Demand For Fossil Fuels Research Articles

The Prediction of Separation Performance of an In-Line Axial Oil–Water Separator Using Machine Learning and CFD

Recently, global energy consumption has increased due to industrial development, resulting in increasing demand for various energy sources. Aside from the increased demand for renewable energy resources, the demand for fossil fuels is also on the rise. Accordingly, the demand for resource development in the deep sea is also increasing. Various systems are required to efficiently develop resources in the deep sea. A study on an in-line type oil–water separator is needed to compensate for the disadvantages of a gravity separator that separates traditional water and oil. In this paper, the separation performance of the axial-flow oil–water separator for five design variables (conical diameter, conical length, number of vanes, angle of vane, and thickness of vane) was analyzed. Numerical calculations for multiphase fluid were performed using the mixture model, one of the Euler–Euler approaches. Additionally, the Reynolds stress model was used to describe the swirling flow. As a result, it was found that the effect on the separation performance was large in the order of angle of vane, conical diameter, number of vanes, the thickness of vane, and conical length. A neural network model for predicting separation performance was developed using numerical calculation results. To predict the oil–water separation performance, five design parameters were considered, and the evaluation of the separation performance prediction model was compared with the multilinear regression (MLR) model. As a result, it was found that the R square was improved by about 74.0% in the neural network model, compared with the MLR model.

Advancements in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) Seed Oils for Biodiesel Production.

With the increasing demand for fossil fuels, decreasing fossil fuel reserves and deteriorating global environment, humanity urgently need to explore new clean and renewable energy to replace fossil fuel resources. Biodiesel, as an environmentally friendly fuel that has attracted considerable attention because of its renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic superiority, seems to be a solution for future fuel production. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), an industrial crop, is traditionally used for manufacturing cigarettes. More importantly, tobacco seed is also widely being deemed as a typical inedible oilseed crop for the production of second-generation biodiesel. Advancements in raw material and enhanced production methods are currently needed for the large-scale and sustainable production of biodiesel. To this end, this study reviews various aspects of extraction and transesterification methods, genetic and agricultural modification, and properties and application of tobacco biodiesel, while discussing the key problems in tobacco biodiesel production and application. Besides, the proposals of new ways or methods for producing biodiesel from tobacco crops are presented. Based on this review, we anticipate that this can further promote the development and application of biodiesel from tobacco seed oil by increasing the availability and reducing the costs of extraction, transesterification, and purification methods, cultivating new varieties or transgenic lines with high oilseed contents, formulating scientific agricultural norms and policies, and improving the environmental properties of biodiesel.

A Materials Science Perspective of Midstream Challenges in the Utilization of Heavy Crude Oil.

An increasing global population and a sharply upward trajectory of per capita energy consumption continue to drive the demand for fossil fuels, which remain integral to energy grids and the global transportation infrastructure. The oil and gas industry is increasingly reliant on unconventional deposits such as heavy crude oil and bitumen for reasons of accessibility, scale, and geopolitics. Unconventional deposits such as the Canadian Oil Sands in Northern Alberta contain more than one-third of the world’s viscous oil reserves and are vital linchpins to meet the energy needs of rapidly industrializing populations. Heavy oil is typically recovered from subsurface deposits using thermal recovery approaches such as steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). In this perspective article, we discuss several aspects of materials science challenges in the utilization of heavy crude oil with an emphasis on the needs of the Canadian Oil Sands. In particular, we discuss surface modification and materials’ design approaches essential to operations under extreme environments of high temperatures and pressures and the presence of corrosive species. The demanding conditions for materials and surfaces are directly traceable to the high viscosity, low surface tension, and substantial sulfur content of heavy crude oil, which necessitates extensive energy-intensive thermal processes, warrants dilution/emulsification to ease the flow of rheologically challenging fluids, and engenders the need to protect corrodible components. Geopolitical reasons have further led to a considerable geographic separation between extraction sites and advanced refineries capable of processing heavy oils to a diverse slate of products, thus necessitating a massive midstream infrastructure for transportation of these rheologically challenging fluids. Innovations in fluid handling, bitumen processing, and midstream transportation are critical to the economic viability of heavy oil. Here, we discuss foundational principles, recent technological advancements, and unmet needs emphasizing candidate solutions for thermal insulation, membrane-assisted separations, corrosion protection, and midstream bitumen transportation. This perspective seeks to highlight illustrative materials’ technology developments spanning the range from nanocomposite coatings and cement sheaths for thermal insulation to the utilization of orthogonal wettability to engender separation of water–oil emulsions stabilized by endogenous surfactants extracted during SAGD, size-exclusion membranes for fractionation of bitumen, omniphobic coatings for drag reduction in pipelines and to ease oil handling in containers, solid prills obtained from partial bitumen solidification to enable solid-state transport with reduced risk of damage from spills, and nanocomposite coatings incorporating multiple modes of corrosion inhibition. Future outlooks for onsite partial upgradation are also described, which could potentially bypass the use of refineries for some fractions, enable access to a broader cross-section of refineries, and enable a new distributed chemical manufacturing paradigm.

