126855-Thumbnail Image.png

Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.

Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
Filtering by

Clear all filters

Exploring Opportunities for Woody Biomass Utilization in Coconino County, Arizona

Description
In northern Arizona, the removal of woody biomass from forested land has garnered a high level of interest as threats of catastrophic wildfires have increased in recent years. Although there has been a great deal of vocal support for forest restoration, efforts on the ground are often stalled by complex…

In northern Arizona, the removal of woody biomass from forested land has garnered a high level of interest as threats of catastrophic wildfires have increased in recent years. Although there has been a great deal of vocal support for forest restoration, efforts on the ground are often stalled by complex federal contracting systems, a weak logging and sawmill industry, low-quality timber, and inabilities to guarantee long-term biomass supplies to processers. These barriers are exceedingly apparent in in the Flagstaff area, where the vast majority of forested land falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government and little infrastructure exists for wood product industries. In order to address these obstacles, forest stakeholders in Coconino County are actively searching for enterprises to utilize material that urgently needs to be removed from the surrounding forests. This project aimed to assist stakeholders in this endeavor by identifying and researching a number of practical and innovative woody biomass utilization enterprises that are suited to the existing regional infrastructure. While there are a variety of ways to process biomass, this project focuses on the following four end products because of their ability to use residual materials from harvest and sawmill operations, their low-tech nature, and the end product’s proximity to potential markets: biochar, compost, wood-plastic composites, and mushroom cultivation. Each of these products, and the processes used to create them, were analyzed and evaluated using a sustainable enterprise framework, and the final results were summarized in a portfolio for stakeholders in the region to review. Although this project offered just a glimpse of what is possible, the ultimate aim was to foster collaborative conversations regarding how forest restoration residues can be used in sustainable and innovative ways.
ContributorsPaulus, Caitlin (Contributor)
Created2019-05-15

Biochar Briquettes: Alternative to Firewood and Charcoal Fuel

Description

Domestic energy is an important component of our day to day lives and is something we cannot live without. Imagine how life would be without a means to cook our food, to warm our house, life would be unbearable. As we enjoy these comforts rarely do we stop to think…

Domestic energy is an important component of our day to day lives and is something we cannot live without. Imagine how life would be without a means to cook our food, to warm our house, life would be unbearable. As we enjoy these comforts rarely do we stop to think what the opportunity cost is. For those using renewable sources, it is not a big issue, but for those who rely on wood fuel, they have to strike a delicate balance between need for fuel and the need to conserve the greatest support systems of their livelihoods, the forests. The main source of energy for households in many developing countries is biomass, mainly from forests and woodlands. The continued use of firewood and charcoal fuel puts a strain on forests, resulting in adverse effects on the environment such as prolonged droughts, loss of biodiversity, dwindling water resources, changing weather patterns among other sustainability challenges. An alternative to firewood to charcoal lies in biochar briquettes. This paper discusses the role of biochar briquettes in mitigating climate change and serves as a step by step guide on how biochar briquettes may be produced.
ContributorsNganga, Patrick M. (Author)
Created2018

The Solar Duck Curve and Sustainable Storage Options: A Policy Recommendation

Description
Before the rise in renewable energy, few people considered the consequences of adding large amounts of intermittent power onto the grid. As renewable energy has become more prevalent, utility companies must adapt their business practices to accommodate these unique sources of power. This is leading to challenges on how best…

Before the rise in renewable energy, few people considered the consequences of adding large amounts of intermittent power onto the grid. As renewable energy has become more prevalent, utility companies must adapt their business practices to accommodate these unique sources of power. This is leading to challenges on how best to manage a grid with large amounts of renewable power. Arizona Public Service (APS), the largest electricity provider in the state of Arizona, has more than 70,000 distributed solar customers on their grid and the number of solar customers increases every day. With this increase in distributed solar customers comes the solar duck curve—the phenomenon whereby solar produces energy during times of low demand. However, with the use of storage, the duck curve problem may be mitigated. This project examines the sustainability of three storage options: pumped hydro energy storage, compressed air energy storage, and lithium-ion batteries. Using several sustainability indicators, this project makes a policy recommendation to APS on the most sustainable choice for large-scale energy storage. This project found that compressed air energy storage was the most sustainable option for APS. This considered the impacts of compressed air on the environment, communities, and the costs of this storage option. One important aspect to acknowledge regarding this technology is that in its current form, it does emit some carbon emissions. However, the carbon emissions may have less of an impact if this storage facility can allow APS to use its renewable energy assets most efficiently and continue to use energy from Palo Verde, the nuclear facility in Arizona.
ContributorsRood, Devon (Author) / Romito, Marc (Contributor)
Created2018-04-25

On-Site Renewable Energy Battery Storage

Description
This document contains a feasibility study that explores the necessity, collaborations, and
possible methods of installing a 1 megawatt lithium-ion battery storage facility at San Diego Gas
& Electric’s Century Park campus located in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood in central San
Diego, California. The battery will serve purposes of adding renewable energy to…

This document contains a feasibility study that explores the necessity, collaborations, and
possible methods of installing a 1 megawatt lithium-ion battery storage facility at San Diego Gas
& Electric’s Century Park campus located in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood in central San
Diego, California. The battery will serve purposes of adding renewable energy to the energy mix,
reducing operations costs via peak shaving, an educational component for the region, and
meeting stringent State of California and California Public Utilities Commission mandates for
both renewable energy and battery storage capacity.
ContributorsShamblin, Sandra M. (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2020-05-15