Technologies and Health

17 Oct Biogas (Report only in French)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2016

EDP Sciences 2016 Biogas, resulting from the decomposition of organic matter, is known since the late 18th century: swamp gas. In Europe, the production of biogas on an industrial scale takes off somewhere between 1980 and 1990. The report describes sources and processes for the generation of biogas: hermetically sealed waste dumps and the capture of biogas from anaerobic digestion; industrial anaerobic fermentation of household waste with different species of bacteria at different temperatures; fermentation of agricultural crop waste and animal droppings; processing of biodegradable sludge from waste water treatment plants; etc. Biogas plants using a second generation methanisation process at high temperatures have been built in Germany and Sweden. Biogas is regarded as a renewable energy but is not fit for industrial use in untreated form as it contains various contaminants that need to be filtered. The success of biogas as a substitute for natural gas depends on the financial incentives granted.

17 Oct Energy Vectors (English version)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2012

Editions Le Manuscrit 2012 Energy procurement/uses, influenced by oil prices and climate change, may differ in different countries. These influences continue but time-scales change (e.g. for peak oil and gas). The Fukushima accident has shaken confidence into nuclear power. This Report proposes a robust methodology for making relevant economic and ecological choices related to energy transition. Focussing on the French situation, it deals with Energy Vectors: the support system delivering energy ready to use (electricity, petrol, gas, or heat, etc.) to consumers; the intermediary stage of vectors between sources (coal, gas, U, wind, hydro) and demand of final energy (for transport, heating, industrial processes, etc.). While end-consumers may not be aware of the source for the final energy, distinguishing between them would allow economic and ecological competition (when C02 emissions carry a price-tag). This report throws new light on the political decisions that must be taken and provides guidelines with a long-range relevance.

17 Oct Impact of ICT on world energy consumption – and carbon footprints (Report only in French)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2015

EDP Sciences, 2015 The report analyses the impact of ICT’s worldwide energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions, considering the impacts generated by the operation of its various hardware and infrastructure, and the savings it spawns in other areas of activity. Conclusion: The final energy and carbon balance of all ICT categories together is clearly a positive one. In 2012, ICT accounted for 4.7% of worldwide electricity consumption, and a total carbon footprint of about 1.7 percent. These numbers are on an upwards trend, but in smaller proportions than the growing use of ICT, thanks to its contribution to reduce these footprints in other areas of activities such as in the transport sector, buildings, manufacturing industries, or even dematerialised procedures. The report focuses on the (global) transport/mobility sector benefitting from digitisation in and around vehicles and lists current lines of research aimed at better performance of computing, with lower energy consumption.

08 Juil Methane – where does it come from, what is its impact on the climate? (Report only in French)

National Academy of Technologies of France
(NATF) 2014

EDP Sciences 2014 Strong variations of atmospheric concentrations of the potent greenhouse gas methane have accompanied glacial and interglacial periods - influencing timetable and magnitude of past and present climate changes. The report describes and analyses natural and human-related sources and sinks of atmospheric methane with particular attention to potentially massive emissions from thawing permafrost and clathrates. The methane fluxes between main reservoirs and the atmosphere is measured via ground-based networks or from outer space. As atmospheric methane is destroyed over time (half-life ~7 years), its GHG-efficiency is not straight-forward. While fossil fuel exploitation is an important methane source, emissions could be limited at reasonable cost. Feedbacks from wetlands and soils are more difficult to control. Recommendations are made in areas such as agricultural practices, waste- and landfill management, biomass combustion, exploitation of coal, natural gas and oil. The potential exploitation of methane from permafrost and marine clathrates should be closely followed.