Fossil-fuel Energy Research Articles

Application of small digester biogas for energy supply in rural areas

Village’s self-fulfillment of energy supply is a new concept being developed in Indonesia. Villages are expected to meet their own energy needs without relying on fossil-fuel and other non-renewable energy materials. The concept of village’s self-fulfillment of energy here includes two types of provision: the provision of electrical energy and the provision of bio-fuel by utilizing environmentally friendly renewable energy. Biogas is an alternative energy sources produced by anaerobic activities of organic materials such as human and animal feces, or domestic waste in rural communities. In general, rural farmers have 2-4 cows. It is assumed that cows/cattle produces ± 15 kg feces/head/day. A digester with 4m3 capacity potentially produces bio-gas per day that reaches 1.34 m3 equivalent to 6.30 kWh/day. This volume of bio-gas can be used for lamp lighting of 60-100 watts for 8 hours. Other applications that can be utilized are biogas stove. A family of farmer can use 2 stoves to cook 3 food recipes for 8 people and a generator for 1 hour. There is also potential solid mud of 40 kg that produces 8 kg of compost/day and potential sludge fluid as much as 160 liters including bio-urine of 32 liters/day. This paper discusses about the potency of small biogas digester application for village’s self-fulfillment of energy supply.

Experimental Investigation on Shallow Solar Pond Using CuO Nano Particles

On the increase of energy needs and rising environmental concern forces the use of renewable and to search the alternative source of energy for the polluting fossil fuels. The best alternative energy is solar which is being emitted by the sun and is collected and is stored in various thermal storage medium. Solar pond is one of the best ways to collect solar energy in that shallow solar pond is one of its type. From the name it implies the pond depth is small so the solar pond can be fabricated in a simple manner with very low cost covering large area. Previous research they have used baffle plates to find out the thermal performance, but this research brings out using CuO nano particles and has been examined experimentally. The shallow solar pond is built with a surface area of 1.7m2 with a depth of 0.5m. The experiment has been carried out during the month of April of 2016 under the climatic conditions of pachapalayam [Latitude 10.950N, Longitude 76.890E]. It was examined for the six successive sunny days and its temperature of lower convective zone varies from 1.3°C to 9.2°C, with the maximum rise in temperature is obtained when adding 0.8% concentration of nano particles.

Economic and Environmental Considerations for Zero-emission Transport and Thermal Energy Generation on an Energy Autonomous Island

The high cost and environmental impact of fossil-fuel energy generation in remote regions can make renewable energy applications more competitive than business-as-usual scenarios. Furthermore, energy and transport are two of the main sectors that significantly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. This paper focuses on the generation of thermal energy and the transport sector of a fossil fuel-based energy independent island in Greece. We evaluate (1) technologies for fully renewable thermal energy generation using building-specific solar thermal systems and (2) the replacement of the vehicle fleet of the island with electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles. The analysis, based on economic and environmental criteria, shows that although solar thermal decreases greenhouse gases by 83%, when compared to the current diesel-based situation, it only becomes economically attractive with subsidy scenarios equal to or higher than 50%. However, in the transport sector, the sum of fuel and maintenance costs of fuel-cell and electric vehicles is found to be 45% lower than that of the current fleet, due to their approximately seven times lower fuel cost. Lastly, it will take approximately six years of use of the new vehicles to balance out the emissions of their manufacturing phase.

Specific energy analysis for the manufacturing of light-weight automobile body

This manuscript analyses the specific energy requirements to produce two hybridised vehicle structures on current automotive assembly lines. It provides quantitative and specific electric (kWhr/vehicle) and fossil-fuel (MMBtu/vehicle) energy predictions of the body-in-white (BIW) manufacturing processes including body panel forming, welding, painting, and final assembly, in addition to the facility heating ventilation and air conditioning or HVAC consumption. Two hybridised BIW design criteria are analysed; the first is based on minimising the added cost per unit weight saved (+$/‒kg), while the second is based on maximising the percentage of weight saved (% ‒kg). Also a new criterion; that is the added specific-energy per unit weight-saved or (+kWhr/vehicle/‒kg) is proposed. The light-weight structures comprise body parts made of aluminium and steel. To compute energy consumptions, the study utilises the energy performance index (EPI) stochastic model in addition to complementing it with a panel-forming energy model. Cost analysis is also provided for all the major vehicle body-panels using an in-house Excel macro. The study reverse engineers a passenger vehicle BIW using a full-size coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The presented work further highlights the monetary value of the associated emissions when increasing the specific energy.

