nearand long-term implications for Africa’s economic trajectories, carbon lock-in, international partnerships, trust, and multilateralism, and moreover, the prosperity of millions. This Focus Issue aims to inject into the ","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"79 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116699643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum: Estimating global demand for land-based transportation services using the shared socioeconomic pathways scenario framework (2022 Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain. 2 035009)","authors":"Joan Nkiriki, P. Jaramillo, N. Williams, Alex Davis, D. Armanios","doi":"10.1088/2634-4505/ac9fef","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/ac9fef","url":null,"abstract":"Joan Nkiriki1,∗, Paulina Jaramillo, Nathan Williams, Alex Davis and Daniel Erian Armanios 1 Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America 2 Department of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States of America 3 Kigali Collaborative Research Center, Kigali, Rwanda 4 Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom ∗ Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.","PeriodicalId":309041,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124789363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}