Field Of Energy Conservation Research Articles

Directions and Potential of Using Forms of Public-private Partnership in the Field of Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency

Directions and Potential of Using Forms of Public-private Partnership in the Field of Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency

Analysis of the Relationships between Variables and Their Applications in the Energy Saving Field

Energy saving is an important measure to promote social green transformation. The traditional energy-saving ideas usually only focus on a specific loss, and seldom consider the possible relationship and influence among various losses. In relatively complex energy-using systems, there are often many kinds of losses, and each loss may have many influencing factors. There may be some relationship between these losses and the influencing factors. To solve this problem, this paper presents an analysis method of the variable association in multi-variable systems. First, the basic relationships between variables and the representation methods are discussed. The basic concept of a path between variables is given, and the analysis method of variable association based on path statistics is provided. This paper focuses on the analysis of the influencing factors and paths of the observed variables, as well as which observed variables will be affected by a control variable. Then, based on the correlation matrix, the quantitative analysis method of the influence between variables is given. Variable correlation analysis is innovatively applied in the field of energy saving to determine the correlation of losses through variable associations, guiding the preliminary screening of energy-saving measures and analyzing the collateral effects of these measures. Based on the correlations between energy losses, a scientific process for formulating energy-saving measures is proposed. The variable correlation analysis method proposed in this paper is a generalized method, which can judge the correlation between variables from the perspective of theoretical analysis and avoid the dependence on data. In addition to good applications in the field of energy conservation, it can also be widely used in construction, transportation, climate change, and other fields. The proposed energy-saving ideas take into account the intensity of influencing factors on loss and the correlation between loss, which improves the effectiveness of energy saving measures.

Visible-infrared compatible and independent camouflage with multicolor patterns and tunable emissivity

Abstract With the rapid development and wide application of visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) detections, it is necessary to explore visible-infrared (VIS-IR) compatible camouflage. Here, we report a VIS-IR compatible and independent camouflage device which is composed of the upper IR-transparent VIS-color-patterned layer and the lower electrochromic IR layer. The upper layer has amorphous photonic structure of polystyrene nanospheres (PSNSs). By customizing the PSNS size, various colors can be realized for VIS camouflage. The lower electrochromic IR layer takes advantage of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as the electrode as well as the IR active material. Experimental results reveal that different colors (including blue, green, and purple) have been obtained, and the IR emissivity can be electrically regulated from 0.43 to 0.9. Moreover, the prototype also exhibits good electrical stability as well as hydrophobic characteristic (the water contact angle of the outmost surface exceeds 120°). These output performances demonstrate the success of our design strategy for promoting the finding applied in camouflage fields as well as energy conservation fields.

Experimental investigation of high-temperature heating in open-loop air cycle heat pump system utilizing compressed gas waste energy recovery

Recycling waste energy from compressed gases has consistently been a focal point in the field of energy conservation. This paper presents a novel open-loop air cycle heat pump system designed to recover waste energy from compressed gases. The system maintains stable operation and provide hot water above 80 °C even under extreme ambient temperatures (below −30 °C), thereby catering to diverse heating needs across a wide temperature spectrum. Experimental results show that, when the ambient temperature varies from 10 °C to −20 °C, the heating capacity and water temperature difference between inlet and outlet only decrease by 4.82% and 4.99% respectively, suggesting negligible impact. However, when water flow rate varies from 4 m3/h to 10 m3/h, the heating capacity marginally increases by 3.35% while the water temperature difference between inlet and outlet significantly decreases by 141.95%. Continuous increase of inlet water temperature Tw, in at 0.40 °C·min−1 results in an initial 10% decrease of heating capacity, following which the system automatically adjusts to another stable operational state of around 50 kW heating capacity. This transition has minimal effect on the water temperature difference between inlet and outlet and temperature rise rate of outlet water temperature. The expansion work recovery efficiency of turbine-compressor coupled module is approximately 90%.

