| 1. |
- Soam, Shveta, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of rice straw utilization practices in India
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bioresource Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-8524 .- 1873-2976. ; 228, s. 89-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study is to find potential utilization practice of rice straw in India from an environmental perspective. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted for four most realistic utilization practices of straw including: (1) incorporation into the field as fertilizer (2) animal fodder (3) electricity (4) biogas. The results show that processing of 1 ton straw to electricity and biogas resulted in net reduction of 1471 and 1023 kg CO2 eq., 15.0 and 3.4 kg SO2 eq. and 6.7 and 7.1 kg C2H6 eq. emissions in global warming, acidification and photochemical oxidation creation potential respectively. Electricity production from straw replaces the coal based electricity and resulted in benefits in most of the environmental impacts whereas use as an animal fodder resulted in eutrophication benefits. The burning of straw is a harmful practice of managing straw in India which can be avoided by utilizing straw for bioenergy.
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| 2. |
- Davidsson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Construction of laboratories for solar energy research in developing countries
- 2014
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Ingår i: Energy Procedia 57. - : Elsevier BV. - 1876-6102. ; 57:Energy Procedia 57, s. 982-988
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large number of photovoltaic systems have been installed in developing countries around the world during numerous projects. The goal is often to improve the quality of life in rural areas often lacking electricity. Many of these installations provide important services such as lighting and charging of various devices. However, when the projects are finished, there is a large risk that maintenance is not carried out properly and that malfunctions are never repaired. This situation can leave an otherwise well- functioning system unusable. A key problem is that there are not enough trained technicians that can maintain and repair the system locally. One reason for this is the lack of practical education in many developing countries. Furthermore, the availability of spare parts is essential for long term effectiveness. During 2011 a group of researchers from Lund University in Sweden built a small scale laboratory in Maputo, Mozambique, with local researchers. The project was successful and today the laboratory functions both as a teaching facility and as a measurement station for solar energy research for licentiates, masters and Ph.D. students. The main goal now is to widen the project in order to incorporate more universities in developing countries. We are now looking for new interested partners in developing countries who believe that such a laboratory could strengthen their ability to teach practical work and to perform research at a local university. Partners for planning and executing the project are also needed.
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| 3. |
- Jägerbrand, Annika K., et al.
(författare)
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Speed reduction effects over distance of animal-vehicle collision countermeasures – a driving simulator study
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Transport Research Review. - : Springer Publishing Company. - 1867-0717 .- 1866-8887. ; 10:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: This study examined if speed reduction effects from animal-vehicle collision (AVC) countermeasures are merely local or do extend to a wider area, and what implications the results have on road planning practice regarding AVCs.Methods: Twenty-five drivers drove repeatedly on a 9-km long road stretch in a high-fidelity driving simulator. The development of vehicle speed in the surrounding of an automatic speed camera, a wildlife warning sign and a radio message, were investigated in a full factorial within-subject experiment. The factors wildlife fence (with/without) and forest (dense/open landscape) were also included.Results: The radio warning message had the largest influence on vehicle speed with a speed reduction of 8 km/h that lasted beyond 1 km and 2 km after the implementation. Eighty-eight per cent of the drivers reported being made extra aware of AVC due to the radio message, which was also associated with stress, insecurity and unsafety. The warning sign reduced vehicle speed by 1.5 km/h, but speed reductions were not significantly reduced 1 km after the implementation. Only 8 % of the drivers felt insecure/unsafe after passing the wildlife warning sign, explaining its limited impact on speed. There were no main effects of the automatic speed camera on vehicle speed at longer distances after implementation.Conclusions: We recommend that AVC countermeasures should be of various design, occur at various segments along the road, and preferably be adaptive and geo-localized to minimize habituation effects on drivers.
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| 4. |
- Palm, Jenny, et al.
