Economic and emissions impacts of renewable fuel goals for aviation in the US

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a goal that one billion gallons of renewable jet fuel is consumed by the US aviation industry each year from 2018. We examine the economic and emissions impacts of this goal using renewable fuel produced from a Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) process from renewable oils. Our approach employs an economy-wide model of economic activity and energy systems and a detailed partial equilibrium model of the aviation industry. If soybean oil is used as a feedstock, we find that meeting the aviation biofuel goal in 2020 will require an implicit subsidy from airlines to biofuel producers of $2.69 per gallon of renewable jet fuel. If the aviation goal can be met by fuel from oilseed rotation crops grown on otherwise fallow land, the implicit subsidy is $0.35 per gallon of renewable jet fuel. As commercial aviation biofuel consumption represents less than 2% of total fuel used by this industry, the goal has a small impact on the average price of jet fuel and carbon dioxide emissions. We also find that, under the pathways we examine, the cost per tonne of CO₂ abated due to aviation biofuels is between $50 and $400.     

Air transportation in a carbon constrained world: Long-term dynamics of policies and strategies for mitigating the carbon footprint of commercial aviation

With increasing demand for air transportation worldwide and decreasing marginal fuel efficiency improvements, the contribution of aviation to climate change relative to other sectors is projected to increase in the future. As a result, growing public and political pressures are likely to further target air transportation to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The key challenges faced by policy makers and air transportation industry stakeholders is to reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions while sustaining mobility for passengers and time-sensitive cargo as well as meeting future demand for air transportation in developing and emerging countries. This paper examines five generic policies for reducing the emissions of commercial aviation; (1) technological efficiency improvements, (2) operational efficiency improvements, (3) use of alternative fuels, (4) demand shift and (5) carbon pricing (i.e. market-based incentives). In order to evaluate the impacts of these policies on total emissions, air transport mobility, airfares and airline profitability, a system dynamics modeling approach was used. The Global Aviation Industry Dynamics (GAID) model captures the systemic interactions and the delayed feedbacks in the air transportation system and allows scenarios testing through simulations. For this analysis, a set of 34 scenarios with various levels of aggressiveness along the five generic policies were simulated and tested. It was found that no single policy can maintain emissions levels steady while increasing projected demand for air transportation. Simulation results suggest that a combination of the proposed policies does produce results that are close to a “weak” sustainability definition of increasing supply to meet new demand needs while maintaining constant or increasing slightly emissions levels. A combination of policies that includes aggressive levels of technological and operations efficiency improvements, use of biofuels along with moderate levels of carbon pricing and short-haul demand shifts efforts achieves a 140% increase in capacity in 2024 over 2004 while only increasing emissions by 20% over 2004. In addition, airline profitability is moderately impacted (10% reduction) compared to other scenarios where profitability is reduced by over 50% which pose a threat to necessary investments and the implementation of mitigating measures to reduce CO2 emissions. This study has shown that an approach based on a portfolio of mitigating measures and policies spanning across technology and operational improvements, use of biofuels, demand shift and carbon pricing is required to transition the air transportation industry close to an operating point of environmental and mobility sustainability.     

Effect of climate change on asphalt binder selection for road construction in Italy

This work explores the influence of climate changes on the proper selection of asphalt binder for pavement construction purposes, according to the Performance Grade (PG) defined in the SUPERPAVE specifications. Based on temperature data at national level, it is possible to obtain thematic maps for the whole Italian territory, which is extremely useful for technicians and pavement engineers for selection of asphalt binder for road construction purposes. Furthermore, the statistical significant temperature trends’ knowledge enables deriving thematic maps which allows to include the effects of climate change in the asphalt binder design. It is argued that, due to climate change, the binders to be selected may be different from those commonly selected at the design stage of the infrastructure, since likely higher temperature determine more demanding constraints. The comparison among the PG grades necessary for covering the needs for construction in the different regions of Italy also call for highly performing binders, such as those obtained via specific modification with polymers. This will also imply the need for even more performing materials, in terms of mechanical properties and durability, to be used for modification of neat asphalt as well as the need for defining new specification and testing methods, specifically valid for these modified materials.     

复合地层中盾构开舱作业风险分析与防范

在复合地层中土压平衡盾构机开舱是一项比较危险的作业。文章系统地介绍了开舱作业风险源,并提出了相关的风险控制方法;分析了深圳地区的地质、水文情况对开舱条件的适宜性,以及对各种条件下开舱点选择的风险防范;最后介绍了深圳地铁2222标侨-香区间的7次开舱经验,并对其开舱进行分类、总结。     

基岩完整隧道衬砌环向裂缝成因分析及其防治措施

文章通过向莆铁路线七座完整基岩隧道二次衬砌环向裂缝的统计,对隧道衬砌开裂的原因进行了综合分析,阐述了混凝土结构裂缝的危害大小程度,以及设计及施工管理过程中对衬砌裂缝的控制途径,并对此提出了相应的处理措施和建议.     

对格拉管线一次排堵钻孔意外失火事故分析

格拉管线曾经发生过3次严重冰堵。每次排堵都要实施管线钻孔作业,以配合利用油品体积压缩(膨胀)公式来寻找并确定冰堵点位置。在进行第2次冰堵排除过程中,因密闭钻孔器漏油漏气和钻头不锋利而磨擦起火,致使实施钻孔的2人被烧成重伤,参加灭火的多人被烧成轻伤。分析这次管线排堵钻孔意外失火事故发生的原因:一是钻孔人员对油气的危害认识不足,未及时给予清除;二是思想麻痹,未及时刃磨变钝的钻头;三是消防灭火措施不力。通过改进,再未发生过类似事故