Waste Heat Recovery Technologies Revisited with Emphasis on New Solutions, including Heat Pipes, and Case Studies

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Industrial processes are characterized by energy losses, such as heat streams rejected to the environment in the form of exhaust gases or effluents occurring at different temperature levels. Hence, waste heat recovery (WHR) has been a challenge for industries, as it can lead to energy savings, higher energy efficiency, and sustainability. As a consequence, WHR methods and technologies have been used extensively in the European Union (EU) (and worldwide for that matter). The current paper revisits and reviews conventional WHR technologies, their use in all types of industry, and their limitations. Special attention is given to alternative “new” technologies, which are discussed for parameters such as projected energy and cost savings. Finally, an extended review of case studies regarding applications of WHR technologies is presented. The information presented here can also be used to determine target energy performance, as well as capital and installation costs, for increasing the attractiveness of WHR technologies, leading to the widespread adoption by industry.European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 680599

Estimating the waste heat recovery in the European Union Industry

Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme; Innovate UK; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UK (EPSRC); Research Councils UK (RCUK

Enzyme activity modification in adult beetles (Agelastica coerulea) inhabiting birch trees in an ozone-enriched atmosphere

Tropospheric ozone (O₃) is a naturally occurring gas in the atmosphere. However, the concentration of O₃ increased in the twentieth century. Although the effects of O₃ on vegetation have been extensively studied since the 1950s, limited information exists regarding the effects of O₃ on insect herbivores. In particular, evidence is lacking regarding the effects of O₃ on the biology of insect herbivores. Agelastica coerulea Baly(1874) is a coleopteran species that grazes on Betulaceae plants. In this study, to investigate the effects of O₃ on A. coerulea biology for the first time, female adult insects were collected from Japanese white birch trees grown in a Free Air Controlled Exposure System (FACE) in Sapporo, Japan. These beetles inhabited trees exposed either to ambient or to elevated O₃ for 23days. After collection, the enzyme activities in the beetles were measured. Elevated O₃ led to a greater total antioxidant activity and lowerα- and β-esterase activities, a phenomenon that may suggest an increased resistance of the beetles to stress. Our results are further discussed with regard to biological and toxicological aspects. Collectively, our findings indicate that total antioxidants and α- and β-esterase activities can serve as effective O₃ biomarker systems in this beetle species. This adaptive response of the beetle, which was induced by moderate O₃ exposure, should be further tested across generations and for its protection against greater exposure

Building integration of active solar energy systems: A review of geometrical and architectural characteristics

Solar building integration, differs from everyday active solar energy systems on a building envelope, because the active system replaces building elements and are integrated into the architectural envelope and structure. This article aims to present a comprehensive review and analyse the geometrical and architectural characteristics and design possibilities offered by the building integration of active solar energy systems. The literature studies are separated into double and single façade solutions, as well as solutions where the active system performs as an independent architectural element of the building. It is concluded that the majority of the researchers preferred the single façade solutions, followed by the double façade systems since the second one offers a cavity which can be used as an air duct for the BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) and BIPV/T (Building Integrated Photovoltaic/Thermal) solutions. This work provides an overview of the state of the art systems and geometrical solutions emerging by the development, research, and applications of the BISS (Building Integrated Solar Systems)

Waste Heat Recovery in the EU industry and proposed new technologies

In the European Union (EU), industrial sectors use 26% of the primary energy consumption and are characterized by large amounts of energy losses in the form of waste heat at different temperature levels. Their recovery is a challenge but also an opportunity for science and business. In this study, after a brief description of the conventional Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) approaches, the novel technologies under development within the I-ThERM Horizon 2020 project are presented and assessed from an energy and market perspectives. These technologies are: heat to power conversion systems based on bottoming thermodynamic cycles (Trilateral Flash Cycle for low grade waste heat and Joule-Brayton cycle working with supercritical carbon dioxide for high temperature waste heat sources); heat recovery devices based on heat pipes (flat heat pipe for high grade radiative heat sources and condensing economizer for acidic effluents).European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains (CSEF) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded project ‘Optimising Energy Management in Industry-OPTEMIN