Around 2.7 billion people worldwide have no access to clean cooking equipment, which leads to major health problems due to high emissions of unburned products (VOC, CO and soot). A top-lit updraft gasifier cookstove with forced draft was identified as the technology with the highest potential for reducing harmful emissions from incomplete combustion in simple cookstoves. The basic variant of the stove was equipped with a fan for efficient mixing of product gas with air and fired with pellets to increase the energy density of low-grade residues. The development was conducted based on water boiling test experiments for wood and rice hull pellets and targeted CFD simulations of flow, heat transfer and gas phase combustion with a comprehensive description of the reaction kinetics, which were validated by the experiments. Emphasis was put on the reduction of CO emissions as an indicator for the burnout quality of the flue gas. The optimisation was carried out in several steps, the main improvements being the design of a sufficiently large post-combustion chamber and a supply of an appropriate amount of primary air for a more stable fuel gasification. The experiments showed CO emissions <0.2 g/MJdel for wood and rice hull pellets, which corresponds to a reduction by a factor of about 15 to 20 compared to the basic forced draft stove concept. Furthermore, these values are between 5 and 10 times lower than published water boiling test results of the best available cookstove technologies and are already close to the range of automatic pellet furnaces for domestic heating, which are considered to be the benchmark for the best possible reduction of CO emissions.

The aim of this work is to utilize various biogenic fuels without ash slagging and to significantly reduce NOX and particulate matter emissions in comparison to modern combustion technologies. For this purpose, a novel small-scale multi-fuel biomass grate furnace technology was developed and experimentally investigated. It employs a low oxygen concentration in the fixed-bed and a double air staging, including the supply of flue gas recirculation. In this way slagging is prevented on the grate, reducing the release of ash-forming volatiles, NOX emissions are minimized in the reduction zone and an efficient flue gas burnout is achieved in the tertiary zone. Wood pellets and chips as well as miscanthus briquettes were investigated.

The measured total particle emissions showed a reduction of 68% for pellets and 70% for wood chips compared to typical small-scale furnaces. Furthermore, a reduction of NOX emissions of 39% for wood chips, 40% for wood pellets and 45% for miscanthus briquettes was achieved compared to typical small-scale furnaces. The experimental parameter study provided fundamental insights into the various mechanisms involved in this novel technology, which is close to market introduction, and proved its high fuel flexibility and great potential for particulate matter and NOX emission reduction.

Global climate change will make it necessary to transform transportation and mobility away from what we know now towards a sustainable, flexible, and dynamic sector. A severe reduction of fossil-based CO2 emissions in all energy-consuming sectors will be necessary to keep global warming below 2 °C above preindustrial levels. Thus, long-distance transportation will have to increase the share of renewable fuel consumed until alternative powertrains are ready to step in. Additionally, it is predicted that the share of renewables in the power generation sector grows worldwide. Thus, the need to store the excess electricity produced by fluctuating renewable sources is going to grow alike. The “Winddiesel” technology enables the integrative use of excess electricity combined with biomass-based fuel production. Surplus electricity can be converted to H2 via electrolysis in a first step. The fluctuating H2 source is combined with biomass-derived CO-rich syngas from gasification of lignocellulosic feedstock. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis converts the syngas to renewable hydrocarbons. This research article summarizes the experiments performed and presents new insights regarding the effects of load changes on the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Long-term campaigns were carried out, and performance-indicating parameters such as per-pass CO conversion, product distribution, and productivity were evaluated. The experiments showed that integrating renewable H2 into a biomass-to-liquid Fischer-Tropsch concept could increase the productivity while product distribution remains almost the same. Furthermore, the economic assessment performed indicates good preconditions towards commercialization of the proposed system.

This study focuses on the combustion behaviour of poultry litter which was experimentally studied in a fixed bed lab-scale reactor. The combustion experiments not only provided useful insights pertaining to the thermal decomposition of poultry litter over time, release of main gaseous compounds and nitrogen (N) species, but also the release of elements found initially in the ash composition. The main gaseous species were released during the devolatilisation phase, whereas Ammonia (NH3) was found to be the most abundant compound of N-gaseous species (45%) followed by nitrogen oxide (NO) with a fraction of ~10%. Alkali metals showed moderate release rates, whilst Chlorine (Cl) was observed to have the highest one (90%) of the ash forming elements, depicting the high volatility of the specific compound.

Durch die vermehrte Einbindung von Absorptionswärmepumpen und -kältemaschinen in bestehende und zukünftige Energiesysteme des Kälte- und Wärmesektors kann der Anteil erneuerbarer Energien deutlich gesteigert werden. Um dies erfolgreich umsetzen zu können, müssen die Betriebsstrategien und Regelungen dieser Systeme jedoch in der Lage sein, auch mit dynamischen und stark variierenden Betriebsbedingungen umgehen zu können. Dieser Herausforderung hat sich das von der FFG geförderte Projekt HPC – heat pumping system control gewidmet. Im Rahmen dieses Workshops sollen die Ergebnisse und deren Nutzen für die Praxis präsentiert und diskutiert werden.

This abstract gives a glimpse of the output revealed in a project focusing on recycling used medium from algae cultivation. In close cooperation with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, the Institute of Microbiology - The Czech Academy of Sciences as well as the algae biomass production company Ecoduna GmbH, it was possible to target industrial needs with scientific research approaches.

Tar condensation is a cause of blockage in downstream application of the gasification process. An oil scrubber is considered as an effective method for tar removal. In this research, the naphthalene solubility in different local Thai oils and water was investigated in a laboratory-scale test-rig. The solubility value was conducted at 30, 50, 70, and 80°C. Biodiesels investigated were rapeseed methyl ester (RME) and two different palm methyl esters (PME 1 and PME 2). Furthermore, vegetable oils including sunflower oil, rice bran oil, crude palm oil, and refined palm oil were examined. The results showed that higher temperature enhanced naphthalene solubility in all types of investigated oils. Biodiesel has the highest value of naphthalene solubility. All scrubbing oils have similar naphthalene solubility trends at the temperature range of 50-80°C in the order of RME > PME 1 > PME 2 > diesel > sunflower oil > refined palm oil > rice bran oil > crude palm oil. Based on these experimental investigations, PME 1 has a naphthalene solubility value similar to RME. Therefore, PME 1 has been selected to be tested as scrubbing solvent in the 1 MWel prototype dual fluidized gasifier located in Nong Bua district, Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand.

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a highly efficient CO2 separation technology with no direct contact between combustion air and fuel. A metal oxide is used as an oxygen carrier (OC) and acts in a dual fluidized bed as a separation tool and supplies the fuel with oxygen, which as an oxidation medium causes combustion to CO2 and H2O. The use of solid fuels, especially biomass, is the focus of current investigations. The OC plays a key role, because it must meet special requirements for solid fuels, which are different to gaseous fuels. The ash content, special reaction mechanisms, and increased abrasion make research into new types of OC essential. Preliminary testing of OC before their use in larger plants regarding their suitability is recommended. For this reason, this work shows the design and the results of a laboratory reactor, which was planned and built for fundamental investigation of OC. Designed as a transient fluidized bed, the reactor, equipped with its own fuel conveying system and an in situ solid sampling, is intended to be particularly suitable for cheap and rapid pre-testing of OC materials. During the tests, it was shown that the sampling device enables non-selective sampling. Different OC were tested under various operating conditions, and their ability to convert different fuels could be quantified. The results indicate that OC can be sufficiently investigated to recommend operation in larger plants.

