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This study presents a proposed hybrid ship propulsion system combining an internal combustion engine and a molten carbonate fuel cell both powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Exhaust from the internal combustion engine is used as a CO2 source for cell operation, reducing CO2 emissions. Use of fuel stored at very low temperature requires heat for evaporation purposes. The fuel is used to condense water vapor from the fuel cell exhaust gases, returning the remainder to the fuel cell with the right amount of water. This solution increases the electricity generation efficiency of the fuel cell. We analyzed two different system configurations that differ in the way the anode off-gas is recirculated. In the first, all the unoxidized fuel is recirculated to the anode inlet; in the second, off-gas is joined with engine flue gas, and residual fuel burned in a combustion chamber before being sent to the cathode of the fuel cell, allowing to maintain an optimal CO2:O2 ratio in the cathode flow of the fuel cell. A detailed numerical model of the system including cell operation was created in Aspen Hysys and optimized to maximize the system efficiency. Results showed that in configuration I the efficiency gain is about 4.9% with respect to the traditional engine. In configuration II the efficiency gain was only about 0.8%. We also analyzed the sensitivity of the systems from the point of view of the limitations occurring here (e.g., steam-to-carbon ratio or operating temperature). Finally, we discussed the size of such a fuel cell in relation to the internal combustion engine, the entire ship, as well as the impact of the increase in efficiency on the range of the vessel.
Andrea Baccioli; Angelica Liponi; Jarosław Milewski; Arkadiusz Szczęśniak; Umberto Desideri. Hybridization of an internal combustion engine with a molten carbonate fuel cell for marine applications. Applied Energy 2021, 298, 117192 .
AMA StyleAndrea Baccioli, Angelica Liponi, Jarosław Milewski, Arkadiusz Szczęśniak, Umberto Desideri. Hybridization of an internal combustion engine with a molten carbonate fuel cell for marine applications. Applied Energy. 2021; 298 ():117192.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Baccioli; Angelica Liponi; Jarosław Milewski; Arkadiusz Szczęśniak; Umberto Desideri. 2021. "Hybridization of an internal combustion engine with a molten carbonate fuel cell for marine applications." Applied Energy 298, no. : 117192.
The successful realization of the climate goals agreed upon in the European Union’s COP21 commitments makes a fundamental change of the European energy system necessary. In particular, for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over 80%, the use of renewable energies must be increased not only in the electricity sector but also across all energy sectors, such as heat and mobility. Furthermore, a progressive integration of renewable energies increases the risk of congestions in the transmission grid and makes network expansion necessary. An efficient planning for future energy systems must comprise the coupling of energy sectors as well as interdependencies of generation and transmission grid infrastructure. However, in traditional energy system planning, these aspects are considered as decoupled. Therefore, the project PlaMES develops an approach for integrated planning of multi-energy systems on a European scale. This paper aims at analyzing the model requirements and describing the modeling approach.
Nicolas Thie; Marco Franken; Henrik Schwaeppe; Luis Böttcher; Christoph Müller; Albert Moser; Klemens Schumann; Daniele Vigo; Michele Monaci; Paolo Paronuzzi; Antonio Punzo; Matteo Pozzi; Angelo Gordini; Kemal Burak Cakirer; Burcin Acan; Umberto Desideri; Aldo Bischi. Requirements for Integrated Planning of Multi-Energy Systems. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleNicolas Thie, Marco Franken, Henrik Schwaeppe, Luis Böttcher, Christoph Müller, Albert Moser, Klemens Schumann, Daniele Vigo, Michele Monaci, Paolo Paronuzzi, Antonio Punzo, Matteo Pozzi, Angelo Gordini, Kemal Burak Cakirer, Burcin Acan, Umberto Desideri, Aldo Bischi. Requirements for Integrated Planning of Multi-Energy Systems. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNicolas Thie; Marco Franken; Henrik Schwaeppe; Luis Böttcher; Christoph Müller; Albert Moser; Klemens Schumann; Daniele Vigo; Michele Monaci; Paolo Paronuzzi; Antonio Punzo; Matteo Pozzi; Angelo Gordini; Kemal Burak Cakirer; Burcin Acan; Umberto Desideri; Aldo Bischi. 2021. "Requirements for Integrated Planning of Multi-Energy Systems." , no. : 1.
The successful realization of the climate goals agreed upon in the European Union’s COP21 commitments makes a fundamental change of the European energy system necessary. In particular, for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over 80%, the use of renewable energies must be increased not only in the electricity sector but also across all energy sectors, such as heat and mobility. Furthermore, a progressive integration of renewable energies increases the risk of congestions in the transmission grid and makes network expansion necessary. An efficient planning for future energy systems must comprise the coupling of energy sectors as well as interdependencies of generation and transmission grid infrastructure. However, in traditional energy system planning, these aspects are considered as decoupled. Therefore, the project PlaMES develops an approach for integrated planning of multi-energy systems on a European scale. This paper aims at analyzing the model requirements and describing the modeling approach.
