The economics of optimal health and productivity in the commercial dairy.

Science.gov (United States)

Galligan, D T

1999-08-01

Dairy production practices are changing; in order to remain viable, producers must optimise the health and productivity of dairy herds in economic terms. Health care is important in economic terms because disease can substantially reduce the productivity of individual animals. Preventive disease control programmes can thus result in economic gains for the dairy producer. The author describes new approaches to preventing postpartum diseases and dealing with fertility problems which can result from these diseases. Other aspects of dairy production are also changing, employing new technologies where these are judged to be profitable. Innovations include: the use of bovine somatotropin; systematic breeding/culling programmes; new mathematical modelling techniques to determine optimum feed composition and to define optimal growth levels for accelerated heifer-rearing programmes; the use of computers to collect, store and analyse data on animal production and health; and semen selection programmes. Increasing awareness of bio-security is also vital, not least because of the large investment present in dairy herds. Whatever practices are employed, they must offer economic returns to producers that compete with alternative uses of capital. Optimal levels of disease control must be determined for a particular production situation, taking into account not only the economic health of the producer, but also the well-being of the animals.

A methodology to assess the economic impact of power storage technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Ghandour, Laila; Johnson, Timothy C

2017-08-13

We present a methodology for assessing the economic impact of power storage technologies. The methodology is founded on classical approaches to the optimal stopping of stochastic processes but involves an innovation that circumvents the need to, ex ante , identify the form of a driving process and works directly on observed data, avoiding model risks. Power storage is regarded as a complement to the intermittent output of renewable energy generators and is therefore important in contributing to the reduction of carbon-intensive power generation. Our aim is to present a methodology suitable for use by policy makers that is simple to maintain, adaptable to different technologies and easy to interpret. The methodology has benefits over current techniques and is able to value, by identifying a viable optimal operational strategy, a conceived storage facility based on compressed air technology operating in the UK.This article is part of the themed issue 'Energy management: flexibility, risk and optimization'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Optimal control of a harmonic oscillator: Economic interpretations

Science.gov (United States)

Janová, Jitka; Hampel, David

2013-10-01

Optimal control is a popular technique for modelling and solving the dynamic decision problems in economics. A standard interpretation of the criteria function and Lagrange multipliers in the profit maximization problem is well known. On a particular example, we aim to a deeper understanding of the possible economic interpretations of further mathematical and solution features of the optimal control problem: we focus on the solution of the optimal control problem for harmonic oscillator serving as a model for Phillips business cycle. We discuss the economic interpretations of arising mathematical objects with respect to well known reasoning for these in other problems.

Economic dispatch optimization algorithm based on particle diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Li; Romero, Carlos E.; Yao, Zheng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A dispatch model that considers fuel, emissions control and wind power cost is built. • An optimization algorithm named diffusion particle optimization (DPO) is proposed. • DPO was used to analyze the impact of wind power risk and emissions on dispatch. - Abstract: Due to the widespread installation of emissions control equipment in fossil fuel-fired power plants, the cost of emissions control needs to be considered, together with the plant fuel cost, in providing economic power dispatch of those units to the grid. On the other hand, while using wind power decreases the overall power generation cost for the power grid, it poses a risk to a traditional grid, because of its inherent stochastic characteristics. Therefore, an economic dispatch optimization model needs to consider all of the fuel cost, emissions control cost and wind power cost for each of the generating unit conforming the fleet that meets the required grid power demand. In this study, an optimization algorithm referred as diffusion particle optimization (DPO) is proposed to solve such complex optimization problem. In this algorithm, Brownian motion theory is used to guide the movement of particles so that the particles can search for an optimal solution over the entire definition region. Several benchmark functions and power grid system data were used to test the performance of DPO, and compared to traditional algorithms used for economic dispatch optimization, such as, particle swarm optimization and artificial bee colony algorithm. It was found that DPO has less probability to be trapped in local optimums. According to results of different power systems DPO was able to find economic dispatch solutions with lower costs. DPO was also used to analyze the impact of wind power risk and fossil unit emissions coefficients on power dispatch. The result are encouraging for the use of DPO as a dynamic tool for economic dispatch of the power grid.

Integrated design and optimization of technologies for utilizing low grade heat in process industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwak, Dong-Hun; Binns, Michael; Kim, Jin-Kuk

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Implementation of a modeling and design framework for the utilization of low grade heat. • Application of process simulator and optimization techniques for the design of technologies for heat recovery. • Systematic and holistic exploitation for the recovery of industrial low grade heat. • Demonstration of the applicability and benefit of integrated design and optimization framework through a case study. - Abstract: The utilization of low grade heat in process industries has significant potential for improving site-wide energy efficiency. This paper focuses on the techno-economic analysis of key technologies for energy recovery and re-use, namely: Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC), boiler feed water heating, heat pumping and absorption refrigeration in the context of process integration. Process modeling and optimization in a holistic manner identifies the optimal integrated configuration of these technologies, with rigorous assessment of costs and technical feasibility of these technologies. For the systematic screening and evaluation of design options, detailed process simulator models are evaluated and optimization proceeds subject to design constraints for the particular economic scenarios where technology using low grade heat is introduced into the process site. Case studies are presented to illustrate how the proposed modeling and optimization framework can be useful and effective in practice, in terms of providing design guidelines and conceptual insights for the application of technologies using low grade heat. From the case study, the best options during winter are the ORC giving a 6.4% cost reduction for the ideal case with low grade heat available at a fixed temperature and boiler feed water heating giving a 2.5% cost reduction for the realistic case with low grade heat available at a range of temperatures. Similarly during summer boiler feed water heating was found to be the best option giving a 3.1% reduction of costs considering a

Science and Technology and Economic Development

OpenAIRE

Lamberte, Mario B.

1988-01-01

Dealing with science and technology and economic development, this paper describes the relationship between technological capability and the degree of economic development. It analyzes the structure of the Philippine economy and the structural changes that have taken place since the 1970. It also investigates the impact of economic developments and technological advances in other countries on the Philippine economy. A discussion on possible research collaboration among PIDS, DOST and regional...

Multi-Objective Thermo-Economic Optimization Strategy for ORCs Applied to Subcritical and Transcritical Cycles for Waste Heat Recovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven Lecompte

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Organic Rankine cycles (ORCs are an established technology to convert waste heat to electricity. Although several commercial implementations exist, there is still considerable potential for thermo-economic optimization. As such, a novel framework for designing optimized ORC systems is proposed based on a multi-objective optimization scheme in combination with financial appraisal in a post-processing step. The suggested methodology provides the flexibility to quickly assess several economic scenarios and this without the need of knowing the complex design procedure. This novel way of optimizing and interpreting results is applied to a waste heat recovery case. Both the transcritical ORC and subcritical ORC are investigated and compared using the suggested optimization strategy.

Effective Teaching of Economics: A Constrained Optimization Problem?

Science.gov (United States)

Hultberg, Patrik T.; Calonge, David Santandreu

2017-01-01

One of the fundamental tenets of economics is that decisions are often the result of optimization problems subject to resource constraints. Consumers optimize utility, subject to constraints imposed by prices and income. As economics faculty, instructors attempt to maximize student learning while being constrained by their own and students'…

Optimizing Technology-Oriented Constructional Paramour's of complex dynamic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novak, S.M.

1998-01-01

Creating optimal vibro systems requires sequential solving of a few problems: selecting the basic pattern of dynamic actions, synthesizing the dynamic active systems, optimizing technological, technical, economic and design parameters. This approach is illustrated by an example of a high-efficiency vibro system synthesized for forming building structure components. When using only one single source to excite oscillations, resonance oscillations are imparted to the product to be formed in the horizontal and vertical planes. In order to obtain versatile and dynamically optimized parameters, a factor is introduced into the differential equations of the motion, accounting for the relationship between the parameters, which determine the frequency characteristics of the system and the parameter variation range. This results in obtaining non-sophisticated mathematical models of the system under investigation, convenient for optimization and for engineering design and calculations as well

Infinite-horizon optimal control problems in economics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aseev, Sergei M; Besov, Konstantin O; Kryazhimskii, Arkadii V

2012-01-01

This paper extends optimal control theory to a class of infinite-horizon problems that arise in studying models of optimal dynamic allocation of economic resources. In a typical problem of this sort the initial state is fixed, no constraints are imposed on the behaviour of the admissible trajectories at large times, and the objective functional is given by a discounted improper integral. We develop the method of finite-horizon approximations in a broad context and use it to derive complete versions of the Pontryagin maximum principle for such problems. We provide sufficient conditions for the normality of infinite-horizon optimal control problems and for the validity of the 'standard' limit transversality conditions with time going to infinity. As a meaningful example, we consider a new two-sector model of optimal economic growth subject to a random jump in prices. Bibliography: 53 titles.

Economic performances optimization of the transcritical Rankine cycle systems in geothermal application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Min-Hsiung; Yeh, Rong-Hua

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The optimal economic performance of the TRC system are investigated. • In economic evaluations, R125 performs the most satisfactorily, followed by R41 and CO 2 . • The TRC system with CO 2 has the largest averaged temperature difference. • Economic optimized pressures are always lower than thermodynamic optimized operating pressures. - Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the economic optimization of a TRC system for the application of geothermal energy. An economic parameter of net power output index, which is the ratio of net power output to the total cost, is applied to optimize the TRC system using CO 2 , R41 and R125 as working fluids. The maximum net power output index and the corresponding optimal operating pressures are obtained and evaluated for the TRC system. Furthermore, the analyses of the corresponding averaged temperature differences in the heat exchangers on the optimal economic performances of the TRC system are carried out. The effects of geothermal temperatures on the thermodynamic and economic optimizations are also revealed. In both optimal economic and thermodynamic evaluations, R125 performs the most satisfactorily, followed by R41 and CO 2 in the TRC system. In addition, the TRC system operated with CO 2 has the largest averaged temperature difference in the heat exchangers and thus has potential in future application for lower-temperature heat resources. The highest working pressures obtained from economic optimization are always lower than those from thermodynamic optimization for CO 2 , R41, and R125 in the TRC system

Economic dispatch using particle swarm optimization. A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahor, Amita; Rangnekar, Saroj; Prasad, Vishnu

2009-01-01

Electrical power industry restructuring has created highly vibrant and competitive market that altered many aspects of the power industry. In this changed scenario, scarcity of energy resources, increasing power generation cost, environment concern, ever growing demand for electrical energy necessitate optimal economic dispatch. Practical economic dispatch (ED) problems have nonlinear, non-convex type objective function with intense equality and inequality constraints. The conventional optimization methods are not able to solve such problems as due to local optimum solution convergence. Meta-heuristic optimization techniques especially particle swarm optimization (PSO) has gained an incredible recognition as the solution algorithm for such type of ED problems in last decade. The application of PSO in ED problem, which is considered as one of the most complex optimization problem has been summarized in present paper. (author)

Infinite-horizon optimal control problems in economics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aseev, Sergei M; Besov, Konstantin O; Kryazhimskii, Arkadii V

2012-04-30

This paper extends optimal control theory to a class of infinite-horizon problems that arise in studying models of optimal dynamic allocation of economic resources. In a typical problem of this sort the initial state is fixed, no constraints are imposed on the behaviour of the admissible trajectories at large times, and the objective functional is given by a discounted improper integral. We develop the method of finite-horizon approximations in a broad context and use it to derive complete versions of the Pontryagin maximum principle for such problems. We provide sufficient conditions for the normality of infinite-horizon optimal control problems and for the validity of the 'standard' limit transversality conditions with time going to infinity. As a meaningful example, we consider a new two-sector model of optimal economic growth subject to a random jump in prices. Bibliography: 53 titles.

Thermo-economic optimization of an endoreversible four-heat-reservoir absorption-refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Xiaoyong; Chen Lingen; Sun Fengrui; Wu Chih

2005-01-01

Based on an endoreversible four-heat-reservoir absorption-refrigeration-cycle model, the optimal thermo-economic performance of an absorption-refrigerator is analyzed and optimized assuming a linear (Newtonian) heat-transfer law applies. The optimal relation between the thermo-economic criterion and the coefficient of performance (COP), the maximum thermo-economic criterion, and the COP and specific cooling load for the maximum thermo-economic criterion of the cycle are derived using finite-time thermodynamics. Moreover, the effects of the cycle parameters on the thermo-economic performance of the cycle are studied by numerical examples

Economic homogenization and heterogenization in the EU with the EMU - technological, sectoral and regional

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

1999-01-01

Traditional the arguments for the EMU have been founded in arguments from the theory of optimal currency unions. Even if that should be the case there would still be problems if technological development are characterized by increasing returns. In that case growing economic differences according ...

Technological Options to Ameliorate Waste Treatment of Intensive Pig Production in China：An Analysis Based on Bio-Economic Model

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LU Wen-cong; MA Yong-xi; Holger Bergmann

2014-01-01

Ameliorating waste treatment by technological improvements affects the economic and the ecological-environment beneifts of intensive pig production. The objective of the research was to develop and test a method to determine the technical optimization to ameliorate waste treatment methods and gain insight into the relationship between technological options and the economic and ecological effects. We developed an integrated bio-economic model which incorporates the farming production and waste disposal systems to simulate the impact of technological improvements in pig manure treatment on economic and environmental benefits for the case of a pilot farm in Beijing, China. Based on different waste treatment technology options, three scenarios are applied for the simulation analysis of the model. The simulation results reveal that the economic-environmental beneifts of the livestock farm could be improved by reducing the cropland manure application and increasing the composting production with the current technologies. Nevertheless, the technical efifciency, the waste treatment capacity and the economic beneifts could be further improved by the introduction of new technologies. It implies that technological and economic support policies should be implemented comprehensively on waste disposal and resource utilization to promote sustainable development in intensive livestock production in China.

Economic optimization in new distribution system construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freese, J.

1994-01-01

The substantial capital investment and the long-term nature of extension projects make it necessary, in particular for local utilities, to intensively prepare their construction projects. Resulting from this context, the PC-program MAFIOSY for calculating and optimizing the economics of pipeline extension projects has been developed to facilitate the decision-making process and to ensure an optimum decision. The optimum structure of a distribution network to be designed for a new service area is defined using the four-phase method set out below: Situation Audit; Determination of Potential; Determination of Economic and Technical Parameters; Optimization. (orig.)

Optimal dynamic economic dispatch of generation: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, X.; Elaiw, A.M.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a review of the research of the optimal power dynamic dispatch problem. The dynamic dispatch problem differs from the static economic dispatch problem by incorporating generator ramp rate constraints. There are two different formulations of this problem in the literature. The first formulation is the optimal control dynamic dispatch (OCDD) where the power system generation has been modeled as a control system and optimization is done in the optimal control setting with respect to the ramp rates as input variables. The second one is a later formulation known as the dynamic economic dispatch (DED) where optimization is done with respect to the dispatchable powers of the committed generation units. In this paper we first outline the two formulations, then present an overview on the mathematical optimization methods, Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and hybrid methods used to solve the problem incorporating extended and complex objective functions or constraints. The DED problem in deregulated electricity markets is also reported. (author)

Economic optimization of photovoltaic water pumping systems for irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campana, P.E.; Li, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, R.; Liu, J.; Yan, J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A novel optimization procedure for photovoltaic water pumping systems for irrigation is proposed. • An hourly simulation model is the basis of the optimization procedure. • The effectiveness of the new optimization approach has been tested to an existing photovoltaic water pumping system. - Abstract: Photovoltaic water pumping technology is considered as a sustainable and economical solution to provide water for irrigation, which can halt grassland degradation and promote farmland conservation in China. The appropriate design and operation significantly depend on the available solar irradiation, crop water demand, water resources and the corresponding benefit from the crop sale. In this work, a novel optimization procedure is proposed, which takes into consideration not only the availability of groundwater resources and the effect of water supply on crop yield, but also the investment cost of photovoltaic water pumping system and the revenue from crop sale. A simulation model, which combines the dynamics of photovoltaic water pumping system, groundwater level, water supply, crop water demand and crop yield, is employed during the optimization. To prove the effectiveness of the new optimization approach, it has been applied to an existing photovoltaic water pumping system. Results show that the optimal configuration can guarantee continuous operations and lead to a substantial reduction of photovoltaic array size and consequently of the investment capital cost and the payback period. Sensitivity studies have been conducted to investigate the impacts of the prices of photovoltaic modules and forage on the optimization. Results show that the water resource is a determinant factor

Dynamic optimization the calculus of variations and optimal control in economics and management

CERN Document Server

Kamien, Morton I

2012-01-01

Since its initial publication, this text has defined courses in dynamic optimization taught to economics and management science students. The two-part treatment covers the calculus of variations and optimal control. 1998 edition.

Economical Optimization of the Mechanized Longwall Faces with Top Coal Caving Mining, In Horizontal Slices

Science.gov (United States)

Onica, Ilie; Mihăilescu, Viorel; Andrioni, Felicia

2016-09-01

To increase the economic and technical performances of the Jiu Valley hard coal mines, the top coal caving, in horizontal slices, mining methods (Bourbaki methods) were introduced, adapted to the local geo-mining conditions. This mining was successfully experimented by using classical technology, using the individual supports and coal blasting. In the future, it is planned to adopt the mechanized technology, with frame supports and shearers. The mechanized longwall faces with top coal caving mining, in horizontal slices, of coal seam no. 3 could be efficient only if the sizes of the top coal height and the panel length determine a minimum cost of production. Therefore, the goal of this paper is the optimization of these parameters, from a technical and economic point of view, taking into account the general model of the cost function, at the panel level. For that, it was necessary to make a certain sequence of analysis involving: technological unit establishment, purpose function and optimizing model. Thus, there attaining to the mathematical model of the unit cost, after determination of all the individual calculation articles, regarding the preparatory workings, coal face equipments, materials, energy, workforce, etc. Because of the complexity of the obtained technical and economic model, to determine the optimum sizes of the panel length and top coal height, it was necessary to archive a sensitivity analysis of the unit cost function to the main parameters implied into this mathematical model.

Health Economic Data in Reimbursement of New Medical Technologies: Importance of the Socio-Economic Burden as a Decision-Making Criterion.

Science.gov (United States)

Iskrov, Georgi; Dermendzhiev, Svetlan; Miteva-Katrandzhieva, Tsonka; Stefanov, Rumen

2016-01-01

Assessment and appraisal of new medical technologies require a balance between the interests of different stakeholders. Final decision should take into account the societal value of new therapies. This perspective paper discusses the socio-economic burden of disease as a specific reimbursement decision-making criterion and calls for the inclusion of it as a counterbalance to the cost-effectiveness and budget impact criteria. Socio-economic burden is a decision-making criterion, accounting for diseases, for which the assessed medical technology is indicated. This indicator is usually researched through cost-of-illness studies that systematically quantify the socio-economic burden of diseases on the individual and on the society. This is a very important consideration as it illustrates direct budgetary consequences of diseases in the health system and indirect costs associated with patient or carer productivity losses. By measuring and comparing the socio-economic burden of different diseases to society, health authorities and payers could benefit in optimizing priority setting and resource allocation. New medical technologies, especially innovative therapies, present an excellent case study for the inclusion of socio-economic burden in reimbursement decision-making. Assessment and appraisal have been greatly concentrated so far on cost-effectiveness and budget impact, marginalizing all other considerations. In this context, data on disease burden and inclusion of explicit criterion of socio-economic burden in reimbursement decision-making may be highly beneficial. Realizing the magnitude of the lost socio-economic contribution resulting from diseases in question could be a reasonable way for policy makers to accept a higher valuation of innovative therapies.

Thermo-economic and environmental analyses based multi-objective optimization of vapor compression–absorption cascaded refrigeration system using NSGA-II technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, Vaibhav; Sachdeva, Gulshan; Kachhwaha, Surendra Singh; Patel, Bhavesh

2016-01-01

Highlights: • It addresses multi-objective optimization study on cascaded refrigeration system. • Cascaded system is a promising decarburizing and energy efficient technology. • NSGA-II technique is used for multi-objective optimization. • Total annual product cost and irreversibility rate are simultaneously optimized. - Abstract: Present work optimizes the performance of 170 kW vapor compression–absorption cascaded refrigeration system (VCACRS) based on combined thermodynamic, economic and environmental parameters using Non-dominated Sort Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) technique. Two objective functions including the total irreversibility rate (as a thermodynamic criterion) and the total product cost (as an economic criterion) of the system are considered simultaneously for multi-objective optimization of VCACRS. The capital and maintenance costs of the system components, the operational cost, and the penalty cost due to CO_2 emission are included in the total product cost of the system. Three optimized systems including a single-objective thermodynamic optimized, a single-objective economic optimized and a multi-objective optimized are analyzed and compared. The results showed that the multi-objective design considers the combined thermodynamic and total product cost criteria better than the two individual single-objective thermodynamic and total product cost optimized designs.

NBIC-TECHNOLOGIES GET OVER ECONOMIC DEPRESSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Akaev

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is reflecting results of forecasting scenario of economic growth and shown that NBIC-technologies, due to the powerful synergetic effect generating by a mutual convergence of nano-, bio-, info- and cognitive technologies, will give strong acceleration pace of technological progress, which exceeded the rate achieved in the previous upward wave of 5th great Kondratieff ’s economic cycle (1982–2006. On the base of theUSAeconomy data, the results of forecasting shows that the rate of technological progress will increase from 2,2% in 1980 to 3,5% in the 2030 s. 

Optimal allocation of energy storage in a co-optimized electricity market: Benefits assessment and deriving indicators for economic storage ventures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnan, Venkat; Das, Trishna

2015-01-01

This paper presents a framework for optimally allocating storage technologies in a power system. This decision support tool helps in quantitatively answering the questions on “where to and how much to install” considering the profits from arbitrage opportunities in a co-optimized electricity market. The developed framework is illustrated on a modified IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 24 bus RTS (Reliability Test System), and the framework finds the optimal allocation solution and the revenues storage earns at each of these locations. Bulk energy storage, CAES (compressed air energy storage) is used as the representative storage technology, and the benefits of optimally allocated storage integration onto the grid are compared with transmission expansion solution. The paper also discusses about system-level indicators to identify candidate locations for economical storage ventures, which are derived based on the optimal storage allocation solution; and applies the market price based storage venture indicators on MISO (Mid-continental Independent System Operator) and PJM (Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection) electricity markets. - Highlights: • Storage optimal allocation framework based on high-fidelity storage dispatch model. • Storage with transmission addresses energy and ancillary issues under high renewables. • Bulk storage earns higher revenues from co-optimization (∼10× energy only market). • Grid offers distributed opportunities for investing in a strategic mix of storage. • Storage opportunities depend on cross-arbitrage, as seen from MISO (Mid-continental Independent System Operator) and PJM (Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection) markets

Economic optimization of PWR cores with ROSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verhagen, F.C.M.; Wakker, P.H.

2005-01-01

The core-loading pattern is decisive for fuel cycle economics, fuel safety parameters and economic planning for future cycles. ROSA, NRG's loading pattern optimization code system for PWRs, has proven for over a decade to be a valuable tool to reactor operators for improving their fuel management economics. ROSA uses simulated annealing as loading pattern optimization technique, in combination with an extremely fast 3-D neutronics code for loading pattern calculations. The code is continuously extended with new optimization parameters and rules. This paper outlines recent developments of the ROSA code system and discusses results of PWR specific applications of ROSA. Core designs with a large variety of challenging constraints have been realized with ROSA. As a typical example, for the 193 assembly, Vantage 5H/RFA-2 fueled TVA's Watts Bar unit 1, a cycle 4 core with 76 feed assemblies was designed. This was followed by a high-energy cycle 5 with only 77 feed assemblies and approximately 535 days of natural cycle length. Subsequently, an economical core using 72 bundles was designed for cycle 6. This resulted in considerable savings in the cost of feed assemblies for reloads. The typical accuracy of ROSA compared to results of license codes in within ±0.02 for normalized assembly powers, ±0.03 for maximum enthalpy rise hot channel factor (F ΔH ), and ±3 days for natural cycle length. (author)

A methodology for thermo-economic modeling and optimization of solid oxide fuel cell systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palazzi, Francesca; Autissier, Nordahl; Marechal, Francois M.A.; Favrat, Daniel

2007-01-01

In the context of stationary power generation, fuel cell-based systems are being foreseen as a valuable alternative to thermodynamic cycle-based power plants, especially in small scale applications. As the technology is not yet established, many aspects of fuel cell development are currently investigated worldwide. Part of the research focuses on integrating the fuel cell in a system that is both efficient and economically attractive. To address this problem, we present in this paper a thermo-economic optimization method that systematically generates the most attractive configurations of an integrated system. In the developed methodology, the energy flows are computed using conventional process simulation software. The system is integrated using the pinch based methods that rely on optimization techniques. This defines the minimum of energy required and sets the basis to design the ideal heat exchanger network. A thermo-economic method is then used to compute the integrated system performances, sizes and costs. This allows performing the optimization of the system with regard to two objectives: minimize the specific cost and maximize the efficiency. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system of 50 kW integrating a planar SOFC is modeled and optimized leading to designs with efficiencies ranging from 34% to 44%. The multi-objective optimization strategy identifies interesting system configurations and their performance for the developed SOFC system model. The methods proves to be an attractive tool to be used both as an advanced analysis tool and as support to decision makers when designing new systems

Considering only first-order effects? How simplifications lead to unrealistic technology optimism in climate change mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arvesen, Anders, E-mail: anders.arvesen@ntnu.no [Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491 (Norway); Bright, Ryan M.; Hertwich, Edgar G. [Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491 (Norway)

2011-11-15

This article challenges the notion that energy efficiency and 'clean' energy technologies can deliver sufficient degrees of climate change mitigation. By six arguments not widely recognized in the climate policy arena, we argue that unrealistic technology optimism exists in current climate change mitigation assessments, and, consequently, world energy and climate policy. The overarching theme of the arguments is that incomplete knowledge of indirect effects, and neglect of interactions between parts of physical and social sub-systems, systematically leads to overly optimistic assessments. Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to preserve the climatic conditions to which the human civilization is adapted. We call for priority to be given to research evaluating aspects of mitigation in a broad, system-wide perspective. - Highlights: > We highlight some of the simplifying assumptions in climate change mitigation scenarios. > Mitigation assessments are the basis of unfounded technology optimism in climate policy. > Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to stabilize climate.

Considering only first-order effects? How simplifications lead to unrealistic technology optimism in climate change mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arvesen, Anders; Bright, Ryan M.; Hertwich, Edgar G.

2011-01-01

This article challenges the notion that energy efficiency and 'clean' energy technologies can deliver sufficient degrees of climate change mitigation. By six arguments not widely recognized in the climate policy arena, we argue that unrealistic technology optimism exists in current climate change mitigation assessments, and, consequently, world energy and climate policy. The overarching theme of the arguments is that incomplete knowledge of indirect effects, and neglect of interactions between parts of physical and social sub-systems, systematically leads to overly optimistic assessments. Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to preserve the climatic conditions to which the human civilization is adapted. We call for priority to be given to research evaluating aspects of mitigation in a broad, system-wide perspective. - Highlights: → We highlight some of the simplifying assumptions in climate change mitigation scenarios. → Mitigation assessments are the basis of unfounded technology optimism in climate policy. → Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to stabilize climate.

Challenges when Performing Economic Optimization of Waste Treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul, Nina; Münster, Marie; Ravn, Hans

2011-01-01

New investments in waste treatment facilities are needed due to a number of factors including continuously increasing waste amounts, political demands for efficient utilization of the waste resources in terms of recycling or energy production, and decommissioning of existing waste treatment...... facilities due to age and stricter environmental regulation. Optimization models can assist in ensuring that these investment strategies will be economically feasible. Various economic optimization models for waste treatment have been developed which focus on different parameters. Models focusing...... in multi criteria analysis have been developed. A thorough updated review of the existing models is presented and the main challenges and the crucial parameters to take into account when assessing the economic performance of waste treatment alternatives are identified. The review article will assist both...

Health economic data in reimbursement of new medical technologies: importance of the socio-economic burden as a decision-making criterion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgi Iskrov

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Assessment and appraisal of new medical technologies require a balance between the interests of different stakeholders. Final decision should take into account the societal value of new therapies.Objective: This perspective paper discusses the socio-economic burden of disease as a specific reimbursement decision-making criterion and calls for the inclusion of it as a counterbalance to the cost-effectiveness and budget impact criteria.Results/Conclusions: Socio-economic burden is a decision-making criterion, accounting for diseases, for which the assessed medical technology is indicated. This indicator is usually researched through cost-of-illness studies that systematically quantify the socio-economic burden of diseases on the individual and on the society. This is a very important consideration as it illustrates direct budgetary consequences of diseases in the health system and indirect costs associated with patient or carer productivity losses. By measuring and comparing the socio-economic burden of different diseases to society, health authorities and payers could benefit in optimizing priority setting and resource allocation.New medical technologies, especially innovative therapies, present an excellent case study for the inclusion of socio-economic burden in reimbursement decision-making. Assessment and appraisal have been greatly concentrated so far on cost-effectiveness and budget impact, marginalizing all other considerations. In this context, data on disease burden and inclusion of explicit criterion of socio-economic burden in reimbursement decision-making may be highly beneficial. Realizing the magnitude of the lost socio-economic contribution resulting from diseases in question could be a reasonable way for policy makers to accept a higher valuation of innovative therapies.

Economic optimization of nuclear waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeWames, R.E.; Grantham, L.F.; Guon, J.; McKisson, R.L.

1984-01-01

The paper presented here addresses the impact of waste management system operating parameters on overall system economics. The conclusion reached by this study is that currently available technology and proposed operating conditions do not lead to optimum economics. The decision to utilize the current reference waste package and non-optimum operating conditions will cause added expenditures of 7 billion dollars over the next several decades. Further, this paper points out that optimum economics is not necessarily incompatible with improved system safety

Techno-economic design optimization of solar thermal power plants

OpenAIRE

Morin, G.

2011-01-01

A holistic view is essential in the engineering of technical systems. This thesis presents an integrative approach for designing solar thermal power plants. The methodology is based on a techno-economic plant model and a powerful optimization algorithm. Typically, contemporary design methods treat technical and economic parameters and sub-systems separately, making it difficult or even impossible to realize the full optimization potential of power plant systems. The approach presented here ov...

Technology and ecological economics. Promethean technology, Pandorian potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Small, Bruce [AgResearch Ltd., Private Bag 3123, Hamilton (New Zealand); Jollands, Nigel [New Zealand Centre for Ecological Economics, Massey University and Landcare Research Ltd, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North (New Zealand)

2006-03-15

In considering social, economic and ecological impacts of new technologies it is essential to start from an understanding of human nature. This paper explores this issue drawing out some implications for ecological and neoclassical economics. The paper presents two key arguments. First, we argue that there is a growing tension between our evolved human nature and social structures and our emerging technological prowess. Modern technologies give us increasing power to manipulate the very axes of nature: space, time, energy, matter, and life. Technologies are now so powerful they give us abilities our ancestors would consider godlike. The question is posed: Are humans ready to wield the power of the gods? We have the knowledge, but do we have the wisdom? The myth of Prometheus and Pandora is considered as a metaphor for the interaction between technology, nature and universal aspects of human nature developed over eons of evolution. Second, we argue that even a 'technologically optimistic' scenario (employed by some economists) may not actually deliver Utopian outcomes. With technological advancement and diffusion there is a 'technological trickle down effect' whereby potent technologies, once available only to governments and powerful elites, become available to greater numbers of groups and individuals. The more accessible a technology, the more likely its social and ecological impacts will be shaped by the full range and extremes of human nature. These issues have implications for the development and regulation of Promethean technologies such as nuclear energy, genetic engineering and nanotechnology; technologies with unprecedented power and reach through nature. Development and diffusion of such technologies may also have implications for the ethics of the social structure of society. (author)

Economic efficiency simulation for optimized management of pressure electrolysers in hybrid power plant systems. Prognosis and hydrogen production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krueger, P.; Ziems, C.; Tannert, D.; Voigt, A.; Fischer, U.; Krautz, H.J.

2014-01-01

As part of the research at the H 2 Research Centre of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg feasibility studies are carried out on the use of electrolysis technology in conjunction with fluctuating wind power fed to a pressure electrolysis apparatus. The aim of the analysis is an economically optimized operating strategy of the system consisting of wind farm, alkaline pressure electrolyser, hydrogen storage and reconversion. For this purpose, an energy economics tool was created. [de

Optimal Economic Operation of Islanded Microgrid by Using a Modified PSO Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yiwei Ma

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An optimal economic operation method is presented to attain a joint-optimization of cost reduction and operation strategy for islanded microgrid, which includes renewable energy source, the diesel generator, and battery storage system. The optimization objective is to minimize the overall generating cost involving depreciation cost, operation cost, emission cost, and economic subsidy available for renewable energy source, while satisfying various equality and inequality constraints. A novel dynamic optimization process is proposed based on two different operation control modes where diesel generator or battery storage acts as the master unit to maintain the system frequency and voltage stability, and a modified particle swarm optimization algorithm is applied to get faster solution to the practical economic operation problem of islanded microgrid. With the example system of an actual islanded microgrid in Dongao Island, China, the proposed models, dynamic optimization strategy, and solution algorithm are verified and the influences of different operation strategies and optimization algorithms on the economic operation are discussed. The results achieved demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.

Economic analysis of alternatives for optimizing energy use in manufacturing companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Méndez-Piñero, Mayra Ivelisse; Colón-Vázquez, Melitza

2013-01-01

The manufacturing companies are one of the main consumers of energy. The increment in global warming and the instability in the petroleum oil market have motivated companies to find alternatives to reduce energy use. In the academic literature several researchers have demonstrated that optimization models can be successfully used to reduce energy use. This research presents the use of an optimization model to identify feasible economic alternatives to reduce energy use. The economic analysis methods used were the payback and the internal rate of return. The optimization model developed in this research was applied and validated using an electronic manufacturing company case study. The results demonstrate that the main variables affecting the economic feasibility of the alternatives are the economic analysis method and the initial implementation costs. Several scenarios were analyzed and the best results show that the manufacturing company could save up to $78,000 in three years if the recommendations based on the optimization model results are implemented. - Highlights: • Evaluate top consumers of energy in manufacturing: A/C, compressed air, and lighting • Economic analysis of alternatives to optimize energy used in manufacturing • Comparison of payback method and internal rate of return method with real data • Results demonstrate that the company could generate savings in energy use

Modeling and optimization of the lifetime of technologies

CERN Document Server

Hritonenko, Natali

1996-01-01

Modern economic growth is characterized by structural changes based on the introduction of new technologies into economics. The replacement and renova­ tion of technologies in industrial environments undergoing technical change is clearly one of the key aspects of economic development. The mathematical modeling of evolutionary economics under technical change (TC) has been rigorously considered by many authors during last decades. There is a wide variety of economic approaches and models describing different aspects of technical change. Among these are the models of embodied technical progress [19], [35], [70], [129], endogenous growth models [94], [102], the models of technological innovations [31], [32], [41], and others. The perspective self­ organization evolutionary approach is developed in [20], [38], [122], [123], [124], [126], which unites the aspects of diffusion of new technologies, technological and behavioral diversity of firms, learning mechanisms, age-dependent effects, and other important fea...

Techno–economic design of hybrid electric vehicles and possibilities of the multi-objective optimization structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimitrova, Zlatina; Maréchal, François

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The full hybrid electric vehicle suits for sustainable urban mobility and customer investment. • The full hybrid electric urban vehicle is efficient, with consumption less than 2 L/100 km. • The range extender vehicle is a technology for low CO_2 emissions – less than 20 g/km CO_2_. • The total CO_2 emissions for range extender and plug-in vehicles are sensitive to the use place. - Abstract: The design criteria for modern sustainable development of vehicle powertrain are the high energy efficiency of the conversion system, the competitive cost and the lowest possible environmental impacts. In this article a multi-objective optimization methodology is applied on hybrid electric vehicles study in order to define the optimal powertrain configurations of the vehicle, estimate the cost of the powertrain equipment and show the environmental impact of the technical choices on the lifecycle perspective of the vehicle. The study illustrates optimal design solutions for low fuel consumption vehicles – between 2 L/100 km and 3 L/100 km. For that a simulation model of a hybrid electric vehicle is made. This model is coupled with a cost model for the vehicle. The techno–economic optimizations are performed for two case studies, illustrating the possibilities of the optimization superstructure. Firstly the life cycle inventory is written as a function of the parameters of the techno–economic model. In this way, the obtained environmental indicators from the life cycle assessment are calculated as a function of the decision variables for the vehicle design. In the second example the parameters of the energy distribution function are included as decision variables in the techno–economic optimization and are simultaneously optimized.

Main ways and suitable technologies of improving economic benefits for uranium ore heap leaching in China (the end)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan Zibin

2001-01-01

Combining with practice of China's uranium ore heap leaching, the author proposes main ways and suitable technologies in the fields of emphasizing feasibility research, adopting strengthened technologies, improving equipment level, optimizing control technological factors and developing application range and so on, which include adopting acid-currying and ferric sulphate-trickle leaching process, bacteria heap leaching, countercurrent heap leaching, selecting advanced material of heap bottom, developing large mechanized heap construction equipment and methods, popularizing drip irrigation distributing solution, optimizing heap leaching process parameters, as well as developing recovery equipment suited to heap leaching, etc, in order to increase leaching rate, reduce heap leaching period and achieve more economic benefits

Economic considerations in the optimal size and number of reserve sites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groeneveld, R.A.

2005-01-01

The debate among ecologists on the optimal number of reserve sites under a fixed maximum total reserve area-the single large or several small (SLOSS) problem-has so far neglected the economic aspects of the problem. This paper argues that economic considerations can affect the optimal number and

A Technical and Economic Optimization Approach to Exploring Offshore Renewable Energy Development in Hawaii

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larson, Kyle B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Tagestad, Jerry D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Perkins, Casey J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Oster, Matthew R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Warwick, M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Geerlofs, Simon H. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-09-01

This study was conducted with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Wind and Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO) as part of ongoing efforts to minimize key risks and reduce the cost and time associated with permitting and deploying ocean renewable energy. The focus of the study was to discuss a possible approach to exploring scenarios for ocean renewable energy development in Hawaii that attempts to optimize future development based on technical, economic, and policy criteria. The goal of the study was not to identify potentially suitable or feasible locations for development, but to discuss how such an approach may be developed for a given offshore area. Hawaii was selected for this case study due to the complex nature of the energy climate there and DOE’s ongoing involvement to support marine spatial planning for the West Coast. Primary objectives of the study included 1) discussing the political and economic context for ocean renewable energy development in Hawaii, especially with respect to how inter-island transmission may affect the future of renewable energy development in Hawaii; 2) applying a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach that has been used to assess the technical suitability of offshore renewable energy technologies in Washington, Oregon, and California, to Hawaii’s offshore environment; and 3) formulate a mathematical model for exploring scenarios for ocean renewable energy development in Hawaii that seeks to optimize technical and economic suitability within the context of Hawaii’s existing energy policy and planning.

Optimizing cultivation of agricultural products using socio-economic and environmental scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

RaheliNamin, Behnaz; Mortazavi, Samar; Salmanmahiny, Abdolrassoul

2016-11-01

The combination of degrading natural conditions and resources, climate change, growing population, urban development, and competition in a global market complicate optimization of land for agricultural products. The use of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production in the agricultural fields has become excessive in the recent years and Golestan Province of Iran is no exception in this regard. For this, effective management with an efficient and cost-effective practice should be undertaken, maintaining public service at a high level and preserving the environment. Improving the production efficiency of agriculture, efficient use of water resources, decreasing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, improving farmer revenue, and conservation of natural resources are the main objectives of the allocation, ranking, and optimization of agricultural products. The goal of this paper is to use an optimization procedure to lower the negative effects of agriculture while maintaining a high production rate, which is currently a gap in the study area. We collected information about fertilizer and pesticide consumption and other data in croplands of eastern Golestan Province through face-to-face interviews with farmers to optimize cultivation of the agricultural products. The toxicity of pesticides according to LD50 was also included in the optimization model. A decision-support software system called multiple criteria analysis tool was used to simultaneously minimize consumption of water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides and maximize socio-economic returns. Three scenarios for optimization of agricultural products were generated that alternatively emphasized on environmental and socio-economic goals. Comparing socio-economic and environmental performance of the optimized agricultural products under the three scenarios illustrated the conflict between social, economic, and environmental objectives. Of the six crops studied (wheat, barley, rice, soybeans, oilseed rape

Economic aspects of advanced energy technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramakumar, R.; Rodriguez, A.P.; Venkata, S.S.

1993-01-01

Advanced energy technologies span a wide variety of resources, techniques, and end-user requirements. Economic considerations are major factors that shape their harnessing and utilization. A discussion of the basic factors in the economic arena is presented, with particular emphasis on renewable energy technologies--photovoltaics, solar-thermal, wind-electric conversion, biomass utilization, hydro, and tidal and wave energy systems. The following are essential to determine appropriate energy system topologies: proper resource-need matching with an eye on the quality of energy requirements, integrated use of several resources and technologies, and a comprehensive consideration which includes prospecting, collection, conversion, transportation, distribution, storage and reconversion, end use, and subsequent waste management aspects. A few case studies are included to apprise the reader of the status of some of the key technologies and systems

Improving early cycle economic evaluation of diagnostic technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steuten, Lotte Maria Gertruda; Ramsey, Scott D.

2014-01-01

The rapidly increasing range and expense of new diagnostics, compels consideration of a different, more proactive approach to health economic evaluation of diagnostic technologies. Early cycle economic evaluation is a decision analytic approach to evaluate technologies in development so as to

Institutions, Technological Change and Economic Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Corderí Novoa

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Theories of economic growth try to explain variations in per capita income across countries by differences in capital accumulation and productivity. However, many scholars consider that integrating institutions into economic theory and economic history is an essential step in improving explanations of why some societies are richer than others. This paper develops the empirical and theoretical case that differences in institutions are the fundamental cause of differences in technological change (productivity, hence in economic growth. First, I give a definition of institutions and how they influence economic performance, from a New Institutional Economics point of view. Then, I introduce the theoretical framework based on the economics of ideas and endogenous growth models. Finally, I argue that R&D expenditures -a proxy for technological change- will vary across countries depending on some measures of institutional quality. In the end, this paper finds that stronger institutions (measured by an aggregate of institutional quality encourage greater R&D expenditures. At a disaggregate level, the rule of law is positively correlated and the regulatory burden is negatively correlated with R&D expenditures. Human capital level (measured by the tertiary and primary school enrolment rates has also a significant positive impact in R&D expenditures.

Improving early cycle economic evaluation of diagnostic technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Steuten, Lotte M G; Ramsey, Scott D

2014-08-01

The rapidly increasing range and expense of new diagnostics, compels consideration of a different, more proactive approach to health economic evaluation of diagnostic technologies. Early cycle economic evaluation is a decision analytic approach to evaluate technologies in development so as to increase the return on investment as well as patient and societal impact. This paper describes examples of 'early cycle economic evaluations' as applied to diagnostic technologies and highlights challenges in its real-time application. It shows that especially in the field of diagnostics, with rapid technological developments and a changing regulatory climate, early cycle economic evaluation can have a guiding role to improve the efficiency of the diagnostics innovation process. In the next five years the attention will move beyond the methodological and analytic challenges of early cycle economic evaluation towards the challenge of effectively applying it to improve diagnostic research and development and patient value. Future work in this area should therefore be 'strong on principles and soft on metrics', that is, the metrics that resonate most clearly with the various decision makers in this field.

