• Energy Research
• Closed Access close
• Restricted close
• Open Source close
• IT close
• English-based Creoles and Pidgins close

In the present work different methodologies have been used to analyze pyrolysis of a German bituminous coal "Auguste Victoria" with the aim to obtain pyrolysis kinetic submodels suitable for combustion models developed under Barracuda or other CFD environment such as Ansys Fluent. Intrinsic kinetics have been obtained by conventional TGA analysis at low heating rate (2-20 K/min) and with small particle size (in the order of 0.1 mm) and described by a two-step pyrolysis model. Additionally, the rates of pyrolysis were measured under fluidized bed conditions for larger particle size fractions using a method based on the time-resolved measurement of pressure in the freeboard induced by volatiles release and by a flow restriction at the exhaust. Results of thermogravimetric experiments have been worked out to obtain submodels of coal pyrolysis, comparing and discussing alternative reaction networks of different complexity. However, in fluidized bed experiments, using larger particle sizes, transport limitations become important. As expected, for this regime the reactions rates become lower the larger the particle size, reducing the relevance of intrinsic kinetic submodels.

...

Rapporto relativo all'attività di ricerca svolta dall'IRC-CNR nel progetto STAGE-STE (FP7)

For more than ten years Italian community co-operatives have become an important social issue, a new form of collective enterprise that plays a role in regenerating local economies and social animation of the territories. This new form of business allows the civic forces to organize new services to satisfy some socio-economic needs of their communities. It creates collaboration networks with different stakeholders of the community and innovates both from the point of view of the evolution of the co-operative model as well as the practical implementation of the theories of community development (Bianchi, 2021). Community co-operatives are experimental laboratories of new forms of diversity coexistence and are based on organizational and management models that promote participation and involvement in independently of their productions, that could be of every kind: goods, artistic, recreational, social, cultural services. At the same time, because of their territorial nature, they combine the themes and values of active citizenship with those of environmental sustainability and solidarity. The contribution aims to investigate the characteristics and effective resilience capacity of these forms of "business" even in the face of the current pandemic crisis. We want to highlight the possible particularities of the approaches and solutions adopted and whether the distributed knowledge (social capital), that characterizes them, is actually used. Da più di dieci anni le operative di comunità sono divenute, in Italia, una nuova forma di impresa collettiva capace di giocare un ruolo nella rigenerazione delle economie locali e nella animazione sociale dei territori. Questa nuova forma di impresa permette alle forze civili di organizzare nuovi servizi per soddisfare bisogni socio - economici emergenti delle comunità locali. Infatti queste imprese si generano a partire dalle reti relazionali tra i diversi soggetti delle comunità territoriali e producono soluzioni innovative sia dal punto di vista della evoluzione del modello cooperativo che dal punto di vista delle implementazioni concrete dello sviluppo di comunità (Bianchi, 2021). Sono laboratori sperimentali di nuove forme di coesistenza e di sostegno che danno nuova centralità al concetto di "capitale sociale", basandosi su modelli organizzativi e gestionali che promuovono la partecipazione e il coinvolgimento di tutti i soggetti, indipendentemente dal settore o ambito di produzione, che può essere di qualsiasi tipo: beni o servizi artistici, ricreativi, sociali o culturali. Allo stesso tempo, a causa della loro natura territoriale, esse sembrano combinare il valore della cittadinanza attiva anche con i termini della sostenibilità ambientale, economica e sociale.

