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This article aims to present the application of the LEAN method to enhance performance in loading iron ore wagons at Vale's Carajás Railway in Brazil, specifically at the Serra Leste loading terminal. This terminal annually transports 4.3 million tons, loading over 40,000 wagons, with a projected increase in transportation by 66% in the coming years, reaching 7 million tons. The Serra Leste loading terminal faces the challenge of reversing the scenario of lower mean weight of iron ore wagons on the Carajás Railway, thereby contributing to Vale's strategic objectives of productivity, sustainability, and competitive all-in cost. Thirty MURI, MURA, and MUDA deviations were identified, and the goal was set based on historical data to support the production budget. Processes were then mapped using Pareto analysis, sequential chart, box plot, and histogram. Causes were identified, wagon loading steps were mapped, and a future scenario projection was made with a 50% reduction in steps, incorporating LEAN assumptions. Subsequently, an effective action plan was implemented. The project yielded gains in productivity, sustainability, and cost, adding 3.92 tons of iron ore to each wagon, achieving the best Vale mean weight, resulting in a reduction in costs of US$ 141,043.10, a decrease in diesel consumption by 134,340 liters, and a reduction in emissions of 383,296 kg of CO² eq. The project brought stability, repeatability for over 16 months, and established new records for the mean weight of wagons at Vale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric railway systems have become increasingly common worldwide due to their benefits such as higher speed, reliability and capacity, improved safety, and reduced emissions [1]. As of 2019, electric railways made up 17.2% of the global railway network. While DC is typically used in older urban transport trolley buses, trams, and metros, 25 kV AC railways are being used in Australia, Japan, India, China, Great Britain, France, and more as they are able to reach higher speeds, consume power more efficiently, and pose less risk to workers and trespassers. AC railway systems can have substations placed about 20 km apart, compared to the 5 km needed for DC, resulting in reduced costs. They also have reduced voltage drops and electromagnetic interference, making them ideal for high-speed and large capacity trains. Power quality in electric railway traction systems is affected by the presence of harmonics, load unbalance, reactive power, and flicker. Poor power quality can cause problems for traction electrical devices and utility power systems, as well as upstream power systems, rail signalling and communications, and the control system of the train. This paper presents the findings of a recently completed power quality study of a passenger railway network, conducted by Arcadis, for one of Australia's largest rail networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers Australia's commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 and the contribution of the rail industry, and in particular diesel passenger rolling stock, to achieving the targets. In reviewing alternate fuel technologies that could be implemented to reduce emissions, it proposes key parameters that should be considered when evaluating options to lower or replace diesel propulsion with zero emission alternatives. Since 2018 Mott MacDonald has been involved with the zero-emission multiple unit ('ZEMU') due to enter service in San Bernadino County, California in 2024. Lessons learnt from this experience are applicable to the Australian rail industry, including the factors that influenced the selection of alternate fuel technologies for that application. This paper discusses these lessons covering the importance of a well-established project objective to allow comparative assessment, consideration of industry acceptance of alternate technologies and cost implications. Infrastructure impacts, existing fleet conditions, maturity of technology, operations and maintenance impacts including range, and safety are also all explored as part of this review. The paper draws on the above lessons to propose a way forward for the Australian rail industry to consider potential options to lower emissions with the goal of progressing to zero emissions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strengthening of rail transport must be accompanied by a reduction in emissions. Regarding acoustics, innovative measures to increase noise protection must therefore be developed and investigated. Nevertheless, the determination of the sound reduction effect of mitigation measures on the railway infrastructure or in the propagation path is not yet standardised. There is a need for the development of a measurement and evaluation procedure, which is practice-oriented, reliable and allows the assessment of innovative measures in approval procedures. The German Centre for Rail Traffic Research (DZSF) at the Federal Railway Authority - an independent, scientific research facility of the German Federal Government - will support these activities. In addition to theoretical investigations, the Open Digital Test Field, which is being set up by the DZSF between Halle (Saale) - Cottbus - Niesky, is available for practical tests. Before starting the field tests, measurement procedure and boundary conditions are to be defined. The requirements and methods for quantifying mitigation measures formulated in previous research projects are outlined and reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home energy technologies, such as smart home energy management systems (SHEMS), are important in reducing energy-related emissions and empowering energy users. However, there are concerns on gender inclusiveness of the adoption and use of SHEMS. So far, information systems research has failed to address this significant challenge. This study examines factors shaping gendered adoption and use of smart home technologies, particularly SHEMS, and the implications this has for sustainability and energy equality. Applying a critical lens, we examine findings from a sensory ethnographic study on the adoption of SHEMS in households. The findings underline the need for more inclusive energy technology design, more understanding of diversity of households and more variety in the approaches for increasing awareness on and facilitating the adoption of