• Energy Research
• DE close
• EU close
• ES close
• BE close
• English close

In this poster, the authors present how biomass can broaden our conception of nature to ensure a sustainable future. It is a collaborative and inter-disciplinary work that criticises the modern concept of resource and recognises the interdependence within ecosystems and their limits. Biomass reanchors our needs in their materiality and reminds us that interactions on ecosystems cannot be seen solely through the prism of services and production. Non-humans are not just a decoration to be used for human consumption but are an ally for sustainable prosperity thus they should be treated as such – and biomass is a good place to start. The authors argue that there is an urgent need to redefine our sensibility to the non-humans, the ethics of our interactions and of our own needs which goes hand in hand with a necessary arbitration and debate on the useful and the superfluous final services for humans.

The document presents briefly the co-creation experiment and the related methodology that Sapienza University will perform within FIT4RRI project

An extensive experimental investigation was carried out to study the energy absorbing characteristics and progressive deformation behavior of unidirectional pultruded composite tubes subjected to an axial impact load. Pultruded square and circular profiles with glass-polyester and glass-vinylester combinations were used to study the specific energy absorption characteristics. Two types of triggering profiles were incorporated to investigate the effect of triggering on energy absorption. All the above combinations were investigated for three impact velocities. The effects of geometry profile, triggering and strain rate on energy absorption of composite tubes were studied in detail. A numerical simulation using finite element method was carried out to assess the energy absorption capability of composite tubes. To model the delamination between the composite plies, a new approach was adopted using cohesive elements. The progressive failure modes and crushing characteristics of the composite tubes are presented. From these studies, the composite tubes can be considered as energy absorbing members for impact applications.

This work aims to identify potential indoor thermal energy sources and assess the feasibility of using a Thermo-Electric Generator (TEG) to generate electrical energy for powering indoor autonomous sen sors. Peer Reviewed

The presented work investigates planar and axial channeling effects in ion-surface collisions. Therefore, energy loss and charge state distributions depending on the crystalline surface direction are recorded and analyzed. Several additional scattering parameters, like the primary energy, the outgoing charge state, the scattering angle, and the angle of incidence are varied. Multi-peak structures in the energy spectra are observed under axial channeling conditions and attributed to different trajectory classes. Using combined trajectory and inelastic energy loss calculations we are able to unambiguously assign the different peaks in the energy spectra to the different types of trajectories found in the calculations. By this, we investigate the electronic density corrugation at different metal surfaces. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht den Einfluß von axialem und planarem Channeling auf den Energieverlust von oberflächengestreuten Ionen. Es werden Energieverlustspektren und Ladungsverteilungen in Abhängigkeit der Parameter Primärenergie, gestreuter Ladungszustand, Streuwinkel, Einfallswinkel und der azimuthalen Ausrichtung der Oberfläche gemessen. Im Fall von axialem Channeling beobachten wir in den Energiespektren eine Multi-Peak Struktur. Diese läßt sich auf unterschiedliche Teilchentrajektorien zurückführen. Zusammen mit theoretischen Berechnungen des inelastischen Energieverlustes kann eine eindeutige Zuordnung zwischen dem gemessenen Energieverlust und der dazugehörigen Trajektorienart gemacht werden. Diese Technik erlaubt es uns, die elektronische Dichtekorrugation an Oberflächen zu studieren.

The demand for effective cooling and energy storage technologies is growing continuously. The climatic changes, miniaturization, and digitalization have redefined the technological development in the cooling and energy storage industries. The global focus is on the environmental-friendly, efficient, sustainable, and scalable cooling technologies. Owing to all these factors, green alternatives to the traditional air-conditioning and refrigeration are gaining momentum. One of such green alternatives is the electrocaloric effect (ECE). The electrocaloric effect is observed in dielectric materials as they undergo an adiabatic temperature change or an isothermal entropy change under an externally applied/removed electric field. Dielectric materials are capable to store the electrical energy as well. Therefore, they are particularly interesting for the new cooling and energy storage technologies. In this work, a ferroelectric relaxor polymer, namely, Poly(vinylidene fluoride – trifluoroethylene – chlorofluoroethylene) (P(VDF–TrFE–CFE) is investigated for the electrocaloric effect through the direct and the indirect methods. The electrical energy storage properties of different compositions of P(VDF–TrFE–CFE) and their nanocomposites with inorganic 0D nanofillers are studied. Initially, the relaxor properties in six different compositions of P(VDF–TrFE–CFE) are studied. Out of these six compositions, the three compositions, 51.3/48.7/6.2, 59.8/40.2/7.3, and 70/30/8.1, are analyzed for the first time. The field induced phase transition results in a double hysteresis loop in a few compositions. Through the direct electrocaloric measurements, it is observed that the electric field induced phase transition results in a higher electrocaloric temperature change. The indirect electrocaloric measurements are conducted with and without compensating the leakage current. It is shown that the indirect method can lead to erroneous results due to the leakage current. The results obtained through the indirect measurements conducted with the leakage current compensation are comparable to the direct measurements. The electrical energy storage properties of the neat terpolymers and their nanocomposites are compared. It is observed that the stored and discharged energy densities of the nanocomposites are superior to the neat terpolymers. Dissertation, Universität Duisburg-Essen, 2022

