LORENA GIORDANO | Università Degli Studi Dell'Aquila (original) (raw)

Papers by LORENA GIORDANO

Energies, 2021

Waste heat recovery is considered as one of the most promising options to improve the efficiency ... more Waste heat recovery is considered as one of the most promising options to improve the efficiency and sustainability of industrial processes. Even though industrial waste heat is abundantly available and its utilization is not a new concept, the implementation rate of waste-heat recovery interventions in industrial facilities is still low, due to several real or perceived barriers. Foremost challenges are represented by technical, economic, financial and regulatory factors. An additional prominent barrier lies in the lack or incompleteness of information concerning the material and energy flows within the factories, and the types and characteristics of waste heat sources and possible sinks for their internal or external reuse. With the aim to overcome some of the information barriers and increase the willingness of companies to approach waste heat recovery and reuse, a methodology to map waste heat sources and sinks in industrial processes is proposed in this study. The approach here...

Separation and Purification Technology, 2021

Abstract Most of the porous supports are prepared by phase inversion method by using classical an... more Abstract Most of the porous supports are prepared by phase inversion method by using classical and toxic solvents: NMP, DMF, THF, DMSO, … These supports present 95–99% of total thickness and the active layer presents only 0.1 1–3 µm. It is necessary to find new green method and material to prepare these supports. This paper describes the possibility to use a biodegradable polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to prepare porous support by using water as a solvent and aqueous or alcohol solutions as a coagulation bath. The SEM microscope is used to study the influence of the composition of polymer solution and the coagulation bath on the structure of prepared membrane. In addition, the life cycle assessment (LCA) tool is used to evaluate the environmental impacts for different preparations and compared with others from bibliography. Finally, a membrane with PVA dense and porous structure was prepared.

Journal of Power Sources, 2020

� A thermodynamic study of steam, dry and autothermal methane reforming is performed. � The equil... more � A thermodynamic study of steam, dry and autothermal methane reforming is performed. � The equilibrium model proposed is validated by comparison with literature data. � The influence of operating parameters on reforming processes performance is assessed. � Moderate pressures and oxidant-to-methane ratios improve the reforming performance. � The autothermal steam reforming allows the production of hydrogen to be maximized.

Sustainability, 2021

The recovery of waste heat is a fundamental means of achieving the ambitious medium- and long-ter... more The recovery of waste heat is a fundamental means of achieving the ambitious medium- and long-term targets set by European and international directives. Despite the large availability of waste heat, especially at low temperatures (<250 °C), the implementation rate of heat recovery interventions is still low, mainly due to non-technical barriers. To overcome this limitation, this work aims to develop two distinct databases containing waste heat recovery case studies and technologies as a novel tool to enhance knowledge transfer in the industrial sector. Through an in-depth analysis of the scientific literature, the two databases’ structures were developed, defining fields and information to collect, and then a preliminary population was performed. Both databases were validated by interacting with companies which operate in the heat recovery technology market and which are possible users of the tools. Those proposed are the first example in the literature of databases completely fo...

Energy Conversion and Management, 2021

Applied Energy, 2020

The integration of photovoltaics (PV) into greenhouses is analyzed. • Greenhouse energy demands, ... more The integration of photovoltaics (PV) into greenhouses is analyzed. • Greenhouse energy demands, PV performances and effects on crop growth are reported. • The application of organic, dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells is described. • The new PV technologies can promote sustainable, self-powered and smart greenhouses.

Energy, 2019

The growth in worldwide energy demand currently faces the difficulty of installing new power gene... more The growth in worldwide energy demand currently faces the difficulty of installing new power generation facilities due to limited funding and the strengthening of environmental regulations. Owing to the increasing role of natural gas combined cycles (NGCCs) in the power generation infrastructure, it is important to assess the energy and economic feasibility of upgrading their capacity to cope with future energy requirements. This study aims to investigate a new concept for upgrading existing NGCCs by integrating an additional unit based on gas turbine. The additional unit allows the production of steam to be injected into the NGCC combustor (Option A) or syngas from methane steam reforming to be fed into the existing power plant (Option B) or even into the additional gas turbine (Option C). The power output augmentation arises from the capacity of the additional gas turbine and the increase in power production of both gas cycle and bottoming steam section of the NGCC. A preliminary sensitivity analysis assesses the influence of operating conditions of the additional unit on the energy and economic performances of marginal power production. Considering commercial gas turbines, further investigations address the design of upgrading options and the comparison of their techno-economic performances referred to the additional or the overall power productions. Finally, focusing on Option A, the part-load operation of the additional gas turbine is examined to evaluate penalties on marginal efficiency and marginal cost of electricity. Simulation results revealed that for a power augmentation lower than 50%, Option A provides the best economic performance combined with the highest operational simplicity, while Option C is the preferred technical solution for a greater increase in plant capacity.