energy technologies. We contribute to research on gender and home energy technologies, and to the larger discussion of gender and energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention of further atmospheric air pollution and reduction of toxic substances emission is one of the goals of state policy in the field of energy. In this regard, the search for new solutions that prevent negative impact on the environment is one of the priority tasks for modern society. An alternative, but less efficient fuel compared to natural gas is biogas extracted from organic waste. The high content of carbon dioxide in biogas reduces the calorific value, while flame detachment from the burner is also observed. One of the promising options for reducing the negative impact of energy on the environment is the combined burning of natural gas and biogas. For the combined burning of natural gas and biogas in operating power-generating boiler, it is necessary to reconstruct the burner devices installed on them. For a high-quality reconstruction of burner devices, it is important to have theoretical data on the effect of combustion combinations on the content of toxic combustion products in the flue gases of powergenerating boilers. In this paper, a turbulence model k - e (realizable) is presented, which allows simulating the combustion process of a fuel-air mixture. The quantitative content of NOx, CO2 in the products of combustion of fuel combinations - natural gas, biogas, natural gas/biogas is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work aims to energy saving in the curing process of Virginia tobacco, introducing solar energy and energy efficiency in a current stove. A prototype of an improved stove was adapted from a bulk-curing type stove, adding a roof solar air collector, thermal insulation, and a new heat recovery system. The prototype was measured in six complete tests and compared with the conventional one during four tests. For an average process, the energy-saving of the proposed stove was 22.3% and the reduction of curing time 16.7%, with an average gas consumption of 0.60 m3/kg. By campaign, this had a 20% of production increase, 6.7% of energy saving, and 41.03% of emissions reduction. The collector roof represents 65.7% of the total energy savings with a production of 0.77 MJ by dollar invested. The replacement project has financial and socio-economic feasibility. The socio-economic evaluation improves indicators compared with the conventional stove increasing the net profit by 33.37%; the net present value by 40.9%; the benefit-cost ratio by 7.9%; and the internal rate of return by 14.3%. The investment payback was in the half of the third year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the increased global focus on sustainability forced organizations to integrate sustainability aspects into their supply chains. As a result, Green Vehicle Routing Optimization came into action to facilitate the reduction of adverse environmental impacts from distribution networks. This study presents a vehicle routing optimization model with the objectives of minimizing both operational cost and carbon emission considered in the form of a cost. Study has been carried out in four stages: a critical review of literature on Green Vehicle Routing Problem (GVRP); development of a mathematical model to minimize operational cost and carbon emission cost; development and tuning of Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve the problem formulation using benchmarked instances. The final output of the model developed from this study can be used by logistics service providers to design their transportation networks for optimizing the carbon emission reduction and cost reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is one of the main problems that many companies and public bodies discuss in order to find a solution to protect the environment. This phenomenon is defined as a state of alteration of the natural conditions of the air and can be caused by various factors known as pollutants. A large part of polluting emissions is due to urban traffic and in particular because of the circulation of cars. The object of this paper is to study the emissions of harmful substances, through the use of the "Carbon Footprint" tool, in the intermodal transport sector. This is a very powerful and useful tool that represents the gas emissions attributable to a product, an individual or an organisation. The impact that these emissions have on anthropogenic climate change is thereby measured and expressed in terms of kg of CO2eq (CO2 equivalent). The quantification phase of the carbon footprint becomes an opportunity for company management, by understanding the impact of each stage there is the chance to gather further efficiencies throughout the production cycles and take actions in order to improve those indicators. Therefore, the objective set by the following study is to analyse how to make the transport sector more efficient both in economic terms and in terms of polluting emissions starting from a case study. "F.LLI DI MARTINO S.P.A.", founded in Catania (IT) in Eastern Sicily in 1969 and operating in the intermodal transport sector, was chosen because it boasts certifications such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Over the years it has also adopted a proactive behaviour, proving to be very sensitive towards the environmental issue. The innovation proposed with the use of Carbon Footprint is that of accounting for the quantity of polluting emissions released during the transport phase, favoring a reduction in impact, greater transparency and information for customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blending technique used in internal combustion engines can reduce emission of toxic exhaust components and noises, enhance overall energy efficiency and reduce fuel costs. