Conversion Cost Research Articles

Research on the willingness of Chinese mobile payment APP users to continue to use from the perspective of status quo bias

Based on the status quo bias, explore the impact of brand attachment on the continuous use of mobile payment platform users. Introducing the S-O-R model, which takes sunk costs and conversion costs as stimuli, ultimately affecting users’ willingness to continue using through brand attachment. Conduct a questionnaire survey and conduct empirical analysis. Finally, it was found that sunk costs and conversion costs positively affect brand attachment, and brand attachment positively affects user willingness to use

Characterization Tools to Probe Degradation Mechanisms in Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic solar cells (OSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are promising due to their low cost and potential for renewable solar energy conversion. They are compatible with many substrates and varied deposition techniques, including solution processing. They can be coupled with other solar cell types in tandem and multijunction structures. Despite these great attributes and advancements in power conversion efficiencies over the years, they suffer from severe degradation, leading to low lifetime. In terms of research, their stability studies lag. One reason is the complexity of degradation studies and, sometimes, the lack of adequate tools to do an in‐depth probe. Another reason is the lack of comprehensive literature on metrologies’ appropriateness for this kind of study. Although there are reviews on stability and improvement in the efficiency of devices, they focus either on the degradation mechanisms or efforts to use specific tools. There is little on comprehensive characterization tools for their degradation studies. Herein, the experimental tools and techniques researchers use in general to probe degradation in OSCs and PSCs are studied. This review is intended as a starting point and a go‐to material for current and future researchers and (under‐)graduate students interested in stability studies.

Techno-economic analysis for off-grid green hydrogen production in Uruguay

The present study develops a techno-economic optimization model to determine and size the capacity of the renewable energy generation park, the electrolyzer, the storage system and the way to transport hydrogen which minimizes the levelized cost of hydrogen in Uruguay. To perform the optimization the model uses as input parameters the hydrogen demand, the distance to the point of supply, the renewable resource available and the year of construction of the project. In addition, this study analyzes the impact of the change of hydrogen demand scale (250, 15 &1.72tH2/d) and their technological maturity (2022 & 2030) on the cost of hydrogen production and each stage of the chain. The cost of energy, the demand for hydrogen, and any penalties for not supplied hydrogen determine the required storage capacity. It was found that for large hydrogen demands, the cost of renewable energy represents the single most relevant cost of the green hydrogen value chain. For medium and small hydrogen demands the combined cost of conversion, processing, transport and storage possess a similar weight to the energy costs on the total hydrogen cost. On the other hand, for the selected locations, the transport of compressed gas by pipelines is the most competitive for the larger demands, and compressed gas transportation by trucks for the small demands, as expected. For a medium demand of 15tH2/d it was found that larger distances favor the liquid organic hydrogen carrier transportation by trucks while shorter distances favor compressed gas transportation by trucks. Finally, a greater maturity of electrolyzers, hydrogen storage systems and renewable generation are expected to significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen production in the medium term, which will allow decreasing the total cost of hydrogen from 3.5USD/kgH2 in 2022 to 2.3USD/kgH2 in 2030.

Green hydrogen production from decarbonized biomass gasification: An integrated techno-economic and environmental analysis

Biomass gasification represents an effective and promising conversion technology to different energy carriers/chemicals. Biomass gasification with CO2 capture will give an energy conversion system with negative CO2 emissions. This work assesses the techno-economic and environmental implications of decarbonized green hydrogen generation using the biomass gasification. Several pre-combustion decarbonization technologies were evaluated: chemical and physical scrubbing (absorption), membrane, hybrid membrane - chemical scrubbing. All evaluated biomass gasification concepts have 300 MW hydrogen output (corresponding to 100,000 Nm3/h hydrogen with purity above 99.95% vol.) with 90% carbon capture rate. Different system engineering tools were employed for the integrated assessment. As an important novelty outcome of this work, the green hydrogen production from decarbonized biomass gasification has promising potential to deliver high energy conversion efficiency (in the range of 57–59%), lower energy and cost penalties for decarbonization (about 2.2–3.5 net points), negative carbon emissions (considering that the primary fuel - biomass - is of renewable source). Among various assessed decarbonization technologies, the membrane system shows better techno-economic performances than the gas-liquid absorption (e.g., reduced CAPEX and OPEX by 7% and 7–9% respectively, inferior hydrogen production cost by about 7% etc.).

