Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Systems in Europe: Case Study and Recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11256
Author(s):  
Camille Jeandaux ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Videau ◽  
Anne Prieur-Vernat
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
District Heating Systems

District heating systems are a way to integrate renewable energies into the heating sector, with the primary aim of decarbonizing this final use. In such systems, renewable energy sources are centrally managed with cutting-edge technological equipment, efficient maintenance rates and service guarantees. Both the decarbonization effect and the centralization lead to environmental benefits, which can go beyond the climate change indicator. In this study, life cycle assessment was used to assess the environmental sustainability of district heating solutions compared to standalones. The study aimed to examine a diverse set of options for large-scale district heating systems across Europe and to compare them to different standalone solutions. Eight technologies (five district-level and three standalone solutions) were analyzed in two densities of habitats and four areas of Europe. This study aimed to understand the drivers of district heating environmental performance and to provide guidelines for accounting said performance. The analysis showed better performance for district heating scenarios compared to isotechnology standalones for every environmental impact category: the climate change impact category were reduced from 5 to 90%, while respiratory inorganics were reduced from 45 to 64%, depending on the considered climatic area. This statement was true under key parameters, both technical and methodological—efficiencies and complement rates, but also the neutral carbon principle for biomass energy accounting and allocation rules.

scholarly journals The development of an algorithm based on dynamic programming for optimization of tree-like energy pipeline system

2020 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 02005
Author(s):  
Valery Stennikov ◽  
Dmitry Sokolov ◽  
Evgeny Barakhtenko
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Programming ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Design Optimization ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Computational Procedure ◽  
Pipeline System ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
Life Cycle Design ◽  
District Heating Systems ◽  
Original Approach

The problem of optimizing the transmission capacity of a pipeline network is important for ensuring its operability. The problem arises at different stages of the network life cycle (design, optimization, development). The problem is to determine the diameters of the pipelines, the locations of the pumps and the heads on them, the locations of the regulators (flow and pressure) and their parameters. The article proposes a new algorithm based on dynamic programming, which implements an original approach to organizing a computational procedure. The general principles of the algorithm and the content of its steps do not depend on the purpose of the network and the composition of its equipment. The algorithm is versatile and allows one to optimize networks for various purposes. The proposed algorithm is implemented in the IRNET software. On its basis, calculations were made for the development of real district heating systems.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Maize-Germ Oil Production and The Use of Bioenergy to Mitigate Environmental Impacts: A Gate-To-Gate Case Study

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Gaglio ◽  
Elena Tamburini ◽  
Francesco Lucchesi ◽  
Vassilis Aschonitis ◽  
Anna Atti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Industrial Processing ◽  
The Impact

The need to reduce the environmental impacts of the food industry is increasing together with the dramatic increment of global food demand. Circulation strategies such as the exploitation of self-produced renewable energy sources can improve ecological performances of industrial processes. However, evidence is needed to demonstrate and characterize such environmental benefits. This study assessed the environmental performances of industrial processing of maize edible oil, whose energy provision is guaranteed by residues biomasses. A gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach was applied for a large-size factory of Northern Italy to describe: (i) the environmental impacts related to industrial processing and (ii) the contribution of residue-based bioenergy to their mitigation, through the comparison with a reference system based on conventional energy. The results showed that oil refinement is the most impacting phase for almost all the considered impact categories. The use of residue-based bioenergy was found to drastically reduce the emissions for all the impact categories. Moreover, Cumulative Energy Demand analysis revealed that the use of biomass residues increased energy efficiency through a reduction of the total energy demand of the industrial process. The study demonstrates that the exploitation of residue-based bioenergy can be a sustainable solution to improve environmental performances of the food industry, while supporting circular economy.