The impact of patentees assessment based on the heterogeneous patent innovation network

As a vital factor in technological innovation, patentee plays a significant role in the process of scientific and technological innovation, researching patentee has attracted the attention of experts and scholars. Previously, scholars have mainly quantified patent indicators or constructed homogeneous information networks to analyze patentees, but these methods cannot objectively measure the impact of patentees. Therefore, this study proposes a novel approach to assessing patentee impact based on a heterogeneous information network. The proposed method distinguishes the weight of different types of nodes using a weighted mechanism and extracts three types of fine-grained characteristics of network nodes. This approach results in the construction of a heterogeneous patent innovation network and the development of a new patentee impact assessment algorithm called CWAPN. Using Chinese green patents in the field of energy conservation and environmental protection as an example, experimental results show that the CWAPN algorithm can effectively assess the impact of patentees. Thereby identifying patentees who have made outstanding contributions to sustainable development in China.

Retrievable Hierarchically Porous Ferroelectric Ceramics for “Greening” the Piezo‐Catalysis Process

AbstractPowder‐based piezo‐catalysis, as an effective approach to degrade wastewater and produce hydrogen from water splitting, has been widely used in the field of energy conservation and pollution reduction. However, these hard‐to‐recycle powders pose a challenge of secondary pollution in the environment. As a result, this paper provides an alternative strategy based on the manufacture of porous ceramics as a green chemistry approach to replace ferroelectric powders currently used in traditional piezo‐catalysis. The piezo‐catalytic properties of Ba0.75Sr0.25TiO3 (BST) ceramics prepared using freeze casting and direct ink writing techniques are investigated in detail. The positive effect of introducing micro‐ and macro‐pores is explored and discovered, where a BST ceramic with hierarchical pore channels is prepared by a combination of direct ink writing and freeze casting and exhibts the highest first‐order kinetic rate constant per mass of catalysts, k, of up to 2.91 min−1 kg−1 compared to bulk BST ceramics. This study therefore provides the first report for the benefits of hierarchical porous ferroelectric ceramics used in water splitting, with an average H2 production rate reaching 848.88 nmol g−1 h−1.

Multifunctional ternary semitransparent organic solar cell module with area above 100 cm2 and average visible transmittance above 30%

We present a method for fabricating high-performance ST-OSC modules incorporating the high mobility small molecule donor BTR-Cl into the active layer at low donor content, demonstrating the potential of ST-OSC modules in the field of energy conservation and environmental protection.

Effect of the Guide Vane on the Hydraulic Stability of a Low-head, Large-discharge Industrial Hydraulic Turbine

The hydraulic turbine has been used extensively in the field of energy conservation. For turbines that have low heads and large discharge, improving recovery efficiency and stability is crucial due to their significant hydraulic impact. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the correlation between the influence of radial guide vanes on the stability of low-head, large-discharge turbines focusing on hydraulic performance and energy dissipation before and after the implementation of guide vanes. Moreover, in this paper, two types of turbines, with and without guide vanes, were designed considering the desulfurization scenario. Hydraulic efficiency, radial force, and internal flow field mechanics were numerically studied, and validated through experiments. The results reveal that the working range of the hydraulic turbine could be widened and the energy recovery efficiency improved by a maximum of 3.11% in the small flow rate under the action of guide vanes. Furthermore, it results in a substantial reduction in the radial force of the impeller. Subsequently, the variation in entropy production of different components under full flow rate conditions was compared between the models with and without guide vanes. The total energy consumption decreases sharply under overall working conditions due to the flow control ability of guide vanes affecting the flow state. The entropy production rate of the impeller remains the largest regardless of the presence of a guide vane in the turbine. The vortices inside the guide vanes increase obviously with the flow rate increase.

Scaffolding Learning and its Application to Energy Conservation Field Training: A Bibliometric Analysis

Scaffolding Learning and its Application to Energy Conservation Field Training: A Bibliometric Analysis

Effects of polymer-surfactant interactions on drag reduction performance and mechanisms: Molecular dynamics simulations and experimentation

