Cheap Energy Research Articles

Beyond rules and norms: Heterogeneity, ubiquity, and visibility of groundwaters

AbstractOver the last 150 years or so engineers, farmers, scientists, and many others around the globe have gained access to the waters that lie underground with drilling technology, pumps and cheap energy. Since the mid‐twentieth century, a massive worldwide proliferation of deep wells has redistributed groundwaters away from springs, seeps, wells, and oases, robbing them of the water that supports local sustainable socionatural relations. The idea and social fact of groundwater has emerged in this history, and has three distinguishing features: heterogeneity, ubiquity, and visibility. The failure to halt depletion has prompted a turn to culture in the hope of governing the liquid sustainably. However, rather than grapple with the complexities and contradictions of heterogeneity, ubiquity, and visibility, these efforts take a rather thin view of culture—as rules, norms, and institutions to be studied, codified and deployed to address the crisis. This instrumental understanding of culture as a set of traits to be selectively used for arresting depletion has not proven effective, however, compelling us to rethink our cultural, political, and economic engagements with groundwater.

A Novel Controller Design for Small-Scale Islanded Microgrid Integrated with Electric Vehicle-Based Energy Storage Management

Small-scale islanded microgrid technology has the potential to utilize renewable sources for electrification in extreme areas where conventional transmission of power is difficult. But due to the absence of a utility grid in the islanded operation, voltage and frequency control becomes the major concern. Instead of using a centralized large battery storage system, electric vehicle- (EV-) based distributed energy storage may provide a dynamic and much cheaper energy storage solution for small-scale systems in the long run. The only issue is to effectively manage the dynamics of EV penetration for achieving the overall control in the islanded system. To address the same issue, this paper proposes a novel segregation-based inverter control structure for an islanded microgrid while employing EVs as an energy storage system, thus eliminating the need for centralized storage. The designed integrated control structure simultaneously attends to the voltage and frequency regulation need of the system, overcoming the issue of control lag, along with energy storage and management aspects in the microgrid operation for controlling the power flow under various practical scenarios. Extensive experimental studies are performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment, which indicates that the proposed integrated control structure gives a satisfactory performance under various scenarios encompassing load variation, renewable energy uncertainties, and EV dynamics in comparison with conventional control schemes employed in the islanded microgrid.

Solar Energy Potentials of Some Selected Locations in Northeastern Nigeria

Sunlight is the primary source of clean and cheap energy but its intensity varies from one location to another depending on the latitude, altitude, atmospheric absorption and scattering by air molecules, dust particle and water vapour among others. The aim of this work is to determine the solar energy potentials of Gombe ( latitude 10° 16' 59.9988'' N and longitude of 11° 10' 0.0012'' E), Jalingo (latitude 8° 53' 34.2672'' N and Longitude 11° 22' 37.74'' E), Damaturu (Latitude 11° 44' 49.1856'' N and Longitude 11° 57' 58.2912'' E) and Bauchi (latitude 10° 18' 50.9724'' N and longitude 9° 50' 46.6152'' E) in northeastern Nigeria, the process involves obtaining the solar irradiation data for these four locations from a renewable energy simulation package ( photovoltaic geographical information system, PVGIS) for a period of 10 years, a daily, monthly and annual solar irradiation was obtained for each of these locations. A peak monthly values was obtained in the month of January for Gombe, Jalingo and Bauchi while the month of March has the peak value for Damaturu, an average daily solar irradiation of 5.8977kWh/m2/day, 5.9026 kWh/m2/day, 6.0337 kWh/m2/day and 5.9821kWh/m2/day and an annual values of 2154.44kWh/m2/yr, 2056.17 kWh/m2/yr, 2202.30kWh/m2/yr and 2150.60kWh/m2/yr for Gombe, Jalingo, Damaturu and Bauchi respectively. These locations have very similar atmospheric conditions and hence a closer range of solar energy potentials compared to places like Lagos, Onitsha and Sapele in Delta state with (4.42kWh/m2/day), (4.43kWh/m2/day, and 5.31 kWh/m2/day respectively. Damaturu has the highest solar irradiance among the four locations studied. Grid- connected PV system and thermal system (concentration thermal technology) can be built to support electricity generation and hot water production respectively for residential and industrial use. The utilization of Solar oven, cookers and coolers technology should be encourage by government and non-governmental organization, this will help stop global warning and desert encouragement and hence conserve other natural resources( such as forest) for other use ( furniture construction).