Energetic and Environmental Analysis of a New Cogenerative Configuration for the Waste to Energy Plant of Piacenza

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo De Servi ◽  
Lucia Rigamonti ◽  
Stefano Consonni
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Back Pressure ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Energy Plant

This study aims at estimating the energy and environmental performances of a new cogenerative configuration of the waste to energy (WTE) plant in Piacenza. At present, the plant is authorized to treat 120,000 t/y of waste, but this limit does not represent the full treatment capacity of the facility. To exploit the plant potential and, at the same time, to reduce total equivalent emissions of the WTE process, a cogenerative configuration has been proposed. In this new scenario a back pressure turbine would be installed in parallel to the existing one, in order to supply heat to the district heating network of Piacenza and the total amount of waste treated per year by the facility would be increased to 134,100 t. The increase of 14,100 t should be satisfied by industrial and commercial waste, which would otherwise go to landfill. To compare the cogenerative scenario with the current situation, the environmental impact for the two cases has been evaluated by means of a life cycle assessment methodology. The results of the analysis show that the new configuration can ensure significant energy and environmental benefits.

scholarly journals Increasing the share of RES in Polish district heating systems using power-to-heat technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 00042
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Kwestarz ◽  
Maciej Chaczykowski
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Power System ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
Heat Technology ◽  
District Heating Systems ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Energy And Climate Policy

The power systems in European Union operate under energy policies where the greenhouse gases reduction, the increase of the share of renewable energy sources (RES) and the improvements in energy efficiency are the main objectives. Polish energy sector is currently based on inefficient usage of coal and must be transformed according to the requirements of EU energy and climate policy. A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030 established the target of 27% of share of RES in energy consumption. With the continuing increase in the use of RES, it is likely that more and more generation will have to be curtailed to maintain the stability of the power system which was not originally designed to integrate renewable generation. In this context, the conversion of renewable electricity to heat in connection with its storage in district heating systems, known as Power-to-Heat (PtH) can be considered as a viable option in increasing the share of RES and facilitating the stability of the power system. In this paper an attempt is made to estimate the potential of PtH technology for Poland up to 2030, including the high RES share scenario for the energy mix development.

Life cycle assessment of introducing an anaerobic digester in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 835-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blanco ◽  
Sergio Collado ◽  
Adriana Laca ◽  
Mario Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Treatment Scenario ◽  
The Impact

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is being established as a standard technology to recover some of the energy contained in the sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as biogas, allowing an economy in electricity and heating and a decrease in climate gas emission. The purpose of this study was to quantify the contributions to the total environmental impact of the plant using life cycle assessment methodology. In this work, data from real operation during 2012 of a municipal WWTP were utilized as the basis to determine the impact of including AD in the process. The climate change human health was the most important impact category when AD was included in the treatment (Scenario 1), especially due to fossil carbon dioxide emissions. Without AD (Scenario 2), increased emissions of greenhouse gases, mostly derived from the use of electricity, provoked a rise in the climate change categories. Biogas utilization was able to provide 47% of the energy required in the WWTP in Scenario 1. Results obtained make Scenario 1 the better environmental choice by far, mainly due to the use of the digested sludge as fertilizer.

scholarly journals Hybrid solar-biomass system for district heating

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 04006
Author(s):  
Adrian Ilie ◽  
Ion Vişa
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
District Heating Systems

The energy used in the built-up environment represents at least 40% of the total energy consumed, out of which, at least 60% is required for heating, cooling and domestic hot water (DHW). Within the European Union, more than 6,000 communities (i.e. over 9%) use district heating systems, the majority of which use the conversion of fossil fuels as a source of energy. This aspect, which is corroborated by the directives of the EU legislation on the use of renewable energy sources and energy performance, imposes the development of new solutions through which the existing district heating systems may be adapted to use renewable energy sources. The solar-thermal systems that are used on a large (district) scale are becoming more and more efficient from the point of view of their feasibility; however, it is almost impossible to create systems that should satisfy the thermal energy demand throughout the four seasons of the year. The hybrid solar-biomass system is becoming the applicable solution for the majority of the communities that have from this potential, since it can secure independence from the point of view of the use of thermal energy. This paper presents the design stages for the implementation of the hybrid solar-biomass systems with a view to identifying the optimal solutions for systems to be integrated into an existing district heating system. A case study (Taberei District in Odorheiu Secuiesc City), which provides a detailed description of the feasible technical solutions, is presented.

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