• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• natural sciences close
• English close

Perennial grasses offer energy production opportunities, as many species produce high outputs of dry mass per area per year– even higher than established tree crops for energy use. Phyllostachys aurea is a running bamboo recognized worldwide as an invasive species with ornamental properties. Although Phyllostachys aurea monocultures pose a threat to surrounding native vegetation if it is not well-managed, the spread can be contained with relatively simple measures. It offers an unprecedented growth rate, high tolerance for diverse soil types and climate/altitude conditions and short time rotation. Phyllostachys aurea low energy density and other undesirable properties for bioenergy production can be drastically improved by treatments like pelleting, briquetting and torrefaction. Phyllostachys aurea raw biomass has distinguished energy parameters among grasses such as low ash content, similarly to woods like Eucalyptus sp., although it forms pellets with low mechanical durability. Torrefaction as pretreatment could increase pellet mechanical durability, therefore improving overall pellet quality. The main purpose of this study is to assess the potential use of raw and torrefied culms of Phyllostachys aurea to produce fuel pellets and briquettes with ISO 17225-6, ISO 17225-7 and ISO 17225-8 quality requirements. The raw material was torrefied at 220 °C temperature before pelleting and briquetting. Raw and torrefied biomass went to moisture adjustments for pellet production on a pilot scale. Densified products were then characterized for physical, chemical and energy properties recommended by ISO standards. Result analysis allows for improving Phyllostachys aurea pellet and briquette production protocols by identifying operational parameters and input conditions required to obtain densified fuels with commercial quality. Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 657-661

In this paper, we present the experimental results on the modification of the temperature dependences of the thermopower and the Nernst coefficient in a high-temperature superconductor of the Y0.85Ca0.15Ba2Cu3Oy composition under lanthanum and praseodymium doping. We have revealed specific features of the studied impurities influence in comparison with cases of single doping which are resulted from the presence of calcium ions in the lattice. The joint quantitative analysis of the experimental temperature dependences of the transport coefficients was performed, and this allowed us to determine the values of the main energy spectrum and charge-carrier system parameters in the studied samples. We analyzed the reasons for changes in the nature of the lanthanum and praseodymium influence induced by the calcium ions’ presence in the lattice and showed that they were different. The results obtained for the modification of the energy spectrum structure under doping allowed us to explain the peculiarities of the concentration dependences of the critical temperature in the systems under study.

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is one of the most used parameters to characterize the phenological stage of riparian vegetation biomass. A smart method to assess LAI is embodied by the imagery of HD photos acquired by means of Fisheye lenses, based on binarization methods capable to returns the value of gap fraction associated with each image. Assessing the role of gap fraction on LAI of riparian plants can furnish useful insights to hydraulic and environmental engineers when dealing with riparian vegetation management and design. Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 1172-1176

Small-scale development of renewable energy has been identified as one possible solution to meet future energy needs and is well aligned with the general European trend towards further development of community energy projects. Increased local energy production will move energy plants closer to habitation, placing aspects related to social acceptance at the center stage [1, 2]. Until recently, small hydro power [3] projects in Norway have been owned by local farmers and others with property rights to rivers. As the profitability of these projects has decreased, international investors have taken interest in SHP projects as part of their long-term investment strategy. In this paper, we study what influences social acceptance of SHP projects in Norway based on interviews and qualitative data from different SHP projects in Norway. We find that community energy projects often are attributed positive qualities when ownership is local. Thus, we argue that there is a need to consider more thoroughly how to organize ownership of small-scale renewables in the future, if it is to uphold its position as a popular and viable solution to meet future energy needs [3]. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol. 31 (2021)

We present an overview of a study on precise mass reconstruction and identification of charged hadrons ($\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$) using time-of-flight measurements in the electromagnetic calorimeter of a typical Higgs factory detector. Time-of-flight measurements can take advantage of fast timing Si sensors with a time resolution in the order of 10 ps. A precise time-of-flight measurement might contribute to the kaon mass determination and can improve particle identification in the momentum regions inaccessible for the $dE/dx$ method. In this contribution, we discuss the current status and the challenges of the time-of-flight approach for a precise reconstruction of charged hadron masses. International Workshop on Future Linear Colliders, LCWS2021, Hamburg, Germany, 15 Mar 2021 - 18 Mar 2021; 11 pp. (2021).

