SACM - United Kingdom
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/9667
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Item Restricted Energy Transition Policies and Their Impact on Saudi Arabia(University of Oxford, 2024) Awshan, Nawaf; Imsirovic, Adi; Sen, AnupamaThis dissertation answers how Saudi Arabia, an oil-dependent economy, is tackling the energy transition. Given Saudi Arabia’s economy and its position in the global energy markets, it is crucial to analyse its status in the energy transition. Specifically, this research addresses three research sub-questions concerning: the external and internal drivers that have pushed Saudi Arabia to transform, the leading entity driving the energy transition in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia’s progression in the energy transition relative to other oil-producing economies, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Norway. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used: a Multi-Level Perspective framework is analysed, six interviews with energy stakeholders are conducted, and an Energy Transition Advancement Index (ETAI) is developed, in which two main sub-indexes are created with 39 dimensions. The research results show that eight drivers have pushed Saudi Arabia to transition: oil price volatility, global political and environmental pressure, advancement of renewable energy manufacturing, additional fiscal revenue derived from maximising oil exports, growth of domestic energy demand, the fiscal impact of fossil fuel subsidies, successful pilot renewable energy projects, and extensive minerals exploration. Second, the Saudi Ministry of Energy leads the energy transition. Furthermore, the results reveal that the government adopted a state-led energy transition approach where the government sets the policy instruments and initiatives. Lastly, Saudi Arabia lags behind the UAE and Norway in the ETAI. In 2023, Saudi Arabia scored 49.66 out of 100, while the UAE and Norway scored 64.33 and 70.57, respectively. The ETAI reveals that Saudi Arabia has the competence to transition, as indicated by the continuous improvement in the capability sub-index, which increased from 39.75 in 1990 to 57.33 in 2023. However, not enough steps have been taken to transition, as the performance sub-index declined from 48.84 in 1990 to 38.54 in 2023. The study recommends gradually phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, establishing Public-Private Partnerships in all low-carbon investments, enhancing private sector participation, and extending the value chain of the petrochemical industries.38 0Item Restricted Waste Gasification for Hydrogen Production(University College London (UCL), 2023) Lahig, Talal; Materazzi, MassimilianoThe vision for hydrogen being at the forefront of the energy transition is already in existence, due to its high energy density and its zero greenhouse gas emissions during use. Current production methods include steam-methane reforming and coal gasification, which lead to high CO2 emissions that will amplify climate change with increasing demand. Opposite to this is waste gasification, which provides a sustainable gateway for clean hydrogen production as waste contains biogenic carbon and can attain negative carbon emissions when coupled with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). This study concentrates on the development of a novel approach to predict the pyrolysis yields of diverse waste based on its components of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, polyethylene and polypropylene. The work demonstrates that the flexibility and predictive capability of an air-steam bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) gasification model for a wide array of waste types is improved. The model was rigorously validated against pilot plant data through comparison of the outlet syngas composition, the tar content, the heating value and the temperature profile across the fluidised bed gasifier at a range of conditions. The effects of the feedstock type, equivalence ratio (ER) and the steam-to-waste ratio (STWR) are investigated to determine the optimal conditions for achieving a high H2 yield, while maintaining medium heating values. It was found that a H2/CO ratio of 2.37 is achieved with an ER of 0.30 and a STWR of 1.2 using sugarcane bagasse.37 0