Impact of intermittent electricity supply on a conceptual process design for microbial conversion of CO₂ into hexanoic acid

Combining intermittent renewable electricity (IRE) with carbon capture and utilisation is urgently needed in the chemical sector. In this context, microbial electrosynthesis (MES) has gained attention. It can electrochemically produce hexanoic acid, a value-added chemical, from CO₂. However, there is a lack of understanding...

Techno-economic assessment of grid-connected photovoltaic systems for peak shaving in arid areas based on experimental data

In recent years, grid-connected photovoltaic system (GCPVS) has been installed at a steady pace around the world due to its clean energy generation, simple operation, and low maintenance. This technology is also a convenient solution for peak shaving in residential and commercial buildings of arid areas with great air conditioning demand in...

The techno-economic integrability of high-temperature heat pumps for decarbonizing process heat in the food and beverages industry

High-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) are an emerging technology to improve overall process efficiency and reduce energy demand while enabling a switch from fossil fuels to renewable electricity. New industrial HTHP technologies aim to achieve an output heat temperature of 250 °C, suitable for decarbonising the food and beverages industry...

A techno-economic analysis of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for the reuse of municipal wastewater

The objective of this paper is to compare, under Dutch market conditions, the energy consumption and net costs of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for three water reuse types (i.e. potable, industrial, agricultural reuse). The water source is municipal waste-water treatment plant effluent. Results indicate that the application of...

Bioprocess intensification: Cases that (don't) work

Development of affordable and low carbon biobased manufacturing depends critically on strategies that reduce cost and emission profiles. This paper indicates that efforts around the reduction of capital costs by intensification of process equipment need to be carefully weighed against the inherently fast increasing financial and climate costs...

Techno-economic assessment of heterotrophic microalgae biodiesel production integrated with a sugarcane bio-refinery

The use of diesel fuel in crop and transportation operations is responsible for one third of the carbon emissions in sugarcane biorefineries. A possible solution is to replace it with biodiesel from lipids, directly produced from sugarcane by highly productive heterotrophic microalgae. In this study a heterotrophic microalgae biodiesel plant,...