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Abstract: Biodiesel has received great interest as a promising substitute for petrodiesel. Biodiesel purification which follows the transesterification process is typically carried out using a wet washing process that generates large amounts of wastewater. Consequently, alternative methods are emerging as sustainable options for biodiesel purification. One of such methods is a dry washing process. In this paper, the performance of three dry washing media (commercially available BD-Zorb, sawdust and wood shavings) were evaluated as potentially suitable options for the purification of biodiesel derived from Camelina sativa. The results indicate that for the crude camelina biodiesel with an initial soap content of 9007 ppm, BD-Zorb exhibited the best purification performance. The soap removal capacity of BD-Zorb, sawdust, and wood shavings was 51.1 mL/g, 24.4 mL/g, and 9.4 mL/g respectively. The primary mechanism of soap removal using sawdust and wood shavings media was physical filtration and adsorption. While for adsorbent BD-Zorb, soap removal mechanism included adsorption and ion exchange due to the existence of a small amount of resins. The ion exchange led to a high acid number (1 mg KOH/g) of the purified biodiesel, and failed to meet the ASTM D6751 specifications (<0.5 mg KOH/g). Keywords: Drying washing, purification of biodiesel, adsorbent, wood waste, Camelina sativa.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: This paper presents a novel power flow method suitable for radial distribution feeders, which consists a modification of the simplified power flow concept known as the DistFlow method, already available in the literature. The proposed method relies upon a differentiated manipulation of power losses, which are taken into account in voltage calculations, unlike other simplified methods, where losses are totally neglected. As a result, calculation accuracy is greatly improved, in terms of node voltages, losses and overall active & reactive power flows. In addition, the proposed method is non-iterative and entirely linear, being easily implementable and fast in execution. The method is particularly suited for feeders with a high penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), providing results that closely match those of a full non-linear power flow and are considerably more accurate than the traditional linearized distribution power flow methods, without any increase in computational burden. The new method is applied to a variety of case studies in the paper, to demonstrate its accuracy and effectiveness, comparing its performance with the simplified (linearized) DistFlow and a conventional non-linear power flow method. Keywords: Distribution power flow, voltage calculation, power losses calculation, distributed energy resources, DistFlow, ModDistFlow. |
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Abstract: The debate on energy efficiency in buildings has already established the strategic role of the envelope to achieve the control objectives of consumption and housing quality. The study shows, it ranks in the innovative experimentation scenario, following the directions of the regulations 2010/31/EU (EPBD 2) and its objective is the realization of a building envelope "adaptive", characterized by the ability to dynamically respond to stress from the environmental context with which it relates. The experiment aimed at perfecting a model of intervention that can guide the design choices towards elements that make up the building envelope, characterized by a strong interactive-adaptive component. This is based on the combination of: layers of innovative envelope, systems using RES and SMART management requirements of the system, with a focus on intelligent control energy flows between external/internal and adaptive performance of the layers. The mode of "deferred layering" in relation to the orientation of the building and to climate periods, while for the control of wrap responses subjected to environmental stress, the research adopts BEMS & BIM systems and other related criteria will be defined. The experiment aims to satisfy the requirements to improve the energy performance of buildings by reducing the impacts (emissions), through the development of a technical system. The results obtained from inspections in progress, show that the constituent layers that envelope react in a synergistic way and adapted to different climatic conditions, ensuring high-quality performance, in line with the energy efficiency targets established by regulatory standards. Keywords: Building energy performance, SMART Building envelope, Energy efficiency, Integrated design, Adaptive components, Up-coming technologies. |
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Abstract: Water splitting photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) was fabricated in which the electrolyzer parts were made on a single chip. This was achieved by depositing an optically transparent Mn-oxide-TiO2 thin layer on the front of a triple junction amorphous Si photovoltaic cell which acted as the anode and the back stainless steel layer acted as the cathode under illumination of light. This single chip water electrolysis cell operates like an artificial leaf. Water splitting was observed by simply submersing the device in a basic electrolyte solution under solar simulated light of 1 sun (0.1 W cm-2). This self-driven PEC was found to produce hydrogen gas at the rate of 12.42 L m-2 h-1 and a solar to hydrogen efficiency (STHE) of 3.25 % from the collected H2 gas in 2.5 M KOH solution. No signs of degradation of this single chip PEC were observed during water splitting when the device was run continuously for 6 hours. Keywords: Water-splitting, Triple-Junctions amorphous-Silicon, photovoltaic.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: The sustainable development requires policies and measures which negative impacts would not be spilled over on another area or has trends that pose severe or irreversible threats to future quality of life. The environmental costs-benefits analysis (CBA) as well as multi criteria analyse are the most common used methods for the decision making processes including the approved methodology for quantifying external costs especially regarding air quality. Since the reducing one type of external cost generates another external cost due to fact that the problem is only shifted from the one area to the another CBA is not enough for the decision making process because external cost of a future implemented measure isn't considered. By the usage of Life-cycle costing (LCC), a tool which evaluates the costs of an new installed asset imposed trough the adopted policy or measure throughout its life cycle, it is possible beside the common costs for conducting CBA include also the end-of-life and disposal costs as the new installed asset’s external costs too. These costs have to be calculated and added to the cost side of CBA before comparing to the benefits. So, for the purpose of decision making process of the retrofitting existing thermal power plants with DeSOx such calculation has been done as a case study for one thermal power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina highlighting overall costs and benefits of the DeSOx installation. Keywords: Environmental CBA, external costs, LCC, retrofitting, cogeneration. |