Due to a variety of applications and complex requirements in specific fields of use, the number of different materials is increasing. Thereof, the majority fails at the stage of market introduction, because the focus of material development is mostly on technical aspects, while market aspects are often neglected. One possible way of market introduction is material substitution. Thereby, requirements a material needs to meet are well known. However, a certain market focus on material development would be helpful regarding the final goal of the customer satisfaction. Therefore, this study presents an approach, which aims at guiding the technical material development and thus starts one stage earlier than most other studies, which focus on market introduction. A multi-stage approach helps integrating market aspects into material development, using the following methods: (1) method of Ashby to compare materials from a technical point of view and identify theoretically substitutable material groups and potential applications, (2) market data research and comparison for the identification of attractive markets, (3) method of Kano to classify material requirements and prioritize the optimization of material properties to satisfy the customers in selected markets. This approach is showcased and discussed using the example of an innovative wood composite under development, where it represented an aiding tool for guiding the further material development. An adaptation to any other material is possible at each of the three stages, although there are some limitations, which have to be considered, for example the selection of technical properties for the material comparison.

Interactions between olivine or silica sand and potassium (K)-rich grape marc or silicon (Si)-rich wheat straw were studied in a fixed-bed reactor under combustion, steam, or a CO₂ gasification atmosphere. This study focused on the effects of atmosphere composition, feedstock, and bed material type on the thermochemical aspects of agglomeration. The agglomeration extent of grape marc with olivine as the bed material under air and steam atmospheres is significantly less than with silica sand. The presence of CO₂, compared to that of O₂ or steam, was found to promote the reaction between K and olivine by facilitating the production of reactive silica from olivine carbonization. The use of olivine promotes the release of K by more than 10% compared with silica. No significant differences were observed in the agglomeration extent of wheat straw in its interaction with either olivine or silica sand. Nevertheless, olivine alters the agglomeration mechanism of wheat straw to become “melting-induced” from “coating-induced” in a silica bed.

Interactions between olivine or silica sand and potassium (K)-rich grape marc or silicon (Si)-rich wheat straw were studied in a fixed-bed reactor under combustion, steam, or a CO2 gasification atmosphere. This study focused on the effects of atmosphere composition, feedstock, and bed material type on the thermochemical aspects of agglomeration. The agglomeration extent of grape marc with olivine as the bed material under air and steam atmospheres is significantly less than with silica sand. The presence of CO2, compared to that of O2 or steam, was found to promote the reaction between K and olivine by facilitating the production of reactive silica from olivine carbonization. The use of olivine promotes the release of K by more than 10% compared with silica. No significant differences were observed in the agglomeration extent of wheat straw in its interaction with either olivine or silica sand. Nevertheless, olivine alters the agglomeration mechanism of wheat straw to become “melting-induced” from “coating-induced” in a silica bed.

Dieser Ergebnisbericht zeigt die Ergebnisse zu den gesammelten Lastkurven und Datensätzen
im Microgrid Forschungslabor in Wieselburg (Microgrid Lab). Die Ergebnisse beziehen sich
auf die Technologien, Messgeräte, Strom-, Heiz- und Kühllasten und Marktdaten wie z.B.
Stromtarife und verschiedene Energie- und Brennstoffpreise.

Das im Projektantrag formulierte Ziel zum Arbeitspaket III enthält die systematische
Sammlung, Aufbereitung und Interpretation des Denkens sowie Verhaltens von Personen, die
im Microgrid handeln. Mittels qualitativer Befragungsmethoden werden Aspekte, wie der
erwartete Nutzen, die Akzeptanz, die erwartete Benutzerfreundlichkeit und die
Zahlungsbereitschaft – insbesondere in Bezug auf E-Mobilität und dazugehörigen
Lademöglichkeiten - erhoben.
Die Erkenntnisse aus diesem Arbeitspaket können verwendet werden für die Entwicklung der
theoretischen Planungsalgorithmen. Diese sollen die Effizienz der Einbindung von Gebäuden
in das Microgrid sicherstellen.

Local and renewable energy communities show a high potential for the efficient use of distributed energy technologies at regional levels according to the Clean Energy Package of the European Union. However, until now there are only limited possibilities to bring such energy communities into reality because of several limitation factors. Challenges are already encountered during the planning phase since a large number of decision variables have to be considered depending on the number and type of community participants and distributed technologies. This paper overcomes these challenges by establishing a mixed-integer linear programming based optimal planning approach for renewable energy communities. A real case study is analyzed by creating an energy community testbed with a leading energy service provider in Austria. The case study considers nine energy community members of a municipality in Austria, distributed photovoltaic systems, energy storage systems, different electricity tariff scenarios and market signals including feed-in tariffs. The key results indicate that renewable energy communities can significantly reduce the total energy costs by 15% and total carbon dioxide emissions by 34% through an optimal selection and operation of the energy technologies. In all the optimization scenarios considered, each community participant can benefit both economically and ecologically.

Three estimators for the estimation of the flue gas mass flow in biomass boilers are presented and compared, namely a sliding-mode observer, a Kalman filter, and a so-called steady-state estimator. The flue gas mass flow is an important process variable in biomass boilers as it contains information about the supplied mass flows of air and decomposed fuel. It is also related to the generated heat flow. Furthermore, its knowledge may be exploited in model-based control strategies which allow one to keep pollutant emissions low, on the one hand, and to achieve high efficiency, on the other hand. However, due to fouling of the equipment over time, measurements and existing estimation methods are not suitable for long-term applications. The estimators proposed in this article are based on a dynamic model for gas tube heat exchangers. They are capable of handling the fouling of the heat exchanger and, additionally, they offer the possibility of monitoring the degree of fouling. By incorporating an additional differential pressure measurement and extending the aforementioned estimators, an improvement regarding the dynamic response and the estimation accuracy is achieved. The application of the estimators to real measurement data from both, a medium-scale and a small-scale biomass boiler, demonstrates their wide applicability.

Heat makes up the largest share of energy end-use, accounting for 50% of global final energy consumption in 2018 and contributing to about 40% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Of the total heat produced, about 46% was consumed in buildings for space and water heating. Large-scale solar thermal systems provide a highly valuable possibility to increase the share of renewables in heating systems and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In this context, the worldwide number of large-scale solar heating systems has increased rapidly in the last couple of years, especially in China and European countries, e.g. in Denmark. This has led to the installation of about 400 large-scale solar thermal systems ( ≥ 350kWth, 500m²) by the end of 2019.
Unlike other heating systems, their main source of power (solar radiation) cannot be manipulated and is subject to changes on a seasonal as well as on a daily basis. That is why control systems play a very important role for the efficient operation of these systems. This thesis therefore focuses on the application of model-based control strategies, and the necessary preliminary work regarding modelling, in order to achieve an efficient control of large-scale solar thermal systems. Consequently, the thesis addresses three important aspects:
In the first main section, models of components of large-scale solar thermal systems are developed and validated. For the most important components (heat exchanger, solar collector and sensible heat storage), two models of different complexity, one simulation-oriented, one control-oriented, are developed. While the simulation-oriented models aim to model the physical behaviour very accurately in order to be used in simulation studies, control-oriented models aim to model the physical behaviour only as accurately as necessary in order to serve as a basis for model-based control strategies. All models are validated with measurement data from a typical solar system, and it is shown that they are sufficiently accurate for their intended purpose. The sum of the models provides a holistic view on all modelling aspects that have to be considered in large-scale solar thermal plants, and serves as a reasonable basis for model-based control strategies and accurate simulation studies of solar systems.
In the second main section, adaptive forecasting methods for the future solar heat production as well as the heat demand are developed and validated with measurement data and using real weather forecasts. These methods are important to most efficiently integrate and operate solar systems by better scheduling heat production, storage and distribution for the near future. In order to be used in real-world applications, the methods are developed with the goal to meet three important practical requirements: simple implementation, automatic adaption to seasonal changes, and wide applicability. The final long-term evaluation for half a year proves that the developed methods can forecast the solar heat production as well as the heat demand very accurately and outperform common forecasting methods, yielding results that are nearly twice as accurate.
In the third main section, model-based control strategies for the high-level as well as for the low-level control of solar thermal systems are developed and validated. For the high-level control an approach is presented which considers future information by using the developed forecasting methods. It achieves higher profits (plus 3 %) and leads to a more stable operation, compared to the existing commercial solution. For the low-level control, model-based control strategies based on the developed models for the heat generation and distribution are presented. The model-based control strategy for the heat generation considers the dynamic behaviour of the collector and especially considers the variable time-delay. This, compared to conventional control strategies, leads to a significantly better control performance in case of fluctuating solar radiation and changing inlet temperatures. The model-based control strategy for the heat distribution follows a modular approach which can be applied for several hydraulic settings, leading to an accurate and independent control of mass flow and temperature, and outperforms state-of-the-art control strategies. For both control levels, care was taken that the applied strategies can be used in real-world applications regarding their mathematical complexity and computational resources required.
In summary, this thesis presents a holistic approach regarding modelling (simulation-oriented models, control-oriented models and adaptive forecasting methods) and control aspects (high-level as well as low-level control) which can help to improve the efficiency of large-scale solar thermal plants on various levels, making them more competitive, and is furthermore essential for a successful integration of these plants in larger energy systems.

