Environmental and Social Impacts
Carbon Dioxide Removal Sector Development: Kenya Case Study
The Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) sector is rapidly growing and is crucial for achieving Net Zero by 2050. However, aligning regulation with technological innovation remains a significant challenge. This project aims to explore the value of a bottom-up approach to CDR, focusing on the main drivers, enablers, and challenges the sector will face. By examining the Kenyan CDR ecosystem, the project will qualitatively evaluate venture development to understand the sector's fundamental needs. This approach challenges the current top-down philosophy, highlighting the necessity of adapting CDR strategies to their specific systems.
Supervisors:
- Dr. Mark Workman, Energy Futures Lab
Determining the Probability of Ignition for a Given Area by Hot Particles Ejected from Power Lines
Wildfires represent significant threats to societies, with devastating consequences exacerbated by climate change. Recent decades have seen extended fire seasons, leaving communities vulnerable for longer. Power line-caused wildfires are a pressing issue, particularly in California, where many destructive fires have originated from power lines. A potential solution is trimming vegetation that can catch fire, but this is costly and time-consuming. This project aims to determine the probability of ignition in specific areas due to power lines, providing a map of at-risk zones in California to propose efficient, cost-effective vegetation trimming strategies.
Supervisors:
- Prof. Guillermo Rein, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Techno-economic assessment of Mini-grids for Agricultural Productive Uses - A case study of Tanzania
Access to energy in Sub-Saharan Africa is still a significant challenge. Off-grid solar technologies are regarded as a viable approach to increasing electrification within the region. More specifically, focus has been placed on the intersection of energy and agriculture to unlock value within rural electrification, an important aspect within SSA. This research investigates the technical and economic feasibility of deploying mini-grids with productive agricultural use of energy such as irrigation loads. It studies the impact of load timing—seasonal variations of different crop types and flexible daytime loads—on optimal system sizing.
Supervisors:
- Ben Winchester, Department of Chemical Engineering
- Dr. Hamish Beath, Centre for Environmental Policy
- Prof. Jenny Nelson, Department of Physics
Development of a life cycle GHG accounting estimator for oil production
The MSc project focuses on developing a life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonisation accounting estimator for oil production. It aims to conduct a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of upstream oil processes, including exploration, drilling, extraction, and transportation, using a bottom-up methodology. This project seeks to integrate high-resolution models for oil production with existing refinery models, providing a full environmental impact assessment of the oil value chain. The ultimate goal is to identify and evaluate potential decarbonisation pathways to reduce oil production and refining carbon footprint.
Supervisors:
- Prof. Anna Korre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering
- Dr. Denis Martins Fraga, Department of Earth Science and Engineering
- Bangkit Dana Setiawan, Department of Earth Science and Engineering
Modelling Zambia's sustainable development pathways through a CLEWs approach
Integrated planning in the areas of energy, water, and agriculture is crucial for Zambia, especially as the country experiences recurrent extreme environmental events such as floods and droughts. These events have led to significant food losses and threaten the Zambian energy system, as Zambia is heavily reliant on hydropower. This study aims to identify effective strategies for simultaneously achieving Zambia’s economic and environmental targets by modelling its climate, land, energy, and water systems and their interdependencies. Using the OSeMOSYS modelling tool, the study develops various projection scenarios from 2020 to 2070 under different climate conditions.
Supervisors:
- Prof. Adam Hawkes, Department of Chemical Engineering
- Dr. Ariane Millot, Department of Chemical Engineering
Sustainability Assessment of Lithium Extraction from Brines in South America
Anticipated growth in electric vehicles and energy storage systems is expected in order to meet Net Zero targets, thus driving an increase in lithium demand. With this rising demand, it is urgent to evaluate the environmental impact of its raw material extraction. Existing literature in this topic relies on black-box studies and databases as their data sources. Therefore, this project aims to provide stakeholders with precise data to estimate the environmental impact of lithium extraction from brines in the region of South America, using cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) modelling.
Supervisors:
- Prof. Anna Korre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering
- Prof. Geoff Kelsall, Department of Chemical Engineering
Environmental Impact and Supply Risk Comparison of Lithium-Ion and Post-Lithium-Ion Battery Technologies
Batteries are crucial for decarbonization, especially in transportation and grid transition. Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are widely used for their technical benefits but face issues related to social, environmental, economic, and material availability that can burden the technical advantages. Post-lithium-ion batteries (PLIB) offer alternatives with abundant materials like sodium and sulfur and solid-state technology. By conducting an evaluation of the environmental impacts and material criticality associated with these PLIBs and comparing them with the LIB. The project aims to guide future research and development to identify the critical material and the environmental impact of the current development of PLIBs with the mature LIBs.
Supervisors:
- Dr. Evangelos Kallitsis, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Dr. Jacqueline Edge, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Prof. Gregory Offer, Department of Mechanical Engineering