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of dual alcohols (methanol and ethanol) blended in gasoline fuel (GF) against performance, combustion and emission characteristics. Problems arise in the fuel delivery system when using the highly volatile methanol - gasoline blends. This problem is reduced by using special fuel manifold. However, the satisfactory engine performance of the dual alcohol -gasoline blends need to be proved. The test fuels were GF, blend M35g65 (35 % methanol, and 65% GF by volume), blend E40g60 (40% ethanol, and 6o% GF by volume). The blend M35g65 was selected to match the vapor pressure (VP) of GF. The test fuels were a lean mixture with excess-air ratio of λ=1.1. The reaction parameters are taken from literatures and fitting calculations. Mathematical model and Computer software AVL program were conducted on a naturally-aspirated, spark ignition engine. The results show that indicate thermal efficiency (ITE) improved whereas the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of the blends reduced, which is a benefit that reduces compression work. The regulated emissions were also reported. The blend E40g60 was recommended in preference to use because the former had shortened combustion duration, high energy content and its VP was selectively matched to that of GF's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study of environmental risk assessment for particulate matter (PM10) aims to identify the impact of technological activities undertaken at UAF Arcelor Mittal Galati air and environmental factors on the health of employees and residents of the area adjacent to the company. To choose the best solutions for reducing emissions of particulate matter PM10 will take into account the recommendations of reference documents on best available techniques (BAT) for iron production facilities, developed by the European IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control). Reduce particulate matter emissions from major sources identified in this study, firstly the baskets of UAF, shows that the emission rate (concentration) of total suspended particulate exceeds 15g/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the research results of burning in the 2 MW pilot boiler furnace of lignite from the Oltenia region in order to determine the NOx emissions limits. A functional model burner was used that has slots and that develops staggered combustion technology which is to be industrially implemented in the Işalniţa Power Plant. The similarity criteria were observed between the thermodynamic combustion parameters and between the experimental simulation and the real industrial boiler installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charging electric cars (EC) with energy from the power system practically does not lead to the reduction of harmful emissions. Much greater reduction of emissions could be achieved in case charging stations, using renewable energy sources (RES) are built with the network of petrol stations in the country. Research was conducted for this purpose, showing the possibility and the extent to which the different RES could provide the energy needed by EC, as an upgrade to the existing system for charging automobiles in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal utilisation is one of the dominant sources of anthropogenic emissions of mercury. The environmental threats created by these emissions, including humans health risks, due to the strategic position of coal as a primary energy source, pose challenges concerning the reduction of these emissions, excluding the solutions such as limitation of coal use. The reduction of mercury emissions from coal utilisation processes begins in the stage of coal production. Activities involved here are aimed at reducing the "contamination" of coal with mercury and include: fuel switching and coal cleaning. The results of coal cleaning depend on the characteristics of raw coal. The article discusses the results of technological characteristics of a few hard, steam raw coals from a few Polish collieries. The main characteristic under consideration is the sink and float test and the results of this test used for different size fractions screened from raw coals. Size fractions tested were: +20mm, 0.5-20 mm, 0.045-0.5 mm. Steam coals are not cleaned in Poland in the full range. There is a potential to further reduce the amount of mercury directed with coal to processes of coal utilisation (mainly combustion) by broadening the range of coal cleaning in Poland. Therefore, the analyses performed, apart from their cognitive values, have also a utilitarian meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study about cyclone dust separators. Topics discussed include the use of cyclone separators in filtering flue gases and in reducing coal-fired power plants emissions, the analysis and resolution of a Cyclone Optimization Problem (COP), and the use of S-metric selection evolutionary multi-objective algorithm (SMS-EMOA) in handling a Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) problem.

In 2009 in Germany the share of emissions by transportation compared to overall emissions was 19.6% in CO2, 38.5% in CO, 44.9% in NOx emissions. Rolling resistance takes up to 38% of overall vehicle energy consumption for freight vehicles, 4-25% for passenger cars. At 25% inflation pressure loss, tire rolling resistance coefficient increases by 16.4%. In Canada 56% of vehicles had at least one tire underinflated by more than 10%. Ordinary active pressure control systems are too complex, but with the introduction in 2012 self-inflating tire innovation it becomes much easier to vary tire pressure. Active control system is able not only to keep the pressure on proper level, but also to provide controlled overinflation in longhaulage modes in order to reduce rolling resistance. The system requires high-speed control unit built upon adequate non-steady-state tire model. Developed model is based on kinematic constrains and enhanced by brush periphery, it concerns tire pressure variation, slippage, wheel position variation. In the State of California 41% of tires lose the more than 2.5% of air pressure per month. Elimination of these losses saves 152.2 million liters of gasoline and 450 thousand metric tons of CO2 annually, and controlled tire overinflation provide additional savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate Engineering, also known as Solar Radiation Management (SRM), has become a popular option to study in recent years. However, its potentially strategic nature and unforeseen side effects provide major scientific challenges. In this paper, we address strategic use of SRM with heterogeneous countries, and notably deep uncertainty about the potential damages from its implementation in a dynamic model. We study a simple dynamic game of climate change policy design in terms of emissions and climate engineering efforts. We consider a world consisting of two heterogeneous groups of countries with production activities