Nicolas Thie; Marco Franken; Henrik Schwaeppe; Luis Böttcher; Christoph Müller; Albert Moser; Klemens Schumann; Daniele Vigo; Michele Monaci; Paolo Paronuzzi; Antonio Punzo; Matteo Pozzi; Angelo Gordini; Kemal Burak Cakirer; Burcin Acan; Umberto Desideri; Aldo Bischi. Requirements for Integrated Planning of Multi-Energy Systems. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleNicolas Thie, Marco Franken, Henrik Schwaeppe, Luis Böttcher, Christoph Müller, Albert Moser, Klemens Schumann, Daniele Vigo, Michele Monaci, Paolo Paronuzzi, Antonio Punzo, Matteo Pozzi, Angelo Gordini, Kemal Burak Cakirer, Burcin Acan, Umberto Desideri, Aldo Bischi. Requirements for Integrated Planning of Multi-Energy Systems. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNicolas Thie; Marco Franken; Henrik Schwaeppe; Luis Böttcher; Christoph Müller; Albert Moser; Klemens Schumann; Daniele Vigo; Michele Monaci; Paolo Paronuzzi; Antonio Punzo; Matteo Pozzi; Angelo Gordini; Kemal Burak Cakirer; Burcin Acan; Umberto Desideri; Aldo Bischi. 2021. "Requirements for Integrated Planning of Multi-Energy Systems." , no. : 1.
Energy system optimization is a significant task aimed at optimizing system operations and reducing costs and emissions. In this paper, an energy system is presented for multi-energy generation of power, heating/cooling, and desalination. First, the cycle’s exergy, exergoeconomics, and environmental impact are analyzed. Then, optimization is performed using MATLAB software by applying a genetic algorithm (GA) and adopting 10 design parameters with two objective functions. The goal of optimization is to find the design variable values based on a Pareto plot that will increase the exergy efficiency while reducing cost and CO2 emissions. Scatter plots of the decision variables for the population indicate that objective functions can be optimized. Optimal values for the objective functions can be found by selecting lower values for the heat exchanger and evaporator’s pinch-point temperature differences and higher values for the compressor pressure ratio, inlet temperature of the gas turbine (GT), isentropic efficiencies of air compressor (AC) and GT, and temperature of Rankine cycle evaporator. After optimization, exergy efficiency increased around 8.4%, cost dropped 14.8%, CO2 emissions were reduced by 1.2%, and the production of desalinated water increased about 7.6% using the proposed cycle. At the end of work, the influences of design variables on CO2 emissions as well as the total cycle cost are investigated in a parametric study.
Simin Anvari; Omid Mahian; Evgeny Solomin; Somchai Wongwises; Umberto Desideri. Multi-objective optimization of a proposed multi-generation cycle based on Pareto diagrams: Performance improvement, cost reduction, and CO2 emissions. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 2021, 45, 101197 .
AMA StyleSimin Anvari, Omid Mahian, Evgeny Solomin, Somchai Wongwises, Umberto Desideri. Multi-objective optimization of a proposed multi-generation cycle based on Pareto diagrams: Performance improvement, cost reduction, and CO2 emissions. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments. 2021; 45 ():101197.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSimin Anvari; Omid Mahian; Evgeny Solomin; Somchai Wongwises; Umberto Desideri. 2021. "Multi-objective optimization of a proposed multi-generation cycle based on Pareto diagrams: Performance improvement, cost reduction, and CO2 emissions." Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 45, no. : 101197.
The adoption of high-density phase change materials as cold thermal energy storage media have been considered as potential alternatives to water and ice. In this paper, the implementation of these media has been investigated in the context of district cooling in mixed-used building micro-grids whereby the cold thermal energy storage is retrofitted into an existing eco-building cluster. The techno-economic feasibility of implementing phase change materials, which includes eutectic salt, polyethylene glycol and paraffin as cold thermal energy storage media for district cooling, have been evaluated by computing the economic dispatch of a cooling bus network using mixed-integer quadratic programming. Furthermore, the impact of high-density storage media with a reduced footprint on the integration and design of cold thermal energy storage systems in district cooling has been included in the analysis. The capital expenditure of cold thermal energy storage systems, the land rental price for required occupancy and operating expenditure are used to determine the net present value after 20 years. Through peak shaving, optimally sized cold thermal energy storage has shown a better alternative substituting one of the two chillers. The smaller chiller (1200 kWc) is no longer required in the plant, giving significant savings in capital expenditure. The cost-benefit analysis also showed that only eutectic salt phase change materials are competitive with ice, with a net present value approaching 200,000 $ after 20 years. When phase change materials are adopted, especially if compared with water, the building operations and related costs are significantly less affected by large fluctuations in land rental price given its smaller footprint, thus posing significantly lower financial risks.
