Search results for: supply chain resilience

Authors: Lakshmi N. Reddi, Akanksha Varma Sagi

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Studies on biomimetics are largely developed, deriving inspiration from natural processes in our objective world to develop novel technologies. Recent studies are diverse in nature, making their categorization quite challenging. Based on an exhaustive survey, we developed categorizations based on either the essential elements of nature - air, water, land, fire, and space, or on form/shape, functionality, and process. Such diverse studies as aircraft wings inspired by bird wings, a self-cleaning coating inspired by a lotus petal, wetsuits inspired by beaver fur, and search algorithms inspired by arboreal ant path networks lend themselves to these categorizations. Our categorizations of biomimetic studies allowed us to define a different dimension of biomimetics. This new dimension is not restricted to inspiration from the objective world. It is based on the premise that the biological processes observed in the objective world find their reflections in our human bodies in a variety of ways. For example, the lungs provide the most efficient example for liquid-gas phase exchange, the heart exemplifies a very efficient pumping and circulatory system, and the kidneys epitomize the most effective cleaning system. The main focus of this paper is to bring out the magnificence of the cerebro-spinal system (CSS) insofar as it relates to our current computer architecture. In particular, the paper uses four key measures to analyze the differences between CSS and human- engineered computational systems. These are adaptability, sustainability, energy efficiency, and resilience. We found that the cerebrospinal system reveals some important challenges in the development and evolution of our current computer architectures. In particular, the myriad ways in which the CSS is integrated with other systems/processes (circulatory, respiration, etc) offer useful insights on how the human-engineered computational systems could be made more sustainable, energy-efficient, resilient, and adaptable. In our paper, we highlight the energy consumption differences between CSS and our current computational designs. Apart from the obvious differences in materials used between the two, the systemic nature of how CSS functions provides clues to enhance life-cycles of our current computational systems. The rapid formation and changes in the physiology of dendritic spines and their synaptic plasticity causing memory changes (ex., long-term potentiation and long-term depression) allowed us to formulate differences in the adaptability and resilience of CSS. In addition, the CSS is sustained by integrative functions of various organs, and its robustness comes from its interdependence with the circulatory system. The paper documents and analyzes quantifiable differences between the two in terms of the four measures. Our analyses point out the possibilities in the development of computational systems that are more adaptable, sustainable, energy efficient, and resilient. It concludes with the potential approaches for technological advancement through creation of more interconnected and interdependent systems to replicate the effective operation of cerebro-spinal system.

Keywords: cerebrospinal system, computer architecture, adaptability, sustainability, resilience, energy efficiency

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Authors: Juan Luis Leal, Rafael Maestre, Ovidio López

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As innovation progresses, more possibilities are made available to increase the efficiency and reach of solutions for Smart Cities, most of which require the data provided by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and may even have higher power requirements such as motors or actuators. A reliable power supply with the lowest maintenance is a requirement for the success of these solutions in the long term. Energy harvesting, mainly solar, becomes the solution of choice in most cases, but only if there is enough power to be harvested, which may depend on the device location (e.g., outdoors vs. indoor). This is the case of Smart Waste Containers with compaction systems, which have moderately high-power requirements, and may be installed in places with little sunlight for solar generation. It should be noted that waste is unloaded from the containers with cranes, so sudden and irregular movements may happen, making wired power unviable. In these cases, a wireless power supply may be a great alternative. This paper proposes a cost-effective two coil resonant wireless power transfer (WPT) system and describes its implementation, which has been carried out within an R&D project and validated in real settings with smart containers. Experimental results prove that the developed system achieves wireless power transmission up to 35W in the range of 5 cm to 1 m with a peak efficiency of 78%. The circuit is operated at relatively low resonant frequencies, which combined with enough wire-to-wire separation between the coil windings, reduce the losses caused by the proximity effect and, therefore, allow the use of common stranded wire instead of Litz wire, this without reducing the efficiency significantly. All these design considerations led to a final system that achieves a high efficiency for the desired charging range, simplifying the energy supply for Smart Containers as well as other devices that may benefit from a cost-effective wireless charging system.

Keywords: electromagnetic coupling, resonant wireless charging, smart recycling containers, wireless power transfer

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Authors: Chitsanzo Isaac

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Across the world, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has challenged urban systems and policy frameworks, highlighting societal vulnerabilities and systemic inequities among many communities. Measures of confinement and social distancing to contain the Covid-19 virus have fragmented the physical and social fabric of cities. This has caused urban dwellers to reassess how they engage with their urban surroundings and maintain social ties. Urbanists have presented strategies that would allow communities to survive and even thrive, in extraordinary times of crisis like the pandemic. Tactical Urbanism, particularly the 15-Minute City, has gained popularity. It is considered a resilient approach in the global north, however, it’s transferability to the global south has been called into question. To this end, this paper poses the question: to what extent is the 15-Minute City framework integral sustainable design, and are there processes that make it adoptable by cities in the global south? This paper explores four issues using secondary quantitative data analysis and convergence analysis in the Paris and Blantyre urban regions. First, it questions how the 15-Minute City has been defined and measured, and how it impacts urban dwellers. Second, it examines the extent to which the 15-minute city performs under the lens of frameworks such as Wilber’s integral theory and Fleming’s integral sustainable design theory. Thirdly this work examines the processes that can be transferred to developing cities which foster community resilience through the perspectives of experience, behaviors, cultures, and systems. Finally, it reviews the principal ways in which a multi-perspective reality can be the basis for resilient community design and sustainable urban development. This work will shed a light on the importance of a multi-perspective reality as a means of achieving sustainable urban design goals in developing urban areas.

Keywords: 15-minute city, developing cities, global south, community resilience, integral sustainable design, systems thinking, complexity, tactical urbanism

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Authors: Frie Ayalew, Seada Hussen

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Ethio-telecom holds a variety of telecom devices that needs a consistent power source to be operational. The company got this power mainly from the national grid and used this power source alone or with a generator and/or batteries as a backup. In addition, for off-grid or remote areas, the company commonly uses generators and batteries. But unstable diesel prices, huge expenses of fuel and transportation, and high carbon emissions are the main problems associated with fuel energy. So, the design of solar power with battery backup is a highly recommended and advantageous source for the next coming years. This project designs the AC and DC standalone photovoltaic supply to Ethio-telecom access layer devices for the case of multi-service access gateway in Adama. The design is done by using Homer software for both AC and DC loads. The project shows that the design of a solar based microgrid is the best option for the designed area.