Fixed-bed biomass conversion with a low primary air ratio and a counter-current configuration has a high feedstock flexibility, as it resembles updraft gasification, and the potential to reduce emissions when integrated in biomass combustion systems. A 1D bed model was validated with experimental results from a biomass combustion boiler with such a bed conversion system, predicting with a good accuracy the temperatures in the reactor and producer gas composition. The model was applied for different cases to investigate the fuel flexibility of this combustion system, including the influence of moisture content and the maximum temperatures achieved in the bed. It was shown that with variations in fuel moisture content from 8 to 30% mass w.b. the producer gas composition, char reduction to CO or maximum temperatures at the grate were not affected due to the separation of the char conversion and pyrolysis/drying zones. Flue gas recirculation was the only possible measure with the tested configuration to reduce the maximum temperatures close to the grate, which is beneficial e.g. to avoid slagging with complicated fuels. A higher tar content was obtained than in conventional updraft gasifiers, which is attributed to the absence of tar condensation in the bed due to the limited height of the reactor and the integration in the combustion chamber. The presented model can support the development of such combustion technologies and is a relevant basis for detailed CFD simulations of the bed or gas phase conversion.

The growth of district heating and cooling (DHC) networks introduces the possibility of connecting them with neighbouring networks. Coupling networks can save costs by reducing operating hours of peak load or backup boilers, or free up production capacity for network expansion. Optimization-based energy management systems (EMS) already provide operators of individual DHC networks with solutions to the unit commitment and economic dispatch problem. They are especially useful for complex networks with multiple producers and integrated renewable energy sources, where incorporating forecasts is important. Time-dependent constraints and network capacity limitations can easily be considered. For coupled networks, a centralized optimization would provide a minimum with respect to an objective function which can incorporate fuel costs, operational costs and costs for emissions. However, the individual coupled networks are generally owned by different organizations with competing objectives. The centralized solution might not be accepted, as each company aims to optimize its own objective. Additionally, all data has to be shared with a centralized EMS, and it represents a single point of failure. A decentralized EMS may therefore be a better choice in a multi-owner setting. In this article, a novel decentralized EMS is presented that can handle multi-owner structures with cooperative and non-cooperative coupling. Each local EMS solves its own optimization problem, and an iterative Jacobi-style algorithm ensures consensus among the networks. The distributed EMS is compared to a centralized EMS based on a representative real-world example consisting of three coupled district heating networks operated by two companies.

The simultaneous operation of multiple connected heating networks can be handled by optimization techniques. However, a global optimum might not represent a good operating strategy if the networks belong to different owners and thus might habe competing interests. An approach from game theory then needs to be applied, which finds a generalized Nash equilibrium instead.

OptEnGrid is a cross-sectoral multi-energy system optimization tool for the optimal planning and dispatch of the Distributed Energy Resource (DER) technologies in smart- and microgrids. The methodology of OptEnGrid considers an optimization model which is based on Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework. The following sub-sections provide more details about the energy flow and system optimization inside OptEnGrid and the choice of the optimization over simulation

The optimal design of microgrids with thermal energy system requires optimization techniques that can provide investment and scheduling of the technology portfolio involved. In the modeling of such systems with seasonal storage capability, the two main challenges include the low temporal resolution of available data and the non-linear cost versus capacity relationship of solar thermal and heat storage technologies. This work overcomes these challenges by developing two different optimization models based on mixed-integer linear programming with objectives to minimize the total energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Piecewise affine functions are used to approximate the non-linear cost versus capacity behavior. The developed methods are applied to the optimal planning of a case study in Austria. The results of the models are compared based on the accuracy and real-time performance together with the impact of piecewise affine cost functions versus non-piecewise affine fixed cost functions. The results show that the investment decisions of both models are in good agreement with each other while the computational time for the 8760-h based model is significantly greater than the model having three representative periods. The models with piecewise affine cost functions show larger capacities of technologies than non-piecewise affine fixed cost function based models.

In einem zellularen Energiesystem wird die physikalische Balance zwischen Energieangebot und -nachfrage so weit als möglich bereits auf regionaler, lokaler Ebene hergestellt. Der zentrale Baustein dabei ist die Energiezelle. Sie kann Energie in Form von Wärme, Elektrizität oder Gas aufnehmen und/oder Elektrizität und Wärme (z. B. aus erneuerbaren Energien) selbst erzeugen, um so den eigenen Wärme- und Elektrizitätsbedarf zu decken. Energieüberschüsse können (elektrisch und/oder thermisch) gespeichert oder anderen Zellen im Nahbereich oder einem Energieversorger zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Ein Energiezellenmanagement kann in Koordination mit Nachbarzellen den Ausgleich von Erzeugung und Verbrauch über alle vorhandenen Energieformen organisieren.
Die Planung und der Betrieb zellularer Energiesysteme ist eine komplexe Aufgabe, da eine Vielzahl von dezentralen Energietechnologien, verschiedenste Ziele und auch Entscheidungsträger berück-sichtigt werden müssen.
Der vorliegende VDE Impuls beschreibt als ersten Schritt die Planung einer Energiezelle, welche mit Energieversorgern interagieren kann. Er ist der Auftakt einer Reihe weiterer Veröffentlichungen zur detaillierten Planung von Energiezellen und zellularen Energiesystemen.

Residential wood combustion is, besides particulate emissions, also linked to emissions of organic compounds, comprising various toxic substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although, literature data has shown that highest emissions occur during maloperations caused by the user itself, most studies focus on lab-testing not reflecting the situation in the field. This study evaluates the real-life situation in Austria, investigating emissions of total suspended particles (TSP) and particle-bound substances of four manually operated room heaters commonly installed in people's homes. Measurements were conducted within a field measurement campaign realized in the scope of the Clean Air by biomass project. To evaluate the impact of the users' habit two types of combustion experiments were performed, one representing the diversity of possible maloperations and one realized under optimized conditions following a strict optimization protocol. As special focus was laid on PAHs, sampling was realized using a dilution system adapted for the use in the field. Generally, optimization lead to a clear decrease of most compounds (i.e. TSP, OC, EC, PAHs), however, emissions of the anhydrosugar levoglucosan were not affected at all. Total PAH emissions could be clearly reduced, moreover, optimization lead to a shift towards low molecular weight PAHs and thus, less toxic ones, clearly reflected by lower toxicity equivalents. Correlation analysis using the Spearman's rank method showed significantly high correlations among the individual PAH congeners, and rather low ones with other target substances.