Stefano Mazzoni; Jia Yin Sze; Benedetto Nastasi; Sean Ooi; Umberto Desideri; Alessandro Romagnoli. A techno-economic assessment on the adoption of latent heat thermal energy storage systems for district cooling optimal dispatch & operations. Applied Energy 2021, 289, 116646 .
AMA StyleStefano Mazzoni, Jia Yin Sze, Benedetto Nastasi, Sean Ooi, Umberto Desideri, Alessandro Romagnoli. A techno-economic assessment on the adoption of latent heat thermal energy storage systems for district cooling optimal dispatch & operations. Applied Energy. 2021; 289 ():116646.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefano Mazzoni; Jia Yin Sze; Benedetto Nastasi; Sean Ooi; Umberto Desideri; Alessandro Romagnoli. 2021. "A techno-economic assessment on the adoption of latent heat thermal energy storage systems for district cooling optimal dispatch & operations." Applied Energy 289, no. : 116646.
Umberto Desideri; Lorenzo Ferrari; Jinyue Yan. Editorial Preface. E3S Web of Conferences 2021, 238, 00001 .
AMA StyleUmberto Desideri, Lorenzo Ferrari, Jinyue Yan. Editorial Preface. E3S Web of Conferences. 2021; 238 ():00001.
Chicago/Turabian StyleUmberto Desideri; Lorenzo Ferrari; Jinyue Yan. 2021. "Editorial Preface." E3S Web of Conferences 238, no. : 00001.
A pervasive Renewable Energy Source (RES) exploitation poses a wide range of issues to electric grids, which the enhancement of the electric grid flexibility may mitigate. There are several approaches to improve grid flexibility, and a significant help will come from efficient, reliable, durable and cheap electric storage technologies. Inevitably, different storage technologies will be needed since different power and energy spectra characterise RES issues. In the category of high capacity-to-power ratio technologies, Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) is becoming more and more popular. Such technology aims at replacing Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES), and it is suited for daily cyclic operation (load shifting). In this paper, a Brayton PTES with liquid sensible heat storages is studied. Compared to the standard system equipped with packed beds, the liquid heat storage allows for a more straightforward state of charge estimation, control and, potentially, for a better usage of storage volume. Through a parametric analysis involving the main design specifications, the system performance is assessed under realistic assumptions. The resulting figures provide an exhaustive characterisation of the performance achievable by the system, which may be useful for a fair comparison between PTES and other competing storage technologies.
Guido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Luca Giachetti; Giacomo Petretto; Umberto Desideri. Performance analysis of a Brayton Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) with a liquid sensible heat storage. E3S Web of Conferences 2021, 238, 10007 .
AMA StyleGuido Francesco Frate, Lorenzo Ferrari, Luca Giachetti, Giacomo Petretto, Umberto Desideri. Performance analysis of a Brayton Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) with a liquid sensible heat storage. E3S Web of Conferences. 2021; 238 ():10007.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Luca Giachetti; Giacomo Petretto; Umberto Desideri. 2021. "Performance analysis of a Brayton Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) with a liquid sensible heat storage." E3S Web of Conferences 238, no. : 10007.
Variable renewable energy sources are continuously increasing their share in the world energy mix. However, their uncertainty has a deep impact in the electric grid safe operation. One of the most promising solutions to tackle such challenge at a distribution grid level consists of quasi-real-time, peer-to-peer electricity markets. These can use the blockchain to be successfully implemented in a secure and privacy preserving way, making effective use of the increasing intelligence of Internet of Things appliances. Nevertheless, providing blockchain-based solutions compatible with the energy sector is not an easy task. In particular, in order to be compliant with typical electricity costs of the order of some €cents/kWh, blockchain transactions are required to be very cheap. Unfortunately, none of the existing research works took the issue of transaction costs into account. As a result, real-world feasibility of existing solutions is rather to be investigated. In this work, we propose an ad-hoc Ethereum-based consortium blockchain explicitly addressing this issue. Leveraging on this platform, we design a blockchain-based electricity market. The market consists of two-steps. The first (day-ahead) step settles the amounts and prices of the energy traded among peers. The second step is instead quasi-real-time, thus enabling the unexpected excess or lack of electricity to be directly negotiated on a peer-to-peer basis. Negotiations occurs without the need of any intermediary, except for the check of grid physical limits, performed by the distribution system operator. To demonstrate the functionality of the solution, a proof-of-concept has been implemented at the University of Pisa (Italy).
