To decarbonize the energy system by the year 2050, it is crucial that innovations are trialled in a ‘real world’ setting for the purpose of increasing public adoption and support, and for providing insights to decision-makers to ensure their decisions are effective and influential. Together, renewable energy systems, distributed and digitized ‘smart’ energy networks (SEN) provide opportunities to maximize energy efficiency, reduce transmission losses and drive down greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, such integrated Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) are in the early stages of development and the technologies that underpin them lack testbeds where they can be developed and tested in a real-world environment. Here we demonstrate the potential role of one of Europe’s largest ‘at scale’ multi-vector Smart Energy Network Demonstrator—SEND, developed within a ‘living laboratory’ setting that provides the ‘blueprint’ for the development and testing of low-carbon energy technologies on the UK’s journey to net zero. Based on the SEND platform and data, we have developed and demonstrated several novel AI based smart algorithms for intelligent SLES control and management. We are also working with industry partners to develop a digital twin of the smart energy system on our campus.

We demonstrate the potential role of one of the largest at scale multi-vector Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND).

A catalyst for the direct reforming of methane and simulated biogas has been prepared using a green and low temperature hydrothermal method. The nickel and iron codoped SrZrO3 perovskite shows catalytic activity comparable to 10% Ni/Al2O3, but with an almost 50% saving in nickel content and a significant reduction in unwanted carbon deposition through thermal decomposition of methane and the Boudouard reaction. The use of a catalyst with a low active metal content produced via a hydrothermal route provides an attractive and sustainable method of production of synthesis gas from both methane and biogas for potential use in solid oxide fuel cells.

Failure mechanisms in AZS materials from the regenerators of two float glass furnaces are presented. Results of a post-mortem examination of materials are used to identify the physical and chemical changes during service. Methods used include bulk density and apparent porosity measurements, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental dispersive analysis (EDA), x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and IR spectroscopy. Corrosion was found to be related to oxidising and reducing conditions and temperature. Chemical and physical differences between virgin and three different furnace materials are identified and used to propose a mechanism for corrosion in different zones of the glass furnace regenerator.

This paper explores the ideological and the practical relationship between neoliberalism and New Public Management (NPM) and the sustainable development agenda of western higher education. Using the United Kingdom and specifically English universities as an example, it investigates the contradictions and the synergies between neoliberal and NPM ideologies and the pursuit and practice of the sustainability agenda, focusing in particular on education for sustainable development (ESD) and ESD research. This paper reveals a range of challenges and opportunities in respect of advancing sustainability in higher education, within the prevailing neoliberal context. It illustrates using examples how neoliberal and managerialist control mechanisms, which govern institutional, departmental and individual academic, as well as student behaviour, are working conversely to both drive and limit the sustainability education agenda. The case is made for further exploration of how ‘nudging’ and ‘steering’ mechanisms within English HE might provide further leverage for ESD developments in the near future, and the implications of this for sustainability educators.

A hydrothermally synthesised nickel-strontium zirconate perovskite is shown to have excellent selectivity towards biogas reforming without suffering from deactivation due to carbon formation. Experiments reveal that this material is capable of very efficiently converting methane and carbon dioxide to synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, at relatively low temperatures and, particularly importantly, high methane contents. Under these conditions we find that carbon production is extremely low and more importantly shows no increase over time, even after 10 days of continuous reforming activity. This conversion of a renewable product, using a catalyst prepared by low temperature hydrothermal methods, provides a route to future sustainable hydrogen, and oxygenate and higher hydrocarbon, production whilst lowering some greenhouse gas emissions.

In this paper we describe the use of a perovskite material synthesised by a low temperature route for the conversion of methane-rich biogas into synthesis gas, which shows high activity and selectivity and extremely good resistance to deleterious carbon deposition.

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have the potential to revolutionise the present fuel economy due to their higher fuel conversion efficiency compared with standard heat engines and the possibility of utilizing the heat produced in a combined heat and power system. One of the reasons they have yet to fulfil this potential is that the conventional anode material of choice, a nickel/yttria-stabilised zirconia cermet, requires a high temperature production process and under operating conditions is susceptible to carbon and sulphur poisoning. Perovskite-based materials have been proposed as potential anode materials for SOFCs due to their potentially high electronic conductivity and catalytic properties. One of the problems in realizing this potential has been their low catalytic activity towards methane reforming compared to conventional nickel based cermet materials. A nickel doped strontium zirconate material produced by low temperature hydrothermal synthesis is described which has high activity for methane reforming and high selectivity towards partial oxidation of methane as opposed to total oxidation products. Initial studies show a very low level of carbon formation which does not increase over time.