(författare)
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Reframing energy efficiency in industry : a discussion of definitions, rationales and management practices
- 2020. - 1
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Ingår i: Energy and Behaviour: challenges of a low-carbon future. - : Elsevier. - 9780128185674 ; , s. 153-176
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energy efficiency is a priority goal and an important part of the transformation to a more sustainable society. The industrial sector is an important actor in this setting. In this chapter we outline the major principles for energy efficiency and energy management in industry and discuss how to develop the energy management perspective with theories from social science focusing on how situated actions, tacit knowledge and social networks can influence decision-making. By cross-pollinating fields that do not usually meet, the aim is to develop new insights contributing to existing research. We conclude that an energy management model is necessary, which can be adjusted to the local context in which it will be used. We also suggest an energy management model focusing the importance of knowledge and communication.
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| 5. |
- Thollander, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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Energy efficiency as a wicked problem
- 2019
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Together with increased shares of renewable energy supply, improved energy efficiency is the foremost means of mitigating climate change. However, the energy efficiency potential is far from being realized, which is commonly explained by the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. Initially mentioned by Churchman, the term wicked problems became established in the 1970s, meaning a kind of problem that has a resistance to resolution because of incomplete, contradictory, or changing requirements. In the academic literature, wicked problems have later served as a critical model in the understanding of various challenges related to society, such as for example climate change mitigation. This aim of this paper is to analyze how the perspective of wicked problems can contribute to an enhanced understanding of improved energy efficiency. The paper draws examples from the manufacturing sector. Results indicate that standalone technology improvements as well as energy management and energy policy programs giving emphasis to standalone technology improvements may not represent a stronger form of a wicked problem as such. Rather, it seems to be the actual decision-making process involving values among the decision makers as well as the level of needed knowledge involved in decision-making that give rise to the wickedness. The analysis shows that wicked problems arise in socio-technical settings involving several components such as technology, systems, institutions, and people, which make post-normal science a needed approach.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson, H., et al.
(författare)
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What is the need for building parts? - A comparison of CityGML, INSPIRE building and a Swedish building standard
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives. - : International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. ; 42, s. 27-32
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The need for digital building information is increasing, both in the form of 3D city models (as geodata) and of more detailed building information models (BIM). BIM models are mainly used in the architecture, engineering and construction industry, but have recently become interesting also for municipalities. The overall aim of this paper is to study one way of dividing a building, namely the division of a building into building parts in both 3D city models and in BIM models. The study starts by an inventory of how building parts are defined in 3D city model standards (CityGML, the INSPIRE building specification and a Swedish national specification for buildings) and in BIM models (Industry Foundation Classes, IFC). The definition of building parts in these specifications are compared and evaluated. The paper also describes potential applications for the use of building parts, on what grounds a building could be divided into building parts, advantages and disadvantages of having building parts and what consequences it can have on the usage of the building information. One finding is that building parts is defined similar, but not identical in the studied geodata specifications and there are no requirements, only recommendations on how buildings should be divided into building parts. This can complicate the modelling, exchange and reuse of building information, and in a longer perspective, it would be desirable to have recommendations of how to define and use building parts in for example a national context.
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| 7. |
- Harrie, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Some strategic national initiatives for the Swedish education in the geodata field
- 2014
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the AGILE'2014 International Conference on Geographic Information Science. - : AGILE Digital Editions. - 9789081696043
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper describes national cooperation in Sweden launched by its universities and authorities, aimed at improving geodata education. These initiatives have been focused upon providing common access to geodata, the production of teaching materials in Swedish and organizing annual meetings for teachers. We argue that this type of cooperation is vital to providing high quality education for a poorly recognized subject in a country with a relatively small population.