Recycling of phosphorus in combination with increased utilization of bioenergy can mitigate material and global warming challenges. In addition, co-combustion of different fuels can alleviate ash-related problems in thermal conversion of biomass. The aim of this study is to investigate the ash transformation reactions of mainly P in co-combustion of P-rich sewage sludge (SS) with K-rich sunflower husks (SH) and K- and Si-rich wheat straw (WS). Single pellets of 4 mixtures (10 and 30 wt % SS in WS and 15 and 40 wt % SS in SH) and pure SS were combusted in an electrically heated furnace at process temperatures relevant for fluidized bed combustion (800 and 950 °C). Collected ash fractions were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma techniques, ion chromatography, scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were performed to interpret the results. Over 90% of K and P was found to be captured within the residual ash with 30–70% P in crystalline K-bearing phosphates for mixtures with low amounts of SS (WSS10 and SHS15). The significant share of K and P in the amorphous material could be important for P recovery. For the lower percentage mixtures of SS (WSS10 and SHS15), P in crystalline phases was mainly found in K-whitlockite and CaKPO4. For the higher percentage SS mixtures, most of P was found in whitlockites associated with Fe and Mg, and no crystalline phosphates containing K were detected. For P recovery, co-combustion of the lower SS mixtures is favorable, and they are suggested to be further studied concerning the suitability for plant growth.

Steam gasification enables the thermochemical conversion of solid fuels into a medium calorific gas that can be utilized for the synthesis of advanced biofuels, chemicals or for heat and power production. Dual fluidized bed (DFB) gasification is at present the technology applied to realize gasification of biomass in steam environment at large scale. Few large-scale DFB gasifiers exist, and this work presents a compilation and analysis of the data and operational strategies from the six DFB gasifiers in Europe. It is shown that the technology is robust, as similar gas quality can be achieved despite the differences in reactor design and operation strategies. Reference concentrations of both gas components and tar components are provided, and correlations in the data are investigated. In all plants, adjusting the availability and accessibility to the active ash components (K and Ca) was the key to control the gas quality. The gas quality, and in particular the tar content of the gas, can conveniently be assessed by monitored the concentration of CH₄ in the produced gas. The data and experience acquired from these plants provide important knowledge for the future development of the steam gasification of biomass.

Overview on different approaches for supervisory control strategies,deciding on operating modes and set points for the controls of the different plants and componentsintegrated in solar thermal systems.

Char obtained from biomass pyrolysis is an eco-friendly porous carbon, which has potential use as a material for electrodes in supercapacitors. For that application, a high microporous specific surface area (SSA) is desired, as it relates to the accessible surface for an applied electrolyte. Currently, the incomplete understanding of the relation between porosity development and production parameters hinders the production of tailor-made, bio-based pyrochars for use as electrodes. Additionally, there is a problem with the low reliability in assessing textual properties for bio-based pyrochars by gas adsorption. To address the aforementioned problems, beech wood cylinders of two different lengths, with and without pre-treatment with citric acid were pyrolysed at temperatures of 300–900 °C and analysed by gas adsorption. The pyrolyzed chars were characterised with adsorption with N2 and CO2 to assess the influence of production parameters on the textual properties. The new approach in processing the gas adsorption data used in this study demonstrated the required consistency in assessing the micro- and mesoporosity. The SSA of the chars rose monotonically in the investigated range of pyrolysis temperatures. The pre-treatment with citric acid led to an enhanced SSA, and the length of the cylinders correlated with a reduced SSA. With pyrolysis at 900 °C, the micro-SSAs of samples with 10 mm increased by on average 717 ± 32 m2/g. The trends among the investigated parameters and the textual properties were rationalized and provide a sound basis for further studies of tailor-made bio-based pyrochars as electrode materials in supercapacitors.

The intra-hour intermittency of solar energy and demand introduce significant design challenges for microgrids. To avoid costly energy shortfalls and mitigate outage probability, islanded microgrids must be designed with sufficient distributed energy resources (DER) to meet demand and fulfill the energy and power balance. To avoid excessive runtime, current design tools typically only utilize hourly data. As such, the variable nature of solar and demand is often overlooked. Thus, DER designed based on hourly data may result in significant energy shortfalls when deployed in real-world conditions. This research introduces a new, fast method for optimizing DER investments and performing dispatch planning to consider intra-hour variability. A novel set of constraints which operate on intra-hour data are implemented in a mixed-integer-linear-program microgrid investment optimization. Variability is represented by the single worst-case intra-hour fluctuation. This allows for fast optimization times compared to other approaches tested. Applied to a residential microgrid case study with 5-minute intra-hour resolution, this new method is shown to maintain optimality within 2% and reduce runtime by 98.2% compared to full-scale-optimizations which consider every time-step explicitly. Applicable to a variety of technologies and demand types, this method provides a general framework for incorporating intra-hour variability into microgrid design.

An extended version of a Simulink ^® -block providing on-line differentiation algorithms based on discretized sliding-mode concepts is presented. Based on user-specified settings it computes estimates of the time-derivatives of the input signal up to order ten. Different discrete-time estimation algorithms as well as optional filtering properties can be selected. The paper includes an overview of the implemented algorithms, a detailed explanation of the developed Simulink ^® -block and two examples. The first example illustrates the application of the toolbox in a numerical simulation environment whereas the second one shows results obtained via an electrical laboratory setup.

A monolithic membrane reactor combining the supported ionic liquid-phase (SILP) catalyzed ultra-low temperature water–gas shift reaction (WGSR) with in situ product removal is presented. The SILP catalyst consists of the transition metal complex [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2 homogeneously dissolved in 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium chloride [C4C1C1Im]Cl and supported on alumina pellets. These Ru-SILP pellets are deposited inside the channels of a silicon carbide monolith. The resulting monolithic catalyst is very active and stable in the WGSR in the temperature range between 120 and 160 °C, thereby making full use of the high equilibrium conversion at these conditions. A facilitated transport membrane was coated onto the smooth outside of the SiC monolith to allow preferential removal of CO2 compared to H2. The proof of this concept has been shown under industrially relevant conditions using a biogas feed. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the combination of homogeneous SILP catalyzed WGSR with enhanced in situ removal of one of the products (here: CO2) via facilitated transport membrane separation.

Starch production is mainly focused on feedstocks such as corn, wheat and potato in the EU, whereas cassava, rice, and other feedstocks are utilised worldwide. In starch production, a high amount of wastewater is generated, which accumulates from different process steps such as washing, steeping, starch refining, saccharification and derivatisation. Valorisation of these wastewaters can help to improve the environmental impact as well as the economics of starch production. Anaerobic fermentation is a promising approach, and this review gives an overview of the different utilisation concepts outlined in the literature and the state of the technology. Among bioenergy recovery processes, biogas technology is widely applied at the industrial scale, whereas biohydrogen production is used at the research stage. Starch wastewater can also be used for the production of bulk chemicals such as acetone, ethanol, butanol or lactic acids by anaerobic microbes.

The continuous increase of (volatile) renewable energy production and the coupling of different energy sectors such as heating, cooling and electricity have significantly increased the complexity of urban energy systems. Such multi-energy systems (MES) can be operated more efficiently with the aid of optimization-based energy management systems (EMS). However, most existing EMS are tailor-made for one specific system or class of systems, i.e. are not generally applicable. Furthermore, only limited information on the actual savings potential of the usage of an EMS under realistic conditions is available. Therefore, this paper presents a novel modular modeling approach for an EMS for urban MES, which also enables the modeling of complex system configurations. To assess the actual savings potential of the proposed EMS, a comprehensive case study was carried out. In the course of this the influence of different user behavior, changing climatic conditions and forecast errors on the savings potential was analyzed by comparing it with a conventional control strategy. The results showed that using the proposed EMS in conjunction with supplementary system components (thermal energy storage and battery) an annual cost savings potential of between 3 and 6% could be achieved.

