Potential applications using LNG cold energy in Sicily

According to previsions, natural gas could be the main energy source worldwide, inducing relevant geopolitical changes. Most likely, such problems will be solved with the development of a gas transportation mode alternative to traditional pipelines: liquefied natural gas (LNG). The global LNG trade has increased rapidly during recent years. A significant amount of energy is consumed to produce low-temperature LNG, which has plenty of cryogenic exergy/ energy. Therefore, the effective utilization of the cryogenic energy associated with LNG vaporization is very important. Sicily, with more than five million inhabitants, is the second biggest region of Italy and in this region will be realized two of the 11 gasification plants planned in Italy according to the regional energy master-plan. This paper shows some interesting applications for the cold produced in gasification plants, e.g. for seawater desalination and for fresh and frozen food production and conservation. These applications seem very interesting for Sicilian situation and also can contribute to energy saving and greenhouse gases reduction to match Kyoto Protocol targets.According to previsions, natural gas could be the main energy source worldwide, inducing relevant geopolitical changes. Most likely, such problems will be solved with the development of a gas transportation mode alternative to traditional pipelines: liquefied natural gas (LNG). The global LNG trade has increased rapidly during recent years. A significant amount of energy is consumed to produce low-temperature LNG, which has plenty of cryogenic exergy/ energy. Therefore, the effective utilization of the cryogenic energy associated with LNG vaporization is very important. Sicily, with more than five million inhabitants, is the second biggest region of Italy and in this region will be realized two of the 11 gasification plants planned in Italy according to the regional energy master-plan. This paper shows some interesting applications for the cold produced in gasification plants, e.g. for seawater desalination and for fresh and frozen food production and conservation. These applications seem very interesting for Sicilian situation and also can contribute to energy saving and greenhouse gases reduction to match Kyoto Protocol targets. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

An experimental study of a refrigerating plant when replacing R22 with HFCs refrigerants

This paper presents the results of an experimental analysis comparing the performance of a vapour compression refrigerating unit operating with R22, and its performance in comparison to some HFCs fluids, substituting the former according to reg. n. 2037/2000. In particular, the plant working efficiency was first tested with R22 and then with three HFC fluids: R417A, R407C and R404A. The investigation verified that the performance with HFCs refrigerants did not result as efficient as when using R22. An environmental analysis also was performed

Characterization of cooling loads in the wine industry and novel seasonal indicator for reliable assessment of energy saving through retrofit of chillers

The food sector is a major consumer of energy and growing efforts are being made in the search for solutions that will guarantee the efficient and sustainable use of energy resources. Among the different sectors, wineries are attracting particular interest due to the continuous growth of the global market and production. Surveys conducted in the winemaking sector have highlighted the importance of performing accurate energy audits and have identified the installation of efficient refrigeration systems as a promising solution in a variety of cases. Unfortunately, the savings achievable by efficient cooling technologies are often estimated using simplified approaches which do not take into consideration the actual operating conditions of the equipment typically variable on seasonal and daily bases. In this paper a novel bottom-up procedure is presented, aimed at developing reliable profiles for refrigeration and air-conditioning loads and at assessing the extent to which more efficient chilling units could contribute to reducing electricity consumption. The use of standard Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratios is critically discussed and a novel customized indicator is proposed. The method is applied to a medium-scale winery producing still red and white wines and sparkling wines, for which only aggregated energy consumption data are available. After deriving detailed load profiles, it is proven that the use of standard seasonal indicators leads to 56.85% and 83.87% overestimation of potential energy savings, respectively, for low and medium temperature cooling energy uses, confirming the importance of adopting seasonal indicators customized on the actual operating conditions of chillers

L'applicazione della Direttiva ErP presso le piccole e medie imprese: punti di forza e criticità

La Direttiva ErP sulla progettazione ecocompatibile dei prodotti connessi all’energia richiede che le imprese applichino dei criteri di eco-design orientati alla riduzione degli impatti energetico-ambientali lungo tutte le fasi del ciclo di vita dei loro prodotti. In tale contesto la Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) rappresenta uno strumento di fondamentale importanza per individuare le “key issues” energetico-ambientali connesse ai processi produttivi. L’articolo presenta i risultati di una LCA applicata ad una caldaia a biomassa prodotta in Sicilia, evidenziando i punti di forza e le criticità connessi all’attuazione della Direttiva da parte delle piccole e medie imprese

Use of HFC fluids as suitable replacements in low-temperature refrigeration plants

