Suchergebnisse

According to the annual world statistics, primary energy consumption demonstrated a steady growth over the past decade but in 2018, its average value was doubled. A rapid development of energy sector will not only lead to the growth of CO2 emissions and other negative consequences, but also to more intensive use of natural resources in the immediate future. Growing pressure on resources might give rise to a number of challenges in virtually all branches of human activity. The energy sector's impact on the environment is increasing at a high speed, which necessitates the efficiency assessment of investments in energy projects applying a system of technical, economic and environmental indicators. Nowadays, most of the energy projects comprise eco-friendly technological solutions that significantly decrease the use of natural resources but at the same time they might affect financial costs that dampen the attractiveness of investment projects at all. Despite that fact, the economic and environmental evaluation allows identifying the total exposure of the project in the long term and aids in measuring its multiplier effect on the region economy as lots of energy projects have a considerable innovative potential. The present study provides a system of environmental indicators that improves the efficiency assessment process of investment projects in the energy sector. © 2020 WIT Press. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract number 02.A03.21.0006.

Nowadays, the energy sector faces a lot of challenges because of environmental issues, the potential depletion of fossil fuels in the future, problems of technological development, etc. Despite the fact that alternative energy is a key factor of the energy sector's development, it still has several controversial questions, and one of them is "to what extent is nuclear energy safe for the world?" As a consequence, public acceptability has a role to play as it significantly affects the way nuclear energy should be developed in the next decades. In this paper, we provide the main results of the research made in December 2018 in Italy and Russia on students' attitude towards nuclear energy and its development in their homelands. The research method is a questionnaire which was carried out at the University of Trento, Italy, and at Ural Federal University, Russia. According to the given results, most of the students from both countries do not have a negative perception of nuclear energy. However, the opinions on its development in Italy and Russia are completely different: Russian students support the government's energy program in which nuclear energy is one of the most promising trends for the future, whereas Italian students do not accept the possibility that nuclear energy could come back into the Italian energy sector. © 2019 WIT Press. ; № 02.A03.21.0006. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

Climate change and anthropogenic pollution have put limited water resources under pressure. Lack of basic sanitation services as well as the discharge of improperly treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) result in the deposition of large amounts of organic matter and nutrients, which have major detrimental effects on health. Wastewater treatment (WWT) can reduce water pollution but at the cost of increasing energy consumption and the corresponding atmosphere and climate problems. Sustainable WWT management is a global challenge to preserve fresh water and decrease energy consumption. Nowadays it becomes obvious that existing WWTP operation model, based on the linear "take-make-dispose" pattern, is no longer sustainable. Furthermore, disposal of a product in landfill means that all residual energy is lost. The adoption of circular economy (CE) practices with its 3R principles of reducing, reusing and recycling material appears as a timely, relevant and practical option to meet the goals of sustainable development. WWTP is a critical element in CE implementation policy and to measure the degree of "circularity" there is a need for indicators. This study considers the holistic overview of measuring the progress of CE implementation at WWTP under 3R principles using life cycle analysis (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) frameworks. The paper presents the principles of CE indicators set construction using managerial approach. The proposed set of indicators and integral circularity index are studied under three scenarios, based on real performance of northern and southern WWTP in Ekaterinburg, Russia. This study provides an efficient assessment tool of CE progress, which is rather simple for calculation and interpretation and suitable for the use of wide range of stakeholders. © 2019 WIT Press. ; № 02.A03.21.0006 ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

Nowadays, most countries of the world are implementing the transition to the low-carbon economy which implies the need to carry out a full-scale eco-modernization of the energy sector. Green energy may be identified as one of the core concerns of energy sector modernization as it allows a considerable decrease in emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Therefore, nuclear and renewable energy may become key areas of global energy development in the near future, which is also in agreement with circular economy concepts. However, public opinion (and other controversial visions/aspects) is one of the barriers to their development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between attitudes towards nuclear and renewable energy in two countries: a EU country (Italy) and a non-EU country (Russia), considering the level of their development. The authors conducted a survey among residents regarding their attitude towards nuclear and renewable energy, as well as their attitude to the present energy policy. The cluster analysis technique was used to analyze the results. The obtained results confirmed the dependence between the level of development of nuclear and renewable energy and the public attitude towards it. The national energy policy also might influence public opinion on the development of nuclear or renewable energy. The authors identified public attitude as one of the key factors in the development of energy and the achievement of environmental and social sustainability. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. ; Funding: The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 22-28-01740, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-01740/ (accessed on 6 December 2021).

