Articles publicats (Enginyeria Industrial i de l’Edificació)

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    Open Access
    Thermal energy storage for direct steam generation concentrating solar power plants: Concept and materials selection
    (Elsevier, 2024) Prieto, Cristina; Cabeza, Luisa F.; Pavón Moreno, M. Carmen; Palomo, Elena
    Direct steam generation (DSG) concentrating solar power (CSP) plants uses water as heat transfer fluid, and it is a technology available today. It has many advantages, but its deployment is limited due to the lack of an adequate long-term thermal energy storage (TES) system. This paper presents a new TES concept for DSG CSP plants. This system is based on three blocks, a saturated block based on phase change materials, an overheating block that elevates the vapor temperature of a heat transfer fluid to the desired values, and a preheating block that increases the temperature difference between a cold tank and a hot tank of a non-phase change thermal storage material. After a deep selection and characterization process, the material to be used is LiOH/KOH, since although it has the disadvantage of high corrosion, the identified advantages overcome it as an ideal PCM for this process.
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    Open Access
    Incorporating citizen science to enhance public awareness in smart cities: The case study of Balaguer
    (MDPI, 2024) Cabeza, Luisa F.; Teixidó Cairol, Mercè; Guarino, Francesco; Rincione, Roberta; Díaz Llobet, Manel; Gil Iranzo, Rosa María; Cellura, Maurizio; Mateu Piñol, Carles
    The concept of a smart city is becoming increasingly popular to improve citizens' quality of life. Institutions are also committed to enhancing the sustainability of cities by implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper presents a Balaguer case study investigating energy demand monitoring, decreasing energy demand, and citizen acceptance in a municipality district. The study collected data from three sources: (1) quantitative data coming from on-site sensors; (2) quantitative data from a simulation of the area; and (3) qualitative data from questionnaires developed with a totem located in the city center. This study shows the importance of citizen science in contributing towards the increased awareness of energy demand, renewable energy, and climate change. But it also shows how citizen science can improve research quality involving the municipality authorities. This study also was instrumental in contributing to the increase in awareness among municipality authorities and capacity building on the topic. This activity may also contribute towards the implementation of actions to reduce the energy demand in public buildings and helping them in deploying policies to decrease energy demand in buildings, increase the use of renewable energy, and increase awareness among citizens. The government will use the information gathered to develop policies for citizen improvement.
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    Open Access
    A Study of the Composting Capacity of Different Kinds of Leathers, Leatherette and Alternative Materials
    (MDPI, 2024-03-11) Pourrasoul Sardroudi, Nima; Sorolla, Sílvia; Casas, Concepció; Bacardit i Dalmases, Anna
    The leather industry is in the midst of a shift towards sustainability and circular economy principles, placing a strong emphasis on the biodegradability of its products. There has been a notable upswing in the traction gained by eco-friendly leather alternatives. Concurrently, a diverse spectrum of commercial substitutes for conventional leather has surfaced, encompassing a range from synthetic constructs like leatherette to plant-based options. The objective of this study was to evaluate the composting capabilities of genuine leather and three alternatives, namely leatherette, Piñatex®, and Desserto®, in conjunction with leather subjected to treatment with alginate derivatives. The composting evaluation was conducted in accordance with ISO standards, simulating an intensive aerobic composting process. Results revealed that bovine leather samples treated with alginate derivatives underwent complete degradation within 21 to 25 days, and conventional wet-blue production resulted in total degradation after 31 to 35 days. In contrast, vegetable-tanned bovine leather manifested initial signs of degradation after 60 days, but fell short of achieving complete disintegration even after a protracted 90-day incubation period. Alternative materials showed no degradation after the 90-day composting test, indicating a potentially lower degradation capacity compared to leather, likely attributed to the presence of non-biodegradable materials like PU and PVC, among others. The negligible degradation observed in alternative materials after 90 days of composting highlights their inferior composting performance compared to leather.
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    Open Access
    Use of molten salts tanks for seasonal thermal energy storage for high penetration of renewable energies in the grid
    (Elsevier, 2024) Prieto, Cristina; Tagle-Salazar, Pablo D.; Patiño-Rodríguez, David; Schallenberg-Rodriguez, Julieta; Lyons, Padraig; Cabeza, Luisa F.
    Energy storage is acknowledged a key technology to meet the challenges posed by the energy transition. Shortterm grid-connected storage, based on Li-Ion batteries, is becoming commonplace but seasonal energy storage at grid-scale will be needed for deep decarbonisation of the electrical power system. Pumped hydropower is considered to be the only mature technology for such applications, but this paper demonstrates that two-tanks molten salts systems, that are used today in commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, can also be considered a mature technology that can be used at large scale for seasonal energy storage. This was established by evaluating the annual heat losses of molten salts tanks using validated models of these systems. The results show that the heat losses in a very well insulated molten salts tanks are around 1 K/day, which would result in good economic performance of the power block even if storage was required for up to months.
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    Open Access
    Physical-chemical, mechanical and durability characterization of historical adobe buildings from the State of Michoacan, Mexico
    (Elsevier, 2024) Sánchez Calvillo, Adrià; Alonso Guzmán, Elia Mercedes; Navarro Ezquerra, Antonia; Ruiz Mendoza, Melissa; Martínez Molina, Wilfrido; Álvarez Galindo, José Ignacio; Rincón, Lídia
    Most earthen historical buildings have been abandoned for decades, exposed to the weathering and the passage of time. In Mexico, the low status of earthen constructions has increased these deterioration processes, resulting into the risk of disappearance of this significant architectural heritage. Historical adobes from monumental buildings in the State of Michoacan were sampled and collected in the localities of La Huacana (H) and Santa Cruz de Morelos (SC). The specimens were characterized in the materials laboratory, assessing their physical-chemical, mechanical and durability properties. An interdisciplinary methodology was designed through institutional cooperation and the application of different test methods. The adobes showed totally different compositions and proportions, and stabilizers like vegetal fibers, nevertheless, the mechanical performance of both samples was very similar, achieving respectable values in the context of historical adobe structures. Several correlations were found through the analyses: the physical properties like the density, the color or the electrical resistivity were related with the mechanical and durability ones; the non-destructive testing (NDT) allowed to calculate the dynamic elasticity modulus and infer the mechanical behavior; the chemical characterization enabled to obtain the elemental and mineralogical composition; and the Atterberg limits gave the soil classification. The research showed the broad diversity of earthen solutions and demonstrated how the granulometry is not a limitation to the adobe production, since the local soils can achieve similar mechanical and durability behaviors. Furthermore, H presented very different composition than the guidelines for earthen construction; nevertheless, the samples showed better durability performance and lower capillarity absorption rates. It is hoped that the results obtained with this research can help the further development of the earthen materials characterization and the decision-making process for the restoration and conservation of historical and vernacular constructions.