Life Cycle Assessment of a Small Hydropower Plant in the Brazilian Amazon

Geller, Marla Teresinha Barbosa; Meneses, Anderson Alvarenga de Moura

doi:10.13044/j.sdewes.2016.04.0029

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Santos et al [21] developed five scenarios for the Brazilian electricity sector for the year 2050, using multi-criteria evaluation that integrates four dimensions: economic, technical, environmental and social. Another study assessed the environmental impacts of construction operation and dismantling of hydroelectric power plants using the LCA [22]. Another piece of work, by Restrepo, Bazzo and Miyake [23], comprised an LCA in the southern region, on the generation of electricity through underground hard coal.…”

Section: Brazilian Discussion On Lca Of Electricity Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period

2018

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The present paper aims to evaluate the past and future environmental performance of the electricity generation in Brazil in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Global Temperature Potential (GTP). To that end, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool was used to evaluate the system's environmental performance, based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, using the Ecoinvent v 3.3 database. This study provides data on global warming by the GWP and GTP 100 years impact category. The functional unit and reference flow is kWh. The model was applied to the electricity generation in Brazil for the years 2016-2026 using Umberto NXT Universal software. The results indicate that the greatest environmental impacts lie on generation sources such as oil, natural gas, hydropower and hard coal. Carbon dioxide was the main contributor to atmospheric emissions in the life cycle of the Brazilian electricity matrix in 2016 and 2026. The total potential impact (and per kWh) is expected to decrease until 2021. The Brazilian electricity matrix is expected to be less pollutant in terms of carbon footprint until 2021. The study can contribute to directing public policies, promoting development actions and encouraging different electricity matrices.

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Section: Brazilian Discussion On Lca Of Electricity Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period

2018

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“…This reinforces the conclusion of the analyzes that the emissions from the construction phase, that is, indirect emissions, are higher for plants that do not burn fuel, but use renewable resources, such as hydroelectric plants and wind farms. For biomass fuel and coal burning plants, direct emissions are higher in the operational phase (Geller & Meneses, 2016).…”

Section: Hydropower and Other Energy Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirect GHG emissions in hydropower plants: a review focused on the uncertainty factors in LCA studies

Geller

Bailão

Tostes

et al. 2020

Desenvolv. Meio Ambiente

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Although Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is standardized, there is a wide range of approaches and discussions of the methodology evaluating of environmental impacts in different contexts in energy production. This review aims to present some findings, and highlight and discuss factors that influence the Life cycle Assessments (LCAs) of Hydropower Plants (HPPs) such as: indirect emissions; different stages of HPPs (construction, operation and decommissioning), the scale/productivity of HPPs; types of projects (reservoir and run-of-river), and land use. This study presents the comparison of different energy sources through the LCA and the comparison between several HPP with their different characteristics. Most of the results obtained by HPP LCAs indicate that the construction phase is the most influential phase for indirect emissions due to the use of steel and concrete. There is an important relationship between impact and production, since plants with higher productivity will have their impacts diluted during their lifetime. The comparison of the LCA results of HPPs with the LCA of other energy sources indicates that, for the category analyzed (Global Warming Potential- GWP), HPPs have a good environmental performance considering the emissions quantified. The object of this study is indirect emissions and not direct emissions, which are important, but require another approach. This review also indicates some uncertainties related to the LCA of the HPPs and the need to conduct future studies on the environmental impacts of UHEs. We also present suggestions that should contribute to improve the use of the LCA methodology.

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“…Although current research lines are concentrating on local resources by favouring the smart systems approach [1], since it is the most easily used, hydraulic sources still play a great role and their exploitation is always desirable. Moreover, they have a lower environmental impact with respect to other sources [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a Statistical-Numerical Procedure for the Selection of Pumps running as Turbines to be applied in Water Pipelines: Study Cases

Barbarelli¹,

Amelio²,

Florio³

2018

J. sustain. dev. energy water environ. syst.

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Cite as: Barbarelli, S., Amelio, M., Florio, G., Using a Statistical-Numerical Procedure for the Selection of Pumps running as Turbines to be applied in Water Pipelines: Study Cases, J. sustain. dev. energy water environ. syst., 6(2), pp 323-340, 2018, DOI: https://doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.d5.0181 ABSTRACTA combined method using statistical and numerical models has been developed by the authors for selecting a pump running as turbine to be applied in micro-hydro plants.The data of the hydrological site chosen for the installation (head and capacity) allow the calculation of two conversion factors which identify the pump to use successfully as turbine in that place. Then, a one-dimensional model, starting from data available on the pumps manufacturers catalogues, reconstructs a virtual geometry of the pump running as turbine, and calculates the performances curves, head vs. capacity, efficiency vs. capacity, useful for identifying the operating point. Two study cases are presented to apply the proposed methodology, concerning the feasibility of the installation of a pump running as turbine in the purifier water plants of Casali and Sersale, located at 1,000 m above sea level (Calabria, South Italy).The assessment of the annual energy yield gives a confirmation of the effectiveness and convenience of using pumps running as turbines.

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Life Cycle Assessment of a Small Hydropower Plant in the Brazilian Amazon

Cited by 20 publications

References 20 publications

Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period

Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period

Indirect GHG emissions in hydropower plants: a review focused on the uncertainty factors in LCA studies

Using a Statistical-Numerical Procedure for the Selection of Pumps running as Turbines to be applied in Water Pipelines: Study Cases

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