Anaerobic digestion contributes to the implementation of circular economy (CE) concepts. This process is assuming an increasingly important function in the treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW), that is, food waste, where selective collection is optimised. The possibility of combining the recovery of matter with energy makes this approach interesting for the concepts of circular economy. Specifically, the extraction of biomethane from biogas and the following refining of the residual off-gas from impurities gives as result the extraction of CO2 that can also be used for food industry applications. A high-quality source separation of food waste gives the chance to generate a good product, compost, coherently with the aims of the circular economy principles. The use of dry processes of anaerobic digestion allows avoiding the discharge of (treated) water in the environment. Co-digestion is another option that deserves a wider adoption, because of the possibility to exploit existing volumes of digestion. This paper presents a bibliographic research based on current CE progress and MSW anaerobic digestion infrastructure in Italy and Russia. Perspectives of the sector are discussed too. © 2021 WITPress. All rights reserved. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

The development of renewable energy is one of the strategic directions of eco-modernization of the Russian energy sector, which will not only reduce the negative impact of the industry on the environment, but also provide remote territories with the stable access to electricity. Despite the fact that the Russian regions have a great potential for the development of renewable energy, the full transition of the energy sector to the "green" vector of its development is currently impossible. Moreover, most of current studies consider the development of renewable energy without reference to the regions, which, according to the authors, does not provide an objective assessment of the potential for the use of renewable energy in Russia. The purpose of the present research is to evaluate the potential for the introduction of various renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy sector of the Sverdlovsk region — one of the largest industrial regions of Russia. The full-scale assessment of their potential use at the regional level helps to accelerate the process of their introduction into the energy sector, since during the assessment, scientists analyze not only the possibilities of use, but also the barriers to development. Authors applied various research methods among which analysis of state programs, analysis of the official statistical reports, analysis of natural conditions on the territory of the region, etc. As a result, authors developed a map of potential use of renewables in the territory of Sverdlovsk region, evaluated prospects of their development and revealed key barriers. The proposed algorithm of assessment might be applicable for other Russian regions. © 2021 The Authors. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

The implementation of investment projects has an important role to play in the development of the economy and also to be in concordance with the Circular Economy concepts, as it causes not only the flows of financial and labor resources into the regional economy, but also stimulates the development of scientific and technological progress and the emergence of innovations. A comprehensive assessment is essential approach of any investment project to achieve sustainable development and to close the loop as requested be the Circular Economy through balancing between social and economic development, as well as preservation of environment. The assessment of ecological and economic efficiency of investment projects is one of the most significant stages of project implementation as it allows to uncover the potential negative effects and possible failure of the project. So far, there are no unified approaches to assessing the effectiveness of investment projects, especially its environmental component. That fact leads to a biased assessment of the impact of an investment project on the environment. The problem is caused not only by the lack of a common, internationally accepted methodology, but also by the complexity of accounting for externalities and negative financial impact. The purpose of the study is to examine and systemize existing approaches to the assessment of ecological and economic efficiency and provide recommendations for its enhancement. The article highlights two conceptual approaches to the efficiency assessment of the project and their benefits and drawbacks. © 2021 WITPress. All rights reserved. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

