Energy production from biomass and its relevance to urban planning and compatibility assessment: two applicative cases in Italy

While the demand for energy in Italy continues to increase, the European Union Directive 2009/28/EC has set a goal of obtaining 20 % of all energy from renewable sources by 2020. It is required both for efficient energy utilization and the development of renewable energy plants, including biomass. In this context, we consider the use of residues from forest maintenance, residues from livestock, the use of energy crops, the recovery of food waste, and the residuals from agro-industrial activities. At the same time, it is necessary to consider the consequent environmental impact. In this study, we applied these considerations to two specific areas in Italy, with different characteristics using the tool of environmental balance. This approach presents a substantial innovation for performing a quantitative analysis of the environmental impact. The specific-considered cases can also indicate a general methodology, useful for energy production compatibility planning.     

欧盟空调及热泵新能源标签指令及ErP指令介绍

欧盟针对空调及热泵产品的新能源标签指令（EUNo.626/2011）和ErP指令的实施方法（EUNo.206/2012）于2013年1月正式实施。这两个指令采用了新的评估方法和理念对空调及热泵产品进行节能评估。本文着重对这两个指令进行介绍阐述,帮助设计开发人员更好的理解欧盟对于这类产品的新要求。     

Production of green energy from co-digestion: perspectives for the Province of Cuneo, energetic balance and environmental sustainability

In Italy and many European countries, energy production from biomass is encouraged by strong economic subsidies so that biomass energy plants are getting large diffusion. Nevertheless, it is necessary to define the environmental compatibility taking into account global parameters as well as environmental impacts at regional and local scales coming from new polluting emissions. The environmental balances regarding new energy plants are of primary importance within very polluted areas such as Northern Italy where air quality limits are systematically exceeded, in particular for PM₁₀, NO₂, and ozone. The paper analyzes the renewable energy scenario relating to manure anaerobic digestion and biogas production for the Province of Cuneo, N–W Italy, and the environmental sustainability of the possible choices. The study is focused on energy producibility, heat and power, nitrogen oxides and ammonia emissions, GHG (greenhouse gases) balances dealing also with indirect releases of CH₄ and N₂O, as well as emissions due to energy crops production. The most important conclusion that can be drawn is that the production of renewable energy from anaerobic digestion could cover up to 13 % of the Province electricity consumption, but sustainability in terms of CO₂ emissions can be reached only through an overriding use of agricultural waste products (manure and by-products instead of energy crops) and cogeneration of thermal energy at disposal; the application of the best available techniques to waste gas cleaning, energy recovery, and digestate chemical–physical treatments allows positive emissive balances.     

The causal relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth: evidence from Europe

The European Union Renewable Energy Directive sets an objective of increasing the renewable energy share of the used renewable energy in the EU by 2020. The objective of this study is to analyze and compare the short-run and long-run relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in 12 European Union countries and to derive implications for renewable energy policy. To do so, we apply panel vector error correction model using the available annual data from 1990 to 2014 on 12 European Union countries. Moreover, Granger causality test is conducted to examine whether there exists any causal linkage between economic growth and renewable energy consumption. The findings indicate the presence of unidirectional causality running from economic growth to renewable energy consumption in the short run. However, in the long run, a bidirectional causal relationship between the variables in question exists.     

欧盟铁路系统技术法规体系构建初探

近年来,欧盟铁路互操作性得以迅速发展得益于欧盟成熟的技术法规体系。从1996年欧盟理事会关于泛欧高速铁路系统互操作性的96/48/EC指令和2001年3月关于传统铁路系统互操作性的2001/16/EC指令,到将这两个指令融合为关于欧洲铁路互操作性的2008/57/EC指令,从而形成了以2008/57/EC指令为基础,以互操作性技术规范（TSI）为实施规则,以标准为技术方案的欧盟铁路互操作性技术法规体系。欧盟铁路互操作性技术法规具有完整的体系和运行机制。本文从3个方面,分析阐释了欧盟铁路系统完整的技术法规体系。     

Anforderungen an Vakuumpumpen zur Verwendung in explosionsgefährdeten Bereichen

The Directive 94/9/EC describes the conception and structure of equipments and protection systems for use in potential explosive atmospheres on the European Market. It becams legal validity the 1^st July 2003. For help the manufactures to fulfill the requirements, the following paper want to give informations to the manufactures and also to the operator of explosion protected vacuum pumps to the application of the existing legal and, partly, to the normative regulations, which are still under evaluation. There are shown the legal and normative regulations as well as the essential requirements for ensuring the explotion protection for vacuum pumps. Possibilities to avoid ignition sources at operations in, and the discharge of potential explosive atmospheres are also given.     