Frequency regularization of a linked wind\u2013diesel system using dual structure fuzzy with ultra-capacitor

Microgrids (μ-grids) are gaining increased interest around the world for supplying cheap and clean energy. In this paper, a μ-grid comprising a wind turbine generator (WTG) and diesel generator (DG) is considered. It is one of most practical and demanding systems suitable for the present energy crisis in isolated or rural areas. However, wind energy is intermittent in nature while load demand changes frequently. Therefore, a µ-grid can experience large frequency and power fluctuations. The speed governor of the DG tries to minimize the frequency and power deviations in µ-grid though its operation is slow and cannot adequately minimize system deviations. The paper proposes a novel arrangement based on a dual structured fuzzy (DSF) whose structure changes according to the switching limit with a reduced rule base. It has the capability to switch between proportional and integral actions and hence improves the frequency regularization of the μ-grid. The proposed strategy is tested in a μ-grid and the results considering step load alteration, load alteration at different instants of time, nonstop changing load request are compared with some of the well published methods to validate the effectiveness and simplicity of the present design. In addition, it shows that ultra-capacitor establishment in a μ-grid has a positive impact in minimizing system deviations with DSF for the studied cases.

Performance Optimization of Power Plant Waste Heat Using H2O-LiBr Absorption Refrigerant System

This paper examines the use of waste energy in a 3x1 MW Gas Engine Power Plant (GEPP) on Bawean Island, Indonesia. The feasibility method uses water-lithium bromide (H2O-LiBr) technology as absorption refrigeration technology. In addition, bananas are also used for cold storage to overcome waste energy utilization. The cold storage is placed in the 300 m3 area with a 100 kg load capacity for a banana with a temperature of 5oC, 85% humidity, 24 hours of operation, 1292 W cooling load, and 371 TR. This system is used because it utilizes a cheap energy source that dissipates heat from gas and has no ecological hazards, such as ozone layer depletion and global warming. The exhaust gas temperature is 500oC. Moreover, cooling loads for cold storage, which are used with thermodynamic models, and consistent fluid properties, performance, and size of cold storage were also investigated. The results obtained show that higher cold storage output comes from internal factors as compared to external factors. In addition, the absorption refrigerant with Tevaporation is 5oC, capacity 403 TR and Qabsorption is 984 kW, Qgenerator is 1066 kW, Qevaporation is 1411 kW, Qcondenser is 1493 kW, with an absorption coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.32 and power consumption of 158,25 kW. Furthermore, after calculations, analysis, and field experiments, it shows that the internal factor of the cooling load is higher than the external factor sourced from bananas in the cold storage. This phenomenon occurs probably due to the product being refrigerated, following the soar cooling capacity. Thus, the waste energy in PLTGU 3x1 MW has tried to be utilized by the refrigerant absorption system.

Data security tolerance and portable based energy-efficient framework in sensor networks for smart grid environments

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are effective devices used for remote surveillance, device failure prediction, and housing energy control in numerous smart grid implementations. Several interaction structures and remedies, such as broadband networks, cable networks, Wireless Sensor networks, have been suggested to assist Smart Grid implementations. Owing to their cheap, dynamic nature, robustness, and low energy profile, WSNs are attractive devices, and preserving a low energy pattern is an essential factor in WSN. Implementing quality services and safety techniques in sensor networks is challenging in smart grid applications. Thus, in this article, Portable and Data Security Tolerancebased Energy-Efficient Framework(PDST-EEF) has been proposed for maintaining a high standard of data security by lowering the sensor device energy usage in smart grid surroundings. PDST model is developed to ensure data privacy in sensor networks by utilizing an authentication method integrated with the cryptographic signature model to detect the various attacks. PDST identifies and separates attacks like denial of service and replay efficiently. EEF presents a low-power cyber safety mechanism on sensor networks with smart grid tracking applications. EEF is modeled with different stages like identifying anti-nodes, group development, and allocating keys less energy. EEF can operate with higher power efficiency techniques while preserving sustained throughput and reliability ideals. The experimental result shows that the PDST-EEF's specific request and authentication period is often enhanced by just a second with less energy usage of 5.06%.

