Energetic and Economic Analyses of Integrated Biogas-Fed Energy Systems

Author(s):  
R. Bettocchi ◽  
M. Pinelli ◽  
P. R. Spina ◽  
M. Venturini ◽  
M. Cadorin ◽  
...  

The process which includes production, collection, carriage and transformation of biomass into renewable fuels and then into energy (both electrical and thermal) involves a large number of decisions to select the most efficient plant layout. In order to identify the optimal solutions, models which simulate the whole process represent a useful and practical tool. In this paper, the energetic and economic analysis of the entire process from biomass to energy production is presented. Among the different transformation processes, the thermophilic batch anaerobic digestion is considered in this paper. A sensitivity analysis on system profitability is carried out with respect to the mass of biomass, number of batch digesters and retention time of the biomass inside each digester. Moreover, two different types of biomass (ensiled corn and organic fraction of municipal solid wastes) and two different energy systems (Micro Gas Turbine and Internal Combustion Engine) are considered.

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Mikeska ◽  
Jan Najser ◽  
Václav Peer ◽  
Jaroslav Frantík ◽  
Jan Kielar

Gas from the gasification of pellets made from renewable sources of energy or from lower-quality fuels often contains a number of pollutants. This may cause technical difficulties during the gas use in internal combustion gas engines used for energy and heat cogeneration. Therefore, an adequate system of gas cleaning must be selected. In line with such requirements, this paper focuses on the characterization and comparison of gases produced from different types of biomass during gasification. The biomass tested was wood, straw, and hay pellets. The paper gives a detailed description and evaluation of the measurements from a fix-bed gasifier for the properties of the produced gases, raw fuels, tar composition, and its particle content before and after the cleaning process. The results of elemental composition, net calorific value, moisture, and ash content show that the cleaned gases are suitable for internal combustion engine-based cogeneration systems, but unsuitable for gas turbines, where a different cleaning technology would be needed.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3400
Author(s):  
Jie Xing ◽  
Peng Wu

Bidirectional coupling systems for electricity and natural gas composed of gas units and power-to-gas (P2G) facilities improve the interactions between different energy systems. In this paper, a combined optimization planning method for an electricity-natural gas coupling system with P2G was studied. Firstly, the characteristics of the component model of the electricity-natural gas coupling system were analyzed. The optimization planning model for the electricity-natural gas coupling system was established with the goal of minimizing the sum of the annual investment costs and the annual operation costs. Based on the established model, the construction statuses for different types of units, power lines, and pipelines and the output distribution values for gas units and P2G stations were optimized. Then, the immune algorithm was proposed to solve the optimization planning model. Finally, an electricity-natural gas coupling system composed of a seven-node natural gas system and a nine-node power system was taken as an example to verify the rationality and effectiveness of the model under different scenarios.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Emmi Välimäki ◽  
Lasse Yli-Varo ◽  
Henrik Romar ◽  
Ulla Lassi

The hydrogen economy will play a key role in future energy systems. Several thermal and catalytic methods for hydrogen production have been presented. In this review, methane thermocatalytic and thermal decomposition into hydrogen gas and solid carbon are considered. These processes, known as the thermal decomposition of methane (TDM) and thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane, respectively, appear to have the greatest potential for hydrogen production. In particular, the focus is on the different types and properties of carbons formed during the decomposition processes. The applications for carbons are also investigated.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 499
Author(s):  
Sebastian Klaudiusz Tomczak ◽  
Anna Skowrońska-Szmer ◽  
Jan Jakub Szczygielski

In an era of increasing energy production from renewable sources, the demand for components for renewable energy systems has dramatically increased. Consequently, managers and investors are interested in knowing whether a company associated with the semiconductor and related device manufacturing sector, especially the photovoltaic (PV) systems manufacturers, is a money-making business. We apply a new approach that extends prior research by applying decision trees (DTs) to identify ratios (i.e., indicators), which discriminate between companies within the sector that do (designated as “green”) and do not (“red”) produce elements of PV systems. Our results indicate that on the basis of selected ratios, green companies can be distinguished from the red companies without an in-depth analysis of the product portfolio. We also find that green companies, especially operating in China are characterized by lower financial performance, thus providing a negative (and unexpected) answer to the question posed in the title.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 1101-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair V.W. Nunn ◽  
Geoffrey W. Guy ◽  
Jimmy D. Bell