Aldo Bischi; Mariano Basile; Davide Poli; Carlo Vallati; Francesco Miliani; Gianluca Caposciutti; Mirko Marracci; Gianluca Dini; Umberto Desideri. Enabling low-voltage, peer-to-peer, quasi-real-time electricity markets through consortium blockchains. Applied Energy 2021, 288, 116365 .
AMA StyleAldo Bischi, Mariano Basile, Davide Poli, Carlo Vallati, Francesco Miliani, Gianluca Caposciutti, Mirko Marracci, Gianluca Dini, Umberto Desideri. Enabling low-voltage, peer-to-peer, quasi-real-time electricity markets through consortium blockchains. Applied Energy. 2021; 288 ():116365.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAldo Bischi; Mariano Basile; Davide Poli; Carlo Vallati; Francesco Miliani; Gianluca Caposciutti; Mirko Marracci; Gianluca Dini; Umberto Desideri. 2021. "Enabling low-voltage, peer-to-peer, quasi-real-time electricity markets through consortium blockchains." Applied Energy 288, no. : 116365.
Urea is widely used in agriculture, industry, and food, while it is also a potential fuel. Large-scale urea production relies on fossil fuels, thus there is a strong need for green urea given the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources. A potential alternative is biomass-to-urea; however, it cannot fully convert the biomass carbon into urea. To achieve full carbon conversion, innovative integrated biomass- and power-to-urea processes are designed conceptually. The two green urea production processes are evaluated techno-economically and compared with state-of-the-art methane-to-urea. The results show that the methane-to-urea achieves a system efficiency of 58% (LHV), while biomass-to-urea only has 39% (LHV) with unconverted biomass carbon of up to 60%. The integrated power- and biomass-to-urea has outstanding heat integration performance which fixes all biomass carbon into urea, with an efficiency enhanced up to 53%. Due to the electricity demand, the levelized cost of the urea of integrated biomass- and power-to-urea is 15 – 38 and 58 – 87% points higher than those of the biomass-to-urea and methane-to-urea for the scale of 10 – 60 MWth urea production. The available annual hours and electricity price of renewable electricity have a significant impact on the levelized cost of the urea. When the available annual hours decrease from 7200 to 3600 with an electricity price of 73 $/MWh, the levelized cost of urea increases on average by 13% from 51 $/GJ with the plant capacity being 10 – 60 MWth urea. However, when electricity price is reduced from 73 $/MWh to 35 $/MWh with available annual hours of 3600, the levelized cost decreases on average by 15% from 59 $/GJ with the same plant capacity.
Hanfei Zhang; Ligang Wang; Jan Van Herle; François Maréchal; Umberto Desideri. Techno-economic comparison of 100% renewable urea production processes. Applied Energy 2021, 284, 116401 .
AMA StyleHanfei Zhang, Ligang Wang, Jan Van Herle, François Maréchal, Umberto Desideri. Techno-economic comparison of 100% renewable urea production processes. Applied Energy. 2021; 284 ():116401.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHanfei Zhang; Ligang Wang; Jan Van Herle; François Maréchal; Umberto Desideri. 2021. "Techno-economic comparison of 100% renewable urea production processes." Applied Energy 284, no. : 116401.
The performance of combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system is greatly affected by its operating strategy and design. In this paper, a new electric load following (NELF) strategy was developed. It is based on the alternation between absorption cooling and electric cooling according to the building energy requirements, for hybrid chiller based CCHP systems. A comparison of the new proposed strategy with the modified electric load following (MELF) and electric load following (ELF) strategies is performed. A multi-objective optimization approach based on genetic algorithm is carried out to predict the optimal capacity of CCHP systems. Performance criteria like primary energy consumption, annual total cost and carbon dioxide emission were considered as objective functions. The performances of these CCHP systems and operation strategies were examined and compared with the separated production (SP) system for a Mosque complex located in Algiers, Algeria. Results show that hybrid chiller CCHP based NELF strategy is the best choice, which can reduce the primary energy consumption by 34.45 GWh/year, annual total cost by 0.313 million €/year and CO2 by 8.37 kton/year. Compared to the other configurations and strategies, the hybrid CCHP based NELF achieves better energetic, economic and environmental performance under the optimized conditions.
