Better Use Of Energy Research Articles

Lipase catalyzed deacidification of tocopherol-rich distillates obtained from natural Vitamin E sources

Abstract Taking into account the great interest of consumers for high purity natural vitamin E preparations, it is highly desirable to develop an efficient process for recovering Vitamin E from vegetable oil deodorizer distillates (VODDs) with reduction in costs and better use of energy. The process described herein involves a series of treatment steps, namely desaromatization of VODD, concentration of tocopherols by molecular distillation at high vacuum, lipase catalyzed ester synthesis, and brightening of the resulting tocopherol-rich concentrate with an ethanol (96%):water 60:40 mixture which are similar to conventional processes but the purpose and order of execution of some of them are clearly different. Moreover, some treatment steps were shortened or directly removed. By this process a fully translucent and fluid product was obtained which had tocopherol richness near to the standardized level of 50% concentration, acidity around 1% and a content of emulsifying mono- and diglycerides of 20%. The mixture of mono- and diglycerides that result from the enzymatic process could facilitate absorption of tocopherols by the body and thereby enhancing the biological activity of these compounds. Because all these facts the process presented is feasible as a new industrial purification method of tocopherols from VODDs.

Observation of elastic topological states in soft materials

Topological elastic metamaterials offer insight into classic motion law and open up opportunities in quantum and classic information processing. Theoretical modeling and numerical simulation of elastic topological states have been reported, whereas the experimental observation remains relatively unexplored. Here we present an experimental observation and numerical simulation of tunable topological states in soft elastic metamaterials. The on-demand reversible switch in topological phase has been achieved by changing filling ratio, tension, and/or compression of the elastic metamaterials. By combining two elastic metamaterials with distinct topological invariants, we further demonstrate the formation and dynamic tunability of topological interface states by mechanical deformation, and the manipulation of elastic wave propagation. Moreover, we provide a topological phase diagram of elastic metamaterials under deformation. Our approach to dynamically control interface states in soft materials paves the way to various phononic systems involving thermal management and soft robotics requiring better use of energy.

‘Modern’ forms of energy in the cottages and farms of Rural England, 1920–1960

ABSTRACTThe modernisation of farming became a key policy issue in Britain after the Second World War, and the (more) efficient use of energy was seen as key to that process because of labour shortages. Traditionally, farms had been organised to make the best use of energy around the farm, be that energy human, animal, or mechanical, or (latterly) derived from off-farm fuels. The apparent crisis in the availability of human labour therefore led to propositions that labourers be encouraged to stay on the land, by improvements to housing and rural infrastructure, and that farms use new forms of energy, particularly electricity. Analysis of a range of sources, such as autobiographies, advertising literature, films, advisory texts, cash books, and social survey data, shows that, despite the political rhetoric, there was a high degree of continuity in energy consumption, however, that this was multiform and that change was far from linear, even as a range of fuels (paraffin, calor gas, petrol, diesel, TiVO), all selling themselves as ‘Modern’, came into use. Analysis shows that there were multiple, overlapping, and sometimes competing, rural ‘modernities’ in Britain 1920–1960.

Effects of temperature on the direct reduction of Southeast Sulawesi’s limonite ore

Mining industry is one of the most important industries for the improvement in people’s value in daily lives. Indonesia has abundant mineral resources. Nevertheless, these minerals are still in the depths of the earth and need to be explored so that the minerals are on the surface of the earth. In addition, it is necessary to also extraction process to be more efficient in the next process. Therefore, the method of mineral extraction needs to be further developed to obtain optimal results with the best use of energy but at the most competitive cost. In this study, the objective is to know the effect of reduction temperature on the increase of nickel contents in nickel laterite process using a pyrometallurgy extraction which will be performed in the varying temperature of 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, and 1000°C. The mixture contains coal reducer which will reduce iron metal and supposedly increase the nickel contents in nickel laterite ore. Moreover, Na2SO4 will be added as a constant variable where the sulfur in Na2SO4 is known to help extracting the nickel laterite. The tests include XRD, AAS, and proximate and ultimate test from coal. The result of this study shows that 700°C is the optimum temperature in doing the nickel laterite reduction. Apart from some factors that affect the final result, it is only at the temperature of 700°C that the nickel contents facing an increase from 1.16% to 1.18% after being reduced in a muffle furnace for an hour.

