Publications related to Environmental impact of the energy industry

Fusing Pre-existing Knowledge and Machine Learning for Enhanced Building Thermal Modeling and Control

Buildings play a pivotal role in the ongoing worldwide energy transition, accounting for 30% of the global energy consumption. With traditional engineering solutions reaching their limits to tackle such large-scale problems, data-driven methods and Machine ...

EPFL2024

Solar-assisted clean steam generator, a cleaner production approach for sustainable healthcare facilities

Fernando Porté Agel, Mohammad Jamshidmofid, Ahmad Arabkoohsar

Healthcare sector buildings, particularly hospitals, significantly contribute to global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Hospitals require a substantial amount of steam, including the essential hygienic or " clean steam, " that is currently ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2024

The Effect of Rivers on Energy Balance at the Neighborhood Scale. A comparative analysis of four Rhodanian sites in France and Switzerland

Sergi Aguacil Moreno, Martine Laprise, Sara Sonia Formery Regazzoni, Emmanuel Rey

This research aims to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of new neighbourhood projects near the Rhône River in France and Switzerland. The study considers the influence of the river on energy demand and resilience to climate change of 12 project-ba ...

Wrocław University of Science and Technology Publishing House2024

Renewable energy integration and waste heat valorization in aluminum remelting for co-producing kerosene and methanol

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos, Réginald Germanier

The aluminium sector relies on natural gas for the conversion of recycled scrap into new feedstock, which results in substantial atmospheric emissions. Hydric resources are also impacted, as they serve as heat sinks for the waste heat generated during the ...

Associazione Italiana Di Ingegneria Chimica2024

Multiscale Spatiotemporal Characterization of Embodied Environmental Performance of Building Structures in Geneva from 1850 to 2018

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Catherine Elvire L. De Wolf, Serena Vanbutsele

Load-bearing systems in buildings, significant in material use and embodied greenhouse gas emissions (EGHGE), have lacked detailed analysis on their environmental and functional relationships over time and space. This study evaluates the environmental impa ...

2024

Design and Synthesis of Bio-based Amphiphiles from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Songlan Sun

In the pursuit of a carbon-neutral chemical industry, minimizing fossil feedstock consumption while integrating renewable carbon sources is imperative. Surfactants, inherently amphiphilic, pose challenges in separation and recovery processes. Given their e ...

EPFL2024

Beyond the average consumer: Mapping the potential of demand-side management among patterns of appliance usage

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Matteo Barsanti, Selin Yilmaz

To support the decarbonisation of the power sector and offset the volatility of a system with high levels of renewables, there is growing interest in residential Demand-Side Management (DSM) solutions. Traditional DSM strategies require consumers to active ...

2024

Integrated production of urea and nitric acid in the pulp industry: techno-economic and environmental analysis of black liquor gasification-based processes

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Shivom Sharma, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos

The pursuit of alternative energy sources for the nitrogen fertilizers sector has recently earned renewed interest due to increasing concerns regarding the world dependence on non-renewable energy resources and also motivated by the more stringent environm ...

2022

The thermodynamic and life-cycle assessments of a novel charging station for electric vehicles in dynamic and steady-state conditions

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani, Chengzhang Xu

The current study performs the thermodynamic and life-cycle assessments (LCA) of a novel charging station in two system designs. The goal is to design an efficient charging station for electric vehicles with high efficiencies and low environmental impacts ...

Nature Portfolio2023

ROSMOSE: A Web-based Optimization Tool to Aid Decision-making for the Design and Operation of Industrial and Urban Energy Systems

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos, Cédric Terrier, Michel Lopez

Energy efficiency is crucial for the sustainable operation of all industrial and urban sectors. However, practicing engineers have seldom access to open-source tools that can readily evaluate and compare scenarios in terms of energy consumption, cost, and ...

2023

Comparative Exergy and Economic Assessment of Fossil and Biomass-Based Routes for Ammonia Production

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego

Due to the increasing concerns about the marked dependence on fossil resources and their intrinsic economic uncertainty, as well as motivated by more stringent environmental regulations, the pursuit of alternative energy resources for the synthetic fertili ...

Silesian University of Technology2023

Need for harmonized long-term multi-lake monitoring of African Great Lakes

Natacha Tofield-Pasche

To ensure the long-term sustainable use of African Great Lakes (AGL), and to better understand the func-tioning of these ecosystems, authorities, managers and scientists need regularly collected scientific data and information of key environmental indicato ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2023

Leveraging industrial biorefineries for the energy transition

François Maréchal, Julia Granacher

Biorefineries hold the potential to provide products and energy carriers at reduced environmental impact compared to their fossil-based counterparts. Thus, they can contribute to the decarbonization of sectors in which electrification of demands is challen ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2023

Decision support for the design of integrated biorefineries

Julia Granacher

A shift from fossil-based energy and products to more sustainable alternatives is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and associated climate change impacts. Biomass represents a promising alternative for providing fuels and carbon-based products w ...

EPFL2023

Heat pumping and renewable energy integration for decarbonizing brewery industry and district heating

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos

The energy integration of brewery plants and urban agglomerations has many benefits in terms of rational energy use and reduced environmental impact, especially during scenarios of uncertain supply chain and volatile market prices. In fact, the diversifica ...

Elsevier2023

Building structures made of reused cut reinforced concrete slabs and walls: A case study

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Maléna Bastien Masse, Nicole Widmer

Reuse of reinforced concrete (RC) components reduces construction’s environmental impacts and waste. Rather than crushing the concrete of an obsolete structure, its components are saw cut and later reassembled in a new structure. The theoretical feasibilit ...

CRC Press2023

Atlas Narratives of Anthropogenic Transformations across the Vietnamese Mekong Delta's Urban-Rural Territories: Water Ecosystems as Subject for the Social Ecological Transition

Sylvie Tram Nguyen

Well beyond the impact of climate change, anthropogenic modifications of the Vietnam Mekong Delta's ecosystems have resulted in environmental degradation and subsequent loss in ecosystems. The environmental impacts include but are not limited to accelerate ...

EPFL2023

Tuning the Solar Performance of Building Facades through Polymer 3D Printing: Toward Bespoke Thermo-Optical Properties

Stephen William Wasilewski, Arno Schlueter

Facades are the primary interface controlling the flow of solar energy in buildings and affecting their energy balance and environmental impact. Recently, large-scale 3D printing (3DP) of translucent polymers has been explored as a technique for fabricatin ...

Wiley2023

Comparative approach of the environmental impact induced by different architectural visions of a new periurban neighbourhood

Sophie Lufkin, Sergi Aguacil Moreno, Martine Laprise, Emmanuel Rey

The objective of this research work is to compare the environmental impact, expressed in terms of non-renewable cumulative energy demand (CEDnr) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, of nine architectural visions for a new neighbourhood located in the periur ...

2022

Enabling renewable Europe through optimal design and operation

Alessio Santecchia

Europe is currently transitioning from fossil energy sources to renewable generation of electric power. Although fundamental to reach net-zero targets, intermittent renewables are disrupting conventional methods used in operational planning and design of p ...

EPFL2022