Djamal Eddine Ghersi; Meriem Amoura; Khaled Loubar; Umberto Desideri; Mohand Tazerout. Multi-objective optimization of CCHP system with hybrid chiller under new electric load following operation strategy. Energy 2020, 219, 119574 .
AMA StyleDjamal Eddine Ghersi, Meriem Amoura, Khaled Loubar, Umberto Desideri, Mohand Tazerout. Multi-objective optimization of CCHP system with hybrid chiller under new electric load following operation strategy. Energy. 2020; 219 ():119574.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDjamal Eddine Ghersi; Meriem Amoura; Khaled Loubar; Umberto Desideri; Mohand Tazerout. 2020. "Multi-objective optimization of CCHP system with hybrid chiller under new electric load following operation strategy." Energy 219, no. : 119574.
Non-dispatchable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) changed energy production from being centralised and fully dispatchable, to be more decentralised and less predictable. Despite the substantial growth, RES must be increased to fulfil the power production decarbonization targets set by several countries. In several countries, Italy included, RES development must be based on solar PV. Thus, relevant energy quantities will be shifted from day hours to night hours. Such “Load Shifting” is done with energy storage technologies. A few technologies suited for this task are already available, whereas several others have been proposed, but not tested in the practice. In this paper, such storage technologies are reviewed focusing on the performance and costs. Based on the review, current and future storage economic outlooks are assessed by focusing on the Italian scenario. In the paper, the storage operation is optimized at the hourly level to calculate the maximum achievable annual revenue. The optimisation is performed with a linear programming (LP) approach. Since none of the reviewed storage is economically feasible, the energy price modification required to achieve feasibility are estimated. Based on such results, the distance between the current situation and the one favourable to storage is assessed. In this way, the future outlook of each storage technology is discussed.
Guido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. Energy storage for grid-scale applications: Technology review and economic feasibility analysis. Renewable Energy 2020, 163, 1754 -1772.
AMA StyleGuido Francesco Frate, Lorenzo Ferrari, Umberto Desideri. Energy storage for grid-scale applications: Technology review and economic feasibility analysis. Renewable Energy. 2020; 163 ():1754-1772.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "Energy storage for grid-scale applications: Technology review and economic feasibility analysis." Renewable Energy 163, no. : 1754-1772.
Power production from salinity gradients, the so-called Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO), has been actively investigated and tested since the 70s for its reliability and controllability. Besides these advantages, it seems a promising green solution since it allows the dilution of highly concentrated brines and the specific energy consumption of desalination plants. Most of PRO applications, though, use freshwater as feed solution, which in some locations may be scarce or dedicated to other uses. In the present paper, PRO is researched for hypersaline solutions (brine and seawater), and a sensitivity analysis is carried out over the most significant parameters that affect the system performance: draw and feed velocities, hydrostatic pressure-osmotic pressure difference ratio and membrane length. The PRO model is then coupled to a simplified Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant into two novel integrated desalination plant layouts to quantify the PRO impact on the specific energy consumption. The two layouts are simulated with both a commercial and an experimental membrane, with a view to membrane technology improvement.
Eleonora Bargiacchi; Francesco Orciuolo; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. Use of Pressure-Retarded-Osmosis to reduce Reverse Osmosis energy consumption by exploiting hypersaline flows. Energy 2020, 211, 118969 .
AMA StyleEleonora Bargiacchi, Francesco Orciuolo, Lorenzo Ferrari, Umberto Desideri. Use of Pressure-Retarded-Osmosis to reduce Reverse Osmosis energy consumption by exploiting hypersaline flows. Energy. 2020; 211 ():118969.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEleonora Bargiacchi; Francesco Orciuolo; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "Use of Pressure-Retarded-Osmosis to reduce Reverse Osmosis energy consumption by exploiting hypersaline flows." Energy 211, no. : 118969.
This paper provides an overview of a novel electric energy storage technology. The Thermally Integrated Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (TI-PTES) stores electric energy as thermal exergy. Compared to standard PTES, TI-PTES takes advantage of both electric and low-temperature heat inputs. Therefore, TI-PTES is a hybrid technology between storage and electric production from low-temperature heat. TI-PTES belongs to a technology group informally referred to as Carnot Batteries (CBs). As the TI-PTES grows in popularity, several configurations have been proposed, with different claimed performances, but no standard has emerged to date. The study provides an overview of the component and operating fluid selection, and it describes the configurations proposed in the literature. Some issues regarding the performance, the ratio between thermal and electrical inputs, and the actual TI-PTES utilisation in realistic scenarios are discussed. As a result, some guidelines are defined. The configurations that utilise high-temperature thermal reservoirs are more extensively studied, due to their superior thermodynamic performance. However, low-temperature TI-PTES may achieve similar performance and have easier access to latent heat storage in the form of water ice. Finally, to achieve satisfactory performance, TI-PTES must absorb a thermal input several times larger than the electric one. This limits TI-PTES to small-scale applications.
