Overview
The first International Conference on Energy Production and Management in the 21
st
Century – the Quest for Sustainable Energy took place in Ekaterinburg,
Russia, organised by the Ural Federal University (UFU) and the Wessex
Institute, UK. The Conference Chairmen were Professor Carlos A Brebbia,
from the Wessex Institute, and Professors Elena Magaril and Mikhail
Khodorovsky, both from the Ural Federal University. The meeting, called
Energy Quest for short, aimed to review and discuss the fields of energy
production and management in a changing world.
Modern society requires an ever increasing amount of energy
resources, which creates complex technological, economic and political
challenges. The conference compared conventional energy sources,
particularly hydrocarbons, hydroelectric and nuclear, with a number of
other ways of producing energy, emphasising technological developments.
The challenge is, in many cases, the conversion of new sources of energy
into useful forms and finding efficient ways of storing and
distributing energy.
Energy policies and management are of primary importance and need to
be consistent with advances made in production and distribution.
Furthermore, recent advances in the exploitation of depleted fields,
shale oil and gas deposits, have changed the whole picture and given
rise to new opportunities.
In the medium term a wide variety of energy alternatives are
available, varying from nuclear to conventional hydrocarbons to those
relying on renewable resources. There is a primary requirement to
investigate the different types of energy and optimise their production,
distribution and usage. In the long term there is a need to invest in
new ways of harnessing solar power into energy that can be produced
efficiently, is easy to store and can be distributed without major
difficulties.
Opening of the Conference
Prof Brebbia
The conference was opened by the Rector of UFU, Professor Viktor
Koksharov, who expressed his appreciation to the different parties who
contributed to organise the meeting, including the local authorities,
the SINARA group and WIT. He explained the importance of these meetings
to develop the full research capabilities of the Ural Federal University
and open opportunities for future collaboration.
Mr Neil Semple, British Council in Ekaterinburg, referred to the
importance that his government attached to the development of
sustainable energies and the help that is available through the
Prosperity Fund, which allows top organisations like the Ural Federal
University to collaborate with British institutions. He complimented the
organisers, including the Wessex Institute, for having arranged such a
successful meeting.
Igor Chekzizov, Vice Minister for Development of the Sverdkovsk
region, talked of the importance of the Ural Federal University, one of
the best in Russia. The conference was supported by the Ministry at an
early date following a meeting held with the presence of Professors
Magaril and Brebbia, to both of whom he expressed his congratulations.
The Ministry supports these developments and sees them as sources of
expert knowledge for the development of the region.
The Co-chairman of the conference, Prof Mikhail Khodorovsky, from the
Ural Federal University and Head of SINARA industrial group, explained
the importance of the topics described during the meeting to the
development of the industrial capability of the region.
Prof Magaril
Prof Elena Magaril, head of the department of Environmental Economics
of UFU welcomed the developments and the excellent collaboration with
WIT that led to the organisation of the meeting.
Prof Carlos A Brebbia, Director of Wessex Institute, then referred to
the importance of conferences like this in relation to the objectives
of the Institute, ie the dissemination of knowledge at an international
level. WIT although academically affiliated to the University of Wales,
is otherwise an independent institution. Carlos described the work
carried out by WIT Press, the academic publishers of the Institute, who
have produced the Energy Quest conference book. WIT Press have launched a
series of Journals, and are due to start a new one shortly as a result
of this conference, ie the International Journal of Energy Production
and Management.
Finally, Carlos referred to the well established medal launched in
1994 by the University of Siena and the Wessex Institute, in honour of
the late Prof Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize for Chemistry and Honorary
Chairman of one of the Institute’s conferences as well as Honorary
Editor of a WIT Press international journal. Prof Prigogine was Russian
by birth, as well as the last medallist, Prof Vladimir Voeikov from
Moscow University who received the award last year at the Bucharest
University of Technology.
Keynote and Invited Presentations
Delegates during the conference
The first technical presentation of the meeting was by the Minister,
Nicolai Smirnov and entitled “The Sverdlovsk Region: steps towards
sustainable development and energy security”. The government is anxious
to communicate with all stakeholders and receive as much scientific
advice as possible. Energy is plentiful in the region and this ought to
lead to Sverdlovsk having a competitive advantage over other parts of
Russia. To improve on this the government is focussing on optimising the
use of energy and reviewing the infrastructure, aiming to reduce
consumption.
Dr Erik Jarlsby, Senior Consultant from Avito company in Norway, gave
a keynote address on “The global energy challenge: still fuel for
progress?”, which referred to the global mission of the energy sector,
ie (i) provide energy to enable human development; (ii) avoid serious
damage to the environment, and (iii) convert those resources to lasting
benefits for the nations.
On his presentation, Prof Nader Mahinpey from the University of
Calgary, described “Pathways to energy and environmental sustainability;
a Canadian perspective”, Nader is internationally known in the field of
energy and the environment. Canada has the third largest reserves of
oil in the world, but 97% is non conventional, ie mainly oil sands. In
terms of gas is the third largest producer, after Russia and USA, mostly
of shale gas. It has also large coal reserves. Furthermore a large
proportion of its own energy is hydroelectric. The aim is to reduce the
use of coal and increase that of renewables.