Automatic Control Model of Power Information System Access Based on Artificial Intelligence Technology

Looking at the issues of low efficiency, poor control performance, and difficult access control of the traditional role-based access control model, an artificial intelligence technique-based power information system access control model has been designed. The detector is designed by artificial intelligence technology, combining artificial neural network, and artificial immune algorithm, which provide the basis for checking the access request module. It has been proved that the design model can effectively support the access and modification of legitimate users and prevent illegal users from accessing, and the control accuracy is high. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the power sector is now reaching emerging markets, where it may have a critical impact, as clean, cheap, and reliable energy is essential to development. Artificial intelligence can be proven very efficient for resolving the control and decision-making issues in high complex systems.

Eliminate the Migration of Farmers to Cities by Supporting Renewable Energy Projects

We want to highlight the importance and necessity of using clean energy sources in Iraq, especially in rural and desert areas. After the increase in companies that produce solar cells, led to cheaper prices and increased efficiency by the manufacturers. In this paper, we present a study that is a good example of the amount of wasted and unfortunately underutilized solar energy. By collecting weather and environmental data for the Al-Rifai area and studying it through the use of the HOMER energy program, we want to propose a solution to stop the migration of farmers from the countryside to the city by supporting clean and cheap energy projects, overcoming the prevailing unemployment and increasing agricultural production. We took an example here of desert land with an area of 100 acres in the city of Al-Rifai in southern Iraq, which suffers from the phenomenon of drought and the migration of farmers to nearby cities, and we found it is possible to produce energy in this place at a very cheap cost (0.0119 $/kWh).

Energy Consequences for Environment

The beginnings of this century sets up the dilemma of more energy or betterment of the environment. If “energy” is the capacity to do work, as often said, then it can be made profitable. If protecting the ecology of Earth is what the COP reunions of the UN aim at, then it is hardly a surprise that China and India reneged against the original formulation of phasing out coal power. Both countries use a lot of coal plants to get cheap energy for rapid economic development. This is dismal fact for COP endeavours. The efforts of the UN to create global ecology coordination will be harmed by the war in Ukraine, but how realistic is the 1.5 temperature goal anyhow?

Pushing Stoichiometries of Lithium-Rich Layered Oxides Beyond Their Limits.

Lithium-rich layered oxides (LRLOs) are opening unexplored frontiers for high-capacity/high-voltage positive electrodes in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) to meet the challenges of green and safe transportation as well as cheap and sustainable stationary energy storage from renewable sources. LRLOs exploit the extra lithiation provided by the Li1.2TM0.8O2 stoichiometries (TM = a blend of transition metals with a moderate cobalt content) achievable by a layered structure to disclose specific capacities beyond 200–250 mA h g–1 and working potentials in the 3.4–3.8 V range versus Li. Here, we demonstrate an innovative paradigm to extend the LRLO concept. We have balanced the substitution of cobalt in the transition-metal layer of the lattice with aluminum and lithium, pushing the composition of LRLO to unexplored stoichiometries, that is, Li1.2+x(Mn,Ni,Co,Al)0.8–xO2−δ. The fine tuning of the composition of the metal blend results in an optimized layered material, that is, Li1.28Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.02Al0.03O2−δ, with outstanding electrochemical performance in full LIBs, improved environmental benignity, and reduced manufacturing costs compared to the state-of-the-art.