The multi-level perspective analysis: Indonesia geothermal energy transition study

The study adopts a multi-level perspective in technology transition to analyse how the transition process in the development of geothermal energy in Indonesia is able to compete against the incumbent fossil-fuelled energy sources. Three levels of multi-level perspective are socio-technical landscape (ST-landscape), socio-technical regime (ST-regime) and niche innovations in Indonesia geothermal development. The identification, mapping and analysis of the dynamic relationship between each level are the important pillars of the multi-level perspective framework. The analysis considers the set of rules, actors and controversies that may arise in the technological transition process. The identified geothermal resource risks are the basis of the emerging geothermal technological innovations in Indonesian geothermal. The analysis of this study reveals the transition pathway, which yields a forecast for the Indonesian geothermal technology transition in the form of scenarios and probable impacts.

Characterization of biosurfactant produced by petrofilic bacteria isolated from hydrocarbon impacted soil and its potential application in bioremediation

The study adopts a multi-level perspective in technology transition to analyse how the transition process in the development of geothermal energy in Indonesia is able to compete against the incumbent fossil-fuelled energy sources. Three levels of multi-level perspective are socio-technical landscape (ST-landscape), socio-technical regime (ST-regime) and niche innovations in Indonesia geothermal development. The identification, mapping and analysis of the dynamic relationship between each level are the important pillars of the multi-level perspective framework. The analysis considers the set of rules, actors and controversies that may arise in the technological transition process. The identified geothermal resource risks are the basis of the emerging geothermal technological innovations in Indonesian geothermal. The analysis of this study reveals the transition pathway, which yields a forecast for the Indonesian geothermal technology transition in the form of scenarios and probable impacts.

Retail Energy Management in Electricity Markets: Structure, Challenges and Economic Aspects- a Review

In the rapidly growing global energy consumption, electrical energy plays the important role. Environmental concerns about air pollution, fossil fuels depletion and energy crisis have led policy makers of energy systems to increase the portion of electricity in the energy portfolio. On the other hand, economic crises, especially in recent years, have increased the electricity price. With decreased purchasing power, end-use consumers are encouraged to participate in Demand Side Management (DSM) programs, e.g. Demand Response Programs (DRPs), to decrease their electricity bills. In such situation, retail energy management attracts attention in both development and improvement. This paper reviews the concept of retail energy management in modern structure of electricity markets. The objectives of this study are: a) review techno-economic studies in the literature to identify the main structure of retail energy management; b) review the different retail market studies for assessing economic performance; c) present a comprehensive evaluation about the role of DRPs in retail energy management; d) carry out an extensive survey of optimization approaches, mathematical modeling and optimization software about the retail energy management. This paper provides a template for market participants to optimize energy management in the retail side of electricity markets. The proposed structure encourages the efficient development of retail electricity market while eliminating the potential for economic inefficiencies through complete modeling of retail electricity market.

China’s policies and plans for clean energy production

ABSTRACTCoal, which is an inexpensive energy source, has abundant reserves, but due to environmental issues, coal utilization has been decreased, dramatically. Despite fossil fuels energy sources, wind and solar energies are renewable, create zero emissions, are widely disturbed, and consume no hydrogen gas and water. China’s energy plan is multidimensional. The strategic plan 2010–2020 is intended to increase the portion of renewable energy sources for electricity production. In accordance with this plan, the renewable energy sector is highly encouraged. Thus, China intends to develop new renewable energy systems and reduce the dependency of fossil fuels energy. In this work, a detailed comparison of wind and solar systems was done to determine the advantages and disadvantages of these energy systems.

User-Centric Demand Response Management in the Smart Grid With Multiple Providers

The smart grid is the next generation power grid with bidirectional communications between the electricity users and the providers. Demand response management is vital in the smart grid to reduce power generation costs as well as to lower the users’ electricity bills. In this paper, we introduce multiple fossil-fuel and multiple renewable energy sources-based utility companies on the supply side, and propose an end-user oriented utility company selection scheme to minimize user costs. We formulate the problem as a game, incorporating the uncertainty associated with the power supply of the renewable sources, and prove that there exists a Nash equilibrium for the game. To further reduce users’ costs, we develop a joint scheme by integrating shiftable load scheduling with utility company selection. We model the joint scheme also as a game, and prove the existence of a Nash equilibrium for the game. For both schemes, we propose distributed algorithms for the users to find the equilibrium of the game using only local information. We evaluate our schemes and compare their performances to two other approaches. The results show that our joint utility company selection and shiftable load scheduling scheme incurs the least cost to the users.

