• Energy Research
• Restricted close
• Open Source close
• IT close
• ES close
• FR close
• EU close

The possibility to increase human comfort and reduce the global footprint of buildings is a powerful driving force for introduction of new building technology. Here advanced coating technologies pl ...

Starting from an interpretation of “sustainable mobility”, this study describes a possible taxonomy of the modalities of urban travels related to sustainability and it suggests an inclusive approach to implement urban policies for “soft mobility” inside the urban contexts. These policies aim at improving the levels of urban liveability, reducing the polluting emissions and promoting the recovery of a sober moral behaviour in acting and reacting inside the city. The underway photovoltaic bikesharing project “Bene Bike” in Benevento shows how the bike station plays an innovative role. It represents a multifunctional element able of managing material and immaterial “flows of urban travels” (people, energy, information).

Abstract The International Geothermal Association (IGA), founded in 1988, is an international, worldwide, non-profit and non-governmental association whose objective and mission is to promote the research and utilization of geothermal resources, through the compilation, publication, and dissemination of scientific and technical data and information. The Information Committee (IC) of the IGA is responsible for advising the IGA Board on policies concerned with the collection, compilation, publication, exchange and dissemination of geothermal information, including information on utilization, development, technical findings, scientific research, meetings, publications and Association activities. The Committee is also responsible for the implementation of information policies determined by the Board.

Abstract Methane conversion to a rich H2 fuel by reforming reactions is a largely applied industrial process. Recently, it has been considered for applications combined to gas turbine powerplants, as a mean for (I) chemical recuperation (i.e. chemical looping CRGT) and (II) decarbonising the primary fuel and make the related power cycle a low CO2 releaser. The possibility of enhancing methane conversion by the addition of CO2 to the steam reactant flow (i.e. tri-reforming) has been assessed and showed interesting results. When dealing with gas turbines, the possibility of applying tri-reforming is related to the availability of some CO2 into the fluegas going to the reformer. This happens in semi-closed gas turbine cycles (SCGT), where the fluegas has a typical 14–15% CO2 mass content. The possibility of joining CRGT and SCGT technologies to improve methane reforming and propose an innovative, low CO2 emissions gas turbine cycle was assessed here. One of the key issues of this joining is also the possibility of greatly reduce the external water consumption due to the reforming, as the SCGT is a water producer cycle. The SCGT-TRIREF cycle is an SCGT cycle where fuel tri-reforming is applied. The steam due to the reformer is generated by the vaporization of the condensed water coming out from the fluegas condensing heat exchanger, upstream the main compressor, where the exhausts are cooled down and partially recirculated. The heat due to the steam generation is recuperated from the turbine exhausts cooling. The reforming process is partially sustained by the heat recovered from the turbine exhausts (which generates superheated steam) and partially by the auto thermal reactions of methane with fresh air, coming from the compressor (i.e. partial combustion). The effect of CO2 on methane reforming (tri-reforming effect) increases with decreasing steam/methane ratio: at very low values, around 30% of methane is converted by reactions with CO2. At high values of steam/methane ratio, the steam reforming reactions are dominant and only a marginal fraction of methane is interested to tri-reforming. Under optimised conditions, which can be reached at relatively high pressure ratios (25–30), the power cycle showed a potential efficiency around 46% and specific work at 550 kJ/kg level. When the amine CO2 capture is applied, the specific CO2 emissions range between 45 and 55 g CO 2 / kW h .

This paper presents the main results of the French project PRECOND which aimed at evaluating the technical & economical viability of fast pyrolysis as biomass preconditioning route for the following utilizations: gasification and FT-synthesis into synthetic transport bio-fuels; petroleum co-refining into transport bio-fuels; combustion for CHP. First, the expected bio-oil specifications have been assessed according to the utilization. A bench scale fluidized bed, identified as the reference technology, was constructed and operated on different biomasses. The methods for physico-chemical characterization of bio-oils were characterized were evaluated, as well as their stability and rheological behaviour. Besides, a new model of the reactor was set-up, resulting in good predictions of the experimental mass balances. Finally, a techno-economical assessment of the whole pre­conditioning route has led to evaluation of bio-oil production costs and the consequence on the utilizations considered. Proceedings of the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 May 2010, Lyon, France, pp. 14-19