A DPWM-Based Quasi-Constant Switching Frequency Control for Full ZVS Range Three-Phase Inverter With Reactive Power Transfer Capability

In this paper, a quasi-constant switching frequency zero voltage switching (ZVS) control strategy is proposed for three-phase grid-connected inverters. Full ZVS range can be achieved for all the switches at any load, modulation index, and power factor using discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM). No additional high- frequency sensor or auxiliary circuit is needed. The switching frequency is constant at steady-state. It does not change with the phase angle or the power factor, but it varies with the modulation index, grid RMS voltage and current. The frequency can be easily calculated in a digital controller based on current ripple prediction (CRP) instead of current zero-crossing detection (ZCD). The turn-on loss is eliminated so the inverter can operate at a high switching frequency, especially by using wide band-gap devices. The conversion efficiency, power density, cost, and dynamic response of the inverter can all be improved. A 3.3 kVA experimental prototype using SiC MOSFETs interfacing 400 V DC link with three-phase 110 V AC grid is developed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

A Review of Different Types of Solar Cell Materials Employed in Bifacial Solar Photovoltaic Panel

Conventionally accessible silicon solar cells experience two major drawbacks, such as reduced efficiency and increased fabrication costs. The prospects for the reduction in the cost of the photovoltaic form of energy conversion are bifacial solar cells. Bifacial solar cells show potential opportunity in reducing the cost of solar energy conversion when analyzed with respect to monofacial cells. The bifacial solar cells exploit sunlight occurrence on both sides of the cell more efficiently. Bifacial-based solar photovoltaic (PV) is a technology that increases the generation of electrical energy per square meter of PV module through the utilization of light absorption from the albedo. This technology can generally be categorized based on the type of solar cell material and the fabrication technique. PV devices are classified as a silicon-based, thin film, organic, and advanced nano PV. This paper takes a second look at some recent initiatives and significant issues in enhancing the efficiency of bifacial solar cells from material sciences and chemical composition aspects. From this review, it is concluded that screen-printed solar cells have produced a maximum efficiency of 22%. Additionally, triode structure single-crystalline cells produced a maximum front side efficiency of 21.3% and rear side efficiency of 19.8%. Considering the recycling of solar panels, organic solar panels can be developed.

Pengaruh Pemberian Tepung Indigofera Sebagai Pengganti Bungkil Kedelai Dan Dedak Dalam Ransum Terhadap Performa Produksi Entog (Cairina Moschata)

This research was conducted in March - August 2021, located in Darma District, Kuningan Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia, which is located at the coordinates 7°02°09.4 "South Latitude 108°24'24'20.6' East Longitude. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of indigofera flour on the performance muscovy duck. The research was conducted experimentally using the Completely Randomized Design (CRD) 80 muscovy duck were drawn to be placed in a cage which was divided into 20 sections consisting of 4 muscovy duck. The types of treatment used were P0 (basal ration) as control, P1 25% indigofera flour, P2 50% indigofera flour, P3 75% indigofera flour and P4 100% indigofera flour as a substitute for soybean meal and rice bran. The variables observed were ration consumption, weight gain, ration conversion and feed cost per gain. The research data were analyzed using variance (Anova) and if there was a significant difference, then further tested using Duncan's multiple distance test (DMRT). The results showed that the use of indigofera flor cold increase (P<0,05) feed consumption, this is due to the nutrient content in the ratio and the variables of weight gain, ration conversion and feed cost per gain did not show a significant difference (P>0,05). It can be concluted that the effect of the addition of indigofera as a subtitute for soybean meal and bran can increase ration consumption but is not followed by optimal grain performance.

Assessing the Impact of Urban Lifestyle and Consumption Values on Conversion Intention: A Study towards Energy Sustainability

Energy converter innovation has shifted the world’s cooking energy from wood, coal, kerosene, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to electricity. This paper identifies the factors influencing customers’ intention to switch their cooking energy from LPG to electricity. The study proposes a conversion intention (COIN) framework with urban convenience and perceived alternative value (PAV) as predictor variables and examines the mooring effect of conversion cost to COIN. The data were gathered by a cross-sectional survey, and the PLS-SEM approach was applied to 194 LPG users in Jakarta, Indonesia. The results reveal that PAV mainly determines cooking energy conversion and partially mediates the relationship between urban convenience and COIN. Conversion cost indicates no significant moderating effect of PAV on COIN. By conducting this study, we contribute to the literature by integrating the theory of consumption value (TCV) with the value-based adoption model (VAM), generating the indicators of urban convenience based on time-oriented advertisement categories and applying the consumption values of the TCV as the dimensions of PAV on the VAM framework. The findings of the paper provide a more in-depth understanding of customers’ motivations when switching from LPG to electric power, particularly for household cooking energy, as well as opportunities for the government and electronic manufacturers to promote more sustainable energy consumption patterns.