An experimental investigation of the performance of a low-temperature refrigerating unit working with R22 and a comparison of its performance when operating with replacement HFC fluids in accordance with the European Regulation CE-1005/2009 are presented in this paper. Plant working efficiency was tested with R22, as baseline, and then compared with four different HFC fluids: R413A, R417A, R422A and R422D. The refrigerating unit was a vapour-compression plant equipped with a reciprocating double-cylinder compressor able to keep the cold room at -20ºC. Lower values of the temperature at the end of compression and polytrophic exponent can be achieved with the HFC tested. Substituting the R22 led to refrigerating plant to underperform. The COP was lower for all the replacement fluids showing inferior energy efficiency and higher energy consumption. The TEWI parameter was also evaluated and compared for all the fluids tested in the present investigation, suggesting TEWI increments substituting the original fluid

Design di edifici a energia netta zero alla luce della Direttiva Europea 2010/31/CE (EPBD recast) sulla prestazione energetica nell'edilizia [GU europea del 18 giugno 2010 (L 153)]

Il presente lavoro descrive dettagliatamente gli studi e le attività svolte in seno al progetto di ricerca “Design di edifici a energia netta zero alla luce della direttiva europea 2010/31/CE (EPBD Recast) sulla prestazione energetica nell’edilizia GU Europea del 18 giugno 2010 (L153)”. L’attività di approfondimento sull’edificio oggetto di studio, la Leaf House, è stata svolta nell’ambito dei diversi filoni di ricerca di seguito elencati: 1. Analisi dei dati dell’edificio esistente, 2. Redesign dell’edificio esistente, 3. Embodied energy dell’edificio esistente. 4. Partecipazione a gruppi di lavoro internazionali in seno alla task 40 dell’IEA. Gli indicatori sviluppati nel corso dei lavori della Task 40 sono stati applicati al caso studio Leaf House, dimostrandone l’efficacia nell’identificare e descrivere il problema del mismatch. L’approfondimento nell’ambito del redesign dell’edificio ha permesso di stimare dei consistenti risparmi di energia elettrica qualora le soluzioni impiantistiche e tecnologiche venissero implementate. L’analisi LCA ha consentito di stimare l’embodied Energy del sistema edificio-impianto. Saranno presentati nel seguito i risultati di ogni filone di ricerca e le attività svolte e in corso di svolgimento nell’ambito della collaborazione con la task 40 dell’IEA

Modelling heat transfer-controlled cooling and freezing times: A comparison between computational values and experimental results

Modelling of heat transfer-controlled cooling and freezing time predictions are very important for a good preservation of foodstuffs. In that regard, we used a computer code based on the finite-element method that allowed us to analyse the phase-change of various foodstuffs during their freezing. The model was exercised to predict process times. The results can be used to design high efficiency plants. In this work, the results predicted by the FEM program are compared with the experimental values given in technical literature

Many Labs 5:Testing pre-data collection peer review as an intervention to increase replicability

Replication studies in psychological science sometimes fail to reproduce prior findings. If these studies use methods that are unfaithful to the original study or ineffective in eliciting the phenomenon of interest, then a failure to replicate may be a failure of the protocol rather than a challenge to the original finding. Formal pre-data-collection peer review by experts may address shortcomings and increase replicability rates. We selected 10 replication studies from the Reproducibility Project: Psychology (RP:P; Open Science Collaboration, 2015) for which the original authors had expressed concerns about the replication designs before data collection; only one of these studies had yielded a statistically significant effect (p < .05). Commenters suggested that lack of adherence to expert review and low-powered tests were the reasons that most of these RP:P studies failed to replicate the original effects. We revised the replication protocols and received formal peer review prior to conducting new replication studies. We administered the RP:P and revised protocols in multiple laboratories (median number of laboratories per original study = 6.5, range = 3?9; median total sample = 1,279.5, range = 276?3,512) for high-powered tests of each original finding with both protocols. Overall, following the preregistered analysis plan, we found that the revised protocols produced effect sizes similar to those of the RP:P protocols (?r = .002 or .014, depending on analytic approach). The median effect size for the revised protocols (r = .05) was similar to that of the RP:P protocols (r = .04) and the original RP:P replications (r = .11), and smaller than that of the original studies (r = .37). Analysis of the cumulative evidence across the original studies and the corresponding three replication attempts provided very precise estimates of the 10 tested effects and indicated that their effect sizes (median r = .07, range = .00?.15) were 78% smaller, on average, than the original effect sizes (median r = .37, range = .19?.50)