This work provides a more favorable implementation of synergistic drag reduction strategies based on molecular simulations of the strength of polymer-surfactant interactions. The simulated preferred system identifies polyethylene oxide (PEO) and guar gum (GG) as polymers, and dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (DDBAC) and dodecyl hydroxy sulfobetaine (DHSB). To forecast the drag reduction capability and identify the drag reduction process, important elements such as aggregation phenomena, charge distribution, shear deformation, and interfacial behavior were examined. Experimental measurements of viscosity, surface tension, and drag reduction validate the interactions. It was found that the compound system demonstrates enhanced viscosity, surface tension, and drag reduction efficiency compared to individual systems. The PEO-DHSB system achieves a drag reduction rate of 63.68% during initial flow, while the GG-DHSB system maintains a rate of 47.26% even after prolonged water circulation. This work visualizes the poly-surface aggregation phenomenon using the density distribution of surfactant hydrophobic tail chains, dynamically demonstrating the deformation of polymer and surfactant molecules during the shear process and interfacial behavior, and providing molecular-scale intuitive insights for understanding the drag reduction mechanism of poly-surface systems. Meanwhile, by comparing the effects of molecular type and structure on poly-surface interactions and drag reduction performance, it provides a theoretical foundation for the development and application of subsequent poly-surface drag reduction schemes, thereby broadening the application of drag reduction technology in the field of energy conservation and emission reduction.

Discovering technological opportunities by identifying dynamic structure-coupling patterns and lead-lag distance between science and technology

Technological opportunities are bred in intricate and interactive connections between science and technology (S&T). To identify these potential opportunities, lexical- or topic-based similarity approaches have been extensively applied to quantify S&T linkages; however, these lack consideration of different interaction patterns and lead-lag relationships between S&T. To this end, this study proposes a novel approach to detect technological opportunities within specific S&T topics by incorporating their structure-coupling patterns and temporal lead-lag distance. By transforming S&T knowledge systems into knowledge networks, a network coupling approach is employed to elaborate dynamic interaction patterns of S&T, and a time-lagged cross-correlation analysis is conducted to calculate their lead-lag distance under different time shifts. An evidence analysis from the energy conservation field demonstrates the feasibility and reliability of the proposed methodology in identifying technological opportunities implicit in S&T shared (exists in both S&T) and private topics (exists only in science or technology) from a topical dimension.

Environmental taxes in the context of contemporary challenges

For more than 50 years, issues of the environmental protection and pollution prevention have attracted an attention of the general public, scientists and governmental bodies. These concerns has especially increased due to the reduction in supplies and the increase in prices for natural gas and oil on a global scale, as well as the fact that the energy sector generates significant volumes of greenhouse gas emissions. With this in mind, environmental regulation is gaining more and more relevance. Environmental taxes are one of the tools for its implementation. The expansion of environmental taxes around the world took place in conditions of their active support by scientists, activists of the environmental protection movement, representatives of business and government agencies. However, if previously publications highlighted the positive side of these economic instruments of environmental regulation (incentives for polluters to reduce the level of environmental pollution, the formation of revenues for budgets that can be used to finance environmental and social programs), then in the last 3-5 years, there began to appear separate scientific publications, in which the effectiveness of environmental taxes as a mean of regulation the state of the environment is questioned. The objective of this paper is to define factors and features of the environmental taxes’ application that reduce their effectiveness as a tool for environmental regulation of the economy. As a result of the analysis of the environmental taxes’ revenues dynamics, peculiarities of their application in some countries of the world, and the dynamics of pollutants’ emissions, it was once again confirmed that environmental taxes alone cannot solve all environmental problems. They should be supplemented with other tools and approaches of environmental regulation. In addition, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of environmental taxes by removing those rebates, exemptions and subsidies from the national tax systems that have a negative impact on the environment and by indexing environmental taxes’ rates in accordance with inflation rates. Ideally, it is also advisable to harmonize environmental taxes’ rates on a global scale. But at the moment, this is unlikely to happen even in the medium run. Implementation of these recommendations in practice will allow not only to reduce the level of environmental pollution, but also to obtain additional funds for the carrying-out environmental protection and social programs, for example – in the field of energy conservation, which should reduce the dependence of countries on fuel imports.

AI and Big Data-Empowered Low-Carbon Buildings: Challenges and Prospects

Reducing carbon emissions from buildings is crucial to achieving global carbon neutrality targets. However, the building sector faces various challenges, such as low accuracy in forecasting, lacking effective methods of measurements and accounting in terms of energy consumption and emission reduction. Fortunately, relevant studies demonstrate that artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technologies could significantly increase the accuracy of building energy consumption prediction. The results can be used for building operation management to achieve emission reduction goals. For this, in this article, we overview the existing state-of-the-art methods on AI and big data for building energy conservation and low carbon. The capacity of machine learning technologies in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection is also highlighted. In addition, we summarize the existing challenges and prospects for reference, e.g., in the future, accurate prediction of building energy consumption and reasonable planning of human behavior in buildings will become promising research directions.