The keynote address of Prof Ove T Gudmestad from the University of
Stavanger in Norway concentrated on “Sustainable oil and gas production
in the 21
st century with emphasis on offshore fields”. He
pointed out the importance to ensure that oil and gas production is
carried out in a sustainable way. His field of interest led to WIT Press
publishing a book he wrote on Petroleum Energy, available in Russian as
well as English. Ove stressed the importance of avoiding pollution in
oil and gas production fields.
The keynote address by Prof Fabio Polonara of the Universitá
Politecnica delle Marche, Italy, dealt with the “Demand side management
of the built environment for sustainable energy”. He presented the case
of several buildings from different periods to compare the importance of
the new EU directives.
Delegates during lunch break
Prof Godwell Nhamo from the University of South Africa dealt with a
controversial topic under the title “Green economy: a game changer
ushering the death of internal combustion engine?” Green growth rests
upon the need to convert economies from being resource intensive to
being low carbon and resource efficient. He considers that electric
vehicles are inevitable and that green growth signals the death of the
internal combustion engine in the not too distant future.
The problem of energy rating for green buildings in Europe was
presented by Montserrat Zamorano of the University of Granada. Her paper
summarises and analyses the most important differences between energy
rating systems defined in the European Union communities according to
the current legislative framework. The paper shows substantial
differences between them in spite of having been developed to achieve
the same objectives.
Solar energy systems was the topic of the presentation by Hussain
Al-Kayiem from Petronas University in Malaysia. He discussed some
setbacks suffered by solar energy and how they can be reversed by
integrating it with other energy sources.
Another source of energy was discussed by Prof Elena Rada from the
University of Trento in Italy, who spoke about how to obtain energy from
municipal solid waste. This energy can be obtained by combustion,
gasifaction or pyrolosis.
Prof Giuseppe Genon from the Politecnico di Torino, spoke about
“Energy from biomass: the potentialities, environmental aspects and
technology”. He also described the effects on climate change and the
local acceptability as well as the competitive aspects and general costs
involved.
Further Invited Presentations
Other invited presentations were:
“Russian power sector reform: lessons for developing countries” by Leonid D Gitelman, Ural Federal University, Russia.
“Economical mechanism for the reform of regional heat supply systems” by Yulia Munts, Ural Federal University, Russia.
“Single-phase media hydrodynamics and heat transfer in heat
exchangers with twisted profile tubes” by Yuri M Brodov, Ural Federal
University, Russia.
“The impact of fiscal policies and standards on passenger car CO2
emissions in EU countries” by Amela Ajanovic, Vienna University of
Technology, Austria.
“Planning for sustainable development of energy infrastructure: FAST –
Fast Simulation Tool” by Robert Barelkowski, Polish Academy of Science,
Poland.
“Structural design in a power grid company” by Andrey Makarov, Bashkirian Power Grid Company, Russia.
“Ion transport membrane technology for the primary processing of
natural gas” by Victor Kozhevnikov, Institute of Solid State Chemistry,
Russia.
“The solution to strategic problems in the oil refining industry as a
factor for the sustainable development of automobile transport” by
Elena Magaril, Ural Federal University, Russia.
“The influence of rectification sharpness on the quality of motor
fuels” by Maxim Rogalev, Tyumen State of Oil & Gas University,
Russia.
“Renewable energy-based plant remote monitoring complex using Wi-Fi
channels and elements of artificial vision” by Sergey E Shcheklein, Ural
Federal University, Russia.
“Estimation of the tribotechnical parameters of the ‘piston
skirt-cylinder liner’ contact interface from an IC-engine for decreasing
the mechanical losses” by Vladislav Lazarev, South Ural State
University, Russia.
“Exhaust emissions from modes of transport under actual traffic
conditions” by Jerzy Merkisz, Poznan University of Technology, Poland.
“Long-term developments in residues from the processing of alum shale
and possible remedies” by Rolf Sjoblom, Lulea University of Technology,
Sweden.
Conference Topics
A substantial number of presentations were classified under the following topics:
- Energy policies
- Energy management
- Energy and economic growth
- Energy economics
- Energy security
- Energy production
- Energy transmission and distribution
- Energy conversion
- Energy efficiency
- Energy networks
- Energy and transport
- Energy in the built environment
- Hydrocarbons
- Processing of oil and gas
- Pipelines
- Nuclear energy
- New energy sources
- Biomass and biofuels
- Environmental risks
- Emissions
- Training in energy and sustainability
- Computational and experimental studies
Special Discussion
Delegates during special discussion
At the end of the first day a special round table discussion was
organised about the creation of a group consisting of researchers from
some of the different countries represented at the meeting. The aim was
to set up a programme to train future managers for the Energy industry.
The group would bring together the best capabilities and resources of
the members to put forward innovative world class management training.
The initiative would be coordinated by the Graduate School of Economics
and Management of UFU, with the collaboration of the Wessex Institute.
