68 research outputs found
Understanding the Bigger Energy Picture: DESERTEC and Beyond
This book focuses on the global cycles of energy, water and carbon, which are not only the essentials of our main energy carriers, the fossil fuels, but are also the building blocks of life. The book offers an overview of the basic scientific facts and relationships that are needed to understand today’s energy generation and use, how they relate to global climate, the water cycle and other resources, and the complexities of energy policy. Building on the work of the Desertec project, it presents the main technological options that we will have in a world after the “Energiewende” and presents the possible future solutions for a sustainable world. The book is written in an engaging, descriptive style that can be understood by those without specific knowledge of science or economics and allows readers to form their own conclusions. Controversy rages over energy problems, climate change and their possible solutions. Expressions like “climate deniers”, “renaissance of nuclear energy”, “stop the war on coal”, and “Energiewende now” represent a diversity of opinions that divide our society and political leaders. This book shows the reader the whole energy picture and how it is part of the wider global problems of overpopulation and uncontrolled economies in a world of limited resources
Understanding the Bigger Energy Picture: DESERTEC and Beyond
climate change; renewable energy; sustainable development; water; water-energy-carbon nexu
Polarized lepton nucleon scattering - summary of the experimental spin sessions at DIS 99
This paper summarizes the contributions to the experimental sessions on
polarized lepton nucleon scattering at the DIS 99 workshop. Results are
reported about the flavor decomposition of the quark polarization, a first
direct measurement of a positive gluon polarization, the observation of a
double-spin asymmetry in diffractive rho production, the polarization of lambda
hyperons, the observation of transverse single-spin asymmetries and the
measurement of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule. Prospects of future fixed
target and collider facilities are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Proc. of the 7th Int. Workshop on Deep Inelastic
Scattering and QCD (DIS99), Zeuthen, Germany, April 19-23, 1999, to appear in
Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.
Import options for chemical energy carriers from renewable sources to Germany
Import and export of fossil energy carriers are cornerstones of energy
systems world-wide. If energy systems are to become climate neutral and
sustainable, fossil carriers need to be substituted with carbon neutral
alternatives or electrified if possible. We investigate synthetic chemical
energy carriers, hydrogen, methane, methanol, ammonia and Fischer-Tropsch
fuels, produced using electricity from renewable energy sourceses as fossil
substitutes. Renewable energy sourceses potentials are obtained from
GIS-analysis and hourly resolved time-series are derived using reanalysis
weather data. We model the sourcing of feedstock chemicals, synthesis and
transport along nine different energy supply chains to Germany. and compare
import options for seven locations around the world against each other and with
domestically sourced alternatives on the basis of their respective cost per
unit of hydrogen and energy delivered. We find that for each type of chemical
energy carrier an import option with lower costs compared to domestic
production in Germany exists. The lowest cost import options for energy and
hydrogen are by hydrogen pipeline from Denmark, Spain and Western Asia and
North Africa at 40.6 to 46.8 EUR per MWh (LHV) (1.4 to 1.6 EUR per kg H2) in
2050 assuming 5% p.a. capital cost. For complex energy carriers like methane,
ammonia, methanol or Fischer-Tropsch fuel, imports from Argentina by ship to
Germany are attractive even compared to closer European Union or Western Asia
and North Africa exporters. For meeting hydrogen demand, direct hydrogen
imports are more attractive than indirect routes using methane, methanol or
ammoniaimports and subsequent decomposition to hydrogen because of high capital
investment costs and energetic losses of the indirect routes. We make our model
and data available under open licenses for adaptation and reuse
Import options for chemical energy carriers from renewable sources to Germany
Import and export of fossil energy carriers are cornerstones of energy systems world-wide. If energy systems are to become climate neutral and sustainable, fossil carriers need to be substituted with carbon neutral alternatives or electrified if possible. We investigate synthetic chemical energy carriers, H2, CH4, MeOH, NH3 and Fischer-Tropsch fuels (FTF), produced using electricity from RES as fossil substitutes. [...] We model the sourcing of feedstock chemicals, synthesis and transport along nine different Energy Supply Chains to Germany (DE) and compare import options for seven locations around the world against each other and with domestically sourced alternatives on the basis of their respective cost per unit of H2 and energy delivered. We find that for each type of chemical energy carrier, there is an import option with lower costs compared to domestic production in DE. No single exporting country or energy carrier has a unique cost advantage, since for each energy carrier and country there are cost-competitive alternatives. This allows exporter and infrastructure decisions to be made based on other criteria than energy and cost. The lowest cost means for importing of energy and H2 are by H2 pipeline from Denmark, Spain and Western Asia and Northern Africa starting at 36 EUR/MWh to 42 EUR/MWh or 1.0 EUR/kg to 1.3 EUR/kg (in 2050, assuming 5 % p.a. capital cost). For complex energy carriers derived from H2 like CH4, NH3, MeOH or FTF, imports from Argentina by ship to DE are lower cost than closer exporters in the European Union or Western Asia and Northern Africa. For meeting H2 demand, direct H2 imports are more attractive than indirect routes using CH4, MeOH or NH3 imports and subsequent decomposition to H2 because of high capital investment costs and energetic losses. We make our model and data available under open licenses for adaptation and reuse
