This report presents the experimental and numerical work carried out by ECN and Hanze University of Applied Sciences on methane sorption on activated carbon, as part of their activities within the EDGaR Energy Storage project. Eleven different activated carbon types were tested. It was found that MaxSorb MSC-30 offered the highest methane mass storage density (m/m ratio). However, due to the low density of the MaxSorb MSC-30 activated carbon, the highest volumetric methane storage density (V/V ratio) was found for Brightblack. An increase of the packing density and heat conductivity significantly improves the V/V ratio and shortens the time needed to reach thermal equilibrium. In the case of the Brightblack activated carbon, a total V/V ratio of 112 was found at 12 oC and 40 bar, implying an effective storage density that is 3 times higher than for compressed methane. During the adsorption of methane on activated carbon, sorption heat is released and the temperature of the bed is increased, which negatively affects the effective V/V ratio. Temperature rises up to 70 oC were experimentally observed at higher methane inflow rates. For MaxSorb MSC-30 a temperature rise of 25 oC reduced the effective V/V ratio by about 20 %. The temperature rise of the Brightblack bed caused relatively smaller reductions in the volumetric storage density. Calculations with the validated numerical models indicated an even higher temperature increase for the full scale methane storage, reaching bed temperatures up to 137-150 oC in the case of the MaxSorb MSC-30 activated carbon. At this temperature range, the models indicate a V/V ratio fall down to 46. This performance is similar to the one offered by direct methane compression to 40 bar, and is much lower than the V/V ratio of ~ 100 that was found both experimentally and by calculations for the lab scale reactor performance. The calculations showed, that the low bed permeability can limit the gas flow during adsorption and desorption. A high reactor diameter can countervail the effect of permeability, but the higher dimensions impede the heat dissipation and thus decrease the storage efficiency. Efficient temperature control and management are very important to effectively make use of the methane storage capacity through adsorption.
While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few ‘hyperdominant’species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing morecarbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing andproducing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carboncycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits.
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Client: Foundation Innovation Alliance (SIA - Stichting Innovatie Alliantie) with funding from the ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) Funder: RAAK (Regional Attention and Action for Knowledge circulation) The RAAK scheme is managed by the Foundation Innovation Alliance (SIA - Stichting Innovatie Alliantie) with funding from the ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). Early 2013 the Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Transport started work on the RAAK-MKB project ‘Carbon management for tour operators’ (CARMATOP). Besides NHTV, eleven Dutch SME tour operators, ANVR, HZ University of Applied Sciences, Climate Neutral Group and ECEAT initially joined this 2-year project. The consortium was later extended with IT-partner iBuildings and five more tour operators. The project goal of CARMATOP was to develop and test new knowledge about the measurement of tour package carbon footprints and translate this into a simple application which allows tour operators to integrate carbon management into their daily operations. By doing this Dutch tour operators are international frontrunners.Why address the carbon footprint of tour packages?Global tourism contribution to man-made CO2 emissions is around 5%, and all scenarios point towards rapid growth of tourism emissions, whereas a reverse development is required in order to prevent climate change exceeding ‘acceptable’ boundaries. Tour packages have a high long-haul and aviation content, and the increase of this type of travel is a major factor in tourism emission growth. Dutch tour operators recognise their responsibility, and feel the need to engage in carbon management.What is Carbon management?Carbon management is the strategic management of emissions in one’s business. This is becoming more important for businesses, also in tourism, because of several economical, societal and political developments. For tour operators some of the most important factors asking for action are increasing energy costs, international aviation policy, pressure from society to become greener, increasing demand for green trips, and the wish to obtain a green image and become a frontrunner among consumers and colleagues in doing so.NetworkProject management was in the hands of the Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Transport (CSTT) of NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. CSTT has 10 years’ experience in measuring tourism emissions and developing strategies to mitigate emissions, and enjoys an international reputation in this field. The ICT Associate Professorship of HZ University of Applied Sciences has longstanding expertise in linking varying databases of different organisations. Its key role in CARMATOP was to create the semantic wiki for the carbon calculator, which links touroperator input with all necessary databases on carbon emissions. Web developer ibuildings created the Graphical User Interface; the front end of the semantic wiki. ANVR, the Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour operators, represents 180 tour operators and 1500 retail agencies in the Netherlands, and requires all its members to meet a minimum of sustainable practices through a number of criteria. ANVR’s role was in dissemination, networking and ensuring CARMATOP products will last. Climate Neutral Group’s experience with sustainable entrepreneurship and knowledge about carbon footprint (mitigation), and ECEAT’s broad sustainable tourism network, provided further essential inputs for CARMATOP. Finally, most of the eleven tour operators are sustainable tourism frontrunners in the Netherlands, and are the driving forces behind this project.
Since March 2013, Paul Peeters is a member of the ICAO/CAEP Working Group 3, which is responsible for setting a new fuel efficiency standard for of civil aviation. He does so for the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation (ICSA). ICSA was established in 1998 by a group of national and international environmental NGOs as official observers. Since its inception, ICSA has contributed to CAEP’s work on technical means to reduce emissions and noise, the role of market-based measures, supporting economic and environmental analysis, modelling and forecasting, and ICAO’s carbon calculator. It has also been invited to present its views at ICAO workshops on carbon markets and bio-fuels, and has presented to the high-level Group on Internation Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC). ICSA uses the expertise within its NGO membership to formulate its co-ordinated positions. To gain the broadest level of understanding and input from environmental NGOs, ICSA communicates with, and invites comment from, other NGO networks and bodies working in related areas. ICSA’s participation in ICAO and CAEP meetings is currently provided by the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF), the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Transport and Environment (T&E). See http://www.icsa-aviation.org
Client: European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) The European Institute of Innovation & Technology, a body of the European Union founded to increase European sustainable growth and competitiveness, has set up a number of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC). One of these Communities is on climate change (Climate-KIC). In 2013, Climate-KIC in the Netherlands approved funding for the IMPACT project (IMPlementation & Adoption of Carbon footprint in Tourism travel packages). This ‘pathfinder’ project aimed to assess the viability of and market for a comprehensive carbon calculator. Such a calculator would enable enterprises in the wider travel industry to determine the carbon dioxide emissions, the main cause for climate change, of tourism products and include ‘carbon management’ in their overall policy and strategy. It is generally expected the cost for fuel and carbon will significantly rise in the near en medium future. The calculator will not only cover flights, but also other transport modes, local tourism activities and accommodations. When this pathfinder project finds interest for carbon management within the sector, we aim to start a much larger follow-up project that will deliver the calculator and tools. The IMPACT project was coordinated by the research institute Alterra Wagenigen UR, the Netherlands. Partners were: - Schiphol Airport Group, Amsterdam, The Netherlands- Technical University Berlin, Germany- TEC Conseil, Marseille, France- TUI Netherlands, Rijswijk, The Netherlands- NHTV Breda University for Applied Sciences, The NetherlandsThe project ran from September 2013 to February 2014.