Methodology for Enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Hydraulic Equipment

The cost of energy has increased greatly in the last decades, even with technological impact attenuators, which brings a concern with the increase of production effectiveness and better use of energy by machines and advanced equipment in industrial plants. This article proposes a methodology that allows a more rational use of energy in the production environment, applying Automation Technology, which represents a more affordable approach in relation to the high capital demanding complete machine replacement by the latest highest efficiency version available. The methodology thus contribute to reducing capital consumption, reducing costs, impacting both in the productive and financial performance of the organizations, with the overall result meaning less damage to the environment, providing sustainable gains.

Modeling the stabilization column in the petroleum refinery

The objective of this work was to model, the gasoline stabilization column to get a better use of energy, increased yield and reduced costs of operation. The calculation of the stabilization column was performed by using Soave-Redlich-Kong (SRK) thermodynamic model with pseudo-component approach. The results given by this model was compared with experimental data obtained from functioning stabilization column of petroleum refinery and conclusions about the accuracy of the models studied are drawn. Using SRK model, a technical feasibility study was followed to run the stabilization column at an optimum pressure. The results allowed us to highlight the effect of pressure on the separation of products, recommending the optimal pressure for optimizing the energy consumption of reboiler.

Application of Light Guidance Lighting in Building Energy Efficiency Based on New Generation Information Technology

This paper firstly introduces the development process and the status quo of light guide lighting technology. This paper also describes the basic structure and the type of light guide lighting system, which are combined with the data of Internet information technology. It provides a reference for the design of routines, the empirical analysis of Shenzhen city in a campus energy-saving building. It analyzes the advantages and problems of the light guide lighting, and puts forward the light guide lighting technology in the lighting design of buildings in the scope of application and its development trend. By using the system to collect the sunlight, the big data on the Internet are analyzed, and the real-time realization of the control of the sunlight, the illumination of the underground measurement and the large building lighting are realized. To make better use of energy, we can improve the energy situation of the current.

A new strategy for battery and supercapacitor energy management for an urban electric vehicle

A new strategy of energy management between battery and supercapacitors for an urban electric vehicle is suggested in this paper. These two sources are connected in parallel to the DC bus through two bidirectional DC–DC converters enabling separate control over the power flow of each source. Vehicle dynamics with load torque applied on the shaft motor is to be considered. This strategy of energy management permits dividing energy between the two sources depending on the state of charge of each source as well as on the vehicle displacement state such as stopping, acceleration, cruising down and uphill, and deceleration. The aim of the proposed strategy is the best use of energy through maximizing the use of SCs by transferring energy from batteries to SCs during the standstill phase or when the load applied to the vehicle is small; supercapacitors will then be ready in critical situations such as rapid acceleration or in high hills climbing. In order to validate the control design and evaluate our energy management strategy performance, a simulation of an urban hybrid electric vehicle movement with the Matlab/Simulink software is implemented.

Mixture of biomass to energy reuse

Focusing on the reuse of the energy and aiming at the thermal and kinetic characterization of sewage sludge and its mixture, with pruning residues (50 mass%), the thermogravimetry was used. The kinetic study was elaborated from the local isoconversional integral method in heating rates 10.0, 20.0 and 30.0 °C min−1 at a temperature ranging from 219 to 386 °C at nitrogen atmosphere, in a flow of 100 mL min−1. The average activation energy of sewage sludge sample revealed the value of 219 kJ mol−1 and that of the mixture 161 kJ mol−1, supporting the incorporation of pruning residues in the sewage sludge. During the degradation process, a remarkable increase in activation energy was noticed that ranged from 20 to 70% conversion in the sewage sludge sample, and regarding the mixture, an almost linear behavior was observed during the decomposition reaction. There was no evidence of kinetic compensation effect in the performed studies. The evaluation of the thermal characteristics, as well as the kinetic study of the degradation of sewage sludge and its mixture with pruning residues, can lead to important insights and contribute to a better use of energy regarding the environmental issues.

