Diesel-Like Biofuels Production Using Fatty Waste

According to the waste-to-energy (WTE) valorization and circular economy principles, the use of waste oil and grease (WOG) for obtaining biofuels shows the tendency towards sustainability, makes the interest in green chemistry, and the development of environmentally friendly processes grow. Three different fatty wastes (from the fat trap of a sewage station, lard waste, and frying oil) were analyzed and this work showed they have no potentially toxic metals. The frying oil sample and residual lard waste showed a higher percentage of triacylglycerides resulting in higher biodiesel conversion. The samples showed physical and chemical properties (density, viscosity, and ash) within the limits established by current regulations. Bio-oil samples formed a mixture of carboxylic acids, with high acidity. However, the parameters that deviated from the maximum permitted by the standard could be adjusted blending with petroleum diesel, replacing partially the fossil energy carriers with biomass-derived energy carriers which could bring positive impacts from multiple perspectives, i.e., economic, environmental, and health.

Progress in Mo/W-based electrocatalysts for nitrogen reduction to ammonia under ambient conditions

Ammonia (NH3), possessing high hydrogen content and energy density, has been widely employed as fertilizers and value-added chemicals in green energy carriers and fuels. However, the current NH3 synthesis largely...

Ammonia and Methanol as Energy Carriers Towards 2060 The Long-Term Plan Strategy: A Comparative Perspective of China and Indonesia Cases

The objective of this paper was to review China’s long-term carbon neutral 2060 policy and to compare with Indonesia’s case in term of energy carriers such as Ammonia and Methanol. Topics regarding China and Indonesia's long-term carbon neutral 2060 policy and strategy are important to be discussed because it will open up issues related to the role of primary energy, chemical-energy nexus and the blue energy economy supported by technology innovation, and political will. The energy-chemical nexus on the background of the Ammonia & Methanol industries are the largest sources of CO2 emissions in China, so it will contribute significantly to emission reductions from the energy transition to carbon neutral energy. From the efforts made by China, it can provide information and considerations to Indonesian policy makers and researchers on their efforts regarding resource management optimization to reconcile the tradeoffs on resources protection and development of socioeconomic as well as to ensure a sustainable system.ABSTRAKTujuan dari makalah ini adalah untuk meninjau kebijakan netral karbon jangka panjang Tiongkok 2060 dan membandingkan dengan kasus Indonesia dalam hal pembawa energi seperti Amoniak dan Metanol. Topik mengenai kebijakan dan strategi jangka panjang karbon netral 2060 Tiongkok dan Indonesia penting untuk dibahas karena akan mengangkat isu terkait peran energi primer, perhubungan energi kimia dan ekonomi energi biru yang didukung oleh inovasi teknologi, dan kemauan politik. Hubungan energi-kimia di latarbelakangi industri Amoniak & Metanol adalah sumber emisi CO2 terbesar di Tiongkok, sehingga akan berkontribusi signifikan terhadap pengurangan emisi dari transisi energi ke energi netral karbon. Dari upaya yang dilakukan oleh Tiongkok, dapat memberikan informasi dan pertimbangan kepada pembuat kebijakan dan peneliti Indonesia tentang upaya mereka mengenai optimalisasi pengelolaan sumber daya untuk mempertemukan timbal balik perlindungan sumber daya dan pengembangan sosial ekonomi serta untuk memastikan sistem yang berkelanjutan.

Technical and Economic Analysis of Low-Emissions Modernization of Existing Heating Plants in Poland

An analysis is performed with regards to technologically outdated heating plants operating in many areas where fossil fuels such as coal and gas are utilized, in order to consider the alternatives of their modernization. By application of a chart using a variety of alternatives, the economic feasibility of executing two types of modernization of heating plants are explored: a single-fuel gas–steam CHP plant and a coal-fired heating plant to a coal-fired CHP plant with a condensing turbine. This study demonstrates how the selection of modernization technology is affected, in terms of profitability, by the value and variability in time of the price relationships between energy carriers, rapidly growing charges related to CO2 emission allowances, and costs depending on other pollutant emissions that originate from the operation of electricity and heat sources powered by fossil fuels. In both technical cases of modernization, lower prices of energy carriers coupled with CO2 emissions allowances lead to higher prices of electricity that can be sold as additional products following this modernization, and consequently, the specific cost of heat production in the repowered heat sources is lowered. The calculations were performed by the application of models of heating plant modernization applying continuous time notations, which offer the determination of the most suitable time of initiation of this modernization. Such relationships would be difficult to describe in the case of the use of traditional discrete models. In the case of a simultaneous increase in the prices of all main factors affecting the cost of heat generation, such as the price of gas, electricity and CO2 emissions, the fastest modernization of the heating plant to single-fuel gas–steam CHP provides the possibility of the best economic performance.

