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Biomass fluidised bed gasification with in situ hot gas cleaning (AER-GAS II)

Das Projekt "Biomass fluidised bed gasification with in situ hot gas cleaning (AER-GAS II)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg durchgeführt. Objective: The project aim is a low-cost gasification process with integrated in-situ gas cleaning for the conversion of biomass into a product gas with high hydrogen concentration, high heating value and low tar/alkali/sulphur concentration in one process step for s ubsequent power production. The proposed process uses in-situ CO2 capture (AER, Absorption Enhanced Reforming). It is more efficient than conventional gasification due to (i) the in-situ integration of the reaction heat of CO2 absorption and water-gas shif t reaction heat (both exothermic) into the gasification and (ii) the internal reforming of primary and secondary tars, which cuts off the formation of higher tars. Thus, the chemical energy of tars remains in the product gas. The product gas after dust rem oval can directly be used in a gas engine for electricity generation. Due to the low operation temperature (up to 700 C) and due to CaO-containing bed materials, the proposed process allows the use of problematic feedstocks such as biomass with high minera l and high moisture content, e.g. straw, sewage sludge, etc., leading to an increased market potential for biomass gasification processes. Screening/development of absorbent materials with high attrition stability and tar cracking properties will be carrie d out. Analysis of tar formation/decomposition process will be studied in a lab-scale fixed bed reactor and a 100 kWth circulating fluidised bed reactor (continuous mode). With the acquired data, the 8 MWth biomass plant at Guessing, Austria, will be opera ted with absorbent bed material in order to prove the feasibility of a scale-up and to assess the economical aspects of the process. In order to point out the market potential, the cost reduction of the AER technology will be quantified in comparison with the conventional gasification power plant. Expected results will be: (i) a broad knowledge of the proposed process and (ii) a low-cost technology for biomass gasification with subsequent power production.

Calcium cycle for efficient and low cost CO2 capture in fluidized bed systems (C3-CAPTURE)

Das Projekt "Calcium cycle for efficient and low cost CO2 capture in fluidized bed systems (C3-CAPTURE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Stuttgart, Fakultät für Energietechnik, Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Dampfkesselwesen durchgeführt. Objectives: The project aims on developing a dry CO2 capture system for atmospheric and pressurized fluidized bed boilers. The atmospheric option will be developed towards a pilot plant application. For the pressurized option the project seeks for a proof of principle to determine if the advantages of a pressurized capture system can balance the problems known from existing PFBC systems. The quantifiable objectives are: - Low CO2 capture costs (less than 20 Euro/t for atmospheric, less than 12 Euro/t for pressurized sy stems) - Acceptable efficiency penalty for CO2 capture (less than about equal to 6 percent nel). - greater than 90 percent carbon capture for new power plants and greater than 60 percent for retrofitted existing plants - A purge gas stream containing greater than 95 percent CO2 - A solid purge usable for cement production - Sim ultaneous sulphur and CO2 removal with sulphur recovery option Approach: Limestone is a CO2 carrier. The CO2 can be released easily in a conventional calcination process, well known in the cement and lime industry. By integrating a closed carbonation/calc ination loop in the flue gas of a conventional CFB-boiler, the CO2 in the flue gas can be removed. The heat required for calcination is released during carbonation and can be utilised efficiently (high temperature) in the steam cycle of the boiler. Concent rated CO2 can be generated when using oxygen blown calcination. Because the fuel required for supplying heat for calcination is only a fraction of the total fuel requirements, the required oxygen is only about 1/3 of the oxygen required for oxyfuel process es. The work programme: 1.Definition of the technical and economic boundary conditions 2.Selection and improvement of sorbent materials 3.Lab scale and semi-technical scale process development (experimental work) 4.Technical and economic evaluation 5.Des ign of a 1 MWth Pilot plant.

Optimised Radar to Find Every buried Utility in the street (ORFEUS)

Das Projekt "Optimised Radar to Find Every buried Utility in the street (ORFEUS)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Tracto-Technik GmbH & Co. KG durchgeführt. This project addresses the requirement for advanced technologies for locating, maintaining and rehabilitating buried infrastructures (area II.3.3). Specifically it fulfils the requirement for locating buried assets. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is the only known non-invasive technique that can detect metallic and non-metallic buried objects, but conventional pulse time-domain technology has reached the limit of its development potential. This project will use innovative techniques to provide a clear advance in the state of the art. The project has three major objectives: - To provide a step change in the depth penetration and spatial resolution of GPR used for surveys carried out from the ground surface. This will be achieved by increasing the frequency and dynamic range of the radar by researching and developing Stepped Frequency Continuous Wave techniques and ultra wide-band antennas whose performance is independent of ground characteristics. - To prototype an innovative GPR-based real-time obstacle detection system for steerable bore- heads of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) pipe and cable laying systems so that they can operate more safely below ground. This will require new antenna designs to be developed to provide a look-ahead capability and robust systems to be designed to protect against the hostile mechanical environment. - To increase knowledge of the electrical behaviour of the ground, by means of in-situ measurements to enhance understanding of the sub-soil electrical environment, and to provide information for scientifically based antenna design. The project will lead to practical solutions that can be implemented cost-effectively to provide a capability to locate buried infrastructure with accuracy and reliability. This will reduce the need for excavations in the highway, thus minimising direct and indirect costs, reducing the incidence of pollution and enhancing safety. Prime Contractor: Osys Technology Ltd., Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