that generate emissions and we formulate the problem in terms of a linear-quadratic (LQ) differential game. We analyze the problem in the context of a cooperative and non-cooperative game along with heterogeneity and uncertainty. Adopting the Hansen - Sargent framework, we introduce Knightian uncertainty into the basic model and study the effect of model misspecification on optimal climate engineering efforts and mitigation. We focus on uncertainty surrounding climate engineering and in particular its impacts. The theoretical solution of the game investigates the optimal solutions of emissions and climate engineering in an heterogeneous and uncertain framework. We interested in analyzing the implications of uncertainty and heterogeneity in the optimal policy against climate change. The numerical simulation of the model explores the effects of heterogeneity and the impact of policies that include mitigation and SRM versus policies which do not include SRM on the optimal paths of emissions and climate engineering efforts. The initial results suggest that both cases of heterogeneity affect the strategic interaction across countries. The country or the group of countries which suffers more from the increase of temperature will adopt a more aggressive policy in terms of high SRM implementation. While in the case of heterogeneity at the SRM impacts we observe an absence of climate engineering action from the country with the stronger SRM impacts. The results suggest that there is a welfare gap between the model with and without SRM. We show that the presence of climate engineering as a policy option may increase welfare levels. Our analysis suggests that the heterogeneity with respect to the environmental or SRM damages affects the optimal mitigation and geoengineering policy. Also, we find that uncertainty about potential side effects particularly shapes non-cooperative SRM implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the world's largest CO2 emitter, fuelled by accelerated economic development and energy demand. This contributes to weakening measures to reduce emissions in developed countries, specifically following the Kyoto Protocol (1997). However, developed countries can also decrease their emissions by increasing imports from China, or offshoring their pollution-emitting industries, due to laxer Chinese environmental policies. A problem is that climate negotiations often are based on production of emissions rather than consumption (the global carbon budget, 2014). There may exist multiple factors that lead to transfer of pollution, including CO2 emissions, from one country to another. One direct implication for this illustrates a shadow market for C02 emissions. All else constant, countries may consume higher emissions than domestically produced due to laxer environmental policies elsewhere. This particular interpretation falls under the understanding of a pollution haven hypothesis (PHH). However, this rationale is still debatable. The reallocation of industries or the increase of imports from a specific trading partner can reduce other types of costs, and that is irrespective of the nature of environmental policies. In other words, that is also known as the pollution haven effect (PHE) (Copeland and Taylor, 2004). Hence, to a certain point it is difficult to disentangle different motives behind transfer of pollution across countries. The net-effect, however, seems straightforward. The fact that pollution may simply migrate across borders is a sufficient reason to establish a strong link between trade and environmental policies, in which creates an intuitive research area to investigative. This study contributes to the academic debate on trade and the environment by exploring whether the G-7 economies may have grown greener at the expense of increasing imports from China. The study constructs an environmental policy indicator to reveal the G-7's decarbonization progress in comparison to China in a trade-gravity framework. We also utilise an additional environmental indicator that has been used by Melo et al. (2005) and Chaibi et al. (2014), namely the difference in emission intensity between trading partners. The choice of two environmental indices in this study aims to provide additional information about the pollution haven story. Based on static and dynamic panel techniques over the period of 1994-2014, this study finds preliminary evidence that a stricter environmental policy is associated with higher imports from China. We also find strong statistical evidence for the impact of other economic determinants, including income and population elasticities of the host country. This analysis is crucial to bridge the gap between environmental policy concerns and international trade. In particular, where addressing trade and climate policies simultaneously helps in meeting emission reduction targets at the global level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the abatement technology choice in a Cournot - Bertrand duopoly where the regulator has imposed a per unit of emission tax. Our goal is to investigate the abatement technology choice and its effect on quantities, prices, and profits on the static Cournot - Bertrand equilibrium. Our model is based on the competition between automobile companies where initially they decide for the anti pollution technology e.g. the number of the catalysts or the filters for the restraint of the emissions and then they compete on the real market. However, as it is mentioned in the literature, the Cournot - Bertrand model is used on small cars market like Honda Saturn and Subaru Scion (see also Tremblay and Tremblay, 2011 and Tremblay et al. 2011 and 2013) where Honda and Subaru dealers decide on quantities and Scion and Saturn dealers decide on prices. Hence, on the first stage the firms decide on the environmental anti pollution technology in order to reduce the emissions taking into account the environmental tax. On the second stage the firms compete, the first firm competes on output (Cournot style) and the second firm competes on prices (Bertrand style). Between other we argue that the Bertrand firm will adopt a more polluting technology than the Cournot firm. However, the Bertrand style firm will produce less than the Cournot style firm but the price is lower under the Cournot style firm and the Cournot firm will gain more profits than the Bertrand firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]