Keywords: solar power, battery, inverter, Ethio-telecom, solar radiation

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Authors: Fathonah Siti, Ardiana Irma

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Indonesia is currently on its track to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2019. The program aims to address issues on disintegration in the implementation and coverage of various health insurance schemes and fragmented fund pooling. Family planning service is covered as one of benefit packages under preventive care. However, little has been done to examine how family planning program are appropriately managed across levels of governments and how family planning services are delivered to the end user. The study is performed through focus group discussion to related policy makers and selected programmers at central and district levels. The study is also benefited from relevant studies on family planning in the UHC scheme and other supporting data. The study carefully investigates some programmatic implications when family planning is integrated in the UHC program encompassing the need to recalculate contraceptive logistics for beneficiaries (eligible couple); policy reformulation for contraceptive service provision including supply chain management; establishment of family planning standard of procedure; and a call to update Management Information System. The study confirms that there is a significant increase in the numbers of contraceptive commodities needs to be procured by the government. Holding an assumption that contraceptive prevalence rate and commodities cost will be as expected increasing at 0.5% annually, the government need to allocate almost IDR 5 billion by 2019, excluded fee for service. The government shifts its focus to maintain eligible health facilities under National Population and Family Planning Board networks. By 2019, the government has set strategies to anticipate the provision of family planning services to 45.340 health facilities distributed in 514 districts and 7 thousand sub districts. Clear division of authorities has been established among levels of governments. Three models of contraceptive supply planning have been developed and currently in the process of being institutionalized. Pre service training for family planning services has been piloted in 10 prominent universities. The position of private midwives has been appreciated as part of the system. To ensure the implementation of quality and health expenditure control, family planning standard has been established as a reference to determine set of services required to deliver to the clients properly and types of health facilities to conduct particular family planning services. Recognition to individual status of program participation has been acknowledged in the Family Enumeration since 2015. The data is precisely recorded by name by address for each family and its members. It supplies valuable information to 15.131 Family Planning Field Workers (FPFWs) to provide information and education related to family planning in an attempt to generate demand and maintain the participation of family planning acceptors who are program beneficiaries. Despite overwhelming efforts described above, some obstacles remain. The program experiences poor socialization and yet removes geographical barriers for those living in remote areas. Family planning services provided for this sub population conducted outside the scheme as a complement strategy. However, UHC program has brought remarkable improvement in access and quality of family planning services.

Keywords: beneficiary, family planning services, national population and family planning board, universal health coverage

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Authors: Bianca Maria Rulli, Lenny Valentino Schiaretti

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The considerable recent urbanization has increasingly sharpened environmental and social problems all over the world. During the recent years, many answers to the alarming attitudes in modern cities have emerged: a drastic reduction in the rate of growth is becoming essential for future generations and small scale economies are considered more adaptive and sustainable. According to the concept of degrowth, cities should consider surpassing the centralization of urban living by redefining the relationship between rural and urban knowledge; growing food in cities fundamentally contributes to the increase of social and ecological resilience. Through an innovative approach, this research combines the benefits of urban agriculture (increase of biological diversity, shorter and thus more efficient supply chains, food security) and temporary land use. They stimulate collaborative practices to satisfy the changing needs of communities and stakeholders. The concept proposes a coherent strategy to create a sustainable development of urban spaces, introducing a productive green-network to link specific areas in the city. By shifting the current relationship between architecture and landscape, the former process of ground consumption is deeply revised. Temporary modules can be used as concrete tools to create temporal areas of innovation, transforming vacant or marginal spaces into potential laboratories for the development of the city. The only permanent ground traces, such as foundations, are minimized in order to allow future land re-use. The aim is to describe a new mindset regarding the quality of space in the metropolis which allows, in a completely flexible way, to bring back the green and the urban farming into the cities. The wide possibilities of the research are analyzed in two different case-studies. The first is a regeneration/connection project designated for social housing, the second concerns the use of temporary modules to answer to the potential needs of social structures. The intention of the productive green-network is to link the different vacant spaces to each other as well as to the entire urban fabric. This also generates a potential improvement of the current situation of underprivileged and disadvantaged persons.

Keywords: degrowth, green network, land use, temporary building, urban farming

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Authors: Abel Edeowede Abhulimen

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Due to supply irregularity and frequent outages, the need for reliability in power supply has grown unsatisfactorily over time in developing nations, impeding industrialization and fueling insecurity. This article attempts to break down the Nigerian power issue into its numerous sub-sectors in order to pinpoint the industry's ailment and suggest a viable fix. Monthly average performance data were obtained for the various sub-sectors across the industry for eight consecutive quarters. Whereas the amount of energy generated was found to be insufficient to engender industrialization in a nation like Nigeria, the transmission infrastructure was inadequate for the amount of power needed to be wheeled. Additionally, the distribution sub-sector was plagued with problems such as revenue collection inefficiency, severe enough to impede the growth of the entire industry. The country's goal of attaining energy sufficiency and industrialization would significantly be closer to reality with a conscious effort to increase the base of power generation through aggressive investment in Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), decentralization of the transmission infrastructure, and strict monitoring of the distribution sub-sector for improved accountability and system reliability.

Keywords: performance, power industry, industrialization, security, energy

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Authors: Khalil Ibrahim, Ahmed Ramadan, Mohamed Fanni, Yo Kobayashi, Ahmed Abo-Ismail, Masakatus G. Fujie

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This paper deals with the design process and the dynamic control simulation of a new type of 4-DOFs parallel mechanism that can be used as an endoscopic surgical manipulator. The proposed mechanism, 2-PUU_2-PUS, is designed based on the screw theory and the parallel virtual chain type synthesis method. Based on the structure analysis of the 4-DOF parallel mechanism, the inverse position equation is studied using the inverse analysis theory of kinematics. The design and the stress analysis of the mechanism are investigated using SolidWorks software. The virtual prototype of the parallel mechanism is constructed, and the dynamic simulation is performed using ADAMS TM software. The system model utilizing PID and PI controllers has been built using MATLAB software. A more realistic simulation in accordance with a given bending angle and point to point control is implemented by the use of both ADAMS/MATLAB software. The simulation results showed that this control method has solved the coordinate control for the 4-DOF parallel manipulator so that each output is feedback to the four driving rods. From the results, the tracking performance is achieved. Other control techniques, such as intelligent ones, are recommended to improve the tracking performance and reduce the numerical truncation error.