Guido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. Rankine Carnot Batteries with the Integration of Thermal Energy Sources: A Review. Energies 2020, 13, 4766 .
AMA StyleGuido Francesco Frate, Lorenzo Ferrari, Umberto Desideri. Rankine Carnot Batteries with the Integration of Thermal Energy Sources: A Review. Energies. 2020; 13 (18):4766.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "Rankine Carnot Batteries with the Integration of Thermal Energy Sources: A Review." Energies 13, no. 18: 4766.
Fuel production from hydrogen and carbon dioxide is considered an attractive solution as long-term storage of electric energy and as temporary storage of carbon dioxide. A large variety of CO2 sources are suitable for Carbon Capture Utilization (CCU), and the process energy intensity depends on the separation technology and, ultimately, on the CO2 concentration in the flue gas. Since the carbon capture process emits more CO2 than the expected demand for CO2 utilization, the most sustainable CO2 sources must be selected. This work aimed at modeling a Power-to-Gas (PtG) plant and assessing the most suitable carbon sources from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective. The PtG plant was supplied by electricity from a 2030 scenario for Italian electricity generation. The plant impacts were assessed using data from the ecoinvent database version 3.5, for different CO2 sources (e.g., air, cement, iron, and steel plants). A detailed discussion on how to handle multi-functionality was also carried out. The results showed that capturing CO2 from hydrogen production plants and integrated pulp and paper mills led to the lowest impacts concerning all investigated indicators. The choice of how to handle multi-functional activities had a crucial impact on the assessment.
Eleonora Bargiacchi; Nils Thonemann; Jutta Geldermann; Marco Antonelli; Umberto Desideri. Life Cycle Assessment of Synthetic Natural Gas Production from Different CO2 Sources: A Cradle-to-Gate Study. Energies 2020, 13, 4579 .
AMA StyleEleonora Bargiacchi, Nils Thonemann, Jutta Geldermann, Marco Antonelli, Umberto Desideri. Life Cycle Assessment of Synthetic Natural Gas Production from Different CO2 Sources: A Cradle-to-Gate Study. Energies. 2020; 13 (17):4579.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEleonora Bargiacchi; Nils Thonemann; Jutta Geldermann; Marco Antonelli; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "Life Cycle Assessment of Synthetic Natural Gas Production from Different CO2 Sources: A Cradle-to-Gate Study." Energies 13, no. 17: 4579.
The global demand for fossil fuels in the transportation sector is increasing rapidly due to the continuous growth of internal combustion engine vehicles. This leads to severe environmental problems, including greenhouse gas emissions and air-quality deterioration. Thus, it is necessary to increase the use of renewable energy sources in the transportation sector as well as other off-grid applications. Battery and fuel cells are promising alternatives owing to high efficiency and low (even zero) local emissions. However, they are limited by either the low capacity or sluggish dynamic response. These shortcomings can be overcome by the hybridization of battery and fuel cells, which have been the focus of leading international automotive and shipbuilding companies. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation and comparison of different hybrid systems of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell with battery and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with battery for mobility and other off-grid applications from perspectives of system configurations, technical specifications, energy management strategies, and experimental validation. With the existing issues and corresponding solving strategies highlighted, the suggestions for designing high-performance fuel cell hybrid power systems are concluded accordingly. This review can serve as a reference and guide to advance the development of the fuel cell and battery hybrid power systems for mobility and off-grid applications.
Shuai Ma; Meng Lin; Tzu-En Lin; Tian Lan; Xun Liao; François Maréchal; Jan Van Herle; Yongping Yang; Changqing Dong; Ligang Wang. Fuel cell-battery hybrid systems for mobility and off-grid applications: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2020, 135, 110119 .
AMA StyleShuai Ma, Meng Lin, Tzu-En Lin, Tian Lan, Xun Liao, François Maréchal, Jan Van Herle, Yongping Yang, Changqing Dong, Ligang Wang. Fuel cell-battery hybrid systems for mobility and off-grid applications: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2020; 135 ():110119.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShuai Ma; Meng Lin; Tzu-En Lin; Tian Lan; Xun Liao; François Maréchal; Jan Van Herle; Yongping Yang; Changqing Dong; Ligang Wang. 2020. "Fuel cell-battery hybrid systems for mobility and off-grid applications: A review." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 135, no. : 110119.
