Say Thanks! to David and Johan

David and Johan finished their Bachelor thesis in 2011:

The impact of applying Swedish standards on the district heating distribution system in Moldova

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to display the economic consequences of changing construction methods and material when constructing district-heating distribution networks in Moldova. This could be accomplished by switching from the currently used technology regulated by the existing norms to modern methods and solutions commonly used in Sweden.

Through assistance from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and experts from Sweden, several energy projects have been implemented around the Republic of Moldova in collaboration with the Moldovan Energy Project Implementation Unit (MEPIU).

Results show that it is possible to reduce the total construction costs for both the studied cases with up to 50 %, while at the same time reducing the energy losses in the systems with the same amount. Some of the easiest changes to implement are also the ones with the greatest potential for decreasing the total construction cost. Actions as simple as reducing the depth at which the pipe network is constructed displays significant changes in the total construction cost. The impact of these solutions would be of great benefit to the Republic of Moldova’s strained financial situation. It might allow for further renovations of the current distribution system of which large parts are of poor quality.

If the quality of the systems could be increased, the magnitude of the current issues regarding the district-heating situation in Moldova could be decreased. One of these issues is the inferior delivery reliability, which have caused many households to disconnect from the network. An increased quality of the network might result in clients reconnecting which would have a positive impact on the struggling district heating industry.

The result

After analysing the results it can also be concluded that there are many ways to lower the costs when building district heating networks in Moldova, some things are easier to implement than others but these results show that it could be well worth the effort to try.

Thanks for this report Johan and David!

Listen to the interview of Karin and Johanna H, by Daniel V

Listen to Johanna Hagberg and Karin Winroth sharing their experience in Moldova.

Swedish Master thesis students shares their experience in Moldova by Daniel Vodă on Mixcloud

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Say Thanks! to Magnus

Magnus just finished his Master thesis:

Potential for Biogas at Wineries in Moldova

- A case study based techno-economic analysis

...and he found that a biogas plant at a Moldovan winery is profitable and also reduces climate impact and contributes to energy independency and security.

Preface by Magnus
This Master’s thesis covers a wide range of topics, from biogas and renewable energy to wine and agriculture. It has been made in a Swedish-Moldovan multicultural context and includes aspects of Moldovan society and politics and how these aspects relate to the engineering perspective of biogas. An experience in itself is often greater than the report of it, however I will try to make clear the understanding I got during my stay in Moldova on how a biogas project can be realized.

I first got the idea of producing biogas from wine production residues during my initial meeting with Borlänge Energi and Sida, the Swedish development cooperation agency, at BNG communications in Stockholm, February 2011. There was a presentation of a country called Moldova, of which I knew very little. In the presentation it was mentioned that Moldova is a wine producing country that uses Russian natural gas. I therefore came up with the idea of producing biogas from the wine production residues and feeding it to the gas grid. I thought that would increase the income for the Moldovan people and at the same time decrease the environmental impact. At this point all I had was questions; I knew nothing of anaerobic digestion, wine production or its residues. As they often do, answers came with time; and as usual, they were not the expected ones.

Before beginning the report I want to stress an important matter. There are five biogas plants in Moldova today. None of them work. Four of them were operational, but not anymore. In all cases the reason for the failure was not in the biogas plants; technically they all worked fine. So why did they fail? The answer of that question will be given in the report and is a key for successfully implementing biogas at wineries in Moldova. Implementing biogas in Moldova will not be huge technical challenge. The problem lies instead in adapting the technology to the situation and context in which it will be used in. It does not matter if one finds the perfect technical solution for a problem if that solution does not work in its context.

The prestudy was made during the spring and summer in Sweden. A way of transport with low environmental impact was chosen to get to Moldova, the bicycle. The trip was 2000 km and was made in three weeks through Sweden, Poland, Ukraine and Moldova.The autumn was spent in Chisinau, Moldova, at the Department for Foreign Relations in the Chisinau City Hall. The finishing work took place at the Division of Energy Technology at Chalmers.