Keywords: parallel mechanisms, medical robotics, tracjectory control, virtual chain type synthesis method

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Authors: Boce Zhang, Yaguang Luo

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Ripening of climacteric fruits, such as bananas and avocados, are usually initiated days prior to the retail marketing. However, upon the onset of irreversible ripening, they undergo rapid spoilage if not consumed within a narrow climacteric time window. Controlled ripening of climacteric fruits is a critical step to provide consumers with high-quality products while reducing postharvest losses and food waste. There is a high demand for technologies that can retard the ripening process or enable accelerated ripening immediately before consumption. In this work, metal−organic framework (MOF) was developed as a solid porous matrix to encapsulate gaseous hormone, including ethylene, for subsequent application. The feasibility of the on-demand stimulated ripening of bananas and avocados is also evaluated. MOF was synthesized and loaded with ethylene gas. The MOF−ethylene was placed inside sealed containers with preclimacteric bananas and avocados and stored at 16 °C. The fruits were treated for 24-48 hours, and evaluated for ripening progress. Results indicate that MOF−ethylene treatment significantly accelerated the ripening-related changes of color and textural properties in treated bananas and avocados. The average ripening period for both avocados and bananas were reduced in half by using this method. No significant differences of quality characteristics at respective ripening stages were observed between produce ripened via MOF-ethylene versus exogenously supplied ethylene gas or endogenously produced ethylene. Solid MOF matrices could have multiple advantages compared to existing systems, including easy to transport and safe to use by minimally trained produce handlers and consumers. We envision that this technology can help tackle food waste challenges at the critical retail and consumer stages in the food supply chain.

Keywords: climacteric produce, controllable ripening, food waste challenge, metal organic framework

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Authors: Staniek Halina

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The inappropriate trace elements supply such as iron(III) and chromium(III) may be risk factors of many metabolic disorders (e.g., anemia, diabetes, as well cause toxic effect). However, little is known about their mutual interactions and their impact on these disturbances. The effects of Cr(III) supplementation with a deficit or excess supply of Fe(III) in vivo conditions are not known yet. The objective of the study was to investigate the combined effect of different Fe(III) levels in the diet and simultaneous Cr(III) supplementation on the Ca distribution in organs in healthy rats. The assessment was based on a two-factor (2x3) experiment carried out on 54 female Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus). The animals were randomly divided into 9 groups and for 6 weeks, they were fed semi-purified diets AIN-93 with three different Fe(III) levels in the diet as a factor A [control (C) 45 mg/kg (100% Recommended Daily Allowance for rodents), deficient (D) 5 mg/kg (10% RDA), and oversupply (H) 180 mg/kg (400% RDA)]. The second factor (B) was the simultaneous dietary supplementation with Cr(III) at doses of 1, 50 and 500 mg/kg of the diet. Iron(III) citrate was the source of Fe(III). The complex of Cr(III) with propionic acid, also called Cr₃ or chromium(III) propionate (CrProp), was used as a source of Cr(III) in the diet. The Ca content of analysed samples (liver, kidneys, spleen, heart, and femur) was determined with the Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) method. It was found that different dietary Fe(III) supply as well as Cr(III) supplementation independently and in combination influenced Ca metabolism in healthy rats. Regardless of the supplementation of Cr(III), the oversupply of Fe(III) (180 mg/kg) decreased the Ca content in the liver and kidneys, while it increased the Ca saturation of bone tissue. High Cr(III) doses lowered the hepatic Ca content. Moreover, it tended to decrease the Ca content in the kidneys and heart, but this effect was not statistically significant. The combined effect of the experimental factors on the Ca content in the liver and the femur was observed. With the increase in the Fe(III) content in the diet, there was a decrease in the Ca level in the liver and an increase in bone saturation, and the additional Cr(III) supplementation intensified those effects. The study proved that the different Fe(III) content in the diet, independently and in combination with Cr(III) supplementation, affected the Ca distribution in organisms of healthy rats.

Keywords: calcium, chromium(III), iron(III), rats, supplementation

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Authors: Christelle Rabbat, Carole Vouebou, Sary Awad, Alan Jean-Marie

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Hydrogen has been proven to be a viable alternative to standard fuels as it is easy to produce and only generates water vapour and zero carbon emissions. However, despite the hydrogen benefits, the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles is impeded by several challenges. The lack of refueling infrastructures remains one of the main hindering factors due to the high costs associated with their design, construction, and operation. Besides, the lack of hydrogen vehicles on the road diminishes the economic viability of investing in refueling infrastructure. Simultaneously, the absence of accessible refueling stations discourages consumers from adopting hydrogen vehicles, perpetuating a cycle of limited market uptake. To address these challenges, the implementation of adequate policies incentivizing the use of hydrogen vehicles and the reduction of the investment and operation costs of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) are essential to put both investors and customers at ease. Even though the transition to hydrogen cars has been rather slow, public transportation companies have shown a keen interest in this highly promising fuel. Besides, their hydrogen demand is easier to predict and regulate than personal vehicles. Due to the reduced complexity of designing a suitable hydrogen supply chain for public vehicles, this sub-sector could be a great starting point to facilitate the adoption of hydrogen vehicles. Consequently, this study will focus on designing a chain of on-site green HRS for the public transportation network in Nantes Metropole leveraging the latest relevant technological advances aiming to reduce the costs while ensuring reliability, safety, and ease of access. To reduce the cost of HRS and encourage their widespread adoption, a network of 7 H35-T40 HRS has been designed, replacing the conventional J-T valves with turbo-expanders. Each station in the network has a daily capacity of 1,920 kg. Thus, the HRS network can produce up to 12.5 tH2 per day. The detailed cost analysis has revealed a CAPEX per station of 16.6 M euros leading to a network CAPEX of 116.2 M euros. The proposed station siting prioritized Nantes metropole’s 5 bus depots and included 2 city-centre locations. Thanks to the turbo-expander technology, the cooling capacity of the proposed HRS is 19% lower than that of a conventional station equipped with J-T valves, resulting in significant CAPEX savings estimated at 708,560 € per station, thus nearly 5 million euros for the whole HRS network. Besides, the turbo-expander power generation ranges from 7.7 to 112 kW. Thus, the power produced can be used within the station or sold as electricity to the main grid, which would, in turn, maximize the station’s profit. Despite the substantial initial investment required, the environmental benefits, cost savings, and energy efficiencies realized through the transition to hydrogen fuel cell buses and the deployment of HRS equipped with turbo-expanders offer considerable advantages for both TAN and Nantes Metropole. These initiatives underscore their enduring commitment to fostering green mobility and combatting climate change in the long term.

