Frontis Energy prepares market and feasibility studies in the field of renewable energy, energy storage and water treatment. Our international network of consultants is active on four continents and has been in the energy and water sectors for more than 100 years. Our reports are based on science-based research and deep market insights. Our team of consultants is always on call and always informed about the latest guidelines.

Renewable energy

Surprisingly, solar energy is actually a form of nuclear energy. Our sun releases thermal energy, which is essential for life on earth. This thermal energy is the result of the nuclear fusion of hydrogen in the core of the sun. When two isotopes of hydrogen combine, they give off a helium atom, a released neutron, and a considerable amount of radiant energy. While these rays of light take between 10,000 and 170,000 years to reach the surface of the sun from their core, they only take about 8 minutes to reach the earth, where they provide us with light and heat and energy for solar panels. Solar technology converts sunlight into electricity, either directly with photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly with solar thermal systems.

Solar thermal systems use lenses or mirrors to focus a large area of ​​sunlight into a small beam. In this way, the sun's energy is bundled and converted into heat. By adding a steam turbine, this so-called solar thermal energy is converted into electrical energy. Spain has been using the world's largest solar thermal system with a total capacity of 2 GW since 2014.

Photovoltaics work by taking advantage of the photovoltaic effect, which causes electrical power to be generated in a photoelectric material after exposure. The photovoltaic effect is directly related to the photoelectric effect, but should not be confused with it. The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon that electrons are released from a given metal when the given metal is exposed to light. Photovoltaics was used initially and is still used today to operate small and medium-sized applications, from pocket calculators with a single solar cell to off-grid houses that are powered by a photovoltaic system. They are an important and relatively inexpensive source of electrical energy, e.g. if the network performance is insufficient or the network connection is too expensive or not available.

Energy storage

The energy demand increases and the raw material for the economy with fossil fuels decreases. In addition, the emission of gases from fossil fuel consumption degrades air quality significantly. The carbon by-products generated from these fossil fuels have a significant impact on the climate. Renewable energy is one way out of the dilemma, but you can't save it. The conversion into chemical energy, like.

Hydrogen, for example, can solve the problem There is a need to find a renewable energy source that can be easily produced, stored and used as required. Hydrogen can be a promising energy resource because it is an abundant, non-toxic resource and can easily be used to store excess electrical energy.

Hydrogen in combination with oxygen creates electricity in a fuel cell and the by-products are water and heat. Based on the method used to make hydrogen, it is divided into blue hydrogen and green hydrogen. Blue hydrogen is made from fossil fuels such as methane, gasoline, and coal, while green hydrogen is made from non-fossil fuels / water. The cleanest way to produce environmentally friendly hydrogen is by water electrolysis, which involves electrolyzing water to separate hydrogen and oxygen. Renewable energy can be used as a power electrolyser to generate hydrogen from water. Solar powered photoelectrochemical water splitting is one of the common methods. In photoelectrochemical water splitting, hydrogen is generated from water using sunlight.

Wastewater treatment

The goal of wastewater treatment is to remove unwanted ingredients from the wastewater and restore the natural water quality. It is the generic term for the targeted change in the quality of the wastewater (see also DIN 4045). This is practiced environmental protection, because no undesirable or even harmful substances get into our environment.

However, energy and water treatment are closely linked, as the latter consumes a lot of energy. In wastewater treatment, aeration is an energy-intensive and necessary process for removing contaminants. Pumps blow air into the wastewater and thus supply the microbes in the activated sludge basin with oxygen. In return, these bacteria oxidize organic substances to CO₂ and remove them from the wastewater. This process is the industrial standard and has proven itself for over a century. he energy consumption in water treatment produces around 4-5% of anthropogenic CO₂ worldwide. For comparison, according to the Air Transport Action Group in Geneva, international air transport produced 2.1% CO₂ in 2019.

Wastewater treatment includes all treatment techniques with the aim of safe discharge, cleaning, recycling, recovery of reusable materials and reducing the amount of wastewater. Wastewater is mechanically and chemically pretreated before it is freed from decomposable pollutants by means of biological wastewater treatment through physical, biochemical and biological processes with the addition of atmospheric oxygen in the presence of microbes and fed to the receiving water.

Mechanical wastewater treatment is used to separate solids; Coarse substances are retained in the primary clarifier, for example, by rakes, sand in the sand trap, floating substances such as fats and oils by so-called light-weight separators, and substances that can settle and settle (often after neutralization).

In biological wastewater treatment, the ability of microorganisms (especially in aerobic degradation processes) to metabolize organic substances is used. This process is mimicked by the natural self-cleaning of surface water, whereby the process is accelerated considerably by the increase in the concentration of bacteria etc. and by the oxygen supply in the form of air in the biological sewage treatment plants.

The biological wastewater treatment became necessary in order not to pollute the receiving waters through excessive oxygen consumption.

In chemical wastewater treatment, for example, the wastewater is neutralized by adding lime or caustic soda, whereby colloids and salts can precipitate. Depending on the system, e.g. flotation, ion exchangers, membrane processes and other processes are assigned to the physico-chemical wastewater treatment methods.

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