Global research alliance modelling platform (GRAMP): an open web platform for modelling greenhouse gas emissions from agro-ecosystems

Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) process-based models are important tools for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and changes in soil C stocks. There is a need for continuous evaluation, development and adaptation of these models to improve scientific understanding, national inventories and assessment of mitigation options across the world. To date, much of the information needed to describe different processes like transpiration, photosynthesis, plant growth and maintenance, above and below ground carbon dynamics, decomposition and nitrogen mineralization. In ecosystem models remains inaccessible to the wider community, being stored within model computer source code, or held internally by modelling teams. Here we describe the Global Research Alliance Modelling Platform (GRAMP), a web-based modelling platform to link researchers with appropriate datasets, models and training material. It will provide access to model source code and an interactive platform for researchers to form a consensus on existing methods, and to synthesize new ideas, which will help to advance progress in this area. The platform will eventually support a variety of models, but to trial the platform and test the architecture and functionality, it was piloted with variants of the DNDC model. The intention is to form a worldwide collaborative network (a virtual laboratory) via an interactive website with access to models and best practice guidelines; appropriate datasets for testing, calibrating and evaluating models; on-line tutorials and links to modelling and data provider research groups, and their associated publications. A graphical user interface has been designed to view the model development tree and access all of the above functions.

Assessment of energy efficiency and sustainability scenarios in the transport system

Background Energy Policy is one of the main drivers of Transport Policy. A number of strategies to reduce current energy consumption trends in the transport sector have been designed over the last decades. They include fuel taxes, more efficient technologies and changing travel behavior through demand regulation. But energy market has a high degree of uncertainty and the effectiveness of those policy options should be assessed. Methods A scenario based assessment methodology has been developed in the frame of the EU project STEPS. It provides an integrated view of Energy efficiency, environment, social and competitiveness impacts of the different strategies. It has been applied at European level and to five specific Regions. Concluding remarks The results are quite site specific dependent. However they show that regulation measures appear to be more effective than new technology investments. Higher energy prices could produce on their turn a deterioration of competitiveness and a threat for social goals.

Energy Storage Systems for Electric Vehicles: Performance Comparison based on a Simple Equivalent Circuit and Experimental Tests

The decision to select the most suitable type of energy storage system for an electric vehicle is always difficult, since many conditionings must be taken into account. Sometimes, this study can be made by means of complex mathematical models which represent the behavior of a battery, ultracapacitor or some other devices. However, these models are usually too dependent on parameters that are not easily available, which usually results in nonrealistic results. Besides, the more accurate the model, the more specific it needs to be, which becomes an issue when comparing systems of different nature. This paper proposes a practical methodology to compare different energy storage technologies. This is done by means of a linear approach of an equivalent circuit based on laboratory tests. Via these tests, the internal resistance and the self-discharge rate are evaluated, making it possible to compare different energy storage systems regardless their technology. Rather simple testing equipment is sufficient to give a comparative idea of the differences between each system, concerning issues such as efficiency, heating and self-discharge, when operating under a certain scenario. The proposed methodology is applied to four energy storage systems of different nature for the sake of illustration.

Evaluation of the utilization of electric vehicles for building energy management in hotels

Governments are working in new policies to slow down total energy consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, promoting the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) in all countries. In order to facilitate this deployment and help to reduce the final costs of their batteries, additional utilization of EVs when those are parked has been proposed. EVs can be used to minimize the total electricity cost of buildings (named vehicle to building applications, V2B). In this paper an economic evaluation of EVs in the Building Energy Management System is shown. The optimal storage capacity and its equivalent number of EVs are determined. This value is then used for determining the optimal charging schedule to be applied to the batteries. From this schedule, the total expected profit is derived for the case of a real hotel in Spain.

