Upgrading Process Research Articles

Biogas upgrading via CO2 removal onto tailor-made highly ultramicroporous adsorbent materials

Biogas is a renewable energy source that can be an alternative to meet growing energy demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The calorific value of biogas is diminished by the presence of CO2, the most abundant impurity presents in the production of this biofuel. In this study, ultramicroporous activated carbons (ACs) were developed from Prosopis ruscifolia sawdust (Vinal) by activation with KOH solution. The influence of temperature (873, 973, and 1073 K) and the KOH/biochar impregnation mass ratio (IR = 1, 2 or 3) on ACs main chemical, textural, and morphological characteristics were examined and related to its ability to capture CO2. The impregnation mass ratio was the most influential variable for the capture of this polluting species. The developed ACs were highly ultramicroporous and presented BET surface areas between 500 and 2430 m2 g−1. The AC developed at 973 K and IR = 2 showed the best performance in CO2 adsorption, under equilibrium conditions, at 273 K (6.2 mmol g−1). This result was attributed to its higher content of pores with diameters between 0.4 and 0.9 nm. Dynamic studies carried out in a fixed-bed column with this AC showed that it was able to capture 1.5 mmolg−1 of CO2 and ∼0.3–0.4 mmol g−1 of CH4 from single component streams, whereas when the conditions were similar to those of a biogas upgrade process (CH4 80% and CO2 20%), CO2 uptakes slightly decreased. Competition studies carried out using a CO2/CH4 mixture of equimolar concentrations pointed out a greater selectivity towards CO2. Regeneration studies showed that this AC retained between 97 and 98% of its maximum initial CO2 adsorption capacity after five adsorption-desorption cycles.

Global value chains and gender: opportunities and challenges for women workers in developing economies

Large retailers and supermarkets operate through global value chains (GVC) in which they directly source goods from suppliers, many in the global south. They coordinate and govern their suppliers via the application of strict commercial requirements and private standards. Gender plays an important role in the commercial dynamics and expansion of retail GVCs. GVCs generate jobs and incomes for hundreds of millions of workers and smallholders in middle and low-income economies, a significant proportion female. Women contribute to enhancing productivity and quality in GVCs, but are unequally recompensed and outcomes for improving their well-being and gender equality are mixed. This paper asks: How are GVCs underpinned by gender relations, and what are the opportunities and challenges for women engaged in African agri-food value chains? It advances a gender perspective on global value chain analysis with a focus on processes of economic and social upgrading and downgrading. It draws on two contrasting case studies involving exports to Europe in which women play critical roles: East African floriculture where wage labour predominates, and West African cocoa sourced mainly from smallholders. It considers the roles of private, social and public governance in promoting more gender equitable economic and social upgrading.

Interactions of phenol and benzaldehyde in electrocatalytic upgrading process

Biomass pyrolysis oil can be improved effectively by electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH). However, the unclear interactions among different components lead to low bio-oil upgrading efficiency in the conversion process. Herein, benzaldehyde and phenol, as common compounds in bio-oil, were chosen as model compounds. The interactions between the two components were explored in the ECH process by combining experiments and theoretical calculations. Results showed that phenol could accelerate the conversion of benzaldehyde in the ECH. The selectivity of benzyl alcohol was increased from 60.9% of unadded phenol to 99.1% with 30 mmol/L phenol concentration at 5 h. Benzaldehyde inhibited the ECH of phenol. In the presence of benzaldehyde, the conversion rate of phenol was below 10.0% with no cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol formation at 5 h. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the phenol could promote the adsorption of benzaldehyde and facilitate the targeted conversion of benzaldehyde on the active site by lowering the reaction energy barrier. The research on the interaction between phenol and benzaldehyde in the ECH provides a theoretical basis for the application of ECH in practical bio-oil upgrading.