Sub-project F1: Gaseous and leaching nutrient losses in irrigation farming of fertilised sandy soils in Oman - Effects of manure quality and cropping system

Das Projekt "Sub-project F1: Gaseous and leaching nutrient losses in irrigation farming of fertilised sandy soils in Oman - Effects of manure quality and cropping system" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Kassel, Fachgruppe Boden- und Pflanzenbauwissenschaften, Institut für Nutzpflanzenkunde, Fachgebiet Ökologischer Pflanzenbau und Agrarökosystemforschung in den Tropen und Subtropen durchgeführt. Organic and conventional irrigation farming on the eastern coast of the arid Arabian Peninsula leads to high gaseous and leaching losses of nutrients and carbon from cultivated soils. In order to analyse such losses, the emissions NH3, N2O, CO2 and CH4 were measured on an experimental field near to the town of Sohar in the Sultanate of Oman. This was done using an INNOVA photo-acoustic infrared multi-gas monitor (INNOVA 1312-5, LumaSense Technologies A/S, Ballerup, Denmark) in a closed chamber system. Cumulative leaching losses of nitrogen (TN, NO3-N, NH4-N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured by suction plates and mixed-bed ion-exchange resin cartridges (NO3-N, NH4-N, PO4-P). Seepage was estimated with the software Hydrus 1d using crop-specific evapotranspiration and hydraulic soil parameters. The experiment on an irrigated sandy soil with four replications comprised of two types of buffalo manure, characterised by a C/N ratio of 23 with high fibre content (high-high, HH), a C/N ratio of 15 with low fibre content (low-low, LL) and a control treatment with equivalent levels of mineral nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). These three fertility treatments were combined with a crop rotation comprised of radish (Raphanus sativus) transplanted on all plots followed by cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus).

Improved Building Integration of PV by using Thin Film Modules in CIS Technology (BIPV-CIS)

Das Projekt "Improved Building Integration of PV by using Thin Film Modules in CIS Technology (BIPV-CIS)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg durchgeführt. Objective: The results of the project will improve and widen the potential for the integration of solar (PV) energy systems into existing buildings. Special attention will be paid architectural and aesthetic questions. Building integration of PV systems in most cases leads to a 'high tech' and 'modern' appearance of the building. This is caused by the typical window-like surface of most conventional PV modules. Regarding however that90Prozent of the building stock consists of longer existing, that means 'old fashioned' buildings, it is evident that anaesthetically satisfying building integration of PV needs a lot of good will and creativity from planners and architects. In many existing building integrated PV systems the modules contrast with the building and its surroundings. A European survey on the potential and needs for building integrated PV components and systems will identify the basis for the development of modules away from the glass / window-like appearance. In the project PV roof tiles, overhead glazing and facade elements based on CIS thin film technology will be developed and investigated which have a modified optical appearance for better adaptation to the building skin. One of the ideas is optical decoupling of substrate and cover glass. A complete roof tile system with thin film cells adapted to the visual appearance of conventional roof tiles and innovative connection and mounting will be developed. The work includes prototype fabrication and tests according to relevant standards and subsequent performance tests. Novel overhead glazing includes semitransparent thin film modules optimised for daylight transmission. The backside appearance will be modified in order to represent the visible inner part of the building skin. For overhead and insolating glazing an invisible interconnection and for PV roof tiles a low cost connector will be developed. Project results will be systems ready for industrial production.