Impact of introducing longer and heavier vehicles on regional consumer price index and Spanish road freight transport system

This paper applies an integrated modeling approach to the case of Spain; the approach is based on a random utility-based multiregional input-output model and a road transport network model for assessing the effect of introducing longer and heavier vehicles (LHVs) on the regional consumer price index (CPI) and on the transportation system. The approach strongly supports the concept that changes in transport costs derived from the LHV allowance as well as the economic structure of regions have direct and indirect effects on the economy and on the transportation system. Results show that the introduction of LHVs might reduce prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services in the regions of Spain and would also lead to a reduction in the regional CPI. In addition, the magnitude and extent of changes in the transportation system are estimated by using the commodity-based structure of the approach to identify the effect of traffic changes on traffic flows and on pollutant emissions over the whole network.

Wind intermittency and CO2 reductions: the case of the spanish power system

Renewable energy sources are believed to reduce drastically greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise be generated from fossil fuels used to generate electricity. This implies that a unit of renewable energy will replace a unit of fossil-fuel, with its CO2 emissions, on an equivalent basis (with no other effects on the grid). But, the fuel economy and emissions in the existing power systems are not proportional with the electricity production of intermittent sources due to cycling of the fossil fuel plants that make up the balance of the grid (i.e. changing the power output makes thermal units to operate less efficiently). This study focuses in the interactions between wind generation and thermal plants cycling, by establishing the levels of extra fuel use caused by decreased efficiencies of fossil back-up for wind electricity in Spain. We analyze the production of all thermal plants in 2011, studying different scenarios where wind penetration causes major deviations in programming, while we define a procedure for quantifying the carbon reductions by using emission factors and efficiency curves from the existing installations. The objectives are to discuss the real contributions of renewable energies to the environmental targets as well as suggest alternatives that would improve the reliability of future power systems.

Development of a fuzzy control based self-adaptive system for energy saving in constrained networks for the Internet of Things

Las redes del futuro, incluyendo las redes de próxima generación, tienen entre sus objetivos de diseño el control sobre el consumo de energía y la conectividad de la red. Estos objetivos cobran especial relevancia cuando hablamos de redes con capacidades limitadas, como es el caso de las redes de sensores inalámbricos (WSN por sus siglas en inglés). Estas redes se caracterizan por estar formadas por dispositivos de baja o muy baja capacidad de proceso y por depender de baterías para su alimentación. Por tanto la optimización de la energía consumida se hace muy importante. Son muchas las propuestas que se han realizado para optimizar el consumo de energía en este tipo de redes. Quizás las más conocidas son las que se basan en la planificación coordinada de periodos de actividad e inactividad, siendo una de las formas más eficaces para extender el tiempo de vida de las baterías. La propuesta que se presenta en este trabajo se basa en el control de la conectividad mediante una aproximación probabilística. La idea subyacente es que se puede esperar que una red mantenga la conectividad si todos sus nodos tienen al menos un número determinado de vecinos. Empleando algún mecanismo que mantenga ese número, se espera que se pueda mantener la conectividad con un consumo energético menor que si se empleara una potencia de transmisión fija que garantizara una conectividad similar. Para que el mecanismo sea eficiente debe tener la menor huella posible en los dispositivos donde se vaya a emplear. Por eso se propone el uso de un sistema auto-adaptativo basado en control mediante lógica borrosa. En este trabajo se ha diseñado e implementado el sistema descrito, y se ha probado en un despliegue real confirmando que efectivamente existen configuraciones posibles que permiten mantener la conectividad ahorrando energía con respecto al uso de una potencia de transmisión fija. ABSTRACT. Among the design goals for future networks, including next generation networks, we can find the energy consumption and the connectivity. These two goals are of special relevance when dealing with constrained networks. That is the case of Wireless Sensors Networks (WSN). These networks consist of devices with low or very low processing capabilities. They also depend on batteries for their operation. Thus energy optimization becomes a very important issue. Several proposals have been made for optimizing the energy consumption in this kind of networks. Perhaps the best known are those based on the coordinated planning of active and sleep intervals. They are indeed one of the most effective ways to extend the lifetime of the batteries. The proposal presented in this work uses a probabilistic approach to control the connectivity of a network. The underlying idea is that it is highly probable that the network will have a good connectivity if all the nodes have a minimum number of neighbors. By using some mechanism to reach that number, we hope that we can preserve the connectivity with a lower energy consumption compared to the required one if a fixed transmission power is used to achieve a similar connectivity. The mechanism must have the smallest footprint possible on the devices being used in order to be efficient. Therefore a fuzzy control based self-adaptive system is proposed. This work includes the design and implementation of the described system. It also has been validated in a real scenario deployment. We have obtained results supporting that there exist configurations where it is possible to get a good connectivity saving energy when compared to the use of a fixed transmission power for a similar connectivity.