A sufficiently complex set of molecules, if subject to perturbation, will self-organize and show emergent behaviour. If such a system can take on information it will become subject to natural selection. This could explain how self-replicating molecules evolved into life and how intelligence arose. A pivotal step in this evolutionary process was of course the emergence of the eukaryote and the advent of the mitochondrion, which both enhanced energy production per cell and increased the ability to process, store and utilize information. Recent research suggest that from its inception life embraced quantum effects such as ‘tunnelling’ and ‘coherence’ while competition and stressful conditions provided a constant driver for natural selection. We believe that the biphasic adaptive response to stress described by hormesis–a process that captures information to enable adaptability, is central to this whole process. Critically, hormesis could improve mitochondrial quantum efficiency, improving the ATP/ROS ratio, whereas inflammation, which is tightly associated with the aging process, might do the opposite. This all suggests that to achieve optimal health and healthy aging, one has to sufficiently stress the system to ensure peak mitochondrial function, which itself could reflect selection of optimum efficiency at the quantum level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Avalle ◽  
Valeria Poli

The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 mediates the functions of cytokines, growth factors, and oncogenes under both physiological and pathological conditions. Uncontrolled/constitutive STAT3 activity is often detected in tumors of different types, where its role is mostly that of an oncogene, contributing in multiple ways to tumor transformation, growth, and progression. For this reason, many laboratories and pharmaceutical companies are making efforts to develop specific inhibitors. However, STAT3 has also been shown to act as a tumor suppressor in a number of cases, suggesting that its activity is strongly context-specific. Here, we discuss the bases that can explain the multiple roles of this factor in both physiological and pathological contexts. In particular, we focus on the following four features: (i) the distinct properties of the STAT3α and β isoforms; (ii) the multiple post-translational modifications (phosphorylation on tyrosine or serine, acetylation and methylation on different residues, and oxidation and glutathionylation) that can affect its activities downstream of multiple different signals; (iii) the non-canonical functions in the mitochondria, contributing to the maintenance of energy homeostasis under stress conditions; and (iv) the recently discovered functions in the endoplasmic reticulum, where STAT3 contributes to the regulation of calcium homeostasis, energy production, and apoptosis.


Author(s):  
M. A. Ancona ◽  
M. Bianchi ◽  
L. Branchini ◽  
A. De Pascale ◽  
F. Melino ◽  
...  

Abstract In order to increase the exploitation of the renewable energy sources, the diffusion of the distributed generation systems is grown, leading to an increase in the complexity of the electrical, thermal, cooling and fuel energy distribution networks. With the main purpose of improving the overall energy conversion efficiency and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated to fossil fuel based production systems, the design and the management of these complex energy grids play a key role. In this context, an in-house developed software, called COMBO, presented and validated in the Part I of this study, has been applied to a case study in order to define the optimal scheduling of each generation system connected to a complex energy network. The software is based on a non-heuristic technique which considers all the possible combination of solutions, elaborating the optimal scheduling for each energy system by minimizing an objective function based on the evaluation of the total energy production cost and energy systems environmental impact. In particular, the software COMBO is applied to a case study represented by an existing small-scale complex energy network, with the main objective of optimizing the energy production mix and the complex energy networks yearly operation depending on the energy demand of the users. The electrical, thermal and cooling needs of the users are satisfied with a centralized energy production, by means of internal combustion engines, natural gas boilers, heat pumps, compression and absorption chillers. The optimal energy systems operation evaluated by the software COMBO will be compared to a Reference Case, representative of the current energy systems set-up, in order to highlight the environmental and economic benefits achievable with the proposed strategy.


AI Magazine ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Powell

The problem of controlling energy systems (generation, transmission, storage, investment) introduces a number of optimization problems which need to be solved in the presence of different types of uncertainty. We highlight several of these applications, using a simple energy storage problem as a case application. Using this setting, we describe a modeling framework based around five fundamental dimensions which is more natural than the standard canonical form widely used in the reinforcement learning community. The framework focuses on finding the best policy, where we identify four fundamental classes of policies consisting of policy function approximations (PFAs), cost function approximations (CFAs), policies based on value function approximations (VFAs), and lookahead policies. This organization unifies a number of competing strategies under a common umbrella.


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