Energy audit experiences in foundries

Steel industry presents one of the highest energy demand of all the industrial sector. Foundries have a really relevant role both in economical terms and as regards the energy demand. The cost of energy represents several percentage points of the overall costs of a foundry. The electricity demand is very high, particularly for the induction melting furnaces. A large amount of thermal energy is obtained both from natural gas combustion and from the coal needed for the process of formation of cast iron in cupolas. Moreover, the plant services must be considered: one very energy consumer is compressed air production. Every factory is different from another so that the proposal of actions of energy savings or thermal recovers requires a detailed study of each plant considering the lay out and analysing the single processes with related energy needs and thermal levels. The co-operation of the University of Padua with the Centro Produttivita` Veneto allowed to plan a series of energy audits in some foundries located in Vicenza province. The experiences of the first facilities surveys and audits recommendations demonstrated both potential advantage of energy savings and the related difficulties, often due to the high investment costs. Anyhow the joint work of auditing between the university experts and the foundry technicians produced a better awareness on the critical points of the plant and a higher rationality level in the evaluation of investments for the renewable of the machinery. Here, the method of performing the energy audits is described together with the very first results in terms of roposals for energy savings evaluated technically and economically

Energy efficiency opportunities in the service plants of cast iron foundries in Italy

Though in a foundry most of the energy is used in the process plants and particularly in energizing furnaces, service plants require absolutely large amounts of energy, above all as electricity. The most energy consuming service is compressed air preparation, but large amounts are due to lighting, HVAC, pumps and fans. These energy users are common to most of industrial branches with different weights both in absolute and relative terms. This paper reports on the experience of some energy audits carried out in five Italian cast iron foundries allowing to identify the relative importance of different services in this industrial branch. The analysis is based on real data measured during the audits. Energy saving actions were then conceived, comparing the results of new technologies applied in some factory sectors and the energy usage of the previous equipment

Advancements in hybrid photovoltaic-thermal systems: performance evaluations and applications

Due to European Directives (2010/31/UE on buildings energy performance, 2009/28/CE on the use of renewable energy, 2012/27/UE on the energy efficiency) the electric and thermal energy needs of new and retrofitted buildings are faced by increasing percentages of renewable energy. Solar energy and heat pumps are the most promising technologies mainly in residential buildings as they have reached great maturity. Anyway, in most cases solar energy utilizations systems are thermal (which convert solar energy to thermal energy) and photovoltaic (which convert solar energy to electricity) used as separated collectors. Commercial photovoltaic modules have nowadays an efficiency around 15 % - 18 %. It means that the most relevant part of solar radiation is lost. Such a remark gets more importance if the active surface is located in an urban environment, where the availability of surfaces exposed to the sun is scarce if compared to the buildings thermal loads. PhotoVoltaic / Thermal cogeneration (PV/T) aims to utilize the same area both for producing electricity and heat. As solar cells are sensitive to temperature (their efficiency lowers when temperature increases), heat is beneficially collected but it cannot be available at high temperatures. Many researches on performances and characteristics of different hybrid photovoltaic\u2013thermal technologies and systems have been carried out during the last years to face this problem; among these designs, systems utilizing air, liquid, heat pipes, phase change materials, and thermoelectric devices to aid cooling of PV cells. This paper provides a description of the applications of the photovoltaic\u2013thermal systems, such as building integrated PV/T, concentrating PV/T systems and photovoltaic\u2013thermal heat pump systems. Several factors affecting the performances and characteristics of the photovoltaic\u2013thermal systems are also summarized

Thermodynamic investigation of a shared cogeneration system with electrical cars for northern Europe climate

Transition to alternative energy systems is indicated by EU Commission as a suitable path to energy efficiency and energy saving in the next years. The aims are to decrease greenhouses gases emissions, relevance of fossil fuels in energy production and energy dependence on extra-EU countries. These goals can be achieved increasing renewable energy sources and/or efficiency on energy production processes. In this paper an innovative micro-cogeneration system for household application is presented: it covers heating, domestic hot water and electricity demands for a residential user. Solid oxide fuel cells, heat pump and Stirling engine are utilised as a system to achieve high energy conversion efficiency. A transition from traditional petrol cars to electric mobility is also considered and simulated here. Different types of fuel are considered to demonstrate the high versatility of the simulated cogeneration system by changing the pre-reformer of the fuel cell. Thermodynamic analysis is performed to prove high efficiency with the different fuels