In the last decades, the amount of municipal sewage sludge generation rate has drastically increased due to population growth, spatial sewerage system development, and implementation of new treatment techniques. Nowadays, it is considered a globally prominent issue. Municipal sewage sludge contains pathogenic bacteria and viruses along with heavy metals, poorly biodegradable organic compounds, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics, which make its utilization management quite difficult. Landfill placement of sewage sludge is the most widely used technique worldwide, but is obsolete and inefficient, and accompanied by significant risk of environmental pollution with high logistics expenditure. Moreover, landfill placement means that all residual energy and potential material reuse applications are lost. The introduction of modern treatment techniques can solve the problem with sewage sludge generation, but it results in strong energy consumption increase of energy consumption. Modernization and operational policies based on circular economy principles are focused on relevant sewage sludge utilization issues with the potential use of waste-to-energy and recycling applications. The paper presents a methodological approach of cradle-to-grave assessment of sewage sludge treatment process based on energy and material flow analysis. The proposed methodology is studied within the real operational activities of big-scale wastewater treatment plants of two of the largest cities of Russia – Ekaterinburg and Perm. This investigation provides an efficient managerial tool for sustainable development that can be used by wide range of stakeholders. © 2020 WIT Press, www.witpress.com ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006.

This paper presents an overview of various situations that may lead to critical levels of human exposure to different air pollutants and that are often underestimated by the people and the environmental legislation. After an overview on indoor activities that contribute to generate high levels of exposure to particulate matter, inorganic and organic pollutants (including carcinogenic compounds), the paper focuses on outdoor critical contexts that are not adequately considered by the legislation and by the environmental agencies, such as petrol filling stations, urban street canyons, arterial roads, road tunnel portals and remote areas characterised by high ozone concentrations. The paper presents specific activities that require additional control by the legislation, due to the associated high potential impacts on the resident population. Such activities are steel production, mechanical-biological treatments of waste, wood burning, poultry breeding, cement production and waste incineration. Finally, the paper presents proposals for a more sustainable management of air quality and human exposure, e.g. improvements in the conventional monitoring approach, stricter or new emission limit values for some activities and precise information to the people on the risks for health and on good practices in indoor environments. © 2018 WIT Press. ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors wish to thank the Health Authority of Verona (USSL 20) for the financial support to a part of this research.

The liberalization of the energy sector, the spreading adoption of digital information and telecommunication technologies, decentralization, and expansion of RES-based distributed generation provide broader development opportunities for technology entrepreneurship in the industry. Nevertheless, the energy sector remains one of the "least entrepreneurial" industries of the global economy – both by number of corporate innovations and by number of independent startups. Having summarized a corpus of theoretical research and the results of a survey of energy experts, the authors were able to describe fields of applications and key barriers to the development of technology entrepreneurship in the industry and at a corporate level. On the basis of an analysis of the experience of US and British energy companies, the authors propose typical models of technology entrepreneurship and schemes of resource interaction among energy companies, consumers of new products and services, universities, developers and investors in the course of implementation of breakthrough projects. The results of the study and the authors' recommendations can be used by energy companies creating corporate mechanisms of technology entrepreneurship, as well as by government agencies and universities for the development of the innovation infrastructure of the energy sector. © 2019 WIT Press ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The work was supported by Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

The optimization of municipal solid waste management requires the re-organization of niche sectors too. The sector of the university is not fully explored from the scientific point of view. The creation of networks among universities in order to face this issue allows an exchange of expertise also at an international level as demonstrated in this article, by three case studies: two Italian (University of Trento and University of Insubria) and one Russian (Ural Federal University) universities. This study highlights the pros and cons of each university in terms of waste management. Specifically, setting up communication campaigns, standard procedures, monitoring actions, pricing strategies that incentivize selective collection, and improving the collaboration within the university community are identified as crucial initiatives. The margins of improvement of the three universities analyzed are favored by the composition of the generated waste. The implementation of good practices can give economic advantages to the universities, besides improving their level of sustainability. © 2020 by the authors. ; The authors wish to thank Dolomiti Energia Spa and, especially, C. Realis and G. Baldessarri Antoniolli for the data on the fractions contained in the residual waste produced by UniTrento. This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