Pyrolysis of Palm Fronds Waste into Bio-Oil and Upgrading Process Via Esterification-Hydrodeoxygenation Using Cu–Zn Metal Oxide Catalyst Loaded on Mordenite Zeolite

Pyrolysis of Palm Fronds Waste into Bio-Oil and Upgrading Process Via Esterification-Hydrodeoxygenation Using Cu–Zn Metal Oxide Catalyst Loaded on Mordenite Zeolite

Rational Use of Energy in Sports Centres to Achieve Net Zero: The SAVE Project (Part A)

Sports centres constitute major energy consumers. This article presents the proposed energy performance upgrade process and the achieved results for the municipal sports centre in Arkalochori, Greece. The facility consists of a swimming pool centre, an outdoor 8 × 8 football court, and two tennis and basketball courts. It operates with considerably high energy consumption due to the lack of any measure towards its energy efficiency improvement since its initial construction in 2002. Due to the significantly high heating cost, the swimming pool centre remains operative only during the summer period. The energy performance upgrade of the facility was holistically approached through all possibly applicable passive and active measures: insulation of opaque surfaces and replacement of openings, construction of a new, bioclimatic enclosure for the swimming pool’s centre and conversion of the current outdoor facility to an indoor one, installation of heat pumps for indoor space conditioning and swimming pool heating, installation of a solar–combi system for domestic hot water production, upgrade of all indoor and outdoor lighting equipment and installation of a photovoltaic plant on the new enclosure’s roof for the compensation of the remaining electricity consumption. With the proposed measures, the municipal sports centre is upgraded to a zero energy facility. The payback period of the investment was calculated at 14 years on the basis of the avoided energy procurement cost. The swimming pool’s centre operation is prolonged during the entire annual period. This work has been funded by the Horizon 2020 project with the acronym “NESOI” and was awarded the public award of the “Islands Gamechanger” competition of the NESOI project and the Clean Energy for EU Islands initiative.

Analysis the Special Nodes of E-commerce Platforms Based on the Background of "Double Eleven" Marketing

As a result of the recent outbreak, it would appear that the "Double Eleven" shopping festival has entered its mature phase, with consumer behaviors gradually becoming more rationalized and customer enthusiasm gradually decreasing. The purpose of this study was to analyze how Pinduoduo can reform and improve its marketing campaigns in order to better boost the desire of people to buy and move the economy forward in the midst of a slump. This study came to the conclusion that consumers' willingness to buy will be influenced by quality-assured and diverse products, cost-effective prices, easy-to-play and easily accessible offers, and close user relationships. On the other hand, the proliferation of newly emerged content platforms and live e-commerce will further occupy the e-commerce platform market and squeeze users' space. As a consequence of this, the only way to improve a company's reputation and brand image, as well as improve the process of corporate transformation and upgrading, and increase consumer stickiness, is to consistently attract big brands, expand digital operations, and serve a diverse range of consumer wants.

Technological capabilities and global value chains: insights from Spanish SMEs in the hotel industry

PurposeThis study explores the role of international tour operators as the agents assuming the governance and the upgrading of the tourism global value chains (TGVCs), with a special focus on their influence on the development of technological capabilities (TCs) in the hotel industry.Design/methodology/approachThe data used in this article originates from a survey carried out in 2016 on Spanish small and medium-sized hotel companies. An ordinal regression analysis is employed to test the hypotheses proposed in this research.FindingsThis study finds that tour operators exert a positive effect on the technological upgrading process in the hotel industry by stimulating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in TCs. The causal mechanisms through which these effects take place differ across the various stages of the relationship between hotel companies and tour operators.Practical implicationsThe results have implications both for hotel management in terms of how hotels take advantage of technological upgrading to become more competitive, and for public administrations in terms of what measures can boost the development of hotel TCs in order to increase their added value.Originality/valueTo date, very few studies have analysed the tourism sector based on the influence on the development of TCs of SME hotels by combining GVC concepts and the resource-based view. It is also the first time that the causal mechanisms are shown to explain such influences.

How do strategic networks help SMEs upgrade in global value chains? A cross-national analysis

This study investigates whether strategic networks in global value chains affect the upgrade of suppliers and describes alternative ways of overcoming the barriers to such upgrades. Using a cross-national analysis, we examine the complex upgrade process for suppliers from a long-term perspective by applying qualitative research. We conduct semi-structured interviews to survey small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan and South Korea. The results show that suppliers in global value chains maintain long-term cooperative relationships with lead firms and utilize strategic networks to supplement the management capabilities required for strategic goals. Our findings also indicate that strategic multi-partner networks play a crucial role in ameliorating major barriers to upgrading. This study proposes that suppliers can upgrade through alternative methods utilizing strategic networks. Our findings thus generate important implications for managers working for suppliers in current or potential global value chains.