Multigeneration systems, owing to their efficient fuel utilization, are recognized as one of the best technical and economical methods of energy saving and climate control. In this paper, a multigeneration system is proposed for the production of power, heating/cooling, and desalinated water. The proposed system was first studied by means of an energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, and environmental analyses and the obtained results were compared with that of multigeneration systems described in the literature (the selected multigeneration systems are based on a gas turbine cycle as prime mover). In addition, a parametric study was used to investigate the effects of primary thermodynamic quantities such as air pre-heater outlet temperature, pinch-point temperature difference in evaporator, evaporator temperature of cooling cycle, and evaporator temperature of desalination system on cycle performance. Results indicated that the proposed cycle’s power, heating, cooling, and desalinated water production is 30.5 MW, 40.8 MW, 1 MW, and 0.364 kg/s, respectively. In addition, the cycle’s total cost and total CO2 emissions are 1943.5 $/h and 0.163 kg/kWh. The parametric survey showed that the air pre-heater outlet temperature and the gas turbine inlet temperature are the most influential parameters in changing the system’s CO2 emissions. In this way, an increase of the pre-heater outlet temperature causes a 26% reduction in the cycle’s CO2 emissions, whereas an increase of the gas turbine inlet temperature leads to a 53% increase in CO2 emissions.
Simin Anvari; Omid Mahian; Hadi Taghavifar; Somchai Wongwises; Umberto Desideri. 4E analysis of a modified multigeneration system designed for power, heating/cooling, and water desalination. Applied Energy 2020, 270, 115107 .
AMA StyleSimin Anvari, Omid Mahian, Hadi Taghavifar, Somchai Wongwises, Umberto Desideri. 4E analysis of a modified multigeneration system designed for power, heating/cooling, and water desalination. Applied Energy. 2020; 270 ():115107.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSimin Anvari; Omid Mahian; Hadi Taghavifar; Somchai Wongwises; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "4E analysis of a modified multigeneration system designed for power, heating/cooling, and water desalination." Applied Energy 270, no. : 115107.
Ligang Wang; Yumeng Zhang; Mar Pérez-Fortes; Philippe Aubin; Tzu-En Lin; Yongping Yang; François Maréchal; Jan Herle. Reversible solid-oxide cell stack based power-to-x-to-power systems: Comparison of thermodynamic performance. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleLigang Wang, Yumeng Zhang, Mar Pérez-Fortes, Philippe Aubin, Tzu-En Lin, Yongping Yang, François Maréchal, Jan Herle. Reversible solid-oxide cell stack based power-to-x-to-power systems: Comparison of thermodynamic performance. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLigang Wang; Yumeng Zhang; Mar Pérez-Fortes; Philippe Aubin; Tzu-En Lin; Yongping Yang; François Maréchal; Jan Herle. 2020. "Reversible solid-oxide cell stack based power-to-x-to-power systems: Comparison of thermodynamic performance." , no. : 1.
Thermochemical biomass-to-fuel conversion requires an increased hydrogen concentration in the syngas derived from gasification, which is currently achieved by water–gas-shift reaction and CO2 removal. State-of-the-art biomass-to-fuels convert less than half of the biomass carbon with the remaining emitted as CO2. Full conversion of biomass carbon can be achieved by integrating solid-oxide electrolyzer with different concepts: (1) steam electrolysis with the hydrogen produced injected into syngas, and (2) co-electrolysis of CO2 and H2O to convert the CO2 captured from the syngas. This paper investigates techno-economically steam- or co-electrolysis-based biomass-to-fuel processes for producing synthetic natural gas, methanol, dimethyl ether and jet fuel, considering system-level heat integration and optimal placement of steam cycles for heat recovery. The results show that state-of-the-art biomass-to-fuels achieve similar energy efficiencies of 48–51% (based on a lower heating value) for the four different fuels. The integrated concept with steam electrolysis achieves the highest energy efficiency: 68% for synthetic natural gas, 64% for methanol, 63% for dimethyl ether, and 56% for jet fuel. The integrated concept with co-electrolysis can enhance the state-of-the-art energy efficiency to 66% for synthetic natural gas, 61% for methanol, and 54% for jet fuel. The biomass-to-dimethyl ether with co-electrolysis only reaches an efficiency of 49%, due to additional heat demand. The levelized cost of the product of the integrated concepts highly depends on the price and availability of renewable electricity. The concept with co-electrolysis allows for additional operation flexibility without renewable electricity, resulting in high annual production. Thus, with limited annual available hours of renewable electricity, biomass-to-fuel with co-electrolysis is more economically convenient than that with steam electrolysis. For a plant scale of 60 MWth biomass input with the renewable electricity available for 1800 h annually, the levelized cost of product of biomass-to-synthesis-natural-gas with co-electrolysis is 35 $/GJ, 20% lower than that with steam-electrolysis.