C 2.2: Rehabilitation of barren hills: Improvement of communal grazing lands

Das Projekt "C 2.2: Rehabilitation of barren hills: Improvement of communal grazing lands" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Tropische Agrarwissenschaften (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institut) (490), Fachgebiet Wasserstreß-Management bei Kulturpflanzen in den Tropen und Subtropen (490g) durchgeführt. A considerable proportion of the mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam consists of unproductive, degraded lands, the so-called 'barren hills'. Research during the first phase of the SFB aimed at (1) identifying plant communities that are indicators for the different degradation levels and thus may be useful for rapid-diagnosis purposes, and (2) exploring the potential of perennial legumes for rehabilitating such degraded areas, as an alternative to afforestation as the conventional attempt to 're-green' barren hills. Regarding the rehabilitation potential of legumes, a 24-accession core collection of the multipurpose shrub Flemingia macrophylla, assembled on the basis of the accessions' origin information, is examined for its variability with respect to morphological, agronomic, forage plant and soil-reclamation characteristics. This work has only begun in 2002 and will continue, within the proposed 2nd-phase research, until 2005. Research results of the first SFB phase (subprojects C2 and F1) suggest that a considerable portion of barren hills is used as communal grazing lands and that farmers are very interested in improvement measures to raise their productivity. Since to date there has been no research dealing with such native, communal pastures, C2.2 proposes to assess, in particularly close cooperation with A1.2 and F1.2, their role, productivity, forage value, and land use patterns leading to the development of grazing lands, by means of (1) PRA surveys and (2) primary-production and nutritive-value studies based on appropriate vegetation samplings (exclosures) on-farm during the rainy and dry seasons. Furthermore, C2.2 will test, under minimum-input conditions and by means of participatory research, a best-bet set of five 'improved' forage grasses and six 'improved' forage legumes regarding their adaptation to/production under prevailing soil and climate constraints, nutritive value, potential to persist under overgrazing conditions, and relative palatability to buffaloes and local cattle. Also this work will have close links with A1.2 and F1.2, in addition to D2.2. The expected outcome of the proposed research will be the availability of knowledge about and understanding of (1) the variability in the Flemingia macrophylla core collection regarding its forage and soil reclamation potential; (2) the influence of land use on the development of communal grazing lands and their contribution to local livestock production systems; and (3) promising pasture grass and legume species adapted to prevailing edaphic, climatic and management conditions.

Upwind: Development of Improved Wind Turbine Noise Prediction Tools for Low Noise Airfoil Design

Das Projekt "Upwind: Development of Improved Wind Turbine Noise Prediction Tools for Low Noise Airfoil Design" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik durchgeführt. The noise regulations of various countries urge wind turbine manufacturers to reduce the aerodynamical noise emission of their turbines. To reduce the greenhouse gas emission, wind energy has been put in a very front position. EWEA estimates 12percent of worlds energy may come from wind turbines by the year 2020 (approx. 1,260,000 MW). This means wider deployment of wind turbines, at lower wind speed sites i.e. close to people & transmission lines. To reduce the transmission cost between production site and customer, onshore installations are still a cheaper solution. One of the biggest barriers for developing onshore turbines is the noise which has a negative impact on people's daily life. Thus, the goal of developing onshore wind turbines is to design silent wind turbines and silent wind farms and at the same time have a good aerodynamic efficiency. Noise emitted from an operating wind turbine can be divided into two parts, mechanical noise and flow induced noise. Mechanical noise can sufficiently be reduced by conventional engineering approaches but flow-induced noise is more complex and need more focus. The noise mechanisms associated with flow-induced noise emission have different sources. These are, inflow turbulence noise, tip noise, laminar boundary layer separation noise, blunt trailing-edge noise (BTE) and for turbulent boundary-layer trailing-edge interaction noise (TBL-TE). Acoustic field measurements within the European research project SIROCCO showed that the TBL-TE noise is the most dominant noise mechanism for modern wind turbines. Thus, accurate prediction and reduction of the TBL-TE noise is the main focus of the acoustics airfoil design methods for wind turbine rotor blade. For developing 'silent' airfoils, a routinely design fast, less expensive and accurate prediction methodology is desired. In this respect, simplified theoretical model would be the first candidate, and therefore the main goal is development of an accurate and efficient noise prediction model for the low noise wind turbine blade design.