Nationwide impact and vehicle to grid application of electric vehicles mobility using an activity based model

This paper describes the impact of electric mobility on the transmission grid in Flanders region (Belgium), using a micro-simulation activity based models. These models are used to provide temporal and spatial estimation of energy and power demanded by electric vehicles (EVs) in different mobility zones. The increment in the load demand due to electric mobility is added to the background load demand in these mobility areas and the effects over the transmission substations are analyzed. From this information, the total storage capacity per zone is evaluated and some strategies for EV aggregator are proposed, allowing the aggregator to fulfill bids on the electricity markets.

Reducing the impact of EV charging on the electric grid

One of the main objectives of European Commission related to climate and energy is the well-known 20-20-20 targets to be achieved in 2020: Europe has to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of at least 20% below 1990 levels, 20% of EU energy consumption has to come from renewable resources and, finally, a 20% reduction in primary energy use compared with projected levels, has to be achieved by improving energy efficiency. In order to reach these objectives, it is necessary to reduce the overall emissions, mainly in transport (reducing CO2, NOx and other pollutants), and to increase the penetration of the intermittent renewable energy. A high deployment of battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), with a low-cost source of energy storage, could help to achieve both targets. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) use a combination of a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) with one (or more) electric motor. There are different grades of hybridation from micro-hybrids with start-stop capability, mild hybrids (with kinetic energy recovery), medium hybrids (mild hybrids plus energy assist) and full hybrids (medium hybrids plus electric launch capability). These last types of vehicles use a typical battery capacity around 1-2 kWh. Plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) use larger battery capacities to achieve limited electric-only driving range. These vehicles are charged by on-board electricity generation or either plugging into electric outlets. Typical battery capacity is around 10 kWh. Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are only driven by electric power and their typical battery capacity is around 15-20 kWh. One type of PHEV, the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV), operates as a BEV until its plug-in battery capacity is depleted; at which point its gasoline engine powers an electric generator to extend the vehicle's range. The charging of PHEVs (including EREVs) and BEVs will have different impacts to the electric grid, depending on the number of vehicles and the start time for charging. Initially, the lecture will start analyzing the electrical power requirements for charging PHEVs-BEVs in Flanders region (Belgium) under different charging scenarios. Secondly and based on an activity-based microsimulation mobility model, an efficient method to reduce this impact will be presented.

Finite Element Analysis Model of a Contactless Transformer for Battery Chargers in Electric Vehicles

A contactless transformer model is proposed in this paper using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This model can be used to simulate Inductive Coupling Power Transfer (ICPT) systems with good accuracy of the transformer and reduce the fabrication time of these systems. The model not only takes into account the geometry of the windings but also the frequency effects in them. As the transformer does not have a magnetic core, it is complicated to model because the flux is expanded in the area around the windings. In order to obtain a very accurate model, it is necessary to use a 2D/3D field solver.

