Industrial Symbiosis and Energy Efficiency in European Process Industries: A Review

Over the last few decades, process industries have invested increasing efforts in developing technical and operating solutions related to industrial symbiosis and energy efficiency in both production processes and auxiliary services. In particular, new technologies that enable industrial symbiosis, such as novel treatment processes for byproduct extraction and valorization, water purification, and energy transformation, were implemented in different sectors. This work analyses recent relevant results in the implementation of industrial symbiosis and energy efficiency solutions within process industries across Europe, based on the transactions of energy and material flows. Current developments, based on the circular economy’s transformation levers and related achieved results, were taken into account by considering the achieved results coming from the literature, EU-funded projects, programmes, and initiatives on the implementation of technical solutions and practices related to industrial symbiosis and energy efficiency. In addition, the most relevant challenges deriving from the implementations of industrial symbiosis and energy efficiency were analysed. A comprehensive picture of the sectors involved in achieving more proactive cross-sectorial cooperation and integration was provided, as well as an analysis of the main drivers and barriers for IS and EE implementation in future scenarios for European process industries.

Two-Stage Physical Economic Adjustable Capacity Evaluation Model of Electric Vehicles for Peak Shaving and Valley Filling Auxiliary Services

A large number of renewable energy and EVs (electric vehicles) are connected to the grid, which brings huge peak shaving pressure to the power system. If we can make use of the flexible characteristics of EVs and effectively aggregate the adjustable resources of EVs to participate in power auxiliary services, this situation can be alleviated to a certain extent. In this paper, a two-stage physical and economic adjustable capacity evaluation model of EVs for peak shaving and valley filling ancillary services is constructed. The main steps are as follows: with the help of the deep learning ability of the AC (Actor-Critic) algorithm, the optimal physical charging scheme of EV fleet is determined to minimize the grid fluctuation under the travel constraints of private EVs, and the optimized charging power is transferred to the second stage. In the second stage, load aggregators encourage users to participate in ancillary services by setting subsidy prices. In this stage, the model constructs a user decision model based on a logistic function to describe the probability of users accepting dispatching instructions. With the goal of maximizing the revenue of load aggregators, the wolf colony algorithm is used to solve the optimal solution of the time-sharing subsidy level, and finally the economic adjustable capacity of the EV fleet considering the subjective decision of users is obtained.

CHARACTERIZATION OF ELECTRICITY DEMAND IN THE AUXILIARY INDUSTRY OF THE GREENHOUSES AGRICULTURE IN THE PROVINCE OF ALMERIA

Greenhouses in the province of Almeria, one of the largest agro-industrial clusters in the world, have been the subject of various technical and environmental analyses in which, until now, the demand for electricity has not been included in the necessary depth and detail. This circumstance is justified by the fact that productive activity on farms, in its current configuration, cannot be considered as highly energy demanding and, especially, because the impact on the balance sheets of all the industries providing auxiliary services to the greenhouses has not been taken into account. This work first presents a general approach to the energy context of the sector, identifying and assessing some of the basic indicators which determine the relevance of the activity, especially in a regional context. In addition, the need for the study is justified on the basis of demand growth forecasts due to the technification process of the farms currently underway. Next, and based on the availability of an extensive set of data on electricity consumption from eleven nuclei of industrial activity of a diverse nature, but all of which are providers of auxiliary services to intensive agriculture, the main seasonal and daily patterns of this demand have been analysed with the aim of characterising it accurately and, from there, establishing realistic and contrastable reference values when carrying out aggregate studies of the environmental impact and ecological footprint of intensive agriculture in Almería. At the same time, this study has served to advance design criteria that may favour the adoption of photovoltaic systems for the energy supply of this type of company. The consumption of the industries analysed covers a wide range of accumulated demands, between 0.2 GWh/y and 5.41 GWh/y, and has shown strong seasonal and daily dependencies related to the very stages of development of the cultivation processes of the products they serve.

Ascending capitalism

In the medieval feudal societies, finance had traditionally depended on the ownership of land as the foremost source of wealth and income. Over time, however, the excessive demand for resources by rivalrous European rulers, together with the continuous expansion of trade routes and international commercial relationships, offered opportunities for financial innovation, while the growing volume of transactions also led to increased specialisation. Finance, thus, gradually evolved from auxiliary services into a sophisticated business. This chapter tracks some major developments of the era, ranging from novel instruments to the management of sovereign debt, commercial credit and the origins of modern corporations, and addresses the early theoretical contentions that were induced by the expansion of financial innovation.

Analysis of Operation Rules of Provincial Peak Shaving Auxiliary Service Market

In order to implement the requirements of the power system reform, to ensure the safety, stability and economic operation of the power system, and to promote the consumption of new energy, all provinces in China have built the peak-control auxiliary service market, and explore the establishment of a new mechanism for sharing and sharing of peak-control auxiliary services. Based on the operating rules of the peaking auxiliary service market in Xinjiang, Shanxi, Gansu, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Northeast, Anhui, Ningxia, Shanghai, Shandong and other places, the author compares and evaluates the key content of the market operating rules from four aspects: market members and their responsibilities, deep peaking transaction details, emergency start-stop peaking transaction details, and measurement and settlement, and also finds a direction for the provinces to revise or adjust the rules of peaking auxiliary services in the future for the reference of power grid dispatching, power plant operations and other departments, in order to improve the understanding of relevant personnel of the peaking auxiliary service market.

Development and Testing of an Education Service Quality Model [Abstract]

Aim/Purpose: This study builds upon theory to develop and test a parsimonious model of service quality importance, the Higher Education Service Quality Importance (HESQI) Model, for use in standardized, frequent surveys of student satisfaction in higher education service delivery. Background: Educational institutions operating in the higher education marketplace are facing increased competition for students. In order to be competitive in terms of the student services provided, these institutions need a method to evaluate and measure, on a frequent and recurring basis, the quality and performance of their services. Methodology: A survey was developed and administered to a stratified random sample of 1,400 students at a large public university in the southwestern United States. The 56% response rate was comprised of 790 total respondents. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze model constructs and latent variables. Reliability, validity, non-response bias, and common method bias were assessed as part of the research. Contribution: The HESQI is a compact, parsimonious instrument that can be administered in a cost-effective manner for faster, point-in-time checks of student satisfaction with less survey fatigue than larger instruments. Findings Service quality is significantly correlated with student satisfaction. The developed model is capable of explaining nearly 70% of the variance in student perceptions of satisfaction. Recommendations for Practitioners: The developed HESQI instrument addresses the need for a quick and easy measurement instrument to assess student satisfaction in higher education institutions. The HESQI instrument simplifies data collection and analysis and can be used on a frequent and ongoing basis to gain rapid insight into service and quality issues affecting students. Recommendations for Researchers: The development of the HESQI provides an instrument that researchers can use to study the delivery of auxiliary services in higher education. In addition, the methodology used has implications for how to develop and test other parsimonious instrument for use in other contexts. Impact on Society: Higher education is of critical value to societal mobility. As such providing a better experience for those who seek education is important and services are an important part of that experience. The HESQI has an important role in helping to improve that experience because it allows measuring the satisfaction with changes that are made to improve auxiliary services which are important to the overall environment and experience. Future Research: Future research may be carried out to further validate and confirm the research findings and use it in other environments. Also, research may consider a single item instrument in similar environments.