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Feasibility Study Of Chemical Looping Steam Generator Technology In The Athabasca Oil Sands
No full textIn the Athabasca oil sands there is constant and rising pressure surrounding the environmental conditions under which this resource is developed. Addressing social and environmental accountability, while keeping the economic bottom line intact, is a challenge that industry is addressing. New technology may offer industry this opportunity to address these challenges. This paper examines the feasibility of a new technology, chemical looping steam generator, in relation to the triple bottom line. It weights the environmental advantages of adopting this technology against the economic feasibility and consider various scenarios that allow for industry to make informed decisions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of implementing this new technology. This paper also investigates the point at which the environmental cost of not adopting this technology outweighs the economic benefit. This is done through the economic analysis of two possible carbon fee scenarios within the energy industry. From these analysis the economic and environmental feasibility of the CLSG is determined
Feasibility Assessment Of A 100kw Solar Photovoltaic Array In The Cayman Islands Business
No full textThe Purpose of this research was to determine if the use of a 100KW solar photovoltaic system compliant with the Consumer Owner Renewable Program (C.O.R.E.) suspended over Citrus Grove’s parking lot was economically feasible. Additionally, what environmental sustainability benefits would be achieved and could these help the operator achieve a competitive advantage. To determine this, economic, engineering and environmental feasibility studies were conducted. It was determined from an engineering standpoint that the system was feasible at Citrus Grove. The cost of the system would be 343,050 US dollars and an annual generation credit of 53,088 US dollars could be expected achieving payback period of seven years. Further, 1,058 tonnes of CO2E could be offset and 8,300 litres of water saved annually by employing a 100KW Photovoltaic system. Businesses also gain advantages through reduced energy expenditures, passive income streams, increased opportunities to develop ties with the community and marketability
Cold Climate Sustainable Urban Greenhouses
No full textCities across the western world, especially those geographically situated in cold climates are struggling; they are trying to move toward urban sustainability, putting in place many programs and improvements to move in the right direction to decrease their carbon footprint and create long-term prosperity. One of the major improvements possible within the urban setting is to alter the way food is produced and consumed. Improving the agricultural system is the central theme of this research. Currently the western world operates on a mainly globalized food transportation system fuelled by fossil fuels. This creates potential food security, food sovereignty, and future urban sustainability difficulties. Therefore it is desired to move the agricultural system towards one which is mainly decentralized local growing. To do this the current greenhouses present in cold climates like Calgary need to be dramatically changed, improving energy efficiency. Three central issues were further examined: 1. Brownfield sites - Urban areas are difficult to produce food in economically due to high land prices; therefore utilizing brownfield sites is a solution to this problem. In them there is a large area of land within the urban setting attainable at a very low cost. 2. Greenhouse efficiency through design and technology improvements is necessary immediately if sustainability improvements are desired through moving to local agriculture. 3. Utilizing waste heat sources is important moving into the future. In this project the initial feasibility of using effluent waste water from the Bonnybrook WWTP in Calgary was examined. It was found through comparative analysis with other potential water sources to yield a financial gain, and a net energy gain. Further research is needed to make a full determination on the viability of the waste heat source
Investigating the Implementation of Pediatric Patient-reported Outcome and Experience Measures in Alberta
No full textPatient- and Family-Centered Care (PFCC) is grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships among healthcare providers, patients, and families to promote a collaborative way of planning, delivering, and evaluating healthcare. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) play a crucial role in promoting and supporting PFCC. However, implementation of PROMs and PREMs is lagging compared to the adult population. Alberta Health Services (AHS) has established a Patient First Strategy, an organization-wide initiative to improve PFCC practices, but pediatric PROMs and PREMs are not regularly used in clinical care in Alberta. The current thesis investigates the uptake, barriers, and feasibility of integrating PROMs and PREMs in Alberta's pediatric healthcare systems to facilitate their province-wide implementation.This thesis work was conducted in three phases. The first phase includes two systematic reviews. The first systematic review was conducted to synthesize evidence on the impact of implementing PROMs in pediatric clinical care. The findings of this review show that integrating PROMs in routine pediatric clinical care positively impacts Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and increases satisfaction among patients, parents and healthcare providers. The second systematic review was conducted to identify pediatric PREMs, synthesize the evidence on their use in pediatric healthcare settings, and understand their characteristics. This systematic review identified 49 pediatric PREMs currently used in pediatric health systems worldwide. There was a great diversity in the types of