Sodiated Nafion membranes for sodium metal aprotic batteries

The expansion of the use of renewable energy sources replies on the availability soon of cheap, safe and suitable energy storage systems. In this respect batteries can be a pivotal solution. Among the available battery chemistries, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the state-of-the-art coupling excellent performance, minimal self-discharge, and technological readiness. However, costs and sustainability together with safety are hindering the booming of LIBs. Aprotic sodium ion and sodium metal batteries are similar technological options with more balanced figures in terms of performance/sustainability compared to LIBs. Focusing on safety, for both LIBs and NIBs hazards are originated by liquid electrolytes that are flammable, volatile and contain fluorinated salts. Thus, technological improvements on the electrolyte side are the key also for the commercial exploitation of NIBs. Here we propose and demonstrate for the first time in the literature the use of a sodiated Nafion membrane as a single-ion conductor electrolyte for sodium-ion batteries.

Efficient Zn Metal Anode Enabled by O,N-Codoped Carbon Microflowers.

Zinc metal anodes show great promise for cheap and safe energy storage devices. However, it remains challenging to regulate highly efficient Zn plating/stripping under a high depth of discharge (DOD). Guided by density functional theory calculation, we here synthesized an oxygen- and nitrogen-codoped carbon superstructure as an efficient host for high-DOD Zn metal anodes through rational monomer selection, polymer self-assembly, and structure-preserved carbonization. With microscale 3D hierarchical structures, microcrystalline graphitic layers, and zincophilic heteroatom dopants, a flower-shaped carbon (Cflower) host could guide Zn nucleation and growth in a heteroepitaxial mode, affording horizontal plating with a high Coulombic efficiency (CE) and long life. As a demonstration, the Cflower-hosted Zn anode was paired with both battery and supercapacitor cathodes and delivered large capacity/capacitance, fast rates, long life, and ca. 100% CE even under a high DOD, outclassing hostless Zn-based devices. As they possess cheap, scalable, and efficient features, Cflower hosts hold the potential for practical zinc-metal-based energy devices.

Impact of the adsorbent materials and adsorber bed design on performance of the adsorption thermophysical battery: Experimental study

The adsorption thermophysical battery (ATB) is considered one of the solutions for energy shortage problems in many energy-stressed countries. Various cheap energy resources such as, geothermal and solar energy can be used as power inputs in the ATB systems. This research offers an experimental study into the influence of utilizing two different types of adsorber bed units. The experimental setup has been designed to allow testing of two adsorber beds; conventional ABU and modified ABU (MABU) for improving ATB performance for air conditioning applications. Three adsorbents, namely, silica gel-RD, silica gel-blue and MCM-41with water refrigerant as working pairs were examined. The results revealed that, the refrigerant vapor uptake at temperature 30 °C increased by 36%, 43% and 16% for silica gel-RD, silica gel-blue and MCM-41 respectively compared with that at 35 °C. The outlet chilled coolant temperature in the case of MABU was decreased by 17%, 15% and 18.5% for silica gel-RD, silica gel-blue and MCM-41, respectively, compared with ABU. The results revealed an enhancement in COP using MABU and SCP in the case of using ABU, by 18%, 16% and 15% and by 12%, 17% and 27% for silica gel-RD, silica gel-blue and MCM-41 respectively.

An overview of wind energy development and policy initiatives in India.

The Indian renewable energy sector has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 15.51% in the last five years, where wind growth is about 8%. The Indian government has been adopting changes to create a safe, cheap, and sustainable energy system to fuel vigorous economic growth. The government has made significant efforts in ensuring universal access to energy, giving power to its residents. It is implementing a large-scale deployment of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. This paper examines the country's wind sector in-depth, including the government policy, financial incentives, and accomplishments. The study goes on to discuss the prospects and problems of the wind sector, as well as solutions to overcome them to reach the estimated target of 140–150 GW by 2030. Wind power growth in the country has weakened in the last few years which may hamper the country’s ambitious renewable energy targets. Wind industry is facing several hindrances ranging from discontinuation of incentives, land acquisition, DISCOM’s poor health, change in bidding scheme, old wind sites, etc. Certain steps, such as repowering outdated wind farms, giving generation-based incentives, tax concessions, reassessing the country’s wind potential, and constructing competitive renewable energy zones could aid in reviving the wind energy sector.Graphical abstract

ENHANCEMENT OF BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM ANAEROBIC CO-DIGESTION OF WASTEWATER SLUDGE, KITCHEN WASTE AND MANURE