Numerical analysis of combined buoyancy-induced and pressure-driven smoke flow in complex vertical shafts during building fires

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the behavior of smoke flow in building fires and optimize the design of smoke control systems. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 435 3-D fire simulations were conducted through NIST fire dynamics simulator to analyze thermal behavior of combined buoyancy-induced and pressure-driven smoke flow in complex vertical shafts, under consideration of influence of heat release rate (HRR) and locations of heat sources. This influence was evaluated through neutral pressure plane (NPP), which is a critical plane depicting the flow velocity distributions. Hot smoke flows out of shafts beyond the NPP and cold air flows into shafts below the NPP. Findings – Numerical simulation results show that HRR of heat source has little influence on NPP, while location of heat source can make a significant difference to NPP, particularly in cases of multi-heat source. Identifying the location of NPP helps to develop a more effective way to control the smoke with less energy consumption. Through putting an emphasis on smoke exhausting beyond the NPP and air supplying below the NPP, the smoke control systems can make the best use of energy. Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may need to be tested by further experiments. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the optimization of smoke control systems design in buildings. Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified need to research the behavior of hot smoke in building fires and optimize the design of smoke control systems.

Energy, economy, and environment analysis and optimization on manufacturing plant energy supply system

Increasing attention has recently been drawn to energy consumption in manufacturing plants. Facing the challenges from reducing emissions coupled with rising raw material prices and energy costs, manufacturers are trying to balance the energy usage strategy among the total energy consumption, economy, and environment, which can be self-conflicting at times. In this paper, energy systems in manufacturing environments are reviewed, and the current status of onsite energy system and renewable energy usage are discussed. Single objective and multicriteria optimization approaches are effectively formulated for making the best use of energy delivered to the production processes. Energy supply operation suggestions based on the optimization results are obtained. Finally, an example from an automotive assembly manufacturer is described to demonstrate the energy usage in the current manufacturing plants and how the optimization approaches can be applied to satisfy the energy management objectives. According to the optimization results, in an energy oriented operation, it takes 35% more in monetary cost; while in an economy oriented operation, it takes 17% more in megawatt hour energy supply and tends to rely more on the inexpensive renewable energy.

Experiences and perspectives of patients with post-polio syndrome and therapists with exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy

BackgroundMany persons affected with poliomyelitis develop post-polio syndrome (PPS) later in their life. Recently, the effectiveness of Exercise Therapy (ET) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for PPS has been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial, but did not show a decrease in fatigue or improvement in secondary endpoints like Quality of Life and self-perceived activity limitations. The aim of this explorative study was to gain insight in the perceived effects and experiences of the interventions from the perspectives of the patients and therapists.MethodsQualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 patients and 7 therapists. All participants were involved in the trial. A thematic analysis of the data was performed.ResultsSome patients experienced a short term enhanced endurance and a better use of energy during the day. However, in general patients did not experience a long lasting reduction of fatigue from the CBT or ET. Mainly patients of the CBT, but also some patients of the ET described an increase of self-esteem and self-acceptance. As a result, patients were sometimes better able to perform physical activities during the day. In contrast to the CBT, the ET was in general perceived by the patients as an intensive therapy, which was difficult to fit into their daily routine. Therapists of both the CBT and the ET struggled with a low intrinsic motivation of the patients in the study. This made it sometimes difficult for the therapists to follow the protocol.ConclusionConfirming the negative quantitative study outcome, the qualitative results did not demonstrate lasting effects on fatigue. Patients did, however, experience some benefits on self-esteem and acceptance of the disease. This study showed that it is of great importance to work with feasible interventions; they should fit the patients’ needs on a practical (fit into their daily routine) and mental (fit their need for support) level.

風力熱発電用超電導発熱機

Wind-powered thermal energy system (WTES) is the novel idea for utilizing renewable energy as the base-load power source. WTES employs a light and economical heat generator at the top of the tower to convert the rotating energy to the thermal energy. The thermal energy is transferred to the thermal energy storage system, which cost is 1/20 of the batteries. The application of the superconductor to the heat generator enables a higher operating temperature, which leads to the higher efficiency and better use of energy in areas such as fuel production. This paper also describes the situation of energy throughout the world to explain the necessity of WTES.

