Julia Gottwald

Understanding the role of universities in technology transfer in the renewable energy sector in Bolivia

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the existing linkages between Bolivian universities and the renewable energy (RE) sector as well as the current role and future potential of the higher education institutions to reduce the technology gap in the RE sector by technology and knowledge transfer.Design/methodology/approach – The investigation is based on two surveys carried out in the frame of the JELARE project, financed by the EU ALFA III programme, with university stakeholders as well as market representatives from the RE sector.Findings – The main findings were that Bolivian universities are far behind the market needs regarding RE technology transfer, the linkages between the higher education institutions and the market are weak and there is a lack of finance and expertise on both sides. On the other hand, potentials can be seen in the introduction of RE study programmes, the implementation of long‐term research strategies as well as internships and applied research programmes conducted jointl...

Feasibility of Using Solar Energy as a Source of Renewable Energy in Mauritius Under Collaboration of DIREKT

With limited indigenous conventional energy resources, Mauritius imports over 80 % of its energy supply from foreign countries, mostly from the Middle East. Developing independent renewable energy resources is thus of priority concern for the Mauritian government. Mauritius, being a tropical island surrounded by the Indian Ocean has enormous potential to develop various renewable energies, such as solar, biomass, wind power and geothermal energy. In order to reduce external dependency of fuel the Mauritian Government introduced attractive policies and invited investors of the homeland and abroad to invest in renewable energy technologies. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of implementing solar photovoltaic panels at institutional and organizational level and determine its economical feasibility. The study also consisted of determining the extent to which Mauritians are ready to accept such technologies. A research was thus carried out in collaboration with DIREKT and was found that Mauritians are eager to accept and invest in the solar photovoltaic technology provided that they are given sufficient information on how the system works. Moreover, the economic evaluation for the implementation of the photovoltaic technology revealed that the payback period for such technologies will be around 4.3 years which is very much acceptable.

Energy Recovery from Biodegradable Waste in the Grain Processing Industry

Short Description (maximum 2500 characters) The management of biodegradable (BD) waste is one of the most important environmental problems in the grain processing industry. BD waste enters to the production with unprocessed raw materials, later it generates in every stage of grain processing until raw material becomes comodity. BD waste from grain processing is considered to be non hazardous waste and is clasified in category 02 03 of the European waste catalogue. BD waste management, especially dumping, becomes increasingly expensive and one of the most popular ways to deal with this waste today is composting. The paper is focused on analysis of the possibility to use BD waste for production of alternative fuel. Cleaner production audit revealed two most significant aspects: (1) the generation of biodegradable waste in grain processing is up to 18.3 kg/t of product; (2) energy consumption is up to 108.3 kWh/t of product. Theoretical and experimental investigation in a pilot grain processing company have proved that the use of biodegradable waste for production of alternative fuel in addition to energy produced would reduce the amount of BD waste up to 8.51 kg/t of product. The mass and energy balances of the processes mentioned above, environmental and economical benefits are presented and discussed in the paper.