• Energy Research
• 13. Climate action close
• 11. Sustainability close
• 6. Clean water close
• IT close
• Sapienza University of Rome close

Abstract Reaching universal access to electricity by 2030 requires a massive deployment of mini-grids in rural areas of developing countries. Among the many challenges hindering this process, there are the high uncertainties in assessing demand patterns in rural communities, the costs of field survey campaigns, and the absence of ample and reliable datasets coming from existing projects. This paper tries to address these issues by presenting and discussing a database of load profiles from sixty-one off-grid mini-grids from developing countries worldwide, gathered from the literature, private developers and fieldworks, and reported with technical, socio-economic and geographical characterization factors. A clustering procedure led to the identification of five archetypal load profile clusters, which are presented and analyzed together with their load duration curves. Subsequently, the distribution among the clusters of the various characterization factors selected is studied. The proposed approach allows to widen the range of load profiles usually considered, and to seek correlations between the load profile shapes, the peak power and average energy consumption per connection, the number of customers, the age of measurement, geographical position, operator model, type of tariff and generation technologies present. This work establishes a first step in the creation of a shared database for load profiles of rural mini-grids, helping to overcome the lack of available data and difficulties of demand assessment, proposing original insights for researchers to understand load patterns, and contributing to reduce risks and uncertainties for mini-grid developers.

Nowadays, most countries of the world are implementing the transition to the low-carbon economy which implies the need to carry out a full-scale eco-modernization of the energy sector. Green energy may be identified as one of the core concerns of energy sector modernization as it allows a considerable decrease in emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Therefore, nuclear and renewable energy may become key areas of global energy development in the near future, which is also in agreement with circular economy concepts. However, public opinion (and other controversial visions/aspects) is one of the barriers to their development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between attitudes towards nuclear and renewable energy in two countries: a EU country (Italy) and a non-EU country (Russia), considering the level of their development. The authors conducted a survey among residents regarding their attitude towards nuclear and renewable energy, as well as their attitude to the present energy policy. The cluster analysis technique was used to analyze the results. The obtained results confirmed the dependence between the level of development of nuclear and renewable energy and the public attitude towards it. The national energy policy also might influence public opinion on the development of nuclear or renewable energy. The authors identified public attitude as one of the key factors in the development of energy and the achievement of environmental and social sustainability.

Islands are a constrained environment due to their geographical peculiarities and their land use accounting for, especially in the touristic locations, strong variability during the year. Consequently, the variation of energy demand to be met by variable renewable energy leads to a complex issue. This study aims at investigating the PRISMI Plus approach applied to the Island of Procida to drive the transition towards low-carbon and high-renewable energy system. The toolkit involves the analysis of local renewable energy potential, their potential matching of the energy demand, and the prioritization of the technological solutions to achieve the decarbonization targets set by the energy planning strategies. Three scenarios are designed for 2030 considering low, middle, and high penetration of renewable energy in the systems, results indicate that the amount of power production in low, middle, and high penetration of renewable energy scenarios are 0.18, 14.5, 34.57 GWh/year, respectively. The environmental and landscape constraints lead to a restricted set of available solutions. The decarbonization of the electricity supply is foreseen thanks to the available local solar resources plus the electrification of other sectors, i.e. heating by using Heat Pumps and transport by using Electric Vehicles.

Abstract A novel integrated energy system based on a geothermal heat source and a liquefied natural gas heat sink is proposed in this study for providing heating, cooling, electricity power, and drinking water simultaneously. The arrangement is a cascade incorporating a flash-binary geothermal system, a regenerative organic Rankine cycle, a simple organic Rankine cycle, a vapor compression refrigeration cycle, a regasification unit, and a reverse osmosis desalination system. Energy, exergy, and exergoeconomic methods are employed to analyze the suggested system. A parametric study based on decision variables is carried out to better assess the system performance. Four different multi-objective optimization problems are also carried out. At the most excellent trade-off solution specified by the TOPSIS method, the system attains 29.15% exergy efficiency and 1.512 $/GJ total product cost per exergy unit. The main output products are consequently calculated to be 101.07 kg/s cooling water, 570.44 kW net output power, and 81.57 kg/s potable water.

Abstract Increasing electrification of final uses can be a viable solution towards low-carbon energy systems, when coupled with local renewable power generation. Mountain areas can already benefit from high shares of hydro-power generation, but, at the same time, rely on oil products for transport and for the heating sector in remote areas where natural gas infrastructures are not available. This research work evaluates potential scenarios for the electrification of transport and heating sectors, by coupling the simulation tool EnergyPLAN with a multi-objective optimization algorithm to analyse economic and environmental aspects. Results show that the largest benefits are expected from the electrification of the heating sector. Indeed, a CO2 emissions reduction up to 30% can be reached by acting on the transport sector alone, while up to 65% combining it with measures on heating, industry and agriculture sectors and additional electricity generation from photovoltaic systems. Moreover, the use of heat pumps can lead to significant CO2 emissions decrease with only to a slight increase in the overall annual costs thanks to lower variable costs that partly compensate the higher required initial investment and electricity storage deployment. The optimization analyses also highlight the effect of progressive penetration of electric vehicles in the private cars fleet and hydrogen trucks in the light-duty vehicles one.

To contribute to the debate on climate-proof urban regeneration, the illustrated study seeks to understand how the provision of new multiscalar, multidimensional, and integrated planning tools based on sustainable and resilient strategies can guarantee high levels of urban, environmental, and energy efficiency and quality, as well as circularity of resources, counteracting the effects deriving from climate change. Starting from some regulatory and design references that integrate a new ecologically oriented city model into the planning of urban projects, the contribution identifies in the construction of green and blue infrastructures (GI) new design metaphors capable of improving biodiversity; favoring ecological and energy transition; restoring the quality of the air, water, and soil environmental matrices with natural solutions; and making cities truly inclusive, sustainable, and resilient. The methodology adopted for the design of the “Acilia–Madonnetta” Urban and Metropolitan Centrality in the Municipality of Rome simulates a planning process for part of the X Municipality by applying an iterative and interscalar logic, an articulation of levels and phases with the aim of prefiguring the construction of a GI characterized by new ecological-environmental and functional endowments strictly related to the promotion of an efficient, smart, and green city. The contribution highlights the potential and limits of the proposed experimentation, relating both to the quality and innovation of design solutions and possible evolutionary lines and to the lack of clear institutional governance that is limiting the implementation of projects.

Disproportionation of superoxide to peroxide and O2 generates the highly reactive singlet O2, which needs to be avoided for highly reversible metal–O2 batteries.

The average antimony concentration in municipal solid waste is estimated to be about 10-60 ppm. Thermodynamical models predict a volatile behavior for antimony compounds, yet literature mass balances show that about 50% of the antimony input remains in the grate ashes. This fact can be explained by the formation of thermally stable antimonates in the fuel bed due to interactions with alkali or earth-alkali metals. Thermogravimetric experiments revealed an increased thermal stability for antimony oxide in presence of oxygen and calcium oxide. Spiking experiments on the test incinerator TAMARA showed that chlorination processes have a strong effect on antimony volatilization whereas high fuel-bed temperatures and addition of antimony oxide only have a moderate effect. In the grate ashes, antimony shows a pH-depending leaching property, which is typical for anionic species. This fact supports the thesis that antimony is present in the grate ashes in an anionic speciation.