Search results for "Climate"
showing 10 items of 4934 documents
Analysis of the effects of climate change on the energy and environmental performance of a building with and without onsite generation from renewable…
2020
Climate Change is a priority, due to the large variety of implications and importance that it may cause in the next decades. In this context, the building sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, buildings should be designed in such a way that they are responsible for fewer GHG emissions. In this context, the paper analyses the potential impact of climate change on the energy performances of buildings, with and without onsite generation from renewable energy, using a prototype building located in Messina (Italy) as case study. The analysis is based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change RCP scenarios and the results confirm the already known ov…
Data fusion analysis applied to different climate change models: an application to the energy consumptions of a building office
2018
The paper aims to achieve the modelling of climate change effects on heating and cooling in the building sector, through the use of the available Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasted data. Data from several different climate models will be fused with regards to mean air temperature, wind speed and horizontal solar radiation. Several climatic models data were analyzed ranging from January 2006 to December 2100. Rather than considering each model in isolation, we propose a data fusion approach for providing a robust combined model for morphing an existing weather data file. The final aim is simulating future energy use for heating and cooling of a reference building as a conse…
Implementing the sustainable energy (and climate) action plans: quasi-steady state or dynamic building modeling approach?
2020
Actions contemplated in Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans (SEAPs), which municipalities adhering to the EU initiative called “The Covenant of Mayors” are required to prepare, regard many sectors, among which are buildings. To implement such plans, it is necessary to make use of methods for predicting energy use in buildings. Technicians involved in this tend to adopt easy-touse simulation models because of the common mid-level expertise of the offices involved. However, such simplified methods could result in a less accurate evaluation of the energy demand of buildings. In this paper the suitability of the quasi-steady state and the dynamic approach, in the frame of these new ur…
A new approach to model the effect of climate change on the building sector: A climate models data fusion
2020
Several climate models have been developed and used to forecast the effects of the climate changes, however the variability of results due to different models lead to a significant uncertainty on the estimation of the building energy use for the next century. In this context, the paper analyses this uncertainty and combines different climate models in order to improve the robustness of energy consumption predictions. The data of the climate models were then used to generate hourly weather files for the future period 2020-2099 and energy simulations for a case study located in Palermo (Italy) were performed. Results show a wide variability among all models (either alone or combined with our …
RESEARCH ON MICROCLIMATE LIGHT CONDITIONS IN A SCHOLASTIC ENVIRONMENT, BASED ON ADAPTIVE MODEL
2010
This paper shows the results of a deep research, carried out on a scholastic setting and based on a questionnaire, to evaluate the light microclimate and the satisfaction degree of the users. Through simulations, we have previously identified a number of classrooms where the conditions could be critical, both in terms of over-lightning, glare and disrespected values (suggested by the current normative). The proposed method consist in using device-made-surveys, a simulation software and questionnaires submission to users of the studied rooms. The questionnaires, based on an adaptive model, has been developed to detect subjective data (place, visus…) and other information about the setting an…
Techno-economic analysis of integrated processes for the treatment and valorisation of neutral coal mine effluents
2020
Abstract The disposal of highly-concentrated neutral coal mine effluents into the environment constitutes a severe threat to the natural ecosystem. This work proposes and compares five novel treatment chains to purify the effluent and recover raw materials. The chains present different combinations of pre-treatment and concentration technologies. In all cases, the solution sent to the concentration step is concentrated up to saturation to recover water and sodium chloride. Concerning the technical performances, the treatment chains are compared in terms of total energy demand and salt recovery. Furthermore, the economic feasibility assessment is performed via a novel global parameter, i.e. …
Towards the implementation of circular economy in the water softening industry: A technical, economic and environmental analysis
2020
Abstract To reduce the environmental impact of the industrial sectors, circular strategies should be implemented to purify the effluents and recover raw materials. In this context, a novel integrated methodological approach is proposed to identify the most suitable strategy to improve the sustainability of the water softening industry via the treatment and recycling of the produced wastewater. Different concentration technologies and energy supply systems are compared to find economically feasible and environmentally friendly treatment systems. The investigated chains present the same pre-treatment step (nanofiltration and crystallization) and different concentration technologies: Multi-Eff…
The acid–base flow battery : Sustainable energy storage via reversible water dissociation with bipolar membranes
2020
The increasing share of renewables in electric grids nowadays causes a growing daily and seasonal mismatch between electricity generation and demand. In this regard, novel energy storage systems need to be developed, to allow large-scale storage of the excess electricity during low-demand time, and its distribution during peak demand time. Acid–base flow battery (ABFB) is a novel and environmentally friendly technology based on the reversible water dissociation by bipolar membranes, and it stores electricity in the form of chemical energy in acid and base solutions. The technology has already been demonstrated at the laboratory scale, and the experimental testing of the first 1 kW pilot pla…
Electrodialysis for water desalination: A critical assessment of recent developments on process fundamentals, models and applications
2018
Abstract The need for unconventional sources of fresh water is pushing a fast development of desalination technologies, which proved to be able to face and solve the problem of water scarcity in many dry areas of the planet. Membrane desalination technologies are nowadays leading the market and, among these, electrodialysis (ED) plays an important role, especially for brackish water desalination, thanks to its robustness, extreme flexibility and broad range of applications. In fact, many ED-related processes have been presented, based on the use of Ion Exchange Membranes (IEMs), which are significantly boosting the development of ED-related technologies. This paper presents the fundamentals…
Electrodialysis Applications in Wastewater Treatment for Environmental Protection and Resources Recovery: A Systematic Review on Progress and Perspec…
2020
This paper presents a comprehensive review of studies on electrodialysis (ED) applications in wastewater treatment, outlining the current status and the future prospect. ED is a membrane process of separation under the action of an electric field, where ions are selectively transported across ion-exchange membranes. ED of both conventional or unconventional fashion has been tested to treat several waste or spent aqueous solutions, including effluents from various industrial processes, municipal wastewater or salt water treatment plants, and animal farms. Properties such as selectivity, high separation efficiency, and chemical-free treatment make ED methods adequate for desalination and othe…