Carbon footprint of piezoelectrics from multi-layer PZT stacks to piezoelectric energy harvesting systems in roads.

Piezoelectric energy harvesting devices (PEHDs) for road installation are being researched as potentially low-emission electrical generators, but their life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be assessed to guide their design and implementation toward minimizing their carbon footprint. Parametric life cycle assessments (LCAs) of a PEHD, its generator, and the piezoelectric material were performed using data from a pilot-scale PEHD installation. The GHG emissions of the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric stack were determined to be lower than previously reported in the literature at 10.

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of ethanol produced via fermentation of sugars derived from shrub willow (Salix ssp.) hot water extraction in the Northeast United States.

Background: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been on the rise for more than a century. Bioenergy crops are seen by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as an essential part of the solution to addressing climate change. To understand the potential impact of shrub willow (Salix spp.

Climate Change Impacts of Electricity Generated at a Waste-to-Energy Facility.

Waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities combust both biogenic and nonbiogenic materials comprising municipal solid waste (MSW) in addition to managing waste, leading to a lack of clarity on the life cycle climate change impact (LCCCI) as an electricity generator. In order to investigate the LCCCI of this resource, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of a WTE facility in Jamesville, NY, was performed utilizing system expansion to account for avoided landfilling emissions, additional metals recycling, and the loss of potential electricity generation from landfill gas. The LCCCI of electricity from this WTE facility ranges from 0.

Geographic analysis of the feasibility of collocating algal biomass production with wastewater treatment plants.

Resource demand analyses indicate that algal biodiesel production would require unsustainable amounts of freshwater and fertilizer supplies. Alternatively, municipal wastewater effluent can be used, but this restricts production of algae to areas near wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and to date, there has been no geospatial analysis of the feasibility of collocating large algal ponds with WWTPs. The goals of this analysis were to determine the available areas by land cover type within radial extents (REs) up to 1.