Hybrid wind-diesel power plant valuation and optimization using real option theory and dynamic programming

El sistema de energía eólica-diesel híbrido tiene un gran potencial en la prestación de suministro de energía a comunidades remotas. En comparación con los sistemas tradicionales de diesel, las plantas de energía híbridas ofrecen grandes ventajas tales como el suministro de capacidad de energía extra para "microgrids", reducción de los contaminantes y emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, y la cobertura del riesgo de aumento inesperado del precio del combustible. El principal objetivo de la presente tesis es proporcionar nuevos conocimientos para la evaluación y optimización de los sistemas de energía híbrido eólico-diesel considerando las incertidumbres. Dado que la energía eólica es una variable estocástica, ésta no puede ser controlada ni predecirse con exactitud. La naturaleza incierta del viento como fuente de energía produce serios problemas tanto para la operación como para la evaluación del valor del sistema de energía eólica-diesel híbrido. Por un lado, la regulación de la potencia inyectada desde las turbinas de viento es una difícil tarea cuando opera el sistema híbrido. Por otro lado, el bene.cio económico de un sistema eólico-diesel híbrido se logra directamente a través de la energía entregada a la red de alimentación de la energía eólica. Consecuentemente, la incertidumbre de los recursos eólicos incrementa la dificultad de estimar los beneficios globales en la etapa de planificación. La principal preocupación del modelo tradicional determinista es no tener en cuenta la incertidumbre futura a la hora de tomar la decisión de operación. Con lo cual, no se prevé las acciones operativas flexibles en respuesta a los escenarios futuros. El análisis del rendimiento y simulación por ordenador en el Proyecto Eólico San Cristóbal demuestra que la incertidumbre sobre la energía eólica, las estrategias de control, almacenamiento de energía, y la curva de potencia de aerogeneradores tienen un impacto significativo sobre el rendimiento del sistema. En la presente tesis, se analiza la relación entre la teoría de valoración de opciones y el proceso de toma de decisiones. La opción real se desarrolla con un modelo y se presenta a través de ejemplos prácticos para evaluar el valor de los sistemas de energía eólica-diesel híbridos. Los resultados muestran que las opciones operacionales pueden aportar un valor adicional para el sistema de energía híbrida, cuando esta flexibilidad operativa se utiliza correctamente. Este marco se puede aplicar en la optimización de la operación a corto plazo teniendo en cuenta la naturaleza dependiente de la trayectoria de la política óptima de despacho, dadas las plausibles futuras realizaciones de la producción de energía eólica. En comparación con los métodos de valoración y optimización existentes, el resultado del caso de estudio numérico muestra que la política de operación resultante del modelo de optimización propuesto presenta una notable actuación en la reducción del con- sumo total de combustible del sistema eólico-diesel. Con el .n de tomar decisiones óptimas, los operadores de plantas de energía y los gestores de éstas no deben centrarse sólo en el resultado directo de cada acción operativa, tampoco deberían tomar decisiones deterministas. La forma correcta es gestionar dinámicamente el sistema de energía teniendo en cuenta el valor futuro condicionado en cada opción frente a la incertidumbre. ABSTRACT Hybrid wind-diesel power systems have a great potential in providing energy supply to remote communities. Compared with the traditional diesel systems, hybrid power plants are providing many advantages such as providing extra energy capacity to the micro-grid, reducing pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions, and hedging the risk of unexpected fuel price increases. This dissertation aims at providing novel insights for assessing and optimizing hybrid wind-diesel power systems considering the related uncertainties. Since wind power can neither be controlled nor accurately predicted, the energy harvested from a wind turbine may be considered a stochastic variable. This uncertain nature of wind energy source results in serious problems for both the operation and value assessment of the hybrid wind-diesel power system. On the one hand, regulating the uncertain power injected from wind turbines is a difficult task when operating the hybrid system. On the other hand, the economic profit of a hybrid wind-diesel system is achieved directly through the energy delivered to the power grid from the wind energy. Therefore, the uncertainty of wind resources has increased the difficulty in estimating the total benefits in the planning stage. The main concern of the traditional deterministic model is that it does not consider the future uncertainty when making the dispatch decision. Thus, it does not provide flexible operational actions in response to the uncertain future scenarios. Performance analysis and computer simulation on the San Cristobal Wind Project demonstrate that the wind power uncertainty, control strategies, energy storage, and the wind turbine power curve have a significant impact on the performance of the system. In this dissertation, the relationship between option pricing theory and decision making process is discussed. A real option model is developed and presented through practical examples for assessing the value of hybrid wind-diesel power systems. Results show that operational options can provide additional value to the hybrid power system when this operational flexibility is correctly utilized. This framework can be applied in optimizing short term dispatch decisions considering the path-dependent nature of the optimal dispatch policy, given the plausible future realizations of the wind power production. Comparing with the existing valuation and optimization methods, result from numerical example shows that the dispatch policy resulting from the proposed optimization model exhibits a remarkable performance in minimizing the total fuel consumption of the wind-diesel system. In order to make optimal decisions, power plant operators and managers should not just focus on the direct outcome of each operational action; neither should they make deterministic decisions. The correct way is to dynamically manage the power system by taking into consideration the conditional future value in each option in response to the uncertainty.

