Decarbonisation of the Argentinian transport sector by the introduction of battery electric vehicles

"The thermochemical decomposition of beech wood biomass results in a poor quality bio-oil, which cannot be directly used in diesel engines. In order to make this oil resemble liquid fossil fuels, an upgrading technique should be applied. Among the available possibilities, hydrodeoxygenation (the removal of oxygen and saturation of double bonds through high pressure hydrogen) appears to be the most auspicious route to produce biofuels. Besides, this method requires a catalyst to increase the activity, which could be reused in further upgrading reactions so as to minimize the generation of waste material. In this work, four nickel-based catalysts were evaluated for the hydrodeoxygenation of beech wood bio-oil. After being synthesized, their superficial and compositional characteristics were assessed. Once the upgrading reaction was performed for the pyrolysis oil, the resulting products (upgraded bio-oil, aqueous phase and gas fraction) were separately analyzed. Considering the obtained results, the catalyst with the best upgrading performance was selected in order to regenerate and use it in further hydrodeoxygenation reactions. The catalyst selection was based on upgraded bio-oil, catalyst and reaction factors. Parameters such as carbon, oxygen and water content, HHV, pH value, poisoning and overall hydrogen consumption were taken into account. With the obtained results, Ni/SiO2 was chosen and therefore regenerated, which included the calcination and reduction of the spent catalyst before it was reused in a new hydrodeoxygenation reaction. Its performance was tested along three consecutive reactions and the quality of upgraded bio-oils corresponding to these cycles were evaluated. It could be concluded that Ni/SiO2 showed an improvement in the upgraded bio-oil quality next to a satisfactory performance after the three regeneration cycles, which points out that this particular catalyst can be regenerated and reused for a minimum of three times without significantly affecting the resulting upgraded bio-oil quality. Further characterization techniques should be performed in order to achieve a bigger understanding of the functioning of nickel-based catalysts and their reutilization in a larger number of consecutive upgrading reactions." "During the past decades, there has been a dramatic increase on the average temperature worldwide, and it is nowadays undeniable the fact that we are going through a warming process and experiencing irreversible climate changes. In line with the target set in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming well below 2°C above preindustrial levels, Argentina has launched as from 2016 several measures in the electricity sector oriented to carbon dioxide (CO2, the main greenhouse gas) emissions reduction, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the transport one, the second largest CO2 emitting sector. This work projects the effect of the battery electric vehicles’ introduction in the carbon footprint of Argentina. This is done by mapping, along with their specific emissions, all the operating, planned and projected electricity plants, together with the light duty transport fleet and its growth projection as well. The evolution of these variables is simulated up to year 2050 in a time series under three different scenarios. The inputs for these are the controlled charging, efficient usage of electricity, and the grade of penetration of this technology. The emissions of battery electric vehicle are assessed in a time-dependent average, this means, weighting the emissions according to the specific daily load profile. The overall emissions result, both on the electricity and the transport sector, is compared to a baseline scenario in order to prove that the introduction of this technology following certain guidelines brings important benefits. Nevertheless, if this technology would be introduced in an uncontrolled and disordered way, the negative effect on emissions reduction and the shortfalls on the electricity system would also be contrasted." "In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist die Durchschnittstemperatur weltweit dramatisch angestiegen und es ist heutzutage deutlich, dass wir einen Erwärmungsprozess und unumkehrbare Klimaänderungen erfahren. In der Pariser Vereinbarung gesetzten Ziel (die Erderwärmung deutlich unter 2 °C über dem vorindustriellen Niveau begrenzen) hat Argentinien ab 2016 mehrere Maßnahmen im Stromsektor eingeleitet. Die wurden auf III Kohlendioxid (CO2, das wichtigste Treibhausgas) Emissionsreduktion ausgerichtet. Im Transportsektor, der zweitgrößte CO2-emittierendene Sektor, gibt es noch viel zu tun. Diese Masterarbeit projektiert die Auswirkungen der Adoption von Elektrischefahrzeuge auf den CO2-Fußabdruck Argentiniens. Zu diesem Zweck werden alle betriebliche, geplante und projektierte Stromswerke zusammen mit der leichten Transportflotte, ihrer Wachstumsprojektion und spezifischen Emissionen kartiert. Die Entwicklung dieser Variablen wird bis zum Jahr 2050 in einer Zeitreihe unter drei verschiedenen Szenarien simuliert. Die Inputs für diese Szenarien sind das kontrollierte Laden, die effiziente Nutzung von Strom und der Grad der Durchdringung dieser Technologie. Die Emissionen von Elektrofahrzeugen werden in einem zeitabhängigen Durchschnitt bewertet, das heißt, die Emissionen werden ab dem Zeit der Ladung des Fahrzeugs entsprechend den spezifischen Werten gewichtet. Die Gesamtemissionen, sowohl im Strom- als auch im Verkehrssektor, werden mit einem Basisszenario verglichen, um zu beweisen, dass die Einführung dieser Technologie nach bestimmten Richtlinien wichtige Vorteile bringt. Wenn diese Technologie jedoch unkontrolliert und ungeordnet eingeführt würde, wären auch die negativen Auswirkungen auf die Emissionsreduktion und die Defizite des Stromssystem gegenteilig."