PV array based EV charging station with efficient charging and storage system

Renewable energy is a type of energy that may be produced from a variety of resources, including sunlight, wind, tides, geothermal, etc. It delivers sustainable, clean energy that is derived from renewable natural resources. More renewable energy will be used, which will reduce the cost and demand for fossil fuels. The primary uses of solar photovoltaic energy include the production of electricity and heat for a variety of appliances. The development of solar-powered cars was made possible by recent breakthroughs. This study discusses the design and development of a charge controller-based solar charging system for electric automobiles. The suggested system's implementation will lower the price of power and charging and discharging losses. Additionally, one of the suggested solar charging systems is among the steps taken to create a green campus. This paper will show how to create a solar-powered electrical vehicle system and analyzes its performance.

Comparative Study of Production of Biodiesel Utilizing Calcinated Eggshell and Immobilized Lipase-Eggshell Catalysts by Waste Cooking Oil, Catalysts Characterization and Yield Optimization

Due to the high demand, cost and environmental toxicity of fossil fuels, mainly petroleum and diesel, there is a massive demand for alternative fuels based on biological origin. The production of biodiesel from cheap resources has gained more attention. Present study conducted biodiesel production from waste cooking oil utilizing calcinated eggshells and immobilized lipase. The eggshell was calcinated at temperature ranges from 500-800 ºC and characterized by TGA, SEM, XRD and FTIR analysis; the study of characteristics of calcinated eggshell was helpful in the production of biodiesel, it is around ~42% yield production achieved at 60 ºC, 1000 rpm revolution of stirrer for O/A (oil/alcohol) molar ratio 1:6. Now the lipase of activities 40 μ/g immobilized with eggshell, the eggshell-lipase catalyst (ELC) gives the yield of ~92% at 40 °C, 500 rpm revolution of stirrer and O/A molar ratio 1:6 after transesterification process on waste cooking oil (WCO) with calcined eggshell and reusability application of ELC. The production of biodiesel by immobilized catalyst at a higher temperature will reduce the thermal stability of lipase. To get the maximum biodiesel yield, the transesterification process must undergo at an optimum higher temperature. This is overcome by immobilizing the commercial lipase with an eggshell that can withstand even higher temperatures (40-45 ºC) without losing its activities. The processes and optimization are globally integrated to improve the feasible evaluation of economic improvement for biodiesel production.

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND EXHAUST GASES ANALYSIS OF CORN COB FEEDING UNIT INSTALLED WITH STEAM BOILER

A sustainable approach towards energy production is the need of time due to the ongoing energy and food crisis. Due to increase in demand of energy the demand of fossil fuels will increase. The limited fossil fuels cannot meet the demand of the current energy produced. Many new technologies are being adopted by scientists. New developments in boiler technology have made the industries work well so they can move towards an economic and environment friendly approach. The boilers used in industries have a high operational cost and their harvesting/collection mechanism is difficult and time consuming. Using conventional fossil fuels there is a lot of risk of hazardous air pollution which causes skin and infectious diseases. The current study is on corn cob feeder reactor where the reactor will be efficiently design in a textile mill. The impact of this boiler on environment was analyzed towards a sustainable approach and the different air emissions were measured and they were compared with the emissions of conventional fossil fuels where a significant reduction in using corn cob was found as compared to the conventional fossil fuels.

