• Energy Research
• IT close
• EU close
• AE close
• English close

ABSTRACT: Thermo-electrochemical cells (TECs) are a new kind of energy conversion device that can convert thermal energy into electricity. TECs can be integrated with supercapacitors (SCs) to store the generated electricity. TECs consist of two major components namely electrodes and electrolyte. The selection of appropriate electrode materials with rational nanostructured design should improve the thermoelectrochemical performance of the TECs. In this study, bilayer of nickel cobalt selenide nanowires was successfully grown on activated carbon cloth (NCS/ACC) via one step hydrothermal method and its electrochemical performance was evaluated and compared with nickel selenide (NS/ACC) and cobalt selenide on activated carbon cloth (CS/ACC). NCS/ACC exhibited the best electrochemical performance compared to other electrodes, leading to its further investigation in an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) configuration with activated carbon (AC) as the cathode. The NCS/ACC ASC demonstrated superior rate capability with 85% capacitive retention after 10,000 cycles, along with a high specific energy (28 Wh kg-1) and specific power (646 W kg-1). Subsequently, the NCS/ACC electrode was employed in a thermo-electrochemical cell (TEC) for heat to electricity conversion, revealing a Seebeck coefficient of -2 mV/K with high reversibility. Thereby, NCS/ACC electrode can be a suitable candidate for bi-functional applications, showcasing its efficacy in both supercapacitors and heat to electricity conversion technologies. KEYWORDS: Heat to electricity conversion; Supercapacitors; Electrodes; Metal selenide; Thermo-Electrochemical Cell. TRANSLATE is a €3.4 million EU-funded research project that aims to develop a new nanofluidic platform technology to effectively convert waste heat to electricity. This technology has the potential to improve the energy efficiency of many devices and systems, and provide a radically new zero-emission power source. The TRANSLATE project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 964251, for the action of 'The Recycling of waste heat through the Application of Nanofluidic ChannelS: Advances in the Conversion of Thermal to Electrical energy'. More information can be be found on the TRANSLATE project website: https://translate-energy.eu/

In 2016, the "First World Ocean Assessment" stated that most of the ocean is now seriously degraded, with change in structure, functions and benefits from marine systems. Meanwhile, the earth surface warming due to anthropic impacts and climate change is one of the driving causes of loss of oxygen from oceans and eutrophisation. During the past 50 years, the open oceans have been losing approximately 1-2% of oxygen, while the extension of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) has been quadrupling, covering an area approximately the size of the Europe. The IPCC 5th Assessment Report forecasts a gradual decrease of oxygen concentration, by 3-6% during the 21th century, which is detrimental to several marine organisms and terrestrial ecosystems too. Conversely, well-oxygenated oceans and coastal waters provide regulating and supporting services. The Ecosystem Services (ES) are goods and services but also conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems sustain and fulfill human life. The deoxygenation damages goods and services delivered by marine ecosystems to humans. In the context of integrated and transdisciplinary ES framework, which combines ecological, economic and social dimensions, four forms of assets (built, human, social and natural) contribute to human well-being through synergies and trade-offs. Since a complete and structured knowledge is the first step to conceive strategies for a sustainable management of the marine areas, increasing investments in this sector is crucial. In Italy, the 1.3% of Research and Development (R&D) funds have been allocated for the oceanographic research, nevertheless a gap of knowledge about the complex phenomena affecting the marine and coastal areas remains. Considering the sea resources supply and regulate a series of goods and services (e.g. rainwater, drinking water, climate, food, air and water oxygenation), the "SDGs, Agenda 2030" goal 14 aims to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources" as a key feature of a sustainable future.

Recent problems about fossil fuels and environmental pollution carried to an even great interest about alternative energy sources and green-energy. Conversion of biomass in energy through biochemical and thermochemical process is one of the most promising and sustainable solution and, among thermochemical processes, pyrolysis is one of the most investigated. Different setting of parameters allow obtaining various types of pyrolysis processes, resulting in a different distribution in product yield. Before designing the simulation, Authors collected some literature data about existing biomass pyrolysis plant and products obtained through different kind of this process. Layout of simulation is based on a pilot-plant located in Caltagirone (Sicily). The simulation is developed in this paper through CHEMCAD software. The work has two aims: 1. Try to enhance percentage of bio-oil production modifying operative parameter; 2. Give a preliminary parameters and results to improve the process in a real plant. Authors show a synthesis of real pyrolysis plant showing type, steam and dimension of biomass and describing operative parameters as heating rate, residence time and maximum temperature reached during the process. Moreover, there is an overview of the entire production cycle, with a description of equipment such as type of reactor, heat exchangers and equipment of gas washing section, until obtaining of final products. Process is simulated in CHEMCAD through a K-Reactor block able to reproduce the reaction that occurs during pyrolysis. After products are discharged from the reactor, solid particles are collected in a tank whereas gas fraction carry on towards the other section of the plant to be treated. Through gas washing section and cooling process, condensable fraction is obtained and liquid phase is separated from gaseous fraction. To check reliability of results, the percentages of three products are compared with the ones collected through literature researches and there is a matching between them. Proceedings of the 26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 14-17 May 2018, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 1131-1136

Monthly Indian energy and activity data used for estimating India's monthly fossil CO2 emissions. Data are collated from a large number of source files, all in the public domain, and documented in the journal article of the same title. NOTE: These data are being regularly updated here: https://robbieandrew.github.io/india/.