Chaotic particle swarm optimization for economic dispatch considering the generator constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Jiejin; Ma, Xiaoqian; Li, Lixiang; Haipeng, Peng

2007-01-01

Chaotic particle swarm optimization (CPSO) methods are optimization approaches based on the proposed particle swarm optimization (PSO) with adaptive inertia weight factor (AIWF) and chaotic local search (CLS). In this paper, two CPSO methods based on the logistic equation and the Tent equation are presented to solve economic dispatch (ED) problems with generator constraints and applied in two power system cases. Compared with the traditional PSO method, the convergence iterative numbers of the CPSO methods are reduced, and the solutions generation costs decrease around 5 $/h in the six unit system and 24 $/h in the 15 unit system. The simulation results show that the CPSO methods have good convergence property. The generation costs of the CPSO methods are lower than those of the traditional particle swarm optimization algorithm, and hence, CPSO methods can result in great economic effect. For economic dispatch problems, the CPSO methods are more feasible and more effective alternative approaches than the traditional particle swarm optimization algorithm

Economics-based optimal control of greenhouse tomato crop production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tap, F.

2000-01-01

The design and testing of an optimal control algorithm, based on scientific models of greenhouse and tomato crop and an economic criterion (goal function), to control greenhouse climate, is described. An important characteristic of this control is that it aims at maximising an economic

Nuclear power economics and technology: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

Intended for the non-specialist reader interested in energy and environmental policy matters, this report presents an overview of the current expert consensus on the status of nuclear power technology and its economic position. It covers the potential demand for nuclear energy, its economic competitivity, and the relevant aspects of reactor performance and future technological developments. The report provides an objective contribution to the ongoing scientific and political debate about what nuclear power can offer, now and in the future, in meeting the world's growing demand for energy and in achieving sustainable economic development. 24 refs., 18 figs;, 12 tabs., 5 photos

Thermo-economic optimization of Regenerative Organic Rankine Cycle for waste heat recovery applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imran, Muhammad; Park, Byung Sik; Kim, Hyouck Ju; Lee, Dong Hyun; Usman, Muhammad; Heo, Manki

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Thermo-economic optimization of regenerative ORC is performed. • Optimization is performed using multi objective genetic algorithm. • Objective function is maximum cycle efficiency and minimum specific investment. • Evaporation pressure, pinch point and superheat are decision variables. • Sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate effect of decision variables. - Abstract: Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is low grade and waste heat conversion technology. The current article deal with the thermo-economic optimization of basic ORC and regenerative ORC for waste heat recovery applications under constant heat source condition. Thermal efficiency and specific investment cost of basic ORC, single stage regenerative and double stage regenerative ORC has been optimized by using Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II). Maximum thermal efficiency and minimum specific investment cost were selected as objective functions and relative increase in thermal efficiency and cost has been analyzed taking the basic ORC as base case. The constraint set consist of evaporation pressure, superheat, pinch point temperature difference in evaporator and condenser. The optimization was performed for five different working fluids. The optimization result show that R245fa is best working under considered conditions and basic ORC has low specific investment cost and thermal efficiency compared to regenerative ORC. R245fa is low boiling organic fluid, which has high degree of thermal stability and compatible with common construction materials of ORC. The average increase in thermal efficiency from basic ORC to single stage regenerative ORC was 1.01% with an additional cost of 187 $/kW while from basic ORC to double stage regenerative ORC was 1.45% with an average increase in cost of 297 $/kW. The sensitivity analysis was also performed to investigate the effect of operating conditions which show that evaporation pressure has promising effect on thermal

Economic optimization of the combined cycle integrated with multi-product gasification system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liszka, M.; Ziebik, A.

2009-01-01

The system taken into consideration consists of the Corex unit, combined cycle power plant and air separation unit (ASU). The Corex process (trademark of Siemens-VAI) is one of technologies for cokeless hot metal production. Coal is gasified by oxygen in the hot metal environment. The excess gas can be used out of installation. It has been assumed that the Corex export gas is fired in combined cycle. The gas turbine (GT) structure was assumed as a fixed simple cycle while the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and steam turbine arrangements are free for optimization. The examples of independent variables selected for optimization are number of HRSG pressure levels, GT pressure ratio, minimal temperature differences in HRSG, flow rate of compressed air form GT compressor to ASU. Finally, 16 independent variables have been qualified for optimization. The synthesis optimization is based on the superstructure method. The economic net present value (NPV) has been chosen as the objective function. All power plant facilities have been modeled on the GateCycle software. The off-design models include, among others, the GT blade cooling and HRSG heat transfer coefficient analyses. Two optimization methods - genetic algorithm and Powells conjugate directions have been coupled in one hybrid procedure. The whole optimization analysis has been repeated several times for different price scenarios on the coal, iron and electricity markets

Institutional Economic Reconstruction by Optimizing the Role of Middlemen

OpenAIRE

Sudrajat, Jajat; Arani, Norasari

2016-01-01

This study is aimed to analize the role of middlemen in rural economic institution and formulate the economic development model through optimalization the role of middlemen. This study was done by conducting literature research. Data were analized by using qualitative method. The results of study conclude that middlemen have strategic positions in rural economic development although their role has negative and positive side. In evolving the positive side, there must be other institution which...

Impact of alternative harvesting technologies on thinning entry and optimal rotation age for eastern hardwoods

Science.gov (United States)

Chris B. LeDoux

2007-01-01

A complete system simulation model is used to integrate alternative logging technologies, stand data, market prices, transportation costs, and economic concerns in a longterm continuous manner to evaluate thinning entry timing and optimal rotation age. Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) stand data for the oak/hickory forest type and time and motion study data for 70,...

Block chain Technology:Concept of Digital Economics

OpenAIRE

Ahmed, Ovais

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study is to explain about blockchain technology and how to use of blockchain technology for modern economics practices. We focused on this paper to put the light on blockchain usage in some other areas of economy such as, governance and political decision making, public finance, financial institution & stock market trading, global trading and other economic activities. The literature showed that blockchain is rapidly growing at globally and increasing digital money for tran...

An energetical and economic optimization of the facility management; Energetische und wirtschaftliche Optimierung der GA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roon, Serafin von; Gobmaier, Thomas; Mauch, Wolfgang [Forschungsstelle fuer Energiewirtschaft e.V., Muenchen (Germany)

2009-06-15

In the context of a project promoted by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany), the data of the facility management of an office building were evaluated by means of computer assistance in order to determine the optimal operating parameters and connected energy potentials. The contribution under consideration reports on the approach used for the analysis of the data of facility management and illustrates them with the results of the project.

Economic optimization of offshore wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pauling, T.

1996-09-01

The study on the title subject continues the development of a cost model for offshore wind farms started at the Institute for Wind Energy (IW) in 1995, and applies it on different kinds of cost analyses. The model will be considered within the European research project 'Structural and Economic Optimization of Bottom-Mounted Offshore Wind Energy Converters' (Opti-OWECS, JOR3-CT95-0087) co-ordinated by the IW, where also the cost analyses and optimization will be extended. The conclusions of the investigations have already been presented at the European Union Wind Energy Conference '96 at Goeteborg, Sweden. In Chapter 1, a short overview of former offshore studies and projects is given, especially those dealing with cost analysis. Typical cost breakdowns of offshore and onshore wind farms are compared. Chapter 2 contains a brief description of the cost model in its present state. The recent improvements and extensions are documented in Chapter 3, and a validation by means of a recalculation of two former offshore studies is carried out in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, four different offshore sites are compared with respect to the same farm size and an optimized farm design: Jade in the German part of the North Sea near Wilhelmshafen; Swansea Bay in the Bristol Channel at the British Atlantic Coast; Rostock at the German Baltic Coast, and IJmuiden in the Dutch part of the North Sea. In Chapter 6, a sensitivity study is carried out for a variety of site, design and economical parameters. The results of this project are summarized in Chapter 7, and an outlook is given in Chapter 8. The appendix contains among others a description of the SCOptiM2 code, where the model is implemented, as well as data obtained from the parameter studies and design optimizations. 30 figs., 8 tabs., 6 appendices, 40 refs

[Decision modeling for economic evaluation of health technologies].

Science.gov (United States)

de Soárez, Patrícia Coelho; Soares, Marta Oliveira; Novaes, Hillegonda Maria Dutilh

2014-10-01

Most economic evaluations that participate in decision-making processes for incorporation and financing of technologies of health systems use decision models to assess the costs and benefits of the compared strategies. Despite the large number of economic evaluations conducted in Brazil, there is a pressing need to conduct an in-depth methodological study of the types of decision models and their applicability in our setting. The objective of this literature review is to contribute to the knowledge and use of decision models in the national context of economic evaluations of health technologies. This article presents general definitions about models and concerns with their use; it describes the main models: decision trees, Markov chains, micro-simulation, simulation of discrete and dynamic events; it discusses the elements involved in the choice of model; and exemplifies the models addressed in national economic evaluation studies of diagnostic and therapeutic preventive technologies and health programs.

A dynamic optimization on economic energy efficiency in development: A numerical case of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Dong

2014-01-01

This paper is based on dynamic optimization methodology to investigate the economic energy efficiency issues in developing countries. The paper introduces some definitions about energy efficiency both in economics and physics, and establishes a quantitative way for measuring the economic energy efficiency. The linkage between economic energy efficiency, energy consumption and other macroeconomic variables is demonstrated primarily. Using the methodology of dynamic optimization, a maximum problem of economic energy efficiency over time, which is subjected to the extended Solow growth model and instantaneous investment rate, is modelled. In this model, the energy consumption is set as a control variable and the capital is regarded as a state variable. The analytic solutions can be derived and the diagrammatic analysis provides saddle-point equilibrium. A numerical simulation based on China is also presented; meanwhile, the optimal paths of investment and energy consumption can be drawn. The dynamic optimization encourages governments in developing countries to pursue higher economic energy efficiency by controlling the energy consumption and regulating the investment state as it can conserve energy without influencing the achievement of steady state in terms of Solow model. If that, a sustainable development will be achieved. - Highlights: • A new definition on economic energy efficiency is proposed mathematically. • A dynamic optimization modelling links economic energy efficiency with other macroeconomic variables in long run. • Economic energy efficiency is determined by capital stock level and energy consumption. • Energy saving is a key solution for improving economic energy efficiency

Challenges when performing economic optimization of waste treatment: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juul, N.; Münster, M.; Ravn, H.; Söderman, M. Ljunggren

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Review of main optimization tools in the field of waste management. • Different optimization methods are applied. • Different fractions are analyzed. • There is focus on different parameters in different geographical regions. • More research is needed which encompasses both recycling and energy solutions. - Abstract: Strategic and operational decisions in waste management, in particular with respect to investments in new treatment facilities, are needed due to a number of factors, including continuously increasing amounts of waste, political demands for efficient utilization of waste resources, and the decommissioning of existing waste treatment facilities. Optimization models can assist in ensuring that these investment strategies are economically feasible. Various economic optimization models for waste treatment have been developed which focus on different parameters. Models focusing on transport are one example, but models focusing on energy production have also been developed, as well as models which take into account a plant’s economies of scale, environmental impact, material recovery and social costs. Finally, models combining different criteria for the selection of waste treatment methods in multi-criteria analysis have been developed. A thorough updated review of the existing models is presented, and the main challenges and crucial parameters that need to be taken into account when assessing the economic performance of waste treatment alternatives are identified. The review article will assist both policy-makers and model-developers involved in assessing the economic performance of waste treatment alternatives

Challenges when performing economic optimization of waste treatment: A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juul, N., E-mail: njua@dtu.dk [DTU Management, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); Münster, M., E-mail: maem@dtu.dk [DTU Management, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); Ravn, H., E-mail: hans.ravn@aeblevangen.dk [RAM-løse edb, Æblevangen 55, 2765 Smørum (Denmark); Söderman, M. Ljunggren, E-mail: maria.ljunggren@chalmers.se [Energy and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden); IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Gothenburg (Sweden)

2013-09-15

Highlights: • Review of main optimization tools in the field of waste management. • Different optimization methods are applied. • Different fractions are analyzed. • There is focus on different parameters in different geographical regions. • More research is needed which encompasses both recycling and energy solutions. - Abstract: Strategic and operational decisions in waste management, in particular with respect to investments in new treatment facilities, are needed due to a number of factors, including continuously increasing amounts of waste, political demands for efficient utilization of waste resources, and the decommissioning of existing waste treatment facilities. Optimization models can assist in ensuring that these investment strategies are economically feasible. Various economic optimization models for waste treatment have been developed which focus on different parameters. Models focusing on transport are one example, but models focusing on energy production have also been developed, as well as models which take into account a plant’s economies of scale, environmental impact, material recovery and social costs. Finally, models combining different criteria for the selection of waste treatment methods in multi-criteria analysis have been developed. A thorough updated review of the existing models is presented, and the main challenges and crucial parameters that need to be taken into account when assessing the economic performance of waste treatment alternatives are identified. The review article will assist both policy-makers and model-developers involved in assessing the economic performance of waste treatment alternatives.

The economic consequences of homo economicus: neoclassical economic theory and the fallacy of market optimality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Calnitsky

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This essay presents a critique of the standard ascension from the rational agent to the optimal market in economic theory. Critiques of homo economicus are found unsatisfactory on grounds that its employment allows for the prediction of essential features of actual markets. using this same criterion we introduce Gary Becker’s essay, ‘irrational Behavior and economic Theory,’which demonstrated that the same features of markets could be derived from non-rational behaviour. Thus, non-rationality is equally predictive but is less restrictive than rationality. Once the assumption of rationality is relaxed, the concept of market optimality (though not market order must also be sacrificed.

Real-time economic optimization for a fermentation process using Model Predictive Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Lars Norbert; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

2014-01-01

Fermentation is a widely used process in production of many foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. The main goal of the control system is to maximize profit of the fermentation process, and thus this is also the main goal of this paper. We present a simple dynamic model for a fermentation process...... and demonstrate its usefulness in economic optimization. The model is formulated as an index-1 differential algebraic equation (DAE), which guarantees conservation of mass and energy in discrete form. The optimization is based on recent advances within Economic Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (E......-NMPC), and also utilizes the index-1 DAE model. The E-NMPC uses the single-shooting method and the adjoint method for computation of the optimization gradients. The process constraints are relaxed to soft-constraints on the outputs. Finally we derive the analytical solution to the economic optimization problem...

Optimizing use of library technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wink, Diane M; Killingsworth, Elizabeth K

2011-01-01

In this bimonthly series, the author examines how nurse educators can use the Internet and Web-based computer technologies such as search, communication, collaborative writing tools; social networking and social bookmarking sites; virtual worlds; and Web-based teaching and learning programs. This article describes optimizing the use of library technology.

Transferability of economic evaluations of medical technologies: a new technology for orthopedic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Steuten, Lotte; Vallejo-Torres, Laura; Young, Terry; Buxton, Martin

2008-05-01

Transferring results of economic evaluations across countries or jurisdictions can potentially save scarce evaluation resources while helping to make market access and reimbursement decisions in a timely fashion. This article points out why transferring results of economic evaluations is particularly important in the field of medical technologies. It then provides an overview of factors that are previously identified in the literature as affecting transferability of economic evaluations, as well as methods for transferring results in a scientifically sound way. As the current literature almost exclusively relates to transferability of pharmacoeconomic evaluations, this article highlights those factors and methodologies that are of particular relevance to transferring medical technology assessments. Considering the state-of-the-art literature and a worked, real life, example of transferring an economic evaluation of a product used in orthopedic surgery, we provide recommendations for future work in this important area of medical technology assessment.

Swarm based mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMOS) for solving economic dispatch

Science.gov (United States)

Khoa, T. H.; Vasant, P. M.; Singh, M. S. Balbir; Dieu, V. N.

2014-10-01

The economic dispatch (ED) is an essential optimization task in the power generation system. It is defined as the process of allocating the real power output of generation units to meet required load demand so as their total operating cost is minimized while satisfying all physical and operational constraints. This paper introduces a novel optimization which named as Swarm based Mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMOS). The technique is the extension of the original single particle mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMO). Its features make it potentially attractive algorithm for solving optimization problems. The proposed method is implemented for three test power systems, including 3, 13 and 20 thermal generation units with quadratic cost function and the obtained results are compared with many other methods available in the literature. Test results have indicated that the proposed method can efficiently implement for solving economic dispatch.

Energy technologies and energy efficiency in economic modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

1998-01-01

This paper discusses different approaches to incorporating energy technologies and technological development in energy-economic models. Technological development is a very important issue in long-term energy demand projections and in environmental analyses. Different assumptions on technological ...... of renewable energy and especially wind power will increase the rate of efficiency improvement. A technologically based model in this case indirectly makes the energy efficiency endogenous in the aggregate energy-economy model....... technological development. This paper examines the effect on aggregate energy efficiency of using technological models to describe a number of specific technologies and of incorporating these models in an economic model. Different effects from the technology representation are illustrated. Vintage effects...... illustrates the dependence of average efficiencies and productivity on capacity utilisation rates. In the long run regulation induced by environmental policies are also very important for the improvement of aggregate energy efficiency in the energy supply sector. A Danish policy to increase the share...

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Economic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

From this perspective, efforts can be made to enhance each of the different elements, knowing how they relate in the entire development paradigm. This approach will improve the impact of ICT on economic development. Keywords: information and communication technologies, economic development, developing countries ...

Optimization of power system operation

CERN Document Server

Zhu, Jizhong

2015-01-01

This book applies the latest applications of new technologies topower system operation and analysis, including new and importantareas that are not covered in the previous edition. Optimization of Power System Operation covers both traditional andmodern technologies, including power flow analysis, steady-statesecurity region analysis, security constrained economic dispatch,multi-area system economic dispatch, unit commitment, optimal powerflow, smart grid operation, optimal load shed, optimalreconfiguration of distribution network, power system uncertaintyanalysis, power system sensitivity analysis, analytic hierarchicalprocess, neural network, fuzzy theory, genetic algorithm,evolutionary programming, and particle swarm optimization, amongothers. New topics such as the wheeling model, multi-areawheeling, the total transfer capability computation in multipleareas, are also addressed. The new edition of this book continues to provide engineers andac demics with a complete picture of the optimization of techn...

Optimal weed management in crop rotations: incorporating economics is crucial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, van den F.; Gilligan, C.A.; Lemmen-Gerdessen, van J.C.; Gregoire, L.A.H.; Bosch, van den F.

2010-01-01

Although the effects of crop rotation sequence and length on weed population dynamics have been studied, it is not clear whether or not the best strategy, from a weed population dynamics point of view, is also the economic optimal strategy. It is also not clear which biological and economic

Analysis of carbon mitigation technology to 2050 in Japan through integrated energy economic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komiyama, Ryoichi; Suzuki, Kengo; Nagatomi, Yu; Matsuo, Yuji; Suehiro, Shigeru

2011-01-01

This paper describes the outline of integrated energy economic model and calculated result concerning the outlook of energy and carbon dioxide emissions in Japan to 2050. The energy model developed in this paper is integrated one which consistently combines econometric model endogenously generating socio-economic outlook and bottom-up type technology model, MARKAL, identifying cost-minimizing optimal mix of various energy technologies. In reference scenario which imposes no carbon emissions constraint, CO 2 emission in 2050 will decrease by approximately 40% from the level of emissions in 2005. In carbon-constraints scenario, imposing emissions cap of 60% reduction by 2050 from the emissions in 2005, natural gas-fired power plant equipped with CCS and renewable energy are expected to expand its portion in power generation mix. In transportation sector on this scenario, clean energy vehicles such as electric vehicle (EV) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) will be deployed and contribute to mitigate CO 2 emissions. (author)

Economic growth and technological change : an evolutionary interpretation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verspagen, B.

2000-01-01

The aim of this paper is to apply insights from evolutionary economic theory to the question of what can explain recent trends in economic growth, with emphasis on the role of technological change. Obviously, a basic question that precedes this question is "what is evolutionary economic theory"? The

Farm-level economics of innovative tillage technologies: the case of no-till in the Altai Krai in Russian Siberia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bavorova, Miroslava; Imamverdiyev, Nizami; Ponkina, Elena

2018-01-01

In the agricultural Altai Krai in Russian Siberia, soil degradation problems are prevalent. Agronomists recommend "reduced tillage systems," especially no-till, as a sustainable way to cultivate land that is threatened by soil degradation. In the Altai Krai, less is known about the technologies in practice. In this paper, we provide information on plant cultivation technologies used in the Altai Krai and on selected factors preventing farm managers in this region from adopting no-till technology based on our own quantitative survey conducted across 107 farms in 2015 and 2016. The results of the quantitative survey show that farm managers have high uncertainty regarding the use of no-till technology including its economics. To close this gap, we provide systematic analysis of factors influencing the economy of the plant production systems by using a farm optimization model (linear programming) for a real farm, together with expert estimations. The farm-specific results of the optimization model show that under optimal management and climatic conditions, the expert Modern Canadian no-till technology outperforms the farm min-till technology, but this is not the case for suboptimal conditions with lower yields.

Real-Time Optimization for Economic Model Predictive Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sokoler, Leo Emil; Edlund, Kristian; Frison, Gianluca

2012-01-01

In this paper, we develop an efficient homogeneous and self-dual interior-point method for the linear programs arising in economic model predictive control. To exploit structure in the optimization problems, the algorithm employs a highly specialized Riccati iteration procedure. Simulations show...

Air conditioning with methane: Efficiency and economics optimization parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mastrullo, R.; Sasso, M.; Sibilio, S.; Vanoli, R.

1992-01-01

This paper presents an efficiency and economics evaluation method for methane fired cooling systems. Focus is on direct flame two staged absorption systems and alternative engine driven compressor sets. Comparisons are made with conventional vapour compression plants powered by electricity supplied by the national grid. A first and second law based thermodynamics analysis is made in which fuel use coefficients and exergy yields are determined. The economics analysis establishes annual energy savings, unit cooling energy production costs, payback periods and economics/efficiency optimization curves useful for preliminary feasibility studies

On the economics of technology diffusion and energy efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulder, P.

2003-01-01

Energy is an essential factor that fuels economic growth and serves human well-being. World energy use has grown enormously since the middle of the 19th century. This increase in the scale of energy demand comes at a certain price, including environmental externalities, such as the enhanced greenhouse effect. Notwithstanding the need for renewable energy sources, these environmental problems also necessitate further improvements in energy efficiency. Technological change plays a crucial role in realizing energy efficiency improvements and, hence, in ameliorating the conflict between economic growth and environmental quality. At the same time, it is known that not only innovation, but also diffusion of new technologies is a costly and lengthy process, and that many firms do not invest in best-practice technologies. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the inter. play between economic growth, energy use and technological change, with much emphasis on the adoption and diffusion of energy-saving technologies. The thesis presents a mix of theoretical and empirical analyses inspired by recent developments in economic theorizing on technological change that stress the role of accumulation and distribution of knowledge (learning), uncertainty, path dependency and irreversibility. The theoretical part of the study examines how several characteristics of technological change as well as environmental policy affect the dynamics of technology choice. The empirical part of the study explores long-run trends in energy- and labour productivity performance across a range of OECD countries at a detailed sectoral level

Technical change and economic policy: science and technology in the new economic and social context

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

Links between scientific research, technological development, and economic growth by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are analyzed. The analysis is broken into four parts: (1) The New Economic and Social Context; (2) Trends in R and D and Innovation; (3) Technological Change and the Economy; and (4) Conclusions and Recommendations. The long-term structural nature of many of the problems facing western Europe are emphasized, and the limitations of short-term-demand management strategies in solving them.

Wind turbines fundamentals, technologies, application, economics

CERN Document Server

Hau, Erich

2013-01-01

"Wind Turbines" addresses all those professionally involved in research, development, manufacture and operation of wind turbines. It provides a cross-disciplinary overview of modern wind turbine technology and an orientation in the associated technical, economic and environmental fields.  In its revised third edition, special emphasis has been given to the latest trends in wind turbine technology and design, such as gearless drive train concepts, as well as on new fields of application, in particular the offshore utilisation of wind energy. The author has gained experience over decades designing wind energy converters with a major industrial manufacturer and, more recently, in technical consulting and in the planning of large wind park installations, with special attention to economics.

Socio-economic research for innovative energy technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogawa, Yuichi [Tokyo Univ., High Temperature Plasma Center, Kashiwa, Chiba (Japan); Okano, Kunihiko [Central Research Inst. of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan)

2006-10-15

In the 21st century global environment and energy issues become very important, and this is characterized by the long-term (in the scale of a few tens years) and world-wide issue. In addition, future prospect of these issues might be quite uncertain, and scientific prediction could be very difficult. For these issues vigorous researches and various efforts have been carried out from various aspects; e.g., world-wide discussion such as COP3 in Kyoto, promotion of the energy-saving technology and so on. Development of environment-friendly energy has been promoted, and new innovative technologies are explored. Nuclear fusion is, of course, a promising candidate. While, there might be some criticism for nuclear fusion from the socio-economic aspect; e.g., it would take long time and huge cost for the fusion reactor development. In addition, other innovative energy technologies might have their own criticism, as well. Therefore, socio-economic research might be indispensable for future energy resources. At first we have selected six items as for the characteristics, which might be important for future energy resources; i.e., energy resource, environmental load, economics, reliability/stability, flexibility on operation and safety/security. Concerning to innovative energy technologies, we have nominated seven candidates; i.e., advanced coal technology with CO2 recovery system, SOFC top combined cycle, solar power, wind power, space solar power station, advanced fission and fusion. Based on questionnaires for ordinary people and fusion scientists, we have tried to assess the fusion energy development, comparing with other innovative energy technologies. (author)

Are the Economically Optimal Harvesting Strategies of Uneven-Aged Pinus nigra Stands Always Sustainable and Stabilizing?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Fullana-Belda

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Traditional uneven-aged forest management seeks a balance between equilibrium stand structure and economic profitability, which often leads to harvesting strategies concentrated in the larger diameter classes. The sustainability (i.e., population persistence over time and influence of such economically optimal strategies on the equilibrium position of a stand (given by the stable diameter distribution have not been sufficiently investigated in prior forest literature. This article therefore proposes a discrete optimal control model to analyze the sustainability and stability of the economically optimal harvesting strategies of uneven-aged Pinus nigra stands. For this model, we rely on an objective function that integrates financial data of harvesting operations with a projection matrix model that can describe the population dynamics. The model solution reveals the optimal management schedules for a wide variety of scenarios. To measure the distance between the stable diameter distribution and the economically optimal harvesting strategy distribution, the model uses Keyfitz’s delta, which returns high values for all the scenarios and, thus, suggests that those economically optimal harvesting strategies have an unstabilizing influence on the equilibrium positions. Moreover, the economically optimal harvesting strategies were unsustainable for all the scenarios.

The rhetoric of calculations. Economical arguments for development of new energy technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solli, Joeran

2004-01-01

The thesis discusses the theoretical economics and social factors for development of new energy technologies and has chapter on: New energy technologies in an economical and political change, technology development from innovation economy to economical sociology, opinion formation in the energy sector, establishing energy economical discussion, economy as pidgin, financial factors, forming social education and market power versus language strife

Thermodynamic and economic analysis and optimization of power cycles for a medium temperature geothermal resource

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coskun, Ahmet; Bolatturk, Ali; Kanoglu, Mehmet

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We conduct the thermodynamic and economic analysis of various geothermal power cycles. • The optimization process was performed to minimize the exergy losses. • Kalina cycle is a new technology compared to flash and binary cycles. • It is shown that Kalina cycle presents a viable choice for both thermodynamically and economically. - Abstract: Geothermal power generation technologies are well established and there are numerous power plants operating worldwide. Turkey is rich in geothermal resources while most resources are not exploited for power production. In this study, we consider geothermal resources in Kutahya–Simav region having geothermal water at a temperature suitable for power generation. The study is aimed to yield the method of the most effective use of the geothermal resource and a rational thermodynamic and economic comparison of various cycles for a given resource. The cycles considered include double-flash, binary, combined flash/binary, and Kalina cycle. The selected cycles are optimized for the turbine inlet pressure that would generate maximum power output and energy and exergy efficiencies. The distribution of exergy in plant components and processes are shown using tables. Maximum first law efficiencies vary between 6.9% and 10.6% while the second law efficiencies vary between 38.5% and 59.3% depending on the cycle considered. The maximum power output, the first law, and the second law efficiencies are obtained for Kalina cycle followed by combined cycle and binary cycle. An economic analysis of four cycles considered indicates that the cost of producing a unit amount of electricity is 0.0116 $/kW h for double flash and Kalina cycles, 0.0165 $/kW h for combined cycle and 0.0202 $/kW h for binary cycle. Consequently, the payback period is 5.8 years for double flash and Kalina cycles while it is 8.3 years for combined cycle and 9 years for binary cycle

Technical and economic optimization study for HLW waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deffes, A.

1989-01-01

This study was conducted to assess the technical and economic aspects of high level waste (HLW) management with the objective of optimizing the interim storage duration and the dimensions of the underground repository site. The procedure consisted in optimizing the economic criterion under specified constraints. The results are intended to identify trends and guide the choice from among available options; simple and highly flexible models were therefore used in this study, and only nearfield thermal constraints were taken into consideration. Because of the present uncertainty on the physicochemical properties of the repository environment and on the unit cost figures, this study focused on developing a suitable method rather than on obtaining definitive results. With the physical and economic data bases used for the two media investigated (granite and salt) the optimum values found show that it is advisable to minimize the interim storage time, and that the geological repository should feature a high degree of spatial dilution. These results depend to a considerable extent on the assumption of high interim storage costs

Technology Transfer, Foreign Direct Investment and Economic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study is to investigate the long-run equilibrium relationship between various international factors and economic growth, as well as to assess the short-term impact of inward FDI, trade and economic growth on international technology transfer to Nigeria. To achieve this, the study used a time series data from ...

Economic and technological aspects of the market introduction of renewable power technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Worlen, Christine M.

Renewable energy, if developed and delivered with appropriate technologies, is cleaner, more evenly distributed, and safer than conventional energy systems. Many countries and several states in the United States promote the development and introduction of technologies for "green" electricity production. This dissertation investigates economic and technological aspects of this process for wind energy. In liberalized electricity markets, policy makers use economic incentives to encourage the adoption of renewables. Choosing from a large range of possible policies and instruments is a multi-criteria decision process. This dissertation evaluates the criteria used and the trade-offs among the criteria, and develops a hierarchical flow scheme that policy makers can use to choose the most appropriate policy for a given situation. Economic incentives and market transformation programs seek to reduce costs through mass deployment in order to make renewable technologies competitive. Cost reduction is measured in "experience curves" that posit negative exponential relationships between cumulative deployment and production cost. This analysis reveals the weaknesses in conventional experience curve analyses for wind turbines, and concludes that the concept is limited by data availability, a weak conceptual foundation, and inappropriate statistical estimation. A revised model specifies a more complete set of economic and technological forces that determine the cost of wind power. Econometric results indicate that experience and upscaling of turbine sizes accounted for the observed cost reduction in wind turbines in the United States, Denmark and Germany between 1983 and 2001. These trends are likely to continue. In addition, future cost reductions will result from economies of scale in production. Observed differences in the performance of theoretically equivalent policy instruments could arise from economic uncertainty. To test this hypothesis, a methodology for the

Dynamic optimization in environmental economics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, Elke; Tragler, Gernot; Veliov, Vladimir M.; Semmler, Willi

2014-01-01

This book contains two chapters with the topics: 1. Chapter: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ECONOMY AND CLIMATE: (a) Climate Change and Technical Progress: Impact of Informational Constraints. (b) Environmental Policy in a Dynamic Model with Heterogeneous Agents and Voting. (c) Optimal Environmental Policy in the Presence of Multiple Equilibria and Reversible Hysteresis. (d). Modeling the Dynamics of the Transition to a Green Economy. (e) One-Parameter GHG Emission Policy With R and D-Based Growth. (f) Pollution, Public Health Care, and Life Expectancy when Inequality Matters. (g) Uncertain Climate Policy and the Green Paradox. (h) Uniqueness Versus Indeterminacy in the Tragedy of the Commons - A ''Geometric'' Approach. 2. Chapter: OPTIMAL EXTRACTION OF RESOURCES: (j) Dynamic Behavior of Oil Importers and Exporters Under Uncertainty. (k) Robust Control of a Spatially Distributed Commercial Fishery. (l) On the Effect of Resource Exploitation on Growth: Domestic Innovation vs. Technological Diffusion Through Trade. (m) Forest Management and Biodiversity in Size-Structured Forests Under Climate Change. (n) Carbon Taxes and Comparison of Trading Regimes in Fossil Fuels. (o) Landowning, Status and Population Growth. (p) Optimal Harvesting of Size-Structured Biological Populations.

Enhanced OTSG economics optimizing CAPEX + OPEX + Schedule

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, Peter [KTI Engineered to Perform (Canada)

2011-07-01

This presentation gives an insight into the economics involved in producing once-through steam (OTSG) generators in Canada and it offers a proposal for improving returns in the industry. The objective of this presentation was to show the importance of developing OTSG manufacturing based on the future of this technology. The growing demand for OTSG by oil companies was presented, suggesting that this is a good time to put effort into developing more efficient designs. After the background of this technology was discussed, several economical aspects of the process were addressed; for instance, reducing capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operation expenditure (OPEX), outsourcing production, and project scheduling and execution. Initiatives proposed included: reducing plot size, producing larger OTSGs, reducing downtime, using alternative fuels, forming a global manufacturing network, and avoiding order blockage. Finally, the idea of designing a portable OTSG was proposed, showing its flexibility in oil extraction projects.

Thermo-economic design optimization of parabolic trough solar plants for industrial process heat applications with memetic algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, R.; Berenguel, M.; Pérez, M.; Fernández-Garcia, A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A thermo-economic optimization of a parabolic-trough solar plant for industrial process heat applications is developed. • An analysis of the influence of economic cost functions on optimal design point location is presented. • A multi-objective optimization approach to the design routine is proposed. • A sensitivity analysis of the optimal point location to economic, operational, and ambient conditions is developed. • Design optimization of a parabolic trough plant for a reference industrial application is developed. - Abstract: A thermo-economic design optimization of a parabolic trough solar plant for industrial processes with memetic algorithms is developed. The design domain variables considered in the optimization routine are the number of collectors in series, number of collector rows, row spacing, and storage volume. Life cycle savings, levelized cost of energy, and payback time objective functions are compared to study the influence on optimal design point location. Furthermore a multi-objective optimization approach is proposed to analyze the design problem from a multi-economic criteria point of view. An extensive set of optimization cases are performed to estimate the influence of fuel price trend, plant location, demand profile, operation conditions, solar field orientation, and radiation uncertainty on optimal design. The results allow quantifying as thermo-economic design optimization based on short term criteria as the payback time leads to smaller plants with higher solar field efficiencies and smaller solar fractions, while the consideration of optimization criteria based on long term performance of the plants, as life cycle savings based optimization, leads to the reverse conclusion. The role of plant location and future evolution of gas prices in the thermo-economic performance of the solar plant has been also analyzed. Thermo-economic optimization of a parabolic trough solar plant design for the reference industrial

Exergetic optimization of a key design parameter in heat pump systems with economizer coupled with scroll compressor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Guoyuan; Li, Xianguo

2007-01-01

The heat pump system with economizer coupled with scroll compressor can extend effectively its operating ranges and provide a technological method to enable the heat pump to run steadily and efficiently in severe weather conditions. The intermediate pressure, namely the working pressure of the refrigerant in the economizer, is an essential design parameter and affects crucially the performances of the heat pump system. According to the exergetic model setup for the heat pump system based on the second law of thermodynamics, the influences of the intermediate pressure on the performances are comprehensively analyzed using experimental data of the heat pump prototype. It is found that the optimal relative intermediate pressure (RIP) is between 1.1 and 1.3

The use of efficiency frontiers to evaluate the optimal land cover and irrigation practices for economic returns and ecosystem services

Science.gov (United States)

Kovacs, Kent; West, Grant; Xu, Ying

2017-04-01

Efficiency frontiers are a useful tool for governmental agencies that balance the protection of ecosystem services with the economic returns from an agricultural landscape because the tool illustrates that a compromise of objectives generates greater value to society than optimizing a sole objective. Policy makers facing the problem of groundwater overdraft on an agricultural landscape want to know if regulations or irrigation technology adoption will enhance both economic and ecosystem service benefits. Conjunctive water management with on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery system is frequently suggested to alleviate groundwater and surface water quality problems in the Lower Mississippi River Basin of the United States, and this study evaluates the consequence of the adoption of this technology for the balance of ecosystem service and economic objectives. A compromise of objectives that maximizes the value to society provides 76% more value to society without reservoirs and 66% more value to society with reservoirs than the sole objective of economic returns. The reservoirs help an agricultural landscape maximizing economic returns to align more closely with a landscape maximizing the value to society, although there are still significant gains possible from finding a landscape that directly compromises on the objectives.

Modeling and optimization of a network of energy hubs to improve economic and emission considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maroufmashat, Azadeh; Elkamel, Ali; Fowler, Michael; Sattari, Sourena; Roshandel, Ramin; Hajimiragha, Amir; Walker, Sean; Entchev, Evgueniy

2015-01-01

Energy hubs that incorporate a variety of energy generation and energy transformation technologies can be used to provide the energy storage needed to enable the efficient operation of a ‘smart energy network’. When these hubs are combined as a network and allowed to exchange energy, they create efficiency advantages in both financial and environmental performance. Further, the interconnectedness of the energy network design provides an added layer of reliability. In this paper, a complex network of energy hubs is modeled and optimized under different scenarios to examine both the financial viability and potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Two case studies consisting of two and three energy hubs within a network are considered. The modeling Scenarios vary according to the consideration of distributed energy systems and energy interaction between energy hubs. In the case of a network of two energy hubs, there is no significant economic or emissions benefit with only a 0.5% reduction in total cost and 3% reduction in CO_2 emission. In the case of a network of three energy hubs, there is a significant economic benefit ranging from 11% to 29%, and 11% emission reduction benefit, as well as a 13% reduction in natural gas consumption. - Highlights: • The generic form of the modified energy hub concept with network model is presented. • Two case studies are presented to demonstrate the benefits of energy hub network. • Distributed energy is shown to provide economic and environmental advantages. • Multi criteria optimization of the economic and environmental performance is done.

Economic viability of biogas technology in a Bangladesh village

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biswas, W.K.; Lucas, N.J.D.

1997-01-01

We estimate energy consumption for domestic cooking and biogas energy resources for 21 clusters of households in a village. Data were analyzed on a cluster basis, with investments shared. Under the present conditions, biogas technology would not be economically viable. Economic analysis involving viability tools including additional benefits of biogas technology indicate that creating a market for local biogas would make such a project feasible. (Author)

Economic optimization and evolutionary programming when using remote sensing data

OpenAIRE

Shamin Roman; Alberto Gabriel Enrike; Uryngaliyeva Ayzhana; Semenov Aleksandr

2018-01-01

The article considers the issues of optimizing the use of remote sensing data. Built a mathematical model to describe the economic effect of the use of remote sensing data. It is shown that this model is incorrect optimisation task. Given a numerical method of solving this problem. Also discusses how to optimize organizational structure by using genetic algorithm based on remote sensing. The methods considered allow the use of remote sensing data in an optimal way. The proposed mathematical m...

Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Area:Community Overview

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2006-01-01

@@ Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Area, for 13 years of development, has made detailed work in building the investment environment, bold job in the management system innovation, full strengths in business recruitment and investment attacting,hard job in cultivating new point of economic growth.

A new honey bee mating optimization algorithm for non-smooth economic dispatch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niknam, Taher; Mojarrad, Hasan Doagou; Meymand, Hamed Zeinoddini; Firouzi, Bahman Bahmani

2011-01-01

The non-storage characteristics of electricity and the increasing fuel costs worldwide call for the need to operate the systems more economically. Economic dispatch (ED) is one of the most important optimization problems in power systems. ED has the objective of dividing the power demand among the online generators economically while satisfying various constraints. The importance of economic dispatch is to get maximum usable power using minimum resources. To solve the static ED problem, honey bee mating algorithm (HBMO) can be used. The basic disadvantage of the original HBMO algorithm is the fact that it may miss the optimum and provide a near optimum solution in a limited runtime period. In order to avoid this shortcoming, we propose a new method that improves the mating process of HBMO and also, combines the improved HBMO with a Chaotic Local Search (CLS) called Chaotic Improved Honey Bee Mating Optimization (CIHBMO). The proposed algorithm is used to solve ED problems taking into account the nonlinear generator characteristics such as prohibited operation zones, multi-fuel and valve-point loading effects. The CIHBMO algorithm is tested on three test systems and compared with other methods in the literature. Results have shown that the proposed method is efficient and fast for ED problems with non-smooth and non-continuous fuel cost functions. Moreover, the optimal power dispatch obtained by the algorithm is superior to previous reported results. -- Research highlights: →Economic dispatch. →Reducing electrical energy loss. →Saving electrical energy. →Optimal operation.

Building economics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, D.O.(red.)

Publikationen er på engelsk. Den omfatter alle indlæg på det fjerde internationale symposium om byggeøkonomi, der blev arrangeret af SBI for det internationale byggeforskningsråd CIB. De fem bind omhandler: Methods of Economic Evaluation, Design Optimization, Ressource Utilization, The Building...... Market og Economics and Technological Forecasting in Construction. Et indledende bind bringer statusrapporter for de fem forskningsområder, og det sidste bind sammenfatter debatten på symposiet....

Distributed Energy Resources On-Site Optimization for Commercial Buildings with Electric and Thermal Storage Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacommare, Kristina S H; Stadler, Michael; Aki, Hirohisa; Firestone, Ryan; Lai, Judy; Marnay, Chris; Siddiqui, Afzal

2008-01-01

The addition of storage technologies such as flow batteries, conventional batteries, and heat storage can improve the economic as well as environmental attractiveness of on-site generation (e.g., PV, fuel cells, reciprocating engines or microturbines operating with or without CHP) and contribute to enhanced demand response. In order to examine the impact of storage technologies on demand response and carbon emissions, a microgrid's distributed energy resources (DER) adoption problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program that has the minimization of annual energy costs as its objective function. By implementing this approach in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS), the problem is solved for a given test year at representative customer sites, such as schools and nursing homes, to obtain not only the level of technology investment, but also the optimal hourly operating schedules. This paper focuses on analysis of storage technologies in DER optimization on a building level, with example applications for commercial buildings. Preliminary analysis indicates that storage technologies respond effectively to time-varying electricity prices, i.e., by charging batteries during periods of low electricity prices and discharging them during peak hours. The results also indicate that storage technologies significantly alter the residual load profile, which can contribute to lower carbon emissions depending on the test site, its load profile, and its adopted DER technologies

Green technologies for the use of urban wastewater: economic analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Horacio Alfredo Gil

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Urban sewage is one of the biggest polluters of water resources. For treatment, the usual conventional technologies (CT are based on civil and hydraulic engineering; more recently, green technologies (GT based on biology and ecology began to be developed. The aim of this study was to assess the economic aspects of these technologies using cost-benefit analysis. The economic benefits are derived from the sale of forest products and the environmental benefits of water decontamination, valued by the avoided cost method. The results of the study establish that GT have better commercial and economic performance than CT, and that the inclusion of environmental benefit significantly improves the results.

Technology-Critical Elements: Economic and Policy Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Eggert, R. G.

2017-12-01

Critical elements are those that provide essential functionality to modern engineered materials, have few ready substitutes and are subject to supply-chain risks or concerns about long-run availability. This paper provides economic and public-policy perspectives on critical elements. It suggests: that which elements are critical is situational and changes over time; that we are not running out of mineral-derived raw materials in a geologic sense but rather, for some elements, face scarcities that are technological, environmental, political or economic in nature; and that public policy's most important role over the longer term is fostering scientific and technological innovation, especially early stage research, that has the potential to overcome these scarcities.