Such a programme needs to be interdisciplinary and involve
engineering as well as economics, taking into account environmental
assets and investment. The ENGEC Centre at UFU has experience in
Engineering Management Systems, Banking, Investment and Environmental
Economics, as well as having many well established links with
universities and industries.
Graduates from the programme ought to be able to handle complex
problems, working in interdisciplinary teams and with a “hands on”
approach. It is important to train them in the context of global trades
and being able to generate new knowledge.
The programme is designed for next generation Managers to build an
elite group of professionals capable of working in any engineering
company implementing energy policies for the 21
st century.
The idea gave rise to a most interesting and lively debate during
which a series of improvements were proposed, including the need to
develop a common language to bridge the differences between different
disciplines and the requirement to find a budget to support the
initiative. There was general agreement that a programme of education on
Global Energy Systems, would be most welcome.
The meeting concluded by reminding each member to find out the attitude of their institution towards such a programme.
Tour and Conference Dinner
Conference dinner
At the end of the second day the delegates were taken on a guided bus
tour of Ekaterinburg, visiting some of the most famous places, such as
the Church of the Blood, now standing on the site of the basement where
the Tsar and his family were murdered by the local Bolshevik regime and
the monument to those soldiers who died in Afghanistan and later on in
Chechnya. This resembles a tulip in black marble, as a reminder of the
name given to the plane – black tulip – bringing their coffins home.
Ekaterinburg is also known for arts and music and has a well known Opera
House, which is also the site of its excellent Ballet company.
After the tour the delegates proceeded to the banquet, which took
place in a restaurant serving Russian and Ukrainian specialities. The
convivial atmosphere and friendship amongst delegates made this a unique
occasion. Numerous vodka and wine toasts were made by the participants
who were able to appreciate the classical Russian hospitality.
Young Researcher Seminar
The Conference was an occasion to programme several activities
including a Young Researcher Seminar that took place at the headquarters
of the Sinara Group in downtown Ekaterinburg. Carlos opened the seminar
by explaining to the young Master and PhD candidates present the
importance of being open to new ideas in order to be able to make
significant contributions to technology and wealth creation, as well as
for further academic development. New ideas, Carlos said, frequently
originated from the cross-fertilization between different disciplines;
methodologies employed in one field can be transferred to others for the
solution of a whole range of new problems. This Seminar – Carlos
explained – consists of short presentations by well known scientists who
can demonstrate to young researchers some of the latest international
trends.
The presentations covered the following topics:
- Evolution of green energy and bio-refinery in North America
- Sustainability in energy production
- The global energy challenge: still fuel for progress?
- Demand side management in the built environment for sustainable energy
- Technology for Arctic offshore oil and gas developments
- Energy rating for green buildings in Europe
- MSW bio-drying and energy recovery
- Energy paradox under BRICS’ green growth transition: no coal, no security?
- Local planning for renewable energies: environmentally sensitive approach
- Sewage sludge treatment and energy recovery
- Solar integrated systems
Closing of the Conference
Special dinner
Carlos and Elena Magaril closed the conference by thanking the
participants for their contributions and excellent papers. The success
of the meeting was due to the close collaboration between those at WIT
and Elena’s team at UFU. Carlos explained that the papers presented at
the meeting have already been uploaded in important reference systems
and the volume will be widely distributed through WIT Press in digital
and hard cover formats. All these papers are archived in the Wessex
Institute eLibrary
http://library.witpress.com/, where they are easily available to the international scientific community.
Carlos hoped that all participants will consider contributing to WIT
Journals and other publications, as well as attending the series
arranged by the Institute on Energy and the Environment.
A special dinner was organised at the end of the conference to
celebrate its success and launch the new Journal. The members of the
International Scientific Advisory Committee, as well as other colleagues
who collaborated in the meeting were invited to discuss ways in which
the Energy Quest meeting could be improved when it is reconvened in
2016.
Several toasts were proposed, including one by Carlos to all around
the table for their help with the Energy Quest 2014. He also described
the idea of launching a Journal with the same aims as the conference to
publish high quality papers dealing with energy production and
management in an integrated manner.
The day after the conference closed, delegates were invited to a tour
comprising a visit to the newly opened War Vehicles Museum outside
Ekaterinburg. There they could appreciate the large industrial potential
of the region to the military establishment, particularly during WWII
where major industries were transferred to the Ural Mountains. Another
interesting visit was to the place where the bodies of the Tsar and his
family were buried, in an old mine shaft, outside Ekaterinburg. A new
Monastery has now been built on the site which contains several churches
and chapels and is a popular tourist site.
Conference Proceedings
The proceedings of Energy Quest 2014 – Energy Production and
Management in the 21st Century, 1339pp (Print ISBN: 978-1-84564-816-9;
eISBN: 978-1-84564-817-6) are available from WIT Press. Orders can be
placed on the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com or by email:
marketing@witpress.com, telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223 or fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853.
Papers from the conference will also be hosted online at the WIT
eLibrary as Volume 190 of WIT Transactions on the Ecology and the
Environment (ISSN: 1746-448X, Digital ISSN 1743-3541). For more details
visit the WIT eLibrary at http://library.witpress.com
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