The Biomass to Liquid (BtL) Fischer-Tropsch (FT) route converts lignocellulosic feedstock to renewable hydrocarbons. This, paper shows a novel production route for biomass-derived synthetic paraffin wax via gasification of lignocellulosic feedstock, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) and hydrofining. The Fischer-Tropsch wax was fractionated, refined and analyzed with respect to compliance to commercial standards. The fractioned paraffin waxes were hydrofined using a commercial sulfide NiMo–Al2O3 catalyst and a trickle bed reactor. A parametric variation was performed to optimize the hydrofining process. It was shown that the produced medium-melt paraffin wax could fulfill the requirements for “Paraffinum solidum” defined by the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur). The high-melt wax fraction showed potential to be used as food packaging additive. Furthermore, the renewable wax was analyzed regarding PAH content and it was shown that the hydrofined wax was quasi-PAH-free.

In order to limit global warming to 1.5 °C compared to the pre-industrial temperature level, zero net CO2 emissions are needed on a global scale until 2050. A Chemical Looping (CL) process represents a technological system which is CO2-negative when using biomass as fuel and thus can substantially contribute to this target. In principle, the process uses a metal oxide as oxygen carrier material (OC) which is cyclically oxidized by air or steam and reduced by the fuel. Without air as the direct oxygen source for fuel conversion, high calorific product gases or pure carbon dioxide in case of combustion are obtained after the condensation of water vapor, which can then be stored or further utilized.
Within the funded project ”BIO-LOOP”, different Chemical Looping processes (for example combustion, gasification, hydrogen production) and reactors (fixed bed, fluidized bed) are investigated numerically and experimentally. An advanced process analysis tool based on mass and energy balances of the system considered will be presented. It provides data about the specific internal and external streams, process conditions and efficiencies. Within the analysis tool, various independent modular units describe individual process steps, e.g. mixing, chemical reaction or splitting. These components can be adjusted, combined and interconnected according to the flow chart of the system. The process model represents the first step towards a flexible Chemical Looping reactor simulation toolbox to analyze various process scenarios. Emphasis is put on the flexibility regarding the fuels and oxygen carriers, their conversion and possible process variations. The tool developed will support upcoming CFD modeling and further economic considerations.

Third party testing of direct heating appliances fueled with pellets has been established in many countries worldwide. The main goals are ensuring operation safety and a minimum level of performance of the products prior to market implementation. This kind of approval procedure for new products requires testing standards, certified testing bodies and a legal framework defining minimum requirements for specified performance parameters which are assessed in the respective standards.

While the overall targets are quite similar for all countries having set-up such procedures, the practical implementation of these targets in the national/international testing standards is remarkably different. This applies to both, the way of operating the appliance during the testing and the measurements performed during the testing.

Furthermore several industries were requested recently to modify their product standards towards more realistic operating conditions. The most famous example is car industry, but this request may also apply to biomass heating systems.

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC) still lack active and efficient electrocatalysts for the alkaline ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this work, a new instant reduction synthesis method was developed to prepare carbon supported ternary PdNiBi nanocatalysts with improved EOR activity. Synthesized catalysts were characterized with a variety of structural and compositional analysis techniques in order to correlate their morphology and surface chemistry with electrochemical performance. The modified instant reduction synthesis results in well-dispersed, spherical Pd85Ni10Bi5 nanoparticles on Vulcan XC72R support (Pd85Ni10Bi5/C(II-III)), with sizes ranging from 3.7 ± 0.8 to 4.7 ± 0.7 nm. On the other hand, the common instant reduction synthesis method leads to significantly agglomerated nanoparticles (Pd85Ni10Bi5/C(I)). EOR activity and stability of these three different carbon supported PdNiBi anode catalysts with a nominal atomic ratio of 85:10:5 were probed via cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry using the rotating disk electrode method. Pd85Ni10Bi5/C(II) showed the highest electrocatalytic activity (150 mA⋅cm−2; 2678 mA⋅mg−1) with low onset potential (0.207 V) for EOR in alkaline medium, as compared to a commercial Pd/C and to the other synthesized ternary nanocatalysts Pd85Ni10Bi5/C(I) and Pd85Ni10Bi5/C(III). This new synthesis approach provides a new avenue to developing efficient, carbon supported ternary nanocatalysts for future energy conversion devices.

The aim of this paper is to test the applicability of upgraded agricultural biomass feedstock such as torrefied sunflower husks during combustion in small and medium heating applications. Sunflower husk is formed in large quantities at enterprises producing sunflower oil and can be used as biofuel. However, big problems arise due to the low bulk density of husks and the rapid growth of ash deposits on the heating surfaces of boilers. In order to solve these problems, it was proposed to produce pellets from husks, and to subject these pellets to torrefaction. After torrefaction, net calorific value was increased by 29% while the risk of high temperature corrosion of boilers was reduced. Signs of ash softening neither occurred in combustion of raw nor in combustion of torrefied sunflower husk pellets. High aerosol emissions, already present in raw sunflower husk pellets, could not be mitigated by torrefaction. First combustion results at medium scale furnaces indicated that sunflower husk pellets (both raw and torrefied) in a commercial boiler < 400 kW, operated in a mode with low primary zone temperatures (< 850 °C), meet current emission limits. Regarding the future upcoming emission limits according to the European Medium Combustion Plant Directive, additional measures are required in order to comply with the dust limits.

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis produces an aqueous stream containing light oxygenates as major by-product. The low carbon concentration of the organics makes its thermal recovery unprofitable. Thus, novel processes are needed to utilize this waste carbon content. In this work, the aqueous phase reforming of the wastewater obtained from a 15 kWth Fischer-Tropsch plant was explored as a promising process to produce hydrogen at mild temperatures. The FT product water was firstly characterized and afterward subjected to the reforming at different reaction temperatures and time, using a platinum catalyst supported on activated carbon. It was observed that, besides activity, the selectivity towards hydrogen was favored at higher temperatures; equally, increasing the reaction time allowed to obtain the total conversion of most molecules found in the solution, without decreasing the selectivity and reaching a plateau at 4 hours in the hydrogen productivity. In order to get more insights into the reaction mechanism and product distribution derived from the APR of FT product water, several tests were performed with single compounds, finding characteristic features. The importance of the position of the hydroxyl group in the molecule structure was highlighted, with secondary alcohols more prone to dehydrogenation pathways compared to primary alcohols. Moreover, no interference among the substrates was reported despite the mixture is constituted by several molecules: in fact, the results obtained with the real FT product water were analogous to the linear combination of the single compound tests. Finally, the reuse of the catalyst showed no appreciable deactivation phenomena.

