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Applied Sciences
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Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems
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Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2022) | Viewed by 10525

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fontina Petrakopoulou

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Guest Editor
Chair of Energy Engineering and Climate Protection, Institute for Energy Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 18, Secr. KT1, D-10587 Berlin, Germany
Interests: simulation of advanced energy conversion systems; energy & water nexus; application of thermodynamic, economic and environmental analyses to enhance operating efficiencies and reduce emissions, costs and environmental impacts; development of new tools for power plant optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Luis M. Romeo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: integration of CO2 capture systems into power plants and industrial processes; simulation of advanced energy conversion systems; energy storage and carbon utilization with power to gas, energy storage systems simulation; analysis and optimization of energy systems
Dr. Reza Shirmohammadi

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University Carlos III of Madrid, 28911 Leganés, Madrid, Spain
Interests: sustainable energy technologies; life cycle assessment; advanced energy conversion systems; application of thermodynamic, economic and environmental analyses; renewable energy; zero emission systems; advanced energy systems; energy optimization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The future energy sector will rely on advanced energy conversion systems that combine different technologies in complex hybrid and/or polygeneration structures, which will likely be part of synergistic approaches among energy, water and waste treatment processes. Future structures are expected to have minimal environmental impact, and high thermodynamic and economic benefits. Multi-criteria and dynamic analyses can be very useful in the evaluation of such advanced energy conversion systems, as they can be used to account for the variation of resource availability, and the simultaneous consideration of several criteria, trade-offs and energetic, social and technological synergies. Rigorous evaluation tools for complex energy systems can offer engineers and policy makers credible results to support reliable decisions on how to best support an ever-evolving energy sector. 

This Special Issue is expected to become a resourceful collection of valuable scientific works on the above topics, supporting the transition towards a more sustainable and viable future energy sector. Manuscripts will undergo rigorous review, they should be well written, unpublished and report significant advancements.

Prof. Dr. Fontina Petrakopoulou
Prof. Dr. Luis M. Romeo
Dr. Reza Shirmohammadi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Advanced energy conversion systems
  • Hybrid energy conversion systems
  • Polygeneration plants
  • Renewable energy power generation
  • Energy & Water nexus
  • Dynamic optimization
  • Multi-objective optimization
  • Economic analysis
  • Exergy-based analysis
  • Zero-water power generation
  • Zero environmental impact
  • Zero waste
  • Enhanced thermodynamic efficiency
  • Synergies of energy, water and waste processes
  • Social considerations and advanced energy systems

