Ricerc@Sapienza

This paper is a part two of a study investigating the relative importance of the built environment, sociodemographic,
and attitudinal factors on mode choice. A semi-experimental approach that aims to
measure causal effects of the built environment is utilized. This paper reports spatial analysis, survey and
modeling results for San Francisco, CA, USA and compares the results with a previous similar study in
Rome, Italy. Results reveal that the local street network’s integration is important in both cities and that in

Heating and cooling in buildings is a central aspect for adopting energy efficiency measures and implementing local policies for energy planning. The knowledge of features and performance of those existing systems is fundamental to conceiving realistic energy savings strategies. Thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development and energy regulations’ progress, the amount of data able to be collected and processed allows detailed analyses on entire regions or even countries.

The modelling of biomass gasification enables the optimization of the process designs, but it is a challenge due to its high complexity. Here a model for prediction of the performance of a 100-kW dual bed fluidized biomass gasifier is derived and implemented in the ASPEN plus environment. Detailed pyrolysis modelling is properly addressed, and this is believed to be a key factor of this approach and enables more accurate results.

Mediterranean islands are heavily dependent on fossil fuels and have to deal with specific problems such as small-scale generation of electricity, high distribution costs and underutilization of Renewable Energy Source (RES) potential. These challenges result in high energy costs and CO2emissions. In order to promote a shift towards cleaner energy systems, islands have to invest on RES and smart solutions for sustainable energy supply. The present study examines the feasibility of RES introduction in the Maltese energy system.

To advance commercialisation of ocean wave energy and for the technology to become competitive with other sources of renewable energy, the cost of wave energy harvesting should be significantly reduced. The Mediterranean Sea is a region with a relatively low wave energy potential, but due to the absence of extreme waves, can be considered at the initial stage of the prototype development as a proof of concept. In this study, we focus on the optimisation of a multi-mode wave energy converter inspired by the CETO system to be tested in the west of Sicily, Italy.

Ocean wave energy is a broadly accessible renewable energy source; however, it is not fully developed. Further studies on wave energy converter (WEC) technologies are required in order to achieve more commercial developments. In this study, four CETO6 spherical WEC arrangements have been investigated, in which a fully submerged spherical converter is modelled. The numerical model is applied using linear potential theory, frequency-domain analysis, and irregular wave scenario.

A method for assessing and mapping the wind energy potential of near- and off-shore areas by means of multi sensor satellites (i.e. the recently launched Sentinel 1) is shown in this paper and applied to a case study area in the north-west coast of the Sicily island. The presented method aims at i) preliminary identifying the best sites for wind turbine generators installation and/or ii) estimating the average wind potential in small areas (e.g. archipelagos) for energy planning purposes.

In this work we discuss the degradation chemistry on carbon-free electrodes of two ether based electrolytes for Li-O2 batteries, i.e. tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) and dimethoxy ethane (DME) with lithium trifluoromethane sulfonate (LiTfO) as salt. To this aim we developed an all-metallic positive electrode by electrodeposition of a gold dendritic film on a nickel foam (Au@Ni).

This study is focused on the definition of an energy aggregator model for domestic users, offering the Demand Response (DR) optimization and additional services. The research project is based on the Italian electricity system analysis pointing out the renewables high contribution, the poor domestic users’ electrification and the need to figure out those issues by a demand flexibility system implementation. Moreover, the characterization of Italian domestic users’ energy loads allowed to identify the suitable strategies to get higher flexibility degree.