During the last years biomass evolved into one of the most important energy sources in Central Europe. Depending on the atmosphere, different types of thermochemical processes can be differentiated: pyrolysis, gasification and combustion, whereas pyrolysis operates without any oxygen in the atmosphere, combustion with the highest ratio of oxygen. Depending on the conversion technology and conversion conditions, different products can be generated: heat, cooling power and electrical power, liquid, gaseous and solid products, such as hydrogen, FT-fuels and biochar.
This work focuses on the valorisation of solid side products of gasification based biomass CHP-systems to increase ecologic and economic benefit. Depending on the conversion process of biomass into producer gas this solid residue consists mainly of ash or of so called biochar with high carbon content. Increasing the amount of biochar leads to a decrease of producer gas, but, with the high market potential of biochar, the economic benefits increase. According to its characteristics (e.g. purity, surface structure) different applications can be addressed and therefore different prices can be achieved. Therefore, extended research on biochar treatment processes and related reaction kinetics of biochar is from crucial importance for the development and optimisation of downstream upgrading processes in order to reach the desired quality of the biochar. In the past, such considerations of utilising side products, like biochar, have not been in the centre of attention during the design phase of gasification reactors. Therefore, the establishment of a finishing-treatment of biochar extracted from a gasification process is under investigation. The focus of this paper lies on the reaction kinetics of biochar activation itself and not the primary material (biomass). In order to derivate correlations between reaction kinetics and atmosphere compositions as well as temperature, experimental test runs are conducted with a Thermogravimetric Analyser (TGA) including a steam furnace, which enables studies of mass and energy changes under defined absolute humidity. To produce applicable and reliable data, the limitations of the TGA-test-setup are evaluated with examinations on variations of sample mass, bulk density, particle size distribution and the gas flow. On this basis the test design is defined with certain specifications on the sample preparation and a constant flow velocity. The investigated biochar taken out the gasification process is dried, milled and sieved for the TGA-tests. The main part is devoted to conduct a detailed investigation changing the content of moisture (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as the temperature. The tests are operated at a temperature range between 700 and 1000°C, H2O-concentrations from 0 to 80 vol% and CO2-concentrations also in the range of 0 to 80 vol%. These systematic experimental variations provide the basis for a model of the reaction kinetics of biochar under different boundary conditions. The data is to be evaluated via the generic model including temperature and the partial pressures of CO2 and H2O. Afterwards it will be matched with conventional models (e.g. Arrhenius plot, linear regression models) to determine their suitability. One of those models was used in the paper of Ollero et al, where the influence of CO2 on the reaction kinetics of olive residue was investigated. 1First results show that the reaction rate of biochar is much lower than the one of olive residue. Effects of treatment conditions on the surface properties are investigated by taking out the treated samples after a defined treatment period at a defined mass loss and subsequent surface analysis (BET, pore size/volume distribution) of the samples. In first BET surface analysis, the treatments of biochar with vapour lead to a surface of approximately 1000m²/g whereas the original sample has a BET surface lower than 150m²/g. This finding leads to the question how the reaction kinetics of a treatment process influences the surface change. The obtained data is taken as basis for developing an upgrading process for biochar to a high value product of the gasification process. In order to prove the suitability of TGA-tests for identifying optimised treatment conditions, further research shall demonstrate the correlation of the lab-scale TGA-results with experiences of pilot scale tests.
 

The large variations found in literature for the activation energy values of main biomass compounds (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) in pyrolysis TGA raise concerns regarding the reliability of both the experimental and the modelling side of the performed works. In this work, an international round robin has been conducted by 7 partners who performed TGA pyrolysis experiments of pure cellulose and beech wood at several heating rates. Deviations of around 20 – 30 kJ/mol were obtained in the activation energies of cellulose, hemicellulose and conversions up to 0.9 with beech wood when considering all experiments. The following method was employed to derive reliable kinetics: to first ensure that pure cellulose pyrolysis experiments from literature can be accurately reproduced, and then to conduct experiments at different heating rates and evaluate them with isoconversional methods to detect experiments that are outliers and to validate the reliability of the derived kinetics and employed reaction models with a fitting routine. The deviations in the activation energy values for the cases that followed this method, after disregarding other cases, were of 10 kJ/mol or lower, except for lignin and very high conversions. This method is therefore proposed in order to improve the consistency of data acquisition and kinetic analysis of TGA for biomass pyrolysis in literature, reducing the reported variability.

A deeper understanding and quantification on the influence of inorganic species on the pyrolysis process, combined with the presence of heterogeneous secondary reactions, is pursued in this study. Both chemical controlled and transport limited regimes are considered. The former is achieved in a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) with fine milled biomass in the mg range, while the latter is investigated in a particle level reactor with spherical particles of different sizes. To account for the influence of inorganics, wood particles were washed and doped with KCl aqueous solutions, resulting in K concentrations in the final wood of around 0.5% and 5% on dry basis. Gas species and condensable volatiles were measured online with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) gas analyzer. The removal of inorganic species delayed the pyrolysis reaction to higher temperatures and lowered char yields. The addition of inorganics (K) shifted the devolatilization process to lower temperatures, increased char and water yields, and reduced CO production among others. Higher heating rates and temperatures resulted in lower char, water, and light condensable yields, but significantly higher CH4 and other light hydrocarbons, as well as CO. The increase in these yields can be attributed, at least in part, to the gas phase cracking reactions of the produced volatiles. Larger particle size increased the formation of char, CH4 and other light hydrocarbons, and light condensables for low and high pyrolysis temperatures, while reduced the release of CO2 and H2O. This novel data set allows to quantify the influence of each parameter and can be used as basis for the development of detailed pyrolysis models which can include both the influence of inorganics and transport limitations when coupled into particle models.

Combustion of waste wood can cause slagging, fouling and corrosion which lead to boiler failure, affecting the energy efficiency and the lifetime of the power plant. Additivation with mineral and sulfur containing additives during waste wood combustion could potentially reduce these problems. This study aims at understanding the environmental impacts of using additives to improve the operational performance of waste wood combustion. The environmental profiles of four energy plants (producing heat and/or power), located in different European countries (Poland, Austria, Sweden and Germany), were investigated through a consequential life cycle assessment (LCA). The four energy plants are all fueled by waste wood and/or residues. This analysis explored the influences of applying different additives strategies in the four power plants, different wood fuel mixes and resulting direct emissions, to the total life cycle environmental impacts of heat and power generated. The impacts on climate change, acidification, particulate matter, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity and cumulative energy demand were calculated, considering 1 GJ of exergy as functional unit. Primary data for the operation without additives were collected from the power plant operators, and emission data for the additives scenarios were collected from onsite measurements. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the expected increase of energy efficiency. The analysis indicated that the use of gypsum waste, halloysite and coal fly ash decreases the environmental impacts of heat and electricity produced (average of 12% decrease in all impacts studied, and a maximum decrease of 121%). The decrease of impacts is mainly a consequence of the increase of energy generation that avoids the use of more polluting marginal technologies. However, impacts on acidification may increase (up to 120% increase) under the absence of appropriate flue gas cleaning systems. Halloysite was the additive presenting the highest benefits.

A new model-based control strategy for biomass grate boilers is presented in this paper. Internal model control is used to control four outputs of the plant and to achieve a control structure with fewer control parameters needing to be experimentally tuned. A nonlinear state–space model describing the essential behaviour of the biomass grate boiler is used for controller design. The inverse system dynamics representing the main part of internal model control are designed with the help of this model. In doing so the properties of differentially flat systems are used. Due to a time delayed input, the inverse system is determined only for three input output channels. The stabilization of the inverse system dynamics, however, is a challenging task. A stabilization method with the help of the time delayed input is suggested and a stability analysis is given. The new control strategy has only three parameters to be tuned, representing a major reduction of complexity in comparison to existing model-based approaches. Finally, experimental results of the implemented control strategy on representative biomass grate boiler with a nominal capacity of 180 kW are presented and compared to an existing model-based control strategy based on input output linearization. The experimental evaluation proves that it is possible to operate the biomass boiler in all load ranges with high efficiency and low pollutant emissions.

The authors want to acknowledge, that during the production of the final version of the publication the image for Figure 9 has been replaced with the image for Figure 12, however without changing the content of the paper. This issue is resolved in the current version of the publication.

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an important issue for iron and steel industry. One possibility is to use biomass-based reducing agents, also called bioreducers, to replace at least partly the fossil reducer agents. In a first step woody biomass was treated in a lab-scale muffle furnace and afterwards ground with a ball mill. The powder characteristics were investigated in respect to the flow behavior. For a certain treatment temperature the particle size distribution and as well the flow behavior shows similarities to lignite. The next stage was to identify relations between powder characteristics and its fluidization behavior. A fluidization device was assembled and used to determine the minimum fluidization gas velocity for various bioreducer powders.

