Search

There has been growing interest in developing Locally Integrated Energy Sectors (LIES) as a Process (Heat) Integration approach for synergising the industrial thermal energy systems that include renewable energy resources with urban (i.e. civic, residential, business and service complexes). The aim is to enhance the regional energy efficiency and minimise greenhouse gas (including carbon) emissions. However, a comprehensive planning and design framework is crucial at the onset of its development, which is accounting for supply and demand sides, but there have been limited works directed to this scope to date. For the development of such framework, this paper reviews the energy consumption targeting methodologies via Total Site Heat Integration for estimating and designing the capacity of the utility have been reviewed in this work, inclusive of both insight-based Pinch Analysis and mathematical modelling approaches. As a final outcome of the review, suggestions are provided for investigating key factors for integration of industrial, residential, commercial, institutional and service energy systems, maximising the integration and reuse of waste and low potential heat, including renewables to boost sustainability aspects. The review of methodologies for energy system integration is followed by identification of research directions that deserve future attention, refinement and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas decentralised energy system is an important technology in developed countries nowadays as one of the energy efficient and eco-friendly techniques for production of bioenergy besides giving significant impact towards reduction of disposed waste volume and greenhouse gas (GHG). The aim of this article is to present a new numerical method, i.e., Gas System Cascading Analysis (GASCA), based on Time Based Pinch Analysis (TBPA) principle. GASCA is capable of targeting the biogas supply-demand chain, as well as optimal capacities of anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas storage systems for a known total demand profile, with the consideration of energy conversion efficiency for different biogas qualities, charging and discharging efficiencies and losses. In the illustrative case study, the optimal capacity of AD was 4629.52 MJ/h, with initial energy content and maximum energy capacity at biogas storage of 8737.19 MJ/h and 16,988.61 MJ/h. The simulation study also revealed that application of GASCA-optimised biogas energy system could potentially reduce carbon emission by up to 138 t CO 2 eq /d. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the impacts of demand variations on biogas system design and regional feedstock selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]