Exploration of combustion behavior in a compression ignition engine fuelled with low-viscous Pimpinella anisum and waste cooking oil biodiesel blends

In today's world due to a greater demand for fossil fuels, many alternative solutions such as extracting energy from waste and also from green biofuels have been offered. Among various studies, a new approach on the usage of low viscous Pimpinella anisum as a green biofuel with waste cooking oil biodiesel blend in the diesel engine efficiently has shed new light in the field of alternative renewable sources of energy. The aim of this work is to eliminate the usage of conventional fuel in a diesel engine by incorporating binary green fuel (Waste Cooking Oil biodiesel blended with Pimpinella anisum as low viscous oil) effectively. The enhancement of Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) biodiesel production was done by employing the transesterification process. Calcium oxide heterogeneous catalyst was prepared using eggshell and it was doped with barium of 4–8 %wt. to improve the catalytic efficiency. Pimpinella anisum oil with its promising properties such as low viscosity, high O2 content, and high boiling point is better suited to the diesel engine and was prepared by steam distillation method. Binary fuels were prepared by blending Pimpinella anisum oil (A) with WCO biodiesel (B) in 90%, 80%, and 70% of volume. The engine was tested with pure diesel and WCO biodiesel for comparative study. The addition of Pimpinella anisum elongated the period of ignition delay. Among the tested fuels, B20A80 has shown better heat release rate (HRR) and cylinder pressure, bringing brake thermal efficiency (BTE) near to that of diesel since the biodiesel operation decreases BTE in diesel engines. It also has shown the reduced formation of soot, Carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by 81.43%, 43.8%, and 18.6% respectively. A slight increase of 2.49% in Oxide of nitrogen (NOx) emissions in compared with the operation of diesel was observed.

Переход крупнейших экономик мира к углеродной нейтральности: сферы потенциального сотрудничества с Россией

In 2020, despite the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that decarbonization and energy transition had become strategic goals rather than market trends. Moreover, they have become part of the broader and more ambitious plans of the world’s largest economies to move toward carbon neutrality by the middle of the 21st century. These economies include the European Union, the U.S., China, Japan and Korea. In Russia, these trends are typically viewed through the prism of risk: carbon neutrality implies a dramatic decrease in demand for fossil fuels, the production and export of which still play a key role in the Russian economy. However, apart from the risk to traditional sources of income, the global transition to carbon neutrality creates new opportunities for the development and diversification of the Russian economy, as well as for international cooperation in new areas. This article is devoted to the general identification of such opportunities. The authors perform a content analysis of the official plans of the largest economies related to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050–60. The main areas in which actions will be taken are identified. The current state of the corresponding industries in Russia and the possibilities for improvement are investigated. On the basis of this analysis, promising directions for the development of the Russian economy are proposed in which the implementation of large-scale international economic cooperation is possible in the coming decades.

Where is research on fossil fuels going in times of climate change? A perspective on chemical enhanced oil recovery

In a society where the global search for renewable and sustainable sources of energy, chemicals and materials has rapidly become a priority, due to the challenges posed by climate change, one may think that there is no place anymore for research regarding extraction and production of fossil fuels. However, there is no denying that coal, oil and gas still constitute the major source of energy worldwide by far, and humanity will be dependent on them still for decades. As a matter of fact, the global demand of fossil fuels is still increasing rather than decreasing. However, fossil resources are consumed at a much higher rate than they are generated. Only focusing on crude oil, the chances of finding new conventional reservoirs are nowadays low, and this conventional sources are quickly depleting, therefore it is necessary to turn more and more the attention to unconventional sources, such as carbonate reservoirs, tar sands, oil shales and deep off-shore reservoirs. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) techniques are already well established in improving macroscopic and microscopic oil displacement, increasing oil production after primary and secondary methods are exhausted. However, these are mostly implemented in reservoirs that normally possess favorable conditions. Research can still contribute in making these processes more efficient and sustainable, especially for unconventional oil, for as long as we will need to extract fossil fuels. After supporting the idea that exploitation of fossil resources cannot stop just yet, this perspective article will highlight recent advances in the field of cEOR, mentioning new developments in traditional methods, such as polymer and surfactant flooding, as well as newer methods, such as nanoparticles, preformed particle gels, and smart waterflooding, plus the various possible new combinations (hybrid EOR). This paper will finally try to shortly outline future directions of cEOR research, with emphasis on sustainable methods, such as CO2 flooding combined with carbon capture and storage strategies, and newly available research tools, such as reservoir-on-a-chip and machine learning.Graphical abstract