Dynamic optimization in environmental economics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moser, Elke; Tragler, Gernot; Veliov, Vladimir M. (eds.) [Vienna Univ. of Technology (Austria). Inst. of Mathematical Methods in Economics; Semmler, Willi [The New School for Social Research, New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Economics

2014-11-01

This book contains two chapters with the topics: 1. Chapter: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ECONOMY AND CLIMATE: (a) Climate Change and Technical Progress: Impact of Informational Constraints. (b) Environmental Policy in a Dynamic Model with Heterogeneous Agents and Voting. (c) Optimal Environmental Policy in the Presence of Multiple Equilibria and Reversible Hysteresis. (d). Modeling the Dynamics of the Transition to a Green Economy. (e) One-Parameter GHG Emission Policy With R and D-Based Growth. (f) Pollution, Public Health Care, and Life Expectancy when Inequality Matters. (g) Uncertain Climate Policy and the Green Paradox. (h) Uniqueness Versus Indeterminacy in the Tragedy of the Commons - A ''Geometric'' Approach. 2. Chapter: OPTIMAL EXTRACTION OF RESOURCES: (j) Dynamic Behavior of Oil Importers and Exporters Under Uncertainty. (k) Robust Control of a Spatially Distributed Commercial Fishery. (l) On the Effect of Resource Exploitation on Growth: Domestic Innovation vs. Technological Diffusion Through Trade. (m) Forest Management and Biodiversity in Size-Structured Forests Under Climate Change. (n) Carbon Taxes and Comparison of Trading Regimes in Fossil Fuels. (o) Landowning, Status and Population Growth. (p) Optimal Harvesting of Size-Structured Biological Populations.

Do Technological Developments and Financial Development Promote Economic Growth: Fresh Evidence from Romania

OpenAIRE

Ur Rehman, Ijaz; Shahbaz, Muhammad; Kyophilavong, Phouphet

2013-01-01

We study the relationship between financial development, technological development and economic growth in Romania. We construct aggregate indices of financial development and technological development using principal component analysis. The ARDL bounds testing approach shows the presence of cointegration between financial development, technological development and economic growth. Financial development and technological development contribute to economic growth. Moreover, financial developmen...

Coating material innovation in conjunction with optimized deposition technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stolze, M.; Leitner, K.

2009-01-01

Concentrating on physical vapour deposition methods several examples of recently developed coating materials for optical applications were studied for film deposition with optimized coating technologies: mixed evaporation materials for ion assisted deposition with modern plasma ion sources, planar metal and oxide sputter targets for Direct Current (DC) and Mid-Frequency (MF) pulsed sputter deposition and planar and rotatable sputter targets of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) for large-area sputter deposition. Films from specially designed titania based mixed evaporation materials deposited with new plasma ion sources and possible operation with pure oxygen showed extended ranges of the ratio between refractive index and structural film stress, hence there is an increased potential for the reduction of the total coating stress in High-Low alternating stacks and for coating plastics. DC and MF-pulsed sputtering of niobium metal and suboxide targets for optical coatings yielded essential benefits of the suboxide targets in a range of practical coating conditions (for absent in-situ post-oxidation ability): higher refractive index and deposition rate, better reproducibility and easier process control, and the potential for co-deposition of several targets. Technological progress in the manufacture of rotatable indium tin oxide (ITO) targets with regard to higher wall-thickness and density was shown to be reflected in higher material stock and coater up-time, economical deposition rates and stable process behaviour. Both for the rotatable ITO targets and higher-dense aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) planar targets values of film transmittance and resistivity were in the range of the best values industrially achieved for films from the respective planar targets. The results for the rotatable ITO and planar AZO targets point to equally optimized process and film properties for the optimized rotatable AZO targets currently in testing

Effect of different economic support policies on the optimal synthesis and operation of a distributed energy supply system with renewable energy sources for an industrial area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casisi, Melchiorre; De Nardi, Alberto; Pinamonti, Piero; Reini, Mauro

2015-01-01

Highlights: • MILP model optimization identifies best structure and operation of an energy system. • Total cost of the system is minimized according to industrial stakeholders wills. • Effects of the adoption of economic support policies on the system are evaluated. • Social cost of incentives is comparted with correspondent CO 2 emission reduction. • Support schemes that promote an actual environmental benefit are highlighted. - Abstract: Economic support policies are widely adopted in European countries in order to promote a more efficient energy usage and the growth of renewable energy technologies. On one hand these schemes allow us to reduce the overall pollutant emissions and the total cost from the point of view of the energy systems, but on the other hand their social impact in terms of economic investment needs to be evaluated. The aim of this paper is to compare the social cost of the application of each incentive with the correspondent CO 2 emission reduction and overall energy saving. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming optimization procedure is used to evaluate the effect of different economic support policies on the optimal configuration and operation of a distributed energy supply system of an industrial area located in the north-east of Italy. The minimized objective function is the total annual cost for owning, operating and maintaining the whole energy system. The expectation is that a proper mix of renewable energy technologies and cogeneration systems will be included in the optimal solution, depending on the amount and nature of the supporting policies, highlighting the incentives that promote a real environmental benefit

Evolutionary algorithms for multi-objective energetic and economic optimization in thermal system design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toffolo, A.; Lazzaretto, A.

2002-01-01

Thermoeconomic analyses in thermal system design are always focused on the economic objective. However, knowledge of only the economic minimum may not be sufficient in the decision making process, since solutions with a higher thermodynamic efficiency, in spite of small increases in total costs, may result in much more interesting designs due to changes in energy market prices or in energy policies. This paper suggests how to perform a multi-objective optimization in order to find solutions that simultaneously satisfy exergetic and economic objectives. This corresponds to a search for the set of Pareto optimal solutions with respect to the two competing objectives. The optimization process is carried out by an evolutionary algorithm, that features a new diversity preserving mechanism using as a test case the well-known CGAM problem. (author)

Joint cost of energy under an optimal economic policy of hybrid power systems subject to uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Díaz, Guzmán; Planas, Estefanía; Andreu, Jon; Kortabarria, Iñigo

2015-01-01

Economical optimization of hybrid systems is usually performed by means of LCoE (levelized cost of energy) calculation. Previous works deal with the LCoE calculation of the whole hybrid system disregarding an important issue: the stochastic component of the system units must be jointly considered. This paper deals with this issue and proposes a new fast optimal policy that properly calculates the LCoE of a hybrid system and finds the lowest LCoE. This proposed policy also considers the implied competition among power sources when variability of gas and electricity prices are taken into account. Additionally, it presents a comparative between the LCoE of the hybrid system and its individual technologies of generation by means of a fast and robust algorithm based on vector logical computation. Numerical case analyses based on realistic data are presented that valuate the contribution of technologies in a hybrid power system to the joint LCoE. - Highlights: • We perform the LCoE calculation with the stochastic component jointly considered. • We propose a fast an optimal policy that minimizes the LCoE. • We compare the obtained LCoEs by means of a fast and robust algorithm. • We take into account the competition among gas prices and electricity prices

Public policy and clean technology promotion. The synergy between environmental economics and evolutionary economics of technological change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rio Gonzalez, Pablo del [Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo (Spain). Facultad de Ciencias Juridicas y Sociales de Toledo

2004-07-01

Obstacles to clean technology development, innovation and diffusion are not only related to the lack of internalisation of environmental externalities in production costs, as defended by traditional environmental economics. Empirical studies show that many other obstacles prevent these technologies from penetrating the market. The relevance of these obstacles differs between sectors, firms and technologies. Consequently, a more focused approach is proposed. By taking a look at the specific, real-world barriers to clean technologies, a policy framework as well as some specific measures that target those barriers are suggested. These instruments are useful and complementary in a policy framework that, in addition to specific instruments, takes into account the influence of the style of regulation and the configuration of actors in the environmental technological change process. This paper proposes a coherent framework integrating environmental policy and technology policy instruments. This is deemed necessary in the technological transition to sustainable development. (author)

Optimization of self-consumption and techno-economic analysis of PV-battery systems in commercial applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merei, Ghada; Moshövel, Janina; Magnor, Dirk; Sauer, Dirk Uwe

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Optimization of self-consumption and the degree of self-sufficiency in commercial applications. • Technical and economic analyses for a PV-battery system. • Sensitivity analysis considering different sizes and prices of PV and battery systems. • Investigation of batteries to increase self-consumption today is not economic in the considered applications. - Abstract: Increasing costs of electricity supply from the local grid, the decreasing photovoltaic (PV) technology costs and the decreasing PV feed-in-tariff according to the current German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) will in the future raise the monetary incentives to increase the self-consumption of PV energy. This is of great interest in commercial buildings as there mostly is sufficient place to install high capacities of photovoltaic panels on their own roofs. Furthermore, the electricity purchase price from the local grid for commercial consumers nowadays is about 20 €ct/kW h, which is higher than the cost of generation of electricity from solar panels (about 8–12 €ct/kW h). Additionally, the load profiles in commercial applications have a high correlation with the generated solar energy. Hence, there is a great opportunity for economic savings. This paper presents optimization results with respect to self-consumption and degree of self-sufficiency for a supermarket in Aachen, Germany. The optimization is achieved using real measurement data of load profile and solar radiation. Besides, techno-economic analyses and sensitivity analyses have been carried out to demonstrate the influence of different PV system sizes, PV system costs and interest rates. Moreover, to raise self-consumption different battery sizes with different battery system costs have been investigated and analysed for 2015 and 2025 scenarios as well. The results show that the installation of a PV system can reduce the electricity costs through self-consumption of self-generated PV energy. Also, applying

Information and communication technology use and economic growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Farhadi, Maryam; Ismail, Rahmah; Fooladi, Masood

2012-01-01

In recent years, progress in information and communication technology (ICT) has caused many structural changes such as reorganizing of economics, globalization, and trade extension, which leads to capital flows and enhancing information availability. Moreover, ICT plays a significant role in development of each economic sector, especially during liberalization process. Growth economists predict that economic growth is driven by investments in ICT. However, empirical studies on this issue have produced mixed results, regarding to different research methodology and geographical configuration of the study. This paper examines the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use on economic growth using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator within the framework of a dynamic panel data approach and applies it to 159 countries over the period 2000 to 2009. The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between growth rate of real GDP per capita and ICT use index (as measured by the number of internet users, fixed broadband internet subscribers and the number of mobile subscription per 100 inhabitants). We also find that the effect of ICT use on economic growth is higher in high income group rather than other groups. This implies that if these countries seek to enhance their economic growth, they need to implement specific policies that facilitate ICT use.

Information and communication technology use and economic growth.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Farhadi

Full Text Available In recent years, progress in information and communication technology (ICT has caused many structural changes such as reorganizing of economics, globalization, and trade extension, which leads to capital flows and enhancing information availability. Moreover, ICT plays a significant role in development of each economic sector, especially during liberalization process. Growth economists predict that economic growth is driven by investments in ICT. However, empirical studies on this issue have produced mixed results, regarding to different research methodology and geographical configuration of the study. This paper examines the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT use on economic growth using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM estimator within the framework of a dynamic panel data approach and applies it to 159 countries over the period 2000 to 2009. The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between growth rate of real GDP per capita and ICT use index (as measured by the number of internet users, fixed broadband internet subscribers and the number of mobile subscription per 100 inhabitants. We also find that the effect of ICT use on economic growth is higher in high income group rather than other groups. This implies that if these countries seek to enhance their economic growth, they need to implement specific policies that facilitate ICT use.

Technological Exports and the Dynamics of Ukraine’s Economic Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Cherkass

2006-03-01

Full Text Available This article examines the promotion of technological exports in the context of making products competitive on the world market at the expense of quantified but not qualified factors. The author describes the destructive consequences of primary export growth. Relying on a designed structural model, she analyzes factors pertaining to technological exports and industrial production, and also evaluates the effectiveness of promoting exports for economic growth. She demonstrates the negative effect of the devaluation of the hryvnia on industrial production growth and the currency’s neutrality as a factor in the promotion of technological exports. The article establishes that technological exports determine to a considerable extent the dynamics of Ukraine’s economic growth, while the exports of raw materials worsen these indicators. The author shows that the export of metal products stands in the way of increasing technological export, and offers her recommendations to improve the dynamics of economic growth.

Optimal design of microalgae-based biorefinery: Economics, opportunities and challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rizwan, Muhammad; Lee, Jay H.; Gani, Rafiqul

2015-01-01

Microalgae have great potential as a feedstock for the production of a wide range of end-products under the broad concept of biorefinery. In an earlier work, we proposed a superstructure based optimization model to find the optimal processing pathway for the production of biodiesel from microalgal...... biomass, and identified several challenges with the focus being on utilizing lipids extracted microalgal biomass for economic and environmentally friendly production of useful energy products. In this paper, we expand the previous optimization framework by considering the processing of microalgae residue...

VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR PROCEDURE OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL OPTIMIZATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS FUNCTIONAL PARAMETERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. N. Ishakova

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A method for multi-criteria optimization of the design parameters for technological object is described. The existing optimization methods are overviewed, and works in the field of basic research and applied problems are analyzed. The problem is formulated, based on the process requirements, making it possible to choose the geometrical dimensions of machine tips and the flow rate of the process, so that the resulting technical and economical parameters were optimal. In the problem formulation application of the performance method adapted to a particular domain is described. Task implementation is shown; the method of characteristics creation for the studied object in view of some restrictions for parameters in both analytical and graphical representation. On the basis of theoretical research the software system is developed that gives the possibility to automate the discovery of optimal solutions for specific problems. Using available information sources, that characterize the object of study, it is possible to establish identifiers, add restrictions from the one side, and in the interval as well. Obtained result is a visual depiction of dependence of the main study parameters on the others, which may have an impact on both the flow of the process, and the quality of products. The resulting optimal area shows the use of different design options for technological object in an acceptable kinematic range that makes it possible for the researcher to choose the best design solution.

Optimization of an experimental hybrid microgrid operation: reliability and economic issues

OpenAIRE

Milo, Aitor; Gaztañaga, Haizea; Etxeberria Otadui, Ion; Bilbao, Endika; Rodríguez Cortés, Pedro

2009-01-01

In this paper a hybrid microgrid system, composed of RES (Renewable Energy System) and CHP (Combined Heat and Power) systems together with a battery based storage system is presented. The microgrid is accompanied by a centralized energy management system (CEMS) in order to optimize the microgrid operation both in grid-connected and in stand-alone modes. In grid-connected mode the optimization of the economic exploitation of the microgrid is privileged by applying optim...

Optimal control theory applications to management science and economics

CERN Document Server

Sethi, Suresh P

2006-01-01

Optimal control methods are used to determine the best ways to control a dynamic system. This book applies theoretical work to business management problems developed from the authors' research and classroom instruction. The thoroughly revised new edition has been refined with careful attention to the text and graphic material presentation. Chapters cover a range of topics including finance, production and inventory problems, marketing problems, machine maintenance and replacement, problems of optimal consumption of natural resources, and applications of control theory to economics. The book in

Thermo-economic multi-objective optimization of solar dish-Stirling engine by implementing evolutionary algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadi, Mohammad H.; Sayyaadi, Hoseyn; Mohammadi, Amir H.; Barranco-Jimenez, Marco A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Thermo-economic multi-objective optimization of solar dish-Stirling engine is studied. • Application of the evolutionary algorithm is investigated. • Error analysis is done to find out the error through investigation. - Abstract: In the recent years, remarkable attention is drawn to Stirling engine due to noticeable advantages, for instance a lot of resources such as biomass, fossil fuels and solar energy can be applied as heat source. Great number of studies are conducted on Stirling engine and finite time thermo-economic is one of them. In the present study, the dimensionless thermo-economic objective function, thermal efficiency and dimensionless power output are optimized for a dish-Stirling system using finite time thermo-economic analysis and NSGA-II algorithm. Optimized answers are chosen from the results using three decision-making methods. Error analysis is done to find out the error through investigation

Optimizing accelerator technology

CERN Multimedia

Katarina Anthony

2012-01-01

A new EU-funded research and training network, oPAC, is bringing together 22 universities, research centres and industry partners to optimize particle accelerator technology. CERN is one of the network’s main partners and will host 5 early-stage researchers in the BE department.   A diamond detector that will be used for novel beam diagnostics applications in the oPAC project based at CIVIDEC. (Image courtesy of CIVIDEC.) As one of the largest Marie Curie Initial Training Networks ever funded by the EU – to the tune of €6 million – oPAC extends well beyond the particle physics community. “Accelerator physics has become integral to research in almost every scientific discipline – be it biology and life science, medicine, geology and material science, or fundamental physics,” explains Carsten P. Welsch, oPAC co-ordinator based at the University of Liverpool. “By optimizing the operation of accelerators, all of these...

Some Approaches to the Accounting and Analysis of the Impact of Scientific and Technological Progress in the Harrod-Domar Economic Growth Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dilenko Viktor O.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The paper presents methods for the accounting of autonomous and induced scientific and technological progress in the Harrod-Domar model of economic dynamics that imply determining the incremental capital/output ratio of the model in the form of special functions of time. As part of the received version of the Harrod-Domar model, on the basis of conditional data there conducted a numerical study of some aspects of the impact of parameters of scientific and technological progress and the initial state of the economy being modeled on peculiarities of corresponding trajectories of its dynamics. A simple economic and mathematical problem of determining an optimal value of investments in the implementation of the induced STP is formulated, and content interpretation of the obtained solution is carried out. Possible directions of development of the obtained results may be associated with the application of the proposed modification of the Harrod-Domar model to build and analyze mathematical models of optimal economic growth in view of the induced STP, as well as with the prospective use of these results to improve dynamic models of the Leontief type in terms of considering innovation processes (scientific and technical progress of various kinds.

An Optimization Study on Syngas Production and Economic Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qasim Faraz

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Syngas production in Gas-to-liquid (GTL process is focused in past by several researchers to increase the production with minimal capital and operating costs. In this study, syngas production process is simulated and optimized to increase its production and the economic analysis is studied for the proposed optimized process. Aspen HYSYS v8.4 is used for all process simulation work in this article. A new configuration is rigorously simulated while using auto-thermal reforming. Results exhibit a tremendous rise in production of syngas.

Impact of Scientific and Technological Progress on Economic Development - the Views of Some Nobel Laureates of the Economic Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florentina Xhelili KRASNIQI

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There are different authors' opinions and numerous theories according to which scientific technological progress is a determining factor of the economic development. The paper aims to present the contributions of some Nobel laureates to the impact of scientific and technological progress on economic development such as Arrow, Debreu, Hicks, Solow, Kuznets, Kantorovich and Stiglitz. The research results of their contributions show that scientific technological progress is considered as a source of economic development but this advanced technology to be widely and effectively used should be accompanied by such ideological and institutional adjustments that guarantee the reasonable use of innovations produced by the huge improvements of human knowledge.

Patterns in Standards and Technologies for Economic Information Systems Interoperability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile Irimia

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presets results from a review of the current standards used for collaboration between economic information systems, including web services and service oriented architecture, EDI, ebXML framework, RosettaNet framework, cXML, xCBL UBL, BPMN, BPEL, WS-CDL, ASN.1, and others. Standards have a key role in promoting economic information system interoperability, and thus enable collaboration. Analyzing the current standards, technologies and applications used for economic information systems interoperability has revealed a common pattern that runs through all of them. From this pattern we construct a basic model of interoperability around which we relate and judge all standards, technologies and applications for economic information systems interoperability.

Thermo economical optimization of sugar plants with environmental constraints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colombo, Mauricio; Mele, Fernando Daniel; Hernandez, Maria Rosa [Universidad Nacional de Tucuman (UNT), Tucuman (Argentina). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnologia], Email: macolombo@herrera.unt.edu.ar; Gatica, Jorge [Cleveland State University (CSU), Cleveland, OH (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering], Email: j.gatica@csuohio.edu; Silveira, Jose Luz [Universidade Estadual Paulista (FEG/UNESP), Guaratingueta, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia. Dept. de Energia], Email: joseluz@feg.unesp.br

2009-07-01

This paper highlights the need for analysis and optimization techniques which can be applied to new energy systems and include considerations for environmental issues. These techniques have proven indispensable in dealing with the constrained optimization problem of finite natural resources and growing demands of energy. Within this framework, thermo economical optimization has gradually been brought to the forefront as a powerful tool in assisting the decision-making process. This work uses the technique of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as a means to include environmental indexes in the optimization process. While most of the environmental approaches formulate the optimization problem aiming to reduce residue generation without assessing the impact of this reduction on related processes, LCA considers environmental issues as an integral part of the optimization problem. A sugar cane processing plant located in Tucuman (Argentina) is selected as a case study. This example serves to highlight the importance of formulating solutions that ensure an efficient use of a common fuel to meet useful heat, shaft power, and electricity demands. (author)

Economically optimal timing for crop disease control under uncertainty: an options approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ndeffo Mbah, M.L.; Forster, G.; Wesseler, J.H.H.; Gilligan, C.A.

2010-01-01

Severe large-scale disease and pest infestations in agricultural regions can cause significant economic damage. Understanding if and when disease control measures should be taken in the presence of risk and uncertainty is a key issue. We develop a framework to examine the economically optimal timing

40 CFR 450.22 - Effluent limitations reflecting the best available technology economically achievable (BAT).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... best available technology economically achievable (BAT). 450.22 Section 450.22 Protection of... limitations reflecting the best available technology economically achievable (BAT). Except as provided in 40... the best available technology economically achievable (BAT). (a) Beginning no later than August 1...

Continuous nonlinear optimization for engineering applications in GAMS technology

CERN Document Server

Andrei, Neculai

2017-01-01

This book presents the theoretical details and computational performances of algorithms used for solving continuous nonlinear optimization applications imbedded in GAMS. Aimed toward scientists and graduate students who utilize optimization methods to model and solve problems in mathematical programming, operations research, business, engineering, and industry, this book enables readers with a background in nonlinear optimization and linear algebra to use GAMS technology to understand and utilize its important capabilities to optimize algorithms for modeling and solving complex, large-scale, continuous nonlinear optimization problems or applications. Beginning with an overview of constrained nonlinear optimization methods, this book moves on to illustrate key aspects of mathematical modeling through modeling technologies based on algebraically oriented modeling languages. Next, the main feature of GAMS, an algebraically oriented language that allows for high-level algebraic representation of mathematical opti...

Economic and ordinal benefits of Hydrogen Energy Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giannantoni, C.; Zoli, M.

2009-01-01

A method for assessing economic, environmental and energy investments is particularly suited for hydrogen technologies, because it makes it possible to calculate business returns, negative externalities and, above all, the economic benefits to the citizens: the monetizable positive externalities and the ordinal benefits, i.e. those which cannot be reduced to a simple monetary value. [it

REopt: A Platform for Energy System Integration and Optimization: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simpkins, T.; Cutler, D.; Anderson, K.; Olis, D.; Elgqvist, E.; Callahan, M.; Walker, A.

2014-08-01

REopt is NREL's energy planning platform offering concurrent, multi-technology integration and optimization capabilities to help clients meet their cost savings and energy performance goals. The REopt platform provides techno-economic decision-support analysis throughout the energy planning process, from agency-level screening and macro planning to project development to energy asset operation. REopt employs an integrated approach to optimizing a site?s energy costs by considering electricity and thermal consumption, resource availability, complex tariff structures including time-of-use, demand and sell-back rates, incentives, net-metering, and interconnection limits. Formulated as a mixed integer linear program, REopt recommends an optimally-sized mix of conventional and renewable energy, and energy storage technologies; estimates the net present value associated with implementing those technologies; and provides the cost-optimal dispatch strategy for operating them at maximum economic efficiency. The REopt platform can be customized to address a variety of energy optimization scenarios including policy, microgrid, and operational energy applications. This paper presents the REopt techno-economic model along with two examples of recently completed analysis projects.

Flood risk and economically optimal safety targets for coastal flood defense systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dupuits, E.J.C.; Schweckendiek, T.

2015-01-01

A front defense can improve the reliability of a rear defense in a coastal flood defense system. The influence of this interdependency on the accompanying economically optimal safety targets of both front and rear defense is investigated. The results preliminary suggest that the optimal safety level

A multi-objective chaotic particle swarm optimization for environmental/economic dispatch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Jiejin; Ma Xiaoqian; Li Qiong; Li Lixiang; Peng Haipeng

2009-01-01

A multi-objective chaotic particle swarm optimization (MOCPSO) method has been developed to solve the environmental/economic dipatch (EED) problems considering both economic and environmental issues. The proposed MOCPSO method has been applied in two test power systems. Compared with the conventional multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) method, for the compromising minimum fuel cost and emission case, the fuel cost and pollutant emission obtained from MOCPSO method can be reduced about 50.08 $/h and 2.95 kg/h, respectively, in test system 1, about 0.02 $/h and 1.11 kg/h, respectively, in test system 2. The MOCPSO method also results in higher quality solutions for the minimum fuel cost case and the minimum emission case in both of the test power systems. Hence, MOCPSO method can result in great environmental and economic effects. For EED problems, the MOCPSO method is more feasible and more effective alternative approach than the conventional MOPSO method.

Economic analysis of water harvesting technologies in Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wakeyo, M.B.

2012-01-01

Rainfall shortage and variability constrain crop production of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia and climate change may even aggravate this problem. An attractive method to mitigate this is water harvesting. This thesis examines the economic aspects of water harvesting by exploring optimal water

Using the ICF in economic analyses of Assistive Technology systems: methodological implications of a user standpoint.

Science.gov (United States)

Schraner, Ingrid; De Jonge, Desleigh; Layton, Natasha; Bringolf, Jane; Molenda, Agata

2008-01-01

This paper identifies key methodological issues for economic analyses of costs and effectiveness of Assistive Technology (AT) systems based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Following the biopsychosocial model of the ICF, the paper explores the consequences for cost-effectiveness analyses of AT systems when a user centred approach is taken. In so doing, the paper questions the fiction of neutrality in economic analyses and discusses the distinction between weak and strong objectivity. Costs are measured as all resources used when providing a particular level of environmental facilitators and reducing environmental barriers for an AT user, while effectiveness is measured in terms of the resulting increase in activities and participation of the AT user. The ICF's fourth qualifier for activities and participation, which denotes performance without assistance is used to identify the additional performance achieved due to the particular environmental factors in the current situation (first qualifier). A fifth qualifier for activities and participation is introduced to denote performance with optimal assistance, and the fourth qualifier is then again used to identify the increase in activities and participation due to the environmental factors in the situation with optimal assistance. The effectiveness that an AT user achieves in his or her current situation can be compared with the effectiveness he or she could achieve when provided with what is considered an optimal AT system based on current technologies and user priorities. This comparison throws into sharp relief the role of AT systems as well as of universal design (UD) in reducing environmental barriers for AT users in a way that is cost-effective for society as a whole. Cost-effectiveness analysis based on the ICF can provide powerful economic evidence for how best to allocate existing funding for AT systems. We can identify three particular scenarios in which clear

Prospects for reconciling the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation with technological progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Czech, Brian

2008-12-01

The conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is understood in portions of academia and sometimes acknowledged in political circles. Nevertheless, there is not a unified response. In political and policy circles, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is posited to solve the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection. In academia, however, the EKC has been deemed fallacious in macroeconomic scenarios and largely irrelevant to biodiversity. A more compelling response to the conflict is that it may be resolved with technological progress. Herein I review the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation in the absence of technological progress, explore the prospects for technological progress to reconcile that conflict, and provide linguistic suggestions for describing the relationships among economic growth, technological progress, and biodiversity conservation. The conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is based on the first two laws of thermodynamics and principles of ecology such as trophic levels and competitive exclusion. In this biophysical context, the human economy grows at the competitive exclusion of nonhuman species in the aggregate. Reconciling the conflict via technological progress has not occurred and is infeasible because of the tight linkage between technological progress and economic growth at current levels of technology. Surplus production in existing economic sectors is required for conducting the research and development necessary for bringing new technologies to market. Technological regimes also reflect macroeconomic goals, and if the goal is economic growth, reconciliatory technologies are less likely to be developed. As the economy grows, the loss of biodiversity may be partly mitigated with end-use innovation that increases technical efficiency, but this type of technological progress requires policies that are unlikely if the conflict between economic growth

Economic Optimization Analysis of Chengdu Electric Community Bus Operation

Science.gov (United States)

Yidong, Wang; Yun, Cai; Zhengping, Tan; Xiong, Wan

2018-03-01

In recent years, the government has strongly supported and promoted electric vehicles and has given priority to demonstration and popularization in the field of public transport. The economy of public transport operations has drawn increasing attention. In this paper, Chengdu wireless charging pure electric community bus is used as the research object, the battery, air conditioning, driver’s driving behavior and other economic influence factors were analyzed, and optimizing the operation plan through case data analysis, through the reasonable battery matching and mode of operation to help businesses effectively save operating costs and enhance economic efficiency.

Institutional Economic Reconstruction by Optimizing the Role of Middlemen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jajat Sudrajat

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed to analize the role of middlemen in rural economic institution and formulate the economic development model through optimalization the role of middlemen. This study was done by conducting literature research. Data were analized by using qualitative method. The results of study conclude that middlemen have strategic positions in rural economic development although their role has negative and positive side. In evolving the positive side, there must be other institution which has capability to substitute part of middlemen role. That is microfinance institution (MFIs which also play the role as an empowerment institution. In loan mechanism, the middlemen can be functioned as a credit guarantee institution. Credit guarantee from middlemen is not only as a contract in agriculture product marketing, but also as the supervision way to create obedience in loan repayment by farmers. The implementation of this pattern is purposed to nurture the social capital in rural economic system.

Increased wood-fiber production: technology, economics, and ecology

Science.gov (United States)

William R. Bentley

1973-01-01

Forest tree improvement is a form of technological change, and it should be viewed as such. The economic objective of technological change is to increase productivity per dollar invested. This is accomplished through selection and breeding for increased growth rates or reduced losses to insects and disease. Programs which yield improved planting stock make forest...

A simple two stage optimization algorithm for constrained power economic dispatch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, G.; Song, K.

1994-01-01

A simple two stage optimization algorithm is proposed and investigated for fast computation of constrained power economic dispatch control problems. The method is a simple demonstration of the hierarchical aggregation-disaggregation (HAD) concept. The algorithm first solves an aggregated problem to obtain an initial solution. This aggregated problem turns out to be classical economic dispatch formulation, and it can be solved in 1% of overall computation time. In the second stage, linear programming method finds optimal solution which satisfies power balance constraints, generation and transmission inequality constraints and security constraints. Implementation of the algorithm for IEEE systems and EPRI Scenario systems shows that the two stage method obtains average speedup ratio 10.64 as compared to classical LP-based method

A Parallel Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Economic/Environmental Power Dispatch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinchao Li

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A parallel adaptive particle swarm optimization algorithm (PAPSO is proposed for economic/environmental power dispatch, which can overcome the premature characteristic, the slow-speed convergence in the late evolutionary phase, and lacking good direction in particles’ evolutionary process. A search population is randomly divided into several subpopulations. Then for each subpopulation, the optimal solution is searched synchronously using the proposed method, and thus parallel computing is realized. To avoid converging to a local optimum, a crossover operator is introduced to exchange the information among the subpopulations and the diversity of population is sustained simultaneously. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively solve the economic/environmental operation problem of hydropower generating units. Performance comparisons show that the solution from the proposed method is better than those from the conventional particle swarm algorithm and other optimization algorithms.

Techno-economic analysis of resource recovery technologies for wastewater treatment plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boiocchi, Riccardo; Matafome, Beatriz; Loureiro da Costa Lira Gargalo, Carina

2017-01-01

resource-recovery treatment units: (a) a chemical precipitation process, for recovery of iron phosphate fertilizer; (b) the Exelys technology, for increased biogas production; and, (c) the Phosnix technology, for recovery of struvite fertilizer. Seven upgrade strategies/flowsheets employing different...... upgrading combinations involving chemical precipitation and Exelys technologies were not found economical for the given plant. Sensitivity analyses on the economic evaluation criteria have demonstrated that the results obtained are robust against uncertainties in influent wastewater characteristics...

An Optimization Approach to the Dynamic Allocation of Economic Capital

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laeven, R.J.A.; Goovaerts, M.J.

2004-01-01

We propose an optimization approach to allocating economic capital, distinguishing between an allocation or raising principle and a measure for the risk residual. The approach is applied both at the aggregate (conglomerate) level and at the individual (subsidiary) level and yields an integrated

Incorporating technology-based learning tools into teaching and learning of optimization problems

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Irene

2014-07-01

The traditional approach of teaching optimization problems in calculus emphasizes more on teaching the students using analytical approach through a series of procedural steps. However, optimization normally involves problem solving in real life problems and most students fail to translate the problems into mathematic models and have difficulties to visualize the concept underlying. As an educator, it is essential to embed technology in suitable content areas to engage students in construction of meaningful learning by creating a technology-based learning environment. This paper presents the applications of technology-based learning tool in designing optimization learning activities with illustrative examples, as well as to address the challenges in the implementation of using technology in teaching and learning optimization. The suggestion activities in this paper allow flexibility for educator to modify their teaching strategy and apply technology to accommodate different level of studies for the topic of optimization. Hence, this provides great potential for a wide range of learners to enhance their understanding of the concept of optimization.

Impact of Scientific and Technological Progress on Economic Development - the Views of Some Nobel Laureates of the Economic Science

OpenAIRE

Florentina Xhelili KRASNIQI; Nexhmie Berisha VOKSHI

2017-01-01

There are different authors' opinions and numerous theories according to which scientific technological progress is a determining factor of the economic development. The paper aims to present the contributions of some Nobel laureates to the impact of scientific and technological progress on economic development such as Arrow, Debreu, Hicks, Solow, Kuznets, Kantorovich and Stiglitz. The research results of their contributions show that scientific technological progress is considered as a sour...

A fast and optimized dynamic economic load dispatch for large scale power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musse Mohamud Ahmed; Mohd Ruddin Ab Ghani; Ismail Hassan

2000-01-01

This paper presents Lagrangian Multipliers (LM) and Linear Programming (LP) based dynamic economic load dispatch (DELD) solution for large-scale power system operations. It is to minimize the operation cost of power generation. units subject to the considered constraints. After individual generator units are economically loaded and periodically dispatched, fast and optimized DELD has been achieved. DELD with period intervals has been taken into consideration The results found from the algorithm based on LM and LP techniques appear to be modest in both optimizing the operation cost and achieving fast computation. (author)

Multidetector-row CT: economics and workflow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pottala, K.M.; Kalra, M.K.; Saini, S.; Ouellette, K.; Sahani, D.; Thrall, J.H.

2005-01-01

With rapid evolution of multidetector-row CT (MDCT) technology and applications, several factors such ad technology upgrade and turf battles for sharing cost and profitability affect MDCT workflow and economics. MDCT workflow optimization can enhance productivity and reduce unit costs as well as increase profitability, in spite of decrease in reimbursement rates. Strategies for workflow management include standardization, automation, and constant assessment of various steps involved in MDCT operations. In this review article, we describe issues related to MDCT economics and workflow. (orig.)

Microalgal technology for remediation of CO{sub 2} from power plant flue gas: A techno-economic perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadam, K.L. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1996-12-31

Power plants burning fossil fuels are a major source of CO{sub 2} which is implicated in global warming. Microalgal systems which photosynthetically assimilate carbon dioxide can be used for mitigation of this major greenhouse gas. A techno-economic model was developed for trapping carbon dioxide from flue gases by microalgae in outdoor ponds. The model also shows that algal lipid content and growth rate are both important for an economical process, but a trade-off exists between the two, i.e., a high lipid content and low growth rate combination can be as effective as a low lipid content and high growth rate combination. Hence, these two parameters may be treated as a composite parameter to be optimized to yield the least CO{sub 2} mitigation cost. Model predictions were also used to compare the microalgal technology with alternative technologies in terms of CO{sub 2} mitigation costs. Incorporating advances anticipated in the future into the design basis, the model yields a CO{sub 2} mitigation cost that is competitive with other CO{sub 2} remediation technologies currently being proposed. Furthermore, this technology also provides a lipid feedstock for producing a renewable fuel such as biodiesel. Deployment of this technology for CO{sub 2} mitigation looks attractive if research goals put forth by the model are achieved.

Thermodynamic, economic and thermo-economic optimization of a new proposed organic Rankine cycle for energy production from geothermal resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazemi, Neda; Samadi, Fereshteh

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new cycle was designed to improve basic organic Rankine cycle performance. • Peng Robinson equation of state was used to obtain properties of working fluids. • Operating parameters were optimized with three different objective functions. • Efficiency of new organic Rankine cycle is higher than other considered cycles. • Return on investment of new cycle for Iran is more than France and America. - Abstract: The main goal of this study is to propose and investigate a new organic Rankine cycle based on three considered configurations: basic organic Rankine cycle, regenerative organic Rankine cycle and two-stage evaporator organic Rankine cycle in order to increase electricity generation from geothermal sources. To analyze the considered cycles’ performance, thermodynamic (energy and exergy based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics) and economic (specific investment cost) models are investigated. Also, a comparison of cycles modeling results is carried out in optimum conditions according to different optimization which consist thermodynamic, economic and thermo-economic objective functions for maximizing exergy efficiency, minimizing specific investment cost and applying a multi-objective function in order to maximize exergy efficiency and minimize specific investment cost, respectively. Optimized operating parameters of cycles include evaporators and regenerative temperatures, pinch point temperature difference of evaporators and degree of superheat. Furthermore, Peng Robinson equation of state is used to obtain thermodynamic properties of isobutane and R123 which are selected as dry and isentropic working fluids, respectively. The results of optimization indicate that, thermal and exergy efficiencies increase and exergy destruction decrease especially in evaporators for both working fluids in new proposed organic Rankine cycle compared to the basic organic Rankine cycle. Moreover, the amount of specific investment cost in new

Optimizing Storage and Renewable Energy Systems with REopt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elgqvist, Emma M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Anderson, Katherine H. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cutler, Dylan S. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); DiOrio, Nicholas A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Laws, Nicholas D. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Olis, Daniel R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Walker, H. A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-12-27

Under the right conditions, behind the meter (BTM) storage combined with renewable energy (RE) technologies can provide both cost savings and resiliency. Storage economics depend not only on technology costs and avoided utility rates, but also on how the technology is operated. REopt, a model developed at NREL, can be used to determine the optimal size and dispatch strategy for BTM or off-grid applications. This poster gives an overview of three applications of REopt: Optimizing BTM Storage and RE to Extend Probability of Surviving Outage, Optimizing Off-Grid Energy System Operation, and Optimizing Residential BTM Solar 'Plus'.

Generalized DSS shell for developing simulation and optimization hydro-economic models of complex water resources systems

Science.gov (United States)

Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel; Lopez-Nicolas, Antonio; Harou, Julien J.; Andreu, Joaquin

2013-04-01

Hydrologic-economic models allow integrated analysis of water supply, demand and infrastructure management at the river basin scale. These models simultaneously analyze engineering, hydrology and economic aspects of water resources management. Two new tools have been designed to develop models within this approach: a simulation tool (SIM_GAMS), for models in which water is allocated each month based on supply priorities to competing uses and system operating rules, and an optimization tool (OPT_GAMS), in which water resources are allocated optimally following economic criteria. The characterization of the water resource network system requires a connectivity matrix representing the topology of the elements, generated using HydroPlatform. HydroPlatform, an open-source software platform for network (node-link) models, allows to store, display and export all information needed to characterize the system. Two generic non-linear models have been programmed in GAMS to use the inputs from HydroPlatform in simulation and optimization models. The simulation model allocates water resources on a monthly basis, according to different targets (demands, storage, environmental flows, hydropower production, etc.), priorities and other system operating rules (such as reservoir operating rules). The optimization model's objective function is designed so that the system meets operational targets (ranked according to priorities) each month while following system operating rules. This function is analogous to the one used in the simulation module of the DSS AQUATOOL. Each element of the system has its own contribution to the objective function through unit cost coefficients that preserve the relative priority rank and the system operating rules. The model incorporates groundwater and stream-aquifer interaction (allowing conjunctive use simulation) with a wide range of modeling options, from lumped and analytical approaches to parameter-distributed models (eigenvalue approach). Such

Health technology assessment to optimize health technology utilization: using implementation initiatives and monitoring processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Frønsdal, Katrine B; Facey, Karen; Klemp, Marianne; Norderhaug, Inger Natvig; Mørland, Berit; Røttingen, John-Arne

2010-07-01

The way in which a health technology is used in any particular health system depends on the decisions and actions of a variety of stakeholders, the local culture, and context. In 2009, the HTAi Policy Forum considered how health technology assessment (HTA) could be improved to optimize the use of technologies (in terms of uptake, change in use, or disinvestment) in such complex systems. In scoping, it was agreed to focus on initiatives to implement evidence-based guidance and monitoring activities. A review identified systematic reviews of implementation initiatives and monitoring activities. A two-day deliberative workshop was held to discuss key papers, members' experiences, and collectively address key questions. This consensus paper was developed by email and finalized at a postworkshop meeting. Evidence suggests that the impact and use of HTA could be increased by ensuring timely delivery of relevant reports to clearly determined policy receptor (decision-making) points. To achieve this, the breadth of assessment, implementation initiatives such as incentives and targeted, intelligent dissemination of HTA result, needs to be considered. HTA stakeholders undertake a variety of monitoring activities, which could inform optimal use of a technology. However, the quality of these data varies and is often not submitted to an HTA. Monitoring data should be sufficiently robust so that they can be used in HTA to inform optimal use of technology. Evidence-based implementation initiatives should be developed for HTA, to better inform decision makers at all levels in a health system about the optimal use of technology.

Subtle mechanisms of growth: technology and economic growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glauco Arbix

Full Text Available The article deals with obstacles faced by developing countries to reach economic development. Passivity in technological learning, low productivity in relation to developed economies, adoption of spurious competitive advantages and reproduction of technological delay are presented as challenges to overcome. It states that breaking the passive strategy is the only way for these countries to build a better future.

Energy-Using Durables – Why Consumers Refrain from Economically Optimal Choices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schubert, Renate, E-mail: schubert@econ.gess.ethz.ch; Stadelmann, Marcel [ETH Zürich, Zürich (Switzerland)

2015-02-23

Sustainable development requires increasing the energy efficiency, decreasing the growth rates of energy demand, and decreasing the CO{sub 2} emissions. In many countries, households’ energy consumption is responsible for a considerable share of total energy demand and CO{sub 2} emissions. Energy-using durables are essential in this context. Aiming at sustainability, private households should buy more energy-efficient durables and use them in a more efficient way. In principle, it might even be economically optimal to buy the more energy-efficient products, since they result in lower total costs over their lifetime – thus resulting in a positive net present value (NPV). However, when observing private households’ purchase decisions, they often do not correspond to the economic optimum, resulting in an “energy-efficiency gap.” This paper investigates into the reasons for the persistence of such a gap between energy-efficient products that would be economically optimal – but from which consumers refrain – and less energy-efficient products that consumers actually own or buy although they entail larger life-cycle costs. Factors, which seem to deter private households from purchasing energy-efficient products with positive NPVs, are, for example, insufficient information, limited attention, or inertia. We will show how these and other factors hinder private households from identifying and realizing their economically optimal choices and how such barriers can be overcome. We will present how properly designed energy labels could help to overcome the information-related causes of inefficiently low energy-efficiency investments and provide some additional policy recommendations that could help reaching the aforementioned goal of a reduction of households’ energy demand and CO{sub 2} emissions in an adequate way.

Energy-Using Durables – Why Consumers Refrain from Economically Optimal Choices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schubert, Renate; Stadelmann, Marcel

2015-01-01

Sustainable development requires increasing the energy efficiency, decreasing the growth rates of energy demand, and decreasing the CO 2 emissions. In many countries, households’ energy consumption is responsible for a considerable share of total energy demand and CO 2 emissions. Energy-using durables are essential in this context. Aiming at sustainability, private households should buy more energy-efficient durables and use them in a more efficient way. In principle, it might even be economically optimal to buy the more energy-efficient products, since they result in lower total costs over their lifetime – thus resulting in a positive net present value (NPV). However, when observing private households’ purchase decisions, they often do not correspond to the economic optimum, resulting in an “energy-efficiency gap.” This paper investigates into the reasons for the persistence of such a gap between energy-efficient products that would be economically optimal – but from which consumers refrain – and less energy-efficient products that consumers actually own or buy although they entail larger life-cycle costs. Factors, which seem to deter private households from purchasing energy-efficient products with positive NPVs, are, for example, insufficient information, limited attention, or inertia. We will show how these and other factors hinder private households from identifying and realizing their economically optimal choices and how such barriers can be overcome. We will present how properly designed energy labels could help to overcome the information-related causes of inefficiently low energy-efficiency investments and provide some additional policy recommendations that could help reaching the aforementioned goal of a reduction of households’ energy demand and CO 2 emissions in an adequate way.

