Suchergebnisse

Globally buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of the total world annual energy consumption. Most of this energy is for the provision of lighting, heating, cooling and air conditioning. An increase in awareness of the environmental impact of CO2, NOx and CFCs emissions triggered a renewed interest in environmentally friendly cooling and heating technologies. Under the 1997 Montreal Protocol, governments agreed to phase out chemicals used as refrigerants that have the potential to destroy stratospheric ozone. An approach isneeded to integrate renewable energies in a way to achieve high building performance standards. However, because renewable energy sources are stochastic and geographically diffuse, their ability to match demand is determined by the adoption of one of the following two approaches: the utilisation of a capture area greater than that occupied by the community to be supplied, or the reduction of the community's energy demands to a level commensurate with the locally available renewable resources. Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems (also referred to as geothermal heat pump systems, earth-energy systems and GeoExchange systems) have received considerable attention in recent decades as an alternative energy source for residential and commercial space heating and cooling applications. The GSHP applications are one of three categories of geothermal energy resources as defined by ASHRAE and include high-temperature (>150°C) for electric power production, intermediate temperature (<150°C) for direct-use applications and GSHP applications (generally (<32°C). The GSHP applications are distinguished from the others by the fact that they operate at relatively low temperatures.

Legislation influence and raising environmental awareness lead to significant growth in demand for zero emission buses [1]. Among the newly registered eco-friendly public transportation vehicles the electric buses have the largest market share. Public Transport Operators are looking for the vehicles being able to meet the transportation system requirements with the lowest possible cost of ownership. Batteries used in the electric buses are the most expensive component both in terms of buying and their replacement. In order to maximize the battery lifespan it is crucial to maintain the proper temperature of the electrochemical cells. The crucial part responsible for transfering the heat between cells and the coolant is a heat exchanger. The standard method applied for a cold plate design is to use metal alloys, however due to research it may be not the most advantageous solution. Based on the research works conducted by Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., the specific polymers being able to replace metal alloys for heat exchangers purposes were selected. In this paper the authors will present the results of study allowing the usage of polymer materials for lightweight and cost-effective cold plates.

International audience ; Livestock agriculture dominated by pig rearing is responsible for the production large volumes of wastes. Across the European Union there are over 151 million pigs that produce 300 million tonnes of slurry annually. Furthermore, intensive production linked to certain regions, leads to zones of nutrient excess where available land for land spreading is insufficient. However, even if the environmental problems that affect these zones have been long recognised and largely dealt with, the concern now lies equally with sanitary aspects. Questions are now asked on the relationship between land spreading of animal manures and the faecal contamination of groundwater (and sometimes bathing water) and the outbreaks of specific disease or general ill health. Over 150 zoonoses have been isolated from livestock slurries with a variable prevalence, but often not negligible. These include the bacteria Campylobacter sp, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella sp ; the viruses enterovirus and hepatitus E; the protozoa Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia ; and the helminths Ascaris suum and Taenia solium (Levasseur, 2007). Pathogens are today considered to be a rising barrier to recycling manures to land for crop nutrition. Furthermore, within the context of a growing demand of water quality for domestic use, it is becoming necessary (a) to find methods for sanitisation that are economically acceptable, (b) to establish effective regulations and (c) to establish and manage the hygienic risks. Within these definitions, the work presented here is set out to establish the effectiveness of sanitation of continuous thermal treatments based on the use of heat exchangers. The specific germs studied were the classic indicators (E. coli and enterococci), coliforms, aero-anaerobic flora and the bacteriophages F+ specific and somatic.

Nowadays renewable energy resources for heating/cooling residential and tertiary buildings and agricultural greenhouses are becoming increasingly important. In this framework, a possible, natural and valid alternative for thermal energy supply is represented by soils. In fact, since 1980 soils have been studied and used also as heat reservoir in geothermal applications, acting as a heat source (in winter) or sink (in summer) coupled mainly with heat pumps. Therefore, it is worthy of interest a better comprehension of how the different soil typologies (i.e. sand, loamy sand.) affect and are affected by the heat transfer exchange with heat collectors, especially when horizontal ones (very shallow geothermal installations) are adopted. In this study the preliminary results of ITER Project (http://iter-geo.eu/), funded by European Union, are shown. An overview of physical-thermal properties variations under different moisture and load conditions for different mixtures of natural material is presented, based on laboratory and field test data. ; Abstract Book of Abstracts, General Assembly of the Marie Curie Alumni Association, 24-25.03.2017, Salamanca, Spain, 61, ISBN: 978-2-9601724-3-0, EAN Code: 9782960172430

In the near future the population living in urban areas is expected to increase. This worldwide trend will lead to a high concentrations of infrastructures and human beings in confined areas, whose impact on land use and shallow subsurface must be well evaluated. Since shallow geothermal energy resource is becoming increasingly important as renewable energy resource, due to its huge potential in providing thermal energy for residential and tertiary buildings and in contributing to reduce greenhouse gas emission, the number of installed geothermal systems is expected to continue to rise in the near future. However, a leading question concerns the short and long-term effect of an intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface for heat generation, cooling and thermal energy storage. From an environmental and technical point of view, changes on ground temperatures can influence the physical-thermal properties of soil and groundwater as well as their chemical and biological features. In this study the preliminary results of ITER Project are presented. This project, funded by European Union, focuses on improving heat transfer efficiency of very shallow geothermal systems, as horizontal collector systems or special forms (i.e. helix system), interesting the first 2 m of depth from ground level. Main aim is to improve our knowledge of heat transfer process in the soil body in order (i) to create thermally enhanced backfilling material (TEBM) able to enhance the heat transfer of the ground surrounding the horizontal pipes; (ii) to assess the performance and the environmental impacts of new promising technological solutions; (iii) to monitor the results over time through direct measurements and numerical simulation, in order to understand the heat pollution effect in the surrounding environment. Moreover, projects and ideas challenging a better performance of shallow geothermal plants as those promoted by ITER are expected to support the European economic growth and technological excellence, boosting competitiveness and ...