Keywords: green hydrogen, refueling stations, turbo-expander, heavy-duty vehicles

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Authors: Taha Benarbia, Kay W. Axhausen, Anugrah Ilahi

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Electric car sharing system as ecologic transportation increasing in the world. The complexity of managing electric car sharing systems, especially one-way trips and battery autonomy have direct influence to on supply and demand of system. One must be able to precisely model the demand and supply of these systems to better operate electric car sharing and estimate its effect on mobility management and the accessibility that it provides in urban areas. In this context, our work focus to develop performances optimization model of the system based on discrete event simulation and stochastic Petri net. The objective is to search optimal decisions and management parameters of the system in order to fulfil at best demand while minimizing undesirable situations. In this paper, we present new model of electric cars sharing with relocation based on monitoring system. The proposed approach also help to precise the influence of battery charging level on the behaviour of system as important decision parameter of this complex and dynamical system.

Keywords: electric car-sharing systems, smart mobility, Petri nets modelling, discrete event simulation

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Authors: Hussein Lujuo Mohamed

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Introduction: Public health has always been influenced by climate and weather. Changes in climate and climate variability, particularly changes in weather extremes affect the environment that provides people with clean air, food, water, shelter, and security. Tanzania is not an exception to the threats of climate change. The health sector is mostly affected due to emergence and proliferation of infectious diseases, thereby affecting health of the population and thus impacting achievement of sustainable development goals. Methodology: A desk review on documented issues pertaining to climate change and health in Tanzania was done using Google search engine. Keywords included climate change, link, health, climate initiatives. In cases where information was not available, documents from Ministry of Health, Vice Presidents Office-Environment, Local Government Authority, Ministry of Water, WHO, research, and training institutions were reviewed. Some of the reviewed documents from these institutions include policy brief papers, fieldwork activity reports, training manuals, and guidelines. Results: Six main climate resilience activities were identified in Tanzania. These were development and implementation of climate resilient water safety plans guidelines both for rural and urban water authorities, capacity building of rural and urban water authorities on implementation of climate-resilient water safety plans, and capacity strengthening of local environmental health practitioners on mainstreaming climate change and health into comprehensive council health plans. Others were vulnerability and adaptation assessment for the health sector, mainstreaming climate change in the National Health Policy, and development of risk communication strategy on climate. In addition information, education, and communication materials on climate change and to create awareness were developed aiming to sensitize and create awareness among communities on climate change issues and its effect on public health. Conclusion: Proper implementation of these interventions will help the country become resilient to many impacts of climate change in the health sector and become a good example for other least developed countries.

Keywords: climate, change, Tanzania, health

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Authors: Vladimir Klepikov

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To develop the programs to supply crude oil to North European refineries, it is necessary to take into account the refineries’ location, crude refining capacity, and the transport infrastructure capacity. Among the countries of the region, we include those having a marine boundary along the Northern Sea and the Baltic Sea (from France in the west to Finland in the east). The paper envisages the geographic allocation of the refineries and contains the evaluation of the refineries’ capacities for the region under review. The sustainable operations of refineries in the region are determined by the transportation system capacity to supply crude oil to them. The assessment of capacity of crude oil transportation to the refineries is conducted. The research is performed for the period of 2005/2015, using the quantitative analysis method. The countries are classified by the refineries’ aggregate capacities and the crude oil output on their territory. The crude oil output capacities in the region in the period under review are determined. The capacities of the region’s transportation system to supply crude oil produced in the region to the refineries are revealed. The analysis suggested that imported raw materials are the main source of oil for the refineries in the region. The main sources of crude oil supplies to North European refineries are reviewed. The change in the refineries’ capacities in the group of countries and each particular country, as well as the utilization of the refineries' capacities in the region in the period under review, was studied. The input suggests that the bulk of crude oil is supplied by marine and pipeline transport. The paper contains the assessment of the crude oil transportation by pipeline transport in the overall crude oil cargo flow. The refineries’ production rate for the groups of countries under the review and for each particular country was the subject of study. Our study yielded the trend towards the increase in the crude oil refining at the refineries of the region and reduction in the crude oil output. If this trend persists in the near future, the cargo flow of imported crude oil and the utilization of the North European logistics infrastructure may increase. According to the study, the existing transport infrastructure in the region is able to handle the increasing imported crude oil flow.

Keywords: European region, infrastructure, oil terminal capacity, pipeline capacity, tanker draft

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Authors: Jo Anne Rey

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Caring for Country (Ngurrain Dharug language) is core to Aboriginal identity, Law/Lore, practice, and resilience within the continent called ‘Australia’. It is the basis of thousands of years of sustainability. However, when Ngurra is a city known as Sydney, due to 235 years of colonial impact, caring for the Country is limited, being controlled by the State and private ownership of the land title. Recent research indicates that localised Indigenous activism is most successful when community members are geographically proximate to the presences and places of connection, caring, and belonging. This article frames these findings through the cadence that proximity provides. This presentation is centred on the proximate agency that is being exercised by Dharug community through three significant sites within the Sydney basin. Those sites include, firstly, Shaw’s Creek Aboriginal Place, at the foot of the Blue Mountains in far western Sydney. Second inclusion is the site of Blacktown Native Institution, that was the part of the authoritarian colonial governance of British Governor Lachlan Macquarie (after who Macquarie University is named), which saw the beginnings of the removal of children from their families and culture to ‘civilize’ them. The third site is that of the so-called Brown’s Waterhole in the State government administered Lane Cove National Park. Each of these sites is being activated through Dharug and, more broadly, Aboriginalways of knowing, doing, and being. These ways involvethe land, water, wind, and star-based ecologies interwoven with traditional transgenerational storying of the presences (Ancestral and spiritual) creating them. Activations include, but are not limited to, the return of cultural fire for reviving plants, soils, animals, and birds. These fire practices have traditionally been at the basis of sustainable, regenerative biodiversity. These practices involve the literacy of reading Ngurra and the seasonal interactions across the ecologies. Together, they both care for the Country and support humanity, and have done so across thousands of years. However, when the cost of real-estate and rental accommodation prevents community members from being able to live on Dharug Ngurra when bureaucratic governance restricts and/or excludes traditional custodial relationships, and when private treaty land title destroys the presences and places while disconnecting people from their Ancestral practices, it becomes clear that caring for Country is only possible when the community can afford to live nearby. Recognising the cadence of proximityas the agency that underpinscaring for Country-in-the-city, sustainable change opportunities don’t have to only focus on regional and remote areas. Urban-based Aboriginal relationality offers an alternative to the unsustainable practices that underpin human-centric disconnection. Weaving Indigenous cadence offers opportunities for sustainable futures even when facing the extremes of climate changing catastrophes.