Journal of Membrane Science, 2018

Pre-combustion CO 2 capture is regarded as a promising option to mitigate the environmental pollu... more Pre-combustion CO 2 capture is regarded as a promising option to mitigate the environmental pollution from coal combustion, due to its relatively low energy duty and prospects for the use of hydrogen in power generation and industrial sectors. Nowadays, research and development efforts are mainly focusing on advanced technologies to separate H 2 and CO 2 from a synthesis gas of a gasification-based power generation system. In this regard, membrane separation processes are attracting an increasing attention, due to their potential for a more costeffective and environmental friendly CO 2 capture compared to well-established solvent-based processes. A conceptual design and techno-economic analysis is presented of a pre-combustion CO 2 capture process based on H 2-selective polymeric membranes in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant, including the water-gas-shift (WGS) system. The design approach is based on the selection of the most effective membrane separation process and economic optimisation of operating conditions. The capture process is based on a three-stage membrane separation system, producing a hydrogen stream feeding the power generation unit and a liquid CO 2 stream, ready for transport and geological storage. Considering a state-of-the-art polymeric membrane with a H 2 to CO 2 selectivity of 15 and H 2 permeance of 300 GPU, the IGCC efficiency penalty states at around 5% pts when the separation process is operated with a pressure on membrane feed side of 70 bar, corresponding to an estimated cost of CO 2 capture of 16.6 €/t CO 2. A sensitivity analysis of operating pressure and membrane properties revealed that the cost of CO 2 capture can be reduced to less than 15 €/t CO 2 by moderately increasing the H 2 to CO 2 selectivity and adjusting the designed process accordingly. Additionally, a decrease in the feed-side pressure slightly disfavours the economic performance of CO 2 capture for H 2 permeances greater than 300 GPU. The membrane-based capture process compared most favourably in costeffectiveness with the well-established solvent based Selexol process. Keywords: process optimisation; process economics; IGCC power plant; membrane H 2 separation; pre-combustion CO 2 capture Highlights  A pre-combustion CO 2 capture system based on H 2-selective membranes is designed  The pre-combustion CO 2 capture process is integrated into an IGCC power plant  A process economic optimization minimizes the cost of CO 2 capture  Cost of CO 2 capture reaches 16.6 €/t for a state-of-the-art H 2-selective membrane  Slightly increasing the H 2 /CO 2 selectivity, cost of CO 2 capture reduces to 15 €/t

Energy, 2017

Natural gas combined cycles (NGCCs) represent the main power generation technology in Italy, with... more Natural gas combined cycles (NGCCs) represent the main power generation technology in Italy, with a share of more than 40% of global thermoelectric power production. Due to their high operational flexibility, it is likely that NGCCs will continue to play a very important role in maintaining the reliability of supply in a power generation infrastructure characterized by the increasing spread of renewable energies. In this context, the integration of carbon capture technologies is regarded as an essential step to cope with the long-term climate protection target set by the European Union. This study investigates the retrofitting of three Italian NGCCs with a chemical absorption unit, capturing 90% of the CO 2 from the exhaust flue gases. Two main options to meet the heat requirement for solvent regeneration are explored. The first provides for a medium-low pressure steam extraction, representing the main reason for power plant capacity derating. In the second option, steam extraction is partially replaced by external steam production from an auxiliary combined heat and power (CHP) unit that is designed to compensate for the additional power requirement of the CO 2 separation and compression system equipment. Depending on the size and complexity of the NGCC, several types of auxiliary system are envisaged, basically differing in terms of the cogeneration technology and degree of integration inside the power block. Simulation results highlighted that the integration of an auxiliary cogeneration unit, besides eliminating power plant derating, has the potential to improve the energy and economic performances of the retrofitted plants to a certain extent.

Energy Procedia, 2017

Over the last decade, membrane separation processes have attracted considerable research attentio... more Over the last decade, membrane separation processes have attracted considerable research attention. This is due to their potential for lowering the costs of post-combustion CO 2 capture compared with the more established technologies, which are based on the use of chemical solvents. It is well known that the performance of membrane-based CO 2 capture is related to several factors, including flue gas composition, membrane material and system design. Membrane working temperature is one of the operating parameters that have several implications on the CO 2 separation process. However, surprisingly, this key operating variable has not been investigated in detail. It not only influences the intrinsic membrane properties and the feed composition, but also indirectly affects the energy behavior of the whole capture system. Hence, the resulting outcome cannot be intuitively deduced. This work aims to study the effect of membrane operating temperature on a CO 2 capture process, which is operated by means of a single stage unit with feed compression and permeate vacuum pumping. The flue gas from a coal-fired power plant is considered, and the variation in separation performances and energy expenses is evaluated with respect to two types of polymeric membranes, which have different gas separation properties (permeability, selectivity). This study reveals that an increase in the membrane operating temperature negatively affects CO 2 permeate purity and power consumption to drive the separation process. In addition, the influence on area requirement is strictly related to the type of membrane material.