AbstractNi0.2Sr0.8ZrO3 catalyst is hydrothermally prepared from a stoichiometric mixture of ZrOCl2, Sr(NO3)2, and Ni(NO3)2 (autoclave, 180 °C, 72 h).

This paper challenges "Big Society (BS) Localism", seeing it as an example of impoverished localist thinking which neglects social justice considerations. We do this through a critical examination of recent turns in the localist discourse in the UK which emphasise self-reliant communities and envisage a diminished role for the state. We establish a heuristic distinction between positive and negative approaches to localism. We argue that the Coalition Government's BS programme fits with a negative localist frame as it starts from an ideological assumption that the state acts as a barrier to community-level associational activity and that it should play a minimal role. "BS localism" (as we call it) has been influential over the making of social policy, but it also has implications for the achievement of environmental goals. We argue that this latest incarnation of localism is largely ineffective in solving problems requiring collective action because it neglects the important role that inequalities play in inhibiting the development of associational society. Drawing upon preliminary research being undertaken at the community scale, we argue that staking environmental policy success on the ability of local civil society to fill the gap left after state retrenchment runs the risk of no activity at all.

The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to reducing carbon emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. With household emissions constituting more than a quarter of current total energy use in the UK, energy practices in the home have taken on increased policy attention. In this paper, we argue that the UK government's approach is founded upon a variant of methodological individualism that assumes that providing greater energy information to individuals will effect behaviour change in relation to energy use. Such an approach is potentially limited in its effectiveness and does not afford appropriate recognition to all those affected by energy policy. In contrast to this approach, we set out an alternative perspective, a community knowledge networks approach to energy and justice which recognises the contexts and relationships in which people live and use energy. Such an approach emphasises situated knowledge and practices in order to gain a greater understanding of how individuals and communities use energy, but, importantly, offers a means for affording greater recognitional justice to different social groups.

Big society, little justice? Community renewable energy and the politics of localism Philip Catney a , Sherilyn MacGregor a , Andrew Dobson a , Sarah Marie Hall b , Sarah Royston c , Zoe Robinson d , Mark Ormerod d & Simon Ross e a Research Institute for Social Sciences , Keele University , Keele , UK b School of Environment and Development , The University of Manchester , Manchester , UK c Association for the Conservation of Energy , London , UK d Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics , Keele University , Keele , UK e Marches Energy Agency , Shrewsbury , UK Published online: 17 May 2013.

Reducing household energy consumption is an essential element of the UK Government's carbon reduction strategy. Whilst increased knowledge alone will not necessarily lead to tangible actions on the part of consumers, knowledge of various kinds is, we argue, still important if domestic energy usage is to be reduced. In an attempt to ‘educate’ the public, governments have typically resorted to ‘mass information’ campaigns that have been considered largely unsuccessful. Yet understanding what alternative forms of learning could be cultivated has been limited by the dearth of research that explores whether and why people consider information about energy and energy saving to be useful. By exploring this, we can move towards an understanding of how knowledge about energy saving can be better shared and communicated, enabling more meaningful learning to take place. Drawing on in-depth qualitative data with fifty-five participants, this paper highlights a range of factors that affect perceptions of energy information. It argues that these factors are not discrete, but are interlinked. A fundamentally different model of knowledge exchange is needed for more effective learning about energy saving to occur. A number of implications for policy are proposed in our conclusions.

The use of CO2 in reforming methane to produce the industrial feedstock syngas is an economically and environmentally attractive reaction. An alumina-supported nickel catalyst active for this reaction additionally forms filamentous carbon. The catalyst is investigated by inelastic neutron scattering as well as elemental analysis, temperature-programmed oxidation, temperature-programmed hydrogenation, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering. Isotopic substitution experiments, using 13CO2 for 12CO2, show the oxidant to contribute to the carbon retention evident with this sample. At steady-state operation, a carbon mass balance of 95% is observed. A kinetic scheme is proposed to account for the trends observed.

