2024
Authors
Matos, C; Castro, M; Baptista, J; Valente, A; Briga-Sá, A;
Publication
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Abstract
Water is essential at various stages of winemaking, from irrigation in the vineyard to cleaning equipment and facilities, controlling fermentation temperatures, and diluting grape juice if necessary. Additionally, water is used for sanitation purposes to ensure the quality and safety of the final product. This article provides an overview of the existing knowledge regarding the use of water in wineries throughout the winemaking process, water consumption values, effluent treatment, efficient use of water measures, and water reuse. Different assessment methods, including Water Footprint (WF) and Life Cycle Assessment(LCA), provide varied insights into water use impacts, emphasizing the importance of standardized methodologies for accurate assessment and sustainable practices. This research showed that the characterization of the vinification processes of each type of wine is fundamental for further analysis on the environmental impact of winemaking regarding water use. It was also observed that WF is affected by factors like climate, irrigation needs, and cleaning procedures. Thus, efficient water management in all the stages of wine production is crucial to reduce the overall WF. Water efficiency measures may involve the modification of the production processes, reusing and recycling water and the implementation of cleaner production practices and technological innovations, such as automated fermentation systems that reduce water needs. Furthermore, waste management in wineries emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices and technological innovations to mitigate environmental impacts and enhance resource efficiency.
2024
Authors
Jesus, B; Cerveira, A; Santos, E; Baptista, J;
Publication
2024 IEEE 22ND MEDITERRANEAN ELECTROTECHNICAL CONFERENCE, MELECON 2024
Abstract
Motivated by the imperative of sustainable practices, the wine industry is increasingly adopting renewable energy technologies to address environmental concerns and ensure its long-term viability amidst rising fossil fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have emerged as a solution to improve energy efficiency and mitigate the variability of renewable resources, allowing for better system load factors, greater stability of power supply, and optimized use of infrastructure. Therefore, this study aims to design a HRES that integrates solar and wind energy to sustainably fed an irrigation system in a favorable technical-economic context. This research presents a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model that optimizes the profit generated by a grid-connected HRES over 20 years and obtains the optimal system sizing. The study focuses on the farm Quinta do Vallado, Portugal, and examines two distinct Cases. Over 20 years, the implementation of the hybrid system has resulted in savings of approximately 61%.
2024
Authors
Gehbauer, C; Oliveira, P; Tragner, M; Black, DR; Baptista, J;
Publication
2024 IEEE 22ND MEDITERRANEAN ELECTROTECHNICAL CONFERENCE, MELECON 2024
Abstract
The increasing complexity of integrated energy systems with the electric power grid requires innovative control solutions for efficient management of smart buildings and distributed energy resources. Accurately predicting weather conditions and electricity demand is crucial to make such informed decisions. Machine learning has emerged as a powerful solution to enhance prediction accuracy by harnessing advanced algorithms, but often requires complex parameterizations and ongoing model updates. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Autonomous Forecast Framework (AFF) was developed to greatly simplify this process, providing reliable and accurate forecasts with minimal user interaction, by automatically selecting the best model out of a library of candidate models. This work expands on the AFF by not only selecting the best model, but assembling a blend of multiple models into a hybrid forecast model. The validation within this work has shown that this combination of models outperformed the selected best model of the AFF 31%, while providing greater resilience to individual model's forecast error.
2024
Authors
Pinto, J; Filipe, V; Baptista, J; Oliveira, A; Pinto, T;
Publication
2024 IEEE 22ND MEDITERRANEAN ELECTROTECHNICAL CONFERENCE, MELECON 2024
Abstract
The number of electric vehicles is increasing progressively for various reasons, including economic and environmental factors. There has also been a technological development regarding both the operation and charging of these vehicles. Therefore, it is very important to reinforce the charging infrastructure, which can be optimised through the application of computational tools. There are several approaches that should be considered when trying to find the best location for electric vehicles charging stations. In the literature, different methods are described that can be applied to address this specific issue, including optimisation methods and decision-making techniques such as multicriteria analysis. One of the possible limitations of these methods is that they may not consider all perspectives of the various entities involved, potentially resulting in solutions that do not fully represent the optimal outcome; nevertheless, they provide invaluable information that can be applied in the development of integrative models and potentially more comprehensive ones. This article presents a research and discussion on the most commonly used decision models for this issue, considering optimisation models and multi-criteria decision-making strategies for the adequate planning of EV charging station installation,taking into account the different perspectives of the involved entities.
2024
Authors
Teixeira, R; Cerveira, A; Silva, A; Baptista, J;
Publication
2024 IEEE 22ND MEDITERRANEAN ELECTROTECHNICAL CONFERENCE, MELECON 2024
Abstract
The objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 requires the various sectors of the economy to actively participate in the decarbonisation of all their activities, from production to consumption and product distribution. The vineyard and wine production sector is no exception to this goal. This paper aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency that hybrid energy systems based on renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, can contribute to energy efficiency in certain activities related to wine production. In this sense, this study presents results based on linear programming optimisation models, which show how effective they are in minimising the use of energy from the power grid. The results show that renewable hybrid energy systems based on PV and wind are an effective solution for achieving carbon neutrality in some agricultural sectors, particularly winemaking sector. Besides being able to minimise the energy bought from the grid, the hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) is almost self-sufficient, being able to produce 340,232 kWh over 25 years.
2024
Authors
Gehbauer, C; Tragner, M; Baptista, J;
Publication
2024 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES, SEST 2024
Abstract
In the global transformation towards a sustainable energy system, the implementation of energy efficiency measures and demand flexibility play a crucial role. Dynamic window shading of building facades poses a great potential to reduce, shift, and modulate a building's electricity consumption by blocking solar heat gains and thereby avoiding expensive Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) operation to cool the building. However, the installation of dynamic facade systems is often cost-prohibitive with expensive building wiring and interconnection. An integrated direct current (DC) nanogrid is proposed instead, which eliminates any electrical interconnection, by combining all components - generation, storage, and shading element into a self-contained unit. This study seeks to assess the unique design criteria of such Integrated Facade Node (IFN) system given infrequent but high-power use, coincidence of dynamic facade operation with solar renewable photovoltaic (PV) power generation, and unusual placement of the PV generator along the building facade. Optimal IFN sizes based on a deterministic sizing algorithm for a south facing building perimeter are analyzed and installation cost savings of $64,000 (65%) for a medium office building, with the potential to increase up to 91%, are presented.
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