Comprehensive performance evaluation of Ti3C2 MXene/TiN composite nanofluids for photo thermal conversion

The in-depth development of solar photothermal conversion will help to alleviate the energy crisis and promote the realization of the goal of “carbon neutralization.” Composite nanofluids have been paid more attention to in photothermal conversion because of their comprehensive properties. In this study, the performances of the water-based Ti3C2 MXene/TiN composite nanofluids in photothermal utilization were comprehensively tested and analyzed, then compared horizontally with the single-component nanofluids. The results showed that adding the TiN nanoparticles improved the stability of the composite nanofluids under light conditions. In addition, the composite nanofluids’ thermal conductivity and optical absorption capacity were positively correlated with the proportion of the Ti3C2 nanoparticles. The two materials showed a strong complementarity in the numerical simulation band. Moreover, the simulation results also showed that the optical properties of the composite nanofluids were related to the spatial arrangement between the particles. Based on the above factors, the 20 ppm Ti3C2 MXene/TiN = 7:3 composite nanofluid achieved the maximum photothermal conversion efficiency of 63.7%, which was 3.35% and 5.11% higher than that of the Ti3C2 MXene and TiN nanofluids, respectively. The photothermal conversion cost analysis showed that adding TiN nanoparticles reduced the usage cost of the composite nanofluids. This work provides an effective method for optimizing the photothermal conversion performance of nanofluids based on two-dimensional materials and provides a strategy for explaining the photothermal conversion mechanism with the help of micro-nano optical simulation.

Performance of Turkeys Under Extensive and Semi - intensive Systems of Management in Khartoum State

An experiment was carried out to determine and compare theperformance traits of turkeys under semi-intensive and extensive systemsof management in Khartoum State, Sudan. A commercial breed of turkey(BUT Big 6) was used. Birds were kept in an open-sided, deep litterpoultry house (semi intensive system) and fenced enclosures (extensivesystem) from week 17 to weeks 24 and 28 and fed on turkey finisher andsupplement diets, respectively. Parameters assessed were feed intake,body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (for each feed),mortality and cost and profit. Results of feed intake indicated a consistentincrease with increase in age in both systems of management up to week22 followed by a consistent decrease in feed intake up to the end of theexperiment at week 28. Body weight increased with increase in age inboth systems of management up to week 24 followed by a slight increaseup to week 28. Turkeys kept under semi-intensive system of managementconsumed higher amounts of feed, gave heavier finishing weight, averageweight gain, heavier carcass weight and higher profit than those keptunder extensive system up to week 24 and lower mortality percentage andprofit from week 25 to week 28. No difference between treatments wasfound in dressing percentage and wholesale cuts. The study concludedthat the semi- intensive system is better for turkey production up to week24.

Experience in using and improving the usability of mathematical modeling system of production at a metallurgical enterprise

Due to the world trade development, metallurgical plants have a great variability in preparation of the production plan. At EVRAZ West Siberian Metallurgical Combine JSC (JSC “EVRAZ ZSMK”), the charge is optimized from 110 components only in terms of agglomeration and blast furnace production. The product range consists of more than 2000 units and varies from month to month. Usually, the production plan is optimized only within individual redevelopments. The purpose of optimization is to minimize the cost of conversion and to maximize production. The article describes development and implementation of a mathematical modeling system of production of the entire metallurgical plant on the example of JSC “EVRAZ ZSMK”. In contrast to the existing conversion modeling systems, the goal of the system is a one-time end-to-end optimization of all the plant’s conversions. The ultimate goal is to maximize the profit of the entire plant. During the operation of the new system in 2019 – 2020, high labor costs were found during the work of the users. For example, more than 10,000 test iterations of calculations were performed for the release of 60 plans for the year and calculation of 30 economic cases. A form of work statistics was developed and analyzed, which showed the following main problems: unsolvability of the model due to the input of mathematically incorrect data; repeated calculations of economic cases to isolate and interpret individual changed factors of the plan from the budget; errors at the data verification stage due to incorrect chemical composition of elements or incorrect model settings for a specific period of work. To eliminate the shortcomings of the system, the authors developed the validation systems for input data at the stage before and after calculations, sensitivity analysis and factor calculation modules and automatic chemical composition filling system. Also the possibility of retraining the model on historical data was added.