On the issue of attracting investments in improving energy efficiency

The purpose and relevance of the work. The problem of saving all types of energy and the efficiency of using fossil fuels is a key one for Russia. Financing of measures to improve the efficiency of the use of energy resources is still an urgent problem of our time. The most important issue is to determine the conditions necessary for the successful attraction of investment capital in national and regional measures to improve energy efficiency in the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is due to the need to improve measures in this area. Methodology. Based on the analysis of existing regulatory documents in the field of energy saving and energy efficiency and the practice of their implementation, theoretical and methodological issues and the possibility of attracting investment capital in the field of energy saving and energy efficiency are considered. Results and scope of application. The defining role of state, municipal and regional executive authorities and the banking sector in promoting investments in energy efficiency measures is shown. Special attention is paid to the importance of work to stimulate energy-saving behavior of energy consumers (organizations and the population), as well as to the need to increase the responsibility of federal executive authorities and heads of enterprises and organizations of all sectors of the economy for the implementation of planned energy conservation and energy efficiency measures. The materials of the work can be used in the process of formation and implementation of federal and regional target programs in the field of energy conservation. Conclusions. The author formulates a conclusion about the need to strengthen state support for increasing the investment attractiveness of energy efficiency measures, to correct state policy in terms of popularizing these measures and strengthening state control over their implementation.

Theory and Practice of Green Finance under Carbon Neutrality Target

Global climate change is one of great challenges faced by international community currently. To cope with climate change and protect our Earth home on which human beings live, the countries of the world are proactively exploring development models suitable to their own national conditions, in which low carbon economy featured by low carbon emission and zero carbon emission has attracted much attention. In this background, China proposed a strategic decision of achieving peak carbon emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. This means China will transform from a high-carbon emission country to a low-carbon emission country, and a lot of work such as fund support, technical innovation and industrial structure adjustment should be carried out. While, green finance as a new financing way can guide capital into environmental protection and energy conservation field and promote a sustainable development, which is of important significance in advancing peak carbon dioxide emission and carbon centrality. This paper reviewed the basic concept and theoretical basis of green finance, analyzed the composition, main characteristics and operating effect of the EU’s green financial system, finally summarized the EU’s experience in the practice of green finance, and put forward some suggestions on relevant policies according to the actual situation of China.

The Influence of “Green” Roofs on the Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in the City of Tula

The need to improve the thermal engineering characteristics of the enclosing structures of construction objects and the increasing interest of the state in the development of environmental policy increase the prospects for studying the technology of “green” roofs because they are capable to solve comprehensively issues of energy efficiency and environmental safety. The object of the study is modern technological solutions of “green” roofs, the subject of the study is the analysis of the thermo-physical properties of coatings using “green” roof systems, the objectives of the study include: justification of the need to implement the above systems in the current climatic conditions, market analysis of the solutions offered by leading manufacturers of “green” coatings, the implementation of comparative thermal engineering calculations, calculations of stationary and non-stationary heat transfer in the thickness of coating structures. In the course of the study, data from official statistics websites, publicly available satellite images of remote sensing and also mathematical analysis methods, including methods of correlation and regression analysis, forecasting trends based on the obtained indicators were used. To perform the calculations, the Excel software package and the ELCUT engineering analysis computer program that allows two-dimensional modelling in solving thermal problems were used. Statistical data on the provision of residents of the region with public green spaces have been formed and analysis of the environmental parameters of the territory was carried out with the creation of a correlation and regression model, also forecast values. The results of the temperature distribution fields for stationary and non-stationary heat transfer of two types of “green” roof construction are obtained, taking into account various parameters of finishing the inner surface of the coating. Statistical environmental data that was generated using mathematical analysis methods made it possible to determine the environmental risks of the region, to create a basis for further research on the territory of the Tula region. The energy efficiency indicators of various types of “green” roofs, obtained as a result of thermal engineering calculations, as well as the identified accumulation capabilities, allowed us to draw conclusions about the prospects for the introduction of “green” technologies and the need for further research in the field of energy conservation and thermal inertia of enclosing structures of construction objects.