Assessment of thermodynamics performance with sustainable propulsion indicators of a seaplane engine for different temperatures in the same altitude

ABSTRACTSeaplanes have become an important tool along with rapidly developing technology in modern transportation for many countries related to sea. Considering the environmental evaluation for these aircraft, decreasing fossil fuels consumption and energy efficiency are important points for sustainability. For this purpose, in this study, first, the energy and exergy analyses based on the real data of a turboprop engine used in seaplane taken as the reference were performed. Then, new indicators developed for the sustainable propulsion index were examined and evaluated separately. The analyses were made for an altitude of 9000 ft and three different dead state temperatures of −33°C, −3°C, and 27°C. According to the analyses, while the average energy efficiencies were found to be 34.7%, 37.8%, and 40.7%, the average exergy efficiencies were found to be 19.24%, 21.25%, and 23.20%, respectively. In addition, the improvement potential due to irreversibility and entropy production for each case was also calculated and the results of the sustainable emission index were found to be very low. At the end of the study, the results were evaluated and some suggestions for the effective use of energy in the seaplanes were made.

CCS Research Development and Deployment in a Clean Energy Future: Lessons from Australia over the Past Two Decades

Abstract There is widespread, though by no means universal, recognition of the importance of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a carbon mitigation technology. However, the rate of deployment does not match what is required for global temperatures to stay well below 2 °C. Although some consider the hurdles to achieving the widespread application of CCS to be almost insurmountable, a more optimistic view is that a great deal is now known about CCS through research, demonstration, and deployment. We know how to do it; we are confident it can be done safely and effectively; we know what it costs; and we know that costs are decreasing and will continue to do so. We also know that the world will need CCS as long as countries, companies, and communities continue to use fossil fuels for energy and industrial processes. What is lacking are the necessary policy drivers, along with a technology-neutral approach to decrease carbon emissions in a cost-effective and timely manner while retaining the undoubted benefits of ready access to reliable and secure electricity and energy-intensive industrial products. In this paper, Australia is used as an example of what has been undertaken in CCS over the past 20 years, particularly in research and demonstration, but also in international collaboration. Progress in the large-scale deployment of CCS in Australia has been too slow. However, the world’s largest storage project will soon be operational in Australia as part of the Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, and investigations are underway into several large-scale CCS Flagship program opportunities. The organization and progress of the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) Otway Project, which is currently Australia’s only operational storage project, is discussed in some detail because of its relevance to the commercial deployment of CCS. The point is made that there is scope for building on this Otway activity to investigate more broadly (through the proposed Otway Stage 3 and Deep Earth Energy and Environment Programme (AusDEEP)) the role of the subsurface in carbon reduction. There are challenges ahead if CCS is to be deployed as widely as bodies such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) consider to be necessary. Closer international collaboration in CCS will be essential to meeting that challenge.

Alkali-thermal gasification and hydrogen generation potential of biomass

Generating hydrogen gas from biomass is one approach to lowering dependencies on fossil fuels for energy and chemical feedstock, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Using both equilibrium simulations and batch experiments with NaOH as a model alkaline, this study established the technical feasibility of converting various biomasses (e.g., glucose, cellulose, xylan and lignin) into H2-rich gas via catalyst-free, alkalithermal gasification at moderate temperatures (as low as 300 °C). This process could produce more H2 with less carbon-containing gases in the product than other comparable methods. It was shown that alkali-thermal gasification follows C x H y O z + 2xNaOH + (x–z)H2O = (2x + y/2–z)H2 + xNa2CO3, with carbonate being the solid product which is different from the one suggested in the literature. Moreover, the concept of hydrogen generation potential (H2-GP)—the maximum amount of H2 that a biomass can yield, was introduced. For a given biomass C x H y O z , the H2-GP would be (2x + y/2–z) moles of H2. It was demonstrated experimentally that the H2-GP was achievable by adjusting the amounts of H2O and NaOH, temperature and pressure.