Economic Literacy Indicators at the Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sevgi GEREK

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Developments in technology and communication in the 21st century have led to increased expectations from individuals. One of these expectation areas is literacy. As a requirement of the information age, it can be said that the economic literacy is one of the most important areas of literacy. Economic literacy can be defined in terms of ability to revise the alternatives for interpreting economic problems and finding solutions to these problems, to define the cost and profits, to investigate the effects of changes in economic conditions and in public policies, to gather and organize economy-related data and to balance the profits and costs. One of the tools that affect the life can be said economic literacy but it is a neglected area in most higher education programs. In this study, Computer Education and Instructional Technology program courses were examined within the framework of economic literacy indicators

Library macro-environment: New technological and economic rules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karmen Štular-Sotošek

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Fast and flexible adaptation to changes in the macro-environment is also crucial for libraries, which have to review them, respond to them and become a part of them. Consequently, the application of marketing science and tools helps libraries to find out how to survive in the competitive world and how to become better and stronger. The article, which draws from marketing, economic and information disciplines, introduces the main principles in the technological and economic environment of libraries and finds the knowledge about these disciplines to be most crucial for successful management of modern libraries, especially on the pretentious publishing market and on the market of information suppliers. Within the technological and economic environment, the cooperation is the only logical solution, which benefits the producers of information services and products as well as libraries. The following text finds that libraries will achieve long-term success and will be proactive in developing partnerships only by using relationship marketing. This relatively new approach offers libraries new ways for successful and long-term management of alliances between partners.

Can Energy Structure Optimization, Industrial Structure Changes, Technological Improvements, and Central and Local Governance Effectively Reduce Atmospheric Pollution in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Area in China?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinxuan Cheng

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Economic growth in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region has been achieved by consuming large amounts of fossil fuels. This produces a large number of pollutants, which damage the physical and mental health of residents, and prevent sustainable economic development. The most urgent task at present is improving the quality of the environment. This paper takes carbon emission as a pollution index, and adopts an extended stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT model in order to study the impact of the optimization of industry structure (in particular the reduction of the proportion of energy-intensive secondary industry, the optimization of the energy structure, and technological improvements on the atmospheric environmental quality. We obtain some important and enlightening discoveries. First of all, the rapid economic growth that has been based on magnanimous fossil fuel consumption is still the main reason for the deterioration of the atmospheric environment. This means that the main driving force of economic growth still comes from high pollution industries, despite a strategy for the transformation of the pattern of economic growth having been proposed for many years. Second, the optimization of the industrial structure has not played a significant role in promoting the reduction of carbon emissions. Through further research, we believe that this may be due to the low-quality development of the third industry. In other words, the traditional service industry related to high energy consumption accounts for a large proportion in regional total output, while the high-end service industry related to small pollution accounts for a relatively small proportion. Third, reducing the consumption of coal and improving the technological level can effectively curb the deterioration of the environmental quality. In addition, we find that transboundary pollution is an important factor affecting the environment in

Energy and economic milestones in Nigeria: Role of nuclear technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahunsi, S.O.A.

2011-01-01

Electric power supply could be the driving force critical to poverty reduction, economic growth and sustainable development in developing countries like Nigeria. Comparative analysis of several promising technologies that could be explored to achieve energy sufficiency however shows that nuclear power is more economically competitive and outstanding despite the relatively high initial capital cost. Furthermore, one of the critical conditions in deciding to invest in a specific electric power technology is the overall cost component of the new technology, nuclear therefore is in many places competitive with other forms of electricity generation. The fundamental attraction is about harnessing the sources of energy which takes cognizance of the environmental effects of burning fossil fuel and its security of supply. This paper therefore highlights the benefits of inclusion of nuclear energy in the Nigeria energy mix, a sine qua non for economic and social development, safer environment, wealth creation and a long term energy security.

Time-explicit methods for joint economical and geological risk mitigation in production optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Capolei, Andrea; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

2016-01-01

Real-life applications of production optimization face challenges of risks related to unpredictable fluctuations in oil prices and sparse geological data. Consequently, operating companies are reluctant to adopt model-based production optimization into their operations. Conventional production...... of mitigating economical and geological risks. As opposed to conventional strategies that focus on a single long-term objective, TE methods seek to reduce risks and promote returns over the entire reservoir life by optimization of a given ensemble-based geological risk measure over time. By explicit involvement...... of time, economical risks are implicitly addressed by balancing short-term and long-term objectives throughout the reservoir life. Open-loop simulations of a two-phase synthetic reservoir demonstrate that TE methods may significantly improve short-term risk measures such as expected return, standard...

Optimization of Water Resources and Agricultural Activities for Economic Benefit in Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

LIM, J.; Lall, U.

2017-12-01

The limited water resources available for irrigation are a key constraint for the important agricultural sector of Colorado's economy. As climate change and groundwater depletion reshape these resources, it is essential to understand the economic potential of water resources under different agricultural production practices. This study uses a linear programming optimization at the county spatial scale and annual temporal scales to study the optimal allocation of water withdrawal and crop choices. The model, AWASH, reflects streamflow constraints between different extraction points, six field crops, and a distinct irrigation decision for maize and wheat. The optimized decision variables, under different environmental, social, economic, and physical constraints, provide long-term solutions for ground and surface water distribution and for land use decisions so that the state can generate the maximum net revenue. Colorado, one of the largest agricultural producers, is tested as a case study and the sensitivity on water price and on climate variability is explored.

The role of technological innovation in sustainable economic development

OpenAIRE

Andreea Constantinescu; Simona Frone

2014-01-01

As in science an accurate picture of present is highlighted from a future outlook, we should recognize the crucial role of new technologies and innovation to improve knowledge in this field. They may give guarantee of sustainable economic development, provided prioritization of research in some fields such as: information technology and communication, resource depletion and climate change. Technological innovation becomes support of all strategies and policies aimed at ensuring sustainable ec...

Can Economics Provide Insights into Trust Infrastructure?

Science.gov (United States)

Vishik, Claire

Many security technologies require infrastructure for authentication, verification, and other processes. In many cases, viable and innovative security technologies are never adopted on a large scale because the necessary infrastructure is slow to emerge. Analyses of such technologies typically focus on their technical flaws, and research emphasizes innovative approaches to stronger implementation of the core features. However, an observation can be made that in many cases the success of adoption pattern depends on non-technical issues rather than technology-lack of economic incentives, difficulties in finding initial investment, inadequate government support. While a growing body of research is dedicated to economics of security and privacy in general, few theoretical studies in this area have been completed, and even fewer that look at the economics of “trust infrastructure” beyond simple “cost of ownership” models. This exploratory paper takes a look at some approaches in theoretical economics to determine if they can provide useful insights into security infrastructure technologies and architectures that have the best chance to be adopted. We attempt to discover if models used in theoretical economics can help inform technology developers of the optimal business models that offer a better chance for quick infrastructure deployment.

The hullaballoo over e-learning? Technology and pluralism in economics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duncan Watson

2016-12-01

Full Text Available E-learning vs. face-to-face delivery: this binary opposition has governed much of the existing pedagogical research concerning technological innovation, as educationists are pressured to prioritise efficiency and the cost-effectiveness of traditional teaching methods. This paper rejects such a false dichotomy, proffering the alternative that can be found in blended learning methods. It is through the meticulous splicing of e-learning and traditional lectures that the individual economics lecturer is freed to deliver a pluralist perspective. “Contest and controversy; orthodoxy and heterodoxy; critique and reject”: technology provides the vehicle for economics education to break free of the constraints of monist teaching methods and ensures that economics students can fully engage in the discipline’s vibrant debates.

ACR-700 advanced technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tapping, R.L.; Turner, C.W.; Yu, S.K.W.; Olmstead, R.; Speranzini, R.A.

2004-01-01

A successful advanced reactor plant will have optimized economics including reduced operating and maintenance costs, improved performance, and enhanced safety. Incorporating improvements based on advanced technologies ensures cost, safety and operational competitiveness of the ACR-700. These advanced technologies include modern configuration management; construction technologies; operational technology for the control centre and information systems for plant monitoring and analysis. This paper summarizes the advanced technologies used to achieve construction and operational improvements to enhance plant economic competitiveness, advances in the operational technology used for reactor control, and presents the development of the Smart CANDU suite of tools and its application to existing operating reactors and to the ACR-700. (author)

Optimal technology choice and investment timing: A stochastic model of industrial cogeneration vs. heat-only production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickart, Marcel; Madlener, Reinhard

2007-01-01

In this paper we develop an economic model that explains the decision-making problem under uncertainty of an industrial firm that wants to invest in a process technology. More specifically, the decision is between making an irreversible investment in a combined heat-and-power production (cogeneration) system, or to invest in a conventional heat-only generation system (steam boiler) and to purchase all electricity from the grid. In our model we include the main economic and technical variables of the investment decision process. We also account for the risk and uncertainty inherent in volatile energy prices that can greatly affect the valuation of the investment project. The dynamic stochastic model presented allows us to simultaneously determine the optimal technology choice and investment timing. We apply the theoretical model and illustrate our main findings with a numerical example that is based on realistic cost values for industrial oil- or gas-fired cogeneration and heat-only generation in Switzerland. We also briefly discuss expected effects of a CO 2 tax on the investment decision

Economic and environmental impacts of alternative transportation technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-01

This project has focused on comparing alternative transportation technologies in terms of their : environmental and economic impacts. The research is data-driven and quantitative, and examines the : dynamics of impact. We have developed new theory an...

Technology and economic assessment of lactic acid production and uses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Datta, R.; Tsai, S.P.

1996-03-01

Lactic acid has been an intermediate-volume specialty chemical (world production {approximately}50,000 tons/yr) used in a wide range of food-processing and industrial applications. Potentially, it can become a very large-volume, commodity-chemical intermediate produced from carbohydrates for feedstocks of biodegradable polymers, oxygenated chemicals, environmentally friendly ``green`` solvents, and other intermediates. In the past, efficient and economical technologies for the recovery and purification of lactic acid from fermentation broths and its conversion to the chemical or polymer intermediates had been the key technology impediments and main process cost centers. Development and deployment of novel separations technologies, such as electrodialysis with bipolar membranes, extractive and catalytic distillations, and chemical conversion, can enable low-cost production with continuous processes in large-scale operations. The emerging technologies can use environmentally sound lactic acid processes to produce environmentally useful products, with attractive process economics. These technology advances and recent product and process commercialization strategies are reviewed and assessed.

Early economic evaluation of emerging health technologies: protocol of a systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The concept of early health technology assessment, discussed well over a decade, has now been collaboratively implemented by industry, government, and academia to select and expedite the development of emerging technologies that may address the needs of patients and health systems. Early economic evaluation is essential to assess the value of emerging technologies, but empirical data to inform the current practice of early evaluation is limited. We propose a systematic review of early economic evaluation studies in order to better understand the current practice. Methods/design This protocol describes a systematic review of economic evaluation studies of regulated health technologies in which the evaluation is conducted prior to regulatory approval and when the technology effectiveness is not well established. Included studies must report an economic evaluation, defined as the comparative analysis of alternatives with respect to their associated costs and health consequences, and must evaluate some regulated health technology such as pharmaceuticals, biologics, high-risk medical devices, or biomarkers. We will conduct the literature search on multiple databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Databases, and EconLit. Additional citations will be identified via scanning reference lists and author searching. We suspect that many early economic evaluation studies are unpublished, especially those conducted for internal use only. Additionally, we use a chain-referral sampling approach to identify authors of unpublished studies who work in technology discovery and development, starting out with our contact lists and authors who published relevant studies. Citation screening and full-text review will be conducted by pairs of reviewers. Abstracted data will include those related to the decision context and decision problem of the early evaluation, evaluation methods (e.g., data sources, methods, and assumptions used to

Technology Development Benefits and the Economics Breakdown Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Eric J.

1998-01-01

This paper describes the construction and application of the EBS (Economics Breakdown Structure) in evaluating technology investments across multiple systems and organizations, illustrated with examples in space transportation technology. The United States Government (USG) has a long history of investing in technology to enable its missions. Agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) have evaluated their technology development programs primarily on their effects on mission performance and cost. More and more, though, USG agencies are being evaluated on their technology transfer to the commercial sector. In addition, an increasing number of USG missions are being accomplished by industry-led or joint efforts, where the USG provides technology and funding but tasks industry with development and operation of the mission systems.

Optimal Portfolio Strategy under Rolling Economic Maximum Drawdown Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojian Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the problem of optimal portfolio strategy under the constraints of rolling economic maximum drawdown. A more practical strategy is developed by using rolling Sharpe ratio in computing the allocation proportion in contrast to existing models. Besides, another novel strategy named “REDP strategy” is further proposed, which replaces the rolling economic drawdown of the portfolio with the rolling economic drawdown of the risky asset. The simulation tests prove that REDP strategy can ensure the portfolio to satisfy the drawdown constraint and outperforms other strategies significantly. An empirical comparison research on the performances of different strategies is carried out by using the 23-year monthly data of SPTR, DJUBS, and 3-month T-bill. The investment cases of single risky asset and two risky assets are both studied in this paper. Empirical results indicate that the REDP strategy successfully controls the maximum drawdown within the given limit and performs best in both return and risk.

Structural modelling of economic growth: Technological changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukharev Oleg

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Neoclassical and Keynesian theories of economic growth assume the use of Cobb-Douglas modified functions and other aggregate econometric approaches to growth dynamics modelling. In that case explanations of economic growth are based on the logic of the used mathematical ratios often including the ideas about aggregated values change and factors change a priori. The idea of assessment of factor productivity is the fundamental one among modern theories of economic growth. Nevertheless, structural parameters of economic system, institutions and technological changes are practically not considered within known approaches, though the latter is reflected in the changing parameters of production function. At the same time, on the one hand, the ratio of structural elements determines the future value of the total productivity of the factors and, on the other hand, strongly influences the rate of economic growth and its mode of innovative dynamics. To put structural parameters of economic system into growth models with the possibility of assessment of such modes under conditions of interaction of new and old combinations is an essential step in the development of the theory of economic growth/development. It allows forming stimulation policy of economic growth proceeding from the structural ratios and relations recognized for this economic system. It is most convenient in such models to use logistic functions demonstrating the resource change for old and new combination within the economic system. The result of economy development depends on starting conditions, and on institutional parameters of velocity change of resource borrowing in favour of a new combination and creation of its own resource. Model registration of the resource is carried out through the idea of investments into new and old combinations.

Information Technology for Economic and Social Benefit--Options for Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhuiyan, Farhad Ali

2002-01-01

Considers how information technology (IT) can help socioeconomic growth of developing countries based on experiences in Bangladesh. Topics include Bangladesh's development plans; future economic growth trends triggered by IT; emerging technologies; intellectual and societal development; industrial revolutions; telematics; regional and world…

The Model of Optimum Economic Growth with the Induced Scientific-Technological Progress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dilenko Viktor A.

2017-07-01

Full Text Available On the basis of the economic dynamics of the Harrod – Domar model, a model of optimum economic growth in line with the induced scientific-technological progress (STP has been built. In order to reflect the induced scientific-technological progress, with this model is proposed to further allocate the income element that is specially used for the investment of innovation activity, implementation of which reduces the capital intensity in development of the discussed economy. For the simplest way of presenting an economic mechanism for the investment of induced STP, analytical solutions of an appropriate task in optimum management have been obtained. Studying these decisions allowed to reveal the characteristics of the impact of parameters of scientific-technological progress and the analyzed economic system on choosing the best trajectory for its evolution. Possible directions for further developing the results presented can be considered the tasks in building and analyzing models of optimum economic growth that implement different investment options for the induced STP, as well as the models in which this investment mechanism is not exogenouslyed, but rather the result of the corresponding economic-mathematical research.

New drilling optimization technologies make drilling more efficient

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, D.C.-K. [Halliburton Energy Services, Calgary, AB (Canada). Sperry Division

2004-07-01

Several new technologies have been adopted by the upstream petroleum industry in the past two decades in order to optimize drilling operations and improve drilling efficiency. Since financial returns from an oil and gas investment strongly depend on drilling costs, it is important to reduce non-productive time due to stuck pipes, lost circulation, hole cleaning and well bore stability problems. The most notable new technologies are the use of computer-based instrumentation and data acquisition systems, integrated rig site systems and networks, and Measurement-While-Drilling and Logging-While-Drilling (MWD/LWD) systems. Drilling optimization should include solutions for drillstring integrity, hydraulics management and wellbore integrity. New drilling optimization methods emphasize information management and real-time decision making. A recent study for drilling in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrates that trouble time accounts for 25 per cent of rig time. This translates to about $1.5 MM U.S. per well. A reduction in trouble time could result in significant cost savings for the industry. This paper presents a case study on vibration prevention to demonstrate how the drilling industry has benefited from new technologies. 13 refs., 10 figs.

The invisible college of the economics of innovation and technological change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verspagen, B.; Werker, C.

2003-01-01

The research area of the economics of innovation and technological change (EITC) has flourished over the past decades. While it was a relatively marginal field of economics in the 1950s and 1960s, the field has now grown to become a major part of economic analysis. Because many of the early scholars

Optimal Investment Control of Macroeconomic Systems

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHAO Ke-jie; LIU Chuan-zhe

2006-01-01

Economic growth is always accompanied by economic fluctuation. The target of macroeconomic control is to keep a basic balance of economic growth, accelerate the optimization of economic structures and to lead a rapid, sustainable and healthy development of national economies, in order to propel society forward. In order to realize the above goal, investment control must be regarded as the most important policy for economic stability. Readjustment and control of investment includes not only control of aggregate investment, but also structural control which depends on economic-technology relationships between various industries of a national economy. On the basis of the theory of a generalized system, an optimal investment control model for government has been developed. In order to provide a scientific basis for government to formulate a macroeconomic control policy, the model investigates the balance of total supply and aggregate demand through an adjustment in investment decisions realizes a sustainable and stable growth of the national economy. The optimal investment decision function proposed by this study has a unique and specific expression, high regulating precision and computable characteristics.

Economic Optimization of Spray Dryer Operation using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Lars Norbert; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad; Niemann, Hans Henrik

2014-01-01

In this paper we investigate an economically optimizing Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (E-NMPC) for a spray drying process. By simulation we evaluate the economic potential of this E-NMPC compared to a conventional PID based control strategy. Spray drying is the preferred process to reduce...... the water content for many liquid foodstuffs and produces a free flowing powder. The main challenge in controlling the spray drying process is to meet the residual moisture specifications and avoid that the powder sticks to the chamber walls of the spray dryer. We present a model for a spray dryer that has...... been validated on experimental data from a pilot plant. We use this model for simulation as well as for prediction in the E-NMPC. The E-NMPC is designed with hard input constraints and soft output constraints. The open-loop optimal control problem in the E-NMPC is solved using the single...

Technical and economic evaluation of selected technologies of the Landfill Characterization System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Floran, R.J.

1993-12-31

In 1992 and 1993, numerous innovative and emerging technologies for characterizing metal and mixed waste contaminants and their migration beneath landfills in and environments were field tested at Sandia`s Chemical Waste Landfill. Many of these technologies are being evaluated as part of the Landfill Characterization System (LCS). The LCS emphasizes minimally intrusive technologies and downhole sensors that strive to be cheaper, better, safer and faster than conventional methods. Major aims of the LCS are to demonstrate, test and evaluate these technologies, and determine whether substantial cost saving over traditional baseline methods can be realized. To achieve these goals, the LCS uses an integrated systems approach that stresses the application of complementary and compatible technologies. Successful field demonstrations combined with favorable economics, will greatly assist the commercialization of these technologies to the private sector and to Environmental Restoration groups throughout the DOE Complex. In this paper, a technical and economic evaluation of selected technologies that comprise the LCS is presented. Because sampling and analysis is the most costly part of a characterization effort, the economic evaluation presented here focuses specifically on these activities. LCS technologies discussed include the ``Smart Sampling Methodology`` and two field screening analytical methods, stripping voltammetry and x-ray fluorescence.

THE INFORMATION ERA AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES. A MORAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela Alina COCALIA (CRĂCIUN

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The present article proposes a personalized approach of a new dimension for the contemporary society, namely the comprehension of the human behavior in manifestation, in the present conditions of the unprecedented development of technology, the unavoidable advent of both interdependency and of the human’s dependency of the created technical environment. The content of the article has in view the technologized society, governed by the globalization process that implies a meticulous analysis of the economic, social and moral impact of the emergence and evolution of the new technologies in the present context. This article allots a higher degree of attention, aiming at both the emergence, extending and use on a large scale of the new technologies and also the economic implication that are inferred.

Economics of Sustainable Technologies : Private and Public Costs and Benefits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krozer, Yoram; Abraham, Martin

2017-01-01

This article is focused on the economics of sustainable technologies from the mainstream and heterodox perspectives. The aim is to present major concepts, methodologies, and debates for public use. The paper is focused on decision making aiming at the development and use of sustainable technologies.

Development of Technology Transfer Economic Growth Metrics

Science.gov (United States)

Mastrangelo, Christina M.

1998-01-01

The primary objective of this project is to determine the feasibility of producing technology transfer metrics that answer the question: Do NASA/MSFC technical assistance activities impact economic growth? The data for this project resides in a 7800-record database maintained by Tec-Masters, Incorporated. The technology assistance data results from survey responses from companies and individuals who have interacted with NASA via a Technology Transfer Agreement, or TTA. The goal of this project was to determine if the existing data could provide indications of increased wealth. This work demonstrates that there is evidence that companies that used NASA technology transfer have a higher job growth rate than the rest of the economy. It also shows that the jobs being supported are jobs in higher wage SIC codes, and this indicates improvements in personal wealth. Finally, this work suggests that with correct data, the wealth issue may be addressed.

The technical and economical optimization of the French geological repository project - 59275

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raffard, Rodolphe; Labalette, Thibaud

2012-01-01

Document available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: The French Act of 28 June 2006 made the choice of reversible geological repository for long term management of high level and long-lived intermediate level waste. Andra is in charge of designing, building and operating the future industrial repository Cigeo. Current major issues consist in preparing the application to be examined in 2015, planning the construction so that operation would start in 2025 and optimizing the design on both technical and economical points of view. The Dossier 2005 -provided by Andra prior to the 2006 Act- established the feasibility of the project, especially towards compliance with safety and reversibility. Design options were presented at that time with the objective of demonstrating feasibility without ruling out possibilities of further optimization. Along with the scientific and technical review of Dossier 2005, a number of design optimization topics were identified in 2006. Working groups involved Andra's specialists as well as external experts. A particular attention was given to (i) the industrial experience of waste producers and (ii) the characteristics of the clay layer investigated in the Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory. The 2006 optimization topics were prioritized taking into account their economical impact and the development plan of the project

Economical optimization of building elements for use in design of nearly zero energy buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Sanne

2012-01-01

Nearly zero energy buildings are to become a requirement as part of the European energy policy. There are many ways of designing nearly zero energy buildings, but there is a lack of knowledge on how to end up with the most economical optimal solution. Therefore this paper present a method...... for finding the economical optimal solutions based on the use of the cost of conserved energy for each main building envelope part and building service system and cost of produced energy for each energy producing system. By use of information on construction cost and developed models of the yearly energy use...

Economic optimization of natural hazard protection - conceptual study of existing approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Spackova, Olga; Straub, Daniel

2013-04-01

Risk-based planning of protection measures against natural hazards has become a common practice in many countries. The selection procedure aims at identifying an economically efficient strategy with regard to the estimated costs and risk (i.e. expected damage). A correct setting of the evaluation methodology and decision criteria should ensure an optimal selection of the portfolio of risk protection measures under a limited state budget. To demonstrate the efficiency of investments, indicators such as Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), Marginal Costs (MC) or Net Present Value (NPV) are commonly used. However, the methodologies for efficiency evaluation differ amongst different countries and different hazard types (floods, earthquakes etc.). Additionally, several inconsistencies can be found in the applications of the indicators in practice. This is likely to lead to a suboptimal selection of the protection strategies. This study provides a general formulation for optimization of the natural hazard protection measures from a socio-economic perspective. It assumes that all costs and risks can be expressed in monetary values. The study regards the problem as a discrete hierarchical optimization, where the state level sets the criteria and constraints, while the actual optimization is made on the regional level (towns, catchments) when designing particular protection measures and selecting the optimal protection level. The study shows that in case of an unlimited budget, the task is quite trivial, as it is sufficient to optimize the protection measures in individual regions independently (by minimizing the sum of risk and cost). However, if the budget is limited, the need for an optimal allocation of resources amongst the regions arises. To ensure this, minimum values of BCR or MC can be required by the state, which must be achieved in each region. The study investigates the meaning of these indicators in the optimization task at the conceptual level and compares their

Application of Supercomputer Technologies for Simulation Of Socio-Economic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Valentinovich Okrepilov

2015-06-01

Full Text Available To date, an extensive experience has been accumulated in investigation of problems related to quality, assessment of management systems, modeling of economic system sustainability. The performed studies have created a basis for development of a new research area — Economics of Quality. Its tools allow to use opportunities of model simulation for construction of the mathematical models adequately reflecting the role of quality in natural, technical, social regularities of functioning of the complex socio-economic systems. Extensive application and development of models, and also system modeling with use of supercomputer technologies, on our deep belief, will bring the conducted research of socio-economic systems to essentially new level. Moreover, the current scientific research makes a significant contribution to model simulation of multi-agent social systems and that is not less important, it belongs to the priority areas in development of science and technology in our country. This article is devoted to the questions of supercomputer technologies application in public sciences, first of all, — regarding technical realization of the large-scale agent-focused models (AFM. The essence of this tool is that owing to the power computer increase it has become possible to describe the behavior of many separate fragments of a difficult system, as socio-economic systems are. The article also deals with the experience of foreign scientists and practicians in launching the AFM on supercomputers, and also the example of AFM developed in CEMI RAS, stages and methods of effective calculating kernel display of multi-agent system on architecture of a modern supercomputer will be analyzed. The experiments on the basis of model simulation on forecasting the population of St. Petersburg according to three scenarios as one of the major factors influencing the development of socio-economic system and quality of life of the population are presented in the

The SIGMA plants economic behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivarola, Martin E.; Bergallo, Juan E.

1999-01-01

In this work, the economical behavior of the Uranium Enrichment Plants, built using the Gaseous Isotopic Separation using Advanced Methods (SIGMA) (Separacion Isotopica Gaseosa por Metodos Avanzados) technology is analyzed. The calculations were made using an integrated computer code, where the cost of each main component of the plant is estimated. The program computes the production cost for several configurations of enrichment cascades, each one corresponding to a production rate. The program also includes a numerical optimizer and it seeks the SIGMA optimal configuration for a given set of design parameters. The present work does not contemplate the model and calculation of the auxiliary system costs. The total amortization cost is obtained by using the cascade capital cost and assuming that the auxiliary system represents a fixed part of the total cost.The results obtained show that the SIGMA technology for Enrichment Uranium Plants could achieve economical competition in a much lower production scale than the conventional Gaseous Diffusion Enrichment Plants. (author)

Towards a globally optimized crop distribution: Integrating water use, nutrition, and economic value

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, K. F.; Seveso, A.; Rulli, M. C.; D'Odorico, P.

2016-12-01

Human demand for crop production is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades as a result of population growth, richer diets and biofuel use. In order for food production to keep pace, unprecedented amounts of resources - water, fertilizers, energy - will be required. This has led to calls for `sustainable intensification' in which yields are increased on existing croplands while seeking to minimize impacts on water and other agricultural resources. Recent studies have quantified aspects of this, showing that there is a large potential to improve crop yields and increase harvest frequencies to better meet human demand. Though promising, both solutions would necessitate large additional inputs of water and fertilizer in order to be achieved under current technologies. However, the question of whether the current distribution of crops is, in fact, the best for realizing sustainable production has not been considered to date. To this end, we ask: Is it possible to increase crop production and economic value while minimizing water demand by simply growing crops where soil and climate conditions are best suited? Here we use maps of yields and evapotranspiration for 14 major food crops to identify differences between current crop distributions and where they can most suitably be planted. By redistributing crops across currently cultivated lands, we determine the potential improvements in calorie (+12%) and protein (+51%) production, economic output (+41%) and water demand (-5%). This approach can also incorporate the impact of future climate on cropland suitability, and as such, be used to provide optimized cropping patterns under climate change. Thus, our study provides a novel tool towards achieving sustainable intensification that can be used to recommend optimal crop distributions in the face of a changing climate while simultaneously accounting for food security, freshwater resources, and livelihoods.

Thermodynamic and economic optimization of LNG mixed refrigerant processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Mengyu; Khalilpour, Rajab; Abbas, Ali

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We study performance and cost optimization of C3MR and DMR processes. • A new economic objective function is proposed to reduce both compression work and equipment size. • The comparison of C3MR and DMR processes is based on process configuration, performance, and cost. - Abstract: Natural gas liquefaction processes are energy and cost intensive. This paper performs thermodynamic and economic optimization of the mid-scale mixed refrigerant cycles including propane precooled mixed refrigerant (C3MR) and dual mixed refrigerant (DMR) processes. Four different objective functions in this study are selected: total shaft work consumption, total cost investment (TCI), total annualized cost (TAC), and total capital cost of compressors and main cryogenic exchangers (MCHEs). Total cost investment (TCI) is a function of two key variables: shaft work (W) and overall heat transfer coefficient and area (UA) of MCHEs. It is proposed for reducing energy consumption and simultaneously minimizing total capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX). Total shaft work objective function can result in a 44.5% reduction of shaft work for C3MR and a 48.6% reduction for DMR compared to their baseline values, but infinitely high UA of MCHEs. Optimal results show that total capital cost of compressors and MCHEs is more suitable than other objective functions for the objective of reducing both shaft work and UA. It reduces 14.5% of specific power for C3MR and 26.7% for DMR when achieving the relatively lower UA values than their baseline values. In addition, TCI and TAC can also reduce a certain amount of total shaft work at a finite increased UA

Technology for Building Systems Integration and Optimization – Landscape Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

William Goetzler, Matt Guernsey, Youssef Bargach

2018-01-31

BTO's Commercial Building Integration (CBI) program helps advance a range of innovative building integration and optimization technologies and solutions, paving the way for high-performing buildings that could use 50-70% less energy than typical buildings. CBI’s work focuses on early stage technology innovation, with an emphasis on how components and systems work together and how whole buildings are integrated and optimized. This landscape study outlines the current body of knowledge, capabilities, and the broader array of solutions supporting integration and optimization in commercial buildings. CBI seeks to support solutions for both existing buildings and new construction, which often present very different challenges.

Economic opportunities resulting from a global deployment of concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies-The example of German technology providers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallentin, Daniel; Viebahn, Peter

2010-01-01

Several energy scenario studies consider concentrated solar power (CSP) plants as an important technology option to reduce the world's CO 2 emissions to a level required for not letting the global average temperature exceed a threshold of 2-2.4 o C. A global ramp up of CSP technologies offers great economic opportunities for technology providers as CSP technologies include highly specialised components. This paper analyses possible value creation effects resulting from a global deployment of CSP until 2050 as projected in scenarios of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Greenpeace International. The analysis focuses on the economic opportunities of German technology providers since companies such as Schott Solar, Flabeg or Solar Millennium are among the leading suppliers of CSP technologies on the global market.

Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camagni, R.; Capello, R. [Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). Economics Dept.; Nijkamp, P. [Dept. of Spatial Economics. Fac. of Economics and Econometrics. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands)

1995-12-31

While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a `sustainable city`; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined `recipe` is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs.

Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camagni, R.; Capello, R.

1995-01-01

While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a 'sustainable city'; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined 'recipe' is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs

Evaluation of technological and economic standard of the mining industry. [USSR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Evdokimov, F.I.; Nekhaev, S.A.; Laptev, I.V.

1983-02-01

In order to assure constant growth in coal production, as stipulated in the five-year plan, an evaluation scheme has been devised. The technological and economic standard is judged by indicators such as productivity, self sufficiency, capital write-off and investment, as well as factors such as working conditions, financial incentives, health services, and absenteeism. The method of canonical analysis yields expressions for technological and economic factors, and a coefficient for the utilization of resources. Relationship of these coefficients and factors is demonstrated graphically.

Optimization of the fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kidd, S.W.; Balu, K.; Boczar, P.G.; Krebs, W.D.

1999-01-01

The nuclear fuel cycle can be optimized subject to a wide range of criteria. Prime amongst these are economics, sustainability of resources, environmental aspects, and proliferation-resistance of the fuel cycle. Other specific national objectives will also be important. These criteria, and their relative importance, will vary from country to country, and with time. There is no single fuel cycle strategy that is optimal for all countries. Within the short term, the industry is attached to dominant thermal reactor technologies, which themselves have two main variants, a cycle closed by reprocessing of spent fuel and subsequent recycling and a once through one where spent fuel is stored in advance of geological disposal. However, even with current technologies, much can be done to optimize the fuel cycles to meet the relevant criteria. In the long term, resource sustainability can be assured for centuries through the use of fast breeder reactors, supporting high-conversion thermal reactors, possibly also utilizing the thorium cycle. These must, however, meet the other key criteria by being both economic and safe. (author)

Thermo-economic evaluation and optimization of the thermo-chemical conversion of biomass into methanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peduzzi, Emanuela; Tock, Laurence; Boissonnet, Guillaume; Maréchal, François

2013-01-01

In a carbon and resources constrained world, thermo-chemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals is regarded as a promising alternative to fossil resources derived products. Methanol is one potential product which can be used for the synthesis of various chemicals or as a fuel in fuel cells and internal combustion engines. This study focuses on the evaluation and optimization of the thermodynamic and economic performance of methanol production from biomass by applying process integration and optimization techniques. Results reveal the importance of the energy integration and in particular of the cogeneration of electricity for the efficient use of biomass. - Highlights: • A thermo-economic model for biomass conversion into methanol is developed. • Process integration and multi-objective optimization techniques are applied. • Results reveal the importance of energy integration for electricity co-generation

Debate on science and technology promotion for overcoming economic crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-05-01

This book records debate point and topic presentation of debate on science and technology promotion for overcoming economic difficulties which lists opening greeting, topic presentation such as innovation of national science technology system, sufficient supply and demand of science and engineering personnel, invigoration of technology research of corporation and general debate. This debate was held by the Policy Board of democratic and liberal party on 22 May 1990 in Press center.

Curtailment of renewable generation: Economic optimality and incentives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik; Schröder, Sascha Thorsten

2012-01-01

The loss from curtailing generation based on renewable energy sources is generally seen as an unacceptable solution by the public. The main argument is that it is a loss of green energy and an economic loss to curtail generation with near zero marginal costs. However, this view could lead to overinvestment in grid infrastructure and underinvestment in renewable energy sources. This article argues that some curtailment of fluctuating (variable) generation is optimal. We address the possible contributions to total curtailment from involuntary and voluntary curtailment. The costs of curtailment in terms of lost generation are discussed based on market price and support levels including the rationale for compensating generators for losses. The extent of actual curtailment is illustrated by examples from different global markets. In general, both the value of the curtailed energy and the amount of curtailed energy relative to total fluctuating generation is low but rising. Single generators may be affected considerably if insufficient compensation measures are in place. In the future, optimal curtailment will increase along with an increased share of fluctuating renewable generation. Extending renewable generation comparatively cheaply can be achieved by the installation of additional capacity at offshore locations until optimal curtailment levels are reached. - Highlights: ► Curtailment of renewable generation can be optimal. ► Voluntary and involuntary curtailment categories. ► Compensation for involuntary curtailment should be provided. ► Asymmetrical balancing price provides incentive for voluntary curtailment. ► Network enforcement costs can be reduced per renewable generation.

Optimal model of economic diplomacy of Republic of Croatia in the contexst of global intelligence revolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zdravko Bazdan

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to point to the fact that economic diplomacy is a relatively new practice in international economics, specifically the expansion of the occurrence of Intelligence Revolution. The history in global relations shows that without economic diplomacy there is no optimal economic growth and social development. It is important to note that economic diplomacy should be important for our country and the political elite, as well as for the administration of Croatian economic subjects that want to compete in international market economy. Comparative analysis are particularly highlighted by French experience. Therefore, Croatia should copy the practice of those countries that are successful in economic diplomacy. And in the curricula - especially of our economic faculties - we should introduce the course of Economic Diplomacy. It is important to note, that in order to form our optimal model of economic diplomacy which would be headed by the President of Republic of Croatia formula should be based on: Intelligence Security Agency (SOA, Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Intelligence Service of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Economy, Labor and Entrepreneurship. Described model would consist of intelligence subsystem with at least twelve components.

Economic issues of storage technologies in different applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beurskens, L.W.M.; De Noord, M.

2004-09-01

For evaluating energy storage technologies, economical parameters are of considerable importance. A qualitative assessment is given of storage technologies in general, contributing to success or failure of their use. Based on data of nine storage technologies that are defined in the INVESTIRE Network (Investigation on storage technologies for intermittent renewable energies: evaluation and recommended R and D strategy), results of a quantitative cost analysis are presented, based on device-specific key parameters. The costs have been defined as additional costs, effected by the required investments and operation and maintenance expenditures, the efficiency of a device and its lifetime. In order to compare the technologies properly, categories of typical use have been defined, ranging from stand-alone small applications (typical storage capacity of 0.1 kWh) to levelling of power production (approximately 1 MWh). The outcome is presented in such a way that for each category of typical use, the best technological options are identified, based on a cost analysis

Designing medical technology for resilience: integrating health economics and human factors approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Borsci, Simone; Uchegbu, Ijeoma; Buckle, Peter; Ni, Zhifang; Walne, Simon; Hanna, George B

2018-01-01

The slow adoption of innovation into healthcare calls into question the manner of evidence generation for medical technology. This paper identifies potential reasons for this including a lack of attention to human factors, poor evaluation of economic benefits, lack of understanding of the existing healthcare system and a failure to recognise the need to generate resilient products. Areas covered: Recognising a cross-disciplinary need to enhance evidence generation early in a technology's life cycle, the present paper proposes a new approach that integrates human factors and health economic evaluation as part of a wider systems approach to the design of technology. This approach (Human and Economic Resilience Design for Medical Technology or HERD MedTech) supports early stages of product development and is based on the recent experiences of the National Institute for Health Research London Diagnostic Evidence Co-operative in the UK. Expert commentary: HERD MedTech i) proposes a shift from design for usability to design for resilience, ii) aspires to reduce the need for service adaptation to technological constraints iii) ensures value of innovation at the time of product development, and iv) aims to stimulate discussion around the integration of pre- and post-market methods of assessment of medical technology.

Experience with civil plutonium management: Technology and economics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarimpas, N.; Stevens, G.H.

1997-01-01

Recent NEA work on plutonium has been, essentially, targeted at economic and scientific aspects and the need to identify suitable technical solutions, despite the existing political uncertainties associated with their implementation. Such studies provide the facts and current views concerning plutonium and its civil use; address questions influencing the choice of fuel cycle options and illustrate how economic and logistic assessments of the alternatives could be undertaken. An ad-hoc expert group, with a membership drawn from fifteen countries and three international organisations, which was formed in early 1994 under the auspices of the NEA, with the task of identifying, examining and evaluating the broad technical questions related to plutonium management, has just published its work. This paper discusses the work and main conclusions of the expert group and focuses on the following two topics: Technologies, already implemented, which provide for short and medium-term storage of plutonium or for recycling the plutonium through reactors. A brief review is provided of experience gained with them and technical commentaries are made on their potential future deployment; Such technologies may, in the longer term, be joined by a further range which are, in some cases, already under development. Attention is drawn to those additional options that may become available. Another NEA expert group studied in detail the economics of the open and closed fuel cycles and reported, in 1994, its main findings: Some economic considerations of importance to various aspects of plutonium recycling are also presented in this paper. (author)

Techno-economic and environmental analysis of low carbon energy technologies: Indian perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saha, Vijay Prakash; Kumar, Rahul; Kumar, Manish; Deswal, Surinder; Chandna, Pankaj

2010-09-15

In this paper, techno-economic and an environmental investigation and analysis of Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs) has been presented, with special emphasis on India. The paper identify, analyze and recommend, on the basis of available and collected / collated information and data, the promising and potential low carbon energy technology options suited to Indian conditions for grid connected power generation. The evaluation criteria adopted include - emission reduction potential, technological feasibility, and economic viability; and on its basis recommend a detailed action plan and strategy for guiding future research and development with a more focused approach considering current Indian policy framework.

Thermo-economic optimization of heat recovery steam generator for a range of gas turbine exhaust temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nadir, Mahmoud; Ghenaiet, Adel; Carcasci, Carlo

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Thermo-economic optimization of HRSG configurations. • The maximum value of the net present value was targeted for the economic optimization. • Three level HRSG is the best option in respect of power output and high priced medium. • Two level HRSG is the best for net benefit in low and intermediate priced mediums. - Abstract: This paper illustrates the effect of selling price on the optimum design parameters of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and the selection of its ideal configuration for an outlet temperature range of 350–650 °C. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method was used, considering the steam cycle specific work as an objective to be maximized, the net present value as another objective to be maximized for the economic optimization and a combination of both. Three configurations of heat recovery steam generators are considered with one, two and three pressure levels and a reheat. The results show that, the three pressure level system is the best configuration from a thermodynamic point of view, but with respect to the economical aspect the two pressure levels is the best configuration for the low and medium selling prices (0.04 $/kW h, 0.08 $/kW h and 0.2 $/kW h), whereas the three pressure level configuration would only be interesting for a high selling price of 0.3 $/kW h and a temperature range 450–600 °C. For a temperature of 650 °C, the high cost of the three level system leads to a decrease in the net present value. As the selling price increases the optimized design parameters of the three pressure level HRSG based on economic or thermodynamic optimization are similar. The obtained results are used to elaborate a new correlation relating the net present value with the gas turbine outlet temperature, gas mass flow rate, number of levels of HRSG and selling price.

STATEMENT OF THE OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM OF CARBON PRODUCTS PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. Zhuchenko

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The paper formulated optimization problem formulation production of carbon products. The analysis of technical and economic parameters that can be used to optimize the production of carbonaceous products had been done by the author. To evaluate the efficiency of the energy-intensive production uses several technical and economic indicators. In particular, the specific cost, productivity, income and profitability of production. Based on a detailed analysis had been formulated optimality criterion that takes into account the technological components of profitability. The components in detail the criteria and the proposed method of calculating non-trivial, one of them - the production cost of each product. When solving the optimization problem of technological modes of production into account constraints on the variables are optimized. Thus, restrictions may be expressed on the number of each product produced. Have been formulated the method of calculating the cost per unit of product. Attention is paid to the quality indices of finished products as an additional constraint in the optimization problem. As a result have been formulated the general problem of optimizing the production of carbon products, which includes the optimality criterion and restrictions.