Keywords: australian aboriginal, biocultural knowledges, climate change, dharug ngurra, sustainability, resilience

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Authors: M. A. Badr, M. N. El Kordy, A. N. Mohib, M. M. Ibrahim

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The basic objective of the research is to study the effect of hybrid wind energy on the cost of generated electricity considering the cost of reduction CO₂ emissions. The system consists of small wind turbine(s), storage battery bank and a diesel generator (W/D/B). Using an optimization software package, different system configurations are investigated to reach optimum configuration based on the net present cost (NPC) and cost of energy (COE) as economic optimization criteria. The cost of avoided CO₂ is taken into consideration. The system is intended to supply the electrical load of a small community (gathering six families) in a remote Egyptian area. The investigated system is not connected to the electricity grid and may replace an existing conventional diesel powered electric supply system to reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. The simulation results showed that W/D energy system is more economic than diesel alone. The estimated COE is 0.308$/kWh and extracting the cost of avoided CO₂, the COE reached 0.226 $/kWh which is an external benefit of wind turbine, as there are no pollutant emissions through operational phase.

Keywords: hybrid wind turbine systems, remote areas electrification, simulation of hybrid energy systems, techno-economic study

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Climate change has led to decreased water availability in the Gomti Nagar area of Uttar Pradesh, India. Climate change has reduced the amount of precipitation and increased the rate of evaporation. The region is heavily reliant on surface water sources (Gomti river, Sharda Canal) and groundwater. Efficient management of groundwater resources is crucial for addressing water shortages. These may include: Exploring alternative water sources, such as wastewater recycling and desalination, can help augment water supply and reduce dependency on rainfall-dependent sources. Promoting the use of water-efficient technologies in industries, agriculture, and water-efficient infrastructure in urban areas can contribute to reducing water demand and optimizing water use. Incorporating climate change considerations into urban planning and infrastructure development can help ensure water security in the face of future climate uncertainties. Addressing water scarcity in the Gomti Nagar area requires a multi-pronged approach that combines sustainable groundwater management practices, climate change adaptation strategies, and integrated water resource management. By implementing these measures, the region can work towards ensuring a more sustainable and reliable water supply in the context of climate change. Water is the most important natural resource for the existence of living beings in the Earth's ecosystem. On Earth, 1.2 percent of the water is drinkable, but only 0.3 percent is usable by people. Water scarcity is a growing concern in India due to the impact of climate change and over-exploitation of water resources. Excess groundwater withdrawal causes regular declines in groundwater level. Due to city boundary expansion and growing urbanization, the recharge point for groundwater tables is decreasing. Rainwater infiltration into the subsoil is also reduced by unplanned, uneven settlements in urban change.

Keywords: climate change, water scarcity, groundwater, rainfall, water supply

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Authors: Szymon Kuczynski, Krystian Liszka, Mariusz Laciak, Andrii Oliinyk, Adam Szurlej

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Compressed natural gas (CNG) represents an excellent compromise between the availability of a technology that is proven and relatively easy to use in many areas of the automotive industry and incurred costs. This fuel causes a lower corrosion effect due to the lower content of products causing the potential difference on the walls of the engine system. Natural gas powered vehicles (NGVs) do not emit any substances that can contaminate water or land. The absence of carcinogenic substances in gaseous fuel extends the life of the engine. In the longer term, it contributes positively to waste management as well as waste disposal. Popularization of propulsion systems powered by natural gas CNG positively affects the reduction of heavy duty transport. For these reasons, CNG as a fuel stimulates considerable interest around the world. Over the last few years, technologies related to use of natural gas as an engine fuel have been developed and improved. These solutions have evolved from the prototype phase to the industrial scale implementation. The widespread availability of gaseous fuels has led to the development of a technology that allows the CNG fuel to be refueled directly from the urban gas network to the vehicle tank (ie. HYGEN - CNGHRS). Home refueling installations, although they have been known for many years, are becoming increasingly important in the present day. The major obstacle in the sale of this technology was, until recently, quite high capital expenditure compared to the later benefits. Home refueling systems allow refueling vehicle tank, with full control of fuel costs and refueling time. CNG Home Refueling Stations (such as HYGEN) allow gas value chain to overcome the dogma that there is a lack of refueling infrastructure allowing companies in gas value chain to participate in transportation market. Technology is based on one stage hydraulic compressor (instead of multistage mechanical compressor technology) which provides the possibility to compress low pressure gas from distribution gas network to 200 bar for its further usage as a fuel for NGVs. This boosts revenues and profits of gas companies by expanding its presence in higher margin of energy sector.

Keywords: alternative fuels, CNG (compressed natural gas), CNG stations, NGVs (natural gas vehicles), gas value chain

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Authors: Priyatma Singh, Manpreet Kaur

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Climate change is progressively being identified as a global crisis and this has immediate repercussions for Fiji Islands due to its geographical location being prone to natural disasters. In the Pacific, it is common to find significant differences between men and women, in terms of their roles and responsibilities. In the pursuit of prudent preparedness before disasters, Fijian women’s engagement is constrained due to socially constructed roles and expectation of women here in Fiji. This vulnerability is aggravated by viewing women as victims, rather than as key people who have vital information of their society, economy, and environment, as well as useful skills, which, when recognized and used, can be effective in disaster risk reduction. The focus of this study on disaster management is to outline ways in which Fijian women can be actively engaged in disaster risk management, articulating in decision-making, negating the perceived ideology of women’s constricted roles in Fiji and unveiling social constraints that limit women’s access to practical disaster management strategic plan. This paper outlines the importance of gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction and the ways of mainstreaming gender based on a literature review. It analyses theoretical study of academic literature as well as papers and reports produced by various national and international institutions and explores ways to better inform and engage women for climate change per ser disaster management in Fiji. The empowerment of women is believed to be a critical element in constructing disaster resilience as women are often considered to be the designers of community resilience at the local level. Gender mainstreaming as a way of bringing a gender perspective into climate related disasters can be applied to distinguish the varying needs and capacities of women, and integrate them into climate change adaptation strategies. This study will advocate women articulation in disaster risk management, thus giving equal standing to females in Fiji and also identify the gaps and inform national and local Disaster Risk Management authorities to implement processes that enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment towards a more equitable and effective disaster practice.

