Life cycle analysis of solar (thermal and photovoltaic) and wind technologies | |
| Author | Uddin, Md. Shazib |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.ET-13-16 |
| Subject(s) | Solar thermal energy Solar wind |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Energy |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Energy and better environmental quality are the fundamental needs for modern living. The findings of fossil resources are limited, and fossil resources produce harmful emission in the environment during combustion. Addressing the issue of energy crisis and environmental emissions, the world needs to replace fossil sources by renewable sources. Renewable energy technology (RETs) converts the renewable energy sources to useful forms. Though RETs do not produce harmful emission during operation but they consume energy and produce emissions during their manufacture. This work investigated the energy consumption, environmental emissions, energy and CO2 payback time of RETs (solar thermal, wind and solar PV) using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) technique from cradle to grave using SimaPro 7.3.3 software. Few alternative improvement techniques were also undertaken. The life cycle total energy consumption, CO2 emission and 100 years global warming potential (GWP) for flat plate (collector area1.77 m2) and evacuated tube (collector area 2.74 m2) Domestic Solar Hot Water System (DSHWS) are 2,185 MJ, 310 kg, 300 kg CO2-eq and 2,608 MJ, 356 kg, 323 kg CO2-eq respectively. The average reduction of energy consumption for flat plate and evacuated tube DSHWS are 3%, 2%, 58% and 2%, 2.5%, 76% for the strategy of wooden frame, no frame and reuse, respectively. The reduction of CO2 are 3%, 4.5%, 58% and 2.5%, 11%, 76% for the strategy of wooden frame, no frame and reuse, respectively per unit collector area. The energy and CO2 payback time for flat plate and evacuated tube DSHWS are 4, 3.6, 3.7, 1.5 months and 2.5, 2.5, 2.5, 0.5 months for the scenario of base case, wooden frame, no frame and reuse respectively. The life cycle total energy consumption, CO2 emission and GWP for vertical axis (300 W) and horizontal axis (500 W) wind turbine are 532 MJ, 132 kg, 146 kg CO2-eq and 590 MJ, 156kg, 169 kg CO2-eqrespectively. The average reduction of energy consumption for vertical and horizontal axis wind turbine is more than 80% using the reuse strategy, where as the energy consumption could be reduced by 36% for thermoplastic and 40% for fiberglass fan materials of vertical type wind turbine. The average reduction of air emission, water emission and environmental impact are 50%, 15% and 60% respectively using the reuse strategy for the two types of wind turbine, where as the 100 years GWP reduced to more than15% for changing the fan materials for vertical type wind turbine. The operation of wind turbine was considered for three sites (Chiangmai, Phuket and Surat Thani) of Thailand and the highest energy generation was found in Chiangmai for two types of wind turbine. The energy generation for horizontal axis type wind turbine is higher than that of vertical type for the same condition. The CO2 emission intensity (CO2/kWh/yr) is lower in Chiangmai for the two types of wind turbine, and that of the vertical axis type is higher than that of horizontal type. The energy and CO2 payback times are 5.5, 4.5, 1 months for vertical axis and 2.69, 2.18, 0.38months for horizontal axis wind turbine for Phuket, Surat Thani, Chiangmai sites, respectively. The life cycle total energy consumption, CO2 emission and 100 years GWP for monocrystalline silicon PV system (PV area 1 m2) are 3,090 MJ, 577kg and 561 kg CO2-eq respectively. The reductions of energy consumption are 2%, 2.5% and 25% for the scenario of wooden frame, no frame and reuse, respectively, per m2 of PV area. The reductions of CO2 are 4% and 21% for no frame and reuse scenario respectively, while increase of 0.5% for wooden frame scenario. The energy and CO2payback time for the base case, wooden frame, no frame and reuse are 9, 8.8, 8.8 and 6.7 years respectively. |
| Year | 2013 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Energy Technology (ET) |
| Chairperson(s) | Kumar, Sivanappan; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Salam, Abdul P.;Bohez, Erik L. J.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2013 |