Analysis of potential effects of renewable energy policy

Korea has announced its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 by accelerating its shift toward renewable energy. We examined the effects of increasing renewable energy use on the demands for fossil fuels and the power supply price for the Korean electric power generation sector. Using the estimated price elasticities of demand between energy inputs, we can calculate that a 1% increase in renewable energy would lead to a 0.06%, 0.35%, and 0.17% lower demand for coal, oil, and gas, respectively, ceteris paribus, possibly resulting in a potential CO2 reduction by as much as 0.173 × 106 tons in total. The null hypothesis of no contribution of increasing renewable energy on power generation costs was rejected. The simulation results show that renewable energy generation costs did not increase sufficiently to cause the power supply price to rise significantly over the period 2000–2015.

Green self-assembly of CuCe2(MoO4)4/montmorillonite-K10 nanocomposites; a promising solid-state hydrogen storage profile

Rapid scale-up of the technologies for clean energy production, conversion and storage have been adopted by many countries in order to reduce demand for fossil fuels. Primary renewable energy such as solar, wind, and hydro are developed for energy production particularly for electricity generation. However, there are still some deficiencies in direct use of primary renewable energy sources; therefore, secondary energy sources (or carriers) have been recently established as clean energy sources. Hydrogen is a type of secondary energy sources with almost low density and light weight; therefore, it must be stored in the form of liquid or gas. The storage of hydrogen in the form of liquid requires very low temperature. Solid-state hydrogen storage on the surfaces of solids or within solids is a promising solution to above shortcomings for high-density energy storage. Herein, multi-layers solid-state materials with ability of hydrogen adsorption are presented, for the first time, including “mixed metal oxide (MMO) nanostructures” and “silicate layers”. The MMO is CuCe2(MoO4)4 nanostructures which synthesized via Pechini method in front of various chelating agents such as trimesic acid, maleic acid, succinic acid, and malonic acid, while the silicate layer is nanoclay montmorillonite K10. In this study, the experimental observations reveal a pure formation of CuCe2(MoO4)4 nanostructures in malonic acid at 500 °C, with almost regular nanosized morphology of 20–25 nm. The selected sample is then used for nanocomposite formation by dispersing the CuCe2(MoO4)4 nanostructures into the montmorillonite K10 solution. The final nanocomposites exhibit a superior electrochemical hydrogen storage performance, in terms of “maximum discharge capacity of ∼ 3750 mAh/g)” and “efficiency of about 70%” in an alkaline medium. It must be mentioned that though the maximum discharge capacity of the CuCe2(MoO4)4 nanostructures is higher than nanocomposites (for example ∼ 6000 mAh/g), but the efficiency (discharge/charge) is lower (∼48%). It can be emphasized that this nanocomposite can be applied as promising host in an electrochemical hydrogen storage system, which can meet the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hydrogen storage targets.

Optimal Scheduling of Campus Microgrid Considering the Electric Vehicle Integration in Smart Grid.