Empirical Estimates in Economic and Financial Optimization Problems

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Houda, Michal; Kaňková, Vlasta

2012-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 29 (2012), s. 50-69 ISSN 1212-074X R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/10/1610; GA ČR GAP402/11/0150; GA ČR GAP402/10/0956 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : stochastic programming * empirical estimates * moment generating functions * stability * Wasserstein metric * L1-norm * Lipschitz property * consistence * convergence rate * normal distribution * Pareto distribution * Weibull distribution * distribution tails * simulation Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/E/houda-empirical estimates in economic and financial optimization problems.pdf

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF CO2 SEQUESTRATION TECHNOLOGIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bert R. Bock; Richard G. Rhudy; David E. Nichols

2001-07-01

In order to plan for potential CO{sub 2} mitigation mandates, utilities need better information on CO{sub 2} mitigation options, especially carbon sequestration options that involve non-utility operations. One of the major difficulties in evaluating CO{sub 2} sequestration technologies and practices, both geologic storage of captured CO{sub 2} and storage in biological sinks, is obtaining consistent, transparent, accurate, and comparable economics. This project is comparing the economics of major technologies and practices under development for CO{sub 2} sequestration, including captured CO{sub 2} storage options such as active oil reservoirs, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep aquifers, coal beds, and oceans, as well as the enhancement of biological sinks such as forests and croplands. An international group of experts has been assembled to compare on a consistent basis the economics of this diverse array of CO{sub 2} sequestration options. Designs and data collection are nearly complete for each of the CO{sub 2} sequestration options being compared. Initial spreadsheet development has begun on concepts involving storage of captured CO{sub 2}. No significant problems have been encountered, but some additional outside expertise will be accessed to supplement the team's expertise in the areas of life cycle analysis, oil and gas exploration and production, and comparing CO{sub 2} sequestration options that differ in timing and permanence of CO{sub 2} sequestration. Plans for the next reporting period are to complete data collection and a first approximation of the spreadsheet. We expect to complete this project on time and on budget.

PROBLEM OF OPTIMIZATION OF ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL STREAMS: URGENCY UNDER ECONOMIC CRISIS CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. E. Gorbach

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers a problem of structural optimization of financial streams in the economic activities of the enterprises. The authors describe a general process of enterprise capital structure optimization while breaking it in stages and consider the most interesting financial stream theories. The paper presents for the first time «Combined optimization model». In order to develop the model the most commonly applied methods have been used, namely: an optimization  method on the basis of an average capital price, an optimization method on the basis of financial leverage effect and an optimization method on the basis of the average managing subject price. Alternative calculations of optimum structure of financial stream sources on the basis of the proposed «combined model» have been presented in corresponding tables. The authors also use for the first time such concepts as «a break-even point» and «a safety zone» in respect of enterprise financial streams while using a graphic method.

Distributed electric power systems of the future: Institutional and technological drivers for near-optimal performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilic, Marija; Prica, Marija; Black, Jason W.

2007-01-01

Viewing electric power distribution systems as complex engineering systems whose states and inputs are defined by both technical and non-technical components of the system could help us understand challenges and lead to possible innovative solutions. In this setup, regulatory incentives, pricing, demand, and technological innovation are all endogenous feed-forward and/or feedback signals to the existing physical network and shape its evolution in both the short and long terms. We suggest that it is, indeed, possible to design technical, economic, and regulatory feed-forward and feedback signals keeping in mind the desired performance of the system. A particularly unique challenge is to enhance and operate the existing systems by incorporating distributed technologies (distributed generation or DG, active demand response, controllable wires) whose added value comes from just-in-time and right-location adjustments to the changing conditions. One way of interpreting the value of technologies of this type is to understand that they provide flexible and efficient responses by the end-user (DG and demand), therefore reducing the need for capacity reserve at the system level. Technical implementations and regulatory rules are not in place today to support systematic penetration of these technologies into the existing distribution systems. In this paper we stress the critical role of future load serving entities (LSEs) as aggregators and catalysts of customer choice at the value as one possible way forward. The LSEs would, through systematic protocols between themselves and the wholesale markets, on one side, and the customers whom they serve, on the other side, effectively implement incentives to induce near-optimal distribution system performance over long time horizons by investing in near-optimal technologies. These incentives must capture and compare both cumulative effects of real time decisions and the effects of longer-term investment decisions on near-optimal

Economic effects of propulsion system technology on existing and future transport aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Sallee, G. P.

1974-01-01

The results of an airline study of the economic effects of propulsion system technology on current and future transport aircraft are presented. This report represents the results of a detailed study of propulsion system operating economics. The study has four major parts: (1) a detailed analysis of current propulsion system maintenance with respect to the material and labor costs encountered versus years in service and the design characteristics of the major elements of the propulsion system of the B707, b727, and B747. (2) an analysis of the economic impact of a future representative 1979 propulsion system is presented with emphasis on depreciation of investment, fuel costs and maintenance costs developed on the basis of the analysis of the historical trends observed. (3) recommendations concerning improved methods of forecasting the maintenance cost of future propulsion systems are presented. A detailed method based on the summation of the projected labor and material repair costs for each major engine module and its installation along with a shorter form suitable for quick, less detailed analysis are presented, and (4) recommendations concerning areas where additional technology is needed to improve the economics of future commercial propulsion systems are presented along with the suggested economic benefits available from such advanced technology efforts.

Economics of selected water control technologies and their ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Using a production function, marginal productivity of farm inputs and benefit-cost analysis, we explore the economics of selected water control technologies. From the production function, all farm inputs, including irrigation water is found to have a significant and positive effect on yield. Marginal value products of farm inputs ...

The Economics of Theatre/Entertainment Technology in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This essay therefore, discusses theatre technology and its attendant economic impact as business in Nigeria using Bradford Delong.s (2004) discourse on international capital mobility. Aspects of Delong.s position and David Throsby.s cultural capital theory form the theoretical base for this work. The essay is more situated ...

Parametric economic analysis of natural gas reburn technologies. Topical report, June 1991-June 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluestein, J.

1992-06-01

The report presents a parametric economic analysis of natural gas reburn technologies used for control of nitrogen oxides emissions in coal-fired utility boilers. It is a competitive assessment of the economics of gas reburn performed in the context of regulatory requirements and competing conventional technologies. The reburn technologies examined are basic gas reburn, reburn with sorbent injection and advanced gas reburn. The analysis determined the levelized costs of these technologies in $/ton of NOx removed with respect to a gas-coal price differential in $/MMBtu of energy input. For those niches in which reburn was less economical, a breakeven capital cost analysis was carried out to determine the R ampersand D goals which would make reburn more cost competitive

HTR process heat applications, status of technology and economical potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnet, H.

1997-01-01

The technical and industrial feasibility of the production of high temperature heat from nuclear fuel is presented. The technical feasibility of high temperature heat consuming processes is reviewed and assessed. The conclusion is drawn that the next technological step for pilot plant scale demonstration is the nuclear heated steam reforming process. The economical potential of HTR process heat applications is reviewed: It is directly coupled to the economical competitiveness of HTR electricity production. Recently made statements and pre-conditions on the economic competitiveness in comparison to world market coal are reported. (author). 8 figs

Forecasting economy with Bayesian autoregressive distributed lag model: choosing optimal prior in economic downturn

OpenAIRE

Bušs, Ginters

2009-01-01

Bayesian inference requires an analyst to set priors. Setting the right prior is crucial for precise forecasts. This paper analyzes how optimal prior changes when an economy is hit by a recession. For this task, an autoregressive distributed lag (ADL) model is chosen. The results show that a sharp economic slowdown changes the optimal prior in two directions. First, it changes the structure of the optimal weight prior, setting smaller weight on the lagged dependent variable compared to varia...

Alcohol, biomass energy: technological and economical aspects of production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ometto, Joao Guilherme Sabino

1993-01-01

This paper presents some technological and economical aspects of sugar cane and alcohol production in Brazil since 1975 until nowadays. The evolution of their production is analysed and the relationship between cost-benefit and ethanol consumption is discussed

Voltage Optimisation Technology for an Australian Abattoir—A Techno-Economic Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GM Shafiullah

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Optimising voltage levels to a controlled stable level at a facility can not only reduce the cost of energy but also enhance equipment performance, prolong equipment life, reduce maintenance costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Voltage optimisation (VO technology has been widely used in a number of different industries locally and internationally, but not to a large extent within the red meat processing sector in Australia. To determine whether VO technology can be implemented, and whether it is technically and economically viable for red meat processing sites, this study investigated, through case study analyses, the potential effectiveness of VO technology in Australian abattoirs. Through an extensive literature survey, the study initially explored the need and considerations of deploying VO technologies at a typical red meat processing plant. To determine the advantages of using VO technology the study then performed site analyses to investigate power quality (PQ issues, such as voltage regulation, harmonics and power factor, at two typical medium-sized abattoirs, one in Western Australia and another in Queensland. Finally, an economic assessment of the use of VO in the red meat processing industry was undertaken to identify the potential electricity savings and payback periods. From the case study analyses, it is evident that power quality issues, such as under voltage, overvoltage, and harmonic distortion, can be reduced and significant energy savings can be achieved with the optimum selection of VO technology and voltage level. The outcomes of this study will enable engineering and operations staff to be better informed about the economic and technical benefits of (and possible issues with using VO technologies in an abattoir.

Economics of household technology adoption in developing countries: evidence from solar technology adoption in rural India

OpenAIRE

Aklin, M.; Bayer, P.; Harish, S.P.; Urpelainen, J.

2018-01-01

Innovation is one of the most important drivers of economic development. Even in developing countries, households have access to a wide array of new technologies. However, factors affecting households’ technology adoption decisions remain poorly understood. Using data on solar microgrid adoption from rural India, we investigate the determinants of household technology adoption. We offer all households identical solar products to avoid bias from product differentiation. Households pay a monthl...

Optimization in a Networked Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Sekreter

2017-10-01

Full Text Available An age of network has been living for the last decades. The information technologies have been used by hundreds of millions of users. These technologies are enabling to connect businesses and economic activities. One of the characteristics of the networked economy is the amount of data that produced due to the interlinking of firms, individuals, processes by businesses, and economic activities. Another issue with the networked economy is the complexity of the data. Extraction of the knowledge from the networked economy has challenges by the traditional approach since data is large scale, second decentralized, and third they connect many heterogeneous agents. The challenges can be overcome by the new optimization methods including human element or the social interactions with technological infrastructure.

Technology for whom: too dear to work. [Political, economic, and social problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, F

1978-01-01

In spite of growth in per capita gross national product, less-developed countries (LDCs) continue to have large numbers of people who are unemployed and living in extreme poverty. The failure of advanced technology to create adequate jobs has led to a strong movement for more appropriate technology. Advanced technology is inappropriate because the capital costs per employee are too high to equip enough workers, plants are built on too large a scale for the market, and the combination creates an economic enclave which ignores the rest of the population. Appropriate technology gives priority to the basic needs of the poor and includes raising their income level by expanding productive employment. This requires inexpensive, small-scale technology that needs few skills and uses local materials. More technological research and development is needed in the LDCs as well as changes in the way income and investment resources are distributed, but this will entail changing the decision making process to include political and socio-economic considerations.

Energy, exergy, economic (3E) analyses and multi-objective optimization of vapor absorption heat transformer using NSGA-II technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, Vaibhav; Sachdeva, Gulshan

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Study includes energy, exergy and economic analyses of absorption heat transformer. • It addresses multi-objective optimization study using NSGA-II technique. • Total annual cost and total exergy destruction are simultaneously optimized. • Results with multi-objective optimized design are more acceptable than other. - Abstract: Present paper addresses the energy, exergy and economic (3E) analyses of absorption heat transformer (AHT) working with LiBr-H 2 O fluid pair. The heat exchangers namely absorber, condenser, evaporator, generator and solution heat exchanger are designed for the size and cost estimation of AHT. Later, the effect of operating variables is examined on the system performance, size and cost. Simulation studies showed a conflict between thermodynamic and economic performance of the system. The heat exchangers with lower investment cost showed high irreversible losses and vice versa. Thus, the operating variables of systems are determined economically as well as thermodynamically by implementing non-dominated sort genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) technique of multi-objective optimization. In present work, if the cost based optimized design is chosen, total exergy destruction is 2.4% higher than its minimum possible value; whereas, if total exergy based optimized design is chosen, total annual cost is 6.1% higher than its minimum possible value. On the other hands, total annual cost and total exergy destruction are only 1.0% and 0.8%, respectively more from their minimum possible values with multi-objective optimized design. Thus, the multi-objective optimized design of the AHT is best outcome than any other single-objective optimized designs.

EXPLOSIVE FORMING – ECONOMICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR AEROSPACE STRUCTURES

OpenAIRE

Niculae MARIN; Victor GHIZDAVU

2010-01-01

The explosive forming represents a technological alternative for obtaining small-lot parts,with inexpensive and efficient manufacturing preparation. The explosive forming processing methodspresent a series of important advantages, being recommended for the wide-scale application in theaerospace industry. The economic benefit varies from case to case, independent from the part type,manufacturing series and user.

The economics of project analysis: Optimal investment criteria and methods of study

Science.gov (United States)

Scriven, M. C.

1979-01-01

Insight is provided toward the development of an optimal program for investment analysis of project proposals offering commercial potential and its components. This involves a critique of economic investment criteria viewed in relation to requirements of engineering economy analysis. An outline for a systems approach to project analysis is given Application of the Leontief input-output methodology to analysis of projects involving multiple processes and products is investigated. Effective application of elements of neoclassical economic theory to investment analysis of project components is demonstrated. Patterns of both static and dynamic activity levels are incorporated.

[Optimization of stir-baking with vinegar technology for Curcumae Radix by orthogonal test].

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Dianhua; Su, Benzheng; Sun, Lili; Zhang, Jun; Qu, Yongsheng

2011-05-01

To optimize the stir-baking with vinegar technology for Curcumae Radix. The intrinsic quality (the content of Curcumin) and traditional outward appearance were chosen as indexes. The best technology was determined by orthogonal test L9 (3(4)). The factors of the moistening time, stir-baking temperature and stir-baking time were investigated. The optimal technology was as follows: the quantity of vinegar was 10%, the moistening time was 10 min, the stir-baking temperature was 130 degrees C and the stir-baking time was 10 min. The optimal stir-baking with vinegar technology for Curcumae Radix is reasonable, which can be used to guide the standardized production of Curcumae Radix stir-baked with vinegar.

Economical and environmental assessment of an optimized solar cooling system for a medium-sized benchmark office building in Los Angeles, California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hang, Yin; Qu, Ming [School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, CIVL G243, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States); Zhao, Fu [School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University (United States)

2011-02-15

This paper presents a systematic energetic, economical, and environmental assessment on a solar cooling system for a medium-sized office building in Los Angeles, California by means of system modeling. The studied solar cooling system primarily consists of evacuated tube solar collectors, a hot water storage tank, a single-effect LiBr-H{sub 2}O absorption chiller, and a gas-fired auxiliary heater. System performance optimization and sensitivity analysis were conducted by varying two major parameters (i.e. storage tank volume and collector area). The results suggest that a trade-off exists between economic performance indicated by the equivalent uniform annual cost (EUAC) and the energetic/environmental performance indicated by the solar fraction and CO{sub 2} reduction percentage, respectively. The cost of carbon footprint reduction was defined and served as an indicator for the overall system performance. Based on this indicator, the optimal system design could be found for a solar cooling system. The approach adapted in this study can be applied to other buildings located in different climate zones to reveal the cost and benefits of solar cooling technologies and facilitate decision-making. (author)

Expert system for economic evaluation of technological projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bohumil Hlavenka

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Apart from the technical level, a basic tool for decision-making and realization of the technical innovation project is also its economic effectiveness. It is assessed by comparing expenses and effects with respect to all-society interests and standards valid in a relevant period for the areas of technology, economy, ecology, safety of work, etc.

EXPLOSIVE FORMING – ECONOMICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR AEROSPACE STRUCTURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niculae MARIN

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The explosive forming represents a technological alternative for obtaining small-lot parts,with inexpensive and efficient manufacturing preparation. The explosive forming processing methodspresent a series of important advantages, being recommended for the wide-scale application in theaerospace industry. The economic benefit varies from case to case, independent from the part type,manufacturing series and user.

Innovation, entrepreneurship and culture : the interaction between technology, progress and economic growth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brown, T.E.; Ulijn, J.M.

2004-01-01

Any technological advance, innovation or economic growth created by an organization is dependent on how that organization’s culture and environment fosters or inhibits these developments. This process is further complicated by the global nature of economic activity and differences in national

Optimal Locations for Siting Wind Energy Projects: Technical Challenges, Economics, and Public Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Lamy, Julian V.

Increasing the percentage of wind power in the United States electricity generation mix would facilitate the transition towards a more sustainable, low-pollution, and environmentally-conscious electricity grid. However, this effort is not without cost. Wind power generation is time-variable and typically not synchronized with electricity demand (i.e., load). In addition, the highest-output wind resources are often located in remote locations, necessitating transmission investment between generation sites and load. Furthermore, negative public perceptions of wind projects could prevent widespread wind development, especially for projects close to densely-populated communities. The work presented in my dissertation seeks to understand where it's best to locate wind energy projects while considering these various factors. First, in Chapter 2, I examine whether energy storage technologies, such as grid-scale batteries, could help reduce the transmission upgrade costs incurred when siting wind projects in distant locations. For a case study of a hypothetical 200 MW wind project in North Dakota that delivers power to Illinois, I present an optimization model that estimates the optimal size of transmission and energy storage capacity that yields the lowest average cost of generation and transmission (/MWh). I find that for this application of storage to be economical, energy storage costs would have to be 100/kWh or lower, which is well below current costs for available technologies. I conclude that there are likely better ways to use energy storage than for accessing distant wind projects. Following from this work, in Chapter 3, I present an optimization model to estimate the economics of accessing high quality wind resources in remote areas to comply with renewable energy policy targets. I include temporal aspects of wind power (variability costs and correlation to market prices) as well as total wind power produced from different farms. I assess the goal of providing

A novel meta-heuristic optimization methodology for solving various types of economic dispatch problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fesanghary, M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University, 2508 Patrick Taylor Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (United States); Ardehali, M.M. [Energy Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 424-Hafez Avenue, 15875-4413 Tehran (Iran)

2009-06-15

The increasing costs of fuel and operation of thermal power generating units warrant development of optimization methodologies for economic dispatch (ED) problems. Optimization methodologies that are based on meta-heuristic procedures could assist power generation policy analysts to achieve the goal of minimizing the generation costs. In this context, the objective of this study is to present a novel approach based on harmony search (HS) algorithm for solving ED problems, aiming to provide a practical alternative for conventional methods. To demonstrate the efficiency and applicability of the proposed method and for the purposes of comparison, various types of ED problems are examined. The results of this study show that the new proposed approach is able to find more economical loads than those determined by other methods. (author)

Thermodynamic and economic performances optimization of an organic Rankine cycle system utilizing exhaust gas of a large marine diesel engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Min-Hsiung; Yeh, Rong-Hua

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A new parameter is proposed for optimizing economic performance of the ORC system. • Maximal thermodynamic and economic performances of an ORC system are presented. • The corresponding operating pressures in turbine of optimum thermodynamic and economic performances are investigated. • An optimal effectiveness of pre-heater is obtained for the ORC system. - Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the thermodynamic and economic performances optimization for an ORC system recovering the waste heat of exhaust gas from a large marine diesel engine of the merchant ship. Parameters of net power output index and thermal efficiency are used to represent the economic and thermodynamic performances, respectively. The maximum net power output index and thermal efficiency are obtained and the corresponding turbine inlet pressure, turbine outlet pressure, and effectiveness of pre-heater of the ORC system are also evaluated using R1234ze, R245fa, R600, and R600a. Furthermore, the analyses of the effects of turbine inlet temperature and cooling water temperature on the optimal economic and thermodynamic performances of the ORC system are carried out. The results show that R245fa performs the most satisfactorily followed by R600, R600a, and R1234ze under optimal economic performance. However, in the optimal thermodynamic performance evaluations, R1234ze has the largest thermal efficiency followed by R600a, R245fa, and R600. The payback periods will decrease from 0.5 year for R245fa to 0.65 year for R1234ze respectively as the system is equipped with a pre-heater. In addition, compared with conventional diesel oil feeding, the proposed ORC system can reduce 76% CO 2 emission per kilowatt-hour

[HEALTH ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND FAIR DECISION MAKING].

Science.gov (United States)

Jeantet, Marine; Lopez, Alain

2015-09-01

Health technology assessment consists in evaluating the incremental cost-benefit ratio of a medicine, a medical device, a vaccine, a health strategy, in comparison to alternative health technologies. This form of socio-eoonomic evaluation aims at optimizing resource allocation within the health system. By setting the terms of valid alternatives, it is useful to highlight public choices, but it cannot in itself make the decision as regards the public funding of patient's access to the considered technology. The decision to include such technology in the basket of health goods and sercices covered, the levels and conditions of the coverage, also result from budget constraints, from economic situation and from a political vision about health policy, social protection and public expenditure. Accordingly, health economic analysis must be implemented on specific and targeted topics. The decision making process, with its health, economic and ethical stakes, calls for a public procedure and debate, based on shared information and argument. Otherwise, health system regulation, confronted with radical and costly innovations in the coming years, will become harder to handle. This requires the development of health economic research teams able to contribute to this assessment exercise.

Enhancing Economic Stability Utilizing the High Technologies in Community Colleges: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehnert, Barbara H.; Kurki, Allan W.

Strategies to enhance the economic stability of community colleges through high technology approaches are discussed in this paper. First, general economic problems facing higher education are identified, and the ways in which they influence community colleges are described. Next, 10 strategies to aid in the economic recovery of community colleges…

Arms and technology transfers: Security and economic considerations among importing and exporting states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lodgaard, S.; Pfaltzgraff, R.L. Jr.

1995-01-01

The issues of technology and armament transfers are increasingly at the forefront of problems of international security and disarmament. Three major reasons could explain this. First, the disarmament process has been very successful in the last few years, especially in the field of nuclear, as well chemical and conventional, weapons. Second the disarmament effort underway concerns primarily the old partners of the East-West confrontation. Last, the general context, characterized by the opening and widening of exchanges, the increasingly open and transparent circulation of techniques and material, and the globalization of economic relations, must be taken into account. This report, prepared by UNIDIR comprises the following subjects: General trends in defense related transfers; Political/military factors associated with the diffusion of advanced technology; economic and technological consideration; and facilitation of economic growth/maximization of regional security and stability

The emergence of the global fintech market: Economic and technological determinants

OpenAIRE

Haddad, Christian; Hornuf, Lars

2016-01-01

We investigate the economic and technological determinants inducing entrepreneurs to establish ventures with the purpose of reinventing financial technology (fintech). We find that countries witness more fintech startup formations when the latest technology is readily available, capital markets are well-developed, and people have more mobile telephone subscriptions. Furthermore, the available labor force has a positive impact on the development of this new market segment. Finally, the more so...

Handling geological and economic uncertainties in balancing short-term and long-term objectives in waterflooding optimization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Siraj, M.M.; Van Den Hof, P.M.J.; Jansen, J.D.

2017-01-01

Model-based economic optimization of oil production has a significant scope to increase financial life-cycle performance. The net-present-value (NPV) objective in this optimization, because of its nature, focuses on long-term gains, whereas short-term production is not explicitly addressed. At the

Hollywood's Conversion to Color: The Technological, Economic and Aesthetic Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kindem, Forham A.

1979-01-01

Discusses the film industry's conversion to color cinematography in the period between the 1920s and 1960s. Cites economic considerations, technological modifications, and aesthetic preferences by audiences as factors in this development. (JMF)

A Survey on Economic-driven Evaluations of Information Technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mutschler, B.B.; Zarvic, N.; Reichert, M.U.

2007-01-01

The economic-driven evaluation of information technology (IT) has become an important instrument in the management of IT projects. Numerous approaches have been developed to quantify the costs of an IT investment and its assumed profit, to evaluate its impact on business process performance, and to

A risk explicit interval linear programming model for uncertainty-based environmental economic optimization in the Lake Fuxian watershed, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoling; Huang, Kai; Zou, Rui; Liu, Yong; Yu, Yajuan

2013-01-01

The conflict of water environment protection and economic development has brought severe water pollution and restricted the sustainable development in the watershed. A risk explicit interval linear programming (REILP) method was used to solve integrated watershed environmental-economic optimization problem. Interval linear programming (ILP) and REILP models for uncertainty-based environmental economic optimization at the watershed scale were developed for the management of Lake Fuxian watershed, China. Scenario analysis was introduced into model solution process to ensure the practicality and operability of optimization schemes. Decision makers' preferences for risk levels can be expressed through inputting different discrete aspiration level values into the REILP model in three periods under two scenarios. Through balancing the optimal system returns and corresponding system risks, decision makers can develop an efficient industrial restructuring scheme based directly on the window of "low risk and high return efficiency" in the trade-off curve. The representative schemes at the turning points of two scenarios were interpreted and compared to identify a preferable planning alternative, which has the relatively low risks and nearly maximum benefits. This study provides new insights and proposes a tool, which was REILP, for decision makers to develop an effectively environmental economic optimization scheme in integrated watershed management.

A Risk Explicit Interval Linear Programming Model for Uncertainty-Based Environmental Economic Optimization in the Lake Fuxian Watershed, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoling Zhang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The conflict of water environment protection and economic development has brought severe water pollution and restricted the sustainable development in the watershed. A risk explicit interval linear programming (REILP method was used to solve integrated watershed environmental-economic optimization problem. Interval linear programming (ILP and REILP models for uncertainty-based environmental economic optimization at the watershed scale were developed for the management of Lake Fuxian watershed, China. Scenario analysis was introduced into model solution process to ensure the practicality and operability of optimization schemes. Decision makers’ preferences for risk levels can be expressed through inputting different discrete aspiration level values into the REILP model in three periods under two scenarios. Through balancing the optimal system returns and corresponding system risks, decision makers can develop an efficient industrial restructuring scheme based directly on the window of “low risk and high return efficiency” in the trade-off curve. The representative schemes at the turning points of two scenarios were interpreted and compared to identify a preferable planning alternative, which has the relatively low risks and nearly maximum benefits. This study provides new insights and proposes a tool, which was REILP, for decision makers to develop an effectively environmental economic optimization scheme in integrated watershed management.

An economic optimization of evaporator and air collector area in a solar assisted heat pump drying system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, S.M.A.; Saidur, R.; Hawlader, M.N.A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The optimum combination will provide around 89% of the total load. • The system has a savings during the life cycle with least payback period of 4.37 year. • The optimal system is insensitive to the variation in fuel inflation and discount rate. - Abstract: This paper presents an economic optimization of evaporator and air collector area of a solar assisted heat pump drying system. Economic viability of solar heating systems is usually made by comparing the cost flows recurring throughout the lifetime of the solar and conventional alternative systems. Therefore, identification of optimum variables by using a simulation program and an economic analysis based on payback period of the system are presented in this paper. FORTRAN language is used to run the simulation. Effect of load and different economic variables on payback period is also investigated. Economic analysis reveals that system has sufficient amount of savings during the life cycle with a minimum payback period of about 4 years

Improved differential evolution algorithms for handling economic dispatch optimization with generator constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coelho, Leandro dos Santos; Mariani, Viviana Cocco

2007-01-01

Global optimization based on evolutionary algorithms can be used as the important component for many engineering optimization problems. Evolutionary algorithms have yielded promising results for solving nonlinear, non-differentiable and multi-modal optimization problems in the power systems area. Differential evolution (DE) is a simple and efficient evolutionary algorithm for function optimization over continuous spaces. It has reportedly outperformed search heuristics when tested over both benchmark and real world problems. This paper proposes improved DE algorithms for solving economic load dispatch problems that take into account nonlinear generator features such as ramp rate limits and prohibited operating zones in the power system operation. The DE algorithms and its variants are validated for two test systems consisting of 6 and 15 thermal units. Various DE approaches outperforms other state of the art algorithms reported in the literature in solving load dispatch problems with generator constraints

Assessment of economically optimal water management and geospatial potential for large-scale water storage

Science.gov (United States)

Weerasinghe, Harshi; Schneider, Uwe A.

2010-05-01

Assessment of economically optimal water management and geospatial potential for large-scale water storage Weerasinghe, Harshi; Schneider, Uwe A Water is an essential but limited and vulnerable resource for all socio-economic development and for maintaining healthy ecosystems. Water scarcity accelerated due to population expansion, improved living standards, and rapid growth in economic activities, has profound environmental and social implications. These include severe environmental degradation, declining groundwater levels, and increasing problems of water conflicts. Water scarcity is predicted to be one of the key factors limiting development in the 21st century. Climate scientists have projected spatial and temporal changes in precipitation and changes in the probability of intense floods and droughts in the future. As scarcity of accessible and usable water increases, demand for efficient water management and adaptation strategies increases as well. Addressing water scarcity requires an intersectoral and multidisciplinary approach in managing water resources. This would in return safeguard the social welfare and the economical benefit to be at their optimal balance without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems. This paper presents a geographically explicit method to assess the potential for water storage with reservoirs and a dynamic model that identifies the dimensions and material requirements under an economically optimal water management plan. The methodology is applied to the Elbe and Nile river basins. Input data for geospatial analysis at watershed level are taken from global data repositories and include data on elevation, rainfall, soil texture, soil depth, drainage, land use and land cover; which are then downscaled to 1km spatial resolution. Runoff potential for different combinations of land use and hydraulic soil groups and for mean annual precipitation levels are derived by the SCS-CN method. Using the overlay and decision tree algorithms

Does energy efficiency improve technological change and economic growth in developing countries?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cantore, Nicola; Calì, Massimiliano; Velde, Dirk Willem te

2016-01-01

Does a trade-off exist between energy efficiency and economic growth? This question underlies some of the tensions between economic and environmental policies, especially in developing countries that often need to expand their industrial base to grow. This paper contributes to the debate by analyzing the relationship between energy efficiency and economic performance at the micro- (total factor productivity) and macro-level (countries' economic growth). It uses data on a large sample of manufacturing firms across 29 developing countries to find that lower levels of energy intensity are associated with higher total factor productivity for the majority of these countries. The results are robust to a variety of checks. Suggestive cross-country evidence points towards the same relation measured at the macro-level as well. - Highlights: •Total factor productivity is an accurate proxy of technological change. •Energy efficiency triggers total factor productivity especially in manufacturing. •Technological change via energy efficiency in manufacturing is an engine of growth.

Hydrogen and methane generation from large hydraulic plant: Thermo-economic multi-level time-dependent optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivarolo, M.; Magistri, L.; Massardo, A.F.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We investigate H 2 and CH 4 production from very large hydraulic plant (14 GW). • We employ only “spilled energy”, not used by hydraulic plant, for H 2 production. • We consider the integration with energy taken from the grid at different prices. • We consider hydrogen conversion in chemical reactors to produce methane. • We find plants optimal size using a time-dependent thermo-economic approach. - Abstract: This paper investigates hydrogen and methane generation from large hydraulic plant, using an original multilevel thermo-economic optimization approach developed by the authors. Hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis employing time-dependent hydraulic energy related to the water which is not normally used by the plant, known as “spilled water electricity”. Both the demand for spilled energy and the electrical grid load vary widely by time of year, therefore a time-dependent hour-by-hour one complete year analysis has been carried out, in order to define the optimal plant size. This time period analysis is necessary to take into account spilled energy and electrical load profiles variability during the year. The hydrogen generation plant is based on 1 MWe water electrolysers fuelled with the “spilled water electricity”, when available; in the remaining periods, in order to assure a regular H 2 production, the energy is taken from the electrical grid, at higher cost. To perform the production plant size optimization, two hierarchical levels have been considered over a one year time period, in order to minimize capital and variable costs. After the optimization of the hydrogen production plant size, a further analysis is carried out, with a view to converting the produced H 2 into methane in a chemical reactor, starting from H 2 and CO 2 which is obtained with CCS plants and/or carried by ships. For this plant, the optimal electrolysers and chemical reactors system size is defined. For both of the two solutions, thermo-economic

Technical, environmental, and economic assessment of deploying advanced coal power technologies in the Chinese context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Lifeng; Xiao Yunhan; Gallagher, Kelly Sims; Wang Bo; Xu Xiang

2008-01-01

The goal of this study is to evaluate the technical, environmental, and economic dimensions of deploying advanced coal-fired power technologies in China. In particular, we estimate the differences in capital cost and overall cost of electricity (COE) for a variety of advanced coal-power technologies based on the technological and economic levels in 2006 in China. This paper explores the economic gaps between Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and other advanced coal power technologies, and compares 12 different power plant configurations using advanced coal power technologies. Super critical (SC) and ultra super critical (USC) pulverized coal (PC) power generation technologies coupled with pollution control technologies can meet the emission requirements. These technologies are highly efficient, technically mature, and cost-effective. From the point of view of efficiency, SC and USC units are good choices for power industry. The net plant efficiency for IGCC has reached 45%, and it has the best environmental performance overall. The cost of IGCC is much higher, however, than that of other power generation technologies, so the development of IGCC is slow throughout the world. Incentive policies are needed if IGCC is to be deployed in China

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ESTIMATING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT

OpenAIRE

Ruttan, Vernon W.

2001-01-01

There is strong synergy among research, education, technology development and technology transfer. Examples of successful public-private technology transfer linkage institutions are provided. But efforts to document the benefits of research conducted at the University of Minnesota to the state have rarely been conducted with the rigor that would be required to meet the test of professional credibility. A program of research to develop more rigorous evidence on economic benefits to the State i...

Technology and economics of near-surface geothermal resources exploitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Э. И. Богуславский

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The paper presents economic justification for applicability of near-surface geothermal installations in Luga region, based on results of techno-economic calculations as well as integrated technical and economic comparison of different prediction scenarios of heat supply, both conventional and using geothermal heat pumps (GHP. Construction costs of a near-surface geothermal system can exceed the costs of central heating by 50-100 %. However, operation and maintenance (O&M costs of heat production for geothermal systems are 50-70 % lower than for conventional sources of heating. Currently this technology is very important, it is applied in various countries (USA, Germany, Japan, China etc., and depending on the region both near-surface and deep boreholes are being used. World practice of near-surface geothermal systems application is reviewed in the paper.

Unfolding innovation: modelling the interplay of science, technology, and economic growth

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

  In this talk I will show that the space in which scientific, technological and economic developments interplay with each other can be mathematically shaped using pioneering multilayer network and complexity techniques. We build the tri-layered network of human activities (scientific production, patenting, and industrial production) and study the interactions among them, also taking into account the possible time delays. Within this construction we can identify which capabilities and prerequisites are needed to be competitive in a given activity, and even measure how much time is needed to transform, for instance, the technological know-how into economic wealth and scientific innovation, being able to make predictions with a very long time horizon. Quite unexpectedly, we find empirical evidence that the naive knowledge flow from science, to patents, to products is not supported by data, being instead technology the best predictor for industrial and scientific production for the next decades. &...

Innovative energy technologies in energy-economy models: assessing economic, energy and environmental impacts of climate policy and technological change in Germany.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, K.

2007-04-18

Energy technologies and innovation are considered to play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Yet, the representation of technologies in energy-economy models, which are used extensively to analyze the economic, energy and environmental impacts of alternative energy and climate policies, is rather limited. This dissertation presents advanced techniques of including technological innovations in energy-economy computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. New methods are explored and applied for improving the realism of energy production and consumption in such top-down models. The dissertation addresses some of the main criticism of general equilibrium models in the field of energy and climate policy analysis: The lack of detailed sectoral and technical disaggregation, the restricted view on innovation and technological change, and the lack of extended greenhouse gas mitigation options. The dissertation reflects on the questions of (1) how to introduce innovation and technological change in a computable general equilibrium model as well as (2) what additional and policy relevant information is gained from using these methodologies. Employing a new hybrid approach of incorporating technology-specific information for electricity generation and iron and steel production in a dynamic multi-sector computable equilibrium model it can be concluded that technology-specific effects are crucial for the economic assessment of climate policy, in particular the effects relating to process shifts and fuel input structure. Additionally, the dissertation shows that learning-by-doing in renewable energy takes place in the renewable electricity sector but is equally important in upstream sectors that produce technologies, i.e. machinery and equipment, for renewable electricity generation. The differentiation of learning effects in export sectors, such as renewable energy technologies, matters for the economic assessment of climate policies because of effects on international

Optimization of catalyst system reaps economic benefits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Roy, C.F.; Hanshaw, M.J.; Fischer, S.M.; Malik, T.; Kooiman, R.R.

1991-01-01

Champlin Refining and Chemicals Inc. is learning to optimize its catalyst systems for hydrotreating Venezuelan gas oils through a program of research, pilot plant testing, and commercial unit operation. The economic results of this project have been evaluated, and the benefits are most evident in improvements in product yields and qualities. The project has involved six commercial test runs, to date (Runs 10-15), with a seventh run planned. A summary of the different types of catalyst systems used in the test runs, and the catalyst philosophy that developed is given. Runs 10 and 11 used standard CoMo and NiMo catalysts for heavy gas oils hydrotreating. These catalysts had small pore sizes and suffered high deactivation rates because of metals contamination. When it was discovered that metals contamination was a problem, catalyst options were reviewed

Optimal tax rate and economic growth. Evidence from Nigeria and South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olufemi Muibi SAIBU

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The recent economic crisis had made developing countries to look inward for financial resources to finance development. The readily alternative is the tax revenues however, the possible adverse direct and indirect effects of tax on productivity and work efforts as well as on aggregate consumption had make some African countries (especially Nigeria and South Africa reluctant in implementing far reaching tax policy reform. This paper examines optimal tax burden and real output growth Nigeria and South Africa, two of the top four economies in Africa. The paper empirically determined what should be the optimal tax rate for Nigeria and South Africa-the two leading economies in Africa. The paper found that nonlinearity hypothesis in the effects of tax in the case of South Africa is rejected while a significant nonlinear relationship is found in the case of Nigeria. The results suggest that the growth-maximizing tax rate is about 15% of per capita GDP for South Africa and 30% for Nigeria. At that tax rate, the economic growth rate would be around 6% and 8% instead of the actual mean growth rate of 2.84% and 4.51% for South Africa and Nigeria respectively. The paper concluded the current tax burden in the two countries may be sub-optimal and may hurt long term sustainable growth process in the two countries

Techno-economic analysis of an autonomous power system integrating hydrogen technology as energy storage medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tzamalis, G. [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), RES and Hydrogen Technologies, 19th km Marathon Avenue, GR 19009 Pikermi (Greece); Laboratory of Fuels and Lubricants Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens (Greece); Zoulias, E.I.; Stamatakis, E.; Varkaraki, E. [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), RES and Hydrogen Technologies, 19th km Marathon Avenue, GR 19009 Pikermi (Greece); Lois, E.; Zannikos, F. [Laboratory of Fuels and Lubricants Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens (Greece)

2011-01-15

Two different options for the autonomous power supply of rural or/and remote buildings are examined in this study. The first one involves a PV - diesel based power system, while the second one integrates RES and hydrogen technologies for the development of a self - sustained power system. The main objective is the replacement of the diesel generator and a comparison between these two options for autonomous power supply. Model simulations of the two power systems before and after the replacement, an optimization of the component sizes and a techno - economic analysis have been performed for the purpose of this study. A sensitivity analysis taking into account future cost scenarios for hydrogen technologies is also presented. The results clearly show that the Cost of Energy Produced (COE) from the PV - hydrogen technologies power system is extremely higher than the PV - diesel power system. However, the adopted PV - hydrogen technologies power system reduces to zero the Green - House Gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis indicates that COE for the latter system can be further reduced by approximately 50% compared to its initial value. This could be achieved by reducing critical COE's parameters, such as PEM electrolyser and fuel cell capital costs. Hence, a possible reduction on the capital costs of hydrogen energy equipment in combination with emissions reduction mentioned above could make hydrogen - based power systems more competitive. (author)

Economic comparison of clean coal generating technologies with natural gas-combined cycle systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sebesta, J.J.; Hoskins, W.W.

1990-01-01

This paper reports that there are four combustion technologies upon which U.S. electric utilities are expected to rely for the majority of their future power generating needs. These technologies are pulverized coal- fired combustion (PC); coal-fired fluidized bed combustion (AFBC); coal gasification, combined cycle systems (CGCC); and natural gas-fired combined cycle systems (NGCC). The engineering and economic parameters which affect the choice of a technology include capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, fuel costs, construction schedule, process risk, environmental and site impacts, fuel efficiency and flexibility, plant availability, capacity factors, timing of startup, and the importance of utility economic and financial factors

Techno-economic viability assessments of greener propulsion technology under potential environmental regulatory policy scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nalianda, D.K.; Kyprianidis, K.G.; Sethi, V.; Singh, R.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • An advanced method is presented for techno-economic assessment under potential environmental regulatory policy scenarios. • The viability of the contra-rotating open rotor concept is investigated under various environmental policies. • CO_2 taxation is needed to drive the aerospace industry towards greener solutions. - Abstract: Sustainability of the aviation industry, as any other industry, depends on the elasticity of demand for the product and profitability through minimising operating costs. Of paramount importance is assessing and understanding the interdependency and effects of environmentally optimised solutions and emission mitigation policies. This paper describes the development and application of assessment methodologies to better understand the effects of environmental taxation/energy policies aimed at environmental pollution reduction and the future potential economic impact they may have on the adaptation of “greener” novel technologies. These studies are undertaken using a Techno-economic Environmental Risk Assessment approach. The methodology demonstrated allows the assessment of the economic viability of new technologies compared to conventional technologies, for various CO_2 emission taxation and fuel price scenarios. It considers relative increases in acquisition price and maintenance costs. A study undertaken as a ‘proof of concept’ compares a Counter Rotating Open Rotor aircraft with a conventional aircraft for short range operations. It indicates that at current fuel price and with no carbon taxation, a highly fuel efficient technology, such as the one considered, could be rendered economically unviable. The work goes on to demonstrate that in comparison to the conventional aircraft, any economic benefits that may be accrued from improvement in fuel consumption through such a technology, may well be negated through increases in acquisition price and maintenance costs. The work further demonstrates that if policy

The 'economics' of medical technology | Járos | South African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The word 'economics' is used in this paper in its widest sense, referring to issues that 'influence the management, regulation and government of an enterprise'. In addition to the obvious monetary issues in health-care technology, social, ethical, legal and cultural issues are also discussed. The eventual, generally high cost ...

Shale gas technology innovation rate impact on economic Base Case – Scenario model benchmarks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weijermars, Ruud

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Cash flow models control which technology is affordable in emerging shale gas plays. • Impact of technology innovation on IRR can be as important as wellhead price hikes. • Cash flow models are useful for technology decisions that make shale gas plays economic. • The economic gap can be closed by appropriate technology innovation. - Abstract: Low gas wellhead prices in North America have put its shale gas industry under high competitive pressure. Rapid technology innovation can help companies to improve the economic performance of shale gas fields. Cash flow models are paramount for setting effective production and technology innovation targets to achieve positive returns on investment in all global shale gas plays. Future cash flow of a well (or cluster of wells) may either improve further or deteriorate, depending on: (1) the regional volatility in gas prices at the wellhead – which must pay for the gas resource extraction, and (2) the cost and effectiveness of the well technology used. Gas price is an externality and cannot be controlled by individual companies, but well technology cost can be reduced while improving production output. We assume two plausible scenarios for well technology innovation and model the return on investment while checking against sensitivity to gas price volatility. It appears well technology innovation – if paced fast enough – can fully redeem the negative impact of gas price decline on shale well profits, and the required rates are quantified in our sensitivity analysis

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF CO2 SEQUESTRATION TECHNOLOGIES; SEMIANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bert R. Bock; Richard G. Rhudy; David E. Nichols

2001-01-01

In order to plan for potential CO(sub 2) mitigation mandates, utilities need better information on CO(sub 2) mitigation options, especially carbon sequestration options that involve non-utility operations. One of the major difficulties in evaluating CO(sub 2) sequestration technologies and practices, both geologic storage of captured CO(sub 2) and storage in biological sinks, is obtaining consistent, transparent, accurate, and comparable economics. This project is comparing the economics of major technologies and practices under development for CO(sub 2) sequestration, including captured CO(sub 2) storage options such as active oil reservoirs, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep aquifers, coal beds, and oceans, as well as the enhancement of biological sinks such as forests and croplands. An international group of experts has been assembled to compare on a consistent basis the economics of this diverse array of CO(sub 2) sequestration options. Designs and data collection are nearly complete for each of the CO(sub 2) sequestration options being compared. Initial spreadsheet development has begun on concepts involving storage of captured CO(sub 2). No significant problems have been encountered, but some additional outside expertise will be accessed to supplement the team's expertise in the areas of life cycle analysis, oil and gas exploration and production, and comparing CO(sub 2) sequestration options that differ in timing and permanence of CO(sub 2) sequestration. Plans for the next reporting period are to complete data collection and a first approximation of the spreadsheet. We expect to complete this project on time and on budget

Precision Agriculture Technologies Positively Contributing to GHG Emissions Mitigation, Farm Productivity and Economics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Athanasios Balafoutis

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Agriculture is one of the economic sectors that affect climate change contributing to greenhouse gas emissions directly and indirectly. There is a trend of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions reduction, but any practice in this direction should not affect negatively farm productivity and economics because this would limit its implementation, due to the high global food and feed demand and the competitive environment in this sector. Precision agriculture practices using high-tech equipment has the ability to reduce agricultural inputs by site-specific applications, as it better target inputs to spatial and temporal needs of the fields, which can result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Precision agriculture can also have a positive impact on farm productivity and economics, as it provides higher or equal yields with lower production cost than conventional practices. In this work, precision agriculture technologies that have the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions are presented providing a short description of the technology and the impacts that have been reported in literature on greenhouse gases reduction and the associated impacts on farm productivity and economics. The technologies presented span all agricultural practices, including variable rate sowing/planting, fertilizing, spraying, weeding and irrigation.