Project TradeRES - New Markets Design & Models for 100% Renewable Power Systems N/A

In these times of constant precariousness and insecurity, debates on the need for environmental sustainability are on the increase. There is a need to regenerate urban areas both by transforming the existing heritage while respecting historical memory, and by proposing "renewed" neighbourhoods with smartness, according to the use of renewable energy sources, eco-building, intelligent mobility, with a view to ecological transition. Immediate responses are needed to resource depletion on the one hand and the need to protect the quality of natural and environmental capital on the other. To achieve these goals, cities are called upon to play the role of drivers of sustainable development. By enhancing ecological quality, sustainability and resilience, cities will make a decisive contribution to the well-being of their citizens and the growth of local development. The design reference is the "green city", which focuses on the quality of the urban environment, the circularity of resources, mitigation of the causes of climate change and green growth and redevelopment, with a multi-sector methodological approach integrated with planning and based on the BPCI method "Bioclimatic Park City Immersive" (this means immerge the city into a bioclimatic park). This green approach already appears in the international policy documents Global Green New Deal by UNEP in 2008 and Towards Green Growth by OECD in 2010. [1] The key factors and methodologies of intervention are based on the interaction between Green Economy, Green City and Adaptive and Resilient Design, whose proposals can support the overcoming of urban/environmental degradation in terms of physical recovery, environmental rehabilitation and energy improvement, integrated with the enhancement of the existing heritage.

The world of business is rapidly changing, not only thanks to digitization and technological transformation, but also to address challenges related to the environment and climate change, and to reduce its impact in terms of waste, emissions, and raw materials. The COVID-19 crisis and the European Green New Deal have also accelerated this transformation process. In this context, companies must be able to evaluate their commitment and contribution to sustainable development, and to adopt lower impact business models. To achieve this aim, companies need easy and accessible measurement tools. The tools currently available are based on quantitative or statistical approaches and require the process of large amounts of data. This approach is easily accessible to large companies, while small companies or craft businesses may be scared off, as they may lack the structures and expertise. This study fills this gap by presenting an innovative and easy-to-access methodology for assessing sustainability in companies. Through a qualitative assessment of interdependence among nine categories grouping multiple environmental, social, and governance indicators, companies can evaluate their impact on the 17 SDGs and on the 3 ESG dimensions. The result can be used by the companies to design strategies for their businesses and plan future actions to improve circular models, thanks to the awareness and benefits gained from the analysis. The methodology has been applied to the case study of Ohoskin © 2021,

An estimated 14 percent of the total food produced for human consumption is lost, while 17 per cent is wasted. This is enough to feed around 1 billion people in a world where currently 811 million people are hungry and 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet. The lack of effective refrigeration is a leading contributor to this challenge, resulting in the loss of 12 percent of total food production, in 2017. Moreover, the food cold chain is responsible for 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, including from cold chain technologies and food loss and waste due to lack of refrigeration. This report explores how food cold chain development can become more sustainable and makes a series of important recommendations. These include governments and other cold chain stakeholders collaborating to adopt a systems approach and develop National Cooling Action Plans, backing plans with financing and targets, implementing and enforcing ambitious minimum efficiency standards. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer - a universally ratified multilateral environmental agreement - can contribute to mobilizing and scaling up solutions for delivering sustainable, efficient, and environmentally friendly cooling through its Kigali Amendment and Rome Declaration. Reducing non-CO2 emissions, including refrigerants used in cold chain technologies is key to achieve the Paris Agreement targets, as highlighted in the latest mitigation report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). At a time when the international community must act to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, sustainable food cold chains can make an important difference.

Organic photovoltaic offers energy from a widely available and naturally replenished source, with relevant advantages of low-cost, easy fabrication, solution processability, light weight, transparency, and mechanical flexibility. Unfortunately the huge use of harmful halogenated aromatic solvents in the processing together with that of a critical metal as Indium is in the transparent electrode, have limited the industrial implementation of this technology so far. We developed an aqueous ink made of nanoparticles of blended semiconducting polymers/fullerene derivative to fabricate the active layer, and tried to deposit it onto an electrode made on Silver nanoparticles prepared in a PS-co-P4VP matrix and then blended with PEDOT. Different deposition methods were tried, spin coating and micro-contact printing and the prepared films were characterized by AFM ,TEM etc.