Sustainable development is a key principle of national and international policies, which has been strongly promoted by the European Union since 2015. Communication, education, the awareness of the importance of accelerating the transition from a linear economy to a circular one and of raising environmental awareness play a key role in the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). To achieve the goals on a large scale, it is necessary to start from a local scale. In this sense, universities must experiment best practices and make them available to the society. In the last years, many universities have adopted environmental sustainability plans in order to implement green policies and develop a roadmap towards the achievement of the SDGs, while sharing best practices with university communities and society. This paper presents the case of two Italian universities and a Russian one. Specifically, the paper presents the contents of the current environmental sustainability plans of the Italian universities, discussing the reasons for the choice of the environmental sustainability goals and the expected results following the implementation of the related actions. A comparison between the approaches adopted in the sustainability plans of the two Italian universities will be presented in details. In addition, the paper analyses the potential implementation of a sustainability plan in the Russian university. The paper will discuss also potential criticalities in the achievement of the goals. © 2021 WITPress. All rights reserved. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

The Circular Economy (CE) principles recently set out by the European Union (EU) include additional guidelines for municipal solid waste (MSW) management. More detailed information about material streams must be generated and managed so that the entire system can be monitored from a new perspective. Suitable indicators (and indices from them) must be made readily available, so that they can be used to assess the efficiency that the European Union expects from the sector. This article presents a preliminary critical analysis of the literature and identifies that indicators and indices should be considered to facilitate the evaluation of MSW management under a CE vision. The analysis is combined with a discussion of the situation in various countries, to provide an overview of attempts to implement CE strategies worldwide. Special waste is not dealt with in this article as EU updated the vision of waste management starting from the MSW sector, on which this work is focused. © 2021 WITPress. All rights reserved. ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

Environmental safety problemoriginatedfromvehicles requiresdevelopment andexploration of integrated and effective solutions, which considers the development level of technologies, the cost of their widespread use, the legislation requirements and other relevant aspects. One improvement method of the petroleum-derived fuels characteristics is the use of additives that complement the refining methods and provide ample opportunities to influence the individual characteristics. The aim of this work is to study the influence of the developed multifunctional surface-active nano-additive on the gasoline characteristics and engine performance. The measurement results confirmed the effective reduction of the surface tension of gasoline at the boundary with air, improving the mixture formation in the engine. On the other hand, the saturated vapor pressure was significantly decreased, which dramatically reduces evaporation losses and air pollution by light hydrocarbons. The use of the additive, due to a combination of its surface-active and catalytic action, significantly increases the fuel efficiency of engines and reduces octane requirements, greenhouse gases emissions, as well as noise level during operation of vehicles, and the environmental safety of vehicle operation increases. © 2019 by the authors.

In this article, we will discuss about the potential of renewable energies available in a relatively small territorial context, such as municipalities, and the various problems interfering with a full exploitation of said potential. Since the launch of Covenant of Mayors, CoM, in 2008, thousands of local governments committed on volunteer basis in reaching or even exceeding, to the EU targets with regards to climate change and renewable energies for the years to come. Every local government committed to the CoM needs to produce the SEAP (Sustainable Energy Action Plan), which highlights the actions that the government is willing to implement in order to achieve the target set by the CoM (referred either to the 2020 or to the 2030). While studying the local context, many problems of various nature often arise which can be detrimental for the full exploitation of the potential of renewable resources available. This article displays a few examples of local governments located around the world and the problems encountered while writing their SEAP, related to geographical position, types of agricultural, industrial and commercial activities in the area, plants already operative, financial situation of the local government and the population living in the area. The possible areas of intervention include energy efficiency works on public and private buildings, traffic reduction strategies, energy recovery systems applied to factories and industrial plants, solar thermal, photovoltaic and wind power installations, material and energy recovery processes applied to waste management and hydroelectric power installations. © 2019 WIT Press ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research was supported by the Municipality of Oppeano (Italy) and by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.