Feasibility Study of Sustainable Energy Integration in A Fossil Fuel Rich Country

This paper represents an approach for renewable energy sources integration with the existing grid. Unique types of loads can be exploited to allow for a sustainable solution to energy integration. A case study of Saudi Arabia is investigated where desalination plants coupled with a water storage tank is utilized to mitigate the variability of renewable sources. A hybrid photovoltaic-wind turbine generator system is proposed. The results indicate two critical points. First, even in a fossil fuel rich country, sustainable renewable sources are economically feasible. The second point is that the typical storage element (i.e., batteries), is not always the best candidate for energy storage as in the case of desalination plants. Instead, storing the excess energy as water in a storage tank is economical and less prone to failures as compared to large-scale batteries. The problem is formulated as an optimization problem and solved using heuristic techniques.

This paper aims to develop a Smart Energy Management System based on an artificial intelligence technique of a brackish water reverse osmosis desalination plant powered by stand-alone hybrid (PV/Wind) renewable sources. This system aims to meet the freshwater demand of an isolated community in a specific site of Tunisia’s south. This study is characterized by a hydraulic storage in water tanks instead of electrochemical storage. For this purpose, a power management based on an Artificial Neural Network was developed to share power between three motor-pumps (High pressure pump, Low pressure pumps). The different components of the system (the motor-pumps, reverse osmosis, tanks, photovoltaic system and wind system) are defined with their energy models in order to size the system. This smart management is integrated in a dynamic simulator of the proposed system. The proposed strategy deals to maximize freshwater production taking interest in the available renewable energy.

In order to estimate the rate of disappearance of free available chlorine during storage in water tanks, the rate of vaporization of free available chlorine was studied and the rate of the chlorine consumption caused presumably by components in water supply, though the components were unknown, was also investigated. The rate of vaporization was proportional to the air-water interfacial area, but it was independent of the water level and the initial concentration of free available chlorine. A linear relationship exists between the logarithm of the rate of vaporization and the reciprocal of absolute water temperature. The consumption caused by the components in water supply was approximately accounted for the first order reaction. However, the rate constant for consumption varied inversely as the initial concentration of free available chlorine. The constant was not a true one. The apparent rate constant was proportional to the fourth power of water temperatnre. Our proposed model was able to give an adequate explanation of the whole course of the disappearance of free available chlorine during storage in water tanks.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the effects of geometrical configurations specifically the height of the sensible heat storage tank and the collector-air channel gap on the thermal performance of a small-scale prototype solar chimney power plant (SCPP). By analyzing temperature distribution, airflow characteristics, and heat storage efficiency under controlled conditions, the study aims to identify optimal design parameters that enhance system efficiency and ensure extended operation during periods of low or no solar radiation. The findings are intended to support the development of more efficient, cost-effective and scalable SCPP systems for decentralized renewable energy generation, particularly in remote and arid regions. Design/methodology/approach A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of two key geometrical parameters on the thermal performance of the small-scale SCPP prototype: the height of water in the storage tank (hw), which determines the thermal mass and heat storage capacity, and the vertical gap between the absorber plate and the collector cover (hc), which influences airflow and convective heat transfer. The values tested were hw = 1, 6, 11 cm and hc = 2, 5, 9 cm. Throughout the study, these two parameters were consistently considered as the primary variables affecting the system performance. Findings The experimental results revealed that the height of the water in the sensible heat storage tank significantly influences the thermal performance of the solar chimney system, with an optimal water height of 6 cm yielding the highest temperatures at the chimney inlet and outlet, thus enhancing heat transfer and airflow. Increasing water height generally improved heat retention and absorber surface temperature, while too little or excessive water reduced efficiency due to limited thermal mass or stratification effects. Conversely, increasing the collector height (air gap) led to lower temperatures throughout the system, as a larger gap weakened natural convection and increased heat losses. The study demonstrated that optimizing these geometrical parameters can substantially improve thermal energy storage effectiveness and overall system performance in small-scale SCPPs. Originality/value This study provides an original experimental investigation into the combined effects of geometrical configurations and sensible heat storage on a small-scale SCPP prototype, a topic scarcely addressed in previous research. By systematically analyzing how water tank height and collector gap influence thermal performance under controlled conditions, the work offers novel insights into optimizing design parameters for enhanced energy storage and airflow dynamics. The findings contribute valuable practical guidelines for developing efficient, cost-effective and scalable SCPP systems, advancing their viability for decentralized renewable energy generation in remote and resource-limited regions.

