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The presented Report forms Deliverable D6.2 resulted from the realization of Workpackage WP.6.3 titled “Overview of market drivers, fiscal measures and subsidies” in frame of the EU-Project “Geothermal communities – demonstrating the cascaded use of geothermal energy for district heating with small scale RES integration and retrofitting measures” (GEOCOM). The following seven countries were covered by WP6.3 works and this Deliverable D6.2: o Macedonia, o Hungary, o Italy, o Poland, o Romania, o Serbia, o Slovakia. The work was done with the contribution of all GEOCOM Project Partner teams and appointed experts, coordinated, interpreted and summarized by the Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of PAS team, WP6 leader. FP7

AbstractChemical looping combustion is a highly efficient CO2 separation technology without direct contact between combustion air and fuel. A metal oxide is used as an oxygen carrier in dual fluidized beds to generate clean CO2. The use of biomass is the focus of current research because of the possibility of negative CO2 emissions and the utilization of biogenic carbon. The most commonly proposed OC are natural ores and residues, but complete combustion has not yet been achieved. In this work, the direct utilization of CLC exhaust gas for methane synthesis as an alternative route was investigated, where the gas components CO, CH4 and H2 are not disadvantageous but benefit the reactions in a methanation step. The whole process chain, the coupling of an 80 kWth pilot plant with gas cleaning and a 10 kW fluidized bed methanation unit were for this purpose established. As OC, ilmenite enhanced with limestone was used, combusting bark pellets in autothermal operation at over 1000 °C reaching high combustion efficiencies of up to 91.7%. The fuel reactor exhaust gas was mixed with hydrogen in the methanation reactor at 360 °C and converted with a methane yield of up to 97.3%. The study showed especially high carbon utilization efficiencies of 97% compared to competitor technologies. Based on the experimental results, a scale-up concept study showed the high potential of the combination of the technologies concerning the total efficiency and the adaptability to grid injection. Graphical Abstract

Growing concerns over the use of limited fossil fuels and their negative impacts on the ecological niches have facilitated the exploration of alternative routes. The use of conventional plastic material also negatively impacts the environment. One such green alternative is polyhydroxyalkanoates, which are biodegradable, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly. Recently, researchers have focused on the utilization of waste gases particularly those belonging to C1 sources derived directly from industries and anthropogenic activities, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and methanol as the substrate for polyhydroxyalkanoates production. Consequently, several microorganisms have been exploited to utilize waste gases for their growth and biopolymer accumulation. Methylotrophs such as Methylobacterium organophilum produced highest amount of PHA up to 88% using CH4 as the sole carbon source and 52–56% with CH3OH. On the other hand Cupriavidus necator, produced 71–81% of PHA by utilizing CO and CO2 as a substrate. The present review shows the potential of waste gas valorization as a promising solution for the sustainable production of polyhydroxyalkanoates. Key bottlenecks towards the usage of gaseous substrates obstructing their realization on a large scale and the possible technological solutions were also highlighted. Several strategies for PHA production using C1 gases through fermentation and metabolic engineering approaches are discussed. Microbes such as autotrophs, acetogens, and methanotrophs can produce PHA from CO2, CO, and CH4. Therefore, this article presents a vision of C1 gas into bioplastics are prospective strategies with promising potential application, and aspects related to the sustainability of the system.

Nowadays, as environmental awareness is key issue among researchers, scientific community is looking for natural materials as they are biodegradable, low cost, eco-friendly and also safe for health. Researchers and academicians have found many natural fibers and studied their properties for their sustainable applications in various possible sectors, and studies are also going on. So, in that context several natural fiber like jute, sisal, banana, pineapple, flax, hemp, kenaf, bamboo, cornstalk waste, coir, etc. have been successfully utilized as a reinforcing material in polymer composites by replacing man made synthetic fiber. Apart from traditional natural fibers, scientific community is also looking for locally available natural fibers across the globe in different geographical locations for successful reinforcement in polymer matrix. This will not only decrease burden on traditional fibers and but also at the same time it would be helpful to enrich the rural economy. Natural fiber based composites can be used in different areas such as auto motive industry, construction industry, sports industry and food industry. This study is related with extraction, characterization, surface treatment thermal analysis and activation energy of different uncommon natural fibers available at different geographical locations worldwide. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive knowledge on extraction techniques, treatment methodologies, and properties of these uncommon natural fibers so that these novel materials can be utilized efficiently as a reinforcing material in different polymer matrix. Discussions on traditional natural fibers like Bagasse, Wheat straw, Coir, Pineapple, Banana etc. have been compiled extensively in various review papers but compilation on these new uncommon natural fibers is rare. Thermal analysis along with activation energy evaluation is another aspect which has been given emphasis in discussion because this is also a very important examination to evaluate the thermal stability of these natural fibers.

The objective of this paper is to explain novel sustainable robotics solutions for cities. Those new proposals appear under the ECHORD++ project which is a good tool to meet academia and industry with the objective of providing innovative technological solutions. In this paper, authors explain the tool as well as the methodology to promote robotics research in urban environments, and the on-going experience will demonstrate that huge advances are made in this field. Peer Reviewed

The levels of production diseases (PD) and the cow replacement rate are high in dairy farming. They indicate excessive production demands on the cow and a poor state of animal welfare. This is the subject of increasing public debate. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of production diseases on the economic sustainability of dairy farms. The contributions of individual culled cows to the farm’s economic performance were calculated, based on milk recording and accounting data from 32 farms in Germany. Cows were identified as ‘profit cows’ when they reached their individual ‘break-even point’. Data from milk recordings (yield and indicators for PD) were used to cluster farms by means of a principal component and a cluster analysis. The analysis revealed five clusters of farms. The average proportion of profit cows was 57.5%, 55.6%, 44.1%, 29.4% and 19.5%. Clusters characterized by a high proportion of cows with metabolic problems and high culling and mortality rates had lower proportions of profit cows, somewhat irrespective of the average milk-yield per cow. Changing the perception of PD from considering it as collateral damage to a threat to the farms’ economic viability might foster change processes to reduce production diseases.

AbstractFuel properties of solid biofuels are essential aspects for the energy‐efficient and low‐emission operation of biomass heat and power plants. Hence, fuel quality parameters are often defined and used for pricing in supply contracts. To simplify and accelerate analytical approaches, rapid analysis devices are required to determine fuel properties such as water‐ and ash content, calorific value, and chemical composition on‐site. This article gives an overview about available technologies and, if applicable, their current state of use as rapid analysis devices for solid biofuels.