Leakage of nitrous oxide emissions within the Spanish agro-food system in 1961-2009

Abstract In this paper we examine the trends of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions of the Spanish agricultural sector related to national production and consumption in the 1961?2009 period.The comparison between production- and consumption-based emissions at the national level provides a complete overview of the actual impact resulting from the dietary choices of a given country and allows the evaluation of potential emission leakages. On average, 1.5 % of the new reactive nitrogen that enters Spain every year is emitted as N2O. Production- and consumption-based emissions have both significantly increased in the period studied and nowadays consumption-based emissions are 45 % higher than production-based emissions. A large proportion of the net N2O emissions associated with imported agricultural godos comes from countries that are not committers for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Kyoto Protocol Annex I. An increase in feed consumption is the main driver of the changes observed, leading to a arkable emission leakage in the Spanish agricultural sector. The complementary approach used here is essential to achieve an effective mitigation of Spanish greenhouse gas emissions.

Sostenibilidad en el sector de la construcción. Sostenibilidad en estructuras y puentes ferroviarios

La escasez de recursos, el cambio climático, la pobreza y el subdesarrollo, los desastres naturales, son solo algunos de los grandes retos a que se enfrenta la humanidad y a los que la economía verde y el desarrollo sostenible tienen que dar respuesta. El concepto sostenible surge a raíz de la necesidad de lograr en todas las actividades humanas un nuevo equilibrio con el medioambiente, la sociedad y la economía, es decir un desarrollo más sostenible. La construcción supone en este nuevo concepto un sector básico, con grandes impactos en los recursos, los residuos, las emisiones, la biodiversidad, el paisaje, las necesidades sociales, la integración, el desarrollo económico del entorno, etc. Es por ello, que la construcción sostenible tiene una importancia esencial como demuestra su amplia aplicación teórica y práctica ya en proyectos de planificación urbana y de edificación. En la ingeniería civil estas aproximaciones son todavía mínimas, aunque ya se están considerando ciertos criterios de sostenibilidad en proyectos de construcción. La construcción consume muchos recursos naturales, económicos y tiene gran incidencia social. En la actualidad su actividad consume un 30% de los recursos extraídos de la tierra y la energía, y en consecuencia genera el 30% de los gases de efecto invernadero y residuos sólidos del mundo (EEA, 2014). Este impacto debería suponer una gran responsabilidad para los profesionales y gobiernos que toman cada día las decisiones de diseño e inversión en la construcción, y su máxima eficiencia debería estar muy presente entre los objetivos. En esta tesis doctoral se plantea un nuevo modelo para la evaluación de la sostenibilidad en los proyectos mediante un sistema de indicadores, basados en las áreas de estudio de las certificaciones de sostenibilidad existentes y en un análisis multi-criterio de cada uno de los axiomas de la sostenibilidad. Como reto principal se marca la propuesta de una metodología que permita identificar, priorizar y seleccionar los indicadores y las variables más importantes de lo que es considerado como una construcción sostenible en el caso de infraestructuras ferroviarias, más concretamente en puentes ferroviarios, y que además sirva para priorizar nuevos proyectos que se adapten a los nuevos objetivos del desarrollo sostenible: el respeto al medioambiente, la integración social y la económica. El objetivo es la aplicación de estos indicadores desde las etapas más tempranas del proyecto: planificación, diseño de alternativas y selección de alternativas. Para ello, en primer lugar, se ha realizado un análisis en profundidad de los distintas organizaciones de certificación de la sostenibilidad mundiales y se ha desarrollado una comparativa entre ellas, detallando el funcionamiento de las más extendidas (BREEAM, LEED, VERDE, DGNB). Tras esto, se ha analizado la herramienta matemática MIVES de análisis multi-criterio para su aplicación, en la tesis, a las infraestructuras ferroviarias. En la segunda parte se desarrolla para las estructuras ferroviarias un nuevo modelo de indicadores, un sistema de ayuda a la decisión multi-criterio basado en los tres axiomas de las sostenibilidad (sociedad, medioambiente y economía), articulados en un árbol de requerimientos inspirado en el método MIVES, que propone una metodología para el caso de las infraestructuras ferroviarias. La metodología MIVES estructura el proceso de decisión en tres ramas: Requisitos, componentes y ciclo de vida. Estas ramas definen los límites de los sistemas. El eje de los requisitos del árbol de los requisitos o se estructura en tres niveles que corresponden al requisito específico: criterios e indicadores. Además, es necesario definen la función del valor para cada indicador, definen el peso de importancia de cada elemento del árbol y finalmente con el calcular el valor de cada alternativa selecciona el mejor de él. La generación de