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 10784 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Energy and Economic Analysis of Different Solar Thermal Domestic Hot Water Systems for the Greek Climate Zones: A Multi-Objective Evaluation Approach
by Evangelos Bellos, Lydia Papavasileiou, Maria Kekatou and Michalis Karagiorgas
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12094566 - 30 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1684
Abstract
The exploitation of solar irradiation in the building sector is a promising way to achieve decarbonization and reduce the operating costs of the building. The potential of solar energy in Greece is high and therefore this idea can lead to excellent results. In [...] Read more.
The exploitation of solar irradiation in the building sector is a promising way to achieve decarbonization and reduce the operating costs of the building. The potential of solar energy in Greece is high and therefore this idea can lead to excellent results. In this direction, the goal of the present analysis is the detailed investigation of different solar thermal systems for domestic hot water production in the different climate zones of Greece. Four typical cities are studied in order to examine the climate zones A, B, C, and D, while three different solar thermal collectors coupled to insulated storage tanks are studied for every city. The simple flat plate collector, the advanced flat plate collector, and the evacuated tube collector are the selected solar systems for the present work. The climate data and the characteristics of the solar thermal systems follow the Greek Chamber regulations known as “KENAK”. The analysis is conducted by following the well-known f-chart method and every design is optimized by using energy and financial criteria. The final design is determined by conducting a multi-objective evaluation methodology. It is notable to state that the collector slope and the collecting area are important parameters of this work, while the study case regards a building with 30 residents. According to the final results, the advanced flat plate collector is the best choice according to the multi-objective evaluation procedure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems)
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17 pages, 1417 KiB  
Article
Renewables and Advanced Storage in Power Systems: The Iberian Case
by Julio Usaola
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(7), 3373; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12073373 - 25 Mar 2022
Viewed by 1348
Abstract
Storage has many benefits for power systems with a high share of renewable energy. It reduces renewable curtailment, can participate in ancillary services and contributes to system adequacy. However, its business model is far from clear since most of its revenues come from [...] Read more.
Storage has many benefits for power systems with a high share of renewable energy. It reduces renewable curtailment, can participate in ancillary services and contributes to system adequacy. However, its business model is far from clear since most of its revenues come from arbitrage in energy markets, and this is usually not enough to recover the investment. Advanced storage can facilitate the profitability of storage and ease the integration of renewables in power systems by reducing costs and allowing an enhanced performance. The profitability requirements of future advanced storage systems (batteries) are assessed in this paper by means of an optimization method and an uncertainty analysis for an optimal Iberian (Spain and Portugal) power system that meets the targets of their National Energy and Climate Plans. Results show that needed storage capacity is only a small part of the demanded energy, but technical advances are required for optimal performance. High prospective storage cost leads to a wind-dominated renewable mix, while low storage cost favours photovoltaics. Arbitrage with storage may cover its investment costs under carbon prices close to the actual Social Cost of Carbon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems)
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14 pages, 562 KiB  
Article
Techno-Economics Optimization of H2 and CO2 Compression for Renewable Energy Storage and Power-to-Gas Applications
by Mario Esteban and Luis M. Romeo
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(22), 10741; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app112210741 - 14 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2168
Abstract
The decarbonization of the industrial sector is imperative to achieve a sustainable future. Carbon capture and storage technologies are the leading options, but lately the use of CO2 is also being considered as a very attractive alternative that approaches a circular economy. [...] Read more.
The decarbonization of the industrial sector is imperative to achieve a sustainable future. Carbon capture and storage technologies are the leading options, but lately the use of CO2 is also being considered as a very attractive alternative that approaches a circular economy. In this regard, power to gas is a promising option to take advantage of renewable H2 by converting it, together with the captured CO2, into renewable gases, in particular renewable methane. As renewable energy production, or the mismatch between renewable production and consumption, is not constant, it is essential to store renewable H2 or CO2 to properly run a methanation installation and produce renewable gas. This work analyses and optimizes the system layout and storage pressure and presents an annual cost (including CAPEX and OPEX) minimization. Results show the proper compression stages need to achieve the storage pressure that minimizes the system cost. This pressure is just below the supercritical pressure for CO2 and at lower pressures for H2, around 67 bar. This last quantity is in agreement with the usual pressures to store and distribute natural gas. Moreover, the H2 storage costs are higher than that of CO2, even with lower mass quantities; this is due to the lower H2 density compared with CO2. Finally, it is concluded that the compressor costs are the most relevant costs for CO2 compression, but the storage tank costs are the most relevant in the case of H2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems)
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17 pages, 1501 KiB  
Article
Economic Analysis of a Zero-Water Solar Power Plant for Energy Security
by Eduardo de la Rocha Camba and Fontina Petrakopoulou
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(20), 9639; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11209639 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1083
Abstract
Water dependency of power plants undermines energy security by making power generation susceptible to water scarcity. This study evaluates the economic performance of a novel dry-cooling system for a water-independent solar power plant. The proposed cooling system is based on the concept of [...] Read more.
Water dependency of power plants undermines energy security by making power generation susceptible to water scarcity. This study evaluates the economic performance of a novel dry-cooling system for a water-independent solar power plant. The proposed cooling system is based on the concept of earth–air heat exchangers, approaching zero environmental impact. The viability of the proposed design is discussed based on both costs and benefits, and it is compared to both conventional dry- and wet-cooling systems. The installation costs of the plant are found to be EUR 13,728/kW, resulting in the substantial levelized cost of electricity of EUR 505.97/MWh. The net present value of the studied design assuming a water-cost saving of EUR 1/m3 is found to be MEUR –139.59. Significantly higher water prices in the future might eventually make the proposed system economically attractive when compared to water-cooling systems. However, the new system would require drastic modifications to become more attractive when compared to existing dry-cooling systems. Specific possibilities to improve it for zero-water use in thermoelectric power plants are further discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems)
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19 pages, 6982 KiB  
Article
A Hybrid Metaheuristic Optimization Approach for the Synthesis of Operating Procedures for Optimal Drum-Boiler Startups
by Emilio Garduno, Erik Rosado-Tamariz, Miguel A. Zuniga-Garcia and Rafael Batres
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 5085; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11115085 - 30 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2943
Abstract
A steam generator serves as a power generation equipment that uses the expansive power of steam to generate electricity. The startup process of a steam generator plays an important process in a power plant to adjust its electricity generation in response to changes [...] Read more.
A steam generator serves as a power generation equipment that uses the expansive power of steam to generate electricity. The startup process of a steam generator plays an important process in a power plant to adjust its electricity generation in response to changes in load demand. As renewable generation plants increase, the levels of variability in electricity production increase. Fast startups become instrumental as they enable traditional power generation plants to provide the quantity of electricity missing when variable renewable energies cannot satisfy the load demand. The drum boiler is one of the main pieces of equipment involved in the startup process of a steam generator. However, if the startup process is carried out too fast, excessive thermal stresses may occur, thus provoking damage to the components of the drum boiler. This paper proposes a dynamic optimization methodology to synthesize operating procedures that minimize the startup time of the drum boiler while avoiding the excessive formation of thermal stresses. Since valve operations influence the time-varying behavior of the steam, dynamic simulation is needed in order to evaluate the operating procedure. The proposed algorithm is based on two important elements of two metaheuristic algorithms: the acceptance probability of the simulated annealing algorithm and the tabu search memory structures. A case study evaluates the proposed approach by comparing it against results previously published in the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Evaluation of Advanced Energy Conversion Systems)
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