Optimal Design of PV Inverter Using LCOE Index

This work uses design optimization of a power electronics converter to achieve the best levelized cost of energy in a PV application. The methodology uses detailed models of power electronics’ active and passive components to determine the cost and performances of the solid-state energy conversion and connect them to the system-level vision. The deterministic algorithm used for converter sizing allows taking into account a large number of variables and constraints. Methodology, models, and some illustrations of the results are provided in this paper. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted on the cost model.

Plasma-catalytic reforming of biogas into syngas over Ni-based bimetallic catalysts

Biogas reforming to syngas is an attractive route for the efficient utilization of biogas. In this work, plasma-catalytic dry reforming of biogas into value-added fuels and chemicals over Ni-based bimetallic catalysts was achieved using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The coupling DBD with 10Ni3Co exhibited the best reaction performance, reflected by the highest gas conversion, main gas product yield and selectivity, and fuel production efficiency (FPE). This hybrid process also favored the suppression of carbon deposition on the catalyst surface and the reduction of energy cost for both gas conversion and product formation. The maximum CO2 and CH4 conversion (29.8% and 49.1%) was obtained when the discharge power was 60 W, while a low discharge power (30 W) led to the highest FPE of 12.3%. By using Ni-based catalysts, we were able to tune the product distribution, favoring the generation of C3-C4 hydrocarbons and syngas while reducing the production of C2 hydrocarbons, with 10Ni3Co providing the most favorable results. Compared to other spent catalysts, the lowest carbon deposition (2.9%) was detected on the spent 10Ni3Co after 150 min of plasma reforming. Catalyst characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the 10Ni3Co catalyst was superior due to a combination of factors such as a higher specific surface area, improved capability to adsorb CO2, strong interactions between the metals and the support, enhanced reducibility and the formation of a Ni-Co alloy. Furthermore, a simplified kinetics model was developed to better understand the effects of Ni-based bimetallic catalysts on the overall energy constant for the conversion of reactants in plasma-catalytic reforming of biogas.

Compressed Natural Gas as an Alternative Vehicular Fuel in Tanzania: Implementation, Barriers, and Prospects

This paper presents the implementation of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in Tanzania’s road transportation sector. The peculiarity of this analysis is the evaluation of the technical and economic performance of the converted gasoline and diesel engines to use compressed natural gas (CNG) as the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon. The technical performance involved vehicle mileage (MiCNG), fuel consumption (Fcons), speed drop, engine fuel enhancement (Fenh), and fuel saving, while the economic performance involved conversion cost (Cc), fuel cost saving (FCsaving), and payback (PB). Considering the conversion of gasoline vehicles, the MiCNG could reach an average of 100 to 500 km per filling, depending on the CNG cylinder size. The Fenh and fuel saving were ranging between 1.9 and 3.9 and 71 and 78%. With a proportion of 30:70 diesel-CNG fuel, the heavy-duty truck with 180 kg of CNG could reach 1300 km, saving about 440 L, which is 78.6% per roundtrip, while the medium passenger car with 15 kg of CNG could reach 350 km, presenting a fuel saving of about 75%. From an economic point of view, gasoline retrofitted NGVs cost about 50 to 200 TZS/km, yielding a fuel cost saving of up to 79% and starting to pay off between 2 and 7 months or 10,000 and 40,000 km, depending on the engine capacity. Considering dual fuel, the heavy-duty truck consumes about 496 TZS/km, saving about 62.3% of diesel fuel and starting to pay off after 2.5 months or 29,304 km. To conclude, NGV technologies have been successfully implemented in Tanzania’s road transportation sector, presenting significant fuel savings and reducing reliance on imported oil. While taking measures, this study paves a way for Tanzania and other sub-Saharan countries to promote NGV growth.

Bolstering the role of human resource information system on employees’ behavioural outcomes of selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria

The efficient use of an organisation's valuable human resources is crucial to its success. Organizations are embracing HRIS more and more to ensure the efficient utilization of their human resources (a relatively new technology in HRM). However, enterprises, especially manufacturing firms, are lagging in reaping the benefits of modern technology due to a slew of challenges. To close the stated gaps, the current study investigated the role of human resource information system on employees' behavioural outcomes in selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The diffusion of innovation theory was used to explain the inevitability of new technology in HRM. The target population comprised managers and supervisors of Nigeria's selected Fast Moving Consumer Goods firms (FMCGs). Specifically, the purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the participants for this study. Copies of the questionnaire was used to collect data from a diverse cross-section of the managers and supervisors. The information collected was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that manpower planning information, performance appraisal information and succession planning information are predictors of employees' behavioural outcomes. It was concluded that management apprehension, employee privacy concerns, internal organisational opposition, and conversion costs are the most significant barriers to effective HRIS implementation. Finally, several quantifiable approaches to improve new technology in HRM were proffered.