este árbol de requerimientos en estructuras ferroviarias y la medición de los parámetro es original para este tipo de estructuras. Por último, tras el desarrollo de la metodología, se ha aplicado la propuesta metodológica mediante la implementación práctica, utilizando el método propuesto con 2 puentes ferroviarios existentes. Los resultados han mostrado que la herramienta es capaz de establecer una ordenación de las actuaciones coherente y suficientemente discriminante como para que el decisor no tenga dudas cuando deba tomar la decisión. Esta fase, es una de las grandes aportaciones de la tesis, ya que permite diferenciar los pesos obtenidos en cada una de las áreas de estudio y donde la toma de decisión puede variar dependiendo de las necesidades del decisor, la ubicación del puente de estudio etc. ABSTRACT Scarce resources, climate change, poverty and underdevelopment, natural disasters are just some of the great challenges facing humanity and to which the green economy will have to respond. The sustainable concept arises from the need for all human activities in a new equilibrium with the environment, society and the economy, which is known as sustainable development. The construction industry is part of this concept, because of its major impacts on resources, waste, emissions, biodiversity, landscape, social needs, integration, economical development, environment, etc. Therefore, sustainable construction has a critical importance as already demonstrated by its wide application and theoretical practice in urban planning and building projects. In civil engineering, these approaches are still minimal, although some criteria are already taken into account for sustainability in infrastructure projects. The construction industry requires a lot of natural resources, has a real economic relevance and a huge social impact. Currently, it consumes 40% of produced power as well as natural resources extracted from the earth and thus leads to an environmental impact of 40% regarding greenhouse gas emissions and solid wastes (EEA 2014). These repercussions should highly concern our governments and professional of this industry on the decisions they take regarding investments and designs. They must be inflexible in order to ensure that the main concern has to be a maximum efficiency. Major events like the COP21 held in Paris in December 2015 are a concrete signal of the worldwide awareness of the huge impact of each industry on climate. In this doctoral thesis a new model for the evaluation of the sustainability in the projects by means of a system of indicators, based on the areas of study of the existing certifications of sustainability and on an analysis considers multi-criterion of each one of the axioms of the sustainability. The primary aim of this thesis is to study the mode of application of sustainability in projects through a system of indicators. . The main challenge consists of create a methodology suitable to identify, prioritize and select the most important indicators which define if a building is sustainable in the specific case of railway infrastructures. The methodology will help to adapt future projects to the new goals of sustainable development which are respect of nature, social integration and economic relevance. A crucial point is the consideration of these indicators from the very beginning steps of the projects: planning, design and alternatives reflections. First of all, a complete inventory of all world energy certification organizations has been made in order to compare the most representative ones regarding their way of functioning (BREEAM, LEED, VERDE, DGNB). After this, mathematical tool MIVES of analysis has been analyzed multi-criterion for its application, in the thesis, to railway infrastructures. The second part of the thesis is aimed to develop a new model of indicators, inspired by the MIVES method, consisting in a decision-making system based on the 3 foundations of sustainability: nature impact, social concerns, and economic relevance. The methodology MIVES structures the decision process in three axes: Requirements, components and life cycle. These axes define the boundaries of the systems. The axis of requirements o tree requirements is structured in three levels corresponding to specific requirement: criteria and indicators. In addition, is necessary define the value function for each indicator, define the weight of importance of each element of the tree and finally with the calculate the value of each alternative select the best of them. The generation of this tree requirements in railway structures and measuring the parameter is original for this type of structures. Finally, after the development of the methodology, it has validated the methodology through practical implementation, applying the proposed method 2 existing railway bridges. The results showed that the tool is able to establish a coherent management of performances and discriminating enough so that the decision maker should not have doubts when making the decision. This phase, is one of the great contributions of the thesis, since it allows to differentiate the weights obtained in each one from the study areas and where the decision making can vary depending on the necessities of the decisor, the location of the bridge of study etc.