High energy consumption, rising environmental concerns and depleting fossil fuels demand an increase in clean energy production. The enhanced resiliency, efficiency and reliability offered by microgrids with distributed energy resources (DERs) have shown to be a promising alternative to the conventional grid system. Large-sized commercial customers like institutional complexes have put significant efforts to promote sustainability by establishing renewable energy systems at university campuses. This paper proposes the integration of a photovoltaic (PV) system, energy storage system (ESS) and electric vehicles (EV) at a University campus. An optimal energy management system (EMS) is proposed to optimally dispatch the energy from available energy resources. The problem is mapped in a Linear optimization problem and simulations are carried out in MATLAB. Simulation results showed that the proposed EMS ensures the continuous power supply and decreases the energy consumption cost by nearly 45%. The impact of EV as a storage tool is also observed. EVs acting as a source of energy reduced the energy cost by 45.58% and as a load by 19.33%. The impact on the cost for continuous power supply in case of a power outage is also analyzed.

Increased Efficiency of PEM Water Electrolyzers through Operating Temperature and Pressure Optimization

Green hydrogen enables the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as it can replace fossil fuels in various areas of application. Given today's high demand for fossil fuels, there are challenges in producing cost-competitive green hydrogen. A vast amount of renewable electricity must be generated and converted into hydrogen, which requires much space and rare materials. Therefore, it is reasonable to improve the efficiency of the energy converters involved. Although the efficiency levels can be increased through components development, the optimization of the operating conditions is another innovative way to improve (commercially) available electrolyzer systems. In this talk, a model is introduced that comprises the description of electrolyzers from electrodes to the product-gas processing. Overpotential at stack level, the heat balance of the whole system, and the compression of the product gases are taken into account with regard to their impact on the overall system efficiency. Our analysis results are crucial in terms of defining the optimal operating temperature and pressure, as both parameters are no constants but highly depend on the operating conditions and the system configuration.By comparing systems that use different membrane thicknesses for instance, it can be seen that the efficiency and optimal pressure decrease with increasing thickness, while interestingly no safety problems due to hydrogen permeation across thin membranes.1 On the other hand, the results indicate that the notion of ‘the higher the temperature the higher the efficiency’ has no general validity. Fortunately, the model reveals that an analytical solution exists to calculate the optimal operating temperature in special cases.2 Moreover, this solution is independent of the system configuration and only depends on the operating point and pressure. In summary, novel ideas for the configuration and operation of electrolyzers are presented in this talk in order to obtain the highest possible efficiency from existing materials and components. Heavily depending on the operating conditions and cell voltage, the advantage can be up to 10% compared to the current operating strategy. Scheepers, F.; Stähler, M.; Stähler, A.; Rauls, E.; Muller, M.; Carmo, M.; Lehnert, W., Improving the Efficiency of PEM Electrolyzers through Membrane-Specific Pressure Optimization. Energies 2020, 13 (3).Scheepers, F.; Stähler, M.; Stähler, A.; Rauls, E.; Müller, M.; Carmo, M.; Lehnert, W., Temperature optimization for improving polymer electrolyte membrane-water electrolysis system efficiency. Applied Energy 2020, 116270.

Harnessing landfill gas (LFG) for electricity: A strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Jakarta (Indonesia)

Due to its increasing demands for fossil fuels, Indonesia needs an alternative energy to diversify its energy supply. Landfill gas (LFG), which key component is methane (CH4), has become one of the most attractive options to sustain its continued economic development. This exploratory study seeks to demonstrate the added value of landfilled municipal solid waste (MSW) in generating sustainable energy, resulting from CH4 emissions in the Bantargebang landfill (Jakarta). The power generation capacity of a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant based on a mathematical modeling was investigated. This article critically evaluated the production of electricity and potential income from its sale in the market. The project's environmental impact assessment and its socio-economic and environmental benefits in terms of quantitative and qualitative aspects were discussed. It was found that the emitted CH4 from the landfill could be reduced by 25,000 Mt annually, while its electricity generation could reach one million kW ⋅h annually, savings on equivalent electricity charge worth US$ 112 million/year (based on US' 8/kW ⋅ h). An equivalent CO2 mitigation of 3.4 × 106 Mt/year was obtained. The income from its power sale were US$ 1.2 ×106 in the 1st year and 7.7 ×107US$ in the 15th year, respectively, based on the projected CH4 and power generation. The modeling study on the Bantargebang landfill using the LFG extraction data indicated that the LFG production ranged from 0.05 to 0.40 m3 per kg of the landfilled MSW. The LFG could generate electricity as low as US' 8 per kW ⋅ h. With respect to the implications of this study, the revenue not only defrays the cost of landfill's operations and maintenance (O&M), but also provides an incentive and means to further improve its design and operations. Overall, this work not only leads to a diversification of primary energy, but also improves environmental protection and the living standard of the people surrounding the plant.