Keywords: disaster risk management, climate change, gender mainstreaming, women empowerment

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Authors: Rimon Rafiah

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This paper will present a combination of two seemingly unrelated models, which are the one for estimating economic development impacts as a result of transportation investment and the other for increasing CAV penetration in order to reduce congestion. Measuring economic development impacts resulting from transportation investments is becoming more recognized around the world. Examples include the UK’s Wider Economic Benefits (WEB) model, Economic Impact Assessments in the USA, various input-output models, and additional models around the world. The economic impact model is based on WEB and is based on the following premise: investments in transportation will reduce the cost of personal travel, enabling firms to be more competitive, creating additional throughput (the same road allows more people to travel), and reducing the cost of travel of workers to a new workplace. This reduction in travel costs was estimated in out-of-pocket terms in a given localized area and was then translated into additional employment based on regional labor supply elasticity. This additional employment was conservatively assumed to be at minimum wage levels, translated into GDP terms, and from there into direct taxation (i.e., an increase in tax taken by the government). The CAV model is based on economic principles such as CAV usage, supply, and demand. Usage of CAVs can increase capacity using a variety of means – increased automation (known as Level I thru Level IV) and also by increased penetration and usage, which has been predicted to go up to 50% by 2030 according to several forecasts, with possible full conversion by 2045-2050. Several countries have passed policies and/or legislation on sales of gasoline-powered vehicles (none) starting in 2030 and later. Supply was measured via increased capacity on given infrastructure as a function of both CAV penetration and implemented technologies. The CAV model, as implemented in the USA, has shown significant savings in travel time and also in vehicle operating costs, which can be translated into economic development impacts in terms of job creation, GDP growth and salaries as well. The models have policy implications as well and can be adapted for use in Japan as well.

Keywords: CAV, economic development, WEB, transport economics

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Authors: Raquel Salazar Moreno, Uwe Schmidt, Efrén Fitz Rodríguez, Dennis Dannehl, Abraham Rojano Aguilar, Irineo López Cruz, Gilberto Navas Gómez

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As urban areas expand, strategic and protected water reserves become more critical. In this study we investigate the water problems in Mexico City and its Metropolitan area. This region faces a complex water problem that concerns not only Mexican boundaries but also international level because is one of the biggest human concentrations in the World. The current water shortage situation raises the necessity of importing surface and groundwater from the Cutzamala River and from the Alto Rio Lerma System respectively. Water management is the real issue in this region, because waste water generation is more than aquifer overexploitation, and surface water loss in the rainfall period is greater than water imported from other regions. However, the possible solutions of the water supply schemes are complicated, there is a need to look for alternatives socially acceptable and environmentally desirable, considering first the possible solutions on the demand side. Also, it is necessary more investment in water treatment plants and hydraulic infrastructure to ensure water supply and decrease the environmental problems in the area. More studies need to be done related to water efficiency in the three sectors.

Keywords: megacities, aquifer overexploitation, environmental problems, vulnerability

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Authors: Ali Borhani Manesh, Sirus Mohammadi

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Harmonic distortion is caused by nonlinear devices in the power system. A nonlinear device is one in which the current is not proportional to the applied voltage. Harmonic distortion is present to some degree on all power systems. Proactive monitoring of power quality disturbance levels by electricity utilities is vital to allow cost-effective mitigation when disturbances are perceived to be approaching planning levels and also to protect the security of customer installations. Ensuring that disturbance levels are within limits at the HV and EHV points of supply of the network is essential if satisfactory levels downstream are to be maintained. This paper presents discussion on a power quality monitoring campaign performed at the sub-transmission point of supply of a distribution network with the objective of benchmarking background disturbance levels prior to modifications to the substation and to ensure emissions from HV customers and the downstream MV networks are within acceptable levels. Some discussion on the difficulties involved in such a study is presented. This paper presents a survey of voltage and current harmonic distortion levels at transmission system in Kohgiloye and Boyrahmad. The effects of harmonics on capacitors and power transformers are discussed.

Keywords: power quality, harmonics, flicker, measurement, substation

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Authors: I. Belyamani, M. K. Hassan, J. U. Otaigbe, W. R. Fielding, K. A. Mauritz, J. S. Wiggins, W. L. Jarrett

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We have investigated the flame-retardant efficiency of special new phosphate glass (P-glass) compositions having different glass transition temperatures (Tg) on the processing conditions of polyamide 6,6 (PA6,6) and the final hybrid flame retardancy (FR). We have showed that the low Tg P glass composition (i.e., ILT 1) is a promising flame retardant for PA6,6 at a concentration of up to 15 wt. % compared to intermediate (IIT 3) and high (IHT 1) Tg P glasses. Cone calorimetry data showed that the ILT 1 decreased both the peak heat release rate and the total heat amount released from the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrids, resulting in an efficient formation of a glassy char layer. These intriguing findings prompted to address several questions concerning the mechanism of action of the different P glasses studied. The general mechanism of action of phosphorous based FR additives occurs during the combustion stage by enhancing the morphology of the char and the thermal shielding effect. However, the present work shows that P glass based FR additives act during melt processing of PA6,6/P glass hybrids. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that the Tg of PA6,6/ILT 1 was significantly shifted to a lower Tg (~65 oC) and another transition appeared at high temperature (~ 166 oC), thus indicating a strong interaction between PA6,6 and ILT 1. This was supported by a drop in the melting point and crystallinity of the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrid material as detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dielectric spectroscopic investigation of the networks’ molecular level structural variations (i.e. hybrids chain motion, Tg and sub-Tg relaxations) agreed very well with the DMA and DSC findings; it was found that the three different P glass compositions did not show any effect on the PA6,6 sub-Tg relaxations (related to the NH2 and OH chain end groups motions). Nevertheless, contrary to IIT 3 and IHT 1 based hybrids, the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrid material showed an evidence of splitting the PA6,6 Tg relaxations into two peaks. Finally, the CPMAS 31P-NMR data confirmed the miscibility between ILT 1 and PA6,6 at the molecular level, as a much larger enhancement in cross-polarization for the PA6,6/15%ILT 1 hybrids was observed. It can be concluded that compounding low Tg P-glass (i.e. ILT 1) with PA6,6 facilitates hydrolytic chain scission of the PA6,6 macromolecules through a potential chemical interaction between phosphate and the alpha-Carbon of the amide bonds of the PA6,6, leading to better flame retardant properties.