Poprawa efektywności energetycznej przy integrowaniu mikrosieci z inteligentnymi sieciami krajowymi

Technological development of distribution and transmission grids and building a so called smart grid also enable improving the efficiency of microgrids and microgenerators. Better coordination and scheduling of microgenerators operation make more effective adjustment to local conditions and achieving better overall energy efficiency possible. Due to smart communication interfaces the microgrids and microgenerators can also contribute to ancillary services. DOI: 10.12736/issn.2300-3022.2014405 1. Possible improvements of energy efficiency Small distributed sources are often equated with renewable energy sources and environmentally friendly electricity generation. However, only some of them, based on hydro, solar or wind energy, do not pollute the environment. Other types of small sources generate electricity by burning fossil fuels (coal or gas), and sometimes also agricultural or municipal waste. Combustion always produces CO2, NOx, sulfur compounds, and other pollution. Combustion in small sources is less controlled due to reduction of control systems costs (with respect to the generator cost and the electricity output). In addition, micro-plants are not equipped with exhaust aftertreatment systems. Electricity generation in combustion-based distributed sources produces much more pollution per output MWh than large power plants. Maintaining a certain level of power generation’s environmental impact nation-wide, with increased pollution emissions in some sources, will require reduction of the emissions in other sources. Costs and energy saved in one place will be spent in another place. Current energy policy basically promotes environmentally friendly sources, although in the case of micro-sources to obtain such preferences is almost impossible. It is expected that in the coming years the market will be flooded with inexpensive generation systems suitable to power certain loads (e.g. heating, lighting, or water pumping). An inexpensive generation system is usually devoid of control capabilities, and a significant portion of primary energy (e.g. wind, solar) is lost. But it was not relevant to users, because the primary energy is free, and inexpensive systems were quickly amortized. Microgrids can operate independently, powering specific appliances at households and farms, as well as in high-rise buildings in cities. Due to the national grid’s widespread accessibility it will become an alternative source of energy. The national grid will be used when the supply from a microsource is temporarily unavailable. With the significant increase in the number of microsources, their connecting to and disconnecting from the power system will impact the national power grids’ loads, even if they do not convert electricity, e.g. when heating with the sun or pumping water at a farm with a windmill. Providing individual customers with a control signal, for example the current energy price, will affect their decisions to draw electricity from the national grid. Microsources’ adjustment to electricity input to the grid, and adoption of simple and clear rules for energy purchase will be the microgrids’ natural further development. The next step will be to improve the efficiency of the whole process, starting from better use of primary energy up to optimum distribution of generated energy. Coordination of microsources’ operation in a microgrid, already at the stage of the primary energy’s conversion, allows better use of energy carriers with a lower exergy. Interoperation of several sources improves the microgrid’s overall efficiency. Also significant are energy losses in microgrids’ interconnections with the national grid. In Tab. 1. Primary energy conversion in microsources G. Blajszczak | Acta Energetica 4/21 (2014) | 56–61

Development of BLDC motor and multi-blade fan for HEV battery cooling system

Hybrid Electtic Vehicles (HEVs) have become one of the solutions to the environmental and fuel-consumption issues in current cars. However HEVs are quite complicated due to their combined power trains which may use both internal combustion engines and electric drive motors. HEVs’ thermal management system is very important for good energy use. Thermal management of HEV batteries, such as Ni-MH or Li-Ion, is especially essential for effective operation under load-drive conditions. Reliable battery operation thermal design is even more important. A variety of battery thermal control modules are currently on the market. In this paper, air cooling types for battery thermal management system have been chosen because of their simplicity, cost effectiveness, and easy applications. The performance of the blower unit as major part of the battery cooling system is studied by experiment and on a numerical basis. A prototype BLDC (brushless DC) motor is made, performance is examined and analyzed, and multi-blade fans are optimized using numerical analysis. The overall efficiency of a prototypr BLDC motor is 72%. Also, the effects of the leading edge angle, trailing edge angle, chord length and chord angle on the performance of the multi-blade fan were investigated numerically for the optimal design by using the FLUENT. Finally, the battery cooling system, characteristics of the torque, static pressure, and airflow volume at each specific rotational speed of the fan are examined and analyzed at blowing system.

A clustering model based on an evolutionary algorithm for better energy use in crop production

Energy consumption and its negative environmental impacts are of interesting topics in the recent centuries. Agricultural systems are both energy users and suppliers in the form of bio energy and play a key role in world economics as well as food security. A high amount of energy from different sources is used in this sector while researchers who investigated energy flow in crops production especially in developing countries, have reported a high degree of inefficiency. In order to differentiate between efficient and inefficient farms, a clustering model based on imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) has been developed and the surveyed watermelon farms have been clustered based on three features, i.e. greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, input energy and farm size. The results showed that of the three developed clusters, the best cluster performed 20 and 46 % better than the two other clusters in energy and 22 and 52 % in CO2 emissions. The average of total energy input and GHG emissions for the best cluster were calculated as 43,423 MJ per ha and 8,120 CO2eq. The results of this study demonstrate the successful application of ICA for better use of energy in cropping systems which can lead to a better environmental and energy performance.