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2017

Membrane separation is considered to be the most promising alternative to chemical absorption for... more Membrane separation is considered to be the most promising alternative to chemical absorption for decarbonizing fossil fuel power generating systems. However, the implementation of a membrane system has several implications for the energy and economic performances of power plants. Indeed, membrane systems allow for the non-negligible reduction of power plant capacity, which can negatively affect its efficiency. This aspect, combined with the additional capital and operating expenses, is also responsible for an increase in the electricity generation costs. Currently, the majority of studies neglected to investigate the influence of CO 2 separation targets on costs, thus limiting their investigation to the case of geological storage or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) that mean CO 2 purity levels after compression higher than 95%. But for certain valorization aims, like CO 2 hydrogenation or solar thermochemical conversion, lower CO 2 quality standards may be sufficient; to the best of our knowledge there is currently no study allowing to know the cost of CO 2 capture in this unusual framework. The aim of this paper was to analyze the effects of CO 2 purity targets on the energy requirement for the separation and compression operations and costs of membrane systems, considering as a study case the recovery of CO 2 from flue gases of a coal-fired power plant and using a Polyactive membrane. The CO 2 separation process was first investigated by exploring several membrane system concepts. Then, by focusing on dual-stage configurations, the entire carbon capture and storage (CCS) chain was analyzed. From an energy view point, the study quantified the impact of CO 2 capture retrofit intervention on the power plant's net efficiency and the extent of CO 2 emissions reduction. Besides, the economic analysis allowed for an evaluation of the specific cost of the CO 2 capture and the mitigation cost with or without credits for EOR. Finally, an energy and economic comparison was made with the CO 2 capture based on chemical scrubbing. With a CO 2 separation cost of 20÷33 /tonne,asinglestagemembranesystemwithfeedcompressionandpermeatevacuumpumpingrepresentsthemostinterestingoptiontobeusedincombinationwithCO2recyclingtechnologiesrequiringamedium−lowCO2puritylevel(70÷80/tonne, a single stage membrane system with feed compression and permeate vacuum pumping represents the most interesting option to be used in combination with CO 2 recycling technologies requiring a medium-low CO 2 purity level (70÷80%). Simulation results also revealed that dual stage membrane systems envisaged are economically competitive compared to amine absorption processes in the case of geological storage, involving a cost of CO 2 capture of 36÷41 /tonne,asinglestagemembranesystemwithfeedcompressionandpermeatevacuumpumpingrepresentsthemostinterestingoptiontobeusedincombinationwithCO2recyclingtechnologiesrequiringamedium−lowCO2puritylevel(70÷80/tonne. Research efforts are currently focused on optimizing scrubbing technology using novel solvents (

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2015

The majority of the World's primary energy consumption is still based on fossil fuels, repres... more The majority of the World's primary energy consumption is still based on fossil fuels, representing the largest source of global CO2 emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), such emissions must be significantly reduced in order to avoid the dramatic consequences of global warming. A potential way to achieve this ambitious goal is represented by the implementation of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) technologies.However, the significant amount of energy required by the CCS systems still represents one the major barriers for their deployment. Focusing on post-combustion capture based on amine absorption, several interesting options have been investigated to compensate the energy losses due to solvent regeneration, also using renewable energy sources. One of the most promising is based on the use of concentrating solar power (CSP), providing a part of the energy requirement of the capture island.In this study the integration of a CSP system into a coal-fired power plant with CO2 postcombustion capture is investigated. Basically, a CSP system is used to support the heat requirement for amine regeneration, by producing saturated steam at low temperature. This allows to reduce or even eliminate the conventional steam extraction from the main power plant, affecting positively net power production and efficiency. The energy analysis of the whole system is carried out using the GateCycle software to simulate the coal-fired power plant and ChemCad platform for the CO2 capture process based on amine absorption.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2019

This work investigates the one-pot facile synthesis of novel 2D/3D assemblies containing graphene... more This work investigates the one-pot facile synthesis of novel 2D/3D assemblies containing graphene silica (templated) aerogel sorbents for CO 2 capture, a greenhouse gas of major global concern. In this synthesis, 3D silica (templated) aerogels were formed along the planes of 2D graphene sheets, resulting in 2D/3D assemblies of flake-like shapes. The templates were burnt off from the 2D/3D assembly, leaving a mesoporous cavity which increased with the carbon chain length used in the synthesis method. As such, morphological features related to surface area and total pore volume increased significantly by over 80% as compared to blank (no template) samples and reached maximum values of 734 m 2 g −1 and 0.42 cm 3 g −1 , respectively. The increase in total pore volume allowed for higher content of impregnated amine into the 2D/3D assembly followed by a freeze-drying method. The CO 2 sorption capacity of the amine-functionalized 2D/3D assemblies reached high values at 4.9 mmol g −1 (mass over weight ratio), equivalent to 11.67 mmol cm −3 (mass over total pore volume ratio). The amine-functionalized 2D/3D assemblies were stable over 10 cycles of CO 2 sorption and desorption. Further, heat of sorption results were generally low, with the lowest value reaching 59 kJ mol −1. These results are desirable for the deployment of 2D/3D assemblies as sorbents to capture CO 2 .

Energy Conversion and Management, 2016