Search results for "Renewable resource"

Hydrogen Production from Sea Wave for Alternative Energy Vehicles for Public Transport in Trapani (Italy)

2016

The coupling of renewable energy and hydrogen technologies represents in the mid-term a very interesting way to match the tasks of increasing the reliable exploitation of wind and sea wave energy and introducing clean technologies in the transportation sector. This paper presents two different feasibility studies: the first proposes two plants based on wind and sea wave resource for the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen for public transportation facilities in the West Sicily; the second applies the same approach to Pantelleria (a smaller island), including also some indications about solar resource. In both cases, all buses will be equipped with fuel-cells. A first economic a…

Forest operations in coppice: Environmental assessment of two different logging methods

2016

Wood is a renewable resource and it actively contributes to enhance energy production under a sustainable perspective. However, harvesting, transport and use of wood imply several consequences and impacts on environment. There are different ways for managing forests dedicated to wood production and a sustainable approach is fundamental to preserve the resource. In this context, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful tool for estimating the environmental impacts related to renewable resources. Traditional coppice is a common approach for forest management in several areas, including southern Europe and, specifically, Italy, Spain and the Balkans. Due to different terrain conditions, differe…

Assessing the gasification potential of five woodchips species by employing a lab-scale fixed-bed downdraft reactor

2015

Abstract This paper is aimed to assess the performance of air blown fixed-bed downdraft gasification of local lignocellulosic biomasses which in perspective of Southern Norway are both available and sustainable. Long rotation forest crops birch, oak and spruce, coupled with energy crops poplar and willow were used as feedstocks. The gasification conditions undertaken were widely varied in-terms of air (∼3.20–4.20 N m3/h) and fuel flow (∼1.70–2.10 kg/h) so that the corresponding equivalence ratio (ER) differed (0.19–0.80) and ultimately reflected to other operational parameters such as bed temperature (∼550–760 °C maximum), producer gas yield (∼1.50–2.30 N m3/kg, wet base), cold gas efficien…

Techno-economic analysis of a local district heating plant under fuel flexibility and performance

2017

Brovst is a small district in Denmark. This paper analyses the use of local renewable resources in the district heating systems of Brovst. The present use of fossil fuels in the Brovst district heating plant (DHP) represents an increasing environmental and climate-related load. Therefore, an investigation has been made to reduce the use of fossil fuels for district heating system and make use of the local renewable resources (biogas, solar, and heat pump) for district heating purposes. In this article, the techno-economic assessment is achieved through the development of a suite of models that are combined to give cost and performance data for this district heating system. Local fuels have …

A systematic literature review on less common natural fibres and their biocomposites

2018

Abstract Interest in utilization of renewable resources is increasing because of public's environmental awareness and economic considerations. Lignocellulosic fibres have already attracted growing attention as reinforcement of polymeric matrices instead of synthetic ones (mainly glass) from the academic and industrial fields. In addition to kenaf, hemp, sisal, flax and jute, which are the subject of extensive investigations for composite applications since the 1970s, in the last years several researchers suggested the use of less common natural fibres, due to their low cost and availability. This paper reviews the extraction methods, chemical, morphological, thermal and mechanical propertie…

Independent energetic grids for a smart island: Model and design of a microgrid for a small Italian island

2016

Unlike many Italian peninsular areas, which are increasingly turning to a diverse supply of renewable resources to generate electricity, Italian not-interconnected small islands continue to rely on oil for their electricity and other energy needs (e.g. transports). Small-scale electricity systems, that are not connected to a larger electricity grid, are usually more expensive. The present paper proposes the functional design of an innovative Smart Grid which allows changing an Italian small not-interconnected island, Pantelleria, into a smart island, towards a more sustainable energy model. In detail, a techno-economic feasibility study is performed in order to design a Smart Grid at Pantel…

End-of-life and waste management of disposable beverage cups.

2021

Different human activities have caused and currently cause catastrophic environmental phenomena, and unfortunately, a significant negative contribution to these catastrophic phenomena can be attributed to uncontrolled plastic production, use and release everywhere. On the other hand, the plastics offer numerous comforts and advantages, and for this reason, the modern life is unthinkable without plastic. Currently, numerous scientific papers and large audience advertisings, related to the production and use of polymers made by natural sources, i.e. bio-based polymers, as a valid alternative to the petroleum-based counterparts, have been published. Therefore, for production of daily disposabl…

Integration of biorefinery clusters towards zero emissions

2008

Depletion of world recourses, increasing pollution, and climate change make us shift from linear economy to system economy an economy of technologies integrated to reach a non-polluting zero emissions production system. Transition to renewable resources requires replacement the present crude oil refinery by biomass refinery. Along with conventional biomass refinery technologies bioengineering and nano-technologies become significant players of systems in the design of clusters of integrated biorefinery technologies. The authors consider a number of case-studies of biomass conversion into value-added chemicals and sources of energy, the steam explosion autohydrolysis (SEA) in particular. Mod…

Biotechnological and environmental microbiological research in the Baltic region

2014

The volume and composition of dead wood on traditional and forest fuel harvested clear-cuts

2010

Logging residue and cut stumps are increasingly used as a renewable energy source known as forest fuel. Forest fuel harvesting obviously reduces the volume of dead wood and is likely to alter the dead wood composition, but the magnitude of the change is not known. Such information is important for the evaluation of the effects of forest fuel harvesting on biodiversity because a large proportion of forest dwelling species are directly dependent on dead wood. We measured the volume and characteristics of all dead wood units with a minimum diameter of 2 cm and a minimum length of 20 cm on 10 forest-fuel harvested and 10 traditional (control) clear-cuts. The total volume of dead wood at forest …