Use of TLD in evaluating diagnostic reference levels for some radiological examinations

The European Council Directive 97/43 introduces diagnostic reference levels (DRL) for all medical examinations involving ionising radiation. Each department has to evaluate patient dose and to compare that value with the DRL adopted by its member state. Italian law, applying the Directive, states that reference levels must be measured every 2 years. Quantities that must be measured are entrance surface dose or air kerma, or other dosimetric quantities. In our work, clinical measurements on patients were made by positioning a thermoluminescence dosemeter (TLD) over the skin of a statistically significant number of patients for each projection of each examination. As there is no national guideline for these measurements in Italy, the aim of this work was to establish a method based both on European publications and on clinical experience. Three different modalities were considered: conventional radiography, computed radiography and mammography. Accordingly, differently shaped types of TLD were required, especially for mammography where the beam energy is lower.     

Correlation analysis of small wind–solar–biomass hybrid energy system installed at RGTU Bhopal, MP (India)

The perspective of this paper represents all types of correlation existing among the various renewable power sources in the hybrid system to find out its feasibility. Among the different energy alternatives available, the wind energy system clubbed with solar photo voltaic panels and biomass gasifier for the production of electricity is found more suitable. As wind, solar and biomass hybrid energy systems stand out distinctly for their use in tropical regions. Keeping this in view a statistical correlation analysis of the said hybrid energy system has been evolved for a remote area (wind and solar data of which are collected from weather monitoring station installed at University Institute of Technology, Bhopal, India).     

Evaluation of a UV absorber added to PET bottles for edible oil packaging

The photo‐oxidation of lipids has significant effects on the quality of edible oils. The oxidation of oils and fats can begin due to the action of external energy sources such as light. Studies showed that the rate of photo‐oxidation of the oil depends on the light transmission of the packaging, the product characteristics and the O₂ barrier of the packaging. The UV absorber 2‐(2′‐hydroxy‐3′‐tert‐butyl‐5′‐methylphenyl)‐5‐chlorobenzotriazole (Tinuvin 326^?) has been used in PET bottles for oil, making possible the reduction of the photo‐oxidation rates. This additive was approved recently by the European Union and included in the Positive List of Directive 2001/62/EC, with a limit of specific migration. This additive is also approved by the Mercosur legislation; nevertheless its restriction of use is being reviewed in Brazil. This study had the objectives of evaluating the efficiency of the additive through the determination of the light barrier properties of PET bottles with various levels of Tinuvin 326^? and of verifying its suitability for use in direct contact with foods. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring the determinants of renewable energy innovation considering the institutional factors: A negative binomial analysis

Replacing traditional energy sources with renewable energy sources is an effective way to achieve emission reduction targets. Focusing on OECD countries from 1990 to 2018, this study examines the determinants of renewable energy innovation by applying a negative binomial model. There are four main findings: (1) Renewable energy patents show an inverted U-shaped curve, peaking in 2010; solar energy accounts for the largest share of patents; and the US is the largest renewable energy innovator, followed by South Korea and Germany. (2) Renewable electricity installed capacity, share of expenditure on research and development (R&D) of GDP, and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol are all found to promote innovation; by comparison, the proportion of renewable energy power generation of the total electricity generating capacity shows a negative effect. The price of crude oil shows no significant effect due to the offset effect between the European and non-European country groups. (3) Share of R&D expenditure of GDP is confirmed to be the force driving technological progress in the solar, geothermal, and marine sectors, and it plays a more important role in Japan than in the US or Europe. Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol has no significant effect on innovation in European countries. (4) Three institutional factors—namely, the legal system and property rights; regulations; and freedom to trade internationally—are confirmed to be the driving forces, whereas this is not the case for the growth and free circulation of money. Policy implications for the optimization of the renewable energy sector's structure, the enhancement of renewable energy capacity, and the improvement of R&D investment and the institutional environment are proposed. Future research should shed light on a broader sample, using micro-level and socio-technical analysis.     

Application of land-use planning criteria for the control of major accident hazards: a case-study

Land-use planning (LUP) with respect to major accident hazards is one of the more important requirements of Directive 96/82/EC (the so-called Seveso II Directive). Different approaches were developed by the Member States of the European Union in order to implement this aspect of the Directive. This study focuses on the comparison of the specific approaches developed for LUP with respect to major accidents hazards. An Italian industrial area has been selected to perform a case study. The different LUP criteria have been used both to evaluate the present state of the area and the effect of several proposed hazard reduction actions. The results obtained have allowed a comparison of the different LUP methodologies. Critical steps in the application of the different LUP criteria have been identified, and the different priorities of hazard reduction actions resulting from risk-based and consequence-based approaches have been highlighted.     