PREMs, their characteristics and mode of administration.The second phase of this thesis was a mixed-methods study. PROMs and PREMs are not regularly implemented in pediatric health systems in Alberta. Therefore, a mixed-methods study was conducted to understand the current uptake of pediatric PROMs and PREMs in Alberta and the challenges associated with their implementation in routine pediatric clinical care in Alberta. This study identified 33 PROMs and 6 PREMs showing huge diversity in the types of pediatric PROMs and PREMs currently used in Alberta and their mode of administration. The qualitatively identified challenges were associated with patients, family caregivers, and clinicians. The absence of system-level support, such as integration within electronic medical records systems, is considered a significant system-level challenge. The third phase of this thesis was a case study of implementing PROMs in outpatient pediatric asthma clinics. This phase consisted of two studies. The first study employed a Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) - guided qualitative inquiry to identify barriers and enablers to implementing PROMs at the outpatient asthma clinics. This study identified 16 barriers to behavioral change required to integrate PROMs into routine clinical care for asthma. These barriers are associated with personal, clinical, non-clinical, and system-level factors. Seventeen enablers to integrating PROMs in asthma clinics were also identified. These enablers ranged from healthcare providers' personal commitment to providing PFCC to optimism about the positive impact of PROMs. The second study in this phase utilized a quantitative survey to assess the feasibility of integrating Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM (PedsQLTM) PROM in asthma clinics using the KidsPRO program, an innovative electronic health program. The findings of this study showed that implementing PROMs in the pediatric outpatient asthma clinics is feasible.All the findings of this research provide global, provincial and local level evidence for AHS to support their plans to implement PROMs and PREMs to deliver PFCC in the pediatric health systems in Alberta
Environmental Valuation And Its Financial Sensitivity Analysis For The Privatization Of The Termoesmeraldas Thermal Power Plant
No full textStrategies For Introducing Biomass Combined Heat And Power (chp) Plant In The Ecuadorian Palm Oil Industry
No full textThe main intention of this project is to discuss and recommend different issue-based strategies that would be applied to increase the use of alternative energy technologies in Ecuador’s Ecotourism Sector. Incentives and funding programs are examples of the solutions recommended by this project. Before presenting the mentioned strategies, this project describes technical and operational requirements, comparative costs, regulations, and potential of different alternative energy technologies. This project also identifies technical, economic, and organizational barriers that affect the wider use of alternative energies in ecotourism sector. Interviews with people from ecotourism sector and specialists in alternative energies were useful to identify barriers and propose solutions for overcoming them. The project also presents a number of benefits and advantages that could be gained by increasing the adoption of alternative energy technologies in this sector. A demonstration case to analyze the implications of substituting diesel generators by PV an Ecuadorian eco-lodge is presented in this project
Assessment Of The Feasibility Of The Compressed Natural Gas Conversion Of Vehicles In Tarija City
No full textIn Bolivia, the government has developed the National Natural Gas Vehicle Conversion Plan with legal support and favorable social conditions to encourage the use of natural gas in the transport sector. Although this central government initiative is present, there is a weak implementation process at the local level. Tar city is not the exception, until 2004, natural gas vehicles in the city were not present, on the contrary; there has been an increase in LPG fuel vehicles that are dangerous and use a subsidized product. The purpose of this document is to determine the feasibility of fuel change, the emission performance of the CNG vehicles, and the infrastructure required for the CNG conversation. The legal framework and the stakeholders’ behaviour required for the conversation will be analyzed. This document proposes a participative NGV conversion plan that will take advantage of the potentialities of Tarija city, in terms of location and resource availability
Simplifying The Oil Climate Index: Evaluation Of Methods To Increase Accessibility
No full textVarious oil sector stakeholders believe that the Oil Production Greenhouse gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE), a component of the Oil Climate Index, can encourage improvements in energy efficiency, emissions reductions, and carbon management if it is operationalized for users in specific oil companies. One deterrent for wide-spread industry adoption of OPGEE is its perceived complexity. Here I attempt to simplify the user experience by searching for the salient model inputs that produce accurate emissions estimates. Two approaches are investigated: Approach 1 evaluates the error generated from using salient model inputs identified in a previous study but applied to a small number of oil pathways. Approach 2 explores the sensitivity of all primary model inputs for nine hypothetical oil fields based on 64 global oils on emissions estimates to identify and compare salient inputs. Salient inputs from Approach 1 produce emissions that exceed ±20% error 53% of the time and identified salient inputs from Approach 2 are inconsistent across hypothetical fields, implying that universal salient inputs capable of generating accurate emission estimates do not exist. Recommendations are made for simplifying OPGEE’s user interface instead of minimizing data requirements