This publication focuses on the experimental investigation of a novel small-scale fuel flexible biomass combustion technology with a fixed-bed employing a low oxygen concentration. It was obtained through a low primary air ratio and the additional supply of recirculated flue gas. The plant was operated with spruce wood chips, which contained three different mass fractions of water, and miscanthus pellets. All relevant components of the released gas above the fixed-bed were measured, as well as the 3D bed temperature distribution. The balances confirmed a high experimental data consistency. Therefore, it was possible to determine the location of the four different conversion zones inside the fixed-bed: drying, pyrolysis, char gasification and char oxidation. The reduction of CO2 to CO in the char reduction zone worked efficiently across the entire grate area. Furthermore, the results showed that the water mass fraction of the fuel did not influence the dry product gas composition, but significantly affected the location for the release of pyrolysis products such as tars. It was found that the low oxygen concentration in the fixed-bed combined with flue gas recirculation was an effective method to reduce bed temperatures and therefore its inorganic emissions while significantly increasing feedstock flexibility. The investigations provided fundamental findings on the conversion and release behavior of the new technology under real operating conditions and are very useful for further experimental work and CFD simulations targeting the reduction of PM and NOX emissions.

Biomass has the potential to make a major contribution to a renewable future economy. If biomass is gasified, a wide variety of products (e.g., bulk chemicals, hydrogen, methane, alcohols, diesel) can be produced. In each of these processes, gas cleaning is crucial. Impurities in the gas can cause catalyst poisoning, pipe plugging, unstable or poisoned end products, or harm the environment. Aromatic compounds (e.g., benzene, naphthalene, pyrene), in particular, have a huge impact on stable operation of syngas processes. The removal of these compounds can be accomplished by wet, dry, or hot gas cleaning methods. Wet gas cleaning methods tend to produce huge amounts of wastewater, which needs to be treated separately. Hot gas cleaning methods provide a clean gas but are often cost intensive due to the high operating temperatures and catalysts used in the system. Another approach is dry or semi-dry gas cleaning methods, including absorption and adsorption on solid matter. In this work, special focus was laid on adsorption-based gas cleaning for syngas applications. Adsorption and desorption test runs were carried out under laboratory conditions using a model gas with aromatic impurities. Adsorption isotherms, as well as dynamics, were measured with a multi-compound model gas. Based on these results, a temperature swing adsorption process was designed and tested under laboratory conditions, showing the possibility of replacing conventional wet gas cleaning with a semi-dry gas cleaning approach.

Control strategies of absorption heat pumping systems (AHPS, comprising heat pumps and chillers) often
perform insufficiently well, since they usually do not explicitly consider the systems’ dynamics and crosscoupling effects. One promising approach to improve their performance is to apply model-based control strategies since they would allow for an explicit consideration of these system characteristics. Therefore, mathematically simple models of the system to be controlled are required. This contribution proposes a new approach for such a model for a H2O-LiBr AHPS. The model results from the linearization of a more complex, nonlinear simulation model, leading to a simple, but physically still meaningful linear state-space model structure. The experimental validation shows that the developed model describes the system’s dynamics and cross-coupling effects sufficiently well and indicates that it is suitable to serve as a basis for the development of a model-based control strategy for AHPS.

Absorptionskälteanlagen können einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Verringerung von CO2-Emissionen leisten, wenn Wärme aus regenerativen Energieträgern oder Abwärme aus industriellen Prozessen zum Antrieb verwendet wird. Absorptionskälteanlagen weisen bereits jetzt eine hohe Effizienz auf, bei veränderlichen Betriebsbedingungen kann diese je nach vorhandenen Stellgliedern weiter gesteigert werden. Dazu werden im Rahmen des Forschungsprojektes „Heat Pumping Systems Control (HPC)“ zwei Absorptionskälteanlagen – eine mit der Stoffpaarung Ammoniak/Wasser (NH3/H2O) und eine mit der Stoffpaarung Wasser/Lithiumbromid (H2O/LiBr) – untersucht, um für unterschiedliche Anwendungen optimale Betriebsstrategien zu entwickeln. Zur Berücksichtigung der Zustandsänderungen in der Absorptionskälteanlage, werden dynamische Simulationsmodelle in der Modellierungssprache Modelica entwickelt und mit Messdaten validiert.

Im Rahmen dieses Konferenzbeitrags werden Komponentenmodelle für die NH3/H2O-Absorptionskälteanlage und Simulationsrechnungen bei veränderlichen Randbedingungen präsentiert, sowie ein Vergleich mit Messdaten diskutiert.

Pyrolysis conditions in charcoal production affect yields, properties, and further use of charcoal. Reactivity is a critical property when using charcoal as an alternative to fossil coal and coke, as fuel or reductant, in different industrial processes. This work aimed to obtain a holistic understanding of the effects of pyrolysis conditions on the reactivity of charcoal. Notably, this study focuses on the complex effects that appear when producing charcoal from large biomass particles in comparison with the literature on pulverized biomass. Charcoals were produced from woodchips under a variety of pyrolysis conditions (heating rate, temperature, reaction gas, type of biomass, and bio-oil embedding). Gasification reactivity of produced charcoal was determined through thermogravimetric analysis under isothermal conditions of 850 °C and 20% of CO2. The charcoals were characterized for the elemental composition, specific surface area, pore volume and distribution, and carbon structure. The analysis results were used to elucidate the relationship between the pyrolysis conditions and the reactivity. Heating rate and temperature were the most influential pyrolysis parameters affecting charcoal reactivity, followed by the reaction gas and bio-oil embedding. The effects of these pyrolysis conditions on charcoal reactivity could primarily be explained by the difference in the meso- and macropore volume and the size and structural order of aromatic clusters. The lower reactivity of slow pyrolysis charcoals also coincided with their lower catalytic inorganic content. The reactivity difference between spruce and birch charcoals appears to be mainly caused by the difference in catalytically active inorganic elements. Contrary to pyrolysis of pulverized biomass, a low heating rate produced a higher specific surface area compared with a high heating rate. Furthermore, the porous structure and the reactivity of charcoal produced from woodchips were influenced when the secondary char formation was promoted, which cannot be observed in pyrolysis of pulverized biomass.

Four different models for heat transfer to the particles immersed in a fluidized bed were evaluated and implemented into an existing single particle model. Pyrolysis experiments have been conducted using a fluidized bed installed on a balance at different temperatures and fluidization velocities using softwood pellets. Using a heat transfer model applicable for fluidized beds, the single particle model was able to predict the experimental results of mass loss obtained in this study as well as experimental data from literature with a reasonable accuracy. A good agreement between experimental and modeling results was found for different reactor temperatures and configurations as well as different biomass types, particle sizes – in the typical range of pellets - and fluidization velocities when they were higher than . However, significant deviations were found for fluidization velocities close to minimum fluidization. Heat transfer models which consider the influence of fluidization velocity show a better agreement in this case although differences are still present.