Ecological Approaches in Textile Sector: The Effect of r-PET Blend Ratio on Ring Spun Yarn Tenacity

As the strategy of waste-management, it is very important to ensure that waste materials are recycled and reused in different industry in order to protect the ecological environment and there are so many initiatives related to this subject. Especially in the textile industry, recycling of PET bottle waste into recycled polyester fiber (r-PET) has made a difference in the industry to reduce load on environment pollution. In addition, it contributes to reducing the fossil fuels sources, water and energy which is the required amount in the production of synthetic polymers. With supporting these attempts, we have to fulfill our social responsibility in order to preserve the ecological balance. This study aims to compare the tenacity and elongation properties of ring spun yarns produced from r-PET fibers recycled from waste PET bottles and cotton fiber at different blend ratios. Besides, virgin PET fibers were also used to conduct the difference between recycled and virgin fibers. Both r-PET and virgin PET fibers were blended with cotton as 100%, 70%/30%, 50%/50% and 30%/70% ratios. All production parameters were constant to determine the effect of raw materials on yarn tenacity and elongation. Results showed that ring spun yarns containing r-PET fibers had lower tenacity and elongation than virgin PET. On the other hand, the quality parameters of r-PET fibers can be improved by technological developments, and so they will be preferred to preserve the ecological balance.

Putting Phosphorus First: The Need to Know and Right to Know Call for a Revised Hierarchy of Natural Resources

The aim of this paper is to develop two concepts regarding phosphorus that will serve as a contribution fulfilling the call for intergenerational equity: to improve knowledge of future resources and to develop a framework by setting priorities for maximizing availability with a hierarchy of natural resources. The increasing human demand for minerals and metals is causing persistent concern about long-term supply security. This holds true particularly for phosphorus. Phosphorus is bioessential; it cannot be substituted. There are no unlimited resources for phosphorus. The question of how large the reserves are and the potential for finding additional reserves and resources for a long-term supply are, therefore, of interest to numerous stakeholders, from governments to individuals. We examine governments’ needs and individuals’ rights to know private exploration data. Because of the essential nature of phosphorus, we emphasize the public’s special right to know as much as possible about phosphate reserves, resources and the geopotential for new discoveries, based upon the basic human right to feed oneself in dignity. To fulfill the call for intergenerational equity, however, knowledge alone is not enough; guidelines for management have to follow. This can be achieved by defining a hierarchy of natural resources for setting priorities. For humankind’s technological and cultural development, a sufficient supply of energy resources must be considered the key element; therefore, efforts to maximize information that will enable best decisions to be made have been the strongest. A hierarchy of natural resources with fossil and nuclear energies at the top was proposed. However, with the new development of renewable forms of energy and the decreasing role of fossil-fuel energy, the hierarchy of natural resources that defines priorities must be revised. We propose a hierarchy that replaces fossil-fuel energy at the top with phosphorus.

The forgotten implications of low oil prices on biofuels

AbstractThe sudden drop of oil prices since mid‐2014 has echoed in the news due to implications at national and international levels. For unknown reasons, the effects of quasi permanent low oil prices on biofuels were ignored. With current oil prices, biofuels are not competitive with gasoline, thus the blend wall of regular cars will not rise as soon as expected, and the ethanol's market saturation and the high prices of capital and operational costs are factors that do not contribute to boost consumption. Objections to biofuels subsidies, as well as arguments against the rise of food prices as a consequence of biofuel production from feed crops instead of agricultural and forestry wastes, will become more valid than ever. However, to fulfil biofuel policies regarding energy independence and decarbonization, and in the face of the failure of important advanced biofuel projects, huge public expenditures (incentives/subsidies), extended biofuel mandates, improvement in biofuel technologies, and security for investments through coherent and stable policies are needed. Furthermore, it is advisable to maintain a sustainable conventional biofuel industry to facilitate the transition to advanced biofuels. Citizens must be aware of the indirect costs of fossil fuels (coal mining, pollution, and energy security) and realize that the deployment of biofuels is both a question of opportunity and a challenge. The devastating effect of low oil prices on biofuels and on unconventional oil's exploitation and the constraints to biofuel developments, are still in the horizon, especially when OPEC will no longer act as the swing oil producer. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Environmental Kuznets curve among BRICS countries: Spot lightening finance, transport, energy and growth factors