Energy Attitude and Energy Instructional Strategy of Science and Technology Teacher Based on Environment Protection in Junior High Schools in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was investigated the relationship between information education of energy attitude and energy instructional strategy of science and technology teacher in junior high schools in Taiwan. With the questionnaires and statistic analysis of 618 teachers, we found the energy attitude of teachers is positive and they made good use of energy instructional strategies. The energy safe attitude of teachers whose age are 41-50 years old were better than those below 28 years old and 29-33. The energy safe attitude of teachers who worked for 16-25 years were better than those below 5 years and 6-15 years. And the saving energy attitude of teachers who taught in school above 49 classes were better than those below 12 classes. At the same time we found the infusing question strategy and cognitive-oriented strategy of teachers whose age were 41-50 years old made better use of than those age were 29-33 years old. The energy attitude could forecast the using situation of energy instructional strategy especially in infusing question strategy, cognitive-oriented strategy and total energy instructional strategies.

Energy Efficiency in Colombia: Trends and Challenges

Sustainable energy is important to achieve development and welfare of population because is a key to analysis how the countries use their energy as an element that strengthens productive activities from environmental protection perspective. This study seeks to determine the progress in sustainable energy in Colombia for the last decade analysing trends and challenges of energy efficiency through some indicators to establish results, achieves, gaps and barriers in the context of the institutional and policy framework. Results of this analysis demonstrated that Colombia has achieved significant advances in this field recognizing the need to increase energy efficiency especially in the power, industrial and transport sectors. Colombian government has formulated two regulations (Law 691/2001 and Decree 3683/2003) and PROURE program with Resolution 180919/2010 to implement various measures to promote energy efficiency. However, this country has several challenges to achieve a better use of energy that decrease environmental impacts whereas it strengthens economic growth and development.

CFD Optimization Analysis of a Cooling Fan for Mining Dump Truck

Axial flow fans are widely used in our daily lives such as automotive cooling systems, electronic appliances and air conditioning. The factors that affect the aerodynamic performance of axial flow fans include blade number, fan diameter, hub ratio, blade angle, rotating speed, etc. This paper investigates effects of hub ratio and bladenumber on the aerodynamic performance of the axial flow fan of the radiator of a dump truck we previously designed for mining. With the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, the fans operation condition, such as entry static pressure, effective power and flow rate, are numerically simulated with various hub ratios and blade numbers. The results of the numerical simulations are quantitatively analyzed and curves of fans performance changing with hub ratio and blade number are given. An optimization design for the cooling fan is conducted. The results of numerical simulation give conclusion that an increase of 5.6% of the vacuum static pressure and an increase of 3% of flow rate can be obtained when the hub ratio is between 500-600mm, with the same or even less power consumption. The flow rate increment reaches its peak at 8%, while power consumption efficiency is almost linearly increased, when the blade number increases to be in the range of 8 to 10. That is to say when the blade number is between 8 to 10, the fan is apparently making better use of energy. Compared with experimental method, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method can reduce design circle and lower cost. The CFD results provide guidance to improvement of design efficiency and energy utilization.

Implementation, modelling and performance analysis of a dual stator‐winding induction generator

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a prototype of the dual stator‐winding induction generator (DWIG) and its dynamic model to verify the validity of this machine design as variable speed generator for renewable energy systems.Design/methodology/approach – Implementation and laboratory test of a DWIG prototype. Analysis and simulation of the developed DWIG model.Findings – The proposed DWIG makes a better use of energy than a squirrel cage induction generator (SCIG) in variable speed applications. The performance of DWIG with a bidirectional converter is very similar to those described in other studies with brushless doubly‐fed induction generators.Research limitations/implications – The results can be used to test different control techniques and to analyse the dynamic performance of DWIG‐converter system in variable load and speed conditions.Originality/value – The stator winding design does not involve a significant increase in the complexity of the machine assembly and cost of t...