Optimal System Management of a Water Pumping and Desalination Process Supplied with Intermittent Renewable Sources

Nowadays, electricity become very expensive thing in some remote areas. Energy from solar panels give the solution as renewable energy that is environment friendly. West Borneo is located on the equator where the sun shines for almost 10-15 hours/day. Solar water heating system which is includes storage tank and solar collections becomes a cost-effective way to generate the energy. Solar panel heat water is delivered to water in storage tank. Hot water is used as hot fluid in biodiesel jacked reactor. The purposes of this research are to design Solar Water Heating System for Biodiesel Production and measure the rate of heat-transfer water in storage tank. This test has done for 6 days, every day from 8.30 am until 2.30 pm. Storage tank and collection are made from stainless steel and polystyrene a well-insulated. The results show that the heater can be reach at 50ºC for ±2.5 hours and the maximum temperature is 62ºC where the average of light intensity is 1280 lux.

In this study, a concept of using thermosyphon heat pipe to extract heat from water in a storage tank to generate cooling water was proposed. Heat pipe condenser was attached with an aluminum plate and acted as a thermal radiator while its evaporator was dipped in the water storage tank. Cooling water in the tank could be produced during the nighttime and used to serve the cooling load in a room during the daytime. A heat transfer model to calculate the water temperature and the room temperature during both the nighttime and daytime was developed. The input data were ambient temperature, dew point temperature, area of the radiator, volume of cooling water and room cooling load. The experiment was setup to verify the heat transfer model. A 9.0 m2 tested room with six cooling coils, each of 0.87 m2 was installed at the ceiling, was constructed along with the 1.0 m3 water storage tank. A 500–2000 W adjustable heater was taken as an artificial load inside the room. A 6.36 m2 radiator is installed on a 45° tilting roof of the tested room. The simulated results agreed very well with those of the experimental data. With the developed model, a simulation to find the sizing of the radiator area and the volume of cooling water for cooling water production during winter of Chiang Mai, Thailand was carried out. The cooling water was used for cooling during summer in an air-conditioned room with different cooling loads. The parameters in terms of room temperature, radiator area, volume of cooling water, cooling load and UA of cooling coil were considered to carry out the percent of cooling load reduction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this study, the domestic hot water system was constructed with using the evacuated tubular solar collector and the water storage tank. An evacuated tubular solar collector in this system is mainly composed of evacuated double glass tubes which have heat pipes at the center for heat removal to water in storage tank. Performance test of this domestic hot water system was conducted at outdoors. Temperature of water in the storage tank was largely increased due to great heat-removal ability of heat pipe on outdoor performance test.

This study examined the impact of Bisphenol A (BPA) on the physicochemical and bacteriological characteristics of water in storage tanks in Salem University Lokoja. Borehole water samples were collected from three (3) locations within the University environment and stored in a jerry can for analysis. Total Heterotrophic Bacteria Count (THBC) in water samples ranged from 1.00± 0.30 x104 at week 0 to 8.95±1.00 x104 cfu/ml at week 3, while the total coliform count (TCC) also ranged from 1.30±0.15 x104 to 7.11±0.82 x104 cfu/ml. TCC and THBC were found to be higher than the NSDWQ Standard. The identified isolates from the borehole samples were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Serretia spp. Bisphenol A (BPA) was not detected in week 0, after week 3, components of Bisphenol A detected were methyl chloride, Benzene and Dichlorobenzene and their highest values were 0.054±0.033, 0.021±0.020 and 0.055±0.062 mg/l respectively. The pH, Turbidity, Total suspended solids, BOD and conductivity reduced as storage increased. Magnesium and calcium for sample B were found to have the highest value of 0.31 and 1.73 mg/l respectively. Storage of water for a long period of time should be discouraged as it could trigger increased leaching of BPA into the water which will affect its physicochemical and microbiologically quality.
 Keywords: Bacteria, Bisphenol A, Storage Water Tanks, Drinking Water Quality.