The majority of renewable energy technologies are volatile in nature. External factors such as weather conditions lead to fluctuations in their produced electricity and heat. This results in a demand either not being covered or dissatisfied since too much electricity and heat is produced in the energy system. Although energy storages can counteract these fluctuations, renewable energy technologies that are capable of producing energy on demand are needed as well. As such, technologies based on the thermochemical conversion of biomass are especially relevant as they are considered to be CO2-neutral. Although most existing implementations are based on combustion of biomass, fixed-bed biomass gasification is of growing relevance due to higher overall efficiencies and low pollutant emissions. Currently, fixed-bed biomass gasifiers are usually operated at steady-state operation to produce the maximum amount of energy possible. This contribution investigates, whether they can be used as a technology for demand-oriented electricity and heat production

The operation characteristics of thermally driven absorption refrigeration systems (ARS) are strongly dependent on their hydraulic integration. Therefore, varying operating conditions of the hydraulic supply have a great influence on the behaviour of ARS and lead to dynamic operation, which can affect the efficiency and is largely unexplored so far. To enable a simple investigation of ARS integration considering their dynamic behaviour and to develop modern, efficiency-enhancing control strategies, dynamic simulation models of ARS are developed in Modelica Code.

In this paper, a dynamic simulation model of an ARS with the working pair ammonia/water (NH3/H2O) is presented. The parameterization and the physical correlations of selected components of the simulation model are described. Afterwards, the simulation model is verified by comparing simulation results with measurement data of the NH3/H2O-ARS. Finally, the capabilities of the simulation model are demonstrated by performing a simulation-based analysis of the temperature glide of the refrigerant in the evaporator.

This study aims to determine the fate of P during fluidized bed co-combustion of chicken litter (CL) with K-rich fuels [e.g., wheat straw (WS)] and Ca-rich fuels (bark). The effect of fuel blending on phosphate speciation in ash was investigated. This was performed by chemical characterization of ash fractions to determine which phosphate compounds had formed and identify plausible ash transformation reactions for P. The ash fractions were produced in combustion experiments using CL and fuel blends with 30% CL and WS or bark (B) at 790–810 °C in a 5 kW laboratory-scale bubbling fluidized bed. Potassium feldspar was used as the bed material. Bed ash particles, cyclone ash, and particulate matter (PM) were collected and subjected to chemical analysis with scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS) and X-ray diffraction. P was detected in coarse ash fractions only, that is, bed ash, cyclone ash, and coarse PM fraction (>1 μm); no P could be detected in the fine PM fraction (<1 μm). SEM–EDS analysis showed that P was mainly present in K–Ca–P-rich areas for pure CL as well as in the ashes from the fuel blends of CL with WS or B. In the WS blend, P was found together with Si in these areas. The crystalline compound containing P was hydroxyapatite in all cases as well as whitlockite in the cases of pure CL and WS blend, of which the latter compound has been previously identified as a promising plant nutrient. The ash fractions from CL and bark blend only contained P in hydroxyapatite. Co-combustion of CL together with WS appears to be promising for P recovery, and ashes with this composition could be further studied in plant growth experiments

Interaction of biomass ash and bed materials in thermochemical conversion in fluidized beds leads to changes of the bed particle surface due to ash layer formation. Ash components present on the bed particle surface strongly depend on the ash composition of the fuel. Thus, the residual biomass used has a strong influence on the surface changes on bed particles in fluidized bed conversion processes and, therefore, on the catalytic performance of the bed material layers. Ash layer formation is associated with an increase in the catalytic activity of the bed particles in gasification and plays a key role in the operability of different biomass fuels. The catalytic activation over time was observed for K-feldspar used as the bed material with bark, chicken manure, and a mixture of bark and chicken manure as fuels. The changes on the bed material surfaces were further characterized by SEM/EDS and BET analyses. Raman, XPS, and XRD analyses were used to characterize the crystal phases on the bed material surface. An increase in surface area over time was observed for K-feldspar during the interaction with biomass ash. Additionally, a more inhomogeneous surface composition for fuels containing chicken manure in comparison to pure bark was observed. This was due to the active participation of phosphorus from the fuel ash in the ash transformation reactions leading to their presence on the particle surface. A decreased catalytic activity was observed for the same BET surface area compared to bark combustion, caused by the different fuel ash composition of chicken manure.

Industrial plants using DFB biomass gasification are on the verge of profitability. These plants should be operated more economically in order to support the industrial applications for renewable technologies of this kind. Since some parts of such plants are typically difficult to control, a state-of-the-art control strategy is analyzed here in the context of its potential for increased economic efficiency. The DFB gasification plant “HGA Senden” in Ulm, Germany is considered on an exemplary basis here. A process analysis reveals a high potential in the synchronization of product gas generation and utilization. At the present time a relevant surplus of product gas is burned in an auxiliary boiler for synchronization purposes and regular manual adjustments at the fuel feed are necessary by the plant operators. For this synchronization a novel control strategy is developed that actuates the auxiliary boiler and the fuel feed simultaneously. The novel control strategy was experimentally validated for a period of over one month. Due to this long-term evaluation the fuel consumption was reduced by 5% and the manual adjustments of the fuel feed that were necessary on average every 30min were eliminated. As a result DFB gasification plants can be operated more economically by applying the novel control strategy for synchronization of product gas generation and utilization.

Bed materials and their catalytic activity are two main parameters that affect the performance of the dual fluidized bed (DFB) gasification system in terms of product gas composition and tar levels. Two sources of bed materials were used for the operation of a commercial DFB gasification system in Thailand, using woodchips as a biomass feedstock. One source of the bed materials was the calcined olivine which had been used in the Gussing Plant, Austria, and the other activated bed material was a mixture of fresh Chinese olivine and used Austrian olivine with additives of biomass ash, calcium hydroxide and dolomite. These bed materials were collected and analysed for morphological and chemical composition using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). The product gas was cleaned in a scrubber to remove tars, from which the samples were collected for gravimetric tar analysis. Its composition data was automatically recorded at the operation site before it entered the gas engine. From the SEM, EDS and XRF analyses, calcium-rich layers around the bed materials were observed on the activated bed material. The inner layers of bed materials collected were homogeneous. Biomass ash, which was generally added to the bed materials, had significant calcium and potassium content. These calcium-rich layers of the bed materials, from the calcium hydroxide, biomass ash and dolomite, influenced system performance, which was determined by observing lower tar concentration and higher hydrogen concentration in the product gas.

Solid oxide fuel cells represent a promising technology to increase the electrical efficiency of biomass-based combined-heat-power systems in comparison to state-of-the-art gas engines, additionally providing high temperature heat. To identify favorable fuel gas compositions for an efficient coupling with gasifiers at low degradation risk is of major importance to ensure stability, reliability, and durability of the systems used, thus increasing attractiveness of electricity production from biomass. Therefore, this study presents a comprehensive analysis on the influence of main gas components from biomass gasification on the performance and efficiency of a cell relevant for real application. An industrial-size electrolyte supported single cell with nickel/gadolinium-doped ceria anode was selected showing high potential for gasifier-solid oxide fuel cell systems. Beneficial gas component ratios enhancing the power output and electric efficiency are proposed based on the experimental study performed. Furthermore, the degradation stability of a SOFC fueled with a synthetic product gas representing steam gasification of woody biomass was investigated. After 500 h of operation under load at a steam-to-carbon ratio of 2.25 in the fuel gas, no performance or anode degradation could be detected.

Thermal conversion of ash-rich fuels in fluidized bed systems is often associated with extensive operation problems caused by the high amount of reactive inorganics. This paper investigates the behavior of wheat straw lignin—a potential renewable fuel for dual fluidized bed gasification. The formation of coherent ash residues and its impact on the operation performance has been investigated and was supported by thermochemical equilibrium calculations in FactSage 7.3. The formation of those ash residues, and their subsequent accumulation on the surface of the fluidized bed, causes temperature and pressure fluctuations, which negatively influence the steady-state operation of the fluidized bed process. This paper presents a detailed characterization of the coherent ash residues, which consists mostly of silica and partially molten alkali silicates. Furthermore, the paper gives insights into the formation of these ash residues, dependent on the fuel pretreatment (pelletizing) of the wheat straw lignin, which increases their stability compared to the utilization of non-pelletized fuel.