This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Reductions in energy consumption, carbon footprint, equipment size, and cost are key objectives for the forthcoming energy-intensive industries roadmaps. In this sense, solutions such as waste heat recovery, which can be replicated into different sectors (e.g., ceramics, concrete, glass, steel, aluminium, pulp, and paper) are highly promoted. In this line, latent heat thermal energy storage (TES) contributes as an innovative technology solution to improve the overall system efficiency by recovering and storing industrial waste heat. To this end, phase-change material (PCM) selection is assisted through a decision-support system (DSS). A simplified tool based on the MATLAB® model, based on correlations among the most relevant system parameters, was developed to prove the feasibility of a cross-sectorial approach. The research work conducted a parametric analysis to assess the techno-economic performance of the PCM-TES solution under different working conditions and sectors. Additionally, a multicriteria assessment was performed comparing the tool outputs from metal alloys and inorganic hydrated PCM salts. Overall, the inorganic PCMs presented higher net economic and energy savings (up to 25,000 €/yr; 480 MWh/yr), while metal alloys involved promising results, shorter cycles, and competitive economic ratios; its commercial development is still limited.
Patricia Royo; Luis Acevedo; Álvaro J. Arnal; Maryori Diaz-Ramírez; Tatiana García-Armingol; Victor J. Ferreira; Germán Ferreira; Ana M. López-Sabirón. Decision Support System of Innovative High-Temperature Latent Heat Storage for Waste Heat Recovery in the Energy-Intensive Industry. Energies 2021, 14, 365 .
AMA StylePatricia Royo, Luis Acevedo, Álvaro J. Arnal, Maryori Diaz-Ramírez, Tatiana García-Armingol, Victor J. Ferreira, Germán Ferreira, Ana M. López-Sabirón. Decision Support System of Innovative High-Temperature Latent Heat Storage for Waste Heat Recovery in the Energy-Intensive Industry. Energies. 2021; 14 (2):365.
Chicago/Turabian StylePatricia Royo; Luis Acevedo; Álvaro J. Arnal; Maryori Diaz-Ramírez; Tatiana García-Armingol; Victor J. Ferreira; Germán Ferreira; Ana M. López-Sabirón. 2021. "Decision Support System of Innovative High-Temperature Latent Heat Storage for Waste Heat Recovery in the Energy-Intensive Industry." Energies 14, no. 2: 365.
A promising route to attain a reliable impact reduction of supply chain materials is based on considering circular economy approaches, such as material recycling strategies. This work aimed to evaluate potential benefits of recycling scenarios for steel, copper, aluminium and plastic materials to the battery manufacturing stage. Focused on this aim, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the environmental externalities methodologies were applied to two battery study cases: lithium manganese oxide and vanadium redox flow (VRFB) batteries, based on a cradle-to-gate LCA approach. In general, the results provided an insight into the raw material handling route. Environmental impacts were diminished by more than 20% in almost all the indicators, due to the lower consumption of virgin materials related to the implemented recyclability route. Particularly, VRFB exhibited better recyclability ratio than the Li-ion battery. For the former, the key components were the periphery ones attaining around 70% of impact reduction by recycling steel. Components of the power subsystem were also relevant, reaching around 40% of environmental impact reduction by recycling plastic. The results also foresaw opportunities for membranes, key components of VRFB materials. Based on findings, recycling strategies may improve the total circularity performance and economic viability of the studied systems.
Maryori Díaz-Ramírez; Victor Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. Battery Manufacturing Resource Assessment to Minimise Component Production Environmental Impacts. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6840 .
AMA StyleMaryori Díaz-Ramírez, Victor Ferreira, Tatiana García-Armingol, Ana López-Sabirón, Germán Ferreira. Battery Manufacturing Resource Assessment to Minimise Component Production Environmental Impacts. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (17):6840.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaryori Díaz-Ramírez; Victor Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. 2020. "Battery Manufacturing Resource Assessment to Minimise Component Production Environmental Impacts." Sustainability 12, no. 17: 6840.
Electricity from the combination of photovoltaic panels and wind turbines exhibits potential benefits towards the sustainable cities transition. Nevertheless, the highly fluctuating and intermittent character limits an extended applicability in the energy market. Particularly, batteries represent a challenging approach to overcome the existing constraints and to achieve sustainable urban energy development. On the basis of the market roll-out and level of technological maturity, five commercially available battery technologies are assessed in this work, namely, lead–acid, lithium manganese oxide, nickel–cadmium, nickel–metal hydride, and vanadium redox flow. When considering sustainable development, environmental assessments provide valuable information. In this vein, an environmental analysis of the technologies is conducted using a life cycle assessment methodology from a cradle-to-gate perspective. A comparison of the environmental burden of battery components identified vanadium redox flow battery as the lowest environmental damage battery. In terms of components, electrodes; the electrolyte; and the set of pumps, motors, racks, and bolts exhibited the greatest environmental impact related to manufacturing. In terms of materials, copper, steel, sulphuric acid, and vanadium were identified as the main contributors to the midpoint impact categories. The results have highlighted that challenging materials 4.0 are still needed in battery manufacturing to provide sustainable technology designs required to the future urban planning based on circular economy demands.