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| 8. |
- Holtermann, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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A practical guidance for assessments of sedentary behavior at work: A PEROSH initiative
- 2017
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Ingår i: Applied Ergonomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-6870 .- 1872-9126. ; 63, s. 41-52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sedentary behavior is defined as sitting or lying with low energy expenditure. Humans in industrialized societies spend an increasing amount of time in sedentary behaviors every day. This has been associated with detrimental health outcomes. Despite a growing interest in the health effects of sedentary behavior at work, associations remain unclear, plausibly due to poor and diverse methods for assessing sedentary behavior. Thus, good practice guidance for researchers and practitioners on how to assess occupational sedentary behavior are needed. The aim of this paper is to provide a practical guidance for practitioners and researchers on how to assess occupational sedentary behavior. Ambulatory systems for use in field applications (wearables) are a promising approach for sedentary behavior assessment. Many different small-size consumer wearables, with long battery life and high data storage capacity are commercially available today. However, no stand-alone commercial system is able to assess sedentary behavior in accordance with its definition. The present paper offers decision support for practitioners and researchers in selecting wearables and data collection strategies for their purpose of study on sedentary behavior. Valid and reliable assessment of occupational sedentary behavior is currently not easy. Several aspects need to be considered in the decision process on how to assess sedentary behavior. There is a need for development of a cheap and easily useable wearable for assessment of occupational sedentary behavior by researchers and practitioners
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| 9. |
- Jonsson, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
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CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES ON SOLID WOOD, WOOD-BASED PANELS, AND COMPOSITES : A REPERTORY GRID STUDY
- 2008
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Ingår i: Wood and Fiber Science. - 0735-6161. ; 40:4, s. 663-678
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowledge about consumer perception and preferences on solid wood, wood-based panels, and wood-based composites is important for product development and marketing. The aim of this study was to identify attributes and associations that people use to describe different types of wood materials and to explore how they relate to preferences. The study involved nine samples that were evaluated with the Kelly's repertory grid technique and content analysis. Based on respondents' answers. 19 core categories reflecting sample attributes were extracted. General preferences for each sample were also recorded. Principal component analysis generated two factors describing 1) naturalness, wood-likeness, softness, unprocessed origin, living, pleasant, and high value; and 2) solid and homogeneous impression. A third, preliminary factor included categories describing irregular pattern,sleekness, and smoothness. The wood samples were most liked, whereas composites and panels were not appreciated. Preferred core categories were naturalness, wood-likeness, smoothness, living impression, and value. The least liked core categories were processed, hard, and high weigh. The implications of the results for product development and marketing are discussed.
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| 10. |
- Soam, Shveta, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Global warming potential and energy analysis of second generation ethanol production from rice straw in India
- 2016
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Ingår i: Applied Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-2619 .- 1872-9118. ; 184, s. 353-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The environmental sustainability of cellulosic ethanol production from rice straw in India is conducted using life cycle assessment (LCA). Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, net energy ratio (NER) and net energy balance (NEB) are studied for ethanol production system using two diverse pretreatment technologies, i.e. dilute acid (DA) and steam explosion (SE) followed by separate hydrolysis and fermentation. 1 ton of rice straw is the reference flow of study and 1 MJ transportation fuel is the functional unit while comparing the results with gasoline. The inventory data is collected based on several experiments conducted at our pilot plant and is a novel contribution to country specific LCA. Using DA and SE, the ethanol yields from the processing of 1 ton straw are 239 and 253 L and life cycle GHG emissions are 292 and 288 kg CO2 eq./ton straw respectively. The results indicated that production of enzyme used in hydrolysis is the major contributor to GHG emissions in both DA (54%) and SE (57%) methods of ethanol production. The net energy input during the life cycle of ethanol is 1736 and 1377 MJ/ton straw in DA and SE respectively. The major GHG emissions and energy benefits are obtained using lignin produced in the plant to generate electricity resulting in displacement of the coal based electricity. With a higher xylose recovery in the SE, it gives larger amount of ethanol and also generates more surplus electricity. Enzyme production and its use are identified as GHG emission and energy consumption hotspot in the ethanol production process. While comparing the results with gasoline, DA and SE resulted in a reduction of 77 and 89% GHG emissions and NER of 2.3 and 2.7 respectively. The E5 blending would reduce GHG emissions by 4.3% (DA) and 4.8% (SE) whereas; E20 blend would lead to a reduction of 17.4% (DA) and 18.8% (SE) respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicates that with every 12.5% increase in the price of rice straw from the base case, there is a 2.3% increase in GHG emissions and vice versa. 1 FPU/g WIS increase during hydrolysis gives 2.9% increase in ethanol production, but at the same time there is an increase of 5% emissions from enzyme production. The results of the study conclude that cellulosic ethanol production technology in India is sustainable from GHG reduction and energy efficiency perspective.
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