The methane reforming reaction with carbon dioxide as the oxidant over alumina-supported nickel and gold-doped nickel catalysts is studied using a variety of techniques such as reaction testing, vibrational spectroscopy (inelastic neutron scattering (INS), Raman scattering and infrared absorption), temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), transmission electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The quantities of retained carbon and hydrogen are determined by TPO and INS, respectively. Minimal hydrogen retention indicates these catalysts to be very efficient at cycling hydrogen. The relative partitioning of hydrogen within the reaction media is used to formulate a qualitative description of the reaction kinetics. The presence of the gold modifier does not appear to provide any improvement in catalyst performance under the specified reaction conditions.

Numerous investigations have been carried out into the conversion of biogas into synthesis gas (a mixture of H(2) + CO) over Ni/YSZ anode cermet catalysts. Biogas is a variable mixture of gases consisting predominantly of methane and carbon dioxide (usually in a 2 : 1 ratio, but variable with source), with other constituents including sulfur-containing gases such as hydrogen sulfide, which can cause sulfur poisoning of nickel catalysts. The effect of temperature on carbon deposition and sulfur poisoning of 90 : 10 mol% Ni/YSZ under biogas conversion conditions has been investigated by carrying out a series of catalytic reactions of methane-rich (2 : 1) CH(4)/CO(2) mixtures in the absence and presence of H(2)S over the temperature range 750-1000 °C. The effect of ceria-doping on carbon dioxide reforming, carbon deposition and sulfur tolerance has also been investigated by carrying out a similar series of reactions over ceria-doped Ni/YSZ. Ceria was doped at 5 mol% of the nickel content to give an anode catalyst composition of 85.5 : 4.5 : 10 mol% Ni/CeO(2)/YSZ. Reactions were followed using quadrupolar mass spectrometry (QMS) and the amount of carbon deposition was analysed by subjecting the reacted catalyst samples to a post-reaction temperature programmed oxidation (TPO). On undoped Ni/YSZ, carbon deposition occurred predominantly through thermal decomposition of methane. Ceria-doping significantly suppressed methane decomposition and at high temperatures simultaneously promoted the reverse Boudouard reaction, significantly lowering carbon deposition. Sulfur poisoning of Ni/YSZ occurred in two phases, the first of which caused the most activity loss and was accelerated on increasing the reaction temperature, while the second phase had greater stability and became more favourable with increasing reaction temperature. Adding H(2)S significantly inhibited methane decomposition, resulting in much less carbon deposition. Ceria-doping significantly increased the sulfur tolerance of Ni/YSZ, however, in the presence of H(2)S ceria did not promote the reverse Boudouard reaction and at high temperatures carbon deposition was greater over ceria-doped Ni/YSZ. In order to further study the effects of ceria-doping, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) was constructed with a ceria-doped anode cermet and its electrical performance on simulated biogas compared to hydrogen was tested. This fuel cell was subsequently ran for 1000 h on simulated biogas with no degradation in its overall electrical performance.

Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) is increasingly being used for the characterization of heterogeneous catalysts. As the technique is uniquely sensitive to hydrogen atoms, vibrational spectra can be obtained that emphasize a hydrogenous component or hydrogen-containing moieties adsorbed on to an inorganic support. However, due to sensitivity constraints, the technique typically requires large sample masses (∼10 g catalyst). A reaction system is hereby described that enables suitable quantities of heterogeneous catalysts to be appropriately activated and operated under steady-state conditions for extended periods of time prior to acquisition of the INS spectrum. In addition to ex situ studies, a cell is described which negates the need for a sample transfer stage between reaction testing and INS measurement. This cell can operate up to temperatures of 823 K and pressures up to 20 bar. The apparatus is also amenable to adsorption experiments at the gas-solid interface.

The CO2 reforming of methane over an alumina-supported nickel catalyst has been studied using a conventional micro-reactor set-up. These experiments have been used to guide inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements, which were performed post-reaction using a ‘quench’ technique. The reacted catalyst has also been examined using infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. This unified approach reveals the presence of a hydrogen-lean coke to have formed during the reforming process, which is predominantly comprised of amorphous carbon, the domains of which appear to be terminated with a small number of hydrocarbon groupings. A semi-quantitative analysis of the INS spectra establishes the catalyst to be very effective in cycling hydrogen during the reforming process.