Maryori Díaz-Ramírez; Victor José Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. Environmental Assessment of Electrochemical Energy Storage Device Manufacturing to Identify Drivers for Attaining Goals of Sustainable Materials 4.0. Sustainability 2020, 12, 342 .
AMA StyleMaryori Díaz-Ramírez, Victor José Ferreira, Tatiana García-Armingol, Ana M. López-Sabirón, Germán Ferreira. Environmental Assessment of Electrochemical Energy Storage Device Manufacturing to Identify Drivers for Attaining Goals of Sustainable Materials 4.0. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (1):342.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaryori Díaz-Ramírez; Victor José Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. 2020. "Environmental Assessment of Electrochemical Energy Storage Device Manufacturing to Identify Drivers for Attaining Goals of Sustainable Materials 4.0." Sustainability 12, no. 1: 342.
Different retrofitting measures can be implemented at different levels of the industrial furnace, such as refractory layers, energy recovery solutions, new burners and fuel types, and monitoring and control systems. However, there is a high level of uncertainty about the possible implications of integrating new technologies, not only in the furnace but also on the upstream and downstream processes. In this regard, there is a lack of holistic approaches to design the optimal system configurations under a multicriteria perspective, especially when innovative technologies and multi-sectorial processes are involved. The present work proposes a holistic approach to natural gas melting and heating furnaces in energy-intensive industries. A multicriteria analysis, based on criteria and subcriteria, is applied to select the most profitable retrofitting solution using the analytic hierarchy process and stakeholder expertise. The methodology is based on technical indicators, i.e., life cycle assessment, life cycle cost, and thermoeconomic analysis, for evaluating the current state of existing natural gas furnaces. Once the current state is characterized, the methodology determines the potential of efficiency improvement, environmental impact reduction, and cost-savings caused mainly by the implementation of new retrofitting solutions including new refractories, new burner concepts (co-firing), and innovative energy recovery solutions based on phase change materials. Therefore, this methodology can be considered as the first stage that guarantees technical, environmental, and economic feasibility in evaluating the effects of new technologies on the overall system performance.
Álvaro J. Arnal; Maryori Díaz-Ramírez; Luis Acevedo; Víctor J. Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. Multicriteria Analysis for Retrofitting of Natural Gas Melting and Heating Furnaces for Sustainable Manufacturing and Industry 4.0. Journal of Energy Resources Technology 2019, 142, 1 -48.
AMA StyleÁlvaro J. Arnal, Maryori Díaz-Ramírez, Luis Acevedo, Víctor J. Ferreira, Tatiana García-Armingol, Ana M. López-Sabirón, Germán Ferreira. Multicriteria Analysis for Retrofitting of Natural Gas Melting and Heating Furnaces for Sustainable Manufacturing and Industry 4.0. Journal of Energy Resources Technology. 2019; 142 (2):1-48.
Chicago/Turabian StyleÁlvaro J. Arnal; Maryori Díaz-Ramírez; Luis Acevedo; Víctor J. Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. 2019. "Multicriteria Analysis for Retrofitting of Natural Gas Melting and Heating Furnaces for Sustainable Manufacturing and Industry 4.0." Journal of Energy Resources Technology 142, no. 2: 1-48.
The energy considered as waste heat in industrial furnaces owing to inefficiencies represents a substantial opportunity for recovery by means of thermal energy storage (TES) implementation. Although conventional systems based on sensible heat are used extensively, these systems involve technical limitations. Latent heat storage based on phase change materials (PCMs) results in a promising alternative for storing and recovering waste heat. Within this scope, the proposed PCM-TES allows for demonstrating its implementation feasibility in energy-intensive industries at high temperature range. The stored energy is meant to preheat the air temperature entering the furnace by using a PCM whose melting point is 885°C. In this sense, a heat transfer model simulation is established to determine an appropriate design based on mass and energy conservation equations. The thermal performance is analysed for the melting and solidification processes, the phase transition and its influence on heat transference. Moreover, the temperature profile is illustrated for the PCM and combustion air stream. The obtained results prove the achievability of very high temperature levels (from 700 to 865°C) in the combustion air preheating in a ceramic furnace; so corroborating an energy and environmental efficiency enhancement, compared to the initial condition presenting an air outlet at 650°C.