Environmental sustainability in basic research:a perspective from HECAP+
The climate crisis and the degradation of the world's ecosystems require humanity to take immediate action. The international scientific community has a responsibility to limit the negative environmental impacts of basic research. The HECAP+ communities (High Energy Physics, Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics, and Hadron and Nuclear Physics) make use of common and similar experimental infrastructure, such as accelerators and observatories, and rely similarly on the processing of big data. Our communities therefore face similar challenges to improving the sustainability of our research. This document aims to reflect on the environmental impacts of our work practices and research infrastructure, to highlight best practice, to make recommendations for positive changes, and to identify the opportunities and challenges that such changes present for wider aspects of social responsibility
Resource-aware Research on Universe and Matter: Call-to-Action in Digital Transformation
Given the urgency to reduce fossil fuel energy production to make climate
tipping points less likely, we call for resource-aware knowledge gain in the
research areas on Universe and Matter with emphasis on the digital
transformation. A portfolio of measures is described in detail and then
summarized according to the timescales required for their implementation. The
measures will both contribute to sustainable research and accelerate scientific
progress through increased awareness of resource usage. This work is based on a
three-days workshop on sustainability in digital transformation held in May
2023.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, publication following workshop 'Sustainability
in the Digital Transformation of Basic Research on Universe & Matter', 30 May
to 2 June 2023, Meinerzhagen, Germany, https://indico.desy.de/event/3748
Environmental sustainability in basic research: a perspective from HECAP+
The climate crisis and the degradation of the world's ecosystems require
humanity to take immediate action. The international scientific community has a
responsibility to limit the negative environmental impacts of basic research.
The HECAP+ communities (High Energy Physics, Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics,
and Hadron and Nuclear Physics) make use of common and similar experimental
infrastructure, such as accelerators and observatories, and rely similarly on
the processing of big data. Our communities therefore face similar challenges
to improving the sustainability of our research. This document aims to reflect
on the environmental impacts of our work practices and research infrastructure,
to highlight best practice, to make recommendations for positive changes, and
to identify the opportunities and challenges that such changes present for
wider aspects of social responsibility.Comment: 158 pages, 21 figures; comments welcome. Revisions included in
Version 2.0 are detailed on page 3 of the pdf. If you would like to endorse
this document please visit: https://sustainable-hecap-plus.github.io/. An
HTML version of this document is available at:
https://sustainable-hecap-plus.github.io
Modeling adsorption in metal-organic frameworks with open metal sites : propane/propylene separations
We present a new approach for modeling adsorption in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with unsaturated metal centers and apply it to the challenging propane/propylene separation in copper(II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (CuBTC). We obtain information about the specific interactions between olefins and the open metal sites of the MOP using quantum mechanical density functional theory. A proper consideration of all the relevant contributions to the adsorption energy enables us to extract the component that is due to specific attractive interactions between the pi-orbitals of the alkene and the coordinatively unsaturated metal. This component is fitted using a combination of a Morse potential and a power law function and is then included into classical grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of adsorption. Using this modified potential model, together with a standard Lennard-Jones model, we are able to predict the adsorption of not only propane (where no specific interactions are present), but also of propylene (where specific interactions are dominant). Binary adsorption isotherms for this mixture are in reasonable agreement with ideal adsorbed solution theory predictions. We compare our approach with previous attempts to predict adsorption in MOFs with open metal sites and suggest possible future routes for improving our model
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