Possibilities and sustainability of “biomass for power” solutions in the case of a coal-based power utility

This paper investigates the possibilities and the sustainability of “biomass for power” solutions on a real power system. The case example is JP Elektroprivreda BiH d.d.—Sarajevo (EPBiH), a typical conventional coal-based power utility operating in the region of South East Europe. Biomass use is one of the solutions considered in EPBiH as a means of increasing shares of renewable energy sources (RES) in final energy production and reducing CO₂ emissions. This ultimately is a requirement for all conventional coal-based power utilities on track to meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) cut targets by 2050. The paper offers a discussion of possible options as a function of sustainability principles, considering environmental, economic and social aspects of biomass use. In the case of EPBiH, the most beneficial would be waste woody biomass and energy crop co-firing on existing coal-based power plants, as suggested by biomass market analyses and associated technological studies. To assess the sustainability of the different biomass co-firing options, a multicriteria sustainability assessment (MSA) and single criteria analysis (SCA) were used. Four different options were considered, based on different ratios of biomass for co-firing: 0 wt%-reference case, and 5, 7 and 10 wt% of biomass. Both the MSA and the SCA confirmed that the option with the highest share of biomass is the most preferable one for the considered case. In addition to that, the CO₂ parameter proved to be a key sustainability indicator, effecting the most decision making with regard to preference of options from the point of sustainability. Following up on the results of the analyses, the long-term projection of biomass use in EPBiH has shown an increase in biomass utilization of up to 450,000 t/y in 2030 and beyond, with associated CO₂ cuts of up to 395,000 t/y. This resulted in a 4 % CO₂ cut achieved with biomass co-firing, compared to the 1990 CO₂ emission level. It should be noted that the proposed assessment model for biomass use may be applied to any conventional coal-based power utility as an option in contributing to meeting specific CO₂ cut targets, provided that the set of input data is available and reliable.     

The AETL methodology as a potential solution to current challenges associated with the development and use of acute exposure levels in Seveso II applications

This paper analyses current trends in the development and use of acute exposure levels in Europe for the implementation of the Seveso II Directive [Council Directive 96/82/EC of December 9, 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances. Official Journal of the European Communities, vol. L 10, January 14, 1997, Luxembourg, pp. 13-33]. It also describes a new initiative to develop a European methodology for deriving acute exposure threshold levels that responds to emerging needs in this area. The need for acute exposure values to predict human health effects of potential accidents on exposed populations has burgeoned in recent years. As the driving legislation for managing industrial hazards in Europe, the Seveso II Directive has particularly influenced this trend. Yet at this time it is questionable whether the availability and range of acute exposure values for toxic substances has kept apace with the growing need. Results of a survey of Seveso II competent authorities in the EU-15 revealed that a variety of different types of acute exposure values (AEGLs, EPRGs, etc.) are used for Seveso II applications. Moreover, a comparison of these values indicates gaps in coverage of substances as well as inconsistencies in terms of how health effects and exposure periods are defined for each type. These findings highlight an opportunity for greater collaboration on scientific inputs to application of the Directive in Europe. The ACUTEX project is an EU-funded research project aimed at furthering scientific exchange and collaboration in support of the development of acute exposure levels for toxic substances in Europe. Its goal is to develop a European methodology for deriving acute exposure threshold levels (AETLs). In particular, it provides the possibility for a common European platform for developing additional acute exposure values to meet emerging needs and cover more chemical substances. To maximise success, the work plan is designed to meet two very important challenges, the need to complement and add value to the existing array of acute exposure methodologies and the necessity of meeting requirements of a diverse range of European stakeholders. As such the project will draw on collaboration among European scientists and process of deliberation among stakeholders to deliver the following key results: (1) to facilitate wide acceptance of the methodology in Europe by both the scientific community and communities of different end-users; (2) to provide greater equivalence and transparency in implementation of the Seveso II Directive across the Member States, specifically through the development of common scientific bases for assessing risks and making risk management decisions related to toxic releases; (3) to produce a methodology that remains open to future collaboration on derivation of acute exposure levels on a European and a global basis.     

Analysis of methane yields from energy crops and agricultural by-products and estimation of energy potential from sustainable crop rotation systems in EU-27

Currently an increasing demand for renewable energy can be observed. A part of this demand could be covered by the production of energy from agrarian biomass. Due to the limited availability of arable land, food and feed production are starting to compete for agrarian resources. A way out of this dilemma is to develop concepts that are based on otherwise unused agrarian biomass like straw and include new technologies for the fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass. In this paper, the energy potentials of two different cropping systems are compared. In the energy-based crop rotation system all crops were used either for biogas or ethanol production. In the biorefinery-based approach, the various crops were used in cascades for the production of food as well as feed. Experimental laboratory work and field trials were combined to calculate energy and biomass yields of the crops under investigation. The results demonstrate that steam explosion pretreatment of wheat straw led to a 30% increase in the specific methane yield. The calculated energy output of the biorefinery-based crop rotation system amounted to a total of 126 GJ ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. Extrapolating this energy output to the total arable land of the EU-27 member states, 13,608 PJ of energy could be produced. Therefore, biorefinery-based crop rotation systems could provide approximately three times more energy to the European population than energy-based crop rotation systems.     

