At present, the production of electrical and heat power uses diesel-generator technology with a limited service life of engines and extremely low efficiency of the expensive fuel used. In this paper, an innovative technology has been considered for the combined electrical and heat power production using the preliminary conversion of diesel fuel into synthesis gas with its subsequent supply to a high temperature electrochemical generator (ECG). Synthesis gas for the operation of the electrochemical generator was produced by air conversion of motor diesel fuels in a catalytic burner reactor. On the basis of heat balances of the burner, ECG and waste-heat boiler-utilizer, electrical efficiency of the solid oxide fuel cells’ (SOFC) battery, chemical efficiency of the burner, the temperature at the SOFC anode, the EMF of the planar cell, a portion of hydrogen oxidized at the SOFC anode, specific consumption of diesel fuel for the production of electrical and heat power were calculated. Specific consumption of diesel fuel for the production of electrical and heat power was found to be equal to 114 g/kWh (162 g r.f./kW·h) and 31.7 kg/GJ (45.1 kg r.f./GJ, 189 kg r.f./ Gcal), respectively. Specific fuel consumption is similar to an up-to-date CHP and is significantly lower than the consumption of modern diesel-electric stations of equal power.

The fluidization behaviour depends on particle properties such as particle size, sphericity, density and the properties of the fluidizing agent. In this study, the effects of different particle sizes on fluidization behaviour were investigated. Experiments were done by mixing sand particles of mean diameter 293µm (small particle) and 750 µm (large particle). The experiment with 20% small particles and 80% large particles gave a reduction in minimum fluidization velocity of 60.8% compared to the minimum fluidization velocity with only large particles. CPFD simulations were performed using the commercial software barracuda®. There is a good agreement between the results from the experiments and the simulations. The minimum fluidization velocity is also calculated using different theoretical equations based on the average particle size for the mixture. The obtained experimental results were compared with the minimum fluidization velocity calculated using different equations available in the literature. There are significant differences in minimum fluidization velocities obtained from the different empirical equations. The pressure drop profiles for large and small particles follow the trends presented in the literature. The experimental minimum fluidization velocities were found to be 0.46 and 0.092 m/s for the large and small particles respectively.

This work aims at demonstrating the possibility of producing 2-butanol from lignocellulosic biomass through a new thermochemical approach. The production of biobutanol was carried out using different lignocellulosic feedstock through a 3-step process: first the whole lignocellulosic biomass is hydrolyzed under acid catalyst to produce levulinates, then the levulinates go through decarboxylation to produce 2-butanone which is, in a final step, reduced to produce of 2-butanol. The experimental conditions for the first two steps of the process were optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM). The latter could represent an opportunity for the production of economical second-generation butanol without having to go through the classical pathway requiring the production of sugar prior to microbial conversion.

The European Union aims to ensure that investment in energy efficiency measures is cost-effective. Thus, the minimum energy performance requirements of buildings must follow the so-called cost-optimal levels. It is known that the impact of a specific measure on the energy performance is affected by others measures when implemented simultaneously, influencing its profitability. for this reason, the profitability of a given package of measures cannot result from the simple sum of potential benefits of each measure. consequently, to define a cost-optimal solution it is needed to run a great amount of combinations, implying an expensive computational effort. In order to help with the selection of the energy systems, this work proposes a simplified method for selecting heating and domestic hot water systems as a function of the following variables: initial investment, maintenance cost, energy needs and cost, and efficiency of energy systems. The proposed method is user-friendly and can assist various stakeholders: policy makers, energy experts, suppliers of products and services and building owners.

Today several energy saving measures are being taken worldwide. As a component of these, the energy efficiency of the buildings should be increased. Given the high ratio of the existing, ineffective building stock, large-scale retrofit actions are going to be needed to reduce their energy usage. The historical districts and the heritage buildings stand as special part of the above question, as several limitations increase the complexity of their retrofit.

In present paper, the authors are introducing retrofit possibilities for the traditional apartment house type, widespread in the past Austro-Hungarian downtowns. A detailed methodology for complex renovation is divided to three main aspects: energy efficiency, monument protection guidelines and feasibility. By combining the above aspects, optimized renovation scenarios and their cost efficient financing implementation are surveyed.

Results show, that the energy saving and heritage respecting solutions are not economically feasible enough to be appealing for private investors. The retrofit, however, is much needed to increase the life quality of residents, save energy, and protect the unique architectural character, now constantly endangered by demolitions.

The authors suggest solutions for the above problem by creating possible financing scenarios, which can be used as a benchmark for preliminary decision making in case of a planned retrofit.

In recent years, phase change materials (PCMs) have gained major relevance for their ability to take advantage of indoor/outdoor air temperature differences to store energy. This characteristic of PCMs allows to transfer stored energy to periods of energy demand, thus achieving optimum conditions of comfort and notable energy savings. The present study compared the energy consumption of a traditional façade and a ventilated façade to which large format ceramic tiles covered with PCMs were applied. For this purpose, an office building in the city of Alicante was used as a case study. Salt hydrate PCMs were attached to the slabs, and air was allowed to circulate or not circulate through night and day dampers as passive conditioning, accumulating energy. The energy performance of the building was simulated using the Lider-Calener (HULC) energy certification tool in both scenarios. The building’s energy demand was calculated in its current state and with the ventilated façade with ceramic tiles and PCMs. An energy saving of 5% was obtained.

The article presents the results of a study of structural changes in the energy sector serving digital technologies for the urban environment of the future that is being created now. The study considers country-specific factors and problems of ensuring the sustainability of heat and power supply. The authors look at the priority areas of a new phase of electrification aimed at the development of advanced energy-saving smart technologies, electric transport, electric cars and appropriate energy and utility infrastructure. The case is studied of developing engineering, technical, organizational and economic solutions when overhauling the heat supply system in a ‘smart’ residential district of Yekaterinburg, one of Russia’s megalopolises, that is being designed and constructed on the basis of the principles of intelligent engineering infrastructure.