Improving the Performance of Heavy Oil Oxidation Using Oil-Soluble Copper-Based Catalysts in In Situ Combustion for the In Situ Upgrading Process

Improving the Performance of Heavy Oil Oxidation Using Oil-Soluble Copper-Based Catalysts in In Situ Combustion for the In Situ Upgrading Process

Use of Nickel Oxide Catalysts (Bunsenites) for In-Situ Hydrothermal Upgrading Process of Heavy Oil.

In this study, Nickel oxide-based catalysts (NixOx) were synthesized and used for the in-situ upgrading process of heavy crude oil (viscosity 2157 mPa·s, and API gravity of 14.1° at 25 °C) in aquathermolysis conditions for viscosity reduction and heavy oil recovery. All characterizations of the obtained nanoparticles catalysts (NixOx) were performed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-Ray and Diffraction (XRD), and ASAP 2400 analyzer from Micromeritics (USA), methods. Experiments of catalytic and non-catalytic upgrading processes were carried out in a discontinuous reactor at a temperature of 300 °C and 72 bars for 24 h and 2% of catalyst ratio to the total weight of heavy crude oil. XRD analysis revealed that the use of nanoparticles of NiO significantly participated in the upgrading processes (by desulfurization) where different activated form catalysts were observed, such as α-NiS, β-NiS, Ni3S4, Ni9S8, and NiO. The results of viscosity analysis, elemental analysis, and 13C NMR analysis revealed that the viscosity of heavy crude oil decreased from 2157 to 800 mPa·s, heteroatoms removal from heavy oil ranged from S-4.28% to 3.32% and N-0.40% to 0.37%, and total content of fractions (ΣC8-C25) increased from 59.56% to a maximum of 72.21%, with catalyst-3 thank to isomerization of normal and cyclo-alkanes and dealkylation of lateral chains of aromatics structures, respectively. Moreover, the obtained nanoparticles showed good selectivity, promoting in-situ hydrogenation-dehydrogenation reactions, and hydrogen redistribution over carbons (H/C) is improved, ranging from 1.48 to a maximum of 1.77 in sample catalyst-3. On the other hand, the use of nanoparticle catalysts have also impacted the hydrogen production, where the H2/CO provided from the water gas shift reaction has increased. Nickel oxide catalysts have the potential for in-situ hydrothermal upgrading of heavy crude oil because of their great potential to catalyze the aquathermolysis reactions in the presence of steam.

Firm-level Technological Upgrading Process in Low-tech Industries: the case of Clothing Industry in Brazil

There is a considerable amount of research on technological upgrading and innovation. However, the majority of studies tend to focus on R&D and patents aspects in high-tech industries. Seeking to contribute to rebalancing the analysis, we examine how occurs technological upgrading path in a low-tech industry, the clothing industry from emerging market. The low-tech industries represent around 90% of the economy of emerging countries, such as Brazil. The research design is operationalized from depth individual case study. The findings show that the clothing industry, even though characterized as low-tech, has not remained technologically stagnant, developing innovative activities and a path-follower. However, although it can be considered innovative, the industry shows little association with 4.0 technologies. The research questions biases in extant research and policy debate towards certain types of innovative capabilities, industries, and taxonomies that limit the understanding of innovation and technological catch-up in different industrial settings.

Valorization of polluted biomass waste for manufacturing sustainable cathode materials for the production of hydrogen peroxide

A circular economy approach was followed to convert biomass wastes polluted with metals (obtained from phytoremediation processes) to generate electroactive carbon materials to be used in the electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide. Carbon materials were pretreated using hydrothermal carbonization at 200ºC and 130 g soil mL−1 water and post treated through pyrolysis at different temperatures (300ºC, 500ºC and 1000ºC) and using different chemical precursors as KOH or H3PO4. These materials would modify the carbon paper (CP) cathodes to substitute the commonly used carbon black (CB), that comes from fossil fuels. Porosity, thermochemical behavior, electrical conductivity, electrocatalytic response and H2O2 accumulation tests were evaluated to determine the potential performance of these materials in the electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide. Delays in mass losses observed in thermogravimetric studies indicate the improvement of the thermal stability of materials which are related with the highest electrical conductivity (that correspond to hydrochar pyrolyzed at 1000 ºC). High specific surface areas (1097 and 704 m2/g) were also found with hydrochars treated with chemical precursors with values even superior to commercial CB. Results show that all activated hydrochars present electrocatalytic activity towards the production of hydrogen peroxide and that the materials chemically activated with KOH can achieve a 70% of the H2O2 production obtained with commercial CB. Moreover, it was found that the presence of metals in the synthesized materials may promote a Fenton-like reaction, increasing by 40% the generation of hydroxyl radicals with respect to commercial CB. This paramount finding opens the window for the use of this phytoremediation waste to produce sustainable electrode materials for upgraded electrochemical advanced oxidation processes.