Bioenergy is the most outstanding renewable source among other fuels that are non-renewable and running out. Globally, the main cause of the energy crisis is a scarcity of natural resources. In this respect, harnessing the abundant renewable sources for energy production can help to alleviate the crisis of energy. Developing countries needs an incessant supply of cheap and clean energy sources. Bioenergy production from biomass such as manure, agricultural residue, and municipal solid waste. it is economically feasible because organic substrates have high nutritive values for micro-organism (especially kitchen waste), high biodegradability rate, and high calorific values. This study has investigated the anaerobic co-digestion of wastewater sludge, Manure and kitchen waste for bio-energy production and analyzed the parameters which have significant effect on digestion process. This process has also decreased the excess of BOD, COD, N and P about 64.07%, 60.16%, 56.06% and 71.02% respectively which indicated the organic fraction utilized by microbes. Anaerobic co-digestion enhances biogas production when treating such wastes wastewater sludge, Manure and kitchen waste combined.

Piezoelectric mathematical modeling; technological feasibility in the generation and storage of electric charge

Emerging technologies are efficient alternatives for satisfying the growing demand for sustainable and cheap energy sources. Piezoelectrics are one of the most promising energy sources derived from emerging technologies. These materials are capable of converting mechanical energy into electricity or vice versa. Piezoelectrics have been used for almost a hundred years to generate electrical and sound pulses. However, the use of piezoelectrics for power generation is constrained by the cost associated with equipment and infrastructure. This problem has been addressed through mathematical models that relate the physical and electrical properties of the piezoelectric material with the voltage generated. Although these models have high performance, they do not incorporate voltage rectification and electrical charge storage stages. This work presents a mathematical model that describes the relationship of the physical and electromechanical properties of a system employing a piezoelectric for energy generation. The voltage of the system and the charge stored in a capacitor are calculated through this model. Also, contour diagrams are presented as a tool for facilitating the efficiency of energy generation.

Energy transition in India: Challenges and prospects

The article provides an overview of India’s policy on energy transition. India is highly dependent on energy production from conventional energy sources, especially coal. The country is also dependent on imports of oil and gas. Thus, the government of India is highly concerned about ecological problems and issues of energy transition towards renewable sources. India expresses an explicit position on renewable sources on the world arena but the structure of energy sector, socio-economic and spatial factors do not fully reflect the desire to reduce the energy production from traditional sources. The key element of India’s policy is energy security which implies providing cheap energy to every citizen. The high dependence on imports and the comparatively low level of local manufacturing in the sphere of renewables prejudged the greater role of explicit factors affecting energy prices. Moreover, due to geographical imbalance many people of India are not connected to energy distribution network and the states are experiencing chronic shortage of energy. That is why the main dilemma is the transformation of the energy basket with special account on energy security issues, environmental protection, as well as ensuring economic growth. That is why the country is trying to develop both the system of traditional sources and promote utilization of renewables. The analysis showed that since 2018 India has made significant progress in reducing energy deficit and increasing the share of renewables. However, due to certain factors the constantly increasing share of renewable energy production will not affect the production and import of conventional sources in the mid-term perspective.

NORMALIZATION OF THE VOLTAGE UNSINUSOIDALITY IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS

The electric power industry has always been one of the main industries of the Irkutsk region. The availability of hydropower and, as a result, cheap energy resources have led to the development of industrial enterprises, energy transmission and energy-consuming industries. In the presence of a large amount of energy resources in many settlements of the Irkutsk region, problems arise with the quality of the supplied electric energy, there is no stable power supply. Distribution networks, as the lowest voltage level, are the most vulnerable from external influences on the energy system as a whole. A high level of unsinusoidality and asymmetry negatively affect the operation of electrical devices, operating modes of technological lines and systems. The main problem is obtaining up-to-date information about the parameters of the electrical network for calculating the loss of electricity. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in inevaluating the effect of voltage unsinusoidality on power losses and reliability of electrical equipment in distribution networks. (Materials and methods) The article presents the main ways to obtain data on the parameters of the electrical network: measurement using measuring and computing devices (experimental studies); modeling of electrical network parameters; theoretical studies. (Results and discussion) The results of measuring the unsinusoidal voltage in the distribution networks of an agricultural enterprise were given. In the article there are presented and compared ways to find reliable information about the parameters of the electrical network. A simulation of an electrical network with a load and an active filter was carried out. The article presents the calculations of the reliability indicators of electrical equipment at an agricultural enterprise. (Conclusions) In order to determine the level of unsinusoidal voltage of distribution networks, it is necessary to obtain reliable information. In distribution networks, in order to obtain reliable data on load conditions, it is advisable to use the method of calculating minimum and maximum loads, which allows taking into account the entire cycle of load changes over time and reducing time and technical resources in comparison with other methods.