Towards improved properties of biodegradable polymers made from Sugar Cane, PLA

Das Projekt "Towards improved properties of biodegradable polymers made from Sugar Cane, PLA" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Physik durchgeführt. In daily life, construction polymers play an important role. Most of products are not reusable for different reasons (cost, hygiene, ) so the need of an environment saving production and disposal is evident. To besides from the obvious task on saving resources and environment, there is also a growing economical interest in this issue. On of the most promising candidates for a thermoplastic construction polymer that can be manufactured from bio-renewable resources and is biodegradable is Polylactic acid (PLA), for which Corn starch (in the U.S.) or sugarcanes (rest of world) are the common feedstock. Polylactic acid can be processed like most thermoplastics into fiber (for example using conventional melt spinning processes) and film. However, the low glass transition temperature prohibits many applications, like usage for coffee cups that will simply soften and flow away upon filling with hot drinks. One popular option to cope with this is the modification with other polymers, either conventional product or even enantiomers of PLA itself. For example, the melting temperature can be increased 40-50 C and the Heat Deflection temperature of PLLA can be increased from approximately 60 C to up to 190 C for by physically blending the polymer with PDLA (poly-D-lactide). PDLA and PLLA are known to form a highly regular stereocomplex with increased crystallinity. The maximum effect in temperature stability is achieved when a 50-50 blend is used, but even at lower concentrations of 3-10Prozent of PDLA a substantial effect is achieved. In the latter case PDLA is used as a nucleating agent, thereby increasing the crystallization rate. Due to the higher crystallinity of this stereo-complex, the biodegradability will become slower. The interesting feature is that the polymer blend remains transparent, which is one to the desirable properties that must be kept upon modification.

Sustainable Water management Improves Tomorrow's Cities'Health (SWITCH)

Das Projekt "Sustainable Water management Improves Tomorrow's Cities'Health (SWITCH)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ingenieurgesellschaft Prof. Dr. Sieker mbH durchgeführt. Context: With increasing global change pressures, and due to existing limitations, and un-sustainability factors and risks of conventional urban water management (UWM), cities experience difficulties in efficiently managing the ever scarcer water resources, their uses/services, and their after-use disposal, without creating environmental, social and/or economic damage. In order to meet these challenges, SWITCH calls for a paradigm shift in UWM. There is a need to convert adhoc actions (problem/incident driven) into a coherent and consolidated approach (sustainability driven). This calls for an IP Approach. Research conceptSWITCH therefore proposes an action research project which has as a main objective: The development, application and demonstration of a range of tested scientific, technological and socio-economic solutions and approaches that contribute to the achievement of sustainable and effective UWM schemes in 'The City of the future'.The project will be implemented by different combinations of consortium partners, along the lines of seven complementary and interactive themes. The research approach is innovative for the combination of: action research: address problems through innovation based upon involvement of users.learning alliances: to link up stakeholders to interact productively and to create win-win solutions along the water chain; multiple-way learning: European cities learn from each other and from developing countries, and vice versa.multiple-level or integrated approach: to consider the urban water system and its components (city level) in relation to its impacts on, and dependency of, the natural environment in the river basin (river basin level), and in relation to Global Change pressures (global level).Instruments and scopeAn IP with 30 partners, their resources, and a total budget of 25,191,396 EURO including budget for demonstration activities in 9 Cities in Europe and developing countries. Prime Contractor: UNESCO - Institute for Water Education, Delf, Netherlands.

Sub project: Isotope Signature of calcareous Organisms from upper and Lower carbonate mound sediments 2

Das Projekt "Sub project: Isotope Signature of calcareous Organisms from upper and Lower carbonate mound sediments 2" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (GEOMAR), Forschungsbereich 1: Ozeanzirkulation und Klimadynamik, Forschungseinheit Paläo-Ozeanographie durchgeführt. Cold-water coral mounds or carbonate mounds are known to occur widespread within the Porcupine Seabight. Sediment cores from gravity corer and especially drill cores from ICDP Expedition 307 at Challenger Mound indicate the recurring and abrupt occurring changes of carbonate mound growth. Geochemical signals in biogenic tests of planctonic and benthic foraminifers, as well as in skeletons of cold-water corals will allow us to understand the mechanisms of these changes. Stable isotope signature of benthic foraminifera (omega 18O, omega 13O) from the mound initiation shows a significant change to values characteristic for the water masses derived from the Mediterranean Sea (Mediterranean Outflow). Paleotemperatures derived from Sr/Ca from coral skeletons indicate optimum conditions of growth fort these biota. We speculate that the density envelope of sigma e = 27.35 - 27.65 kg/m3 characteristic for the ambient seawater of present day cold water coral growth played also an important role in the past. To reconstruct and to better understand these changes between 'shut on' and 'shut off' conditions in mound growth we aim to date more samples from lODP-Kem 1317C to close thc existing gap in information. Since conventional U/Th methods are limited to the upper portions of the core (about 350 ka), we shall also apply precise 234U/238U (234U excess decay) and 87Sr/86Sr (radiogenic Sr evolution in the ocean), to better constrain the growth modcl and to reconstmct the encountered hiatuses. The geochronological aspect is a central part for the last year, to reconstmct the mound shaping mechanisms in relation to paleoenvironmental, to paleoclimatotological and to palcoceanographical conditions. The geochemical work will focus on thc analysis of isotopes in foraminifera and element rations in corals to reconstruct paleotemperatures and paleosalinilies, which in combination may provide data on paleodensities of sea water.

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