Economic feasibility of EBFGT technology for removal of pollutants from combustion of liquid fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basfar, A. A.; Fageeha, O.I.; Kunnummal, N.; Al-Ghamdi, S.; Pawelec, A.; Chmielewski, A.G.; Tyminski, B.; Zimek, Z.; Licki, J.

2011-01-01

A project on feasibility of electron beam flue gas treatment (EBFGT) technology at oil fired boiler was conducted for Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). As part of this project, economic feasibility of EBFGT technology was performed for heavy oil fired boilers in Saudi Arabia. Economic evaluation was performed for two options of EBFGT installation; the first for 65 000 Nm3/h and the second for 130 000 Nm 3 /h. The main factors affecting investment and operation costs were discussed and costs were compared to conventional methods. The results of the evaluation showed that EBFGT method is economically attractive. (author)

Economic feasibility of EBFGT technology for removal of pollutants from combustion of liquid fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basfar, A. A. [King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Atomic Energy Research Institute, Radiation Technology Center, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Fageeha, O. I.; Kunnummal, N.; Al-Ghamdi, S. [Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), Environmental Protection Department, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Pawelec, A.; Chmielewski, A. G.; Tyminski, B.; Zimek, Z. [Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Warsaw (Poland); Licki, J. [Institute of Atomic Energy, Otwock-Świerk (Poland)

2011-07-01

A project on feasibility of electron beam flue gas treatment (EBFGT) technology at oil fired boiler was conducted for Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). As part of this project, economic feasibility of EBFGT technology was performed for heavy oil fired boilers in Saudi Arabia. Economic evaluation was performed for two options of EBFGT installation; the first for 65 000 Nm3/h and the second for 130 000 Nm{sup 3}/h. The main factors affecting investment and operation costs were discussed and costs were compared to conventional methods. The results of the evaluation showed that EBFGT method is economically attractive. (author)

Optimal Dynamic Investment Policy under Different Rates for Tax Depreciation and Economic Depreciation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wielhouwer, J.L.; De Waegenaere, A.M.B.; Kort, P.M.

1999-01-01

This paper analyzes the consequences of incorporating a different rate for tax depreciation than for economic depreciation. Firms most often choose their tax depreciation rate in a strategic way. It would therefore be a coincidence if this optimization process leads to a tax depreciation rate that

Energetic and economic evaluations on hydrogen storage technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arca, S.; Di Profio, P.; Germani, R. [Perugia Univ., Perugia (Italy). Centro di Eccellenza Materiali Innovativi Nanostrutturati, Dip. Chimica; Savelli, G.; Cotana, F.; Rossi, F.; Amantini, M. [Universita degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia (Italy). Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Sezione di Fisica Tecnica

2008-07-01

With the development of the hydrogen economy and fuel cell vehicles, a major technological issue has emerged regarding the storage and delivery of large amounts of hydrogen. Several hydrogen storage methodologies are available while other technologies are being developed aside from the classical compression and liquefaction of hydrogen. A novel technology is also in rapid process, which is based on clathrate hydrates of hydrogen. The features and performances of available storage systems were evaluated in an effort to determine the best technology throughout the hydrogen chain. For each of the storage solutions presented, the key parameters were compared. These key parameters included interaction energy between hydrogen and support; real and practical storage capacity; and specific energy consumption. The paper presented the study methods and discussed hydrogen storage technologies using compressed hydrogen; metal hydrides; liquefied hydrogen; carbon nanotubes; ammonia; and gas hydrates. Carbon dioxide emissions were also evaluated for each storage system analyzed. The paper also presented the worst scenario. It was concluded that a technology based on clathrate hydrates of hydrogen, while being far from optimized, was highly competitive with the classical approaches. 21 refs., 9 figs.

Societal and economic valuation of technology-transfer deals

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Joseph S., Jr.

2009-09-01

The industrial adoption of concepts such as open innovation brings new legitimacy to activities technology-transfer professionals have conducted for over 20 years. This movement highlights the need for an increased understanding of the valuation of intellectual property (IP) and technology-transfer deals. Valuation, though a centerpiece of corporate finance, is more challenging when applied to the inherent uncertainty surrounding innovation. Technology-transfer professionals are often overwhelmed by the complexity and data requirements of valuation techniques and skeptical of their applicability to and utility for technology transfer. The market longs for an approach which bridges the gap between valuation fundamentals and technology-transfer realities. This paper presents the foundations of a simple, flexible, precise/accurate, and useful framework for considering the valuation of technology-transfer deals. The approach is predicated on a 12-factor model—a 3×4 value matrix predicated on categories of economic, societal, and strategic value. Each of these three categories consists of three core subcategories followed by a fourth "other" category to facilitate inevitable special considerations. This 12-factor value matrix provides a framework for harvesting data during deals and for the application of best-of-breed valuation techniques which can be employed on a per-factor basis. Future work will include framework implementation within a database platform.

The role of health economics in the evaluation of surgery and operative technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Matthew

2017-02-01

Dr Matthew Taylor is the director of York Health Economics Consortium and leads the Consortium's health technology assessment program. The work of York Health Economics Consortium involves empirical research in health economics for both the private and public sectors. Dr Taylor is the scientific lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Economic and Methodological Unit and a former member of NICE's Public Health Advisory Committee. He is also managing director (Europe) of Minerva, an international network of health economics consultancies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of operation optimization methods in energy system modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ommen, Torben Schmidt; Markussen, Wiebke Brix; Elmegaard, Brian

2013-01-01

In areas with large shares of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) production, significant introduction of intermittent renewable power production may lead to an increased number of operational constraints. As the operation pattern of each utility plant is determined by optimization of economics......, possibilities for decoupling production constraints may be valuable. Introduction of heat pumps in the district heating network may pose this ability. In order to evaluate if the introduction of heat pumps is economically viable, we develop calculation methods for the operation patterns of each of the used...... energy technologies. In the paper, three frequently used operation optimization methods are examined with respect to their impact on operation management of the combined technologies. One of the investigated approaches utilises linear programming for optimisation, one uses linear programming with binary...

Joint Optimization of Economic Production Quantity and Preventive Maintenance with Considering Multi-Products and Reserve Time

OpenAIRE

Liu, Xuejuan; Wang, Binrong

2017-01-01

Purpose: We deal with the problem of the joint determination of optimal economic production quantity (EPQ) and optimal preventive maintenance (PM) for a system that can produce multiple products alternately. The objective is to find the optimal number of production cycles and the PM policy simultaneously by minimizing the cost model. Design/methodology/approach: Considering the products go through the system in a sequence and a complete run of all products forms a production cy...

40 CFR 432.73 - Effluent limitations attainable by the application of the best available technology economically...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... application of the best available technology economically achievable (BAT). 432.73 Section 432.73 Protection... POULTRY PRODUCTS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Sausage and Luncheon Meats Processors § 432.73 Effluent limitations attainable by the application of the best available technology economically achievable (BAT). Except as...

Advanced ecological and economical power plant technology based on CFB combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samant, G.; Hirschfelder, H.

1993-01-01

The scenario of the power plant industry is worldwide affected by one important issue, namely the stringent and steadily increasing environment regulations. Fluidized bed boilers, based on Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology with in-situ emission control, and improved economics as well as with proven record of high efficiency and reliability meets the ecological, economical and technical requirements. It should be noted that in addition to their attractive performance, regarding efficiency and pollution control, coal fired CFB boilers have been successfully introduced not only in power plant industry, but also in other industrial units such as chemical plants, automobile industry, paper mills, cement, etc. The experience gained to date confirms the advantages and also the reliability of this technology. (author)

Economic Optimization of Spray Dryer Operation using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with State Estimation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Lars Norbert; Jørgensen, John Bagterp; Rawlings, James B.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we develop an economically optimizing Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (E-NMPC) for a complete spray drying plant with multiple stages. In the E-NMPC the initial state is estimated by an extended Kalman Filter (EKF) with noise covariances estimated by an autocovariance least...... squares method (ALS). We present a model for the spray drying plant and use this model for simulation as well as for prediction in the E-NMPC. The open-loop optimal control problem in the E-NMPC is solved using the single-shooting method combined with a quasi-Newton Sequential Quadratic programming (SQP......) algorithm and the adjoint method for computation of gradients. We evaluate the economic performance when unmeasured disturbances are present. By simulation, we demonstrate that the E-NMPC improves the profit of spray drying by 17% compared to conventional PI control....

Energy and Economic Trade Offs for Advanced Technology Subsonic Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Maddalon, D. V.; Wagner, R. D.

1976-01-01

Changes in future aircraft technology which conserve energy are studied, along with the effect of these changes on economic performance. Among the new technologies considered are laminar-flow control, composite materials with and without laminar-flow control, and advanced airfoils. Aircraft design features studied include high-aspect-ratio wings, thickness ratio, and range. Engine technology is held constant at the JT9D level. It is concluded that wing aspect ratios of future aircraft are likely to significantly increase as a result of new technology and the push of higher fuel prices. Composite materials may raise aspect radio to about 11 to 12 and practical laminar flow-control systems may further increase aspect ratio to 14 or more. Advanced technology provides significant reductions in aircraft take-off gross weight, energy consumption, and direct operating cost.

Economic benefits analysis of listed companies in radiation processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yingming; Xu Tao; Zhang Yue; Yang Bin; Zhao Wenying

2012-01-01

Radiation processing industry is an important part of civilian nuclear technology and develop rapidly during the past decade. Radiation modification of new materials industries use new technology to promote new product development and application and get good economic benefit. There are problems and bottlenecks during the development, such as how to implement the guideline of optimize the industrial structure and upgrade the product, and adapt the market develop law and need. By analysing the typical listed companies in this field together with the domestic economic development condition and future situation, we give the development strategy and method in the future. (authors)

Optimal fiscal barriers to international economic integration in the presence of tax havens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannesen, Niels

2012-01-01

This paper develops a model where firms can shift profits to tax havens by means of intra-firm loans and countries can protect themselves against profit shifting by taxing cross-border interest flows. The model considers two countries with a scope for welfare improving economic integration....... The first-best tax system has two important characteristics: (i) the tax rate on interest flows to the other country is zero to ensure the optimal level of economic integration; (ii) the tax rate on interest flows to tax havens is high enough to deter profit shifting to tax havens. In second......-best environments, countries face a trade-off between economic integration and protection against tax havens, which causes protection to be suboptimally low. The key to the result is that economic integration makes it easier for multinational firms to circumvent taxes on interest payments to tax havens with conduit...

US carbon emissions, technological progress and economic growth since 1870

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huntington, H.G.

2005-01-01

The long-term US experience emphasises the importance of controlling for electrification and other major technology transformations when evaluating the growth of carbon emissions at different stages of development. Prior to World War I, carbon emissions grew faster than economic growth by 2.3% per year. As electricity use expanded and steam engines became much larger, carbon emissions began to grow slower than economic growth by 1.6% per year. Adjusting to this technological shift, an expanding economy continues to increase carbon emissions by about 9% for each 10% faster growth. There is little evidence of a decline in this elasticity as the income level rises. These results suggest that the USA today will need to find additional policies to curb carbon emissions if it wishes to prevent any further increase in its per capita emissions, and if its per capita economy grows by more than 1.8% per year. (Author)

A New Direction for Technology-Based Economic Development: The Role of Innovation Intermediaries

Science.gov (United States)

Bendis, Richard A.; Seline, Richard S.; Byler, Ethan J.

2008-01-01

Accelerating innovation to drive economic growth is the foremost goal for technology-based economic development organizations today. Realizing this goal through programmes is challenged by limited and outdated operating models. The authors outline their 21st Century Innovation Intermediary model, which pairs commercialization with regional…

The economic case for industrial application of low-rank coal technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, W.

1991-01-01

The World Coal Institute estimates coal should overtake oil as the world's largest source of primary energy by the turn of the century. Current world coal production of 3.6 billion tons in 1990 is predicted to rise to 4 billion tons by the year 2000. It is conceded that a major environmental problem with burning coal is the so-called greenhouse effect. The question is how do you use the new technologies that have been developed which now allow coal to be burned with minimum damage to the environment. Despite their technical merits, acceptance of these new technologies is slow because they appear uncompetitive when compared with historic energy costs. Unless economic comparisons include some form of environmental evaluation, this issue will continue to be a barrier to progress. To avoid stagnation and provide the necessary incentive for implementing badly needed change, structural changes in energy economics need to be made which take into account the environmental cost element of these emerging new technologies. The paper discusses coal trade and quality and then describes the three main areas of development of clean coal technologies: coal preparation, combustion, and flue gas treatment

Simultaneous heat integration and techno-economic optimization of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for multiple waste heat stream recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Haoshui; Eason, John; Biegler, Lorenz T.; Feng, Xiao

2017-01-01

In the past decades, the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has become a promising technology for low and medium temperature energy utilization. In refineries, there are usually multiple waste heat streams to be recovered. From a safety and controllability perspective, using an intermedium (hot water) to recover waste heat before releasing heat to the ORC system is more favorable than direct integration. The mass flowrate of the intermediate hot water stream determines the amount of waste heat recovered and the final hot water temperature affects the thermal efficiency of ORC. Both, in turn, exert great influence on the power output. Therefore, the hot water mass flowrate is a critical decision variable for the optimal design of the system. This study develops a model for techno-economic optimization of an ORC with simultaneous heat recovery and capital cost optimization. The ORC is modeled using rigorous thermodynamics with the concept of state points. The task of waste heat recovery using the hot water intermedium is modeled using the Duran-Grossmann model for simultaneous heat integration and process optimization. The combined model determines the optimal design of an ORC that recovers multiple waste heat streams in a large scale background process using an intermediate heat transfer stream. In particular, the model determines the optimal heat recovery approach temperature (HRAT), the utility load of the background process, and the optimal operating conditions of the ORC simultaneously. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated with a case study that uses a refinery as the background process. Sensitivity of the optimal solution to the parameters (electricity price, utility cost) is quantified in this paper. - Highlights: • A new model for Organic Rankine cycle design optimization is presented. • Process heat integration and ORC are considered simultaneously. • Rigorous equation oriented models of the ORC are used for accurate results. • Impact of working

Plasma technology: a technical economical and political challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abreu, V.A. de; Vicente, L.C.; Bender, O.W.; Sanches Junior, O.

1987-01-01

To survey the State of the Art and Technic in Material, Process and Products by Plasma, it was needed to assemble economic, political and managerial variables that will affect the absortion and implantation of this technology in Brazil. Through a survey in industries, universities, research centers, energy agencies and financial and forster institutions it was possible to build a frame that gave us conditions to forecasting and suggest some mesures to Plasma sector. (author) [pt

A strategy for the economic optimization of combined cycle gas turbine power plants by taking advantage of useful thermodynamic relationships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godoy, E.; Benz, S.J.; Scenna, N.J.

2011-01-01

Optimal combined cycle gas turbine power plants characterized by minimum specific annual cost values are here determined for wide ranges of market conditions as given by the relative weights of capital investment and operative costs, by means of a non-linear mathematical programming model. On the other hand, as the technical optimization allows identifying trends in the system behavior and unveiling optimization opportunities, selected functional relationships are obtained as the thermodynamic optimal values of the decision variables are systematically linked to the ratio between the total heat transfer area and the net power production (here named as specific transfer area). A strategy for simplifying the resolution of the rigorous economic optimization problem of power plants is proposed based on the economic optima distinctive characteristics which describe the behavior of the decision variables of the power plant on its optima. Such approach results in a novel mathematical formulation shaped as a system of non-linear equations and additional constraints that is able to easily provide accurate estimations of the optimal values of the power plant design and operative variables. Research highlights: → We achieve relationships between power plants' economic and thermodynamic optima. → We achieve functionalities among thermodynamic optimal values of decision variables. → The rigorous optimization problem is reduced to a non-linear equations system. → Accurate estimations of power plants' design and operative variables are obtained.

Projection of the Russian economic development in the framework of the optimal control model by investments in fixed assets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Mikhajlovich Tarasyev

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we develop an economic growth model taking into account two factors of production: fixed capital and labor force, to study the dynamics of GDP growth. The dependence of the output of these factors is described by a production function of the exponential type. Within the framework of the optimal control theory, the optimization problem for investment levels is being solved to maximize the integral index of consumption. We study the qualitative properties of optimal trajectories as solutions of the Hamiltonian systems arising in Pontryagin’s maximum principle. The sensitivity analysis of the equilibrium solutions of the economic system is implemented with respect to the elasticity coefficients of the production function, the depreciation rate of the capital, and the discount factor, and growth trends are indicated. The econometric analysis of the model parameters is provided basing on real data for the Russian economy. In accordance with the results of the regression analysis, the projection of economic development is constructed in conditions of the applicability of the economic growth model.

Collaborating to optimize nursing students' agency information technology use.

Science.gov (United States)

Fetter, Marilyn S

2009-01-01

As the learning laboratory for gaining actual patient care experience, clinical agencies play an essential role in nursing education. With an information technology revolution transforming healthcare, nursing programs are eager for their students to learn the latest informatics systems and technologies. However, many healthcare institutions are struggling to meet their own information technology needs and report limited resources and other as barriers to nursing student training. In addition, nursing students' information technology access and use raise security and privacy concerns. With the goal of a fully electronic health record by 2014, it is imperative that agencies and educational programs collaborate. They need to establish educationally sound, cost-effective, and secure policies and procedures for managing students' use of information technology systems. Strategies for evaluating options, selecting training methods, and ensuring data security are shared, along with strategies that may reap clinical, economic, and educational benefits. Students' information technology use raises numerous issues that the nursing profession must address to participate in healthcare's transformation into the digital age.

Technology, Political Economy, and Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brach, Juliane

2009-01-01

Comparing the pace and extent of economic development across the developing regions yields that Arab countries have displaced a weak economic performance over the past 20 years, despite their favorable geo-strategic location and a high density of national and international structural adjustment...... efforts. Using cross-country regressions, this paper identifies two binding constraints to economic development in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): 1) Most countries are not able to apply or adopt existing technologies efficiently and 2) The economically inefficient...

STAGE TECHNOLOGY FOR OBTAINIGN AN ECONOMIC WHITE WINE TO AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Esteban Miño Valdés

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this work was to develop a sustainable technology to produce economical white wine, industrial scale, not viniferous grapes grown in Misiones. This technological project started at laboratory scale, it continued in a pilot plant and planned to an industrial scale. It was considered as productive unit 12 rural families with 27 hectares of vines each. The 8 stages followed with inductive and deductive methodology were: the development of dry white wine at laboratory scale, the evaluation of the variables of the process in the vilification, the Mathematical modeling of alcoholic fermentation in winemaking conditions, the assessment of the fitness of wines for human consumption, the establishment of a technological process for winemaking in a pilot plant, the evaluation in pilot plant of the technological process established, the calculation and selection of industrial equipment and finally, the costs estimation and profitability of the industrial technological process. A technology for a production capacity of 5,834 L day-1, with dynamic economic indicators was reached whose values were 6,602,666 net present value of U$D, an internal rate of return of 60 % for a period of payback a value net of three years to date.

THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF IT-TECHNOLOGIES IN SYSTEM OF INTERNET BANKING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Sergeevna Vinnikova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Relevance of work is caused by active introduction of IT-technologies in various spheres of economic activity and in particular the bank environment, and also social and economic problems of use of information systems which arose along with a world economic crisis, sanctions and growth of the competition.Purpose: to define the main social and economic problems and the directions of development of IT-technologies in system of Internet banking at the present stage.Methodology: general scientific methods were used: analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, system approach.Results. Features of development of IT-technologies within remote bank customer service in Russia are defined. The directions of development of IT-technologies of the BSS company from a position of dynamic distribution of Internet banking in the future and from a position of development of the relations with clients are presented.Practical implications: results of research will be demanded by the scientists dealing with problems of Internet banking, heads of the commercial banks dealing with issues of remote bank service, students, undergraduates and graduate students of higher educational institutions.

Integrated environmental and economic assessment of waste management systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinez Sanchez, Veronica

in the “Optimization approach” the scenarios are the results of an optimization process. • The cost approach describes cost principles and level of LCA integration. Conventional and Environmental LCCs are financial assessments, i.e. include marketed goods/services, but while Environmental LCCs include environmental...... assessment of SWM systems alongside environmental impacts assessment to take budget constrains into account. In light of the need for combined environmental and economic assessment of SWM, this PhD thesis developed a consistent and comprehensive method for integrated environmental and economic assessment...... of SWM technologies and systems. The method resulted from developing further the generic Life Cycle Costing (LCC) framework suggested by Hunkeler et al. (2008) and Swarr et al. (2011) to apply it on the field of SWM. The method developed includes: two modelling approaches (Accounting and Optimization...

Application of Developed APCVD Transparent Conducting Oxides and Undercoat Technologies for Economical OLED Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silverman, Gary S.; Bluhm, Martin; Coffey, James; Korotkov, Roman; Polsz, Craig; Salemi, Alexandre; Smith, Robert; Smith, Ryan; Stricker, Jeff; Xu, Chen; Shirazi, Jasmine; Papakonstantopulous, George; Carson, Steve; Hartmann, Sören; Jessen, Frank; Krogmann, Bianaca; Rickers, Christoph; Ruske, Manfred; Schwab, Holger; Bertram, Dietrich

2011-01-02

clear focus on economics and the work plan focused both on doped ZnO process and OLED device structure that would be consistent with the new TCO. The team successfully made 6 inch OLEDs with a serial construction. More process development is required to optimize commercial OLED structures. Feasibility was demonstrated on two different light extraction technologies: 1/4 lambda refractive index matching and high-low-high band pass filter. Process development was also completed on the key precursors for the TCO, which are ready for pilot-plant scale-up. Subsequently, Arkema has developed a cost of ownership model that is consistent with DOE SSL R&D Manufacturing targets as outlined in the DOE SSL R&D Manufacturing 2010 report. The overall outcome of this project was the demonstration that doped zinc oxide can be used for OLED devices without a drop-off in performance while gaining the economic and sustainable benefits of a more readily available TCO. The broad impact of this project, is the facilitation of OLED lighting market penetration into general illumination, resulting in significant energy savings, decreased greenhouse emissions, with no environmental impact issues such as mercury found in Fluorescent technology.

Technological retrofit of existing buildings: dwelling quality, environmental sustainability, economic rising

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariangela Bellomo

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Redevelopment can stand as an effective response to the converging ecological, energy and economic crises if the energy efficiency of the built heritage can be enhanced using renewable energy and innovative technologies with a low environmental impact. To this end, the Research Unit Technology and Environment, University of Naples Federico II, is undertaking a structured set of studies addressing the issue of retrofit technology of buildings in Campania put up in the second half of the 20th century to help in defining best practices for planning, design and production.

REopt: A Platform for Energy System Integration and Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Katherine H. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cutler, Dylan S. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Olis, Daniel R. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Elgqvist, Emma M. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Li, Xiangkun [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Laws, Nicholas D. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); DiOrio, Nicholas A. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Walker, H. A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-09-22

REopt is a techno-economic decision support model used to optimize energy systems for buildings, campuses, communities, and microgrids. The primary application of the model is for optimizing the integration and operation of behind-the-meter energy assets. This report provides an overview of the model, including its capabilities and typical applications; inputs and outputs; economic calculations; technology descriptions; and model parameters, variables, and equations. The model is highly flexible, and is continually evolving to meet the needs of each analysis. Therefore, this report is not an exhaustive description of all capabilities, but rather a summary of the core components of the model.

Technology-design-manufacturing co-optimization for advanced mobile SoCs

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Da; Gan, Chock; Chidambaram, P. R.; Nallapadi, Giri; Zhu, John; Song, S. C.; Xu, Jeff; Yeap, Geoffrey

2014-03-01

How to maintain the Moore's Law scaling beyond the 193 immersion resolution limit is the key question semiconductor industry needs to answer in the near future. Process complexity will undoubtfully increase for 14nm node and beyond, which brings both challenges and opportunities for technology development. A vertically integrated design-technologymanufacturing co-optimization flow is desired to better address the complicated issues new process changes bring. In recent years smart mobile wireless devices have been the fastest growing consumer electronics market. Advanced mobile devices such as smartphones are complex systems with the overriding objective of providing the best userexperience value by harnessing all the technology innovations. Most critical system drivers are better system performance/power efficiency, cost effectiveness, and smaller form factors, which, in turns, drive the need of system design and solution with More-than-Moore innovations. Mobile system-on-chips (SoCs) has become the leading driver for semiconductor technology definition and manufacturing. Here we highlight how the co-optimization strategy influenced architecture, device/circuit, process technology and package, in the face of growing process cost/complexity and variability as well as design rule restrictions.

External costs in the global energy optimization models. A tool in favour of sustain ability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabal Cuesta, H.

2007-01-01

The aim of this work is the analysis of the effects of the GHG external costs internalization in the energy systems. This may provide a useful tool to support decision makers to help reaching the energy systems sustain ability. External costs internalization has been carried out using two methods. First, CO 2 externalities of different power generation technologies have been internalized to evaluate their effects on the economic competitiveness of these present and future technologies. The other method consisted of analysing and optimizing the global energy system, from an economic and environmental point of view, using the global energy optimization model generator, TIMES, with a time horizon of 50 years. Finally, some scenarios regarding environmental and economic strategic measures have been analysed. (Author)

Heat savings and heat generation technologies: Modelling of residential investment behaviour with local health costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zvingilaite, Erika; Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

2015-01-01

The trade-off between investing in energy savings and investing in individual heating technologies with high investment and low variable costs in single family houses is modelled for a number of building and consumer categories in Denmark. For each group the private economic cost of providing heating comfort is minimised. The private solution may deviate from the socio-economical optimal solution and we suggest changes to policy to incentivise the individuals to make choices more in line with the socio-economic optimal mix of energy savings and technologies. The households can combine their primary heating source with secondary heating e.g. a woodstove. This choice results in increased indoor air pollution with fine particles causing health effects. We integrate health cost due to use of woodstoves into household optimisation of heating expenditures. The results show that due to a combination of low costs of primary fuel and low environmental performance of woodstoves today, included health costs lead to decreased use of secondary heating. Overall the interdependence of heat generation technology- and heat saving-choice is significant. The total optimal level of heat savings for private consumers decrease by 66% when all have the option to shift to the technology with lowest variable costs. - Highlights: • Heat saving investment and heat technology choice are interdependent. • Health damage costs should be included in private heating choice optimisation. • Flexibility in heating technology choice reduce the optimal level of saving investments. • Models of private and socioeconomic optimal heating produce different technology mix. • Rebound effects are moderate but varies greatly among consumer categories

New Directions in the Economic Theory of the Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Carraro, Carlo; Siniscalco, Domenico

1998-01-01

This volume provides a broad survey of the recent developments in the new economics of the environment and reports the state of the art on a new set of environmental problems, analytical tools and economic policies. Throughout the volume environmental problems are analyzed in an open, generally noncompetitive economy with transnational or global externalities. The first part deals with the relationship between the environment, economic growth and technological innovation. The second part analyzes the optimal design of environmental taxation, while the third part considers the international dimension of environmental policy.

Economic and Environmental Evaluation and Optimal Ratio of Natural and Recycled Aggregate Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milad Ghanbari

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Steady increase in overexploitation of stone quarries, generation of construction and demolition waste, and costs of preparing extra landfill space have become environmental and waste management challenges in metropolises. In this paper, aggregate production is studied in two scenarios: scenario 1 representing the production of natural aggregates (NA and scenario 2 representing the production of recycled aggregates (RA. This study consists of two parts. In the first part, the objective is the environmental assessment (energy consumption and CO2 emission and economic (cost evaluation of these two scenarios, which is pursued by life-cycle assessment (LCA method. In the second part, the results of the first part are used to estimate the optimal combination of production of NA and RA and thereby find an optimal solution (scenario for a more eco-friendly aggregate production. The defined formulas and relationship are used to develop a model. The results of model validation show that the optimal ratio, in optimal scenario, is 50%. The results show that, compared to scenario 1, optimal scenario improves the energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and production cost by, respectively, 30%, 36%, and 31%, which demonstrate the effectiveness of this optimization.

Storage Viability and Optimization Web Service

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stadler, Michael; Marnay, Christ; Lai, Judy; Siddiqui, Afzal; Limpaitoon, Tanachai; Phan, Trucy; Megel, Olivier; Chang, Jessica; DeForest, Nicholas

2010-10-11

Non-residential sectors offer many promising applications for electrical storage (batteries) and photovoltaics (PVs). However, choosing and operating storage under complex tariff structures poses a daunting technical and economic problem that may discourage potential customers and result in lost carbon and economic savings. Equipment vendors are unlikely to provide adequate environmental analysis or unbiased economic results to potential clients, and are even less likely to completely describe the robustness of choices in the face of changing fuel prices and tariffs. Given these considerations, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have designed the Storage Viability and Optimization Web Service (SVOW): a tool that helps building owners, operators and managers to decide if storage technologies and PVs merit deeper analysis. SVOW is an open access, web-based energy storage and PV analysis calculator, accessible by secure remote login. Upon first login, the user sees an overview of the parameters: load profile, tariff, technologies, and solar radiation location. Each parameter has a pull-down list of possible predefined inputs and users may upload their own as necessary. Since the non-residential sectors encompass a broad range of facilities with fundamentally different characteristics, the tool starts by asking the users to select a load profile from a limited cohort group of example facilities. The example facilities are categorized according to their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. After the load profile selection, users select a predefined tariff or use the widget to create their own. The technologies and solar radiation menus operate in a similar fashion. After these four parameters have been inputted, the users have to select an optimization setting as well as an optimization objective. The analytic engine of SVOW is LBNL?s Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), which is a mixed

Economic assessment of RFID coupled with open source technologies for wood traceability in Calabria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sperandio G

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work was to assess the economic sustainability of the implementation of a wood traceability system in Calabria based on RFID and open source technologies. We identified a break-even point in its implementation under different scenarios in order to highlight the economic sustainability limits, expressed in terms of m3 or tons of processed product. The results showed that the use of RFID technology along the supply chain could lead to an effective operational simplification and to a more efficient use of resources. Based on the average market prices for timber (80-120 € / m3, the implementation of RFID technology led to an increase in timber price by 8% under the worst scenarios. This suggests that the use of open source technologies for wood traceability is already feasible and economically sustainable, as 40% of private companies stated their willingness to pay a premium price (on average 3.25% higher for purchasing certified local wood products in Calabria. Moreover, we expect a further reduction of tags and hardware costs in the next future, up to half the costs estimated in this work, thus making the application of such technology to timber traceability even more affordable.

Production technology optimization of biscuit baked by electric-contact way

Science.gov (United States)

Sidorenko, G. A.; Popov, V. P.; Khanina, T. V.; Maneeva, E. Sh; Krasnova, M. S.

2018-03-01

Electric-contact way of baking allows one to maintain more nutrients used in biscuit making. As a result of the biscuit production technology optimization, it is established that 30-62,5% is an optimal amount of starch brought instead of flour; 184-200% is optimal amount of egg melange; at this a complex indicator of organoleptic properties will be more than 340 degrees, a complex indicator of physical and chemical properties will be more than 3,3 degrees, and specific costs of energy spent on the biscuit electric-contact baking process will be less than 100 W/kg.

Data-adaptive Robust Optimization Method for the Economic Dispatch of Active Distribution Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Yipu; Ai, Xiaomeng; Fang, Jiakun

2018-01-01

Due to the restricted mathematical description of the uncertainty set, the current two-stage robust optimization is usually over-conservative which has drawn concerns from the power system operators. This paper proposes a novel data-adaptive robust optimization method for the economic dispatch...... of active distribution network with renewables. The scenario-generation method and the two-stage robust optimization are combined in the proposed method. To reduce the conservativeness, a few extreme scenarios selected from the historical data are used to replace the conventional uncertainty set....... The proposed extreme-scenario selection algorithm takes advantage of considering the correlations and can be adaptive to different historical data sets. A theoretical proof is given that the constraints will be satisfied under all the possible scenarios if they hold in the selected extreme scenarios, which...

Contribution of the Science, the Technology and the Innovation of the Universidad de Oriente to the Local Economic Revitalizing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Salvador Soulary–Carracedo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the research is to design a methodology to evaluate the contribution of the science, the technology and the innovation of universities to the local economic revitalizing. The scientific novelty resides in a sequence of procedures, based on administration, statistical and mathematical modeling methods that constitutes a tool for the qualitative improvement of this relationship. The application of the methodology in the Universidad de Oriente allowed to verify that if the optimal structure of scientific projects is implemented it would increase, in the year 2017, the economic impact of the scientific projects in 5% like average, what would improve the efficiency in the use of the financial and human resources, as well as the relevancy of its results. Also, the partial implementation of the proposed plan of actions, it has impacted positively on the detected problems denoting a more favorable situation that the one evaluated initially. 

Interconnected power systems: a technical and economical optimization for the benefit of energy transitions in France and in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maillard, Dominique

2014-01-01

The roles and missions of TSOs go way beyond the implicit meaning of the term 'power transmission'. At the heart of the power system, we are responsible to keep the balance between supply and demand. By ensuring that we have the ability to fulfill this role on a daily basis, we provide our customers with economical, reliable and clean access to power supply. Operating the power system is all about optimization. Firstly, by mutualizing energy sources at the European level, RTE insures 'power' solidarity between regions and enhance renewable energy sources contribution. Secondly, the market mechanisms that we are developing make it possible to use the most competitive energy sources in France and in Europe. This optimal use of resources call for close cooperation with our European counterparts. These mechanisms support security of supply and economic optimization of the system, while also facilitating other ways to consume power. Overall, we promote solutions to help making decisions based on physical and economic parameters, always seeking the most advantageous solution and ensuring grid operability. RTE is constantly seeking ways of remaining a step ahead of changes within the power system. In the energy transition context, French economic competitiveness also relies on optimal efficiency of the power system. Our ambition is to developing a smart transmission system to support tomorrow's economy and energy landscape, in conjunction with our partners. (author)

Application of Developed APCVD Transparent Conducting Oxides and Undercoat Technologies for Economical OLED Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin Bluhm; James Coffey; Roman Korotkov; Craig Polsz; Alexandre Salemi; Robert Smith; Ryan Smith; Jeff Stricker; Chen Xu; Jasmine Shirazi; George Papakonstantopulous; Steve Carson; Claudia Goldman; Soren Hartmann; Frank Jessen; Bianca Krogmann; Christoph Rickers; Manfred Ruske; Holger Schwab; Dietrich Bertram

2011-01-02

clear focus on economics and the work plan focused both on doped ZnO process and OLED device structure that would be consistent with the new TCO. The team successfully made 6 inch OLEDs with a serial construction. More process development is required to optimize commercial OLED structures. Feasibility was demonstrated on two different light extraction technologies: 1/4 lambda refractive index matching and high-low-high band pass filter. Process development was also completed on the key precursors for the TCO, which are ready for pilot-plant scale-up. Subsequently, Arkema has developed a cost of ownership model that is consistent with DOE SSL R&D Manufacturing targets as outlined in the DOE SSL R&D Manufacturing 2010 report. The overall outcome of this project was the demonstration that doped zinc oxide can be used for OLED devices without a drop-off in performance while gaining the economic and sustainable benefits of a more readily available TCO. The broad impact of this project, is the facilitation of OLED lighting market penetration into general illumination, resulting in significant energy savings, decreased greenhouse emissions, with no environmental impact issues such as mercury found in Fluorescent technology. The primary objective of this project was to develop a commercially viable process for 'Substrates' (Substrate/ undercoat/ TCO topcoat) to be used in production of OLED devices (lamps/luminaries/modules). This project focused on using Arkema's recently developed doped ZnO technology for the Fenestration industry and applying the technology to the OLED lighting industry. The secondary objective was the use of undercoat technology to improve light extraction from the OLED device. In optical fields and window applications, technology has been developed to mitigate reflection losses by selecting appropriate thicknesses and refractive indices of coatings applied either below or above the functional layer of interest. This technology has been

Dynamic stochastic optimization

CERN Document Server

Ermoliev, Yuri; Pflug, Georg

2004-01-01

Uncertainties and changes are pervasive characteristics of modern systems involving interactions between humans, economics, nature and technology. These systems are often too complex to allow for precise evaluations and, as a result, the lack of proper management (control) may create significant risks. In order to develop robust strategies we need approaches which explic­ itly deal with uncertainties, risks and changing conditions. One rather general approach is to characterize (explicitly or implicitly) uncertainties by objec­ tive or subjective probabilities (measures of confidence or belief). This leads us to stochastic optimization problems which can rarely be solved by using the standard deterministic optimization and optimal control methods. In the stochastic optimization the accent is on problems with a large number of deci­ sion and random variables, and consequently the focus ofattention is directed to efficient solution procedures rather than to (analytical) closed-form solu­ tions. Objective an...

Multi-objective technico-economic optimization of energy conversion systems: hydrogen and electricity cogeneration from Generation IV nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, A.

2008-01-01

With the increase in environmental considerations, such as the control of greenhouse emissions, and with the decrease in the fossil energy resources, hydrogen is currently considered as a promising energy vector. One of the main technological challenges of a future hydrogen economy is its large scale production without fossil fuel emissions. Under this context, nuclear energy is particularly adapted for hydrogen massive production by thermochemical cycles or high temperature electrolysis. One of the selected nuclear systems is the Very High Temperature Reactor (950 C/1200 C), cooled with helium, and dedicated to hydrogen production or to hydrogen electricity cogeneration. The main objective of this investigation, within the framework of a collaboration between CEA, French Atomic Agency (Cadarache) and LGC (Toulouse), consists in defining a technico-economic optimization methodology of electricity-hydrogen cogeneration systems, in order to identify and propose promising development strategies. Among the massive production processes of hydrogen, the thermochemical cycle Iodine-Sulphur has been considered. Taking into account the diversity of the used energies (i.e., heat and electricity) on the one hand and of the produced energies (hydrogen and electricity) on the other hand of the studied cogeneration system, an exergetic approach has been developed due to its ability to consider various energy forms on the same thermodynamical basis. The CYCLOP software tool (CEA) is used for the thermodynamic modelling of these systems. The economic criterion, calculated using the SEMER software tool (CEA), is based on the minimization of the total production site cost over its lifespan i.e., investment, operating costs and nuclear fuel cost. Capital investment involves the development of cost functions adapted to specific technologies and their specific operating conditions. The resulting optimization problems consist in maximizing the energy production, while minimizing the

Technical and economic assessment of energy conversion technologies for MSW

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Livingston, W.R.

2002-07-01

Thermal processes for municipal solid wastes (MSW) based on pyrolysis and/or gasification that have relevance to the emerging UK market are described in this report, and the results of the technical and economical assessment of these processes are presented. The Mitsui R21 Technology, the Thermoselect Process, the Nippon Steel Waste Melting Process, the Pyropleq Process, and the Compact Power Process are selected for detailed comparison on the basis of the overall technical concept, the energy balance and the requirements for consumables, environmental performance, and the technical and commercial status of the technology. Details are also given of a comparison of the novel thermal technologies with conventional mass burn incineration for MSW.

Technical and economic assessment of energy conversion technologies for MSW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livingston, W.R.

2002-01-01

Thermal processes for municipal solid wastes (MSW) based on pyrolysis and/or gasification that have relevance to the emerging UK market are described in this report, and the results of the technical and economical assessment of these processes are presented. The Mitsui R21 Technology, the Thermoselect Process, the Nippon Steel Waste Melting Process, the Pyropleq Process, and the Compact Power Process are selected for detailed comparison on the basis of the overall technical concept, the energy balance and the requirements for consumables, environmental performance, and the technical and commercial status of the technology. Details are also given of a comparison of the novel thermal technologies with conventional mass burn incineration for MSW

Comparative economic evaluation of environmental impact of different cogeneration technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patrascu, Roxana; Athanasovici, Victor; Raducanu, Cristian; Minciuc, Eduard; Bitir-Istrate, Ioan

2004-01-01

Cogeneration is one of the most powerful technologies for reduction of environmental pollution along with renewable energies. At the Kyoto Conference cogeneration has been identified as being the most important measure for reducing emissions of greenhouse effect gases. It has also been mentioned that cogeneration has a potential of reducing pollution with about 180 million tones per year. In order to promote new cogeneration technologies and evaluate the existing ones it is necessary to know and to be able to quantify in economical terms the environmental issues. When comparing different cogeneration technologies: steam turbine (TA), gas turbine (TG), internal combustion engine (MT), in order to choose the best one, the final decision implies an economic factor, which is even more important if it includes the environmental issues. The environmental impact of different cogeneration technologies is quantified using different criteria: depletion of non-renewable natural resources, eutrofisation, greenhouse effect, acidification etc. Environmental analysis using these criteria can be made using the 'impact with impact' methodology or the global one. The results of such an analysis cannot be quantified economically directly. Therefore there is a need of internalisation of ecological effects within the costs of produced energy: electricity and heat. In the energy production sector the externalizations represent the indirect effects on the environment. They can be materialised within different types of environmental impact: - Different buildings of mines, power plants etc; - Fuel losses during transportation and processing; - Effect of emissions in the air, water and soil. Introduction of the environmental impact costs in the energy price is called internalisation and it can be made using the direct and indirect methods. The paper discusses aspects regarding the emissions of cogeneration systems, the eco-taxes - method of 'internalisation' of environmental

A life cycle assessment and economic analysis of the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology in wastewater treatment plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Dongyan; Addy, Min; Anderson, Erik; Chen, Paul; Ruan, Roger

2016-03-01

This study used life cycle assessment and technical economic analysis tools in evaluating a novel Scum-to-Biodiesel technology and compares the technology with scum digestion and combustion processes. The key variables that control environmental and economic performance are identified and discussed. The results show that all impacts examined for the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology are below zero indicating significant environmental benefits could be drawn from it. Of the three technologies examined, the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology has the best environmental performance in fossil fuel depletion, GHG emissions, and eutrophication, whereas combustion has the best performance on acidification. Of all process inputs assessed, process heat, glycerol, and methanol uses had the highest impacts, much more than any other inputs considered. The Scum-to-Biodiesel technology also makes higher revenue than other technologies. The diesel price is a key variable for its economic performance. The research demonstrates the feasibility and benefits in developing Scum-to-Biodiesel technology in wastewater treatment facilities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economics of fusion research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

1977-10-15

This report provides the results of a study of methods of economic analysis applied to the evaluation of fusion research. The study recognizes that a hierarchy of economic analyses of research programs exists: standard benefit-cost analysis, expected value of R and D information, and expected utility analysis. It is shown that standard benefit-cost analysis, as commonly applied to research programs, is inadequate for the evaluation of a high technology research effort such as fusion research. A methodology for performing an expected value analysis is developed and demonstrated and an overview of an approach to perform an expected utility analysis of fusion research is presented. In addition, a potential benefit of fusion research, not previously identified, is discussed and rough estimates of its magnitude are presented. This benefit deals with the effect of a fusion research program on optimal fossil fuel consumption patterns. The results of this study indicate that it is both appropriate and possible to perform an expected value analysis of fusion research in order to assess the economics of a fusion research program. The results indicate further that the major area of benefits of fusion research is likely due to the impact of a fusion research program on optimal fossil fuel consumption patterns and it is recommended that this benefit be included in future assessments of fusion research economics.