Patricia Royo; Luis Acevedo; Victor J. Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán A Ferreira Ferreira. High-temperature PCM-based thermal energy storage for industrial furnaces installed in energy-intensive industries. Energy 2019, 173, 1030 -1040.
AMA StylePatricia Royo, Luis Acevedo, Victor J. Ferreira, Tatiana García-Armingol, Ana M. López-Sabirón, Germán A Ferreira Ferreira. High-temperature PCM-based thermal energy storage for industrial furnaces installed in energy-intensive industries. Energy. 2019; 173 ():1030-1040.
Chicago/Turabian StylePatricia Royo; Luis Acevedo; Victor J. Ferreira; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán A Ferreira Ferreira. 2019. "High-temperature PCM-based thermal energy storage for industrial furnaces installed in energy-intensive industries." Energy 173, no. : 1030-1040.
The environmental implications of soil salinity caused by accumulation of de-icing salt and leaching in soils of northeastern Spain were examined. For this purpose, the concentrations of ions associated with diagnosing and managing this problem were evaluated from several measurements performed over one year along a road. This analysis demonstrated a higher concentration of soluble Na+ in the soil 3 m from a road in the northernmost part of the study area in February, which made the soil saline-sodic. Data from the rest of the study period (during the spring and summer) demonstrated that the de-icing salt moved to areas farther south by runoff water, which caused environmental impacts by modifying soil characteristics. These results suggest that leaching of Ca2+ and Mg2+ cations occurred faster in the studied systems in sodic soils. Leaching of these cations may affect plant yield, and results in environmental impacts within 3–30 m from the road. Awareness of this impact will be useful for developing future strategies for evaluating and reporting these complex relationships within Spain’s transport system and environment.
Esther Asensio; Víctor J. Ferreira; Gonzalo Gil; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. Accumulation of De-Icing Salt and Leaching in Spanish Soils Surrounding Roadways. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2017, 14, 1498 .
AMA StyleEsther Asensio, Víctor J. Ferreira, Gonzalo Gil, Tatiana García-Armingol, Ana M. López-Sabirón, Germán Ferreira. Accumulation of De-Icing Salt and Leaching in Spanish Soils Surrounding Roadways. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14 (12):1498.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEsther Asensio; Víctor J. Ferreira; Gonzalo Gil; Tatiana García-Armingol; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Germán Ferreira. 2017. "Accumulation of De-Icing Salt and Leaching in Spanish Soils Surrounding Roadways." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 12: 1498.
This study aims to analyse some of the most relevant issues that the energy intensive industry needs to face in order to improve its energy and environmental performance based on innovative retrofitting strategies. To this end, a case study based on the aluminium industry, as one of the most relevant within the European energy intensive industry has been thoroughly discussed. In particular, great efforts must be addressed to reduce its environmental impact; specifically focusing on the main stages concerning the manufacturing of an aluminium billet, namely alloy production, heating, extrusion and finishing. Hence, an innovative DC (direct current) induction technology with an expected 50% energy efficiency increase is used for retrofitting conventional techniques traditionally based on natural gas and AC (alternating current) induction. A life cycle assessment was applied to analyse three different scenarios within four representative European electricity mixes. The results reported reductions up to 8% of Green House Gases emissions in every country. France presented the best-case scenario applying only DC induction; unlike Greece, which showed around 150% increment. However, the suitability of the new DC induction technology depends on the electricity mix, the technological scenario and the environmental impact indicators. Finally, environmental external costs were assessed with comparison purposes to evaluate the increase of energy and environmental efficiency in existing preheating and melting industrial furnaces currently fed with natural gas.
Patricia Royo; Víctor José Ferreira; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Tatiana García-Armingol; Germán Ferreira. Retrofitting strategies for improving the energy and environmental efficiency in industrial furnaces: A case study in the aluminium sector. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2017, 82, 1813 -1822.
AMA StylePatricia Royo, Víctor José Ferreira, Ana M. López-Sabirón, Tatiana García-Armingol, Germán Ferreira. Retrofitting strategies for improving the energy and environmental efficiency in industrial furnaces: A case study in the aluminium sector. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2017; 82 ():1813-1822.
Chicago/Turabian StylePatricia Royo; Víctor José Ferreira; Ana M. López-Sabirón; Tatiana García-Armingol; Germán Ferreira. 2017. "Retrofitting strategies for improving the energy and environmental efficiency in industrial furnaces: A case study in the aluminium sector." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 82, no. : 1813-1822.