Abstract
Biogas produced by anaerobic digestion is a proven and renewable energy technology that has a role to play reaching towards a sustainable development. It is a process where microorganisms feed on organic matter. Moldova is wine producing country where the energy-rich waste from the wine production, pomace, is mostly landfilled today. It is therefore both free and readily available for biogas production.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate if biogas produced at wineries in Moldova can be economic, it also evaluates its environmental and social benefits. The technical aspects investigated include plant scale, preferred technology, substrate and gas offset.

The thesis was carried out in three steps. First a pre study, then field work during a three months stay in Moldova and finally plant calculations and dimensioning. Five wineries were included in the case study. The waste streams at the wineries and their properties and potential for biogas production were identified. The data was analyzed to get understanding of how biogas from wine production residues can be implemented in Moldova. The amount of grapes harvested at the studied wineries determined the size of the biogas plants, at each winery. Flows of energy, substrate, fertilizer and money were calculated which served as a basis for investment proposals and recommendations for the wineries.

The proposed biogas plant is a tank reactor, fed with stored pomace from the local winery. It produces combined heat and power and organic fertilizer. A Moldovan winery that processes 3800 tons of grapes annually can with this technology produce over 500 GWh of electricity and 260 GWh of useful heat. The reduction in climate impact is 1100 ton of CO2-equivalents per year. The annual income of such a plant is 60 000 euro. On top of this comes the economic benefit from the organic fertilizer. This plant has an investment cost of 260 000 euro which gives a payback time of less than five years. The export potential for biogas companies to deliver these solutions is 6.4 million euro for the 20 largest wineries in Moldova. Moldovan wineries are interested but need assistance with planning and implementation.

The conclusion is that a biogas plant at a Moldovan winery is profitable and also reduces climate impact and contributes to energy independency and security. Investment is therefore recommended. It can also be an interesting possibility for other wine producing countries.

Thank you very much for this report Magnus!

Say Hello! to Emma

We asked Emma what she is going to do in Moldova this spring and this is her answer

My name is Emma Lundblad and I am a student of Environmental Engineering at Lund Institute of Technology, LTH. It is a five-year education where the interaction between technology, environment and science is a consistently theme. I have specialized in Energy Systems and will be writing my master thesis this spring.

The aim of the thesis is to make a pre-study for a new landfill in Chisinau, Moldova. To fulfill this I will evaluate which of different suggested locations that is most suitable as the location of a new landfill. The evaluation will take different aspects into consideration. 

These aspects are:

• social 
• economical
• environmental
• potential risks
• cultural heritage
• existing infrastructure  

I will also investigate the geological conditions and the hydrogeology at the locations.

When the most suitable location has been chosen I will give a proposal on how to design the new landfill in regard to the chosen location, the composition of the waste and EU legislation on waste, and particularly the Landfill Directive 99/31/EC. I will also take the leachate water from the landfill into consideration as well as the formation of gas.

I will spend two months in Chisinau, where I will visit the existing landfill and the different possible locations for the new one. I will also interview experts in Moldova so that the pre-study will be as applicable as possible.

I am leaving for Chisinau on the 9^th of February and will return in the middle of April. I am looking forward to my visit and I am hoping to learn a lot both about landfills and about Moldavian culture during it. 

Best regards

Emma Lundblad

Good luck Emma!

Friday

This day Jonas going back to Sweden
Me Ronny and the Mayor of Chisinau had a first meeting about a new Landfill Establishment 
a very good meeting with around 10 persons from different stakeholders. 

Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca

Landfill area

The Mayor and Valentiana Tapis Republic Moldova Environmental Inspector

Waste Management, wao feeel like home

Today - 21 in the morning
Begin with meeting at the Waste Management Department

 Jonas

 Side loader a la Chisinau

Impressive how they maintains and repairs theirs trucks this for testing fuel pumps.

 

With a little experience in Chisinau, you can call this ability to choose the right location at the dinner table, smile


See you, take care
Ronny

Chisinau

Hello !!
First day in a very cold Moldova - 17 degrees , brrrrr its like - 30 in Sweden
We Jonas Jonsson and me from Borlänge Energy with collogue from Municipality Mannheim Germany are make some days in the road and street maintenance sector.

 Jonas and Tatiana

Friends from Germany

Equipment 

After a day of study of visit back late to the hotel

See you tomorrow
Ronny