Economics of fusion research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

This report provides the results of a study of methods of economic analysis applied to the evaluation of fusion research. The study recognizes that a hierarchy of economic analyses of research programs exists: standard benefit-cost analysis, expected value of R and D information, and expected utility analysis. It is shown that standard benefit-cost analysis, as commonly applied to research programs, is inadequate for the evaluation of a high technology research effort such as fusion research. A methodology for performing an expected value analysis is developed and demonstrated and an overview of an approach to perform an expected utility analysis of fusion research is presented. In addition, a potential benefit of fusion research, not previously identified, is discussed and rough estimates of its magnitude are presented. This benefit deals with the effect of a fusion research program on optimal fossil fuel consumption patterns. The results of this study indicate that it is both appropriate and possible to perform an expected value analysis of fusion research in order to assess the economics of a fusion research program. The results indicate further that the major area of benefits of fusion research is likely due to the impact of a fusion research program on optimal fossil fuel consumption patterns and it is recommended that this benefit be included in future assessments of fusion research economics

[Optimization of processing technology for semen cuscuta by uniform and regression analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun-yu; Luo, Hui-yu; Wang, Shu; Zhai, Ya-nan; Tian, Shu-hui; Zhang, Dan-shen

2011-02-01

To optimize the best preparation technology for the contains of total flavornoids, polysaccharides, the percentage of water and alcohol-soluble components in Semen Cuscuta herb processing. UV-spectrophotometry was applied to determine the contains of total flavornoids and polysaccharides, which were extracted from Semen Cuscuta. And the processing was optimized by the way of uniform design and contour map. The best preparation technology was satisfied with some conditions as follows: baking temperature 150 degrees C, baking time 140 seconds. The regression models are notable and reasonable, which can forecast results precisely.

The role of technology in the de-regulated electricity marketplace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seckington, B.

1999-01-01

There are certain priorities for a power generation company in a deregulated market including: low cost client satisfaction, end-use technologies and quality and reliability performance; low cost/high marginal profit generation for the shareholder's values; and minimum environmental impacts, that are economically affordable and consistent with or better than regulations requirements. R and D strategic directions over time include the short term, medium term and long term, corresponding to 1-3 years, 4-6 years, and 7-10 years. In the short term, technology is operational, while in the medium term it is transitional and includes existing new technology. In the long term, there is a new generation technology emerging, and in the strategic long term of 11-20 years, there is new technology enhancement and visionary technology emerging. For short term technology in order to optimize profitability and assets, certain things are essential: for nuclear, get existing units back on track; for hydro, life management of existing equipment; and for coal, improve efficiency, optimize OMA/re-investment and improve environmental performance. Other minor means of generation and corresponding comments are added. For medium term technology in order to optimize profitability and assets, certain things are necessary including: for nuclear, get and maintain existing units on track; for hydro, life management of existing equipment; and for coal, improve efficiency, optimize OMA/re-investment and improve environmental performance. Other minor generation means are mentioned in the near term. For generation R and D in the long term, brief comments are made concerning what can be done to optimize profitability and meet new regulations, with existing assets to improve cost and environmental performance, with new generation and environmental technologies, and taking risks with developing visionary technologies, both environmental and generational. Further comments concerning optimizing

Success probability orientated optimization model for resource allocation of the technological innovation multi-project system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Weixu Dai; Weiwei Wu; Bo Yu; Yunhao Zhu

2016-01-01

A success probability orientated optimization model for resource al ocation of the technological innovation multi-project system is studied. Based on the definition of the technological in-novation multi-project system, the leveling optimization of cost and success probability is set as the objective of resource al ocation. The cost function and the probability function of the optimization model are constructed. Then the objective function of the model is constructed and the solving process is explained. The model is applied to the resource al ocation of an enterprise’s technological innovation multi-project system. The results show that the pro-posed model is more effective in rational resource al ocation, and is more applicable in maximizing the utility of the technological innovation multi-project system.

Anti-predatory particle swarm optimization: Solution to nonconvex economic dispatch problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Selvakumar, A. Immanuel [Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore 641114, Tamilnadu (India); Thanushkodi, K. [Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore 641013, Tamilnadu (India)

2008-01-15

This paper proposes a new particle swarm optimization (PSO) strategy namely, anti-predatory particle swarm optimization (APSO) to solve nonconvex economic dispatch problems. In the classical PSO, the movement of a particle (bird) is governed by three behaviors: inertial, cognitive and social. The cognitive and social behaviors are the components of the foraging activity, which help the swarm of birds to locate food. Another activity that is observed in birds is the anti-predatory nature, which helps the swarm to escape from the predators. In this work, the anti-predatory activity is modeled and embedded in the classical PSO to form APSO. This inclusion enhances the exploration capability of the swarm. To validate the proposed APSO model, it is applied to two test systems having nonconvex solution spaces. Satisfactory results are obtained when compared with previous approaches. (author)

Optimal search strategies for detecting cost and economic studies in EMBASE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haynes R Brian

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Economic evaluations in the medical literature compare competing diagnosis or treatment methods for their use of resources and their expected outcomes. The best evidence currently available from research regarding both cost and economic comparisons will continue to expand as this type of information becomes more important in today's clinical practice. Researchers and clinicians need quick, reliable ways to access this information. A key source of this type of information is large bibliographic databases such as EMBASE. The objective of this study was to develop search strategies that optimize the retrieval of health costs and economics studies from EMBASE. Methods We conducted an analytic survey, comparing hand searches of journals with retrievals from EMBASE for candidate search terms and combinations. 6 research assistants read all issues of 55 journals indexed by EMBASE for the publishing year 2000. We rated all articles using purpose and quality indicators and categorized them into clinically relevant original studies, review articles, general papers, or case reports. The original and review articles were then categorized for purpose (i.e., cost and economics and other clinical topics and depending on the purpose as 'pass' or 'fail' for methodologic rigor. Candidate search strategies were developed for economic and cost studies, then run in the 55 EMBASE journals, the retrievals being compared with the hand search data. The sensitivity, specificity, precision, and accuracy of the search strategies were calculated. Results Combinations of search terms for detecting both cost and economic studies attained levels of 100% sensitivity with specificity levels of 92.9% and 92.3% respectively. When maximizing for both sensitivity and specificity, the combination of terms for detecting cost studies (sensitivity increased 2.2% over the single term but at a slight decrease in specificity of 0.9%. The maximized combination of terms

Multi-objective synthesis of work and heat exchange networks: Optimal balance between economic and environmental performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishi, Viviani C.; Ravagnani, Mauro A.S.S.; Jiménez, Laureano; Caballero, José A.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • New multi-objective optimization model for the simultaneous WHEN synthesis. • A multistage superstructure allows power and thermal integration of process streams. • Simultaneous minimization of environmental impacts and total annualized cost. • Alternative set of Pareto solutions is presented to support decision-makers. - Abstract: Sustainable and efficient energy use is crucial for lessening carbon dioxide emissions in industrial plants. This paper introduces a new multi-objective optimization model for the synthesis of work and heat exchange networks (WHENs), aiming to obtain the optimal balance between economic and environmental performance. The proposed multistage superstructure allows power and thermal integration of process gaseous streams, through the simultaneous minimization of total annualized cost (TAC) and environmental impacts (EI). The latter objective is determined by environmental indicators that follow the life cycle assessment (LCA) principles. The WHEN superstructure is optimized as a multi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming (moMINLP) model and solved with the GAMS software. Results show a decrease of ∼79% in the heat transfer area and ∼32% in the capital cost between the solutions found for single problem optimizations. These results represent a diminution of ∼23.5% in the TAC, while EI is increased in ∼99.2%. As these solutions can be impractical for economic or environmental reasons, we present a set of alternative Pareto-optimal solutions to support decision-makers towards the implementation of more environment-friendly and cost-effective WHENs.

Applying waste heat recovery system in a sewage sludge dryer – A technical and economic optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tańczuk, Mariusz; Kostowski, Wojciech; Karaś, Marcin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A modernization of waste heat recovery system in a sludge drying plant is proposed. • Energy performance analysis rejected the downsize case of modernization. • Optimal system sizes regarding Net Present Value and Net Present Value Ratio do not coincide. • Up to 683 MW h/y of chemical energy savings for optimal heat exchanger size. • Higher profitability for the larger heat exchanger cases: paybacks below 3.65 years. - Abstract: Drying of digested sewage sludge, as an important alternative to sludge disposal at dumping sites, should comply with the requirements of high energy efficiency as well as economic feasibility. The technical and economic optimization analysis of installing a waste process heat recovery unit in a medium-temperature belt dryer operated in a municipal waste water treatment plant was carried out. Inlet capacity of the plant is 1.83 Mg of wet sludge per hour. The post-process air was indicated as a source of waste heat and the configuration of a heat recovery system was proposed. The main objective of the research was to find the optimal size of a chosen type of waste heat recovery heat exchanger for preheating ambient air to the process. The maximization of Net Present Value, and, alternatively, also Net Present Value Ratio were selected for the objective function of the optimization procedure. Simulation of yearly operation of waste heat exchanger was made for a range of different heat exchanging areas (101–270 m"2) regarding given parameters of a post-process air and different temperatures of ambient air. Energy performance of the modernization was evaluated and economic indices were calculated for each of the analyzed cases. The location of the maximum of optimization function was found and the calculations show higher profitability of the cases with larger waste heat exchanger. It can be concluded that the location of optimum of the objective function is very sensitive to the price of natural gas supplied to the

Multi-objective optimization of a cascade refrigeration system: Exergetic, economic, environmental, and inherent safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eini, Saeed; Shahhosseini, Hamidreza; Delgarm, Navid; Lee, Moonyong; Bahadori, Alireza

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A multi-objective optimization is performed for a cascade refrigeration cycle. • The optimization problem considers inherently safe design as well as 3E analysis. • As a measure of inherent safety level a quantitative risk analysis is utilized. • A CO 2 /NH 3 cascade refrigeration system is compared with a CO 2 /C 3 H 8 system. - Abstract: Inherently safer design is the new approach to maximize the overall safety of a process plant. This approach suggests some risk reduction strategies to be implemented in the early stages of design. In this paper a multi-objective optimization was performed considering economic, exergetic, and environmental aspects besides evaluation of the inherent safety level of a cascade refrigeration system. The capital costs, the processing costs, and the social cost due to CO 2 emission were considered to be included in the economic objective function. Exergetic efficiency of the plant was considered as the second objective function. As a measure of inherent safety level, Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) was performed to calculate total risk level of the cascade as the third objective function. Two cases (ammonia and propane) were considered to be compared as the refrigerant of the high temperature circuit. The achieved optimum solutions from the multi–objective optimization process were given as Pareto frontier. The ultimate optimal solution from available solutions on the Pareto optimal curve was selected using Decision-Makings approaches. NSGA-II algorithm was used to obtain Pareto optimal frontiers. Also, three decision-making approaches (TOPSIS, LINMAP, and Shannon’s entropy methods) were utilized to select the final optimum point. Considering continuous material release from the major equipment in the plant, flash and jet fire scenarios were considered for the CO 2 /C 3 H 8 cycle and toxic hazards were considered for the CO 2 /NH 3 cycle. The results showed no significant differences between CO 2 /NH 3 and

Economic analysis of nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Man Ki; Moon, K. H.; Kim, S. S.; Lim, C. Y.; Song, K. D.; Oh, K. B.

2004-12-01

This study evaluated the role of nuclear energy in various aspects in order to provide a more comprehensive standard of judgement to the justification of the utilization of nuclear energy. Firstly, this study evaluated the economic value addition of nuclear power generation technology and Radio-Isotope(RI) technology quantitatively by using modified Input-Output table. Secondly, a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of nuclear power generation was conducted with an effort to quantify the foreign exchange expenditure, the environmental damage cost during 1986-2015 for each scenario. Thirdly, the effect of the regulation of CO 2 emission on the Korean electric supply system was investigated. In more detail, an optimal composition of power plant mix by energy source was investigated, under the assumption of the CO 2 emission regulation at a certain level, by using MESSAGE model. Finally, the economic spillover effect from technology self-reliance of NSSS by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute was evaluated. Both production spillover effect and value addition spillover effect were estimated by using Input-Output table

Robust economic optimization and environmental policy analysis for microgrid planning: An application to Taichung Industrial Park, Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Nan; Kang, Jin-Su; Chang, Chung-Chuan; Lee, Tai-Yong; Lee, Dong-Yup

2016-01-01

This study aims to provide economical and environmentally friendly solutions for a microgrid system with distributed energy resources in the design stage, considering multiple uncertainties during operation and conflicting interests among diverse microgrid stakeholders. For the purpose, we develop a multi-objective optimization model for robust microgrid planning, on the basis of an economic robustness measure, i.e. the worst-case cost among possible scenarios, to reduce the variability among scenario costs caused by uncertainties. The efficacy of the model is successfully demonstrated by applying it to Taichung Industrial Park in Taiwan, an industrial complex, where significant amount of greenhouse gases are emitted. Our findings show that the most robust solution, but the highest cost, mainly includes 45% (26.8 MW) of gas engine and 47% (28 MW) of photovoltaic panel with the highest system capacity (59 MW). Further analyses reveal the environmental benefits from the significant reduction of the expected annual CO_2 emission and carbon tax by about half of the current utility facilities in the region. In conclusion, the developed model provides an efficient decision-making tool for robust microgrid planning at the preliminary stage. - Highlights: • Developed robust economic and environmental optimization model for microgrid planning. • Provided Pareto optimal planning solutions for Taichung Industrial Park, Taiwan. • Suggested microgrid configuration with significant economic and environmental benefits. • Identified gas engine and photovoltaic panel as two promising energy sources.

Energy-economical optimization of industrial sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berthold, A.; Saliba, S.; Franke, R.

2015-01-01

The holistic optimization of an industrial estate networks all electrical components of a location and combines energy trading, energy management and production processes. This allows to minimize the energy consumption from the supply network and to relieve the power grid and to maximize the profitability of the industrial self-generation. By analyzing the potential is detected and the cost of optimization solution is estimated. The generation-side optimization is supported through demand-side optimization (demand response). Through a real-time optimization the of Use of fuels is managed, controlled and optimized. [de

Software Optimization of Video Codecs on Pentium Processor with MMX Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu KJ Ray

2001-01-01

Full Text Available A key enabling technology for the proliferation of multimedia PC's is the availability of fast video codecs, which are the basic building blocks of many new multimedia applications. Since most industrial video coding standards (e.g., MPEG1, MPEG2, H.261, H.263 only specify the decoder syntax, there are a lot of rooms for optimization in a practical implementation. When considering a specific hardware platform like the PC, the algorithmic optimization must be considered in tandem with the architecture of the PC. Specifically, an algorithm that is optimal in the sense of number of operations needed may not be the fastest implementation on the PC. This is because special instructions are available which can perform several operations at once under special circumstances. In this work, we describe a fast implementation of H.263 video encoder for the Pentium processor with MMX technology. The described codec is adopted for video mail and video phone softwares used in IBM ThinkPad.

Technologies for a sustainable development; Technologies pour un developpement durable

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-07-01

The European Event on Technology (EET), a recurrent annual event since 1992, is a major meeting opportunity for researchers and engineers as well as private and public decision-makers, on technologies, their evolution and their industrial and social implications. In less than a decade, sustainable development has become both an economic and a political priority. It was urgent and legitimate that those who are the mainsprings should take hold of the subject and give it technological content, estimate its costs and define clear timetables. The debates consist of: plenary sessions on environmental, social and economic stakes of sustainable development and the challenges for, and commitment of engineers, managers and politicians with respect to these goals; and workshops, which provide an overview of recently acquired or upcoming technologies developed by sector: energy, transports, new information technologies, new industrial manufacturing technologies (materials, products, services), waste management, global environment monitoring, water management, bio-technologies, and innovation management. This document brings together the different talks given by the participants. Among these, the following ones fall into the energy and environment scope: energy efficiency of buildings: towards energy autonomy; superconductors enable in new millennium for electric power industry; advanced gas micro-turbine-driven generator technology; environmental and technical challenges of an offshore wind farm; future nuclear energy systems; modelling combustion in engines: progress and prospects for reducing emissions; on-board computers: reduction in consumption and emissions of engine-transmission units for vehicles; polymer-lithium batteries: perspectives for zero-emission traction; hybrid vehicles and energy/environmental optimization: paths and opportunities; fuel cells and zero-emission: perspectives and developments; global change: causes, modeling and economic issues; the GMES

Techno-Economic Optimization of a Sustainable Energy System for a 100% Renewables Smart House

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Craciun, Vasile Simion; Blarke, Morten; Trifa, Viorel

2012-01-01

technical and economic challenges. One such challenge is the discontinuity, or intermittency, of generation, as most renewable energy resources depend on the climate, which is why their use requires complex design, planning and control optimization strategies. This paper presents a model and optimization...... for a sustainable energy system for a 100% renewables based Smart House (SH). We have devised and analysed an innovative high-efficiency approach to residential energy supply. The analysis involves detailed technical specifications and considerations for providing optimal supply of electricity, heating, cooling......The continuous increasing negative effects of fossil fuel consumption on society and the environment, opens a major interest into environmentally friendly alternatives to sustain the increasing demand for energy services. Despite the obvious advantages of renewable energy, it presents important...

Using BIM Technology to Optimize the Traditional Interior Design Work Mode

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ning Ke

2018-06-01

the development of BIM technology and application in the field of architecture design has produced results, but BIM technology and application in the field of interior design is still immaturity because of construction and decoration engineering separation. The article analyzes the problems that BIM technology lead to the interior design work mode optimization, from the 3D visualization work environment, real-time collaborative design mode, physical analysis design mode, information integration design mode state the application in interior design.

Economic evaluation of information technology applications on dairy farms

OpenAIRE

Asseldonk, van, M.A.P.M.

1999-01-01

The research described in this thesis focused on the economic evaluation of information technology (IT) applications on dairy farms in order to support investment decisions. The evaluation included a normative (deductive) approach and an empirical (positive) approach. The normative approach predicted potential benefits from a theoretical model of the investment, and investigated how farmers should deal with the applications. The empirical approach observed the actual effects of the i...

Impacts Seed Technology Improvement on Economic Aspects of Chilli Production in Central Java - Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joko Mariyono

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Vegetable production, including that of chillies, plays an important role in agricultural sector and rural economic development worldwide. This is because of greater farm productivity with regard to vegetables than cereal and staple crops. This paper analyses the impact of seed technology development on the economic aspects of chilli production in Central Java. Particular attention is paid to improved varieties of chilli. Potential consequences of seed technology development are discussed. Data of this study are compiled from surveys conducted in three selected chilli producing regions in 2010-2012. The results show that the major varieties of chilli grown by surveyed farmers are grouped into three broad types: hybrids, local and improved open pollinated varieties. The chilli varieties farmers selected varied according to location and cropping season. In the dry season, farmers grew similar proportions of hybrid, local, and open pollinated types. Nevertheless, there were differences among the survey sites. Farmers grew different varieties to exploit seasonal microclimates and market preferences. Mostly, farmers selected varieties for economic motives. The consequence of growing hybrids was less use of agrochemicals, particularly pesticides, than for other varieties. Overall, they show the best economic performance in the study site. Development of seed technology should consider agro-ecological and economic aspects to obtain better outcomes. Private sector and national research institutions need to collaborate more to utilise available genetic resources to produce better varieties of chilli.

Technological and economical problems in exploitation of coal stripe mines in Bulgaria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khristov, Stoyan; Borisov, Bogomil

1997-01-01

Taking into consideration the restructure of the mining-energetic industry into the new economic conditions, financial, technical and technological problems are analysed, as well as their influence on the economic effects of the coal production in Bulgaria. Ecological standards for environmental policy are noticed. Perspectives for development of the coal production industry are pointed out, especially in the mining/power complex Maritsa East, one of the most important region for power generation in Bulgaria

TECHNOLOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AS TOOLS FOR PROVIDING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE SERVICES SPHERE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Gromov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Topicality article is to determine the composition of the technological elements of the strategic planning system, the interaction of which is aimed at achieving the planned economic results in the changing factors influence macro microenvironments on the activities of institutions and economic activities of services. The articles structurally is made on the basis of respect for the logical sequence of interactions of technological elements of strategic planning and combat their negative factors of external and internal environment. Active interaction of technological elements of strategic planning tools is to ensure long-term development planning authorities of economic entities, economic activities service sector for sustainable economic growth. Contribution of the author in the scope of this article is to generalize the definition of the target composition and installation of technological elements of strategic planning and development institutions and industry components of the service sector.

Economical-environmental assessment on technologies producing electric energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Najafzadeh, K.

2000-01-01

Currently, the electric power industry is undergoing substantial regulatory and organizational change with respect to economical and environmental aspects. Under these circumstances, with utilization of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) concept, we consider the assessment of Technologies producing energy from financial and pollution viewpoint. AHP techniques is one of the efficient methods in analysis of complex and multi-criteria problems, which has plenty of applications. General pattern of this assessment has been introduced, and the main goal is determining of overall priority weights for each technology. With using this pattern, overall priority weights has been determined for thermal, combined cycle and Gas turbine plants. It has been cleared that relative priority of these plants will change, if relative priority of assessment criterions changes. For application of this approach, capital budgeting process and selection of some suitable technologies among the alternatives candidate for construction have been presented. In this process the objective is to maximize the sum of overall priority weights of technologies which have been identified from AHP. Constraints are about the construction budget and annual budget for emission allowances. This process is in the integer programming IP form an has been applied to three kind of power plants with reasonable assumptions

Sustainable logistics and transportation optimization models and algorithms

CERN Document Server

Gakis, Konstantinos; Pardalos, Panos

2017-01-01

Focused on the logistics and transportation operations within a supply chain, this book brings together the latest models, algorithms, and optimization possibilities. Logistics and transportation problems are examined within a sustainability perspective to offer a comprehensive assessment of environmental, social, ethical, and economic performance measures. Featured models, techniques, and algorithms may be used to construct policies on alternative transportation modes and technologies, green logistics, and incentives by the incorporation of environmental, economic, and social measures. Researchers, professionals, and graduate students in urban regional planning, logistics, transport systems, optimization, supply chain management, business administration, information science, mathematics, and industrial and systems engineering will find the real life and interdisciplinary issues presented in this book informative and useful.

Economics and technology in international law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

This volume presents the main address, the lectures and the discussions of the symposium. The papers presented to the symposium were the following: the Draft Convention on the Law of the Sea and problems of the international deep seabed regime; developments in science and technology, as a challenge to international law; modern fishery engineering and its impact on international law; the EEC agricultural market - a case study of European Law; problems of international law in connection with a new system of the world economy; the GATT and a new world economic system; the Third World and UNCTAD; international disaster relief and mutual assistance in case of accidents, especially with a view to Atomic Energy Law; organisation, scope and limits of international co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. (HSCH) [de

Economic assessment of new technology of nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, H. S.; Song, K. D.; Lee, M. K.; Moon, K. H.; Kim, S. S.; Lee, J. S.; Choi, H. B.

1998-06-01

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the change in the manufacturing cost of DUPIC fuel on the power generation cost. In doing so, the installed capacity of nuclear power plants until the year 2040 were forecasted by using the trend analysis technique. This study used the NUFCAP computer code, developed by KAERI, which allows to conduct quantitative evaluation of the volumes of nuclear fuel and spent fuel as well as unit and system costs of nuclear fuel cycle. As a result of this study, it was found that there was little economic difference between the two possible options for the Korean electric system, direct disposal and DUPIC fuel cycle. The rate of discount and the manufacturing cost of DUPIC fuel were resulted in the most significant factors affecting the economics of the two options. Finally, it was expected that the result of this study provided the arguing point for the international debate on the economics of DUPIC fuel cycle technology. (author). 6 refs., 7 tabs., 8 figs

Techno-economic assessments of oxy-fuel technology for South African coal-fired power stations

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oboirien, BO

2014-03-01

Full Text Available at the technical and economic viability of oxy-fuel technology for CO(sub2) capture for South African coal-fired power stations. This study presents a techno-economic analysis for six coal fired power stations in South Africa. Each of these power stations has a...

Towards a social discount rate for the economic evaluation of health technologies in Germany: an exploratory analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Schad, Mareike; John, Jürgen

2012-04-01

Over the last decades, methods for the economic evaluation of health care technologies were increasingly used to inform reimbursement decisions. For a short time, the German Statutory Health Insurance makes use of these methods to support reimbursement decisions on patented drugs. In this context, the discounting procedure emerges as a critical component of these methods, as discount rates can strongly affect the resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. The aim of this paper is to identify the appropriate value of a social discount rate to be used by the German Statutory Health Insurance for the economic evaluation of health technologies. On theoretical grounds, we build on the widespread view of contemporary economists that the social rate of time preference (SRTP) is the adequate social discount rate. For quantifying the SRTP, we first apply the market behaviour approach, which assumes that the SRTP is reflected in observable market interest rates. As a second approach, we derive the SRTP from optimal growth theory by using the Ramsey equation. A major part of the paper is devoted to specify the parameters of this equation. Depending on various assumptions, our empirical findings result in the range of 1.75-4.2% for the SRTP. A reasonable base case discount rate for Germany, thus, would be about 3%. Furthermore, we deal with the much debated question whether a common discount rate for costs and health benefits or a lower rate for health should be applied in health economic evaluations. In the German social health insurance system, no exogenously fixed budget constraint does exist. When evaluating a new health technology, the health care decision maker is obliged to conduct an economic evaluation in order to examine whether there is an economically appropriate relation between the value of the health gains and the additional costs which are given by the value of the consumption losses due to the additional health care expenditures. Therefore, a discount

Advanced technologies applied to work management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aldrich, L.R.

1993-01-01

Commonwealth Edison Company subscribes to the dose optimization principle and has implemented reasonable efforts to maintain exposures to radiation as far below dose limits as practical consistent with the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to the state of technology and the economics of improvements in relation to the benefits to the public health and safety. In an effort to lower collective exposures, Commonwealth Edison Company has focused on improving performance in four key areas which have proven to contribute to lower personnel exposures - Management Controls, Work practices, Source Term Reduction and Technological Advancements. This paper focuses on the advanced technologies that the Commonwealth Edison Company has employed in the areas of work planning, work performance and work monitoring to manage our occupational dose control

Economic Ergonomic Approach to Design an Optimal Manpower and Mechanization in Rice Production

Science.gov (United States)

Muanah; Syuaib, M. F.; Liyantono

2018-05-01

Productivity of manpower could be improved by considering the economic and ergonomic aspect. The ergonomic aspect (human factor) is required to design an optimal manpower, while in the economic aspect, the well being of manpower could be evaluated from the amount of received income based on their work capability. This research was conducted on February 2016 to January 2017 in Gapoktan Silih Asih rice field Cigombong, Bogor. This study aims to analyze the income of manpower based on current conditions, increasement of working hours and mechanization addition. The results showed that manpower income based on the current condition and ergonomic consideration was Rp 1,174,030/person.month, by increasing the working hours with ergonomic consideration the obtained income was Rp 1,766,204/person.month. the revenues were based on the existing work system even though the increasement of working hours have not provided optimal income due to low productivity. Therefore the results of analysis with the addition of selective mechanization, showed self-ownership machinery was more profitable the obtained income have more than the Bogor minimum wage standard of Rp 2,969,325/person.month.

Techno-economic analysis of PC versus CFB combustion technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-10-01

In the last ten years circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) has emerged as a viable alternative to pulverised coal combustion (PCC) for utility-scale coal power generation, with widespread deployment of 300 MW boilers and the successful demonstration of supercritical units of up to 600 MW. Although CFBC offers a greater degree of fuel flexibility and does not usually require downstream flue gas cleaning, high capital costs and high auxiliary power use have hindered the adoption of CFBC for utility power generation. Recent advances in CFBC unit capacity and steam conditions have led to higher efficiencies and economies of scale, with the result that a CFBC plant may now be more economically favourable than a PCC plant depending on a range of factors such as available fuels and regional emissions limits. This report reviews the state-of-the-art for both technologies and provides a comparison of their relative performances and economic costs. Standard operational parameters such as efficiency, availability, and flexibility are assessed, in addition to relative suitability for biomass cofiring and oxyfuel combustion as strategies for carbon mitigation. A review of recent cost evaluations of the two technologies is accompanied by a breakdown of individual plant expenses including flue gas scrubbing equipment and ash recycle value.

Joint optimization of economic production quantity and preventive maintenance with considering multi-products and reserve time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Xuejuan; Wang, Binrong

2017-01-01

Purpose: We deal with the problem of the joint determination of optimal economic production quantity (EPQ) and optimal preventive maintenance (PM) for a system that can produce multiple products alternately. The objective is to find the optimal number of production cycles and the PM policy simultaneously by minimizing the cost model. Design/methodology/approach: Considering the products go through the system in a sequence and a complete run of all products forms a production cycle. In each cycle, beyond production time we also consider some reserve time for maintenance and setup, shortage and overproduction may occur. We study the integrated problem based on two PM policies, and explain the situation with the other PM policies. The delay – time concept is used to model PM decisions. Findings: Using the integrated EPQ and PM model, we can calculate the optimal production planning and PM schedule simultaneously, especially we consider multiple products in each production cycle, which is more practical and economic than previous works. Originality/value: In modern companies, the production planning and maintenance schedule share the same system, and traditional research about two activities is separated, that always generate conflicts, such as inadequate or excessive maintenance, and shortages, etc., so we develop the integrated EPQ and PM model to avoid these undesirable effects.

Joint optimization of economic production quantity and preventive maintenance with considering multi-products and reserve time

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xuejuan; Wang, Binrong

2017-07-01

Purpose: We deal with the problem of the joint determination of optimal economic production quantity (EPQ) and optimal preventive maintenance (PM) for a system that can produce multiple products alternately. The objective is to find the optimal number of production cycles and the PM policy simultaneously by minimizing the cost model. Design/methodology/approach: Considering the products go through the system in a sequence and a complete run of all products forms a production cycle. In each cycle, beyond production time we also consider some reserve time for maintenance and setup, shortage and overproduction may occur. We study the integrated problem based on two PM policies, and explain the situation with the other PM policies. The delay – time concept is used to model PM decisions. Findings: Using the integrated EPQ and PM model, we can calculate the optimal production planning and PM schedule simultaneously, especially we consider multiple products in each production cycle, which is more practical and economic than previous works. Originality/value: In modern companies, the production planning and maintenance schedule share the same system, and traditional research about two activities is separated, that always generate conflicts, such as inadequate or excessive maintenance, and shortages, etc., so we develop the integrated EPQ and PM model to avoid these undesirable effects.

Economic Impact of Large-Scale Deployment of Offshore Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology in Oregon Coastal Counties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jimenez, T. [Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Washington, DC (United States); Tegen, S. [Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Washington, DC (United States); Beiter, P. [Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Washington, DC (United States)

2015-03-01

To begin understanding the potential economic impacts of large-scale WEC technology, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) commissioned the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to conduct an economic impact analysis of largescale WEC deployment for Oregon coastal counties. This report follows a previously published report by BOEM and NREL on the jobs and economic impacts of WEC technology for the entire state (Jimenez and Tegen 2015). As in Jimenez and Tegen (2015), this analysis examined two deployment scenarios in the 2026-2045 timeframe: the first scenario assumed 13,000 megawatts (MW) of WEC technology deployed during the analysis period, and the second assumed 18,000 MW of WEC technology deployed by 2045. Both scenarios require major technology and cost improvements in the WEC devices. The study is on very large-scale deployment so readers can examine and discuss the potential of a successful and very large WEC industry. The 13,000-MW is used as the basis for the county analysis as it is the smaller of the two scenarios. Sensitivity studies examined the effects of a robust in-state WEC supply chain. The region of analysis is comprised of the seven coastal counties in Oregon—Clatsop, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, and Tillamook—so estimates of jobs and other economic impacts are specific to this coastal county area.

A Three-Stage Optimal Approach for Power System Economic Dispatch Considering Microgrids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Tzer Huang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The inclusion of microgrids (MGs in power systems, especially distribution-substation-level MGs, significantly affects power systems because of the large volumes of import and export power flows. Consequently, power dispatch has become complicated, and finding an optimal solution is difficult. In this study, a three-stage optimal power dispatch model is proposed to solve such dispatch problems. In the proposed model, the entire power system is divided into two parts, namely, the main power grid and MGs. The optimal power dispatch problem is resolved on the basis of multi-area concepts. In stage I, the main power system economic dispatch (ED problem is solved by sensitive factors. In stage II, the optimal power dispatches of the local MGs are addressed via an improved direct search method. In stage III, the incremental linear models for the entire power system can be established on the basis of the solutions of the previous two stages and can be subjected to linear programming to determine the optimal reschedules from the original dispatch solutions. The proposed method is coded using Matlab and tested by utilizing an IEEE 14-bus test system to verify its feasibility and accuracy. Results demonstrated that the proposed approach can be used for the ED of power systems with MGs as virtual power plants.

Biomass for energy production. Economic evaluation, efficiency comparison and optimal utilization of biomass; Biomasse zur Energiegewinnung. Oekonomische Bewertung, Effizienzvergleich und optimale Biomassenutzung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeddies, Juergen [Hohenheim Univ., Stuttgart (Germany). Inst. fuer Landwirtschaftliche Betriebslehre; Schoenleber, Nicole

2015-07-01

An optimized and/or goal-oriented use of available biomass feedstock for energetic conversion requires a detailed analysis of bioenergy production lines according to technical and economic efficiency indicators. Accordingly, relevant parameters of selected production lines supplying heat, electricity and fuel have been studied and used as data base for an optimization model. Most favorable combination of bioenergy lines considering political and economic objectives are analyzed by applying a specifically designed linear optimization model. Modeling results shall allow evaluation of political courses of action.

Economic optimization of heat pump-assisted distillation columns in methanol-water separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahandeh, Hossein; Jafari, Mina; Kasiri, Norollah; Ivakpour, Javad

2015-01-01

Finding efficient alternative to CDiC (Conventional Distillation Column) for methanol-water separation has been an attractive field of study in literature. In this work, five heat pump-assisted schemes are proposed and compared to each other to find the optimal one; (1) VRC (Vapor Recompression Column), (2) external HIDiC (Heat-Integrated Distillation Column), (3) intensified HIDiC with feed preheater, (4) double compressor intensified HIDiC-1, and (5) double compressor intensified HIDiC-2. GA (Genetic Algorithm) is then implemented for optimization of the schemes when TAC (Total Annual Cost) is its objective function. During optimization, two new variables are added for using only appropriate amount of the overhead stream in VRC and double compressor intensified HIDiCs, and another new binary variable is also used for considering feed preheating. Although TAC of the intensified HIDiC with feed preheater is found higher than CDiC by 25.0%, all optimal VRC, external HIDiC, double compressor intensified HIDiCs schemes are reached lower optimal TAC by 3.1%, 27.2%, 24.4%, and 34.2%. Introduced for the first time, the optimal scheme is the double compressor intensified HIDiC-2 with 34.2% TAC saving, 70.4% TEC (Total Energy Consumption) reduction with payback period of 3.30 years. - Highlights: • Study of an industrial distillation unit in methanol-water separation. • Optimization of different heat pump-assisted distillation columns. • Implementation of genetic algorithm during optimization. • Economic and thermodynamic comparisons of optimal results with the industrial case

Analysis of optimal design of low temperature economizer

Science.gov (United States)

Song, J. H.; Wang, S.

2017-11-01

This paper has studied the Off-design characteristic of low temperature economizer system based on thermodynamics analysis. Based on the data from one 1000 MW coal-fired unit, two modes of operation are contrasted and analyzed. One is to fix exhaust gas temperature and the other one is to take into account both of the average temperature difference and the exhaust gas temperature. Meanwhile, the cause of energy saving effect change is explored. Result shows that: in mode 1, the amount of decrease in coal consumption reduces from 1.11 g/kWh (under full load) to 0.54 g/kWh (under half load), and in mode 2, when the load decreases from 90% to 50%, the decrease in coal consumption reduces from 1.29 g/kWh to 0.84 g/kWh. From the result, under high load, the energy saving effect is superior, and under lower work load, energy saving effect declines rapidly when load is reduced. When load changes, the temperature difference of heat transfer, gas flow, the flue gas heat rejection and the waste heat recovery change. The energy saving effect corresponding changes result in that the energy saving effect under high load is superior and more stable. However, rational adjustment to the temperature of outlet gas can alleviate the decline of the energy saving effect under low load. The result provides theoretical analysis data for the optimal design and operation of low temperature economizer system of power plant.

A low carbon industrial revolution? Insights and challenges from past technological and economic transformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearson, Peter J.G.; Foxon, Timothy J.

2012-01-01

Recent efforts to promote a transition to a low carbon economy have been influenced by suggestions that a low carbon transition offers challenges and might yield economic benefits comparable to those of the previous industrial revolutions. This paper examines these arguments and the challenges facing a low carbon transition, by drawing on recent thinking on the technological, economic and institutional factors that enabled and sustained the first (British) industrial revolution, and the role of ‘general purpose technologies’ in stimulating and sustaining this and subsequent industrial transformation processes that have contributed to significant macroeconomic gains. These revolutions involved profound, long drawn-out changes in economy, technology and society; and although their energy transitions led to long-run economic benefits, they took many decades to develop. To reap significant long-run economic benefits from a low carbon transition sooner rather than later would require systemic efforts and incentives for low carbon innovation and substitution of high-carbon technologies. We conclude that while achieving a low carbon transition may require societal changes on a scale comparable with those of previous industrial revolutions, this transition does not yet resemble previous industrial revolutions. A successful low carbon transition would, however, amount to a different kind of industrial revolution. - Highlights: ► Investigates lessons for a low carbon transition from past industrial revolutions. ► Explores the implications of ‘general purpose technologies’ and their properties. ► Examines analysis of ‘long waves’ of technological progress and diffusion. ► Draws insights for low carbon transitions and policy.

Optimal Renewable Energy Integration into Refinery with CO2 Emissions Consideration: An Economic Feasibility Study

Science.gov (United States)

Alnifro, M.; Taqvi, S. T.; Ahmad, M. S.; Bensaida, K.; Elkamel, A.

2017-08-01

With increasing global energy demand and declining energy return on energy invested (EROEI) of crude oil, global energy consumption by the O&G industry has increased drastically over the past few years. In addition, this energy increase has led to an increase GHG emissions, resulting in adverse environmental effects. On the other hand, electricity generation through renewable resources have become relatively cost competitive to fossil based energy sources in a much ‘cleaner’ way. In this study, renewable energy is integrated optimally into a refinery considering costs and CO2 emissions. Using Aspen HYSYS, a refinery in the Middle East was simulated to estimate the energy demand by different processing units. An LP problem was formulated based on existing solar energy systems and wind potential in the region. The multi-objective function, minimizing cost as well as CO2 emissions, was solved using GAMS to determine optimal energy distribution from each energy source to units within the refinery. Additionally, an economic feasibility study was carried out to determine the viability of renewable energy technology project implementation to overcome energy requirement of the refinery. Electricity generation through all renewable energy sources considered (i.e. solar PV, solar CSP and wind) were found feasible based on their low levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The payback period for a Solar CSP project, with an annual capacity of about 411 GWh and a lifetime of 30 years, was found to be 10 years. In contrast, the payback period for Solar PV and Wind were calculated to be 7 and 6 years, respectively. This opens up possibilities for integrating renewables into the refining sector as well as optimizing multiple energy carrier systems within the crude oil industry

Analysis of technology and seminar on economic trends about High-intensity LED

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-09-01

This is divided into two parts. Contents of this report in the first part are technical trends on high-intensity LED which reports introduction of LED as compound semiconductor, white LED? patent issues, review on technology of High-intensity LED and Reliability of High-intensity LED. The second part deals with economic tends about High-intensity LED. This seminar was held to report analysis and economical trends about High-intensity LED by Korea Industrial Education Institute in 2003.

The costs and consequences of assisted reproductive technology : an economic perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Connolly, Mark P.; Hoorens, Stijn; Chambers, Georgina M.

2010-01-01

Despite the growing use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) worldwide, there is only a limited understanding of the economics of ART to inform policy about effective, safe and equitable financing of ART treatment. A review was undertaken of key studies regarding the costs and consequences of

Educational Technology during Economic Downturns: Sailing the Winds of "Creative Destruction"

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardez, Mariano

2009-01-01

While most organizations react to economic downturns by downsizing and cutting training and educational "costs," a few others thrive under adversity by engaging in innovative practices supported by extensive and creative uses of educational technology. This article examines how diverse organizations benefit from the cycles of "creative…

Optimization of SiC-based H5 and Conergy-NPC transformerless PV inverters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saridakis, Stefanos; Koutroulis, Eftichios; Blaabjerg, Frede

2013-01-01

effective in terms of energy production than their non-optimized and Si-based counterparts. Reducing the market price of SiC-type power semiconductors enables to design optimized PV inverters with a lower cost of energy than that of PV inverters employing Si technology, thus maximizing the economic...... profitability of the PV system....

Collective neurodynamic optimization for economic emission dispatch problem considering valve point effect in microgrid.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tiancai; He, Xing; Huang, Tingwen; Li, Chuandong; Zhang, Wei

2017-09-01

The economic emission dispatch (EED) problem aims to control generation cost and reduce the impact of waste gas on the environment. It has multiple constraints and nonconvex objectives. To solve it, the collective neurodynamic optimization (CNO) method, which combines heuristic approach and projection neural network (PNN), is attempted to optimize scheduling of an electrical microgrid with ten thermal generators and minimize the plus of generation and emission cost. As the objective function has non-derivative points considering valve point effect (VPE), differential inclusion approach is employed in the PNN model introduced to deal with them. Under certain conditions, the local optimality and convergence of the dynamic model for the optimization problem is analyzed. The capability of the algorithm is verified in a complicated situation, where transmission loss and prohibited operating zones are considered. In addition, the dynamic variation of load power at demand side is considered and the optimal scheduling of generators within 24 h is described. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the Economic Performance of High-Technology Industry and Energy Efficiency: A Case Study of Science Parks in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Ren Yan

2013-02-01

Full Text Available High-technology industries provide opportunities for economic growth, but also raise concerns because of their energy-demanding nature. This paper provides an integrated evaluation of both economic benefits and energy efficiency of high-technology industries based on the real data from one of the globally recognized high-technology industrial clusters, the national science parks in Taiwan. A nation-wide industrial Input-Output Analysis is conducted to demonstrate the positive effects of science parks on national economic developments and industrial upgrades. The concept of energy intensity and an energy-efficient economy index are applied to an integrated assessment of the relationship between economic growth and energy consumption. The proposed case study suggests that economic and energy efficiency objectives can be simultaneously achieved by the development of high-technology industries, while three energy policy implications are considered. First, a nation-wide macro viewpoint is needed and high-technology industries should be considered as parts of the national/regional economies by governmental agencies. Second, a proper industrial clustering mechanism and the shared environmental facilities supported by the government, such as planned land and road usage, electricity and water supply, telecommunications system, sewerage system and wastewater treatments, can improve energy efficiency of high-technology industries. Third, the governmental policies on the taxing and management system in science parks would also direct energy-efficient economy of high-technology industries.