A Review of Hydrogen as a Fuel in Internal Combustion Engines

The demand for fossil fuels is increasing because of globalization and rising energy demands. As a result, many nations are exploring alternative energy sources, and hydrogen is an efficient and practical alternative fuel. In the transportation industry, the development of hydrogen-powered cars aims to maximize fuel efficiency and significantly reduce exhaust gas emission and concentration. The impact of using hydrogen as a supplementary fuel for spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engines on engine performance and gas emissions was investigated in this study. By adding hydrogen as a fuel in internal combustion engines, the torque, power, and brake thermal efficiency of the engines decrease, while their brake-specific fuel consumption increase. This study suggests that using hydrogen will reduce the emissions of CO, UHC, CO2, and soot; however, NOx emission is expected to increase. Due to the reduction of environmental pollutants for most engines and the related environmental benefits, hydrogen fuel is a clean and sustainable energy source, and its use should be expanded.

Challenges in cellulase bioprocess for biofuel applications

Increasing population and industrialization caused increased demand for liquid fossil fuels which in turn increases the greenhouse gas emission. Bioethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass via enzymatic route is a potential alternative to fossil fuels and is environmentally sustainable. Cellulases have been regarded as the limiting factor for bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass via enzymes. In the last few decades advances in bioprocesses led to reduction in the cost of cellulases by several folds, enabling bioethanol production to become cost-effective. This is the reason for existence of commercial plants for bioethanol production, however; still there are scope for further improvement in bioprocess for cellulase production and research is ongoing worldwide. Researchers face huge challenge while moving from flask and bioreactor research outcomes from a laboratory scale to the pilot scale production, which has been rarely discussed. This review will present those challenges and its probable solutions. Though commercial cellulases are available, it is highly required to have in-house cellulase production technology to be self-reliant. On-site and integrated cellulase production configuration is popular as it seems to be cost-effective. This review will address advances in bioprocesses and challenges for cellulase production which have surfaced in the last decade.

Emission Characteristics of Third Grade Oil Converted Sesame Biodiesel

The demand and usage of fossil fuels has been increasing drastically, leading us to search for alternate fuels. The sesame seed is selected as an alternate fuel source, as a focus for this research paper. The sesame biodiesel is a type of fuel that has been obtained through the transesterification process from sesame oil using base catalyst transesterification. The sesame biodiesel was blended with four different ratios B10, B20, B30 and B40, among which B20 resulted with better stability, tested in the Kirloskar 240PE VCR engine at a compression ratio of 17.5:1 and 18:1 in various loads. The FTIR test was performed on sesame biodiesel, and it has shown that ester content was present in the test sample confirming its usage as the biodiesel. The fuel properties were found for all the three: sesame oil, sesame biodiesel(B20), diesel and it was found to be within the permissible limit. The result reveals that B20 is the best possible blend that has given good results in emission characteristics. The smoke emission testing was done on AVL emission analyser. It has been noted and observed that there is good reduction in CO, CO2, and HC than with standard diesel rate at all loads. An increased amount of NOx is observed as the load increases. It was also noted among the two compression ratios, 18:1 depicted best results considering the emission levels. It is observed that the sesame biodiesel can be used in IC diesel engines with a better outcome than the standard diesel rate. Hence, the work established the need for conversion of sesame seed oil to biodiesel and also suggests that sesame oil could be effectively used as feedstock for biodiesel production.