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology has been intensively investigated over the last decades as an intriguing alternative for electrical power generation. Even if recently the power conversion efficiencies have been increased, its market penetration is still limited by some drawbacks making expensive their industrial production, as in particular the use of huge amount of halogenated and aromatic solvents, which are toxic and harmful (1,2). Three main strategies have been developed in order to increase the sustainability of the active layer production processes: (i) using other organic solvents that are less harmful for human life and environment; (ii) functionalization of donor and acceptor structure with polar groups and so the use of less hazardous solvents as methanol; (iii) production of polymer-based water-processable nanoparticles (WPNPs). We have focused our attention on this latter strategy because, in addition to reduce halogenated wastes, it allows the control of the final film morphology and the optimization of the interpenetrating electron donor/acceptor networks ensuring good performances in the final device (3,4,5). Particularly, our research group developed the preparation of polymer-based WPNPs using amphiphilic rod-coil block copolymers (ABCPs), bearing a rigid block and a hydrophilic flexible segment. Thanks to these features, ABCPs are able to self-assemble through miniemulsion method generating organized nanostructures under specific conditions. The hydrophilic flexible block works as surfactant and assures the colloidal suspension stability interacting with aqueous medium (6,7). Also, it interacts with the electron-acceptor material (n-type), leading to the formation of pre-aggregated domains, suitable to achieve the charge percolation into the final device (8,9). We synthetized a well-known low band-gap polymer PTB7, in order to connect it to a tailored segment of P4VP producing a new ABCP, the PTB7-b-P4VP. We tested its capability to self-assemble in aqueous medium to produce nanoparticles, both neat and in blend with fullerene derivatives. The obtained WPNPs were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV-Vis spectroscopy, deposited in films topologically characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to confirm the compactness of the obtained active layer. Now we will employ them as active layers for the fabrication of sustainable OPV devices. References 1.Holmes P., Marks M., Kumar P., Kroon R., Barr M. G., Andersson R., Dastoor P. C., Belcher W. J. Nano Energy 2016, 19, 495-510 2.Zhang S., Ye L., Zhang H., Hou J. Materials Today 2016, 19, 533-543 3.Thromholt T., Gevorgyan S. A., Jørgensen M., Krebs F. C., Sylvester-Hvid K. O., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2009, 1, 2768 4.Ulum S., Holmes N., Barr M., Kilcoyne A. L. D., Gong B. B., Zhou X., Belcher W., Dastoor P., Nano Energy, 2013, 2, 897 5.Gärtner S., Christmann M., Sankaran S., Röhm H., Prinz E. M., Penth F., Pütz A., Türeli A. E., Penth B., Baumstümmler B., Colsmann A., Adv. Mater., 2014, 26, 6653 6.Zappia S., Mendichi R., Battiato S., Scavia G., Mastria R., Samperi F., Destri S. Polymer 2015, 80, 245-258 7.Ferretti A. M., Zappia S., Scavia G., Giovanella U., Villafiorita F., Destri S., Polymer 2019, 174, 61-69 8.Zappia S., Scavia G., Ferretti A. M., Giovanella U., Vohra V., Destri S. Adv Sustainable Syst. 2018, 2, 1700155 9.Ganzer L., Zappia S., Russo M., Ferretti A. M., Vohra V., Diterlizzi M., Antognazza M. R., Destri S., Virgili T., Manuscript submissed to PCCP. Acknowledgements: This work was funded by ENI Corporate University

The activity involved several date palm plantations (Phoenix dactylifera L.), as part of the project of John Paul II Foundation. The producers visited are moving in a very difficult socio-political and environmental context but they seem generally willing to communicate the problems and strengths of the agro-ecosystem of interest, despite a tendency to practice in the management and resolution of cultural problems. and market. However, it was possible to obtain valuable information and dialogue from local operators. This was essential to be able to propose and discuss possible solutions to the critical issues evaded in inspections and to set in motion at least locally a series of virtuous measures aimed at increasing socio-ecological resilience.

Rapporto tecnico del primo anno di attività del progetto SunHorizon

The purpose of this deliverable in short is to define the dimensions of the storing hybrid system that will be built and used in the pilot sites. A brief description of both systems will be presented: basic concepts of the different chemistries involved (LTO and AORFB), electrical coupling that will be used as well as the components that will be delivered for HESS construction. The prototype architecture here presented has been defined & designed after long discussion between all partners involved in prototype construction and field use.