New international economic order and flow of science and technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bojko, B

1979-12-01

The role of science and technology in creating a new international economic order based on manpower and raw materials is examined. The traditional linkage of science and politics should end and emphasis be given to increasing productivity in order to expand employment opportunities and raise the world living standard. An indigenous research and development capability is seen as essential to counteract the effects of the time factor when technology is introduced into developing countries. Other considerations are risk of an illusory self-reliance, allocation of development sites in terms of labor substitution, ruthlessness of labor competition during modernization, variations of labor quality, and relationship of demography and unemployment. Competition between the capitalist and socialist countries is being redirected into cooperation in the area of technology transfer. 7 references. (DCK)

Condition monitoring and thermo economic optimization of operation for a hybrid plant using artificial neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assadi, Mohsen; Fast, Magnus (Lund University, Dept. of Energy Sciences, Lund (Sweden))

2008-05-15

The project aim is to model the hybrid plant at Vaesthamnsverket in Helsingborg using artificial neural networks (ANN) and integrating the ANN models, for online condition monitoring and thermo economic optimization, on site. The definition of a hybrid plant is that it uses more than one fuel, in this case a natural gas fuelled gas turbine with heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and a biomass fuelled steam boiler with steam turbine. The thermo economic optimization takes into account current electricity prices, taxes, fuel prices etc. and calculates the current production cost along with the 'predicted' production cost. The tool also has a built in feature of predicting when a compressor wash is economically beneficial. The user interface is developed together with co-workers at Vaesthamnsverket to ensure its usefulness. The user interface includes functions for warnings and alarms when possible deviations in operation occur and also includes a feature for plotting parameter trends (both measured and predicted values) in selected time intervals. The target group is the plant owners and the original equipment manufacturers (OEM). The power plant owners want to acquire a product for condition monitoring and thermo economic optimization of e.g. maintenance. The OEMs main interest lies in investigating the possibilities of delivering ANN models, for condition monitoring, along with their new gas turbines. The project has been carried out at Lund University, Department of Energy Sciences, with support from Vaesthamnsverket AB and Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB. Vaesthamnsverket has contributed with operational data from the plant as well as support in plant related questions. They have also been involved in the implementation of the ANN models in their computer system and the development of the user interface. Siemens have contributed with expert knowledge about their SGT800 gas turbine. The implementation of the ANN models, and the accompanying user

Combined-cycle steam section parametric analysis by thermo-economic simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macor, A.; Reini, M.

1991-01-01

In the case of industrial cogeneration plants, thermal power production is, in general, strictly dependent on the technological requirements of the production cycle, whereas, the electrical power which is produced can be auto- consumed or ceded to the utility grid. In both cases, an economic worth is given to this energy which influences the overall economic feasibility of the plant. The purpose of this paper is to examine parametric inter-relationships between economic and thermodynamic performance optimization techniques. Comparisons are then made of the results obtained with the use of the thermo- economic analysis technique suggested in this paper with those obtained with the use of indicators in other exergo-economic analysis techniques

Energetic and economic optimization of industrial systems compared

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LeGoff, P.; Rivero, R.; de Oliverira, S.; Schwarzer, B.

1990-01-01

Industrial processes can be represented as open systems where available energy (exergy) enters, utilized energy (exergy content of goods and services) exits and degraded energy (destroyed exergy) is rejected into the environment. The overall evaluation of each process can be made according to an energy accounting (in terms of exergy or of primary fossil energy) or a financial accounting (in terms of national or foreign currency). In any case, the process can be optimized by determining the best compromise between the costs of the various input fluxes. According to the needs of the decision maker one can choose the most convenient value criterion which would be to minimize: the total cost in national currency, for a project engineer working for a private company; the payments in foreign currency, for a public organization; the total energy consumption, for a hypothetical decision maker responsible for the world's non renewable fossil energy; the entropy production in order to increase the thermodynamic efficiency of the process. This paper presents and compares some examples of energetic and economic optimizations, according to various criteria. The examples given concern a heat exchanger, the drying of beet pulp and some heat transformers for upgrading industrial waste heat. Furthermore, the authors generalize the concept of pay-back time through the ratio of the invested capital cost and of the operating cost given in terms of exergy or of primary energy. Numerical values are given for an oil-fired boiler

Technology development and innovation for the bottom of the economic pyramid

Science.gov (United States)

Gadgil, Ashok

2015-04-01

Directed development of new technologies to solve specific problems of the poor in the developing world is a daunting task. Developing countries can be a wasteland littered with failed technologies sent there with much goodwill and effort from the industrial countries. Drawing on my team's experience I summarize our answers to some key questions for the technology designer or developer: How might one go about it? What works and what doesn't? What lessons can one draw from an examination of select successes and failures? The key lessons from our experience are: (1) successful technology design and implementation can not be separated from each other - they are tightly intertwined, (2) social factors are as critical for a technology's success as factors based on engineering science, and (3) ignorance of political economy, behavioral economics, organizational behavior, institutional imperatives, cultural norms and social drivers can prove fatal flaws when a new technology leaves the laboratory and meets the real world.

Risk based economic optimization of investment decisions of regulated power distribution system operators; Risikobasierte wirtschaftliche Optimierung von Investitionsentscheidungen regulierter Stromnetzbetreiber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John, Oliver

2012-07-01

The author of the contribution under consideration reports on risk-based economic optimization of investment decisions of regulated power distribution system operators. The focus is the economically rational decision behavior of operators under certain regulatory requirements. Investments in power distribution systems form the items subject to decisions. Starting from a description of theoretical and practical regulatory approaches, their financial implications are quantified at first. On this basis, optimization strategies are derived with respect to the investment behavior. For this purpose, an optimization algorithm is developed and applied to exemplary companies. Finally, effects of uncertainties in regulatory systems are investigated. In this context, Monte Carlo simulations are used in conjunction with real options analysis.

Evolutionary water cooled reactors: Strategic issues, technologies and economic viability. Proceedings of a symposium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-12-01

Symposium on evolutionary water cooled reactors: Strategic issues, technologies and economic viability was intended for managers in utilities, reactor design organizations and hardware manufacturing companies and for government decision makers who need to understand technological advances and the potential of evolutionary water cooled reactors to contribute to near and medium term energy demands. The topics addressed include: strategic issues (global energy outlook, the role of nuclear power in sustainable energy strategies, power generation costs, financing of nuclear plant projects, socio-political factors and nuclear safety requirements); technological advances (instrumentation and control, means od improving prevention and mitigation of severe accidents, development of passive safety systems); keys to economic viability (simplification, standardization, advances in construction and project management, feedback of experience from utilities into new designs, and effective management of plant operation)

Economic theory and climate change policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peters, I.; Ackerman, F.

1999-01-01

Our willingness to embrace climate change policies depends on our perception of their benefits and costs. Evaluation of these costs and benefits requires careful economic analysis. Yet the standard tools for such assessment - computable general equilibrium (CGE) models - are inadequate on several grounds. Their underlying theory suffers from well-known logical difficulties; in general, their equilibria may be neither unique, stable, nor efficient. Moreover, real-world phenomena such as increasing returns to scale, learning, and technological innovation are neglected in CGE models. These phenomena make the resulting equilibria in the models inefficient; in the real world they can lock society into sub-optimal technology choices. They introduce uncertainty and path-dependence, annihilating the concept of a single efficient allocation produced by the unfettered market. Yet conventional economics assesses the cost of policies solely on the basis of their departure from a purportedly efficient equilibrium - ignoring deeper structural changes that are often decisive in practice. New socioeconomic theories and models are emerging that allow for bounded rationality, the limiting and enabling character of institutions, technological change, and the complexities and uncertainties in economic evolution. Meanwhile, existing models should be modified to better reflect real-world phenomena and to abandon unfounded assumptions about the inherent ''inefficiencies'' of government intervention in the market. (author)

Comparative techno-economical study between membrane technology systems for obtaining concentrated fertilizers from biogas plant effluents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Camilleri Rumbau, Maria Salud; Norddahl, Birgir; Kjærhus Nielsen, Anne

2013-01-01

Membrane technology is a promising candidate for producing mineral fertilizers from animal slurry. This paper presents a combination of membrane technologies for processing digested slurry, lists retentions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) and evaluates the economic and technolog...

Clean coal technology optimization model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laseke, B.A.; Hance, S.B.

1992-01-01

Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 contains provisions for the mitigation of acid rain precipitation through reductions in the annual emission of the acid rain precursors of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO x ). These provisions will affect primarily existing coal-fired power-generating plants by requiring nominal reductions of 5 millon and 10 million tons of SO 2 by the years 1995 and 2000, respectively, and 2 million tons of NO x by the year 2000 relative to the 1980 and 1985-87 reference period. The 1990 CAAA Title IV provisions are extremely complex in that they establish phased regulatory milestones, unit-level emission allowances and caps, a mechanism for inter-utility trading of emission allowances, and a system of emission allowance credits based on selection of control option and timing of its implementation. The net result of Title IV of the 1990 CAAA is that approximately 147 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity is eligible to retrofit SO 2 controls by the year 2000. A number of options are available to bring affected boilers into compliance with Title IV. Market sharewill be influenced by technology performance and costs. These characteristics can be modeled through a bottom-up technology cost and performance optimization exercise to show their impact on the technology's potential market share. Such a model exists in the form of an integrated data base-model software system. This microcomputer (PC)-based software system consists of a unit (boiler)-level data base (ACIDBASE), a cost and performance engineering model (IAPCS), and a market forecast model (ICEMAN)

Economic Operation of Supercritical CO2 Refrigeration Energy Storage Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Hay, Ryan

With increasing penetration of intermittent renewable energy resources, improved methods of energy storage are becoming a crucial stepping stone in the path toward a smarter, greener grid. SuperCritical Technologies is a company based in Bremerton, WA that is developing a storage technology that can operate entirely on waste heat, a resource that is otherwise dispelled into the environment. The following research models this storage technology in several electricity spot markets around the US to determine if it is economically viable. A modification to the storage dispatch scheme is then presented which allows the storage unit to increase its profit in real-time markets by taking advantage of extreme price fluctuations. Next, the technology is modeled in combination with an industrial load profile on two different utility rate schedules to determine potential cost savings. The forecast of facility load has a significant impact on savings from the storage dispatch, so an exploration into this relationship is then presented.

Economic requirements for competitive laser fusion power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hogan, W.J.; Meier, W.R.

1986-01-01

An economic model of a laser fusion commercial power plant is used to identify the design and operating regimes of the driver, target and reaction chamber that will result in economic competitiveness with future fission and coal plants. The authors find that, for a plant with a net power of 1 GW/sub e/, the cost of the driver must be less than $0.4 to 0.6 B, and the recirculating power fraction must be less than 25%. Target gain improvements at low driver energy are the most beneficial but also the most difficult to achieve. The optimal driver energy decreases with increasing target technology. The sensitivity of the cost of electricity to variations in cost and performance parameters decreases with increasing target technology. If chamber pulse rates of a few Hz can be achieved, then gains of 80-100 are sufficient, and higher pulse rates do not help much. Economic competitiveness becomes more difficult with decreasing plant size. Finally, decreasing the cost of the balance of plant has the greatest beneficial effect on economic competitiveness

Combined optimization model for sustainable energization strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Abtew, Mohammed Seid

Access to energy is a foundation to establish a positive impact on multiple aspects of human development. Both developed and developing countries have a common concern of achieving a sustainable energy supply to fuel economic growth and improve the quality of life with minimal environmental impacts. The Least Developing Countries (LDCs), however, have different economic, social, and energy systems. Prevalence of power outage, lack of access to electricity, structural dissimilarity between rural and urban regions, and traditional fuel dominance for cooking and the resultant health and environmental hazards are some of the distinguishing characteristics of these nations. Most energy planning models have been designed for developed countries' socio-economic demographics and have missed the opportunity to address special features of the poor countries. An improved mixed-integer programming energy-source optimization model is developed to address limitations associated with using current energy optimization models for LDCs, tackle development of the sustainable energization strategies, and ensure diversification and risk management provisions in the selected energy mix. The Model predicted a shift from traditional fuels reliant and weather vulnerable energy source mix to a least cost and reliable modern clean energy sources portfolio, a climb on the energy ladder, and scored multifaceted economic, social, and environmental benefits. At the same time, it represented a transition strategy that evolves to increasingly cleaner energy technologies with growth as opposed to an expensive solution that leapfrogs immediately to the cleanest possible, overreaching technologies.

Economical evaluation on spent fuel storage technology away from reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Chihiro; Nagano, Koji; Saegusa, Toshiari

2000-01-01

Concerning the spent fuel storage away from reactor, economical comparison was carried out between metal cask and water pool storage technology. The economic index was defined by levelized cost (Unit storage cost) calculated on the assumption that the storage cost is paid at the receipt of the spent fuel at the storage facility. It is found that the cask storage is economical for small and large storage capacity. Unit storage cost of pool storage, however, is getting close to that of cask storage in case of storage capacity of 10,000 ton. Then, the unit storage cost is converted to power generation cost using data of the burn up of the fuel, etc. The cost is obtained as yen 0.09/kWh and yen 0. 15/kWh for cask storage and pool storage, respectively in case of the capacity of 5,000 tonU and the cooling time of 5 years. (author)

Deep-sea mining: Economic, technical, technological, and environmental considerations for sustainable development

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sharma, R.

investment of $1.95 billion as capital expenditure and $9 billion as operating expenditure for a single deep-sea mining venture. In view of high investment, technological challenges and economic considerations, private-public cooperation could be an effective...

ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS ANALYSIS OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA IN TERMS OF: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iulita BIRCA

2014-02-01

Full Text Available An important condition for achieving a sustainable economic growth and for improving living standards of the population of the Republic of Moldova is the active involvement of the national economy in the international exchange of goods, services, knowledge, technology, etc., and also strengthening its positions on the international market. Therefore, to achieve and maintain competitiveness has become a fundamental economic policies issue in the context of globalization. In the contemporary world, national economic competitiveness is determined by a wide variety of features and important factors. In this article, the authors will focus their attention on the part of science, technology and innovation as being one of the key tools in the modern future of any modern state.

The development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies: The role of economic interests and cultural worldviews on public support

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherry, Todd L.; García, Jorge H.; Kallbekken, Steffen; Torvanger, Asbjørn

2014-01-01

Large-scale deployment of low-carbon energy technologies is crucial to mitigating climate change, and public support is an important barrier to policies and projects that facilitate deployment. This paper provides insights to the origins of public opposition that can impede the adoption of low-carbon technologies by investigating how perceptions are shaped by local economic interests and individual cultural worldviews. The research considers both carbon capture and storage and wind energy technologies because they differ in maturity, economic impact and resource base. Further, for each technology, the research examines support for two types of policies: deployment in local community and public funding for research and development. Results indicate the influence of economic interests and cultural worldviews is policy specific. Individual cultural worldviews do not affect support for the deployment of technology, but they do significantly influence a person's support for publicly funded research and development. Conversely, local economic interests have a significant role in determining support for deployment, while they do not affect support for research and development. - Highlights: • We investigate factors that shape public support for low-carbon energy technologies. • We consider two low-carbon energy technologies and two stages of implementation. • Economic interests and cultural worldviews influence support but in different stages

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF CO2 SEQUESTRATION TECHNOLOGIES TASK 4, BIOMASS GASIFICATION-BASED PROCESSING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martha L. Rollins; Les Reardon; David Nichols; Patrick Lee; Millicent Moore; Mike Crim; Robert Luttrell; Evan Hughes

2002-06-01

Biomass derived energy currently accounts for about 3 quads of total primary energy use in the United States. Of this amount, about 0.8 quads are used for power generation. Several biomass energy production technologies exist today which contribute to this energy mix. Biomass combustion technologies have been the dominant source of biomass energy production, both historically and during the past two decades of expansion of modern biomass energy in the U. S. and Europe. As a research and development activity, biomass gasification has usually been the major emphasis as a method of more efficiently utilizing the energy potential of biomass, particularly wood. Numerous biomass gasification technologies exist today in various stages of development. Some are simple systems, while others employ a high degree of integration for maximum energy utilization. The purpose of this study is to conduct a technical and economic comparison of up to three biomass gasification technologies, including the carbon dioxide emissions reduction potential of each. To accomplish this, a literature search was first conducted to determine which technologies were most promising based on a specific set of criteria. The technical and economic performances of the selected processes were evaluated using computer models and available literature. Using these results, the carbon sequestration potential of the three technologies was then evaluated. The results of these evaluations are given in this final report.

Production System of Peranakan Etawah Goat under Application of Feed Technology: Productivity and Economic Efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akhmad Sodiq

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Feed resources are the major constraint in increasing goat production in the village. The main constraints to goat raising are related to feeds (i the high cost of transport of crop residues and grass to the homesteads, (ii the low nutritive value of feeds used, particularly in the dry period. This research was design to evaluate goat productivity and economic efficiency of goat farming under application of feed technology production system in Peranakan Etawah goat farmer group of Gumelar Banyumas Central Java. All farmers were taken as respondents using census methods. On farm research with participative focused group discussion, indepth interview, and farm observation. Descriptive analysis and independent t test methods were used to analyze the data. Results of this study showed that there was a significant improvement goat productivity on production system with the application of feed technology. Body weight at weaning, survival rate till weaning, and doe productivity were increased 7%, 2% and 5%, respectively. There was no evidence of significant different of farmers income and economic efficiency before and after the applied feed technology (P>0.05. The calculation was based on cash flow. Before application, farmers income per year and economic efficiency were Rp14.404.520,00 and 1.21, then insignificantly improve into Rp16.487.100,00 and 1.27, respectively. (Animal Production 11(3: 202-208 (2009 Key Words: Livestock production system, Peranakan Etawah goat, feed technology aplication, productivity and economic efficiency

Health, Work Intensity, and Technological Innovations

OpenAIRE

Raouf Boucekkine; Natali Hritonenko; Yuri Yatsenko

2013-01-01

Work significantly affects human life and health. Overworking may decrease the quality of life and cause direct economic losses. Technological innovations encourage modernization of firms' capital and improve labor productivity in the workplace. The paper investigates the optimal individual choice of work intensity under improving technology embodied in new equipment leading to shorter lifetime of capital goods (obsolescence). The balanced growth trajectories are analyzed in this context to f...

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF CO2 SEQUESTRATION TECHNOLOGIES TASK 4, BIOMASS GASIFICATION-BASED PROCESSING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martha L. Rollins; Les Reardon; David Nichols; Patrick Lee; Millicent Moore; Mike Crim; Robert Luttrell; Evan Hughes

2002-04-01

Biomass derived energy currently accounts for about 3 quads of total primary energy use in the United States. Of this amount, about 0.8 quads are used for power generation. Several biomass energy production technologies exist today which contribute to this energy mix. Biomass combustion technologies have been the dominant source of biomass energy production, both historically and during the past two decades of expansion of modern biomass energy in the U. S. and Europe. As a research and development activity, biomass gasification has usually been the major emphasis as a method of more efficiently utilizing the energy potential of biomass, particularly wood. Numerous biomass gasification technologies exist today in various stages of development. Some are simple systems, while others employ a high degree of integration for maximum energy utilization. The purpose of this study is to conduct a technical and economic comparison of up to three biomass gasification technologies, including the carbon dioxide emissions reduction potential of each. To accomplish this, a literature search was first conducted to determine which technologies were most promising based on a specific set of criteria. During this reporting period, the technical and economic performances of the selected processes were evaluated using computer models and available literature. The results of these evaluations are summarized in this report.

A non-standard optimal control problem arising in an economics application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan Zinober

2013-04-01

Full Text Available A recent optimal control problem in the area of economics has mathematical properties that do not fall into the standard optimal control problem formulation. In our problem the state value at the final time the state, y(T = z, is free and unknown, and additionally the Lagrangian integrand in the functional is a piecewise constant function of the unknown value y(T. This is not a standard optimal control problem and cannot be solved using Pontryagin's Minimum Principle with the standard boundary conditions at the final time. In the standard problem a free final state y(T yields a necessary boundary condition p(T = 0, where p(t is the costate. Because the integrand is a function of y(T, the new necessary condition is that y(T should be equal to a certain integral that is a continuous function of y(T. We introduce a continuous approximation of the piecewise constant integrand function by using a hyperbolic tangent approach and solve an example using a C++ shooting algorithm with Newton iteration for solving the Two Point Boundary Value Problem (TPBVP. The minimising free value y(T is calculated in an outer loop iteration using the Golden Section or Brent algorithm. Comparative nonlinear programming (NP discrete-time results are also presented.

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT IN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION. INTRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Sarancha

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Article describes the life cycle assessment method and introduces opportunities for method performance in healthcare system settings. LSA draws attention to careful use of resources, environmental, human and social responsibility. Modelling of environmental and technological inputs allows optimizing performance of the system. Various factors and parameters that may influence effectiveness of different sectors in healthcare system are detected. Performance optimization of detected parameters could lead to better system functioning, higher patient safety, economic sustainability and reduce resources consumption.

A conceptual framework for economic optimization of an animal health surveillance portfolio.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, X; Claassen, G D H; Oude Lansink, A G J M; Saatkamp, H W

2016-04-01

Decision making on hazard surveillance in livestock product chains is a multi-hazard, multi-stakeholder, and multi-criteria process that includes a variety of decision alternatives. The multi-hazard aspect means that the allocation of the scarce resource for surveillance should be optimized from the point of view of a surveillance portfolio (SP) rather than a single hazard. In this paper, we present a novel conceptual approach for economic optimization of a SP to address the resource allocation problem for a surveillance organization from a theoretical perspective. This approach uses multi-criteria techniques to evaluate the performances of different settings of a SP, taking cost-benefit aspects of surveillance and stakeholders' preferences into account. The credibility of the approach has also been checked for conceptual validity, data needs and operational validity; the application potentials of the approach are also discussed.

Thermochemical production of liquid fuels from biomass: Thermo-economic modeling, process design and process integration analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tock, Laurence; Gassner, Martin; Marechal, Francois

2010-01-01

A detailed thermo-economic model combining thermodynamics with economic analysis and considering different technological alternatives for the thermochemical production of liquid fuels from lignocellulosic biomass is presented. Energetic and economic models for the production of Fischer-Tropsch fuel (FT), methanol (MeOH) and dimethyl ether (DME) by means of biomass drying with steam or flue gas, directly or indirectly heated fluidized bed or entrained flow gasification, hot or cold gas cleaning, fuel synthesis and upgrading are reviewed and developed. The process is integrated and the optimal utility system is computed. The competitiveness of the different process options is compared systematically with regard to energetic, economic and environmental considerations. At several examples, it is highlighted that process integration is a key element that allows for considerably increasing the performance by optimal utility integration and energy conversion. The performance computations of some exemplary technology scenarios of integrated plants yield overall energy efficiencies of 59.8% (crude FT-fuel), 52.5% (MeOH) and 53.5% (DME), and production costs of 89, 128 and 113 Euro MWh -1 on fuel basis. The applied process design approach allows to evaluate the economic competitiveness compared to fossil fuels, to study the influence of the biomass and electricity price and to project for different plant capacities. Process integration reveals in particular potential energy savings and waste heat valorization. Based on this work, the most promising options for the polygeneration of fuel, power and heat will be determined in a future thermo-economic optimization.

Optimizing the construction of devices to control inaccesible surfaces - case study

Science.gov (United States)

Niţu, E. L.; Costea, A.; Iordache, M. D.; Rizea, A. D.; Babă, Al

2017-10-01

The modern concept for the evolution of manufacturing systems requires multi-criteria optimization of technological processes and equipments, prioritizing associated criteria according to their importance. Technological preparation of the manufacturing can be developed, depending on the volume of production, to the limit of favourable economical effects related to the recovery of the costs for the design and execution of the technological equipment. Devices, as subsystems of the technological system, in the general context of modernization and diversification of machines, tools, semi-finished products and drives, are made in a multitude of constructive variants, which in many cases do not allow their identification, study and improvement. This paper presents a case study in which the multi-criteria analysis of some structures, based on a general optimization method, of novelty character, is used in order to determine the optimal construction variant of a control device. The rational construction of the control device confirms that the optimization method and the proposed calculation methods are correct and determine a different system configuration, new features and functions, and a specific method of working to control inaccessible surfaces.

Optimal welding technology of high strength steel S690QL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusan Arsic

2015-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper is presented the detailed procedure for defining the optimal technology for welding the structures made of the high strength steel S690QL. That steel belongs into a group of steels with exceptional mechanical properties. The most prominent properties are the high tensile strength and impact toughness, at room and at elevated temperatures, as well. However, this steel has a negative characteristic - proneness to appearance of cold cracks.  That impedes welding and makes as an imperative to study different aspects of this steel's properties as well as those of eventual filler metal. Selection and defining of the optimal welding technology of this high strength steel is done for the purpose of preserving the favorable mechanical properties once the welded joint is realized; properties of the welded metal and the melting zone, as well as in the heat affected zone, which is the most critical zone of the welded joint.

Impacts of nuclear and hydroelectric great projects: economical, technological, environmental and social aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, L.P.; Sigaud, L.; Mielnik, O.

1988-01-01

Some studies about the Great Impacts of Energy Sources, mainly nuclear power plant and hydroelectric power plant, in Brazil are presented. The technological, economical, social and environmental aspects are described [pt

Economic aspects of Solar Thermal Technologies for electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meinecke, W.

1993-01-01

Economic results of German studies are presented, which compare the four solar thermal technologies for electricity generation (parabolic trough collector system, central receiver system, parabolic dish/Stirling system, solar chimney plant). These studies were carried out by Interatom (today Siemens/KWU) in Bergisch Gladbach, Flachglas Solartechnik in Koln and Schlaich Bergermann and Partner in Stuggart under contract of DLR in Koln. Funds were made available by the German Ministry of Research and Development (BMFT). The results indicate that all of the investigated technologies have the potential to reduce the generating costs and that in the future costs of below 0.30 DM/kWh could be expected under excellent insolation conditions (e.G. 2850 kWh/m''2 a direct insolation as in California/USA). (Author) 25 refs

OPTIMIZING USABILITY OF AN ECONOMIC DECISION SUPPORT TOOL: PROTOTYPE OF THE EQUIPT TOOL.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Kei Long; Hiligsmann, Mickaël; Präger, Maximilian; Jones, Teresa; Józwiak-Hagymásy, Judit; Muñoz, Celia; Lester-George, Adam; Pokhrel, Subhash; López-Nicolás, Ángel; Trapero-Bertran, Marta; Evers, Silvia M A A; de Vries, Hein

2018-01-01

Economic decision-support tools can provide valuable information for tobacco control stakeholders, but their usability may impact the adoption of such tools. This study aims to illustrate a mixed-method usability evaluation of an economic decision-support tool for tobacco control, using the EQUIPT ROI tool prototype as a case study. A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used, including a heuristic evaluation, a thinking aloud approach, and a questionnaire testing and exploring the usability of the Return of Investment tool. A total of sixty-six users evaluated the tool (thinking aloud) and completed the questionnaire. For the heuristic evaluation, four experts evaluated the interface. In total twenty-one percent of the respondents perceived good usability. A total of 118 usability problems were identified, from which twenty-six problems were categorized as most severe, indicating high priority to fix them before implementation. Combining user-based and expert-based evaluation methods is recommended as these were shown to identify unique usability problems. The evaluation provides input to optimize usability of a decision-support tool, and may serve as a vantage point for other developers to conduct usability evaluations to refine similar tools before wide-scale implementation. Such studies could reduce implementation gaps by optimizing usability, enhancing in turn the research impact of such interventions.

Concise Approach for Determining the Optimal Annual Capacity Shortage Percentage using Techno-Economic Feasibility Parameters of PV Power System

Science.gov (United States)

Alghoul, M. A.; Ali, Amer; Kannanaikal, F. V.; Amin, N.; Sopian, K.

2017-11-01

PV power systems have been commercially available and widely used for decades. The performance of a reliable PV system that fulfils the expectations requires correct input data and careful design. Inaccurate input data of the techno-economic feasibility would affect the size, cost aspects, stability and performance of PV power system on the long run. The annual capacity shortage is one of the main input data that should be selected with careful attention. The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of different annual capacity shortages on the techno-economic feasibility parameters and determining the optimal value for Baghdad city location using HOMER simulation tool. Six values of annual capacity shortage percentages (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%), and wide daily load profile range (10 kWh - 100 kWh) are implemented. The optimal annual capacity shortage is the value that always "wins" when each techno-economic feasibility parameter is at its optimal/ reasonable criteria. The results showed that the optimal annual capacity shortage that reduces significantly the cost of PV power system while keeping the PV system with reasonable technical feasibility is 3%. This capacity shortage value can be carried as a reference value in future works for Baghdad city location. Using this approach of analysis at other locations, annual capacity shortage can be always offered as a reference value for those locations.

Optimal synthesis of a heat-exchanger network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamed, O A; Aly, S [University of United Arab Emirates, Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates). Faculty of Engineering

1991-01-01

Thermodynamic, heat transfer and economic concepts influencing the synthesis of a heat-exchanger network (HEN) coupled to a crude fractionation unit are examined. The impact of the variation of the minimum temperature approach on energy and capital targets is studied using recent developments in pinch technology. The optimal pinch approach temperature has been determined using the 'supertargeting' concept where proper trade-off between energy and capital targets is observed prior to design. A heuristic evolutionary approach has then been used for the generation of the optimal HEN. (author).

Integrating sequencing technologies in personal genomics: optimal low cost reconstruction of structural variants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiang Du

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The goal of human genome re-sequencing is obtaining an accurate assembly of an individual's genome. Recently, there has been great excitement in the development of many technologies for this (e.g. medium and short read sequencing from companies such as 454 and SOLiD, and high-density oligo-arrays from Affymetrix and NimbelGen, with even more expected to appear. The costs and sensitivities of these technologies differ considerably from each other. As an important goal of personal genomics is to reduce the cost of re-sequencing to an affordable point, it is worthwhile to consider optimally integrating technologies. Here, we build a simulation toolbox that will help us optimally combine different technologies for genome re-sequencing, especially in reconstructing large structural variants (SVs. SV reconstruction is considered the most challenging step in human genome re-sequencing. (It is sometimes even harder than de novo assembly of small genomes because of the duplications and repetitive sequences in the human genome. To this end, we formulate canonical problems that are representative of issues in reconstruction and are of small enough scale to be computationally tractable and simulatable. Using semi-realistic simulations, we show how we can combine different technologies to optimally solve the assembly at low cost. With mapability maps, our simulations efficiently handle the inhomogeneous repeat-containing structure of the human genome and the computational complexity of practical assembly algorithms. They quantitatively show how combining different read lengths is more cost-effective than using one length, how an optimal mixed sequencing strategy for reconstructing large novel SVs usually also gives accurate detection of SNPs/indels, how paired-end reads can improve reconstruction efficiency, and how adding in arrays is more efficient than just sequencing for disentangling some complex SVs. Our strategy should facilitate the sequencing of

Designing medical technology for resilience : integrating health economics and human factors approaches

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borsci, Simone; Uchegbu, Ijeoma; Buckle, Peter; Ni, Zhifang; Walne, Simon; Hanna, George B.

2018-01-01

Introduction: The slow adoption of innovation into healthcare calls into question the manner of evidence generation for medical technology. This paper identifies potential reasons for this including a lack of attention to human factors, poor evaluation of economic benefits, lack of understanding of

Optimal design of integrated CHP systems for housing complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuentes-Cortés, Luis Fabián; Ponce-Ortega, José María; Nápoles-Rivera, Fabricio; Serna-González, Medardo; El-Halwagi, Mahmoud M.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • An optimization formulation for designing domestic CHP systems is presented. • The operating scheme, prime mover and thermal storage system are optimized. • Weather conditions and behavior demands are considered. • Simultaneously economic and environmental objectives are considered. • Two case studies from Mexico are presented. - Abstract: This paper presents a multi-objective optimization approach for designing residential cogeneration systems based on a new superstructure that allows satisfying the demands of hot water and electricity at the minimum cost and the minimum environmental impact. The optimization involves the selection of technologies, size of required units and operating modes of equipment. Two residential complexes in different cities of the State of Michoacán in Mexico were considered as case studies. One is located on the west coast and the other one is in the mountainous area. The results show that the implementation of the proposed optimization method yields significant economic and environmental benefits due to the simultaneous reduction in the total annual cost and overall greenhouse gas emissions

Stimulation of Technological Development of Ukraine in State Programmes of Economic Development in 2013 - 2014

OpenAIRE

Matyushenko Igor Y.

2013-01-01

The article considers main reasons and possible ways of improvement of the balance of payments of Ukraine. It conducts analysis of measures of the State Programme of Economic Development of Ukraine in 2013 - 2014, directed at increase of competitiveness and improvement of the investment climate. It gives an assessment of measures directed at activation of financing of economic development, namely: ensuring an optimal level of inflation, ensuring de-dollarisation and de-shadowing of economy; b...

Optimization of the nuclear power engineering safety on the basis of social and economic parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlov, V.F.; Kuz'min, I.I.; Lystsov, V.N.; Amosova, T.V.; Makhutov, N.A.; Men'shikov, V.F.

1995-01-01

Principle of optimization of nuclear power engineering safety is presented on the basis of estimating the risks to the man's health with an account of peculiarities of socio-economic system and other types of economic activities in the region. Average expected duration of forthcoming life and costs of its prolongation serve as a unit for measuring the man's safety. It is shown that if the expenditures on NPP technical safety exceed the scientifically substantiated costs for this region with application of the above principle, than the risk for population will exceed the minimum achievable level. 8 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Technical and economic assessments commercial success for IGCC technology in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong, T.

1998-01-01

The experiences gained from several Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) demonstration plants operating in the US and Europe facilitate commercial success of this advanced coal-based power generation technology. However, commercialization of coal-based IGCC technology in the West, particularly in the US, is restricted due to the low price of natural gas. On the contrary, in China--the largest coal producer and consumer in the world--a lack of natural gas supply, strong demand for air pollution control and relatively low costs of manufacturing and construction provide tremendous opportunities for IGCC applications. The first Chinese IGCC demonstration project was initiated in 1994, and other potential IGCC projects are in planning. IGCC applications in re-powering, fuel switching and multi-generation also show a great market potential in China. However, questions for IGCC development in China remain; where are realistic opportunities for IGCC projects and how can these opportunities be converted into commercial success? The answers to these questions should focus on the Chinese market needs and emphasize economic benefits, not just clean, or power. High price of imported equipment, high financing costs, and the technical risk of first-of-a-kind installation barricade IGCC development in China. This paper presents preliminary technical and economic assessments for four typical IGCC applications in the Chinese marketplace: central power station, fuel switching, re-powering, and multi-generation. The major factors affecting project economics--such as plant cost, financing, prices of fuel and electricity and operating capacity factor--are analyzed. The results indicate that well-proven technology for versatile applications, preferred financing, reduction of the plant cost, environmental superiority and appropriate project structure are the key for commercial success of IGCC in China

A manual for the economic evaluation of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Short, W.; Packey, D.J.; Holt, T.

1995-03-01

This manual is a guide for analyzing the economics of energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE) technologies and projects. It is intended (1) to help analysts determine the appropriate approach or type of analysis and the appropriate level of detail and (2) to assist EE analysts in completing consistent analyses using standard assumptions and bases, when appropriate. Included are analytical techniques that are commonly required for the economic analysis of EE technologies and projects. The manual consists of six sections: Introduction, Fundamentals, Selection Criteria Guide, Economic Measures, Special Considerations for Conservation and Renewable Energy Systems, and References. A glossary and eight appendices are also included. Each section has a brief introductory statement, a presentation of necessary formulae, a discussion, and when appropriate, examples and descriptions of data and data availability. The objective of an economic analysis is to provide the information needed to make a judgment or a decision. The most complete analysis of an investment in a technology or a project requires the analysis of each year of the life of the investment, taking into account relevant direct costs, indirect and overhead costs, taxes, and returns on investment, plus any externalities, such as environmental impacts, that are relevant to the decision to be made. However, it is important to consider the purpose and scope of a particular analysis at the outset because this will prescribe the course to follow. The perspective of the analysis is important, often dictating the approach to be used. Also, the ultimate use of the results of an analysis will influence the level of detail undertaken. The decision-making criteria of the potential investor must also be considered.

Optimal pollution taxes and endogenous technological progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parry, I.W.H.

1995-01-01

The optimal pollution tax becomes complicated when allowance is made for endogenous innovation, under a patent system. However, if anything, it is below marginal environmental damages, to counteract monopoly pricing by the patent holder, the common pool effect associated with research and a possible excess of patent holder revenue over the social benefits from innovation when environmental damages are convex. In cases where patents are weak at securing appropriability, for example when rivals can easily imitate around patented technologies, awarding research prizes or contracts is probably more efficient than raising the pollution tax. 24 refs., 4 figs

Optimal Selection Method of Process Patents for Technology Transfer Using Fuzzy Linguistic Computing

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Gangfeng Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Under the open innovation paradigm, technology transfer of process patents is one of the most important mechanisms for manufacturing companies to implement process innovation and enhance the competitive edge. To achieve promising technology transfers, we need to evaluate the feasibility of process patents and optimally select the most appropriate patent according to the actual manufacturing situation. Hence, this paper proposes an optimal selection method of process patents using multiple criteria decision-making and 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic computing to avoid information loss during the processes of evaluation integration. An evaluation index system for technology transfer feasibility of process patents is designed initially. Then, fuzzy linguistic computing approach is applied to aggregate the evaluations of criteria weights for each criterion and corresponding subcriteria. Furthermore, performance ratings for subcriteria and fuzzy aggregated ratings of criteria are calculated. Thus, we obtain the overall technology transfer feasibility of patent alternatives. Finally, a case study of aeroengine turbine manufacturing is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method.

A new fuzzy adaptive particle swarm optimization for non-smooth economic dispatch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niknam, Taher; Mojarrad, Hassan Doagou; Nayeripour, Majid [Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz (Iran)

2010-04-15

This paper proposes a novel method for solving the Non-convex Economic Dispatch (NED) problems, by the Fuzzy Adaptive Modified Particle Swarm Optimization (FAMPSO). Practical ED problems have non-smooth cost functions with equality and inequality constraints when generator valve-point loading effects are taken into account. Modern heuristic optimization techniques have been given much attention by many researchers due to their ability to find an almost global optimal solution for ED problems. PSO is one of modern heuristic algorithms, in which particles change place to get close to the best position and find the global minimum point. However, the classic PSO may converge to a local optimum solution and the performance of the PSO highly depends on the internal parameters. To overcome these drawbacks, in this paper, a new mutation is proposed to improve the global searching capability and prevent the convergence to local minima. Also, a fuzzy system is used to tune its parameters such as inertia weight and learning factors. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, it is applied to a system consisting of 13 and 40 thermal units whose fuel cost function is calculated by taking account of the effect of valve-point loading. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm compared to other optimization algorithms presented in literature. (author)

Optimization model for school transportation design based on economic and social efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heddebaut, O.; Ciommo, F. di

2016-07-01

The purpose of this paper is to design a model that allows to suggest new planning proposals on school transport, so that greater efficiency operational will be achieved. It is a multi-objective optimization problem including the minimization of the cost of busing and minimizes the total travel time of all students. The foundation of the model is the planning routes made by bus due to changes in the starting time in schools, so the buses are able to perform more than one route. The methodology is based on the School Bus Routing Problem, so that routes from different schools within a given time window are connected, and within the restrictions of the problem, the system costs are minimized. The proposed model is programmed to be applied in any generic case. This is a multi-objective problem, in which there will be several possible solutions, depending on the weight to be assigned to each of the variables involved, economic point of view versus social point of view. Therefore, the proposed model is helpful for policy planning school transportation, supporting the decision making under conditions of economic and social efficiency. The model has been applied in some schools located in an area of Cantabria (Spain), resulting in 71 possible optimal options that minimize the cost of school transport between 2,7% and 35,1% regarding to the current routes of school transport, with different school start time and minimum travel time for students. (Author)

Modeling economic growth fuelled by science and technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Costa Ribeiro

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This paper suggests a simulation model to investigate how science and technology fuel economic growth. This model is built upon a synthesis of technological capabilities represented by national innovation systems. This paper gathers data of papers and patents for 183 countries between 1999 and 2003, as well as GDP and population for 2003. These data show a strong correlation between science, technology and income. Three simulation exercises are performed. Feeding our algorithm with data for population, patents and scientific papers, we obtain the world income distribution. These results support our conjecture on the role of science and technology as sources of the wealth of nations.Este artigo propõe um modelo de simulação para investigar a contribuição da ciência e da tecnologia para o crescimento econômico. O ponto de partida são os sistemas nacionais de inovação, um conceito que sintetiza a capacitação tecnológica das nações. Desta forma, o modelo pode preservar simplicidade e parcimônia. Os dados coletados (patentes, artigos e PIB e população, para 183 países indicam uma forte correlação entre ciência, tecnologia e renda. Três exercícios com simulações são realizados para diversos momentos do tempo, mostrando a progressiva aderência do modelo a essas variáveis tecnológicas.

An Integrated Economic-Organizational Model of the Enterprises in the Development of Information Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polyakov Maxym V.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at building an integrated economic-organizational model of the information technologies developing enterprises in order to choose the best technology, production process, production through adjustment or replacement of the business model on the basis of a balanced scorecard, a business model template, and the cognitive model of the IT enterprise development management. The possibility to bind a business model to a strategic goal has been identified, thus providing for quantifying the business model. The article presents a generalized cognitive map of the information technologies developing enterprise, which includes three levels: strategic level, business model level, and development management level. The distribution of the indicators to three levels allows for the consideration of changing the way in which strategic objectives are achieved by changing the business model. However, the indicators, which can be managed by the enterprise itself, remain unchanged. Prospect for further research in this direction is to find indicators for quantifying all levels of the integrated economic-organizational model of the enterprises in the development of information technologies and to substantiate the relationship between them.

THE IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CIURLĂU LOREDANA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Foreign Direct Investment (FDI bring an essential contribution to economic growth. They create jobs, optimize the allocation of resources, technology transfer and stimulate trade. Doing business in Romania needs friendly taxation and economic freedom for entrepreneurs, including to foreign investors, creating a favourable economic environment framework by promoting conditions conducive to attracting foreign investors, such as: fair treatment, fair and non-discriminatory manner; protection from illegal situated between kilometeres; the appeal directly to international arbitration, as well as the transformation of Romania into an attractive environment in terms of taxation.

UES: an optimization software package for power and energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vohryzek, J.; Havlena, V.; Findejs, J.; Jech, J.

2004-01-01

Unified Energy Solutions components are designed to meet specific requirements of the electric utilities, industrial power units, and district heating (combined heat and power) plants. The optimization objective is to operate the plant with maximum process efficiency and operational profit under the constraints imposed by technology and environmental impacts. Software applications for advanced control real-time optimization may provide a low-cost, high return alternative to expensive boiler retrofits for improving operational profit as well as reducing emissions. Unified Energy Solutions (UES) software package is a portfolio of advanced control and optimization components running on top of the standard process regulatory and control system. The objective of the UES is to operate the plant with maximum achievable profit (maximum efficiency) under the constraints imposed by technology (life-time consumption, asset health) and environmental impacts (CO and NO x emissions). Fast responsiveness to varying economic conditions and integration of real-time optimization and operator decision support (off-line) features are critical for operation in real-time economy. Optimization Features are targeted to combustion process, heat and power load allocation to parallel resources, electric power delivery and ancillary services. Optimization Criteria include increased boiler thermal efficiency, maintaining emission limits, economic load allocation of the heat and generation sources. State-of-the-art advanced control algorithms use model based predictive control principles and provide superior response in transient states. Individual software modules support open control platforms and communication protocols. UES can be implemented on a wide range of distributed control systems. Typical achievable benefits include heat and power production costs savings, increased effective boiler operation range, optimized flue gas emissions, optimized production capacity utilization, optimized