 Environmental evaluation and sustainability of energy production processes THESIS TOPIC PROPOSAL Institute: Budapest University of Technology and Economics mechanical engineering Géza Pattantyús-Ábrahám Doctoral School of Mechanical Engineering Thesis supervisor: Edit Cséfalvay Location of studies (in Hungarian): BME Department of Energy Engineering Abbreviation of location of studies: EGR Description of the research topic: a.) Preliminaries: The recently created "Ethanol equivalent" is a metric that gives an opportunity to numerically compare and evaluate individual energy sources and energy-producing processes. The SUSind, i.e. sustainability indicator, which uses ethanol equivalent, is an indicator that is suitable for comparing different energy production processes. b.) Aim of research: Increasing the security of energy supply is essential nowadays. The aim of the research is to develop an evaluation method that can be used to evaluate domestic and EU energy production from an environmental point of view. In addition to electricity production, heat sources that can be used for heating purposes are also analyzed. The goal is to theoretically and experimentally highlight the fact that our future energy supply must be realized in a complex way, by combining existing sources and making individual technological steps more efficient, while complying with environmental protection and climate change goals. c.) Tasks, main items, necessary time: During the research work, the student collects and critically evaluates existing fossil fuel-based and CO2-free energy production processes (0.5 year). Collection, analysis and evaluation of currently available sustainability indicators, as well as the adaptation of SUSind to energy production systems, development of a new environmental protection and sustainability assessment method (2 years). The student's task is to compare energy production technologies and their efficiency with particular regard to climate protection regulations (0.5 years). Writing the thesis takes 1 year. d.) Required equipment: The work requires a computer, and the necessary computer technology and software packages are available at the department. e.) Expected scientific results: To compare the environmental sustainability of the energy supply and individual energy production processes (fossil and renewable), the use of the ethanol equivalent and sustainability indicator and their dissemination in the international literature. f.) References: [1.] Edit Cséfalvay, and István T. Horváth, Sustainability Assessment of Renewable Energy in the United States, Canada, the European Union, China, and the Russian Federation, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 2018, 6 (7), pp. 8868–8874. [2.] Horváth I T, Cséfalvay E, Mika L T, Debreczeni M, Sustainability metrics for biomass-based carbon chemicals, ACS sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 5/3 (2017) pp. 2734-2740, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b03074 (Q1, D1) (IF: 5.267) [3.] Edit Cséfalvay, Geoffrey R. Akien, Long Qi, István T. Horváth, Definition and application of ethanol equivalent: Sustainability performance metrics for biomass conversion to carbon-based fuels and chemicals, Catalysis Today, 239 (2015) pp.50-55 Required language skills: English Number of students who can be accepted: 1 Deadline for application: 2024-10-15 |