Abstract Vertical Greenery Systems (VGS) are relatively new structures for architectural green cladding that embed a curtain of plants (Living Wall – hereafter LW) or grass (Grass Wall – hereafter GW) fixed on building facades and nurtured by an automated watering system. An eMergy evaluation (EE) of both LW and GW was performed aimed at assessing potential ‘environmental costs’ relative to their manufacturing chain, from plants–grass nursery to the assembling of structural elements, until their sustenance in time. Contextually, benefits were estimated as the energy saving for cooling mainly due to their shading effect and airflow. A 98 m2 south-oriented facade of a hypothetical 1000 m3 building has been investigated. EE is an environmental accounting method that accounts for direct and indirect environmental resource use by systems-processes in terms of solar energy equivalents (i.e. solar emergy joule – sej). The Cost to Benefit Ratio has been introduced, as the emergy investment per saved emergy (CBR: sej sej−1), in order to compare the environmental cost of structure functioning to the overall energy saving, in emergy terms. Results highlighted that, in certain conditions (i.e. Mediterranean climate, massive envelope, integrated rainwater harvesting system) both LW and GW can provide net environmental benefits and be valuable options for building retrofitting.

This paper investigates the energy system of the Basilicata region (southern Italy) to highlight, through a scenario analysis, its possible future development in compliance with the European Commission's long-term vision. The IEA-ETSAP methodology was utilized to model and analyse the Basilicata energy system in a business-as-usual scenario, based on the assumptions of the 2010 Regional Energy and Environmental Policy Plan, and in two low-carbon scenarios, decarbonisation and high energy efficiency, which, in line with the long-term European strategy, foresee an 85% carbon dioxide emission reduction and a 20% energy efficiency increase in 2050. The results highlight that electricity production from renewable energy sources (in particular wind energy), strongly supported by the regional policy, goes beyond the Basilicata Regional Energy-Environmental Plan forecast, with a further increase in the decarbonisation scenarios. In addition, solar thermal and highly efficient technologies are adopted in commercial and residential end-use sectors. An additional 9% reduction in energy consumption is achieved in the high energy efficiency scenario by passive houses. The proposed approach shows the usefulness of a modelling framework typically used for national and supranational analyses to support regional authorities in their decision-making process to obtain results in line with the European and national strategies. Application to the Basilicata region shows the usefulness of a consolidated framework for policy assessment at a local scale to assess regional contribution to the achievement of national climate mitigation targets that tend towards climate neutrality.

AbstractUnderstanding the Mediterranean rangelands degradation trends is a key element of mitigating their vulnerability and enhancing their resilience. Climate change and its inherent effects on mean temperature and the precipitation variability can regulate the magnitude, frequency and duration of droughts and aridity with a profound effect on ecosystem productivity. Here we investigate the effects of climate change to project the development of vegetation in the Mediterranean rangelands by (i) estimating the relative Standardized Precipitation Index and a modification of the United Nations Environment Programme Aridity Index to classify climate variability, and (ii) modelling vegetation response to climate using the Food and Agriculture Organisation crop–water production function. Climate model data are obtained from nine general circulation models under Relative Concentration Pathways 2.6 and 8.5 of the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. After correcting climate model data for biases, results for two 40‐year future study periods are compared with the baseline period 1961–2000 within a domain that includes the European Mediterranean. We show that a gradual but robust increase of aridity and drought frequency is estimated for most of the Mediterranean region, impacting rangeland vegetation yields. Projected drought and aridity disturbances may well represent permanent shifts to a warmer and more frequently dry status. This alternative stability of climatic pressure lies outside the limits of ecosystem resilience and may indicate that in some cases vegetation will either adapt to the new conditions or be succeeded by more water‐stress tolerant species. Results raise concerns about the fate of the Mediterranean rangelands and the effectiveness of mitigation measures. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.