The effect of weighting factors on income-related energy inequalities: The case of Sweden’s new building code

To ensure building construction with low heating demand, efficient use of sustainable energy carriers, and neutrality between heating technologies, Sweden recently introduced weighting factors (WFs) for different energy carriers which are now used in Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). As EPC ratings are gaining increased influence in Swedish energy policy and regulation, with recent examples of buildings’ EPC rating acting as base for imperative regulatory requirements, the introduction of WFs is likely to have significant effects on how policy and regulations are distributed in the multifamily building stock. As residents often are directly or indirectly affected by policy that either impose or trigger measures to be undertaken in their building, the aim of this paper is to analyse how WFs affect the assessed energy performance of buildings in different resident income groups. The results show that overall, reduced energy performance from WFs was more common in high-income areas than in low-income areas. However, although the total number of buildings in the lowest EPC ratings was reduced after introducing WFs, the resulting income distribution among worst-performing buildings was more skewed towards low-income households than before introducing WFs. As imperative regulatory requirements previously have targeted worst-performing buildings, these results indicate that energy-related inequalities in the housing stock have become more prominent and should be considered as to not disproportionately burden low-income residents in the energy transition of the housing stock.

Electric Vehicles That Extract Heat from the Air Without Charging: Entropy Law Does Not Prohibit This

Electromobiles protect the biosphere in places of human residence. Globally, they destroy it, as the electrical energy they consumed is extracted using "dirty" energy carriers. This article suggests learning the electromobiles to generate electrical energy in eco-friendly way, extracting heat from the air. Specifically, we suggest to equip the electromobiles with the Or lov and etc. installation, which schematically is a converging tube where the air flow is by itself accelerated and, according to the Bernoulli equation, is cooled; and its narrow end contains the electrical energy generating turbine. The problem is that the Orlovand etc. installation is prohibited by the entropy increase law due to the flow entropy decrease during its operation. However, it is important that actually in this case the Clausius entropy, i.e. thermal entropy, decreases. The thermal and total entropy increase laws are different laws that separately require verification. Planck, Fermi et al. indicatedthe cases of total conversion of heat into other forms of energy accompanied by thermal en- tropy decrease. These cases, proving invalidity of the thermal entropy increase law, admit transition to electromobiles with air heat trac- tion. As well as transition of water transport to ship's electric engines with water heat traction.

Negative CO2 Emissions from Flexible Biofuel Synthesis: Concepts, Potentials, Technologies

This review reports the available technologies for the flexible utilization of biomass towards negative CO2 emissions and addresses the possibility to couple biogas production plants with the electrical grid converting excess electrical energy into storable chemical molecules. This changed mind-set towards biomass utilization can lead readily to the implementation of negative CO2 emission along the entire bioenergy supply chain without limiting the potential for Power-to-X applications. First, the technologies for direct conversion of waste and wood into gaseous energy carriers are screened, to highlight the potential for the production of renewable fuels. Second, the processes for the removal of CO2 from biogenic gas streams are analysed in terms of technological performance, cost and further potential for the CO2 recovered. These technologies are the key to pre-combustion CO2 capture and negative emissions. Third, the possibility of coupling biomass conversion and synthetic fuels production is explored, providing an overview on the technical maturity of the various energy storage processes. The flexible use of biomass can be an essential part of the future CO2-free energy systems, as it can directly provide energy carriers all around the year and also large quantities of climate-neutral carbon for the production of synthetic fuels with renewable energy. In turn, when no additional renewable electricity is available, the CO2 by-product from biofuel synthesis can be used for the negative emissions. This opens the way to an efficient strategy for the seasonal storage of electrical energy, realizing a carbon-neutral energy system coupled with the development of carbon-negative energy strategy.

ESTIMATES OF SOCIAL MINIMUM BASKETS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2021

The article presents values of social minimum baskets for the first quarter of 2021. The presented estimates take into account the needs as foreseen in the model under normal conditions of social life – the new circumstances of COVID-19 are not taken into account. There is lack of research data on changes in household consumption in 2020. If there will be a need to change assumptions in the model, the values of social minimum can be recalculated in the future. The first quarter of 2021 has brought quite marked increases in basket values. Compared to the previous survey from Q4 2020, the social minimum increased by 2.4% in the household of a single person and by 2.1% in a 4-person household with two children. Inflation rose by a similar amount (2.1%) over the period. Among the groups of needs with the highest share in the social minimum, the value of food items increased from 2.6% to 2.7%, with the price index in this group at a similar level (2.5%). Expenditure on housing maintenance and energy carriers increased significantly: from 2.3% in 5-person households to 2.7% in 1-person households. The dynamics of these expenditures in the social minimum was lower than the value of the CPI index (3.6%) in this group.