Carbon footprint analysis and comprehensive evaluation of municipal wastewater treatment plants under different typical upgrading and reconstruction modes

The issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the upgrading and reconstruction of municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) along with improved water quality is receiving attention and research. There is an urgent need to explore the impact of upgrading and reconstruction on carbon footprint (CF) in order to address concerns that the upgrading and reconstruction will increase GHG emissions while improving water quality. Here we accounted for the CF of five MWWTPs in Zhejiang Province, China, before and after three different upgrading and reconstruction models - “Improving quality and efficiency” (“Mode I”), “Upgrading and renovation” (“Mode U”) and “Improving quality and efficiency plus Upgrading and renovation” (“Mode I plus U”). The upgrading and reconstruction was found to not necessarily result in more GHG emissions. In contrast, the “Mode I” had a more significant advantage in terms of CF reduction (1.82–12.6 % reduction in CF). Overall, the ratio of indirect emissions to direct emissions (indirect emissions/direct emissions) and the amount of GHG emitted per unit of pollutant removed (CFCOD、CFTN、CFTP) decreased, while both the carbon and energy neutral rates increased significantly (up to 33.29 % and 79.36 % respectively) after all three upgrading and reconstruction modes. In addition, the wastewater treatment efficiency and capacity are the main factors that affect the level of carbon emission. The results of this study can provide a calculation model that can be used for other similar MWWTPs during the upgrading and reconstruction processes. More importantly, it can provide a new research perspective as well as valuable information to revisit the impact of upgrading and reconstruction in MWWTPs on GHG emissions.

Reactive Adsorption Desulfurization Coupling Olefin Conversion in Fluid Catalytic Cracking Gasoline Upgrading Process.

Reactive adsorption desulfurization experiments were carried out on fluid catalytic cracking gasoline over a Ni/ZnO adsorbent in a fixed bed reactor. Results demonstrated that desulfurization is accompanied by hydrogen transfer, while isomerization and aromatization reactions are rare. Reactive adsorption desulfurization coupling olefin conversion was attempted by mixing a catalyst consisting Zn-ZSM-5 with an adsorbent at a certain proportion. The process reduced the loss of octane number and sustained ultradeep desulfurization ability simultaneously. An Fe-modified Ni/ZnO adsorbent was developed, which possessed better olefin retention ability than the Ni/ZnO adsorbent. The Ni-Fe/ZnO adsorbent mixed catalyst exhibited better olefin conversion performance and lower octane number loss than that of the Ni/ZnO adsorbent mixed catalyst because more olefins were retained for isomerization and aromatization reaction on the catalyst. The proportion of the catalyst added and the operating conditions of the process were optimized, ultralow sulfur gasoline was produced, and loss of octane number was low under optimal operating conditions. The amount of octane number lost was reduced by 85% compared with conventional reactive adsorption desulfurization. In addition, the process exhibited excellent desulfurization and olefin conversion performance in multiple regeneration cycles, demonstrating the feasibility of continuous processing.

