EESD

  

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Question

What is emergy analysis?

Answer

Emergy analysis is an alternative biophysical measurement / evaluation technique for economic valuation. Emergy is the work previously required to generate a product or service and constitutes a scientific measure pf contribution and potential influence a given input has on a production process. Emergy is defined as the available energy of one kind previously required directly or indirectly to generate an ecosystem component, market commodity or service. It is an accounting measure of system storages and flows, each expressed in common units, emjoules (Solar emjoules Sej), so that all inputs can be related based on their ability to influence the systems in question. It could be used as an additional evaluation method when traditional analysis methods, e.g. energy analysis, economic analysis, are unsuitable. (Doherty, S. J., Nilsson, P. O., and Odum, H. T. 2002. Emergy evaluation of forest production and industries in Sweden. Department of Bioenergy, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Report no. 1).

Question

What is wood fuels?

Answer

Wood fuels are fuels which have their origin from the forest. Woody components such as wood, bark, needles and leaves are included. In other words all biomass fuels there wood or sections of wood are the original material are called as wood fuels. In addition, there has not been any chemical transformation. Unfortunately, there are some differences in definitions between countries, e.g. the Finnish definition of wood fuels includes even black liquor in spite of the chemical transformation, but in the Swedish definition black liquor is not included.

Question

What is Combined Heat & Power (CHP)?

Answer

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems (also known as cogeneration) generate electricity and useful thermal energy in a single, integrated system. During electricity generation, a large amount of low-grade heat is produced as a by-product. In conventional power stations this heat is lost. In combined heat and power (CHP) systems the heat produced during electricity generation is recycled rather than wasted, thereby increasing the efficiency of the system. The increased fuel efficiency of CHPs gives them a potentially useful role in helping to combat global warming, by decreasing carbon dioxide emissions. The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions can be as much as 50%, depending on the fuel being replaced by CHP.

Question

What is Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)?

Answer

LCA is a potentially powerful tool which can assist regulators to formulate environmental legislation, help manufacturers analyse their processes and improve their products, and perhaps enable consumers to make more informed choices. LCAs enable to quantify how much energy and raw materials are used, and how much solid, liquid and gaseous waste is generated, at each stage of the product's life. Taking as an example the case of a manufactured product, an LCA involves making detailed measurements during the manufacture of the product, from the mining of the raw materials used in its production and distribution, through to its use, possible re-use or recycling, and its eventual disposal.

Question

What is Best Available Techniques (BAT)?

Answer

BAT is the best option for minimising the environmental pollution to the environment as a whole from the specific installation, and includes the best combination and use of equipment and management techniques (Council Directive 96/61/EC). - 'techniques` shall include both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned, - 'available` techniques shall mean those developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not the techniques are used or produced inside the Member State in question, as long as they are reasonably accessible to the operator, - 'best` shall mean most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole

Question

What is meant by 'socio-economics'?

Answer

Socio-economics begins with the assumption that economics is not a self-contained system, but is embedded in society, polity, culture and nature. Drawing upon economics, sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, biology and other social and natural sciences, philosophy, history, law, management and other disciplines, socio-economics regards competitive behavior as a subset of human behavior within a societal and natural context that both enables and constrains competition and cooperation. Rather than assume that the individual pursuit of self-interest automatically or generally tends towards an optimal allocation of resources, socio-economics assumes that societal sources of order are necessary for people and markets to function efficiently. Rather than assume that people act only rationally, or that they pursue only self-interest, socio-economics seeks to advance a more encompassing interdisciplinary understanding of economic behavior open to the assumption that individual choices are shaped not only by notions of rationality but also by emotions, social bonds, beliefs, and a sense of morality. [...] Unique among interdisciplinary approaches, however, socio-economics recognizes the pervasive and powerful influence of the neoclassical paradigm of the twentieth century thought. Recognizing that people first adopt paradigms of thought and then perform their inductive, deductive, and empirical analyses, socio-economists seek to examine the assumptions of the neoclassical paradigm, develop a rigorous understanding of its limitations, improve upon its application, and develop alternative, perhaps complementary, approaches that are predictive, exemplary, and morally sound. (Source: The Journal of Law and Socio-Economics, Vol. 1996)

Question

Is bioenergy economically viable?

Answer

Modern large scale bioenergy technologies can sometimes be economically viable in today's large scale heat and electricity markets and are particularly suited to certain niches, such as co-firing with fossil fuels, or in saw mills, wood working industries and other cases where biomass fuel supplies are readily available at low cost. Small scale heat and power projects also have wide application within community settings where the wider environmental and social benefits can be realised in a local and financial sense. The many-fold net benefits and the generally acknowledged significant market potential for bioenergy has convinced many people that it is desirable for bioenergy to expand into a wider range of applications. However, there are several obstacles that need to be removed before greater use of bioenergy is likely to occur: - targeted information must reach decision makers to improve their understanding and to remove uncertainty; - conventional energy sources, such as coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear must pay the full price for the negative effects they are causing on the environment, health, and society; - alternatively state-of-the-art bioenergy technologies should receive a credit for their net positive effects on the environment and for providing local and national security of energy supply; - small and young industries and firms needs supporting to be able to grow and effectively compete with established industries promoting fossil fuels and nuclear energy. (Source: IEA Bioenergy Task 29 Brochure "Bioenergy in our Community", Sep 2002)