Smart power management of a hybrid photovoltaic/wind stand-alone system coupling battery storage and hydraulic network

DC micro-grids are emerging as a promising solution for efficiently integrating renewable energy into power systems. These systems offer increased flexibility and enhanced energy management, making them ideal for applications such as heat pump (HP) systems. However, the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources with optimal energy management in these micro-grids poses significant challenges. This paper proposes a novel control strategy designed specifically to improve the performance of DC micro-grids. The strategy enhances energy management by leveraging an environmental mission profile that includes real-time measurements for energy generation and heat pump performance evaluation. This micro-grid application for heat pumps integrates photovoltaic (PV) systems, wind generators (WGs), DC-DC converters, and battery energy storage (BS) systems. The proposed control strategy employs an intelligent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) approach that uses optimization algorithms to finely adjust interactions among the subsystems, including renewable energy sources, storage batteries, and the load (heat pump). The main objective of this strategy is to maximize energy production, improve system stability, and reduce operating costs. To achieve this, it considers factors such as heating and cooling demand, power fluctuations from renewable sources, and the MPPT requirements of the PV system. Simulations over one year, based on real meteorological data (average irradiance of 500 W/m2, average annual wind speed of 5 m/s, temperatures between 2 and 27 °C), and carried out with Matlab/Simulink R2022a, have shown that the proposed model predictive control (MPC) strategy significantly improves the performance of DC micro-grids, particularly for heat pump applications. This strategy ensures a stable DC bus voltage (±1% around 500 V) and maintains the state of charge (SoC) of batteries between 40% and 78%, extending their service life by 20%. Compared with conventional methods, it improves energy efficiency by 15%, reduces operating costs by 30%, and cuts CO2; emissions by 25%. By incorporating this control strategy, DC micro-grids offer a sustainable and reliable solution for heat pump applications, contributing to the transition towards a cleaner and more resilient energy system. This approach also opens new possibilities for renewable energy integration into power grids, providing intelligent and efficient energy management at the local level.

New emerging technologies and growing population of present world demands more electrical power. These drastic changes in power demand can be supplied through effective renewable energy source grid integration. As input of these sources is not stable, need to plan for efficient and cost effective models. This paper gives a complete overview of different grid tied renewable source topologies, power quality issues, different control strategies and optimal usage of renewable sources. This review drives the power engineers and researchers towards the renewable source based hybrid topology design with different control strategies where both renewable integration and power quality mitigation together taken care. With this review one can understand the design of efficient and cost effective renewable source integrated grid topologies to cope with modern world abnormal power demand.

Sloshing is one of the most dominant effects in elevated water tanks, water storage tanks, and structures. An earthquake is a disruptive disturbance that causes shaking of the earth's surface due to movement along a fault plane or volcanic activity. The nature of the produced forces is reckless and only lasts a brief time. Sloshing thus involves a wide range of engineering difficulties, one of which is the dynamic response of lifeline liquid storage tanks in the event of an earthquake. Aerospace, civil, and nuclear engineers are all concerned about liquid sloshing in moving or stationary containers. DOSIWAM Sewage Treatment Plants serve to reduce negative environmental effect by enhancing effluent quality. The current study is the extension of the "environmental floor" concept, where installing the DOSIWAM system at intermittent levels of a multistoried building is carried out. The water coming out of this tank has very low BOD, so the water becomes suitable for reuse in gardening, irrigation, and firefighting operations. A novel approach was used, combining the CFD software and structural analysis software to check the sloshing effect. This is part of a research effort dedicated to developing a CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) methodology. The project's objective was to check the effect of the storage tank on the environmental floor. Thus, a storage tank and a water tank with an aspect ratio close to 1 can be safely provided. The difference in time period of the water tank and the structure was found to reduce the effect of sloshing. Hence, the Storage tank of the DOSIWAM system can be safely installed on the structure.

Optimization of sustainable seawater desalination: Modeling renewable energy integration and energy storage concepts

Special issue on “Optimal design and operation of energy systems”