The functioning of food value chains entails a complex organisation from farm to fork which is characterised by various governance forms and externalities which have shaped the overall food system. VALUMICS food value chain case studies: wheat to bread, dairy cows to milk, beef cattle to steak, farmed salmon to fillets and tomato to processed tomato were selected to enable explorative and empirical analysis to better understand the functioning of the food system and, to identify the main challenges that need to be addressed to improve sustainability, integrity, resilience, and fairness of European food chains. The VALUMICS system analysis was executed through four operational phases starting with Groundwork & analysis including mapping specific attributes and impacts of food value chains and their externalities. This was followed by Case study baseline analysis, which provided input to the third phase on Modelling and exploration of future scenarios and finally Policy and synthesis of the overall work. This report is an overall synthesis of the VALUMICS results as follows: • Key findings from the VALUMICS project on the functioning of European food value chains and their impacts on more sustainable, resilient, fairer, and transparent food system are summarised through a compilation of 25 Research Findings and Policy Briefs. • By highlighting the major contributions from the research activities throughout the four phases of the VALUMICS project, this report delivers an assessment of various factors influencing sustainability, resilience, efficiency and fairness and effective chain relationships of different food value chains, and their determinants. • The synthesis of the outcome allows the identification of opportunities and challenges characterising the functioning of food supply chains, and thus, the prospects and potentials for strengthening the EU food sector. Citation: Olafsdottir, G., Bogason, S., Aubert, P.M., Barling, D., Thakur, M., Duric, I., Nicolau, M., McGarraghy, S., Sigurdardottir; H., Samoggia, A., Holden N.M., Čechura, L., Jaghdani, T.J., Svanidze, M., Esposito., G., Monticone, F., Fedato, C., Xhelili, A., Huber, E., Hargaden, V., Saviolidis, N M., Gorton, M., Hubbard, C., Kahiluoto, H., Hoang, V.(2021). Scenario analysis report with policy recommendations: An assessment of sustainability, resilience, efficiency and fairness and effective chain relationships in VALUMICS case studies. The VALUMICS project funded by EU Horizon 2020 G.A. No 727243. Deliverable: D8.4, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, 130 pages DOI:10.5281/zenodo.6534011

Countries with emerging economies face a significant challenge when developing strategies to move towards a low emission energy system and keep their economies growing. The power System plays a crucial role in these strategies and by the correct measurement of its sustainability is possible to identify which alternative improves sustainability the most. This article proposes indicators for the evaluation and assessment of the sustainability of Mexican Power System planning scenarios put forward by two government administrations with a study horizon to 2030. The scenarios are characterized by the program of additions and retirements of generating capacity along the period of 2019 to 2030, and eventually, optimal dispatch was obtained to accomplish the hourly demand. Sustainability indicators were developed and calculated to evaluate the energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability dimensions. Subsequently the indicators were fed to the Position Vector of Minimum Regret Analysis as multicriteria decision analysis. By analysing the results, it is highlighted that the expansion of power grid capacity, as well as the hourly availability of hydro plants improve the sustainability of the Mexican Power System. The comparison between both scenarios��� performance, based on the Energy Trilemma, indicates that the current government���s planning is slightly more sustainable. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol. 32 (2021)

The dataset provided here belongs to Eslami et al. (2021) article. We suggest to refer to that article before using the data. The excel sheet contains the description of simulations as it relates to their drivers and forcings. Two types of forcing are considered in this study. The climatic and anthropogenic drivers. The Climatic or climate change driven forces are upstream discharge anomalies and downstream sea level rise. The anthropogenic forces are spatially-varying extraction-induced land subsidence and average riverbed level erosions driven by sediment starvation due to upstream dams and downstream sand mining. This excel file defines the simulation ID and the description (driving forces) of every simulation (including all the sensitivity analysis simulations). The actual data is in form of three different Python 2.7 dictionaries, saved in NumPy binary format (*.npy). The filenames are as SWI_Projections_pxx.npy (pxx can be p50, p90 or p100). P50/P90 refer to Spatial values of 50th/90th percentile of salinity in the dry season of the simulation year, and P100 (100th percentile) is basically the maximum salinity in during the dry season of the simulation year. The files can simply be read in a Python 2.7 platform with NumPy module installed. The line to read the data is: data = np.load(filename, allow_pickle=True).item() Each dictionary contains several keys, each representing the results of a simulation. Under every simulation, the results contain: x_grid : x-coordinates of a 2km x 2km grid projected and interpolated over the model [UTM 48N, m] y_grid : y-coordinates of a 2km x 2km grid projected and interpolated over the model [UTM 48N, m] s_grid : Salinity over a 2km x 2km grid projected and interpolated over the model [PSU] xy_utm : Easting & Northing [UTM 48N, m], at exact model grid points latlon : Latitude & Longitude at exact model grid points salinity : modelled salinity [PSU] at exact model grid points info : explaining the above information For further information and detailed background, you may refer to the following paper: Eslami, S.; Hoekstra, P.; Minderhoud, P. S. J.; Trung, N. N.; Hoch, J. M.; Sutanudjaja, E. H.; Dung, D. D.; Tho, T. Q.; Voepel, H. E.; Woillez, M.-N.; and van der Vegt, M.: Projections of salt intrusion in a mega-delta under climatic and anthropogenic stressors, Nat. Commun. Earth Environ.

Drought has been among the priority issues for a long time because of its effects that vary depending on duration and severity. Hydrological drought can be explained as the decrease in clean water resources caused by climate change. In this paper, Arsuz Plain, one of the agricultural protected area in the Asi River Basin, was selected as the case study for the hydrological drought analysis. Firstly, discharge-time and flow duration curves (FDC) were created by using monthly average discharge data between the years of 1990 and 2015 which were obtained from three different Flow Observation Stations (FOSs) (numbered D19A021, D19A022 and D19A023), located close to each other. With the help of these data, Streamflow Drought Index (SDI) values were calculated for different time scales such as 3, 6 and 12 months. Consequently, it has been seen that all three stations have similar results in terms of the peak flow rate values excluding a few periods. As of 2000, it has been observed that Extreme Drought and Extremely Wet periods have started to occur in the basin for these stations. While the most wet period began between the years 2009 and 2010, the driest period was 2014. Considering the course of the drought event in different time scales, it can be concluded that the number of dry periods has increased in recent years.