Hybrid PCM\u2014aluminium foams\u2019 thermal storages: an experimental study

The latent heat absorption phenomenon associated with melting of a suitable Phase Change Material can be an effective way to improve the Thermal Energy Storage behaviour in many applications. However, the most suitable materials to be used in heating and refrigeration systems find intrinsic limitations due to their poor heat transfer capabilities. This work experimentally studies the use of aluminum foams as heat transfer medium to improve the overall heat transfer of paraffin waxes that can be possible phase change materials to be implemented in hybrid sensible-latent water thermal energy storages. The experimental tests were run in a dedicated setup designed, developed, and built at the Department of Management and Engineering of the University of Padova. The effects of the use of aluminum foams as enhancing heat transfer medium were studied by comparing the loading and unloading processes of a paraffin wax with melting temperature around 40 \ub0C, with and without metal foams, in a water thermal storage unit. The effects of three different foams with 5, 20, and 40 Pores Per Inch (PPI) were investigated

Urban heat island in Padua, Italy: simulation analysis and mitigation strategies

Urban Heat Island effect was widely studied in large cities around the world, more rarely in medium size ones. The paper reports on the study of the UHI phenomenon in Padua, a medium size city of the North-East of Italy, one of the most industrialized and developed parts of the country. Experimental measurements were carried out during 2012 summer, recording the main thermo-hygrometric variables by mobile surveys along an exact path crossing different zones of the city area (urban, sub-urban and rural). Some measurements in situ in characteristic sites of the city area (like historic centre, high and low density populated residential zones, industrial zone, rural zone) were carried out in order to evaluate thermal comfort indexes. The analysis of the data highlights the presence of UHI effect with different magnitudes in function of the zone of the city. In the city centre, an historical zone, the effect was up to 7 \ub0C. The ENVImet simulation model was used in order to quantify possible increases in thermal comfort as a consequence of some mitigation strategies. In particular, a very famous square of the city (Prato della Valle) was analysed: it can be considered representative of the phenomenon because of the size and so the very different characteristics from the UHI effect point of view. Two scenarios were analysed besides the actual one (\u201cAsIs\u201d scenario): \u201cGreen ground\u201d (halving the asphalt surface and doubling the green and plants surface) and \u201cCool Pavements\u201d (increasing the albedo of impervious horizontal surfaces). The simulations results are presented both in terms of UHI intensity (difference in air dry-bulb temperature between Prato della Valle and a reference rural site) and in terms of mean radiant temperature and thermal comfort sensation. The results are presented both in spatial and temporal terms for a typical summer day. The \u201cGreen ground\u201d scenario allows till 1.4 \ub0C and 3 \ub0C decrease in air temperature, respectively during the night and the day. The same items for the \u201cCool Pavements\u201d scenario are, respectively, 1.8 and 4 \ub0C

Enhancement of Short-Term Forecasting Method Based on Clustering and kNN: Application to an Industrial Facility Powered By a Cogenerator

In the recent years, collecting data is becoming easier and cheaper thanks to many improvements on information technology (IT). Connection of the sensors to the net is becoming cheaper and easier (for example IoT\u2014internet of thing), cost of data storage and data processing is decreasing, meanwhile artificial intelligence and machine learning methods are under developments and/or introduction to create values on data. In this paper it is presented a clustering approach for short-term forecasting of energy demand in industrial facilities. A model based on clustering and kNN is proposed to analyze and forecast data, and the novelties on model parameters definition to improve its accuracy are presented. The model is then applied to an industrial facility (wood industry) with contemporaneous demand of electricity and heat. An analysis on the parameters and the results of the model are performed, showing a forecast of electricity demand with an error of 3%

Combined micro-cogeneration and electric vehicle system for household application: An energy and economic analysis in a Northern European climate

In recent years, Denmark boosted investments in renewable energy and electrification of transportation. The Danish Agenda proposed that all primary energy consumption will be covered by renewable sources such as wind, biomass and solar by 2050. These changes require significant investment and re-thinking of entire energy infrastructures and types of consumption. The Agenda also suggested, among other things, improving the efficiency of energy systems. In this paper, the interactions between charging an electric car and an innovative cogeneration system for household application (micro-solid oxide fuel cell with an integrated healing system) are investigated. The charge of the electric car by the cogenerator produces waste heat that can be used to partially cover the heat demand of the house. In this way it may be possible to increase overall efficiency and decrease total energy costs. Different innovative strategies are proposed and analyzed to manage charging an electric car and efficiently using the waste heat available. The aims of this study are to make the system grid-independent, to decrease the thermal stress of SOFCs and to determine the nominal power of an integrated heating system. The results show energy efficiency and economic profitability of the system, even if subsidies are not included

Thermal performance study of a vacuum integrated solar storage collector (ISSC) with compound parabolic concentrator (CPC)

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