Insights into the technology utilized to cultivate microalgae in dairy effluents

The population increase has brought a number of consequences, such as greater demands for food, fossil fuels, and freshwater. The cultivation of microalgae appears to be an alternative source of food and energy because the biomass of microalgae can yield several products with applications in the fields of bioenergy, agriculture, and human and animal food. However, growing microalgae requires high concentrations of nutrients and water, making it an expensive process for large-scale production. The use of some effluents as culture media for microalgae has become a promising solution to reduce process costs and to obtain effluent treatment. The organic residues present in dairy effluent are considered harmful to the environment due to the high chemical and biochemical oxygen demand. Another problem is the high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. However, these two nutrients are among the main nutrients used to grow microalgae. The ability of microalgae to effectively absorb nutrients from dairy effluent and the concomitant generation of value-added products make this effluent a potential medium for biomass production at a reduced cost. Therefore, this review aims to present recent advances in microalgae biotechnology for the treatment of dairy effluents. In addition, the review contributes to the existing literature by expanding knowledge about replacing drinking water and synthetic nutrients with dairy effluents in the cultivation of microalgae. This review shows the efficiency of the treatment of this effluent by microalgae and the possible applications of microalgae biomass cultivated in dairy effluents.

Comments: Oil Demand Optimism

Forecasts for oil demand are looking up, according to OPEC and the International Energy Agency as of mid-July. Will the optimistic views prove to be on target? We have learned how the market can shift or wildly careen, both historically and in the very recent past. Looking at the forecasts, which reflect a consensus of sorts, is encouraging for producers. OPEC’s monthly report of 15 July projected global oil demand to reach nearly 100 million B/D next year, a level similar to pre-pandemic in 2019. The 2021 oil demand growth remains unchanged at 5.95 million B/D, or approximately 6.6%. Led by demand growth in the US, China, and India, a 3.4% increase is expected in 2022 to 99.86 million B/D and would average more than 100 million B/D in the second half of the year. “Solid expectations exist for global economic growth in 2022,” OPEC said. “These include improved containment of COVID-19, particularly in emerging and developing countries, which are forecast to spur oil demand to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022.” If the actual recovery tracks with these predictions, OPEC can dial back further its record-level supply cuts made in 2020. The IEA points to the growth expected in global electricity demand as spurring fossil-fuel demand, including oil, coal, and natural gas. After falling by around 1% in 2020, electricity demand growth may approach 5% in 2021 and 4% in 2022. The Asia Pacific region will account for the majority of the increases. China, the world’s largest consumer of electricity, leads the tally, accounting for more than 50% of the 2022 growth. India, the third largest, will account for 9% of the global electricity growth. Renewables are expected to be able to serve around half of the projected growth in global demand in 2021 and 2022. IEA wrote, “Renewable electricity generation continues to grow strongly—but cannot keep up with increasing demand. After expanding by 7% in 2020, electricity generation from renewables is forecast to increase by 8% in 2021 and by more than 6% in 2022.” Fossil fuel-based electricity is set to cover 45% of additional demand in 2021 and 40% in 2022. After declining by 4.6% in 2020, coal-fired electricity generation will increase by nearly 5% in 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, it will grow another 3% and could reach an all-time high. Natural gas-generated electricity lags coal because it is less commonly used in the Asia Pacific and competes with renewables in the US and Europe. It is expected to increase globally by 1% in 2021 and by nearly 2% in 2022 after declining by 2% in 2020. The US Energy Information Administration published a global financial review last month of 91 oil and gas companies, most headquartered in the US, in the first quarter 2021. It indicated that companies are implementing their plans announced over the past year to reduce capital expenditures to pay down debt. Capital expenditure in 1Q2021 was reported as $48 billion, 28% lower than in 1Q2020 and the second- lowest amount for any quarter since 2016. Cash from operations in Q1 this year totaled $79 billion, 19% higher than in 1Q2020; about 76% of companies had positive free cash flow. Overall, the companies decreased debt by $16 billion in 1Q2021, and the long-term debt-to-equity ratio decreased to 54%.

Preparation and Characterization of Sansevieria trifasciata Fiber/High-Impact Polypropylene and Sansevieria trifasciata Fiber/Vinyl Ester Biocomposites for Automotive Applications

The increasing demand for vehicles is resulting in environmental problems, such as a higher demand for fossil fuels and higher CO2 emissions. Lightweight materials, such as fiber-reinforced polymers, have been used in automotive components to redu