Study on the reaction mechanism of C8+ aliphatic hydrocarbons obtained directly from biomass by hydropyrolysis vapor upgrading

Aviation fuel production is an important direction for biomass utilization, however, the direct transformation of biomass into aviation fuel is a bottleneck in this field. Among all the biomass-to-liquid thermochemical routes, the pyrolysis process can directly produce bio-oil in a continuous industrial manner. Herein, Ni-Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was used to investigate the hydropyrolysis (HP) vapor upgrading (VU) process of lignocellulosic biomass to obtain bio-oil with high selectivity of aviation fuel components. The VU temperature of 300–350℃ was conducive to generating liquid fuel with C8+ aliphatics as the main component of jet fuel. It was indicated that the yield of the oil phase was 6.4 wt% with an HHV of 46.2 MJ/kg, while the selectivity of aliphatics reached 72.6% with C8+ aliphatics was 59.9%. Moreover, it was found that all three components of biomass could be transformed into long-chain aliphatics by coupling reaction. The hydroxyalkylation is the main way and the aldehyde group is the directing group of the carbon-increasing, which was supported by the results of the quantum chemical calculation. Further, the reaction network for the HP-VU process of lignocellulosic biomass with C8+ aliphatics as the main product was proposed to provide a theoretical understanding of the carbon-increasing in biomass hydropyrolysis.

Biomass to H2: Evaluation of the Impact of PV and TES Power Supply on the Performance of an Integrated Bio-Thermo-Chemical Upgrading Process for Wet Residual Biomass

The last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) assessment report highlighted how actions to reduce CO2 emissions have not been effective so far to achieve the 1.5 C limit and that radical measures are required. Solutions such as the upgrading of waste biomass, the power-to-X paradigm, and an innovative energy carrier such as hydrogen can make an effective contribution to the transition toward a low-carbon energy system. In this context, the aim of this study is to improve the hydrogen production process from wet residual biomass by examining the advantages of an innovative integration of anaerobic digestion with thermochemical transformation processes. Furthermore, this solution is integrated into a hybrid power supply composed of an electric grid and a photovoltaic plant (PV), supported by a thermal energy storage (TES) system. Both the performance of the plant and its input energy demand—splitting the power request between the photovoltaic system and the national grid—are carefully assessed by a Simulink/Simscape model. The preliminary evaluation shows that the plant has good performance in terms of hydrogen yields, reaching 5.37% kgH2/kgbiomass, which is significantly higher than the typical value of a single process (approximately 3%). This finding demonstrates a good synergy between the biological and thermochemical biomass valorization routes. Moreover, thermal energy storage significantly improves the conversion plant’s independence, almost halving the energy demand from the grid.

Optimization of coal-to-liquid processes; A way forward towards carbon neutrality, high economic returns and effective resource utilization. Evidences from China

As the world's largest consumer of coal, China is committed to developing a carbon–neutral coal industry. For this purpose, upgrading the carbon emission-intensive coal-chemical industries, such as coal-to-liquids (CTL) is imperative. This study develops a technical–economic framework to model and test four promising CTL upgrading processes. First and second processes involve low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis practices with larger gasifiers and air-separating units than the current level. Third, the process combines olefin and fuel co-production practices that utilize low- and high-temperature FT synthesis processes. Finally, the process produces both electricity and fuel by sending the tail gas of the synthesis process to an integrated cycle. Aspen Plus® is used to simulate the chemical processes, and the financial cost accounting model of the American Association of Cost Engineers is utilized to estimate the financial costs accurately. The results show that the upgraded processes can achieve an energy efficiency of more than 48 %, which is 6 % higher than the existing coal-to-oil process. Additionally, the break-even point is 2 %–14.45 % lower than the actual process, reducing carbon emissions by 2.78 %–10.34 %. According to these findings, the upgrade can help China reach its carbon neutrality targets and significantly contribute to global climate change and sustainable development goals.

Dynamic Simulation and Thermoeconomic Analysis of a Novel Hybrid Solar System for Biomethane Production by the Organic Fraction of Municipal Wastes

The anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and the biogas production obtained from its stabilization are becoming an increasingly attractive solution, due to their beneficial effects on the environment. In this way, the waste is considered a resource allowing a reduction in the quantity of it going to landfills and the derived greenhouse gas emissions. Simultaneously, the upgrading process of biogas into biomethane can address the issues dealing with decarbonization of the transport. In this work, the production of biogas obtained from the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes in a plug flow reactor is analyzed. In order to steer the chemical reactions, the temperature of the process must be kept under control. A new simulation model, implemented in the MatLab® environment, is developed to predict the temperature field within the reactor, in order to assess how the temperature affects the growth and the decay of the main microbial species. A thermal model, based on two equilibrium equations, is implemented to describe the heat transfer between the digester and the environment and between the digester and the internal heat exchanger. A biological model, based on suitable differential equations, is also included for the calculation of the biological processes occurring in the reactor. The proposed anaerobic digestion model is derived by the combination of these two models, and it is able to simultaneously simulate both thermal and biological processes occurring within the reactor. In addition to the thermal energy demand, the plant requires huge amounts of electricity due to the presence of a biogas upgrading process, converting biogas into biomethane. Therefore, the in-house developed model is integrated into a TRNSYS environment, to perform a yearly dynamic simulation of the reactor in combination with other renewable technologies. In the developed system layout, the thermal energy required to control the temperature of the reactor is matched by a solar thermal source. The electrical demand is met by the means of a photovoltaic field. In this work, a detailed thermoeconomic analysis is also proposed to compare the environmental impact and economic feasibility of a biomethane production plant based on a plug flow reactor and fed by renewables. Several economic incentives are considered and compared to determine the optimal solution, both in terms of energy and economic savings. The plant is designed for the treatment of a waste flow rate equal to 626.4 kg/h, and the biomethane produced, approximately 850 tons/years, is injected into the national gas grid or supplied to gas stations. In the proposed plant, a solar field of an evacuated tube collector having a surface of approximately 200 m2 is able to satisfy 35% of the thermal energy demand while over 50% of the electric demand is met with a photovoltaic field of 400 m2. A promising payback time of approximately 5 years was estimated.

Optimized intensity-modulated type PTS-based PAPR reduction scheme for intensity-modulated direct-detection optical OFDM systems.

High peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the signal is a major drawback in optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. In this paper, an intensity-modulated type Partial Transmit Sequences (PTS) based scheme is proposed and applied to the intensity-modulated OFDM (IMDD-OFDM) system. The proposed intensity-modulated type PTS (IM-PTS) scheme ensures that the time-domain signal output by the algorithm is real value. What's more, the complexity of the IM-PTS scheme has been reduced without much performance penalty. A simulation is performed to compare the PAPR of different signal. In the simulation, the PAPR of OFDM signal is reduced from 14.5 dB to 9.4 dB at 10-4 probability. We also compare the simulation results with another algorithm based on the PTS principle. A transmission experiment is conducted in a seven-core fiber IMDD-OFDM system at a rate of 100.8Gbit/s. The Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) of received signal is reduced from 9 to 8 at -9.4dBm received optical power. Furthermore, the experiment result shows that the reduction of complexity has little performance impact. The optimized intensity-modulated type PTS (O-IM-PTS) scheme effectively increases the tolerance of the nonlinear effect of the optical fiber and reduces the requirement for linear operating range of optical device in the transmission system. During the upgrade process of the access network, there is no need to replace the optical device in the communication system. What's more, the complexity of PTS algorithm has been reduced, which lower data processing performance requirements of the devices such as ONU and OLT. As a result, the cost of network upgrades is reduced a lot.

PMFault: Faulting and Bricking Server CPUs through Management Interfaces

Apart from the actual CPU, modern server motherboards contain other auxiliary components, for example voltage regulators for power management. Those are connected to the CPU and the separate Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) via the I2C-based PMBus. In this paper, using the case study of the widely used Supermicro X11SSL motherboard, we show how remotely exploitable software weaknesses in the BMC (or other processors with PMBus access) can be used to access the PMBus and then perform hardware-based fault injection attacks on the main CPU. The underlying weaknesses include insecure firmware encryption and signing mechanisms, a lack of authentication for the firmware upgrade process and the IPMI KCS control interface, as well as the motherboard design (with the PMBus connected to the BMC and SMBus by default). First, we show that undervolting through the PMBus allows breaking the integrity guarantees of SGX enclaves, bypassing Intel’s countermeasures against previous undervolting attacks like Plundervolt/V0ltPwn. Second, we experimentally show that overvolting outside the specified range has the potential of permanently damaging Intel Xeon CPUs, rendering the server inoperable. We assess the impact of our findings on other server motherboards made by Supermicro and ASRock. Our attacks, dubbed PMFault, can be carried out by a privileged software adversary and do not require physical access to the server motherboard or knowledge of the BMC login credentials. We responsibly disclosed the issues reported in this paper to Supermicro and discuss possible countermeasures at different levels. To the best of our knowledge, the 12th generation of Supermicro motherboards, which was designed before we reported PMFault to Supermicro, is not vulnerable.