Synthesis and characterization of Fe3+ doped YIn1-yMnyO3 black pigment with high near-infrared reflectance

Near infrared reflective inorganic pigment YIn1-x-yMnyFexO3 (x/y = 0.1–0.5) was prepared by solid state reaction. The X-ray diffraction analysis and CIE1976 L*a*b* colorimetric analysis reveal that the main phase of the sample is changed from YInO3 phase to YFeO3 phase and the color of the sample is changed from blue to black (x ≥ 0.4) with the increase of iron content. The brightness value of black pigment ranges from 23.27 to 32.12. When In3+ is replaced by Fe3+ and Mn3+, the band gap of the black sample is decreased from 1.73eV to 1.39eV. The near-infrared reflectance (R) and near-infrared solar reflectance (R*) of the sample reach the maximum when x = 0.4 and y = 0.1, which are 77.82% and 53.44%, respectively. YIn1-x-yMnyFexO3 (x = 0.4–0.5, y = 0.1–0.5) black samples have higher near infrared reflectivity than common commercial black pigments. In the thermal insulation study, under the condition of infrared irradiation for 90 min, the internal air temperature difference between the iron car model coated with YIn0.5Mn0.1Fe0.4O3 pigment and the iron car model coated with commercial iron black pigment can reach 7 °C. YIn0.5Mn0.1Fe0.4O3 black pigment was soaked in 5% acid-alkali solution for 24 h, the chromaticity was almost unchanged before and after immersion, indicating that the sample has good chemical stability. The above properties show the potential of synthetic black pigments in the field of energy conservation.

An Improved ANN Approach for Occupancy Detection of A Smart Building

Building energy performance can be improved with a reduction in energy consumption. The heating and cooling loads of a building are important factors to consider in the field of energy conservation. It is possible to estimate energy consumption by predicting the presence of occupants in a room based on information provided by the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system using standard information. Temperature, humidity, light, and CO 2 levels from various sensors are taken as input parameters. In addition, the output of the network is programmed to be "0" when the building is not occupied and "1" when the building is occupied for the purpose of occupant detection. Pattern recognition using an Elman back propagation network is being proposed for occupancy detection. The data sets were used for training and testing (with the office door open and closed) the models during occupancy. The proposed ANN-based method is trained and tested and was found to be more effective, with an accuracy of 98.5% and 97.5% in cases of closed and opened doors, respectively.

RESEARCH OF GLOBAL ENERGY TRENDS AIMED AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACTIVE ENERGY COMPLEXES

The article is devoted to the study of modern trends in the development of the global fuel and energy complex with the identification of features and key areas that determine the nearest policy in the field of energy conservation and energy efficiency improvement. The materials analyze the dynamics of changes in demand for consumption of various types of energy resources, changes in the structure of the world energy balance, emphasizing the continuing low level of energy efficiency in many countries of the world. Taking into account the significant amount of investments in renewable energy development technologies, the high growth rates of installed capacity of power plants operating on renewable energy sources over the past decade, as well as the high rates of global growth in demand for electricity consumption, one of the key areas in improving the efficiency of the global fuel and energy complex will be the use of distributed generation, including among those operating on the basis of renewable energy sources. Integration of technologies of small distributed generation with modern technologies of energy consumption management at the level of final consumption, such as management, demand for electricity and natural gas consumption and the formation of active energy complexes on the basis of industrial enterprises, will be full-fledged participants in the circulation of energy resources in Unified energy systems and Unified gas supply systems of the future.

Формирования целей и задач новой государственной Программы по энергосбережению и повышению энергоэффективности экономики РФ

The article is devoted to the issues of improving measures in the field of energy saving and energy efficiency of production. The problem of saving all types of energy and the efficiency of its use is a key one for Russia. The analysis of the current regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of energy conservation and energy efficiency, existing concepts, programs and strategies for the implementation of comprehensive measures to achieve energy efficiency, allowed us to formulate proposals on the composition of goals and objectives of long-term planning documents in the field of energy conservation, to suggest ways to coordinate them and the procedure for implementation.