• Energy Research
• Aurora Universities Network close
• University Federico II of Naples close

This paper presents an optimal control strategy for a district heating power plant with thermal energy storage. The main goal of the control strategy is to reduce the operation costs of the power plant, by scheduling the boilers, the operation of the thermal energy storage and the curtailment on the loads. The problem is stated as a constrained optimization in the form of a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP), embedded on an Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework. Particular attention is paid to modeling of boilers operating constraints, including the outlet water flow temperature, to the energy exchanged with the thermal energy storage and to the operating modes of the power plant layout, including the constraints related to the supply water temperature needed from the network. The results are performed using the data and the layout of the power plant located in the city of Ylivieska, in Finland. The cost analysis performed shows the advantages of using the predictive control strategy.

AbstractImproving the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells is critical to the deployment of this technology. Despite the great emphasis laid on stability-related investigations, publications lack consistency in experimental procedures and parameters reported. It is therefore challenging to reproduce and compare results and thereby develop a deep understanding of degradation mechanisms. Here, we report a consensus between researchers in the field on procedures for testing perovskite solar cell stability, which are based on the International Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability (ISOS) protocols. We propose additional procedures to account for properties specific to PSCs such as ion redistribution under electric fields, reversible degradation and to distinguish ambient-induced degradation from other stress factors. These protocols are not intended as a replacement of the existing qualification standards, but rather they aim to unify the stability assessment and to understand failure modes. Finally, we identify key procedural information which we suggest reporting in publications to improve reproducibility and enable large data set analysis.

RFID tags will really become smart objects of the Internet of Things (IoT) if they will be able to exploit the passive nature of the communication also for exchanging data with any other networked devices in the Internet. To this aim, an adaptation layer, named 6lo-RFID, has been specifically designed to run IPv6 over the RFID link technology. In this paper we draw the design principles for the development of a fully passive, IPv6-compliant, and energy-efficient 6lo-RFID tag platform. In particular, we discuss the block's design of an RF energy harvester and evaluate the simulated performance of a fully-passive 6lo-RFID tag when GET/PUT CoAP methods are used to execute operations on the tag memory.

AbstractThe current standard for lighting of indoor work places (EN 12464-1) essentially prescribes values of photometric quantities (illuminance, Unified Glare Index, etc.); therefore it does not allow a comprehensive analysis of the luminous environment. In Italy, educational buildings do not always comply with the standard requirements for lighting. Therefore an analysis of their current state is needed and this paper illustrates two methods, developed by the authors, to carry out this investigation: the former is based on the analysis of luminance maps obtained through the HDR imaging technique whereas the latter focuses on the evaluation of non-visual effects of light.

The ever-increasing demand of laccases for biodelignification, industrial oxidative processes and environmental bioremediation requires the production of large quantities of enzymes at low cost. The present work was carried out to reduce laccase production costs in liquid fermentations of the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus through two different approaches. In the first, screening of fungal spent media as natural laccase inducer was performed, eliminating the presence of potentially toxic/recalcitrant and expensive exogenous inducers in the culture broth. In the latter, breeding of different strains of P. ostreatus, screened for their laccase productivity, was performed by cross-hybridisation, avoiding genetic transformation and mutagenic treatments that could produce organisms not suitable for "natural or safe processes". A laccase production level close to 80,000U/L by combining the two approaches was achieved. Autoinduction and classical breeding represent promising tools for the improvement of fungal fermentation without affecting the disposable costs that also depend on the eco-compatibility of the whole process.