Community involvement in a low cost biogas plant in an Andean region.

The aim of the present paper is the investigation of suitable technological solutions in the field of renewable energies addressed to a developing country environment, where the lack of resources and means is a not negligible issue.The study focuses on the development of biogas low-cost plants located in the Andean region of Apurimac.A direct social impact on the community has been evaluated considering the working time and burden saving for women and children, belonging the biogas digester to a list of “gender technologies”[1, Nelson, Huver], recognized as technology helping the improvement of women social and family status

Battery energy storage systems for ancillary services in Renewable energy communities

This document presents a study on the use of battery energy storage systems in a proposed renewable energy community in Savona, UNIGE Campus. The study compares the outcomes of cooperative approaches with and without flexibility services to a scenario where users do not cooperate. The study concludes that storage systems of relevant size can create new flexible instruments for the power grid and a powerful tool for citizens, which could make the investment into BESS financially viable. The study also suggests that greater transparency and information on hourly energy sales and purchase prices would facilitate awareness among community members and at the same time stimulate discussion of alternative technologies such as batteries to cover the most expensive nighttime periods for users. Overall, the study highlights the potential of battery systems in renewable energy communities in Italy and provides insights into the importance of coupling flexible services with capacity-building activities and awareness campaigns to promote demand-side-response activities and storage technologies

Analisi sperimentale di un prototipo per la produzione di energia dal moto ondoso e suoi possibili scenari futuri

L\u2019attuale scenario energetico globale richiede una costante attenzione verso nuove risorse che possano sostituire le classiche fonti fossili. Allo stesso tempo \ue8 difficile prevedere in quale settore si potranno affermare le tecnologie del futuro, capaci di avere buoni rendimenti di conversione e ampia disponibilit\ue0 di risorsa primaria. Un settore che genera pertanto un forte interesse \ue8 quello riferito alla conversione energetica dal moto ondoso. La ricerca in questo ambito si spende da anni per identificare le soluzioni pi\uf9 promettenti capaci di essere robuste, replicabili e a basso costo. Ad oggi nessuna tecnologia si \ue8 dimostrata significativamente migliore delle altre, pertanto, numerosi enti si cimentano nella realizzazione del proprio dispositivo. Oggetto di questa tesi \ue8 quindi una dettagliata analisi del sistema di conversione dal moto ondoso sviluppato dal Thermochemical Power Group del Dipartimento DIME dell\u2019Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Genova, il Seaspoon. Tale dispositivo ha subito negli anni numerose modifiche giustificate da svariate attivit\ue0 sperimentali e di simulazione. La tesi affronter\ue0 quindi i principali passi che hanno portato alla definizione dei primi prototipi in scala, per poi arrivare allo sviluppo del Seaspoon installato in mare aperto nel 2015. In conclusione, verr\ue0 descritto il progetto Sea Wham che ha portato alla progettazione e alla realizzazione di un\u2019innovativa facility per la generazione di onde, il Wave Lab, e allo sviluppo dell\u2019ultimo concept di Seaspoon

Sviluppo e analisi di un dispositivo per la conversione energetica dal moto ondoso

This document describes an innovative wave energy converter for offshore applications. The Seaspoon device, designed as a large-size energy harvester, catches the kinetic energy of water orbital motions in ocean waves with promising conversion efficiency and robust technology, adaptable to different sea states. Most of the existing devices operate in on-shore condition. This makes the Seaspoon very adaptable and suitable for mobile installations. In addition, the localized energy production becomes very interesting for several research or commercial activities, in which the energy supply issue is a crucial aspect. Some prominent applications are meteorological or sea state monitoring, aquaculture activities, off-shore charging stations, power supply for different sensor types, etc. In the following paper, an initial overview of open-sea test facilities for wave energy conversion is presented, after that the paper treats Seaspoon technology: the design and installation phases of the first full scale prototype installed in the Gulf of Genoa, together with the monitored data from the open sea test campaign. Experimental results demonstrated the Seaspoon self-orienting behavior as well as its capability to efficiently harvest energy from sea states lower than the designed one

Micro-turbine applied to seismology: towards a power supply safe from lightning

The present work aims to suggest an innovative solution for seismic monitoring stations’ endurance. These stations are characterized by many different problems, such as lightning vulnerability, energy independence and noises disturbance. The suggested technology, for this type of application, is an improved bladeless turbo-expander patented by Nikola Tesla in the early 20th century, the Tesla turbine

Battery energy storage systems for ancillary services in Renewable energy communities

This document presents a study on the use of battery energy storage systems in a proposed renewable energy community in Savona, UNIGE Campus. The study compares the outcomes of cooperative approaches with and without flexibility services to a scenario where users do not cooperate. The study concludes that storage systems of relevant size can create new flexible instruments for the power grid and a powerful tool for citizens, which could make the investment into BESS financially viable. The study also suggests that greater transparency and information on hourly energy sales and purchase prices would facilitate awareness among community members and at the same time stimulate discussion of alternative technologies such as batteries to cover the most expensive nighttime periods for users. Overall, the study highlights the potential of battery systems in renewable energy communities in Italy and provides insights into the importance of coupling flexible services with capacity-building activities and awareness campaigns to promote demand-side-response activities and storage technologies

Severe asthma: One disease and multiple definitions

Introduction There is, so far, no universal definition of severe asthma. This definition usually relies on: number of exacerbations, inhaled therapy, need for oral corticosteroids, and respiratory function. The use of such parameters varies in the different definitions used. Thus, according to the parameters chosen, each patient may result in having severe asthma or not. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the choice of a specific definition of severe asthma can change the allocation of patients. Methods Data collected from the Severe Asthma Network Italy (SANI) registry were analyzed. All the patients included were then reclassified according to the definitions of U-BIOPRED, NICE, WHO, ATS/ERS, GINA, ENFUMOSA, and TENOR. Results 540 patients, were extracted from the SANI database. We observed that 462 (86%) met the ATS/ERS criteria as well as the GINA criteria, 259 (48%) the U-Biopred, 222 (41%) the NICE, 125 (23%) the WHO, 313 (58%) the Enfumosa, and 251 (46%) the TENOR criteria. The mean eosinophil value were similar in the ATS/ERS, U-Biopred, and Enfumosa (528, 532 and 516 cells/mcl), higher in WHO and Tenor (567 and 570 cells/mcl) and much higher in the NICE classification (624 cells/mcl). Lung function tests resulted similarly in all groups, with WHO (67%) and ATS/ERS-GINA (73%), respectively, showing the lower and upper mean FEV1 values. Conclusions The present observations clearly evidence the heterogeneity in the distribution of patients when different definitions of severe asthma are used. However, the recent definition of severe asthma, provided by the GINA document, is similar to that indicated in 2014 by ATS/ERS, allowing mirror reclassification of the patients examined. This lack of homogeneity could complicate the access to biological therapies. The definition provided by the GINA document, which reflects what suggested by ATS/ERS, could partially overcome the problem