Search results for "thermal energy"
showing 10 items of 126 documents
Marble quarrying: an energy and waste intensive activity in the production of building materials
2008
Marble represents an important component of Italian buildings, where it is often utilized as a covering for bottom surfaces, despite its relatively high price. Moreover, it characterizes several public buildings, for which it is by far the most important decorative material, also because of its structural features and its long durability. Unfortunately, marble quarrying is an energy intensive activity that requires relevant amounts of electric and thermal energy sources; in addition, the extraction of the marble blocks from the mountain sides does involve a noticeable quantity of explosives, particularly in sites where traditional working methods are utilized. Another important feature of t…
Multifunctional polyurethane foams with thermal energy storage/release capability
2020
In this work, polyurethane (PU) insulating panels containing different amounts of a microencapsulated paraffin with a nominal melting temperature of 24 °C, used as phase change material (PCM), were produced. The resulting panels behaved as multifunctional materials able to thermally insulate and simultaneously storing/releasing thermal energy near room temperature. The panels were characterized from a microstructural, thermal and mechanical point of view. Viscosity measurements highlighted an increase in the viscosity values of the PU liquid precursors due to the addition of the capsules, and this could lead to some difficulties during the production stages, especially in the mixing and foa…
Modeling Information Processing Using Nonidentical Coulomb Blockade Nanostructures
2017
In recent years, molecular-protected metallic nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted a great deal of attention. Because of their reduced size, they behave like tiny capacitors so that there is an energy penalty when adding an electron to the NP which suppresses the electric current at a potential lower than a threshold value. This phenomenon is known as Coulomb blockade (CB) and allows the transport of electrons to be modulated through an external gate provided that the energy penalty is higher than the thermal energy. Together with the possibility of tailoring their properties, molecular protected NPs are potential candidates as future components of high density, low consumption electronics. H…
Chapter 7 HITRAP: A Facility at GSI for Highly Charged Ions
2008
Abstract An overview and status report of the new trapping facility for highly charged ions at the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung is presented. The construction of this facility started in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2008. Once operational, highly charged ions will be loaded from the experimental storage ring ESR into the HITRAP facility, where they are decelerated and cooled. The kinetic energy of the initially fast ions is reduced by more than fourteen orders of magnitude and their thermal energy is cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The cold ions are then delivered to a broad range of atomic physics experiments.
Effect of the thermal storage dimensions on the performances of solar photovoltaic-thermal systems
2020
Abstract PV/T panels are innovative systems increasingly used in the building sector. As a matter of fact, in that context they allow a set of common problems to be addressed and often solved: lack of physical space and economic issues, always existing when PV and thermal panels are to be installed separately. Obviously, the main objective of PV/T panels is to enhance the electrical efficiency by cooling the PV cells, but the side positive effect is also the production of thermal energy, which can be suitably exploited with a proper configuration of the whole system and an appropriate design of its components. Their energy production and overall efficiency depend on several factors and ther…
An intelligent way to predict the building thermal needs: ANNs and optimization
2022
The evaluation of the energy performance of existing or new buildings is a fundamental action to guarantee the feasibility of a project and the achievement of the minimum efficiency requirements. In general, the determination of the thermal loads of a building is carried out via software but their use requires adequate knowledge of physical phenomena and therefore the presence of an expert user. Furthermore, the resolution can be difficult to implement and can require high computational costs; all conditions that can influence the success of a project. Based on these considerations, this work proposes an alternative solution to traditional calculation tools, which in a simple and effective …
Towards achieving net-zero energy communities: Investigation of design strategies and seasonal solar collection and storage net-zero
2019
Abstract This paper explores a solar mixed-use community and its potential towards achieving net-zero energy status. This mixed-use community combines residential and commercial/institutional buildings. Energy performance of this neighbourhood is estimated in terms of energy consumption and generation potential by means of building integrated PV systems. A solar thermal collector system combined with a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) is designed to investigate the impact on the overall performance of the neighbourhood. The design of solar thermal collectors and the sizing of short-term thermal energy storage is based on the analysis of the thermal loads for heating and domestic hot w…
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. …
Combined membrane and thermal desalination processes for the treatment of ion exchange resins spent brine
2019
Abstract The disposal of industrial wastewater effluents represents a critical environmental issue. This work focuses on the treatment of the spent brine produced by the regeneration of ion exchange resins employed for water softening. For the first time, a comprehensive techno-economic assessment and an analysis of the energy requirements of the treatment chain are carried out, via the simulation of ad hoc implemented models. The chain is composed of nanofiltration, double-stage crystallization and multi-effect distillation. The valuable product is the brine produced by the multi-effect distillation, which can be re-used for the regeneration. Therefore, the treatment chain’s economic feasi…
Techno-economic assessment of multi-effect distillation process for the treatment and recycling of ion exchange resin spent brines
2019
Abstract A treatment chain including nanofiltration, crystallization and multi-effect distillation (MED) is for the first time proposed for the treatment of an effluent produced during the regeneration of Ion Exchange resins employed for water softening. The goal is to recover the minerals and to restore the regenerant solution to be reused in the next regeneration cycle. MED is the most crucial unit of the treatment chain from an economic point of view. A techno-economic analysis on the MED unit was performed and a novel performance indicator, named Levelized Brine Cost, was introduced as a measure of the economic feasibility of the process. Different scenarios were analysed, assuming diff…