Environmental assessment of low speed policies for motor vehicle mobility in city centres

streets in local residential areas in large cities, real traffic tests for pollutant emissions and fuel consumption have been carried out in Madrid city centre. Emission concentration and car activity were simultaneously measured by a Portable Emissions Measurement System. Real life tests carried out at different times and on different days were performed with a turbo-diesel engine light vehicle equipped with an oxidizer catalyst and using different driving styles with a previously trained driver. The results show that by reducing the speed limit from 50 km h-1 to 30 km h-1, using a normal driving style, the time taken for a given trip does not increase, but fuel consumption and NOx, CO and PM emissions are clearly reduced. Therefore, the main conclusion of this work is that reducing the speed limit in some narrow streets in residential and commercial areas or in a city not only increases pedestrian safety, but also contributes to reducing the environmental impact of motor vehicles and reducing fuel consumption. In addition, there is also a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the combustion of the fuel.

Biokerosene from coconut, babassu, camelina and palm kernel oils: production and properties of their blends with fossil kerosene

On December 20th 2006 the European Commission approved a law proposal to include the civil aviation sector in the European market of carbon dioxide emission rights [European Union Emissions Trading System, EUETS). On July 8th 2009, the European Parliament and Conseil agreed that all flights leaving or landing in the EU airports starting from January 1st 2012 should be included in the EUETS. On November 19th 2008, the EU Directive 2008/101/CE [1] included the civil aviation activities in the EUETS, and this directive was transposed by the Spanish law 13/2010 of July 5th 2010 [2]. Thus, in 2012 the aviation sector should reduce their emissions to 97 % of the mean values registered in the period 2004-2006, and for 2013 these emission reductions should reach 95 % of the mean values for that same period. Trying to face this situation, the aviation companies are planning seriously the use of alternative jet fuels to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to lower their costs. However, some US airlines have issued a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice based in that this EU action violates a long standing worldwide aviation treaty, the Chicago convention of 1944, and also the Chinese aviation companies have rejected to pay any EU carbon dioxide tax [3]. Moreover, the USA Departments of Agriculture and Energy and the Navy will invest a total of up to $150 million over three years to spur production of aviation and marine biofuels for commercial and military applications [4]. However, the jet fuels should fulfill a set of extraordinarily sensitive properties to guarantee the safety of planes and passengers during all the flights.