Smart Energy Networks: Thermal Balancing and Managing Issues

A special issue of Thermo (ISSN 2673-7264).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 3571

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Interests: fuel cells; advanced optimization techniques; solar thermal systems; concentrating photovoltaic/thermal photovoltaic systems; energy saving in buildings; solar heating and cooling; organic Rankine cycles; geothermal energy; dynamic simulations of energy systems; renewable polygeneration systems
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, Naples, Italy
Interests: advanced energy system; solar heating and cooling; combined heat and power (CHP); energy efficiency; renewable energy; energy policy; geothermal energy; biomass and waste-to-energy systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Interests: solar systems; energy saving in buildings; solar desalination; dynamic simulations of energy systems; renewable polygeneration systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the past few years, more and more interest has been attracted by renewable smart energy grids. This technology promises to suitably address issues related to the environmental impact of the building sector, by supplying energy vectors with a limited environmental impact and primary energy consumption. On the other hand, the selection of the optimal layout, operating strategies, and component design parameters is extremely complex, considering the requirements in terms of grid thermal balancing and management. In this framework, this Special Issue aims to collect recent works and research dealing with thermodynamic and heat transfer analyses of smart energy grids that are also powered by renewable energy sources.

The papers included in this Special Issue will focus on the thermodynamic and energy analyses of the components/devices included in the grid and on the grid as a whole. Studies should present findings improving the thermal stability of smart energy grids. Moreover, papers may also focus on computational fluid dynamics analysis and/or stationary and dynamic simulations of specific components included in the grids (e.g., ground heat exchanger, novel heat exchangers, or thermal storages). Special attention will also be paid to the analysis of the thermal management of electrochemical storage systems, including in the grid, in order to improve the electrical stability.

Papers in the relevant area of smart energy grids, including, but not limited to, the following topics, are invited:

  • Thermal analysis of district heating and cooling networks
  • Conventional and advanced thermal storage systems
  • Thermal analysis of the piping systems of district heating and cooling networks
  • Dynamic and thermodynamic analysis of lithium-ion battery cooling and heat recovery devices
  • Seasonal thermal energy storages for fourth and fifth generation DHC
  • Numerical and thermal analysis of ground source heat exchangers and ground heat pumps exploiting low enthalpy energy sources
  • Geothermal energy
  • Phase change thermal energy storage systems.
  • Thermodynamic and dynamic analysis of control strategies improving the thermal energy performance of smart energy grids
  • Development of novel and suitable strategies or devices in order to improve the thermal balance of the grid by mitigating the misalignment between renewable thermal energy production and demand
  • CFD analysis of the components included in the grids.

Prof. Dr. Francesco Calise
Prof. Dr. Massimo Dentice D'Accadia
Dr. Maria Vicidomini
Dr. Francesco Cappiello
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2984 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Influence of Temperature on the Anaerobic Digestion Process in a Plug Flow Reactor
by Francesco Calise, Francesco Liberato Cappiello, Luca Cimmino, Marialuisa Napolitano and Maria Vicidomini
Thermo 2022, 2(2), 92-106; https://doi.org/10.3390/thermo2020009 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2457
Abstract
The production of biogas by means of the anaerobic digestion process is becoming increasingly attractive in the green economy context. When municipal organic waste is used to produce biogas, a further positive effect on urban waste disposal is obtained. Starting from the anaerobic [...] Read more.
The production of biogas by means of the anaerobic digestion process is becoming increasingly attractive in the green economy context. When municipal organic waste is used to produce biogas, a further positive effect on urban waste disposal is obtained. Starting from the anaerobic digestion model n.1, an accurate analysis of the temperature effects on the anaerobic digestion process in a plug flow reactor is performed. This paper aims at presenting a comprehensive and integrated one-dimensional biological and thermal model for a plug flow reactor. Partial differential equations with respect to time and space are considered to model the heat transfer between the reactor and the internal heat exchanger and between the reactor and the environment. In this scope, a suitable simulation code was developed in MATLAB and validated using the data available in literature. The results of the calculations show that temperature plays a crucial role in the anaerobic digestion process, since it strongly affects the kinetic rates of the microbial species and the methane production. The results obtained in terms of temperature fields and biogas production are compared with the ones available in literature, dealing with a continuously stirred tank reactor. The comparison is conducted considering that both reactors process a volumetric waste flow rate of 20 m3/d and have the same structural characteristics. The plug flow reactor resulted better performance with a produced biogas flow rate equal to 2300 Nm3/year. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Energy Networks: Thermal Balancing and Managing Issues)
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