More simple more worse: Simple carbohydrate diets cause alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Dietary carbohydrates are widely used in aquafeeds as cheap energy source and improve quality of feeds. However, comprehensive assessment of the effects of dietary carbohydrate complexity on fish metabolism and liver health is currently lacking. This study investigated the effect of replacing 50% of starch by using sucrose, fructose and glucose. Four isonitrogenic (400 g/kg protein) and isolipidic (60 g/kg fat) feeds containing starch (polysaccharide), sucrose (disaccharide) and fructose and glucose (monosaccharides) were fed to three replicates of 4.5 ± 0.30 g Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) for eight weeks. Afterwards, growth performance, feed utilization efficiency, glucose and lipid metabolism and liver health were evaluated. The results showed that the Nile tilapia fed on monosaccharide diets had significantly lower growth and feed utilization efficiency than those fed on disaccharide and polysaccharide diets. The Nile tilapia fed on monosaccharide diets reduced significantly lipid deposition, hepatosomatic index (HSI), serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and expression of lipid metabolism genes than those fed on polysaccharide diet. The Nile tilapia fed on disaccharide diet increased significantly the serum insulin, muscle glycogen, and muscle glycogen synthase (gs) gene expression compared with those fed on polysaccharide diet. Interestingly, the Nile tilapia fed on monosaccharide diets reduced significantly the glycogen content while they increased insulin, glucose and the expression of liver gluconeogenesis genes such as glucose-6-phosphatase (g6pase) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pepck) than those fed on polysaccharide diet. Contrary, the Nile tilapia fed on disaccharide diet downregulated liver glucose catabolism and lowered serum triglyceride (TG) levels than those fed on polysaccharide but enhanced muscle peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (pparα) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (cpt1a) gene expression, liver gluconeogenesis and pentose phosphate pathways. These results indicate that Nile tilapia utilizes better dietary polysaccharides and disaccharides than monosaccharides. Feeding Nile tilapia on monosaccharide diets caused insulin resistance and glucose metabolism disorders manifested by hyperinsulinism and hyperglycemia, respectively. The carbohydrate complexity affects the nutritional metabolism and liver health of fish.

A comparative study of mixed halide perovskite thin film preparation by three- and two-step electrodeposition techniques

Nowadays, access to cheap, renewable and achievable energy sources is no longer just a dream with perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Reaching the record of ∼25% efficiency in 2019 has increasingly led researchers to address the challenges facing commercialization, including finding suitable large scale preparation techniques and increasing the lifetime of PSCs. According to various reports in the thin film solar cells fabrication based on electrodeposition (ED) routes, it is worth noting that the ED technique could be an interesting candidate for production of large-scale perovskite solar cells and low-cost modules in the future. Here, we compare the optoelectronic properties of the MAPb(IxBr1-x)3 perovskite layers (Eg = 1.9 eV) synthesized in three and two step based on ED-PbO2 layer on FTO (Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide) substrates. We show that the direct conversion of ED-PbO2 to perovskite, in addition to its cost-cutting and time-saving benefits, can lead to a uniform layer with significantly admirable structural properties compared to the conventional perovskite conversion using the 3-steps ED method. The measured external quantum efficiency (EQE) spectrum shows the photo-sensing capability of the 2-step ED perovskite layer in a wide range from ultraviolet to visible light region. The 2-step ED perovskite-based photodetector device exhibited superb performance, which resulted in high photo/dark current ratio of 107 at 1V under 660 nm (2000 μW power intensity) light illumination.