РАЗВИТИЕ ЦИФРОВЫХ ФИНАНСОВЫХ АКТИВОВ В МИРОВОЙ ЭКОНОМИКЕ

In the article, the author defines the concept of “digital financial assets”, “cryptocurrency”, “tokens” and their relationship and the need for application, noting the advantages of introduction in the countries of the world. The significance of the introduction of these assets is as follows: in the potential for democratizing access to financial services, in increased transparency and efficiency compared to traditional financial assets, in the possibility of introducing new business models and financial products, in the possibility of accelerating and reducing the cost of cross-border payments, in reducing the cost of currency conversion. The paper examines the practices and features of regulation of digital financial assets in different countries and in Russia.

Feasibility Study on Frequency Conversion Transformation of Electric Feedwater Pump in Nuclear Power Plant

In order to study the feasibility of frequency conversion of electric feedwater pump in nuclear power plant, and to provide reference for the improvement of electric feedwater pump in nuclear power plant and new nuclear power plant, this paper discusses the technical and economic aspects, and analyzes the feasibility of frequency conversion transformation of electric feed pump in nuclear power plant. The results show that there is no technical difficulty for the electric feedwater pump of nuclear power plant from the technical point of view, and the economic analysis shows that it will take about 4 years to recover the cost for the frequency conversion of the electric feedwater pump of nuclear power plant. Therefore, the frequent participation in the peak load of the power grid units can be considered for transformation, For the nuclear power units that serve as the base load of the power grid, the cost can be recovered in about 6 years by eliminating the loss of capacity, and they can be retrofitted according to the needs of the plants themselves.

A green process for separation and recovery of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from carboxylic acid–choline chloride deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have the advantages of low cost, non-toxicity, and biodegradability for the catalytic conversion of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF).

Bio-oil and biochar from the pyrolytic conversion of biomass: A current and future perspective on the trade-off between economic, environmental, and technical indicators.

Over the years, the transformation of biomass into a plethora of renewable value-added products has been identified as a promising strategy to fulfil high energy demands, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and exploit under-utilized resources. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) are essential to scale up this process while lowering the conversion cost. In this study, trade-offs are made between economic, environmental, and technical indicators produced from these methodologies to better evaluate the commercialization potential of biomass pyrolysis. This research emphasizes the necessity of combining LCA and TEA variables to assess the performance of the early-stage technology and associated constraints. The important findings based on the LCA analysis imply that most of the studies reported in literature focussed on the global warming potentials (GWP) under environmental category by considering greenhouse gases (GHGs) as evaluation parameter, neglecting many other important environmental indices. In addition, the upstream and downstream processes play an important role in understanding the life cycle impacts of a biomass based biorefinery. Under upstream conditions, the use of a specific type of feedstock may influence the LCA conclusions and technical priority. Under downstream conditions, the product utilization as fuels in different energy backgrounds is crucial to the overall impact potentials of the pyrolysis systems. In view of the TEA analysis, investigations towards maximizing the yield of valuable co-products would play an important role in the commercialization of pyrolysis process. However, comprehensive research to compare the conventional, advanced, and emerging approaches of biomass pyrolysis from the economic perspective is currently not available in the literature.

Multi-Scale Segmentation Method of Remote Sensing Big Data Image Using Deep Learning

Remote sensing image (RSI) segmentation is an effective method to interpret remote sensing information and an important means of remote sensing data information processing. Traditional RSI segmentation methods have some problems such as poor segmentation accuracy and low similarity difference measurement. Therefore, we propose a multi-scale segmentation (MSS) method for remote sensing big data image. First, the segmentation scale of RSI is divided, and the quantitative value of histogram band is used to calculate the similarity index between different objects; Second, the parameters in the same spot are improved based on the maximum area method to determine the shape factor of RSI; Finally, the object closure model is established to clarify the region conversion cost, and the RSI is dynamically segmented based on Multi-scale convolutional neural networks; The MSS algorithm of RSI is designed, and the MSS method of RSI is obtained. The results show that the maximum similarity difference measure of the proposed method is 0.648, and the similarity difference measure always remains the largest. The maximum recall of RSI is 0.954, and the highest recall is 0.988, indicating that the RSI segmentation accuracy of the proposed method is good.