The core aim of this thesis was to quantify the effects of co-digesting forage silages with animal slurries on methane yields and to investigate if antagonistic or synergistic outcomes occur. In order to complete this assessment, the economic impacts of changing forage silage characteristics, of changing the mixing ratios of forage silage and cattle slurry in binary mixtures (and the presence of synergy or antagonism) and of changing the costs of providing these feedstocks for anaerobic digestion (AD) on the cost of methane production in an on-farm AD facility were accessed. An initial objective, however, was to define an optimal methodology for laboratory-scale anaerobic digestion, specifically to determine the impact of altering the headspace volume within incubation bottles and the overhead pressure measurement and release (OHPMR) frequency on methane yield using a manual manometric biochemical methane potential (mBMP) batch digestion method. Two anaerobic batch co-digestion experiments were conducted with forage silages and animal slurries. In the first experiment, oven-dried perennial ryegrass (harvested at two growth stages) or red clover (harvested at two growth stages) silages and cattle slurry were co-digested. Each binary mixture had synergistic effects which resulted in 2.8-7.5% higher methane yields than predicted from mono-digestion of individual substrates. In the second experiment, cattle slurry (two types) or pig slurry was co-digested with undried perennial ryegrass silages (harvested at two growth stages). Each silage and slurry mixture had antagonistic effects which resulted in methane yields 5.7-7.6% below those predicted from mono-digestion of individual substrates. In the initial experiment and in order to broaden the conditions under which the assessment was made, the biogas and methane yields of cellulose, barley grain, grass silage and cattle slurry were determined in response to three incubation bottle headspace volumes and four OHPMR frequencies. The methane yields of barley, silage and slurry were also compared with those from an automated volumetric method (i.e. AMPTS). Headspace volume and OHPMR frequency effects on biogas yield were mediated mainly through headspace pressure, with the latter having a negative effect on the biogas yield measured but relatively little effect on methane yield. Two mBMP treatments that produced methane yields equivalent to AMPTS were identified. Economic modelling results showed significant impacts of AD feedstock characteristics and their provision cost on the cost of methane production in an AD facility. The feedstock provision cost contributed about half of the total cost of methane production when the AD facility solely operated on grass silage. The total cost of methane produced from mono-digestion of cattle slurry that was supplied free of charge was more than double the cost of methane produced from grass silage. For co-digestion of grass silage and cattle slurry, the total cost of methane production progressively increased as the proportion of slurry in the co-digested mixture increased. Antagonistic and synergistic methanogenesis resulted in a corresponding 6% higher and 5% lower total cost of methane production during co-digestion of grass silage and cattle slurry (at a silage:slurry volatile solids ratio of 0.8:0.2) compared to the binary mixture without these effects.

International audience Distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems, controlled either per resource or in coordination, can provide many services to the network operators. The present study emphasizes the contributions of dedicated scheduling applications in order to enhance the reliability, performance and life expectation of the storage assets, based on the Nice Grid case, a Smart Grid pilot project.

“A PED is a process, not a product” This “How to PED’’ cookbook contains experiences, lessons learned, and recommendations gained throughout the 5 years of the +CityxChan- ge EU Horizon 2020 project, specifically focused on the variety of activities necessary to develop and build Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) in smart sustainable cities and communities. Over the course of the book we will draw on the experiences of our 2 Lighthouse Cities, 5 Follower Cities, and 26 other partners, to demonstrate what it takes to build a PED. We show the importance of collaboration and co-creation, involving the right people, designing effective pathways for change, deploying strong partnerships and financing, adapting to existing processes or adapting the processes themselves, developing impactful strategies, building new systems and services, and creating new infrastructure in PED projects. This cookbook represents the processes and results of +CityxChange, where we all contribute with our own recipes & flavours. Just as in real life, recipes often need adjustment to taste. There is no single way to build a PED, so these recipes from our cities provide guidance through the complexities of the journey and share key information that helps initiate and smoothen the processes.