Keywords: broadband dielectric spectroscopy, composites, flame retardant, polyamide, phosphate glass, sustainable

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Authors: M. Macchiaroli, V. Pellecchia, L. Dolores

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The water supply for production users (craft, commercial, industrial), understood as the set of water supply and wastewater collection services becomes an increasingly felt problem in a water scarcity regime. In fact, disputes are triggered between the different social parties for the fair and efficient use of water resources. Within this aspect, the problem arises of the different pricing of services between civil users and production users. Of particular interest is the question of defining the tariff classes depending on consumption levels. If for civil users, this theme is strongly permeated by social profiles (a topic dealt with by the author in a forthcoming research contribution) connected with the inalienability of the right to have water and with the reconciliation of the needs of the weakest groups of the population, for consumers in the production sector the logic adopted by the manager may be inspired by criteria of greater corporate rationality. This work illustrates the Italian regulatory framework and shows an optimization model of tariff classes in the production sector that reconciles the public objective of sustainable use of the resource and the needs of a production system in search of recovery after the depressing effects caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: decision making, economic evaluation, urban water management, water tariff

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Authors: Sarah Elshahat, Tina Moffat

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Suboptimal mental health is a considerable global public health challenge that leads to considerable inequalities worldwide. Newcomers are at elevated risk for developing mental health issues as a result of social exclusion, stigmatization, racism, unequal employment opportunities, and discrimination. The problem can be especially serious amongst Arabic-speaking immigrants and refugees (ASIR) whose mental wellness may have already been affected by exposure to political violence, persecution, hunger or war in their countries of origin. A scoping review was conducted to investigate pre- and post-migration mental health determinants amongst ASIR in North America (the U.S. and Canada), who are a rapidly growing population in both regions. Pertinent peer-reviewed papers and grey literature were located through a systematic search of five electronic databases (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Anthropology Plus, and Sociology Database). A stakeholder consultation was implemented to validate the analyzed findings of the included 44 studies. About 80% of the studies were carried out in the US, underscoring a lack of Canadian ASIR-mental health research. A gap in qualitative, mixed-method, and longitudinal research was detected, where approximately two-thirds of the studies adopted a cross-sectional method. Pre-migration determinants of mental health were related to the political unrest, violence and armed conflict in the Arab world, increasing post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological distress levels among ASIR. English language illiteracy and generational variations in acculturation patterns were major post-migration mental health triggering factors. Exposure to domestic violence, stigmatization, poverty, racialization, and harassment were significant post-migration mental health determinants that stem from social inequalities, triggering depression, and distress amongst ASIR. Family conflicts linked to child-rearing and gendered norms were considered as both pre- and post-migration mental health triggering factors. Most post-migration mental health protective factors were socio-culturally related and included the maintenance of positive ethnic identity, faith, family support, and community cohesion. Individual resilience, articulated as self-esteem and hope, was a significant negative predictor of depression and psychological distress among ASIR. Community-engaged, mixed-methods, and longitudinal studies are required to address the current gap in mental health research among ASIR in North America. A more thorough determination of potential mental health triggers and protective factors would help inform the development of mental wellness and resilience-promoting programs that are culturally sensitive to ASIR. On the policy level, the Health in All Policies framework of the World Health Organization can be potentially useful for addressing social and health inequalities among ASIR, reducing mental health challenges.

Keywords: depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological distress, resilience

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Authors: Yasaman Samie

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The ever-increasing rate of textile and clothing (T&C) waste generation and the common ineffective waste management practices have been for long a challenge for civic waste management. This challenge stems from not only the complexity in the T&C material components but also the heterogeneous nature of the T&C waste management sector and the disconnection between the stakeholders. To date, there is little research that investigates the importance of a governmental structure and its role in T&C waste managerial practices and decision makings. This paper reflects on the impacts and involvement of governments, the Acts, and legislation on the effectiveness of T&C waste management practices, which are carried out by multiple players in a city context. In doing so, this study first develops a methodical framework for holistically analyzing a city’s T&C waste ecosystem. Central to this framework are six dimensions: social, environmental, economic, political, cultural, and educational, as well as the connection between these dimensions such as Socio-Political and Cultural-Political. Second, it delves into the political dimension and its interconnections with varying aspects of T&C waste. In this manner, this case-study takes metropolitan Melbourne as a case and draws on social theories of Actor-Network Theory and the principals of supply chain design and planning. Data collection was through two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 18 key players of T&C waste ecosystem (including charities, city councils, private sector providers and producers) mainly within metropolitan Melbourne and also other Australian and European cities. Research findings expand on the role of the politics of waste in facilitating a proactive approach to T&C waste management in the cities. That is achieved through a revised definition for T&C waste and its characteristics, discussing the varying perceptions of value in waste, prioritizing waste types in civic waste management practices and how all these aspects shall be reflected in the in-placed acts and legislations.

Keywords: civic waste management, multi-stakeholder ecosystem, textile and clothing waste, waste and governments

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Authors: Esther Ranero Carrazana, Maria Karla Ramirez Valdes

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First responders, including firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel, are frequently exposed to high-stress scenarios that significantly increase their risk of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their work involves life-threatening situations, witnessing suffering, and making critical decisions under pressure, all contributing to psychological strain. The objectives of this research on "Stress Reduction Techniques for First Responders: Scientifically Proven Methods" are as follows. One of them is to evaluate the effectiveness of stress reduction techniques. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of various scientifically proven stress reduction techniques explicitly tailored for first responders. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness are scrutinized for their ability to mitigate stress-related symptoms. Furthermore, we evaluate and enhance the understanding of stress mechanisms in first responders by exploring how different techniques influence the physiological and psychological responses to stress. The study aims to deepen the understanding of stress mechanisms in high-risk professions. Additionally, the study promotes psychological resilience by seeking to identify and recommend methods that can significantly enhance the psychological resilience of first responders, thereby supporting their mental health and operational efficiency in high-stress environments. Guide training and policy development is an additional objective to provide evidence-based recommendations that can be used to guide training programs and policy development aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of first responders. Lastly, the study aims to contribute valuable insights to the existing body of knowledge in stress management, specifically tailored to the unique needs of first responders. This study involved a comprehensive literature review assessing the effectiveness of various stress reduction techniques tailored for first responders. Techniques evaluated include Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness, focusing on their ability to alleviate stress-related symptoms. The review indicates promising results for several stress reduction methods. HRV Training demonstrates the potential to reflect stress vulnerability and enhance physiological and behavioral flexibility. Interoception and Exteroception help modulate the stress response by enhancing awareness of the body's internal state and its interaction with the environment. Sensory integration plays a crucial role in adaptive responses to stress by focusing on individual senses and their integration. Therefore, body perception awareness addresses stress and anxiety through enhanced body perception and mindfulness. The evaluated techniques show significant potential in reducing stress and improving the mental health of first responders. Implementing these scientifically supported methods into routine training could significantly enhance their psychological resilience and operational effectiveness in high-stress environments.