ASME pressure vessel meeting to be held in Milan this November

ASME International will be conducting its fifth seminar on the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and the EC Pressure Equipment Directive. It will be held on 10–11 November 2003 in Milan, Italy.This is a short news story only. Visit www.worldpumps.com for the latest pump industry news.     

A methodology for screening of microalgae as a decision making tool for energy and green chemical process applications

The increasing interest for biotechnological use of microalgae demands a methodology for selection of species suitable to support the development of technologies based on the use of such non-conventional renewable raw material, i.e., green industrial applications. The vast and expanding collection of experimental data on both cell growth and biomass composition available in the literature can be used to reduce the cost of the experimental investigations required to support process engineering and optimization. Selecting the appropriate organism requires extracting useful information from such data, a cumbersome task since various multidisciplinary factors must be considered. This paper presents a computer-aided methodology for selecting appropriate algal species given an energy or green chemical process application employing microalgae as a renewable raw material. The approach is “system oriented”, based on biomass composition and chemical processing of the biomass downstream of the CO₂ biofixation and harvesting operations. Quantitative performance results are supported by professional process simulation. Besides comparison of a set of species performances, the proposed methodology also allows the discrimination among distinct algal compositions resulting from different growth conditions for a given species. Furthermore, three categories of screening metrics are proposed to be maximized by the decision making procedure in order to elicit the relevant information. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed methodology, a databank of both biochemical and elemental compositions of microalgal biomass was used in three green applications: Assessment of biomass heating value; production of syngas by gasification of the biomass; and production of Bio-H₂. Within the accuracy of the databank employed to illustrate the procedure, the methodology selected Botryococcus braunii and Isochrysis galbana as potential promising candidates, for the three examined applications.     

欧盟铁路系统根本法2008/57/EC指令的解析

2008/57/EC指令是欧盟铁路互操作性法规的根本法,是欧盟铁路互操作性技术规范（TSI）制定、实施的法律依据。本文系统地阐释分析了2008/57/EC号指令,归纳提炼了该指令的主要内容及其作用。     

Determinants of household use of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies in rural Ethiopia

The poor households living in low-income countries depend on traditional sources for basic energy service; which has a broader socio-economic and environmental adverse effect. To mitigate the problem policy measures were used to increase access to energy-efficient and renewable energy technology. However, there are few studies on demand-side particularly on the drivers of household joint technology adoption behavior. Against this backdrop, this paper examined the determinants of household behavior concerning the adoption decision of energy-efficient and renewable energy technology using cross-sectional data collected from 195 households in central Ethiopia. For identification, the generalized ordered probit model which is a more flexible discrete choice model was applied. The findings reveal that the richer the households, the more likely that they adopt both improved cookstoves and renewable energy technology because of the greater financial capacity to afford to pay the upfront cost of the technologies. Household size and assets such as landholding size and the number of cattle owned positively associated with the use of both technologies. Likewise, a high level of education attained by the head of the household likely reduces the likelihood of adoption of neither technology but increases the likelihood of adoption of renewable energy. Participation in off-farm income-earning activities likely increases the propensity to invest in renewable energy. Similarly, household membership in local cooperatives found to increase the propensity to invest in renewable energy technology. While access to credit found to increase the adoption of energy-efficient technology. The finding of this study implies that poverty reduction and education policies increase the propensity to invest in energy-efficient and renewable energy technology. Likewise, better access to credit, off-farm employment opportunities, and cooperatives are also important.     

Regulatory Aspects of Stability Testing in Europe

The stability data requirements for human pharmaceuticals in the European Community (EC) are based on a series of Directive and Regulation requirements and on a series of advisory guidelines that have been developed and adopted through the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) procedures or, where there is no relevant ICH project, through the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP). There are relevant requirements that cover new drugs and finished products containing them and also for existing active ingredients and products containing them. The sources of the relevant information and the data requirements are discussed and summarized.     

Regulatory Aspects of Stability Testing in Europe

The stability data requirements for human pharmaceuticals in the European Community (EC) are based on a series of Directive and Regulation requirements and on a series of advisory guidelines that have been developed and adopted through the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) procedures or, where there is no relevant ICH project, through the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP). There are relevant requirements that cover new drugs and finished products containing them and also for existing active ingredients and products containing them. The sources of the relevant information and the data requirements are discussed and summarized.