Articles publicats (Enginyeria Industrial i de l’Edificació)
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- ItemEmbargoArtificial intelligence and thermal energy storage: A review of design techniques and applications(Elsevier, 2025) Mehraj, Nadiya; Mateu Piñol, Carles; Cabeza, Luisa F.Thermal energy storage systems (TES) are becoming increasingly popular owing to its great energy capacity and efficiency. However, traditional TES design methods are often time-consuming, and due to the intricate and nonlinear nature of such systems, the results could be unreliable. The design and improvement of TES has made use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, evolutionary algorithms, and machine learning models. This review paper offered a thorough analysis of AI techniques for TES system design and optimization, comparing them to conventional design approaches, outlining the benefits and drawbacks of AI optimization techniques, and discussing how AI was used in TES systems. The purpose of the study was to define the existing issues, opportunities, and prospects for research in this field, as well as to provide advice for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about the selection and deployment of AI approaches for TES system design. The article showed how AI techniques had the potential to improve the functionality, effectiveness, and long-term viability of TES systems by looking at recent research and cases.
- ItemOpen AccessEnd-of-life of renewable energy technologies in urban environments. A state-of-the-art on installation trends, materials, and best practices in the EU(Elsevier, 2025) De Simone, Marilena; Campagna, Daniele; Cabeza, Luisa F.; Pineda-Martos, Rocio; Santos, Paulo; Turk, Janez; Ungureanu, Viorel; Zsembinszki, GabrielThe European Commission is promoting the production of thermal energy and electricity from renewable sources, coupled with storage systems, to decarbonize the built environment. However, these technologies use prevalently virgin raw materials, and end-of-life (EoL) circular frameworks are still difficult to be implemented due to technical, regulatory, and market barriers. This paper aims to present a state-of-the-art on the trends in installation, materials, EoL strategies, and companies active in renewable energy systems recycling. Solar, wind, and geothermal sources are examples of technologies easily incorporated into cities. The purpose is to provide information to stakeholders that should design technical solutions according to circularity criteria. The information, from both scientific and grey literature, showed that solar technologies represent the most widespread type of systems, with a considerable number of best practices and companies specialized in recycling. Wind technology follows in installation trends and activity of reuse-oriented companies. Geothermal, on the other hand, offers a reduced number of reference examples. Furthermore, this review provides an overview of the installation and potential EoL scenarios of electrical and thermal energy storage systems, highlighting significant differences in the implementation of circularity strategies. The study closes with considerations and suggestions for practical applications.
- ItemOpen AccessProgress and prospects of cold thermal energy storage for liquid air energy storage systems - A critical review(2026) Tafone, Alessio; Borri, Emiliano; Cabeza, Luisa F.; O'Callaghan, Odhran; Donnellan, Philip; Mashayekh, Afshin; Kothari, Rohit; Haglind, Fredrik; Li, Dacheng; Xu, Lejin; Ding, Yulong; Li, Yongliang; Yang, Lizhong; Romagnoli, Alessandro; Dzido, Aleksandra; Krawczyk, PiotrElectrical energy storage plays a vital role in enabling renewable energy integration and achieving decarbonization targets under the Paris Agreement. Liquid air energy storage (LAES) is a promising large-scale, longduration storage technology due to its scalability, site flexibility, and high energy density. A crucial component of LAES performance is the cold thermal energy storage (CTES), which recovers cryogenic exergy during air regasification to recovery during the liquefaction phase, significantly improving the round trip efficiency. This paper presents a comprehensive and critical review of CTES technologies for LAES, aiming to identify optimal design approaches based on current literature and industrial practices. The review covers sensible and latent heat storage systems, hybrid and cascade configurations, and advanced geometries, assessed through thermodynamic and techno-economic performance indicators. Our analysis finds that packed beds with sensible heat materials are the most mature and cost-effective option, while phase change material-based systems offer higher efficiency potential-achieving round-trip efficiency improvements of up to 55 %-but face challenges in material cost, availability, and scalability. Hybrid and cascade configurations show promise in simulations, though experimental data remain limited. Cold storage losses are shown to impact round-trip efficiency up to seven times more than heat losses, highlighting the strategic importance of CTES optimization. The authors identify key research needs in dynamic system modeling, scalable material development, and lifecycle techno-economic assessment. Addressing these gaps will be critical to advancing CTES as a performance-enhancing and cost-effective component of next-generation LAES systems.
- ItemRestrictedEnvironmental life cycle assessment of olive oil and biomass briquette production in Lebanon: Insights for sustainable development(Elsevier, 2026) El Bachawati, Makram; El Marji, Lea; Boutros, MarleineThis study presents one of the first comprehensive environmental life cycle assessments of olive oil and biomass briquette production in Lebanon, focusing on two interconnected systems: a traditional olive oil press and a briquetting facility. The analysis follows a cradle-to-grave approach and uses the EF 3.1 methodology to quantify impacts across 16 categories. Functional units include 2 tons of processed olives, and 50 kg of briquettes. Results show that the olive oil bottling stage accounts for over 60% of total impacts in categories such as climate change and resource use, driven by glass bottles and PVC caps. Briquetting burdens arise mainly from plastic packaging and fossil-based electricity use. Sensitivity analyses reveal that improved waste management reduce impacts by up to 25%, particularly in categories affected by open dumping and burning. The study contributes original inventory data from Lebanon and offers strategies to support circular economy efforts in small-scale agro-industrial systems.
- ItemOpen AccessRecyclability of inedible animal fat from four farm species as a precursor for phase change materials for low-temperature thermal energy storage applications(Elsevier, 2026) Font-Prieur, Daylen Y.; Escribà i Gelonch, Marc; Cabeza, Luisa F.Fatty acids are increasingly recognized as promising phase change materials (PCMs) to enhance energy efficiency in applications such as building, solar heating, and air conditioning systems. However, the impact of fat composition from different animal species on PCM composition and thermal performance has not been properly addressed. In this study, non-edible fats from four different animal sources, cow, lamb, chicken, and pig, are assessed as potential fatty acid-based PCM sources. Among others, chicken and lamb fats exhibited 88% and 86% efficiencies when extracting fatty acids (namely palmitic -PA- and stearic acid -SA- mixtures) using hydrolysis-crystallization processes, leading to PA-SA distributions aligned closely with known eutectic compositions for PCMs. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests demonstrated stable melting and solidification temperatures in the range of 48–50 °C across all animal-derived samples, except for pig fat. Melting and solidification enthalpy losses remained below 11% in all samples, suggesting the viability of specific animal fats as sustainable PCM sources. The PCM produced with the new synthesis path gave good thermal cyclability.