Keywords: first responders, HRV training, mental health, sensory integration, stress reduction

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Authors: Sakshi Gupta, Kavita Sardana

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Management of a forest catchment involves diverse dimensions, multiple stakeholders, and conflicting interests, primarily due to the wide variety of valuable ecosystem services offered by it. Often, the coordination among different levels of formal institutions governing the catchment, local communities, as well as societal norms, taboos, customs and practices, happens to be amiss, leading to conflicting policy interventions which prove detrimental for such resources. In the case of Ala Catchment, which is a protected forest located at a distance of 9 km North-East of the town of Dalhousie, within district Chamba of Himachal Pradesh, India, and serves as one of the primary sources of public water supply for the downstream town of Dalhousie and nearby areas, several policy measures have been adopted for the restoration of the forest catchment, as well as for the improvement of public water supply. These catchment forest restoration measures include; the installation of a fence along the perimeter of the catchment, plantation of trees in the empty patches of the forest, construction of check dams, contour trenches, contour bunds, issuance of grazing permits, and installation of check posts to keep track of trespassers. While the measures adopted to address the acute shortage of public water supply in the Dalhousie region include; building and maintenance of large capacity water storage tanks, laying of pipelines, expanding public water distribution infrastructure to include water sources other than Ala Catchment Forest and introducing of five new water supply schemes for drinking water as well as irrigation. However, despite these policy measures, the degradation of the Ala catchment and acute shortage of water supply continue to distress the region. This study attempts to conduct an institutional analysis to assess the impact of policy measures for the restoration of the Ala Catchment in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh in India. For this purpose, the theoretical framework of Ostrom’s Institutional Assessment and Development (IAD) Framework was used. Snowball sampling was used to conduct private interviews and focused group discussions. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to interview a total of 184 respondents across stakeholders from both formal and informal institutions. The central hypothesis of the study is that the interplay of formal and informal institutions facilitates the implementation of policy measures for ameliorating Ala Catchment, in turn improving the livelihood of people depending on this forest catchment for direct and indirect benefits. The findings of the study suggest that leakages in the successful implementation of policy measures occur at several nodes of decision-making, which adversely impact the catchment and the ecosystem services provided by it. Some of the key reasons diagnosed by the immediate analysis include; ad-hoc assignment of property rights, rise in tourist inflow increasing the pressures on water demand, illegal trespassing by local and nomadic pastoral communities for grazing and unlawful extraction of forest products, and rent-seeking by a few influential formal institutions. Consequently, it is indicated that the interplay of formal and informal institutions may be obscuring the consequentiality of the policy measures on the restoration of the catchment.

Keywords: catchment forest restoration, institutional analysis and development framework, institutional interplay, protected forest, water supply management

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Authors: M. Gomaa Abdoelatef, Robert M. Field, Lee, Yong-Kwan

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Growing human populations have placed increased demands on water supplies and a heightened interest in desalination infrastructure. Key elements of the economics of desalination projects are thermal and electrical inputs. With growing concerns over the use of fossil fuels to (indirectly) supply these inputs, coupling of desalination with nuclear power production represents a significant opportunity. Individually, nuclear and desalination technologies have a long history and are relatively mature. For desalination, Reverse Osmosis (RO) has the lowest energy inputs. However, the economically driven output quality of the water produced using RO, which uses only electrical inputs, is lower than the output water quality from thermal desalination plants. Therefore, modern desalination projects consider that RO should be coupled with thermal desalination technologies (MSF, MED, or MED-TVC) with attendant steam inputs to permit blending to produce various qualities of water. A large nuclear facility is well positioned to dispatch large quantities of both electrical and thermal power. This paper considers the supply of thermal energy to a large desalination facility to examine heat balance impact on the nuclear steam cycle. The APR1400 nuclear plant is selected as prototypical from both a capacity and turbine cycle heat balance perspective to examine steam supply and the impact on electrical output. Extraction points and quantities of steam are considered parametrically along with various types of thermal desalination technologies to form the basis for further evaluations of economically optimal approaches to the interface of nuclear power production with desalination projects. In our study, the thermodynamic evaluation will be executed by DE-TOP which is the IAEA desalination program, it is approved to be capable of analyzing power generation systems coupled to desalination systems through various steam extraction positions, taking into consideration the isolation loop between the APR-1400 and the thermal desalination plant for safety concern.

Keywords: APR-1400, desalination, DE-TOP, IAEA, MSF, MED, MED-TVC, RO

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Authors: Gianvito Colucci, Valeria Di Cosmo, Matteo Nicoli, Orsola Maria Robasto, Laura Savoldi

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The hydrogen value chain deployment is likely to be boosted in the near term by the energy security measures planned by European countries to face the recent energy crisis. In this context, some countries are recognized to have a crucial role in the geopolitics of hydrogen as importers, consumers and exporters. According to the European Hydrogen Backbone Initiative, Italy would be part of one of the 5 corridors that will shape the European hydrogen market. However, the set targets are very ambitious and require large investments to rapidly develop effective hydrogen policies: in this regard, scenario analysis is becoming increasingly important to support energy planning, and energy system optimization models appear to be suitable tools to quantitively carry on that kind of analysis. The work aims to assess the competitiveness of hydrogen in contributing to the Italian energy security in the coming years, under different price and import conditions, using the energy system model TEMOA-Italy. A wide spectrum of hydrogen technologies is included in the analysis, covering the production, storage, delivery, and end-uses stages. National production from fossil fuels with and without CCS, as well as electrolysis and import of low-carbon hydrogen from North Africa, are the supply solutions that would compete with other ones, such as natural gas, biomethane and electricity value chains, to satisfy sectoral energy needs (transport, industry, buildings, agriculture). Scenario analysis is then used to study the competition under different price and import conditions. The use of TEMOA-Italy allows the work to catch the interaction between the economy and technological detail, which is much needed in the energy policies assessment, while the transparency of the analysis and of the results is ensured by the full accessibility of the TEMOA open-source modeling framework.

Keywords: energy security, energy system optimization models, hydrogen, natural gas, open-source modeling, scenario analysis, TEMOA

Procedia PDF Downloads 107