The environmental sustainability reforms considered the highly successful factor for the countries that devoted for green investment in transportation, financial activities, energy demand, and growth factors. This challenging task is monetized by fair environmental policies that integrated with the countries action plans. BRICS countries is no exception, that wider accepted this environmental task and provoked the need of healthy investment for sustainable growth. This study reviewed finance, transport, energy, and growth factors under Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework in a panel of BRICS countries by utilizing a consistent time series data from 1990 to 2015. The study employed panel fixed effect regression to observe unmodeled heterogeneity among the cross-section identifiers that vary over a period of time. The results show that transport services and industry value added (INDVAD) both escalate fossil fuel (FFUEL) energy consumption while financial factors, environmental prices, and renewable energy consumption (REC) decreases fossil energy in a region. Bank capital, broad money supply, domestic credit, railways goods transported, travel services, and INDVAD considerably increases nitrous oxide emissions (N2O) whereas; REC significantly decreases N2O emissions in a panel of countries. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions affected by domestic credit, railways goods transported, travel services, and INDVAD. There is a monotonic decreasing relationships between i) per capita income and FFUEL energy, ii) railways passenger carried and N2O emissions, iii) REC and GHG emissions, and iv) income and N2O emissions, whereas; there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between broad money supply and N2O emissions and U-shaped relationships between per capita income and GHG emissions. The panel causality tests confirmed the bidirectional relationship between financial indicators and railways transportation, while bank capital Granger cause FFUEL energy, per capita income, INDVAD, and REC (but not other way around) in a panel of BRICS countries. The inter-temporal relationships show that bank capital, INDVAD, and price level will largely affect FFUEL energy, N2O emissions, and GHG emissions respectively, for the next 10 years period. The results of the study emphasized the need of ‘green policy instruments’ that should be connected with the country’s policies and program for sustained growth.

The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network: A Multi-Institution Program To Reduce Nitrogen Pollution.

Anthropogenic sources of reactive nitrogen have local and global impacts on air and water quality and detrimental effects on human and ecosystem health. This article uses the Nitrogen Footprint Tool (NFT) to determine the amount of nitrogen (N) released as a result of institutional consumption. The sectors accounted for include food (consumption and upstream production), energy, transportation, fertilizer, research animals, and agricultural research. The NFT is then used for scenario analysis to manage and track reductions, which are driven by the consumption behaviors of both the institution itself and its constituent individuals. In this article, the first seven completed institution nitrogen footprint results are presented. The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network aims to develop footprints for many institutions to encourage widespread upper-level management strategies that will create significant reductions in reactive nitrogen released to the environment. Energy use and food purchases are the two largest sectors contributing to institution nitrogen footprints. Ongoing efforts by institutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also help to reduce the nitrogen footprint, but the impact of food production on nitrogen pollution has not been directly addressed by the higher education sustainability community. The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network found that institutions could reduce their nitrogen footprints by optimizing food purchasing to reduce consumption of animal products and minimize food waste, as well as by reducing dependence on fossil fuels for energy.

A new evidence on the CIS's environmental pollution-macroeoconmic variables relationship

This research explores the long-run and causal link between renewable and non-renewable (fossil fuels) energy consumption in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) with CO2 emissions and Real GDP per capita, by using three control variables, namely industrialization, the composite trade intensity and financial openness. Using panel data pattern from 1992 to 2016 and employing the Pesaran’s CD test, the CADF panel unit root test, the FMOLS panel cointegration estimation method and panel causality test, the main empirical results provide evidence supporting that in the long-run, there is a uni-directional relationship running from economic growth to renewable energy consumption. Furthermore, in the short-run, there is a uni-directional short-run panel causality running from industrialization- renewable energy use, economic growth, industrialization, financial openness and trade openness to CO2 emissions, and from fossil fuel energy consumption to renewable energy use, while there is a bi-directional trade openness- financial openness, economic growth- renewable energy use, economic growth-non-renewable energy consumption, in-dustrialization- non-renewable energy use, economic growth-industrialization, and CO2 emissions- fossil fuel energy consumption causality relationship.

Growth, Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions in Nigeria

Growth, Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions in Nigeria

Wastewater Treatment Facility Energy Efficiency and Fossil Fuel Energy Independence

Wastewater Treatment Facility Energy Efficiency and Fossil Fuel Energy Independence