Hanfei Zhang; Ligang Wang; Jan Van Herle; François Maréchal; Umberto Desideri. Techno-economic evaluation of biomass-to-fuels with solid-oxide electrolyzer. Applied Energy 2020, 270, 115113 .
AMA StyleHanfei Zhang, Ligang Wang, Jan Van Herle, François Maréchal, Umberto Desideri. Techno-economic evaluation of biomass-to-fuels with solid-oxide electrolyzer. Applied Energy. 2020; 270 ():115113.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHanfei Zhang; Ligang Wang; Jan Van Herle; François Maréchal; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "Techno-economic evaluation of biomass-to-fuels with solid-oxide electrolyzer." Applied Energy 270, no. : 115113.
Biogas plants are an interesting solution for production of clean energy. Biogas produced in an anaerobic digester can be used locally to produce electric energy in an internal combustion engine or in a micro-gas turbine. A portion of the waste heat is used to keep the digester at a constant temperature which is a necessary condition for a correct operation of the digester. Generally, waste heat overcomes that necessary to keep the digester at the desired temperature and a big portion of this thermal energy is dissipated. Many solutions exist to increase the amount of heat recovered. In this study, the use of an absorption chiller to decrease the inlet temperature of a micro-gas turbine operating with biogas was considered. The advantage of this solution relies in a more stable operation of the micro gas turbine and an increase in the power output. The integration of the absorber chiller in the biogas plant and the effect of the ambient conditions were investigated in detail. The study was based on an existing plant operating near Pisa (Italy). A model of the system has been developed in AMESim and a numerical simulation has been performed. The effects of different temperature profiles, corresponding to different climate conditions, have been investigated both from the energy and economic points of view. The results showed that local climate conditions strongly influence the effectiveness and the profitability of the inlet turbine air cooling technique. In those climates where the temperatures are constantly high over the year, this technique may lead to interesting benefits and profitability.
G. Caposciutti; A. Baccioli; L. Ferrari; U. Desideri. Impact of ambient temperature on the effectiveness of inlet air cooling in a co-digestion biogas plant equipped with a mGT. Energy Conversion and Management 2020, 216, 112874 .
AMA StyleG. Caposciutti, A. Baccioli, L. Ferrari, U. Desideri. Impact of ambient temperature on the effectiveness of inlet air cooling in a co-digestion biogas plant equipped with a mGT. Energy Conversion and Management. 2020; 216 ():112874.
Chicago/Turabian StyleG. Caposciutti; A. Baccioli; L. Ferrari; U. Desideri. 2020. "Impact of ambient temperature on the effectiveness of inlet air cooling in a co-digestion biogas plant equipped with a mGT." Energy Conversion and Management 216, no. : 112874.
The interest toward large-scale electric energy storage technologies is increasing with the large deployment of new renewable capacity. In case of several hours of storage duration, there is no consensus on which technology is the most suited. Several technologies have been recently proposed, among which is pumped thermal electricity storage (PTES), which is a technology based on the idea of storing electrical energy as heat. PTES is usually less efficient than electrochemical batteries, but it is characterized by a lower cost per kilowatt hour, which could make it a suitable alternative for applications with long storage duration. In this study, a recently proposed PTES system based on the use of heat pumps and organic Rankine cycles is investigated from a thermo-economic point of view. The system is powered by both electric and low-grade thermal energy, thus taking advantage of waste heat to increase the electric performance. As the system design both affects efficiency and cost, a trade-off must be found. In this study, this task was performed by means of a multi-objective optimization approach. The relation between electrical round-trip efficiency and system cost is analyzed, and the impact of several design specifications such as boundary conditions, nominal power rating, and storage duration is discussed. Finally, the results are generalized by defining some cost scaling correlations. Large-size configurations (5 MW of charging power for 8 h of storage) may achieve equipment purchasing costs as low as 140 €/kWh and 2,300 €/kW, with an electrical round-trip efficiency of 0.6. These results show that the investigated technology may be suitable in the context of large-scale and long-duration energy storage.
Guido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. Multi-Criteria Economic Analysis of a Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) With Thermal Integration. Frontiers in Energy Research 2020, 8, 1 .
AMA StyleGuido Francesco Frate, Lorenzo Ferrari, Umberto Desideri. Multi-Criteria Economic Analysis of a Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) With Thermal Integration. Frontiers in Energy Research. 2020; 8 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuido Francesco Frate; Lorenzo Ferrari; Umberto Desideri. 2020. "Multi-Criteria Economic Analysis of a Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) With Thermal Integration." Frontiers in Energy Research 8, no. : 1.