Production costs and operative margins in electric energy generation from biogas. Full-scale case studies in Italy

The purpose of this study was to observe the economic sustainability of three different biogas full scale plants, fed with different organic matrices: energy crops (EC), manure, agro-industrial (Plants B and C) and organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) (Plant A). The plants were observed for one year and total annual biomass feeding, biomass composition and biomass cost (€ Mg^?1), initial investment cost and plant electric power production were registered. The unit costs of biogas and electric energy (€ Sm^?3_biogas, € kW h^?1_EE) were differently distributed, depending on the type of feed and plant. Plant A showed high management/maintenance cost for OFMSW treatment (0.155 € Sm^?3_biogas, 45% of total cost), Plant B suffered high cost for EC supply (0.130 € Sm^?3_biogas, 49% of total cost) and Plant C showed higher impact on the total costs because of the depreciation charge (0.146 € Sm^?3_biogas, 41% of total costs). The breakeven point for the tariff of electric energy, calculated for the different cases, resulted in the range 120–170 € MW h^?1_EE, depending on fed materials and plant scale. EC had great impact on biomass supply costs and should be reduced, in favor of organic waste and residues; plant scale still heavily influences the production costs. The EU States should drive incentives in dependence of these factors, to further develop this still promising sector.     

At home and abroad: An empirical analysis of innovation and diffusion in energy technologies

This paper contributes to the induced innovation literature by extending the analysis of supply and demand determinants of innovation in energy technologies to account for international knowledge flows and spillovers. We select a sample of 38 innovating countries and study how knowledge related to energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies flows across geographical and technological space. We demonstrate that higher geographical and technological distances are associated with lower probabilities of knowledge flow. Next, we use previous estimates to construct internal and external knowledge stocks for a panel of 17 countries. We then present an econometric analysis of the supply and demand determinants of innovation accounting for international knowledge spillovers. Our results confirm the role of demand-pull effects, proxied by energy prices, and of technological opportunity, proxied by the knowledge stocks. Our results show that spillovers between countries have a significant positive impact on further innovation in energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.     

基于LMDI方法的广东省生活能源消费影响因素分析

运用对数平均迪氏分解法(LMDI)构建广东省生活能源消费的因素分解模型,定量分析2000~2014年间能源结构、人口规模、居住面积和设备消费等因素的变化对生活能源消费的影响。研究发现,4种因素的累计效应均为正,而采用逐年效应角度观察,设备消费是生活能源消费增加的最大拉动因素,其次为居住面积。基于研究结果,提出降低居民生活能源消费的相关政策建议。     

江西省陆地生态系统氮平衡的时空分布规律研究

利用系统物质平衡模型,对1995-2005年江西省陆地生态系统的N收支平衡进行了核算,并分析了不同来源N收支量的时间序列特征以及N盈余强度的空间分布特征,探讨了自然灾害和政策实施对N平衡的影响.结果表明:江西省陆地生态系统的N输入量变化范围是(155.5-184.2)×107kg·a-1,平均值为168.5 ×107 ...     

Seven suppositions about energy security in the United States

Changing the patterns of energy use requires investigating how energy consumers - not experts - conceive of energy challenges. This article explores the varying beliefs, attitudes, and views on energy security in the United States among experts and residents. Based primarily on an academic literature review to distill expert views, and a survey distributed to hundreds of residents in the U.S. to capture consumer views, the study begins by explaining its methodology before identifying seven suppositions related to energy security. These suppositions involve security of fuel supply, energy democracy, energy research and development, affordability of energy services, environmental pollution, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. The second section of the study tests these suppositions with a survey distributed to 427 respondents in the United States. Three suppositions are supported, two are unsupported, and two are neither supported nor unsupported. The final section of the study offers implications for U.S. energy policy and scholarship.     

Vibrational energy loss analysis in battery tab ultrasonic welding

In ultrasonic metal welding processes, high-frequency ultrasonic energy is used to generate friction and heat at the interface between weld parts to produce solid-state bonds. It has been observed that sufficient energy is required to produce proper bonding, while excessive energy can cause such quality issues as weld fracture and perforation. Therefore, it is important to have a product/process design in ultrasonic welding to ensure efficient energy conversion from ultrasonics to welding energy, minimizing energy loss in the process. In this work, vibrational energy loss associated with the longitudinal and flexural vibrations of the Cu coupon during ultrasonic welding is studied by applying one-dimensional continuous vibration models. To facilitate our modeling, experimental results from the free response of Cu coupon were obtained to determine the damping characteristics of the Cu coupon in the welding process. Our analysis shows that substantial energy loss can occur during welding due to the flexural vibration of the Cu coupon, especially when the overhang (the upper part of the Cu coupon extended from the anvil) of the Cu coupon resonates at or close to the welding frequency (about 20 kHz), degrading the weld quality of battery tabs. This study contributes to understanding the fundamental dynamics of the Cu coupon during ultrasonic welding and its impact on weld quality.     

国内首个MW级分布式能源系统烟囱合理性分析

介绍了分布式能源系统的构成、运行特点及技术发展情况,研究了国内首个MW级分布式供能系统工程的烟囱高度和形式,预测和分析了项目大气污染物对环境的影响,证明了该项目烟囱选择的合理性,为下阶段国内分布式能源系统烟囱选型奠定技术基础。     

谈环境监察对节能减排的促进作用

环境监察是直接而具体的环境保护行为,是国家环保部门进行监督、强性执法的方式,是对环境进行有效监督的方法。环境监察需要执法部门现场进行监督与处理。具有直接性、强制性。大多分为事前、事中与事后监察。环境监察范围主要是对乱排放污染物,对生态造成破坏的单位或个人及时进行检查、处理。有些情况下,需要进行强制性执法。     

工业水处理中节能优化控制的研究

工业水的处理一直以来都是环境工程当中十分重要的一个环节,而要做好这一环节就需要针对其中存在的问题进行科学合理的优化控制过程,本文从这一点出发,提出工业水处理过程中相关的工作内容。     

Metabolic uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide addition for sludge reduction and fouling control in a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor

• Effects of metabolic uncoupler TCS on the performances of GDMBR were evaluated. • Sludge EPS reduced and transformed into dissolved SMP when TCS was added. • Appropriate TCS increased the permeability and reduced cake layer fouling. • High dosage aggravated fouling due to compact cake layer with low bio-activity. The gravity-driven membrane bioreactor (MBR)system is promising for decentralized sewage treatment because of its low energy consumption and maintenance requirements. However, the growing sludge not only increases membrane fouling, but also augments operational complexities (sludge discharge). We added the metabolic uncoupler 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) to the system to deal with the mentioned issues. Based on the results, TCS addition effectively decreased sludge ATP and sludge yield (reduced by 50%). Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS; proteins and polysaccharides) decreased with the addition of TCS and were transformed into dissolved soluble microbial products (SMPs) in the bulk solution, leading to the break of sludge flocs into small fragments. Permeability was increased by more than two times, reaching 60–70 L/m²/h bar when 10–30 mg/L TCS were added, because of the reduced suspended sludge and the formation of a thin cake layer with low EPS levels. Resistance analyses confirmed that appropriate dosages of TCS primarily decreased the cake layer and hydraulically reversible resistances. Permeability decreased at high dosage (50 mg/L) due to the release of excess sludge fragments and SMP into the supernatant, with a thin but more compact fouling layer with low bioactivity developing on the membrane surface, causing higher cake layer and pore blocking resistances. Our study provides a fundamental understanding of how a metabolic uncoupler affects the sludge and bio-fouling layers at different dosages, with practical relevance for in situ sludge reduction and membrane fouling alleviation in MBR systems.